In order to maintain an environment that is amicable and enjoyable, there are a few gameplay rules and guidelines at the New Team of Weapons and Tactics that all members are expected to adhere to.
The New Team of Weapons and Tactics prides itself in encouraging an overall free-play style for all of its members. And in doing so, we generally permit players to play their games the way that they wish to do so—within reason, of course.
The New Team of Weapons and Tactics maintains its original motto of “no stupid rules”, where we do not enforce rules that our community considers to be excessive or otherwise unnecessary, so overall our rules are considered to be fairly minimal and generally “common sense” to many. As a professional gaming organization however, we pride ourselves in not making our members guess what the rules are—which is exactly what this document is for: to tell you what the rules are.
Note: These are the general gameplay rules that apply globally and generally to all supported games. Specific games may have additional rules that are cumulative with these. For game-specific rules, be sure to check out the rules page for any supported game by visiting the game's rule page. You can access the rules page by accessing the game page on our website and clicking on the appropriate link, or adding /rules to the end of the game page URL.
Finally, please note that these rules reflect the current standing of the global rules as of the printed date that is stamped at the top-left of this page. The New Team of Weapons and Tactics is a continually evolving community and as our community evolves, rules may change. For best results, be sure that you check this page regularly for the latest policies that are in effect. You may also download a printable copy of this document using the PDF link located adjacent the revision date.
Global, Game and Department Rules
The rules described within this document are the general gameplay rules that apply globally and generally to all supported games and departments. Specific games and/or departments may have additional rules that are cumulative with these.
For game-specific rules, be sure to check out the rules page for any supported game by visiting the game's rule page. You can access the rules page by accessing the game page on our website and clicking on the appropriate rules link (or by adding /rules to the end of the game page URL).
Game rules can be found directly on this page. Simply search for the name of the game (for example, Battlefield 3) to find the rules for the game.
If there is no rules link or you receive an HTML Error 404 page when attempting to access the rules page for a specific game or department, then you may assume that there are no additional rules for that particular game or department.
Effective April 5, 2020 at 12:00am EST, all games and departments will have a rules page. If a game or department does not have any additional rules, the rules page will reflect this. Therefore, if you receive any error page when attempting to access the rules page for any game or department after April 5, 2020, please contact us.
Warning and Termination Policies
With the exception of a few rules that prohibit egregious behavior, the New Team of Weapons and Tactics employs a three-strike policy for all members of the organization. Rules that do not follow this policy fall under the zero-tolerance policy.
Under the three-strike policy system, any member who commits a non-egregious act, violating a rule or policy stated in either this document, our Code of Conduct (COC), Terms of Service (TOS), or Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), is subject to one (1) strike. Each strike against a member is permanent. In the event that a member accumulates three (3) strikes—that is—on the third (3) strike, the member may have their New Team of Weapons and Tactics membership forcefully terminated. The three-strike policy applies to the organization as whole, as well as individual game departments, where such departments may have their own individual rules and policies. Strikes earned from violating rules or policies within a department are independent of strikes earned from violating organization rules or policies. In the case with game departments, if a member earns three strikes in violating department rules, they are subject to termination from the game department, rather than the entire organization.
Serious offenses and other egregious acts fall under our zero-tolerance policy, wherein any member committing such an offense or violating a rule that follows this policy is subject to immediate termination. As with the three-strike policy system, this policy system also applies to both the organization as a whole, as well as individual game department rules, where applicable.
Updates and Changes to Our Rules and Policies
As part of the long standing New Team of Weapons and Tactics tradition, none of our rules are permanent or "set-in-stone". We encourage and promote members and visitors to speak-up about rules and policies that they feel may be too strict, unfair, or simply be updated no matter the reason. There are a small set of our rules and policies are strictly imposed; these include things like our policies against cheating or illegal use of our services.
For our game and departments, and even most organization rules, if at least five (5) different people (either official NTWT members or visitors) submit requests to have a rule or policy changed within a 12-month period, the New Team of Weapons and Tactics will acknowledge their submissions, create a discussion thread to discuss potential alteration options (including removal of the rule entirely), and after 1 week, a poll will be created for everyone in the community to vote on, where anyone can vote on the option they prefer to have taken on the rule.
