Eidal's Quick Commander Guide
Eidal
Join Date: 2002-11-18 Member: 9229Members
Join Date: 2002-11-18 Member: 9229Members
<div class="IPBDescription">It could help!</div> *cut/pasted from Frontiersman Strategy*
I just thought I'd write up some guidelines that I think would be helpful for people interesting in commanding.
First off, lets hit some --BASIC-- points.
1) If you don't have voice communication (microphone), you have to be able to type fast and legitably. Furthermore, just having a mic isn't enough. Make sure you can pronounce words properly.
I command as often as I can and I don't have a mic, but I try to make up for it by giving easily read instructions via text. You --CANNOT-- expect your troops to know everything you are thinking. Commanders should constantly be giving advice and instructions (i.e. "I see two of you building... I want one of you to guard the duct instead.")
Remember that the troops are not peons/grunts in Warcraft3. They are players with, more often than not, their own agenda. The best solution to the Rambo-inspired players is to give them waypoints frequently and often. If a player insists on playing rambo, just ignore him from that point on and hope that he can kill a skulk on his journies.
2) Waypoints. Probably the most difficult concept for a new commander to get familiar with. The best way to make waypoints useful for you and your troops is to know the map inside and out. Once you understand the map from a troop/skulks viewpoint, you know the importance of certain rooms. Remember, left click + drag lets you select a group of marines. DO NOT set waypoints 50 meters away through ducts, walls, or massive groups of enemies. Make your squad move together and efficiently, which means setting waypoints 10-20m apart and usually in eyesight from the last waypoint. Nothing is worse then having a commander give a waypoint to the team and having everyone run off in different directions because they don't know the best route. Explain via voice/text what your intention is, so that your troops know what they are going to do.
3) After you are familiar with the idea of communication and waypoints, print out or write down a tech tree. What I mean is until you memorize it, have a written reminder on your desk that shows you how to get Motion Tracking, or Heavy Armor. Write in big capital letters ("UPGRADE"). New commanders will forget to upgrade the weapons/armor.
4) Make sure you can drop health/armor quickly and accurately to your team. If you have your "squad" selected (remember: left-click + drag to select everyone), you can see their health circles. Nothing will inspire your troops more than to come close to death but be healed by their commander. This is --VERY-- demoralizing to enemy aliens, by the way. I know that if I'm trying to skulk a guy and I see that his commander is dropping health on him while he fills me with lead, I know its not a fight I can win.
5) Make sure you can find every single weapon, INCLUDING the welder/mines. Drop welders when you can -- and encourage your troops to weld everyone, especially heavy armor. A squad of three people with heavy armor/hmg's shouldn't die easily.
6) Memorize which drops require an advanced armory. Remember that the heavy armor requires a prototype lab.
7) Remember that waygates require a waygate at the base AND at the outpost. Also -- waygates work in a circle. You can have 4 waygates on the map and cycle through them by walking into them. Think strategy, and I will probably elaborate on proper waygate usage in a later post.
8)Siege turrets are --invaluable--. Once you have a functional firesquad, don't have them rush into a hive to battle the defenses + aliens. This is most likely suicide, unless you have some very accurate shooters. Instead, drop a turret factory near the hive and immediately upgrade it to Adv. while your squad guards. From the alien perspective, nothing convinces me that a hive is lost more than the booming of multiple siege cannons backed up by three heavy armor/heavy machine gun troops.
A related tactic is called a "siege crawl". This is essentially advancing and establishing outposts at resource nozzles and other points of interest. Every outpost with a siege cannon to prevent enemy towers/nozzles. Some maps pretty much require a siege crawl, other maps may be more receptive to other tactics.
Tactical thinking is the type of thing that comes naturally to some people, or slowly with practice. I may elaborate on tactics (i.e. how to clear a hive fast and efficiently, how to survive the first 5 minutes...) in later posts.
Suffice it to say, following the points I've listed above will probably make your life in the command chair far easier. By far the most important is keeping communcations open. Silent commanders make your troops think you are a moron, and encourage them to play rambo. By being active/verbal, your troops can have faith that you know what you are doing.
Hope this helps!
I just thought I'd write up some guidelines that I think would be helpful for people interesting in commanding.
First off, lets hit some --BASIC-- points.
1) If you don't have voice communication (microphone), you have to be able to type fast and legitably. Furthermore, just having a mic isn't enough. Make sure you can pronounce words properly.
I command as often as I can and I don't have a mic, but I try to make up for it by giving easily read instructions via text. You --CANNOT-- expect your troops to know everything you are thinking. Commanders should constantly be giving advice and instructions (i.e. "I see two of you building... I want one of you to guard the duct instead.")
Remember that the troops are not peons/grunts in Warcraft3. They are players with, more often than not, their own agenda. The best solution to the Rambo-inspired players is to give them waypoints frequently and often. If a player insists on playing rambo, just ignore him from that point on and hope that he can kill a skulk on his journies.
2) Waypoints. Probably the most difficult concept for a new commander to get familiar with. The best way to make waypoints useful for you and your troops is to know the map inside and out. Once you understand the map from a troop/skulks viewpoint, you know the importance of certain rooms. Remember, left click + drag lets you select a group of marines. DO NOT set waypoints 50 meters away through ducts, walls, or massive groups of enemies. Make your squad move together and efficiently, which means setting waypoints 10-20m apart and usually in eyesight from the last waypoint. Nothing is worse then having a commander give a waypoint to the team and having everyone run off in different directions because they don't know the best route. Explain via voice/text what your intention is, so that your troops know what they are going to do.
