Gulf Wars 25 - Lessons Learned

Hey all,

I just got back from Gulf Wars and had several learning moments I wanted to share.  All were related to fighting with a spear, but I think are good concepts to think about regardless of the weapon type.


Pacing During a Resurrection Battle

My fitness was higher this year than its been in a long time.  I was working out ~10 hours a week for the two months leading up to Gulf Wars, including a large amount of cardio.  I still got exhausted during the town battle on Tuesday.  Why?  Because no matter how good my fitness is, I can always push the red line for too long.  Its not a fitness issue, but rather a pacing issue.

After wearing myself out in the first 45 minutes, I had a brief conversation with Atlantian Crown Prince Sir Dietrich.  His recommendation was to treat it like an interval workout.  Go hard for 10-20 seconds, and then stand and recover for 1-2 minutes.  By doing this, I can still be aggressive, get lots of kills, and keep the enemy in check while still lasting the entire battle.  Taking this approach, I performed much better in the second half of the battle.


Avoiding Archers - Never Light 3 Cigarettes with One Match

Some people refer to this as Archer Wars.  Archers are absolutely everywhere!  My previous approach to archery was simply to go to the front and try to get as many kills as possible before getting shot.  Historically I'd get about 2 kills before getting shot when there is this level of archery on the field.  

This time I took a different approach which seemed to be much more successful.  There's an old superstition believed to have come from World War One;  never light 3 cigarettes with one match.  The first lit cigarette grabs the sniper's attention.  The second allows him to take aim, and the third gets shot.  Likewise, if you stand in the front and take too many shots with your spear, its not long before the archers spot you, take aim, and fire.

In this year's ravine battle, I made sure that I never spent too much time in the front line.  I'd sit back well behind the front rank and rest on my knees, watching the battle.  If I saw an opportunity for some action, I'd low walk up to the front line and take a handful of shots with my spear.  I never fired more than 3-5 times, killing 1-3 fighters, before I'd head back behind the ranks and take a knee again.

I probably had about the highest kill ration I'd ever had before in a battle with a lot of combat archery.


Finding Effective Positions in the Line Based on the way the Battle Plays Out

The job of a good spearman is not simply to get kills, or to stand there and wait for opportunities to present themselves.  A good spearman always needs to read the battlefield and determine the best way he or she can effect the battle.  The following is an example of what I did during the second field battle in an attempt to make myself as effective as I could:

I began the battle supporting Atlantia on the far right flank.  As Atlantia engaged, they began to push and roll the flank.  As this occurred, I sat in the second rank and looked for opportunities to open up in the gaps between the shields.  At one point, however, the flank started to fold so fast that I found that my help really wasn't necessary anymore.  I looked to my left and noticed a big kill pocket forming, so I moved over into the kill pocket in order to help whittle down the part of the line that had not yet collapsed.

As the battle progressed, however, the opponents sent in reinforcements to attempt to take back the right flank.  Recognizing that they likely had the numbers to now roll our flank back onto us, I repositioned myself again, this time back to the flank in order to help reinforce our flank against the new threat.

The bottom line really is simply to always be thinking about ways to position yourself to have to most positive impact on the battle.