A field that goes wrong usually goes wrong at home: a link that crosses something, a portal with one key too few, an anchor out of range. Here's the workflow we use to catch those before anyone starts walking. If the patterns themselves are new to you, read the fielding techniques first.
1. Pick your portals
Start on the portal map. Pan to your area and open the list view for a searchable table of nearby portals. You can also export that list as a CSV or as a file for Maxfield, a community tool that works out link orders automatically. Look for anchors that are easy to reach but awkward for the other faction, and check that they're on the side of town you can actually get to.
2. Draw it in IITC
IITC is a community add-on for the Intel map. With its Draw Tools plugin, draw each link as a line from the portal you'll stand at to the portal you'll link to. Direction matters here: the second point of each line is the portal whose key you need. Draw them in the order you'll make them. For text or pictures, the field art planner plugin will snap a shape to nearby portals for you.
3. Check it
Copy the draw-tools JSON and paste it into a new plan. The plan page reports:
- Crossed links, which you need to fix or clear before the plan can work.
- Portals, links and fields, counting each layered field.
- The longest link, which tells you the range you need.
- An MU estimate. Real MU depends on the population under each field, so treat it as a rough guide.
- Keys needed per portal, and the links in order.
Browse the public plans on that page for examples of how other agents lay out their fields.
4. Farm the keys
Take the key counts from the plan and work out where you'll get them. The key farming calculator tells you how many hacks a portal will give up and how fast. Hacking only gives another key if you aren't already holding one for that portal, so drop keys or load them into a capsule between hacks. If you sync your inventory through the IITC plugin, you can compare what you need with what you already hold.
5. Check the range
Look at the longest link from each portal you'll throw from, then put its resonators into the link distance calculator. If you come up short, one more high-level resonator can do more than you'd expect, because range grows with the fourth power of the average level. Otherwise, add a link amp.
6. Share it and go
Agents with an account can share a plan with a team, so everyone sees the same link order on their phone. For a multi-agent operation, split the plan by location and agree who waits for whom, because the throw-back links only work once the links before them are in place. Check Intel right before you start, and keep the plan open as you walk.