Guild Wars 2

A little bit of backstory: The server I play on has apparently been locked in combat with the same two others for months. One of these outnumbers my server, favoring zerg ‘tactics.’ I find my server’s tendency to try to hold indefensible locations from an unstoppably massive horde frustrating, and this got me thinking. The result is the plot below. Bear with me – it’s long.
Phase 1: Everyone split into teams of 3-5. Party up with 2-4 others, maybe get into a squad, to promote unit cohesion and keep track of each other. Strike lightly-defended locations, but don’t commit siege resources; this is a decoy plot. Leave supply traps (sparingly – they halve supply carried, no point halving more than twice) around captured locations and resupply from captured depots.
Phase 2: When the enemy zerg is committed to a particular location, all teams consolidate forces on an easily-taken location far from the zerg, using as much supply as necessary to take the location as quickly as possible.
Phase 3: Having taken the location, the goal is not to keep it, but to let it be retaken as a distraction. Place more supply and stealth traps along choke points and the stairs toward the lords of the keep, and wait for the enemy zerg to arrive to retake. Nonadventurers should waypoint out once this is done. All adventurer classes should place as many traps or turrets as they possess near the keep master’s location when the gate’s health is nearly gone, and upon completing this, should waypoint out if possible, or run like hell if not. All in the keep should make it their goal to take all supply from the keep’s depot, using as much as necessary to do so. Goal is to leave the enemy undersupplied and frustrated, while using stolen supplies to build defensive fortifications (arrow carts, ballistae, oil cauldrons) in strategic locations, reinforce a captured base for a proper stand with more defensive fortifications, or to build siege for phase 4 and 5. 
Phase 4: The team scatters again, once more into small groups. Each group selects a target, but does not attack yet, instead either awaiting the signal to strike or building siege while awaiting the signal. 
Phase 5: The team farthest from the last-known location of the enemy zerg attacks its target, in whatever manner it pleases. This is to draw the enemy’s attention, and bring the frustrated zerg running across the map. Recon units should alert this group when the zerg appears to be fully committed; it’s up to the group whether they hold the location or scatter. 
Phase 6: When the enemy zerg reaches the location in Phase 5, all other teams strike as effectively as possible (with siege, if necessary) at their targets, in order to take them as quickly as possible; if a location is taken, place antisupply traps and ransack the depot. If the takers choose to hold out, they should build as many arrow carts as possible along the walls, both to waste supply and ensure that there is always one cart not on cooldown.

If, at any point, a strategically valuable keep can be taken, it should be, and held for a time, with several roving teams refraining from joining the countersiege in order to continue acting as bandits. From this point on, the walls should be lined with defensive fortifications until all supply has been exhausted; this will aid in the defense of the keep by way of allowing bombardment of aggressors while also reducing supply available to the enemy, if they eventually take the keep once more. 

Eventually, the enemy will get the idea and begin putting greater emphasis on recon and defense; this will possibly reduce the number of soldiers in their zerg. They may also mimic the strategy, if they’re clever, but as the goal of this post is to inspire improved strategy all-around…

Hopefully, this post will be read, understood and perhaps implemented; I’d like to see the ladders get shaken up a bit.

In short, guerilla warfare. Don’t attack the enemy, but attack structures that are as far away possible from each other to splinter the zerg

A few points to think of:

1)Outmanned only triggers when you’re greatly outnumbered. Even a big enough zerg still needs time to batter down a gate with rams.This tactic will only work if you have enough man to split up and still have enough to quickly break down the gates and kill the Guild Claimant officer before the enemy scouts spot you
2)This tactic may require the steamrolled to defend a place long enough to keep the steamroller from ignoring the swords on their camps when they’re taking down a keep/tower (which is worth more).

Pretty much – combined with wasting enemy supply and sieging the zerg as it runs (possibly) in order to make it more difficult for them to do anything. It’s embarrassing, really; a gigantic enemy force is knocking on the doors, and everybody seems to be perfectly fine just playing tiny anvil to the giant hammer. I get the feeling it’s something to do with the ‘plucky underdogs fighting off an overwhelming force’ ideal, but this game just doesn’t work in a way that would allow such a thing without getting clever, and even then it’s only a temporary solution.

1: Yeah, Outmanned triggers only when you’ve got a massive numbers disadvantage (which is a shame, as it’s also useless while you’re fighting the massive enemy numbers as its only bonuses are to either what you get when you win or a reduction in pain when you die, as opposed to something that helps you fight anything). This is mostly a strategy for when you know that your own troops are outnumbered by an enemy force or zerg to the point that a conventional defense (for example, trying to actually hold the location instead of delay long enough for the guerrillas to get going) is effectively pointless, regardless if you have that bloody stupid ‘buff’ or not. Most of the situations I’d use this strategy in would happen long before Outmanned happened – but, then again, the team I’m on typically has enough people for it, even if Outmanned. The server that it’s fighting simply happens to be awake at different hours, so when we have twenty to forty, they have sixty or more.

2: Losing the steamrolled target is pretty much inevitable if outnumbered heavily enough, but if it can be held for long enough to slow the enemy’s response to the attacks on the outlying territories, then it should – although, this thing where people set up a whole lot of siege in the room of the master of the keep doesn’t seem to do a whole lot. Better served by trapping the bejezus out of the joint and getting out, in my opinion, using the supply and siege on other targets.