Week 3 - Concept - Opening and Expanding

Portions of the ACS curriculum for public consumption.
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Clay_Pigeon
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Post by Clay_Pigeon »

Opening Moves

The standard opening
The purchases you make early on effect your entire game. The settings and faction effect what you purchase first. However, you can usually use a rule of thumb and purchase a miner, outpost, teleport, and refinery and sometimes enhanced constructor.

I almost always get enhanced constructor, so long as the faction allows me to get it out before the initial outpost launches(with IC, you will need to buy enhanced constructor before you purchase the outpost). Enhanced constructor improves the constructor's the signature, speed and hull, allowing you to push your constructors further and take more of the map faster. On lower money settings, enh con is sometimes hard to fit into the budget. An acceptable trade off is to wait a little bit to finish your refinery and get the enh con first.

Should you go Rix, IC, Belters, or TF (factions that have purchasable items upon start), partial last purchase(right mouse click) so that you can still have money to hand out.

Your outpost should go 2 sectors from home, in a strategically important sector (see below). Your refinery goes behind the outpost to begin building the mining chain. Your teleport builds at home, on a rock that is in front of a green door (and we cannot stress this enough).

Offensive openings and gambits

Carrier use
Factions with starting fighters may want to buy a carrier with their opening money, forgoing an initial refinery or enh con if necessary. Carriers can be devastating when they are placed in the enemy's refinery/mining sectors. Here the carrier can be kept alive by one or two nanite scouts while the rest of the team rips in with fighters and destroys the economy.

Carriers can also be used for miner defense, especially against tac. If you have a carrier in a sector with your miners, your defense will be able to get resupplied quickly and new defenders can rip in. For factions with interceptors as starting ships, carriers can act as home rips while the commander pushes his initial teleport to propel additional outposts forward (see below).

The downside is that carriers cost as much as an outpost, more than a teleport, and approx half of a techbase. While carriers are mobile, they are easier to kill than a built base (esp vs fighters or basic tac) and have energy reserves that limit the number of ships that can ripcord at one time. If a bunch of fighters rip to a carrier, the carrier may die for lack of nans. Used wisely by a focused team, carriers are very difficult to stop. Used haphazardly by an unfocused team, a carrier can be a waste of money.

Sector rush
DrS popularized this strategy. The idea is to get the entire team to rush the enemy home. Get one or two scouts to scout a path and have the entire team in an offensive craft (int/fig). The key to this working properly is to insure they stay coordinated so they actually manage to kill the enemy's econ and not get sidetracked chasing down enemies. Follow the horde with your outpost, and make sure your team doesn't rush until the outpost is safe. To avoid being completely blind, you may want to pick a few scouts to travel off in different sectors and drop probes.

The gambit here is that if you get bomb rushed and your team has lt ints to start, chances are that you won't fare well.

Bomb rush
The idea is simple: Get a base next to the enemy home, buy bombers ASAP, and put your entire team on a bomb run. Win by killing their garrison before they get a techbase. This approach can work very well if your bomber is not eyed and/or the enemy hasn't seen your opening op yet. If a bomber (or two) with a 10 nan train rolls into the enemy home unannounced, you just might win the game.

The problem here is that you end up committing a lot of resources to a very risky venture. If it fails, you're left with almost no map control, while the enemy is working on its techbase and/or a 3rd round of ops/teles. You'll have to bomb them back to claim more of the map for mining, but probers will now be looking for you. Given that there are many ways that this can fail, bomb rushing is not a recommended course of action for most situations. Chances are fairly good that the enemy will see the opening base, and probewhores will eye the bomber when they probe that sector. Factions like Belters can get their techbase out very very quickly, so you might successfully bomb the garr and still lose the game. You might roll unannounced into their home with 2 bombers and 10 nans, and still not kill the garr because of good prox drops, smart d, and/or bad luck.

Tech rush
In almost all cases, commanders should not even consider buying a techbase until AFTER their first round of constructors plants. Even then, many commanders go for a 2nd round of small constructors/four miners before buying a techbase. A commander could open with buying a techbase and try to out-tech the enemy. This is almost universally a bad idea.

