building a strategy

[TLV]

I'am new to TOS. Playing the freeware and waiting, like some others , to buy warring suns.

For the moment i play duels to learn the basics of the game. But, even if i found the game great, i can't built a develloped strategy.

Every game looks the same : I make my giant robot walk until i found my oppenent, then i fire at him, he fires at me. When i fall i try to get up. And so on. Some times i charge but i do that just because i need some change it's not a logical choice.

At the same time i hear every one saying that TOS has a very deep strategic aspect, and i believe it.

Here comes my question : Will some of u mind explaining me some basic strategies, so i can learn them and start to build mine ?

Every comment will be very appreciated : some of my still alive pilots starts to complain about this "search-and-destroy-dont-think" strategy

Big thanx to the guys who made the game !
And thanx for reading my bad english !

TLV (french)

[Silvermane]

Okay, here's some basics...

Keep moving.

Use Hills for sight advantage (it's easier to see from up there). Use Forests to cover up your approach, as well as using smoke, steam and ECM equipment. Ingnite forests to stay hidden and heat up your enemy.

He can't shoot what he can't see.

Use your shields to nullify his energy weapons. Shoot flares to spoof his guided missiles. Shoot the body parts where his electronics are located.

Lock onto him.

Use bodies of water to cool down. Hit him with special effect weapons until he falls apart and screams for mercy.

Never walk alone.

Use sensor networks to target him from afar. Pepper him with long-range rockets. Shoot him from afar with autocannons. Keep him busy so your Squadmates can close in and take him apart in melee combat.

Specialize.

Build a Titan to suit your needs and abilities. Specialize your pilots in certain aspects, then use them according to their specialties. Modify your titans to keep your enemies guessing. Eradicate weak spots in your designs.


These are just a few strategical and tactical aspects; I'm sure the more experienced players can think of quite a few more.

-Silvermane

[jzpops]

Strategy might differ a bit in Warring Suns.

But for version 1.4, here's some tips:

1) Use terrain to establish firing positions for your long-range titans. Forest is good; hills are ok; a forested hilltop position is really good. Water hexes are great for titans that run "hot".

2) Scout out the enemy and try to determine his path of travel. Extrapolate from that and try to set up "kill zones" where you can maximize your firepower while diminishing his. (An analogy to this is the naval maneuver of "crossing the T".)

3) Use heavily-armored titans as "spotters" for indirect fire attacks. Link the scanners of your LRM titans to the spotter, and fire away.

4) Hide close-combat titans until the last possible moment. Don't go charging across open fields (which goes for all titans, not just close-combat types).

5) Use fire teams: never allow a titan to engage in combat alone. Travel and engage in combat in groups of 2-4. Make sure the titans' weapons "overlap", i.e. pair a close-combat titan with a long- or medium-range titan.

6) Take advantage of enemy airdrops: while the rest of his team is off-board, he's badly outnumbered. And outgunned.

7) Make 'em come to you. Failing that, maneuver so as to concentrate your maximum fire on a flank titan or three. Which, of course, will make them come to you.

8) You have to fire at the enemy to kill them; conversely, if you're not firing, and they are, you aren't winning.

[Lobsteve]

When you say 'duels' I assume you mean 1-vs-1, TLV.

And in those cases you're quite right, playing against the AI 1-on-1 can get rather repetitive. The situation is only really dependent on what titans you are given.

On the other hand: Play a 8-vs-8 game and you will see where the wealth of strategy can be found. You can advance in tandem with your other titans. Attempt flanking maneuvers. All the good stuff you'd expect.

Of course I may not have helped at all, but there's my 2-cents anyways.

Lobsteve.

[tarendelcymir]

A couple of other things to remember:

1.) It's good to keep moving, but try not to shoot when you're moving. You get big penalties to hit when you shoot from running or even walking. Make use of the "Wait on move" command on your attack menu, so you fire as soon as you stop moving. Conversely, make use of the "Wait on locked foe" command on your menu, so you have a good chance of hitting you opponent when heshe stops finishes a move.

2.) Keep your titan's weapon load in mind. Does it have a lot of long range weapons? If so, find a nice high hill or mountain, preferably with cover, and rain death on your foe. Does it have a lot of close range weapons? Stick to cover, hide behind hills, etc and try to advance on your foe so he doesn't get free shots as you try to get within range.

3.) Pay close attention to your heat. Even if you're not in danger of overheating, higher heat causes higher penalties to hit. Fire your weapons in staggered sequence if they cause a lot of heat. Even waiting just 5 seconds between firing can mean the difference between staying in the yellow and hitting the red level of heat.

I'm sure I could mention a lot more, but I don't have the time right now. I imagine plenty of others will give you more tips, too.

[Voidhawk]

Formulate a strategy based around your team's weapons loadout to take advantage of special effect weaponry (such as the BRG/CLG/FT/etc.). Scan enemies ASAP and modify your tactics on the fly to compensate for their loadouts.

Don't just blow them up, first cripple and humiliate them!

Maneuver your team to flank or get behind opponents, using terrain and smoke to your advantage. Come at them from all sides whenever possible to maximize damage to their titans while minimizing damage to your own.

Call shots on vulnerable body parts once your jocks are skilled enough, take the legs out from under an enemy from medium or long range so your CC titans can close and hack them to pieces.

On smaller maps, try using a fast, expendable, and heavily armored CC weapon based titan or two to draw enemy fire while you maneuver the rest of your team into flanking positions. On larger maps, take some time to recon the area instead of charging headlong into the first enemy you spot.

