ToTheGallows
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TTG's Guide to Noble Bouncing!
1.0 What is noble bouncing?
1.1 When to noble bounce
1.2 Three pronged defence
1.3 Farm bouncing
1.4 Inter-village bouncing
1.5 Dodge bouncing
1.6 Conclusion and Notes
1.7 Credits
1.0 What is noble bouncing?
Noble bouncing, or noble sniping; is a commonly used tactic amoungst the upper eschelons of Tribal Wars players, however it is considered too difficult by most ameatur players to utilise effectively. As a result, it is overlooked by many, despite it's effectiveness in taking down noble trains.
Noble bouncing is timing attacks or support to land in the middle of a noble train, killing off the nobles before they manage to conquer the village. When executed correctly, it will look something like this:
To Effectively master the noble bounce - You need three things, all of which can be done for free, at very little cost to yourself.
The first of these three ingredients, is the web browser Opera. I recommend the use of this browser for any Tribal Wars player who wishes to attack and defend much better.
The second requires some simple reading and execution, and about five minutes of your time. Below I have quoted an excerpt from Cheeseasaurus' excellent guide on Timing Troop Movements, which I recommend to all.
And the third, and most important thing a successful noble bouncer needs - Is patience. You need the patience to sit around and wait for a launch, it's a pain to wait, but you must - Just like attacking.
1.1 When to noble bounce
When making the decision to noble bounce, you're making the decision not to stack. Some will stipulate that noble bouncing should only be done when you're too low on troops to stack the villages under attack, however I believe noble bouncing is best done whenever you are under co-ordinated attack. Simply put, if an enemy is putting enough effort in to time all their trains against you, they want you gone. Preserve your troops, you won't lose many by sniping - But they will lose time. It lets the enemies nukes bounce off your villages and go through another long period of transit, whilst support from yourself and your tribemates arrives in your villages.
It should be noted that although one may be an excellent sniper with all three of the prerequisites listed above, they will be unsuccessful without a proper attack marking system. Below is how I list my incoming attacks, many use different marking systems - However I believe this to be the most effective.
Without properly marked attacks, particularly against a skilled attacker who times fakes, you will not know when to split, and you will - In all likelihood - Fail in defending your village using sniping.
Now - You wake up, and you have 200 incomings. You see a cluster of them, ten hours out, all from numerous villages to several of your isolated villages, landing in the same second. Do you stack one or two of the villages, and hope to renoble the rest - Or do you attempt to snipe every train they throw at you? Simple answer. Whilst it would make sense to stack one or two of your villages and kill off some player offences, whilst support arrives from your main cluster or from your tribemates - You can defend the other villages, simply by sniping noble trains using various methods. This will allow you to keep all your villages for long enough to stack.
1.2 Three Pronged Defence
Alright, now. There are numerous ways to bounce nobles - The three most common of which will be explained briefly here, and in detail in their own section.
In brief, here are the distinctions between the different methods of sniping:
-> Inter-village sniping is the most common form of bouncing, and is the most effective against skilled attackers, whilst giving you the most margin for error.
-> Farm sniping is the most unknown sniping skill, and is only effective against noble trains more than one second. Whilst it gives you plenty of chances, it only utilises the troops in the village under attack.
-> Dodge sniping is the least effective form of sniping, and is only used in isolated villages incapable of farm sniping. You will only have one attempt to Dodge snipe.
1.3 Farm Bouncing
Definitely not used enough, this method of sniping utilises any and all of the troops in the village with an incoming noble train to snipe a noble train. Whilst this method does have its limitations (Which rely entirely upon the quality of the incoming noble train), this method has the distinct advantage of having an incredible amount of oppurtunities for sniping.
Simply put, farm bouncing is sending troops in the defending village to hit a barbarian village and return midway through the train, effectively sniping it. Whilst this method does have its flaws in that it relies upon the defending village having troops within it (A luxury which is not indulged in by newly conquered villages), the sheer number of barbarian villages allows the player to have plenty of chances to snipe an incoming noble train.
But wait! There's a catch. Due to the way the server works, any returning attack will return at 000milliseconds. This means the farm sniping method will only work on noble trains such as the one below; which "cross a second".
