The Art of War: How to Win
While the text is over 2000 years old, Sun Wu's The Art of War is touted as one of the definitive works on winning, in any environment. The reason for this is not astounding futuristic insight by the author. Sun Wu, a 400BC military general, did not, and could not, understand the way warfare would develop. So why, then, does his writing have such a timeless air about it?
The Art of War is so effective because it is not a step-by-step analysis of the current conditions surrounding Sun Wu. Rather, it is an examination of how human nature behaves and evolves during conflict. All conflict, not simply war. Chess masters, boxers, military generals, business executives, politicians, and many others make it one of their premiere studies.
I wanted to share some of my extrapolations from Sun Wu's great work to CrossFire.
These 2,000-year old proverbs were written with a general of an army in mind, but they are applicable to FPS games such as CrossFire. For each of these, I will comment in a "macro" sense (for teams) and in a "micro" sense (for individuals).
"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."
This seems like its meaning is obvious, but let's look at what this means in regard to FPS games; in particular, we'll take a look at CrossFire.
What this most addresses is the skill of valuation. Valuation is the ability to judge a situation and determine the risk / reward of engaging. When you see two people pushing A long on Black Widow, what should you do? Should you fall away, splitting mid/B as they've shown a slight A stack? Or, should you delay your pushes completely, regrouping A-long before flashing and retaking barracks? Knowing when to not only attack but also when to delay an attack is an important skill.
As an individual, this is an incredibly complex and varied skill. Should you push early this round, catching the enemy unawares? When you peek the corner and spot 2 players, should you re-peek? What if 1 is looking at you? What if you're being pinned down behind a box, slowly taking wallshot damage? Should you peek now, doing whatever damage you can, or try to weather the storm while your team rotates? These decisions, often made on the fly, are constant reminders that not all gamesense lies in prediction.
"He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces."
Forces used here is very ambiguous. Forces can be anything from relative number of people alive, to total HP, to relative positions. However, the underlying message remains the same.
For teams, it is absolutely essential to realize that the game changes as players lose lives, HP, or position. When you are up 4 players to 2 as CT, your gameplay should change to reflect that. It should stop being about "quick rotates and stalling" and more about "trading frags". When your opponent overextends a player, realize that they have given you a positional advantage. Move to take that player out. When you are down players, realize that your opponents now have an advantage; your gameplay needs to be riskier, more likely to allow your opponents to make mistakes. Understanding how to close off rounds and how to open rounds back up are incredibly important skills that too many teams underdevelop.
For individuals, this is an interesting concept to consider, especially in 1v1 gunfights, and is closely related to the first. This concept requires you to understand that ever position has advantages and disadvantages. No matter where you are in-game, your current position gives you several advantages, and several disadvantages. Understanding the interplay of these with the advantages and disadvantages of your opponents' positions can allow you to outplay people on a micro level that will leave others outclassed.
"He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks."
The phrase "animated by the same spirit" is often used throughout The Art of War. It has connotations with each discipline, morale, and ability.
Each player on the team has to have the same discipline as the next. When a specific strategy is executed, all players have to be on the same page. When it comes to morale, a single player can drag down a team. Morale also means dedication and drive to a specific goal. If 4/5 players want to practice - truly practice - and all 1 can say is "guys, I'm bored, let's scrim!", then that player is not on the same page as the rest of the team. Ability is a tricky one for teams. The ability is moreso of the individual members to perform their specific tasks. If Player Y's only job on a specific strategy is to get a pick on Catwalk, then he had darned well better practice that peek until it's guaranteed.
It is incredibly important to maintain these qualities as an individual as well. In terms of discipline, you have to have patience and fortitude to hold your position if that is what your strategy calls for. This can be taxing, especially against passive play from your opponents. Morale-wise, you cannot allow yourself to lose confidence or hope. That is a self-fulfilling prophecy that only leads to even worse play. In terms of ability, the goal is to become a conduit so that you can do in-game exactly what your mind wants you to do. That is to say, you can quickly and effectively aim at any location on the screen. You can move silently and fluidly, and perform whichever maneuvers or nade-spots that you need to. Improving your technical ability at the game until all that is left is the mental aspect of outplaying your opponent.
