There is always an ebb and flow to field battles that makes them more dynamic than siege battles. Often strategy takes a back seat to instinctive cut-and-thrust tactics, as players react to the action rather than the environment. But that doesn’t mean knowing the map is any less important - indeed, sometimes, it might make all the difference!   

HISTORY

Winding between three dominant and often rain-lashed hills, Stalemate Creek has been the site of countless battles for more generations that anyone dares to recount. Its original name has been submerged by the undercurrents of time, but legend has it that two armies once camped across from one another for so long that both generals refused to yield while their troops refused to fight, establishing Stalemate Creek in the collective consciousness ever since. These days there is less reticence to do battle and rarely does one end in anything other than a dramatic victory. Yet the name persists; like the waters that flow forever downstream.

CAPTURE POINT A

  • Thanks to straight roads the capture point in the northeast of the map is closer to the team that starts to its west and should always be taken by them as quickly as possible.
  • Point A has the highest elevation of the three capture zones, with a good vantage point over the surrounding lands. It also overlooks a dangerous river crossing and is close enough to point B that any units there can provide support if needed. 
  • It’s easy to take point A for granted and find that the enemy has captured while your attention was elsewhere. If you can spare the units, it’s worth defending with a basic unit - if only to give yourself time to mount a counter-attack before it changes hands.

CAPTURE POINT B        

  • The central capture point is often the key to any field battle, but this is especially true for Stalemate creek. The raised fortified area is in an interesting position in that it’s closer to the southern team’s starting position, but which is offset by the team’s massive height disadvantage.
  • ...That’s not to say it’s an easy point to hold for either team. Despite the palisades that protect the capture point, it’s just as easy to become trapped by them. As a result, the battle for point B is very often won on the slopes on either side of it.
  • If the enemy is tenaciously holding onto point B, work to outflank it. It’s a lot harder for them to hold the area if attacked on two fronts. If you can take a second control point along the way, so much the better.

CAPTURE POINT C

  • Capture point maps where both sides have the same objective always have to have some symmetry and, as with many Conqueror’s Blade field maps, that symmetry is mirrored across the two outermost capture zones. As C is to the northwestern spawn area, so A is to the team that starts in the southeast - who should move fast to capture it.
  • While it lacks the height advantages of point A, point C can be effectively defended thanks to the placement of barriers and the road that links it to the spawn area to the east. It may not be necessary to station units in defence as the point can be recaptured comparatively easily.
  • Given that point B is likely to be the focus for both sides’ attacks, it’s easy to become fixated to the point that you don’t notice point C being taken by the enemy. When it happens, in all likelihood it’s being taken by a single opportunistic warlord - take it back with the minimum of fuss!