Hello eGO strategist and beginner's I am here to share some advice and as well help for you to win any Real Time Strategy game. now not all Real Time Strategy game are in like with each other but they have the same principles of any war, make the enemy player surrender, control of areas, as well total annihilation of the enemy player. This guide will teach you how to win. this guide will be split into 3 parts the commander, the battle, and the part I love basic and advance troop movements,placement. A.K.A the really hard stuff to understand. we will start off with The Commander (you).We will cover the Five basics of a Commander. (
1. Organization.
2. Open minded.
3. knowing yourself.
4. knowing your troops
5. Second thoughts
Organization is key when starting off. make sure when you start off gather as many resources and build an early strong economy. Start building a small army to do scouting work as well being the home guard. to improve your empire's economy and military units upgrade key features that will allow you to improve certain areas of your works/soldiers/special unit feature's to make them better.
when expanding your empires' borders keep in mind what you might encounter. I highly suggest keep the towns close to the main city in case one city gets attack you will have enough time to to stop further destruction. also remember try to make a barracks or some building that will allow you to spawn
military units so that you would be able to keep your army in different place's as well from keeping it from being totally wiped out. if you do this but your towns are too spread out you are most likely to lose. think of it as your supply line stretch it out too much and the enemy can kill you on the spot. I like to keep my towns close but not too close more like a 15sec reaction time in case I need to move other units to the seen.
An open mind is very helpful in a srt game. it will help you think. ok this is what i have how can i destroy it and how can i prevent it getting destroyed. all ways think if ahead a couple moves and plan out what you are going to do incase anything bad or good happens, and be creative about it. keep looking threw the loop holes in your empire and ways you can destory it and prevent it happening. when you are a closed minded person you don't many different ways to do or make in your empire, instead you just go on your marry way thinking ok this is my only plan and nothing else will work. DO NOT DO THAT every scenario will seem to have one pathway but they don't. every plan is not rock soldide everyone makes mistakes. once you find that little tincy wincy mistake use it to your advantage. A really good scenario is the day before the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) a courier of Robert E. Lee carried cigars which the cigars where rapt details of the Lee's army plans where he divided his army into two in front of McClellan larger force. and details on the plans to out flank the union army. the messenger dropped a cigar containing these plans and where later found by union soldiers and brought to McClellan. McClellan new about the plans but never acted against it to counter lee. the plan did not really work as t was and brought a stalemate to the battle. If he exploited on Lee's plans well the Civil War would have been pretty much over. all ways keep an open mind.
To know ones self in battle will become a greater commander then the ones before him. well pretty much means know yourself. know how you act at certain scenarios. know your weaknesses, know how you will act when you are under pressure, and know the style on how you plan and fight. for these are the strength and weaknesses of you and your empire/army. fail to improve yourself in the art of war and be prepared to lose every battle you face. know yourself by playing and learn form the loses. because a general who loses is a battle is better then the general who won the battle. by learning from the mistakes you will improve yourself.
knowing your troops is a key factor in a commanders success. the way you apply this know what type of units you have. know there weaknesses and know there strength. learn how they act in the battle. do they route easy, what is there max range, are they a melee or close quarter combat unit, can they fly. basically ask every question and learn there strong point and weak point. for instance is the sharpshooter better on the field shooting volleys or is the unit better in covered position hidden away from enemy troops. just ask yourself what can i do with this. in what way this unit can prevent from happening, and what is it stronger and weaker at. also if the unit has indication bars for health, moral, exhaustion, repair hunger,ect.. the main thing is that do not push your troops to the point where they can be easily routed. try recycling units in battle or have a way to heal them or boost them.
