Tactics

[ps11]

I have heard a lot of trash talking about bad commanders and their crappy tactics. If anyone has any ingenious ideas for capturing bases, share them here. Maybe this will make the game more fun and not just blitzkreig all the time.

[FliggenMan]

indeed, i dont mean to flame, but most of the game outside outfits is , or what seems like ,inevitable chaos.

[1024]

Originally posted by FliggenMan
indeed, i dont mean to flame, but most of the game outside outfits is , or what seems like ,inevitable chaos.

Yup.

[Navaron]

So join an outfit. I'm sure the leader has many a strategy.

Here's a tip though, when defending a base that's being over run, ALWAYS control the stairways. IF you can get to the roof, you'll pwn them all day. Too many schmucks just run out the front door of the base.

[HawkEye]

yea thats a good strategy. when ever im assaulting a base i try to get up stairs onto the walkways. and own peeps from there or try to find an AMS that the emy have inside.

[MilitantB0B]

One tactic I have always wanted to do, but know it would NEVER happen is attacking a base till it gets to that point where you are having a hard time because they have defensive placements on there side. After they are thoughly dug in, disapear. Pull out, just pull out of visual range of the enmy, leave a couple of stealthers there to monitor enemy movement, wait till they distance themselves from the base somne, looking for your forces, then charge again and catch them outside the protection of their base. now if only I could get about 80 people to follow my plan to the T. hmmmmm. :D

[Civilian]

It's hard to come up with a conventional strategy when facing an unconventional enemy. It's a fucking game, there are no strategies that will guarantee a base victory. It's all about numbers, if you have a couple of AMS's and are organized enough, base caps are easy and defense is even easier. When Platoons are implemented you will be able to sweep the enemy off of continents.

Right now, as was pointed out in this thread and earlier by Nav, TR is a chaotic mess. No one wants to be a squad leader, they all want BEP. Every night, I see people spamming LFS, LFS, LFS, LFS. Well, here's a thought, How about creating your own squad?

[1024]

A tactic i alwasy wanted to try was one i made up. Its very simple but effective...

Often, almost too often, you and your squadmates are caught in a firefight with enemies where it's a standoff, and both of you have cover, leaving the stalemate stalemated :D . So i thought, "hey while they're sittin there try to shoot the people, why not ocme up behind them?" but not as an attack, as a distraction. You can use somethign as simple at a harasser, just omething to get the majority of their attention. Your bring in the vech from the opposite side they're facing. They all look to defend themselves and shoot it. As this is happenin, ALL of your forces who are behind the cover, come out and rush the enemy, while they're distracted.

I know, its very simple and easy to pul off, and you might say "DUH!" but if its so easy and so simple, why DOES IT NEVER HAPPEN????


:cool2:

[MilitantB0B]

I have done something similar to this. The entire fight was going on in the south side of the base, so I went and got an AMS and drove it around the north end of the base. i never even tried to deploy it, just circled and ran people over. It drew alot of people from the southern side and after I respawned, they had gone from a standoff to being inside the base.

[Intruder]

It's hard to come up with a conventional strategy when facing an unconventional enemy.

Ok I agree so far...


It's a fucking game, there are no strategies that will guarantee a base victory.


Still with you

It's all about numbers, if you have a couple of AMS's and are organized enough, base caps are easy and defense is even easier.



Ok now you lost me, yes it IS all about numbers, but why? becuase the general populase only know about numbers... How many FPS's were desinged to use tactics, actually how many were designed to use tactics at such a large battle size level...
The current community of PS has mostly come from other FPS's, they arnt stupid, they just dont know any better...yet. They will adapt and learn, it will take time.


Right now, as was pointed out in this thread and earlier by Nav, TR is a chaotic mess. No one wants to be a squad leader, they all want BEP. Every night, I see people spamming LFS, LFS, LFS, LFS. Well, here's a thought, How about creating your own squad?


True most TR are like so, I personaly always SL if I can, again though it will take time, Rome wasn't built in a day, and a such FPS players wont all become great tactitians in a day.


