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Hey guys, I've played my first few games of Myth against strangers (how exotic!) and had my balls rocked every time. I'm wondering if anyone has any good strategies that may have gone over my head, or any advice on not sucking at my favorite game. Bear in mind, I've pretty much only played the campaign or LAN parties with people more or less my level so I have almost no experience in the multiplayer scene.

I can't give you any strategies, but I could potentially play with you online at some point, because I suck at Myth.

I'm Jon God, and I approve this message.

Sounds legit!

You can try searching youtube for some multiplayer matches to get some ideas on how to play competitively

Here's a more detailed response (I felt that you'd think I was being patently unhelpful but the truth is that you can learn a lot by watching, probably more than if I typed it all out). Play the gametype. If it's King of the Hill, don't camp it out, pick off stragglers, and rush the flag at the end like you'd play Last Man on the Hill. There's no consensus on trades but you're better off having a solid plan for each type of unit you get. If you get ghols, are you healing wights for puss? (Need a journeyman, then.) Will they be used to scout the map? Will they tag flags? If not then consider getting warriors or thrall. What they lack in speed they make up for when used conservatively. Archers (long line formation) seek out enemy artillery (warlocks, dwarves), melee huddles nearby for protection (box formation), and artillery deters the rush and pressures the enemy formations to open up and become vulnerable. It's a delicate balancing act that takes a few games to master.

The maximum number of trow available or other overpowered giant unit are usually sprung for due to their speed and combat utility. Veteran players usually don't rush all their forces to their doom and opt instead for a more methodical approach where units of greater importance are systematically focused down until relatively few losses are likely to be sustained in an assault. Micromanagement also plays a huge role and if you click once and sit back passively to watch the action you're probably going to want to take a greater interest in the lives of your individual units.

Is any of this useful? There's a good deal you learn by doing so that's the best way, of course, to learn. Also, keep playing against better players as they will teach you things you might not have known otherwise. There's stuff I'm still learning about this game even though it's been around for quite some time. Some things I didn't mention but which are undoubtedly useful are band selecting, double clicking to focus fire, archer stabbing, archer dodging, control clicking, and setting presets. Some of these may come naturally but some may have to be learned.

This is all just words, though. You might see the game a lot differently, and discover a better way to play than I could ever tell you. My best advice is just to watch films of others at work and continue asking questions. Also, keep playing so that you can find your own method that works for you. Hope this helps at least a little bit. Let me know if you want to organize a time to scrimmage a bit.

If you don't have a short attention span, there are a lot of strategy and tactic articles in the myth graveyard. Some general strategy, some for specific gametypes or maps, and some tactics and tips for how to use different units effectively.

This might be a good place to start.

Give this a read: http://www.orderofhpak.com/Manuals/Guid ... rNewbs.pdf

It's incomplete, but contains a lot of stuff you may find helpful.

As for strategy... that is an individual thing.

Some basic things to consider, though:

* Use unit group in combination. a simple example is pussing a group of mellee, then using fire arrows to further damage them... or using a mellee unit to distract enemy bows, while attacking with your own bows.

* Keep it simple, for now. Don't overwhelm yourself with too many unit types. Work on the basics, and move on to more advanced tactics after you have mastered the basics.

* Use presets. See the above link for details.

* Modify your formations and observer constants (camera speed). Again, see link. Keeping your units spread out will result in less damage from enemy projectiles, i.e. dorfs, bowmen, puss. Conversely, tightly formed mellee is important in a mellee fight, but beware of puss.

* Work on multitasking, but again, keep it simple. Try dodging with your bowmen during a bow fight, while effectively using puss, mellee, dwarf, etc. Will take practice to be effective.

* Learn the trades: unit trades are personal choice, but some make more sense than others. For example: on Gimble, it rarely makes sense to get no dorf if you have max bowmen. If someone gets full mellee and decides to rush you, you are basically screwed unless that person is mentally uncoordinated.

* Do the small things: the small things make a difference. i.e. pick up every root you see with your jman. One heal could make a world of difference.

* Don't waste units. i.e. once you throw a puss, don't just let that ghol die. Many people are guilty of doing this.

* Learn and use the commands available to you: i.e. use "G" to set your flag defence to "Guard", use "B" to spread units on the fly, etc.

That should be enough to get you started. It will take a while to master even the basics... don't get discouraged. Keep in mind, most of the players on mariusnet have been playing for years. Good luck.

Adrenaline, I must have an older copy of that guide in the graveyard - it's called "Tips for n00bs" and is just text (from a mariusnet forum post the notes say). Mind if I copy the PDF and mirror it at the graveyard? I'll of course credit you as the author.

The best way to learn strategy is to play or even better to participate in tournaments. Reading about starts will only get you so far.

not a problem VR. been toying with the idea of finishing it eventually... but meh... who has time these days?! also, i keep forgetting lol.

Thanks adrenaline, due to your strategic naming it now shows up on the top of the page that lists 'guides' (walkthroughs, howtos,etc)

http://mythgraveyard.org/index.php?a=d&o=guides the text version has a link to the PDF too.

Wow, you guys have been super helpful. I'll be putting that stuff to use as soon as I get online again. BTW, if you do wanna hit me up, I'm Deckard online, just so you know.

Do you dream of Electric Sheep?

Yeah I'd highly suggest watching some of NewMutator's excellent MWC 2012 shoutcasts on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/NewMutator
Every single match of the tournament that happened last month is on there, including commentary about what the top level players do strategy-wise. If you start from the start of the tourney you'll get a bit more explanations about intermediate-level stuff which trails off somewhat towards the end of the tournament, so I'd start there.

Currently in the process of revamping and completing "Adrenaline's Guide to Myth II for Newbs". I'll post it upon completion... already at about 8 pages, and I don't think it's even half done yet