Old thread on old forum:
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,146417.0.htmlMerc_Phazhs Art of War ;)
Or just a quick guide on
following and using tactics in cRPG.Playing as a team is not hard. In fact, its usually easier to go with the group than make up your own plan. The intention of this guide is to help people apply tactics in regular cRPG battles.
This guide consists of three parts: quick pointers for everyone when using tactics, a quick overview of the basic strategies we use most and a few tips on commanding.
Do not be scared by this wall of text. You do not need to read it all. Here are
the main points, intended for the average player:
1. Follow the red flag
2. Participate in making the plan
3. Stick to the plan
4. Communicate
5. Play smart
6. Fight as a group
7. Do not chase enemies
8. If the leader dies, improvise
1)
Follow the red flagAlways join battalion 1 (press
P once) and follow the red flag (or banner) around. It's the main rallying point.
Be careful though: when attacking, the red flag is often used to point to the next place to attack. It might be swarming with enemies there, so don't assume it's a safe place to stand. But always try to push towards the red flag.
When holding an area or camping a house or other cover, the red flag is used as the main rallying point. When pulling back or regrouping, the red flag can be used to indicate where to regroup or pull back to.
Keep in mind that the red flag can be controlled by anyone (F1) and that the flag can get stuck sometimes. Follow, but not blindly.
Feel free to join another battalion and make your own (sub)groups. This helps with sticking together and also adds an intimidation factor.
2)
Participate in making the planPlease, feel free to offer suggestions on what tactic to use next round. The best time for this is when youre dead. Participation is good. Try to reach a consensus before the new round starts though! Then repeat the plan once the round starts, just to be clear.
Agreeing to the plan is also important, because it creates confidence in the plan, thus making it more likely to succeed. So even a yes, lets do that can help create the domino effect that leads to victory. Confidence is key.
3)
Stick to the planWhen the round starts, the plan is posted once or twice in chat and then almost never changes later in the round. This is because not everybody is able to keep an eye on the chat once the killing starts. Changing the plan mid-round is dangerous and can result in your team splitting up, which is bad.
This is where the flags come in. By using the flag, you can indicate a new direction to attack or a place to regroup thats easy for everybody to see.
4)
CommunicateEven though it's bad to have several people shouting different orders in chat, it's still a good thing to communicate during the round. Instead of shouting orders, inform your team and leader of the situation (e.g. 'they are going left') or even what your own plan is ('I'm flanking left to attack their archers on that hill'). Don't get killed while typing though. (this often happens to me :>)
So repeat commands your teammates might have missed, but dont spam.
Some commonly used phrases that are quick to write are CAV and INF, meaning cavalry and infantry. Also: INC stands for incoming, but is often omitted and only the troop type is used.
Direction is also useful to report, so CAV LEFT would warn about incoming cavalry charge from your left. The directions are given from the perspective facing the enemy spawn from your own spawn or facing enemy group from your group.
Non verbal communication also works. A quick look at a teammate and a few steps towards your goal. Maybe a jump, maybe a whistle... there are many ways to communicate without typing. You can even use your weapon to gesture with (blocking upwards for example).
Whistling often means: look up, (cavalry) incoming! Or enemies over here!. Do not use whistling too much, only when there is a real need. Jumping and looking at someone can mean: Come, over here, this way!. The main thing about non verbal communication is looking towards the player you are trying to communicate with and making sure he is actually looking at you.
Also consider joining the Teamspeak server(s) while playing - it can be great fun! Remember to still use team chat and flags, because not everybody uses Teamspeak.
5)
Play smartDon't stop thinking. Try and follow orders, but treat the orders as an indication... an objective. If you're dead, you can't help. Stick with the group and stay alive. If the order is 'CHARGE!', try to push forward but keep an eye on your team. Don't get separated. Often, a charge starts out great; enemies get overwhelmed and your team kills a lot of them... but then after 30 seconds or so, everybody ends up chasing different enemies and your team gets scattered.
Always try to regroup after the initial charge. If your commander wants the charge to continue, he'll probably say so by repeating commands or moving the red flag further forward.
Surviving and helping your teammates is key to good team play. Try to be aware of your teammates positions and dont try to be a hero. And use the flags.
6)
Fight as a groupKeep your teammates on your left and right side and try to assist them in their kills. Always go for 2 vs 1 or better. If it's an 1 vs 1, see if you can get a teammate to help or just switch to another target. Skilled players can defend against one enemy player easily, but against two enemies it's impossible if they manage to surround you.So protect each other. Guard other players flanks, help them outmaneuver enemy players and engage enemies together. Never go in alone.
If you are under heavy ranged fire, spread out as you move forward and dodge. As soon as melee fighting stats again, make sure you have your team close.
