the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by howlingwolfpaw »

Hello beginners and seasoned pros,

Over the years I, HowlingWolfPAw have hosted thousands of FFAs Here are my tips and suggestions for hosting the most interesting FFA's worthy of GG's
So this guide is made:


The Way of the FFA

To me I love FFA because it is the most dynamic way to play the game. No two games are alike, and knowing who, how, when to attack along with a sociable semi causal atmosphere make it quite fun. One must think in terms of what it would be to be a real king, having peaceful neighbors, allowing enemies to drain each other,or crush an opponent, the strategy of success must be planned out in order. Or one can test out quick build orders to bring to ranked games. To not expect to win, play to run the gauntlet, and run through it like a Urumi sword.


Rule of Hosting Player Number
the code:

6 is Optimal, 7 is prime, 5 is minimal, 8 Epic.
4 is just awkward, 3 is just bad as can be
2 is for show
and 1 there never can be,
9 is divine.


Civ Hosting.

BAN France. Russia is borderline but these civs are just too OP for FFA. FFA should be won with skill and set strategy not OP civ imbalances and weak game play. I have found games without France to be must more fun for all.


Best Civs for FFA

OP tier France, Russia
Tier 1 Port, China, India, Brits
Tier 2 Germans, Spain, Japan, Ottos,
Tier 3 Dutch, Aztec, Sioux, Iros (these native civs are very fun to play in FFA but sadly are not the winners often, although Aztec can stall like an iron turtle, and Sioux can sweep a room, and Iros will easily out boom em' all)


Maps:

Standard Maps: make for action fast game play on smaller maps with more terrain variety

Large Maps: dynamic form of game that allows for more "real world" and decision bases strategy to win games. Most balanced map pool

Best Water Maps: Ceylon (for a more FFA style game with equal base placements), Caribbean (for game with more decisive island and sea control. )

Bad Maps: Andes (gets river or spawns unfair )

KOTH: great gameplay that emphasizes fast development to control the middle hill to win. less played but when it is people play several games in a rom.


Cheater Scans in Chat:

Is the rank too high for the win percentage? or vise vera, if suspect check ELO stats for 1v1 winning with point trading or using special units. check for only one civ leveled up. Or has a lot of modded civs in HC.


Hosting With a Name

There are many good iterations and often you can tell who is hosting the FFA by the name, for instance one player always host, FFA join now.

I tend to go with FFA FFA FFA FFA or FFA FFA FFA FFA FFA
But also FFA All Welcome is good
some host games FFA newbs only but these seem to fill very slow
FFA Fun for all FFA, etc...

You basically want to be sure people can tell it is a FFA to draw attention to it. yet keep it simple.

Another note is to sometimes put RE FFA FFA FFA if you rehost a few times so that players who could not get in the game see that it is new or change the name some way.


Unwritten Rules of Honor of the Game:

1. No France
2. good luck, have fun
3. No 2v1
4. All boats available.
5. Do not drag game out abnormally long
6. NO Blockade
5. Have a GG


Tips for Survival:

Be in a good mood, Turtle and defend, Spread eco out, Run when possible.

Tips for Winning:

Attack on multiple fronts, Use a boomy deck, Attack when having any advantage to wipe out players, Grab and hold native TP and ecoline TP. Do not let people rebuild.



Thank you all for reading and playing many games over the years.

HowlingwoldPAw
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by JakeyBoyTH »

Very nice, thank you for sharing. There should be a FFA strategy wall :P
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by P i k i l i c »

I like FFA too but I disagree on the number of players, this is only a matter of playstyle preference: a 4- or 5-players FFA is more enjoyable to me because I dislike treaty/late game in general, unlike you. 7- and 8-players FFA are often boring imho. As I allow fewer players the game is usually shorter ofc and I don't have to ban France/Russia :smile:
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by howlingwolfpaw »

The strategy in FFA is the Sun Tzu, the Art of War, the book of five rings, for all the civ build order stuff its basically the same you would so in any normal game. However there is the difference of turtle booming and waging war on a late civ deck.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by schiegfried »

his strategy: turtle with india till age 5, spam gurkha and zam, usually win game
i like ffa too, but its just annoying that everybody turtles and that you cant really rush at all, cause if you do, you fall behind the other 4-6 players that are still alive.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by pecelot »

