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Log in7 Habits of Highly Effective Gamers
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7 Habits of Highly Effective Gamers
by ImAShakiraholic on Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:49 pm
7 Habits of Highly Effective Gamers
Despite the title, I don�t actually see a lot of people doing the things on the list, but as they have helped me, I shall pass them on. I�m leaving out things that you commonly hear about (know your codex, etc.), and focusing on the more obscure.
1) The Pause.
As in chess, a game of 40k starts off with infinite possibility (actually, chess is only near infinite, whereas 40k achieves infinity). However, as with chess, permutations decrease sharply as pieces are removed, and certain possibilities are discarded as obvious poor choices. This is why people become �better� players as the game progresses; their finite processing power is applied to progressively simpler problems, with greater chance of arriving at a successful conclusion. This accounts for many of the amazing �comeback� games that we have all seen (freakish dice rolling accounts for the rest).
As Grey Knight players, we are in the unusual position of starting the game with relatively few models on the table, so it behoves us to turn that perceived weakness into an advantage. Spend a while in silence at the beginning of each of your turns, while you figure out what you want each unit to do, and how you want to set about doing it. Move around if you need to; check LOS, gauge distances, that sort of thing, but don�t start making moves until you know what all your moves are going to be. And don�t chat... it can all to easily distract you.
We are not playing orcs or guard here. We don�t have 100 models on the table. I have less than 20. So there is no good reason why I shouldn�t know EXACTLY what I�m doing before I start doing it.
2) The Monologue.
Once I know what I�m going to do, I don�t shut up. I narrate EVERYTHING. Here is a sample of one unit at the start of the shooting phase:
�All right, that�s it for my movement, I�ll start my shooting phase now. I�m starting with squad Eddard here, and I�m going to roll to see if I can target that marine squad instead of the nearest target. I need 9 or less. I rolled a 7, so I�m shooting at the marines.
I have 6 men in the squad, with no specials, so I get 12 dice, needing 3�s to hit. 8 hit. Now I need 4�s to wound. 4 wounds. You save on 3+. OK, that�s it for this squad.�
The reason I do this is twofold. First off, it helps me know where I am and what I�m doing (game-wise). I�m not likely to forget much. Second, though, is that it allows my opponent to correct me BEFORE we have a problem (�Uh, actually, you need 5�s to wound, they have Mark of Nurgle.�) This makes my turns run very smoothly, with the added bonus that I get a reputation for being an honest and forthright player. We all know how hard it can be to distinguish between honest mistake and attempted cheating.
3) Agree LOS.
With a Water army, denying the enemy LOS is often critical. I determine LOS by using my tape measure, but with the blank side up, so no distances are being measured. I�ll then mark that line with a couple of dice and ask my opponent whether they agree that I have marked the line of sight correctly.
Example: �Do you agree that this is the LOS for your marine with the lascannon and that he cannot see anything to the left of this line?�
I�ll do this with all relevant enemy lines of sight, and then I�ll do the same for LOS that I DO want.
Example: �Do you agree that this is the LOS to your lead two tactical marines, including the vet sgt� and anything to the right of this line can see them?�
I can now move my Land Raider out from behind the trees, to the left of the first line, but to the right of the second line, secure in the knowledge that he can kill the lead marines without worrying about return fire from the lascannon. I may even confirm this with my opponent, depending on the quality of the player (poor ones can sometimes really need you to spell it out for them).
The huge benefit of working this way is that it avoids those heated LOS arguments that we�ve all had at one time or another. This makes the game more enjoyable and helps it run smoothly.
4) The Walk.
Periodically, you should walk a full circle around the table, stopping at various points to get a good look at the table from different vantages. Like Ender Wiggin, we must learn to shed our traditional "up-down" view of the table, and see what our enemy sees. Stand in his spot and ask yourself what you would try to have each of his units do. In this way you anticipate him, while perhaps seeing some LOS's that you would otherwise have missed.
I know some gamers who go so far as to play recon games entirely on what would normally be their opponent's side, with their troops advancing to meet them as the game progresses.
5) Always Measure.
