IV. TACTIC
"The tactic exploits vulnerabilities and uses them in favor of those who know them"
Tactics answer questions about the best way to deploy and employ small-scale forces like a Mech squadron, or how to engage enemy forces (assault, outflank, ambush, skirmish, guerrilla war)
This chapter is structured in three parts:
- Mechs Deploy in Formation
- Battle Formations
- Special Tactics and Maneuvers
1. MECHS DEPLOY IN FORMATION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
Depending the way a Commander deployed the Mechs in his array (squadron or combat formation), he may be optimizing a lot his force and acquiring an edge when fighting against inexperienced Commanders not caring in the improvement of their forces.
Even a commander with a brilliant force of Niode Mechs, but little tactical knowledge, can succumb to another with a lower force, but whose Mechs were well disposed in their battle formation.
1.2. MECHS DEPLOYMENT PRINCIPLES
If a Mech Commander looks for success, these are the main principles to keep following in the deployment of his Mechs in his formations.
These principles are:
The union makes strength. Never disperse your best Mechs between your lines, mixing them with weaker Mechs. Instead, concentrate them to create a few lines that will be stronger as a whole.
The best lines to locate the most powerful Mechs are those that contain the most slots. Simple mathematics: If in your formation there are lines of different sizes, locating your best Mechs in the largest ones will increase the power of said lines.
A strong Mech in a battle line filled with weak Mechs will be much less useful than one that is combined with other strong Mechs for a more effective combat line.
In a combat between equal forces, the Commander who concentrates his best Mechs into consolidated lines, even at the cost of having some weaker lines, will beat the one that scatters the most effective Mechs with the ineffective ones.
Choose well the place that each Mech will occupy within your battle formation. Depending on their role, each Mech will work better in different spots.
An assault Mech with very high trample, will be much more effective in the vanguard than in the rearguard, where the trample will lose its effect if both contenders are fighting with their last lines; Mechs with rain damage (splash, fork) where your shots can affect a greater number of enemies will be also improve depending their location.
Like the sword, create an array that has a sharp edge with which you can cut the enemy.
The edge can be hidden inside the sword case or you can show it in front of the enemy, but in any case, the moment will come when the edge will strike the enemy to tear it to pieces.
Just as the edge of the sword is uniform and sharp, arrange your Mechs in the battle lines so that their abilities act in unison and with synergy, seeking a clean and effective cut.
The different array models will be shown below, discussing their advantages and disadvantages.
2.1. PHALANX
The perfect formation in which there are no vulnerabilities. All the Mechs and the lines that compose the formation are equally strong.
2.2. FRONTAL ASSAULT
The strongest Mechs and lines are concentrated in the front of the formation, so that they will hit with strength from the beginning.
This arrangement depends on an effective initial attack that may annihilates the enemy.
If the front is destroyed, the remaining forces will be less effective and will have to complete the task against unknown forces.
If the rear forces find equally weak units to fight, there will be possibilities of victory, but if after the annihilation of the front, the units of the rear find strong units, the defeat will be served.
2.3. COUNTERATTACK
The Mechs and the strongest lines are concentrated in the rear or last defensive lines of the formation, leaving the weakest in the front for its use to undermine the enemy front.
This array seeks to make the most of available resources, so that weak lines are sacrificed while trying to damage the enemy front, and then finish with the elite units waiting in the rear.
2.4. ECHELON
In the Echelon, strong lines are interspersed with weak ones. This tactic can combine other tactics such as frontal assault, counterattack and pit to optimize the available resources.
2.5. FIREWALL OR PIT
When there are few really useful Mechs, but enough to constitute one or a few offensive lines, an interesting tactic is the Firewall or Pit.
In this way, when a useful line of your formation enters combat, the trample damage of the enemy that would be received by your previous line, will fall in the pit, destroying only the retainer and allowing your next line of combat join fresh in the battle, without previous damage.
It is so named because this array uses empty lines, like a defensive pit, between the filled battle lines in order to disable enemy trampling capabilities.
The empty lines (holes or pits) must use a single and weak Mech that prevents the occupied lines from a cohesive movement. If a pit line was abandoned without placing a single Mech as a retainer, then the previous lines will move forward for the combat and the trample will hit them in the same way as if there were no pit.
2.6. OUTFLANK
In the flanking, the best Mechs of each line are placed tilted towards the top or bottom of the line, so that their destructive capabilities help accelerate the destruction of the enemy line from that side, quickly contracting it toward the center and overcoming the enemy in number.
2.7. DISPERSION
This is the best formation a Commander can have to WEAKEN his combat strength.
In this formation, the paradox is fulfilled that the commander will believe that he is strengthening his formation by balancing the lines of weak Mechs with strong intertwined Mechs.
This is a frequent error, because in reality what is being done is to create lines that are homogeneously weak, giving a poor use to the more powerful Mechs. When a force of this type faces consolidated lines, the disadvantage is evident, since the weak Mechs will fall quickly, leaving a reduced line fighting against a larger one.
