RTS Terms

Micromanagement
Micromanagement or micro or maybe even 7he u83r M1cr0 is a key aspect of playing RTS, good micro can give you a huge advantage, where as poor micro will mean you have to work a lot harder than an enemy with good micro.

What exactly is Micromanagement?

Micromanagement in RTS games refers to very small details and elements of the game, that must be manually done by the player. Different RTS games vary on how much Micro can be done in them, as not all game designers want their games to be about who has the most Micro. In the case of Halo Wars i feel that its in the middle ground. Its not got as much Micromanagement as CnC but it has more than some RTS games.

Micromanagement falls into two categories Economic Micro and Combat Micro.

Combat Micromanagement
The aim of combat micro is to get the most efficiency out of your units. You want them to deal as much damage as they can, while taking as little damage as possible. Its not just a case of sensing a counter force to attack, microing them is very very important. Here are some Micro techniques:

• Concentrating your fire power against one unit at a time. This will reduce the amount of enemy units faster, thus the enemy will have less fire power. This will keep your units alive for longer, and you will take out enemy units faster. For example, if you had three tanks, and the enemy had three on the same tank. Target one tank at a time, this will allow you to win the fight faster.


• Putting your units into formation. For example having the units with the most Hit Points at the front, while weaker units stay at the back. Another example is having melee units at the front and ranged units at the back. This is maximize your unit kill/death ratio.


• Moving damaged units to a safer zone, preferably out of range form the enemy, then once the enemy has found a new target, bring them back in, so they take less damage and stay alive longer. That's known as dancing a unit.


• Withdrawing them all together for healing and bringing them back to the fight.


• Using cheap units to draw the enemies fire and keep them distracted form the main force


• Using your units "y" abilities.


• Using the Rock-Paper-Scissors effectively


• Using flanking and counter attacks are also forms of Micro


• Using hot keys to make things easier. On console its cant really be done. But you can cycle through using RT and use your units to attack what they are best against. --Thanks RayJay--


• If you are going to move both wraiths and jackals to your teammates base to assist in defending an attack. If you send all the units together, they will only travel at the speed of the slowest unit, in this case the jackals However if you utilize the use of the right trigger, you can select each unit type individually and commanding each to move separately causing the wraiths to arrive much quicker and still having the jackals following behind en route. -- Thanks RuggerxPunk --


• Targeting the enemy unit(s) with the lowest hp. Don't waste time taking HP off other units, if there are a few with low health. One less unit means one less gun to worry about. -- Thanks Lone warrior --

Some are easier to do than others, and some are more obvious than others. Who knows, maybe you have been microing without even knowing it. But practice at it, and a well microed force can take out a much bigger, or stronger, but less microed force.

Economic Micromanagement (aka Macromanagement)
Economic Micromanagement is a lot simpler because in Halo Wars you don't need units to gather resources, its all about buildings. To Micro them basically means spend the same amount as your bringing in. Try no to let to much excess gather, but you will need a bit for unexpected events such as leader powers. Having to much money is also a problem, it means you have wasted time and effort to build warehouses that you do not need. That money would of been better on units/upgrades, and the building socket would of come in helpful as well.

Rock, Paper, Scissors
The Rock, Paper Scissors combat system is much like the game. Rock will beat scissors, scissors will beat paper, and paper will beat rock. Its in place so that the enemy can not spam one type of unit, and win every game. If you were playing R,P,S with friends, you can not keep using Rocks to win.

In this game its Infantry, Air and Vehicle. Infantry beats air, air beats vehicles, and vehicles beats infantry. But, because of upgrades, different tech levels and population. Some infantry units are not better than some air units. That's because of the upgrades and so on.

A marine squad will not beat a hornet. That's because a marine squad is:

Cost: 100
Population: 1
Teir: 0

A hornet is:

Cost:250
Population:2
Teir:2

You must balance all the factors for your infantry to beat the air. For a marine squad to beat the hornet the marine squad must be upgraded fully. Then you must have 2 of them, possibly three to balance cost. Then will you beat that hornet. Potentially there can be more hornets than you marines can take out. But you have the advantage of them being cheaper, and faster building. But it doesn't go to say that just because its supposed to win, it will win. You need to be better, and back them up with actually counter units.

