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Prismata Wiki
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=General tips= This section contains tips applying broadly to all games. ==Read the set== This is the most important advice of all. It is the key allowing one to take advantages, win games, and improve in the long run. Units in the [[random set]] are the core of Prismata: knowing their individual characteristics, main strengths and uses is the basis of good play. However true mastery comes from knowing about their relationships with each other, and how they fare against each other. Being able to tell which attacker is most efficient is one step, but you should learn what other units work well with it. Being able to tell whether two units work well together and how to execute their combo is one step ahead, but you should also learn what counters exist and check for their presence. Being able to tell what the outcome of a given board state should be is looking even further, but you should learn how to break the common patterns and take the initiative if that outcome is not a win for you. And it does not stop there. All of that depends on your ability to read the set and determine which units can serve your purpose best. Understanding of sets is the reward of experience and analysis. Practising is the most obvious way to progress, as you will get to play different sets every time and experience one of their outcomes, giving you an idea of how they play out. Making frequent use of the [[Analysis]] tool is also crucial. By forcing you to play the opponent part it will make you explore different paths of play, including counters to your own strategies. Finally, a note about thinking out of the box: Prismata involves no luck, but all players are human, all games are not perfectly played, and not all winning strategies are known. Sometimes pulling something crazy against all odds just might work, if only through sheer audacity. Enjoy the game as much as you can, and even though no luck is involved, sometimes fortune might smile on you. ==Take your time== Time in Prismata can be considered a resource, just like {{ticon|gold}}[[gold]] or any [[Resource|other]]. Using it correctly is part of playing the game well. The timer of a player in Prismata is made up of a turn timer, visualised by a white line in the middle of the screen and a white number at the bottom, plus a time bank that starts at the same value that your turn timer, visualised by a red line after the white one and a red number. As you take time playing your turn your turn timer goes down. If it reaches 0, your time bank starts ticking down. If it reaches 0 too, your turn ends. Lastly, if you have remaining time on your turn timer (white line) at the end of a turn, your time bank receives 25% of that time (it will increase even if it was untouched, there is no maximum). Since opening moves generally take little thought once your strategy is decided, what naturally happens is that you stack up your time bank in the early game, giving you more think time to use later when choices become harder. A good practice exercised by a lot of top players is to use your full turn timer on your first turn to think about your strategy for the game. While it may seem forced or annoying, it leaves time to comprehensively [[read the set]] and analyse it. Keep in mind that time 'saved' by ending your turn early is only 20% of what you could have spent thinking on the spot, so do it during your turn timer while you can rather than 5 turns later on your time bank. And that's not even mentioning the possibility that you could have made a tragic mistake in those 5 turns because you didn't think the set through. The actual length of the turn timer is determined by your queue settings. It can be 90s, 60s, 45s, 30s, 15s, 6s or 3s. The above advice is less and less relevant as you go lower in time available, as experience and quick thinking/execution start weighing in more and more. ==Defend yourself== In order to have your economy and [[attack]] grow you need to be able to defend your units. The [[Defense|Defense Phase]] allows you to do so by letting you split your opponent's attack between your {{ticon|block}}[[blocker]]s. If you have {{ticon|block}}blockers with [[absorb]] ({{ticon|health}}) it would be best to use them last to block as much attack as possible (their [[health]] - 1). In the early game, it is best to build at least one {{ticon|block}}blocker with [[absorb]] (like a [[Wall]]) as it is very useful when your opponent has low attack. In late game, your opponent will have enough attack to destroy some of your blockers each turn. From that point on you will have to build defense every turn to replace them. {{ticon|hp}}Fragile {{ticon|block}}blockers such as [[Forcefield]] then become useful to save your highest {{ticon|health}}health {{ticon|block}}blockers from being destroyed by [[breach]]es. Some Blockers do not have {{ticon|prompt}} ([[Xeno Guardian]]) so they need [[preventive defense|one turn before being able to block]]. You will have to anticipate the incoming damage to use this kind of blocker efficiently. You should try to take advantage of [[preventive defense]] if there are good units for it in the [[random set]], as it is a very efficient way to defend. On the same note, having [[defensive granularity]] available will also help you against opponents trying to use [[offensive finesse]] to take advantage of your defense. ==Tempo versus Econ strategies== Prismata games are enjoyable because they can often be played in a lot of ways, according to the available [[random set]] units; the strategical diversity leads to a large variety of paths. When trying to characterize the different strategies, a useful criterion to use is whether they aim for a short-term advantage (to end the game quickly) or a long-term one (to overwhelm your opponent eventually). Strategies aimed towards the short term are labelled [[tempo]], when those geared towards the long term are labelled [[econ]]. Choosing to go for the tempo play or the econ play is a matter of both experience and taste. Sometimes one of those two ways seems clearly favored by the unit combinations present in the set, sometimes sets look evenly divided between tempo and econ units and the best unit combo isn't obvious. Every strategy is part econ and part tempo anyway, the label it gets only depends on its main focus. You can personally prefer fast, tactical games to longer, more convoluted ones. Your liking of units or game paces will definitely affect the quality of your play, but it shouldn't get in the way of devising the best strategy for a given set; one should strive to improve in and appreciate all kinds of games. ==Dealing with anxiety== Playing games on a ladder can be a stressful experience, especially as a beginner. This phenomenon, known as '''ladder anxiety''', manifests itself through surges of adrenaline that can cause reactions of fear and general loss of enjoyment to those unfamiliar with it. Luckily it is quite straightforward to fix! First simply being able to identify an adrenaline rush is already enough to temper its effects; noticing the symptoms (sweaty hands, cold body extremities, higher heartbeat rate and focus) and accepting them not as the consequence of fear, but as a natural physical reaction should already mitigate them. With time you might even welcome it for its upsides of improved concentration and faster thinking. Time and practice will also help removing unreasonable expectations you may have placed on yourself originally. Once you've played hundreds of games clicking the "Play" button won't feel as much of a challenge, and losses or even losing streaks will matter less. Take heart, the first steps are the hardest! Another good thing to attempt is trying to talk to your opponents. With good manners, you might be surprised by the positive feedbacks you will receive; truly understanding that your opponent is just another human being like you, and possibly very much like you, can certainly stop you from feeling like 1v1s are matches to the death. Still, even with practice and all, anxiety is likely to happen sometimes (for instance before or during tournament matches). If you think you could be subjected to it, taking preventive measures could be a good idea (wrapping up in a blanket, stretching). If you experience it after losses, the best course might be to take a break (by playing another game for a while for example) and come back with a fresher mindset later. Keep in mind the point of the game is to have fun. Remaining aware of that is the straightest path towards improvement, since you'll be able to learn from your defeats as much as your wins! Related content: * [http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Dealing_with_anxiety Dealing with anxiety] * [http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/297029-psych-approach-to-ladder-anxiety Psych approach to ladder anxiety]
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