Overview
Tactics and Strategies for winning and dominating at Siege.
What is Siege?
Siege is a 6 versus 6 gamemode where each team has to gather energy units (EU) deliver them to their base (DE) in order to launch their airship to attack the other teams base. To protect your airship or to take out an enemy airship you have to take and stand on the Anti-Air (AA).
Both Teams start out with 3000 base armor. There are always 2 EU stations usually on either side of the AA or in a line leading to the AA (Wreckage).
The airship costs reflect how much armor the ships engines have.
Also Mechs have a finite amount they can hold at any given time:
A class (Reaper, Infiltrator, Scout, Technician, Berserker) can only hold 150 EU
B class (CR-T, Assault, G2-Assault, Bruiser, Raider, Sharpshooter, Predator) can only hold 200 EU
C class (Rocketeer, Grenadier, Brawler, Vanguard, G2-Raider, Incinerator) can only hold 250 EU
Siege Maps:
Last Eco
Frontline
Wreckage
Origin
Mechs
Depending on the map and the stategy, there are a variety of mechs to use for each. Typically when gathering EU you want to be faster than your enemy while doing so however there is something to be said about a C class dropping the massive 250 EU drop to speed up a launch. It all comes down to what you feel comfortable with doing and how well you can manuever each map.
Typically the Scout and Berserker are your top choices for speed runs of EU to your base, however they can be melted down and have their EU stolen by a smart team or skilled player.
B class mechs good for getting EU quickly and getting out ironically are the Predator and Raiders. A smart predator player will trap the enemy entrance into the EU station, stealth and quietly gather. His pucks will explode when an enemy comes close and if they aren’t dead or dying he can get away without the enemy being wiser. Raiders are useful for chasing down enemies who have full tanks and shredding them apart then taking the EU for themselves.
C class mechs while slow and heavy, are the big droppers of EU, they can carry the most and typically can launch a ship quickly with a skilled user. The vanguard is a perfect example of one who can do this since they typically are the fastest from my experience.
As for holding the AA, the more heavy or rapid fire mechs on the AA, the better, especially if you are trying to take out an enemy airship. However some C class mechs are better at supporting the AA from a distance than being on it. Brawlers and Vanguards are best on it, and depending if the AA has a top to it or not will determine if they should “turtle” up by going into turret mode.
Grenadiers, Incinerators, and Rocketeers are good for area denial when it comes to the AA, they can splash damage an enemy off the AA, or prevent the enemy from getting onto it by controlling the ways into it, which are dependant on the map.
The only two B class mechs you do not want on the AA are Sharpshooters and Predators. These are more used for hitting the enemy before they even get there or trapping the routes and entrances to EU stations or the AA.
The only A class mech you want actively defending the AA are Technicians since they can heal the team effectively. All the others are more used for capping the AA by wiping the enemy out and then harassing them.
Tactics and Rules
Communication and Teamwork: These are paramount in an team based game. Knowing when to hit the AA and when to Gather EU or prevent the enemy from gathering/delivering EU is often delegated through communication. Good teamwork makes up for less skilled players because even a skilled player will die quickly against a team who can focus fire on them and then turn and wipe the rest of the enemy off the AA or defend it.
Control the AA, this means standing in the AA and its borders. This should be common knowledge but there are alot of people out there that only shoot into it, or go off and attack the enemy team. The team that controls and stands on the AA the most typically wins. If an enemy ship is in the air, the more people on the AA the faster it fires.
Know when to Launch and when not to Launch. If there are six enemies on the AA with their battleship in the air and your team is not directly in danger of losing then by all means DO NOT LAUNCH THE AIRSHIP! While it may give you more points to your individual rating, you are wasting the EU you and your team worked to gather and all it does is cause your ship to die without having done any damage. The exception is if your team only has a couple hundred armor points left, and your team needs a second to regroup to retake the AA then this is an excellent time to Launch as it will prolong defeat, after all your team can still fail to take the AA and it means the enemy will take it out, but typically this will help you out to make a comeback.
Okay with those three rules I cannot express the most important which is controlling the AA.
Now onto tactics for each map that I notice winning teams have done ALOT of.
