People are generally clueless about Dominion. Are you? | Forums

[NightBlade87]

I play the game on PS4, so I am interested to see if this is a similar phenomena on the PC platform? From what I have seen, people are generally clueless across the board about Dominion. As in, they don't seem to understand the basic mechanics in order to win. Now, I don't know if this is Ubi's fault, or if it is mostly due to Call of Duty players who think the game mode is like "Control" -- Or whether the lack of MOBA type games are something console players are not accustomed to, but there are a bunch of things people seem completely clueless about.

Such as:

1.) There should always be someone (preferably a HEAVY) on the closest control zone. Not only does the team accumulate 1 point per second by capturing it, you get an ADDITIONAL point (double the points) for having at least ONE teammate occupying the space. In short: Stay in the zones. Contrary to what you may think, teams that stick together roaming the map during the majority of the match, actually lose together.

2.) The objective of the game is to HOLD the control zones, not get kills. You get a whole whopping (sarcasm) 5 points for killing an enemy hero. Where as killing 1 minion/soldier gets you 1 point. It is almost always easier and FASTER to just kill minions and rack up points than it is chasing players around the map trying to kill them. Killing enemy heroes should simply serve to remove them from the zone, so that it is no longer contested, so that your team can accumulate more points, faster. If they run, that's just as good! Let them. You can hunt them down once the enemy team starts to break.

3.) The middle zone (battle front) is the MOST important zone. Capturing this zone nets your team 2 points per second, regardless if a teammate is occupying it or not. However, it is also the most difficult to capture. Preferably a VANGUARD class should be here.

4.) Each of the classes serve a specific role in Dominion. Team composition matters.
HEAVIES are tough to kill, so it makes sense for them to plant their butt in the closest control zone, or the middle zone, to contest the point and fend off any would be attackers, or to buy time until another teammate can come to help. They also can revive teammates quickly with speed revive, keeping you in the fight. VANGUARDS are meant to be in the middle zone (Vanguard means: "at the front"). They can regenerate life by killing minions without having to return to the other zones to heal. And they are good all around and to fill when needed. ASSASSINS are fast, THEY should be the ones roaming ("jungling", MOBA term) and moving around the map to HELP where needed, or harassing enemy players, but a team full of assassins is not ideal... HYBRIDS are what the name implies, they are "hybrids" meaning, they are specialty classes that can fill multiple rolls as needed, but not particularly excel at any one task.

I could go on, but these are most of the major strategy points people seem to overlook, or just miss altogether. The tutorial doesn't really do a good job explaining this stuff to newer players. Even players who are prestige 3 and higher, I have seen making the same mistakes. They just run around the map, capture a zone and then leave immediately to go off and roam some more.

I main Warlord. I cannot tell you how many games I have joined midway in which our team was down several hundred points and then flipped it in our favor, simply by STAYING on one of the control zones and then racking up the double points. Or strategically capturing the enemy's zone instead, while they are off roaming the map, or all bunched up on our zone. I have gotten top spot on the scoreboard with maybe only 1 or 2 hero take downs, but dozens of minion kills, captures, and revives.

Anyway, I'd like to know other people's thoughts? Do PC players experience this? Feel free to share any other strategy tips I didn't include. Dominion is easily one of my favorite game types in the game. Especially, when you get a group of players who are thinking properly, it becomes a whole lot more fun and interesting. Either way, I'll take the free wins.

[Alustar.exe]

I've seen a distinct lack of this on ps4 as well, and if my experience with the mmo community means anything as far as pc player base goes, you cab bet money they desk with this too.
I've said in this game as I have several times before in others, looks don't win these kinds of matches. But no one listens.

[Graci0us]

Xbox seems hit and miss. I dont normally get to frustrated when i see fresh lvl heros making mistakes in dominion, but one ******head today really annoyed me. Was on my conq, holding down home point, and winning the game by roughly 200pts. A nobushi ally decides to come up to me, and keep trying to attack me for whatever reason. Maybe he thought i was afk farming, idk. He spent 2 minutes of the game attacking me, i couldn't believe it. Every time i left point because he wouldnt stop trying to hit me, and leave, the dude bails, and the obj gets backcapped. Needless to say, we lost the game when nobushi went full turncloak and made the game 5v3.
Was a hard loss to swallow.

[Kiiyor]

Great points.

A few of mine (some of them are instructional points for sucking eggs, but bear with me):

#1: Don't be afraid to gank.
Dominion is built around it. If you feel dirty at the though of kicking an enemy in the back while someone else is kicking them in the face, you can cleanse your soul in duels or 2v2, but angling for 1v1's in dominion is a sure fire way to lose and rob your teammates of a win. Kill your enemies, and kill them brutally. Go for ledges. Use disabling abilities like the LB's pancake flip or the Shug's hug if someone pops revenge. Shield bash them into oblivion. It can make players hesitant to approach you at all if you demonstrate that you're more than willing to attack them with a posse, or that you're prepared to fight dirty.

#2: Kill minions as you run past them.
I see players run through the minion horde all the time without taking a single life, and the sudden pacifism baffles me. Sparing a few seconds to throw out a couple of zone attacks can make all the difference with capturing the center.

#3: Lure enemies into your minions.
Normally, they are no threat at all, but if you are attacking an enemy and fight from within your minion horde, your foe's movement is obstructed, they get jostled around, and they take papercut damage.

#4: Don't follow enemies into their own minions.
I know it can be hard to leave a wounded enemy to escape, but often, letting them run while you either control/capture a point or kill minions is far better than wasting energy doing nothing - or being led back to their teammates. Also, if they are running away, they aren't generating any points at all, so by all means let them keep doing that.