As an archer, consider following close at the back of the melee charge for safety and for easy up-close shots. Dont stray too far from the main force and keep the main force between you and the enemies.
Its a team game, so use that to your advantage. If you find yourself outnumbered, regroup and pull back. A controlled, fighting retreat can be very effective.
7)
Do not chase enemiesDo not chase enemies away from the main group early in the battle. If someone runs away, do not give chase unless you are faster. Remember to regroup often.
Special word to the highly skilled and the cavalry: although you probably do well engaging the enemies straight away, do consider sticking with the team and waiting for the main melee group to engage, especially early in the match. Its no use to kill half a dozen enemies in a round only to find out your team has been slaughtered behind your back. And also: distracted enemies are easier to kill.
At the end of the round the reverse is true of course. Chase all you want. Like with all the other tips and instructions, use your own judgement and common sense. If you can assist a teammate in making a kill, do that and chase that one fast running enemy later.
8)
If the leader dies, improviseStick together and play smart. Feel free to take over, direct the flag yourself and give instructions in chat. If you are not receiving any orders for more than 30 seconds, assume the leader is dead and do what you think is best to try and win the round.
The most important thing is to stick close to teammates. Follow the group and victory will come, even without orders or a plan.
Now I'd like to discuss a few basic tactics we often use and comment on what can go wrong and what works. Feel free to stop reading here.
The basic tactics are: 1. CHARGE
2. REGROUP
3. LEFT or RIGHT
4. HOLD
Less common tactics:
5. FALL BACK, then CHARGE
6. CHARGE, then FALL BACK
7. FLANK FAR RIGHT and FLANK FAR LEFT
CHARGE (or go
MIDDLE):
This means attack the enemies and push forward. Its used both when defending to indicate the right time to push back and when attacking to indicate when to start pushing forward.
The big risk with this is that it might disperse your team. Everybody might end up chasing different (groups) of enemies and get separated, lose cover, get shot in the back and killed by getting outnumbered and outmaneuvered. A good counter to this tactic is to do a controlled retreat. Falling back to good defensive positions makes the enemies stretch out and get separated and allows your team to control the fight.
I often use it to get everybody to attack at the same time, thus overwhelming the opposing team and forcing them to retreat and disperse. Very effective, but use sparingly or it will lose its effectiveness.
At the beginning of the round, it means: lets go straight towards the enemies. A red flag and instructions in team chat are often used to indicate the main attack direction.
REGROUP:Often after the initial charge wears out and people get more spread out, its best to regroup. If you aint charging or flanking, you should probably be regrouping. Look at where the most players are and go there. The red flag is usually used as a rallying point.
LEFT or
RIGHT: These commands are often used to indicate the direction of the attack around an obstacle such as buildings. A danger when using such plans is that when everybody pushes right, the left flank might collapse if the opposing team pushes harder. Also, players not paying attention to the chat and flag might be caught unaware. Archers could get caught off-guard and get killed without infantry to defend them. Its usually best to try to stick with the main push and not get left behind.
When used at the beginning of the round, these commands indicate the general direction the group should go.
HOLD or
CAMP:
Many maps offer great defensive positions. High hills, mountains, roofs, ruins... even whole castles with gates and walls.
Holding or camping is the most basic of all tactics. Easy to follow and an easy plan to stick to. Great for archers and other ranged units.
The main danger when camping, as I see it, is passivity. Players sometimes stop looking for kills, especially the somewhat bored melee units.
Another danger lies in the fact that by camping, you effectively give away the initiative to the enemy team. That leaves you open to getting flanked or getting overrun by a good charge. Dont camp a weak position several rounds in a row. Switch it up.
Camping is often used when a team loses and can help to get players to stick together.
More advanced tactics:FALL BACK, then
CHARGE:
This is a good counter against a enemy team charging. This only works well if everybody knows its the plan to fall back while fighting! Archers can take safe positions to stay out of the melee fight and the melee fighters can slowly move backwards, using the retreat to swing at exposed enemies. Make sure everybody knows the plan by talking about it while dead and at the beginning of the round.
Its hard to plan this, because the charge or pushing back might depend on how well your team is doing. It helps to have someone shout CHARGE! at the right time.
CHARGE, then
FALL BACK:
This can be a great tactic against a camping team in certain situations. For example: the frozen lake map gives the defending team a good place to camp (the roof and forested hill behind it). Charging them, engaging in cautious melee and then slowly pulling back onto the ice ensures that your archers get a lot of easy shots and your cavalry gets to slaughter the enemies as they storm onto the ice. Again, its very important that people know the charge will turn into a retreat. Make sure everybody knows and agrees with this plan before trying this. You dont want people to charge and be caught alone as the falling back starts.
