Effective Silo Launches

[Disco Duck]

DEFENSIVE POSITIONING
This is what most DefCon players seem to be thinking about when positioning their silos. The aces have it right. Your best bet is to cluster them all together somewhere outside of enemy radar range. This, however, appears to be the extent of knowledge on this subject in the DefCon community. There is a lot more to silos than defensive placement.


OFFENSIVE POSITIONING
This aspect of silos appears to be ignored by most players. It’s absolutely vital, maybe equally important as defensive positioning. If your silos are spread all over your nation, when you launch a strike those missiles will arrive at the target spread out and one at a time. This is a totally ineffective attack and if your silos are spread out far enough it is very likely that an enemy with all six ABM batteries active will shoot down every single missile you launch. Having the silos close together is at least equally important for offense as it is for defense.

As far as defensive positioning is concerned simply having your silos tightly clustered achieves your goal. But for offensive positioning, the pattern of your silos on the ground becomes important. Without explaining all the details as to exactly why, the best pattern for offensive purposes are two triangular patterns of three silos each, with those two sets of three silos being as close together as possible. Decide where you want your silos, place three in as tight of a perfect triangular pattern as possible, and then put the other set of three right up against the first.

Although not entirely accurate, it is close enough to be thought of in this way. Envision the placement of your silos on the ground as the same pattern that the missiles will land in when launched at a target. This will, in fact, almost be true if you fire on three targets that are in the same pattern on the ground as your silos. In such a hypothetical situation your missiles would launch, travel, and land in that same tightly grouped triangular pattern.

Think of your silo placement, each of the two triangular patterns, as the same pattern that the missiles will land on the ground when launched. And the next section will explain how to make that actually happen in the game.


LAUNCH SEQUENCE
This is where you determine if your silo launch will be effective, or almost totally useless. I have spec’d many games, and even the very best DefCon players launch totally ineffective silo attacks. If you simply pick a silo, target all ten missiles of that silo, then move on to the next silo… you might as well not use your silos offensively. Targeting your silos in that sequence will result in a random and spread out attack.

Each silo starts with 10 missiles. When you target a missile from a silo the mouse pointer will become a missile icon with “10” or “9”, etc, on the icon. The number is the missile of that silo that you are targeting. Think of this number as the “target package identification”. When targeting silo launches, target them in terms of “target packages”. Target each silo one at a time. Choose one silo of one triangular grouping of three silos and target “missile #10” of that silo. You should first choose the farthest launching silo from the target for that group of three silos, then the next farthest, and then the closest. Then do the same for the other group of three silos. You have successfully created “target package #10”.

Imagine that you were launching all ten missiles from all ten silos. In that case, you would assign 10 “target packages”. First you would target missile #10 from each silo, then missile #9, then missile #8… and so on until all ten target packages were complete. It is important when targeting the first set of missiles, i.e. “target package #10”, that you target those first 6 missiles as quickly as you possibly can. The faster you target the first six missiles the more tightly grouped all 10 waves of 6 will be. Only the first set matters, all following sets will be timed exactly as the first due to the launch delay between target packages. Finally, you obviously want to set speed 1 for targeting silo launches. You can just take the speed multiplier and apply it also as a multiplier of how much your missiles will be unnecessarily spread out if playing at that speed while targeting the first target package.

Now that you are launching in an effective manner, it’s time to select targets that will compliment everything that has been discussed so far.


”PEELING THE ONION”
Why do so many players shoot at the back side of a player’s defenses? No matter how effective you get your silo launch too be, it will generally fail if most of the missiles have to fly over all of their ABM sites to get to their targets. Your missiles should “walk” across the target when they land. They should hit the targets closest too the launch point first, then targets immediately behind those, and then targets behind those, and so on.

