Effective Scouting and Small Group Tactics

I wanted to start a thread here to discuss some of the best practices for scouts and small groups in WvW.   With the recent change to the orange swords from 5 players to 25 players, having a number of small groups around the map is more important than ever.  I'm going to try and cover some of the common things you can do with a small group in WvW that will be beneficial to the whole server.  This list is not conclusive, so if you have any additional suggestions please chime in.  Hopefully this post gives some people ideas of things to do in WvW outside of the "zerg vs zerg" fights. 

Scouting

The purpose of scouts is to relay information on enemy troop movements through map chat (/m or /t) so that additional forces can respond as necessary.   Your initial report should contain the following information:

• Number of players - about how many players are there? 
• Server - which server are the enemy forces from?
• Location - which gate or wall that is being attacked? For keeps, remember to specify inner or outter.
• Siege - what siege weapons have been dropped?

An example might be the following:  "10-15 JQ at Bay south outter gate, 2 rams up"

The purpose of this information is that it gives the commanders a good estimate of how much time they have to respond and how many people they need to send.  A call with "5 golems" necessitates a much quicker response than "1 cata".  Once the initial call has been made, you should jump on any available siege to slow down the attacking force and provide updates on any changes to the situation.   Generally updates at 75%, 50% and 25% will give responders a good idea of how fast the wall or gate is dropping.

If you are the only scout at the node and you need to leave, please say so in map chat.  We understand that real life takes precedence, but we also need to know if a node is left undefended.  

Solo Players

If you're the "lone wolf" kind of player, there's several things you can do in WvW that can make a significant impact.

• Be a scout.  Somebody's got to do it.  Some nodes see more action than others, so choose where you want to scout accordingly.  If you're feeling really adventurous, you can even go open field and provide intel on enemy movements.
• Maintain control of NPC factions.  The quaggans, hylek, ogres and dredge all provide solid benefits on the map and it usually only takes a single person to gain the NPC's favor.  
• Snipe dolyaks.  Yaks are worth 6 points as soon as they leave the camp, and this increase to 15 points right outside their destination.  A slippery class with a lot of burst damage can make a lot of points this way in an otherwise vacant map.   Killing 3-4 yaks every 15 minutes can be the point the equivalent of holding Stonemist Castle! Edit: The yak scoring mechanisms has been changed. The points awarded now scale with the number of people tagging the yak instead of the distance it has travelled. It's still worthwhile for solos to snipe them though, only the benefit is supply denial rather than points
• Contest a way point.  Run up to a keep and tap the door, then run away.  Do this every 3 minutes and you effectively prevent an enemy from using their way point.

Bring along a friend or two to speed things up a bit.

Small Groups (4-5 players)

In addition to doing any of the "lone wolf" tactics above, a group of 4 or more can venture into more dangerous territory.  Here's some things you might do with a party of 4-5:

• Siege and defend a tower.  Take turns scouting and running supply to build up counter siege in a tower.  Together, 4-5 players with well placed siege can hold off 20+ attackers.   Communicate using map chat if you need help.
• Flip supply camps.  While this can be done with a solo player, it's much more efficient with a small group.  If possible, try to time it so that you cap the camp with only a few minutes left on the tick.  This way it will be harder for a large force to recap it behind you.  By making a loop around the map flipping camps, you put a big dent in the enemy's available supply.
• Set up "ninja" siege on enemy towers/keeps.  Having 4 players means enough supply for a ram, and 5 means enough for a cata. See Fog's "Single man assault" thread for some treb placement ideas. Doing this will probably elicit an enemy response, so be prepared.  If you manage to take down a wall or gate, say so in map chat so commanders can bring reinforcements if necessary.  
• Defend dolyaks.  Keeping a dolyak alive is often difficult for a single player, but having 4-5 people escorting the yak can be significant deterrant. 

These small man groups are the best defense against an enemy zerg.  By having several small groups at multiple locations, you force the enemy to split their troops or risk losing territory.  

Small Guild (6-15 players)

If you've assembled a slightly larger force, containing 2-3 parties, step up and offer to defend a keep!  Keeps have 3 outter gates and 3 inner gates, so it takes more scouts than a tower.  Split your force in two and have the groups alternate supply runs from a neighboring camp, and escort yaks to keep the upgrades going.  Use down time to build up counter siege throughout the keep, and be prepared to man them in case of an attack.   

» Edited on: 2013-03-20 14:38:28