Don't just rush an enemy when you see him, you may come out on top and you may not. Either way, it's not as satisfying or effective as enhancing your odds by scouting out the terrain and using every advantage you can find.

Did I mention the joys of crippling/humiliating? Yes!

[LarkinVB]

Thats what I do first if I play my 8 jock team together with my friend hotseat in random battles. I try to analyze the landscape for good positions. If high hills handicap my LOS I do a couple of jumps to get a better view. Acording to these informations gathered I choose the place to fight. This is often the most decisive decision of the whole game. You need a focus, a strategy. Of course you must know your team.

Duels are more straightforward and primarly driven by the titans strength and weaknesses.

[TLV]

Thx all

You are giving good answers to my question. I can try new things now.

Does a "ToS Srategy Guide" exists somewhere ?

By the way : did u organise tournaments of ToS in the past ? (the game looks well build for little competitions).

Thx again !
TLV

[Lobsteve]

I don't think I've ever seen a strategy guide.

And yes, we did run tournaments way back when.

Lobsteve.

[rosary]

The most basic and noteworthy principles of war that apply to real war and Titans of Steel Warring Suns are:

1-A Sneak Attack with full firepower.

2- Don't let your opponent do that to you.

As to a strategy guide. Yes there is a strategy guide for ToSv1.4.
Prince Corrin wrote one. He also put together a TosFaQ.

[DrGrieve]

Hi all, I've been lurking in forum for a couple weeks. Not much activity but this thread contains lots of helpfuls hints.

Cool!

Anyway I was prompted to register so I could ask ...

rosary : is there a link to the strategy guide that Prince Corrin wrote?

And to continue on topic (soft of)

What would be best size titian for a close combat specialist (for example axes/saws and machine guns). When does the reduced speed not worth the extra firepower or can jump effectively get over the slowness of the larger chassises?

DrGrieve....

[tarendelcymir]

Most people tend to go with medium as the upper limit for a purely CC titan. Some of the heavies and assaults have a lot of close range weapons, but not purely CC.

[rosary]

DrGrieve: No link. Sorry.

For Close Combat titans you'll want it to be faster than your enemy. That's the easy explanation.

[LarkinVB]

Originally posted by DrGrieve

Anyway I was prompted to register so I could ask ...

rosary : is there a link to the strategy guide that Prince Corrin wrote?

Here is the link :

Corrins strategy guide [1 MB]

[TLV]

Thx for the strategy guide. I just printed it and it contains what i was looking for (the basics).

Tell me if i think wrong : it looks like u all refer to a period of exchanges and dialogs that was not using this forum.

Is there a way of reading the old forum ? (if it does exist).

Another question that as already been asked, but not this way : is it worth playing ToS with the freeware version to learn something for Ws or will the new version be so different that noobs like me should just wait for the release in august to learn ?

TLV

[rosary]

Originally posted by LarkinVB
Here is the link :

Corrins strategy guide [1 MB]

That looks like the old one.

[rosary]

I took a look and this is a good strategy guide but its the old one. There was a newer one floating around.

[TLV]

If someone got the new version of the strategy guide dont hesitate to give the linK : it will be very appreciated

TLV

[Voidhawk]

Originally posted by DrGrieve
What would be best size titian for a close combat specialist (for example axes/saws and machine guns). When does the reduced speed not worth the extra firepower or can jump effectively get over the slowness of the larger chassises?

Here's my favorite light CC design; fast, maneuvarable, affordable, and great for training rookie jocks (and actually keeping them alive). Beware of heavy meson guns, this titan doesn't like even minimal engine damage. Otherwise she's one mean customer with the right jock at the controls.

Titan Name: <Sensei> (Light Close Combat Titan)
Chassis: Morola L3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 70.0t (70t maximum) Height : 10 [meter]
Bmt : 20 (60 kph) Reduce Heat: -1.8C/sec.
Jmt : 16 (75 kph) for 64 secs Cost : 143815 ($)


Equipment:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Component/Type/Location

Engine :Morola M1 [Engine 1] [CT ]
Heatreg.:Mechlarren [Heat 2]
LifeSup.:Triton TL [Life 4] [Head]
Scanner :CyberSys L [Scan 3] [CBT ]
Computer:CyberSys [Comp. 2] [CT ]
JumpPort:Aerojol [Jump 2]


Weapons:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location/Weapon/Ammunition/SL

[RA ] CHAIN SAW
[LA ] CHAIN SAW
[LT ] MACHINE GUN (080) [2]
[RT ] MACHINE GUN (080) [2]


Armor:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Loc/Internal/Armor/Points/mm

[Head] (11) Dullaroy 018 [026mm]
[RT ] (17) Vicenium 038 [064mm]
[CT ] (21) Dullaroy 045 [065mm]
[CBT ] (11) Vicenium 028 [047mm]
[LT ] (17) Vicenium 038 [064mm]
[RA ] (19) Vicenium 036 [061mm]
[LA ] (19) Vicenium 036 [061mm]
[LowT] (13) Vicenium 038 [064mm]
[RL ] (17) Vicenium 038 [064mm]
[LL ] (17) Vicenium 038 [064mm]

Armorindex: 7.36 [Total APts/T]
Internal: 162 [APts]
External: 353 [APts] Max:[068mm]
Total Armor: 515 [APts]


JOCK requirements:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Piloting: skill on Light Titan incl. Jump
Weapons : Cannon C.C.
Warfare : Scanner
Skills : Recon

[rosary]

As far as I know there is no link to the new Strat guide. I don't have permission from its author to hand it out anyways. Perhaps, he will make it available when he feels its ready.