Step 1: Know the frickin rules.
Honestly, this is the best thing you can do for yourself and everyone else on the server. Being familiar with WL's jailbreak rules makes being a warden so much easier, as it will greatly decrease the chances of you freekilling Reds due to a lack of knowledge of the rules. Kill that scout for hitting your sniper with a Sandman ball when he was nowhere near him? That was freekill. You might think, "But wait, that was forcebait! The sniper wasn't in his melee range!" And you would be correct, unless the rules didn't state explicitly otherwise.
Step 1.5: Know what you can't do.
Basically, there are quite a few things you can't do as warden. Here's a quick rundown.
-Enable friendly fire except for cell wars, arena, or hunger games. Even then, it can only be enabled once every three days.
-Order Reds to kill a guard.
-Slay Blus for no reason (get familiar with what you can slay for).
-Run off and, well, don't do warden things.
-Give one or more Reds an advantage over others, this is called favoritism.
-Warden hog. Let other Blus go warden.**
-Slay guards for not having a microphone. Doing this would be considered a mic check, which is illegal unless you happen to be a staff member.
-Give impossible orders for the Reds to do and/or killing them for not being able to do them.
-LIE. This is a big one. The warden is not allowed to lie at any time.
Step 2: Properly run minigames and days.
WL has quite a few rules when it comes to how minigames and days must be run. There are quite a few banned minigames and days. The main offenders in this category, which are listed in the banned days section of the rules, include meat grinder (enabling FF and having Reds fight in a small area), shoot/don't shoot, armory tours, impossible days, etc.. Now, when it comes to minigames, there are a few things you should know.
-Unless you want all of your Reds running straight to the finish of obby, minefield, and other similar games, you have to say that cheating is not allowed for that minigame and, this is the big one, define what is considered cheating for that particular minigame.
-If a Red manages to leave an "active minigame", or any minigame that is enabled (sweeper, 9-square, box game, etc.) they are KOS, as this is considered different than cheating in passive minigames like obby.
-If you want to do a custom minigame or day, make sure you properly define all of the rules and parameters.
Step 3: Know when you can kill people.
This is one of the fun parts. Trust me, there are plenty of times where you are allowed to kill Reds for either rebelling or not following your orders. Here's a few examples of when you can kill Reds or designate them as KOS.
-Disobeying orders. Did that scout run off to armory when you said to crouch walk to bowling? Have one of your guards take care of him. This covers a wide range of other actions, such as not being AFK when ordered to, and delaying/detouring when you said that Reds were not allowed to do so.
-Cheating in a minigame (when you stated no cheating, of course)
-If they forcebait and hit a Blu. Remember the example in Step 1, though.
-If they heal a rebeller as a medic.
-As well as many other specific instances, but you get the point.
Step 4: Know when you can't kill people.
Just because a red is standing on top of armory or breaking into it doesn't mean they are rebelling. Furthermore, killing Reds during hide & seek before Blus are released (with the exception being if a Red is in armory) is also illegal. Again, actually look at the rules for all of the cases and rulings.
Step 5: Keep yourself and your guards alive.
Rounds of jailbreak tend to go pretty wrong when the warden dies. So, given that you are the person that probably shouldn't die, you should try to minimize the chances of that happening, if at all possible. First off, don't give orders that jeopardize you or your Blus, mainly opening cells when Blus are standing in front of them and being in a minigame alone when Reds are about to arrive at that minigame. Speaking of being alone, try not to be alone in a room or minigame with a group of (usually) bloodthirsty Reds. Order some of your Blus to come and assist you. Here are some other things you can do to keep yourself.
-Be Aware! Keep a lookout for Reds trying to lethal taunt you from afar (keep an eye on robot heavies with the Holiday Punch). Try to keep track of where freedays are, if all of the reds are actually with the group, and keep your distance from large groups of Reds.
Step 6: Know the common misconceptions!
This is one of the most important sections. All of the actions or cases referenced here are the rules I see being broken the most by inexperienced wardens.
-As a warden, you can bait, and you can be legally hit by reds for doing so.
-If you or one of your Blus enters a Red's cell during lava day or other orders that restrict movement in cells, they are completely allowed to move to hit you, and have to return once you exit.
-Reds do not have to finish minigames like deathrun to get last request. Once they are the last non-rebelling red, they get last request, and after this, they don't have to follow any orders from you.
-The whole "kill warden last" and "if warden dies DR is invalid" does not apply on WL. Death request can only be stopped if it exceeds 90 seconds (usually from when last request is chosen or the first death request order is given).
-Doorways count as inside of whatever the doorway belongs to.
-Death request must be given after last request is chosen, it is not optional. Furthermore, no detours or delays automatically applies to death request orders.
-There are many more of these misconceptions, so it is best to read the rules yourself.
Step 7: Give good orders and be a good warden!
Remember to specify nearest line to cells, say no detours or delays, do TF2 or math questions for Jeopardy, as well as everything else you have to do. Being warden is hard, and being a good one is even more so. Listen to your Reds! They might know more than you do, so listen to them, as they are the ones who are the most likely to find flaws and loopholes in your orders. Muting everyone at the beginning of the round for the whole round won't do any good. Reds are more likely to rebel against a warden who's being a jerk and doesn't know the rules than rebel against a friendly warden who knows what they are doing. Watch how other wardens operate before going one yourself. Go on Blu for a few rounds, listen to the orders they give, and learn from them. Once you've been on Blu for a few rounds, go ahead and type "!w" and see what happens.***
Thank you very much for reading, this took quite a while to write.
Trust me, you're going to be a great warden!
-_3nvoy
Footnotes:
*-It is also stated in the forcebait section of the rules that hitting a non-baiting Blu with a projectile is not considered forcebait.
**-Even though this may be the rule on other servers, being a warden more than 3 days in a row is not warden hogging only if no other Blus are willing to go warden.
***-Of course, this is implying you don't get autobalanced by jose.gonzales2004. (Staff please fix jailbreak autobalance system)
Honestly, this is the best thing you can do for yourself and everyone else on the server. Being familiar with WL's jailbreak rules makes being a warden so much easier, as it will greatly decrease the chances of you freekilling Reds due to a lack of knowledge of the rules. Kill that scout for hitting your sniper with a Sandman ball when he was nowhere near him? That was freekill. You might think, "But wait, that was forcebait! The sniper wasn't in his melee range!" And you would be correct, unless the rules didn't state explicitly otherwise.
Misconceptions like this end in angry reds and possibly a guardban, if enough errors like these occur. So do everyone a favor and, if you plan on being a warden (or even just on BLU), take a glance at the rules and familiarize yourself with WL's policies.
Step 1.5: Know what you can't do.
Basically, there are quite a few things you can't do as warden. Here's a quick rundown.
-Enable friendly fire except for cell wars, arena, or hunger games. Even then, it can only be enabled once every three days.
-Order Reds to kill a guard.
-Slay Blus for no reason (get familiar with what you can slay for).
-Run off and, well, don't do warden things.
-Give one or more Reds an advantage over others, this is called favoritism.
-Warden hog. Let other Blus go warden.**
-Slay guards for not having a microphone. Doing this would be considered a mic check, which is illegal unless you happen to be a staff member.
-Give impossible orders for the Reds to do and/or killing them for not being able to do them.
-LIE. This is a big one. The warden is not allowed to lie at any time.
Step 2: Properly run minigames and days.
WL has quite a few rules when it comes to how minigames and days must be run. There are quite a few banned minigames and days. The main offenders in this category, which are listed in the banned days section of the rules, include meat grinder (enabling FF and having Reds fight in a small area), shoot/don't shoot, armory tours, impossible days, etc.. Now, when it comes to minigames, there are a few things you should know.
-Unless you want all of your Reds running straight to the finish of obby, minefield, and other similar games, you have to say that cheating is not allowed for that minigame and, this is the big one, define what is considered cheating for that particular minigame.
-If a Red manages to leave an "active minigame", or any minigame that is enabled (sweeper, 9-square, box game, etc.) they are KOS, as this is considered different than cheating in passive minigames like obby.
