Tactics

ps11 · 2003-06-24, 09:47 PM

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 · 2003-06-24, 09:51 PM

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

1024 · 2003-06-24, 10:17 PM

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 · 2003-06-24, 10:25 PM

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 · 2003-06-24, 11:17 PM

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 · 2003-06-24, 11:41 PM

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.

Civilian · 2003-06-25, 12:08 AM

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 · 2003-06-25, 12:17 AM

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

. 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????

MilitantB0B · 2003-06-25, 12:21 AM

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 · 2003-06-25, 12:30 AM

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

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 · 2003-06-25, 02:08 AM

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 · 2003-06-25, 10:18 AM

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 · 2003-06-25, 10:33 AM

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 · 2003-06-25, 12:18 PM

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 · 2003-06-25, 12:19 PM

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,