Capping vs. Killing

[Kymrel 185]

I have seen battles lost because people didn't cap, but I've seen just as many or more lost due to people splitting a successful attacking force with some capping and getting sniped and the rest heading back to defend.

 

I cap when it is the only sure way to win. I also cap in a slow vehicle (hello T95) after fighting hard to get to the enemy cap with no chance of cleaning up stragglers or getting back to defend if the enemy team sneaks onto our cap. If you can't round up the stragglers in the 90 seconds it takes me to win the game through capping, tough titties. Be glad of the win and farm more damage in the next game.

 

I sometimes also cap just to split up the enemy team. If the enemy lemmings hard and I have broken through the other flank I sometimes cap just to get the lemmings to split up and have the fastest tanks rush back. They tend to come alone or in pairs making them that much easier to take out rather than charging the lemming train in the back and have the entire thing turn on your damaged tank as you try to flank seven enemy tanks engaged frontally with your damaged friends.

 

My pet hate in this game is early capping in Encounter. If this mode was changed to prevent capping for the first 5 minutes or so that would be much better. 

[xtc4 121]

Just had a great example.

Stalingrad, 50/50 split roughly both teams my unicum platoon crushes one side and is going through enemy cap to hit beach, enemy team is crushing our other side we are down ~1.5k hp (t8 battle). I retorically ask should be farm damage or go for the sure win. We go for the kills.

Sure enough we over thought our abilities and lost the game (was close), sure our pubbies were bad but good play meant we should have just sat on the cap.

Was in almost this exact situation on stalingrad a couple days ago, except that we were up a lot of tanks, like 9 greens near the red cap to 2 reds near the green cap. We still needed to cap; if the 2 reds lurking around our cap capped us, there might not have been time for our blob to get back. Fortunately, me and another green player saw the danger and capped. Some of the kill-em-all crowd were so mad that they came back and started firing at us as the green bar approached 100%. They missed and we won.

I'm all for killing them all if that can safely be done. I also realize the danger of premature capping and becoming a sitting duck. But sometimes capping is the best chance to win. It is very situational.

[Gling24 59]

My pet hate in this game is early capping in Encounter. If this mode was changed to prevent capping for the first 5 minutes or so that would be much better. 

[OnboardG1 1,279]

I'll cap it it's important to do so. If there's still 5k of cleanup damage in the game and we're 10-2 up I'll get salty if some deep red shitter decides to sit on cap and farm efficiency.

[Deusmortis 4,618]

 

When to cap:

• There's a chance you'll fuck up and lose.

When not to cap:

• When there's 100% chance of victory. Don't be selfish, let other people pad stats. You get more base exp for killing all too. You can reset your cap and still keep the cap points iirc.

 

 

Pretty good summary.

 

If you're not sure if you will win or not, cap.  If you're a pubbie, you are likely not able to determine when you can and cannot win.  Even great players occasionally misjudge this (reference the Illusion post earlier.)  My hatred and rage for capping rivals my hate and rage for arti, but there are plenty of times when it is the right call.

 

When you're up 10-2, though, let people get their kills/damage.  It gives the whole team more credits/xp.  Don't be a greedy fuck and farm a few cap points.  

[jackquerudo 2,405]

I cap even if there's only a slight chance that I might lose. I will drive off the cap if anyone needs more time to pad damage, but I will win regardless

[OuttaGum 32]

A key point is that it is good insurance to be on the cap...you can always drive off at the last moment.

[clownshoes2 334]

Lately I've been seeing more and more players getting off cap to finish off the last 3 tanks instead of capping out and screwing everyone over.

[PrivateBert 261]

 

 

Maybe just fight on the lane where the cap is instead of exactly the other side, especially when playing slow tanks?

I see this way too often: 3/4 of the team pushing the wrong side in encounter mode and then get capped.

Just why?

 

Most people say (especially purples): you MUST take the hill on Himmelsdorf when it is encounter.

All yolo hill, both teams, I cap. Wins almost every time.

Or rather capped. Don't play encounter anymore because of this stupidity.

[Kymrel 185]

Actually the capping team on Hilmmelsdorf almost always looses. The distance from the hill to the cap is so short (and some of it down hill, duh) that even most heavies have no problems getting there, assuming enough resources were invested in the hill fight to punch through fairly fast. Sure, other tactics would be better to win encounter on Himmelsdorf. But good luck getting the pubbies on board in the 30 seconds you have to persuade them to do anything other than sniffing glue and go to all the wrong places for all the wrong reasons.

