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Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:54 am
by martianshark
I'm normally not very good at tactics, but I think I have a good idea: Teammates working in pairs. One of them would would have a nice, light blaster that requires little or no pumping, such as a Pulse Master, or even a Shot Blast. The other would have a powerful blaster that just dumps a ton of water on the enemy such as a CPS 2000 or a Hydro Cannon.

The idea is that the cannon-user seriously soaks opponents, and the light blaster user protects the cannon-user while he repumps and gets ready for another blast. This would allow people to safely use blasters that instantly empty their chambers; they don't have to run away so they can repump. They can keep moving on; the light blaster teammate protects him while he charges up his big gun. Pairs could soak a lot without worrying about getting too wet.

So what do you think?

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:08 am
by cantab
The Pulse Master is heavy. Perhaps you mean one of the smaller Pulse guns?

Sounds similar to how modern military tactics work. Many armies use fire teams of four, each member with a different weapon and role. Some armies use pairs. It's also reminiscent of the leader-wingman concept in air warfare. Given that, it's probably a good tactic.

However, to pose a meaningful defense in one-hit-kills, the light blaster has to have competitive range, while in games where more soaking is expected it needs sufficient output. If large CPSes are the heavy weapons, the light weapons need to be small CPSes or large XPs or similar. If the heaviest thing around is a CPS 1000, then the light blasters can be correspondingly lighter.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:28 am
by martianshark
I thought the Pulse Master was light compared with a CPS 2000.

My weapon choices were meant for soakfests. This tactic would probably work for 1HK, but the blaster choices would probably be different.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:29 am
by C-A_99
I'd classify the PM as medium. It's generally better for those who need to act as runners or do other demanding jobs. (i.e. WBL crewman.)

Splitting into fireteams of 2 will require better coordination between fireteams. It can also make for some interesting game rules where players may spawn by their teammate. (Of course, that's also possible for larger squads.) For soakfest, it's also good to ensure players have someone covering their back.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:15 am
by cantab
I was I think meaning heavy in terms of weight more than power. The Pulse Master's actually only a couple of hundred grams above say the CPS 1200, but it feels like a lot more because the PM's got poor balance (because the handle is too far back). Of course, the PM's short shot time means it pretty much has to be wielded two-handed anyway.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:48 pm
by C-A_99
I've never used a PM, but it appeared to be your average middleweight blaster (CPS 1200 level) so that's what I went with.

Weight correlates with power more often than not. The Orca is an exception though.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:59 pm
by strato_2r5
Well that tactic is just like the Sniper and Spotter team the military uses. The Sniper uses a heavy caliber and very accurate sniper, and the Spotter has a Semi-Automatic sniper or designated marksman rifle for covering fire.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 12:23 am
by C-A_99
Actually, the spotter does not use any weapon at all, but simply carries good binoculars to help the sniper adjust his shots, tell whether a target is killed or not, etc. If the 2-man team was in trouble or compromised however, the spotter would definitely provide fire support.

Obviously, there's no sniping in water warfare, well not really. WBL's may vaguely fit the category, and they always work better with 2-man teams: one to pump and one to load/fire. The pumper can also act as the spotter, if scout teams are unable to radio in information to help them line up shots. The shooter and spoter can also alternate roles every once in a while so that no one gets tired of pumping.

Employing WBL's for single shot use (i.e. pressurize before a game, and don't bother with it while playing) only requires one person per launcher, of course.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:37 pm
by lollerdude98
This sounds like a decent idea, but over where I live, most people don't have old CPS guns like the 1000, 1200, 1500 etc.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:17 pm
by martianshark
This could work with smaller guns too - maybe an piston gun paired with a shotgunned Gorgon or Hydro Cannon.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:30 pm
by lollerdude98
By the way, how much water does the Hydro Cannon hold? I heard it's a new CPS gun.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:44 pm
by martianshark
The reservoir is small, and the firing chamber holds a decent amount of water - but not quite as much as the Flash Flood or Arctic Blast.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:56 pm
by C-A_99
On the original tactic (dealing with the water weapon differences), I would instead suggest that fireteams simply use different nozzles and reasonably sized blaster. Any combination of CPS should do, such as a 2000 paired with a 1200 or so, or two 2500's, each on different nozzles. That way you don't have to compromise range. However, if you need a runner, then you may end up having to ditch a light CPS in favor of something very light like a FF.

The concept is exactly the same with lower-end blasters though. If your water wars don't involve higher level water weaponry, you could have a fireteam where both players carry FF's; one uses the flood and the other uses the stream to back up the other player. The Max-D 6000 is also a good light blaster option.

I would avoid anything without a trigger period. Standard piston pumpers (no pressure chambers) get fairly poor range and shot potency, and those with PC's get even worse range, though with better shot potency and continuity. However, any pressurized blaster with a trigger can do much better than any triggerless system (given similar scaling). For the size and cost of a Shot Blast, you're far better off with a Max-D 6k, Hydro Cannon, or Flash Flood/AB.

There's not really any point to removing the nozzle selector on the Gorgon (if that's what you meant by shotgunning); just drill out the fan blast if you need a useful high-output nozzle.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:41 pm
by martianshark
I meant drilling out the Gorgon's nozzle, although removing it completely would give it the highest output possible. The Gorgon doesn't have a fan nozzle by the way.

I like piston guns. Obviously they're not as good as some pressurized guns, but compared with some of the latest junk like the Scatter Blast, Thunderstorm, Point Break, Shot Blast, or Hydro Fury, piston guns aren't so bad. They do pretty well in my wars, especially in soakfests.

Re: Buddy System Tactic

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:18 am
by C-A_99
Is that so? Because in 2006 I completely drenched someone who used a Blastmaster 660 (a reputedly decent piston pumper; good for its class), and I was using a FF, not that it would've been much harder to drench him if I had an XP 270. Of course, back then, none of us even knew how to use the 2000/2500 properly, though we had them for that war.

Also, there are other ways to manage "one-shotter" type blasters (FF, 2000, etc.) than by relying on teammates to carry you after running out of pressure. You can always switch to a second blaster, and if there's no need to rush the enemy, you can use that blaster (and/or some water balloons) to retreat while re-pumping the one-shot. Of course, having a partner to cover you will make things much easier, but your fireteam needs to be coherent with the rest of the squad.