No rules, per se, but you notice a few common sense protocols springing up between people who frequently wing together in combat:
1. Only one person is calling the targets. Vocally, over coms. More than one person and shit gets confused really quickly and people start dying. Not the right people. Well, except Lori...
2. When someone has called a target that is in a wing, they state "In a wing of..." and then tend to give everyone else a moment to get into position. If the 'vette is in a great position but the vulture is right under the noses of 2 cutters, it's going to do no-one any good to engage right away. In the few seconds it takes for people to move to better positions, someone can be painting and scanning the targets.
3. Someone tends to run healing beams. This tends to be either the tankiest person or the most combat-confident in our group (most often Tor). Because we're getting our targets from a single wingman (see 1) we're also automatically watching each others' shields and will call out when someone is down to their last ring of shielding.
4. When someone is in serious trouble, the chances are they might not realise until something hits them hard enough to take 50% of their hull. This is because the graphic for the shielding is in a weird place (at the bottom right) when your eyes are in the middle and flicking to the top of the screen (to acquire wingman's targets). Thus, when someone doesn't respond to a low-shielding call (see 3, and that could the that COMDR or whoever is running beams for whatever reason), we'll yell at them to get out asap.
What's interesting is that even in the super-ribauld A-Team, where we'll mock each other, often, for having assholes and breathing air, needing to turn and run isn't something I've
ever seen anyone teased for.
5. We KWS scan every target because it raises the value for all of us. Right at the start of whatever, we'll all just generally mention whether we have a scanner or whatever, and then through the course of combat someone will call out "scanning" once the next target has been called. Unless it's something little and crappy, the scanning takes place while everyone else is moving into position. It's not that we specifically nominate someone to be the KWS person, it's just that it tends to pan out that way.
6. We tend to agree as a wing on when it's time to go hand in / repair / restock. And that could be when someone's had to flee (we'll finish the fight and then leave after them - we don't carry on without them; we're a team, and that would be shitty), when someone needs to restock (and generally they'll say a couple of fights in advance) or if someone's hull % slipped under 50% (and then, again, we all go together).
7. We all colour our weapons and engine wakes differently to each other. Partly because we're simple-minded twats who are amused by that sort of bullshit, but also because, in a scuffle, we easily know where everyone is. And yes, there
are members who will still fly into you (whether by accident or on purpose), but generally we tend to leave the stripping of shields and hull health to the enemy.
To be clear, these aren't "protocols" that we've all collectively discussed and agreed upon. It's just how combat winging always goes. It keeps everyone happy, keeps everyone safe-ish, lets no-one feel left out, and makes sure everyone gets paid.
We act like pricks on the forum (and in Discord), but the one thing you can be absolutely certain of us A-Team asshats for is that we won't abandon you in a fight... unless you pull stupid shit. @Fadingtrails, if you'd like to wing-up sometime, you'd be welcome
Edit: I thought of another one...
8. We've all got "report crimes against me" turned
off. Again, partly because we'd asshats who strip each others' shields just to say Hi, but also because if someone clips you with their multicannon or bumps into you in combat, they're your wingman and didn't do it to be a prick.
9. Lori also just pointed out that, as we do tend to shove and elbow into each other fairly often, we generally move our shenanigans out of Mobius and into our own A-Team group, where we still don't like pvp, but ava* is kinda funny.
*asshat vs asshat