#5: Fight enemies outside capture points if you can.
If they are contesting a point, you get no points. Most decent players will just roll past you and head to the point though, so it's no biggie if you can't pin them outside. A contested point is better than a lost one.

#6: Help your allies, but be SMART
If you are holding a point, and one of your allies is fighting someone and struggling just outside the cosy border you're holed up in, consider folding up your deck chair, putting down your Pina Colada, and friggin help them. If you see someone doing well against another player then, THINK before you charge up and start throwing out heavies. Revenge builds WAAAAAAY faster if 2 people are attacking someone.

#7: Remember that it's a points game.
If you're not doing anything, you're not helping. Kill some minions, help a teammate, capture a weakly defended point. Don't get all indecisive and sprint between points without actually committing to something. If you aren't sure what do do, head to the middle.

#8: Gravity isn't always bad
Death from above attacks are HILARIOUS, and are surprisingly easy to pull off if you look for them. Even if they are risky, the catharsis is worth the risk.

#9: Feint.
Feints are like MAGIC in dominion. The frantic pace and sense of urgency of Dominion seems to infect everyone, and players will often find themselves being waaaaaay more aggressive than they would be in 1v1's. They want you dead, and they want you dead NOW. Even against high prestige players, feints can be like unicorns. Try to convince yourself to throw at least one out each time you fight someone. People are so used to parrying EVERYTHING that comes at them, that you'll probably catch them out.

#10: UNDERSTAND REVENGE.
It wins games, and can make a geared character stupendously powerful. If you're being ganked, go defensive. If your revenge bar is full, wait for someone to attack before you activate it, so you get a knockdown. If you are ganking someone, don't just throw attacks out. Watch the direction of their guard, wait for one of your allies to attack, and attack the same time in a different direction. It's better to push someone closer to revenge by injuring them than it is with them blocking your attacks. WATCH YOUR ALLIES. I've lost count of the number of times i've managed to land a guard break against someone running revenge RIGHT NEXT TO A LEDGE, only to be interrupted by a teammate throwing out heavies like primary school kids throwing haymakers. Just because someone has their back to you, it doesn't make them suddenly incapable of avoiding your attacks. If they are running a revenge build, they WANT you to attack.

[Ichnich89]

Even better than fighting people outside objectives, is to stay in one and push them out. I basically do it every time on A or C objective. Staying right at the border of the obj and push them out, hitting them once or twice and repeat it. In that way, you stall them (wasted time for enemy team) AND you get the 2x points bonus.

[guffffff]

The frantic pace and sense of urgency of Dominion seems to infect everyone, and players will often find themselves being waaaaaay more aggressive than they would be in 1v1's. They want you dead, and they want you dead NOW

Haha so true

[Plutonium Bug]

I hope people read this! cause you should play it like this have a good team composition and know your place

[Kiiyor]

Anyway, I'd like to know other people's thoughts? Do PC players experience this? Feel free to share any other strategy tips I didn't include. Dominion is easily one of my favorite game types in the game. Especially, when you get a group of players who are thinking properly, it becomes a whole lot more fun and interesting. Either way, I'll take the free wins.

I forgot to add, that heck yeah, PC players experience it. We have a slight one up with the easy availability of the keyboard, but 9 times out of 10 that's used by duel players to whine incessantly about how much they hate dominion, while they get ganked standing outside C unsupported trying to 1v1 everybody.

The trouble with dominion (aside from gear dependence) is that it doesn't take a lot at all to make a match a lost cause. You can either have a non-performing teammate, or meet a team with decent comms, and you're absolutely doomed. While other people tend to quit on those occasions (which sucks, as it usually draws in some other poor sap to fill the space of punching bag) I still tend to stick around, because I stop looking for chances to win and start looking for stuff like cheesy ledge kills, death from above attacks, or to practice farming revenge against multiple opponents (there should be a practice mode for that!).

Personally, I love dominion, it's my favorite game mode - though it was my most hated game mode at the start. While 1v1's are fantastic for distilling the essence of for honor, I like that there are a lot of different ways to play dominion and still be effective. Want to relax a little and have some possible light 1v1'ing? Hold the point closest to your base. Lost your mojo in 1v1's, and are burnt out with the hyper focus you need there? Follow a scrappy teammate around in dominion and switch off your brain while you gank people. Want to annoy the CRAP out of people? Pick a conqueror and farm salt near ledges. Want to make friends? Pick an assassin and spend the game rushing to the aid of teammates.

I really think more people will enjoy the game mode once it's balanced out a little. Gear imbalance (and by extension, REVENGE) and certain abilities like the ******* LONGBOW can suck the fun out of it, but if they are toned down a little, I think there's potential for it to take off a little more as a game mode good for more than just farming XP.

[secrecy274]

In the Beta I usually just parked my *** on the nearest control zone, defending it and racking up points, good to know it was a good idea. However haven't touched Dominion since then... perhaps I should give it a shot again.

[Vordred]

well as someone that plays alot of conq, you would be surprised at some of the hate mail i get for sitting on points. normally if the capture points are in a line, i pick one and sit on it. if they are not in a line i pick the one closest to the enemy spawn at sit on that one (that way i get alot of action)

but after matches i have had quite a few messages telling me i suck and did nothing but stand there. usually by someone on my team that did really bad and claims to be being 3v1'ed over and over because i'm not there help. although i usually know thats not true as i spend alot of the time with 2 or 3 people trying to kick me off the capture point.

but all these people that send these messages seem oblivious to the fact that standing on a point doubles the points and usually shut up after its pointed out to them. that and heavys get more renown for holding control points.

in every character move set it tells you what you class gets the mos renown from, but people don't seem to read that bit. the bit that basically tells you what you class is designed to do.