Basic Tactics

From CustomWiki

Competitive battling in Custom Wars is basically the same as in the normal Advance Wars games. Take note that these concepts may be different in Custom Wars mods.

[edit] Capture Properties

It is important to expand quickly and efficiently in order to amass an income advantage. It is also important to consider ways in which the opposing player's expansion can be hindered. Matches typically conclude when one player has secured a sufficient income advantage such that the disadvantaged player cannot realistically recover. This precludes victory by rout or HQ capture. For most players, it is polite to yield when at such a disadvantage in order to save time.

If there are neutral deployment properties on the map, it is typically of the utmost importance to secure these first and foremost, with bases being of the highest priority as they can deploy more infantry with which to expand even more. If it is possible to capture enemy properties, then those should take priority over neutral properties as they provide an opposing player with precious funding. Of course, neutral properties will eventually all be captured, so the goal then is to find a means of securing enemy properties.

[edit] Area Control

It is more difficult to capture properties in an area that you do not control as opposed to one that you do. Area control refers broadly to the ability to attack and defend a location on a map; a player controls an area when he or she has units that can move into and attack points in the area, most commonly these points are cities. A contested area is one in which both sides have units that can attack the same area and points of interest.

In a more literal example, placing a unit to bottle up a choke point can effectively defend the area behind the unit from enemy threat. Likewise, allied units behind the choke point can set up safely while the enemy cannot contest the area, either by removing the choke point blocker or moving around it with air or indirect units.

[edit] Units & Cost Efficiency

A key concept that underlies property captures and area control is the deployment of units that most cost-effectively address those and other facets of a battle. Deploying a mech to capture a property is typically not cost effective as the mech can deplete funds that can go towards another infantry and the mech moves slower.

In addition, it is important to consider unit match-ups and how the opposing sides can make calls and responses to each one; if player 1 can deploy a bomber at 22000, player 2 may respond with a fighter at 20000, a missile at 12000, or an anti-air at 8000 to threaten it with destruction if it moves into their area of attack, for example. All of these responses cost less than the call, so player 1 might reconsider this course of action. At the same time, perhaps player 1 wants player 2 to spend money on the appropriate counter seeing as fighters are also vulnerable to anti-airs and anti-airs are weak against tanks which cost 7000... The discourse continues at length and there are no absolute strategies that can be turned to in a case by case basis except for one: infantry spam.

In the Advance Wars and basic Custom Wars games, infantry are enormously cost-effective as few units can reliably destroy them in a single attack, meaning that they make excellent meatshields for more expensive units to hide behind. The most cost-effective means of dealing with infantry are other infantry.