Difference between revisions of "Guide:Ambush"

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{{game_mech}}
 
{{game_mech}}
  
Yes, I do plan on fixing this up so it's at wiki standards, I just pasted in one I wrote for the kd a while ago for the time being
+
== Why Ambush? ==
 +
# To Kill Elites (especially if your target is an orc).
 +
## '''Why? -->''' The have an insanely low defensive value elite
 +
## '''Why? -->''' Ambushes are 25% faster than normal attacks
 +
# To decrease incoming land (especially if your target is a chain target).
 +
# Because you're able to Ambush + Trad him and want to rub it in his face.
  
Okay, it's come to my attention that many in this kd don't feel comfortable ambushing, so I decided to write this step-by-step guide. The only tool you need which you might not have to successfully ambush is a SoM calculator.
 
  
Now, I'm sure you're all aware of how good it is to ambush orcs, but just in case you aren't, here's a basic run down:
+
== Notes About Ambush ==
They have +30% gains
+
# You cannot ambush if your opponent used War Spoils.
The have an insanely low defensive value elite
+
# You cannot ambush if your opponent's hit was made with Anonymity on.
Ambushes kill troops that have been sent out
+
# If you successfully carry out an ambush you will gain 50% of his captured land, or 25% if he is a warrior.
Ambushes are 25% faster than normal attacks
+
# You ALWAYS ambush from the last hit to the first.
So, you negate their +30% gains because you get 50% of what they took, you send out hardly any off to do so if they've only sent elites, you kill their offense, and your army gets back nice and quickly, ready to ambush more orcs. You can even your main offense out to do normal hits.
+
## You will ambush the last successful hit. Conquests don't count. You CAN ambush an ambush.
 +
# A successful ambush recaptures 50% of the land taken from you.
  
Copycats have kindly provided us with a bunch of orcs right now, not a single of which are warrior (who have -50% land losses when ambushed) so it's only fair we teach them the error of not going warrior when you pick orc.
 
  
Now, how do we ambush? The guide, as usual, isn't much help, but it does tell you a few things
+
== How to Figure out What to Send ==
 +
# Take a SoM with < 10 thieves
 +
# Record the value of elites out on the SoM.
 +
# Record the value of offspecs out on the SoM.
 +
# Take another SoM with <10 thieves, and record the values in this SoM.
 +
# Use a SoM translator on these numbers to determine his true number of offspecs sent at you. Do the same for his number of Elites.
 +
# Once you have figured out these numbers, use this formula:
  
"Strike an opponent's army away from home and recaptures 50% of the land stolen from you. Because of its surprise nature, no offensive or defensive modifiers are considered - only raw military strength - and the defense will fight at 80% of its normal capacity. Specialists in the opposing army will defend with their normal offensive strength. A province attacking anonymously or using War Spoils cannot be ambushed, and an army can only be ambushed once."
+
<b>Raw Offense Required =</b> [(His Elites sent*Racial Elite Defense Value) + (His Offspecs Sent*Racial Defspec Value) + Soldiers] * 0.8<br> Remember, this is the <b>RAW</b> offense required - therefore, don't bother sending > 1 generals, they have no effect!
  
The main things you need to know are:
+
p.s. If you ever see a 0 in the 'army out' column, it means that he did not send ANY of that army type.
'no offensive or defensive modifiers are considered - only raw military strength'
+
'the defense will fight at 80% of its normal capacity' - this is an exception to the 'no offensive or defensive modifiers are considered'
 
'Specialists in the opposing army will defend with their normal offensive strength'
 
'and an army can only be ambushed once'
 
Conveniently, the guide leaves out the bit about Elites defending with their defensive value.
 