Now back to the TOPIC :D


I run an ANT Outfit, and usually run the squads with ant's in mind, I good tactic is distraction, send a few members of my squad in a harraser to take towers behind enemy lines, pretty soon the enemy will notice and send a force to deal with it, in the meantime the rest of the squad keeps it quiet until the enemy dispatches, we then proceed to attack (or drop an ANT) and hold, the enemy then has to split 2 ways, they have no way of knowing how big our forces are. If I have a spare Infiltrator with a wraith I get him to go solo inflicting more damage to the enemy.

The towers arnt that important, but usually the enemy will get worried seeing enemys (or hearing about) behind them.

[slytiger]

Im sure we can all agree that if there was a large outfit or a group of outfits working to gether and all using voice chat or voice communication devices than they are almost gaurenteed to succed and maybe control a whole continent if not the server. There are so many tactics and strategies that any group can use. I still dont know why for example on one continent there is a battle over one base that is the last base for NC on the continent why doesnt a squad or multiple squads sneek behind the enemy and destroy the generators at the enemys bases in the rear to confuse the enemy and even split them up. And chances are only the smart enemys will go back to recapture them thus leaving the front open for assault.

[Cease]

I know, its very simple and easy to pul off, and you might say "DUH!" but if its so easy and so simple, why DOES IT NEVER HAPPEN????

Actually we do this quite a bit. Best distraction vehicle is the AMS. Tough as nails and when you drive it around behind them they all chase it like 12 year olds after the ice cream man.

[kerosene31]

I've seen a few decent battle plans used, but not too many.

One simple tactic which few people seem to use is a simple flanking maneuver. When a battle starts, most seem to run straight to it. You can be a lot more effective by simply finding a better spot to attack from either from the enemy left or right side.

[Agathon]

Hello,

Most tactics are specific to the situation at hand. There are few tactics that can be listed for people to use in every situation. Most things are common sense, but in combat (and apparently games as well) people seem to ignore common sense. Any decent plan will likely not be openly given out to people either. I will however list some general tactics for combat which apply to this game.

For example, I have seen the diversionary tactic of an AMS used often against the NC. The poster above is correct that people run after it like idiots. If the objective is to take the base, ignore the darn AMS and get to the CC. Just be aware that an extra AMS is out there, and send some aircraft to look for it perhaps. Often the reaction to an AMS is way overboard though, and people need to stick to their mission first.

Another problem I often see with NC is that when taking a base our enemy will use a tower as a distraction to take back a hacked CC room. They will take a tower back from us, and then for some reason the majority of the NC force will up and leave the base for the tower. While they are trying to get a little experience, they lose out on a lot of experience. People need to stay focused on the base hacks first above towers, but I often see people distracted by towers. Leave the tower alone if trying to retake it means you lose the hack. If you want to deploy more forces to take the tower, wait until the hack completes. 5k of experience is worth much more than some individual kills. Besides, if the enemy take the base, you'll never last long in the tower alone once they do.

A less common tactic I have seen used lately is for the TR to send in an empty Galaxy over a base's center. People drop their posts, the CC included it seems, and go hog wild rushing the roof. They don't even have to drop anything out of the Gal, but people will go freaking out trying to find people. While the Gal either flys in or hovers over the center, a large TR force charges into the courtyard from an entrance way on foot instead. People get slaughtered in the mean time. Be aware that a gal can be just as good of a diversion as an AMS in other words.

When taking a tower, do not ant line it. What do I mean by an ant line? When you die, form up with your squad damn it. People who run off on their own drive me crazy. You will die so much faster as an individual in this game than when you are surrounded by your squad. People have a purpose, and they cannot function as individual gods. It takes team work to be really successful. As you go charging up to the action, bring a few friends right next to you. As you approach the base of the tower, don't charge in one after the other. Send in people from both sides of the bottom floor at once, and send in heavy weapons people first. Lighten up the enemy with grenades before you break through the door even if you can get people to stop for a second (yeah, right). What ever you do, don't charge into a barrage of pounders in singles or doubles. You won't do jack.

