AND SO BEGINS THE SPERGITUDEAlright, so to begin my impromptu combat manual, I'd like to begin with the basic formation that we should use with a sizable group; something like 3-4 and up. The larger our group is, the more effective this will be. Also, the more rigid our formation should be. With only a few people, a much more informal way of fighting will be needed. Now, direct your attention to the masterpiece made possible by modern technology coupled with my considerable artistic ability (Yes, my photobucket account name is blackhawk7down7, I made it when I was 12. Feel free to laugh.):
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loginSquares: Shielders (1h or hoplite)
Triangles: Polearm users without shield
Cross/Star things: Ranged of any variety
Circles: Two-handers or one-handers without shield
Diamonds: DUMBASS MOTHERFUCKERS THAT THOUGHT THEY COULD FIGHT US AND WIN
Alright, now let me explain my glorious illustration. In any group-fight, shielders should always be the core of the formation, located in the middle. The reason for this is obvious; any heavily wounded fighters can easily move to the middle of the formation behind them to take cover, and the polearm users can take cover behind them. Shielders are the most survivable class, and need to do nothing more than engage the enemy head-on.
Next, we have the polearms. The worst place for a polearm user is in the middle of a formation. Why, you ask? Well, here's the answer, folks. When placed in the middle of a formation, quad-directional polearms (warspear, boarspear, glaives, etc) are either unable to swing due to friendly soldiers on one or both sides of them (either for fear of teamwounding or because of physical blocking of the polearm) or will simply teamwound the hell out of their friends. When placed on the flanks of the formation, they are able to swing freely. Not only this, but they are also able to better protect their formation from enemy
bundle of stickss cavalry. Now, it is important to mention that a polearm directly behind the shield-wall to function as dedicated anti-
bundle of stickscavalry, but often numbers will not allow such a thing.
Next, we have the ranged fighters. The worst place for these guys is, again, directly behind the shield-wall. Obviously, it is very difficult to shoot around or over friendly soldiers. However, this is not the only reason for their position in this diagram. If the enemy is intelligent, they will have shielders in the front of their formation. It is a highly ineffective use of ranged to shoot the front of a shield-wall, hoping that they get a lucky shot on someone's big toe. However, if they are located more on the flanks, they are able to shoot enemies in the side or in the ass. Much more efficient. You'll notice that each ranged has two attack vectors. This is because a two-hander is the most versatile class, thusly making them the perfect bodyguard for a ranged user. If infantry attempts to kill the ranged, the two-hander can simply engage them and often achieve victory due to their superior 1v1 capability. If
bundle of stickss cavalry attempt to kill the ranged, a 2h can often have great success by simply using their considerable stab animation to either scare the
bundle of sticks cavalry or to outright dismount or kill them.
Finally, we have the two-handed heroes. It is worth mentioning that these guys can go ANYWHERE. They are the most versatile melee class by far, and as such they are effective in all combat roles. However, I believe the most effective use of these guys is to simply flank the enemy who is hopefully preoccupied by the rest of the group. This is due to a few things. Firstly, since they are so versatile, they are unlikely to be picked off by a mounted enemy or an infantryman attempting to duel them. Secondly, they have EXTREME damage output. Two-handed soldiers can easily 2-shot moderately or even heavily-armoured opponents. This is compounded further by swings/stabs to the head region, which are far easier if they are behind an enemy or at the flank. Nothing will disrupt a formation faster than a two-handed hero suddenly appearing behind them and spamming left-click as fast as he or she can.
Appendix A: I didn't mention the role of
bundle of stickss cavalry. This is because their role is very obvious. They are to either get behind a large formation, bumping and attacking unaware or preoccupied foes, or they are to pick off lone enemies.
Appendix B: Due to popular demand (Daruvian asking one time), I will now explain the difference between
bundle of stickss cavalry and mounted infantry. It is my opinion that lance-users, whether they use a shield or not are called
bundle of stickss cavalry, while 2h and 1h are simply mounted infantry. The purpose of this is to distinguish the amount of bundle of sticksry inherent in each role.
I hope this helps us, I'll post more at some point in the future. Likely next I will post guides on how to play classes that I feel I have expertise in (most notably, polearm and shielder)
Edit: I made the diagram using a low-quality Compaq laptop with a god-awful touchpad. Sorry that it blows dick.