All it means is the Infantry will preform at its best against air. For example a marines base damage is how much damage it does against a mirror unit. For arguments sake, a marine squad does 100 damage a second against another marine squad. Against a air unit the marine squad will preform better, it will do 110 damage a second. Against vehicles, the marine squad will do 90 damage a second. So its about its upgrade in performance.

If the other enemy is spamming hawks, it doesn't mean you should then spam grunts. Use the counter units. They are better at the task.

Push
A push is fight for land. Your not trying to destroy the enemy, your try to gain map control

Steamroll
A steam roll is basically a all out attack on the enemy. Its where you send in such a huge force you steamroll over their base and destroy them.

Harassing
Harassing is when you send small forces to your enemy. Not to destroy them, but to buy yourself time, and make them spend money. For example, you send in three banshees-- not enough to destroy the enemy, but you could take out a few units, which they other player may of needed.

Scouting
Have you played a game, and within a few mins there is loads of infantry at your doorstep, or leaders, or perhaps hogs. Or you build lots of tanks and the enemy has lots of air, and we all know air owns ground so they win. perhaps you went to attack and they enemy has flanked you and come round the back. well when you scout you can see this coming. Scouting gives many advantages like:

• Collecting resources. these resources can be very important.


• Catching rushes. when you scout you'll see that they are going to rush before its at your base. You can see when they are going to do it, so you can plan and defend. Mix in some micro and you'll easily beat a rush.


• You can see what they are building. Being able to see what the enemy is building is important, it allows you to have a better understanding of their tactic. If they have a lot of resources and a vehicle factory then they will be lacking in infantry and air. use this to your advantage and build some anti vehicle, and you know your air and inf will be safe.


• You will know what units they have. You can see what units they have built, and as we all know every unit has another unit that will beat it, so you can build them.


• Flanking. When you scout you will see if the enemy is going around the back of your base, so you can ambush them or have a warning of an attack.


• You'll be able to see if they have expanded. Knowing where the enemy bases are gives you an advantage so you know where they will most likely attack. also you can see what in each base and attack one that's the most importan


• You might find the enemy isn't ready for an attack so you can go and destroy them. If you left it then they might be more prepared and destroy you.


• Confidence. this is the most important. a lot of people sit in their base unit they have a huge force. Scouting will give you confidence to explore the map with less units. Simply because you know the enemy hasn't got units in that area, so you can control that area. It will give you the confidence to attack.

If you do not scout, you will not win the game. Remember the 4 X's of RTS. eXploreeXpand, eXploit and eXterminate.

Basic Gameplay Tips

Ok, we've got some of the terms out of the way. Now to explain the basic game play of RTS. Most people new to RTS will have a really bad tactic. They will try to build up a super army and win in one attack. That shouldn't be done. Ill explain what it is, and why you shouldn't do it. Its called.

Steamrolling with the most powerful unit

Although taking out the opposing teams base with an army of strong units will destroy the base, its mainly the fact you just leave yourself vulnerable before you get the unit. RTS beginners will sit in their base with little to no defense, no scouting, and basically no idea of what the enemy is doing, wait until they have enough resources until they can build 40-50 tanks, for example and attempt to destroy the enemy in 1 attack. That will not work!! why? well because:

• You haven't scouted!. You don't know what your up against. The other player can build to combat what you have and get the advantage.


• You only control one part of the map. The other player can control all the map and simply surround you.


• RUSH! need i say more?


• gentles attack. This tactic is when a small attack comes at your base. not enough to destroy you, or do any serious damage. Then a few more units come, then more, and more and more... until your overwhelmed.


• Out resourced. Your opponent can easily out resource you. by capturing the other spikes and crates on the map, and by controlling more than one base,


• If you don't destroy the other players base in one attack. Its most likely that they will destroy you once they finish off your units.


• Without going into a huge amount of detail, RTS games are broken into three parts. Early, Mid and Late game. Some games might not make it past early if its a rush. Also not a lot of games will make it to late. Here is a basic walk through of playing RTS.

