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General Hints and Advice

Posted: 02 Mar 2009 22:06
by Oglab
Having been playing Savage for about 3 years, there is quite a bit i got to share :)

Melee:
-First off, if possible weaken your opponent with ranged attacks before charging in to melee. Someone who only takes 2 hits to kill is usually alot easier and faster to kill than someone who would take 3. Having a teammate provide ranged support while you charge in with carn/rabid works too, tempest is best for added damage while surge is best for helping the melee pred get past blocks, in general i would choose tempest for added damage, incase the melee pred dies quick anyways.
- Be aware that an unbuffed and full Hp Lego and Pred can each take 3 hits from each others melee attack, and that while a lego can usually heal with Medpacks, it is fully possible to kill a lego without him getting to use them at all, distracting with ranged once again works wonders in accomplishing this.
-If you fail 10 times in a row to kill or seriously hurt someone with melee, switch to ranged.
-If you are reduced in health to risking getting one-hit killed, you should propably either use ranged or fall back, dying in this case would likely only feed gold to the enemy.
-Everyone has their own unique style when meleeing, their disposition to freeswing, switch to ranged, use meds etc. Most people are very predictable in their melee habits and this allows the observant a chance to adapt and stop someone (lterally) dead in their tracks.
-Just as the above hint tells you to watch for patterns in others, make sure you are not being too predictable yourself. For example; if you as a human always (either by reaction or choice) melee swing whenever a pred in melee range will allow the pred to trick you into swinging, by leaping close and away and as you are swinging they leap close again to hit you, something they can repeat until either you die or you learn to control you melee swings better. Varying what or how you do things will confuse and make your opponent insecure about what you intend to do, allowing you to formulate your own tricks should it provoke an unexpected or frustrated response.
-Finally always remember that "Melee skill" in this game is a very loose term, as different people inherently do things differently, don't be surprised if you one day totally destroy almost everyone in melee, while the next you yourself get destroyed. Almost everyone and anyone can be defeated if you study how they do things. Still don't be afraid or ashamed to switch to ranged. One does not always have the time to adapt to every single opponent

Ranged:
-First off, remember that your aim will always vary depending on who you are shooting at, what you are shooting at and what you are using. Tempest and coil are the hardest to aim but at long to medium range are the most damaging, flux and surge are the least difficult to aim and flux is absolutely devastating to beast, while surge alone is a mere annoyance to any non-nomad. Most other ranged weapons are moderately difficult to master and vary a great deal as to how they fire and how you should aim.
-As mentioned in the melee section if you intend to melee your target you should soften them up with ranged first.
-Out of all normal ranged weapons, mortar, launcher, ember and frost bolts are generally the most damaging and viable to use against buildings. Mortar and Launcher are always useful against beast buildings while ember and frost bolts are best used against human towers before they get shield.
-If someone is shooting you up quicker and better than you are shooting them up and you are close to a sub; retreat, regain your health quick and get back into battle. Most important if and when you are at a low-gold map using high-gold units. Gold is extremely valuable to have should your team plant a sneak garr/sub/gate and you have to quickly use siege to maximize it's use. Winning or losing is usually decided by the available team gold (and spawning players of course, generally one should assume 5+ siege to appear when a sneak garr/sub/gate shows up)
-If someone is not shooting at you and instead rushing into melee this is a clear messsage that they lack either a ranged weapon or ammo, both of which you can exploit by staying out of range as long as you can while shooting them up, naturally important against people who generally beat you in melee.

Buffs:
5 Buffs are availabe for players in this game (with gate being more of a team buff):

Human Speed buff: Seriously speeds someone up for quite a while.
Used for: Demo running, flag capping, sneak garr building, as a last resort to aid someone in battle when all other buffs have run out.
Counter with: Snare, ranged harrassing, blocking their path and meleeing. Speed buffed dudes are generally distracted by where they are going and their immensely fun speed and are usually worse at blocking both ranged and melee attacks than they usually are.

Human Shield buff: Provides serious resistance to damage for quite a while
Used for: Demo running, flag cappin/defending, general farming/killing.
Counter with: Waiting, snare (to prevent them from reaching flag, building or other vital areas) or using very high damage units like summ or behe.

Human Electric buff: Provides serious damage boost allowing for many one hit kills against most things, depending on what unit it is used on.
Used for: Building smashing, flag capping/defending, cutting a path through the enemy during demo runs, general farming/killing large close by groups of enemies.
Counter with: Waiting, either until the buff runs out or they make a freeswing, allowing a pred and others to get in a free hit, snare and ranged work great too.

