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Play The Dark Side




Beta: Online Multiplayer (only) Discussion
Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 11:14

There's a lot of debate about different factions and balancing. I suggest that in true beta spirit we all start playing the side(s) that we hate the most. Hate gunships? Play UEF. Hate Monkeylords, play Cyrbran. Hate Aeon artillery, play it. Etc, etc.

I know that many of you have done this, but why not do it more? I think that there are some balance issues too, but one thing will show it clearly, and that is more gameplay. As you play the other two sides more and more you may find that you just win more if you play them. Keep experimenting with the factions until you figure out which one wins you more games. Any big balance issues will result in one side gettin' played much more frequently, and who knows, you may be one of the converts.

There are already some trends along these lines as I'm sure people will point out, but there are also people who do not believe that there are any such trends. It is then up to the people who believe in the imbalance to cream the ones that don't, and it is up to the people who say there is no problem to try the other side.
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RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by PecosBill on Thu, 2007-01-25 13:20.

Well, to determine the most overpowered side, look at whatever the top players are using at Gamereplays.

I have a feeling that GPG has been measuring balance by measuring overall win/loss ratios but the real determination in any RTS has been to see what the top ladder players are using. When Starcraft first came out, something like 90 of the top 100 players were solid Zerg users because the zergling/hydralisk rush was overpowered at the time, so that's what all the top players started using.

.

But you have a good point: if you find some strategy to be "unbeatable", such as the Mantis or the T3 gunship, the best bet is to play that strategy and see what people do to beat you. Either they can't, in which case you've confirmed your theory, or they start creaming you in a way you just hadn't thought of when you were in their position.

RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by DeadMG on Thu, 2007-01-25 14:22.
DeadMG's picture

"Omg invisible spider?! HAX!"
"WTF Wheres the spider! OMG! cheater!"

I mantis rushed someone, he creamed me.
Turns out he factory reclaimed. That bastard. Good luck next patch.. you cant afford engineer and mantis then!
Why does my signature display at the top and not the bottom?


RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by PecosBill on Wed, 2007-01-31 07:42.

No, you posted that replay.

You didn't Mantis rush, you Mantis trickled. Unless you posted some other replay. Streaming any unit into the enemy defenses 1 at a time does not constitute a "rush" and even the Broadsword sucks if you send them in 1 at a time.

It doesn't mean the unit is weak, it just means you aren't using it correctly.

RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by Valadian on Thu, 2007-01-25 17:18.

1v1 ranked games on small maps are only good at determining the most powerful side in those situations. I know you're trying to hint that the Cybran are the most powerful side because that's what all the "pro's" play, but it's just not the case once you move into larger maps where T1 units start to become worthless very very fast.

There the balance shifts way too heavily in favor of the UEF. As I've said before, the game needs to have balance at all levels so that player skill and not faction choice is the true determinant of who'll win.

RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by III_Demon on Thu, 2007-01-25 21:34.

i always do this. currently i'm sticking with aeon for a while, i just want to do one faction at a time so i get good and used to them, and learn my way around, before moving on. first was UEF. i'll get to cybran later.

what i do besides the faction switching is just tactic switching. any time someone uses a tactic against me, i try to duplicate it. hopefully better. ... and try to counter it. but i cant really request that people use specific tactics against me, it kinda defeats the purpose. =] so that limits how much i can test counters.

my current favorite retardation is building things on the mountain peaks in isis. theres spots between bases, on either side, at the very tops of the mountains, where you can drop an engineer and build a few things. ... i get bitched at a lot. i liked sheilded transports, when they were around. i like doing the wierd stuff people dont think of. i'm gonna keep sneaking up on people till they all get a clue and get a little radar coverage. i'm gonna keep coming up with wacky ways to mess with people's strategies.

and please, bring it on. i'm not sitting here rubbing my hands with evil grins on and congratulating myself for my own cleverness... i'm not in it for the win, i'm in it for an interesting, entertaining game. i love getting hit by something i didnt expect, because then its a real challenge trying to deal with it... or at least a learning experience. a straightforward pounding is fine too, and i give credit to people who can just play the game well generally.. but i have the most fun when someone kicks my ass with something new.

RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by ThePatterned1 on Thu, 2007-01-25 22:37.
ThePatterned1's picture

I agree with PecosBill in that you must look at what the top players are using to determine if the game is properly balanced or not. At the same time, what they're using may be drastically different than what "everyone else" is using. For example, look at TA. 99% of players use ARM exclusively. Why? My OPINION is that the CORE is just that much more difficult to play well, when in fact CORE is the superior team. You have to respect a player that can go CORE and still beat the pants off some of the best players out there that wouldn't dare do the same. TA unbalanced? Who says? Eye-wink


RE: Play The Dark Side
Submitted by Valadian on Thu, 2007-01-25 23:09.

No, the reason the top players use Cybran is because currently they're somewhat overpowered for small 1v1 maps. These guys don't sit around and play games on the 20X20's all that often if ever. 99% of their games are on the smaller maps.

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