Always measure the distance to your target, even if you know that it is within (or out of) range. Distance measuring is a limited commodity; you get to do it once per firing unit. Don't waste it.
Imagine an assault squad bearing down on your PAGK. You know it is within range, but measure anyway. It is 19" away. Now you know it cannot assault you next turn, allowing your other units to fire on more immediate threats.
Imagine a devestator squad in the far corner. You declare you are firing at it, although it is clearly out of range. You measure anyway, and learn that it is 42" away. Now you know you can safely leave cover, as the plasma cannons cannot reach you.
6) Victory Point Denial
In 2/3 of all standard games (Gamma and Omega), the winner is determined by victory points. While these will be examined in more detail later, there are two ways of getting VPs: you can take objectives, and you can kill the other guy.
QUOTE
If I can make one suggestion, you may want to mention that both Air and Water style combat usually has an emphasis on VP denial tactics while Earth and Fire typically do not. VP denial is a critical aspect of the 4th edition game, and deserves definite mention in just about any strategy article, in my opinion.
Ezzeran
Brother Ezzeran is quite right. In any given game, the Control player (usually us, see post 19) has to go to great lengths to deny their opponent the VPs that their superior raw killing power will give them. This is especially true for Grey Knight players, as our units are so expensive. A GK squad reduced to below half strength will often give the opponent more VPs than the entire value of the unit we are targeting. We must always weigh the VPs we are risking against the VPs we hope to gain, and use our greater mobility and conservatve tactics to minimise what risk we must take.
Thanks to Brother Ezzeran for raising the point.
7) Agree Terrain.
At the beginning of each game, before sides are chosen, point to each piece of terrain and agree the following points with your opponent:
-area terrain or WYSIWYG?
-if area, what hight?
-what is the cover save?
-what defines the limits of the terrain (important where terrain is mounted on a base)?
-is it difficult/dangerous/impassable?
-are any special rules being used (CoD, swamps, etc)?
It may seem tedious to do this before each game, but it avoids conflict later in the game when your Deepstrike scatters into terrain you think is merely dangerous (which is why you were deepstriking near it), but your opponent swears is impassable (thus killing your HQ unit).
Despite the title, I don�t actually see a lot of people doing the things on the list, but as they have helped me, I shall pass them on. I�m leaving out things that you commonly hear about (know your codex, etc.), and focusing on the more obscure.
1) The Pause.
As in chess, a game of 40k starts off with infinite possibility (actually, chess is only near infinite, whereas 40k achieves infinity). However, as with chess, permutations decrease sharply as pieces are removed, and certain possibilities are discarded as obvious poor choices. This is why people become �better� players as the game progresses; their finite processing power is applied to progressively simpler problems, with greater chance of arriving at a successful conclusion. This accounts for many of the amazing �comeback� games that we have all seen (freakish dice rolling accounts for the rest).
As Grey Knight players, we are in the unusual position of starting the game with relatively few models on the table, so it behoves us to turn that perceived weakness into an advantage. Spend a while in silence at the beginning of each of your turns, while you figure out what you want each unit to do, and how you want to set about doing it. Move around if you need to; check LOS, gauge distances, that sort of thing, but don�t start making moves until you know what all your moves are going to be. And don�t chat... it can all to easily distract you.
We are not playing orcs or guard here. We don�t have 100 models on the table. I have less than 20. So there is no good reason why I shouldn�t know EXACTLY what I�m doing before I start doing it.
2) The Monologue.
Once I know what I�m going to do, I don�t shut up. I narrate EVERYTHING. Here is a sample of one unit at the start of the shooting phase:
�All right, that�s it for my movement, I�ll start my shooting phase now. I�m starting with squad Eddard here, and I�m going to roll to see if I can target that marine squad instead of the nearest target. I need 9 or less. I rolled a 7, so I�m shooting at the marines.
