Mechanized Assault & eXploration Reloaded

Subject: strategy and tactics

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Post 1

I like to share here some strategies and tactics of max with you.

Definitions:

strategy : What do I have to do?
tactic: How do I do it?

Lot of people mix those two words. Especially in soccer, people seem not to have any idea. The strategic aim is to win the match, to get a goal etc. You can break it down in little pieces. But to run left around the defense, then right and pass the ball to another player is tactic.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 2

Ressources are the driving fluid of the game. What do you gain by having lots of constructors or pios, but no minerals keep them up running all the time?
The most expensive constructor is one, doing nothing! When you can not feed all you working units in slowest building speed, which is the cheapest way to build, you have not grown ideally.

Always put only the needed ressources into one working unit. But you want to have none ressources left at the end of the turn. That would be perfect.

The surveyor should always leave 2 rows free in between his detection, because no mineral field will be so close to each other.

Once you found ressources, go there immediately with a contructor and a pio, to build a mine and a small energy plant, without having to wait for the connectors to connect. So you can use minerals earlier to bridge the gap.

Following data for 0% price research, only looking onto minerals:
56 ress - 5 rounds, makes sense for 16 to 9 minerals.
48 ress - 6 rounds, makes sense for 8-4 minerals
44 ress - 7 rounds
40 ress - 8 rounds
36 ress - 9 rounds
32 ress - 10 rounds
28 ress - 11 rounds
24 ress - 12 rounds

The earlier you finish, the earlier you have a free constructor again. Different parameter like fuel or gold distort this view, but you get the idea. When you gain in one move of your mine running less minerals, than you had to put into the contructor, speedying it up, it makes no sense.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 3

I like to get one gold refinery running first, and then keep on building research facilities, at least 3, one workers home and maybe one big energy plant.
Then I do the price research first. It is the most important research there is. Everything is getting cheaper AND faster done.

Using gold for upgrades you might be more flexible, but you can store it and refine it down later in the game anytime. Research is precious and hard to keep up, once you are behind with.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 4

When you have gold refined, keep it until you found a plan. Then let the gold work for your plan. Do not spreed the gold widely.

Better to upgrade in one big step, than in lot of smalls steps, so you save ressources.

Always keep some refined gold in the back to stay flexible and able to react. So you can e.g. kill planes, suddenly widen the anti-air range, or saving attacked mines, by adding more lifepoints to it.

Like in chess, you like to let your opponent as long as you can in the dark. He will look with "info" at your units and buildings, knowing where you put your gold into. You want the element of surprise on your side.

Generally you go with your clan and push the initial advantages, but even then you have choices where to park the gold. I like to see a lot, so radar upgrades might be clan independently good.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 5

My opponent is preventing me with submarine from getting into the water. What to do?

Do you really need to get into the water? Building on water costs waterplatforms. Maybe you can fly with transporterplanes from one base to another and make an airbridge, exchanging minerals with gold/fuel/mineraltransporters?

No, I have to get into the water. Alright. But it will take a while.

You can place one pioneer a time, guarded by bombers, in the water-dangerzone to surround an area with waterplatforms, so that a submarines can not kill the constructor later, building a shipyard. If your foe likes to exchange submarine for pioneers, having only 2 Ress inside, of course, will be good for you. Additionally his support ways are normally longer than yours and you have likely more small plants than he does have shipyards.

Before placing the contructor into water, you have to make sure, no submarine sneaked inside your secured area. When you do not want to fill the whole area with waterplatforms, you either use surveyors or scouts to filter trough. Do it in such a way, that no active player can mingle through your lines!

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Now that's some quality postings. Thanks for the work so far

Keep it up please. This will sure be very interesting for newcomers.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 6

I am under attack. How to deal with it tactically?

Let the aggressor do the first moves, let him use his movement points and shots. Then, when he came near, you can react accordingly around him. To do that, you should have let at least some stationary turrets on manuell, so they have still some shots left!
Always useful, one mobil missle luncher or assault gun in a transportplane. Fly towards the enemies, unload, shot-destroy , load and leave the dangerzone again. Because he is fighting in your territory he hardly should be able to copy this move.

