This is part 2 of my guide. I dont know how many parts will follow, it depends how motivated I am to write these. But although its a lot of work, I notice that it helps my game as well. I start to think about it more clearly. I think it needs a new topic because it needs its own discussion.
This guide is about “Knowing what to do” and “When to attack and when to defend”. I think this guide is more theoretical than the last and mostly concerns game-theory, nonetheless it will be helpful for players who start to think about the concepts I am writing about here.
Knowing what you do
I thought for a while what the most basic skill for an aoc player could be. Is it scouting? Is it constant vil production? I myself came to the conclusion that its having a plan.
What do I mean with this?
The basis of every competitive game should be the goal to win. Therefore, one needs a plan, something to structure and hierarchize the single steps to achieve this goal. This plan consists of a general game strategy and some smaller tactics/management-skills to make this strategy work. Let me give an example:
The goal is to win the game. The strategy: Drush fc, aggressive ca raid and siege push. To do this, you need to follow the drush bo, wall, build a tower etc. This is your plan.
Do you see what i mean? You need to know what you are doing to win the game! Every step, every click has a purpose. This should be the basis of every game.
Many may think this isnt something new. But its important that you remind yourself sometimes that every single step in your games should follow a certain strategy that you wisely choose to win the game. You have to start to actively think about your game and how to win.
What does this mean in particular? Firstly, never lose your fighting-spirit until its clearly over. Put yourself in the mood that you really want to win the game, even if you are behind. Additionally it means that you shouldnt just do something but you should follow the right strategy for the situation you are in. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Macro and micro will be useless if they arent used in the right context.
You now may ask, how you can know what the right strategy is. This is highly related to the concept of incomplete information. There is the fog of war, you cant see everything on the map. But you can scout how your map is, what your enemy is up to etc. Learn to scout and learn to use the information you get! Adapt your plan correctly if you see your previous calculation was wrong.
The better you get, the better will your judgment and in-game strategy be. Keep practicing and keep thinking about your game!
When to attack and when to defend?
Its crucial to know when to attack and when not to! Many noobs simply attack because they have just build an army and want to use it! The idea is kinda right: You dont want idle vils and you dont want an idle army either! Your feudal age scouts will be useless in imp, so you better use them while they are still worth something. But blindly running to your opponent is wrong! Sometimes you have to defend or wait for the right moment.
First, let us think of what kinds of attacks there are. I find only two, but think for yourself if there are maybe more:
-Attacks to kill army (fighting for map control, preparing/executing a big push)
-Attacks to kill economy (raiding)
Now let us think about the purpose of an attack: When do you want to attack?
Attacks to kill army
->you are behind in eco but you have the bigger army
->you are ahead in eco and you have the bigger army and you dont need units to defend important spots (rule: if you are ahead, safety comes first)
->you can push your enemy back and get control over important points on the map
(-> you make your enemy react to you and make his play passive)
Attacks to kill economy
->you are behind in eco but you have the bigger army
->you are behind in eco and you have the smaller army
->you are ahead in eco but you have the smaller army but you are protected and your opponent has vulnerable spots
->you can achieve an advantage by hitting a weak point (e.g. far unprotected wood)
->you can see what your opponent is doing while attacking and gather important information (mostly related to scout raids in feudal)
(-> you make your enemy react to you and make his play passive)
Most of the times, its important that you can handle your eco-management at the same time.
Now lets look at defending:
When to defend
->you are having/making eco but you have the smaller army and u can camp on a hill to defend a push
->you are advancing to the next age and you dont want to lose units you can upgrade later (and there is nothing to attack worth the loss of your units)
->you have the equal amount of army but cant focus on out-microing your opponent because you have to do eco/you have a bad(worse) micro
(Note: Often defending doesnt exclude raiding with smaller units groups. starting small raids vs a heavy attack can often be a very good idea, because it your opponent will need to split his army lager then you to defend, if you raid with 5 ca he needs to send 8+ to defend to make it a cost efficient trade.)
I am sure this list is incomplete and I would be very happy if you could find something to add! But now we have a basic idea about attacking and defending. You need to always weight up your and your opponents army strength. Scout and consider information like number of tcs/military buildings and game-time. Is he weaker then you? Is he missing upgrades? Can you force/trick him into a unfavorable fight? If u cant, can you afford units to raid or do you need to defend? Are you ahead or behind (in eco). How to catch up, where to raid? Ofc try to micro and lose as few units as possible.
