Microtactics, or let's learn to analyze

More than once I've seen how decent, not bad strategists get lost in situations that require an efficient use of microtactics on the field.

Let's start with what it actually means. A microtactic in Wesnoth is a capability to control your forces rationally in offense or defense depending on a particular situation. Here I'm not going to describe all possible situations or give you specific instructions what to do. Instead I'll try to teach you how to set up the basic point of your offense or defense.

The key of success in this matter is an ability to prioritize. Priorities may differ, starting from killing a particular unit and up to taking the key point on the map.

Unit priorities

1. Enemy leader
2. Close-to-level-up unit (less than 9 xp to level)
3. Half-dead unit
4. Units with great damage (poisoners > ranged > melee)
5. Healers
6. Scouts
7. Any other

Let's examine each of those

Leader

As each map is based on destroying the enemy leader (the articles talks about default MP scenarios - the translator's note), this unit has the greatest priority for us. Dead leader = victory

Close-to-level-up units

One of the main rules of a good players is that you should have the only second level unit, which is the leader, and it shouldn't last long. This is especially important about close-to-level units from the 4th category (great damage units)

Half-dead units

We always try to reduce the number of enemy units, units not killed in time could become a hindrance later.

TODO

This material is taken from WesnothLife, a Russian Wesnoth community.
Its original author and date of publication: py6aka, Feb 26, 2012