Aqo
05-24-2007, 8:39 AM
Seeing as some people here are relatively low-level RTS players, I have decided to write a full guide that teaches people who lack experience to become decent very quickly with little effort.
This guide assumes that you have no experience with playing RTS games at all, and that you have DC patch 1.12 installed.
By carefully following the instructions here, and not skipping any section regardless of how unimportant it may seem, you will greatly increase your playing skill.
Note: The better you play, the more fun you have.
This guide is written to teach you Tau tactics from the ground up. This is because I am a Tau player. If you don't like playing Tau, it would still be a good idea to do this guide (playing Tau on it), as this will help you gain needed playing-experience that you will later on be able to apply to other races.
_____
Section 01: Getting to know your army
Before you play any race, you have to be aware of what units you have at your disposal.
In DoW, the main attributes of each fighting unit are the following:
Melee/Range (M/R)
Anti-Infantry/Anti-Vehicle (AI/AV) or Anti-Everything(AE)
Those attributes help you classify all fighting units into four main groups (2∙2=4). Lets go over the Tau units and see where does each unit belong.
XV15 Stealth Team: Very weak in early game, but can be upgraded to become decent against infantry and very powerful against vehicles. Thus, this would be a RAV unit.
Fire Warrior: RAI. Out of the two basic tech unit Tau have, FWs make up the range strength that takes out infantry.
Kroot Carnivore: MAE. Has a melee attack that's powerful mostly against vehicles, but also decent against smaller vehicles.
Tau Commander: RAE. At the very beginning of the game, the only reason to get the TC would be the fact he has lots of hitpoints that make him not die. Later on, he can be equipped with a flame that does great job at killing the enemy's morale (reducing their effectiveness by 80%). And beyond that, the missile upgrades that the TC gets can turn him into a one-man army, however, at that point it will already be vulnerable to the higher tech units the enemy has got, and you'll have to use its jetpack ability wisely to stay alive.
XV88 Broadside: Useless when not Entrenched. However, once it is, it can deal an attack that does 250 damage to both infantry and vehicles. This attack has a high cooldown, so overall the best use for this would be when making a siege an enemy base, or a strategic point.
Devilfish: The info label on this unit is highly inaccurate. DF is a powerful assault unit that has a high range and high damage. It is great for taking down everything the enemy got - infantry, vehicles, listening points - everything. The only disadvantage: It has very low hitpoints. So as soon as it gets detected, do not hesitate for a second - run.
Skyray Gunship: RAV. While it deals a decent amount of damage against vehicles, the main reason you'd want to get those if for their ability. The missile ray it shoots not only deals massive damage but also throws enemy units into all directions, giving your other units time to shoot them.
Drone Squad & Harbinger: Rarely used, forget them.
I will ignore the higher tech units because you probably won't get to use them, and if you will, they should be pretty straightforward.
Two more units deserve mention here:
Vespid: Detector. Has two very useful abilities, one is a short ranged blast that throws enemy units away, and the other one increases damage done to the target - which works great in conjunction with other units.
Pathfinder: Detector. Has an ability that increases the damage done to an enemy unit. Since those are very easily killed, it is a good idea to try and hide them between other similarly looking units - FWs.
Section 02: Build orders
So when the game starts, what to do?
First, order your Earth Cast Builder to start working on a Barracks, and queue another ECB and two Stealth Teams.
Rally your HQ onto the Barracks so that as soon as the 2nd ECB comes out it helps the other one finish the work. Once the two are working, select them both and queue (by holding down shift) a Plasma Generator.
When the Barracks is ready, tell it to start producing the Tau Commander.
Before each ST is ready, rally the HQ onto the nearest Strategic Point, so that as soon as it comes out it goes capture it.
For each ST, queue a capture of a second SP once it starts capturing a first. Make sure you don't accidentally rally the HQ and queue into the same SP.
Once the ECBs are working on the Generator, queue an order for them to walk towards the first SP you're going to capture.