Polls will run for 30 days. The 30-day poll is designed to allow ample time for most people to have a chance to see and read about the vote and decide for themselves, without forcing those who wish to have the rule change wait too long. At the end of the 30-day poll, the poll will be closed, and the option with the highest vote count will determine the new state of the rule, or if it will be abolished altogether. If there is a tie between two or more options, the fate of the new rule will be chosen at random among the tied options.
Once a rule or policy is changed, it cannot be changed for 90 days. This helps to reduce spam and unfair confusion. It wouldn't exactly be fair or logical if policies were changed every week, now would it? 🙂
Cheats
The words cheats, cheating, exploits, and exploiting are terms that some players may have some confusion over their exact meaning. The differences between cheating and exploiting can be extremely controversial, so the definitions that we explain and illustrate here may not be something that all players will agree with.
Nevertheless, the New Team of Weapons and Tactics has strict policies with regard to the use of cheats and exploits, so it is imperative to understand what they are and their differences.
What’s a Cheat?
Cheating—the paradigm wherein a player uses one or more methods to create an unfair advantage beyond normal gameplay, effectively putting other players in the same game at a disadvantage—is an act that forfeits the expected equality and fairness of gameplay.
Cheating can exist in many forms, including cheat codes, hacks, third-party game trainers, software debuggers, unauthorized process manipulation, code injection, physical hardware device, or a physical device (such as a crosshair overlay). The tool used to commit the act of cheating is called a cheat.
What’s an Exploit?
An exploit is typically any method that is used to take advantage of an in-game software bug or glitch that might or might not be done to gain an unfair advantage. For example, these can range from acquiring more in-game items (such as points, money, or ammunition) that would normally not be possible under the intended gameplay circumstances.
It is important to remember that an exploit may be something that does not offer any unfair advantages to players—for example, an out-of-boundaries location that offers no advantage, such as invincibility, invisibility, or advantageous vantage point. With an exploit, it is often something that all players have equal access to perform. Nonetheless, exploits may still offer unfair advantages to those who do not know, or are unable to perform the exploit due to negligence.
Policies Regarding Cheats and Exploits
It is important to note that policies at the New Team of Weapons and Tactics relating to cheats and exploits are with regard to the use of cheats or exploits in official online game settings. We have no policy on the use of cheats or exploits in single-player or offline games that do not involve other players in any official capacity.
For reference, an official online game setting is defined as any setting wherein you are connected to other players of the same game in an official capacity—including official servers, cloud servers, cloud services, or otherwise, with a stock (unmodified) game installation.
On certain third-party game modifications or spin-offs, the use of modifications or cheats is acceptable only if the server or services in use permit it. For example, if players were to join a public FiveM server that permits the use of modifications or cheats, this would be acceptable.
In addition, wherever a game session is not officially started, where game statistics are being actively recorded and reported to official statistics servers, acts such as exploits or cheats are permitted. As soon as the game begins in any official capacity however, all acts of exploiting and/or cheating must immediately cease.
Some examples on where the act of cheating and exploiting are not permitted:
- Online session in Grand Theft Auto Online
- Game of Battlefield 3 or Battlefield 4 joined from Origin, Battlelog, or the official PlayStation dashboard
Some examples on where the act of cheating and exploiting are acceptable:
- “modded” freemode lobby in Grand Theft Auto IV
- public FiveM (Grand Theft Auto V) server that permits the use of modifications or cheats
- a Venice Unleashed (Battlefield 3) server that permits the use of modifications or cheats
Cheat Policy
The act of cheating or the use of any cheat in any official online game setting is strictly prohibited. The tolerance on the use of cheats falls under our zero-tolerance policy.
Exploit Policy
In general, the act of exploiting games is discouraged at the New Team of Weapons and Tactics. We wish to ensure a fair gaming environment for all members and visitors and thus do not condone the act of exploiting games.
Please note that even though exploits may or may not be harmful depending on the situation, if a player exploits a game intentionally to gain an unfair advantage, it can be considered to be an act of cheating, and would therefore fall under our cheat policy.
I Would Like to Join but I Have Cheated Before. Am I Disqualified?