  
So to ambush, you need to know how many troops have been sent out to attack your province. This is probably the hardest part of ambushing, and the bit where most people are going to screw up if they do. This is where the SoMs come in, and the SoM calculator. You will need at least 2 SoMs, and it's quite possible you will need more. This will most likely be due to the low amount of troops sent.
+
=== Example===
  
Conveniently, I have an example that was prepared earlier to better explain this.
+
<i>June 4th, YR5 '''call (9:11)''' invaded '''Kzagl (3:17)''' and captured 81 acres of land.<br>
 +
June 4th, YR5 '''I just been (9:11)''' invaded '''Kzagl (3:17)''' and captured 139 acres of land.<br>
 +
June 4th, YR5 '''piercing through (9:11)''' invaded '''Kzagl (3:17)''' and captured 131 acres of land.</i>
  
June 4th, YR5 call (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 81 acres of land.
+
'''Kzagl''' didn't take particularly kindly to these attacks, and thought it would be a good idea to ambush one of them, so he took 1 SoM of '''I just been''', the largest hit against him, to see what troops had been sent out against him and whether it was a good idea to ambush.
June 4th, YR5 call (9:11) invaded Rengakake Magicks (3:17) and captured 25 acres of land.
 
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 139 acres of land.
 
June 4th, YR5 piercing through (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 131 acres of land.
 
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded Disturbed (3:17) and captured 25 acres of land.
 
  
Kzagl didn't take particularly kindly to these attacks, and thought it would be a good idea to ambush one of them, so he took 1 SoM a SoM of 'I just been', the largest hit against him, to see what troops had been sent out against him and whether it was a good idea to ambush
 
  
SOM 1
+
<b>SOM 1</b>
** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:46 hours) **
+
 
 +
<i><nowiki>** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:46 hours) **</nowiki></i>
 +
<i>
 
Ogres: 5,132 (49,308 offense / 11,485 defense)
 
Ogres: 5,132 (49,308 offense / 11,485 defense)
Captured Land: 143 Acres
 
  
** Army #5 (Back in 10:52 hours) **
+
Captured Land: 143 Acres</i>
Ogres: 1,594 (15,315 offense / 3,567 defense)
 
Captured Land: 33 Acres
 
  
Now, there are two armies out here, but it's pretty easy to tell which one is the one that hit Kzagl, due to the large difference in captured land. The one that hit Kzagl is
+
On seeing the no specialists (goblins) and high amount of elites (ogres), Kzagl made the decision to get a few of his acres back, so he took another SoM and started to calculate the ambush
** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:46 hours) **
+
 
Ogres: 5,132 (49,308 offense / 11,485 defense)
+
<b>SOM 2</b>
Captured Land: 143 Acres
 
  
On seeing the no specialists (goblins) and high amount of elites (ogres), Kzagl made the decision to get a few of his acres back, so he took another SoM and started to calculate the ambush
+
<i><nowiki>** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:51 hours) **</nowiki></i>
  
SOM 2
+
<i>Ogres: 4,247 (38,597 offense / 9,598 defense)
** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:51 hours) **
 
Ogres: 4,247 (38,597 offense / 9,598 defense)
 
Captured Land: 149 Acres
 
  
** Army #5 (Back in 10:57 hours) **
+
Captured Land: 149 Acres</i>
Ogres: 2,200 (19,994 offense / 4,972 defense)
 
Captured Land: 21 Acres
 
  
This second SoM really confirms that it's armies 2/3/4 that his Kzagl, and you can check the paper to confirm the acre difference.
+
{{table}}
Now that he had this data, it's easier to read if I organize it a bit
+
| '''SoM''' || '''Som1''' || '''Som2'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''Ogres''' || <div align="center">5132</div> || <div align="center">4247</div>
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
<br>
 +
<br>
 +
Now, '''Kzagl''' used the SoM+SoM method that people use to find exact defense at home to find the exact troops out. So if you input the ogre amounts into a SoM calculator, you get an answer something like this:
  
Som Som1 Som2
+
''[16:22:57] <tzar> !som 5132 4247''
Ogres: 5132 4247
 
  
Now, Kzagl used the SoM+SoM method that people use to find exact defense at home to find the exact troops out. So if you input the ogre amounts into a SoM calculator, you get an answer something like this:
+
''[16:22:59] <[-Honor-]> »» tzar, possible defence values are 4424 5899''
  
[[16:22:57] <tzar> !som 5132 4247
+
'''Kzagl''' was unlucky and forced to get another SoM to work out the exact troops sent against him since the bot retured 2 possible values, so he did.
[16:22:59] <[-Honor-]> »» tzar, possible defence values are 4424 4666 5898 5899
 
  
The exact number is one of the following:
 
