Offensive Strategies

Offensive Strategies
There are two main components to having a successful offensive strategy: the deciding of your army composition and order of deployment, and the use of the Gunboat's special abilities.

Gunboat

The Gunboat has special abilities that can aid and support your troops. It should be noted, however, that all damaging abilities and the stun ability allow for friendly fire.

The most often used are Artillery and Barrage. Both of these deal damage to the opponent's buildings. It is often a good idea to destroy key defenses like Rocket Launchers and Boom Cannons before deploying troops. However, this order may change based on the types of troops you plan to deploy. It should be noted that shells from both of these deal splash damage to enemy buildings; two or more buildings that touch can be damaged by one shell.

For armies consisting of lower-health units, such as Zookas and Riflemen, defensive buildings should be targeted in this order (with Artillery and/or Barrages), with number one taking the highest precedence:

1. Rocket Launchers, due to high range and splash damage. A single series of shots may be able to wipe out most of an army that consists of low health units.
2. Shock Launchers, due to their long range and wide splash radius. One shot can immobilize and damage large parts of your army.
3. Mortars, due to splash damage, and capability to one hit Zookas with their long range.
4. Flamethrowers, due to their ability to inflict high damage to multiple units as well as their damage over time effect.
5. Sniper Towers, due to ability to one-shot lower-health units and relatively quick shooting speed. Not as dangerous to low-health units as some other defensive buildings, however.
6. Cannons are essentially smaller Boom Cannons with a slightly higher rate of fire, and are therefore destroyed for the same reasoning. If the Cannon in question can one-shot the troop(s) you plan to deploy, it may be advisable to prioritize the Cannon over a Boom Cannon, as they have similar health and the Cannon shoots faster (and will therefore kill more of your troops).
7. Machine Guns are able to make short work of low health units, especially at close range, but a Heavy or multiple Heavies will easily solve the problem.
8. Boom Cannons can easily one-hit kill a low health unit, but swarming this defensive structure with enough units will easily make waste of it.

For armies that rely on high health units, such as Heavies and Tanks, defensive buildings should be targeted in this order (with Artillery and/or Barrages), with number one taking the highest precedence:

1. Boom Cannons' long range and high damage allow them to pick of your high health units one by one, severely crippling your army.
2. Cannons also deal high damage to high health units and can eat away at them quite well, but their shorter range prevents them from getting off as many shots before being destroyed, so they should be prioritized after Boom Cannons.
3. Shock Launchers can stop your army in its tracks which gives other defenses more time to damage it.
4. Rocket Launchers have extremely long range and decent DPS splash damage which allows them to pummel all of your Troops for a long time. Also, if your Heavies get in its blind spot, it will begin killing your fragile Zookas which have a range longer than the Rocket Launcher's blind spot.
5. Sniper Towers deal decent, long range damage to your Troops. Given enough time, they can severely damage your high health Troops, but their higher than normal health makes them less advantageous to take out with Gunboat Weaponry.
6. Mortars have shots that fall slowly which may cause them to shoot over your Heavies as they move up which may lead to a chunk of your Zookas dying.
7. Flamethrowers can deal high damage to chunks of Troops if they are allowed to, but their short range hinders their ability to shoot at your Troops long enough to make a big difference. Tanks can even destroy it without it hitting any of them because Tanks have a longer attack range than the Flamethrower.
8. Machine Guns do such low, inaccurate damage, they are a very low threat to high health units.

Another extremely important ability is the Flare, previously known as the signal smoke. This ability is used to guide troops towards a designated location or to attack a specific building. The careful utilisation of the Flare is a good way to destroy the opponent's defensive buildings like the Sniper Tower and the Cannon that can only shoot one target at once. It should be noted, however, that the Flare can be used in conjunction with the Shock Bomb to facilitate a Warrior rush at the HQ.

Both the Shock Bomb and the Smoke Screen allow troops a chance at not being hit by defenses. The main difference, however, is that the Smoke Screen protects troops from enemy fire within its area of effect (allowing troops to move through it but not shoot), while the Shock Bomb disables defenses within its area of effect. It is recommended to use these to disable and/or avoid the effect of high damage or splash damage units, depending on what army composition is used.

Troops can be healed with use of the Medkit. It should be noted that although it can be used to counteract the damage of splash damage defenses like the Mortar, Machine Gun and Flamethrower, it does not do much to counteract the damage of single-target defenses, especially at higher levels. They are particularly useful when dealing with Flamethrowers, as it deals damage to troops even after it has stopped shooting flames at them.

