A new tactical approach to GvG

I've tried to word this article 3 times and never got quite the right tone.

I'd like to start by saying that, while this article is basically a critique of The Basin's approach to GvG the group cohesion and approach The Basin has used to date will be successful against 75% of opponents.

Its trying to improve that percentage that prompts me to offer this critique, rather than any desire to insult, offend or upset anyone. Please read it with this thought in mind. Of course, critiquing is well and good but I also offer an alternative approach to battle that I believe will achieve a significant improvement in our win ratio.

Its also an extensively long post, as I try to explain the reasons behind the decisions and conclusions presented, rather than outlining them as some "point of fact". Sorry to make you read so much, but I feel that its important to get a full picture and understand the rationale behind my proposed tactics as its a significant change to the way The Basin approach GvG battles.



Guild versus Guild

This article will focus almost entirely on GvG battles. I have had, to date, limited exposure to the Tombs battlefields and do not feel justified in making comments about them.

With Guild versus Guild, I have experienced battles with a number of different guilds, including some of the top Guilds in the alpha, as both an opponent (playing with The Basin team) and as a participant (playing as a fill-in for their teams) and I am active in discussions with various other people who are undertaking battlefield planning for GvG for their guilds.

I believe I have some insights to offer that will ultimately improve The Basin's performance in these battles.

So onto the comments.



Tactical Options

The Basin have one tactical objective in a GvG battle and we pursue it with rigorous attention. Capture the Flagpost. Its a common tactic used by many teams in GvG. This is, simply put, *wrong*.

Tactically, the flagpost is very important. I don't dispute that. But the flagpost has a very limited tactical affect. It can generate a maximum of a 10% morale boost to a team. It can also be used to offset and restore characters who suffer from Death Penalty.

The flagpost is an unlimited tactical resource. It never vanishes, is always available and can be taken at any time. Its primary advantage is to hinder the other teams recovery of DP. 10% morale boost is an insignificant boost. Let me emphasis this point. The main tactical consideration in the flagpost is the removal of an enemy advantage.

There are other tactical options that are only now beginning to be considered.

The key one is the 2 repair kits. These are limited tactical resources. They don't respawn, they can't be made, they are essential elements and give an advantage far superior to temporarily capturing the flagpost. Once secured, they cannot be retaken, leading to a permanent advantage.

Denying the opponents the ability to make use of the catapult pointed at our Guild Hall allows for far superior defensive strategies and also allows a continued attacking threat on two flanks.

Once the enemy secures our catapult, sorties necessarily need to exit from our back door, reducing our tactical options and easing the enemies defensive containment duties.

The flag itself is also a limited tactical resource. Only 1 can exist at any time (except for any existing flag in the flagpost). Control of this enemy flag equals eventual control of the flagpost. By this, I mean that if we control the enemy flag, they are unable to recapture the flagpost, should we take it from them (or already hold it).

The enemy guild thief is also a limited tactical resource. She only exists once. Control of the enemy guild thief, by killing her carrier and defending her from being collected by anyone else, secures our guildhall from any attacks.



Ebb and Flow of Battle

With our current approach to GvG battles, we pretty much win or lose based on the success of our first attack. There have been exceptions. That these are remembered and commented upon is an indication that they were unexpected. It seems The Basin is prepared to accept the outcome of a melee as the probable outcome of the war.

This is bad thinking.

Lets examine a typical situation from the BWE. We all spawn. One grabs the thief, one grabs the flag, we all rush to the middle. We try to push up as far as their NPC's if we are first to hit this area and fight them there. This allows space and room to notice if someone on their team makes a run with the flag to capture it and then we can put them down and secure the flagpost.

In many games on the weekend, because the nature of our opposition, this was easy to achieve. There were incomplete teams, teams with low levels. Teams ill-equipped to be fighting a coordinated group of 8 players. Teams just inexperienced in GvG battles.

In those situations, we won. We won, not because we had the flagpost but because we had an advantage, positionally, tactically and experiential.

In other games on the weekend, where we played against good (even great) teams, we would lose the battle for the middle ground. We allowed the enemy to secure the flagpost. Usually at the cost of AT LEAST 5 of our 8 players incurring a death.

Those games often went on to lead to defeat. Did we lose because the enemy captured the flagpost? No. We lost because our initial DP was earned for NO TACTICAL ADVANTAGE.

We often compounded our errors by immediately charging back out and trying to recover the flagpost, unless I spoke rather forcibly about staying back. Even when I spoke and some others concurred, I noted a distressing tendancy from some people to decide to freelance and move beyond our defensive lines.



Common Errors by The Basin

To digress from the flow for a moment, I would like to point out some of what I see as errors in The Basin's approach to GvG.

Bones indicates some of this in his initial post. I'd like to add some more. I'll skip target calling at the moment but will come back to it later in its own section.

Returning the enemy flag

I noted a distressing tendancy from many people to immediately return an enemy flag when its carrier is killed. When this is done without any consideration of the tactical implications, its just plain wrong.

Tactical considerations should rule the day. Control of the enemy flag, as mentioned above, is more important than control of the flagpost.

There was one classic instance where someone returned the enemy flag when it was within range of the archers on our Guildhall walls. To be fair, when I screamed blue murder over TS, the offending party accepted it was a mistake and I'd assume wont make it again.

If we return their flag, its easy for them to get it again. If we leave their flag on the ground, they must come to us to acquire it!

Focus on the flagpost

I mentioned it above, but it needs stressing again. The Basin focuses too heavily on securing the flagpost. This is wrong.

Teamspeak Use

I also noted that during the course of a battle, fully 25% of comments were simply not required. Chatter on TS (and I admit I was guilty of it at times also) decreases the overall effectiveness of the team by reducing the teams responsive to comments that ARE important.

The only thing that should be spoken on TS during the course of a GvG battle should be comments about tactical or strategic conditions of the battlefield, requests for support or statements about planning our next move. Again, more on target calling in a bit!

I realise we are a social guild and success on the ladder or even being "good" at GvG is not important to a lot of people and that TS is a great opportunity to get together and have a chinwag.

I'd only encourage that such discussions not be undertaken during the course of a GvG battle, unless there is no actual battle going on. A discussion of skills and how good X is while others are trying to call targets or organise strategy is just bad form, punishing those people who are trying to enjoy GvG.

Tolerance and patience obviously, but when the fur starts flying, we need to leave social discourse and focus our attention on being the best we can and supporting the Basiners who get their gaming pleasure from participating in GvG battles.

Positioning

The Basin have a belief that the team of 8 should stick together. This flies in the face of tactical considerations for splitting the team up. This is mostly organisational and is easy to recify by defining roles more clearly before battle, beyond who is doing target calling, thief dragging and flag carrying.

Spare flags

It has become habit for people respawning to immediately grab a flag if its there and take it back to the battle. This flag is often dropped up on the hill or near the flagpost or even by the hut at our side of the central location. This is seriously wrong. This exposes a tactical element of battle to attack or control by our enemy.

If we have the flagpost, our flag should remain where it spawns. If we don't have the flagpost, our flag should only be moved from here when we are making a run to plant it.

Okay, enough about some of the errors I noted during the weekend, onto the nuts and bolts. http://www.theamazonbasin.com/gw/forums/index.php?showtopic=808

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