The problem is that a techbase will consume most of a team's opening funds, while only securing 1 (maybe 2) sectors to mine. Mining will take forever, because miners will have to backtrack to drop off at home. While you might get tech up first, you have no easy access to enemy assets. The main reason why you bought the tech base (tech) ends up being useless to you. All the while, the enemy will have expanded all around you and will probably get adv tech up before you do.

There are a few situations where this might actually work. Most of them are stupid (stupid money, stupid stack, stupid map). In theory, if you are IC, and you go tac, and the enemy doesn't have good miner d, and your light ints suffice for d, and it is a big map, then this might work (once). In general, however, don't do this in a real game.

Pushes
This involves pushing one or both of your cons farther than they would go otherwise (usually 3 or more sectors from home). The benefits are obvious (more of the map), but there are some economic and strategic drawbacks to consider. Pushing your op con disrupts your mining chain, and makes you a better bombing target. When deciding whether or not to push, consider the following factors:
  • What do you want to accomplish? Pushing your op is great for miner harassment and bomb rushes. If you're not bomb rushing and the enemy isn't going to mine on that side of the map, you have little to gain by pushing. However, that push just made your op easier to bomb and disrupted your mining chain.
  • Do you have ehn con with good defense on the op? If your cons are standard, pushing is risky but doable. If you don't have good d with good starting ships, don't push.
  • Did the enemy send his/her con the same way? If so, pushing probably won't work unless you have a vastly superior escort (which you probably don't).
No Homerip
In this popular gambit, the initial teleport is sent forward instead of built at home. The tele con could follow the op con and plant in some sector on (or off) the op con's path of travel. The tele con could be sent to some other strategic sector, or to a desirable tech rock. You've seen (and will see) variations on this gambit as we discuss specific factions and maps. No matter when the theme, the basic idea behind this move is always the same: send the tele con forward to claim more of the map and speed future expansion.

This approach can work well if you follow it up with more expansion and get a homerip up soon. An opening carrier can double as a homerip for the first minutes of the game, and factions like TF and Rix can use miners/scouts as homerips until a proper one is built.

Still, this approach is not without drawbacks. If the enemy opens by rushing your home (with a con, bomber, or miner hunters) and you don't have a homerip, it will be very very bad for you. If your team starts with lt ints and you push the teleport forward, the enemy will bomb it and will likely succeed. If you have a weaker starting faction, sending your cons in two directions will split your D. If you run into the enemy's opening cons (and they have nominal d), you'll probably lose one (or both) of your cons.

Some faction specific notes from certain commanders

Giga
Shizoku makes a comment about Giga
QUOTE
Giga can research patrollers, which are basicaly a scout with less scan and speed and a fair amount more power. On most money settings these are really useful ships to have, acting for defense and offense. You will want these almost always, one exception is that if you are rushing expansion, as you can get ints up so quickly, it's not really worth researching the patties.[/quote]
Ozzy makes the following Giga suggestion
QUOTE
A good Giga strategy I've found is to buy bombers asap and force your team to bomb. (scouts or bomber guys) . Giga has a nice window to end the game if your team will cooperate. But then, get a tech up asap because giga bases WILL die.[/quote]
Technoflux
Shizoku makes this observation
QUOTE
TF has the ability to use skycap towers, on higher money settings these are worth getting because they act as incredible miner, conn, and early bomb rush defense. Another item that TF has is the ability to mount light booster on their scouts giving them a large speed boost, this should always be either purchased initially, or at the very least, initially partialed.[/quote]
Anguirel makes the following suggestion for opening with Tf
QUOTE
OP, Ref, Miner, TP, Light Booster in about that order. Send initial TP out for: tech, expansion, or with OP depending on situation. Use your miners for initial homerip, second TP can build at home if your didn't use the first for a tech-base rip. The ref is incredibly important for TF, as their miners are slow as hell but they mine incredibly quickly. If the enmy is Tac, you can consider bombers early, otherwise get your tech up. Start the tech base upgrade at the same time as the Enh ship research. Keep those miners going and you should be able to have Adv Tech done in between 15 and 20 minutes.[/quote]
Partialling bombers is also useful with Tf. Technoflux's basic bombers are dangerous offensive and defensive ships, even against advanced tac and sup. With the lower cost and longer research time, you can partial bombers and not suffer from sticker shock.

