Team Tactics

[Shinkurex]

Figured I would start this thread. Discuss the multi-ship tactics you like to use in battle to dominate your opponents.

The main thing that I've come across is literally the "Bait and Switch". Whereas a lone Squid, or goldfish searches for the enemy team, and once found. Lures them back to a point where their allies are lurking.

Unfortunately this has never worked in my experience. most of the time, the enemy doesn't bite. likewise the other captains get impatient . So I'm curious to see what you guys think

[HamsterIV]

I have fallen for the Bait and Switch before. It works better if the bait has a long range gun and looks like it is attempting to stay our of range than baiting for a trap. Also Galleons make great bait if all the enemy can see is a Galleon they may think it has fallen behind and is unsupported. Also a galleon at range is a legitimate threat that it is foolish to ignore.

Another tactic which works well is the Cloud Sniper. Where a glass cannon ship hides in the clouds and lets his teammates spot targets for him.

For multiple ship assaults it is a good idea to designate one ship to go high and another ship to go low. this lessens the possibility of collisions and blocked shots when the furball starts.

I have had limited success hiding behind allied ships and shooting through their rigging during long range sniper fests. I heard it can be done, but it prevents the allied ship from dodging shots which is one of the better ways of surviving a sniper fest.

[Jazzza]

The only team tactics I've used are focus firing on weaker targets (shooting the Pyramidion or Squid first), all massing in one sector to regroup to attack, keeping one ship in the cap zone and everyone else defend... those kinds of things. Nothing serious or difficult to do.

[HamsterIV]

This is less of a tactic and more of good advice:
Don't move away from you ally when taking fire from a balloon popper. In fact unless you are about to crash into them, don't move away from your teammate period. Many a time I have watched a new pilot in a Galleon get pounced by a Cannonade equipped Squid or Goldfish. Instead of asking for help swatting it off, they ran in the opposite direction from their teammate and ended dying alone. Unless there is a brilliant piloting maneuver I am not aware of, it is next to impossible to shake a good pilot's carronade ship without help. You can't retaliate because the other ship is always too high and you can't lift because you balloon is always being popped. Help from your teammate is the only way you are getting out of that situation and into a situation where you can be useful. So ask for that help and make it easier for your team mate to render that help. Trust me your team mate wants you to use those big ol' guns as much as you do.

On the flip side if you are running a ship with a Carronade as the main gun, your goal is to separate your opponents, so you can have enough time alone with one of them to hammer them into the dirt. While you do this you will be a slow moving juicy target. So having your victim's teammate show up and start beating on you is undesirable to say the least.

[Pickle]

Stay together - that's the best advice I have for new players in team matches, particularly in 2v2.

Communication between Captains - essential, whether that's via the Captain's chat channel on "C" or the team channel on "K".  Identify the priority target and focus fire.


A double-Pyra or double-Goldfish team, both are relatively easy to work as close-formation teams by new players with no complex tactics required other than identifying the priority target and focussing fire.  With the Goldfish team it's important not to duplicate the main gun, so if one team member has the Carronade the other probably should have the Flak or Hwacha.

[Skrimskraw]

The squid bait can work. Fell for it when i started . My best advice is to stay together and ignore the squid or use the manticore to disable their engines

[Queso]

Although I've had some trouble getting enough people to pull this off properly, I've been working on a squid galleon setup that would have the squid make an enemy ship immobile using some clever harpoon tactics I may describe later (to put it shortly, I once killed a spire by slamming into the ground with a harpoon) and a galleon that waits until I have a ship immobile and then kills it.

[Skrimskraw]

Although I've had some trouble getting enough people to pull this off properly, I've been working on a squid galleon setup that would have the squid make an enemy ship immobile using some clever harpoon tactics I may describe later (to put it shortly, I once killed a spire by slamming into the ground with a harpoon) and a galleon that waits until I have a ship immobile and then kills it.

Sounds interesting. Have the potential to be as annoying as a ramming pyra

[Pickle]

The Galleon and Junker are natural battle-waggons to build a team around for a long-game, using the faster Goldfish and Squid to control the midddle-range.  Pyras work well with other Pyras.  Spires I'm not sure about, probably another battle-waggon option.

[N-Sunderland]

If you want to see how multi-team tactics are done, you just need to watch a video of one of Zill's team's matches from Fjords. The coordination is mind-blowing.

[Jinrai]

If you want to see how multi-team tactics are done, you just need to watch a video of one of Zill's team's matches from Fjords. The coordination is mind-blowing.

Im interested, can you link me up? Didn't find them on YT.

[Shinkurex]

If you search for "Occasionally Effective" you'll find them

*Edit* nvm... here is the channel https://www.youtube.com/user/occeffective?feature=watch

[N-Sunderland]

If you want to see how multi-team tactics are done, you just need to watch a video of one of Zill's team's matches from Fjords. The coordination is mind-blowing.

Im interested, can you link me up? Didn't find them on YT.

Check out the link that Shink just put up. I'd recommend in particular the semi-final game in which they beat SMAC (my team) and the final which they lost to the Gentleman (but still showed off some awesome coordination).

[HamsterIV]

I have been taking out a double Gatling gun Pyramidion recently. It is not very effective by itself, but with a Hwacha goldfish backing it up, it is a very formidable ship. Actually the goldfish is the one who gets the kills and is focus fired most of the time, but It wouldn't get those kills nearly as fast without my Pyramidion stripping the hull armor.

There are certain ships I take when I can trust my teammates to back me up, and certain ships I take when I can't. The blender fish,  sniper variant pyramidion, and Galleon are ships I take when I don't think the other captain can be trusted to work with me. The double gat Pyramidion, sniper variant junker, spire, and squid are ships I take when I can count on my teammates to cover for my weaknesses.

[Pickle]

Interesting, I've been playing the double-gatling Pyra as well recently and wondering what would partner well with it.  And how to play the ammunition choices.