Posts from How can we win the next match?

The title is rather ironic, but still – I would like to hear the opinions of players on this topic. Here's what we have:

1. The interest of the players themselves; 22 people participated in the vote on the team composition – no one refused to participate. There were no random people; all the players cared about the reputation of the community. Judging by the comments, the players enjoyed the match (not the score, of course).
2. The growth of the resource's player base and their numbers. Summer is a dead time for Heroes tournaments, but still, 32 players gathered for Zhenin's tournament.
What will happen in winter when people return from their gardens and beaches?
3. Support from the Portal. Despite occasional disagreements, it is a natural ally, close to us in terms of skill level (a score of 10-6 in matches does not indicate total superiority), the total number of active players, the game version, the rules, etc. Sooner or later, in a closed community of players, even a very large one, stagnation sets in – fresh blood and an external impulse are needed. And we also need the players from the neighboring resource; look, Neoandy, Vigo, Vitalic, Rebellious, Mike_HP, Lesgor, and other Portal players are already playing on our resource, while our players play on theirs. I talked to proactive people on their side – they are interested in continuing the cooperation.
4. Development of a multi-stage "firefighting" system (players - organizers - referees). If players cannot resolve an issue during a match, they do not start arguing but pass it on to the match organizers for consideration. If the organizers cannot reach an agreement, three authoritative referees step in. Arguing will become impolite.

What would we like to improve before the next match.
1. The composition of our team. I still haven't figured out how to do it best. The "voting method of the players themselves" seems good, but look – those who initially did not make it into the top seven based on the voting results played the best.
A composition based on ranking is also not a panacea. Those who play the most will play, not those who play the best. We definitely wouldn't have Alex R... in our team.
We can make the composition based on the results of the last major tournament before the match, but that's not a solution either. There is currently a random tournament going on... Uran, VBN, Invisible, and Dudj are not playing in it; Decontaminator, Dreamcatcher, and Pit were eliminated due to very strong groups. As a result, there will be no one to play for the team...
2. Coordination with the management of our resource. Let's read the main page. Will we find the names of the winners of the HoMM3 tournaments, both individual and team championships, there? No, we won't. But this is a great incentive for a player – to know that they are proud of them, that the resource loves them. At the same time, I'm not going to accuse the management of being insensitive – they have created an excellent forum where it is pleasant to be, communicate, and play. But this is a question of coordinating efforts in one direction – we need to push for it.
3. Finding "backup" options. Yes, it's good that we have neighbors from the Portal, but that's not enough. The two largest TE resources – Liga and Bai – set strict conditions for surrender – "play only on TE, death to SoD." We shouldn't be too optimistic; they will also win on SoD – before becoming the fathers of TE, the leading players from Minsk, St. Petersburg, and Moscow have been successfully playing on SoD for many years, and their online practice is extensive. ;)
There are Western websites. The main obstacle is the language and cultural barrier. As a result, it is practically impossible to bring the game rules to a common denominator because the differences are very large. And then arguments start during the games: "Damn Westerners, they ruined Malchish." :D
Perhaps we should look for sparring partners, but a little later, when we have raised our skill level enough. For now, we are growing, and the Portal is more than enough for us. And, if possible, it wouldn't hurt to get some revenge. :rolleyes:

P.S. I ask our friends from the Portal not to consider my post to be chauvinistic. I treat you, guys, with great respect.

I have nothing to add here, but since the party's already started -
the forum is about to be updated, and everything will be updated. Both the tournament system and the game rating. This is undoubtedly a successful year for HeroesWorld in 3, many players are drawn to us :)
Plans for the future:
a 4-resource battle is possible in the near future (just an idea for now)
a tournament on TE is possible - I would advise SoD players to try their hand - we are no slouches either ;)

What I would like to improve before the next match takes place.
1. The composition of our team. I still haven't figured out the best way to do it.

I would advise putting this on the organizer's shoulders - after all, he is the most competent person on this matter ;)

2. Coordination of forces with the management of our resource.

the wait won't be long:D

I already spoke about the third point...
Egor, thank you once again! No one could have handled it better than you, and our guys didn't let us down either :) I think we performed admirably. Thanks again to everyone and +3 luck :)

Actually, I believe we were just a little unlucky in this match! Our fighters fought and put up a worthy resistance against the experienced players of the portal! Of course, Dudge and invisible didn't play — that was a loss for the team, but due to Dudge's absence, Pit stepped up! So we have people who can play, and we can and even must keep fighting!!!

I completely agree with Evgeniy — our fighters need to try themselves in TE! I think this will only raise the level of play and allow them to face very strong TE players.... It's a shame that the last match between ХВ and ХБ never finished.... Our heroes on ХВ haven't died out yet :smile10:

I have nothing to add to the first post! Yegor, you have my respect for your work, efforts, and patience! IMHO, you should be made the coordinator for the third game, as you are a diplomatic, competent, and experienced player who has a desire to do a lot for the good of the game!
Thank you for everything!!!