Lets say that we are the United States and we want to attack Europe. We can see their silos because this was a diplomacy game, and we want to take down Europe so that we can get to Russia. This is a common situation in the game. The Europe player has tightly clustered their silos in England and Northern France. Target Package #10 (i.e. the first missile launched from each silo) would target whichever European silo is closest to the US launching silos. Target Package #9 would target the second closest silo, and so on for as many silos as you intend to target (if done correctly, each target package of 6 missiles will pretty much always destroy an enemy silo). Once the defenses are gone, it doesn’t really matter how you target the remaining missiles, but when defensive silos are present and you intend to attack silos doing anything other than “peeling the onion” will simply be a less efficient attack. Personally, I always try to destroy 3 silos of a player I am attacking even if playing a game where you don’t need to target facilities. The first missiles of my attacks almost always focus on eliminating either all of their silos, or three of them. I’ve found that 3 silos cannot effectively defend against attacks so I remove 3 of them first to make all future target packages much more effective. Even in default scoring, I believe you come out ahead in the end.

And now we get back to the “Offensive Placement”. Remember that triangular pattern of three. Well, the closer your targets are on the ground the more your missiles will stay in that pattern during flight. If they are targeting on the same target they will stay together, if they are targeted on tight triangular cluster of targets they will stay together. Your silo missiles, for example, will arrive from half-way around the world just as close together as if you had launched a flawless Beam Attack.


FINAL COMMENTS
Finally, it must be said that any silo attack is infinitely more effective if combine with other missiles from any other source. Either a bomber or sub attack timed to arrive sometime between the first and second (i.e. 10th or 9th) target package from silos is really almost a must. This allows you to initially overwhelm the defenses, which is all you need to do if that initial overwhelming wave is targeting the silos. It’s almost a waste to fire silos alone. It can be done effectively by the principals outlined here, but it really is kind of a waste to not have the silos actually compliment the attacks of your subs and bombers instead of attacking alone. Especially if you are “Peeling the Onion”. In that case by initially overwhelming the defenses you get your first strikes, the ones targeting his silos, through. Any enemy begins to collapse very quickly when silos start dying as 60 missiles are still inbound. Each silo destroyed makes the situation worse and worse, as more and more of the inbound missiles will now land. When combining silos with bomber/subs I usually have the first two silo target packages attack the two closest enemy silos, and the third silo target package targets the 5th closest enemy silo… while the bombers/subs take out the 3rd, 4th, and 6th closest silos. I’ve found that by doing it this way I can arrange for all of the very first missiles that arrive to take out all of enemy silos… after that they are defenseless (or maybe one or, in really bad cases two, of his silos are alive) and the final target packages from you silos land on airbases and cities. Notice how little support this requires… just three subs or 15 or so bombers is all that is need to initially overwhelm the defenses, and that’s all you need to do if the defenses are the initial targets.

So far I have been using my silos twice per game. I support a major early attack with silos very early (like right at defcon 1) with 6 target packages, and save 4 target packages to support another attack later. This does a few things. That first “major attack” only needs a partial bomber Beam Attack, or 3 subs, to be completely devastating so it conserves bombers and subs. At the same time it follows real-world doctrine of getting your nukes off the ground as soon as possible, before they are destroyed. With only 4 missiles left in each silo, I only lose 2 missiles if one is hit. But then I haven’t actually played much yet, so on those types of points I probably don’t really know what I am talking about, but it could help some who read this to know exactly how I use silos according to the general principals that I have laid out.

[Feud]

So, with a few exceptions, you are basically advocating the silo placement, and targeting method that I've been using and suggesting since December, and for which I have gained a small reputation (i.e. the so called Feud Silos/Feud Placement/Feud Maneuver- gotcha! I made that last name up).

[Disco Duck]

So, with a few exceptions, you are basically advocating the silo placement, and targeting method that I've been using and suggesting since December, and for which I have gained a small reputation (i.e. the so called Feud Silos/Feud Placement/Feud Maneuver- gotcha! I made that last name up).

Hi, I've watched you play before... but then I've seen most people who post here a lot play:-)

I actually wrote that because I have been reading this "Strategic Air Command" forum and never saw any mention of this stuff. I've also watched a lot of very good players just target each silo, one at a time, all over enemy territory. This message area is also kind of a community strategy guide so I thought I'd add this too it since I didn't see anything on it. I'm guessing a lot of players already do at least some of it, and not surprised you have been talking about it already.

I'm actually interested in anything you might have to add, since you have a lot of actual experience and can probably add a lot. I'm just going on experience with games and a week of mostly specing people:-)

[Radiant Caligula]

That's a lot of text. IMHO you could cut 90% of it and still have the same info. If you wanna make tutorials for beginners, make them readable.

but great effort anyway.


