Theory Thursday (2/4/2016): The Small Game

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Theory Thursday: The Small Game

Welcome back for our first Theory Thursday after the PAX tournament! I really enjoyed watching all the games and I hope you guys did too. Please check out the official forums for previous theory thursdays! This week we are going to talk about the “Small Game” or a few techniques that are often used to gain advantage through micro. Many of these we saw in the tournament, and when used effectively they can quickly tip the scales in your favor!

Splitting

Almost every RTS has some type of Area of Effect damage, whether it’s by a unit or through abilities. This mechanic is designed to provide “crowd control” against players who spam many units. The direct counters may not always be enough if your opponent is vastly out producing you. In Grey Goo this is where artillery, and a few other units can make a difference. But what about when Artillery is used against you? This is where splitting can be very effective. It is the deliberate act of spreading your army out so that AOE attacks are limited in efficacy. Most commonly we see this against Goo players, where Drovers can be very effective against clumps of units. One of the most effective ways to split is to split in halves until you get to the individual level – for example if I have 5 Commandos against a group of drovers, I would split 2 and 3. And then I would split 2 and 1 (from the 3), and then 1 and 1 from the 2. This will give me a nice spread very quickly to help give me the upper hand against the drovers. This technique is important against any AOE damage including artillery, or the new Shroud Mach unit.

Clearing Brush

Much of Grey Goo small game revolves around brush fights. Early scouts will win any engagement against other scouts if they get the first shots from inside a brush. This can ensure that your opponent has difficulty scouting your strategy before you get reinforcements to protect from the scout, but it also means later in the game you can incur massive losses to an opponent camped strategically inside a brush. One of my favorite techniques for brush, and something we saw multiple times in the tournament is using AOE and attack ground. Any unit that has attack ground ability can be targeted using ALT+Right Click and that unit will fire indefinitely at the position you clicked on. If you have many units selected and only some have the ability to target ground, this will still work. Even if you are not sure about a brush, it’s a risk free way to at least gain some advantage back by damaging units before you charge in – and if your opponent is paying attention they will usually pull back as they don’t know if you’ll continue to sit there and pummel them or not.

Scouting Deception

This is one of my favorites, and one have always used often. The idea here is simple, a good opponent will scout early and often. You can use this against your opponent, and we saw this often in the tournament. Some of the most important information that you or your opponent is looking for is the ratio of factories to refineries, and if there is any early tech. Once your opponent scouts you, you can switch tracks to throw them off. For example, if I am playing Beta, I’ll often build second refinery, and factory simultaneously, but pause them. The opponent only knows a structure is paused by the health not increase on the structures – but he can’t be sure that’s not because you’re out of money either. If your opponent is committing to his structures, this gives you the advantage of being able to react to his decisions! Be careful though, he could be doing the same thing to you! The lesson here is to always be scouting, and always be mindful of how your opponent will interpret what he scouts from you.


As players refine core strategies the small game becomes significantly more important for gaining advantage. These are some examples, but there are always many more. To really rise above the competition you need to find your own small game tactics to add to your repertoire. Each trick will add up, allow you to be more adaptable in more situations, and give you the ever more important advantage in close matches.