First and foremost, venice is a map with only 4 starting points. Some believe this is a design flaw as the map is rather large, but i find it to be much closer to my expectation of what a true battlfield would be like in the myth environment. As a graphic designer i believe venice's aesthetics and attention to detail make it one of the most vibrant and creative maps available in multiplayer. It's art-direction deserves an award and the unit selection offers a great balance of all the basic unit types, as well as complimenting the map's diverse terrain (walls, buildings, water, hills, cactus).

The genius of the four starting locations lies in the fact that each location is totally different and each can benefit from completely different strategies. Some are closer to the middle, some have more easily defensible positions, some make it hard for your opponent to estimate your position. This dynamic is especially interesting in territories or any game that requires using the whole map.

If there was a postcard of venice, it would no doubt be an overhead view of the center fort-like structure with it's northern and southern-most walls blown apart. In lmoth and koth especially, this is often times the first goal of most players who know this map. The reason for cracking open the wall with your mortor dwarfs as soon as possible is to make the flag (the hill) in the middle of the fort much more accessible to your units - the original doorways to the fortress being simply too small and limiting for effective 'hill control'.

This strat only covers what i know and use regularly, but please remember i am doing this to proturb others into disputing/adding to this so it becomes a valuable strat guide.

Surprise in venice is essentially achieved using two basic methods: speed and by taking advantage of the terrain. Using speed is a more common path for me as it is generally safer. When using speed to position your troops in unlikely places, steady and regular clock watching is critical - you need to know how long it takes for any given unit to travel whatever distance. Many people are a little daunted by venice's open spaces but i find them a wonderful opportunity to exploit your opponent's inability to know your true position at any given point and take full advantage of unit's strengths and weaknesses.

There's nothing more frightening to your opponent than to watch your force attack them from the place your opponent just came (ie, they're rear). As she/he just came from there, they don't think anything is there. If they're focused on attacking something else then you've really got them by surprise as they may be dead before they even realise you're attacking them.

It only takes about 2 mins to get from one side (not corner) of the map to the other for most of your units so sending out a powerful, yet compact and quick group in the beginning of the game can be a great way to achieve total surprise, flanking your opponent or just genrally harrassing and removing as much of your opponents as possible. This is only amplified when you consider most people rely on having a lot of melee units at the end of a game to win lmoth, and if you can impare or remove this part of their force they have no hope. One lock and a few melee can easily take out a large force of footmen especially early in a game as your opponent will generally play to stay alive at that point (which is when locks are at their most deadly against melee - when the melee are unable to commit to a rush). Also bear in mind most people leave said units waiting in the back field until the close of the game and sometimes totaly unprotected or even better, hiding in water.

Most people least expect you to run around them or behind them, especially on venice, so it is almost always effective to do exactly that, and the funny part is, it isn't that hard or time consuming to get behind or completely around someone. I once had the grand experience of being double-teamed by two guys who let me get in between them. They were so caught up in hunting me down on the other side of the map, they failed to check colors and make sure I was the other friendly force and when I started firing at both of their lines (reetreating quickly thereafter) they thought they had both broken their pact and starting taking it out on each other while I skated freely to the hill and won the game. People don't always check everything and rely on different means to determine which force is which so there is much to be gained if you can position your troops in very unlikely places and get your opponents confused about who is who.

The other way to achieve surprise on venice is to use the terrain to cover your position. Because there many places on venice where one needs to orbit the camera considerably to determine both what a unit is as well as it's exact position this can be very helpful in making a lot of kills. I find that letting a lock wander around the center structure can be very effective as the lock can hide from most ranged attacks around those walls. Never forget that a firball blast does a lot of damage in it's blast radius and just because you don't have a direct line of fire with your lock, doesn't mean you don't have a shot. for example, a lot of people will stick a dwarf in a door way or near a corner of the walls thinking the lock will need to get completely into view to take the dwarf out. whereas all the lock needs to do is get a ball to explode near the dwarf. Usually this can be done and your lock can be behind a far away corner before your opponent even realises what has happened when he hears "Casualty", as they will then need to orbit around the building to see they're dealing with a lock.

Pay attention to how the arrows hit the wall and the canon balls go over walls. Know what each unit can do near a wall so you can take advantage of any times where your opponent thinks they're safe but they're actually in range. The amount of times I've taken out an entire line of archers because my opponent failed to realise his archers arrows would merely hit the arch over a doorway and not my warlock is really quite staggering. when the action is hot and heavy, the ones who bear these things in mind will most likely be the victors.

Any good venice player will have several ghols running around the map (solo or in small groups) at any given point to avoid the problem a large map of wide-open spaces presents. Personally I find this to be a time consuming and potentially damaging technique. (ghols are very important in venice and i prefer to keep them for the end to procure last minute flags or run to the hill just when your opponent thinks he's got you where he wants you).

So, as a preventative measure - as I avoid using recon to provide me with info of my opponent's positions - I'm always ready to fully engage any possible sized army with my different groups so that rush tactics can be turned into an opportunity. I keep my forces divided in two, and I ensure both are never cecptible to attack from any possible direction. This is achieved by taking care to place my groups with intellegent formations and being able to select them instantly and know what to do as soon as the enemy untis reveal themselves. How? Keeping my eyes fixed on the mini-map most of the game.

When enemy units approach mine the first thing I do is to always assess whether I need to give my attention to anywhere else on the map for the next 30 seconds. If I focus on what is about to become a battle any other forces must be safe as they may potentially be attacked without my realising while i'm dealing with the battle.

If the approaching enemy units appear to be a force that can take on mine I immediately send my force to a spot furthest away from the opposing force (so my units end up running directly away from the opposing force). I then look for a high damage unit (e.g. as a lock or dwarf) in my fleeing force that can turn and fire on the attacker. 9 out of 10 times this is extremely successful. I find that most players that have sent a large portion of their army running do so by issuing an "attack this group" mouse click. as i am running, the assumption is I will continue to do - so, by quickly turning with a high damage unit and firing I've done the opposite of what my opponent expects and if she/he is not directly supervising their unit's decisions they invariably let my lock get off a perfectly placed fireball (with any luck, taking out all of their archers or dwarfs).

I then set up a pincer (see myth.bungie.org's strategy guide) if possible and wait for whats left to come into the fray. A true rusher will get hammered in this situation as they won't direct traffic and get slaughtered.

These tactics may change depending on my situation. If I have something to hide my lock behind I may not bother with a pincer, if my archers have a height advantage I may bring in the mortors to finish them off. In general I'm less concerned with destroying my emeny at this point and more focused on preserving my own force for the rest of the game and turning their offensive.

But these are actually easier to handle than when your opponent merely has a few ghols or warriors approaching. Chances are they're simply recon, but recon needs to be watched regularly as some people are highly skilled and brave enough to send in 1 ghol to dispatch a warlock (a good point swap and worth it if you can pull it off). Never ignore those recon units and if possible (ie, without compromising your own battle plan) destroy the recon units. For those who really rely on their recon units on venice (there are a lot of you) this can really put a wrench in the works for them.

THE WARRIOR

I always get a full load of warriors. I rarely get thrall on venice because I adamately believe speed is your best friend here. Warriors provide the ability to cover half the length of the map in around 30 seconds. This proves very useful for the kinds of distraction tactics discussed above.

While I spend an average of 95% of the game controlling locks, ghols and dwarves - warriors have saved the game for me so many times it's ridiculous. The one fantastic thing warriors posses for venice is speed. They can move pretty quickly around opposing forces and get into the center of the map in less than 30 or 40 seconds. If I'm engaged in a tough back-field battle (away from center) then it is critical to get my footmen running toward the center fast enough to not have given up the flag and thus, the game. Warriors are in most cases the guys who make sure you own that flag. It is critcal in most games to have several available to run arund the flag and wipe out any remaining melee units in opposition the the flag at the end of the game.

Here is where i differ from most myth players: warriors should be kept alive at all costs. If not, then they should be running for the flag before the clock goes. After 200 or more games of lmoth on venice I have to say that in at least 50% of the games, there is invariably a high damage capable unit in position to do considerable damage to the melee units near the flag, and as is often the case there will be several.

