WaterWar.net

In this battle scenario you will be taking the role of a teams commander. The battle is one hit kills. Please respond as if you were briefing your team before battle: give directions of where each player will go, what they should attempt to do and and where needed the formation of any groups of your forces. you do not need to decide which player you are this is more about the teams overall plan. You may choose to respond as either the blue team or green team but it would be more interesting if you could respond for both teams.

The Map

the building is about 10m by 20m

Brown lines are impassable walls
dashed red lines are doors
Grey+Green circle is the green team's start
Grey+Blue circle is the blue team's start
dark blue dots are taps (players are venerable when re-filling)

random twist
The battle field is a toilet block (no member of the public is going to be using the facilities during this battle) but teams must obey normal etiquette. Players may not enter they yellow zone, with the exception of the Blue teams Shotblast user who may not enter the grey zone, she may only use this to travel though the building (no camping out of reach)

Blue Team
CPS 1000
Shotblast (can go through yellow but not grey)
Scatterblast #1 (+ 1 water balloon)
Scatterblast #2
Thunderstorm
Microburst

Green Team
Hydro-Power Sphinx
Colossus 2 #1 (+ 1 water balloon)
Colossus 2 #2
Colossus 2 #3
Triple Charge

So whats your plans?

This battle actually happened. So once people have responded with their plans I shall reveal how the actual battle went down from my point of view (i am the CPS 1000 on blue team)

Insufficient data a to form a plan, the outside would be more conducive to fighting and isn't mapped beyond the outside shape of the building and we know next to nothing about where the stalls and other obstacles are inside either.

Really weird and confusing rules of engagement here, and no specific definition on what the shot blaster user can do. If going through the building and the exit doorway gets swamped, the player has no choice but to stay inside out of reach or at least try to hold a statemate at the doorway.

Anyway, with that said, I'd have the team try to hold out the various chokepoints in the building. Definitely need to keep the weaker blasters at close quarters and the 1000 playing in the open. The Thunderstorm is kinda f***ed because of the trigger delay; not enough velocity, output, nor range to engage anything the other team has. Honestly, I'd have the water balloon guy pass the balloon to him, then use the magazine of the Thunderstorm to try to splash other players at close range. (That or have him play runner in the open, just trying to draw fire and keep attention away from the 1000.)

The CQB will be very intense and require tight play and close guard. CQB water wars share a lot of similarities with paintball, although the standoffs never really result in any eliminations.

Also, I think you might need some sort of objective inside the building, because there's a lot of potential for the fighting to happen rather far away from it. Water wars have a way of turning into inane maneuvering games and footraces that stray far from the starting points.

Apologies for the confusing scenario. I will try to improve things in subsequent scenarios

the area was flat and featureless, all the features (mostly the walls) are mapped here. The grey room was essentially empty and quite small, (the stalls are missing but there were only two and they offered no cover they filled the entire right wall - we did not allow players into the stalls), i don't know the layout of the yellow room as i never entered (nor does it matter as only one player can go in).

The rules regarding the shot blast player were simply and quickly defined at the time without much thought, she can't go in the grey room but can go into the yellow room but should try not to stay there for long. if one door was blocked by the enemy she was at liberty to go back the way she came to friendly territory, (if she was trapped there by the other team i think her teammates would have had to try to rescue her by clearing a door)

hopefully this helps you all make plans - if not i will just post the battle report and work on devising scenario #2

My green team strategy:

Every single blaster on this team is better than every single blaster on the blue team except the 1000. Therefore, I want to straight-up attack, bringing my full firepower against as many of their players at the same time as possible. I would give the water balloon to the Sphinx user and have them match up with the enemy CPS 1000. Try to eliminate him with the water ballon first, if that fails, then just hold him in a back and forth duel. Lots of shooting, lots of harassing, not even trying to hit the 1000 necessarily, just taking it out of the fight. Meanwhile, the rest of my team can enjoy their extreme firepower advantage and wipe out the rest of the green team. Then, if the 1000 is still alive, we'd all rush it with our numbers. If the 1000 gets into a position that covers his back or gets into one of those alcoves, then we'd just wait him out and force him to use up his water with pressing attacks that can only be repelled by shooting back.