"He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared."
This is a commentary on both maintaining gained advantages, and patience. The underlying idea behind this statement is that invulnerability should first be secured, and you should then wait for the opportune moment to strike.
For teams, this means that you play patiently. Instead of doing that quick Sub Base 5-man push toward A site as T, spend the time you have getting a feel for the defense. Poke and prod, moving together, using your nades as cover throughout the round. Be watching for pushes, or players who tend to play aggressively. Make note of them, and take advantage of their mistakes. As CT, avoid pushing out of sites to flank; hold your secure position, and work together to fend off an assault. When advantaged, avoid 1v1s at all cost; secure your advantage with superior numbers.
For individuals, this means holding your positions with confidence. While knowing when to attack is always good thing, it is still better to remain in a secure, useful position than to push out in hopes of a surprise frag. This means maximizing your safety before maximizing your ability to kill your opponents.
"He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."
This initial scoffing at the role (or lack thereof) of politics in warfare still holds true in FPS games. Do not bring politics to the game. Drop all grudges, presuppositions, and previous beliefs when you enter into the game. You never know when one player will perform excellently, or when a team will change up their strategies. Politics have no place in the match at hand, so don't bring them there.
The Art of War is so effective because it is not a step-by-step analysis of the current conditions surrounding Sun Wu. Rather, it is an examination of how human nature behaves and evolves during conflict. All conflict, not simply war. Chess masters, boxers, military generals, business executives, politicians, and many others make it one of their premiere studies.
I wanted to share some of my extrapolations from Sun Wu's great work to CrossFire.
Sun Tzu wrote:Thus we may know that there are five essentials
for victory:
(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when
not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior
and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same
spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take
the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is
not interfered with by the sovereign.
These 2,000-year old proverbs were written with a general of an army in mind, but they are applicable to FPS games such as CrossFire. For each of these, I will comment in a "macro" sense (for teams) and in a "micro" sense (for individuals).
"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."
This seems like its meaning is obvious, but let's look at what this means in regard to FPS games; in particular, we'll take a look at CrossFire.
What this most addresses is the skill of valuation. Valuation is the ability to judge a situation and determine the risk / reward of engaging. When you see two people pushing A long on Black Widow, what should you do? Should you fall away, splitting mid/B as they've shown a slight A stack? Or, should you delay your pushes completely, regrouping A-long before flashing and retaking barracks? Knowing when to not only attack but also when to delay an attack is an important skill.
As an individual, this is an incredibly complex and varied skill. Should you push early this round, catching the enemy unawares? When you peek the corner and spot 2 players, should you re-peek? What if 1 is looking at you? What if you're being pinned down behind a box, slowly taking wallshot damage? Should you peek now, doing whatever damage you can, or try to weather the storm while your team rotates? These decisions, often made on the fly, are constant reminders that not all gamesense lies in prediction.
"He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces."
Forces used here is very ambiguous. Forces can be anything from relative number of people alive, to total HP, to relative positions. However, the underlying message remains the same.
For teams, it is absolutely essential to realize that the game changes as players lose lives, HP, or position. When you are up 4 players to 2 as CT, your gameplay should change to reflect that. It should stop being about "quick rotates and stalling" and more about "trading frags". When your opponent overextends a player, realize that they have given you a positional advantage. Move to take that player out. When you are down players, realize that your opponents now have an advantage; your gameplay needs to be riskier, more likely to allow your opponents to make mistakes. Understanding how to close off rounds and how to open rounds back up are incredibly important skills that too many teams underdevelop.
For individuals, this is an interesting concept to consider, especially in 1v1 gunfights, and is closely related to the first. This concept requires you to understand that ever position has advantages and disadvantages. No matter where you are in-game, your current position gives you several advantages, and several disadvantages. Understanding the interplay of these with the advantages and disadvantages of your opponents' positions can allow you to outplay people on a micro level that will leave others outclassed.
"He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks."
The phrase "animated by the same spirit" is often used throughout The Art of War. It has connotations with each discipline, morale, and ability.
