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my skills have plateaued

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16 months ago
Hello all,
I've been playing the game for a while now, mostly against AI. Over time I was able to master the successive difficulty levels. Now that I'm on Hard I feel like my skill level has stopped improving. I can beat Hard AI some of the time, maybe 30-40-50% of the time. Some of the time I seem to beat it quite handily. Other times, I am quickly overwhelmed. I'm not sure why one game is so different from another, but the main question is how to get to the next skill level.
Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Stanley
+4 / -0
16 months ago
Best way to improve is starting to 1v1 through matchmaking.

Other then that, maybe watch a few of goddes 1v1 reviews?

https://www.youtube.com/user/GoddeOfSpring/videos
+3 / -0

16 months ago
Yeah, you should definitely check out some of SErankGodde's reviews, they are very helpful.
1v1 through matchmaking is also certainly helpful, but it is even better if you have the right mindset.

I think it was PRO_rANDY or nr1_rANDY_FAN that said something about the mindset of games at one point.

It's really complicated and takes a bit to figure out how to keep improving yourself (it's different for every person in some way), but generally it helps also if you look at what you did wrong and try to do better in that area the next time you play (kind of like Godde's review videos).
+0 / -0
The AI is quite easy to abuse.

The AI has issues with the following:
- feeding the enemy (throwing away units into the enemy team)
- late game (doesn't build anti-nuke most of the time)
- terraform

There are a few fun strategies that can easily defeat brutal AI. My favourite is just spamming gauss turrets. With the gauss turret blueprint selected, press 'C' to also terraform before you place it, and 'V'/'B' to lower/raise (may have got the hotkeys mixed up). The idea is to raise the gauss so most units can't reach it, the AI does not know what to do with these spiked gauss turrets. Over time, the AI will send units past your gauss turrets, the units will get damaged and try to retreat back. After a while, mix in some desolators. With a few burrowed caretakers, you can use this to farm the AI for metal. This is easiest with the spider constructor.

Using the reclaim, build either paladins or a nuke.
+0 / -0

16 months ago
While that is true, I do not think abusing AIs is helpful to build any skill that matters...

How about you try to recreate this:
http://zero-k.info/Battles/Detail/1491584?

So much for fancy strategy. When you are able to pull this of, which should not take too long, feel free to ask again for the next lesson.
+1 / -0
16 months ago
The AI have many weakness, some take skill to exploit and some do not.

1. AI is bad against defenses. Gauss -> Guardian at center of the map can let you gain massive attrition and win from behind

2. Fast high damage units: AI works basically by comparing the unit it has with the unit it can see: if it thinks the force it has is stronger it'd attack, otherwise it'd run away. It doesn't really plan and often slow units are poorly positioned. So you can run fast units and pick off isolated and poorly positioned units and structure, which take reflexes and also judgement on which units you can beat and how to engage.

Cloak and Rover is best for this (glaive/scorcher). The CCR challenge is about beating 2 brutal AI with scorcher on a flat map.

This is a pretty good general skill to have, however the best players generally leave too few units to be picked off and will setup traps with cloaked bombs and likes. Most lesser players can be picked apart with this skill however.

3. Cloaky, vision stuff: if AI can't see your units, it can't respond. Effective Long range units like lance, cloaky units like phantom and general cloaked attack can work very well.

4. Placeholders: the AI don't comprehend placeholders well, you can use it to abuse AI.

5. General Tech: One reason why AI difficulty is inconsistent is because the AI randomly choose factories. If the AI pick a factory where your strategy works against, it may be easy while if it pick another factory it may be hard. Learn unit counters and pay attention to AI factories.