When they reach that SP, be ready with a Listening Point to place it on the SP as soon as the ST finishes capturing it.
Once the ECBs started working, queue an order for one of them to go to the SP where the 2nd ST went, and for for the other to go to the 2nd SP that the first ST is going to capture.
When the TC is ready, tell the barracks to either produce Fire Warriors of Kroot. In general, you'd prefer Kroot against Chaos, FWs against SM and Eldar, and with all other races you can choose either one.
After your first LP is built, tell the HQ to start upgrading the jetpacks. This will allow you to keep the TC alive, which should be your first priority.
When the first group of either Kroot of FWs are ready, send them and the TC to attack the enemy. Do not reinforce the squad, you need that money to finish building LPs on all your 4 initial SPs.
Check your timing: Your fire warriors/kroot should be ready within 1:45. You should have the 4th LP in production within 2:05. Jetpacks should already be researched, and the TC&FW/K should already be next to the enemy base.
Mini-Section 2/01: SP-LP-ULP-U2LP
Normal captured SP gives you 6 credits per timestamp.
Listening Point gives you 12 credits per timestamp.
Upgraded Listening point gives you 18 credits per timestamp.
Conclusions?
1. Must capture as many SPs as possible.
2. Must build an LP on every SP with no exception.
3. Upgrade some of your LPs.
In early-game, after following the build order I described, you should devote your money to upgrading two LPs. After that, you'll need to either add units (i.e. reinforce) to the squad that's currently battling inside the enemy base, or build more squads (preferably of the same type) to send into the battle.
Getting a flamethrower for your TC would be a really good idea if you see that he's able to come close to the enemy without taking considerable damage.
With two squads and a TC fighting in the enemy base, upgrade a 3rd LP.
Also, take note that through all this time, your Stealths should keep going around (just give them a long shift command) capturing SPs. If there are no more SPs, tell them to capture Relics. And if there are no more Relics, then as a last priority, capture Critical Locations.
Build LPs on all SPs and Relics you capture ASAP.
When the 3rd LP starts upgrading, the part of choices comes into play.
Mini-Section 2/02: SP-LP-ULP-U2LP
So far, it's pretty basic. Either add more units to the army, or support your economy by adding a 2nd and 3rd generators. There is no one good choice, but in general, if you see you're winning in the skirmish that's going on in the enemy base, then make more units to make sure you can finish him off. While if you see that the enemy is about to finish building some defenses that will cancel your ability to battle on his grounds, then support your economy.
---
At this point, the game become too general then to follow a specific list of orders. Instead, here are guidelines:
1. Don't let your TC die.
2. Don't let Fire Warriors die. If any of them enter melee, immediately pull back and let the TC do the shooting. When you have two squads, you should be able to let one run and the other one shoot. Make sure you keep the two squads just inside firing range at each other, but not closer. This way, the enemy won't be able to switch between them as targets, thus making sure at least one squad can always shoot.
3. Don't let your TC die.
4. When you have 3 generators, let your energy grow and get a Path to Enlightenment. This is your entrance key to Tier 2. It also lets you get the vehicle beacon, which is relatively cheap, and start producing Devilfishs. DFs do a great job at taking down LPs. They also force the enemy to not walk around the map without detectors, which psychologically hurts his mobility.
If you're using FWs, then make sure to get the Advanced Pulse Rifle upgrade as soon as the PtE's ready.
5. Always watch your money. If your requisition goes above 300 and the timer is still under 15:00, you should know you're doing something wrong. Money is there to be used. If it's not being used, it's being wasted.
6. You don't need to always watch your units fight. Spend at least half of the time taking care of your base and making sure you're getting extra units and improved economy to be able to continue playing.
7. Do watch your units. You don't want them to die, so act accordingly - if you're winning, go in harder. If you're losing - withdraw. If the situation looks fairly equal - assume you're winning. Always make sure you have the enemy is your sight range. Last thing you want them to do is to surprise you.
8. Always be on attack. If you're not attacking, you're giving your enemy time to reinforce his army, which is not good for you no matter how you're looking at it.