If a hall, stairwell, or tower is blocked off well by enemy, go around them already, sheesh! Haven't people heard of flanking? I get frustrated with troopers because they all ant line into the front door of places. Well, what about the back door? Is it just because you don't know where it is? The TR use the back door well. Why don't the NC? We seem to charge right in the front more often than not. As I have seen it at least, about 80% of attacking forces ant line right in the main gates of a base. Things would be a heck of a lot easier if folks went in groups of squad size bunched together at least, and then at best they went together like that through the back perhaps.

Mix your direction of attack. Don't attack from the front all of the time. This means the highest casualties for your side, and it allows the enemy to concentrate all, or most, of their defenses to one area. Instead, send an attack wave from both the north and south gate at once. Even if this means flanking around to the other non-tower or non-ams side, do it and see the results. Don't go where the enemy most expects you basically. If a tower has three pounders locked down in between the second and third levels, drop one or two squads on the roof as needed to sandwich them together. A locked down TR max is an easy target if you come up behind him.

If you are a max, don't go charging into battle unsupported by infantry. Max's are like tanks, and they die quickly in the open and when alone. I often see max's charge into battle alone, and I bet they wonder why they die so quickly. Keep yourself around engineers and supporting infantry/vehicle fire, and you will be much more effective, get more kills, and survive a lot longer between spawns. Most importantly as a max, when you are defending a place with an engineer or two repairing you, DO NOT MOVE. I have tried to repair a strafing and dodging max too many times now, and if you are moving I don't even bother now. I just back up and let you die. Just think of it as a TR max being locked down. As an NC max defending, you should not move. This allows the engineers to repair you. If you have to move, move up, stop, move up, stop. Don't act like an infantry guy and weave and dodge constantly. Make a point to stop in places where the people behind you will be protected as well aspossible from splash damage also.

Vehicles are the same. Don't charge into battle alone and expect to live long. Tanks should stick with infantry to be most effective. Think of a tank as a roving artillery piece in regards to other infantry and stationary targets. If you engage enemy vehicles, how much easier will it be to defeat them if you also have infantry with you for support? Both the tank and the soldier on foot benefit greatly by sticking together. Never... NEVER have I see this done before on Emerald. NC has the most powerful tank, but it is never used to support infantry as it should be used. The tactic is as old as the tank itself, and tanks should be in an advanced column abreast with infantry immediately behind AND between them. This is the best way to use them while on the move against mixed enemy forces while in the open.

A sitting vehicle is a pill box. Just think of Iraq when you consider this point. Iraqis follow old Soviet order of battle, and they think a tank in a stationary position is the best option. Well, is it any wonder our tanks have such an easy time destroying them?! They are easy targets for both our tanks AND infantry when not on the move. If you are in a vehicle, always continue to move. If you are sitting still, you are an easy target. Patrol the edge of the SOI if you want, but dont just sit in place. The only time you should stop is to allow for firing a weapon if desired. Move, fire, and move again if you must to improve your accuracy with the weapons onboard. Never sit still though. I wouldn't even recommend it after the hack is on and you are squating the base. A patrolling tank on a road is much more effective than one sitting at the entrance. Besides, while you are patrolling, you are collecting intel for your squad at least AND searching for AMS's at the same time.

More basic infantry tactics could take hours of discussion, but let me say a few things about them as well. First off, always fire when crouched in the game if possible. It greatly increases your accuracy. Also never spray and pray if you can help it. Fire the weapon in short bursts. Act just like a tank as explained above. Move to cover, fire, move to the next cover. While you are moving, others should be stopped and firing. The process is repeated over and over as you assault to your objective. If you are reloading, make a macro to let your squad know it. You buddy expects you to be right behind him, so don't get held up reloading or something without him being aware of it. He'll run up alone without you and die easily if he doesn't know. When he is running he also expects you to be firing. This is why letting him know when you are reloading is important. If you are reloading, your buddy should not be moving!

Infantry need to be mixed with maxes and tanks if possible, and they need to continue to move at all times in most cases while on the advance. Only armor and vehicle repairs, revives, and heals should be reasons to stop entirely. Strafing and jumping around as infantry is perfectly fine as long as you control your firing and avoid shooting other people. Remember to stop for a second to fire though to be most accurate with any weapon you have equipped.

