Skirmish tactics for any race.

[Guest Kazrael]

This is the third post I'm posting, and it'll probably be my last, unless I do decide to post a tips post later on when I learn some new things. In this post I'll go into the details of starting off your base in a skirmish game setting with no base. If you have a base already just follow the ladder strategies for the most part.

A skirmish game, which is much like the usual type of games I enjoyed so much in AoK or Starcraft, sadly is lacking at the moment due to a lack of good players who play it. It seems the better players choose to play ladder instead, but I like fighting multiple opponents at once, so a ladder game isn't as fun for me as a good 2v2 or a 3~4 man ffa. It's what made me decide to write these posts in the first place, after playing a few 4 man ffas where I killed all of them, and got cussed at liberally by a few foul mouthed 12 year olds. Let us start with a standard 10000 cred, MCV only game.

Now, in such a game, establishing an army early is far more important then getting up a good economy. Human opponents are not computers. They don't necessarily wait until you make 2 power supplies, a refinery and finally get around to the barracks.

Your build order should be a barracks first, a factory, then a refinery while pumping units nonstop from the first two buildings.

I often end up finishing my opponent in the first 4~5 minutes of the game because I upgrade my barracks the moment it is finished, and after my five scouts I make two engineers which I then send to my opponents base, which the scouts will have found by then.

Often by the time I arrive he has a barracks, a refinery, and has pumped a few scouts, basically no infantry, the few that he made sitting right at the entrance of his barracks... and if he's a slightly better player then average has just finished his factory.

All end up being easy pickings for the engineers and the game is over right then.

It is extremely simple to avoid having this happen to you. Two first level infantry at each entry point to your base and nothing goes through. And yet because these players are so used to the computer waiting a good 7~8 minutes before sending a single unit to their base they assume people will do the same, and scream foul when they get attacked earlier than that. This works in the lowest setting that gives you 10000 res. You'll find people often choose to increase that limit even up to 30000, which only works in your benefit.

Even should the engineers fail, unless your opponent followed a similar build order you can send your army the moment the engineers failed and completely overpower any force he may have collected up to that point, knocking out his harvesters and continuing with the usual strategy.

Should you have the good fortune to run into a player who is good enough to fight off the initial attack, continue with your second refinery and upgrade your factory to produce the elite unit you require to continue the assault. A missile tank, a kobra, a minotaur, whatever it be you will likely require something to take out certain targets that your standard army of infantry and level 1 mechs will have a problem with.

remembr that the waypoints from the barracks and the factory should be right at your frontline, minimizing the homeground advantage he has in supplying reinforcements. Of course, if you're losing on the front it would be prudent to reset your waypoints closer to your base, move back your remaining units and head back again at the same time with your reinforcements.

There you have it. The rest if any should be covered in the other two posts. Have fun in the game. I'll be looking forward to a lot of people kicking my ass soon. :)

[cyclonus]

uhhh most experienced players in most any RTS game knows, that. But I agree that finding an opponnent of a high calibre is hard, seeing as how many newbies join in the RA2 everyday.

[djhenry]

Even better modification: rush with mixed group of assaul troopers and your sleasiest fighter, no matter what house u choose, and there u have it: westwoods' classic rudsh

b.t.w

all gamers in WOL start a game in that way anyways

so.... would work only on these nebies

[Guest Sandwarrior]

I would like to thank kazrael for his help in getting a starting strategy for emperor.

The game is much faster and more agressive than AoK, SC and even RA2, which is quite enjoyable if you dont want to play a 2+ hour game if you go 2vs2 or even more. The strategies he posted do make sense and work very well, at least thats what I can report. With players like him those newbies, like me, get quite good in a few games and we can have a challenging dune environment with good players who dont always scream: I hate those nubs...

Hope to hear more from you,

The Sandwarrior

[fedaykin_jatin]

another infantry rush guy... again ..6 snipers at entrance, spread out into 3 groups so they dont die in oneshot. u run i shoot, u die live.

well somehow i prefer to use snipers to scout then scouts,...can get that elite statu earlier in the game..

oh yeah. how do u send ur elite troops into the barrracks? ? ? ? i cant

[bob_fox]

Yes, yes, yes, these are all wonderful strategies, but don't they make the game a little boring? Play against better players and you'll have a much more interesting game. These games are supposed to be strategic; you're not supposed to be able to win by rushing people in the first five minutes of the game. Where's the fun in that?

[casper]

I really hate it that westwood keeps using that taskbar thing which doesn't let you build two vehicles at the same time. In dune2 you could make 20 palaces and then drop of 20 missiles on the enemy and it was also important to build multiple bases across the desert on the rocks. I still like to make multiple bases but nowadays it really doesn't make any sense to do it. Just like in starcraft you could just make 5 factories and really start pumping in some units.

[fedaykin_jatin]

lol.. still play dune 2. must fun game still .the first computer game i ever touched in my life.

[bob_fox]

Still play Dune 2? Are you nuts? I mean, sure it was a good game when it came out (it was a GREAT game when it came out), but I couldn't bear playing it now. I can't bear going CLICK MOVE CLICK, CLICK MOVE CLICK etc. etc. instead of selecting the whole bloomin' group at the same time and clicking once.

I actually did try the game recently :(. Made me sick.

[casper]

What are you talking about. I had no problems with such things

[Guest xlz1040]

what do you guys have on newbies... dont you like to win???!!