They are the Empire, we are the Jedi. They are the Germans, we are the French freedom fighters. They are the Americans, we are the Viet Cong. Those were all smaller forces that learned to pick their battles, to hit and run, to not fight the battle the enemy wanted to fight.
Rule # 1 - Pick the fights you can win
When 100 albs are attacking something, and we only have 20 people in the homeland BG, we aren't going to win head on very often. So that little 20 man force needs to pick fights where everything we can get helps us. We need to be dug in on defense not offense. We need to be there before they arrive and have wards up. We need to be ready and not caught by suprise. And the way we can pick those fights is by US determining where they happen, not the albs. We attack the towers and invite the albs to come out, NOT THE OTHER WAY. We don't respond to what the albs do, THEY RESPOND TO WHAT WE DO. This is really important, and too many mids just don't get it yet. We cannot fight the albs head on and win. Don't fight the fight they want to fight.
Rule # 2 - They need us more than we need them.
When we've only got 20 mids running around, thats not alot of RP's to go around for 100 albs. The only way they are going to have good rp's is to kill us over and over. Lets face it, the only reason we are still out here anyway is because we are hardcore. So have some patience, don't feed them easy rp's. Maybe if they get bored the zerg will thin a little, that helps us.
Rule # 3 - Until we get more people, homeland is undefensible. Don't bother, it's counterproductive & hurts more than it helps.
Right now we have no relics, there is nothing to defend but our pride. And when 100 albs invade and take towers because they've got nothing better to do, the WORST thing we can do is to go out and feed the zerg. First, they will likely farm us unless we are already dug in good. Second, to lose a homeland keep and retake it and then lose it and retake it does not make the realm stronger, in fact it's that kind of hopeless fighting that is making mids quit, because in the long run we can't win that fight against 4 times out numbers. Retake homeland keeps and towers when the Albs are not around, or are in Hibernia.
Now, lets do our best to keep teleporting to Glen and Arv open for the docks, but don't be so stubborn we try to take on 3x our number. And when we retake our towers if we can selectively take a tower here and there to disable the albs ability to teleport to our realm, thats great. But this compulsion to make all our keeps blue again is just an invitation for the albs to come zerg it up and farm RP's by taking them back. We are rewarding them for zerging us.
And in some ways, until we get relics, with the new penalties for realms that have alot of keeps, IT IS IN OUR INTEREST FOR ALBS TO HAVE SOME OF OUR KEEPS. It makes their upgrades slower and OURS FASTER. It also means that when we hit one of their towers, it takes longer for flames to appear, increasing our chances of taking a tower before the zerg arrives. And once we get a tower, it upgrades faster so that once they arrive for us to farm them, we've got a better fortified position to do it from.
Rule # 4 - Constantly defending is stressfull. Why not let the Albs experience that?
It is more fun to be the farmers than the farmed. Being farmed makes people quit, farming others keeps people coming back. This is also part of picking fights we can win. When we take the time to run to Surs 3 and quick take the keep, the albs will trickle in, or maybe the main zerg is busy trying to fight the hibs at DC, but most of the time we won't have to fight the whole main force immediately. We'll be able to fight smaller groups until the main zerg arrives. And as defenders against smaller groups, we can win those fights. We get the RP's, not them. Thats what keeps people coming back.
Rule # 5 - Make the zerg move, go where they are not.
When Albs are fighting hibs up at Berkstead, it's a great time to hit something on the other side of the map and use that distance to our advantage. Make them teleport and regroup before they can fight us. Or if the huge alb zerg just wiped all the mids and are still in their own homeland, it's a great time for mids to retake a Nottmore tower to cut off their teleporting. We are light and mobile, make them chase us.
Rule # 6 - Use the realm map to our advantage, create multiple flames
It's much harder for the zerg to know where to go when they have to make decisions. So use that. If the main force is going to hit Eras 3, send a couple hunters/rangers down to Surs 3 to use their fools bow on the doors. Get two towers on fire at the same time to increase the chance that the zerg won't arrive in time to face our main force.