My blue team strategy:

We're f*cked. Only the 1000 and Shot Blast are worth anything against what the green team has. I'd put those players in the open and put my others behind walls and corners. When the blue team attacks, I'd try to have the stronger blasters retreat and draw the enemy into ambushes. If they come around wide, those positions should be abandoned. In the open, the NSS users can still dodge and try to land a hit by unscrewing their reservoir caps and attacking with a whipping motion. The Microburst can be fired more effectively by unblocking the reservoir cap hole while pressurized and pointing that at the enemy. Hopefully, the guy with the water balloon can get a kill with it. The shot blast user can preserve their life by retreating into the yellow area and moving back and forth between the doors. The rules forbid camping, but they can still move slowly and quietly between doors and try to ambush at whichever door they hear people. I'd also want them to attack via unscrewing the reservoir cap and whipping the blaster, which would be quite effective around those doors. However, eventually there would probably be only the CPS 1000 left alive with at least 3 enemies. At that point, the 1000 user needs to head into the open and create space when the enemies try to rush. Running away when they attack, stringing them out, trying to get someone tired and getting a brief 1v1 opportunity. No shooting unless to kill, just creating space and being patient, not letting them bum rush all at once and waiting for the right moments for brief counter attacks.

Reading Duxburian's response was possibly even more entertaining than the scenario itself , and I love tactical scenarios.

Green Team (easier)
There's strength in numbers here. I would sweep around the grey building on the left side of the battlefield. This would keep us away from being ambushed from the green area (bushes?) or from the yellow building. I would also have us stay out of range of any windows or walls, so like 10m+ from the building so as not to get hit by any windows. Once we get on the bottom side of the map and get near where the grey and yellow buildings meet I'd have the Triple Charge (had to look up what that was) user turn around and watch our backs so as not to get ambushed by the shot blast (if I'm understanding the rules right). The Triple Charge will still be heading forward looking for the enemy with the rest of the team, but they will just lag a meter or 2 behind and be looking back to keep the team from being ambushed. If the enemy is spotted in the bushes we will surround them and take them out with our superior range. If the enemy splits up and tries to ambush us from various points then this plays to our advantage. The area outside the buildings is all open, so we can afford to stay away from the walls, find the enemy, isolate and destroy.

Blue Team (more difficult)
We have to take a gamble that the green team is either not very smart or lacks spacial awareness and attention to detail. If we can lure them into a mexican stand off and have the shot blast or someone else come up behind we can take them out. That role would be best suited to whoever is both athletic and has quick reaction. Hopefully it's not the CPS 1000 user because everyone will be looking for them. If this building can be climbed on then I would definitely consider making it so that one of my players can fire and then scale the wall (if there's any benches or something). For all of these reasons I'd probably stick with a defensive/counter attack plan. To go out in the open beyond the building would be suicidal unless we are immensely more athletic than the other team, so we will have to stay close by.

Final plan: I'll have everyone move back towards the bottom left quadrant of the map and use the building as a bit of a shield. If the enemy comes from the right (yellow side) I'll try to use the grey doorway wall to block and ambush them and I'll send the shot blast around the back of the building to come up through the yellow building and hit them from the flank. I would even send the thunderstorm around the entire building and attack from behind so long as it looks like no one is flanking us or going out of range of the building where they could spot our movements - which would be the appropriate thing for them to do. He'd be relying purely on surprise and coming from behind, so his weapon's inferior trigger speed wouldn't really matter, and if he got hit it would be the easiest lost to take. Perhaps taking their attention away for a second would result in turning their attention away and having our main force able to secure some hits. Hopefully the 1000 will take their attention and keep them off guard and cause them to be ambushed and eliminated by the flankers. If they were out of range, like my green plan, and didn't get ambushed we'd simply retreat through the buildings and plan another ambush. I'd use my 1000 to try to scour hits on rushing enemies, or I'd drop someone behind inside in the shadows or on the other side of the door if it looked like someone was chasing us into the grey building. Essentially have them think you're retreating, put out a trap, and then try to hit them. That's really all you can do.

