Yet Another Horde Thread

[Lusche]

AH is becoming a team sport. Soon only the teams will be left.

The constant complains about "why can't WE organize??", and the constant presence of 5 armchair generals trying to get people to attack 10 different bases seem to indicate otherwise

But more seriously: Since the dar range was pulled back to the old value, I'm quite fine as a lone wolf again.

Yes, the new towns do require more effort which requires a somewhat greater team effort - but that's just one side of the medal. It also makes sneaking or overrunning large areas at off-peak times more difficult, even an outnumbered defender has now more time to react.

[Dadsguns]

From what I observe, the games internal works allows for these mega hordes to form on any side.  
At one point yesterday for example : a side had 100+ players fighting another side that had 40+ players, the side that obviously had numbers was running noe after noe with this mega horde against a side that simply could not stop it due to lack of numbers.  ENY had little effect, it did not deter the horde from forming, it did not slow them down in steam rolling bases, and surely they were not in any mode of fighting, just pure domination for base taking.  
Had they had numbers equal to the rest of the arena, I am sure that they would not have been as succesful in steam rolling bases as they did, its in the dynamics of the game that allows them to have such numbers.

Missions are not the problem folks, its when and how they are used=horde.  
Irresponsible players that want to appear as though they are some guru about running this style of mission is the problem, but yet if they are allowed or offered the tools to do it and to make it as easy as possible to run them, then its an HTC problem.  

IMO - Cap the arenas  PER SIDE or make the ENY so painful that it forces them to switch to another side!!,,,   Oh well if your squaddies are in another side or not, go to another arena that may have the numbers to accommodate a mega squad/or a horde or minimize your squad to an acceptable level.
Most players are not taking the responsibility on by themselves to equal the playing field anyway by switching sides to the lower side, capping a side is a way where they don't have a choice, the choice will be made for them.  Hence switching sides is part of everyones responsibility squad level up, this is part of the reason why I no longer fly with my previous squad, I did not pledge allegiance to any chess piece and to stay on a side that repeatedly has numbers/horde I in fact was participating indirectly with part of this problem, I fly primarily on a low number side now.  

Missions are not the enemy, the horde is.  Want to fly in a horde and use sheer lemmings to accomplish something, make it painfully clear that it is discouraged for them.  That's the only fix.  Until then, they will go on like this until the bottle is pulled from their suckling mouths because the game allows them to keep on with the keeping on.

Just as someone has already mentioned it got so bad, the fight against this side was a fight where it was against ALL or NONE. No fight to be had, A horde would smother a field NOE, take it land it, roll the next one NOE etc......

I flew over several bases waiting for something to come up ,,,,, nothing.   At one point they finally upped with 20 or so to take me on......   

[321BAR]

Im happy to say that my squad has only captured 24 bases in the last two tours (only two of which were goonies)

We try and focus on the fight and the fun more than the reset... whenever im online my crew rarely attacks a base for the take by ourselves. We seem to take to the skies as a support role for the captures that happen more often. We often CAP a base after an epic bomb raid, fly fighter sorties to kill incoming enemies and clear our bases, and escort bomb raids, or fly off CVs blowing planes out of the sky more often than hitting those towns... theres many more ways of having fun in the game if you utilize the horde around you. Yes you may even become a part of the horde, but by using your time to do something that most of the horders do, you suddenly are HELPING the horde even if you arent even thinking of what they are accomplishing 10k feet below you and your wingmen

[shiv]

Most players are not taking the responsibility on by themselves to equal the playing field anyway by switching sides to the lower side, capping a side is a way where they don't have a choice, the choice will be made for them.  Hence switching sides is part of everyones responsibility squad level up, this is part of the reason why I no longer fly with my previous squad, I did not pledge allegiance to any chess piece and to stay on a side that repeatedly has numbers/horde I in fact was participating indirectly with part of this problem, I fly primarily on a low number side now.  

Dads, let's not forget the benefits of being on the outnumbered sides: a good perk bonus and cheap perk planes.  I imagine one could fly F4U-4s almost exclusively under those conditions.  Must take the sting out of being so noble

[The Fugitive]

Dads, I agree 100%. It is up to the leader of these hordes to make the missions multi pronged attacks so that the few "defending" or looking for a fight have half a chance at some fun.

Again, like the NOEs, if Hitech has to step in a lot of people may not like the solution he comes up with.

It's up the those running these hordes to do something before something is done for them.

[grizz441]

You big wussies.  Get a couple buddies, learn some winging tactics, come in above them in a fast bird and start picking the crap out of them.  Most of them won't even acknowledge your presence until you kill a few(Like the Borg in Star Trek, typical drone behavior).  Stay alive, distract, pluck off the baby seals, be a general nuisance until you get chased away by eight of them.  Escape, rinse, repeat.