By keeping your melee units alive as long as possible you're more likely to have a fighting chance of controlling that flag at the end. But it is critical that those units are inside the walls and very close to the flag. This can be facilitated very effectively by keeping them moving around the flag but never getting too near any large clump of opposing forces. The only time it makes sense to use your warriors in typical melee battle is when you have only one opponent left and s/he is well positioned to with much of their force left. Then you're facing a more traditional myth battle and should adhere to the more general tactics. Just rememeber to always have a few guys ready to jump on that flag and to keep them spread out and moving.

Venice has the famous ramps to the southern walls as well as two doorways to the east and west which make it easy for opponents to attack the flag area with mortors and fireballs and very quickly reduce any flesh in the middle to a nice melee puree. I therefore tend to keep my melee forces away from that hill until I am certian the other threats have been dispatched and that i can scatter quickly should another one show up later (they invariably do).

It is important to rememebr that when everyone near the flag dies at the same time the last player to have complete control of the flag gets control again. So if you take out all your footmen because there's only a few of theirs left and it seems a decent sacrifice, consider how you're going to get one of your other units there in less than 2 seconds if your opponent had control of that flag before you did. otherwise you've lost.

THE WARLOCK

My favorite unit. When I first began playing myth II I hated the warlock as he is expensive and difficult to control. But I found over time that the lock could be used intelligently to do a huge amount of damage to an opponent and in some cases even wipe out the entire opposing force. But, like any great unit in myth the lock certianly has his weaknesses and to many players out there he has too many to make him valuable or even useful. I might agree on a map with trow or something equivalent, but on venice the lock is the real hero.

The most essential skill to using the lock is to understand his limitations and capabilities. Understand that he can be outrun by almost every unit on the map - but he can still move great distances on the map and really take players by surprise. He can hand out considerable damage - but he can also be killed very easily. One fireball can't kill many of your opponents at one time - but two fireballs can kill 10s of your enemy's units more effectively than any other type of firepower available in myth (cept maybe a couple of fetch, 6 dwarves or a lot of wights). On venice, this makes him extremely powerful.

The first thing most people do wrong with the lock is not give him their undivided attention. The lock rarely makes good decisions on his own and must be directed by you in any intensive engagement with other troops, in some cases literally step-by-step. You must keep your distance with a lock. Never approach any unit closer than the range of your fireball or risk being run down or damage caused by your own defensive fireball.

The second thing people don't do is consider their mana usage. You should constantly aware of how many fireballs you can offer up before you decide how to deal with any situation. It's easy to forget, so start thinking about it now. Remember you can generally get off two fireballs with a full load of mana. If a warrior is chasing you from a ways away, you can usually get recharged for one last fireball before he catches up with you by running away from him (which often times will save your life and let you return 30 seconds later).

It's always a good idea to avoid archers like the plague but it is important to know how to face them as you will be forced to on a regular basis. Archers have one severe problem in the nature of their attack - they use arrows and not bullets. Arrows can be dodged. and in many cases it is easy to do. The warlock can actually turn relatively quick and while he may not be able to cover a lot of distance quickly he can dance with the best of them and this skill should be practiced as much as possible. Many a time have I been forced to face a whole long line of archers and by simply side stepping the first few vollies watch the arrow men evaporate when that one fireball takes them all out. However, many a time have I watched my lock die in a matter of seconds because i stepped the wrong direction. This kind of engagement is very dangerous and should be avoided but don't let your opponent win by simply giving up. You have at least a 50/50 chance of staying alive long enough to take out the whole line of archers and that opportuntity should be relished (usually because your opponent will be so gutted they'll let their other big hitters just sit there long enough for your lock to deliver one final blast). The basic way to dodge arrows is to move right after the arrow has been fired - preferably in a side-to-side motion as the lock will rotate in place before actually moving and turning front to back takes longer than side to side. Never do this unless you have enough mana to cast a fireball.

Locks should almost never fire on units directly. It is rare when you want to do this. Why? Because most times you do, you let your opponent circle around you into a position where they can then run you down, or even worse you can forget to stop your lock and end up letting him walk off into the boonies with no hope of being useful. Most times you will be firing by control-clicking the ground. This is to ensure precise fireball placement. Fireballs, not unlike heat-seeking missles in other games, can be misdirected and will explode if they come into contact with other objects first. Good players will use this to their advantage.