5899
 
4424
 
3539
 
  
[16:23:00] <[-Honor-]> >>> 5899 (87% 72%) +- 21%
+
'''SOM 3'''<br>
[16:23:00] <[-Honor-]> >>> 4424 (116% 96%) +- 10%
+
<i><nowiki>** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:44 hours) **</nowiki></i><br>
 +
<i>Ogres: 4,468 (39,676 offense / 10,616 defense)<br>
 +
Captured Land: 178 Acres</i>
  
Though the outputs may vary slightly, they all use (basically) the same method so they all get you the right answer eventually. However, Kzagl was unlucky and forced to get another SoM to work out the exact troops sent against him, so he did
 
  
SOM 3
 
** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:44 hours) **
 
Ogres: 4,468 (39,676 offense / 10,616 defense)
 
Captured Land: 178 Acres
 
  
I've just ignored army #5 now, as we know that data isn't relevant
+
Now, let's organize the data again.
  
Now, let's organize the data again
+
{{Table}}
Som Som1 Som2 Som3
+
| '''Som''' || Som1 || Som2 || Som3
Ogres: 5132 4247 4468
+
|-
 +
| '''Ogres''' || 5132 || 4247 || 4468
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
Now we input the extra number into the SoM calculator, and we get:
 
Now we input the extra number into the SoM calculator, and we get:
  
[16:25:35] <tzar> !som 5132 4247 4468
+
''[16:25:35] <tzar> !som 5132 4247 4468''<br>
[16:25:37] <[-Honor-]> »» tzar, possible defence values are 4424
+
''[16:25:37] <[-Honor-]> »» tzar, possible defence values are 4424''
  
The exact number is one of the following:
 
4424
 
  
[16:25:37] <[-Honor-]> >>> 4424 (116% 96% 101%) +- 7%
+
So, basically the target sent 4424 ogres (well, he sent a few more, but lost some in the attack) to attack '''Kzagl'''. If he had sent some soldiers or specialists (or both) you'd have to repeat these steps to figure out how many of those he sent. Now that we've established that beyond doubt, he sent 4424 ogres, we can calculate what is going to be required to successfully ambush.
  
So, 'I just been' sent 4424 ogres (well, he sent a few more, but lost some in the attack) to attack Kzagl. If he had sent some soldiers or specialists (or both) you'd have to repeat these steps to figure out how many of those he sent.
 
 
Now that we've established that beyond doubt, he sent 4424 ogres, we can calculate what is going to be required to successfully ambush.
 
  
 
Orc elites are great for attacking with, not so great for defending with. Because they only have 2 defense, that's what they defend with on an ambush.
 
Orc elites are great for attacking with, not so great for defending with. Because they only have 2 defense, that's what they defend with on an ambush.
 +
Therefore, 4424 Elites * 2 Defense Value = 8,856
  
So we calculate 4424*2 = 8856
+
'The defense will fight at 80% of its normal capacity.' So, we multiply that number by 0.8
 
+
8,856 * 0.8 = 7084.8
Now if we remember back to the guide, 'the defense will fight at 80% of its normal capacity.' So, we multiply that number by 0.8
 
 
 
8856*0.8 = 7084.8
 
  
And that's probably the hardest part, getting the exact defense that you need to break on an ambush.
+
Now, this is another important bit, when we calculate how much offense we're going to send, we don't modify it in anyway. If you're using angel's military calculator to do it, make sure you use the '''RAW OFFENSE''' number.
  
Now, this is another important bit, when we calculate how much offense we're going to send, we don't modify it in anyway. If you're using angel's military calculator to do it, make sure you use the RAW OFFENSE number.
+
If you are just sending (5/0) offensive specialists at the target, you would require
 +
7084.8/5 offspecs (send a few more to compensate for rounding error).
  
In this case, Kzagl first made the mistake of trying to do that
+
* Sending more than one general does not increase your offense.
[15:49:45] <IamIke> 1093 warriors and 8 zerkers
 
[15:50:00] <IamIke> 7215 mod
 
  
Which, a quick calculation can show, is about 5.5k raw offense, which wouldn't break 7085 def
 
 
He then came back with
 
<IamIke> 1093 war + 275 zerks
 
 
1093*5=5465 275*7=1925
 
5465+1925=7390
 
 
Which is enough to break 7085 def
 
 
And then we get smiles all around
 
[15:52:10] <IamIke> Your forces arrive at I just been (9:11), and battle begins quickly...
 
