Hell's Guide to Fort Wars
All credit goes to Hellstromm.
Hell's Guide to Fort Wars
In this guide, I will attempt to introduce information on what I deem are good strategies and approaches to being successful at fort wars, both individually and as a team.
Fort Maps
First, I provide these basic maps to help everyone create their own fort strategies:
Now, all forts are not going to be unbuilt or full built. You will encounter forts with some built and unbuilt towers. To quickly emulate those fort maps, just follow these simple instructions:
General Tips
The Basics
PREPARATION (before battle)
Place yourself on the map by simply clicking where you want to be. If you are not happy with where you initially placed yourself on the map, you can click on your character and then drag your character to a new spot. This can ONLY be done before the battle commences.
When you place yourself on the map, you will still need to set a target. A target is merely where you intend on going next round. If you do not set a target, you will charge to the flag, and die. So you need to set a target. Here is how you do it.
- After you place yourself on the map, click on your character.
- Then, click on where you want your character to go.
- An icon will display, which looks like this:
. - If you did not do it right, you will not see that icon. So try again, click on your character and then click on where you want to be next round.
(note: if you still can't find that icon, you may have double-clicked on yourself and your icon is hiding under you. To see if that is the case, move your character.)
MOVEMENT (once battle starts)
To move yourself once the battle starts, you will do the same thing:
- Click on your character.
- Then click on where you want your character to go.
- An arrow will appear as you move your icon around the map, which will look like this:
- Once you click on where you want your character to go, that arrow should set itself. If it did not, repeat your actions (click self, click destination) until that arrow points to your destination.
- Remember to pay attention to Line of Sight, discussed later in the guide.
AIM AND TARGETING
Aim and targeting is automatic. You cannot choose who you want to shoot, you cannot aim past the people in front. You may only shoot at the closest target in your line of sight. Now, consider this, because that means you do have "some" control over who you can shoot, based on who you have line of sight with.
Things to remember
FIRST PRIORITY
More Onliners In Chat - You need lots of onliners. If you're not able to be online for a fort war, that's okay, but those who can, must absolutely be online and NEED to be in chat following the plan. If you are in CHAT, and you are going to follow the plan, you should be prioritized (given Private rank).
SECOND PRIORITY
Line of Sight (LOS) Advantage - You must ALWAYS ensure that you have LOS advantage. What this means is that there are more of your team targeting then there are of the opposition targeting your team, and this applies individually as well. You can accomplish this by a number of ways, which I will attempt to demonstrate in later posts. Just keep this in mind when participating in fort wars, and learn from the experience.
THIRD PRIORITY
Follow Directions to the Letter - A good General will provide verbal instructions and visual aids. You MUST follow them. Time and time again it has been demonstrated that when attackers hotdog, focus on trying to get xp instead of working as a team, not only does their side lose the fort war, but they end up with far less xp. So, for both the team and yourself, you absolutely MUST follow the orders presented by the General.
STAY ALIVE
No Martyrs/No Snipers - When it comes to following directions, plenty of times we get the urge to go kamiikaze, to martyr ourselves, or to snipe on the side for those extra xp points. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT be tempted to do any of these. As ONLINERS, you need to be in 100% condition for the END of the fort war. Sure, many of you will be hit along the way, but the less you can be hit, the more the offliners can be targeted instead, and the greater chance you have of winning a fort war.
(Attackers) UNBUILT TOWERS/WALLS - BAD
Do Not Get On Unbuilt Towers/Walls - Towers and walls, when not built-up, do not provide enough bonus points and, if you do get on them, you will sacrifice your line of sight advantage. I.e., everyone in the fort will be targeting you and any other FOOLS that decide to jump on those walls/towers.
FLEXIBILITY
Plans Change - Your leads will be providing plans, but plans change during the course of a battle, so you will ALL need to remain flexible, be willing to change according to the directions of the General.
ONE COMMANDER
Chain of Command - It is imperative that everyone respects the chain of command and does not attempt to battle for control of the fort war while it is going on. In most cases there will be one General, and one General only. It is a good idea to assign a Captain if, for any reason, the General is not available or non-responsive. You will also find it helpful to assign one or two Lieutenants, each of which will focus on ensuring the chat channel runs relatively smoothly. It is imperative that everyone respects those in lead roles, no matter the personal gripes.
CHAOS OF WAR
Crap Happens - Things will get hectic, chat may go wild, people may not follow directions, There "will" be boneheads doing foolish things. In times of chaos, rally around the General, don't freak out or get mad. In fact, laugh about it (after all it's just a game and we're here for the entertainment).
Planning a Fort War
When planning a fort war, it is important to contact five times more people than is needed for the fort war. That's right, five times more than needed (for a small fort we're talking 250 players. For a medium fort, 500 players, and for a large fort, 700 players).
The big problem with getting numbers is thinking you can get just the right amount of people to participate. Well that doesn't work. Don't over-think it, don't think for others, just contact everyone you know and let them decide if the fort is full already. Let them decide if there is room. In fact, doing this will increase the likelihood of more people showing up in chat, simply because they don't want to be excluded from the battle.
You're trying to win a fort war, not organize a party, so overbook, don't overthink.
Providing Information
You need to provide a simple, but detailed post on what you are planning. Do not make overcomplicated instructions, and do not make an overlong fort recruiting post. Keep it simple, or you simply won't get the numbers you were hoping for:
- Fort -- You just need to provide a link to the fort, so use the [fort][/fort] bbcode to highlight the fort, or your allies are going to find it very hard to locate that fort on the map.
- Time -- Reiterate the time of the fort war, and make sure it is understood we're dealing with Server Time.
- Chat -- Even though fort chat has been introduced, you can still use an external chat utility if you wish. Be careful not to hand it out to untrustworthy persons or the opposition. I recommend www.chatango.com, a browser IRC channel, or some other chat utility that provides you plenty of control.
- Plan -- Provide a plan, let everyone know where they need to position themselves before a fort war. If you can, provide them a visual aid, such as these provided below:
- Hell's Small Fort War Visual Aids <---Click Link
Here's the template I generally use:
| ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
The Hatchet has been dug up! To ensure a win, we want EVERYONE to follow the plan. To ensure a win, we want EVERYONE in chat following commands. Please show up 30-60 minutes BEFORE the start of the fort war and we will place you on priority status. Fort --- [fort] _________ [/fort] Time --- 00:00 @ 00/00/2010 (Server Time) Plan --- http://tinyurl.com/_____ Chat --- http://________.chatango.com/ Once again, remember, show up in chat 30-60 minutes BEFORE the fort battle and try not to end up on our blacklist by going all maverick, we need team players, thanks. Use your ingame name. Hope to see you there! Last note: If you cannot be online, place yourself as offline at the fort, because we will still need you. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK |
Credit to everyone who has ever fought in a fort war --- won, lost, and learned --- and to my townies for their insights.