Common Offensive Maneuvers

Meatshielding

A meat shield is when you use high health troops in your front line of attack to defend your back line of high damage troops. The most common type of meatshield army is the Heavy-Zooka or Hooka army. This is very useful against medium-level bases with few high-dps single-shot defenses.

Rushing

Usually used with Riflemen, attackers overwhelm opposing defenses with the sheer number of troops deployed. Single-shot defenses are usually no match for this army, but Mortars, Flamethrowers, and Rocket Launchers can damage and take out many troops at once.

Sniping

A base that is laid out with the HQ at the very back of the map is vulnerable to being sniped. By sending in Heavies or Riflemen around enemy defenses with Flares, an HQ with few defenses behind it is vulnerable to attack from the tree-covered regions behind the base. Use this to your advantage.

HQ Rushing

Usually used with Warriors, Flaring the HQ and supporting them with Smoke Screens and Shock Bombs, the Warriors quickly destroy the HQ because of their high damage. AOE (area of effect) and splash damage is usually healed back by the Warriors, but high level Boom Cannons, Cannons and Sniper Towers can 1 shot or 2 shot them so remember to Shock Bomb these defenses.

Flanking

The usage of Flares to avoid certain parts of the base due to powerful defenses being in that area. It can be used by all army compositions (except for Smokey Warriors), and sometimes also involves the usage of Smoke Screens to prevent defenses like Sniper Towers from taking out low-health troops like Zookas.

Troop Capabilities

Rifleman

Troop size:	1
Survivability:	★ ★
Attack distance:	★ ★ ★ (medium distance, longer than the Heavy)
Attack speed​​:	★ ★ ★ ★ (fast)
Movement speed​​:	★ ★ ★
Covering ability:	★ ★ ★
Defense counters:	Shock Launchers, Flamethrowers, Mortars, Rocket Launchers, Mines
Recommended with:	Medic, Zooka, Tank, Heavy
Recommended weaponry:	Medkits, Shock Bombs, Flares, Smoke Screens

Evaluation: As long as there is a lot of them, they can crush everything. They are not afraid of single-target defenses like the Cannon, Boom Cannon and even Sniper Tower. If you use Shock Bombs to shock AOE defenses, then they can quickly destroy most of the enemy buildings, but the Rifleman's primary disadvantage is that victory often comes at a painful price. Still, because they are weak against Mines and AOE defenses, the offensive rhythm must be fast. Using the Medic as a support troop for Riflemen is very effective because they can heal the Riflemen quickly.

Summary: If you have good assists for them, Riflemen are a promising troop. From the covering ability point of view, if they can effectively cover other troops without coming under heavy attack themselves, their covering ability is quite good (ranked second to the Heavy among all troops).

Heavy

Troop size:	4
Survivability:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Attack distance:	★ ★ (close-up, in order to give the other troops cover)
Attack speed​​:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (very fast)
Movement speed​​:	★ ★ ★
Covering ability:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Defense counters:	Cannons, Boom Cannons, Sniper Towers, Boom Mines.
Recommended with:	Zookas, Tanks, Riflemen
Recommended weaponry:	Barrage, Artillery, Shock Bombs, Flares.

Evaluation: They are the meat shields in the game. Heavies have very high health so using a all-Heavy army isn't a bad choice, but watch out for Cannons and Boom Cannons. Their only major disadvantage is their short attack distance and low damage, so they must stay together to be effective. Overall they are excellent troops, and their casualty rates are typically low when used correctly. Their covering ability is very good, and you can quickly push to the HQ while covering Zookas; they are also good covering for Tanks because of the Tank's longer range.

Summary: A very good meat shield.

Zooka

Troop size:	2
Survivability:	★
Attack distance:	★ ★ ★ ★ (long)
Attack speed​​:	★ ★ (slow)
Movement speed:	★ ★
Covering ability:	★
Defense counters:	Sniper Towers, Mortars, Rocket Launchers, Machine Guns, Mines
Recommended with:	Heavies, Riflemen
Recommended weaponry:	Shock Bomb, Barrage, Artillery

Evaluation: Zookas take up only two spaces each on Landing Crafts and they have high damage. The strategy of "Heavies+Zookas" is the one of the most effective strategies for the Zooka, as you can use the Zooka's high damage to destroy the enemy's defenses while the Heavies absorb the damage. The Zooka's primary disadvantage is their extremely low health; Zookas stand no chance once their covering troops are dead, so when using Zookas you must destroy the HQ before the covering troops die. Zookas have a longer range than the Flamethrower, so they can destroy it without being harmed. Flares do not work well with Zookas because of their slow moving speed.