I have used sequencing since September. Both for silo, sub and bomber launches. It is rather pointless not to fire in sequence when attacking enemy defenses. It's like trying to kill a man by throwing rice at him from 30 meters away.

[NeoThermic]

It's like trying to kill a man by throwing rice at him from 30 meters away.

Evidently your ricefu is weak.

NeoThermic

[Disco Duck]

That's a lot of text. IMHO you could cut 90% of it and still have the same info. If you wanna make tutorials for beginners, make them readable.

but great effort anyway.


I have used sequencing since September. Both for silo, sub and bomber launches. It is rather pointless not to fire in sequence when attacking enemy defenses. It's like trying to kill a man by throwing rice at him from 30 meters away.

Haha, you know I joined a game I saw you in to watch you play once but you were teaching. I was pretty disappointed. I've had this game on spec for like 5 days now, it's kind have become a screen saver I have on when not using the computer for anything else. I watch the launch orders a lot and almost nobody launches silos effectively. I'm not surprised at all that many already understand these things, but I can tell you that most definately don't. Lots of very good players just launch them one silo at a time. Most of them, in fact...

Oh, and it was very readable before I cut and pasted it from Word. I tried to fix it, but it just won't let me indent the paragraphs:-(

[Ace Rimmer]

I cringe with overly long posts. I attempted to read it, but my tendency to avoid all things wordy took over. Sorry.

[Radiant Caligula]

It's like trying to kill a man by throwing rice at him from 30 meters away.

Evidently your ricefu is weak.

NeoThermic

I said by throwing RICE, as in plural.

If I want to kill a man with rice, one grain is enough. I have a 100% success rate from 138,2 meters away.

[NeoThermic]

It's like trying to kill a man by throwing rice at him from 30 meters away.

Evidently your ricefu is weak.

NeoThermic

I said by throwing RICE, as in plural.

If I want to kill a man with rice, one grain is enough. I have a 100% success rate from 138,2 meters away.

I can kill four men with a single grain at that distance!

NeoThermic

[shinygerbil]

Pft. You should all use lentils.

[Radiant Caligula]

I can kill four men with a single grain at that distance!

NeoThermic

you amateur!

Do you really need rice to do that? The only thing I need to massacrate 50.000 people from 2 continents away is my thumb.
Point it down and masses D I E!!!

[Omerta]

Thanks!

[caranthir.pkk]

Silo formation is largely irrelevant and way overrated. I move to bacon this motion!

[shinygerbil]

Agreed. There is little to be gained from such extra efficiency. Especially as not everyone uses those tactics, and there will always inevitably be a counter to whatever move you use.

[Hyperion]

I too succumbed to the inability or the desire to want to read that entire strategic briefing you'll learn from playing more (not just spectating) that players can more than make up for inaccurate silo placements or launches. I myself rarely use silos for specific purposes other than to draw AA fire from another means of attack *co...bombers...subs...ugh!*

Your '2 triangles of 3 silos' may well be effective in landing your nukes but as this thread link below states, it may not always be the desirable effect and containing your silos in such a tight formation makes your defensive options terrible when it comes to targetting incoming nukes. Id only need to fire 4 - 6 nukes in the direction of your silos to distract them long enough to land every other nuke on your cities and installations. But yeah...commendable effort and as said before most players aren't that methodical or efficiant because they've gone past the point of needing to be in order to win.

http://forums.introversion.co.uk/defcon ... php?t=4554

P.S. forgive me for this but i couldn't let it slide ...unless USSR or Africa were allied with EU (or even so) they would completely rape EU of points the moment they saw that you took out their silos in your scenario, long before your follow up bombardment could ever reach. (unless your adequatly efficient and follow up simultaneously, in which case i subtract my gripe )

If you're ever in a 6 player match with experienced players and you're SA/NA then the populations of EU and USSR are almost certain to fall as soon as Defcon 1 hits and you have little chance of substantial points from those 2 territories. [Assuming the Africa/Asia players know what they're doing and EU and USSR don't instigate the ShinyBonsai manoeuvre]