Early Game

Scouting, scouting, and more scouting. The key the victory is to scout. How can you win if you don't know what you are up against? First off, you want to use the ghost or warthog to scout the other players base and also collect those resources! They come in very handy. You want to see if they are going to rush or not, that's the first step. If its a rush, cancel the building, if its not done, get up some turrets and get out a barracks, and build some defense. If not, good, then continue collecting.
Whats the first building you build? It should come down to two options. Tech? or money? Building the tech option will allow you to have better units before the other player, or the commander unit if your Covenant. But going for money will give you a little extra resources that could give you the advantage. There is no right answer, its all about what tactic your doing compared to what the other player is doing.
Once you have scouted and have an economy you want to start thinking units. But first what is the other player doing. Do they have units, if so what can beat them. If not they are spending the money on tech or defense. Remember, if you spend money on a unit, and it doesn't do anything, then its a waste of money. You don't want to build some units, only to have them sit in your base, you could of spent the money on upgrades and tech. I know you'll be wanting to go some units out in-case the other player attacks, well that is correct, but don't stand them in the base. Go explore and scout the rest of the map, get some more crates and cover all possible routes around the map so the enemy cannot sneak up on you.

Middle Game
This is the part of the game when your base is up, you've got scouts and economy, and its time for an attack or to expand. Which one do you do? well its up to you.

Attacking
So what do you build. Well, again, whats the enemy got? What buildings or units have they got? You want to build up a force that can destroy the other player, but perhaps not in a single attack. You don't want to many units because the other ones would be wasted, and you could of spent the money on tech and upgrades. You need to judge, whats the exact right amount of units to destroy the other base. You need to consider what units and defense the enemy has now and build enough to combat that, and also what they could build. They may have 3 tanks now, but while your attacking them, they could build 1 or 2 more, and if you cannot destroy them as well, then you have lost. Also while your attacking, is your base vulnerable?

Expanding
You need to see if they other player is going to attack, if not then your safe to expand. But first you need to defend what you have, so build some defense towers and maybe some units and go attack the extra base. Remember that the units you are using to attack can come back to defend and also you have your leader power, or support power. So don't build to much defense and waste all your money if it doesn't get used.

Late Game
This is he part of the game now where a few attacks have gone down, you and your enemy have lots of cash and control a lot of the map and have a lot of tech and upgrades. There is no more map to expand to, so its all attack from here. Because of all the money its likely that you or your enemy can destroy a base in one attack. so its about the combination of units you build. You need to see what they have and build what is best to defeat them. Then you need to destroy whats most important to them, which is obviously the tech. Target the base that has the most tech buildings in it and destroy them. Because then the only units they can build will be weaker, and therefore you'll have the advantage. Then target the money or the buildings that can deploy units. Either one is a good choice. Finally Destroy the base!

Ok, so know you now RTS terms, and basic RTS game player. Now your ready to fight, what strategy are you going to use? First of all, there are three basic strategies in the world of RTS. There is the Rush, the Boom, and the Turtle although very different, each one can contain elements of each other.

Rush
The rush, despite what a lot of people may think, is when you launch an attack against the enemy within about 3 minuets of the game beginning. The attack is aggressive, and the desired outcome is victory, as fast as possible. Not all attacks within the first few minuets are a rush. For it to be a rush it must be aggressive. Other attacks early in the game are considered to be harassing. That is when you attack the enemy, just to distract them and keep them from teching, or building, or simply to get them to waste time and resources. It isn't a rush because you expect loses, and you don't send backup. Its just to buy you some time to get your strategy going, and give you an advantage.

Advantages
A rush can catch an enemy off guard, and destroy them very quickly. The rush will also give you an early victory. Its easy to do a rush, because you know when and where to attack, you don't have to worry about scouting and micro. You also set up a base, and there is no need to keep checking on it, as the enemy will be distracted by the rush.

Disadvantages
A failed rush can lead to defeat. If the enemy destroys the rush, you are left very vulnerable due to lack of money and because you have researched little to no tech, and therefore are an easy target for a enemy force.
Both rushes are assuming the enemy isn't rushing you.