I have 6 men in the squad, with no specials, so I get 12 dice, needing 3�s to hit. 8 hit. Now I need 4�s to wound. 4 wounds. You save on 3+. OK, that�s it for this squad.�
The reason I do this is twofold. First off, it helps me know where I am and what I�m doing (game-wise). I�m not likely to forget much. Second, though, is that it allows my opponent to correct me BEFORE we have a problem (�Uh, actually, you need 5�s to wound, they have Mark of Nurgle.�) This makes my turns run very smoothly, with the added bonus that I get a reputation for being an honest and forthright player. We all know how hard it can be to distinguish between honest mistake and attempted cheating.
3) Agree LOS.
With a Water army, denying the enemy LOS is often critical. I determine LOS by using my tape measure, but with the blank side up, so no distances are being measured. I�ll then mark that line with a couple of dice and ask my opponent whether they agree that I have marked the line of sight correctly.
Example: �Do you agree that this is the LOS for your marine with the lascannon and that he cannot see anything to the left of this line?�
I�ll do this with all relevant enemy lines of sight, and then I�ll do the same for LOS that I DO want.
Example: �Do you agree that this is the LOS to your lead two tactical marines, including the vet sgt� and anything to the right of this line can see them?�
I can now move my Land Raider out from behind the trees, to the left of the first line, but to the right of the second line, secure in the knowledge that he can kill the lead marines without worrying about return fire from the lascannon. I may even confirm this with my opponent, depending on the quality of the player (poor ones can sometimes really need you to spell it out for them).
The huge benefit of working this way is that it avoids those heated LOS arguments that we�ve all had at one time or another. This makes the game more enjoyable and helps it run smoothly.
4) The Walk.
Periodically, you should walk a full circle around the table, stopping at various points to get a good look at the table from different vantages. Like Ender Wiggin, we must learn to shed our traditional "up-down" view of the table, and see what our enemy sees. Stand in his spot and ask yourself what you would try to have each of his units do. In this way you anticipate him, while perhaps seeing some LOS's that you would otherwise have missed.
I know some gamers who go so far as to play recon games entirely on what would normally be their opponent's side, with their troops advancing to meet them as the game progresses.
5) Always Measure.
Always measure the distance to your target, even if you know that it is within (or out of) range. Distance measuring is a limited commodity; you get to do it once per firing unit. Don't waste it.
Imagine an assault squad bearing down on your PAGK. You know it is within range, but measure anyway. It is 19" away. Now you know it cannot assault you next turn, allowing your other units to fire on more immediate threats.
Imagine a devestator squad in the far corner. You declare you are firing at it, although it is clearly out of range. You measure anyway, and learn that it is 42" away. Now you know you can safely leave cover, as the plasma cannons cannot reach you.
6) Victory Point Denial
In 2/3 of all standard games (Gamma and Omega), the winner is determined by victory points. While these will be examined in more detail later, there are two ways of getting VPs: you can take objectives, and you can kill the other guy.
QUOTE
If I can make one suggestion, you may want to mention that both Air and Water style combat usually has an emphasis on VP denial tactics while Earth and Fire typically do not. VP denial is a critical aspect of the 4th edition game, and deserves definite mention in just about any strategy article, in my opinion.
Ezzeran
Brother Ezzeran is quite right. In any given game, the Control player (usually us, see post 19) has to go to great lengths to deny their opponent the VPs that their superior raw killing power will give them. This is especially true for Grey Knight players, as our units are so expensive. A GK squad reduced to below half strength will often give the opponent more VPs than the entire value of the unit we are targeting. We must always weigh the VPs we are risking against the VPs we hope to gain, and use our greater mobility and conservatve tactics to minimise what risk we must take.
Thanks to Brother Ezzeran for raising the point.
7) Agree Terrain.
At the beginning of each game, before sides are chosen, point to each piece of terrain and agree the following points with your opponent:
-area terrain or WYSIWYG?
-if area, what hight?
-what is the cover save?
-what defines the limits of the terrain (important where terrain is mounted on a base)?
-is it difficult/dangerous/impassable?
-are any special rules being used (CoD, swamps, etc)?
It may seem tedious to do this before each game, but it avoids conflict later in the game when your Deepstrike scatters into terrain you think is merely dangerous (which is why you were deepstriking near it), but your opponent swears is impassable (thus killing your HQ unit).
