Why n1 + 1 isn't as bad as you think

Bonus info: Why you should hack n1 during 7 man games

Intro

In short, I'm just going to go over if n1+1 is a good idea for 5, 6, 7, and 8 man as opposed to n1+2. I will be under the assumption that this is the normal game mode, and n1 secured without any problems.

TL;DR:
5 man: Either is ok
6 man: n1+2
7 man: n1+1
8 man: n1+1

5 man

Pros of n1+1:
-N1 gives a minimal amount of credibility to the players inside n1, so a secure is technically more likely to occur.

Cons of n1+1:
-95% of people bluff n1, so that doesn't really mean anything.
-This could give hackers credibility, but 95% of people bluff n1 so the credibility doesn't really mean anything.

Pros of n1+2:
-If n2 is hacked, you have minimal info on the people outside of n2 (guy in n1 is slightly more credible than the other guy)

Cons of n1+2:
-95% of people bluff n1, so that doesn't really mean anything.
-This could give hackers credibility, but 95% of people bluff n1 so the credibility doesn't really mean anything.


Conclusion: Personally, I would rather have the very slightly higher chance to straight up win the game than to have a very tiny amount of info on the people outside n2. However, some people might want the info instead and I can respect that.

6 man

Pros of n1+1:
N/A

Cons of n1+1:
-Hackers like to bluff n2 in order to give the agents 0 info going into n3. N1+1 gives hackers an extra chance to be in both n1 and n2 before n3 happens. This results in credible hackers inside a hacked node; they will probably get into n4, and then the hacker buddy cleans up the game

Pros of n1+2:
-Prevents the con of n1+1 to an extent

Cons of n1+2:
-n1+2 does not fully prevent n1+1's con, but I think we can all agree that anti is a bad idea

Note: The pro/con of 5 man games does apply here, but since that 99.99% of people bluff n1 it quite literally means so little I didn't even want to mention it

Conclusion: N1+2 is better.

7 man

For 7 man games, I consider hacking n1 meta for hackers. This is because hacking n1 results in a 50% chance to reveal 33% of your hackers while gaining 33% of your victory. Long story short, hacking n1 in a 7 man results in a viable 3-0 strategy that can still compete in n5.

Due to this, I believe that if n1 is secured, there is actually a decent chance that both players in the node are agents.

Conclusion: N1+1 is better.

8 man

When n1 is hacked in an 8 man game, and even a single agent is new to the game (and due to the fact that 8 people just accepted an 8 man game someone probably is), hackers are going to win. If n1 is secured, just accept the fact that you've already lost if someone bluffed and assume that n1 is all agents.

Note: Yes, I'm aware you can still win as agents after a n1 bluff, but good luck trying to do that consistently.

Note: This can change based on n1 votes. Since reading 8 man votes is something so weird that the only person who can probably explain it without confusing everyone is Joshua, I'm not gonna talk about it.

Note: You may want to try to go for a double/triple hack during n2

Conclusion: N1+1 is better.

[Bowmen]

Agreed for the most part, the info is so minimal that the n2 pick doesn’t really matter as long as it’s not anti. A lot of people are really against +1 tho so I’m just tryna defend it

[Little Dad]

One thing to think about in the 5 man is that if n1 was secure, n1+1 means nothing, really. You could throw any 3 people in a node, it still has the same chances of getting hacked as n1+1 so if you get a secure n1, you technically have very little info towards who the hacker really might be and you can include any 2 people into your node without worries.