Basic Strategy

This page gives an introduction for new players on the basic strategies that give you better chances at winning games.

Getting started

It's a good idea to play the first three single-player levels before jumping into multi-player. These will ensure you understand the basic idea behind bonuses and basic combat, as these are necessary prerequisites to playing WarLight.

Free-for-all games

In games with lots of players, it's generally a good idea to try to avoid getting into a lot of battles with other players. If two players are fighting each other, and a third is growing unencumbered, the third player tends to win more often since the first two are depleting their armies against each other.

Remember, fighting between two players weakens both of them. Be careful who you pick a fight with - even if you end up winning the war, you may just be opening yourself up for conquest by an even stronger neighbor.

Of course, you can't win without fighting at all. Therefore, it's necessary to find a balance. The best wars are ones that you can win quickly, whereas the worst ones are wars that you either lose or go on for a long time.

Heads-up games

Games with only two entities (1v1s, 2v2s, etc.) work completely differently. In these games, breaking an opponent's bonus is just as good as (sometimes better than) taking a bonus yourself. Therefore, going on the offensive is usually a good decision.

Basic Strategy Guide

[Warflowvet {Warlighter] made a brief strategy guide for beginner players.

Deployment

1)Always put the combined amount of picks that will be gotten by all players to avoid getting random picks -example: in strategic 1V1, take 6 picks. 2)Never pick in a wastelanded bonus for any reason, even to take another bonus first turn. it will handicap your spreading too much. 3)Start by taking small bonuses, big ones might be tempting but they'll take a lot longer, so are not worth it.

Spreading

1)Never try to take a bonus with a wasteland in it, you may want to take a territory in it to sabotage or travel to another bonus though. 2)Spreading is about taking full bonuses, not individual territories. Some territories are not worth it. 3)Exact success chance depends on luck settings, but attack 2 with 4 or 3 (higher risk) and 4 with 7 usually.

Fighting

Most of fighting is about predicting your opponent's moves 1) Break enemy bonuses, you only need 1 territory in there for him not to have it. 2) Only attack if you think you will have more armies, preferably at least twice as many, as your opponent when the attack happens 3)Sabotage enemy bonuses by taking a territory near them, threatening to break them 4)Defend your bonuses by putting the right amount of armies on your borders, predicting sabotage, and guessing how many armies and where your opponent will choose to attack

See Also

• Advanced Strategy