I would love if some of the more experience posters could comment on my plan. I really want to see if my tactical skills are up to par with the best of the best out here. I have really gotten into watching the videos and reading the war stories lately and have been taking notes.

jja wrote:The battle field is a toilet block (no member of the public is going to be using the facilities during this battle) but teams must obey normal etiquette. Players may not enter they yellow zone, with the exception of the Blue teams Shotblast user who may not enter the grey zone, she may only use this to travel though the building (no camping out of reach)

That's actually pretty funny, haha. We did something like this at the MOAB community war in spring 2013, but we had no problem with using the ladies' room to our advantage. =P Though I don't think anyone actually went in there during the battle; just used the door as cover. But during downtime...


Hahaha. Anyway, I'll start with the Blue Team.

jja wrote:Please respond as if you were briefing your team before battle: give directions of where each player will go, what they should attempt to do and and where needed the formation of any groups of your forces.

SOLDIERS!!! Shut your pie holes and listen up!!! NEVER, in ALL MY LIFE, have I seen such a SORRY bunch of UGLY, GOOD FOR NOTHING HORSE TURDS!!! *spit flying everywhere* If we're going to win this thing, we need to get our rear in gear and show those greenies that we mean business! CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Now since you soggy fools obviously have no weaponry knowledge whatsoever, it looks like it's up to me to babysit y'all. Now here's what I want you to do...

-Shot Blast! You are to swap guns with Scatterblast #2, and dash through the ladies room to take up a position in the doorway on the far side.
-Scatterblast #1! Give your water balloon to Thunderstorm and dash into the men's room.
-Scatterblast #2! Take the Shot Blast and get over to the northwestern corner of the building.
-Thunderstorm! Take the water balloon and accompany Scatterblast #2, to provide intimidation.
-Microburst! Get to the bushes on the northeastern corner of the building.

I will take the CPS 1000 and join Scatterblast #2 (who now has the Shot Blast) and Thunderstorm (who now has the water balloon) on their flanking attack. This is going to be a very difficult fight. Ideally, those on the northeast corner can get a kill or two via ambush, while my attack squad can take out anyone who tries to go into the men's room, and engage people in the open. The water balloon user will not throw the balloon at first, but use it to keep the enemy at bay, and work with the 1000 and Shot Blast to try making some kills. It is imperative that I do not get hit, so I will use CPS 2000 tactics, and only strike when the opportunity presents itself. The Shot Blast has a high rate of fire, so it makes a good support weapon. The Thunderstorm user will only throw the balloon once enough enemies are out of the running, and a miss won't matter so much. The Scatterblasts and the Microburst should stick to close-quarters and avoid the open at all costs.

That's my starting plan. From there, there are endless possible outcomes, so I'm just going to stop here.

The Green Team of course has it much easier. Distract the 1000, and overcome the rest. I don't really need an elaborate plan for them.

Cochise wrote:I would love if some of the more experience posters could comment on my plan. I really want to see if my tactical skills are up to par with the best of the best out here. I have really gotten into watching the videos and reading the war stories lately and have been taking notes

Well for your Green Team plan, I think you have it backwards. The Blue Team actually has greater numbers (6 vs 5). Perhaps you meant strength in weaponry. Regardless, your strategy is pretty solid. It's not hard to come up with a plan for Green, haha.

Blue Team: I like your idea of climbing the building. I would've thought of that if I could see the building in real life, but seeing it drawn on a map just didn't give me that idea. It's weird. I'm pretty sure jja would've shown it if there was anything to climb on though. Going out in the open would not be a good idea for the weaker guns, but I wouldn't want everyone to hide. You still have the most powerful blaster on the field, and the Shot Blast ain't bad in this company either. Having everyone stick to the building gives the enemy team a higher chance of catching you off guard. Like you mentioned, catching them in a trap is probably the best thing you can do.

