posted 08 August 2006 05:34 PM EDT (US)
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Box's Guide to Escapes:
1. Escape is a scenario that usually consists of 4 "runners" and 2 or 1 "Hunters." Similar to Cat and Mouse, the runners are expected to make buildings and passages while the hunters attempt to kill them. There is a timer, usually set 20-30 minutes-- when that timer runs out, the runners win if the hunters haven't killed them yet. 2. Personally, I find that Space and TINY are the only 2 escapes I have ever found fair. Not that the others are "bad" versions, but that Space and TINY require both skilled hunters and skilled runners to play. The other ones tend to be favored in the runner's case-- 2 competent hunters can't possibly win Dannick's, unless their runners are blind, deaf, dumb, and paralyzed. 3. You can't win in any escape if you don't timeshift-- the runners need to be able to timeshift their towers and sky passages, and smart hunters know to timeshift their temples. Also, sometimes the scenarios don’t work unless everyone is Kronos. 4. Auto-Escape is an Escape scenario that is like all other escapes except for one thing—the computers are the hunters. I personally like Auto-Escape because it means the hunters are never incompetent. Stupid and predictable, certainly, but at least competent and dangerous. Great practice. It’s not difficult to learn how to be an effective runner. Here are rules and tenants you should follow: 1. TEAMWORK IS KEY, THAT'S THE REASON IT’S THE #1 RULE. Only an escape noobie will say something as foolish as "Hey stop building at my base" after you've timeshifted a sky passage in back of his towers and walls. Unless its actually blocking him in some fashion, teamwork = more survival. When you see a teammate timeshift one of his SPs in an open area, build a few walls and towers near it. It will be appreciated. 2. KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR LINE-OF-SIGHT EFFECTIVELY. Line-of-sight is key. In a tight situation, he can build a sky passage, timeshift into a safer spot 3. BUILD NEATLY AND QUICKLY. An effective runner has mastered the “shift” key, and always builds in neat lines and squares. Always be careful to not trap yourself in towers. Although you should be able to garrison into one of the towers and then get out, it still wastes time. 4. KNOW THE USEFULNESS OF THE TOWERS PROVIDED FOR YOU. In most scenarios, runners can build both regular towers and Helios mirror towers. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, although most people swear by regular towers— Regular towers deal more damage over time, and are usually a slightly faster build. They have okay range and line of sight, but can sometimes miss mobs that are very fast. Regular towers are your bread and butter. Mirror towers deal less damage but have a longer range and they never miss. They also have a greater line of sight. Best to add a few of them into a regular group, especially in places where their extra range becomes of use. 5. IF YOU CAN BUILD QUICKLY, YOU CAN ALSO REPAIR QUICKLY. In many cases, your fast building also means you can repair quickly…which also means that in cases where your hunters have no ranged abilities, you can hold them off with a single wall for the whole game. Abuse your ability to repair. 6. BUILD WALLS IN SETS OF AT LEAST 2 AND ALWAYS MAKE GATES. Walls are stronger than people give them credit for. It’s never wise to just make a single wall and then start spamming towers in back of it. If you make a wall, give it a large enough space to build a gate and build another in back of it… THEN spam towers. 7. DON’T TRAP YOURSELF. God I’ve seen this happen so many times it’s embarrassing. Always have at least two different sky passages in two different areas. A simple but good technique is to build a large base around a single tower and then timeshift that tower elsewhere. Then later, if you need a space for protection, you can timeshift a sky passage back into that safe area. Or, if they happened to attack that first base, they’ll discover their efforts were worthless because there is nothing behind all those towers and walls. 8. GO BACK TO YOUR CRUMBLED RUINS. A stupid hunter will kill one of your bases and then take all the units and move them to a different area… leaving that same old area open to begin rebuilding again. Take advantage of the open space that your opponents rarely suspect you’ll go for. 9. IF GIVEN THE SPACE, BUILD A BASE IN THE STARTING AREA. 10. WHEN SEARCHING AN OPEN ARE THAT MIGHT HAVE ENEMIES, SPORADICALLY BUILD A SKY PASSAGE. Too many times I’ve walked distances in order to get to a good spot and discovered enemies along the way, blocking my path and ready to kill. If you build a sky passage every 1 or 2 left turns, you’ll have a lot less to worry about. Hunting is infinitely more difficult than running, but is also infinitely simpler. Here are some things you should think about when hunting: 1. YOUR LINE OF SIGHT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH. Always make a few oracles and spread them around different places. Their line of sight allows you to see a runner making a base or timeshifting key sky passages. Stop your opponents early on and they’ll be paralyzed the rest of the game. This also means that after you have destroyed an opponent’s base, leave one or two units behind—you’ll want to make sure your runners are constantly forced into new places. 2. DESTROY EVERYTHING THAT GIVES YOUR OPPONENTS A GOOD LINE OF SIGHT. Never leave one or two walls parts intact. They can sometimes provide enough line of sight for an opponent to timeshift into the area. Again, paralyze them early on by limiting their build space, or forcing them into the open. 3. TIMESHIFT YOUR TEMPLE. Be a clever little devil—timeshift your own temples near your opponents bases. The moment your units die from tower shots, they’ll be able to quickly respawn and be back into action. 4. TITANS, GUARDIANS, AND OTHER MASS KILLERS ARE ONLY USEFUL FOR KILLING BUILDINGS. Don’t waste your time chasing after a runner with one of these. Just kill large building structures with them. 5. USE ONLY BUILDING DESTROYERS. Although in most cases you only get 1 or 2 units to choose from, if you get fire giants or behemoths, choose them ONLY. Buildings are more important than killing the actual unit. Don’t waste your time on automatons and manticores.
Line of sight is also important for general expanding. Although skilled runners know that teamwork is important, building bases and walls farther away from each other means more places to work with.
Most people insist on moving 5 light years worth of area before they start building. Don’t be a fool— if you are given a large (generally square) area to work with, use it! Places like that gives you space for lots and lots of towers. But remember—don’t get trapped. After you’ve built that starting base, timeshift a sky passage and move on to a different area.