Having second thought about the action you did or your going to do is fine. I encourage you to just stop and think wow i should of done this. that's the good side of having second thoughts. the satanic side of it is when it happens in the middle of the battle. its the worst thing that can happen by having a second thoughts during in the middle of action that is now taking place, CAN AND IN MOST CASES lead to doubt yourself thus losing faith in your ability to lead. I solve this by. First I ask myself is the ground that i choice or my enemy choice. Second I ask myself If I lose how many casualties will I have but if I retreat would it be worth it. I'll tell you the answer of last part of the question later in the thread. Third, I tell myself "Battles can be lost but the War will be won".
These are the characteristics I look for and once I have done all Five requirements of being a commander and a leader and doing it hundreds of times I am ready to move to the next part.
Know its time for THE BATTLE!! there are four types in my opinion that I have found during my studying of World Military History (did not go too in depth in to it) They are Greed,Revenge,Glory, and Political. we will not go in depth of Political. when in a battle or in a long RTS campaign you will experiences these four in differences ways but you should know by now. time for the fun stuff. Sun tzu set the standers on how to win battles and I will use him for this(if you still have not notice I have been using his method along with other leaders. be in the description) when Going to battle PLAN AHEAD!!!! with six princibles of war they are:
1. Win All Without Fighting: Achieving the Objective Without Destroying It
2. Avoid Strength, Attack Weakness: Striking Where the Enemy is Most Vulnerable
3. Deception and Foreknowledge: Winning the Information War
4. Speed and Preparation: Moving Swiftly to Overcome Resistance
5. Shaping the Enemy: Preparing the Battlefield
6. Character-Based Leadership: Leading by Example
now dont worry we covered numbers 6 and we grazed on 3 and 4. so to start off lets do number 1
Win all without fighting and achieving the objective without destroying it. there are many ways to interpret this phrase. I have learned and came to understand what it means. simple words the pen is powerful then the sword and when you succeed the objective don't destroy it. now you are probably saying well this is an RTS game I will destroy all I want. what happens when there is more then one player probably 5v5. I would threaten and convince him I will win and basically make him surrender then I would pay him respect for not wanting to fight and i would convince him to fight for me. this is VERY hard to do and hard to do right. I myself still not mastered this idea. did it a couple of times and some times it would work and other times it wont depending if u ticked him/her off or he/she rage quits. so really I would try different approaches and toy with it.
Number 2. Avoid strength attack weakness, hit the enemy where is most vulnerable. This a great way to avoid a major conflict when you have an army of 100 vs and army of 100000. there is a very good technique called gorilla war fare. basically go into the enemy's territory find a non heavily guarded out post, towns,supply lines, and your enemy will basically dance around like a chicken who just lost its head. in these cases I will split my forces into two one pretty far "north" and one pretty far "south" of the enemies territory. this allows me to have control of his army by attacking objectives north he will chase em. as well i the south. in some cases the enemy will split his force and try to out number you and try to out maneuver you. this is my favorite when the enemy split up his army think which one is he going for the northern army or my southern army. most likely if he was smart first Splitting his army into then tricking me that my southern army is going to be attack were he is basically going to try to out flank the northern army thats is going to the aid of the southern.
Number 3 Deception and Foreknowledge: Winning the Information War this is not an actual war there are still ways to obtain information about the enemy and useing deception to exploit the enemy and the enemy commander. this is the most important part in the processes before you to to battle. First we want to know how the enemy player reacts to different situations. first thing i will do is send scouts and poke and prod at the enemy and see what he does. if he attacks quick with a massive force well he aint the smartest on the block. if he allows you to attack a little bit of a town or unit and he is not responding to that. then WATCH OUT. some people will let them poke them a couple of times after like the 5th time you find your home or troops wiped out. but the best way to do it is to make it seem that a massive force is moving and going to one point on the map. he will think that you are an organize freak and like to play the waiting game. meaning you go defenceive. (we will talk about that later) now move this "massive army and make it look like you are going to attack him. then his reaction will tell you every thing. if there is no movement on the map on the enemy side. he is probably trying to understand what you are doing or massing a counter attack, if he sends troop to attack you he is an aggressive player and does not like to wait. so basically you have your passive,sneaky,and aggressive player.
