Strand of the Ancients
Strand of the Ancients consist of 2 rounds lasting up to 10 minutes each, during which your team is playing either offense or defense. The game lasts a maximum of 20 minutes. The ultimate goal is to capture the Titan Relic. However, your team can win the match by being the team that comes closest to capturing the Titan Relic within the shortest period of time.
Strategy / Overview
Playing Offensive
Beach Gates (Blue / Green)
While the ships are coming in, the leader will choose a beach gate as the main assault point by attempting to determine how many enemy players are on each side and call out the side that has the least.
Forces from the off-gate will move across the beach to the main gate. A small group may attack the off-gate to keep the enemy occupied.
The goal is to get up the hill as quickly as possible. The more you have to fight, the slower your advance will be. Melee will drive tanks. Ranged and CC will follow tanks and "peel" defenders away. Healers will keep peelers up. Anyone who can dispel will help keep the tanks moving. Everyone will have a bomb.
Beach Gates (Blue / Green)
While the ships are coming in, the leader will choose a beach gate as the main assault point by attempting to determine how many enemy players are on each side and call out the side that has the least.
Forces from the off-gate will move across the beach to the main gate. A small group may attack the off-gate to keep the enemy occupied.
The goal is to get up the hill as quickly as possible. The more you have to fight, the slower your advance will be. Melee will drive tanks. Ranged and CC will follow tanks and "peel" defenders away. Healers will keep peelers up. Anyone who can dispel will help keep the tanks moving. Everyone will have a bomb.
A blitz hits the assault gate. If a siege tank dies, everyone who was in the tank runs to the gate and delivers their bombs. Anyone who rezzes while the gate is still up goes back to the dock for more tanks and bombs. This repeats until the gate falls. There is no melee. Don't stop to fight. CC and get to the gate.
North Gates (Red / Purple)
Once through the beach gate, use communications to reorganise quickly. Sometimes the main assault team can break through to the next level before the enemy notices, but even so, there are other tasks that need to be done.
As the tanks and bombers roll on, a small stealth team crosses the map to cap the two north graveyard flags. This will bring up the workshops with their bombs and two more siege tanks. The new tanks will immediately join the assault. This will put the remaining beach tanks at yellow, with another coming up on either side, and these will be joined by a cloud of bombers.
From now on as people rez they will get tanks and bombs at the workshops, setting up waves of assaults on the remaining gates.
South Gate (Yellow)
The enemy will likely mass at the yellow gate, so bombs become a major weapon. Stealth players will be running bombs to the yellow gate. Everyone else will be driving or guarding a tank.
At this point, it is probably possible to cap the south graveyard but DO NOT. Capping the South Graveyard will put you too far away from your tanks and slow the process down too much.
End Game Offence (Relic Gate)
You still need to avoid melee and stay focused on bringing tanks and bombs to the relic room door. Coordinated attacks by "stacking" tanks and bringing them along with mounted bombers to the gate at the same time. This kind of rush will often get two or three bombs to the door.
After the door breaks, you only need to get inside and click on the relic to end the round.
North Gates (Red / Purple)
Once through the beach gate, use communications to reorganise quickly. Sometimes the main assault team can break through to the next level before the enemy notices, but even so, there are other tasks that need to be done.
As the tanks and bombers roll on, a small stealth team crosses the map to cap the two north graveyard flags. This will bring up the workshops with their bombs and two more siege tanks. The new tanks will immediately join the assault. This will put the remaining beach tanks at yellow, with another coming up on either side, and these will be joined by a cloud of bombers.
From now on as people rez they will get tanks and bombs at the workshops, setting up waves of assaults on the remaining gates.
South Gate (Yellow)
The enemy will likely mass at the yellow gate, so bombs become a major weapon. Stealth players will be running bombs to the yellow gate. Everyone else will be driving or guarding a tank.
At this point, it is probably possible to cap the south graveyard but DO NOT. Capping the South Graveyard will put you too far away from your tanks and slow the process down too much.
End Game Offence (Relic Gate)
You still need to avoid melee and stay focused on bringing tanks and bombs to the relic room door. Coordinated attacks by "stacking" tanks and bringing them along with mounted bombers to the gate at the same time. This kind of rush will often get two or three bombs to the door.
After the door breaks, you only need to get inside and click on the relic to end the round.
Tips and Tricks
Against good defense, you need a more flexible strategy. As always, communication is the key.
- The fight starts as above ... chose a gate and try to rush it.
- If the gate is too well defended, switch some forces to the other side and break through the other gate. The north graveyard has priority. Once you control it you will get a res point and siege tanks.
- Push south towards the next gate. If the enemy adjusts, then again switch some forces to the other side. Cap that gy, break the gate and push south.
- Against a good opponent, the yellow gate defense will be fierce. Be sure to cap the south graveyard. This will lose you two tanks, but your bombers will res much closer to the gate. Pro teams kill demos fast, and your best bet is to win by running waves of bombers at the main gate.
- There is no special plan for yellow. If you can, try to group your tanks and bomb runners so as to overwhelm the defense. They have the advantage of ressing in the yellow area, if you arrive separately, they will likely cut you apart.
Playing Defence
The defensive plan seems obvious, and the same pattern is used in most battles. As noted above, the key is not the strategy but the execution.
The defensive plan seems obvious, and the same pattern is used in most battles. As noted above, the key is not the strategy but the execution.
- On the beach the weakest players take the guns and everyone else goes forward to meet the enemy on the docks and hold them there as long as possible. If you destroy the tanks on the docks, and keep the enemy from loading up with bombs, you will be off to a good start.
- Note that the enemy will respawn at the single graveyard in the middle of the beach. If you are strong enough to camp that graveyard, you can hold them there indefinitely.
- Once the enemy gets off the docks, you want to put two or three CC-capable players in front of the gates (position 1 on image). Their job is to control bomb carriers, defuse any bombs that get laid, and blast any tanks that make it that far. The rest of your team wants to hunt down tanks as they respawn and bombers wherever they show up.
- When the enemy breaks through either of the blue or green gates, immediately move all forces on the opposite side to the next threatened gate (position 2 on image). For example, if the enemy breaks through green, move your blue-side defenders to purple. Whether or not you lose the other gate, you MUST stop the breakthrough before it gets to the next level.
- It is important to monitor the battle closely and move forces east and west as needed.
- Keep the two North graveyards as long as you can. Until they control them, the enemy must respawn on the beach. Also, control of a graveyard opens its associated tank workshop, giving the enemy more vehicles.
- As soon as the enemy breaks through on red or purple, move everyone to the yellow gate (position 3 on image). Since you can mass your forces here, enemy tanks will have a harder time reaching the gate. However, bombers become a serious problem. You will need a good CC bomb disposal team in front of the gate. You may also want to defend the south flag as this will let you respawn at the south graveyard while the enemy respawns down the hill.
- When the yellow gate goes, put a large melee defence at the gate. The gate may be gone, but it is still a choke point. If the guns are still up, they should be used to damage incoming tanks and bombers. Put a strong CC team in front of the main door (position 4 on image) to defuse bombs. Put ranged in the middle of the yellow zone. They should kill players going for bombs on the west side, and they should pick up any incoming tanks that pass the gate defense.