Perhaps most important of all: many important units will die if they're within the radius of a fireball blast (eg dwarfs and archers and other locks) and this can extend your range by 1/5.

A common defensive tactic against a lock is to simply send 1 or two thrall in the direction of your attacking lock - this can give your opponent a false sense of security as the lock can easily out maneuver the thrall and get close enough to easy kills and dispatch a fireball or two before the thrall can even get close. just remember to keep the thrall or other obsticles out of the fireballs flight path.

THE SHOWDOWN

When you start playing the lock you will notice most opponents - when they see your lock approaching - will immediately bring up one or both of their locks to counter yours. This is when i get a smile on my face as i know there soon follows a real high-noon showdown. The showdown is invariable when you're playing an opponent that has any lock skill. They know the only way to fight a lock on venice is with a lock (or a damn fine archer line) and this results in the showdown. Personally I invite the showdown as i rarely lose. The showdown occurs when two or more opposing locks go at each other, which is ususally done without any supporting units. I have heard claims that dwarves can be effective at taking out locks but i've never met a group of dwarves that wasn't exceptionally easy to take out with one lock, even when they've had a height advantage.

Most experienced players will not let an enemy lock simply linger around as they know the lock will start attacking when the clock is low or some other event has your opponent busy taking care of some other business. So they will send out their lock or perhaps some other combination of units to dispatch the lock. When I get into this situation I always make sure I have enough melee units with my lock (usually out of my opponents view) in case my opponent rushes me with a bunch of melee (another common - and probably the most misused - method of dispatching a lock). The theory here is that even if the lock gets off two fireballs there will still be enough melee left to run him down and take him out. But if the lock has just a few melee with him he can use the melee to sufficiently distract your enemy while you direct a few carefully placed fireballs to wipe out the would be attackers, or simply finish off what's left of your opponents melee force after two direct hits from a lock. In the worst case for your opponent, this leaves your opponent with no melee and thus pretty much helpless to win the game.

So, the showdown: what happens, how do you win, then what? The two locks will usually have some distance between them and need to walk toward each other until they get into range of one another. This is where you really are in a situation where the first lock to get off the right shot wins.

The showdown should go something like this: approach with your lock and some melee units behind him preferably out of view (but close enough to run up quickly and support), and then select only the lock so your able to contol him at any split-second. Approach your opponent and try to find some high-cost units, eg dwarves, locks, wight, and archers. If you take advantage of the surprise tactics discussed above, then it may be worth approaching your opponent's archers as you might be able to deliver a blast before they even see your lock. The idea at this point is to lure your opponent into thinking he can simply run your solo lock down and kill him easily. Many accuse me of being a newbie in fact when I have brought my lock from a far distance. if your opponent thinks you've blundered into his troops with an ineffective character then you have achieved the ultimate in surprise and have a strong advantage over your opponent.

If your opponent has any experience at this point they will bring up their own lock or two. I choose to go straight for the opposing lock in most cases (unless there's two) as you're more likely to get closer much faster than your opponent expects and in the process get a fireball off way before they're even expecting it. This it the time however when it is critical to give your lock your full undivided attention. You need to be ready to fire immediately at the ground exactly where the fireball will land. The exact time to fire at your opponenet's lock is when you think he will have walked into the radius of your blast. In other words, your opponent's lock is walking toward you, if you fire at his feet he will almost be standing next to your own lock by the time the fireball lands. so therefore, you want to consider where your opponent's lock will be when your blast goes off rather than his actual position.

If during any of this time you hear or see a fireblast launch then it is paramount you immediately send your lock running in the opposite direction. i always do this by directing my lock and never use 'scatter' or 'retreat' as they will invariably wind up going the wrong direction and die. This is perhaps the most important elelment to effective locks - don't let them die! Do this by running away whenever necessary. Most times he'll be right back in the fray faster than you can say kojak.

