Advanced tactics

[Alvendor]

As we already have a thread with tips for beginners I'd like one for advanced strategies and tactics as well. It would be fun if we get a lot of participation and discussion so you don't need to be super titan to post. Just make sure it is aimed at players who already know all the maps, unit movements, attack strengths etc.

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Below is a summary of the points brought up so far. Lookup the post(s) in the thread for more in depth discussion of the points.

* During the replay there is an icon showing when the opponent is moving something you can't see due to fog of war. You can use this to make a qualified guess of what he did based on on how long the icon is showing.

* Complement you main army of soldiers with with runners and snipers to be able to handle the opponent's 3hp and 1hp units effectively.

* Keep track of how many wits the opponent saved from previous turns. Can be tough but one hint is to look for "obvious" moves he doesn't do which might indicate he is out of wits. Sharkfood Island is probably the easiest map to start counting wits on.

* You can create a pass n' play copy of your game to help you keep track of the opponent's wits or to try out strategies.

* When you have planned out your moves for a turn: the first units to move are either the ones that increase your vision so you have a chance to change your plan if you discover something new, or moves that decrease your opponent's vision to keep him in the dark of what you do.

* Consider the opponents response to what you do and your response to his response and so on as far down the rabbit hole you can go.

* Sometimes you can get away with moves that would easily be countered if the opponent had more vision, but the fact that he can't get vision makes you safe.

[connor3491]

(08-18-2012 08:09 PM)Alvendor Wrote:  As we already have a thread with tips for beginners I'd like one for advanced strategies and tactics as well. It would be fun if we get a lot of participation and discussion so you don't need to be super titan to post. Just make sure it is aimed at players who already know all the maps, unit movements, attack strengths etc.

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I'll start off:

* During the replay there is an icon showing when the opponent is moving something you can't see due to fog of war. You can use this to make a qualified guess of what he did based on on how long the icon is showing.

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* Boosted soldiers is maybe the most used unit in the game. But you are missing out if you are only using them. You can't be sure exactly how the fight will play out but it is pretty safe to assume some opponents units will end up with 3hp or 1hp. In this cases it is more cost effective with snipers and runners. So to maximize damage output to wit cost you need snipers and runners to balance your main soldier army.

Hey can you explain the opponent moving/ icon thing a bit more?

[Fluffysox]

Maybe, someone that's not lazy like me, could time the sneak icons.

E.g, 3 seconds icon appears for 1 move?

[Jack•Sparrow]

(08-19-2012 03:02 PM)Fluffysox Wrote:  Maybe, someone that's not lazy like me, could time the sneak icons.

E.g, 3 seconds icon appears for 1 move?

Unfortunately it's not as simple as that... The game also records approximately how much time you wait in between issuing commands, and uses that (or some reduction but related to that) in the replay.

So it is therefore possible for me to trick another player if they're counting the time the icon is shown by either slightly increasing the time between my moves, or very quickly chaining my moves together.

For example, if it's 3 seconds per command, I might be able to chain commands fast enough to have the icon displayed for 4-5 seconds... Or get 3 commands in 6 seconds (which you might assume is only 2 commands)... Etc etc etc.

[connor3491]

So counting sounds pointless then?

[wonderpug]

Even without counting, watching the sneak icon can be crucial in guessing what your opponent could have done with his turn.

[swimj]

(08-20-2012 10:20 AM)connor3491 Wrote:  So counting sounds pointless then?

Not at all. It's not about counting time, but wits. Count how many wits you KNOW that your opponent has spent, then you can find the leftover. Suppose you count 6 wits spent by your opponent and you see the fog of war icon flash. If you can guess they have 1 wit left, they may have spawned a runner. Or if the spawns have already been used, they moved a unit under the fog, etc etc. Combine this what you've seen in previous turns and quite often it is possible to see through the fog.

This is harder if your opponent saves wits. However, also look for signs when your opponent has used up their wit supply. Good examples of this are not finishing an attack that they could finish, using up a lot of wits at once, leaving a unit needlessly vulnerable. Basically if there's anything that they could have done with more wits but did not actually do, that probably means they didn't have the wits to complete it (does that make sense?). So then you can be sure of your wit count.

[pookywb]

Of course if they count their turns out, the signs that they used all of their wits might not be so clear.

[swimj]

(08-20-2012 02:22 PM)pookywb Wrote:  Of course if they count their turns out, the signs that they used all of their wits might not be so clear.

No, I don't mean like leaving a soldier at 1 hp. That rarely happens at high level play. There are less obvious giveaways, like if they leave your runner alive which is threatening their medic, because they had to devote wits to handling other units of yours.

Another sign is if you see they used 7 (or 6 for small maps) wits per turn for a few turns in a row. I have had games where I knew my opponents every move due to good scouting and wit counting. Maybe I will post one when I get the chance.

[pookywb]

Mmm. Ok.