Practice Sunday (6/10)

[[AK]Leonidas]

Thanks to everyone who made it out Sunday evening. We managed to pull a practice together in which we used the Havoc to drop heavies onto the FF gen tower in Dessicator. After several runs, the attackers were landing on top of the tower or near the tower's base pretty much every time. The defenders refined their technique in defending that tower, mostly defending in the gen room.

What did you guys think? Was it a helpful exercise? How could it have been improved? Any insights that we gained?

Here's what I learned:

Good Havoc piloting is essential. Griz did a great job coming in 1) just above the top of the tower, 2) at about 180 kph, and 3) lined up so that the front heavies could sling themselves directly through the target door. We should probably have a backup Havoc pilot for times when Griz can't make it. Has anyone else practiced with the Havoc?

Dropping out of the Havoc varies depending on your seat. From the front seat it's easy to let the Havoc sling you forward and straight into the base if you time it right. But the pilot and especially the tailgunner seem to have a hard time picking up the Havoc's momentum. They need the Havoc to actually stop over the target or at least slow down a lot. We didn't have anyone in the middle seats, so I'm not sure how those work.

Heavies throwing flares works. Even with only three heavies, we had 24 flares on board, which meant we could thow one every other second or so and still not run out during the trip. It's not like the heavies are going to use those flares once they've landed, so don't be stingy while you're in the air.

[[AK]Squidly]

I thought it was a useful and enjoyable practice. Given it's importance on that map, 4 players should be used to defend the force field gens. One light/medium outside
2 heavies with a station inside, and probably a heavy inside the upper part of the tower.

The importance of a sensor net really became apparent as it was impossible to see your transport until you were right on top of us.

We need to have our defense honed to a fine point on that map, because the enemy will hit the FF gens hard very very (very) quickly.

[Solarwolf]

I'm a little divided on those ff gens. I believe that if in the initial attack, if offensive players can take the nme ff gens down, they should by all means keeps them down by maintaining a presence there. However, if the attack fails, and the nme is allowed to set up there, I firmly believe all offensive efforts should be concentrated on the flag base. As a light, I have flown thru turrets, into the base, made it thru, capped the flag, and made it home for the score. This was with no assistance. I will note that it took about 5 or 6 trys before it was sucessful. Now, imagine if the effort put into getting those ff gens down were put into wreaking havoc on nme flag defenders instead. It would be much easier for a light to slip in and get the flag. I have seen waaaay to much effort put into getting those gens down when its not really nessesary to cap the flag. Thats just my opinion.
BTW- I did think the practice was beneficial, and I had a great time too!! Thx guys!!!

[This message has been edited by [AK]SolarWolf (edited 06-11-2001).]

[[AK]Leonidas]

You've got a good point, there, Solar. I'm still undecided on it. At first I assumed that the FF gens had to go down. Then I realized that it wasn't all that hard to take the flag with the FFs up. I've done it several times myself.

On the other hand, consider that sneaking up that tower is mostly about luck. What if there's a HoF and a medium at the mid level, plus some mines and a spider or two and some deployable turrets used as flypaper? On pubs luck tactics work because you know that the other side is disorganized and people get bored and wander off. In competitive games luck won't get you far.

But then there's another way to do what you're saying, which is to run heavies at the base to clear the way for the lights. That's risky because it's directly in their spawn zone, so you'll never get more than a few seconds of superiority. On the other hand, they've only got one real inv in that tower, so blowing that up could set back both their D and their O.

I used to be fond of the idea of camping their main gen, but then realized that a well-placed blaster can flush out a camper. Now I would probably have somebody guarding the gen full time, but I'm not sure.

[[AK]Squidly]

If the gens aren't taken down, it is just about impossible to take the flag (here's the kicker) against an *organized, skilled defense*.

That's what we've got to assume we'll be up against.

[Solarwolf]

We'd better keep any more tactical talk to a private forum Leo.;-) Ill respectfully disagree with that Squidly.

[This message has been edited by [AK]SolarWolf (edited 06-11-2001).]

[Griznak]

I have two bits to throw in, but I agree with solar these kind of nuts and bolts shouldn't be public access. So If you wanna read my two cents check out the private forum.

[[AK]Squidly]

Originally posted by [AK]SolarWolf:
We'd better keep any more tactical talk to a private forum Leo.;-) Ill respectfully disagree with that Squidly.

Ok, but I've held the tower against a steady stream of solo cappers by myself, and against multiple cappers of various sizes - so long as I had the gens up and a defender or two standing outside, and I consider myself only slightly above average.

I don't recall giving up the flag on that map with the Gens up in our recent practice a week or two ago.
A good single defender, supported by turrets and mines, should be able to hold indefinitely against a good single offensive player. Try going solo against Pix and his turret farm on Katabatic sometime...

Now stick him outside the map in question with a heavy inside and you've got a pretty tough nut to crack.

--Moving to the private forum.


[This message has been edited by [AK]Squidly (edited 06-13-2001).]