Glen Atwell
Shaun InguanzoA Real Time Strategy Guide Pt3
April 19th 2006 07:12
Category: No Category
Today I would like to start talking about a few of the most common strategies employed in RTS games; this applies to a.i./computer opponents as well. It’s a good idea to try a couple of these yourself so you can see how they operate and this will hopefully make it easier for you to counter them.
The Rush
By far one of the most irritating strategies that can be employed is the rush. The idea behind rushing is threefold: build up an economy that is only sufficient for pumping out low level units, nothing extra for high level research or constructions; construct a large army of low level units in a short space of time; if timed correctly your opponent, hopefully using a more conventional strategy, will only have a token force with which to resist you. Your large army will then easily overwhelm your opponents’ army and victory will be achieved in a very short time. This strategy relies on getting to your enemy as quickly as possible and so a good information network is needed; this means fast scouting units blanketing the map, or, luck. The importance of getting your army as quickly as possible to your enemies’ base is paramount; the reason for this being that if one arrives too late, the enemy will have higher level troops than your own and will eat your army for breakfast and proceed to make your base lunch.
“How big does my army have to be?” Well, this really depends on the game and will require some experimentation. If your army is too small, even your enemy will be able to defeat it, or at least stem it, and you will quickly have to switch to a different strategy in order to stay viable. Too big, and your opponent will have neutralized your numerical superiority with higher tech units, a better economy and so on.
So there it is, the rush strategy. One more word on this method; many players consider this cheating, that kind of defies the definition I know, but most people seem to like to have a good mix of units and structures interacting before someone gains supremacy. This strategy can often ruin their fun. If you have experienced similar feelings my advice would be to study how to neutralize rush tactics rather than complaining about getting a hiding. Several ways to defeat a rush include: building sufficient defenses/units to combat your opponent; hunt his scouting units while you build your economic and military base; spread your base out to make it harder for you opponent to destroy it all; finally, adopt the rush strategy yourself and just hope you’re a better tactician than your opponent.
Tomorrow we will be looking at the hedgehog strategy.
Alskreek, out.
The Rush
By far one of the most irritating strategies that can be employed is the rush. The idea behind rushing is threefold: build up an economy that is only sufficient for pumping out low level units, nothing extra for high level research or constructions; construct a large army of low level units in a short space of time; if timed correctly your opponent, hopefully using a more conventional strategy, will only have a token force with which to resist you. Your large army will then easily overwhelm your opponents’ army and victory will be achieved in a very short time. This strategy relies on getting to your enemy as quickly as possible and so a good information network is needed; this means fast scouting units blanketing the map, or, luck. The importance of getting your army as quickly as possible to your enemies’ base is paramount; the reason for this being that if one arrives too late, the enemy will have higher level troops than your own and will eat your army for breakfast and proceed to make your base lunch.
“How big does my army have to be?” Well, this really depends on the game and will require some experimentation. If your army is too small, even your enemy will be able to defeat it, or at least stem it, and you will quickly have to switch to a different strategy in order to stay viable. Too big, and your opponent will have neutralized your numerical superiority with higher tech units, a better economy and so on.
So there it is, the rush strategy. One more word on this method; many players consider this cheating, that kind of defies the definition I know, but most people seem to like to have a good mix of units and structures interacting before someone gains supremacy. This strategy can often ruin their fun. If you have experienced similar feelings my advice would be to study how to neutralize rush tactics rather than complaining about getting a hiding. Several ways to defeat a rush include: building sufficient defenses/units to combat your opponent; hunt his scouting units while you build your economic and military base; spread your base out to make it harder for you opponent to destroy it all; finally, adopt the rush strategy yourself and just hope you’re a better tactician than your opponent.
Tomorrow we will be looking at the hedgehog strategy.
Alskreek, out.
| 62 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Stanley
Comment by Alskreek
That's kind of the point of this series of articles, to make people better at them...or atleast make them think about what they are doing while playing =P