User blog:FingerZofGod/Battle Strategy

This article is meant to highlight the role of each Position in a battle.

No one (unless they are an Irregular like Red Tower Enryu) can fight alone in the Tower, where dangers are often deadly and are not meant to be taken on alone.

Each position needs to co-operate with the others. The first team to enter the Tower with an organized army was Zahard and the 10 Great Family heads, so we will use this team as an example to show what kind of battle strategy is used and how they cooperate. Keep in mind that nowadays in the Tower, teams have fewer people with 8 members being the average even though there is no hard limit.

King's Zahard Team
Of course, all these High Rankers can perform all positions magnificently, but they all have their specialities. Thus the team should be composed of:

3 Fishermen: Zahard, Arie Hon, Yeon Hana

1 Spear Bearer: Koon Eduan

2 Scouts: Ha Yurin, Ari Han (for the latter his true position is unconfirmed but it's a good probability in term of battle strategy)

2 Wave Controllers: Eurasia Blossom, Po Bidau Gustang

1 Defender: Hendo Lok Bloodmadder

2 Light Bearers: Tu Perie Tperie and the only unknown 10 Great Family head. (Of course for this one this is a guess, but we have seen, reading ToG for 3 years now, that they are always at least 2 Light Bearers in each team)

Role and Co-operation
In a fight Scouts move in first, gathering information in enemy territory, setting traps and luring enemies in a direction so that the best fighting formation could be attained for their teammates. It's best suited for them to work in pairs, one to avoid being trapped and another to cooperate and having the possibility to split. They must be extremely fast to rapidly cover long distances and come back when needed to help the Fishermen fight, by flanking attacks (similar to those of cavalry in the ancient times). They must anticipate a lot, even without information, because wit and the capacity of reaction are the best intellectual qualities for them.
 * We will begin with Scouts.

Their range of action can be shown this way:

Fishermen are the less technical job, they fight with destructive power, till death. They must be fearless, aggressive and have good stamina. In an army, they are the infantry. On the front line, they are the massive strength aimed at the enemy. They need be able to hold their ground because they are in the same way the first line of defense of the army.
 * Next to enter are the Fishermen.

Their range of action can be shown this way:

The first role of Spear Bearer is to act like the archers of ancient times. They are the first or second to shoot, to diminish the offensive capabilities of the enemy from far away. When Fishermen come to close combat they can prevent the enemy from receiving reinforcements (with the aid of the Scout) by shooting (spears/arrows/Shinsoo). Last is the role of a sniper: shooting a particular enemy or weakness in the enemy with precision.
 * Spear Bearers:

Their range of action can be shown this way:

They act more like cannons, performing the same role as artillery but relying on destructive blasting waves much more than sharp and sensible play. Of course at high level we can assume the role of Spear Bearers and Wave controllers is similar, the only thing changing would be the weapon (Shinsoo or spear).
 * Wave Controllers:

Another, much more vicious, role is to use Shinsoo in order to slightly change the tide of the battle. This is a unique role in an army (in real life there is no equivalent). The first known form is compressing Shinsoo to prevent the enemy from moving and then hitting them. On the contrary we can easily imagine that a talented Wave Controller could deprive an enemy of the Shinsoo around them, which could cause them suffocation, the weakening of their Shinsoo reinforced body or even preventing them from performing devastating Shinsoo blasts. Alternatively, when Zahard was climbing the Tower, the flow of the battlefield could be altered by making the Shinheuh swim in a different direction or change the current of the Shinsoo, making it harder for Shinheuh to maneouver.

Their range of action can be shown this way:

A special position. A Defender defends. The Light Bearers are those who are much more useful in analyzing and planning the battle strategy than participating in combat themselves. The latter must be freed from the preoccupation of being attacked if they want to complete a strategy. The Defender gives them this freedom.
 * Defender:

Their range of action can be shown this way:

Rear-type Light Bearers are specialists in analyzing information that they and the Scouts gather. They then makes plans to get the upper hand in the battle. It's a pure strategist role, the leader of the battle. A brain, acting like a Roman general.
 * Light Bearers:

Frontal-type Light Bearers bring light in dark places and help the other fighters by enhancing their capabilities (giving Spear Bearers further range and more precise shots), like engineers and tacticians. They also support the front-line units by manipulating the Shinsoo around the combatants. A prime example of this would be when a Light Bearer supports a Wave Controller for devastating results.

Their respective range of action can be shown this way:

It is known that the Lighthouses, Eyes of God and Opera, with their infinite range of action can help the Light Bearer to accomplish both roles on the same time, making the position of Light Bearer almost unnecessary.

This may be one of the reasons that the last of the 10 Great Family heads is unknown for now.

Combinations
In this combination, the Spear Bearer gains increased accuracy and distance when throwing their spears. The Light Bearer can use his Lighthouse to guide the spear (so long as the target is within their range of control) to the intended target. Note that this could also be done with a Scout and Spear Bearer, as demonstrated by Ship Leesoo and Aleksai Amigochaz. Spears can also be teleported using a lighthouse as demonstrated by the Rak Wraithraiser and Koon Aguero Agnis combo. Also it appears Shinsoo attacks can also be teleported using a Lighthouse, shown when Kurudan uses Dansulsa on a Lighthouse and Koon Hachuling teleported it to where Ren was standing. This combination is where the Scout pierces through the opponent's attack, whilst the Fisherman sneaks behind to deliver an attack. This combination was used by Androssi Zahard and Hatsu against Varagarv. This is one of the deadliest combinations. In this combination, the Light Bearer can strengthen the baangs created by the Wave Controller. This is probably done by increasing the soo or myun of the baang. The Light Bearer can also redirect the baangs to other targets and strike anything the Wave Controller misses. Having a Lighthouse, the Light Bearer can observe any blind spots or targets far away that the Wave Controller misses. Note that the Light Bearer cannot increase the amount of baangs a Wave Controller can produce. It is for this reason that the skill of a Wave Controller is informally measured by the amount of baangs they can produce. This is a common duo normally seen on the front-lines. In this combination, the Spear Bearer provides direct support for the Fisherman; keeping the enemy off balance with spears and covering the Fisherman from other enemies. Another way this could be used is with the Fisherman distracting or forcing the enemy to expose themselves, giving the Spear Bearer a chance to land a critical hit from behind. Both strategies were demonstrated by Koon Ran and Novick.
 * Light Bearer and Spear Bearer:
 * Fisherman and Scout:
 * Light Bearer and Wave Controller:
 * Fisherman and Spear Bearer: