Greetings !
My name is Mumufx and I suck at Allegiance. I suck so much that one may tell me to go back to play "Pacman". Please note that I also suck at Pacman.
In order to desuck myself (yeah, from now, "desuck" is a valid verb and its definition will appear in the coming year 2012 version dictionnary), I applied to AFS but before I can ask any "silly" question to instructor, I told myself that my here under questions could be usefull for any newcomers.
I do know that my questions may be hard to reply to, due to numerous in-game factors, and there aren't any Teh-real-true-answer, but I'm awaiting any "in general" answers such "IF that or that, then USUALLY you should do that".
I. FACTS
Here are the facts :
* very early (read : "beginning") stage of the game ;
* I'm on scout duty (obviously) ;
* miners / constructors have to be protected NOW ;
* I'm too far (due to scout duty) to come back in time to help efficiently ;
* I'm close so I can go to help but my ship is not equipped with proper defense items ;
I'm always considering the worst case : Miners/Cons are killed and I therefore question myself whether I did right or wrong. Obviously, if miners / cons are saved, I may tend to think that what I did was correct (even though it isn't, so you to tell me).
Allllll right, let's go.
II. SCENARIO
Consider a game just started (whatever faction, etc.). As I understood when reading wiki pages, it is most important to scout the nearby sectors and mainly find aleph so that the commander know what to do (and if one didn't read the wiki, she/he can't ignore the "Find aleph!" spam). I usually start launching a scout fully loaded with probes (though there is always a nan in cargo/equipped + a mine pack in case a bloodthirsty-full-of-hate ennemy is willing to have an easy prey or for emergency defense purpose) and going to scout the sector while happily whistling in my cockpit. As far as I know, up to that point I'm not mistaken. I often have direct orders from Commanders to head here or there which helps me. I usually drop probes on the way (probably not the most effective location but as time is of essence, priority is to find Aleph/Base, not to try to find the best spot to drop a probe).
BUT, very soon, usually at the exact moment where I grab a bottle of fresh beer fom behind the cool pipes, the happy time is over : the chat is showing "Protect the miners!" and "Protect the Cons!". For dumb people like me, that message is repeated over and over so even though I'm peeing in cargo, thanks to loudspeakers, I can't really miss the orders.
At that point, I feel rather disappointed as any action I could do seem to be a nearly total failure (worst cases) :
* I carry on probing/scouting (telling myself that more skilled people will attend the defense duty) and we loose miners/cons : I feel guilty as even a single shot of nan could have saved miner/Cons) ;
* I go back home but due to lack of teleport feature it take me ages to get there and, guess what ?, miners / cons are dead ;
* I go back to "under fire" sector but due to lack of defensive stuff (only have that nan), miners/cons are killed.
Don't get me wrong : I'm not taking myself for a powered and knowgeable player which can efficiently keep alive both miners and cons just because I'm showing in nearby sectors (in which case opponents, of course, when they see me, boost away screaming and farting). Of course not. BUT if I were here, in middle of defense duty, it would actually HELP (even a little !) to save cons/miner.
III. QUESTIONS
Q1 : I'm far away from home (and therefore from Cons/Miners) : what should I do ?
Let's assume at that point I'm 3 or 4 sector away from home, no ripcord facility, no more direct order from Comm to go here or there, just the above general orders ("Protect teh miners, you morons !!"). That means I can't be quickly back home or in cons'/miners' sector.
What should I do ? I mean, there are many others players which are closer than me to Cons/Miners, and who could do the protection job. Even though no one go for protection duty (unlikely to happen), by the time I get there all cons/miners would be dead if opponent is already killing. So is it worth to TRY To go there anyway ? Should I run back home or miners' sector and do the protection duty even if it "seems" hopeless (simply because it COULD be usefull, finally) ? Or should I keep on exploring more sectors to find more aleph or more ennemy activity, relying on teammates (closer ones, that is) to do the defense duty ?
Q2 : I'm close home (and beers await in fridge) : what should I protect first ?
Now, suppose I have the possibility to quickly go back home (ripcord available / I'm not that far from home or from the sector the miners/cons are / I know that "take-me-here-at-once" cheat code). What should I protect first : Miners or Cons ?
One could tell me : "Ask the Comm". Yes, I agree, but since it's usually an hectic part (when under attack), Comm may not answer at once and the time it takes to me to take a decision at that point may be deadly for either Cons either Miners, providing either of them (or both) are threatened at that time. I red on wiki that buying even a few seconds might save a lot, so what "reflex" should I have at that moment apart hiding in toilets ?
To me, the Cons has highest priority over the miners at that point, but I may be mistaken so you to tell me.
If miners are attacked : shall I stick to Cons (providing I'm currently escorting Cons) ?
If Cons is attacked : shall I stick to miners (providing I'm currently nursing the miners) ?
What if both are threatened and I'm on either of them ?
Do you prefer omelet or fried eggs ?
Q3 : Cargo load : to load or not to load
All right, whatever the decision, I'm heading to either miners or Cons. But, as you remember, my scout was loaded with Probes and, in order to perform properly a Defense duty, I better have a nan (which I always carry so it's even irrelevant to mention it here) and also Prox mines / Missiles / Guns / Picture of Margaret Thatcher. If I had time, I better dock, refill cargo with defense items, launch and head to Cons/Miners. But, unfortunately, I do not have time as minimap is showing miners / cons are already threatened (when not already under attack).
2 worst cases :
* I dock, reload prox and other defense whatnot, launch, head to miner/cons and ... too late, they're all dead and I tell myself "Damn you ! if you didn't dock you could have maybe probably perhaps possibly saved them !";
* I don't dock and directly head toward cons/miner (lowering my signature at maximum) to nan them and I usually hear in communication speakers an evil "Bwhahahahaha !! Do you prefer to be podded or podded ?" right before i'm actually really podded (I could have delay being podded if I had a few prox) ;
The question here is : must I take the time to reload defense items (Prox, ...) or should I head at once to Miners/Cons only using my nan ?
My point is if I go to protect Cons/Miners only with a Nan I'll probably survive a few seconds before I'm podded. Gain of action : zero.
However, that's what I'm telling myself, if I take the time to reload prox, missile, whatever defense items (even if that means I "loose" one minute), opponent may have time to kill a miner but once I'll reach the sector I'll be more able to protect remaining miners even for a few seconds more by firing missiles, dropping prox, (or dropping missiles, firing prox, it all depends on my finger I'd say ^^ ) which would slow down the damage done on Miner (buying time so my experienced teammates rush in and hopefully save them).
Althought that choice may make sense for miners (still, can be a bad idea), it doesn't make sense at all for Constructor : once dead, it's dead (till one is built again but that is a big loss). For that Cons defense I'm totally clueless about whether or not I should reload before. My 7th sense (yeah, 6th one is overrated nowadays) tells me to rush in Cons' defense if it's attacked, even with only a nan, and to refill cargo with defense items if it's not attacked.
What do you say ?
Thanks in advance for any tips, piece of advice, secret way-of-playing or credit card code (don't forget the number at the back) you could give me.
PS : just kidding about secret way-of-playing, of course.
Early (beginning) stage in a game
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TurkeyXIII
- Posts: 1460
- Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 3:18 am
- Location: Melbourne, Aus
For you at start of game. load a nan and prox,fill cargo with all prox. go to the sector where con is going. prox fwd aleph if possible.
otherwise stay away from con till it takes damage, then move in and nan it and keep dropping prox.
some other things...after tech base builds, probe sectors around techbase sector.
otherwise stay away from con till it takes damage, then move in and nan it and keep dropping prox.
some other things...after tech base builds, probe sectors around techbase sector.
Cry,'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war -Julius Ceasar
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turtlefist
- Posts: 147
- Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:36 am
- Location: Tasmania
Wow. You may suck at allegiance, but you totally rock at the wall o' text!
So the first thing you should do is not be so far away from the cons in the first place. (You'll find that being able to predict where you're going to need to be 30 seconds from now accounts for far more than any other skill in the game, including dogfighting). In competetive squad games, the majority of players are with the opening cons, only 2 or 3 pilots scout the other directions. I find that if I assume "someone else will take care of con defense" in pickup games, more times than not, I regret the decision. Most of the time, if I'm not the scout finding the way for the initial con, then I am at least trailing behind it, or already making plans to circle back the very moment the comm announces where it's going. Yes, finding the rest of the map (and more specifically, the enemy's opening cons) is important, but it's priority #2.The answer is very situationally dependent. What are you closest to? Which is less defended? Which has more attackers on it? Which of the two do you even have a hope of saving? If you leave con defense to defend miners, what happens 30 seconds later when the con comes under attack? Etc. A half-and-half loadout (3 probes, 2 mines, for instance) saves a lot of time in situations like these. More often than not, I fly with a mixed scout loadout, capable of helping nan a con, prox an aleph, probe a sector, and help kill a miner all in the same sortie. Only later in the game do I switch to an all-prox loadout (for mining alephs to our mining sector) or all-probes loadout (when map control is fairly set and I can rely on teammates to attack the miners I spot).
So the first thing you should do is not be so far away from the cons in the first place. (You'll find that being able to predict where you're going to need to be 30 seconds from now accounts for far more than any other skill in the game, including dogfighting). In competetive squad games, the majority of players are with the opening cons, only 2 or 3 pilots scout the other directions. I find that if I assume "someone else will take care of con defense" in pickup games, more times than not, I regret the decision. Most of the time, if I'm not the scout finding the way for the initial con, then I am at least trailing behind it, or already making plans to circle back the very moment the comm announces where it's going. Yes, finding the rest of the map (and more specifically, the enemy's opening cons) is important, but it's priority #2.The answer is very situationally dependent. What are you closest to? Which is less defended? Which has more attackers on it? Which of the two do you even have a hope of saving? If you leave con defense to defend miners, what happens 30 seconds later when the con comes under attack? Etc. A half-and-half loadout (3 probes, 2 mines, for instance) saves a lot of time in situations like these. More often than not, I fly with a mixed scout loadout, capable of helping nan a con, prox an aleph, probe a sector, and help kill a miner all in the same sortie. Only later in the game do I switch to an all-prox loadout (for mining alephs to our mining sector) or all-probes loadout (when map control is fairly set and I can rely on teammates to attack the miners I spot).
Globemaster_III wrote:QUOTE (Globemaster_III @ Jan 11 2018, 11:27 PM) as you know i think very little of cashto, cashto alway a flying low pilot, he alway flying a trainer airplane and he rented
First of all, yes there are secret arts of flying... but it will take you a while to find the path to the school of ninjas.
With regards to the situations you describe, there a few things you can do.
First of all, if it's a squad game or you got an anal comm, you might know who's on con D and who's a forward scout.
If it's not a game like that, you need finely tuned situational awareness to sense when the cons or miners are in danger either because the enemy is very aggressive or because your team is differently abled with regards to con D. This SitAw just takes time to develop... play, watch what goes on and with some luck, you'll start seeing patterns.
Other tricks:
If you probe efficiently, you can carry less probes and have room for prox and an extra rack of missiles (dumbs on decent cores, qf on XC
).
Ask the comm where the con will go and plan your scouting so that you're ahead of it or otherwise within reach.
If you're escorting the con with a nan, you can still do some damage to attackers:
Prox is deadly if your SitAw Fu is strong. Start by spamming Alephs and get better. Timing is a good first thing to learn, get a feel for how fast the enemy is and when he's going to be at the relevant Aleph. If you can time it to within 1 minute and you got 30-45 seconds worth of prox, you have a good chance. OFC, the enemy might not be coming to your sector at all, so chances of an actual kill are lower, but it's not kills you want, it's defending the con.
In a face to face fight, your gatt and a few missiles and prox while flying backwards can keep a lone attacker busy for a moment. Lead him away from the con!
With regards to the situations you describe, there a few things you can do.
First of all, if it's a squad game or you got an anal comm, you might know who's on con D and who's a forward scout.
If it's not a game like that, you need finely tuned situational awareness to sense when the cons or miners are in danger either because the enemy is very aggressive or because your team is differently abled with regards to con D. This SitAw just takes time to develop... play, watch what goes on and with some luck, you'll start seeing patterns.
Other tricks:
If you probe efficiently, you can carry less probes and have room for prox and an extra rack of missiles (dumbs on decent cores, qf on XC
).Ask the comm where the con will go and plan your scouting so that you're ahead of it or otherwise within reach.
If you're escorting the con with a nan, you can still do some damage to attackers:
Prox is deadly if your SitAw Fu is strong. Start by spamming Alephs and get better. Timing is a good first thing to learn, get a feel for how fast the enemy is and when he's going to be at the relevant Aleph. If you can time it to within 1 minute and you got 30-45 seconds worth of prox, you have a good chance. OFC, the enemy might not be coming to your sector at all, so chances of an actual kill are lower, but it's not kills you want, it's defending the con.
In a face to face fight, your gatt and a few missiles and prox while flying backwards can keep a lone attacker busy for a moment. Lead him away from the con!
Last edited by Spinoza on Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I. FACTS
You will be in a pod alot, while in a pod press f1 and read the GamePlay/Techpaths section.
II. SCENARIO
Ok 1st off you need to decide what it is you are going to do.
* Are you going to probe?
* Are you going to scout ahead for threats?
* Are you going to stay with the cons?
* Are you going on miner O?
Depending on which one you pick you will have a different loadout.
Never ever asume that someone else will attend defense duty, not even if a pilot shouts they have it under control. Its always safe practice just to head back home BUT only if you are not doing something directly like attacking a miner, blowing up a base etc...
III. ANSWERS
A1 : Start to head back, unless you are actually 'looking at' or attacking the other teams miners or constructors.
A2: Your FRIDGE of course... deffinatley omelet but then again fried eggs on toast so quick when your hungry.
A3: Once in the same sector as miner/cons, Ask yourself.
How far am I from the miner/con?
How far is the miner/con from a friendly base? (teleport included) (does not include refineries)
What is attacking the miner/cons?
How many are attacking?
(Later with more exp. you will ask WHO is attacking?)
How much health has miner/con lost?
SCOUTS
If miner/con is really close to you and next to a friendly base and 1 scout has just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your gatt ready to fire and missiles locking on. SHOOT that mofo for thinking they could go solo.
If miner/con is on the other side of the sector and 1 scout has just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your nan ready to fire but make sure you start to slow down before you reach the attackers or you will just fly straight past.
FIGHTERS
If miner/con is really close to you and next to a friendly base and 2 fighters just started attacking the miner/con you can either dock and load prox and a few missiles, or head to the miner/con. Drop prox, nan and if you are able to lock on to those fighters while still nanning fire those missiles.
If miner/con is other side of sector of the sector and 2 fighters just started attacking the miner/con go to it ready to Nan but make sure you slow down and remember the button that fires your chaffs. Any missiles that are not hitting the miner is good news for you and the rest of your team.
INTERCEPTORS
If miner/con is really close to you and a friendly base and 3 interceptors just started attacking the miner/con you can either dock and load all prox, or head to the miner/con. Drop prox like your trying to get rid of a flesh eatin disease and nan your miner.
If miner/con is other side of sector of the sector and 3 interceptors just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your nan ready to fire but make sure you SLOW DOWN before you reach the attackers. The thing is most attackers want to get the kill, so they will focus only on the miner, only after a while will they notice that its not dying (-_-), This is one of those times where who is attacking could come in, some pilots dont even go for the miner they just want to pod the silly fools who try save the miner. Prox, prox and more PROX. (Scream at your commander to get prox 2/3)
STEALTH FIGHTERS
If miner/con is really close to you and a friendly base and 1 Stealth Fighter has just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your nan ready bcos Stealth Fighters are made to kill miners and cons super fast. By the time you take a sip from your cool refreshing beverage the miner will be dead and maybe his friend too.
