Microing Eldar Efficiently

[LloydsGamble]

Hello again,

I've been trying to learn to play Eldar at a decent standard lately and I find it quite hard. I learned SM/Orks first and because their units are generally pretty solid, I was able to macro freely and effectvely and become quite strong at that part of the game.

I find Eldar a bit of a culture shock. No longer can I leave my troops in a fight with minimal micro and expect them to perform solidly. I find I can only do one or the other at the moment with Eldar. Either I concentrate on my early troops and focus on micro at the expense of expanding, building and teching (although my brain starts to melt when I have to deal with 4+ units) or I focus more on the macro side only to inflict minimal losses and/or take heavy ones.

As yet, I haven't quite found a way of playing them efficiently, so really my question is this:

How do you guys manage Eldar? Do you number each unit and switch between them that way? Do you learn the hotkeys for each ability? (I use only F for FoF atm) Do you do it all by mouse?

Just curious because I am trying to smooth things out by learning key hotkeys. ie HOME for zooming to base, F for FoF and numbering each unit as I build it (although I usually forget what I have on each number).

Also interested on people's take on Guardians. I notice in replays of high level games, many eldar players dont get Mysticism/Plasma nades, but I personally find them really useful as they help cut down on the FoF dancing which gives me a headache.

The other big issue is engagements in two places at once. Microing one fight is tough enough, but how...I can't...is it possible to manage two at once in different areas of the map?

I've had a look at the Eldar guides in the Tactica forums and its useful, but its really just the execution I need help with. I know the theory behind using eldar, I just need help with the best way to manage them, be it hotkeys or whatever.

Anyway this became a bit of a wall o' text, but I look forward to your thoughts.

[Pseudonymn]

Keyboard hot keys are essential for micro-intensive factions like the Eldar and IG especially. You want your mouse and your eyes on the screen controlling your troops, not flicking over to the command GUI and back, it's far too distracting. The Eldar in particular really shine in the hands of someone who's both very familiar with their tactical strengths and well trained in their micromanagement style. Generally, you want your ranged, your melee, and your vehicle groups kept separated under their own control umbrellas. I don't really have any specific recommendations for how best to group units as the Eldar are another faction that I only played casually. FoF is easily the Eldar's greatest infantry strength, although it requires the most intense management up front. You'll probably find you get more traction with that at first than any other ability once you're familiar with it. For their cost, Guardians are one of if not the best basic infantry in the game.

Fighting in two places at once? I guess for me that depends on where I assess the greatest threat. If I have overwhelming odds in my favor in one place, I'm content to attack move my army and let the AI make basic decisions while I manage more fragile engagements elsewhere, although nothing should be left to the AI for very long. This is just one area where practice and experience will give you the tools you need to cope effectively. Other times, it's just better to run away.

Hmmm.... having said that, if you're talking about finding enemies in your base while you're pounding someone else's base, the best way to be prepared for that is to build and upgrade at least one auxiliary base. If you have tons of spare resources kicking around (called "float") and idle builders looking for work, give them a base to build so that when someone comes to flatten your infrastructure, you've just bought yourself an extra 3-5 minutes to finish what you're doing elsewhere before you rally to the defense. As Eldar in particular, you have expendable "assets" at your disposal that can keep you in the game for much longer than other races (to the annoyance of many - in fact, the Eldar are downright cheap in this particular regard).


tl;dr

Become familiar with all the hotkeys and use them religiously. Guardians are highly versatile and effective for their cost, especially when FoF is factored in and used efficiently. Don't carry excess float and idle builders with you; always be building something to keep you in the game and your technology levels intact. Auxiliary bases are expendable bases, time sinks, and game winners.