Basing is so popular it has expanded from public arenas to more advanced arenas like ?go base. It has its own division TWBD, its own league TWLB, and The Basing World Cup. As you get more experience you will feel the need to compete in TWLB. Trench Wars players are elitist and dislike newbies. If you have just started playing you are not likely to get picked in ?go base. This guide should help you make the most of your first basing opportunity, securing a spot in future games. If there's something you think i've missed, or if you spot a mistake, please let me know.
Quick Start
?go base is the place where real basers practice. Everyone starts in spectator mode, then staff assign two captains (one per team). The game is controlled by MatchBot. Captains then take turns to pick their teams. Each team is allowed 8 players. Captains pick the best players available, which is probably not you. You have to watch a few games and get known first. You may be given a chance to become a captain, so you have to memorize MatchBot commands and know who to pick.
MatchBot Commands
All commands need to be private messaged to MatchBot, for example:
:MatchBot:!help - Lists all available commands...
!cap - Tells you who the captains are
!score - Shows the current score of both teams
!list - Lists all players on your team
!lagout - Puts you back in the game
!setcaptain <player> - Changes captain to specified player
!add <player>:<ship number> - Adds player in specified ship
!remove <player> - Removes specified player
!switch <player>:<player> - Exchanges the ship of both players
!change <player>:<ship> - Sets the player in the specified ship
!ready - Use this when you're done setting your lineup
Picking Teams
Although base is a practice arena, some people take it very seriously. If you ruin a game you may never get picked again. When you are captain don't pick a rubbish team, make sure you know who's good and who isn't. Don't just pick people because they are your friends or squad members. If a team is rubbish some players will quit and the game will die. Do not trashtalk, you will be a more respected player if you keep your mouth shut. Never quit a game. Basically, be nice and you'll fit in just fine. And remember, practice makes perfect!
I can tell you from experience what your first 7 picks have to be. If you pick 8 weasels, you will lose. If you pick 8 warbirds, you will lose, and so on. Short version: Your team must have the following:
1 Terrier
2 Sharks
4 Spiders
OK, so you've used up 7 of your 8 slots just making sure you don't get owned. So now you have to decide what to do with that 8th slot. The only real options you have are a spider, javelin or warbird. Here are some rules to help you decide:
1 - Does the enemy have strong spiders? If yes, spider, If no:
2 - Does the enemy have strong sharks? If yes, spider, If no:
3 - Do you have a reliable javelin? If yes, javelin, If no:
4 - Do you have a reliable warbird? If yes, warbird, if no: spider
Different players prefer different lineups so you should be careful when making someone a league assistant. Some captains will decide the ships first, then fit the players available to the ships. Some captains will put everyone in the ships they're best at. I prefer the rules above; The basic 7 ships are a must have, the 8th depends on who is available. Organise your roster so you don't limit yourself when choosing a lineup. That's a bit harder to do for a 3 league squad, but for a pure basing squad it's easy. There are some players who you should put in whatever ship they want, because their happiness will win the game for you.
^topHow To Play
You win by reaching a target time. You gain time by having control of the flag. The time you need to win can vary between events. It is 10 minutes in ?go base and 15 minutes in TWBD/TWLB - always check the rules. Times are displayed in the top-right of your screen.
Attacking
Actually getting into the flag room is the hardest part of the game. The enemy will be spraying bullets down at you and their sharks will be protecting them. Firstly you need to clear lower base, if the enemy shoots down at you whilst other enemies are shooting up you dont have a chance. Clear lower base then go to the entrance. Getting into the flag room is all about persistence. Spiders have to shoot up whilst being protected by sharks, then when enough of the enemy is dead you all have to rush in together to shield each other. There isn't one simple way of doing it unfortunately, but be patient and take any chances you get.
Flag Room Battles
A flag room battle is a very fluid situation, an advantage can be gained or lost in seconds. Nobody can really be expected to consider in-depth strategies so quickly. So i've come up with a "split-flagroom" technique. Lets start off by splitting the flag room into two halves, left and right. The idea is to pick a side to control so you don't get surrounded.