[15:52:12] <IamIke> A tough battle took place, but we have managed a victory!
 
[15:52:13] <IamIke> Your army has recaptured 76 acres from our enemy! Taking full control of our new land will take 8.18 days. The new land will be available on June 14th, YR5.
 
[15:52:14] <IamIke> We lost 60 Warriors and 15 Berserkers in this battle. Our forces will be again available on June 14th, YR5.
 
[15:52:17] <IamIke> We killed about 160 enemy troops.
 
 
Okay, so that's how you ambush. Unfortunately for me, that was a pretty straightforward ambush. There are a few more rules you need to know.
 
  
 
You always ambush the last hit made against your province by that particular province. So in this case, if the paper had looked like this:
 
You always ambush the last hit made against your province by that particular province. So in this case, if the paper had looked like this:
 
+
<i>June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 139 acres of land.<br>
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 139 acres of land.
+
June 4th, YR5 piercing through (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 131 acres of land.<br>
June 4th, YR5 piercing through (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 131 acres of land.
+
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded KZAGL ELVEN GRAVE (3:17) and captured 25 acres of land.</i>
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded KZAGL ELVEN GRAVE (3:17) and captured 25 acres of land.
 
  
 
You would have to ambush the hit for 25 acres before you could ambush the hit for 139 acres. You wouldn't necessarily have to be successful though, because once you've ambushed a hit by a province, you can't ambush that hit again, so the game moves onto the next hit.
 
You would have to ambush the hit for 25 acres before you could ambush the hit for 139 acres. You wouldn't necessarily have to be successful though, because once you've ambushed a hit by a province, you can't ambush that hit again, so the game moves onto the next hit.
  
War horses, prisoners & mercs sent in the army that you're ambushing don't count. Horses, mercs, and prisoners count in your raw off. Prisoners and mercs are 3, horses 1
 
 
So that's about it as far as I can think of right now, I'll just sum it up to you quickly
 
 
SoM the person who hit you. Figure out which army (or armies) hit you, which you would have to ambush first, and whether it's worth it to ambush at all. It's really not worth it if the army is mainly specialists. Get another SoM. Put the troop values into a SoM calculator. If it's not 100% accurate, get another Som. Repeat if necessary. It's really not necessary to repeat if you've gotten 5 SoMs, and you're not 100% sure on whether the guy sent out 115 soldiers or 110. Just use 115 in your calculations. Calculate what value the troops sent will defend at (soldiers at 1, off specs at their off value, leets at their def value (check the guide if you really don't know))
 
Times that value by 0.8
 
Figure out the RAW OFF that'll break that value. Don't tempt fate and send only 1 point over, send a couple of hundred points.
 
Send only 1 general on each ambush.
 
Attack & Don't bounce
 
 
Oh, and if you've got any questions, or you're still not sure, you're probably best slapping 'tzar' in irc, or slapping someone who you know is on irc to slap me so i come online in game :)
 
  
  
 
[[Category:Mini Guides]]
 
[[Category:Mini Guides]]

Revision as of 15:18, 17 July 2009

This is part of the Utopia WIKI Mini Guide Series.

THIS PAGE describes a game mechanism - Guide:Ambush in utopia. It also aims to discuss the implications of this game mechanism & how others have utilized it. To discuss further implications or ask questions with regards to Guide:Ambush, be sure to check out the discussions page.


Why Ambush?

  1. To Kill Elites (especially if your target is an orc).
    1. Why? --> The have an insanely low defensive value elite
    2. Why? --> Ambushes are 25% faster than normal attacks
  2. To decrease incoming land (especially if your target is a chain target).
  3. Because you're able to Ambush + Trad him and want to rub it in his face.


Notes About Ambush

  1. You cannot ambush if your opponent used War Spoils.
  2. You cannot ambush if your opponent's hit was made with Anonymity on.
  3. If you successfully carry out an ambush you will gain 50% of his captured land, or 25% if he is a warrior.
  4. You ALWAYS ambush from the last hit to the first.
    1. You will ambush the last successful hit. Conquests don't count. You CAN ambush an ambush.
  5. A successful ambush recaptures 50% of the land taken from you.