Number 4 Speed and Preparation: Moving Swiftly to Overcome Resistance. When in enemy territory or about to go in. pick the fastest troop that can be in the game and use them. make them your cavalry. Be fast when you attack and pick random low risk targets. this will confused your opposition and make he/she scatter his/her army. doing this you can pick a part of the enemy's and have a little skrimish. this will also allow you to scout out for areas for the final battle due to the enemy player focus on the little mess you are making.
The final preparation. this is a check list you would want to use to before you go to the final step and continue to Number 4
What type of units am i up against?
How many are there?
how fast are they moving?
Can I get into little skirmishes to even the odds?
How far is it for them to get support and how long?
Where should I fight?
Can I pull up reinforcements when need at the current location im at?
Am I ready mentally and physically to fight and win this battle?
if you got your answers and you are confidant then the next Number is Shape the battlefield to how you want it and the final preparations. When looking for or at the Battlefield ask yourself , What is:
Geography of the map
Weather
Time
Key points on the map
these factors play a huge role in winning first look for the high ground and good places to put sharpshooters. and control key places on the map. this is a good example of using sun tzu method which happens to be my favorite battle.The battle of austerlitz. Nepolean was brilliant he litterly had control of where the enemy army went. it was a very heavy fog covered the field and basically shown here
the main enemy's attack was on the south west corner the reason was the main force up in the north was shielded by a heavy fog over the field and obstructing view for Alexander. instead he new there was heavy action on the south west part . Alexander thought Napoleon army was there ans shifted focus. now for the fun part when the morning sun started to rise the fog was lifting and thousands of French swarm Alexanders north flank and center splitting Alexanders Army into two and thus crush most of his army at Austerlitz. there was many more nations there but what Napoleon did was amazing. Thus moving his men in such away to utilizes natural "walls" like the river in the south east and used the High ground to observer the enemy and also the element of surprise. he used weather to make his main army invisible.
My views on a defensive campaign as well sieges and and an offensive.
my view is simple the best way to keep your enemy moveing is to be an offensive player. meaning send troops on his/her side of his/her empire and knock out town, out post, supply train, anything that wil help the enemy to win take it out not the massive and large heavly gaurded areas the small things. Defensive is a really good way to keep your army intact as well your home but it comes with a price. going defenceive is basically you sitting around repelling enemy waves untill he does a massive attack and shaters you.. but when playing on a multiplayer a player who is going defensive will help you breath thus you can go out and kill the enemy. now the sieges. they are not worth the men and resources. the best way to do it is to cut off all the supply lines got to the fort and isolate it make them to force to come out or it will make the enemy player fight you. if so be ready.
Now for the last part basic and advance troop placement. all this means is how many was can i out flank or out wit my enemy. there tons of ways to out flank and counter attack a position. It all comes down to you. War is like Chess and Go. In chess is to strategically capture the king. in go you use as few pieces as possible to control all or a good portion of the board. do not "play" both chess and go at the same time or alternating in the battle. you either capture and destroy or use as few men to put the enemy into submission. now go out there and win a couple.
Thank you and as well sorry if there is so many grammar mistakes I typed it with my left hand. currently my right hand is in a cast going to be taken off on the 16th of Augest. plus My weakest area is more on the lines of grammar and spelling. dyslexia....
This is not the final draft. I am going to fix things along the way. I want to acknowledged the following who kinda help put this all together as well with some fact and inspiration.
Sun Tzu, Robert E. Lee, Alexander the great (Greek and Russian), Nathaniel Green, and last but not lease my self.
Please make suggestion or your thought on how war is fought (not a childish answer like nukem all and other childish answers as well ). I hope this will help anyone to win a battle no matter what type or RTS it is. They all have the same principled. WAR!
Also I would love to do a video on this because I know some people don't like to read. as well it would help the players viewing this understand and have a better idea what this is about. So if any one is willing to help hop aboard and just pm me.
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