If you have ever played online, then you will surely agree with me that there are two kinds of players. There is the player who plays online for his own satisfaction to win (me), and then there is the player who likes to play with some friends/strangers who enjoy the game for what it is, and cares little about winning/loosing.
I myself don't like to lose, I don't know about you, but I have a lot more fun winning then I do loosing. So I have taken upon myself to develop a strategy that works perfectly for me, and that can be adopted to almost any playing style. This guide is for the person who wants to win online. Before I begin, I encourage you to check out my deployment phase guide here:http://etw.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=ct&f=30,8246,,10
The deployment phase guide, which is what the link goes to, is a very important element in the foundation of winning land battles (and a bit of sea battles). I highly recommend that you read that guide first before this guide, it explains almost everything that you should know about setting up your formations, and how it can effect the outcome of your battle.
Part 1: The first 5 minutes
What can decide the outcome of the battle lies in the first 5 minutes after the battle has started. You must quickly count your opponents forces, take note of any experience added on, and pay close attention to where he has his cavalry artillery and infantry. It's important that you do not let your opponent run the game how he wants it to be ran. You decide the pace of the battle, not him.
Meaning, be aggressive, but not overly aggressive so that you risk loosing too many men too quickly. Playing in an aggressive style intimidates the opponent for a number of reasons, but primarily the reason why aggressive play goes unchallenged for a while is because you are able to gain the better ground, relatively speaking. Just sit there, and watch where your opponent moves for about a minute. If your opponent is waiting for you to move, take the opportunity to get better ground if there is any.
Better ground refers to simply better elevation to sit on, compared to what you have in your deployment zone. A hill in the center of the map is idle to better ground. If your opponent is moving quickly, to one side of the map or another, take that opportunity to basically "mirror" what they do.
Part 2:Playing with confidence, and playing with ignorance.
Many players will send out small units ahead of their army for less then favorable reasons. Like sending light infantry too far out of your main army to try and shoot at oncoming infantry. This gives enemy cavalry a perfect opportunity to easily route your lights if you are not careful. Playing with stupidity is a relentless error that people make a bad habit it. It's easy to play stupid.
Playing with confidence is an entirely different ball game. You move in coherence with your allies, or your own forces. All regiments move "as one" around the field and you change your formation accordingly to with what your strategy dictates. These actions must be precise and quick. To note, playing with confidence is really meanings that you know how to play without making small mistakes. A good player will take advantage of every mistake their opponent makes. Playing with confidence ensures that you don't allow any room for error.
Part 3: Being an opportunist
Taking advantage of errors of your opponent can win you the game very quickly. This requires steady micro-management between your forces and keeping an eye on your enemy. Taking note of every movement he/she makes is crucial to the success of the battle. You have to be able to adjust your forces to counter-attack your opponents in seconds. If your opponent has made an error, such as leaving their artillery in the open, unguarded, it is only your given duty to annihilate what you can of the artillery without receiving too many losses on your end.
Taking advantage of simple things like that can turn the tides of battle in your favor very quickly. Another common mistake that people make is forgetting about 2 or 3 regiments that they left in the back field. So field, so they come to engage you with only partial strength. If this is the case, commit fully so that they're out-manned. Using common sense works!
Part 4: Keep it simple stupid!
Don't try and conjure up a confusing strategy to you and your team mates. Keeping it simple allows you to focus more on the details then making sure your allies are doing what they're supposed to do. Strategies like, cavalry flanks left, infantry pushes center, vanguard on the right, is perfect. It's simple, and allows for you to adjust accordingly if needed.
Confusing/complex strats like, 4 cavalry units screen in the middle, infantry reforms and retreats behind screening cavalry while reserves move to to the left & engage but then fall back don't help. This is assuming that nothing goes wrong. But something does always goes wrong, and you won't be able to execute the strategy that you were planning on.
This brings me to my next point, act & react accordingly. Having a simple strategy allows you to do just that. If your opponent moves cavalry to one side, move your cavalry to that side. As mentioned earlier, "mirroring" your opponent works perfectly.
Part 5: Late game execution
The final step to a victory is ensuring the victory. If the tides are even you need a final move to give you the victory, like a full on charge. Quite simple, however it has to be perfectly timed & placed. You do not want to charge into where your opponent is has most of his/her strength. Typically if you charge, you want to swing it like a door. The cavalry crushes the flanks, the infantry follows down the line.
We refer to this as "wrapping it up". When one unit on the flank routes, it'll cause a chain reaction down the line as your infantry charges into it. However this can go wrong very easily. I do not suggest that you charge into strong units, such as grenadiers or elites. Charging into the weakest units first deteriorates your opponents army quicker, therefore when you do finally engage the heavier units, their morale should be lessened by the previous charge that you executed.