1. Secure your side of the flag room
When you attach make sure your terrier is safe so the next person can attach. Then secure the area around the terrier, making it safe to move out. Then think about possible dangers to your terrier, perhaps a javelin or spiders underflag. Once you are sure your terrier is safe you may go for the flag, do not make your terrier vulnerable by going for the flag.
2. Get and keep the flag
Having the flag makes you win, after your terrier it is the most important thing. Getting the flag is fairly easy, but you have to make sure they can't get it back easily.
3. Kill the enemy terrier
Once you have the flag secured use every scrap of energy you have to kill the terrier. A flag room battle is not a situation you want to be in for long, end it as quickly as possible.
Defending
Your primary method of defence is called the cram; the terrier stays close to entrance, spiders shoot down the entrance and sharks alternate and repel to protect them. With a lot of practice you'll have a cram that can't be broken. Of course in the real world someone always breaks your cram. Never retreat to lining positions (the L shaped things at the side). Hold your ground as long as you can then retreat to flagroom. By retreating straight to flag room, you can pick your side, secure the flag, and be ready to kill the enemy terrier as it enters. You have a far better chance of winning the flag room battle this way.
^topShip Tips
The following sections describe how to use each basing ship. Note that it's pretty opinionated, you may have your own preferred style, but this will get you started. Thanks to Death3D for writing the warbird section. If anyone feels like writing a good warbird section i'll happily post it here, get in touch!
Spider
1. Attacking
Firstly you have to take lower base so you don't get attacked from below whilst breaking cram. Experienced spiders are able to fight on whilst taking very little damage, this is the result of good dodging and conserving energy. I've found it's best to start off combat with a little dodging, this is best done by turning 90 degrees and moving back and forth. When you dodge like this the bullets hit you on your enemy's screen but not on yours, so after the enemy has wasted a few shots you can finish him off. Another tactic is to have one spider take all the bullets whilst another shoots the enemy. To break the cram you have to push to clear the way for your terr, use your sharks for cover. It isn't easy, do the best you can.
2. Flag Room Battles
When you attach into a flag room battle your first objective is to defend your terrier. Once your terrier is safe you may get the flag. Once the flag is secure, take any opportunities you can to kill the enemy terrier. Remember to use the underflag route to attack the enemy from two directions.
3. Defending
Imagine a straight line between the flag and the enemy terrier, fly along that line; the enemy must pass you to get the flag. If the enemy does get past you, leaving you in lower alone, keep sniping the enemy to draw them away from the flag room. The cram is simple; shoot down the entrance from safe positions, your sharks should protect you.
4. Common Mistakes
Conserve your energy, too many people overshoot and then get killed by one bullet. Remember to follow the order terrier-flag-enemy.
Shark
1. Attacking
There's not a lot you can do on attack, a shark is a defensive ship. All you can do is protect your spiders so they can enter safely. If you're desperate and you don't have a javelin you can throw a bomb up, but be careful it doesn't get repped into your own team.
2. Flag Room Battles
When you attach, first make sure your terrier is safe, then pick a spider and protect it. When you get into the flag room try to mine the enemy terrier into a limited space to make him easier to hit.
3. Defending
You're on the team to keep your teammates alive, your main job is to repel. You can mine if you're sure you'll kill something, but don't lay a mine that'll get repped into your own team. It's important to have two sharks who work well together, you have to be able to predict the other shark on your team. When cramming you need to alternate, wait until the other shark dies before you take over. When the cram is won, make your way down towards the entrance. Lay some mines in the tube to kill a speeding terrier. Also try to repel the terrier away from the base to buy your team some time.
4. Common Mistakes
While you're cramming or having a flag room battle it's always tempting to mine. If you lay mines and they get repped into your own team you will become the most unpopular guy on the team. Sharks often forget about teammates behind them. Sometimes when you try to repel something, you repel something else too, and that might hit your team. Never repel a javelin, repel his bombs instead, repping the javelin itself just makes his rocket faster and he'll kill your terrier before you even see him move. Be careful when using bombs on attack, they can be repped back at you. If your team is expecting you to repel and you start bombing instead then progress will be slow. Remember you're playing for time.