2.8. SWARM
This type of array is the indelible mark of a blind commander without any tactical knowledge.
By swarm, we call those forces in which the commander placed his Mechs in a chaotic pattern, without a preconceived order or knowledge, mixing all kind of Mechs with a big gap on their quality and tonnage.
The lack of meaning of that formation will condemn it to failure and defeat.
The possibility that a swarm is better or worse than a dispersion, will depend on fortuitous facts, but usually will have the worse possible performance.
2.9. OTHER FORMATIONS
Other deployments and formations are possible, but they will normally be as little useful as the swarm. Of these, some are:
The objective of every elite commander will be to obtain the possible information about the enemy, as well as to hide their own abilities to prevent the enemy from obtaining information.
Even a commander with a brilliant force of Niode Mechs, but little tactical knowledge, can succumb to another with a lower force, but whose Mechs were well disposed in their battle formation.
1.2. MECHS DEPLOYMENT PRINCIPLES
If a Mech Commander looks for success, these are the main principles to keep following in the deployment of his Mechs in his formations.
These principles are:
- Concentration
- Optimization
- Synergy
These principles are to be considered in that order, Synergy has to respect the principle of Optimization, and Optimization has to respect the principle of Concentration, when being applied. Never break the strength of a line to apply a lower principle.
CONCENTRATION
The union makes strength. Never disperse your best Mechs between your lines, mixing them with weaker Mechs. Instead, concentrate them to create a few lines that will be stronger as a whole.
The best lines to locate the most powerful Mechs are those that contain the most slots. Simple mathematics: If in your formation there are lines of different sizes, locating your best Mechs in the largest ones will increase the power of said lines.
A strong Mech in a battle line filled with weak Mechs will be much less useful than one that is combined with other strong Mechs for a more effective combat line.
In a combat between equal forces, the Commander who concentrates his best Mechs into consolidated lines, even at the cost of having some weaker lines, will beat the one that scatters the most effective Mechs with the ineffective ones.
OPTIMIZATION
Choose well the place that each Mech will occupy within your battle formation. Depending on their role, each Mech will work better in different spots.
An assault Mech with very high trample, will be much more effective in the vanguard than in the rearguard, where the trample will lose its effect if both contenders are fighting with their last lines; Mechs with rain damage (splash, fork) where your shots can affect a greater number of enemies will be also improve depending their location.
- Forker: Better placed banding together in the middle spots of the battle lines. A Forker placed on an edge (top or bottom) might lose the fork effect if the potential target got destroyed. In middle spots the odds that both possible targets of a fork got destroyed are lower.
- Splasher: Similarly, as with Forkers, they are better placed banding together to accumulate their standard and splash strikes in the opponent Mechs.
- Trampler: Best placed in the frontal lines. Optimally in the first front line.
- Wide Forkers: The best way to optimize them is to place them banding, so their battle line will have a high probability to clean the enemy line by producing any or some of the Wide Forks.
SYNERGY
Like the sword, create an array that has a sharp edge with which you can cut the enemy.
The edge can be hidden inside the sword case or you can show it in front of the enemy, but in any case, the moment will come when the edge will strike the enemy to tear it to pieces.
Just as the edge of the sword is uniform and sharp, arrange your Mechs in the battle lines so that their abilities act in unison and with synergy, seeking a clean and effective cut.
- A full line of trample will deal higher overall damage on the rear lines behind the enemy front.
- A full line of burning Mechs will bring the nine hells on the enemy line accumulating burning and ignites.
- A full line of Missile platforms will release a true rain of a threat that will increase the damage received by the enemy.
- A full line of Crit-Killing Mechs will increase the odds of a fast clean of the enemy lines.
- A full line of Wide Forkers will increase the odds that your force cleaned the enemy front.
2. BATTLE FORMATIONS
The ideal formation is one that does not present fissures or vulnerabilities. But that is not always possible, and as Commander Mech increases his level of combat, his needs to be met will be increasing, often forcing him to complete his deployment with inferior quality Mechs without the desired gear or worst equipment.
The different array models will be shown below, discussing their advantages and disadvantages.
- Phalanx
- Frontal Assault
- Counterattack
- Echelon
- Firewall or Pit
- Outflank
- Dispersion
- Swarm
The perfect formation in which there are no vulnerabilities. All the Mechs and the lines that compose the formation are equally strong.
2.2. FRONTAL ASSAULT
The strongest Mechs and lines are concentrated in the front of the formation, so that they will hit with strength from the beginning.
If the front is destroyed, the remaining forces will be less effective and will have to complete the task against unknown forces.
If the rear forces find equally weak units to fight, there will be possibilities of victory, but if after the annihilation of the front, the units of the rear find strong units, the defeat will be served.
2.3. COUNTERATTACK
The Mechs and the strongest lines are concentrated in the rear or last defensive lines of the formation, leaving the weakest in the front for its use to undermine the enemy front.