IC
As Weed discussed in the IC article , some commanders like to buy their techbase immediately after their first round of opening constructors. Others like to focus on expanding first. Some commanders like to buy enh con if they can, while others eschew it. There is a consensus that if you buy enh con, do it first (before buying your first op and tele). IC small cons have a 2 minute preparatory time, so buying enh cons first insures that your first cons will be enhanced.

Dreg/Rix
Several commanders suggested buying enhanced constructors (even if you have to do without a ref), and many also recommended enhanced miners early. This may or may not be compatible with the strategy you have in mind (or the funds available), but it is a suggestion you should nevertheless consider.

Belters
Anguirel makes the following suggestion about Belters
QUOTE
Initial cons, buy your third (1.5 minutes in or so) miner, then invest in bombers. Belter Bombers are incredibly powerful for offense and defense, and also very inexpensive. There's literally no better use for ~$6k of your early funds. If you get the chance to push an OP, you can bomb early and hard before they get tech. If you both build in the same spot you can bomb it out. If they bomb rush you, you can use the bomber to defend far more effectively than regular fighters (and then counter bomb). Heck, you can even use a bomber for miner D in a pinch. After one or two OPs, I'd suggest TP+Tech bases for expanding, especially if they go Tac or Sup.[/quote]
CronoDroid makes this Belters recommendation
QUOTE
On 1.25 starting money, you can afford everything and both Enh Miner and Con, no reason not to get Enh Miner but you may withold Enh Con for tech or a carrier. However as Belters are quite cheap Enh Con will help expanding immensely.[/quote]
GT
CronoDroid writes:
QUOTE
You only have to buy a miner, op and tele, even on 1.0 there is enough for Enh Miner or if you wait for the payday a one cashbox that's a carrier. GT Carriers are incredibly tough and can be used to harass the enemy miners with a few good carrier pilots on your team. Enh Miners on the other hand help GT's slow mining and are absolute tanks with 1.0 Hull and 1.1 Shield.[/quote]
Expanding

Reading the map
Every map has key sectors, aka "choke" sectors. Each map has certain sectors you must control to win. Consider the Star map, which has two "primary" choke sectors and two "secondary" choke sectors.


The primary chokes are sectors 2 and 5. If you control both of these sectors, the enemy has no where to go that isn't 1 sector from one of your bases. The can't expand or mine. Their only hope is to bomb or run their cons/miners through a 2 sector gauntlet to the middle track. The two secondary choke sectors are 10 and 7. Aside from home sectors, any sector on the map is adjacent to 10 and 7, meaning that your team has easy access to every sector on the map if you control 10 and 7. Additionally, 10 and 7 provide the only access to the center track, providing you with 2-4 sectors of safe mining.

If you're thinking about Star, you want to control one of the primary choke sectors. Bonus if you get both, but the enemy is also trying to secure a primary choke. Chances are you'll only get one. It will help you a great deal if you can control one (or several) secondary choke sectors as well. On star, the secondary choke closest to your home is the easiest to secure, and will help you secure several sectors on the map for safe mining. If you can secure it with a teleport, you can rip additional constructors forward and send them down the center track to seal it. On the other hand, securing the secondary choke on the enemy's side of the map will give you easy access to anywhere the enemy could possibly be mining. You don't get the same mining security, but you can easily with the economy war by killing enemy miners. This is a good route if your team has the whorepower.

Just be sure that your team probes. The disadvantage to owning a sector like 10 or 7 is that the enemy can bomb you along several different routes, and one of those routes probably involves an aleph very close to your base. Whip your team and get them probing, or its a wasted effort.

The moral of the story is that each map has key sectors. Look for them. The sectors that secure territory and afford easy access to enemy mining are the sectors that you want to control. Once you learn to read maps in this way, you'll begin making smarter decisions in the opening phases of the game.