[Dadsguns]

Dads, let's not forget the benefits of being on the outnumbered sides: a good perk bonus and cheap perk planes.  I imagine one could fly F4U-4s almost exclusively under those conditions.  Must take the sting out of being so noble

Do you really think its enough or in fact even working?  
I don't think its doing anything to prevent a horde much less counter one.  

Perks/Bonus is the incentive to equal sides: not the solution.  

Red Guys are Red Guys.... They just don't know they are Dead yet....  

You big wussies.  Get a couple buddies, learn some winging tactics, come in above them in a fast bird and start picking the crap out of them.  Most of them won't even acknowledge your presence until you kill a few(Like the Borg in Star Trek, typical drone behavior).  Stay alive, distract, pluck off the baby seals, be a general nuisance until you get chased away by eight of them.  Escape, rinse, repeat.

This works,,,,,, when you can find them or lucky enough to catch them in the act........  

It would not have worked the day I described, by the time you upped from another field and was halfway there the field would be captured.  By the time you arrived they all landed and was on the another field many sectors away.... rinse repeat....

Dads, I agree 100%. It is up to the leader of these hordes to make the missions multi pronged attacks so that the few "defending" or looking for a fight have half a chance at some fun.

Again, like the NOEs, if Hitech has to step in a lot of people may not like the solution he comes up with.

It's up the those running these hordes to do something before something is done for them.

I welcome a solution, before its too late. 
The EW, MW arenas are ghost towns because of this style of play, its all that ever happens in there now.
LW is steadily heading down that path.



 

[1Boner]

Lol, if it isn't one thing, it'll be another.

Personally, I don't see hordes or noes as a problem.

[waystin2]

You big wussies.  Get a couple buddies, learn some winging tactics, come in above them in a fast bird and start picking the crap out of them.  Most of them won't even acknowledge your presence until you kill a few(Like the Borg in Star Trek, typical drone behavior).  Stay alive, distract, pluck off the baby seals, be a general nuisance until you get chased away by eight of them.  Escape, rinse, repeat.

Not necessarily the way I would say it, but definitely a too true writeup.  Harass them until they run out of steam.  They always do...

[Tilt]

The only mechanism I have seen actually limit horde tendancies is the zone limit.

It was applied successfully for a period in AW. Basically each field has a limit upon how many planes / vehicles can be launched from it a any one time.

The limit would have to be dynamic. At least inversely proportional to the number of active fields any side has.

Hordes (IMO) are actually the product of mindless "swarming".

They (horde members) are not clever enough to up from rear fields once a front field has all its planes air borne.

Horde generals (using the swarm analogy  "Horde Queens") are not usually clever enough to set up co ordinated attacks  (missons) from several air fields as would be required under zone limit.

The result is that the front line becomes more spread, fields are only horde attacked when there are two enemy fields virtually equidistant from them. (triangulated attack).
When mission planners / generals are able to opperate more complex missions from multiple airfields then probably they deserve any reward going.

Having said all that I do not believe the Horde problem is what it used to be. I do not see maps being rolled up at any fantastic rate. Indeed what I generally see is a strike and counter strike form of arena gameplay. Which whilst annoying that your base field is now being capped where before the roll was reversed is no more or less than such game play should be.

[shiv]

I welcome a solution, before its too late. 
The EW, MW arenas are ghost towns because of this style of play, its all that ever happens in there now.
LW is steadily heading down that path.
 

<S> Dads but surely not.  The EW and MW are lightly populated because players want to fly the late war planes not because of gameplay issues.  And LW had been heading down that path forever - players will gravitate to the larger dar bars.  Bases have always been swarmed - I don't see anything new.

[Lusche]

 The EW and MW are lightly populated because players want to fly the late war planes not because of gameplay issues.  

Actually, it's a combination of several issues that the EW is almost completely deserted now, and that includes some issues in gameplay (planeset balance, same ack levels for CV and fields as in LW, 17 pounder guns on EW vbases and more).

[Dadsguns]

... LW had been heading down that path forever - players will gravitate to the larger dar bars.  Bases have always been swarmed - I don't see anything new.

I was speaking more along the lines of LW heading down the path of being a ghost town as EW, MW is now not merely the style of play.... Correct me if I am wrong here, but Player base in LW isn't what it used to be as in population wise..... many factors could be a part of that but certainly the frustration that players have is a factor that must be accounted for. <S> Shiv

[seano]

when you see the base flashing, up a la7 or tempest, kill the goon, problem solved.

[Little Dragon]

when you see the base flashing, up a la7 or tempest, kill the goon, problem solved.

lol, mind you the other 28-29 planes?  i honor the ones who up into 10+man hordes, but however it's a bit foolish if ya ask me