One against Many

[Peanut of Loderia]

I haven't seen a thread dedicated solely to this and I believe it is an important skill whether it is at the end of a battle or merely slowing down an advancing line.

So what are your tips for fighting as one person against many (3, 4, or 5)?

[Bortas]

Never ever ever stand and fight... always move. Fake the kill, take the leg (leg & leave, gimp-n-go etc).

-bort

[Arrakis]

Learn to spin.

Keep them in one hemisphere (i.e., in front of you, less than a 175 degree spread) if at all possible.

Be aggressive, especially if it takes you towards one and away from the rest. A quick kill and a spin back to the rest of the threats is never a bad plan.

[bo1]

arrakis i agree with the from hemisphere but with a twist. i like to keep the group in front while tempting one from the edge, usually on my shield side, to get my back. luring them to flank me and then when they do quikly move away from the lot and single them out. then i go to the plange position and kill them, while my shield protects my back against the group.

another import thing is to feel the fight coming to you. giving openings jsut before covering them, it is like forcing them to swing where you want them to, instead of where they want to. also moving in smallish circles, 10 feet diameter, makes those opposite the circle out of range and makes for several one v one situations.

being in aroebic shape is the best way to win these, run around and wait fo rthem to get sloppy and pick off the weak. then do it again. legs are good but only if you can seperate them, 4 legged people in a group are tough to fight if they have shield and you dont have a pole arm. plus, you can get a kill on them, but the others will likely swipe a leg, no you are no longer mobile, a loser situation against 3 opponents.

[Loptr]

SKBC has a one on many class.
I am thinking it might be MHoG that teaches it, I dont remember.
If so perhaps we can get him to post his "sylabus/notes".

Definantly remain mobile and try to seperate the group. A smart group will counter spin with you keepin you in a one on many situation.

L

[Kyrian]

1) Work on developing a solid weapon block. Not having to move your shield to defend your weapon side can be useful in one-against-many situations.

2) Before you actually engage, take a moment to evaluate what you're up against. Pay special attention to whether there are any missiles (especially arrows), spears, and glaives. These are going to be a problem because they can kill you through armor and break your shield outside of your engagement range.

3) Control the fight. Set the pace. You will be more effective if you force them to respond to you instead of the other way around.

4) It's been mentioned before but I'll reiterate. Once you engage, don't stop moving. You cannot stay static or you will get munched.

5) Be aware of where the edge of the world is. An edge can be your friend since it limits the directions of attack but you are also more likely to get pinned against that edge.

6) Work at making the one-on-many into a one-on-one. There are a couple of approaches you can use. One is to draw or spread out the fighters so that you only have to fight one. You have to basically get a fighter far enough away from the other fighters so that they can't support him. The other approach is to maneuver around the group so that you only have to fight one at a time. The ideal is that the fighters are almost in a single file relative to you and they can't engage you without actually going around the single fighter.

7) If you have any missiles such as javelins or rocks, use them. If you can gimp or kill some of the fighters outside of melee range, then you're off to a good start.

[varadin]

The SKBC class was taught by Dalos

It wasn't so much a learning experience but a drill of who can do the best over and over.

Heres what said that i can remember off the top of my head

-Orbit towards the weakest enemy. Taking them out first lets you concentrate on the bigger threat.
-Wait for your 1 on 1s never step into range of 2 enemies.
-In and out, get in throw 1 shot and get out, you have time for at most a fient and a shot
-Get them tired, once eventually one will grow bored of staying close and come out and hes easy pickings

He isn't a fan of leg shots because hes one of those amt fighters who think its cheesy. He said if needed to leg and leave but leg them far from each other because 2 kneed fighters are a pain in the balls.

He taught us an awesome game called Power. Basically 1 person has the power, they are the only person who can get kills. When they get a kill that person stays dead untill the Powered person goes down. When he dies everyone is back up and aside from the person who just died loosing the power. Was insanely fun.

[Loptr]

He taught us an awesome game called Power. Basically 1 person has the power, they are the only person who can get kills. When they get a kill that person stays dead untill the Powered person goes down. When he dies everyone is back up and aside from the person who just died loosing the power. Was insanely fun.

Agreed Power is awesome for learning one on many. One clarification, when power dies, its basically a reset all wounds regen for everyone. As mentioned above the recently power dies until the person that took the power dies.
This game is frickin chaotic. you will learn to work together but not be stacked on top of each other.


The leg is cheesey attitude is certainly a Bob thing. The Bob's hate gettin legged and wont shoot for legs. The basic logic is along the lines of it takes more skill and is more efficient to just get a kill shot. I Amt you cant bowl over a gimp then club em, I 'spect this is part of their reasoning. If you guys get the chance to fight Arthon, he loves to line up on the right crush it and run the line. Leg his * before he can, its priceless. (Huggs uncle Arty, I realize your eye is twitching closed as you read this.)

Loptr
L

[Michael]

MOst of the key concepts I know have already been covered. One that was missed is the concept of lining up opponents. Take advantage of the agressive instincts of some fighters to get them to chase and get the other fighters behind them.

Bo pointed out that you can get them to flank poorly by moving at the right speed to where an agressive player will try to flank an leave himself open to being picked off but lining them up gives you an option if they flank more skillfully. They they flank with to many to pick off, then rotate the other way and make the many push through eachother. Chaos is your friend. One of the very few actual advantages that the one player has is that coordiantion between many people is hard.