If miner/con is other side of sector of the sector and 1 Stealth Fighter has just started attacking the miner/con pray that it is a 'newb' pilot and it is their 1st time flying a sf and they forgot to turn off cloak, you may, still be able to save it, go to it with your nan ready. If the pilot knows how to use their SF forget trying save that miner/con and head towards something that is still alive.
Thats what say I.
You will be in a pod alot, while in a pod press f1 and read the GamePlay/Techpaths section.
II. SCENARIO
Ok 1st off you need to decide what it is you are going to do.
* Are you going to probe?
* Are you going to scout ahead for threats?
* Are you going to stay with the cons?
* Are you going on miner O?
Depending on which one you pick you will have a different loadout.
Never ever asume that someone else will attend defense duty, not even if a pilot shouts they have it under control. Its always safe practice just to head back home BUT only if you are not doing something directly like attacking a miner, blowing up a base etc...
III. ANSWERS
A1 : Start to head back, unless you are actually 'looking at' or attacking the other teams miners or constructors.
A2: Your FRIDGE of course... deffinatley omelet but then again fried eggs on toast so quick when your hungry.
A3: Once in the same sector as miner/cons, Ask yourself.
How far am I from the miner/con?
How far is the miner/con from a friendly base? (teleport included) (does not include refineries)
What is attacking the miner/cons?
How many are attacking?
(Later with more exp. you will ask WHO is attacking?)
How much health has miner/con lost?
SCOUTS
If miner/con is really close to you and next to a friendly base and 1 scout has just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your gatt ready to fire and missiles locking on. SHOOT that mofo for thinking they could go solo.
If miner/con is on the other side of the sector and 1 scout has just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your nan ready to fire but make sure you start to slow down before you reach the attackers or you will just fly straight past.
FIGHTERS
If miner/con is really close to you and next to a friendly base and 2 fighters just started attacking the miner/con you can either dock and load prox and a few missiles, or head to the miner/con. Drop prox, nan and if you are able to lock on to those fighters while still nanning fire those missiles.
If miner/con is other side of sector of the sector and 2 fighters just started attacking the miner/con go to it ready to Nan but make sure you slow down and remember the button that fires your chaffs. Any missiles that are not hitting the miner is good news for you and the rest of your team.
INTERCEPTORS
If miner/con is really close to you and a friendly base and 3 interceptors just started attacking the miner/con you can either dock and load all prox, or head to the miner/con. Drop prox like your trying to get rid of a flesh eatin disease and nan your miner.
If miner/con is other side of sector of the sector and 3 interceptors just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your nan ready to fire but make sure you SLOW DOWN before you reach the attackers. The thing is most attackers want to get the kill, so they will focus only on the miner, only after a while will they notice that its not dying (-_-), This is one of those times where who is attacking could come in, some pilots dont even go for the miner they just want to pod the silly fools who try save the miner. Prox, prox and more PROX. (Scream at your commander to get prox 2/3)
STEALTH FIGHTERS
If miner/con is really close to you and a friendly base and 1 Stealth Fighter has just started attacking the miner/con go to it with your nan ready bcos Stealth Fighters are made to kill miners and cons super fast. By the time you take a sip from your cool refreshing beverage the miner will be dead and maybe his friend too.
If miner/con is other side of sector of the sector and 1 Stealth Fighter has just started attacking the miner/con pray that it is a 'newb' pilot and it is their 1st time flying a sf and they forgot to turn off cloak, you may, still be able to save it, go to it with your nan ready. If the pilot knows how to use their SF forget trying save that miner/con and head towards something that is still alive.
Thats what say I.
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Spunkmeyer
- Posts: 2013
- Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2003 7:00 am
- Location: Contact me regarding: CC, Slayer and AllegWiki.
Launching with probes limits your abilities as a scout. If you are going miner hunting, load mostly dumbs, otherwise load mostly prox. Probes are for the second run, when you know what to probe.
Regardless, either launch with nan only if that's specifically your mission or always have nan in cargo. Gat-only launches are rarely acceptable.
Regardless, either launch with nan only if that's specifically your mission or always have nan in cargo. Gat-only launches are rarely acceptable.
Last edited by Spunkmeyer on Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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