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Pre-sets are user-defined groupings of units that can be called up by pressing a specified hot key combo. It may seem like a pain, but it is safe to say that you haven't a chance of winning if you don't use pre-sets. Controlling your troops is the single most-important factor that separates a champion from a whipping boy, so here are a few tricks to guide you in this procedure. Many of these points are simple matters of preference, and some are specially dictated by certain missions, but some truths are, in fact, universal. It will take a moment to define your pre-sets, especially if you have a large number of units to worry about. One trick that can save you time in single-player games, and protect you from being attacked while you work out your pre-sets, is to pause (using the Escape key, by default) and select and define your sets while paused. You will have to scroll to work around the pause dialogue box that sits in the middle of the screen, but the benefit of working this way will become quite evident. Note that you can also specify where you would like your units to go while in this suspended state; they won't move yet, but they will begin to march as soon as you resume your game. One method to make pre-sets easier is to consistently define certain types of units with the same number in every mission. For example, reserve 1 and 2 for melee units or always define Bowman under hot key 4. This way, you will rarely have to hesitate to check your memory in the heat of battle. Many players like to select all units and set them up under the 0 pre-set. This allows you to do a mass retreat if circumstances dictate. Other players never want to move in this way, but you may find it useful. Keep groups of Dwarves limited to two. If you lose a Dwarf, there's a good chance any Dwarf near him will detonate too, so it's in your interest to spread them out as much as possible. There are no hard-and-fast rules about who goes in which sets. There are three schools of thought. To some extent, your choice between these depends on your skill level, but once you become a capable player, the missions will dictate how you handle your pre-sets. Remember that individual units can be assigned to multiple pre-sets. Easy Group all units of the same type under the same pre-sets and group all units under 0. Medium Group all units of the same type under the same pre-sets with the following limitations. Melee unit groups should not exceed eight, Dwarf groups should not exceed two, and Bowmen/Soulless should be limited to four. Other units, like Fetches or Journeymen, are best grouped as solo units, but there will be times when larger groupings are preferable. Hard Group all units of the same type under the same pre-sets. Set overlapping pre-sets with squads of mixed unit types. Be careful, however, to avoid giving individual units conflicting orders, or else they may not go where you want. |