Like everywhere its important that you start to think about your game. If you start to actively do this with passion, progress is just a matter of time.
This guide is about “Knowing what to do” and “When to attack and when to defend”. I think this guide is more theoretical than the last and mostly concerns game-theory, nonetheless it will be helpful for players who start to think about the concepts I am writing about here.
Knowing what you do
I thought for a while what the most basic skill for an aoc player could be. Is it scouting? Is it constant vil production? I myself came to the conclusion that its having a plan.
What do I mean with this?
The basis of every competitive game should be the goal to win. Therefore, one needs a plan, something to structure and hierarchize the single steps to achieve this goal. This plan consists of a general game strategy and some smaller tactics/management-skills to make this strategy work. Let me give an example:
The goal is to win the game. The strategy: Drush fc, aggressive ca raid and siege push. To do this, you need to follow the drush bo, wall, build a tower etc. This is your plan.
Do you see what i mean? You need to know what you are doing to win the game! Every step, every click has a purpose. This should be the basis of every game.
Many may think this isnt something new. But its important that you remind yourself sometimes that every single step in your games should follow a certain strategy that you wisely choose to win the game. You have to start to actively think about your game and how to win.
What does this mean in particular? Firstly, never lose your fighting-spirit until its clearly over. Put yourself in the mood that you really want to win the game, even if you are behind. Additionally it means that you shouldnt just do something but you should follow the right strategy for the situation you are in. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Macro and micro will be useless if they arent used in the right context.
You now may ask, how you can know what the right strategy is. This is highly related to the concept of incomplete information. There is the fog of war, you cant see everything on the map. But you can scout how your map is, what your enemy is up to etc. Learn to scout and learn to use the information you get! Adapt your plan correctly if you see your previous calculation was wrong.
The better you get, the better will your judgment and in-game strategy be. Keep practicing and keep thinking about your game!
When to attack and when to defend?
Its crucial to know when to attack and when not to! Many noobs simply attack because they have just build an army and want to use it! The idea is kinda right: You dont want idle vils and you dont want an idle army either! Your feudal age scouts will be useless in imp, so you better use them while they are still worth something. But blindly running to your opponent is wrong! Sometimes you have to defend or wait for the right moment.
First, let us think of what kinds of attacks there are. I find only two, but think for yourself if there are maybe more:
-Attacks to kill army (fighting for map control, preparing/executing a big push)
-Attacks to kill economy (raiding)
Now let us think about the purpose of an attack: When do you want to attack?
Attacks to kill army
->you are behind in eco but you have the bigger army
->you are ahead in eco and you have the bigger army and you dont need units to defend important spots (rule: if you are ahead, safety comes first)
->you can push your enemy back and get control over important points on the map
(-> you make your enemy react to you and make his play passive)
Attacks to kill economy
->you are behind in eco but you have the bigger army
->you are behind in eco and you have the smaller army
->you are ahead in eco but you have the smaller army but you are protected and your opponent has vulnerable spots
->you can achieve an advantage by hitting a weak point (e.g. far unprotected wood)
->you can see what your opponent is doing while attacking and gather important information (mostly related to scout raids in feudal)
(-> you make your enemy react to you and make his play passive)
Most of the times, its important that you can handle your eco-management at the same time.
Now lets look at defending:
When to defend
->you are having/making eco but you have the smaller army and u can camp on a hill to defend a push
->you are advancing to the next age and you dont want to lose units you can upgrade later (and there is nothing to attack worth the loss of your units)
->you have the equal amount of army but cant focus on out-microing your opponent because you have to do eco/you have a bad(worse) micro
(Note: Often defending doesnt exclude raiding with smaller units groups. starting small raids vs a heavy attack can often be a very good idea, because it your opponent will need to split his army lager then you to defend, if you raid with 5 ca he needs to send 8+ to defend to make it a cost efficient trade.)
I am sure this list is incomplete and I would be very happy if you could find something to add! But now we have a basic idea about attacking and defending. You need to always weight up your and your opponents army strength. Scout and consider information like number of tcs/military buildings and game-time. Is he weaker then you? Is he missing upgrades? Can you force/trick him into a unfavorable fight? If u cant, can you afford units to raid or do you need to defend? Are you ahead or behind (in eco). How to catch up, where to raid? Ofc try to micro and lose as few units as possible.
Like everywhere its important that you start to think about your game. If you start to actively do this with passion, progress is just a matter of time.