 

If you take your tank straight to the cap you are allowing the pubbies to decide how the battle goes. If they perform well on the hill and can contain the enemy there you might win without taking a shot. Sure. But that rarely happens. And even when it does, you just played a horribly boring game driving your digital tank to a random circle with a flag in it and not even shooting anything. I don't play tanks for that. I play tanks to blow up other tanks.

[PrivateBert 261]

Yes, I also do. Fully agree. I don't like capping games, that's why I disabled encounter.

Way too often the game ends by capping.

 

Mostly it is:

Himmelsdorf -> often ends with capping because all yolo hill.

Prokhorovka -> even worse because at least one team alsways decides it is best to camp the 2 line with 3/4 of the team.

Steppes -> Heavies brawl on the wrong side at the stony hills.

Karelia -> all go hill (because this is normally the best play and they just don't notice it is encounter).

So yeah. I rather be the one who caps on these maps than the one who loses because the others cap. Or was. I don't play encounter anymore because of it.

[Joebob73 23]

Oh, OP is the "why is sniping in my E-75 bad" guy from the official forums. 

As seen in this thread: http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/375916-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-sniping-with-the-e-75/

[NotchbackFiero 154]

Oh, OP is the "why is sniping in my E-75 bad" guy from the official forums. 

As seen in this thread: http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/375916-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-sniping-with-the-e-75/

 

 

See, I stopped going to the official forums, and now I'm reminded why. 32 pages of that crap. Also, that poll. Really?

 

 

[FlorbFnarb 537]

People only really rage at cappers if capping will only serve to deny the rest of the team the cleanup damage. Don't be that guy.

This.^^

Look, winning is the top priority, but scoring damage for the XP and credits is important too. Would I sacrifice a win to score more damage? No. Never. But if the match is like a 99% lock, am I gonna go ahead and cap just to make sure it's 100%? Hell no. The match is effectively won. I see no reason for the team to leave thousands of HP on their plate when we're up six tanks and control the key points.

Winning > farming, but winning+farming > winning > farming.

Yes, I also do. Fully agree. I don't like capping games, that's why I disabled encounter.

Way too often the game ends by capping.

Mostly it is:

Himmelsdorf -> often ends with capping because all yolo hill.

Prokhorovka -> even worse because at least one team alsways decides it is best to camp the 2 line with 3/4 of the team.

Steppes -> Heavies brawl on the wrong side at the stony hills.

Karelia -> all go hill (because this is normally the best play and they just don't notice it is encounter).

So yeah. I rather be the one who caps on these maps than the one who loses because the others cap. Or was. I don't play encounter anymore because of it.

Your analysis of Himmelsdorf Encounter is all wrong. People don't lose Himmelsdorf Encounter because too many "YOLO" the hill and get capped out; people lose Himmelsdorf Encounter because too many people say "I hate going hill good luck retard lemmings" and they go park in Tank Alley while the team loses the hill because not enough tanks.

[PrivateBert 261]

Your analysis of Himmelsdorf Encounter is all wrong. People don't lose Himmelsdorf Encounter because too many "YOLO" the hill and get capped out; people lose Himmelsdorf Encounter because too many people say "I hate going hill good luck retard lemmings" and they go park in Tank Alley while the team loses the hill because not enough tanks.

I hear this all the time. And yet I can still win this almost every time by capping. If I try it. I need 1 or 2 people to kill the little resistance which is usually found there and then quick cap. Works every time the main enemy force goes hill. You sit on the left side of the cap circle behind a building. No shots from the hill. And they won't make it to the cap in time. Not possible. A scout can make it, barely in time. But he will just explode.

But it is not fun.

 

I still don't understand why taking the hill is especially important in encounter mode.

Yes it is a key position. But only because many tanks die there.

I dare say: a team that sends no one up there except an initial scout can win most of the time. Take the whole map while the enemy team slowly crawls up the hill. Game over.

Of course I am a shitter. If you can explain why I am wrong I will happily admit that I am wrong.

[Victrix 2,299]

Even if some pubs are mentally disabled and complete autists brainwashed with "must kill all, must kill all", some battles can only be won by a quick breakthrough and a fastcap, because they either have more HP and a stacked team vs your yellows, or can just outskill you. Don't listen to the average pubbie.

[Korb3n_Dallas 198]

Lost a match a couple of days ago due to a tard in an IS-2 driving off of cap. We had three on, a M-M player (I think it was) got to the two that stayed on cap and reset us at 99 cap points. I didn't survive since I had initiated the push in my Comet, but we broke through the west flank on northwest. We had to cap since our east folded rapidly. I was not pleased.

[yolorush 70]

Do whatever wins the game. I will never get mad at you for capping and winning. But not capping to chase damage and throw it, will introduce you to a side of me you will never forget. Some can attest to that...