Now, how to figure out this rounding thing? Well, it's simple. Attacks always round down to the nearest second. Regardless of the millisecond value of the attack hitting the barb, the server will always round down to the nearest second. Regardless of which side of 500ms the attack lands at, it will always round down, as shown below.
As you can see in the first image, the attack lands before 500ms, and still returns down.
As you can see in this second image, the attack lands after 500 ms, and returns down regardless.
Well, now that that's dealt with; we can work out how to calculate "how to" farm snipe.
Simply put, you're going to have to find out how far out the noble train is. Now half it. If you launched at that very second; the barb would need to be that distance from the defending village. Well, because of course; you can't launch from that village at that very second to some magical barb, you need to "preload" your snipes. For example, if you have a noble train exactly six hours out, and you have a barb two hours and 57 minutes away, you will need to wait six minutes before you can launch.
This is because when calculating, you not only need to take into account the time it will take for your troops to get to the barb, but for your troops to return to your village after hitting it. When you take into account the sheer number of barbs around, as well as the different unit speeds at which you can hit them - you will have plenty of chances to hit the barb you need to hit when you need to hit it in order to snipe the train. A little maths is required, but when successful; you're going to annoy your enemy.
When done correctly, the farm snipe should look something like this.
In the above image; the defender was seen to divide his "sniping force" into four attacks, launched as a train; to safeguard against any misses.
1.4 Inter-village Bouncing
Well, this one is the easiest and most popular method of bouncing. Also, probably the easiest to teach. I've seen this method used to snipe trains less than 100ms on numerous occassions - all it requires is villages, patience, time and a bit of luck.
Inter-village sniping can be defined loosely as sending supporting troops from another village to arrive in the middle of a noble train, sniping it.
Arguably, the main advantage to this method is the fact that effectively any village within range can have an attempt at sniping a train. This is not limited to the defending players villages. Quite frequently, I've seen tribemates snipe each others incoming trains - which is a supreme advantage when the defending player is unable to (A case which frequently happens when the village under attack is isolated from the defenders main cluster).
The trick to Inter-village bouncing tight trains is simply to send a "support train", where a player will divide their supporting troops up into four slots, and fire them off as a train using the Opera method. The player can then check to see which of the troops split the train, and recall others and try at a different unit speed.
When done correctly, an inter-village snipe will look like this:
There are no hidden calculation tricks to inter-village bouncing beyond calculating your lag. No returning troops, nothing. Just fire away when the time to the village is equivalent to the distance the noble train is from the village.
1.5 Dodge Bouncing
Probably the least popular (And least effective) method of sniping a noble train. Simply put, dodge bouncing is sending troops within a defending village out to attack, and recalling them so they return to snipe the train.
Personally, I believe dodge bouncing to be the most difficult form of sniping; and should only be used as a last resort. Dodge sniping is extremely risk, relies upon two different sets of server lag (Sending out the attack and then cancelling) and takes alot of practice; without perfection.
Dodge sniping can be used to split trains less than a second when farm and inter-village sniping cannot, however is normally unsuccessful.
1.6 Conclusion and Notes
In years of playing this game, I've learnt when to snipe and when not to. Hopefully, after reading this guide; you will be more capable of making such informed decisions, as well as following through with them.
Please note that I began writing the first sections of this guide nearly a year ago, however I believe most things to still be accurate.
If you have any further questions, comments or opinions; please feel free to reply - or private message me and let me know.
1.7 Credits
First and foremost, credits go to the now retired wassy20 - for being the best sniper I have ever come across. Despite being the one to teach you the basics of sniping, you continued to astound me until the day you retired.
Credits to Neighb0r, pazliver and Astronomypouya, for showing me first hand what it is to snipe under intense conditions. Without playing alongside and against you guys, I would never have learnt to snipe the way I did.
Special thanks to Cheeseasaurus, for his great guides - particularly on calculating lag.
Further thanks to Patrick Bateman and Irishmetal for correcting my mistake about the rounding on farm sniping.