(continued in part II)

[Agathon]

When indoors as well as outdoors, infantry should remain in groups. Don't fan out all over the base as individuals. Sure, you might get more kills that way as an individual, but the entire squad will not be as effective and will be much easier to defeat by a skilled enemy. Work as a team inside and outside basically. As you advance, it is always nice to have someone watching your back! This truth applies in a hallway or in the woods.

Keep an eye on your health and armor. It isn't the job of the medic/engineer to watch such things. It is your job. If you need something, stop and ask for it. I've seen many squadmates fail to even realize they are damaged when getting fixed up would be easy. They just run right by me while I yell, "Stop" a hundred times. When someone is repairing or healing you, don't stop what you are doing and become a robot either please. Turn around and defend the person repairing you. Don't face each other. Let the medic or engineer get behind you. Keep your weapons out and pointed at the enemy. If you are in a stairwell, watch the stairwell. If you are in a CC, watch the doors into it. Don't be worthless just because you are getting repaired or healed. If the situation allows it, make sure you are crouched in the open also. There is no reason to be standing up while stationary when you can crouch.

I think this is enough of a novel that most people aren't going to read it, so I'll stop it right here even though I know I could go on for another hour. hee hee I hope those who do read this gain something valuable from it. This is a game, and I know it. However, just because it is a game doesn't mean we as players should forget common sense or ignore proper tactics. The game is much more enjoyable for me when I see people being smart about how they play.

Thanks for reading it,

[Peacemaker]

Nice! I really enjoyed reading that. I know some tactics but i really cant sum them up as well as you did.

[SmilingBandit]

Good primer course there.

I have been wanting to put a skilled Vanguard platoon (4 tanks is a platoon in army speak) together and go cause mayhem.

[IDgaf]

Nice work, Agathon.

This game will live or die on the quality of people playing. At their best the average FPS fan has a mediocre grasp of tactics and isn't used to thinking strategically - eager but uninformed. At worst that fan is selfish and stupid.

I've been playing in an online, totally organised, FPS tournament since October last year. I went from playing for a team, to leading a squad of 15, to having to manage 70-100 regular players, maximum 30 in my team on a server at any given time.

Even with excellent guys to back me up, teaching newer less experienced players, I can tell you that it takes 2 games a week, 12 hours each, for about 6 weeks before you can sort the wheat from the chaff and bring the uninformed into a state where they can lead others - and get rid of the people who simply don't have the wit or wisdom for team games.

I'm trying to bring people from that tournament into PS. Those guys will make formidable players and even better commanders. I'm pretty good at stuff like that - and those people kick my arse.

There needs to be structure and regular outfit challenges set up outside PS, filtering into PS, to truly rock servers. If that can be sorted we'll get a sharp increase in battle-savvy players, good command and fun.

Until then it's going to be a long, slow, road out of hell.

[Tryndamere]

There are a great many tactical options available in PS, which is one of the reasons I love it.

Doing the "little things" as an infantryman will keep you alive and lethal far more than if you just rush ahead.

The most important of which is: don't advance solo. If you're way out in front of your squad, wait for them. Get behind some cover and stay alive. Moving together in force is the most important thing to do in PS.

[Agathon]

Hello,

There's the one line answer to my novel, hee hee:

Stick together as a squad, and you'll live longer and be far more effective.

;-)

[NapalmEnima]

1) Work together.

2) Attack from different angles.

That's what it really boils down to as far as strategy is concerned.

There are lots of little details to keep track of specific to PS, but if you just keep those two things in mind, you'll be head and shoulders above most squads running around out there.

Other important things that haven't really been touched on:
Intel! Knowing where the enemy is, how many, and where they're headed can make a huge difference. Infilitrators, wraiths, and mosquitos are great for this sort of thing.

Knowing that there's a galaxy on the way in and being able to intercept it with a few reavers can make a big difference. Force those people to bail early or die. Ditto on sunderers, convoys, ANTs and zergling infantry hordes.

A scout with a CR2+ commander should make a "AMS at my position" macro. That way the commander can waypoint it for the whole squad. At CR3, you can even label it as an AMS. Just don't let your battle plans get stale. Remove that label when the AMS is gone.