[Shade421 2,952]

Alright, I'm on mobile atm, so here's a block of text. Why do pubs rage when a tank caps? You have 3 situations: 5+ tanks vs an SPG and/or a med. A more balanced duel: 2 zombie heavies, 1 SPG or TD at full power. Or a "Cap or Lose" steamroll. Personally, I prefer capping when I'm short on time IRL, I'm in a slow vehicle, I'm being lazy, most of the team has died, there's no Top Guns involved, it ain't worth it for me, or we fail at logistics (too wide of an search area). Out of room here, awaiting posts.

The only thing I got out of this is, "I'm a selfish dick and I play games in such a way that it detracts from the experience of at least 14 other people because I don't have the time needed to play properly."

 

Don't have time, don't play. You're not the only fucking person in the world.

[stagnate 513]

The only thing I got out of this is, "I'm a selfish dick and I play games in such a way that it detracts from the experience of at least 14 other people because I don't have the time needed to play properly."

 

Don't have time, don't play. You're not the only fucking person in the world.

 

At least for the slow vehicle, I will always cap.  If I get to cap in a T95 and you haven't managed to clean up the field yet, that's on you.  In rare circumstances if the kill is clearly imminent and the tanks chasing were highly effective I might step off.

 

 

Also, how is it not just as unreasonable to prolong a clear win while people have their tank locked?  There are at most 14 players on your team still alive, and in reality usually only 5-10.  Figure 7 dead on your team and 10 dead on the enemy team, and that is more than half the field that is prevented from playing their tank until you finish.  Not a big deal if you have a full garage, but quite annoying if you are trying to focus on a specific grind.

 

Do you insist on forcing your friends to play every last turn of a card game or board game even once it's clearly won, rather than starting a new game so everyone has a chance to start fresh and be engaged?

[Shade421 2,952]

My annoyance was more with the idea of deciding to play tanks when you already know you don't have the time to see a match through. There are certainly times when capping is the only way to win, times when it's the best plan, and times when it's a dick move because you don't have time/want to farm an invader/can't damage whatever enemy is left. The former two examples, go for it. no issue, I do it too. The latter, is a dick move, every time.

[NavySnipers 464]

In all seriousness, the only time you should cap is if:

 

A. Your enemy is hiding and you want to draw him out

B. Time is short and you can't chase him around the map

C. There's too many enemies to safely bet that you can win by killing and you are sure none of them are fast enough to RTB.

 

 

 

Judge the situation dynamically. Use your head. Win.

[ModderKraken 59]

 

Pretty good summary.

 

If you're not sure if you will win or not, cap.  If you're a pubbie, you are likely not able to determine when you can and cannot win.  Even great players occasionally misjudge this (reference the Illusion post earlier.)  My hatred and rage for capping rivals my hate and rage for arti, but there are plenty of times when it is the right call.

 

When you're up 10-2, though, let people get their kills/damage.  It gives the whole team more credits/xp.  Don't be a greedy fuck and farm a few cap points.  

Etiquette question: who is the asshat? 

We stomped the enemy pretty good but their sole survivors - fast arty and scout - swung past our flank and managed to start to cap on us. 90% of our force is close to their base, remaining HP of enemy <1k if I remember correctly. Our team scrambles to get back to our base in time - only guy on our team close enough to spot or shoot on cap is our roomba who was base camping but started moving but now turns around. So I figure we literally have 1 shot to attempt to reset otherwise they win by capping in spite of stomp. So a heavy and I  - in a pershing - who are closest to enemy base start capping to apply pressure and win if roomba only able to reset once. 

Miracle occurs, roomba spots and hits with a couple seconds to spare, killing scout, arty flees the cap. 

Now a T-54 starts whining that we need to get off cap - 20 sec or so remaining - so he can farm that last arty. I say farm faster and both heavy and I stay on cap. Someone else kills the arty just as we finish cap. So all enemies dead, and we cap 100%.  After game T54 gets all salty and starts PM me with less than creative insults and calls me selfish. He had a mediocre game wn8 wise so probably butthurt.

So we capped out of necessity which became superfluous when when roomba reset the cap. Do I really have to amble off the cap and yield MY (small) XP cap bonus because some whiner driving a T54 is yelling at me so he can farm 400 more dmg for HIS (small) wn8 bonus? Be nice and friendly I might consider it. Be an ass and I become stubborn. 

So who is the asshat? If consensus is it's me I will do it differently next time this comes up. 

[Archaic_One 1,853]

Holy necrophilia batman, 6 months and 16 days.

I say piss on the T-54, anybody that gets pissed at team mates for trying to win is a tool.  Winning >>>> All

[FlorbFnarb 537]

To rephrase what I said earlier:

Kill-all win > cap win > any form of loss or draw