3) After you are familiar with the idea of communication and waypoints, print out or write down a tech tree. What I mean is until you memorize it, have a written reminder on your desk that shows you how to get Motion Tracking, or Heavy Armor. Write in big capital letters ("UPGRADE"). New commanders will forget to upgrade the weapons/armor.
4) Make sure you can drop health/armor quickly and accurately to your team. If you have your "squad" selected (remember: left-click + drag to select everyone), you can see their health circles. Nothing will inspire your troops more than to come close to death but be healed by their commander. This is --VERY-- demoralizing to enemy aliens, by the way. I know that if I'm trying to skulk a guy and I see that his commander is dropping health on him while he fills me with lead, I know its not a fight I can win.
5) Make sure you can find every single weapon, INCLUDING the welder/mines. Drop welders when you can -- and encourage your troops to weld everyone, especially heavy armor. A squad of three people with heavy armor/hmg's shouldn't die easily.
6) Memorize which drops require an advanced armory. Remember that the heavy armor requires a prototype lab.
7) Remember that waygates require a waygate at the base AND at the outpost. Also -- waygates work in a circle. You can have 4 waygates on the map and cycle through them by walking into them. Think strategy, and I will probably elaborate on proper waygate usage in a later post.
8)Siege turrets are --invaluable--. Once you have a functional firesquad, don't have them rush into a hive to battle the defenses + aliens. This is most likely suicide, unless you have some very accurate shooters. Instead, drop a turret factory near the hive and immediately upgrade it to Adv. while your squad guards. From the alien perspective, nothing convinces me that a hive is lost more than the booming of multiple siege cannons backed up by three heavy armor/heavy machine gun troops.
A related tactic is called a "siege crawl". This is essentially advancing and establishing outposts at resource nozzles and other points of interest. Every outpost with a siege cannon to prevent enemy towers/nozzles. Some maps pretty much require a siege crawl, other maps may be more receptive to other tactics.
Tactical thinking is the type of thing that comes naturally to some people, or slowly with practice. I may elaborate on tactics (i.e. how to clear a hive fast and efficiently, how to survive the first 5 minutes...) in later posts.
Suffice it to say, following the points I've listed above will probably make your life in the command chair far easier. By far the most important is keeping communcations open. Silent commanders make your troops think you are a moron, and encourage them to play rambo. By being active/verbal, your troops can have faith that you know what you are doing.
Hope this helps!
Comments
#1 build 2 spawn points.
#2 build an armory [around this time your marines will typically be shooting skulks]
#3 build a turret factory
#4 build a few turrets [where the turrets go & how many you need depend on the map].
OK, base is now 'set up'...
Things to do:
- secure a hive <- this is more important than anything else, if you miss this one out, then you are on your own.
- send a group of marines to the nearest resource and 'cap' it (resource collector, turret factory, a few turrets). Repeat as necessary.
- give a welder to a marine and get them to seal some problematic vents [not all maps have these, but e.g. bast has a nasty one] (make sure that the marine knows what you want wielding first though)
How to secure a hive:
- select 3-6 marines [depending on how many you have free/how many you feel you need].
- send them to an EMPTY hive. [this is not a kamikaze mission, ideally send them to the hive furthest from the alien hive].
- watch them, and make sure they don't all kick the bucket.
- when they reach the hive, build a turret factory, some turrets, and a resource collector.
[when you have the resources, or the situation demands it - build a phase gate in the base]
(on some maps e.g. ns_nowhere there may be vents that need closing around the hive - this significantly strengthens your defence)
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That is the 'standard opening' and 9 out of 10 commanders follow that list [roughly speaking]
1 out of 10 commanders will not take the hive. They will have one hell of a fight on their hands, and typically lose badly [LMGs vs Onos].
You absolutely *MUST* secure a hive ASAP in order to give yourself a chance.
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(there is a feeling that moving your base to the hive is a nice touch - but I wouldn't try it unless you know EXACTLY what you need to build, and are aware of the 'unselectable building bug' on certain maps).
>>>
disclaimer: I have never been a commander, but I have lost far too many times when the commander does not take a hive <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->.
Dumbo, when playing in public games with smaller amount of people (i.e. 4-5 per team), securing a hive isn't crucial to marine success. I find it more important to steadily take map control by building up at resource vents (use phase gates!).
Its not that hard for a proficient commander and three marines who can shoot straight to get HA/HMG + upgrades by the time you see an Onos, and even the Onos go down fast to combined HMG fire.
I commanded a game last night that went much like that -- as soon as my marines spotted an Onos one guy said "Oh we're screwed" on voicechat, but then started laughing when the Onos popped like a bubble under concentrated HMG fire. Very demoralizing to the enemy team when their first Onos dies without a single casualty among us. From what I've seen, the aliens on public servers rarely work with coordination. As soon as the first Onos spawns, he immediately rushes to some marine outpost thinking he can wreck havoc.
I'm not saying that taking a hive isn't smart -- it should always be on the commanders mind. In last night's situation, it was an odd level that I had never commanded before, and I decided to do my usual siege crawl strategy which played out wonderfully. It also helped that I had a team who listened and could shoot well.
Nothing is more frustrating then having a team that listens to all your orders but dies to a single skulk. Its usually the commander who takes the blame for that, too!
Oops, I missed that bit out, but I only play on 'larger' servers. [I never really thought about that before - doh!]
For 'larger' servers, I stand by the above though.
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Quote from a recent commander: "lol! we are marines, we don't need hives". ...
10 minutes later, we were trapped in base, with lerks gassing the spawns, whilst ono's repeatedly raided the turrets - it wasn't pretty.
And if someone does make the list could someone sticky it?