Communication:
Know who the other commanders in the area are and coordinating with them. That's what command chat is for. Defending commanders can /b, but on the attack all you've got is command chat.

Once you're coordinating with other squads, your squad can specialize. Scouting, defending objective X, whatever. You can do this knowing that other objectives will be taken care of.


PS specific stuff:
Spawn control. Keep yours, take theirs away.

If you've got a tower near the base you're taking, and you set up an AMS in the courtyard, most zerglings (everyone except the maxes) will spawn in the courtyard. That leaves the tower exposed. It's a trade-off to be aware of. Of course if you're organized and you've got dedicated tower D, no worries.

Locating and destroying enemy AMSes is absolutely critical. Tanks (lightenings count) and reavers are good for taking them down. Air (cept maybe the galaxy) are good for finding it.

Actually, pretty much anything fast or stealthy is good for finding AMSes.

Anything with a 75mm or better is good for killing them.

Lightenings and reavers can do both pretty well.


Spawn tubes:
Blasting the enemy spawn tubes is a nail in a base's coffin. Do it if you can. But if you can't...


Generators:
Don't be afraid to blow the enemy gens. This is a contraversial topic, but blasting the gens all but ends the battle AT THAT BASE. It puts you on an even footing with that bases defenders. Nobody is getting new vehicles or gear. If you own the courtyard (and have an AMS deployed), you've won. You can still loose your AMSes and towers, leading to a defeat. It's not like blasting the gens is a magic wand to victory.

And it pisses off the zerg. They don't care about strategy. They just want someone to hack that console so they can get their reaver/MAX/whatever.

If you've already got the base, don't. If not, do. Pretty simple. Bio-labs in particlar are succeptible to generator attacks.

[Cirkusphreak]

�Strategy� and �Tactics� will probably never work in PS. First off, there are too many variables. Random enemy forces trying to take the same base or tower, rogue hackers/snipers, lag or conn problems, trying to plan an attack on a base when 5 minutes later the entire continent is taken over by your or even another empire etc etc. Finding pickup squadmates who actually are somewhat disciplined enough to follow basic orders is rare. Too many people want the BP�s, but want to either do their own thing or call the shots as well. Most of the time, you�ll get about 3 maybe 4 people who MIGHT stick to certain mission protocol, but the other folks are so amped about killing something or doing their own thing regardless of anyone or anything, and not informing the SL about it. I�ve seen this every time I play, so it�s not just thought up. Last night, in a short amount of time, there were more friendly kills due to people�s boredom and wanting to shoot something, so they turned their guns on friendlies. If you�re that blood thirsty, then stay in friggin VR. You can kill as much as you want and they keep coming back. I fully realize that even in a real life situation there could very well be variables, but the one thing that should never be a variable, is the squads dedication to the mission. Not wandering off in the bushes or leaving because there�s not enough action. The main problem is not solely with commanders, but their squadmates. A commander can only propose the mission or goals, but its up to the squad to carry them out. I know this is supposed to be fun and not the military, but this game is built around war and three military factions, so its kind of the nature of the beast. If you�re looking for better tactics, choose your team wiser, that�s the best strategy so far. The rest should fall into place.

:usa:

[1024]

There was one thing in that essay you wrote agathon that really pissed me off :pissedoff:

The fact that you say thigns like,

The TR use the back door well. Why don't the NC?

It's not the whole NC, man. Its just your stupid outfit or whatever. I barely ever see the main door used. You're playing with the wrong people.

:mad:

[Protst Patrotsm]

I think as more and more people realize the insane benefits of going solo, squads will only work for people who just need the interaction of others. Getting XP solo is just sooo great. I've figured out a great way to get massive free xp without even having to kill anything, and I've gotten 60% of BR12 doing so in about 2 hrs of playing.

[12tontuna]

Flank in a tower. I dare you.

What I can't stand is that most aren't happy to pin a force INSIDE a tower, they want to cap it.

In some large scale battles, pinning the enemy inside of or close to a tower is often EVERY bit as effective. It takes less men and only a few vehicles to cover 2 doors. Snipers are also invaluble here.