8 players — Epic as in epic lag? :kinggreen:
Your set of rules is kinda crappy, it turns out to be just NR40 8-player FFA with 1v1s only...
Also, how is Japan tier 3? I guess you can prevent French from making cuirs to make them more balanced.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by yemshi »

Otto 12min revo best FFA strat. Kill two turtlers and out.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by CelticCrusader »

I like a bit of FFA but they end up going on forever. I normally get impatient and try to kill my neighbour then get attacked by someone else while my army is busy.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by edeholland »

My way of FFA:

FFA means free for all, meaning that there are no teams, but also meaning that it's free for everyone to join.

No civ restrictions, no "no 2vs1" rules, maps scale with amount of players so no need for large map and don't forget to have fun instead of remembering all the rules.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by howlingwolfpaw »

edeholland wrote:My way of FFA:

FFA means free for all, meaning that there are no teams, but also meaning that it's free for everyone to join.

No civ restrictions, no "no 2vs1" rules, maps scale with amount of players so no need for large map and don't forget to have fun instead of remembering all the rules.




The rules are unofficial, like the budo for the Japanese warriors.

2v1 people is not fun (well sometimes it is to try to defend and win against) its honorable to let 2 other enemies fight rather than double up. But if you also have out played all the other civs remaining 2 can be honorable to defend against.

France pretty much breaks FFA game play. I design FFAs to be fun. I sometimes do allow France if it is a low deck/ newb. ATM I let Russia play even though they are near impossible to drain and out spam. I have played thousands of FFAs over the years, I tend to stay to watch the games afterward. I just notice that these things.

There is nothing wrong about standard maps of play. It is fun and more action paced. It lends itself to that the best player on those maps should win. As the pros will fight somewhere mid age 3-4 and take out players fast in a broad expansion. you can sweep the rooms with that.
But psychologically large map FFAs are different. There it is more emphasis on a balance of early military strength and eco production. There the rules change as well because since you do not have to fight for your second hunts you may not consider your neighbor your enemy first. So then as nations rise it is easier to gauge who is the bigger threat and go for a timing attack. To me it is most strategic in that its closer to real life for meaning of the game. Where there are more real consequences of actions, because some may flee to hit you later, or build or rush, it is more dynamic.

FFA is all about the FUN, its Fun For All
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by howlingwolfpaw »

yemshi wrote:Otto 12min revo best FFA strat. Kill two turtlers and out.


I welcome this. thank you. It proves to the point that FFA can be anything you want it to be and that makes it the best. Have a GG
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by howlingwolfpaw »

pecelot wrote:8 players — Epic as in epic lag? :kinggreen:
Your set of rules is kinda crappy, it turns out to be just NR40 8-player FFA with 1v1s only...
Also, how is Japan tier 3? I guess you can prevent French from making cuirs to make them more balanced.



8 only lags if you do, but yes that is true they do lag. That is why 6 players is Optimal. Because of good base placement on maps that are more balanced and smoother game play. If one lags out then its still a good 5 player map.

It can be what ever you want it to be for as long as you want it to go. Some people like long games, but this way its still more exciting than waiting to boom in NR games. Cause things can and do happen at any time.

Japan is tier 2. Which is still pretty good civ to play for FFA. Because while a very strong civ, both militarily and economically they are too dependent on their wonders for power. This makes them susceptible to multi prong attacks because they train from Dymos

any civ can be good for FFA or the best if played right. some just have better ecos to maintain the fighting than others.

France is OP for more than just cuirs, but I think that would help a lot.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by howlingwolfpaw »

schiegfried wrote:his strategy: turtle with india till age 5, spam gurkha and zam, usually win game
i like ffa too, but its just annoying that everybody turtles and that you cant really rush at all, cause if you do, you fall behind the other 4-6 players that are still alive.



