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Participants In keeping with Battletech lore, the Cadet will not only Trial for entrance to the Clan but also for the initial rank that he will hold. The Trial of Entrance (ToE) is the first formal combat in which a Cadet will compete. A Cadet will be eligible for a ToE after they have served in the Cadet Program for at least two weeks. The Cadet's Sponsor will issue the call for a ToE and he or she will also make all of the necessary arrangements. In this Trial, the Cadet will first answer questions before a verbal Board of Review. Following that, the Cadet is required to fight individually against three Warriors, one at a time, starting with the lowest ranking Warrior. The Trial Officer will be the highest ranking Warrior among the participants. The most junior ranking Warrior will be designated Warrior #1 and the remaining participant Warrior #2. Typically, Sponsors will not compete as one of the Trial participants. However, if there are few qualified participants available, Sponsors of rank Star Commander or higher may compete as one of the Trial participants, but only as the Trial Officer (3rd opponent). Non-combatant Sponsors are allowed to witness the Trial via camera. Board of Review Before engaging in the combat portion of the Trial of Entrance, the Cadet will face a Board of Review consisting of the three Trial Officers. Each Officer will ask the Cadet one question over topics that should be known by every CDS Warrior and are verifiable on the CDS website. Officers will ask questions from this list of questions available here. If the Cadet answers all three questions satisfactorily, then he will be instructed to proceed to the combat portion of the Trial. Mission Settings Once all participants have gathered in a predetermined multiplayer lobby, the Trial Officer should verify the following multiplayer settings and run the Trial:
Participants may take any custom Clan chassis of their choice that adheres to the following weight maximums:
All mechs must be equipped with Clan tech equipment and weapons only. The Trial Officer is encouraged to suggest chassis for all participants to use that will result in a fair but challenging Trial; participants also have the option to bid amongst themselves for chassis. All participants must declare their chassis selection prior to dropping from the assembly lobby, and all retain the right to change their mech selection after the initial declaration within the constraints of any bids offered previously. Rules of Engagement Upon entering the sim, the Trial Officer will confirm the positions of the Cadet and Warrior #1. If the initial starting positions of the Cadet and Warrior #1seem unreasonably close, it is at the Trial Officer's discretion to require them to separate before engaging. Contestants must be aware of each other's location before the order to engage is given; active radar or a laser shot into the air can assist in this. Additionally, the two contestants must not have line-of-sight to each other before commencing; this prevents an alpha-strike immediately upon engagement. Upon confirming readiness of the Cadet and Warrior #1, the Trial Officer will give the order for them to engage. All participants must keep radar active unless they are engaged in combat. It is at the pilot's discretion to use active radar/BAP/ECM when in combat. Any participant not actively engaged must remain at the initial drop point until released by the Trial Officer to engage, but he may rotate in place to witness the Trial. The Cadet will engage all three Warriors, one at a time, until either the Cadet or all Warriors are destroyed. At the end of each engagement the Cadet will be given time to cool completely before the next encounter commences at the Trial Officer's command. The Cadet may not respawn with a new mech. Again, the two contestants must be aware of each other's starting location and must not have line-of-sight to each other before starting an engagement. If the Cadet defeats any opponent, the Cadet is assured entrance to the Clan as a MechWarrior-Point 1. The Cadet can earn an additional rank for every additional opponent they defeat. Any explosion due to heat or splash damage counts as being defeated by the last pilot engaged. In the event that the Cadet and a Warrior mutually destroy each other, the Cadet will not be awarded a victory. If the Cadet is not successful in his or her bid for entrance to the Clan, the Cadet may not trial again until the Sponsor has called for the next ToE. In any event, a Cadet will not be allowed more than one ToE per 24 hour period. Should there be any technical problems or situations not defined above, it will be at the discretion of the Trial Officer to call for an immediate rematch. Melee Combat All Cadets are strongly suggested to engage only one Warrior at a time during the ToE. To attack any Officer out of turn promotes a melee in which all Officers may engage a target upon announcement by the Trial Officer of a melee. Cadets are also allowed to engage each other in the case of a dual ToE in another example of melee combat. In a melee situation, fighting continues until all Cadets are destroyed or only one Cadet remains. A Cadet will earn one rank for each opponent destroyed. Dual Trials of Entrance It is common practice among the Clans to conduct two Trails of Entrance simultaneously, in which two Cadets face six experienced Warriors. Each Cadet is responsible for engaging three opponents who attack one at a time as per the rules above for the single Trial of Entrance. The most senior Warrior at any Trial of Entrance has the option to conduct two ToE's concurrently; that Warrior shall be designated the Trial Officer and have the same, but doubled, responsibilities outlined above. Optionally, a seventh observing Officer may be called upon to coordinate the dual Trials via a floating 'camera mode'. The three opponents for each Cadet will be determined before beginning the Trial. Dual ToEs allow for the possibility of a Cadet to earn more than three ranks at one time, but the only way to do so is to enter a melee situation and engage a Warrior other than the assigned opponents. For example, a Cadet may engage the Officers beyond the three assigned to him. Additionally, one Cadet may choose to engage the other Cadet in efforts to earn a kill, either before or during engagements with the Officers. Cadets also have the option to work cooperatively while engaging Officers; such arrangements need not be confirmed and ultimately the two Cadets are acting independently. In summary, Officers will never engage other Officers, but Cadets may engage any other mech on the battlefield in efforts to earn a kill. Firing on any mech other than the assigned opponent initiates melee rules in which all the allies of that opponent may engage the mech that fired out of turn. In the dual ToE, the two sets of three Officers are considered independent teams. For example, should one team of three Officers enter a melee situation with a Cadet, the other team of three Officers is not authorized to attack the same Cadet unless they too have been attacked by the Cadet. A Cadet attacking another Cadet does not trigger melee rules for any team of Officers, however the Officers currently engaged with the Cadets need not stop their attacks just because the Cadets enter a melee situation between themselves. There is no situation in which one Cadet can force any team of three Officers to engage the other Cadet in a melee fashion.
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