How to Figure out What to Send

  1. Take a SoM with < 10 thieves
  2. Record the value of elites out on the SoM.
  3. Record the value of offspecs out on the SoM.
  4. Take another SoM with <10 thieves, and record the values in this SoM.
  5. Use a SoM translator on these numbers to determine his true number of offspecs sent at you. Do the same for his number of Elites.
  6. Once you have figured out these numbers, use this formula:
Raw Offense Required = [(His Elites sent*Racial Elite Defense Value) + (His Offspecs Sent*Racial Defspec Value) + Soldiers] * 0.8
Remember, this is the RAW offense required - therefore, don't bother sending > 1 generals, they have no effect!

p.s. If you ever see a 0 in the 'army out' column, it means that he did not send ANY of that army type.


Example

June 4th, YR5 call (9:11) invaded Kzagl (3:17) and captured 81 acres of land.
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded Kzagl (3:17) and captured 139 acres of land.
June 4th, YR5 piercing through (9:11) invaded Kzagl (3:17) and captured 131 acres of land.

Kzagl didn't take particularly kindly to these attacks, and thought it would be a good idea to ambush one of them, so he took 1 SoM of I just been, the largest hit against him, to see what troops had been sent out against him and whether it was a good idea to ambush.


SOM 1

** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:46 hours) ** Ogres: 5,132 (49,308 offense / 11,485 defense)

Captured Land: 143 Acres

On seeing the no specialists (goblins) and high amount of elites (ogres), Kzagl made the decision to get a few of his acres back, so he took another SoM and started to calculate the ambush

SOM 2

** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:51 hours) **

Ogres: 4,247 (38,597 offense / 9,598 defense)

Captured Land: 149 Acres

SoM Som1 Som2
Ogres
5132
4247



Now, Kzagl used the SoM+SoM method that people use to find exact defense at home to find the exact troops out. So if you input the ogre amounts into a SoM calculator, you get an answer something like this:

[16:22:57] <tzar> !som 5132 4247

[16:22:59] <[-Honor-]> »» tzar, possible defence values are 4424 5899

Kzagl was unlucky and forced to get another SoM to work out the exact troops sent against him since the bot retured 2 possible values, so he did.


SOM 3
** Armies #2/#3/#4 (Back in 10:44 hours) **
Ogres: 4,468 (39,676 offense / 10,616 defense)
Captured Land: 178 Acres


Now, let's organize the data again.

Som Som1 Som2 Som3
Ogres 5132 4247 4468

Now we input the extra number into the SoM calculator, and we get:

[16:25:35] <tzar> !som 5132 4247 4468
[16:25:37] <[-Honor-]> »» tzar, possible defence values are 4424


So, basically the target sent 4424 ogres (well, he sent a few more, but lost some in the attack) to attack Kzagl. If he had sent some soldiers or specialists (or both) you'd have to repeat these steps to figure out how many of those he sent. Now that we've established that beyond doubt, he sent 4424 ogres, we can calculate what is going to be required to successfully ambush.


Orc elites are great for attacking with, not so great for defending with. Because they only have 2 defense, that's what they defend with on an ambush.

Therefore, 4424 Elites * 2 Defense Value = 8,856

'The defense will fight at 80% of its normal capacity.' So, we multiply that number by 0.8

8,856 * 0.8 = 7084.8

Now, this is another important bit, when we calculate how much offense we're going to send, we don't modify it in anyway. If you're using angel's military calculator to do it, make sure you use the RAW OFFENSE number.

If you are just sending (5/0) offensive specialists at the target, you would require

7084.8/5 offspecs (send a few more to compensate for rounding error).
  • Sending more than one general does not increase your offense.


You always ambush the last hit made against your province by that particular province. So in this case, if the paper had looked like this: June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 139 acres of land.
June 4th, YR5 piercing through (9:11) invaded Kzagl Elven Grave (3:17) and captured 131 acres of land.
June 4th, YR5 I just been (9:11) invaded KZAGL ELVEN GRAVE (3:17) and captured 25 acres of land.

You would have to ambush the hit for 25 acres before you could ambush the hit for 139 acres. You wouldn't necessarily have to be successful though, because once you've ambushed a hit by a province, you can't ambush that hit again, so the game moves onto the next hit.