1. Attacking
Not everyone is suited to being a terrier. You have to be patient enough to play smartly for the whole game. For a terrier it's important to let your team do most of the work. Your job is to place your teammates and stay alive. Getting into the flag room is mainly based on your persistence. There isn't one simple way of doing it unfortunately, but be patient and take any chances you get.
2. Flag Room Battles
Consider the objectives of your team: attach, defend you, get the flag, attack the enemy. The flag and the enemy arent your problem, you need to be in a place where people can attach safely, and then take up strong positions. Give them the choice between going for the flag or covering the underpass. You can burst if you like, and portal to survive, but don't go out of your way to do either.
3. Defending
Cramming is your only real method of defence. Leave a portal somewhere incase you get into trouble, then sit in the entrance and let your team get on with it. The best terriers are those that keep it simple.
4. Common Mistakes
Only shoot if you have to kill something before it kills you, but you are not an extra spider. Shooting only weakens you, and whilst you're looking at your target you're not paying attention to the rest of the game. Too many terriers move to lay portals or to burst. You should use burst spots that happen to be close to where you already are, which is the place where you want to drop your teammates. It's possible for your portals to run out without you noticing. To avoid warping out of the flag room you can turn on x-radar. Just remember if you get EMP'd it'll drain your energy away, use Num Lock instead if you use keypad_ins to warp.
Javelin
1. Attacking
There's only one way to break a cram: you have to sit waiting for your spiders to kill their sharks, then you can rocket and bomb - leaving a clear path for your team.
2. Flag Room Battles
Something you may want to consider is rocketing at the terrier, whether you have the energy to shoot or not, simply to make him use his portal. If he has no portal he's a lot easier to finish off.
3. Defending
The javelin can be used to supplement the cram. It's about the fear brought by your presence. So whilst your team is cramming you can force the sharks to repel you rather than the spider bullets. As their sharks use repels faster, your spiders will most likely kill their entire team. If your cram is broken, which it eventually will be, their terr will be vulnerable and you have a chance to pick him off as he enters.
4. Common Mistakes
The most common mistake is to shoot at sharks while they still have repels left. Count their repels so you know when they use their last one, knowing they start with three and how many greens they picked up. Then you can shoot when the shark has no repels, instead of waiting that extra second for it to die. Teamkilling happens when you have a javelin, it is unavoidable. Obviously the more you practice the less likely you are to teamkill. There are two common reasons for teamkilling in javelin. The first is if you totally miss your shot, if you hit a wall you didn't mean to hit and the bomb bounces where you didn't expect it to. The second is when you shoot at a ship, but it dodges, so the bomb bounces back at your own team. You can put some thought into where the bomb will go if you miss, practice makes perfect.
1. Attacking
Help your team by firing on the cram, killing sharks and spiders, allowing your team to push in. If this is helping you can move up closer, and get ready to push in. Assuming you haven't killed the terrier you will push in and start the flag room battle again.
2. Flag Room Battles
The flag room battle is key for the warbird, it plays as a psychological scare tactic for the team. The enemy terrier sees the warbird coming at him and moves, the spiders most likely will advance on the warbird. This allows your spiders, and even a shark to gang up on the terrier to kill it. Suiciding into their terrier is useful only if they are low on grunts. If both sharks and a spider are gone, its time to get the terrier. The key for this ship is to lay low and wait, then strike. The longer you stay alive, the better the chance you see an opening to strike.
3. Defending
This is where the warbird can make the MVP and win it for the team. Right after the terrier dies from the flag room battle, warp and get into position between the bottom ears at the base. This allows for the easiest terrier kill in the game and slows down their rush even more. From this spot, a few spiders may follow you, which gives your team a spider advantage. Next from this, is to attack from the bottom, while the enemy is trying to break your cram you can get a few shots off at the sharks, spiders or terrier if your lucky. This causes their team to break down and chase you, whch in the end gives your team more flag time.