9. Don't suck.
10. Don't let your TC die.
~will add more in the future.
This guide assumes that you have no experience with playing RTS games at all, and that you have DC patch 1.12 installed.
By carefully following the instructions here, and not skipping any section regardless of how unimportant it may seem, you will greatly increase your playing skill.
Note: The better you play, the more fun you have.
This guide is written to teach you Tau tactics from the ground up. This is because I am a Tau player. If you don't like playing Tau, it would still be a good idea to do this guide (playing Tau on it), as this will help you gain needed playing-experience that you will later on be able to apply to other races.
_____
Section 01: Getting to know your army
Before you play any race, you have to be aware of what units you have at your disposal.
In DoW, the main attributes of each fighting unit are the following:
Melee/Range (M/R)
Anti-Infantry/Anti-Vehicle (AI/AV) or Anti-Everything(AE)
Those attributes help you classify all fighting units into four main groups (2∙2=4). Lets go over the Tau units and see where does each unit belong.
XV15 Stealth Team: Very weak in early game, but can be upgraded to become decent against infantry and very powerful against vehicles. Thus, this would be a RAV unit.
Fire Warrior: RAI. Out of the two basic tech unit Tau have, FWs make up the range strength that takes out infantry.
Kroot Carnivore: MAE. Has a melee attack that's powerful mostly against vehicles, but also decent against smaller vehicles.
Tau Commander: RAE. At the very beginning of the game, the only reason to get the TC would be the fact he has lots of hitpoints that make him not die. Later on, he can be equipped with a flame that does great job at killing the enemy's morale (reducing their effectiveness by 80%). And beyond that, the missile upgrades that the TC gets can turn him into a one-man army, however, at that point it will already be vulnerable to the higher tech units the enemy has got, and you'll have to use its jetpack ability wisely to stay alive.
XV88 Broadside: Useless when not Entrenched. However, once it is, it can deal an attack that does 250 damage to both infantry and vehicles. This attack has a high cooldown, so overall the best use for this would be when making a siege an enemy base, or a strategic point.
Devilfish: The info label on this unit is highly inaccurate. DF is a powerful assault unit that has a high range and high damage. It is great for taking down everything the enemy got - infantry, vehicles, listening points - everything. The only disadvantage: It has very low hitpoints. So as soon as it gets detected, do not hesitate for a second - run.
Skyray Gunship: RAV. While it deals a decent amount of damage against vehicles, the main reason you'd want to get those if for their ability. The missile ray it shoots not only deals massive damage but also throws enemy units into all directions, giving your other units time to shoot them.
Drone Squad & Harbinger: Rarely used, forget them.
I will ignore the higher tech units because you probably won't get to use them, and if you will, they should be pretty straightforward.
Two more units deserve mention here:
Vespid: Detector. Has two very useful abilities, one is a short ranged blast that throws enemy units away, and the other one increases damage done to the target - which works great in conjunction with other units.
Pathfinder: Detector. Has an ability that increases the damage done to an enemy unit. Since those are very easily killed, it is a good idea to try and hide them between other similarly looking units - FWs.
Section 02: Build orders
So when the game starts, what to do?
First, order your Earth Cast Builder to start working on a Barracks, and queue another ECB and two Stealth Teams.
Rally your HQ onto the Barracks so that as soon as the 2nd ECB comes out it helps the other one finish the work. Once the two are working, select them both and queue (by holding down shift) a Plasma Generator.
When the Barracks is ready, tell it to start producing the Tau Commander.
Before each ST is ready, rally the HQ onto the nearest Strategic Point, so that as soon as it comes out it goes capture it.
For each ST, queue a capture of a second SP once it starts capturing a first. Make sure you don't accidentally rally the HQ and queue into the same SP.
Once the ECBs are working on the Generator, queue an order for them to walk towards the first SP you're going to capture.
When they reach that SP, be ready with a Listening Point to place it on the SP as soon as the ST finishes capturing it.