Also be aware of terrain. This should be obvious. In foam sports there are only two kinds of terrain. Passable and impassable. Since one on many you are all about movement, you cant get locked into impassable terrain. As for excample, in the corner of the field. You can use an island of impassable terrain, like a castle wall, car or large tree to temporarily line up or break up opponents but you dont have sufficient force to use terrain to anchor a defense. Use it quickly and move on.

[Brennon EH]

I disagree about terrain. There are lots of variations on 'passable' terrain that impart an advantage or disadvantage to the fighters. Mud, loose sand, high grass, and any number of other things can significantly impair footwork. Knowing how to manipulate your opponents into poor footwork areas enables you to buy precious seconds to fight one-on-two or one-on-one.

[Michael]

Fair enough. My statement that impassable terrain is the only kind is a little extreme. Still it gets the point accross. Bad turf is a factor but only a small one in most fights.

[MagnusofDregoth]

Especially when you get down to a few fighters, you want to try to spread them out flat, then get around to one end of this line of fighters. That is, position yourself so that you are at the head of a single-file line of your opponents. By doing so you make your opponents get in each other's way, which prevents them from easily attacking you all at once (which is what smart opponents will be trying to do) and thereby gives you the chance to take them on one by one.

This is basically the opposite of what you would do in soccer, for example, where you try to split the defenders and run/pass between them. The reason for this difference is that, if you find yourself between opponents, you will maybe be able to run through them--by putting your sword out on one side and your shield on the other--but that won't do you much good, since you will be in basically the same position on the other side, without having killed anyone.

Specific techniques to get good at include fast leg attacks, and an in-and-out spring attack. Those two will account for, I would say, most of your kills, at least once your opponents have learned to stay clumped together and not get spread out.

[FrankManic]

Throw down your sword and beg for mercy, and if they spare you find more durable friends.

Personally, unless I was cornered or literally the last man standing on my side I would go find my friends in order to improve the odds. I don't really like the 'one person fighting his own personal battle' concept. I'd rather be part of a cohesive fighting unit. If the unit breaks, then I'd prefer to run away instead of getting pasted in a three or four on one fight.

I suppose your only real option, if you're fighting competent opponents and don't feel like running, is to try to take one with you, or hurt them enough that your team will benefit. Leg or arm someone, slow them down, that sort of thing.

[Arrakis]

Don't spend a lot of time holding down flank-ends and shoring up thin spots in lines, do ya Frank?

[Sir Azrael]

DUDE, my realm was playing WARLORD the other week. I was the last one "free". I didn't know weather to just die, or try to fight. I had full armor, a shield, and sword. The odds were like 1-10, probably more. So should I have taken death, or tried to fight?

btw: I tried to fight - i failed.

[Soo Ma Tai]

I will always fight it out, never just take death, you can't learn anything that way. In this game, 99% of your learning happens during fighting.

When facing multiple attackers, I always try to keep my shield side toward the bulk of the enemies. Therefore i usually try to move to the right of their line. Move quickly and decisively, remember "hesitation leads to horizontal meditation." I use several spinning retreats to disengage from the main group, these help me to keep an eye on the rest of the field so I don't get surprised from behind. I will always try for a kill shot, but if it's not available, I will gimp and go. That's my basics for fighting multiple attacks alone.

[Alunsun]

Never ever ever stand and fight... always move. Fake the kill, take the leg (leg & leave, gimp-n-go etc).

-bort

QFT

If they have the upper hand, guerrilla tactics is always the way to go, as you always have a lot more to lose than they do. This is also the case for flanking. Usually, you bite off what you can and disappear until you lose all the aggro.

[bo1]

when you do gimp and go make sure there is alot of space between the gimps, dropping 6 guys in one spot does nothing but make them clump up, it is hard to get after a clump od legged people.

also, running and hidding will get you nothing. real men fight it out. and begging is for your bedroom, with the lady friend.

[Kageshiro]

Maybe it is me, but I enjoy allowing gimped opponents to clump. Probably not as effective as separating and fighting 1v1, but often lots of fun.

With a clump of 3 or so legged (preffarably impatient and inexperienced) opponents, I've found it effective to rotate and push in a way that isolates one of the legged in front of (and blocking) the other fighters. If you take the isolated opponent, the other fighters occasionally will lunge into the newly created space and expose themselves. The exposed are easy pickings - and anticipating the lunge is way fun.

- Sir Kage of Arnor

[Azgarehta]

As a spearman, legged people are both good and bad. On the upside, they're not chasing you, but on the downside, their shields are hard as hell to get around, and its a bit tricky to try and kick their shield and spear them without losing a leg to their weapon.

[Juicer]

As a spearman, legged people are both good and bad. On the upside, they're not chasing you, but on the downside, their shields are hard as hell to get around, and its a bit tricky to try and kick their shield and spear them without losing a leg to their weapon.

Stab past their side, swing the spear head at the shield edge, then stab in while stepping to the side to get the best angle possible. Or get a shield hook. Or fake at their face and when they pull back stab the shield full force to knock them over, then stab more. Or hold the spear head just close enough to them so they lunge to grab it, then pull it back quick and stab them in the shoulder. Or arm snipe if you're good enough.

[Arrakis]

Hold in low left position with your right hand thumb back a la Amtgard polework and then ground tap on their right side and follow up by just impaling them right inside the edge of their shield with a good hip-twist shot. A little Juicer-advertised footwork never hurt a bit, either.