I don't see enough persons actually AWARE of the weapons the people near them are using. In a tower cap against TR, aren't you frustrated by Pounders? The other 2 empires have them too. They are called Thumpers. Why aren't they used? The NC is too busy trying to rush at something to Jackhammer it to death, and the VS are too worried about the grief involved in using them.

Befriend a spec assault user. Cover him. Watch him scare the shit out of stuff.

Another thing I've noticed is that too few persons watch the skies. There are no Skygaurd lines out on the edges of the SOI on base hacks to defend against the inevitable Reaver incursions. Persons with AV capabilities are too worried about ground troops and maxes to watch the skies. Air superiority is just that. With it, you can advance/defend or do just about anything you want.

Engineers. I know the boomers/spitfires/mines are pretty. But USE THE DAMN MOTION DETECTORS. I absolutely LOVE seeing where all the enemy are in the vicinity. Overlap the coverage, hide them, do whatever you have to. Remember, information is power. If you know where they are, you can kill them.

One last thing. If your squad can't fill the Sunderer/Gal/Deliverer/whatever than PLEASE GOD give people a ride. Try not to think of the piddling xp they could get killing something with the vehicles weapons. You are all on the same team.

/rant off.

[Agathon]

Hello,

The fact that you only disagreed with one thing from that huge novel of a post is a compliment, right? <wink> <smile>

Yes, I know it isn't ALLLL New Conglomerate, but I was just mentioning it in the post because I see a lot of frontal attacks by NC zergs. It isn't a squad or outfit thing, and I think it is just a mentality of people to follow the masses--after all it is called a zerg!

No, my friends don't suck tactics wise, and I'm not in an outfit. The people I know IRL will make a small outfit and take on tasks needed for our small size. I don't want to be a number in a larger outfit. Besides, I've learned many hard lessons from EQ about guilds (outfits), and I don't plan to repeat them in PS. The best outfits will be populated by a majority of friends and family from IRL. This keeps them focused on the same goals, keeps the leadership well respected, and keeps the organization strong. Those are just my opinions though, and I have seen a LOT of good things out of many very large outfits on Emerald. I just don't want to be in them for a variety of reasons.

...

I thought of another topic which hasn't been addressed yet in this thread that the video posted on here reminded me of: Everyone should know the value of a jammer grenade. I rarely see them used by folks when they could be, and most people I know don't even equip them. People who don't know how to use them should spend some time testing them out! Tossing one at a phalanx turret for example, as in the video, is a perfectly good use for them. Tossing them at an enemy AMS surrounded by mines is another wonderful use for them. Cleaning mines from a bridge quickly while your vehicles are under fire is yet another. I think you get the idea!

8-)

[Protst Patrotsm]

Jammers grens are awesome. I see infils lob them to shut down people's DL and then wipe the floor with them.

[1024]

Originally posted by Agathon
The fact that you only disagreed with one thing from that huge novel of a post is a compliment, right? <wink> <smile>


Actually ,theres about a million other things i watned to rant on about, but peopel would jsut scream "NERF THE JACKHAMMER!!!


lol i just htough of somehitng

jackhammer/jackhamma :D

[ajohn505]

Originally posted by {BOHICA}Navaron
So join an outfit. I'm sure the leader has many a strategy.

IF you can get to the roof, you'll pwn them all day. Too many schmucks just run out the front door of the base.

And this, my friends, is where the cycler and chaingun come into their own.

[ajohn505]

Originally posted by 12tontuna


Another thing I've noticed is that too few persons watch the skies. There are no Skygaurd lines out on the edges of the SOI on base hacks to defend against the inevitable Reaver incursions. Persons with AV capabilities are too worried about ground troops and maxes to watch the skies. Air superiority is just that. With it, you can advance/defend or do just about anything you want.
/rant off.

I don't know about that, I think many AV users are checking the skies first. if there are even 2 AV troops in the vicinity, reavers are going to go down in short order. Perhaps I'm just projecting my own tactics on others.

