2K
Brand new Strongholds Communication Guidelines – Free to Use by any clan and any tank commander to their liking ;o)
This checklist consist of the various Quick Communication methods that the HoKx Clan is utilizing in their Strongholds / Skirmish / Clan Wars and other competitive game modes.
Version 1.06 – Updated 14th of July 2021
– General Quick Rules of Thumb –
- “One Commander to Rule them all” – The Commander is always right, if you are asked to drive into the water to drown yourself then you do it. Any disagreement or questions of the commanders orders should be taken after the battle.
- “Not Random Battle” – The Strongholds is a team effort and your only and single objective should be to support the team to win and not train your crew, deal most damage, most kills or whatever personal goal you set. If you are new to the Strongholds your biggest challenge will be to forget the random battles strategies.
- “Use your brain” – Make the best out of the scenario you are put into. Do whatever you can within the orders of the commander but as your commander isn’t and should not be a puppet-master, then stick to the plan and use the opportunities that will be served in front of you as the battle evolves.
- “Voice Com Discipline” – Keep the communication related to the game at hand and keep it at bare minimum. In the heat of the battle having 7 people talking simultaneously or listening to a very interesting story of how your shell missed a tank might seem very interesting but it is not adding anything to the battle at hand.
- “Focus Fire” – The single most important rule to get an advantage in any team battle. Cant shoot at the target? Take out the one with lowest health. There are too many battles lost 0-7 or similar where the enemy team has all their tanks at a one shot. 2 nearly dead tanks are stronger than one at full health if played correctly.
– Commander’s Battle Planning –
- Before the battle the Commander 100% selects the tanks to use
- *The only temporary exception is if you do not currently have the tank in your garage.
- *No HoKx Clan members will ever be forced/required to purchase any Premium vehicles, but every member is expected to grind towards the tech tree alternatives as the whole team suffers until then.
- During the first 30 seconds of the Battle Countdown then all non-commander communication is banned.
- The only Exception is when there are client issues with slow loading or other technical reasons that prevented you from understanding the commands.
– Commander’s Voice Commands –
# Aggressive
- Strong/Full/Aggressive/Yolo Push (can often be noticed in commanders voice level)
- Fire on the move! Do not Stop and Push Past the tanks for Side and Rear located shots but also to give your team the space to shoot at the Primary Target.
- Do Not Ram into the Enemy Tank unless you are certain that you will destroy it, as you might be blocking your Comrades shots.
- Slow Push
- Push, but play the encounter as you would in a random game where precision and trading shots are advantageous.
- This is not an aggressive push, if preferred then stop to aim.
# Defensive
- Defend!
- Stay ground with the primary focus of staying alive
- Staying alive in this case has higher priority than trading shots
- Regroup / Retreat
- Retreat slowly to live another day
- Fall Back / Run away!
- Run away immediately at all costs as fast as possible to a safe destination
# Cap Zones
- Cap! or Cap! (Player 1, Player 2, Player 3)
- In a cap command situation the first 3 tanks that enter the cap does the following
- Position your tank as far away from the known enemy location.
- Do NOT fire or move your tank unless you are absolutely sure that you are spotted
- In a cap command situation the first 3 tanks that enter the cap does the following
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- If a capping tank is destroyed;
- Use it as cover if needed
- If you are in the cap and are certain that destruction or decap is imminent then look for opportunities to place your “soon to be a tank wreck” in a advantageous defensive location for the remaining capping tanks.
- If you are destroyed and there are still nearby comrades alive then let the commander known by stating
- “Only X in cap” (X = number of players in cap)
- If a capping tank is destroyed;
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- If Enemy Artillery Has NOT been used;
- Do NOT place yourself in obvious bush / behind a rock locations
- Do NOT get super close to your comrades
- If Enemy Artillery Has been used then;
- Take the best possible cover unless the enemy has an artillery and your expected location is obvious.
- If Enemy Artillery Has NOT been used;
- Defend Cap! (1 player or more)
- Your first and utmost priority is to stay alive long time enough to make those important “decap” shots count!
- If there are more than 3 targets inside the cap, then a skilled team would place their non cap points tanks in the front.
- If enemy is seconds away from capping you out, then try to decap as many tanks as possible.
- If solo against a complete enemy team where your destruction is imminent upon an attempt;
- It can often be more useful to let the enemy team gather lot of cap points (5-10 seconds left), perfectly enough for you to remove as many cap points as possible in that vital single shot attempt.
