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Early game - The first steps |
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Written by eaxs
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Tuesday, 02 December 2008 19:07 |
The early game is probably the most critical phase of the match. The decisions you make in the first 20 minutes can be your doom or lead your team to success. Turning the match to your advantage in later game is still possible, but difficult.
Expand your territory
You start your match with your headquarter which is either the lair for beasts, or the stronghold for humans. First, build the goldmine near your headquarter, and then build a sublair (beasts) or garrison (humans) near the next possible goldmine. You may also want to spawn a sapling (beasts), or journeyman (humans) to speed up the building process. Notice that each sublair and garrison has a build radius in which you can construct more buildings. So make sure you build near the goldmine so you can aquire it.
Memorize your team mates
You should open the portait tabs to see who is in your team. Move your mouse over each of the portraits and try to memorize their names. This is important in case someone needs to be revived and you can't see him because of the fog of war. It will also help you to evaluate the overall performance of your team.
Observe the battlefield
Once you have your base expanded it's time to focus on the battlefield until you have collected enough gold to either advance in technology or to expand further.
It is important that you support your troups with healing and armor buffs and to use your negative spells on the enemy. Before you use your healing spell on an allied player, make sure he is relatively out of harms way, or he will die anyway and you have wasted mana and time. If a player asks for resurrection and you can't see him because of the fog of war, use the ressurection spell on his portrait in the upper-left. As mentioned above, it is important to memorize your team mates so you can quickly buff your troups. You should also watch out for the enemy team. See what routes they are taking and alert your team of their presence. Just because you can see the enemy, it does not mean your team mates can too...concidering the heat of the battle.
Advance in technology
When you have collected enough money to advance in technology, you get to make your first important decision. It is critical that you know the enemy and your team to make the right decisions as commander. If you feel the battles are evenly balanced, you should consider building the Armory (humans), or the nexus (beasts). If you feel that your team won't last long, you should consider building the monastery (humans), or sanctuary (beasts). This will allow your team to have healers on the battlefield and you to build the Siege Workshop (humans), or Charm Shrine (beasts). The Siege Workshop/Charm Shrine will allow your team to use siege units. Siege units, paired with a good organized attack from a backdoor can win the match in a matter of minutes and is often the last option to turn the match in your favour. So, as mentioned before, analyze the enemey and the performance of your team to make the right decision.
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