The objective with all blocks is to reduce the number of normal camps you have to attack.
Many of the camps we'd like to avoid attacking are however placed so,
that their red area of influence covers the path or the entrance to the sector's leader camp,
or other camps we cannot avoid killing to get to the leader.
Thus, we block them instead...
Blocking is possible due to the fact that while a camp is being attacked,
it will not intercept any other generals marching through its red area of influence.
There are two methods of blocking:
Method 1 is to use a general with one cheap unit (typically one recruit, which is why they are called
1R blocks).
This general will not fight for too long before he has lost his battle. A normal general will fight for 20 seconds.
During these 20 seconds, another general would not have time to march across all the red influence area of that blocked camp.
However, he would be able to march through the corner of that area, or to attack another camp located near the front edge of the red area.
Method 2 is to use so called
round blocks (based on the number of rounds a fight can have).
In this case you attack the camp you don't want to kill with a troop setup that is optimised for a fight that will last as long (having as many rounds) as possible.
While that fight is going on, another general could march through its red area of influence and attack the leader camp of that sector.
When you kill the leader camp in a sector, all camps that haven't been killed before will be gone at the same time.
If this happens while the blocking general is still fighting, that fight will be cancelled, and your general would return to his garrison without losing any troops.
The troops used in a round block are mostly a combination of
- soldiers/elite soldiers (having a high defence and taking a long time for the enemy to kill)
- cavalry (having a low attack and taking a long time for you to kill the enemy)
When doing blocks, the timing and/or garrison placements are crucial.
- A block that starts too late will cause your main general to become intercepted when entering the red area of the blocked camp.
- A 1R block that ends too quickly could cause your main general to become intercepted before leaving the red area of the blocked camp. In both this case and the previous case, you should still be able to retreat your main general, before he also enters that camp you tried to block. In this case you will only lose that one recruit plus 4 hours of waiting time till that normal general has recovered.
- A round block that ends too quickly, before the leader is gone, would lead to you losing many of the rather expensive troops involved in the round block.
Always use a normal general for blocking (fast generals would make the blocks last only half the time),
and a fast general for the attack on a leader (a normal general would double the fighting time on the leader).
The troop setups for the attack on the leader may have significance too. The fewer rounds it lasts, the better.
If you want to try a block for the first time, I would recommend playing
Dark Priests.
The first block in that adventure is quite easy and even if you fail, you wouldn't lose too many troops.
(That link is to my guide, but there are several other guides available out there too).
If you want to invent your own blocks, I'd recommend to read ksinori's
Blocking without using a guide,
and my own post in
Blocking time per round?.
Note also that blocking is nothing BlueByte planned for this game. It's something players have found out.
The round blocks have mainly become possible due to the difference in fighting time for normal and fast generals.
With this in mind, also don't expect BB to replace any troops you lost in a failed block.
Also, try not to do any advanced blocks if the lag is bad.