Last Eco, this one is known as being the hardest to control when it comes to the AA because it doesn’t have cover, and it has plenty of perches and walls surrounding it enabling it to become a fish bowl. I have seen a team of six stand on the AA here with full health, get wiped within seconds by a team that simply controlled the sides and shot into the AA with every manner of explosive or area of effect damage weapons and items. Even more so when several incinerators, rocketeers, and grenadiers threw out heat orbs all over the AA preventing the enemy team from firing and getting melted by the barrage blasts of explosive ordinance.
Controlling those sides and keeping the enemy off it is key to holding the AA, for this I recomend your berserkers and scouts since they can rush the enemy, hit them fast, and hit them hard to discourage them from using it while your C and B class mechs hold the AA
E1 is where ALOT of fighting occurs for EU, E2 is furthest from both bases but is a good spot to get your EU and lob a few nades or rockets into E1 before leaving just to discourage or damage the enemy team while you gather or get away. A predator between these two stations can do some nasty damage, particularly if they trap the paths heading back to the enemy base. People tend to rush back with full tanks mindless of how much armor they have because they don’t want to die and a predator is their worst nightmare.
Firing into the paths leading into the AA is also key to holding it. It discourages enemies from coming close or weakens them so that in close quarters combat they die quick to the faster firing mechs on your team.
The team build for this should be mostly C and B mechs with a technician or berzerker/scout.
Origin, this one is perhaps one of my favourites in the fact that there are so many ways to mess an enemy team up on it that it will make you laugh. The AA is covered however it is easily sniped on by a skilled sharpshooter, reaper, or rocketeer. Yes you read that right, a rocketeer. Its biggest weakness is however the pads off the sides. If your AA defenders cannot make sure that the enemy isn’t flanking or hitting them in the sides due to enemy springing up to hit them then they will get taken out fast. Brawlers, Technicians, Assaults, Predators, and Vanguards are what are needed on the AA. Predators can set nasty traps where those pads launch you up to and discourage the enemy from taking that path unless in mass, in which case the team can stop them if they notice a whole enemy team coming from the side to push them off.
Taking the AA on the other hand, you will want to flank them with a few berzerkers and scouts while your C class mechs rush in, with area fire provided by grenadiers and rocketeers. The pads underneath and the sides are best for that.
Gathering EU is a bit more difficult especially late in the game because the AA is up high and can be jumped off of for straight shots to get EU. The Barricade item is quite usefull here. This is where you will laugh at your enemy because you can take a barricade, slap it on the entrance into the tunnels preventing the enemy from even taking that path into their base to deliver their hard earned EU. It will only delay them for a little bit but it will stop them and make them curse you or whoever dropped that right there. Its funny to watch an enemy mech run to the pad away from you with a full tank as you fire upon them only to Bugs Bunny on the barricade at the top and fall back down into your fire. You can grab your spoils of that battle in the form of EU and take it to your base provided they didn’t do the same to you. There are other routes though but they put you out in the open and if you are carrying a full load that is desperately needed, you do not want to die needlessly.
The team build for this should be only 1 sniper becuase everyone else should be on the AA or near it with the ability to get on it within a moments notice.
Wreckage, the remains of a battleship or cargo ship. This is the only one that I know of where the AA isn’t directly in the middle of the map. Instead E2 is. This one is a strange one as well because the AA doesn’t have a top to cover it. It is alot like Last Eco in terms that you can somewhat fish bowl the enemy team however, its alot harder to do so because the team can take cover that is more readily availiable. This is one of the few that you want more B class than C class because you need to dodge more than you need to turtle up and take hits. Assaults, CR-Ts, Bruisers, and Raiders actually if you want the B class, grenadiers, and incinerators are the C class you want on the AA, as for A grade, Scouts, Berserkers, and Infiltrators do really well here.
This map is more about timing than it is about gathering EU. If your ship is almost dead or the enemy ship is almost dead, you want to be on the EU station topping off your tanks for quick delivery. The faster you get your ships out there, the faster you win expecially if you are behind. E2 is the easiest and fastest to get to but its also where the most fighting takes place for EU, E1 on the other hand has long routes to get to and isn’t fought over as much unless the enemy team as a whole is there an standing.
