Hey everybody, Dominion seems to be the most commonly reoccurring playlist we enter in Wheelmen Parties. Time to figure some stuff out. Lets get started shall we?
THE AC MENTALITYOkay, lets get this out of the way now. We need to move away from what I have begun to refer to as the "AC mentality" - The idea that capturing and holding Alpha and Charlie is the most important objective of Dominion.
Why we have it: We like warthogs. Warthogs like people all penned up in one location that must run across an open field to get to A or C.
Why it doesn't work:
-The hog can't be everywhere
-The hog isn't always alive
-Groundpounders at A cannot support groundpounders at C and vice-versa
-It is hard to co-ordinate a push, and hard to teamshoot during a push, when your pushers are coming from, and spawning on, two separate sides of the map.
-With the exception of Meltdown, Bravo has tactically superior position, map control, and defendability
-THE MAIN REASON: We get Strong-Sided
Our opponents are able to all spawn in one place and push out from that location as a large unit. From there they can relentlessly push out onto whichever base is weakest/has the least defenders, and take it, while using the tactical superiority of Bravo to defend it from small-man powered pushes coming from the opposite direction.
Lets create a scenario.
1. Red Team Has taken A and C off the start. Blue Team has taken B
2. Red team has sent an even 3 members to either base, Blue has sent all 6 to Bravo
3. Blue team sees the Red team has taken their base from them, they turn around sending 4 members back at Charlie, while 2 stay behind to camp Bravo
4. The red team at Charlie sees that they are outnumbered and calls for the Alpha team reds to push Bravo
5. The Charlie Spartans are overrun, as any Blues they kill spawn at B and are on top of them again. Meanwhile, the Blue Spartans defending Bravo are able to successfully hold off/kill the reds pushing from alpha by using the Superior positioning and defenders advantage
6. Red team is unable to recover, the process repeats every time they attempt to take Charlie. Blue teams wins
HYPOTHETICAL: Should the Red team push from alpha succeed, the blue team is still able to turn around after taking charlie and overrun bravo with massive numbers, maintaining control of the map, and successfully pushing down objectives by moving as a unit.
The above scenario has happened multiple times on various maps with many of the wheelmen parties I ave been playing in over the last week.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, lets move into what WILL Work! (I hope)
THE RANGE OF MOTION MENTALITYTime for Twisted's untested theory!
PART A: FireteamsThe team is split up into three squads of two. Offensive players, Defensive players, and utility players. IT IS CRITICAL to realize that this is not Invasion and these roles need to be subject to change rapidly in the middle of games. Communication is the key, we will get more in depth later. These roles should guide your game-play, not define it.
Time for informational graphics before I get into role specifics!
-In all examples, we start off holding alpha
DEFENDERSIdeally these players are your most skilled ranged players in the game. Snipers should generally always be considered Defenders. Your role is simple: defend what we got, and when what we got is secure, support forward pushes with ranged weaponry. Bravo is generally the most important point to hold, and should be treated as thus. Just because you share a responsibility does not mean you need to be on top of each other. In fact, of the three roles, defenders may spend the least time interacting with each other. Realize where you need to be within your range of motion, and get there.
On Longbow:
-You will stay at Bravo. If we don't have Bravo, take Bravo. From here you will repel pushes from alpha and charlie, and use the tactical superiority of the position to fire down on enemy defenders as your team pushes onto alpha or charlie
On Exile:
You will move between your base, the banshee platform (in rare cases, such as sniping or when we do not control Bravo), and Bravo. Simple really, just know where you need to be.
On Vortex:
The range of motion image says all that needs to be said. Pay attention to your Bravo Ordnance drops, or your enemies will use them against you. FOCUS on Bravo, When/If you support A or C, do so in a noncommittal manner, always be ready to respond to pushes on Bravo
On Meltdown:
...
OFFENDERSOffenders cannot be afraid to die. Players with aggressiveness play-styles or whom prefer CQC are best suited to be offenders. Your role is very very simple, to the point where I don't even need to specify individual map strategies ITT.
Take Objectives you do not control. Always focus on controlling Bravo. You are always pressuring the enemy team, push on whatever they control, and take it. It is important you communicate with your team, letting them know what Objective you want to push. If you are not a directorial-type, allow the utility players to co-ordinate the pushes. Just remember two things:
1. Take Bravo
2. Pressure the enemy team
UTILITYThe guys that tie it all together. Without a doubt the most important role of the three. These are the most map-aware players that you have. They must be able to constantly recognize where whey need to be and get there. Also, they should be able to communicate with both the offenders and defenders in a game to both support our pushes and help repel enemy pushes. The Warthog team will be stepping into the utility role while the hog is up. I don't know enough about this the way this role will play out or Dominion as a whole to write more at the moment. Just remember this: the whole map is your range of motion, it is up to you to be at the right places at the right times, the balance of the game hangs on it.
PART B:ROLE SWAPPINGRoles in my proposed strategy need to be volatile and subject to frequent change. Communication is key here. If your defender just re-spawned on the wrong side of the map, but he sees a utility player/offender at Bravo, he needs to tell them to take over defending until he can get there, or he can just out-right role-swap and begin an offensive push depending on where he spawned. Use common sense and communication in games, do not get so stuck on what role you are that you fail to do something that makes sense just because this guide didn't tell you it was your job.
PART C:VEHICLE ROLESWhen you get in a vehicle, you can assume many different roles, depending on the vehicle. Communicate with your team if you are taking your vehicle into a different role. If you are an offender who is going to play defense with the wraith, tell your team that so a defender will begin pushing in your stead.
Tha Hog: Utility.
-cannot properly defend or offend because of it's inability to get inside of bases. Gauss hog can defend a bit better, but falls flat because of them same issue
Mongoose: Offense
Ghost: Offense, Defense, Utility
-The ghost is fast and responsive. It is also not very consequential to lose. Offenders are best suited to use this vehicle to push onto a base, then hop out and run inside.
Wraith: Defense, Utility
Mantis: Defense, Utility
Banshee: Utility
to be Cont.
If you think we're a rolling double kill.. come get it.