This concludes guide #5. It was a pleasure writing this, I hope you enjoyed it.
-Daelon
I myself don't like to lose, I don't know about you, but I have a lot more fun winning then I do loosing. So I have taken upon myself to develop a strategy that works perfectly for me, and that can be adopted to almost any playing style. This guide is for the person who wants to win online. Before I begin, I encourage you to check out my deployment phase guide here:
The deployment phase guide, which is what the link goes to, is a very important element in the foundation of winning land battles (and a bit of sea battles). I highly recommend that you read that guide first before this guide, it explains almost everything that you should know about setting up your formations, and how it can effect the outcome of your battle.
What can decide the outcome of the battle lies in the first 5 minutes after the battle has started. You must quickly count your opponents forces, take note of any experience added on, and pay close attention to where he has his cavalry artillery and infantry. It's important that you do not let your opponent run the game how he wants it to be ran. You decide the pace of the battle, not him.
Meaning, be aggressive, but not overly aggressive so that you risk loosing too many men too quickly. Playing in an aggressive style intimidates the opponent for a number of reasons, but primarily the reason why aggressive play goes unchallenged for a while is because you are able to gain the better ground, relatively speaking. Just sit there, and watch where your opponent moves for about a minute. If your opponent is waiting for you to move, take the opportunity to get better ground if there is any.
Better ground refers to simply better elevation to sit on, compared to what you have in your deployment zone. A hill in the center of the map is idle to better ground. If your opponent is moving quickly, to one side of the map or another, take that opportunity to basically "mirror" what they do.
Many players will send out small units ahead of their army for less then favorable reasons. Like sending light infantry too far out of your main army to try and shoot at oncoming infantry. This gives enemy cavalry a perfect opportunity to easily route your lights if you are not careful. Playing with stupidity is a relentless error that people make a bad habit it. It's easy to play stupid.
Playing with confidence is an entirely different ball game. You move in coherence with your allies, or your own forces. All regiments move "as one" around the field and you change your formation accordingly to with what your strategy dictates. These actions must be precise and quick. To note, playing with confidence is really meanings that you know how to play without making small mistakes. A good player will take advantage of every mistake their opponent makes. Playing with confidence ensures that you don't allow any room for error.
Taking advantage of errors of your opponent can win you the game very quickly. This requires steady micro-management between your forces and keeping an eye on your enemy. Taking note of every movement he/she makes is crucial to the success of the battle. You have to be able to adjust your forces to counter-attack your opponents in seconds. If your opponent has made an error, such as leaving their artillery in the open, unguarded, it is only your given duty to annihilate what you can of the artillery without receiving too many losses on your end.
Taking advantage of simple things like that can turn the tides of battle in your favor very quickly. Another common mistake that people make is forgetting about 2 or 3 regiments that they left in the back field. So field, so they come to engage you with only partial strength. If this is the case, commit fully so that they're out-manned. Using common sense works!
Don't try and conjure up a confusing strategy to you and your team mates. Keeping it simple allows you to focus more on the details then making sure your allies are doing what they're supposed to do. Strategies like, cavalry flanks left, infantry pushes center, vanguard on the right, is perfect. It's simple, and allows for you to adjust accordingly if needed.
Confusing/complex strats like, 4 cavalry units screen in the middle, infantry reforms and retreats behind screening cavalry while reserves move to to the left & engage but then fall back don't help. This is assuming that nothing goes wrong. But something does always goes wrong, and you won't be able to execute the strategy that you were planning on.
This brings me to my next point, act & react accordingly. Having a simple strategy allows you to do just that. If your opponent moves cavalry to one side, move your cavalry to that side. As mentioned earlier, "mirroring" your opponent works perfectly.
The final step to a victory is ensuring the victory. If the tides are even you need a final move to give you the victory, like a full on charge. Quite simple, however it has to be perfectly timed & placed. You do not want to charge into where your opponent is has most of his/her strength. Typically if you charge, you want to swing it like a door. The cavalry crushes the flanks, the infantry follows down the line.
We refer to this as "wrapping it up". When one unit on the flank routes, it'll cause a chain reaction down the line as your infantry charges into it. However this can go wrong very easily. I do not suggest that you charge into strong units, such as grenadiers or elites. Charging into the weakest units first deteriorates your opponents army quicker, therefore when you do finally engage the heavier units, their morale should be lessened by the previous charge that you executed.
This concludes guide #5. It was a pleasure writing this, I hope you enjoyed it.
-Daelon
[This message has been edited by Daelon (edited 01-23-2010 @ 05:02 AM).]