Finally one can always work on streamlining economy.
+2 / -0


16 months ago
You could play a game against the AI on the multiplayer server so it produces and easily linkable replay, then link it here. People could give some specific pointers then. I see your profile has a few games on the server but they are from months ago, so I assume you have been playing skirmish offline.
+2 / -0
quote:
press 'C' to also terraform before you place it, and 'V'/'B' to lower/raise

For me it's hold alt and use the scroll wheel, but I'm not sure what is default.
Edit: I just checked the wiki, apparently pressing the 'B' key and changing the height with 'C' and 'V' is the default, apparently alt + scroll has to be enabled in settings for it to work (even though I don't remember ever enabling it)
+0 / -0
16 months ago
Thanks all for your suggestions. Here's a replay if any care to comment.
http://zero-k.info/Battles/Detail/1492004
This game is more chaotic than most but is typical in a couple respects 1) I may seem to have the advantage at some point but then the tide turns and I am not able to regain control and 2) the most notable statistic is the kills that shows I am losing units at a highly disproportionate rate.
+0 / -0
Select army, press "A" and click behind enemy army. This will initiate an attack move order and your unit AI will kick in, which is much better than what you were doing - suiciding countless units by issuing move orders or direct attack orders on individual units. Notice what your Fencer units are doing, or Impalers.

You had issued 0 reclaim orders. Select a constructor and press "E", drag left mouse button click to issue an area reclaim order. Hold CTRL while starting the drag on a metal wreck and it will tell the constructor to only reclaim metal wrecks in that area.
+0 / -0

16 months ago
OK, so I watched the start of your tussle with the AI.

A few comments that might help.

I find that spamming raiders early and wrecking the AI's base or construction groups greatly hinders it from developing an attack. Granted that the metal channelled into offence means that your own starting eco is hampered but remember this: the AI can micro 100 units at its optimal level at once. You cannot. Therefore its a good idea to keep it confined for as long as possible. Offensive action is paramount.

Secondly, you need to grid your energy especially if you make a fusion. Fusion gives good overdrive but is expensive. I usually grid first and then build a fusion within the grid. You will make much more metal.

Thirdly, be aware of your units and what they beat and dont beat. On the one hand you did well to run down a Lance with scorchers early. On the other you suicided four light units into a Mace before the Mace was captured by Dominatrix. I find things like mass Fencer good for killing small critters so long as you have a force of Scorcher ready for running down Lance and Halberd.

Finally if you want to become good vs AI realise that there are several strategies that it struggles to beat. Groups of Dominatrix become very hard for AI to deal with. Shieldballs are likewise difficult for AI to beat, especially if you nurse the shieldball strength early and it snowballs.
+1 / -0
quote:
The AI have many weakness, some take skill to exploit and some do not.

This list misses the most glaring hole:

The (current generation) AI, like the weakest human players, does not comprehend the fact that it *can be attacked*. It plays its opening as if its continued existence and development are guaranteed.

A deep strike force coming at it with high tempo is something that it simply cannot comprehend; it does not see the murder-minded forest in the heavily armed trees.

(It looks like it defends sometimes, but don't be mislead. It's not defending. It just wants to attack your units that are in its vision. It does not attack them for any defensive purpose such as "prevent them from murderizing my base". This means it places zero value on being able to intercept them before they do lasting economical damage)

In 1v1 with a Brutal Circuit, you can win just by walking your commander at it in the first minute and "defending" on the smoking ruins of its base.

+4 / -0
Again, here, killing Brutal AI in 3 minutes:

http://zero-k.info/Battles/Detail/1491584?

Strategy:
- Plop Cloaky
- Com expands, builds eco (taking mexes, 1 solar + 1 llt per mex)
- Factory only produces glaives, those go to attack immiediatly
- fac produces 1 builder only after you beginn to accumulate too much metal in storgae, that builder makes caretaker.
- AI dies.

Yes, you can also use your com, but I think the raider method is kind of safer and at the same time teaches you the fundamentals of expansion and eco.
+1 / -0
16 months ago
Yeah, Brutal AI can be abused with commander pushes like this:
http://zero-k.info/Battles/Detail/1493243?
+1 / -0
This playlist here by NLranknr1_rANDY_FAN contains his battles against AI, some matches are insane:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7k2ybIH11xPKZwsfsPGe88U8eeH3PjDE
+2 / -0