Once the ECBs started working, queue an order for one of them to go to the SP where the 2nd ST went, and for for the other to go to the 2nd SP that the first ST is going to capture.
When the TC is ready, tell the barracks to either produce Fire Warriors of Kroot. In general, you'd prefer Kroot against Chaos, FWs against SM and Eldar, and with all other races you can choose either one.
After your first LP is built, tell the HQ to start upgrading the jetpacks. This will allow you to keep the TC alive, which should be your first priority.
When the first group of either Kroot of FWs are ready, send them and the TC to attack the enemy. Do not reinforce the squad, you need that money to finish building LPs on all your 4 initial SPs.
Check your timing: Your fire warriors/kroot should be ready within 1:45. You should have the 4th LP in production within 2:05. Jetpacks should already be researched, and the TC&FW/K should already be next to the enemy base.
Mini-Section 2/01: SP-LP-ULP-U2LP
Normal captured SP gives you 6 credits per timestamp.
Listening Point gives you 12 credits per timestamp.
Upgraded Listening point gives you 18 credits per timestamp.
Conclusions?
1. Must capture as many SPs as possible.
2. Must build an LP on every SP with no exception.
3. Upgrade some of your LPs.
In early-game, after following the build order I described, you should devote your money to upgrading two LPs. After that, you'll need to either add units (i.e. reinforce) to the squad that's currently battling inside the enemy base, or build more squads (preferably of the same type) to send into the battle.
Getting a flamethrower for your TC would be a really good idea if you see that he's able to come close to the enemy without taking considerable damage.
With two squads and a TC fighting in the enemy base, upgrade a 3rd LP.
Also, take note that through all this time, your Stealths should keep going around (just give them a long shift command) capturing SPs. If there are no more SPs, tell them to capture Relics. And if there are no more Relics, then as a last priority, capture Critical Locations.
Build LPs on all SPs and Relics you capture ASAP.
When the 3rd LP starts upgrading, the part of choices comes into play.
Mini-Section 2/02: SP-LP-ULP-U2LP
So far, it's pretty basic. Either add more units to the army, or support your economy by adding a 2nd and 3rd generators. There is no one good choice, but in general, if you see you're winning in the skirmish that's going on in the enemy base, then make more units to make sure you can finish him off. While if you see that the enemy is about to finish building some defenses that will cancel your ability to battle on his grounds, then support your economy.
---
At this point, the game become too general then to follow a specific list of orders. Instead, here are guidelines:
1. Don't let your TC die.
2. Don't let Fire Warriors die. If any of them enter melee, immediately pull back and let the TC do the shooting. When you have two squads, you should be able to let one run and the other one shoot. Make sure you keep the two squads just inside firing range at each other, but not closer. This way, the enemy won't be able to switch between them as targets, thus making sure at least one squad can always shoot.
3. Don't let your TC die.
4. When you have 3 generators, let your energy grow and get a Path to Enlightenment. This is your entrance key to Tier 2. It also lets you get the vehicle beacon, which is relatively cheap, and start producing Devilfishs. DFs do a great job at taking down LPs. They also force the enemy to not walk around the map without detectors, which psychologically hurts his mobility.
If you're using FWs, then make sure to get the Advanced Pulse Rifle upgrade as soon as the PtE's ready.
5. Always watch your money. If your requisition goes above 300 and the timer is still under 15:00, you should know you're doing something wrong. Money is there to be used. If it's not being used, it's being wasted.
6. You don't need to always watch your units fight. Spend at least half of the time taking care of your base and making sure you're getting extra units and improved economy to be able to continue playing.
7. Do watch your units. You don't want them to die, so act accordingly - if you're winning, go in harder. If you're losing - withdraw. If the situation looks fairly equal - assume you're winning. Always make sure you have the enemy is your sight range. Last thing you want them to do is to surprise you.
8. Always be on attack. If you're not attacking, you're giving your enemy time to reinforce his army, which is not good for you no matter how you're looking at it.
9. Don't suck.
10. Don't let your TC die.
~will add more in the future.