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1500 to 2200, a guide for aspiring "Champions in the making"
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lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
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[Avatar]
lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
Offline
I'm certainly not the best player in UniWar, but over my journey from noob to 2200 I have learned some things that may be of use to players who want to get better. I will try to list things in order of progression. This is a general guide but I may delve into some specific tactics and strategies. I would ask the players who are better than or on par with me to add their own advice and feedback. For the players who are reading this to get better, your questions are welcome. I am not very active on the forum so if you need to get my attention PM me in the game. Also, feel free to invite me to a match. So here it goes:

1. FRIENDS AND TEAMMATES
You may wonder why I put this first. My journey to 2200 was aided by a fun group of active teammates and friends. We rose through the ranks together. Find people near your skill level and team up. Discuss strategy and tactics together in team maps. Share replays and tips. Fight one on one and give advice. Other players may notice things you don't see and you will all get better. I have learned a things from my friends and teammates. Also, find players who are stronger than you and fight them. Ask them for advice. When you lose a tournament match ask your opponent for advice. Lots of experienced players are willing to give you good pointers.

2. GANGUP BONUS
This is the first thing you need to understand to attack effectively. Gangup bonus results from successive attacks on the same unit. Gangup can mean the difference between killing a unit and leaving it wounded which allows it to retreat. Know where the +3 and +2 gangup sweet spots are and use them whenever possible. The side +3 bonuses are great for swarmers and eclipse. If you don't know what I'm talking about look at the graphic on Willingham's damage calculator: http://uniwar.willingham.net/ When you attack with a ranged unit you will get a +1 gangup bonus unless you attacked the unit at a range of 1, where the attack is treated as a melee attack.

I am going to have to split this up because of the max word limit.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at Feb 07, 2017 00:35


I am a Quaternion: one part real, three parts imaginary.
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lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
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[Avatar]
lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
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3. TURN UNDO
There are two types of turn undo, the first is the unlimited undo you can buy in the shop and the second is free undo (I will not detail how to do it here, ask someone in chat). The paid undo is more convenient to do (takes one button tap and a confirmation), so I would recommend saving up for it with earned unicoins if you don't want to buy it. Undoing your turn helps when you make a mistake or when you want to try several different attack orders to find the most optimal attack. I will note that GOUT has an alt account gout2 where he does not use turn undo and its score is several hundred points above mine, so there is a lot more to being a great player than turn undo.

4. POSITIONING
Once you have a good grasp of gangup bonus it is important to start focusing on positioning. The goals of proper unit positioning are twofold: first, you want to minimize the ability of your enemy to attack you, and second, you want to maximize your ability to attack your enemy. Put cheap infantry units and tanky units on the outside of your force. Hide vulnerable ranged units like artillery and swarmers behind. Consider the range of your enemies' attacks and how much they will be able to kill. Minimize the surface area your enemy has to attack you. This is most clearly seen in high-level kvk matches when each player builds up a line of garuda. The line cramps up any attack that can be made and restricts the ability of the opponent to get good gangup bonuses. When you attack your opponent keep in mind the positioning you are leaving your units in and ask yourself , "How can I shield from their counterattack so I lose the least amount of credits". Try to keep weaker wounded units behind your stronger ones. Now consider terrain. Infantry get good offensive and defensive bonuses from mountains and forest, so try to keep your infantry on good terrain. Avoid leaving your units on bad terrain like swamps and chasms. Try to force your opponent off of good terrain. Also observe how terrain will limit your opponents movement and create good bottlenecks to weaken their attack.

I am a Quaternion: one part real, three parts imaginary.
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lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
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lodeous

Messages: 73,
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[Positioning continued]
Now consider how you can maximize your attack capability. Arrange your units so you can push a lot of them at your enemy. In a build-up match, the first-strike is key. Either it will be ineffective and you won't kill enough of your opponent's units and their counterattack will cripple your remaining force or you will deal enough damage to cripple their force. Positioning helps determine whether you will mobilize enough units to have an effective attack. Consider the mobility and range of your units. Infantry and tanks are best on the front line because of their low mobility and melee attacks. You can put marauders and speeders further behind, where they can hit the enemy front line, then retreat. Afterwards you can use tanks and infantry as finishers and to protect your other units. It is hard to get specific on this because positioning varies a lot based on the race matchup and map, but if you want I can try to find a good example.

5. BUILDS
Once you become effective at using what units you have at your disposal with positioning and gangup, what you build and when you build it becomes extremely important in matches. Sometimes a single build can alter the course of a game. Don't build artillery units until you can protect them. Learn what units counter what and what units work best against each race. For example, I rarely ever builds tanks as sapiens when I am fighting khraleans because they have no air attack. Titan eclipses are a great counter to air units. Be aware of the mobility of the units you build. Tanks, especially Plasma Tanks are slow and costly, but strong. They anchor your forces down. Sometimes building a tank on one base allows your opponent to rush attack one of your other bases and your tank is too slow to stop them. Another key aspect of builds is to maintain a good unit composition. Spamming one unit and one unit only is ineffective. For example, when I fight khraleans as sapiens I mostly use marines and helicopters. If they build a pinzer or a wyrm I may build a battery in response. A couple marauders are good for starting gangup or for finishing off a unit. One last thing to consider with builds is not only what you are going to build this turn, but what you plan to build in the future. Think about what you need to save for tanks, helicopters, artillery, or boats and then plan accordingly. Pay attention to what your enemy is building and whether they saving for something big.

I am a Quaternion: one part real, three parts imaginary.
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lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
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[Avatar]
lodeous

Messages: 73,
Joined: Feb 12, 2016,
Location: Utah
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6. OTHER TIPS
- Hit to kill, wounded units can retreat and heal
- A good player knows how to use good terrain. A great player knows how and when to use bad terrain.
- When you are attacking, consider the credits involved, and consider what you could lose in a counterattack. Only attack if you can kill more credits than they can. Example: As a khralean player vs a sapien player, exchanging equal amounts of garuda for helicopter is beneficial (350 vs 500)
- For all general strategy rules, there are situational cases where breaking them can be beneficial, like sacrificing units to get a base capture.
- Watch the final rounds of tournaments and other high-level replays. Identify what tactics were used and what mistakes were made. Watch commentary on matches on YouTube with EnnuiGoblin and UniWarPoland
- Learn strategies specific to each race matchup, like buried underlings in KvT.
- Take time to consider your moves and builds. Try to anticipate what your enemy will do.
- Don't just focus on one race. Work on improving your strategy with all of them.
- When you have a slight disadvantage, pull back your defense if possible and defend from your bases. If you can stretch your enemies chain of supply to where your units are entering combat faster you can regain an advantage. Likewise, know when to press your advantage. Sometimes it's not worth it to press a slight advantage and if you do you can get routed. Build enough momentum to push for a base capture.
- Believe in yourself and have fun.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Jan 26, 2017 03:05


I am a Quaternion: one part real, three parts imaginary.
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