1.0 What is noble bouncing?
1.1 When to noble bounce
1.2 Three pronged defence
1.3 Farm bouncing
1.4 Inter-village bouncing
1.5 Dodge bouncing
1.6 Conclusion and Notes
1.7 Credits
1.0 What is noble bouncing?
Noble bouncing, or noble sniping; is a commonly used tactic amoungst the upper eschelons of Tribal Wars players, however it is considered too difficult by most ameatur players to utilise effectively. As a result, it is overlooked by many, despite it's effectiveness in taking down noble trains.
Noble bouncing is timing attacks or support to land in the middle of a noble train, killing off the nobles before they manage to conquer the village. When executed correctly, it will look something like this:
To Effectively master the noble bounce - You need three things, all of which can be done for free, at very little cost to yourself.
The first of these three ingredients, is the web browser Opera. I recommend the use of this browser for any Tribal Wars player who wishes to attack and defend much better.
The second requires some simple reading and execution, and about five minutes of your time. Below I have quoted an excerpt from Cheeseasaurus' excellent guide on Timing Troop Movements, which I recommend to all.
Cheeseasaurus-TimingTroopMovements said:
And the third, and most important thing a successful noble bouncer needs - Is patience. You need the patience to sit around and wait for a launch, it's a pain to wait, but you must - Just like attacking.
1.1 When to noble bounce
When making the decision to noble bounce, you're making the decision not to stack. Some will stipulate that noble bouncing should only be done when you're too low on troops to stack the villages under attack, however I believe noble bouncing is best done whenever you are under co-ordinated attack. Simply put, if an enemy is putting enough effort in to time all their trains against you, they want you gone. Preserve your troops, you won't lose many by sniping - But they will lose time. It lets the enemies nukes bounce off your villages and go through another long period of transit, whilst support from yourself and your tribemates arrives in your villages.
It should be noted that although one may be an excellent sniper with all three of the prerequisites listed above, they will be unsuccessful without a proper attack marking system. Below is how I list my incoming attacks, many use different marking systems - However I believe this to be the most effective.
Without properly marked attacks, particularly against a skilled attacker who times fakes, you will not know when to split, and you will - In all likelihood - Fail in defending your village using sniping.
Now - You wake up, and you have 200 incomings. You see a cluster of them, ten hours out, all from numerous villages to several of your isolated villages, landing in the same second. Do you stack one or two of the villages, and hope to renoble the rest - Or do you attempt to snipe every train they throw at you? Simple answer. Whilst it would make sense to stack one or two of your villages and kill off some player offences, whilst support arrives from your main cluster or from your tribemates - You can defend the other villages, simply by sniping noble trains using various methods. This will allow you to keep all your villages for long enough to stack.
1.2 Three Pronged Defence
Alright, now. There are numerous ways to bounce nobles - The three most common of which will be explained briefly here, and in detail in their own section.
In brief, here are the distinctions between the different methods of sniping:
-> Inter-village sniping is the most common form of bouncing, and is the most effective against skilled attackers, whilst giving you the most margin for error.
-> Farm sniping is the most unknown sniping skill, and is only effective against noble trains more than one second. Whilst it gives you plenty of chances, it only utilises the troops in the village under attack.
-> Dodge sniping is the least effective form of sniping, and is only used in isolated villages incapable of farm sniping. You will only have one attempt to Dodge snipe.
1.3 Farm Bouncing
Definitely not used enough, this method of sniping utilises any and all of the troops in the village with an incoming noble train to snipe a noble train. Whilst this method does have its limitations (Which rely entirely upon the quality of the incoming noble train), this method has the distinct advantage of having an incredible amount of oppurtunities for sniping.
Simply put, farm bouncing is sending troops in the defending village to hit a barbarian village and return midway through the train, effectively sniping it. Whilst this method does have its flaws in that it relies upon the defending village having troops within it (A luxury which is not indulged in by newly conquered villages), the sheer number of barbarian villages allows the player to have plenty of chances to snipe an incoming noble train.
But wait! There's a catch. Due to the way the server works, any returning attack will return at 000milliseconds. This means the farm sniping method will only work on noble trains such as the one below; which "cross a second".