Each player on the team has to have the same discipline as the next. When a specific strategy is executed, all players have to be on the same page. When it comes to morale, a single player can drag down a team. Morale also means dedication and drive to a specific goal. If 4/5 players want to practice - truly practice - and all 1 can say is "guys, I'm bored, let's scrim!", then that player is not on the same page as the rest of the team. Ability is a tricky one for teams. The ability is moreso of the individual members to perform their specific tasks. If Player Y's only job on a specific strategy is to get a pick on Catwalk, then he had darned well better practice that peek until it's guaranteed.
It is incredibly important to maintain these qualities as an individual as well. In terms of discipline, you have to have patience and fortitude to hold your position if that is what your strategy calls for. This can be taxing, especially against passive play from your opponents. Morale-wise, you cannot allow yourself to lose confidence or hope. That is a self-fulfilling prophecy that only leads to even worse play. In terms of ability, the goal is to become a conduit so that you can do in-game exactly what your mind wants you to do. That is to say, you can quickly and effectively aim at any location on the screen. You can move silently and fluidly, and perform whichever maneuvers or nade-spots that you need to. Improving your technical ability at the game until all that is left is the mental aspect of outplaying your opponent.
"He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared."
This is a commentary on both maintaining gained advantages, and patience. The underlying idea behind this statement is that invulnerability should first be secured, and you should then wait for the opportune moment to strike.
For teams, this means that you play patiently. Instead of doing that quick Sub Base 5-man push toward A site as T, spend the time you have getting a feel for the defense. Poke and prod, moving together, using your nades as cover throughout the round. Be watching for pushes, or players who tend to play aggressively. Make note of them, and take advantage of their mistakes. As CT, avoid pushing out of sites to flank; hold your secure position, and work together to fend off an assault. When advantaged, avoid 1v1s at all cost; secure your advantage with superior numbers.
For individuals, this means holding your positions with confidence. While knowing when to attack is always good thing, it is still better to remain in a secure, useful position than to push out in hopes of a surprise frag. This means maximizing your safety before maximizing your ability to kill your opponents.
"He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."
This initial scoffing at the role (or lack thereof) of politics in warfare still holds true in FPS games. Do not bring politics to the game. Drop all grudges, presuppositions, and previous beliefs when you enter into the game. You never know when one player will perform excellently, or when a team will change up their strategies. Politics have no place in the match at hand, so don't bring them there.
Comments
-
Zhuge Liang man Sun Tzu cant beat him
Sima Yi is best, don't deny it.
But on topic, what's nice about TaoW is how usually applicable it is. Just be sure not to go crazy trying to find an FPS interpretation for stuff like setting their supply line on fire xD
(yes I know there is one shush) -
[MOD]Denxi wrote: »Sima Yi is best, don't deny it.
But on topic, what's nice about TaoW is how usually applicable it is. Just be sure not to go crazy trying to find an FPS interpretation for stuff like setting their supply line on fire xD
(yes I know there is one shush)
Using molatovs to stop the rotate to b site on inferno? -
considering that the tournament staff is the sovereign, the team is a general, the people their soldiers, and that the resources a team has are concentration, individuals (actual players), position, skill, morale, and ammunition, its easy to apply any verse of TAOW.
use smokes / nades to stop the rotate. make moves designed to interfere with and disrupt concentration (when you make a move that your opponents will call over voip programs, use the momentary f****** in concentration as they process the call to push). make moves that irritate them and taunt them in-game. focus on crushing their "guys weve got this" players, lowering overall morale. fit your own interpretations; its the underlying message that matters more than the specifics of burning a supply line
another quote that ALL versions of CF would do well to remember is
"Thus while there is such thing as stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been associated with long delay."
move with confidence and intent, and dont delay beyond what is needed. every round going below the one-minute mark (looking at you, China) is unnecessary, especially given the strength of quickness -
Ellustrial wrote: »fit your own interpretations; its the underlying message that matters more than the specifics of burning a supply line[MOD]Denxi wrote: »(yes I know there is one shush)
Like I said, I hate you xD
Although the interpretation I was less out of game, but more loosely applied. Meta gaming is hilarious too though.
! 
![[Denxi]](https://forum.z8games.com/uploads/customavatars/0/navatar_2018000.gif){kind=avatar}
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