Send your Beacon Runners Last!
Fellow Pilots,
Some of us like to rush a fast robot to an important beacon in the opening seconds of a match. Try to resist this urge (unless it's Yamantau in Beacon Rush mode). Most battles last long enough to see the beacons change hands many times, but you only get five robots. It isn't usually smart to sacrifice your fastest one.
For a change of pace, try using your fastest robot last. You will often be engaging remnants of the red team in slow, hulking brawlers like Lancelots and Leos. Making them defend the entire field can create the openings your team needs to ensure a victory or come from behind. Particularly on the big maps, getting there faster gives a big advantage.
I tend to do more screen shots than video, so here's a series of illustrations.
Taking off from spawn, there's two minutes left and my team is behind on the beacon bar.
Most of the enemy team is far from center. A Lancelot takes thirty seconds to reach the edge of this platform and fall down onto the battlefield.
With about thirty seconds since I spawned, I'm over center (beacon DELTA) and I can see the skirmish on the floor below on my left. That's my destination; a Lancelot takes over a minute to reach this point.
Targeting two weakened reds; Hover still at full strength and full load of rockets. This is the advantage gained by a fast-arriving robot late in the battle. Teammates are capturing BRAVO (on our right, enemy's far left) and I will land between the reds and the beacons they need.
The price for failing to get either side is encirclement.
And, I'm back. After being destroyed in the slow boat (the Lance), I selected my beacon runner. I didn't wait for two minutes remaining because unless red flips a beacon, this battle will be over in about sixty seconds. Another win for blue.
Against the carcass of the destroyed Fury, I dispatch Angel 90.
Ten long seconds later, and with a teammate at the enemy home beacon, I'm defending still, this time against pilot qweasd.
Pilot qweasd is destroyed, but I don't have much left to take on Pilot Jason.Tao; he's been giving us fits the whole time and is bringing one of his many HeyCheese up the ramp.
It's another win for blue, mostly for having captured and defended DELTA.
The gaudy numbers on the red team came from this guy (clearly, he's been running synced drops to finish the events, because he's killed a whole enemy team for 4.7M in damage). He's averaging nearly a million in damage and wins six of ten, but the bottom two on his team were dead weight this time. Maybe if they got those beacons LATE instead of first thing out of the gate ...
Faculty Notes
Some of us like to rush a fast robot to an important beacon in the opening seconds of a match. Try to resist this urge (unless it's Yamantau in Beacon Rush mode). Most battles last long enough to see the beacons change hands many times, but you only get five robots. It isn't usually smart to sacrifice your fastest one.
For a change of pace, try using your fastest robot last. You will often be engaging remnants of the red team in slow, hulking brawlers like Lancelots and Leos. Making them defend the entire field can create the openings your team needs to ensure a victory or come from behind. Particularly on the big maps, getting there faster gives a big advantage.
I tend to do more screen shots than video, so here's a series of illustrations.
Taking off from spawn, there's two minutes left and my team is behind on the beacon bar.
Most of the enemy team is far from center. A Lancelot takes thirty seconds to reach the edge of this platform and fall down onto the battlefield.
With about thirty seconds since I spawned, I'm over center (beacon DELTA) and I can see the skirmish on the floor below on my left. That's my destination; a Lancelot takes over a minute to reach this point.
Targeting two weakened reds; Hover still at full strength and full load of rockets. This is the advantage gained by a fast-arriving robot late in the battle. Teammates are capturing BRAVO (on our right, enemy's far left) and I will land between the reds and the beacons they need.
Having easily dispatched the two weakened bots on my left, I can turn the Orkans on some late-arriving Lancelots. Again, if I had saved my Lance for last, he would still not have even reached center by this point. It's a win for the blue team.
Instead of sending a Stalker in the opening moments of a battle, why not get your slowest robot out there first? You have extra time while the enemy team figures out where it is going. Here, my Lance is headed for BRAVO (far beacon on left, in enemy territory) as the whole red team is rolling up toward CHARLIE and DELTA on my right.
The price for failing to get either side is encirclement.
And, I'm back. After being destroyed in the slow boat (the Lance), I selected my beacon runner. I didn't wait for two minutes remaining because unless red flips a beacon, this battle will be over in about sixty seconds. Another win for blue.
Back on Yamantau, a similar situation to the first, I have Hover as my last robot available. I quickly land on the ramp to defend DELTA against onrushing reds.
Against the carcass of the destroyed Fury, I dispatch Angel 90.
Ten long seconds later, and with a teammate at the enemy home beacon, I'm defending still, this time against pilot qweasd.
It's another win for blue, mostly for having captured and defended DELTA.
The gaudy numbers on the red team came from this guy (clearly, he's been running synced drops to finish the events, because he's killed a whole enemy team for 4.7M in damage). He's averaging nearly a million in damage and wins six of ten, but the bottom two on his team were dead weight this time. Maybe if they got those beacons LATE instead of first thing out of the gate ...
In conclusion, the professors at War Robots University encourage you to drop those beacon runners and hustle for the far reaches of the battlefield. The end of a match may be the very best time to showcase your speed and exploit mismatches with slow, weakened opponents.
In solidarity,
Dr. Yat
Faculty Notes
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The U is not just a blog ... we are also iOS clans #48669 [theU] for Masters/Champs and #139479 [U-2] for Diamond/Expert. We welcome skilled communicators from around the world.
The U is not just a blog ... we are also iOS clans #48669 [theU] for Masters/Champs and #139479 [U-2] for Diamond/Expert. We welcome skilled communicators from around the world.
Can you do a post on how to effectively use cover? It’s something I need to improve at
ReplyDeleteCan you do a post on how to effectively use cover? It’s something I need to improve at
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