To ensure a fair gaming environment for all members and visitors here at the New Team of Weapons and Tactics, cheating of any kind is strictly prohibited and any behavior toward condoning the use of cheats will not be tolerated.
While we prefer that all prospective applicants be clean players who have never cheated, we understand that many people have made decisions in their lives that have not been wise, and that they sincerely regret.
Any prospective applicants who have cheated before and wish to join the New Team of Weapons and Tactics may do so, based on the condition that they have been cheat-free (that is—they have not cheated in any game for a continuous period) for at least one (1) year or three-hundred and sixty-five (365) days. This includes cheating of any kind, including those not on-record and those that are on-record, such as any bans for cheat violations that are part of public record.
The New Team of Weapons and Tactics perform standard background checks as part of its screening process for all new applicants. During the application process, applicants are explicitly must disclose whether or not they have cheated before. Note that honesty is important—if an applicant claims they have never cheated before and we find (during our screening process) that the same applicant has one or more records for cheating, their application will be immediately forfeit.
Any member who joins the New Team of Weapons and Tactics—even if previously a cheater that hasn’t cheated in at least one year—is subject to the same rules as all other members.
What if Another Member Is Cheating?
If you suspect a player or another member of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics to be cheating, you can report the member to any administrator or staff member of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics. Cheating is a serious violation here that will not be tolerated. As with all other “member relations”-related tasks, the investigation process is primarily carried out by the Department of Human Resources. The general process is as follows:
- Report the Cheater – Report the member you suspect of cheating to a New Team of Weapons and Tactics administrator or staff member.
- Provide Evidence – If you have any evidence to support your claims, be sure to include these in your report. Cheating is taken very seriously, but like most violations, anyone can be accused. This is where evidence comes into play—and can include anything from screenshots, photos, video footage, audio recordings, or witnesses. Remember that allegations of cheating are a serious violation that if true, will result in a ban from any of our official servers and if applicable, termination of the offending member’s membership.
- We’ll Investigate – The Department of Human Resources will perform an in-depth investigation of the report. This can include gathering of evidence if no evidence exists or examining provided evidence to ensure authenticity and ultimately determine if there is sufficient evidence to support the original allegations.
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End of Investigation – At the end of the investigation, there are generally two possibilities that will end up happening:
- Guilty or Conclusive – If it is found that the player or member was guilty of the allegations of cheating, the player will be banned immediately from all official New Team of Weapons and Tactics operated game servers. If the player is a member of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics, their membership will be terminated.
- Not Guilty or Inconclusive – If it is unclear given the evidence (or lack thereof) that the alleged player or member was cheating, the report will remain on-file, without any further actions taken against the player or member.
Code of Conduct
All members of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics are expected to display a moderate level of courtesy, professionalism, and respect whenever playing while representing the New Team of Weapons and Tactics.
Here at the New Team of Weapons and Tactics, all players (including members and non-members) are to be treated equally and with respect, regardless of race, sex, size, nationality, origin, or otherwise. While all members are entitled to their own personal opinions on any of these matters, it is understood that their opinions are to be kept to themselves.
Clan Tags, Crew Tags, et al.
Clan tags, crew tags, or simply tags as they are often called, are usually a series of four (4) consecutive letters that serve as an acronym to a gaming clan or organization. Some games, such as most titles in the Battlefield series and Grand Theft Auto series support the use of tags. Where possible, the tags for the New Team of Weapons and Tactics are NTWT.
Members are encouraged, but not required to wear the official New Team of Weapons and Tactics tags while they play and represent the team. Wearing the official organization tags help to keep members easy to identify and can sometimes help raise awareness and promote the organization as a whole.
Platoons, Crews, Posses, Groups, Teams, etc.
Some games support players being part of a custom team, group, platoon, crew, or posse. In some of these games, being part of such teams can allow for a variety of other in-game features, such as support for custom emblems or logos that appear in certain supported in-game areas.
Official members of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics can join any of our official platoons or crews, if they wish to use such features. Joining our platoons or crews is encouraged, but not required. For a list of our official platoons and crews, visit the Platoon and Crew pages, respectively.