The team build for this is recomended with B class with little A and C class mechs.
Frontline. This one is strange in the fact that the AA area is larger but with larger hiding spots. A team that can cover its sides and behinds from the enemy will dominate this. However they should be wary of the tunnel and the snipers on the highway between E2 and the AA. This one you want alot of snipers on because of the large open spaces to snipe people with. However you also want your C class mechs on the AA underneath to hold it well.
EU on the other hand, this one is perhaps the one that I find to be fought over the most. If you though the fights on Wreckage for EU were tough, this one is tougher because both Stations are equally away from their bases as well as fast to get to from the AA, but they are also out in the open mostly with very little cover. Predators do not do well here. That being said the best ones for this are going to be your scouts and berserkers.
The team should be mostly A and C class with B for support.
Strategies
Take out the enemies on their way back to the base with EU. This allows you to stop them from delivering EU and ultimately launching their ship but also allows you for faster EU gathering to Launch your ship.
Negate the AA, prevent the enemy from being on the AA, have one team member on it while the rest of the Team keeps the enemy corraled either in their base or around their base forcing them to either fire on your airship or stand there and take it.
AA and fire, this is for when you want to take out the enemy Airship while the enemy is respawning or not in your area. It allows you to quickly wipe out the enemy airship and if you have someone ready to launch this helps ALOT.
Speed Launching. If you know your ship is almost dead, the enemy isn’t on the AA, and you want to get the game over with a victory faster. Then your team should already be soaking up the Leftover EU around the battlefield and the EU stations so that when your ship dies within the next few seconds you will already be filling the tanks faster than the enemy. If you already have a full tank before your ship even dies, you should be at the base ready to drop and launch.
Trap and Deter your enemy from certain locations by forcing them to follow paths into oncoming fire. The use of barricades, heat orbs, and cover fire will make the enemy move in predictable ways and ultimately into your teams firing line.
Battleship duels. This rarely happens because there are people who stay on the AA but in the off chance that no one is on the AA and both ships are up. Or the AA is balanced equally but no Anti-Air is being launched, take out the enemy ships turrets. This slows the ammount of damage the enemy airship can do to your ship and or base. You can even fire on the airships engines to help speed it up and that will help your team tremendously. However do not SPEND THE WHOLE GAME shooting on enemy airships as it will make you hated by your team for not helping.
Rules
The AA must have more of your team on it than the Enemy if you want to win. Firing into it does not increase the number of your team on it so get on the AA and stay there.
Chasing enemies down. There is a bait and trap tactic when doing this and some teams employ it to get you off the AA so they can take it. Do not chase enemies down unless you are a crackshot, Twitchy dodger, or if you know that their whole team is in disarray.
Comunicate. A team that can comunicate effectively will win. A team at eachothers throats with insults will lose.
Don’t be a hero. You cannot take the AA by yourself. If there are six people on the AA and you rush in, you will die. You might take one or two out but I can gaurantee you that you will die and all you did was prevent your team from regrouping with you.
Move as a team. This will cause your team to win more often than naught, and if not, it will make sure the game is either closer, or make it harder for the enemy to win.
Help your team. If your team is all firing on the ship, don’t tell them to stop and call them ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, help them. Sometimes shooting down an enemy ship from your base can prolong your defeat and allow you to turn the game around to win. Also don’t be the only one shooting the ship while the rest of your team is moving on the AA, that pisses teams off too.
When it doubt, stay on the AA. Typically the team that holds and stays on the AA the longest, like king of the mountain are the winners. Their ships don’t die as easily and your team get more ships launched.
IF for whatever reason you get some new players on your team. Don’t call them newbs or insult them. Help them understand that if they want to win that they should be on the AA or explain the mode to them. Tell them to look up some of the guides on the forums or this one if they want to know how to play.
The most important rule here is to have fun. This is just a game, its not a way of life, its not a job, its not your lover. It is a game. If you aren’t here to have fun, then you are doing this wrong.
If anyone would like to add to this guide whether it is screenshots, pictures, or strategies feel free to do so.