P4-Rashowdown Strategy – Milo234

This explanation of how to play p4 will be given systematically in order of how the game is played:

1. Deploying
2. Scouting
3. Build Order/Placement
4. Fighting Strategies

Deploying

I recently learned a new bit of information about deploying on p4 so I will be modifying this section in the near future.

Deploying consistently on p4 where you want to is very valuable. Consistency leads to confidence and speed in all areas of RA and thus it is definitely worthwhile to thoroughly examine how to deploy on p4 at least once.

There are many things to take into consideration when determining where to deploy. I will state these things and explain how I feel they are relevant to deploying as well as guidelines for consistently finding deploy spots.

Obviously the most important factor in figuring out where to deploy is making sure that your ore ref will be as close as possible to the ore, and not one square too far away. Having your ore ref off by even one square (let alone 2) can have tragic consequences for your financial situation. The next most important factor in deploying then would be to deploy as quickly as possible. Lastly would be to worry about the relative safety of your base (how easy is it to rush my cy/ores/power/etc.). This would inclue whether to deploy high/low in front/behind the ridge and also is affected by your placement of other buildings. Taking into account these three ideas, every p4 player should at least once sit down, load up scenario editor, place his/her buildings as desired and try to figure out the earliest possible place to deploy as well as how to quickest drive there and recognize you are there in the blackness at the beginning of the game. For example:

This would be my picture of how I want my base to look and the selected squares are the earliest possible deploy squares for my mcv.

Now I will explain how I like to deploy as well as how I get there and know when I’m there:

Front or 1v1 p4s:

I keep my mcv driving route simple. I move in straight lines through the darkness so that I consistently get to the same location to deploy. First I go down to the ridge, crawl along the time of the ridge, and upon reaching the end head diagonally down in a straight line to my deploy spot:

How do I know when I have reached this magical spot? I scroll down to the bottom of the map and watch as my MCV comes into screen. I wait until the MCV is approximately in line with the repair button (insert picture maybe?) on the right side unit/building menus and then deploy. From having examined how I like to build in scenario editor I was able to conclude that this is the best way to deploy for me. I always come within 1 square of where I want to deploy if I am focusing. This method for deploying is really simple, and combined with a good partner deploying at back gives back plenty of space for war factories as well as a low enough base that coil defense can be practical.

Back Deploy on p4s. In addition to the above mentioned things, back deploy also needs to take into account one other very important point, giving plenty of ore ref space for front. Taking this into consideration, I like the deploy square pictured below because it gives plenty of ore ref space for front as well as lines up the ore refs in back perfectly (in addition it goes extremely well with my method of front deploy).

How to find this spot? When you are starting in the middle you can click in the lower corner of the map and the MCV will practically drive right over this square. This square happens to be exactly the 3^rd square from the top of the screen when you scroll down to the bottom of the map. Thus, I send my mcv to the lower corner, and shortly after it comes into view on the bottom screen of the map, I wait for it to line up with the 3^rd row of squares from the top then send it straight on to it’s deploy spot below the ridge.

The same ideas hold for north and mid deploys on p4. The only notable difference from south for playing north/mid is that as north, you have to use the special ore ref placement pictured below:

North Refinery 1 (I personally like this one better)

North Refinery 2

When playing north, the best way to minimize the distance for your ore trucks to the ore is by deploying your ore ref as shown above. Though it may look like an odd way to place your ref, it is definitely the best. Unfortunately as north, your money is still not as good as south/mid so you cannot go 6 wars on one ore. You can only go 4 or 5 wars on one ore.

Scouting

Scouting p4 is very simple. First, guards must be placed forming a wall as shown below in order to prevent scouts from seeing your base.

Insert Picture of guards

Next, scouts must be sent out to explore the entire middle area of the map. This can be accomplished by what I call formation scouting the middle (a technique also appropriate on hjk6 as well as many other maps). This doesn’t have to involve using the formation key, but is just sending 4 riflemen and Qing them across the middle of the map towards the opponent’s base so that each one uncovers his own little strip of land:

Insert p4 Formation Scouting picture.

In 3v3 and 4v4, p4 scouting is almost exactly the same. The only thing that should be added is that scouts should be sent north/south in order to find your partner’s base. It is also a good idea to Q one or two scouts through the back of your partner’s bases so you are aware if the opponent manages to break in.

Build Order

Allies:

Order1

p b p o w s w w (truck) a w w w o

Order 2

p b a o w s w w (truck) w w w o a

Reasonable Continuation: d a a a r t c g o (can sell radar)

Building one of these two orders or something extremely similar is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for allies on p4, therefore I would call these orders absolute.