The problem with forming plans for these scenarios is that you kinda have to make a lot of assumptions. That's why I typically just come up with a starting strategy, then whatever happens, happens. I've never actually done this for a real war before; most of my planning is just quick and on the spot. The few times I have planned ahead, it was all about player matchups. I never took guns into account, and rarely had any maps. Just an interesting observation.

I suppose my initial response seriously lacked taking into account just how awful the Scatterblast is, as well as the triggering delay on the Shot Blast. Apparently Scatterblasts really cannot hit anything at all. (I'll have to look up shot videos to be sure; not wasting money/space on buying one though.)

Cochise wrote:I would love if some of the more experience posters could comment on my plan. I really want to see if my tactical skills are up to par with the best of the best out here. I have really gotten into watching the videos and reading the war stories lately and have been taking notes.

I hate to be that guy who says it, but the truth is that the only way to really get better is to play. Play as often as possible and come to the community water wars.

Definitely going to give this a serious reply once I get the time.

I really like the Scatter Blast... for like misting myself on hot days. You can fire it up in the air and the streams will break apart into mist which is really cool. It's almost useless in a real war, being only slightly better than an electrostorm or SS 10.

The Actual Battle Report

@Seal that picture is very similar to this battle field!

for 7 of the 11 players this was their first non-soakfest war. Also the battle started with out much planning for either teams, hence there are some tactical errors and mistakes by both teams. Italics text will be what was thinking at the time or in post analysis. to recap - I am the CPS 1000

phase 1


I move to go round the East of the building, Scatter blast #2 decides to accompany me. I tell him to take the south east corner and that i shall cover him. he has no chance in the open - i should be ok in the open unless there are 2-3+ enemies in which case i shall retreat back round the corner hopefully he might be able to ambush
Scatter blast #1 heads to the south door of the men's room as he likes a close quarters battle
The rest of my team (Shotblast Micro-burst and Thunderstorm) choose to go round to the west

The green team send the Triple charge and colossus 2 #2 round to the west
The sphinx and colossus 2 head to the north door of the men's room
Colossus 2 #3 heads to the East of the building i think he was scouting

phase


battle is quickly engaged and resolved on the West side:
Colossus 2 #2 takes out Microburst
Triple Charge takes out Thunderstorm
Shot blast manages to take out the Triple Charge but then dies to Colossus 2 #2

Battle in the men's room is a stalemate neither team makes a kill but scatter blast #1 manages to takes some ground pushing into the room

on the East side Colossus 2 #3 spots me and also scatter blast #2 (who is peaking round the corner). He realizes he is outmatched and backs up round the corner firing as he moves (he knows i am faster than him so running is not an option). I push up wide and tell scatter blast #2 to move up and take the north east corner.

phase 3


at the north east corner colossus 2 #3 is low on pressure from firing to cover his retreat, and no longer has the range to challenge me - he dodges my first shot but can't evade the second and goes down.

on the west side colossus 2 #2 is now alone having lost his team mate and eliminated all enemies - he moves down to the south side of the building

the Sphinx and Colossus 2 #1 decide to push into the building, their superior firepower easily forcing scatterblast #1 back - although somehow he evades the attack and falls back through the door. (he is lucky that colossus 2# 2 has already moved past and no longer has line of sight to the alcove of the south door of the men's room)

phase 4


the battle for the east side over quickly i decide to sprint round to the west side leaving scatter blast #2 behind, he takes the north ladies room alcove (I am hoping to hit the green team in the back as i think the battle is still contested on the west side). As I round the north west corner i glance into the north me'r room door but don't see anyone so I continue down the west side

the battle inside the men's room is a stand off once again and no-one make any progress

on the south side colossus 2 #2 continues to move round to the east

phase 5


inside the men's room the sphinx and colossus 2 #1 fall back (i think they heard me running behind them) scatter blast #1 takes the opportunity to push forward into the room

as i round the south west corner i again glance at the door and see no-one (i am quite confused as to where everyone is) so i continue to the south side. I spot colossus 2#2 out of range and walking east ]he hasn't seen me - time for stealth mode! i move as quietly as i can across the loose rocky surface - closing the distance.

