Choosing Your Main

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United States of America Squamiger
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Choosing Your Main

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Post by Squamiger »

I watched an interesting and pretty philosophical take on choosing your main in Super Smash Bros Melee, by Rishi. It's here:

What I expected was a rundown of the different traits and styles of each character, which is similar to how AoE3 guides often describe different civs-- for instance, saying that Russia is a rush/timing civ, Spain China focus on fast fortresses and tech advantages, Brits and Ports boom, USA turtles, etc.

But what I got from this video was a completely different take on the philosophy of choosing a main, and it made me rethink how I have decided what civ to play. Instead of thinking about main characters or civs as having inherent traits which determine how you play, Rishi argues the opposite-- that what you first need to establish the content of what you want to accomplish in game, and then consider which medium is best for expressing and achieving that content in the most appropriate way possible. It makes a lot of sense in the context of Smash, but I've been thinking about how it might apply to AoE3. When going into a multiplayer environment, before I even pick my civ, I need to think-- what do I want to achieve? What actions do I want to take? An aggressive rush that puts my opponent on the back foot? An economic timing? A tech advantage? Then, how does the content of what I want to achieve change as the game progresses, and what do I need to do to adapt? The civ I pick will determine the medium in which I can express this content.

The quote that stands out: "The mark of a strong player is one who formulates ideas of strong substance, and puts themselves in a position to implement those ideas effectively in the game. To do so, you need to be playing a character whose tools line up with your intentions". This perspective means thinking past simplistic categories like "spain is FF civ, aztec is rush civ".

Anyway, maybe I'm not totally capturing Rishi's argument here or applying it well to AoE3, but the video is worth a watch anyway, if you're interested in thinking strategically about competitive multiplayer games with multiple character or civ options.
United States of America abeisfriend
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Re: Choosing Your Main

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Post by abeisfriend »

Great and very thoughtful post, but I will continue to Botto FF relentlessly
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United States of America Squamiger
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Re: Choosing Your Main

Post by Squamiger »

abeisfriend wrote: ↑
22 Mar 2022, 19:18
Great and very thoughtful post, but I will continue to Botto FF relentlessly
yea, I think this perspective can help you get insight into what the botto ff does and how it fits into the game. If your intention is to 1. aggressively attack and 2. gain a tech advantage, then botto FF works pretty well as a medium for these actions. Is that your intention going into each game, or are you just comfortable with botto ff because you've played it a lot?

Other civs can also become a medium for these actions as well, whether or not you're talking about a FF. idk, just trying to think through how this theory might apply to aoe3
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Re: Choosing Your Main

Post by callentournies »

I haven't watched the vide0 but I think intenti0ns are m0re dynamical in an rts than a fighting game, esbecially a0e3 with strategy branches fr0m card c0mbinati0ns/b0ssibiltiies.
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Re: Choosing Your Main

Post by Le Hussard sur le toit »

Squamiger wrote: ↑
22 Mar 2022, 19:22
abeisfriend wrote: ↑
22 Mar 2022, 19:18
Great and very thoughtful post, but I will continue to Botto FF relentlessly
yea, I think this perspective can help you get insight into what the botto ff does and how it fits into the game. If your intention is to 1. aggressively attack and 2. gain a tech advantage, then botto FF works pretty well as a medium for these actions. Is that your intention going into each game, or are you just comfortable with botto ff because you've played it a lot?

Other civs can also become a medium for these actions as well, whether or not you're talking about a FF. idk, just trying to think through how this theory might apply to aoe3
Well Aizamk has been pike rushing with Ports and doing FIs with Russia and nats rush with dutch for years so...
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Netherlands Goodspeed
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Re: Choosing Your Main

Post by Goodspeed »

Tbh it sounds like a lot of words to say something we all already know intuitively: Play a civ that does well at the playstyles you prefer.
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Re: Choosing Your Main

Post by RefluxSemantic »

Goodspeed wrote: ↑
25 Mar 2022, 12:27
Tbh it sounds like a lot of words to say something we all already know intuitively: Play a civ that does well at the playstyles you prefer.
There is an interesting bit in this statement: Should you choose the playstyle that you enjoy the most or the playstyle that you are best at? Usually those things are the same, but I know that for myself this is an almost perfect mismatch. I enjoy the playmaking style of character/civ/thing, but I have a very risk-averse personality that makes me awful at playmaking in any sense. I should be playing the reactionary strategic characters if I want to excell. So in that case, how should I choose my main?
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Netherlands Goodspeed
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Re: Choosing Your Main

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Post by Goodspeed »

Do you prefer more enjoyment or a higher ELO? Does a higher ELO directly cause you to enjoy the game more and to what degree? Etc. Personally I'd go with the thing I enjoy most and if that costs ELO so be it

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