Showdown mistake number 1: "just get off one blast to kill the other lock and don't worry if you lose your lock in the process." this is what many people think when faced with this situation and when they do they just let their lock stop after firing. never let your lock just stop. Always turn and run after firing the lock can usually outrun the opposing fireball if he turns and runs fast enough. But you must get used to doing this naturally every time if you hope to keep your lock alive.

Showdown mistake number 2: simply not knowing your opponent's locks range. You must know when your lock is jeapordy of being hit by an enemy fireball or even the radius of that fireball as that will kill him instantly. In almost every case, you should only be doing two things when you are in range of another lock: in the process of firing at him [or the fireball coming at you] or turning and running as fast as possible. I guarantee you if you are doing anything else (including just starting to fire at your opponent) you will be doing it for about 2 seconds more and then nothing else. Do not fire at your opponent after he has fired at you - run. All you need to do is go a little way back the opposing fireballs explodes and then turn around come right in again. This can only happen twice as he is limitied in his mana and once your opponent has burned their mana they are in trouble as you know you have 10 clear seconds of no lock threat.

Showdown mistake number 3: "my opponent won't do anything else while we're having this little scrap" wrong. Most good players take this opportunity to hit you hard where you least expect it because they know you'll be so wrapped up in keeping your lock alive. This is especailly deadly if your opponent knows your complete field position as s/he can take advantage of mismtach battles, eg send his footmen after your archers without having to keep an eye on it, while he then comes back to the lock battle and then wins the showdown. My advice in this situation is to retreat and come back when you're better able to take on his force.

THE ARCHER

The archer is as important in venice as they are in any game. They are critical for defense and if they get good height advantage can be instrumental in turning a battle. I always get a full load to be present my opponents with a well-balanced force to fight.

THE JOURNEYMAN

Same deal as archers really in that they perform the same role as any other map. The only difference would be for those who like to use pus packets with their ghols (heal wight with a journeyman to produce puspackets). Venice presents a very effective battle ground for people who enjoy and are good with this kind of tactic. I avoid this though as it costs a bloody fortune and i've never seen it win a game outright. I don't deny however that someone who knows what they're doing with puspackets can really exploit that ability on this map.

Personally I'm not much of a healer and with all of my troops on the move most of the time healing ends up killing more of my players than preserving them, so I don't get a journeyman (I might for KOTH or something in need of some staying power).

THE WIGHTS

Again, I always smile when I see a wight as I know it will be very easy points for me and might give me the opportunity to take out a few of their own units in the process. Critical for those employing the puspacket thing above, but foolish otherwise IMHO as there is no effective hiding place for them here and trying to get them to the middle without blowing them up is sheer folly.

GHOLS

These guys are critical. No matter what strategy you apply in venice, ghols will be an intregal part of it. Whether in a recon role or providing back-up to locks, etc. or just grabbing that flag in the nick of time, it is generally a good idea to keep them around for as long as possible. But they're also a good distraction/sacrifice if necessary. I doubt any myth II player above prince would disagree when I say that you must get a full load of these guys on venice.

DWARVES

Ah dwarves. Some people love 'em, some people hate 'em. I personally don't like them much on this map, especially mortor dwarves, but there are a few instances where they're neceassary. First and foremost is 'cracking open your wall'.

As mentioned above, the southern and northern walls of the center structure can be blown in two thus creating a big gap in the wall. This suddenly gives you the ability to quickly approach the flag from behind the wall. In a shorter distance than any of the other openings, which can be a distinct advantage over the other players. If you're on the southern side in particular you can easily dominate the center structure completely as you not only have the protection of the wall but can also position your heavy hitters on top of the two ramps which will enable them to fire down into the middle of the structure. This can be overwhelming for everyone. On the other hand it leaves your forces on top of the ramps exposed to fire too so be careful.

To crack the walls simply position your dwarf within range of the top of the wall, find where the 'crack' is (part of the wall texture will look like it is cracking) and control click the crack. If the mortar ball makes it over the wall (which will depend on where your dwarf is standing when he fires) it will take a little chunk out of it. 4 or 5 more will completely split the wall. Also, the pieces of the wall can be picked up by your ghols and thrown at your opponents (which can surprise them if they're not expecting it) - make sure you control-click the top of the wall and not the side or worse the ground just past it.