Hey so what is every one looking at for there current build orders in ffa? Currently I am Met, Met, EP, BF, EP. Then CMD will mostly stay in base building more power while I get 3 teams of 2 bot builders out being greedy for Met. Ounce my power is stable get out an air factory to scout and shortly after cranking out 3 more BF to get my harass on. I use to use VF for my first factory but when I realized the bot was cheaper to build mass wise and has the same fabrication costs I changed to bots for the slight mass savings. What are you guys doing?
I haven't played PA FFA but harassment sounds like a bad idea to me. In games with two teams any damage dealt to your opponent puts you ahead as long as you pay less to deal the damage than the cost of the damage. In FFA any damage dealt to an opponent helps everyone else because it cost you something to deal the damage and your target is disadvantaged. Meanwhile your other opponent have lost nothing. So a good rule of thumb in a FFA is to only attack if it will have some payoff (eg, territory) or to preemptively attack someone to stop them attacking you. FFA is very susceptible to 'trolling' in which a nearby opponent attacks you like it's a 1v1, the resource cost to deal with this causes both players to lose because the other people in the FFA will have a much better economy. So in a FFA I think you should expand a bit, porc and try to get offplanet as soon as possible.
I find this very intersting and also have troubles in FFA games, when i try to "copy" my playstyle from 1v1. Maybe i can learn something in this threat
Imo FFA strategy involves taking map control and not getting into any confrontations. As soon as you start fighting with someone you are usually locked in conflict until one of you dies. If you get attacked during this time you are usually screwed. When you make a move on someone it has to be swift and decisive. Then immediately move in and capture the new map control you have earned. Don't spread yourself too thin and don't get into confrontations you can't win quickly.
I usually go: MEX, Energy Plant, then depending on my surroundings I go 2-3 more MEXes and then build a bot factory that is constantly building fabs. Then I go on and build more energy plants with my commander, more MEXes with the fabs, usually meeting other players in the process. Yes you read that right, I don't scout in FFA, usually my fabs do the scouting while building MEXes everywhere. A second bot factory soon follows, and then 6 vehicle factories and one air factory. The build isn't perfect yet, because sometimes I get rushed before I'm having any units out. Also because I have my metal stalling in between, and I usually build anti-air turrets at every second MEX. If you meet another player by building a MEX near their base, that's usually not a problem. You'll lose that MEX, the fab that was working on it and probably a little more. You just have to make sure that you have those vehicle factories up and ready producing tons of ants. You now know your borders, and now you can fortify them. Just make sure to prioritize producing units more than building turrets and you're fine. Don't rush T2, you need the perfect timing for it. If you rush it, chances are high that you're getting steamrolled by an ant-push. If you do it too late, chances are high that you're getting nuked into oblivion. The thing I usually do when knowing the position of enemy players around me, is building fortifications and pelters to shell them instead of sending my units in. That usually helps with weaker players, because they don't know what to do against that. If both sides have fortifications and artillery, the one who builds T2 arty first usually wins. And if you're having lots of water, navy is always a good thing to go for. Especially when there are lots of metal spots in the water. If your base is close to the water, you NEED navy desperately. Losing control of the sea around you is usually spelling doom on your base. I'm not that good in PA, yet. But I'm good at tactics and stuff. And I always found myself getting to the top 2% eventually, no matter which game. So I hope my suggestions aren't that far off. Greetings
Yeah I see your point and have seen it played in your videos. I probably over stated how aggressive I am typically I will end up scouting before hand and will focus on people who are already engaging others and then only look for small easy playes like picking off MEXes. I really just hate the idea of doing nothing until every one has worn thin, it may be the smart move but I like being more aggressive.
I know the feel. If you scout and you're sure you're safe you can go heavy all in aggro to get into fights and keep that up to aggressively take map control and speed up the rape train.
You don't have to do nothing. It's true that you shouldn't run suicide missions with your units. But from my experience building turrets and stationary artillery in front of their bases will not only defend your base (from that particular direction), but also pressure your opponent, forcing them to attack you. You don't risk much while still doing damage, isn't that great?
Not really, you start pelting someone and you are now permanently locked in combat until one of you dies. What are you going to do if someone else starts attacking you too?
Why am I locked in combat? If someone else attacks me I have my ants waiting for it. Obviously you need to have radar at important points to see incoming attacks early enough to respond to them. But simply building some anti-air turrets, laser turrets, walls in front of those, and a pelter or two behind that (in that order) won't lock you in combat. It will defend you against attacks WITHOUT having to use units and it will harass your opponent at the same time. The only thing "locked into that combat" are a handful of fabs. Catching my drift now? Also I'm usually doing this on multiple fronts at once... So I'm not really seeing your point.
Because when you attack someone they don't take it lying down. Unless it's a noob turtler they will make you their target and will try to kill you. Even noob turtlers will try to pelt/catapult you. If you get attacked at any point before you kill them then you are in a 2v1 situation. Obviously getting into 2v1 situations is very bad strategy.
Ofc you need to have the right timing. If you build pelters in front of their base when they're able to build catapults, then you obviously made a mistake. And the pelter that is built first usually wins over other pelters. And I'd be more than happy to seeing them attack those fortifications head-on. I've seen a couple of laser towers destroy entire armies on multiple occasions. Because I didn't really use any units for this strategy, I'm able to react to every counter attack. And let's face it, your opponent can't really ignore a pelter shooting at their base. I love the smell of toasted metal in the morning.
So back a little bit more towards the point of this thread Atm I cant decided if I prefer going going 2 MEXs and 2 EP before bot factory or just one EP. 2 Does pretty much sure up your early power.