Beast Fire buff: Provides a very damaging aura affecting nearby (about a little shorter than pred max melee range) enemy units.
Used for: The usual stuff, flag capping, as aid in saccing, defending, both as a counter to other buffs and against demo runners and general farming/killing of large close by groups of enemies and in conjunction with heal buff for maximum carnage.
Counter with: Immobs, relocing, ranged, shield/elec buff and of course waiting (might be difficult if they are charging right at you)

Beast Heal buff: Provides an instant 100% health and mana heal to a non-siege unit.
Used for: Saccers, flag capping, defending, as an aid for ranged units providing cover/damage and in conjunction with fire buff for maximum carnage.
Counter with: What you did to provoke the buff, just do it faster before they can do what they intend to do.

Finally, if you still lose, don't worry, you will get better if you just want to! It may take time, but most of all you should play to have fun! If you are not having fun then play a different game for awhile, others should not have to suffer because you are having a bad day and you feel like complaining about it or insulting those who beat you. In essence be nice, have fun, and everyone will have a good time!


Man that took some time to type up, i hope you guys find this interesting or atleast accurate, assuming anyone bothers to read it all :) If someone wishes to correct me or add something like exact numbers for buff durations go ahead and i will edit it in. Any other comments are also welcome :) If anyone wonders why i spent so much time on this, it is simply because i had nothing better to do at the moment and i didn't feel like playing anything.

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 06:13
by barney_3d
well written!! we all humble before you now!

Image

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 09:59
by Storm
Did you just put a smilie on our webpage... I will have your head for that. ;-)

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 10:28
by barney_3d
Storm wrote:Did you just put a smilie on our webpage... I will have your head for that. ;-)
its hosted on my server and inserted with IMG tags :D :D so technically its not on our website but on mine :P :P :P

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 11:53
by barney_3d
Interdiction:

The small attack squad is a compact unit that is primarily used to spearhead attacks, or start a battle on a separate front. Sometimes referred to as "Interdiction" teams, these small squads are excellent tools for commanders. The small crew can easily penetrate into areas unseen, cause havoc, and move on to another objective. The interdiction team is no smaller than three members, but may exceed as many as 6 to 12 comprised of three man cells. We will look at what makes up a good interdiction team, the root of the team, and basic Interdiction tactics.

The Root

The root refers to the basic core of the team. Three players, all with a specific duty, but able to perform the duties of the other members. It is very critical that the other members are able to change duties at the drop of a hat. This gives the team more diversity and able to quickly adapt to any problems that may arise. The root team must also be very familiar with one another’s style of play. The players should have been playing together as a team for a very long time, and know what each others strong points are, as well as their weaknesses. This cohesion is critical. It should almost be second nature to know what the other teammates are going to do.

The team is broken down into three duties. Melee (carn etc), Sniper(coil/lightning/temp/mmbow), Suppressor(Flux/blaze/surge/repeater). These are your basic fundamental duties. Each player will use one another as a tool for the collective goal of completing the objective, be it overrunning a garisson/sublair or ambushing the enemy. Know what your role is and stay focused your job and the objective. Lets take a close look at the roles.

Melee

Melee works like a typical point man normally works. He is the eyes and ears of the squad. Usually running almost out of the sight of the rest of the quad, he locates the enemy and advises the rest of the squad on what course of action they should take to handle the approaching threat. When the firing starts, the point man acts as either a flank attack or demo/sac runner. The point man will do a lot of moving to say the least. He needs to be quick on his feet, have a good eye for spotting hidden enemy, and be able to access a situation clearly to allow the other members to understand. Human Melee man should carry flux and disrupters/ Beast should be Carni/Rabid and also carry mist and storm shield.

Sniper

Just as the name suggest, the sniper is the stealth end of the squad. He uses his talents as a force multiplier for the squad. Precision shots, stealth flanks, and drop back retreat ambushes all fall under the duties of the Interdiction Sniper. They are also used during the attacks as a means to eliminate the frontal attacking force while other members of the team provide covering fire. Once in place, the sniper can provide the same covering fire to allow other members of the team to advance. The sniper must be able to move quickly but quietly, and deliver accurate shots the first time. This is not the role for a coil/temp whore though. The sniper must also be able to rattle off the shots to help get out of bad situations, or provide covering fire for other members of the team. I.e. not be selfish.

Suppressor

This is the "heavy gunner" of the team. He is the man laying down the wall of "surge/flux/repeater/blaze" fire. He keeps heads behind bunkers/trees and the enemy looking for cover. During his rain of terror, he is allowing the other members of the team to push forward under the safety of his fire. The suppressor needs to be fast on the trigger, carry a lot of mana/ammo, and not afraid to shoot no matter what. He is keeping the enemy pinned down, so he must be able to shoot and still keep his cool no matter how close the temp/coil/repeater/lightning shots are getting to him.