scatter blast #2 holds position in the alcove

phase 6


Colossus 2 #2 has no idea i am there till my shot hits him between the shoulder blades from nearly point blank(overly risky but i was sure i could get him before he could turn around. I was so excited when i pulled this off)

the mens room is a standoff between colossus 2 #1 and scatter blast #1

Sphinx and Scatter blast #2 are unaware of each other and hold their positions

phase 7


Colossus 2 #1 opts to flank round the building at the same time scatter blast #1 pushes though the room - they miss each other and swap places

I am so confused ii have done a complete lap of the building and only seen 2 enemies. where is everyone? i sprint to the north east corner of the building and spot the Sphinx moving north Alone. we must be the last 2 left i haven't seen anyone else but then i scatter blast #2 and i spot each other, he rushes to my side. i point out the sphinx and tell scatter blast #2 "i think he is the last one. stick with me we'll take him down together"
together we move to attack.

phase 8


Sphinx falls back quickly. scatter blast #2 and i push forward (i have to make this kill, but i must be careful - if i go down i hand the game to the green team). Then scatter blast #1 appears at the north west corner, I call him "Sphinx is the last one - help us take him out!" he replies "no colossus 2 #1 is still alive." before i can say anything he dashes back south.

phase 9


i engage the sphinx scatter blast #2 stays with me but hang back i need to make this kill now - before colossus 2 #1 takes out scatter blast #1. I don't want to risk fighting a colossus 2 and a sphinx at the same time with only a scatter-blast as back up i move forward rapidly shooting taps shots, sphinx moves back and tries to evade, he does not fire back - the pressure i am putting on him is to great, he goes down to my fourth or fifth shot.

we head south and i see Scatter blast #1 heading north i call out "i got the Sphinx" he calls back "i got the Colossus 2". I reply "then we win!"

victory to the blue team and three of us are still alive. I think we won only because of how favorable my three engagements were. two were 2v1s and the other my enemy had no idea i was there. I i had to fight these three at the same time - would have probably been killed.

What do you think of the battle? what were the good and bad moves (although you will have to be quite forgiving as most players are very inexperienced an mistakes are inevitable)

Also please feel free to continue to submit and discuss plans for the scenario

(also should this thread be in simulation and role playing as my subsequent scenarios will be, or in water wars as a battle report? perhaps i should copy this post as battle report in water wars and then a moderator could move this thread to the correct place, if that isn't to much trouble)

Wow! That was quite possibly the best battle report I've ever read. Really gives you an idea of how things went down. I can never remember enough details to do something like this; I usually just remember snippets, and it's all out of order anyway. (Unless it wasn't a very long/eventful battle.)

Sounded like a really fun fight. A lot more so than the MOAB rounds anyway (though that was because the boundaries were restricted). It was pretty awesome how you overcame the weaponry imbalance, though it looks like you definitely had the upper hand in terms of skill. For instance, after Colossus 2 #2 won the initial fight, he could have easily taken out Scatterblast #1 if the former's teammates (Sphinx and C2 #1) had just told him of Scatterblast #1's presence. They could have trapped him, then moved out into the open to take out CPS 1000 and Scatterblast #2. Communication goes a long way, as does knowing your situation. At any rate, it was an interesting battle. I think this has been mentioned before, but when your weaponry is varied, things are less likely to get stagnant.

Yeah, this thread probably should be in the Simulation/Role-Playing forum. Didn't even notice that...some admin I am. Fifty lashes with a wet pool noodle!

Wow, this was an incredible summary. I really enjoyed the step by step overview, it showed some of the absurdities of battle (like people not paying attention) that are very common but often skipped over in war reports. It is certainly telling that (twice?) Colossus 2 users fell low on pressure and were hit by less powerful blasters. I opened up my Colossus 2 today and the pressure chamber looks a rather decent size. I think that part of the problem is that it sits horizontally in the blaster instead of vertically, making it less efficient and more likely to mist or shoot mixed shots.