It might be a slight conceit by me to write this guide. I've never been much of a specials player, but the guides I have found out there have seldom given anything more than the most basic advice. Even if I am not and will never be a great specials player, I have seen many people play good specials, none of whom have written any guides. I like writing guides, so... here you go.

This is not a complete guide to playing specials. To be able to apply the limited wisdom contained in this guide, you must be a accomplished player already. It's taken for granted that you already know everything in, for example, Crazor's TetriNET guide.

More specifically this guide deals with simple tricks and thumb rules.

Block placing

A specials player does not begin his game by adding lines. In fact, adding lines in the early opening helps your opponent. Ideally, you will do one or two clears for the specials to appear. In most cases, you should not collect the first specials with the second clear. Instead, you clear a line where there are no specials, and double up on the third clear. This should land you a nice starting inventory.

Sliding

Forget it. Never, ever slide in specs, unless your field is extremely badly garbled and you are fighting for survival. Example would be a block bomb disturbing a tetris setup.

Enough with the pure crap, let's go to work on the specials.

Use your specs

This is probably the most important thing that I can tell you. I've seen those players a thousand times, stacking, clearing, filling their inventory and never using it, keeping full inventories of useless specs rather than discarding, never attempting to gain an advantage. The specials are there for a purpose. As soon as you get them, they should go. I'll rather throw away five nukes in the opening or use them on other fields than save them and lose the opportunity to attack my opponent.

It's always a possibility to play it cheap and to attempt to win every sixth game by stockpiling some savers and making no noise. But I assume that you are a great player, or that you want to become one. You will be attacked, and badly attacked at that. You must kill your opponents, and most of the times, you must kill them single handedly, because no-one else will do it for you - they will be busy trying to kill you. An entire inventory of defensive specials is easily emptied trying to fend off the attacks of five players hell bent on turning your field into dust. Giving them all they can handle from the sound of the opening bell will make life much easier for you.

Another thing to consider is that the more specials you collect, the more dangerous you become. It's a good idea to empty a lot of your inventory just the second before you make a big clear.

Spread your specs over time and target

This is the second important rule. Most people if given a load of offensive specials will unload them on one person. An example would be to use five quakes on one field in one second. This looks funny and is totally pointless. Five quakes often produce a less desirable effect than one. One quake will leave your opponent looking for the original field symmetry, making him confused when he can't find it. Quaked five times, a field will become unrecognizable... and thus easier to handle in its present state. You should throw the five quakes at five different fields, or five different moments. Also, rather than mechanically using quake after quake, you should judge your opponent's field after each incursion you make.

The time aspect is equally important. Again, we deal in quakes. The optimal rate of use depends on your opponent's speed, but assume a 1v1 with a skilled player. You get five quakes. Use one every eight seconds. It will be virtually impossible for your adversary to settle down or to do anything constructive.

Of course there are exceptions. Random clears should be accumulated, since one alone seldom creates enough disturbance. Of course you shouldn't spread addlines... use them for a kill, or just use them, but against one target. Ignore people bitching at you.

Target containment

This is equally important in ffa games and team games. You must have an idea about the destiny of each of your opponents. How they will go will depend on the state of their fields, which specials they get, how well they stack. Basically, you will want to choose a number of players for neutralizing and the rest for killing off. The first group of players are the ones you use your clears and your nukes on. The rest will get all your offensive specials. It should be clear to you why this is a good idea. Of course, in any normal case you can't be bothered with trying to finish off five people at the same time.

Remember that using a nuke on your own field is a sign of failure. Clearlines might be, too, but you should remember that the smaller your field, the more loaded it will be with specs when you clear a line, percentally, and the easier they will be to collect. Ideally you do not want a very low field because that can be easily hurt by clears, but around the vicinity of 4 or 5 blocks high.

Keeping the initiative

Keeping the initiative is almost the golden rule of specials. Keep busy. Even seemingly stupid moves like alternating adds and clears to the same opponent might be a good idea to confuse him.

The one who uses the first spec often uses the last one as well. It should be noted that inferior players can rarely handle being hit, and become stressed and prone to simple mistakes if you keep one step ahead of them. Reversely, great players don't let attacks disturb their block flow, and view their field as a constant state of change.

Ignoring attacks

Almost all players retaliate when attacked, that is, if they can. This is often less than wise. First, retaliating seldom discourages your opponent - rather, a player retaliating an attack is often signalling that he's been hurt. Second, you shouldn't let your opponent decide when you're to use your specials.

There might be something to be said for retaliating in ffa games, but in team games and 1v1s it is merely showing a lack of skills... which doesn't stop a great majority of players from retaliating anyway.

Don't retaliate, and don't fear retaliation. People retaliating benefit you. If you're facing one or many opponents prone to this, you should ask yourself if you can face their counterattacks before throwing your specials at them. This way, it is often possible to control your opponents, luring them into using their specials at the wrong time.

Winning a 1v5

Winning a 1v5 isn't as hard as it sounds. It takes some creative planning, but generally speaking you don't need to be more than twice as good as the next good player to accomplish it.

Identify the threats and keep them under constant fire. Normally speaking there won't be more than two good players in the field with you - if there were, what's your business doing 1v5? Normally speaking, they should get your quakes, your addlines, your block bombs. The rest should be kept at bay with occasional pokes and a couple of nukes and clears.

Be a little more pure in your stacking. You will need tetrises as your bread and butter to finish people off. You will also need the great amount of specials that tetrises give you to have enough for everyone. Do your inital clears and stack a tetris if you're confident in your speed. Gain multiple specials, shoot them, gain new and shoot them again.

You will most of the time need a good start to pull it off - it is possible to win a drawn out 1v5 battle, but it will probably take superhuman efforts. This doesn't mean that you should suicide if you're losing, because suicides encourage your opponents. Just don't expect to win every game.

The little tricks

Bomb switch

This was a favorite of mine as a regular specials player, nowadays it's almost obsolete. It's the ultimate speed switch. With one bomb and one switch in inventory, look for bombs on your field. Clear any good specials on it. Stack baggage blocks around the bombs. Bomb and switch.

In normal cases, the victim won't even know what you're up to until you've already used the switch. Also, a deliberate set up bomb is usually the worst switch field imaginable. If you bomb before the switch, you can drop one or two blocks in the middle to further complicate matters.

Add line defense

Most people know to clear lines for their opponent in order to prevent them from getting specs. Most people don't think of using their own addlines to themselves in order to prevent that. Also, one addline to a nuked field is an advantage.

Specials flood trick

This is a dirty one, so figure it out for yourself. Text flooding people out of the server is a cheat and a very annoying one at that... but well, your specials are there for you to use, aren't they...

Self switch

Easy enough and often overlooked is the fact that you can use a switch to lower your field when you are about to die.

Resiliency

Never give up. This is especially important in specials since you really haven't lost the game until you are dead. Most people get disheartened when they get a tough break, they are switched early, they're dealt a bad block bomb. These people rarely become any good. As said before, the key is to view your field as a constant state of change. When it is bombed, it has just been made into a high field from a low field. Never despair, as I can assure you, almost nothing is irreparable.

spindizzy/HELLFIRE, 11/01

Main.