2.4. ECHELON
In the Echelon, strong lines are interspersed with weak ones. This tactic can combine other tactics such as frontal assault, counterattack and pit to optimize the available resources.
2.5. FIREWALL OR PIT
When there are few really useful Mechs, but enough to constitute one or a few offensive lines, an interesting tactic is the Firewall or Pit.
In this way, when a useful line of your formation enters combat, the trample damage of the enemy that would be received by your previous line, will fall in the pit, destroying only the retainer and allowing your next line of combat join fresh in the battle, without previous damage.
The empty lines (holes or pits) must use a single and weak Mech that prevents the occupied lines from a cohesive movement. If a pit line was abandoned without placing a single Mech as a retainer, then the previous lines will move forward for the combat and the trample will hit them in the same way as if there were no pit.
In the flanking, the best Mechs of each line are placed tilted towards the top or bottom of the line, so that their destructive capabilities help accelerate the destruction of the enemy line from that side, quickly contracting it toward the center and overcoming the enemy in number.
2.7. DISPERSION
This is the best formation a Commander can have to WEAKEN his combat strength.
In this formation, the paradox is fulfilled that the commander will believe that he is strengthening his formation by balancing the lines of weak Mechs with strong intertwined Mechs.
2.8. SWARM
This type of array is the indelible mark of a blind commander without any tactical knowledge.
By swarm, we call those forces in which the commander placed his Mechs in a chaotic pattern, without a preconceived order or knowledge, mixing all kind of Mechs with a big gap on their quality and tonnage.
The possibility that a swarm is better or worse than a dispersion, will depend on fortuitous facts, but usually will have the worse possible performance.
2.9. OTHER FORMATIONS
Other deployments and formations are possible, but they will normally be as little useful as the swarm. Of these, some are:
- Line. Only one line is strong. This should be used as a Counterattack or Frontal Assault line.
- Column. Undesirable formation in which the best Mechs are located in the same position of each line, covering the rest of positions of the lines with weak Mechs, or empty spaces.
- Diagonal. Variant column, but in which the strongest Mech is varying its position diagonally.
3. SPECIAL TACTICS AND MANEUVERS"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; If you are stronger than the enemy, pretend to be weak"
"Make the enemy believe that he is stronger, stimulate his arrogance and feed his overconfidence"
The objective of every elite commander will be to obtain the possible information about the enemy, as well as to hide their own abilities to prevent the enemy from obtaining information.
- Intel Acquisition (Gathering information)
- Concealment (of your own strength)
3.1. INTEL ACQUISITION
The usual way to obtain information about the enemy is through direct battle.
But we will need to eliminate the factors of uncertainty.
- Is the enemy using his real force or a weakened one?
- The Honor Guard.
- The Dodge bonus for level up (lasts 24 hours).
- The opponent performance analysis. Too easy victories may reveal the target is sandbagging if previous battles were hard or even.
- Attack during a round of combat in a Clan War (or Faction War, Squad War, etc.). The probability that a commander were using his real force during a Clan War battle round is the highest.
- Attack during a King of the Mountain circuit (KotM) in which the rule required the type of formation you want to track and in which the opponent shows up in active competition for the first positions.
- Attack in a circuit (It can offer distorted information). The advantage is that will not be noticed by your target.
- Normal attack (battle). Can offer distorted information if the target is using some concealment tactic.
3.2. CONCEALMENT
The best tacticians and strategists, will at all times seek to keep their enemies with the least possible information about them, while trying to gather the maximum information about their opponents.
For this reason, some will sacrifice the periods between battles, keeping a combat force that is deliberately lower than what it actually possesses.
It can be done in multiple ways.
- Maintaining a low ton spec.
- Eliminating all battle formation while it is not active.
- Sandbagging (Force with high tonnage but without weapons)
- Maintaining a false battle formation.
The first two options will conceal any chance that the enemy acquired information about your comparative forces.
The third maneuver, can mislead clueless commanders, that if they do not pay attention to the development of the combat, they will not notice that the opponent was disarmed, and they will give the victory for good, believing that in future encounters they will be able to defeat the sandbag.
The Sandbag is a tactic in which a formation has the highest possible tonnage, but whose mechs are unarmed. Normally used to allow allies to obtain a high combat experience by destroying a high number of tons, although without suffering damages that delay him in his next attacks.
The Sandbag is a tactic in which a formation has the highest possible tonnage, but whose mechs are unarmed. Normally used to allow allies to obtain a high combat experience by destroying a high number of tons, although without suffering damages that delay him in his next attacks.
The fourth option is the most twisted and intelligent, maintaining a false force, deliberately weak, with which we will make our opponents believe that they are superior: When they are performing maneuvers of tracking and evaluating our forces, or when we we attack them on purpose with our weakened strength, to make them believe that we are probing them.
(By GJ - 685605)