- Your first and utmost priority is to stay alive long time enough to make those important “decap” shots count!
- Clean Cap! (Player 1 or more)
- Destroy all buildings in the cap circle and/or buildings close by that potentially later during the game could prevent a fast decap attempt by your team.
– Tank Squad Communication Commands –
# When Spotted
- “F7 Button (Help!)”
- When spotted click instantly “F7″ to make your team aware that the enemy team knows your position
- This has to be utilized during the course of the match
# Receiving Fire from long range without being engaged in direct combat
- Click on the Map where the shots you are receiving shots from
- Speak “Shots from (Tank Name)” of the vehicle firing at you
- “Shots from “Multiple Tanks“
- “Shots from “Several Tanks“
- “Shots from “Loads of tanks“
- “Shots from “Their whole team“
- “Shots from “X tanks or (tank names)” if you are certain”
- Speak “Shots from (Tank Name)” of the vehicle firing at you
# When enemy artillery has been used
- If you notice enemy artillery has been fired then speak “Enemy Arty X“(X = amount of tanks it destroyed)
- If unknown whether it killed any speak “Enemy Arty fired“
# When Forced to Disobey Orders
- When you are absolutely sure your tank will be destroyed upon following a certain order without any form of tactical benefit;
- Speak “Negative” and click “F6” for the commander to notice which tank it is on the map that is held down by the enemy forces.
- If the commander repeats the order directly at YOU then you Push no matter the outcome, disobeying orders here are not allowed under ANY circumstances (All feedback is taken after the game).
– Forward Observer (Artillery Barrage) –
# General Communication
- When Artillery is 15 seconds from being ready to Launch
- Speak “Arty 15 seconds“
- When Artillery is Ready to fire
- Speak “Arty Ready“
- When Arty is fired
- If Successful – “Arty X” (X = amount of tanks it destroyed)
- If Unsuccessful – “Arty 0”
- If Partially – Add “0.5″ (if tanks are survived but damaged 40%+)
# General Guidelines
- It is advisable to agree with the commander whether he wants “Free Arty“, meaning it is 100% up the dedicated forward observer (has a green icon next to his nickname in the Skirmish team group selection) to make the calls.
- If it is NOT free arty then only use it in the following scenarios if not approved;
- If you are certain that death is imminent then it is ALWAYS your obligation to make sure it is used whether it is on a target or not. (This is due to that the Clan receives bonus resources every time the forward observer artillery has been used)
# Free Arty Guidelines
- In general use the Artillery Barrage in these scenarios;
- Enemy tank is extremely slow and his movement of direction and placement is 95%+ certain during the next 5-6 seconds.
- Enemy tank has not moved during the last 6-10 seconds and you find it to be very unlikely that he would be moving any time soon with 95% certainty.
- When tank squadrons fully engage in point blanc range then tanks very often tend to stay still and not move.
- It is often here where squadrons tend to gather very closely together and it is here where a well placed artillery can instantly change the outcome.
– New Field Commander Tips & Guidelines –
- Wear the Rank! – In the end it is YOUR responsibility whether the team wins or looses – Try to keep a good commanding tone, don’t be a #### ;o)
- Distribute the responsibility based on experience and skill and as a general rule of thumb you want the most important role to be handled by the best player on your team
- Most Experienced Player – Light Tank
- (Primary role = Providing intel, staying alive, annoying enemy team and delivering support fire)
- Experienced Players – Medium Tanks
- (Primary role = Firepower (DPM) & Mobility to quickly & effectively reposition on the battlefield.
- General Player Base – Heavy Tanks
- (Primary role = Armor & HP for spearheading aggressive attacks)
- Most Experienced Player – Light Tank
- Being a Field Commander can be very stressful therefore it is important to make it as easy for yourself as possible by for example;
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- Consider playing in a heavy tank and be the first tank to spearhead any attack.
- You should not mind sacrificing yourself first as this give you full focus on concentrating on the battlefield tactics.
- By taking the charge in a push you lead by an example and your comrades in the rear will easier follow super aggressive pushes.
- Use the possibility to give another heavy tank the Forward Observer role (Artillery).
- For the ultimate stressful experience = Field Commanding + Arty + Light Tank role (facepalm)
- Consider playing in a heavy tank and be the first tank to spearhead any attack.
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- It is highly recommended to start out leading Tier 6 and move your way up first when you feel that you are absolutely confident in this tier, as for example tier 8 is a gigantic step up and will require 5x times more from you as a Field Commander unless you are blessed with a unicum team of players.