After answering some new player’s questions and looking around (and to kickstart my plan of training newbs to take over the world, but that's another story), I decided to make a guide that’s geared towards the newest players and maybe some older ones as well. Keep in mind this is only a guideline, you can do as you please; follow it and who knows, maybe it’ll help you and/or the rest of the players you’re with.
*Some statements may seem harsh, but I’m just stating the facts as they most likely are.
**Other players may post their own tips or may set up a discussion based on the tips I present here.
First, the basics:
1)
Know what you’re getting yourself in to. – I play E5, which some may know as a solo world. But messages and broadcasts still appear asking for alliances. They eventually find out they're on their own and they quit. To save you the time and frustration, always check the details before entering a world, and think about what you’re gonna get in to once you do.
2)
Follow the tutorial – The most fundamental piece of advice here. The tutorial covers most of the basics from resource production to squad building. Some players get impatient and skip it, only to find themselves stuck at a gentle learning curve. Don’t be one of them.
3)
Be polite and articulate – In the world chat and broadcasts is where most people get an impression of you. Mess up and you’ll be marked as the person who does this or that and ignore you. Don’t say what you wouldn’t want someone to say to you, and ease up on the caps lock. People will never take you seriously if you do otherwise. Never start a flame war or spam the chats or broadcasts as well.
4)
Don’t hesitate to ask – If you have a question, don’t be afraid to ask people on your chat. Never fly blind. Likewise, never ask (or beg) people on the broadcasts and on the chats to let you join a top alliance or give you tokens/boosts. They might, but the chances are pretty slim to none. Top alliances are usually tight-knit groups who even share contact info. Want a top alliance? Earn it. You can only share and receive red tokens, and you must be a supporter to do so. And to be honest, who would give a stranger something one bought with his/her own cash?
5)
Never walk alone – I would suggest looking for an alliance and friends as soon as you can get together and plan your way through the round. Two heads are better than one, and twelve heads eventually rule the world.
6)
Project confidence and strength – Never announce on the broadcasts or on the chats you’re new, and especially do not couple it with the words “Do not attack me”. People would think of you as an easy target, and you would find yourself conquered in a few hours, maybe less. If you need guidance, go to
Adopt-A-Newb, or find someone in the world you’re playing in to help you. Do it as discreetly as you dare. Also, never ask for someone to conquer someone else, it’ll mark you as weak and dependent.
7)
Don’t over-exaggerate- To tie in with the point above, don’t be something you’re not. It helps to hide your new player status, but announcing you’re experienced and a top player when you’re not or when you say you have a large army when you don't only sets you up for trouble and a damaged rep. Also, rank does not always equal experience.
8)
Never take what you can’t keep – those 19 crystals on that empty colony may seem tempting, but think about it. Can you defend it at all afterwards? Having a good army size before you attack deters potential attackers to your newfound treasure; without them, you’ll lose stuff as you get them.
9)
Assess and carefully plan your situation and your moves – Never act on impulse. BD’s a strategy game, so why not play it as it is? Scan before you attack, have sufficient intel, risk management, damage control, etc. etc., are all important before you start a random war or attack that top 3 player with all you got.
10)
Never announce battle plans and other important stuff over world chat or on broadcasts- Pretty obvious. Anyone can see what you’ve written in there, even your targets.
11)
Don’t be cowardly, but don’t be stupid either – 101 squads vs. your 12, all over a colony without crystals. Think about what you’re going to lose compared to what you’re gaining in return before you attack. Also, never back down if you’re threatened by someone; assume all threats are empty and respond to fulfilled ones if you can.
12)
Got conquered? No problem – If you’re new, being conquered is actually beneficial; you get time and relative safety to build up and procure an army, as well as to plan your way ahead. Don’t rebel unless you feel absolutely sure you can handle the worst-case scenario.
13)
The world isn't fair - Don't whine about how 'they're always picking on the new guys' or 'This guy can't handle a real fight, so he picks on us new players'. One of the foundations of BD is to conquer to get resources and prestige, and of course, players would go the easier route first to get a footing; i.e you.
Now for the actual game:
Pre-round and Early stages:1)
Plot out your round - Have an outline of what you want to accomplish in the round. Be sure it's attainable though; new players with a goal of top player who got all 10 relics by themselves in their first game often get disappointed. Make room for unexpected variables and twists.
1)
Find a strategic spot - Don't just plop your colony anywhere. Find a spot that corresponds to what you want to do in the game: conquer? build right in the middle or find an island close to a landmass. Build up and hope to be left alone? build in a secluded island, such as Hawaii.
2)
Build up resources and structures first, closely followed by army production. - Well, you can't have an army when you don't have the stuff to make them. I'd go with Farm>Oil>Metal>Energy. Break out of protection if you dare to get more resources; you might and will get conquered, but yeah, it's beneficial at this stage. Raze the outpost the tutorial wanted you to create; it's gonna get taken otherwise anyways. Army structures I would suggest the workshops first then vehicles.
Make your resources count - Do you really need that silo right now? Or that shiny new ion cannon? Consider that. And never place op's you won't use anyways, it's just a waste of resources which you could use for other things, and it draws unwanted entities near your colony.
Army:Find a chassis that works for you - And try to stick to one chassis at a time. The chassis has to meet your needs. Never use any units you aren't comfortable or otherwise unsure of using. All chasses have distinct advantages and disadvantages; make sure your army brings the advantages out more than the latter.
Never build damage units past tick 200 - Try to get ranged as soon as possible. Damage units are only useful in the early stages, where you need an edge against others. Later on the round, they just become a detriment rather than a useful build. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some good damage builds, but they almost always have more losses than ranged due to their second-strike nature. It's just too hard for players to get it right on damage, so stick with ranged.
Ratios - Right, now you got ranged. You have to back them up with armour now. Armour is essentially a protector of your more valuable ranged army; Either a pure armour army or a pure ranged army can and will get killed easily. Find a ratio, or how-many things to how-many things, that works for you. 1 Armour: 3 Ranged, 10 Armour: 15 Damage etc. Figure it out, experiment. Just don't let the no. of armour exceed the no. of ranged. Also, note that armour units protect ranged or damage of the same chassis first, if at all. Armour tanks to ranged infantry isn't probably gonna work.
Some Specifics:Gates:- Gates are probably the most useful op upgrade you can build, asides from a TB (but they're only limited to just one at a time, so yea...). Make gates somewhat of a priority, especially if you plan to expand and conquer right away. Also, in an alliance, gates have a hidden benefit if you manage to build one first; you get protection from allies who want to maintain a gate network and chances are you'll have at least one allied squad on your colony defending you each day.
Scans:- Set up a satellite scan (10-30 ticks, or what you can afford with your energy supplies) over your colony and never let it run out if you can. You'll never know when you're going to need it.
Expansion- When you feel you are capable of branching out onto the surrounding area, take a moment to figure out the best route to expand to. Take factors such as open ground, potential conquers, volatility (if there's a conflict over that particular region or not) among other factors. Once you have decided, build a gate and a radar op (in close proximity to each other) within 5-6 ticks of your colony to start it up. Once the radar gives coverage, capture op's (it's pretty much a waste of resources to build your own, unless there's a lack of op's in your intended expansion route) and form a rough ring of three or more (depending on your capabilities) ; with the radar op as the centre. Turn those into gates (or capture pre-existing gates outright), and use the farthest gate to capture another op, turn it into a radar and repeat the process. This should require two or more players to achieve though, so consider joining an alliance.
I’ll be adding more as they come….
