Offensive Notes (UFO2000)

Some general notes about attacking.

Important notes

Rule number 1 about an offensive strategy: STICK TO YOUR PLAN!

Don't let yourself get provoked into the defensive or offensive plans of your opponent. Since you equiped yourself to play a certain strategy you will be in severe trouble if you switch strategies halfway. Only change plans when your opponents plays a strategy which renders your plan impossible or too dangerous.

Rule number 2:BE FLEXIBLE

Have a plan but be prepared to adaptations acording to circunstances. If you are used to a certain style of play (like scout and snipe or general bombardment) this will help you to refine your gameplay but consider that there will be always weak points in your strategy. And the more people play against your style of play, the more they'll learn about it and come up with creative ways to try to defeat it. And if your opponent renders your plan impossible that means that his own plan has worked and you'll most likely lose the game. The moment the game starts everything can change for the good and the bad. Use every unexpected opportunity you get and prepare for the worst.

Some common mistakes are: Spotting a unit and firing with your units reveiling the location. STAYING HIDDEN IS 99% OF THE TIMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN REVEILING YOUR ATTACKERS LOCATIONS EVEN IF YOU KILL THE ENEMY UNIT (only crucial units!) ! Inspecting smoke, Explosions or gunfire with units not which do not fit this role and aren't properly equiped or armed. like inspecting a smoke cloud with a unit carieing a sniper rifle. Eventhough he is fit to kill if he gets killed you've lost a lot of expensive firepower. Remember; killing a muton with a laser pistol is not as bad as losing your snakeman with sniper rifle. Eventhough the muton might seem dangerous, your snakeman was more expensive and has more potential used right. Think of it as risking sacrificing a tower for a pawn in chess. Retreat and wait for the right opportunity and kill the muton on your terms

Changing the plan

There are only a few instances where an opportunity is so big its best to change to a better strategy. example: When you are playing a Foil the plan strategy and are carrieing a few missles and find a crucial enemy opponent or a few units too close to eachother, fire a missle there instead.

But most of the time changing strategies is the result of you losing a crucial unit or weapon or map advantage. Most of these changed strategies are weaker then the original strategy. First think if it still is possible you can still complete your original strategy. An important role here are the support units/weaponry and versatility of your chosen units. Lotst of TU's and stamina make you team more versitile. Example: You want to go to a certain hiding spot with your team but it it gets blown up. Running to the closest would be an option if you take enough TU's. If you have taken a lot of reaction at the cost of TU's you can forget about it.

Canceling a strategy

Important about canceling strategies is to switch to a new strategy, don't just wait for the opponent to take the initiative. A common strategy is to quickly dig-in. don; t just dig-in to the place you are when you cancel, hurry to the best closest dig-in spot. Make sure you dig-in the right way and only when your team setup allowes this. Like moving into a structure with explosive weapons is a bad idea. Example: When your scout finds the opponents deeply dug into the side you were trying to flank its best not to push your attack into the trap. Cancel the strategy, you picked the wrong flank. (an extremely versatile team can run to the other flank but only if you have a safe line of passage.)