How to do a rush with the covenant
The covenant rush relies heavily on infantry. To start off you must pick a leader, they are all effective for different reasons. The arbiters rage is great for taking out enemy units, but is poor against buildings. His special grunts compensate for that, but are expensive a take a while to build. The prophet has shields, so can retreat and recharge. His cleansing beam is great at buildings, but well microed units can avoid it well. His special units have high HP, are cheap and build fast. They are good against infantry but can not shoot. The brute has his vortex that can deal a great amount of damage instantly, his brute units are good against all types, but don't excel in any area. But they are expensive and take a while to build. All units are good for a rush, and what leader you chose depends on who you prefer. They all have advantages and disadvantages. To start the rush you need to build a temple first, then que up two warehouses, while they are building, collect resources with your scouting unit. As soon as you can, run the leader and your scout to the enemy base, and attack turrets and other units. Try not to use your leader power, but if you must, then its ok. Build a hall and produce the correct infantry to counter the enemy units and or base then send them through the teleporter. Then when you have got rid of the enemies units, target warehouses/supply pads, as in the early game, they will be the most important structure to the enemy. From this point, its pretty simple to finish them off now.

How to rush with the UNSC
In this section i will explain the warthog rush, and no leader specific rush like Cutters elephant rush. Anders is probably the most effective as her upgrades are cheaper and faster. Although forges extra money can be very useful. Cutters MAC blast is very devastating to enemy structures. So they all have advantages and disadvantages. First of all build a reactor and que two supply pads. Scout and collect resources with the warthog. Now buy the gunner upgrade as soon as you can. Once its finished start building as many hogs as your resources will allow, but do not compensate them for lack of tech and supply pads. Upgrade supply pads as soon as you can, and que the grenade upgrade. By no you should have about 4 hogs. Run at the enemy base and target offensive units and structures. Still continue to send warthogs. Then target the supply pads. Its a good idea to use offensive leader powers know, as they have high power in the early stages of the game. From here you simply swarm the enemy with hogs until victory.

Boom
The idea behind the boom is, you quickly excel in economy, and use this as an advantage over the enemy. For example you spend time building up a brilliant economy, and use it to produce units very fast or quickly tech up and compensate tech for units and defense.

Advantages
It gives you a big advantage over the enemy in mid-late game, as they wont be as advanced in some areas as you possibly are.

Disadvantages
Early game you are very vulnerable to an early attack or rush. If they are aggressive before your ready, then you will probably lose.

How to boom
This is written in the assumption that you don't get rushed
There is never a specific build order when booming. But if you covenant, i would suggest building a temple first, in case you need your leader to defend. Also you can scout around and collect resources with the scouting unit and the leader. Then produce several warehouses and upgrade as soon as you can. If you have time it will benefit you greatly to buy a second base early and use it to buy more warehouses. Try to invest as much money as you can on economy rather on units and tech as it will benefit you later on. Once you feel you have a sufficient economy, about 8 upgraded warehouses, work on producing units and upgraded as fast as you can, and take out the enemy with a huge upgraded army.

Turtle
The turtle strategy is when you build up a great defense, and let your resources build up. Wait for the enemy to attack and once your great defense has destroyed or crippled them, you retaliate with the forces you have hidden.

Advantages
You can destroy all the enemies forces, and leave them vulnerable. Also its extremely hard for them to destroy your base, this allows you plenty of time to rebuild lost forces, if you lost them.

Disadvantages
See disadvantages of boom.

How to turtle
Again, i assume your not getting rushed.
There is no particular build order, but if your covenant i suggest building a temple first. Set up a economy first, then set to work on build up turrets, and upgrading them. If your covenant build two shield generators on each base you use. Once you have set up one base, move to the next. Use the next one to produce units, but keep them locked. Build up turrets as soon as possible, and never buy a new base, before the ones you have are properly protected. Slowly produce units while you go and upgrade as far as you can. Once your enemy launches an aggressive attack, retaliate with your units. If you do not destroy them with your first attack, you should have a good enough defense to destroy any counter attack, while you build up more units. Also, buy as many bases as you can, and force your enemy to run out.
They are the basic strategies. Don't stick to one. You need to adapt and change all the time. So you need to mix all three around.

Written by I FJ I