[ajohn505]

Originally posted by Protst=Patrotsm
I think as more and more people realize the insane benefits of going solo, squads will only work for people who just need the interaction of others. Getting XP solo is just sooo great. I've figured out a great way to get massive free xp without even having to kill anything, and I've gotten 60% of BR12 doing so in about 2 hrs of playing.

This isn't EQ, bud. XP is great, but eventually you're going to have to play the game.

[Arakiel]

Tactics? Heh.

Always be on the offensive, in one form or another. The defenders nearly always lose because PS is so massively weighted in the form of offensive tactics.

[CrazyCrazy]

too many idiots, like a previous poster stated, running off and doing their own thing. When I'm in a squad a I always go where the SL wants me to, even thought sometimes I ask why or voice a different opinion, I always follow orders. So many times people lose in this game because they're all spread out and think they're rambo. That's the problem. Its a FPS, why the hell do they have XP?? I wish they got rid of BR just started everyone off with 25 cert points, but kept CR. People zerg because that's where the XP is. Sure you can order your squad to stay back and defend a base while other squads move forward, but no one wants to since there's no XP in it. How many times is a large force of NC, TR or VS moving forward to get the next base cap, when a small squad or single infil creeps in from behind and hacks the base thus ruining their link? And now with the population info and hotspots on the global map, zerging is even more common. People actually prefer to wait to get into a pop-locked continent, so they can ride the XP wave. If you find yourself fighting an evenly matched battle against a few enemy squads, it won't be long before the hotspots attract the zergers.

The fact is, with too many people treating this game like a level-treadmill RPG, all the small-group tactics in the world won't work when you're heavily outnumbered. Too often, unskilled players or players who don't know how to work in a team, go to where the numbers are, tipping the scales in favor of their empire, and as soon as things get heavy or look bad, they leave, and the enemy just rolls right over you.

Just griping, anyway I love this game and definitely wish I could see more tactics involved, but I think its inherent in its game design plus the IQ of most players that it won't happen.

[1024]

Originally posted by CrazyCrazy
too many idiots, like a previous poster stated, running off and doing their own thing. When I'm in a squad a I always go where the SL wants me to, even thought sometimes I ask why or voice a different opinion, I always follow orders. So many times people lose in this game because they're all spread out and think they're rambo. That's the problem. Its a FPS, why the hell do they have XP?? I wish they got rid of BR just started everyone off with 25 cert points, but kept CR. People zerg because that's where the XP is. Sure you can order your squad to stay back and defend a base while other squads move forward, but no one wants to since there's no XP in it. How many times is a large force of NC, TR or VS moving forward to get the next base cap, when a small squad or single infil creeps in from behind and hacks the base thus ruining their link? And now with the population info and hotspots on the global map, zerging is even more common. People actually prefer to wait to get into a pop-locked continent, so they can ride the XP wave. If you find yourself fighting an evenly matched battle against a few enemy squads, it won't be long before the hotspots attract the zergers.

The fact is, with too many people treating this game like a level-treadmill RPG, all the small-group tactics in the world won't work when you're heavily outnumbered. Too often, unskilled players or players who don't know how to work in a team, go to where the numbers are, tipping the scales in favor of their empire, and as soon as things get heavy or look bad, they leave, and the enemy just rolls right over you.

Just griping, anyway I love this game and definitely wish I could see more tactics involved, but I think its inherent in its game design plus the IQ of most players that it won't happen.

:yayaya: :blahblahblah: :rolleyes:

You know all those peopel will eventually reach BR 20, right? :rolleyes:

[Cauldron Borne]

Not as a player of the game (but perhaps a potential one), but a tactician, i think i have a few ideas that will help in a base defence.

Snipers. I don't hear to much about these guys. Ignore this if im wrong but snipers are a very valuable comodity in any armed force. Try, if you will, to place a few of these guys (especially crack shots) within range of the base in question. 2 to 4 of these guys would do fine. Have them shoot at what ever they can. they are there to piss the ohter guy off. Imagine: soldier respawns, re-equips, then goes out onto a parapet or outside the base for a little stroll... and dies. does it again... and dies. comes out in a buggy... and dies. people will notice, they will look for the little (seemingly invisible) prick that keeps killing them.

