A trend I've noticed with builders

Some builders tend to build walls that are tall, rather than thick. Thick walls are harder to break through, though typically easier to climb over. Though, when does anyone actually think to climb over the walls? :p

But anyway, tall walls are usually incredibly thin (2 to 3 blocks thick) and they're tunneled through in an instant. After they're done with, 250 to 500 stone goes to waste. Why do people make those?

 

I like to make staircases that are as tall as possible, therefore tall+thick. and only builders ever climb over but 1% of them are ever on the front line unless it's me :)

 

Its easier to repair. Having a 2 block thick wall while having the gated wall steps be on the allied side, you are able to repair the walls this way as the gates opening allow for the curser to reach the outer walls.

 

When building walls, I usually start off 3 wide, 8 tall, then start adding layers of thickness before going higher. However, I usually get killed/distracted/wall taken down before I can get that far.

 

Two thick, 9 tall walls with a place to drop stones form the top and preferably a pit below the wall into a bedrock area are my preference, but they only work when there is an engineer with stone actively manning them. Otherwise, as the OP pointed out, they fall quickly.

People tend to tunnel because builders like building tall structures. You will notice that if you build short structures, knights almost immediately start making knight ladders to jump over it. It's just a path of least resistance thing.

What I'm getting at is that both thin and thick walls have their place, in the right context. Its frustrating to try and defend one of those walls in the wrong combat context, because they fall quickly, but that doesn't mean its a bad design.

 

You're right, tall and thick walls are useless.
Very thick walls are not much better though because the attackers become hard to kill once they make a hole in the wall.
Both are a waste of stone.


The best way to build walls is in layers, glued together with background wall on the top and dirt background in the base.
Like this.



Medieval castles in Europe and Japan were built in layers

 

Am I the only one getting dirty thoughts from this thread? 'Tall and Thick' 'Thick' 'Tunnel'

 

And small men crawling through tunnels?

 

The taller or thicker the tower the more the builder is trying to compensate.

 

I can understand the taller buildings in the starting building phase to make the frame of the castle or whatever but when they do it on the battlefield its useless and annoying.

 

At the start of the round I'll usually put those infinite resources you get from the tent into a basic 3-4 width wall with doorjumps on the inside and platform-spike facing out. That's usually just to get us started so we have SOMETHING in case we're rushed... Then I switch to knight and run off to do some merry killing for the rest of the round. I let the minecrafters and whatnot complete the epic stuff.

I think it's logical to make 3-4 thick walls if they are very short. (Maybe twice the jump height) It's usually best to use them to stall the enemy so a fortress being built behind that wall can be completed in relative safety.
I'm no expert builder though... =P

 

I recommend building thick staircase-walls on bedrock with trees in front (can't dig under and can't make ladders to climb over). If you're extra keen, add a small spike pit for catching bombs and enemies. Note I said "small" spike pit. The big ones are almost always useless and a waste of time.

 

Get the bombs and pickaxes ready! We have work to do! >;D

 

I've not seen this used yet, but it seems like it would be effective once built.

It also requires roughly 4 times the amount of resources as one of the 2x8 walls. So I'm reinforcing my point that there are many solutions to the many different circumstances you will encounter in KAG, and the best solution is never an absolute, but rather dependent on resource cost, time available to build, etc. No structure, no matter how well built, will survive long without defense from knights or archers; this is why I prefer cheaper structures that I can put up quickly where I can throw up an OP behind it so that the knights and archers can spawn faster and push harder.

 

Yep, in the long run the only thing important is that the enemy cannot push any further beyond a specific point while your own team can freely attack the opponent or fortify a positions behind it.
Ditches or cliffs that can't be jumped can make enemy lose valuable time and momentum, even a single knight can stop an enemy assault by turning a gentle slope into a sheer cliff. (sometimes with as little effort as breaking 1 or 2 blocks of dirt)

 

Recently I've adapted Snoopicus' tower and added extensions onto it i.e. archer hold w/ OP for infinite arrows and space for a cata on top, this is normally three blocks thick and can usually stand the test of time if I don't get a minecrafter saying he wants to add a top floor...

 

I've been building my towers 3 thick as well lately, with a layer of stone wall behind it, and some other supports in case someone on our team is silly and drops a bomb on our side too. Then I usually have the traditional drop through at the top, and on top of that an archers nest - though I only add that if I'm in the mood, since I rarely see archers use it.

I've also started putting OP's nearby for infinite ammo/wood as well - its a good idea.

 

I think a better defense is to build a little cover and then switch to a fighting class. :o

yeah i went there

 

Oh snap.

.... I agree. Overbuilding stuff just delays the enemy. Which would be fine if the builders would switch to fighting classes (and many do), but more don't. The spike pits are destroyed by the first knight to survive falling down them, the walls are scaled in seconds by builders, or destroyed in minutes. The only fortification that really lasts is the one closest to the main tent. THAT is always a (k)nightmare.

Whereas building little, disposable walls and towers are immensely helpful, especially near the ever shifting front line.

I understand when people want to just build. I do it myself often, but it's when half the team is doing it is when the trouble starts. I've seen the suggestion for some sort of counter/chart which shows how much of your team is each class around here before. That could help with it? We'd still have the hardcore builders, but the half and half guys could switch over to fill in the gaps or something

Edit: Misspelling.

 

Well, thats common knowledge by now guys.
We all know offense is the best defense. It is clear to me that the best class mix for this game is like 10% builder, 10% archer, 80% knights.

Sometimes however you just want to build.
I mean combat in this game is silly, and even more so when your ping is over 50. It gets boring very quickly.

Now back to the discussion about structures.