Patio Gets Taken
Apart
Patio Gets Taken
ApartLast Updated: Sunday, March 23, 1997 04:40:00 PM
OK, maybe Carlos does stink. But my friend Alex (his brother) doesn't. It seems that Alex has given up his inhibition to using guides, and is using Shlonglor's religously. So we decided to play a GOW on medium to see who is better. Alex forgets to use the lumber bug, so I get an early lead. I'm in the top middle. I get a couple of farms early, and crank out 15 peons. Alex is finally figuring out that bigger is better when it comes to peons, so he does the same. I'm humans, he is always orcs.
I get my mill, barracks, and smith up in short order. Just in time, too. Alex uses a recon-in-force tactic with 3 grunts rushing into my city. Since fog is off (not my choice), I do everything possible to keep them from scouting much. My 3 level 2 grunts chase them down the wrong path to my town and slaughter them.
I get up another barracks, figuring that Alex will, too. My grunts find his town quickly and get killed by 10 of his (still level 1, I'm level 4). I have found out that he doesn't have a secondary base (he always takes the middle early). We both upgrade our THs and I get the top-right mine.
Up go 6 level 5 knights. Alex seems to be a bit behind because he has less peons, no secondary base, and didn't use the lumber bug. But he catches up pretty quick. My 6 knights walk all over 15 level 2 grunts sent to attack my town (they got reinforced by 5 grunts and 3 knights from my new base). But he still has 15 guys and way too many towers guarding his town. I have flyers now and scout the whole map. I notice that Alex has gotten grunt recon for every mine but my second one (my town's defenses block the path). He also has a Altar up. Ahhhhhh!!!!! Alex is producing ogres with his 4 barracks. I'm cranking out guys with my 6. I get a pair of magetowers to hopefully slow his things down. I have 20k in the bank and can't use it fast enough. I get up a pair of barracks at my 2nd town.
Alex sends in 15 ogres (with bloodlust but not yet lusted). He stops them just outside my town. I charge with my knights before he can lust more than 5 of them. I slow down 6. But the other 9 get lusted real quick after he beats down my knights and marches into my undefended city. I don't send reinforcements because he would discover my second base. He kills all the peons at the first base (didn't matter, it only had 500 gold left). He blows up most of my excess farms, Mage towers, and barracks. I replace what I can at my second base.
Alex's remaining 6 ogres get chased out by my sappers (the only building he didn't get to were 6 farms, a smith, and a lab). I chase them down to his new base in the middle and kill 4. He comes back to my town with 6 ogres and a deathknight. But his mine in the middle is TOTALLY open!!!!
Feeling that this was too good an oportunity to pass up, I send 2 knights down there. My guys kill 15 of his 17 peons before he manages to get lusted Magi down there to defend. His DK at my base goes up in an explosion (I love sappers). But Alex knows that something is up now.
He finally gets a flyer (didn't even have the building yet) and scours the map. He finds my new base (devoid of defenses, I was upgrading the TH to get a new Stable). He then orders the 30 ogres he has at his base to sack my base. One of my peons gets free but is chased without fog.
That was the funniest game in that, if I had killed those 2 last peons, I would have won. Of course, if I'd sell out and be orcs, I really would have destroyed him.
MORALS:
Yes, there are several morals to this story. First, never assume someone is dead. Alex came within 3 seconds of losing because he didn't think I could muster an offensive. Second, get flyers and use them!! Alex would have easily beaten me if he had found my small second town. Third, build a stables if your main town is being taken down. If I would have, I would have 10 knights kill his peons instead of 2. Fourth, if you are humans, either master the use of mages or kill them quick, before they can get bloodlust. And get the mages quick, I was 20 minutes into fortress before I had them. Lastly, if you are going to attack them, commit everything! Alex had 10 ogres pulling defense at all times that could really have helped him.