Rule # 7 - Think strategic
Not all towers and keeps are equal. Once you have a single tower, you have cut off enemy teleporting to that keep. It's of much more value to take 3 towers at 3 different keeps to cut alb teleporting than it is to take 3 towers at the same keep without taking the keep. A great area to farm albs is Bold 3, Surs 4, and Eras 3. Those three keeps are in close proximity making it easy to get back and forth, and by taking those three keeps you have cut off teleporting to the 2/3 of the Albion homeland. As for taking keeps, for an outnumbered force the swamp keeps are the easiest to take because it is hardest for the albs to approach them. Once you have cut off teleporting, they can't boat there, they have to run. And part of their run will be through the swamp. It is a very big disadvantage to be fighting from that water where you are effectively rooted. USE THAT. Anticipate that and thin them out as they try to get onto the Eras island. Keep a speed warp up at the Eras 1 side, they will almost certainly be approaching from that direction. And if they are dumb enough to approach from the Beno side, fight them while they are in the swamp.
Rule # 8 - When in hostile territory, don't rally in front of keeps until you are ready to move
Too often while we are getting ready to move on to the next tower, I see mids standing around out in front of the tower. And if we don't get enough warning before the alb zerg arrives we just lost 1/2 the defending force for no reason. So the alb farming expedition was hamstrung before we got started. And after every tower we take, all tanks please go to lord and lord bind just in case.
Rule # 9 - we need to make this fun.
90% of the Midgard realm has abandoned RVR or quit DAOC altogether. What keeps people coming back is fun. So whatever we do we need to have fun. Yelling at people in the BG helps the albs. After a wipe, announcing in the BG that you've had enough and are out of here again helps the albs. Go ahead and quit when you aren't having fun, but no need to bring other people down too. I have my bad days too, but I try to remember this when I can. We won't win the war quickly. We won't be getting our relics back anytime soon. But if we go out and have fun and pick our battles carefully, mids won't be so discouraged and we may get a few more out there with us which will give us more options. So the main thing is we need to have fun. Success will follow later (though we sure could use some help from Mythic)
Rule # 10 - Gank groups can help too
Plenty of times I've seen DE or Desolate swing in and wipe a bunch of albs standing around in front of a keep or tower seige. That helps everyone. So if you can feed info to the gank groups to help them kill albs, do it. Help them to help us. Don't make it adversarial, be a team.
Rule # 11 - Quit using the damn bridges when you are trying to catch up with the main force.
This isn't really guerrilla warfare, but I'm sick and tired of the 5 man alb stealth groups farming stupid mids that don't remember they can swim. Now if you want to go stealther hunting fine, but if you are just trying to get from point A to point B, go around a little and swim. Don't feed easy RP's to those overpowered Infiltrators and Minstrels that love to hang out at bridges.
Rule # 12 - How to not be archer bait
OK, this isn't a guerilla warfare rule either, but I hear so many people talk about how archers are overpowered. I'd like to give a little reminder that there are lots and lots of things that can work against archers if you only think of them.
* Shield tanks stop an archer cold, and a caster with a shield tank using guard and engage is literally archer immune. Bodyguard is just as good. So use the tanks for what they were made for. Then bring your tank protected caster forward and nearsight them all, or mez, or blast them to smithereens as they try to shoot you.
* Pay attention to LOS - don't just stand in front of a tower, you are archer bait. Approach from the side, or stand against the tower, that makes it really hard for an archer to target you. I see so many stupid mend types standing out front where they can see what is going on. Why? You can't heal when out of LOS? I've rekilled plenty of newly rezzed casters that decide to rest right in front of the tower about 800 units out. DOH!
* Trebs on hitting top of tower almost completely shut multiple archers down and makes him move. Not all trebs need to be hitting the doors and walls. I absolutely hate when someone designates themselves for archer suppression duty. =P
Thats all. Yes, too long a post for many of our VN ADD star farmers. But I hope mids and hibs can use some of this. The main thing is we can't fight the fight the albs want, we need to pick the fight we want. And because we have no relics, we have complete freedom on picking the fight we want. The alb zerg needs us more than we need them.