Summary: High damage and low health. They can overwhelm a base but must be protected from enemy fire.

Warrior

Troop size:	3
Survivability:	★ ★ ★ (attacking buildings can heal them)
Attack distance:	★ (melee)
Attack speed​​:	★ ★ ★ (medium)
Movement speed​​:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (very fast)
Covering ability:	★ ★
Defense counters:	Flamethrowers, Machine Guns, Shock Launchers, Cannons
Recommended with:	More Warriors
Recommended weaponry:	Shock Bomb, Smoke Screen, Flare, Medkit

Evaluation: Warriors are best used in large numbers to "steal" an HQ; their high movement speed can let them run through defenses quickly, and with the use of Smoke Screens they can get to the HQ essentially unharmed. Once they reach it, the use of Medkits and Shock Bombs can help them destroy it quickly. The primary disadvantages of this troop are its very short attack distance and its vulnerability when it is on the move.

Summary: Fast and self-healing, the Warrior acts as its own covering troop.

Tank

Troop size:	8
Survivability:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Attack distance:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (long)
Attack speed​​:	★ (slow)
Movement speed:	★ (slow)
Covering ability:	★ (most likely the troop being covered)
Defense counters:	Cannons, Boom Cannons, Sniper Towers, Boom Mines
Recommended with:	Heavies, Riflemen, Medics
Recommended weaponry:	Artillery, Barrage, Shock Bomb, Medkit, Flare

Evaluation: Tanks need good support and you must have high energy and advanced Artillery in order to be successful. Its primary advantage is its ability to destroy someone's spread-out firepower one by one using its high damage and long range. Unfortunately there are many defenses that counter the Tank, and it moves extremely slowly. Overall its performance is fairly good, and with Heavies you can destroy a base with high-level Cannons and Sniper Towers. With the Medic, you can attack bases with high AOE damage.

Summary: Although the Tank has very high health, its slow movement speed makes it a sitting duck without cover.

Medic

Troop size:	5
Survivability:	★ ★ ★ ★ (they will heal each other)
Healing distance:	★ ★
Healing speed​​:	★ ★ ★ ★
Movement Speed​​:	★ ★ ★
Covering ability:	★ ★ ★ ★ (they cover from behind)
Recommended with:	Riflemen, Tanks, Heavies
Recommended weaponry:	Any (depends on who you want them to heal)

Evaluation: Do not underestimate the Medic. It is a very strong troop; with them you can basically ignore groups of AOE damage. Medics pay no attention to Flares themselves, as they will always follow behind your troops.

Summary: A very effective complement to any army, but it has no offensive capabilities itself.

Grenadier

Troop size:	6
Survivability:	★ ★ ★ (not many defenses can hit him, but has low health)
Attack distance:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (very long)
Attack speed:	★ ★
Movement speed:	★ ★ ★
Covering ability:	★
Defense counters:	Boom Cannons, Rocket Launchers, Sniper Towers
Recommended with:	Medics, Tanks
Recommended weaponry:	Artillery, Medkit, Shock Bomb, Barrage

Evaluation: Grenadiers are great to use both on their own and with Medics or Tanks by their side. Because their grenades are capable of damaging troops it needs a long-range complement or else they will do lots of friendly fire to your army. The inaccuracy of Grenadiers makes them very unpredictable and decreases their effective damage output. Their extremely long range allows them to outrange most Defensive Buildings, but they are likely to miss a lot unless they are Flared closer to their target.

Summary: They are unpredictable, but they are one of the only troops to deal area damage, and have such a long range.

Scorcher

Troop size:	21
Survivability:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (extremely high health)
Attack distance:	★ ★
Attack speed:	★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Movement speed:	★ ★ ★
Covering ability:	★ ★ ★ ★
Defense counters:	Boom Cannons, Cannons, Boom Mines
Recommended with:	Grenadiers, Tanks, Zookas
Recommended weaponry:	Artillery, Shock Bomb, Barrage

Evaluation: Scorchers are decent to use both on their own and great to use with long range troops by their side. However, they take up so much housing space, only those with high-level Landing Crafts (at least level 17) can fit them in. They require a lot of Gunboat Energy to deploy (12), and as such, Gunboat support will be hindered early on in the battle. They can replace Heavies as a meatshield, but beware of Mines that can slip past the Scorchers and damage your DPS troops. Buildings attacked by the Scorcher catch fire and take additional damage over time, but they won't get scorched for long - the Scorcher switches targets every once in a while.

Summary: Although it takes a lot of housing space and Energy to use, the expenses to bring Scorchers onto the battlefield are well worth it.

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