In desperation use kamikaze- minelayers. When he has 8 movement points, put 8 mines into it and drive between the opponents force.

In desperation build for 24 minerals lots of turrents in one move and be ready you trigger the next round, so you can get at least some pios out. Those new expensive turrents should slow him down.

In desperation always good to have a repair unit near by.

When you are sure, your front defense will fall, build another line deeper in the back, while still fighting at the front. Some missleturrets should help to stabilize.

If you could kill an unit, do so. Your opponent should not be allowed to repair it. But use minimum force. Do not overkill, e.g. kill the scout with a missleturret, when you could finish it off with a little turret and have a tank as a possible aim in range.

Kamikaze pioneers are loaded with 2 minerals and build a connector or something. The opponent will not know, what you are building and is likely to shoot at it anytime he can. That might save some time also. But I`d say, you are probably very deperate.

Get a mobil radar. When you are blind, you have to scan with kamikaze units and you already are on the road of defeat.

A trooper or any unit downloaded from a plane onto you mines, will not let them explode them. You habe to trigger those mines manually!

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 7

Strategy:
When you got the initiative, you control more land, have more expansion possibilities, surrounded your opponent to slow him down - do not attack at all. As long you get faster stronger than he does, do not attack. Let him crumble and use you mobility to enlarge your advantage.

If time works against you, you have to attack, as fast as you can.

Tactics:
It always depend on the surrounding circumstances and the clans of course. Generally it is good to see a lot. Use submarines, scanners, radar planes or stationary radars, scouts what ever, but get intelligence.
You can "info" his units and see the number of it. When you see, scout number 13 MK 2, he has at least 13 scouts, already upgraded.
By the way this works for buildings, too. So you get an impression of his strengh seeing exempli gratia mining plant number 100 :-)

In doubt use a cheap tank to scroll slowly towards the enemy and catch a shot. There you get your front.
When attacking, attack with all the mighty force you get at once! He will have only limited shots per move. When you splitt your attack in two waves, he can fire twice as often.

Having some fast planes around always supports a land attack. Beware of his fighter counters, so download a mobil air defense, after flying into dangerzone. In case you see his air-defenses, you could use the following trick. Fly into the range with a cheap unit and get one shot. Hopefully you checked, you will not loose this unit from it. Fly out immediately, before the second shot kills you. Now you are free to fly in a bomber to kill the anti-air.

Some times people do only have air defenses in the front. In MAX air units are able to cross a flak range with one single flight, without being shot at at all! So you can just fly through into the back of your enemies undefended area.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 8

Using some clans. Today some insides in `s and `s missile advantage.

The range research is added on the basic level.

Ayers Handy and 7 Knights start with a range of 12. All other clans with 11. (By the way, you can get some notion of the enemies clan by looking at his units. For example does his scout has a better view, is faster - or etc. Everything which differs from the standard should give you a clue.)

you can calculate your research advantage simply with
<base value> + <base value> × %-value (without decimal places not rounded ) = new value
for example:
10% range research normal clan range basic 11 plus 1(,1) = 12 vs. + 12 plus 1(,2) = 13
20% range research normal clan range basic 11 plus 2(,2) = 13 vs. + 12 plus 2(,4) = 14
30% range research normal clan range basic 11 plus 3(,3) = 14 vs. + 12 plus 3(,6) = 15
…
50% range research normal clan range basic 11 plus 5(,5) = 16 vs. + 12 plus 6(,0) = 18 plus 2! Here comes the clan really to work!

Besides that Ayers main weapon is the missile crawler using from transport planes or the missile cruiser operating from dock chains. But both ways are expensive to play.

Furthermore your upgrade costs in gold refinery are lower.

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Subject: Re: strategy and tactics

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Post 12

Some various small ideas:

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Guns turrets are the answer to massive tank attacks. They are cheap, have the longer range and with a third shot kill tanks like flies, without being killed. Build gun-turrets-walls and your axis inc enemy will not succeed with tanks. Missileturrets are too expensive to keep up with the tank production.
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When You attack with submarins, add lots of personal carriers to the swarm. They could be build in small factories, so those could help You in Your waterattack and they are able to eat the corvette ammunition.
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