Ogre_Wars_-_Beginner's_Guide,_Part_2

<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>A Beginner's Guide to Ogre Wars, Part 2<br /></strong></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Originally written by <a href="members/vyeh.html">vyeh</a>, adapted by <a href="members/awesomedrako.html">awesomedrako</a></span></span></strong></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">continued</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> from </span></span></em><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="wiki.php?page=Ogre_Wars_-_Beginner%27s_Guide"><em>Beginner's Guide to Ogre Wars</em></a></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="wiki.php?page=Ogre_Wars_-_Beginner%27s_Guide"><em>
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><a name="attack coordination"></a>5. </strong><strong>Coordinate attacks.</strong></span><br /><br />The other keystone (the first one is maximizing positional advantage or minimizing positional disadvantage) to my tactics is engaging a single defender with two or more attackers.<br /><br />Suppose you have two attackers that can achieve losing 1-2 odds on a single defender and all three start with 1000 troops. This is a scenario that could happen.<br /><br />Call the two attackers A and B and the defender is X.<br /></span></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A attacks X at 1-2 losing odds. A loses 12% of 1000 and X loses 8% of 1000.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 880 troops, B has 1000 troops and X has 920 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now B attacks X at 1-2 odds. B loses 12% of 920 and X loses 8% of 1000.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 880 troops, B has 890 troops and X has 840 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now B attacks X at 1-2 odds. B loses 12% of 840 and X loses 8% of 890.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 880 troops, B has 790 troops and X has 769 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 769 and X loses 8% of 880.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 788 troops, B has 790 troops and X has 699 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now B attacks X at 1-2 odds. B loses 12% of 699 and X loses 8% of 790.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 788 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 636 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 636 and X loses 8% of 788.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 712 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 573 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 573 and X loses 8% of 712.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 644 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 517. Note that B can no longer attack X as X has less than 75% of B's troop strength.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 517 and X loses 8% of 644.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 582 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 466 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 466 and X loses 8% of 582.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 527 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 420 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 420 and X loses 8% of 527.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 477 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 378 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 378 and X loses 8% of 477.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 432 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 340 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 340 and X loses 8% of 432.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 392 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 306 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 306 and X loses 8% of 392.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 356 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 275 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 275 and X loses 8% of 356.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 323 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 247 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 247 and X loses 8% of 323.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack, A has 294 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 222 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 247 and X loses 8% of 294.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack A has 265 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 199 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now A attacks X at 1-2 odds. A loses 12% of 199 and X loses 8% of 265.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After the attack A has 242 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 178. Note that A can no longer attack X!</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now suppose X attacks A at 2-1 odds. A loses 12% of 178 or 21 troops (8.6% of A's troop strength) and X loses 8% of 242 or 19 troops (10.6% of X's troop strength).</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After this hypothetical counterattack, A has 221 troops, B has 707 troops and X has 159 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If X counterattacked again at 2-1 odds, A would lose 12% of 159 or 19 troops (8.6%) and X would lose 8% of 221 or 17 troops (10.6%).</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After this hypothetical counterattack, A would have 202 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 142 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Another hypothetical counterattack: A would lose 12% of 142 troops or 17 troops and X would lose 8% of 202 troops or 16 troops. A would have 185 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 126 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Another hypothetical counterattack (X is really angry and keeps hitting the attack key): A would lose 12% of 126 troops or 15 troops and X would lose 8% of 185 troops or 14 troops. A would have 170 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 112 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Again (X is very angry): A would lose 12% of 112 troops or 13 troops and X would lose 8% of 170 troops or 13 troops.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>Now X is losing as many troops as A!</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>A would have 157 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 99 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Again: A would lose 12% of 99 or 11 troops and X would lose 8% of 157 or 12 troops.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>X has lost more troops than A!