Comments on these orders:

• These orders really only differ in where to build powers.
• Make a barracks before a 2^nd power so that you can get out guards a few seconds earlier
• Allies only need 1 barracks. In general, there is no particularly good reason for allies to make rockets thus one barracks is fast enough for riflemen.
• Making at least 1 silo is absolutely necessary (money can run low even with a truck without the silo) and the silo needs to be made before 3^rd war. After first war is the most convenient time to make the silo in order to minimize scrolling through the building list as well as begin getting out tanks faster.
• The ore truck is absolutely necessary however making it at 3^rd war is not. The ore truck must be made sometime before 4^th war, so third war being the latest possible time to make it is reasonable.
• P4 has a LOT of money and thus allies absolutely must achieve maximum tank production speed ASAP.
• The continuation shows the relative importance of things. After a second ore ref is finished in order to ensure that you don’t run out of money, preparing to cy is the next most important thing so a depot is the obvious next building. Getting tech out asap is also important for chronoing, so making the necessary power followed by the tech + gap is a good way to continue followed by a 3^rd ore ref in order to ensure money for the rest of the game should a cying battle ensue.
• Should a cying battle begin, allies only need 4 Cys since that gives maximum turret production speed. Maximum production speed for all other buildings is of almost no value.

Soviets:

Order1

p b p o w s w w (truck) a w w w w o d a r

Order 2

p b a o w s w w (truck) w d w w w o a r

Comment on Soviet Cying: The most important comment that must be restated is that RA IS ALL ABOUT TANKS. This said, I will continue with my comments.

The issue of cying as soviets is extremely important and I feel it deserves to be mentioned separate from the other build order comments.

These two orders only really differ in where to make the depot. This is an important issue. Many people now like to make a depot first thing and begin cying immediately. I say that this is an EXTREMELY BAD strategy and it is very newbyish to think it should work, even in 2v2. It is plainly obvious to anyone that cying immediately in a 1v1 is a terrible idea due to the relative ease of rushing across the tiny distance of the bottom of p4, however what is not so obvious is why I say this is a bad idea even in 2v2. I say this is a bad idea in 2v2 because given 2 good opponents capable using their tanks well, cying will result in the swift devastation of the front player (if not the back player too). Another reason straight cying is a bad idea is that it wastes the efforts of front to make tanks and results in the inefficient production of defensive coils. However, it is an unfortunate fact that the likelihood of having two good opponents capable of using their tanks well is extremely low, thus the general success rate of teams where back cys immediately is reasonably decent thus leading people to think what they do. I do not believe I can effectively express in words the annoyance I have at getting back partners who immediately CY and waste my efforts to make tanks (and you can’t imagine how much more infuriated I am with them after I give them all the time in the world to become fully cyed and they still don’t make effective use of having cyed), therefore I have a tendency to choose to play back since most people seem to correctly believe that front should make tanks while incorectly believing that it is a good idea for back to straight cy.

If your opponent/s should immediately cy and you are unable to kill him/them, fear not when using these orders. It is still not too late to effectively cy and push off the enemy’s onslaughts. With your large quantities of tanks built up, it is very difficult (if not nearly impossible) for the opponent to put to any good use his advantage in having cyed before you. You should get at least four wars before making a depot on any map.

Comments on these orders:

• Both of these orders once again express the importance of reaching maximum tank production speed asap.
• It is possible to vary these orders and make 2 barracks. Making rockets can be reasonable at times as soviets and grenader rushing can be a useful tactic which justifies making a second barracks. I like making a second barracks better than a kennel. Some people like the kennel. Kennel is obviously faster, requires less power and is easy to place. A second barracks if placed well can make producing engineers easier when they are needed in different parts of your base and won’t result in the slightly unusual(?) unit list that a kennel produces.
• As a continuation to these, it is important to consider whether or not you wish to make air. If you want to make air, be it migs or choppers, it is still absolutely essential to continue your production of tanks/v2s at the same time. Therefore after making your radar dome, you MUST make your first air field so that the unit list is useable. If you want to make mammoth tanks then wait to make your first air field after you make your soviet tech center.
• Tech is not particularly important for soviets, however it doesn’t hurt for sovs to make tech centers, abombs, iron curtains, etc.

Placement:

Things to Consider:

• Obviously ore refs must be placed as close as possible to the ore otherwise you will run out of money.
• Placing a barracks next to your CY is a good idea in order to enable you to quickly pop out engies should they become necessary.
• If allies decide to make a second barracks the best place for it is probably by the ore refs in order to allow for quick creation of engies.
• The first war factory absolutely must be placed in front of your cy. This is so that when tanks begin coming out of two wars, they will be coming out of the front where you want them rather than in the back. Placement of the other war factories isn’t so important, but placing them in such a way as to create a buidling block to help protect your base is a good idea. One other good thing to do with war factories is to put at least 1 in the back of your base so that you can quickly pop out mcvs when the time to CY comes.

Below are pictures of different possible placements to consider on p4:

Insert Pictures

1v1 or Front Base

2v2 Base

Notice that this back deploy gives perfect set up for ore refs to line up an leave plenty of space for front ore refs. Putting a war in back gives you the ability to quickly get out MCVS where they will be safe and have room to deploy.

Fighting Strategies