Positioning
Positioning is where you are in relation to other players and objects. Good positioning can turn an average player into a good player because you last longer in battle, help your teammates last longer and complete objectives while bad positioning will define you as a bad player because you die a lot. There are four sub-concepts to positioning. These are:
- Objectives
- Obstacles
- Individuals
- Speed (Maneuverability)
Eventually going through this list will become second nature as you make decisions in the game.
Objectives
Objectives are things needed to obtain victory in battle. Some examples are beacons, staying alive as captain, defending the captain and destroying the enemy captain. In “Team Battle” the objective is to destroy the enemy team. This straddles the line between “objectives” and “individuals. Some things to keep in mind are “How close are you to the objective?” or “Are you in a position to complete the objective?”
Obstacles
Obstacles are things that prevent interaction between individuals and objectives. Some examples are asteroids, walls, beacons and other sorts of debris such as ship fragments or the tiny, movable asteroids scattered around maps. Obstacles can be positive or negative. They can be positive by using them as cover from enemy fire or helping to hide your position. When hiding behind obstacles you can be hidden from enemies’ sensor range unless there is a micro-locator, a spy drone that is placed on you or when there is an enemy on the same side of the obstacle. Without obstacles you are open to being attacked from enemies without stopping. Obstacles can be negative in a way that they can prevent you from reaching the objectives quickly.
Individuals
Individuals are your allies or your enemies. It relies on where you are in relation to your allies or your enemies. Are you sticking with your allies or are you going off by yourself? Are your enemies clustered around an objective such as a beacon or the captain? For example, are you rushing by yourself to a beacon clustered with enemies? Do you think you are going to capture that beacon or even survive?
Speed
When I talk about speed I mean the maximum speed you can go at or the maneuverability you have. Having more speed makes it easier to position. This is why choosing a position as a frigate is much more important than choosing a position as an interceptor. As an interceptor you have more leeway when making mistakes in positioning and mistakes are more forgiving whereas in a frigate, if you make a mistake you are stuck in your position and must deal with your mistake. With your own individual speed you must think “Can I get to the objective in time to make a difference? Can I retreat to cover if I need to? Am I going to be able to stick with my teammates?”
Types of Positioning:
Don’t think dirty. There are three types of positioning. This are:
- Offensive
- Defensive
- Stealth
In the following paragraphs I will list some examples of the three types of positioning.
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An example of good offensive positioning is when there are two ELRFs (Empire Long Range Frigates) aiming at a beacon preventing enemy players from using a beacon as an obstacle as cover. Coupled with influence in the form of allied interceptors, fighters and frigates attacking the beacon is hard for enemy attackers or defenders to maintain their position.
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An example of good defensive positioning is when there is a guard nearby but not sitting right on the beacon. The Guard uses available obstacles as cover so enemies cannot detect the guard with sensors. From the enemies’ POV there is no guard there. They begin attacking the drones if there are any. This tells the guard what damage type to set for his Phase Shield. He begins to defend the beacon and the enemy must shift attention and target the guard taking valuable time.
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A very simple but very effective defensive positioning is sticking next to allies and an engineer.
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When you use stealth positioning you want to uncloak behind and below the enemy. You want to target a lone individual and not enemies in groups. When flying a covert ops with cloaked on you should use cover and move as fast as possible using the forward thrust engines. When out of cover you should strafe when there are enemies around. You don’t emit engine trails this way.
Final Details
Shooting blindly gives away your position, what ship class you are in and what damage type you use.
Video
Here is a video if you don’t feel like reading.