Now, how to figure out this rounding thing? Well, it's simple. Attacks always round down to the nearest second. Regardless of the millisecond value of the attack hitting the barb, the server will always round down to the nearest second. Regardless of which side of 500ms the attack lands at, it will always round down, as shown below.
As you can see in the first image, the attack lands before 500ms, and still returns down.
As you can see in this second image, the attack lands after 500 ms, and returns down regardless.
Well, now that that's dealt with; we can work out how to calculate "how to" farm snipe.
Simply put, you're going to have to find out how far out the noble train is. Now half it. If you launched at that very second; the barb would need to be that distance from the defending village. Well, because of course; you can't launch from that village at that very second to some magical barb, you need to "preload" your snipes. For example, if you have a noble train exactly six hours out, and you have a barb two hours and 57 minutes away, you will need to wait six minutes before you can launch.
This is because when calculating, you not only need to take into account the time it will take for your troops to get to the barb, but for your troops to return to your village after hitting it. When you take into account the sheer number of barbs around, as well as the different unit speeds at which you can hit them - you will have plenty of chances to hit the barb you need to hit when you need to hit it in order to snipe the train. A little maths is required, but when successful; you're going to annoy your enemy.
When done correctly, the farm snipe should look something like this.
In the above image; the defender was seen to divide his "sniping force" into four attacks, launched as a train; to safeguard against any misses.
1.4 Inter-village Bouncing
Well, this one is the easiest and most popular method of bouncing. Also, probably the easiest to teach. I've seen this method used to snipe trains less than 100ms on numerous occassions - all it requires is villages, patience, time and a bit of luck.
Inter-village sniping can be defined loosely as sending supporting troops from another village to arrive in the middle of a noble train, sniping it.
Arguably, the main advantage to this method is the fact that effectively any village within range can have an attempt at sniping a train. This is not limited to the defending players villages. Quite frequently, I've seen tribemates snipe each others incoming trains - which is a supreme advantage when the defending player is unable to (A case which frequently happens when the village under attack is isolated from the defenders main cluster).
The trick to Inter-village bouncing tight trains is simply to send a "support train", where a player will divide their supporting troops up into four slots, and fire them off as a train using the Opera method. The player can then check to see which of the troops split the train, and recall others and try at a different unit speed.
When done correctly, an inter-village snipe will look like this:
There are no hidden calculation tricks to inter-village bouncing beyond calculating your lag. No returning troops, nothing. Just fire away when the time to the village is equivalent to the distance the noble train is from the village.
1.5 Dodge Bouncing
Probably the least popular (And least effective) method of sniping a noble train. Simply put, dodge bouncing is sending troops within a defending village out to attack, and recalling them so they return to snipe the train.
Personally, I believe dodge bouncing to be the most difficult form of sniping; and should only be used as a last resort. Dodge sniping is extremely risk, relies upon two different sets of server lag (Sending out the attack and then cancelling) and takes alot of practice; without perfection.
Dodge sniping can be used to split trains less than a second when farm and inter-village sniping cannot, however is normally unsuccessful.
1.6 Conclusion and Notes
In years of playing this game, I've learnt when to snipe and when not to. Hopefully, after reading this guide; you will be more capable of making such informed decisions, as well as following through with them.
Please note that I began writing the first sections of this guide nearly a year ago, however I believe most things to still be accurate.
If you have any further questions, comments or opinions; please feel free to reply - or private message me and let me know.
1.7 Credits
First and foremost, credits go to the now retired wassy20 - for being the best sniper I have ever come across. Despite being the one to teach you the basics of sniping, you continued to astound me until the day you retired.
Credits to Neighb0r, pazliver and Astronomypouya, for showing me first hand what it is to snipe under intense conditions. Without playing alongside and against you guys, I would never have learnt to snipe the way I did.
Special thanks to Cheeseasaurus, for his great guides - particularly on calculating lag.
Further thanks to Patrick Bateman and Irishmetal for correcting my mistake about the rounding on farm sniping.
Last edited:
.. as said by servy there are a lot. But good job overall :icon_wink:
