Introduction to War

*By Derath*

## **Introduction**

So I imagine the only reason anyone is reading this is because they want to become a more effective fighter. So as a seasoned fighter I feel it’s my job to offer any advice and understanding I have on the content. That being said: This is my thoughts on what pushed a fighter from one level of fighting to another.

***Let me hash out some terminology I use a lot:***

1. **The Line** – A line of shields men defending all other styles of fighters. This is a standard formation for engaging enemies.
2. **War Situation** – Any battle where a line forms and there are tangible objectives. All kinds of equipment are present and there is a lot to look out for.
3. **Duels** – One on one fight.
4. **Skirmish Situation** – Less organized free flowing battles where ‘mobs’ of people move across the field instead of forming war-lines.
5. **Sniping** – Attacking an opponent in a way that is to minimalize any counter attack. Usually the person being sniped is unaware.
6. **Unsafe Approach** - Where a fighter overextends or sacrifices defensive options for an offensive one, often leaving them exposed for a counter-attack.
7. **Punish** - The counter attack intended to kill/maim after an opponents' unsafe approach.

## Skill Level

(no surprise they coincide with our current rank system!)

1. **New/nub/scrub** – Pawns. Generally undisciplined and untrained flailing fodder. Leaving this level is generally just by having a slight idea what you’re trying to accomplish in a fight.
2. **Below Average** – Grunts. My standards are higher than most people’s general standards in Dagorhir. At this level I feel the fighter has a basic grasp of at least one style and can function in a way that is threatening to most opposition. Fighters at this level probably don’t really know what to do in a war and are most likely too unconfident to understand when to capitalize on favorable situations. Most grunts, to me, become grunts because they stop swinging wildly and are actually aiming! To leave this level of fighting you’d really have to focus on learning one style of fighting and have that experience bleed over into all your fighting styles.
3. **Average** – Footmen. This stage is very versatile because you’ll have average fighters that do really well with their weapon style but may have absolutely no concept of what to do in a war situation. Footmen usually stagnate because they lose sight of the fact that they are in fact not great fighters, they are just average. You see a lot of hurt egos at this level of fighting and that can be dangerous to your ability to get better. Only fighters who stay humble and devoted to excelling ever leave this level.
4. **Above Average** – Vanguards. Some Footmen actually figure out that their style that brought them to the footman level is only good for beating up lowly grunts and pawns. Vanguards are people I usually expect to make Knight at some point. What I see from Vanguards (and notably Footmen that just need a lucky break in their Vanguard test) is that they have finally grasped what you need to be doing in a war situation. Most have come to understand their weaknesses and developed techniques to compensate accordingly. Exiting this level is just staying the path of training and understanding.
5. **Elite** – Knights. The big difference between a Knight and a Vanguard is execution of style and a deep understanding of what it means to capitalize on a favorable situation. Dedicated training is required to make it here. There has never been a single Knight who didn’t in their prime practice at least twice a week and sometimes in the upwards of 4-5 times a week. They figured out something simple: one approach DOES NOT work for every encounter and what you did to kill grunts isn’t going to help you kill good fighters.
6. **Above Elite** – Champions. Pushing into above elite levels is what I like to think of as ‘half-mastery’. The only real difference between a Knight and a Champion is that a Champion probably has a style that is so refined it can consistently kill Knights. The mental game of a champion is nothing greater than a Knights game; it’s all about refinement of style. At the time I write this: I am the only Champion BUT I consider Hrazlinne to also fight at this level in many styles.
7. **Mastery** – Warlords. Nobody has achieved this as far as I have ever observed. But this is the ultimate goal is to get to a point where you cannot improve. As you can imagine this is an impossible goal, but it will keep your training fresh and focused. The most elite fighters understand that there are areas that they really need to improve on. No style/technique is flawless and it’s this understanding that simple idea that will help to humble your approach on improving.

### So figure out where you stand on that list and think about what it means to try to push yourself to the next level!

The first step is to identify what kind of a fighter you want to be. And this isn’t me saying “what do you want to use?” Every fighter has a type, or a niche that they employ often in most if not all of their weapon styles. Obviously nobody is drafted into just one category exclusively, but thinking about your purpose on the line is very important.

* **Aggressive** – As you might have concluded, these fighters are BIG on offense. These fighters are always pushing the line and gaining ground for their team. Without these fighters, wars would stagnate into silly displays of extravagant sniping attempts. Lack of aggression is what makes archers seem so devastating.
* **Defensive** – These fighters are often lovingly nicknamed ‘tanks’. They are there to hold ground and defend the aggressive fighters. Without these fighters, the line would crumble so fast that there would be no hope of anyone surviving more than a few seconds. But getting too caught up in being defensive can open you up to heavy projectile fire where you’ll just eventually succumb to it.
* **Support** – These fighters ensure the line functions and all their teammates are considered before any action is taken. I like to think of support fighters as the most calculated of fighters. Without support fighters there would be no check on aggressive fighters and all battles would consist of heavy pushing without opposition.

## Picking a Weapon Style

I cannot stress enough… When you decide on a weapon style to focus on as a ‘main style’: think about how that weapon works in a line and what your overall role would be. I have a brief list of what weapons generally do in wars.

*(I say brief because I can’t cover every aspect of every weapon here or the sub-sections of every weapon group)*

* **Reds** – Reds are the counter balance to shields. They break shields and therefore gain ground for their team. With a red weapon you would work closely with a buddy shields-man to break as many enemy shields as you can. You’ll struggle against enemy pikes and ranged weapons because they have a very effective means of attack against you.
* **Shields** – Shields are versatile in the fact that they can be used to hold ground (most common use) or to aggressively plow and take ground. Shields have this incredible passive advantage over most other weapon styles in the sense that your shield protects you from anything anyone can throw at you without you having to actively stop it. In a line Shields will really have a hard time killing anything but each other. But if a handful of shields can get a good charge going, it is the most powerful thing in Dagorhir. This kind of pushing is so effective that it is often the only way objectives are taken. Being a good shield-man will mean that you understand that there are times when you need to push.
* **Spears/Pikes** – Spears and pikes are usually there to just pick off people who aren’t paying attention to them. The big strength of this style is that you can sit back and attack without putting yourself in as much danger as every other melee style would be in. Spears counter Reds very well and decimate shields if they are being too defensive. Using a spear is probably the easiest way to be effective in a line.
* **Ranged Weapons** – Ranged weapons really only have power if lines are stable. This usually only refers to archers…but there are other ranged styles. The best thing for an archer is if the lines are not aggressive and they stay defensive. The game shifts from melee power to “who can shoot the other team first”.  They counter just about everything but struggle with shields.
* **Dual Weapons** – Dual weapons application outside of duels is so limited I don’t even like putting it here on the list. Picking this as a primary style in my opinion is self-sabotage for improving your game as a fighter. They cannot function well in lines and can only really shine in flanks that don’t have a stable line. While not a terrible style to train in, have no misconceptions of the limitations in a war situation.
* **Single Blue** – Much like dual weapon fighters, this style finds itself ineffective on the line. The most effective use of a single blue fighter is to be a support fighter who gathers ammo and assassinates enemies attempting to back-shot your line. Learning this style is fun and can help you to master other styles, but do not expect to be nearly as effective as other fighters using better suited equipment.

### What should you expect to face?

Most of the fighters you will encounter will use shields. So a common practice with any style is to get used to the idea of fighting against shields. This kind of training focus will ensure that you stay effective in the Antioch War efforts.

## General Rules of War

The biggest tip to being a great fighter is deceptively simple: Stay Active!

This simply means don’t just stand around and take up space. Actively try to gain as much ground as you can through aggressive or supportive means. The only time you should be hyper-defensive is if you have an objective you need to hold!

 Coordinate with teammates and capitalize on countering their equipment with your own. The more you stand around, the more likely you’ll be shot and killed without doing a damn thing. Having that happen to you is bad for your team and can really cost you the battle. Not to mention you aren’t pushing your abilities in war to become more acclimated with reacting to the diverse array of situations you’ll encounter. Standing around and getting shot is the stuff we expect pawns to do. Don’t be that guy.

So when you’ve finally figured out there is a real connection between being good and being active in battle… You need to understand exactly who you should be active against! Target priority is a HUGE DEAL. If you want to win, following this priority is ESSENTIAL. So when given the chance to kill an enemy you should almost always follow this formula:

1. **Ranged Fighters** – If ever given a chance to take out a ranged fighter (assuming they have ammunition) it is best to do so. Archers will kill countless people if left unchecked. The big problem your team will have against a team that employs ranged fighters is the more passive or defensive you are: the more damage ranged fighters will do to you. This high priority is only if it’s an easy target. Don’t spend the whole game ignoring everything else.
2. **Spears/Pikes** – Pikes can do the most damage for the least amount of work, they greatly inhibit the offensive power of a line and should take priority. Pikes will kill ten times what any shield will in a single life.
3. **Reds** – Red weapons go next, because they will break your line with minimal opposition. Reds will kill five times what any shield will in a single life.
4. **Shields** – Once a shield line is without any supporting fighters such as pikes or reds, they crumble so fast you’d almost forget they were shieldsmen. A pure line of shields has no way to contest a mixed group of shields, reds, and pikes.
5. **Everyone Else** – This priority could almost share a spot with shields but hopefully you understand what targets you should pick!

## Situations in War

So here are some situations you will undoubtedly find yourself in.

#### **The enemy team has a stable line and projectile support**

This is something I see our chapter failing miserably at counteracting every practice. The only way to overcome this kind of setup is to keep trying to gain ground and push the lines into states of total combat. When this high activity fighting occurs: one line will inevitably collapse very quickly and the projectile fire will become ineffective.

#### **The enemy team does not have a solid shield wall**

The best thing you can do to a group of fighters who do not have shields is to initiate a shield charge. Unshielded fighters can’t hope to contest a powerful shield charge and the amount of ground gained is usually game breaking. The worst thing you could do is fight one another at max melee range, because in this setup they will undoubtedly pick your entire line down into nothing.

#### **The enemy team only has shields**

This is one of the very few times where it’s a good idea to be less aggressive and slowly gain ground by moving your shield line forward inch by inch. When you do this: your pikes, reds, and projectiles can easily destroy the shield line with no opposition at all.

## Above all else…

The most important thing to remember is that you’re only as good as your team. If you see a teammate not acting and functioning properly it is your job to communicate with them and get them where they need to be. If you’re not communicating with your team, it doesn’t matter how good you are: you **WILL** lose the battle.