To raise your level of play, you don't need games; you need training. Games against strong opponents foster a general vision of the game and the will to win. However, simple technical-tactical actions are devised and practiced in a calm environment. And it is precisely these that serve as the foundation for victory.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to look at saves from many matches, including those in SoD, and the quality of early development was depressing in some places—the lag behind the optimal development schedule often reached 30-40%.

To improve your level of technical skill, the following is necessary:

1) Analyzing a match after it ends, including by other players. You can simply give another player your Day 1 save and ask them to play through it for a week or two. Then compare.

Even just reviewing daily saves can often point out major strategic errors. This could be done openly on the forum—for example, why wouldn't participants of a past match post their daily saves so that other forum members could look and point out mistakes in the play.

2) Practicing the taking of various banks. Roughly what I did when writing the article about Castle. I significantly advanced my understanding of playing as Castle during this activity. You draw a "polygon" map and practice taking various banks with a Week 1 army, a Week 2 army, etc. Specific battle-tasks can be posted on the forum; solving and analyzing them greatly expands one's horizons regarding methods for genocide of the maps' native population.

Moreover, you should practice taking them both with the "folder" (main hero) and "lochs" (secondary heroes); in games by good players, having a couple or three level 7++ heroes (and often 10++) is normal—because to save movement tempo for the main hero, many battles are fought not by him, but by the secondary ones. Sometimes it happens that the secondaries even surpass the main hero in leveling speed.

It's painful to watch people break Dragon Utopia on Week 3, which I myself, playing from their starting save, could break on Week 2—perhaps with slightly higher losses, but with a colossal gain in further development tempo because of it.

3) Playing against the computer. Start a single-player random map and play for 2-3 weeks, striving to accomplish as much as possible in that time. Because 5-10 such games take about as much time as one game with a human, but provide many times more benefit for technique. Separately, you can practice "running"—the same thing, but monsters on wogfrodo (I'm not sure what the SoD cheat code is for instant battle victory) are passed through (of course, only those that can actually be beaten with the current army), with the main focus on building chains to devour as many "treats" as possible. Many players have a significant deficiency in this component.

4) And simply discussing game strategies on the forum. Lately, this hasn't been very popular; the main themes of the forum are reports and organizational issues. Although if you dig through old threads of many Heroes forums, you can gather enough material for several good articles on strategies, with an abundance of facts and ideas unknown to the modern generation.

To improve your gameplay, you don't need games, but practice. Playing against strong opponents fosters a broader understanding of the game and the will to win. Simple tactical and strategic actions are developed and practiced in a calm environment. And these are the foundation for victories.

I completely agree, so I try to do that (when time allows, of course).

1) Analyzing a game after it's finished, including by other players. You can simply give another player your save from day 1 and ask them to play it for a week or two. Then compare.

i.e., you can send it to me ;) or maybe you can recommend someone else specifically??

2) Practicing capturing various types of towns. This is roughly what I did when I was writing the article about Castle. It greatly improved my understanding of the game with Castle during this process. You create a map-polygon and practice capturing various towns with an army from week 1, with an army from week 2, etc. You can post specific battle-tasks on the forum, and their solution and analysis greatly expands your horizons in the area of methods for the genocide of the native population of maps.

Moreover, you should practice capturing with both the main hero and weaker heroes. In games of good players, having two or three heroes of level 7++ (and often 10++) is normal - because, in order to save time in advancing the main hero, many battles are not fought by him, but by weaker heroes. Sometimes it happens that weaker heroes even outpace the main hero in terms of leveling up.

I agree. I do it too, or at least I'm trying to.

the main focus is on building chains to consume as many resources as possible. Many players have a significant weakness in this area.

I've been looking for a place where I could learn from examples for a long time, but unfortunately, I haven't found one yet. I would be very grateful for good examples (in the form of specific games, for example, where this can be clearly seen).

4) And simply discussing game strategies on the forum. Lately, this is not very popular; the main topic of the forum is reports and organizational issues. However, if you browse through the old threads of many Heroes forums, you can gather material for several good articles on strategies, with plenty of facts and ideas unfamiliar to the modern generation.

I've been browsing. I've found a lot, but most often it's pieces that are written at a (personally for me) not entirely understandable level, and even if I manage to understand them, it's difficult to put them together.

For example, I was personally interested in hearing not only facts (most of which, especially without saves, remain beyond understanding) in reports, but also the ideas that guide certain players in specific situations, in other words, their plan for the game or at least for some period of time. After all, a plan is very important in strategies, in my opinion!

i.e., you can send them to me ;) or maybe you can recommend someone specific?

You can.

I've been looking for this for a long time, a place where I could learn from examples, but unfortunately, I haven't found one yet. I would be very grateful for good examples (in the form of specific games, for example, where I can clearly see this).

I'm currently writing an article - an analysis of a specific real game.

Thank you. I'll keep the first point in mind and wait for the second one.