</strong>. A would have 146 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 87 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Again: A would lose 12% of 87 or 10 troops and X would lose 8% of 146 or 11 troops. A would have 136 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 76 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Again: A would lose 12% of 76 troops or 9 troops and X would lose 8% of 136 or 10 troops. A would have 127 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 66 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Again: A would lose 12% of 66 troops or 7 troops and X would lose 8% of 127 or 10 troops. A would have 120 troops, B would have 707 troops and X would have 56 troops.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">At this point, we need to consider the minimum troop rule. A further attack would take X below 50 troops. On the next cycle, X would be restored to 50 troops. X could continue attacking A and bring A down to the minimum troop level.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong>What is the point of this?</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>All three players started at 1000. A has lost 880 troops, B has lost 293 troops and X has lost 944 troops, so A and B's nation has lost more troops.<br /><br />The point is that after X has grown tired of counterattacking A, A recruits back to B's level and X chases after A (staying below 75% of A). While A and X are recruiting, B is converting turns to gold and buying more offense or more defense. Once A has met up with B, X now has to stay 75% below B and A can build more offense and defense.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br /><br />If X is not a Gold Beast, X can only convert turns to gold at 75% of the rate at which A and B does and eventually, A and B can increase their offense to the point where they could make losing 1-1 attacks and then maybe winning 1-1 attacks. (Even if X is a Gold Beast with the +25% income bonus, X could convert turns to gold at only 93.75% of the rate A and B.)<br /><br />The key lesson:<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>It is possible for two weaker players to take down a single stronger player if they work together and they are patient.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>I deliberately used the two players who could only muster 1-2 losing attacks to make the point and to also bring up the concept of the minimum troop level.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><a name="weapons + training levels"></a>6. Mix buying weapons or armor with buying training levels.</strong></span><br /><br />The formula for calculating offense or defense is: </span></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">(1 + nation bonus)(1 + sum of the powers of all weapons or armor)(1 + training level bonus) + number of troops + 1 </span></span></strong></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If you have a single weapon or a single armor, the number of troops will be insignificant.<br /><br />Take a look at your offense or defense before you buy a weapon or armor. Then buy that weapon or armor. Take a look at how much your offense or defense increases.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>If you buy a second weapon or armor, your offense or defense will increase by the same amount.</strong><br /><br />Figure out what the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>percentage increase</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>in your offense or defense is. Divide that percentage increase by the cost in gold. Call that number weapon or armor purchasing power.<br /><br />Now calculate the percentage increase for buying a training level. (If you currently having a 20% bonus and you are contemplating buying the next level of 40%, the percentage increase is (140% - 120%)/120%.) Divide that percentage increase by the cost in gold. Call that number training purchasing power.<br /><br />Ideally, you would want to buy a new level of training when the training purchasing power exceeded the weapon or armor purchasing power. There might be other considerations, like the inability to save up the gold because you could be attacked and lose.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><a name="spies"></a>7. Fire your spies.</strong></span><br /><br />At low levels, spies are a drain on your natural gold income and they do not provide much intel. Each spy adds 1% to the intel accuracy. If you have 5 spies (the starting allotment) and you conduct a spy mission against someone that has no spies, it will cost you 1 turn and you will have a successful spy mission. However, you will only get 5% intel accuracy.<br /><br /><strong>This 5% is deceptive.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>The amount of gold, the offense value and the defense value of the enemy are<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>independently</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>randomized ranging from 5% of the true value to 195% of the true value.<br /><br />If the enemies offensive rating is 1000, defensive rating is 1000 and gold is 1000, your spies will report values for these ratings ranging from 50 to 1950.<br /><br />If your spy reports a value of 1000, the true value could be anything from 513 to 20000. So if the 1000 represents the spy reported defensive value, you would know the enemy has at least 513 defense but could have up to 20,000 defense. Unless you have a very weak offense (&lt; 1000) and realize you shouldn't attack, this doesn't help you in deciding whether to attack!<br /><br />For 50 spies, the case is better. If the real value is 1000, the reported value ranges from 500 to 1500.<br /><br />If the reported value is 1000, the real value ranges from 667 to 2000. Now you are in a better position to decide whether to attack.<br /><br /><strong>Note that if you have a battle report, the number provided has the same variability as a spy mission with 50 spies.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>So if you already have attacked the enemy, you have a number equivalent to a 50 spy mission. Better yet, if someone in your nation has attacked the enemy and posted the battle report, you have that number without spending the gold to purchase spies or using the turn to run a spy report. And posting battle reports doesn't cost the other person any gold or turns.<br /><br />For 100 spies, the reported value is the real value.<br /><br />In addition to 5 spies providing little guidance in attacking, each spy costs 1 gold per cycle (there are 4 cycles in an hour). For a small village, the natural gold income of 10 gold per cycle (13 in the case of the Gold Beasts) is significant in building up offense or defense.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>So fire those spies.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Do spies have any use?</strong><br /><br />Yes, but you only need one spy master per alliance. The other members of the alliance can benefit from the spy reports without investing in spies or paying the spy's maintenance.<br /><br />Since spies cost the same regardless of village size and any village can attempt a spy mission on any other village regardless of size, the largest village in a coalition can purchase spies with fewer turns and conduct spy missions for one turn per mission and report the results to the other villages.