Hello everyone, The name’s Eastred Dragon, or just dragon for short. those of you who remember me from the Halo Wars forums remember me as the talkative guy who never got past a mediocre player. However fun it was, it became rather unmoderated and dull in the end. So I’d like to say I’m back, and playing Halo Wars consistantly.
As my first post, I’d like to make a Halo Wars Do’s and Don’ts list. This list will not make you the best player in the world, but most if not all, will save you a lot of grief in the end of the match.
So here it goes, Eastred Dragon’s list of Do’s and Don’ts in Halo Wars:
Do’s
Do collect as many scattered resources at the beginning of the game as you can. While it may not seem like much, this can make and break a game. The money and buildings you create early game with decide the outcome for the rest of the match.
Do Scout often. Your starting scout is free and it never hurts to see what your opponent is doing, working blindly will only hurt you.
Do your best to support your allies if you can. Even if his rank is bare lowest and he’s acting like he just picked up the game, He’s still obstacle to the enemy and can be taught to defend himself. Even the best player isn’t rambo, and needs some help when he’s outnumbered.
Do take advantage of the map’s features. This one is fairly obvious, 100 resourcees for an extra tech, extra supplies, extra protection, all this can give you the edge for little.
Don’ts
Do not rely your super units to win you the game. This is the most common noticeable mistake I have witnessed in Halo Wars. You’re super units are strong, yes. But they are not invincible and will usually make you look very predictable and foolish if you rush to build only them.
Do not build 2 scarabs if all else fails. Just because your army of upgraded units got annhilated to the enemy, it does not mean scarabs will fair any better. While yes, an uber unit is “Anti-Everything” this does not mean anti- everything at once, they are not made to take on masses.
Do not assume your ally can save you. They’re not a safety net for you, while it is good to play as a team, they will have the same troubles and worries as you. If your base is under attack by the enemy, Do not signal your ally more than once or even at all, or yell at them over the mic. They’re not going to get over there any faster if you moan and complain at them, and only serves to be really annoying.
Do not build your reactor/temple first. There is no reason for to have the tech/leader immediately, even the fastest rush will allow you to bring out at least 3 buildings before there unit gets there. focus more on your economy than anything else early game.
These are welcome to informal critism and if anyone else has anyone has to add. I figure that this can help people, right?
Don’t try to build multiple types of units early on (infantry, air and vehicles). (Except if you already know what you’re doing, of course.)
Do try and have your teammates focus on building certain things so that everyone has one responsibility. (E.g. one person for tanks, one person for anti-air, etc.) You are a team, work together. Specialization is your friend.
…
The biggest thing for new players to realize is that Halo Wars is a numbers game, both with units and with resources. The way to get better is knowing how much things cost, and how to get the money as quickly as possible without leaving yourself defenseless.
Because it is a game of resources, harassing the enemy is key once you get to the medium levels. Don’t think that you have to have enough units to wipe them out before you move in, just managing to blow up a few of their buildings at the start of the game may be enough to give you the advantage.
My final, additional tip is to keep practicing and experimenting. There’s no substitute for experience. However, one may find a lot of incredibly useful information in the forums on the old Halo Wars site.
– If you’re new to the game take time in skirmish [private] mode to really LEARN the maps. Know where & what all the good map locations are before you do much MP.
– Read strategy articles like this
– Understand what the popular rush tactics are. How to do them yourself AND how to defend yourself from them. I’m still learning this but I’m getting better at it …
– In the first few seconds look at the map size and what leader-type you’re against. The smaller the map the quicker you need to be ready to make your move or hold off against the opponnent’s move
– Scout early & often. Send an early scout deep into enemy territory but don’t let them see you. See who you’re fighting & what they’re building. Keep sending scouts through occassionally to see how many bases they have, where there troops are, what troop types, and go from there.
– Based on info from scouting try to build troop types that can counter what the enemy is doing esp. if they’re only building one troop type and don’t have the troops
– Send one of your scouts deep into enemy territory and see if you can take some of their resources away. Build some other troop types to get your local resources.
– Don’t be afraid to recycle a building when its usefulness has ended.
Dont:
– Just rely on your Covenant Leader as a 1 man army
– Don’t wait 10 minutes before you start fielding troops
Wouldn’t it be also helpful to list slight glitches or intended ways to check out your opponent?
Scoreboard~
4 points : 1 Rebel Infantry (or warthog/ghost)
12 points : teleporter at fort deen in between bases
120+ (idk the exact amount) points : 3 star leader, if they use only their leader
Remember if they kill your units they’ll get points, and take that in to consideration.