Armor. now you use a Galaxy or something to drop light armor amidst the snipers and thouroghly piss off the defenders, who were looking forward to an easy AP kill. meanwhile creep along the flanks of this base (BOTH flanks, and REAR) with mucho grande armor and armor support. whilst the enemy is attacking the snipers you attack the thoroughly and woefully unprepared flanks and rear.

may sound a bit complicated, but it isn't. the hard part is hidding the snipers from air power.

[ZionsFire]

please...stop..brain...shut..down..cant..reads..no ...mores...uhhhh

[FliggenMan]

Controlled teamwork and coordianted tactics trash any zerg, garaunteed.

[12tontuna]

Actually, I solo almost exclusively.

Why do I do this?

Simply because I can respond to the unfolding battle MUCH faster that way. The chain of command begins and ends at me. I could care less about the xp, or frag counts.

If I'm invited to a squad, and the leader hasn't got control, or a feel for the "big picture" he ain't a leader.

[DarthMidget]

If anyone in an outfit wants to increase their chances of winning I would recommend they pickup a book company level and lower tactics, or general strategy.

I also want to comment on the 'zerg' (on a sidenote its interesting how an RTS game has spawned a term that previously had no meaning in any language, but I digress...). Some complain that no matter what the tactic used raw numbers will always defeat trained forces. To a certain extent this is true. A massive advantage by one side with numbers will carry the day. However, if the masses are untrained and uncoordinated this is their only advantage.

So how does an enterprising outfit with an organized tactical base defeat the Zerg? The objective is to utilize the ancient military concept of maneuver. Throughout military history there have been two basic concepts of warfare: attrition or maneuver. Attrition warfare seeks to directly engage the enemy and bring more firepower to the battlefield so that on the loss of a one-for-one basis the attacker will win. This has been the tried and true method for empires with far more human and material resoures than tactical capability.

At its core to modern military thinking there is nothing wrong with the Attrition strategy. Indeed this a strategy the American military uses today. With its advanced communications, mobility, and firepower the American military has no need to practice any sort of maneuver against enemy forces. The enemy cannot hope to match the Americans in the field & so the Americans have, indeed, won before the battle has begun. The US military need not maneuver.

The situation in PlanetSide is the EXACT opposite. Each empire has roughly 30% or so of the player population. There are differences, but the devs did a surprisingly good job at making each empire interesting and so they have attracted relative amounts of the population. Also the weapons of PlanetSide are relatively equivalent. Yes, there are some discrepancies, but nothing so large as to constitute a serious material advantage. Let's face it, if one side has a considerable advantage they would always wing. Since we know this is not the case that arguement is moot and irrelevant.

Indeed, PlanetSide faces the problem that faced modern military commanders in WWII. In 1940 the Germans were going against the British and the French. Both had armies of the same relative size. Both had comparable weapons, the British and the French actually possessing more tanks and aircrafts than the Germans. However, we wall know how the story ended. The Germans smashed the French and British forces in a 6 week campaign that was one of the most successful offensives in all of military history.

But how did the Wehrmacht accomplish this feet of incredible arms? They certainly did not fight a war of attrition as they did from 1914-1918, this they would surely have lost. Contrary to popular belief the Germany of 1941 could not have sustained such a conflict, especially since all the European powers knew America would inevitably involve itself. So the Germans turned to maneuver. It worked.

This is what the successful commanders in PS will and must do to be victorious. If you want to win EVERY SINGLE TIME you must outmaneuver your enemy. In PS sometimes you can count on numbers and winning by attrition, but it depends on the server population and it is a risky thing. However, if you maneuver you can win.

So what is maneuver? To accomplish maneuver warfare you must place yourself in a position to win the battle without being forced to destroy the enemy. How do you do this? There are many ways, but where would the fun be in telling you? I'm sure you've already thought of a dozen. Of course to successfuly accomplish maneuver warfare you must also have highly disciplined troops and a high degree of mobility. This is why I'm certain only outfits will accomplish that successfully.

Of course there could be a day where entire empires are organized, and that would be a grand thing.