Basic Plan

The basic plan revolves around simple principles. Melee man provides the intel, plan of attack is laid down, suppressor applies pressure, sniper and melee take flanks. The job of the suppressor is transferred to other team members to allow one another to move forward. It is simple, but very effective. Lets look at how this basic plan is used to take control of an enemy fort.

Basic Plan - Attacking sub/gar/lair/stronghold

Attacking any fortification should be done with recon first. Your melee man should make his way as close as possible to gather intel about the number of enemies, areas of defilade fire, and avenues of escape should things get ugly. Once he has relayed said information, the rest of the team moves in. The set-up is important. All team members must be in place before the attack is executed. Interdiction teams rely on surprise to confuse and rattle the enemies’ nerves. Try to establish the team in as wide of a pattern as possible. The unit should be in a "C" formation. This will help to prevent the team from being flanked. The sniper should be on a far flank, melee on the other, with the suppressor located in the middle toward the back with a field of fire that spans the entire group.
The melee man and the suppressor should take the first shots/melee attacks. They need to eliminate targets with these first hits. This will cause the enemy to scramble to replace the positions, thus buying you some time. After the first strike, the suppressor lays it on thick. He stays on the trigger to keep everything with half a brain ducking for cover. Now we bring in the sniper. He uses this chaos to move up and get a closer position, preferably to cover the entry point for the team. The melee man should move up as well and take over the job of the suppressor by melee-ing incoming enemies or using flux as human. This allows the suppressor to move forward and continue his blistering volley of hurt. Once the suppressor is back into position, the rest is up to the sniper and melee man. The sniper should have a good bead on the interior of the base/gar/sublair by now, so he needs to begin taking out targets of opportunity. With this new angle being compromised, the enemy will now have to contend with fight on two fronts. This will give the melee man and the suppressor the chance to rush the base/gar/sublair, since the snipers fire now covers them. With the two attackers moving in, it is pretty much a free for all. Once you are inside base/gar/sublair area, cover one another and acquire your targets quickly and accurately. If you are going to be hit, your chances are three times as good that it will happen once you breech the base/gar/sublair. If you keep your cool, you will persevere. This works best for subs and gars as around the base you may encounter more resistance...

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 12:26
by Oglab
Ah very interesting barney! It makes me think that while we are usually good at staying in groups, we generally all use 1 type of weapon (all temp/all rabid etc.) Do you believe Interdiction teams as you put it are more efficent in general against opponents? Say 3 legos with full flux and meds are approaching and you have 3 preds nearby, would triple temping/meleeing or using the melee/sniper/suppression thingie work best? In a similar vein are interdiction teams best suited for quickly overwhelming single or paired opponents or do you believe can they can take on larger groups?

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 12:32
by barney_3d
Oglab wrote:Ah very interesting barney! It makes me think that while we are usually good at staying in groups, we generally all use 1 type of weapon (all temp/all rabid etc.) Do you believe Interdiction teams as you put it are more efficent in general against opponents? Say 3 legos with full flux and meds are approaching, would triple temping/meleeing or using the melee/sniper/suppression thingie work best. In a similar vein are interdiction teams best suited for quickly overwhelming single or paired opponents or do you believe can they can take on larger groups?
interdiction teams are designed to be versatile which means they have the ability to take on larger groups, suppressive fire with sniping covers the melee player and takes out targets. 3 Lego's have the habit of all fluxing the incoming melee player/ if the player has carn and the sniper/suppresor all fire at the lego's they will be unable to block and hence die quicker, also the melee player doesnt have to engage the 3 lego's the sniper and supressor can create damage/make them use up medkits before the melee player strikes.

Interdiction teams can take on other players in a ratio of about 1.5-2.0 to 1.0. meaning that one 3 (wo)man team can take on about 5 opponents at any given time

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 12:41
by Oglab
Interesting, assuming we can get another practice going we should probably try out using interdiction teams for various purposes, with one team attacking with a 3 player interdiction team and 3-5 or so defending, i would very much like to see this used successfully in a game.

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 15:20
by barney_3d
Oglab wrote:Interesting, assuming we can get another practice going we should probably try out using interdiction teams for various purposes, with one team attacking with a 3 player interdiction team and 3-5 or so defending, i would very much like to see this used successfully in a game.
I've seen simular strategies used in savage, the SUN players use a simular tactic often...

Re: General Hints and Advice

Posted: 03 Mar 2009 15:52
by barney_3d
Strong side attack

A strong side attack is often successful because of the greater firepower the units bring to one side of the opposing base. The key is to play aggressively and to move quickly. When the opposing base comes into view, the strong side force should divide into two units/squads: one will attack the base head on while the other will try to flank the base, always staying on the strong side of the field (frontal assault group). The frontal assault should engage the defenders and allow the flankers to advance and clear out the base and demo run/sac.