You got it mostly! The turtle is a great way to eco strong and then figure out who are your main threats. But I don't make that much Gurka, my main fight force is 14 gurka, and 1 mansabar, I never make or upgrade zambs. They are just too weak and slow to train for late game play. Howdas are supreme. But I only make those vs some civs or if I need them. The only place for zambs is possibly vs russian Opri spam. The rest of my army, is 3 Mahouts, 3 Siege Ele, about 35-40 sepoy and mansabar, then I go with the France or Brit consulate for 5 falcs and 16 skirmishers, oh and tigers. Nats? once I get the shipment and pop down I might send some Urumi.

its strong but not unbeatable.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by howlingwolfpaw »

CelticCrusader wrote:I like a bit of FFA but they end up going on forever. I normally get impatient and try to kill my neighbour then get attacked by someone else while my army is busy.



Sorry friend, that is why I want to spread that it is dishonorable to 2v1 someone. But its not a rule if no one cares about honor and wants to be ruthless. Its then what the room decides to do about it.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by pecelot »

howlingwolfpaw wrote:
8 only lags if you do, but yes that is true they do lag.

[...]

France is OP for more than just cuirs, but I think that would help a lot.

Not necessarily, sir!
I know, though I do think that would help a lot!
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by fightinfrenchman »

It's funny how people complain about certain gamemodes going on too long when in reality they will play rush games for 6-12 hours at a time
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by pecelot »

Not necessarily, sir!
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by AOEisLOVE_AOEisLIFE »

fightinfrenchman wrote:It's funny how people complain about certain gamemodes going on too long when in reality they will play rush games for 6-12 hours at a time


too maximize my ego push in a dead game i need a high amount of wins + frustration of the individual i won against ("fucken cheater, i could beat you any day... etc"), there is no point playing hour long games when i can get more wins out of less time ergo more ego push ergo more "wow i still f*cking got it, im such great humen being overall and in like every detail", so id rather play many games for 12 hours a day than a cpl actually fun ones. (and FFA is usually fun)

btw, dont most ppl play FFA to troll? its usually like saloon card --> ronin mass + petards or sth isnt it..
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by tedere12 »

FFA is just dumb lol, every time the noobs team up to beat me because my score is too high.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

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Post by deleted_user »

7 prime? 8 epic? maybe if you have an apm of 10 and possess no ability to notice lag...

6 is great if you can get players with good connections but this usually isn't the case so then 5 must be used although inherently I think even > odd amounts of players and 4 is too low so must use 5. Also, I only really play ffa as an excuse to bash lowbobs as I get kicked if I join their team games or 1v1s but usually low bobs just team up on the good player 3v1 which isn't really fun. 5 huss semi can kill like 20 vills around the map. Game gets lame past 25-30 min tho.

FFA meta in general is kind of b.s. because the winner is generally the first to hit V, so everyone just fast imperials and makes no units, but sometimes someone makes units and will attack you, in which you don't necessarily die but you are sort of taken out of contention and they are taken out of contention since they made units and meanwhile players x y and z are still just going fast imperial undisturbed so they are given this arbitrary edge based off sheer luck of not getting attacked. In this, FFAs are dumb if you go into them with any serious intent.

Good post hollowingwolfpaw
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by deleted_user »

fightinfrenchman wrote:It's funny how people complain about certain gamemodes going on too long when in reality they will play rush games for 6-12 hours at a time


Obviously these two things are not equivocal I'm not sure if you're being serious oh wait of course you aren't you're the :ear:
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by fightinfrenchman »

deleted_user wrote:
fightinfrenchman wrote:It's funny how people complain about certain gamemodes going on too long when in reality they will play rush games for 6-12 hours at a time


Obviously these two things are not equivocal I'm not sure if you're being serious oh wait of course you aren't you're the :ear:


I am being serious, it's better to have a smaller number of more quality games than having a ton of rush games that take up the same amount of time. You know I'm right when I say there are certain people on these forums who will sit and play AoE for many hours straight.
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by pecelot »

What if you can have quality supremacy games that are not treaty? I understand you boycott ASC finals?
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by fightinfrenchman »

pecelot wrote:What if you can have quality supremacy games that are not treaty? I understand you boycott ASC finals?


The longer a game goes on the better quality it is
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Re: the Way of the FFA, A guide to hosting good FFA's

Post by JakeyBoyTH »

fightinfrenchman wrote:
pecelot wrote:What if you can have quality supremacy games that are not treaty? I understand you boycott ASC finals?


The longer a game goes on the better quality it is


oos at 58 min?
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