FLANK FAR RIGHT and
FLANK FAR LEFT:
These are commands used to indicate going wide. Its a long walk and thus its not very likely to get the whole group to participate. That might result in the team splitting up as a part just charges the middle like they are used to. Also, exactly how wide one has to go is never clear. It might help to add a few landmarks in the commands, to make sure people know where to go. Use the flag to indicate where to go or carry it into battle leading the group when doing this.
Its a rarely used tactic, because flanking wide and far takes a long time. Also the people that dont follow the plan and attack normally get caught heavily outnumbered and far away from friendly fighters. Its riskier than just going middle-leftish or middle-rightish. Flanking wide can be good for smaller groups intent on attacking their archers and attacking their main force from behind.
There are many, many other strategies. Did I miss an important one? Please post it!
If youre not at all interested in trying to lead or making and influencing plans, feel free to stop reading here.
Tactics in cRPG; a quick how-to for leaders.1)
Keep it simple.Anything more complicated than 'HOLD', 'CHARGE', 'Go LEFT' or 'Go RIGHT' often fails.
2)
Consensus is king. The mob rules, not the leader.See what most players do and reinforce their 'plan'. So if most go right, we go right.
3)
Announce or discuss tactics for next round when dead.This helps the team reach a consensus and increases the chances people follow your instructions. Remember #2: don't plan any tactic that people won't follow.
4)
Don't do the same plan twice if there are good alternatives.Even without a leader, the other team reacts. So if you all charged right last round and won, it's often a good idea to go left the next round. In some cases the enemy team has no leader and doesnt adapt at all. In those cases, repeating the same plan once might be a good idea, but its often a bad idea to use the same tactic three times. Even the slowest teams will adapt.
Then again, if you are having trouble getting everybody to stick to the plan, changing it can cause a split up. So make sure you announce this while dead and at the beginning of the round. Its a tricky balance between trying to keep the opposing team guessing and getting your own team to work together as a unit. However, if your team is used to changing the plan every round, switching it up often is a good thing.
5)
Use flags.The red flag (or banner) from battalion 1 is the main rallying point. It's often used to indicate where to attack or where to camp. Sometimes extra flags are used. The white flag from battalion 2 is often used as a secondary charge or flanking group. The flag from battalion 3 could be for the cavalry.
And, flags also add a bit of intimidation to the game, which can help win a round. When playing with friends, a flag will help you stick together.
6)
You can prepare a message by typing it and then clicking.It closes, but if you press team talk later on, your message is still there and you can press enter to send it. This way you can prepare instructions while dead and only send them at the start of the round so everyone receives it.
7)
Confidence helps.To get people to be confident in the plan, get people to agree in between rounds. Shout 'CHARGE' only when the time is right. Try to get a feel for the group's confidence. Charging when several enemies have just been slayed helps. Also, confident comments like: 'we got this' really help. Use sparingly though.
8 )
No tactics at all can sometimes be better.Too much tactics and failing plans can make people lose confidence in the plans. A round with no plan helps to see what the group does and forces players to think for themselves. Sometimes, just sometimes, people play better with no plan to stick to.
9)
CAPS or no caps.People dislike large amounts of caps, so use caps sparingly. I try to use caps in long sentences for the main objective (e.g.: next round we all go LEFT around the house) so people can see the objective (LEFT) at a glance without reading the whole sentence.
A short word on
the intimidation factor:
In cRPG battles, intimidation and fear are powerful tools. A group that sticks together closely and moves as a unit can strike fear into the hearts of your opponents. So displaying team play by moving as a tight group, using flags and other displaying can help demoralize the opposing team.
Thats it for now. I enjoyed writing this. Hopefully it helps promote the use of group tactics and team play in the regular cRPG battles.
Id like to thank my fellow Mercs for contributing to this guide and sharing their thoughts: thanks Vargas, Burrick, Noctivagant and all you other Mercs.
And thank you, the players. Thanks for playing cRPG with us, thanks for trying to follow the sometimes crazy orders we give and thanks for giving your opinion and helping make the plan for the next round.
If you got this far: thank you for reading this! Feel free to add your own thoughts on the strategies and tactics used in cRPG and how we can improve on that.
Any feedback is welcome.
Further Reading (somewhat outdated):
If you like to read more about tactics in cRPG, there have been two threads recently about that: Joker86s The culture of teamplay (
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,138255.0.html) and the Tactic and formations guide by Warlord(s) (
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,145689.0.html)
P.S.: If you wish to add to this thread, please take the time to do a proper post. Dont use it as a chat. Thanks lads!
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