When to buy tech
Knowing when to transition from the early-game land grab to buying and developing tech is tricky. Doing it too soon will stunt your econ and mid-game. Doing it too late will get you wiped off the map. There are several factors to consider:
  • The map and your current expansion -- Have you secured enough He rocks to support advanced tech? Know approximately how much money is in each sector (see supplemental post).
  • Miner access -- Can your team disrupt the enemy's mining easily enough? Do you have some good launching points for miner o?
  • The enemy commander -- If the enemy com is very aggressive, you need to get tech up early. Otherwise, you can put it off and focus on expansion.
  • Faction -- Some IC commanders like to buy their tech base almost immediately after their first round of constructors. The idea is to get a leg up in the techrace. Others will pursue some mix of partialling the techbase and early expansion. Belters can also get tech out early, since they can buy their tech fast and still afford to pump out a 2nd round of constructors. Factions like BIOS and Dreg have to wait, because their techbase is so much more expensive.
Pushing
An effective mid/late game expansion strategy is to put a con into a sector controlled by the enemy. Not only do you get a good shot at taking the sector away from them and/or threatening a techbase, but you also occupy the enemy while your team can do something else (tp2, sbs, etc). The following commanders have some suggestions about good pushes:
Jell writes
QUOTE
  • You should have enh. cons
  • Send them in probed areas with at least 1 escort.
  • All depending on enemy talent, tech, faction, and distance from your building spot, you have to dose the amount of escort (extreme: building in the enemy's home when they are tacspansion and turtling in their home).
  • If you're bombing, it's always easier to send the con behind, or to somewhere else, and divide their defense, provided the escort can properly choose to escort the bomber or the con given the D pattern.
[/quote]Da_Muck writes
QUOTE
The tactic I see used most often is to send it in behind an offensive action of your own, such as rushing their miner or a bomb run. A second factor of it is good scouting/deprobing... IE the first time they see the con is when it comes in behind your miner sweep/bomb run/whatever, forcing them to either defend the target or kill the con. 9 times out of 10, a smart team should worry about stopping your Offensive action first, then counterbombing if possible.

The other major factor is communication, making sure the team knows what you are about to do and stand ready to support it. If your not combining the con push with an offensive action, you need to have 3 good scouts who know how to use their mines effecticely and 2-3 figs/ints to protect the nans.

You also cant play around with it, you need to build the con on the closest rock to the aleph that you can, even if its not in that great a position. The longer the con spends in sector, the more chance the defenders have of massing overwhelming force. Best places to pull this are vs Tele or Ref;s vs an expansion team, or sectors without Rips for a team that can rip. The key is to choose a sector where the enemy CANT respond quickly, near as I can tell.[/quote]Grey_Slayer writes
QUOTE
If its a sector they wanna hang on to, you need hvy D or keep em busy with something else in another sector. Having some eyes in the sector where you are pushing is good, then you can see if they are coming to kill it and can send it elsewhere, as opposed to having it walk into a camp.

When commanding expansion I try to not have my OPs walk too long by having well placed teles. For an example on Hihi, I can send a tele high and have it build as close as possible next to the aleph leading to the sector adjancent to enemy home. Later an OP only has to rip in and cross a few k in order to reach the target sector. As an additional bonus, if the enemy sends a con into the tele sector I can have ppl attacking it very quickly in scouts, or with a bomber if I got em.[/quote]
Knowing your team and the enemy
The tech path that you choose and how you expand should be affected by who is on your team and who is on the enemy team. For example, if you have several int whores on your team, go exp. If you have several good sfs pilots, go tac. If teams are very large, sup is a good choice (especially if the map isn't tight) as sup's power really reveals itself in large teams. If you have a lot of new/intermediate players, missile techpaths like sup or tac usually work better than exp.

Conversely, if a well known bomber whore is on the enemy team, assume that you're going to be bombed. Plant your first teleport at home and don't push your outpost. If the enemy commander is more of a build-up-then-push kind of player, then you can postpone your techbase for a few minutes and expand more. If several members of the same squad are on the same team, assume they will be coming for your miners together. Probe and beef up your miner d.

It is always good to have some skilled miner whores on your team.


Credits: Shiz, Clay, Anguirel , Jell, Grimmwolf, NakPPI, Ozzy, Da_Muck, Grey_Slayer, CronoDroid
Last edited by Clay_Pigeon on Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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