<br /><br />It is a great way for larger villages to help smaller villages. A 100% accurate spy report can determine which enemy villages have no offense that the smaller village can scamper by. In the last session, there was this one opponent that focused only on defense, so we told some very weak villages that it was OK to go past him. (It would have been better for his nation in the long run if he had some offense so he could have stopped those villages; later, after converting gold at an advantage to him for a few weeks, they were able to help keep him contained.)<br /><br />For a larger village, the loss of natural income is insignificant. Most income comes from converting turns. There is a bug that makes spies even more attractive.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>Spies do not desert if there is not enough gold to pay them</strong>, despite what the text in the game says.<br /><br />In the last game, I invested in 2000 spies (there was an enemy village that had 1000+ spies and I really wanted to see that village's offense). That cost 100000 gold. Since I was at a 300000 troop cap, that was one third of the gold I got from converting 5 turns.<br /><br />After the mission, I waited for the spies to desert (I spent the rest of my gold on offense). They didn't. Since spies cost 50 gold and cost 1 gold per cycle,<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><strong>in the absence of the bug</strong>, it would make sense to fire the spies if I didn't expect to use them for 50 cycles (12.5 hours). However, those 2000 spies were only costing me my natural income of 10 gold per cycle. Since they cost 100000, I would only fire them if I didn't expect to use them for 2500 hours (over 100 days).<br /><br />Keeping them was very useful in preventing surprises. Enemies continue to convert turns into gold and buying offense and defense. We found that some of the enemy that had been purely defensive (and who might be expected to remain defensive since we were successfully attacking them frequently) had built up significant offense.<br /><br />Our strategy up to that point had been to pound the enemies with large offense (those enemy can choose to attack us; the purely defensive ones can't, so we can choose when we wish to engage in combat); this unexpected move could have been a surprise when one of our raiders was replenishing troops (part of our strategy was for raiders to return to the troop cap to increase their offense and defense to counter the increasing offense and defense of the enemy; you get more gold for turns the larger you are).<br /><br />Having the spies also helped when a crafty opponent sold a lot of defense and bought offense.<br /><br />If the enemy has spies, your spies and his spies battle it out. What is critical is the number of spies on both sides, the random factor which can change the strength of each side from 50% to 150% and the intel bonus.<br /><br />Suppose each side has 200 spies and the spying side has a +25% intel bonus and the target has none. Then the odds in the absence of the random factor would be 250 to 200.<br /><br />With the random factor, the spying side can range from 375 to 125 and the target can range from 300 to 100.<br /><br />Spy casualties are similar to combat casualties except you always lose a spy if there is any opposing spies. E.g. if you have 2000 spies and the other side has one spy, you both lose a spy.<br /><br />If there are any surviving spies in the target, you will not find out about the gold. If you win, you will find out about the offense, defense and gold (assuming there are no surviving spies).<br /><br />While a spy mission against you does not generate a PM (like attack raids against you do), you can see if there has been a spy mission by checking your defense history. Sometimes players will run spy missions before they attack.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><a name="largest/richest"></a>8. Use the largest villages and richest villages page.</strong><br /></span><br />You can glean some information from these two pages. Since you can't be attacked by anyone who has over 134% of your troop strength, you can figure out who you have to worry about.<br /><br />The richest villages pages can help identify good targets; it also identifies targets that have put less gold into their defense.<br /><br />You can identify players who have abandoned the game by pasting their name in place of "insertnamehere" in the following URL:<br /><br /><a href="members/ogreman.html">http://www.gameogre.com/forums/members/<strong>insertnamehere</strong>.html</a><br /><br />This is their public profile page and it tells you what their last activity date is.<br /><br />If they haven't been around for weeks, they may be a good target.<br /><br />You can identify who is logged in by looking at the bottom of the<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a style="color: #22229c;" href="http://www.gameogre.com/forums/" target="_blank">forum index</a><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>page.<br /><br />Sometimes it is better to attack someone who can't immediately respond. It will allow you to make preparations (e.g. use your winnings to buy defense).</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><a name="diplomacy"></a>9. Diplomacy is useful.</strong></span><br /><br />Communicate with players, both in and outside your nation. Trading information about a common enemy is mutually beneficial. The information doesn't cost the informing side and later the informed side may be able to reciprocate.<br /><br />A truce between two players with the same number of troops so they don't attack each other and weaken each other in the face of a common enemy may also be mutually beneficial.<br /><br />Other forms of diplomacy (truce between nations, cooperative attacks against the third nation) need to be done at the national level. Do participate in these discussions. This diplomacy can affect you. If there is a truce, you may be able to put more turns into recruiting and less into converting gold.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><a name="ogre wars forum"></a>10. Read the <a href="ogre-wars/">Ogre Wars forum</a>.</strong><br /></span><br />You can often learn what other players are doing. If you feel inclined, post. Please be civil. If you are upset because you have been attacked by another player, find a third player to attack him. Create alliances. For individual play, this game favors the player that has been active longest.<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong>However, cooperative action can negate this advantage.
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</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">If you haven't got the hint yet, the biggest tip would be to work together with your teammates. </span></strong></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally, we wish you good luck, and for you to have an enjoyable game.</span></strong></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong></strong><br /></span></span></p>