New Year Teamplay

Is it me or is AMAIs teamplay in the new year edition better? Then again it might simply be because my co-ordination with my AMAI ally is crap enough to give the enemy the time they need to get it together :)

Without peeking at the scripts I don't see 3v3 or 4v4 specific team strategies which mimic typical (read 80% of) large map bnet matches. Usually vulnerable "end" players closest to the enemy go with quick normal builds. The "middle" or rearward players go all out fast tech to tier 3 air or siege, often fielding only a hero and little else until their massed tier 3 armies are ready to fight. What would be suicide in solo or 2v2 is the most popular strat going in larger games. I don't see AMAI players as part of a 3 - 4 team coordinating an overall strat like this.

And before someone says "simple scouting would counter this" if its good enough for a level 40 rt player it should work just as well for AMAI

Cloest to the enemy? I've been through most of the maps, and virtually every one of them is a mirror.

I wasn't talking about symmetry of starting positions. Its true that, on Feralas for example, any base stands an equal chance as any other of being attacked first. Even so, this only increases the chance that non-teching team members will have to defend an unguarded fast-tech base. The strat is still used, and expected to be followed, anyway.

But this is the exception, most ladder maps, deadlands, dragonfalls, deadlock, etc, there are two "end" positions with the closest (counter)clockwise approaches to and from the other side of the map. The "middle" bases have a natural terrain defense from initial attack. Add in land bridges, as on deadlands, further adds to this aspect.

The exception to the above being if an end base towers, especially undead. Early game, most often the attackers will skirt the towered base to attack the next.

Even when there are multiple approaches, say for twilight ruins and marketsquare, most (human players anyway) inevitably attack clockwise or counter-clockwise. Why not approach through the middle? Circular thinking I guess ( ;)

I'll have to track down some replays, as many questions spring to mind. After all, the more players the harder it is to pull off a tech strat as if the entire enemy team rushes, the odds must surely be overwhelming... But as you say, when level 40 players do it, it obviously works in some fashion

Tier 1 rush is an equally effective strat too, yes. Especially for me, since I usually lose the tier 3 battle of the titans matches. Most all my wins are less than 15 min.

Rushing with people requires a lot of screaming on chat to maintain constant offensive pressure. Likewise for AMAI, I could see the usefulness of a special team rush mode. When rushing as a team, Individual AMAI are too conservative, as if they are in a solo match, about tp'ing to save heros, retreat red bar units all the way back to base, etc. Again, what would be suicide in solo or 2v2, works well in larger games. For instance, not retreating a redlined army and hero but instead; wack on a base at the periphery, attack their fast expo, chase their fleeing peasants, etc. A full retreat or tp can reduce the rush force by 33% or 25%, perhaps causing it to fail.

AMAI is quite good at sensing when an opponent is weak and going for the kill, but its missing that urgency of a bet the game on an all out rush.

I agree, they pussyfoot around in team games. If you can cripple one of the opposing players then it's worth sacrificing a few units or even a hero for, as long as the rest of the team is good, because it will win you the game.

TPing a wounded hero and his army often costs you the army that didn't TP.

The problem with its team game is that, really, the AMAIs don't talk to each other... and it plays a pretty conservative team game too, creeping far too much.

Haven't reached the titan games yet. Just playing unmatched team games at the moment, and so long as you talk to your teammate, and they're not a complete monkey, you can get a rush together and stomp your opponents. All the more reason to look forward to my GF getting a copy so we can play arranged teams :) Nothing makes you curse like unmatched team games... had a human player drop on me today because his base was in tatters, but it didn't matter because we'd broken the back of the orcs, but he didn't see that and left! Cost me the game. I can't play humans worth diddly, and I certainly ain't fast enougn to handle two bases :) At least I learnt a valuable lesson about the vunerability of a human partner to a rush (though he was a monkey).