Guide: Must-Win Areas on Each Map

The_Chieftain: Agreed with the misleading title. Maybe instead of 'must-win', you should rename it 'key terrain' or 'advantageous terrain'   The comment about Himmelsdorf is particularly telling. "For such an old map, pubbie awareness is terrible. It is NEVER enough to just have 2 or 3 tanks go 7 line or hill."   Himmelsdorf is the map I use as a perfect example of why there is never a 'best' plan for a map. Way back in the day, I remember when anyone who even looked like they were going to take a heavy up the hill was soundly berated for it, declared noob, etc. These days, the perception on the US servers of the hill's import is such that at this point it's remarkable to see a game where heavies aren't fighting it out over the hill. Steppes seems to have started going the same way: It used to be that common wisdom was such that the rocks on the West side were the primary focus, but there has been a recent swing to the East. I fully expect the cycle to continue, and that over time the hill in Himmelsdorf will decrease as a focal point again. Malinovka is another case in point. Anyone else remember the two-minute field rush from several years ago? No? If so, you're not alone. Any attempt to suggest it nowadays is responded with immediate "Are you crazy?" or worse, because, probably, learned behaviour and groupthink. But the rare occasions that you actually get buy-in, it works. The people fighting over the 'important hill' suddenly find themselves made totally irrelevant.   The other very nasty learning curve is a bit more difficult to demonstrate, unless you've got good accounts on multiple servers. Main conflict points and routes of advance do not necessarily match between, say, EU, NA and RU. Yet the maps and tanks themselves are all pretty much identical. I've personally come to grief quite a few times until I figured out where the EU and RU players thought were important pieces of terrain. If they're also cycling in their opinions, I don't know, as I don't play on their servers often enough to see any delta trends. It may be something for me to ask a European veteran. In any case, the take-away is that there is more than one viable way to skin the cat, what is considered 'important' varies by groupthink, and we all know groupthink for its own sake is not ideal.   That's not to say that there aren't universal pieces of key terrain: The hills in Mines or Redshire both come to mind, that posession of them provides a distinct advantage to the owning team no matter what server you're on. But even those aren't must-haves, as long as you can deny them to the enemy, you're usually not disadvantaged. This goes both for posession, and effective posession. If they can't stick their nose over the crest of the hill without getting hammered, does it matter if they own it? The makeup of the various teams is relevant as well. If you have lots of slow vehicles, or plenty of artillery, the most effective place for your team to put its forces may not be the same every game.   That said, for the current NA server policies, most of your tips are correct. I believe you are over-estimating the importance of the NW corner of El Halluf. You just need to hold, not win. The win not infrequently seems to come from the South or middle, flanking the main attack. I think you are wrong in berating lights and mediums for not going to the Karelia hill as well. They can be very effective elsewhere, while the heavies and TDs seem to insist on slugging it out at the foot of the hill. I also somewhat disagree on Westfield. I'm not sure pushing the far South and East sides is the best move, but the valley and the downslope from the town can be quite important. Ignore it at your peril. For arctic region, I agree with you about the importance artillery has to play, but that's why I advocate the South spawn pushing North: Northspawn arty -always- positions to be able to shoot down the hill and engage the brawl to the South. Having a heavy force go North also tends to be quite destabilising to the opposition, catching them wrong-footed. Ensk is one of those maps which can depend on your team make-up. If you have a bunch of fast heavies, such as American and French, you may want to give serious consideration to running the East side. Chances are they'll roll over some very under-equipped defenders. Otherwise you're slugging it out in town. Highway is another example of this. If you've got something like an M103 or T110E5, consider giving the mediums a hand in the NW field. You're fast enough to keep up, and it should give the mediums enough punch to catch the enemy flat-footed.   All in all, I think the 'best' tactic on all maps is push hard, push fast, and push where they aren't. If everyone follows common convention and sends their major forces the to fight over the same pieces of terrain, it becomes a crapshoot at the tactical level as both teams are butting heads. You're basically praying that your team peek-a-booms better than the other team. Why would you want to do this? Common wisdom is that the attacker requires a 3:1 advantage secure a good win, otherwise you're basically attritting over time. Diverting a modicum of your 'main' forces to a 'secondary' location is going to have a much greater effect on the ratio of forces in that 'secondary' fight than it will in the 'primary' fight, it should be over quicker. This then places the opposition in a quandary.