-If you want to do a custom minigame or day, make sure you properly define all of the rules and parameters.
Step 3: Know when you can kill people.
This is one of the fun parts. Trust me, there are plenty of times where you are allowed to kill Reds for either rebelling or not following your orders. Here's a few examples of when you can kill Reds or designate them as KOS.
-Disobeying orders. Did that scout run off to armory when you said to crouch walk to bowling? Have one of your guards take care of him. This covers a wide range of other actions, such as not being AFK when ordered to, and delaying/detouring when you said that Reds were not allowed to do so.
-Cheating in a minigame (when you stated no cheating, of course)
-If they forcebait and hit a Blu. Remember the example in Step 1, though.
-If they heal a rebeller as a medic.
-As well as many other specific instances, but you get the point.
Step 4: Know when you can't kill people.
Just because a red is standing on top of armory or breaking into it doesn't mean they are rebelling. Furthermore, killing Reds during hide & seek before Blus are released (with the exception being if a Red is in armory) is also illegal. Again, actually look at the rules for all of the cases and rulings.
Step 5: Keep yourself and your guards alive.
Rounds of jailbreak tend to go pretty wrong when the warden dies. So, given that you are the person that probably shouldn't die, you should try to minimize the chances of that happening, if at all possible. First off, don't give orders that jeopardize you or your Blus, mainly opening cells when Blus are standing in front of them and being in a minigame alone when Reds are about to arrive at that minigame. Speaking of being alone, try not to be alone in a room or minigame with a group of (usually) bloodthirsty Reds. Order some of your Blus to come and assist you. Here are some other things you can do to keep yourself.
-Be Aware! Keep a lookout for Reds trying to lethal taunt you from afar (keep an eye on robot heavies with the Holiday Punch). Try to keep track of where freedays are, if all of the reds are actually with the group, and keep your distance from large groups of Reds.
Step 6: Know the common misconceptions!
This is one of the most important sections. All of the actions or cases referenced here are the rules I see being broken the most by inexperienced wardens.
-As a warden, you can bait, and you can be legally hit by reds for doing so.
-If you or one of your Blus enters a Red's cell during lava day or other orders that restrict movement in cells, they are completely allowed to move to hit you, and have to return once you exit.
-Reds do not have to finish minigames like deathrun to get last request. Once they are the last non-rebelling red, they get last request, and after this, they don't have to follow any orders from you.
-The whole "kill warden last" and "if warden dies DR is invalid" does not apply on WL. Death request can only be stopped if it exceeds 90 seconds (usually from when last request is chosen or the first death request order is given).
-Doorways count as inside of whatever the doorway belongs to.
-Death request must be given after last request is chosen, it is not optional. Furthermore, no detours or delays automatically applies to death request orders.
-There are many more of these misconceptions, so it is best to read the rules yourself.
Step 7: Give good orders and be a good warden!
Remember to specify nearest line to cells, say no detours or delays, do TF2 or math questions for Jeopardy, as well as everything else you have to do. Being warden is hard, and being a good one is even more so. Listen to your Reds! They might know more than you do, so listen to them, as they are the ones who are the most likely to find flaws and loopholes in your orders. Muting everyone at the beginning of the round for the whole round won't do any good. Reds are more likely to rebel against a warden who's being a jerk and doesn't know the rules than rebel against a friendly warden who knows what they are doing. Watch how other wardens operate before going one yourself. Go on Blu for a few rounds, listen to the orders they give, and learn from them. Once you've been on Blu for a few rounds, go ahead and type "!w" and see what happens.***
Thank you very much for reading, this took quite a while to write.
Trust me, you're going to be a great warden!
-_3nvoy
Footnotes:
*-It is also stated in the forcebait section of the rules that hitting a non-baiting Blu with a projectile is not considered forcebait.
**-Even though this may be the rule on other servers, being a warden more than 3 days in a row is not warden hogging only if no other Blus are willing to go warden.
***-Of course, this is implying you don't get autobalanced by jose.gonzales2004. (Staff please fix jailbreak autobalance system)
