Author: GiantKillerGen
Summary:
I discuss many of the important issues and key concepts that prevent many typical, long-time average mythers from breaking their skill plateau to become much better.
This was an article that I wrote in early 2009 for TWS 09. It gives everyone some pointers on how to be successful in a 2 team tournament, and as an overall myth player, so I thought it relevant to re-post here. It was a popular read for some before, and I hope people can enjoy it again. Remember folks, this is the kind of quality, exclusive content, only available in GKG's Corner. So without further adue, I present to you an old classic article. Enjoy.
The 3 Baller's Dilemma and The Myth Bible's Ten Commandments
Authored by: Giant Killer General
Edited by: Shaister
Are you a 3 ball myther and you know it? Tired of being just an average player? Want some m2sbr respect? If you answered yes to any of the above questions then keep reading, this may be for you.
This is an article about the top 10 mistakes made that make the difference between 3 balls and 4. All of this is in my own humble personal opinion, but take it for what it is worth to you. These are the Myth Bible's Ten Commandments:
Rule #10: Gather intelligence.
Scout scout scout. You really cannot scout too much, so scout long and hard. At the start of the game, while your team is scouting, take a quick peek at all the fronts. Check who is where, with what percentage of units, and what kind of units. Count and account for the opposing team's players so you know there isn't a hidden force in the opposing backfield. Get a scout in the enemy backfield as soon as possible, every game. Get in the habit of glancing at the minimap often to avoid tunnel vision. Often a smart opponent will intentionally dance around and distract you from the front, while flanking you from behind while you aren't looking. On the flip side, use this distraction technique against your opponents. This is all about maintaining your game awareness.
Rule #9: Know when to press ground and when to yield ground.
It is the ying yang concept of give and take. If you have the superior force, you generally need to start pressing ground. Why? Because if both teams have essentially equal forces, that means, somewhere else your team has a weakness. It is all about efficiency of units, and getting them all in the fight. So if you have an inferior force, why are you pressing? Let your teammates with the advantage elsewhere do the work for you first. Your job is to hold and yield ground slowly. Know your job and be disciplined enough to stick to it.
Rule #8: Communication and coordination.
In myth there are some things that are expected of you to know and see without saying, but there are other things that you should not assume. Do not assume your teammate sees that flanking pus while he is clearly busy fighting, or is going to know exactly when to start fighting with you. Yell it out in capital letters if you have to get your teammate's attention. Plan your attack with your teammates, let them know what the plan is, then execute it with a command so you may both coordinate together perfectly. Warn your teammates if you leaked units into the backfield, or if there are wights sunk. As soon as the lines of communication break-down, your team will lose effectiveness.
Rule #7: Use proper formation and evasive maneuvers to defend the rush.
There are 2 common big mistakes here. The first one is trying to protect your archers/soulless while being rushed. They are expendable units, use them to slow down your opponent so your splash damage artillery unit can get some more shots off. Do not bother breaking the integrity and composure of your formation to try and protect them. The other big mistake is putting your splash damage artillery unit too close to the front lines. You should put him way in the back initially, especially if the enemy still has pus. Another note: if you can use your pus to cancel out the opposing rusher's pus, do it. Remember as long as your splash artillery unit is alive, the opponent will be unable to form a proper tight melee formation, even if you do not get any shots off. Be that stubborn little bastard that just won't stand still and die fast.
Unfortunately, you are not quite as badass as Chesty Puller, so do yourself a favor and prevent yourself from being surrounded.
Rule #6: Be patient with that pus.
When pussing artillery, you use pus offensively. However, when setting up to pus melee for a melee fight, use pus defensively. Try to make your opponent use his pus first, and then be ready to use your pus. Now instead of them hacking at your frozen units, you can hack at their frozen units. As you can imagine this principle is most clearly seen in maps with forest giants and pus in it (Acts of Cruelty). On another note: be more conservative with your pus. Saving even just 1 pus will force your opponent to spread to try and defend against it, even if you do not use it. This will make his melee fight ineffective.
Rule #5: Salvage your units.
If you are losing a fight and you know it's lost, salvage what units you can. Minimize your losses by running away units that they cannot out run. You will find this amazingly helpful on maps such as trow. If you are rushed and your myrk are bound to die anyway, deal what damage you can with them, then run your trow away. Same with desert and salvaging your warriors against a rush. Do not be afraid to let your archers die against a rush, it is unfortunate but it is the best thing you can do in this situation. Ideally you won't be caught off guard by a rush with proper scouting, but if you are, try and keep alive what units you can so that they may fight again under more favorable conditions.
Rule #4: Encircle first, then execute the rush.
Biggest mistake here is players want to just rush straight in, however this is very inefficient. The key to a perfectly executed rush is by taking the time to first encircle your opponent before rushing in. The more you can surround them the better. This will smother their artillery unit's avenues of escape, and you will find your rush killing the opponent much quicker, and with less losses. Also, once you have eliminated the splash damage threats, you should reform your melee into a tight melee formation for a proper melee fight.
Rule #3: Pressure your opponent through the gametype.
Everyone typically remembers to play the gametype at the beginning of the game, and at the end of the game. Somewhere in the middle things become blurry as the enemy is in your face and your attention is drawn away from the gametype towards the fighting. So for example if it is territories and you have the flag majority, why are you pressing? Instead just relax, anticipate the enemy's reaction, and let the enemy react to you. Now you are one move ahead of your opponent, and just like chess that means you have the advantage. Flank some fast units to get behind the enemy and watch their front lines crumble as they scramble to try and meet the threat from 2 sides. Getting into the opponent's backfield creates a very dangerous situation for them. Take the lead, then use the entire game time to exploit your advantage to wear the opponent down.
Rule #2: When in doubt, don't fight.
This is one of the simplest rules in the book. So you are in a game and sizing up your opponent and the situation. Not sure what to do yet? Often the mistake made here is to simply fight first, ask questions later. While this may not always bite you in the ass, it will in the long run. If you are not sure what to do, or you have doubt about what you are doing is right, simply don't fight. Why you might ask? Because if you fight, you are not sure what will happen. If you do not fight, at least you still have your units for later when that opportunity presents itself for you to make a big play. This will get you to start thinking outside the box and become a smarter player. Most of the time you are going to be able to tell what is a favorable fight for you, before you go into it. So generally speaking, you should wait until that opportunity presents itself. Always have a plan before you go into each and every fight.
Be like Ghandi and find your zen to know when not to fight. Save that can of whoopass for later.
Rule #1: Die hard.
This rule is the culmination of every other rule mentioned here. This is the number one rule of good mything. Make these 2 simple words your player philosophy in myth and you will find your game improve drastically. Myth is a game where you are bound to die. So instead of trying to focus on an impossible goal of not dying at all, you can strive for the perfection of dying hard. Often players will just give up after they have clearly lost a fight. Do not give up. Keep your units dancing. Even if your force is mostly destroyed, take what few units you have left and harass the enemy. Harass, harass, harass. Remember using 1 or 2 units to occupy the attention of one or more players with a significant force is a kind of victory for you. You will be amazed at what seemingly impossible situations you can bounce out of. Become that annoying little fucker that just won't die.
[url=http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/dieh ... 1/w358.png[/img]Yipee-kay-yay mother fucker.
As you can see, many of these rules have to deal with being a more patient player. Not everyone can click very fast, or be the greatest multi-tasker, but these rules are something that everyone can follow regardless of talent or ability. I learned these rules only by breaking them over and over among thousands of mistakes. Treat these rules like the Myth Bible's Ten Commandments and you just might be the next big talent in myth. Have fun mything.