Sounds~
Explosion : a building blew up, if you check points frequently you’ll know if it was an enemy building or AI base
Helicopter sounds : Hawks nearby
I’ll keep the rest to myself, knowing ahead of time what your opponent is doing when they have no clue if you do or don’t can make it or break it. I’m sure you can guys can figure out more if you work at it.
UNSC should never go reactor first but I’ve never seen a problem going temple first for Covy, I’ve always found that my economy isn’t much better going temple second (because I’m gathering with my leader) and I get to the enemy base 30 seconds sooner which is massive early game.
> 3. Do your best to support your allies if you can. Even if his rank is bare lowest and he’s acting like he just picked up the game, He’s still obstacle to the enemy and can be taught to defend himself. Even the best player isn’t rambo, and needs some help when he’s outnumbered.
Um, in 3v3s if i see a recruit on my team i generally leave them to fend for them-self because i know their contribution is often minimal i mean 12 mins in my army is ready i look over at my ally and 1 un-upgraded tank…, unless a brig or general goes for them then i help them because it’s not that nice for someone new to the game to experience…we were all recruits once.
And one thing to add:
Don’ts:
Don’t resign 3 seconds in to the match this just annoys everyone. ( the amount of times i’ve been left to take on 3 people in what was a 3v3 untill -both- my allies decided to resign before the game even went it’s first min is unreal. Though i have acctually won a few of them Scarab + 30 engineers for the win lol )
I take it you don’t like playing human all that much dragon?
> > > Thanks for the heads-up … I guess I’ll ask the noob question. How do you check the scoreboard during a match??
> >
> > Back button.
>
> I only quoted you cause I thought you might get a kick out of this.
>
> DO PLAY with an arbiter if you are in a team game.
> UNSC should never go reactor first but I’ve never seen a problem going temple first for Covy, I’ve always found that my economy isn’t much better going temple second (because I’m gathering with my leader) and I get to the enemy base 30 seconds sooner which is massive early game.
It definitely depends on the map. If you have a lot of resources starting off, then I go temple first, then send my ghost to collect the enemies’ resources, and use my arbiter to snatch up all of the ones around my base once he spawns. On maps that have scanty resources it might be a better idea to go temple second.
Another thing I find funny is to go shield 2nd if you’re playing two covenant, then just watch them slash at your base while you head to theirs. It’s a bit risky though, you have to kill their ghosts or else they’ll keep it down. Funny against bad people though.
> Sounds~
> Explosion : a building blew up, if you check points frequently you’ll know if it was an enemy building or AI base
> Helicopter sounds : Hawks nearby
>
> I’ll keep the rest to myself, knowing ahead of time what your opponent is doing when they have no clue if you do or don’t can make it or break it. I’m sure you can guys can figure out more if you work at it.
A couple other things. An army of gauss hogs is a crappy rush, really more of a push, and a pointless one at that. You should really hit them as soon as you have 5 hogs with gunner (as long as they don’t have the arbiter mind you which is why he’s so good in teams). You can’t kill them, but the idea is to set them back enough so that you have the advantage. Try to destroy warehouses too, not reactors, if they don’t have anything to defend themselves with, then sure, go for it, but smart players will get you before you take it down. It’s better to hurt their econ that early on.
Another tip. Have one player expand while the other defends or harasses, or do both if you’re good enough. Optimally no one should just be sitting around, and you should almost constantly be engaging with the enemy. You should preferably both harass, but that will come with more experience in economic management.
Another trick is to build suicide grunts as the arbiter and send them to destroy free bases for your allies as you harass. Do NOT build up an army of suicide grunts before you attack the enemy. It is better to hit them early and spawn one or two in to destroy single buildings rather than try to take out their entire base in one strike. Especially if you haven’t scouted them that well. Not to mention that suicide grunts are weak and slow/glitchy, so it’s best not to rely on them too much.
– Know when your rush has “failed” and switch / ease into your backup plan
DON’T:
– Don’t chase a teleporting prophet around … Once you figure out the player won’t let you kill his leader “cheaply” then try to do something that will make the leader retreat. Harassing his base if he doesn’t have turrets / shields is likely a good move.
FYI: I’m a newb and the above lessons were pounded home in the last few days.
Do not build temple first. The amount of money you will gain will be a lot better than getting to their base first. If they are good they will destroy your rush because temple 1st means no upgraded leader, or only an upgraded leader(no chance for citadel either) or 2 brutes, 2 sgs, or cove elites which is very easy to get off your base. If you go temple second you can upgrade a pad, a leader, build 3 sgs, brutes, or cove elites, upgrade your base, put a turret on, etc… Temple 1st puts your eco in the hole and against anyone good you will lose. Temple first means you only have one option and are succeptable to a counter attack. Give yourself options and go temple second.
