PATCHING CrossFire

I apologize in advance for asking a "newb" question...

I actually played CrossFire for the first time in China. When I came back to the states, I wanted to download, install, and play.

How does the patching system work?

Does the game always auto-patch completely on its own?

I saw that there are a number of download-able patches from previous months...

Do you have to download and install each of them separately and manually?

Thanks!

I know your experience(d) answer(s) will benefit me and a number of gamers new to CrossFire.