Curse

Xanthar · Jan 19, 2007, 07:47 PM // 19:47

This is the second article in a series of three about maps, positional play and tactical movement. The introduction to the series can be found in the first article, so I'll cut to the chase:

Positional play and nomenclature

When playing or observing guild vs. guild play, one might at first be baffled as to why the teams behave like they do - But often (one would hope

) there is method to the madness. This installment is about positional play, the understanding of which will help you when deciding what movement can be made to work. Positions and movement is tightly intertwined, and I'll be making a few references to the Movement intro article in this document - If something seems strange, look there for further explanation. The positions vary slightly depending on map type, so referring to the Map Intro article might be something worth considering.

Straight Fight. When playing there are different objectives depending on what situation the team is in. Usually, flagstand control and subsequent morale boosts is one early objective. This objective commonly result in the very often seen Straight Fight at the flagstand. This position is all about pushing the opponent off the flagstand either by sheer pressure or by inflicting enough kills by damage spikes to force a retreat. If the teams are very different in play strength, a Straight Fight might end in a complete wipe of the less skilled team, whereas the same type of fight between two very strong teams can often go on for quite long with neither side scoring decisive kills or managing enough pressure to force the opposing team off the flagstand:

Turtling. Many matches feature one team Turtling with their guild lord. This is a defensive measure where the added pressure from the NPCs in the lord area helps the turtling team hold out against nominally stronger team. The normal turtle features the assaulting team just outside the lord area, attempting to score enough NPC kills to eventually overwhelm the turtling team:

Siege. A special type of turtling is the Siege that is often the result of a team built specifically for straight fights (such as most caster spike teams) meeting a team designed for splitting, meaning that a breakout attempt directed one opposing split will be countered by a balance play by the other split, forcing an immediate defensive fallback:

Flagstand and Hall. Another common position for teams to end up in is Flagstand and Hall. This is commonly the result of one team choosing to split some offensive force from the flagstand straight fight to assault the opposing guild hall, and optimally ganking the opposing guild lord. Usually, scoring NPC kills is deemed enough to perform this split. Of course, the assault is usually not left unanswered, meaning a face-off in the assaulted guild hall is all but inevitable:

Dual Hall. This is when there are splits of both teams fighting in both guild halls. This position is usually very transient for two reasons: Firstly, if a defensive split is wiped a Full Retreat or a gank will come about. Secondly, one team will have flag control and thus benefit disproportionally from a protracted fight in this position. That is unacceptable for the other team, and the fighting will usually quickly turn into a Flagstand and Hall or a full Turtle. An exception to this is when teams built for straight fights face off against split builds on an Hourglass map - In that case, Dual Hall might be tolerable for the split team as their defensive split usually needs the NPC support of their own hall, whereas the spike team cannot afford to leave their hall completely undefended, yet cannot weaken their main team too much, lest they become unable to kill. A special case of Dual Hall is the Gank Race - This occurs when both teams have overwhelming superiority in the opposing guild hall, and the match turns into a contest of who can score a lord kill first:

Three Way Fight. Sometimes one might see a Three Way Fight occurring, where small splits are present in both guild halls at the same time as a fight for the flagstand is in progress. This is usually the result of both teams doing an offensive split, thus forcing some protection to be sent for the flagrunner and NPCs. This position is uncommon, because it is rare that both teams manage to split with equal force on all three fronts, causing this position to collapse rather quickly:

This concludes the overview of basic positions in GvG play. Stay tuned for the movement chapter!

Paperfly · Jan 20, 2007, 01:45 AM // 01:45

It would be helpful to have links to all three posts at the beginning of each post. They're all together at the moment, but if you intend this as a long term resource (which it should be, btw. Nice job!)...

Xanthar · Jan 20, 2007, 08:53 AM // 08:53

Thank you for the kind words! I've introduced crosslinks in the header of each article, so hopefully they will be easier to find

Manfred · Jan 20, 2007, 03:11 PM // 15:11

The "duel hall" is commonly known as a "gank race" because it often comes about when both teams push for the opponent's base simultaneously, and the most effective tactic is to send back minimal defense while pushing with maximal offense. I figure anything called "nomenclature" should have phrases that are, say, in the vernacular.

Another way it can come about is when teams are split flagstand and hall and the flagstand split of one team pushes back that of the other.

Xanthar · Jan 21, 2007, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Tweaked to enhance readability and in response to your feedback Manfred