when joining games as a watcher.
Always obey the game creator/host.
Do what he tells to you unless it contradicts these rules, recommendations and your own conscience.
If he asks you to be a watcher, you must accept or leave the game.
If he asks you to play, you must accept or leave the game.
Ask to watch immediately after joining the game.
Then you won’t have to answer any questions like “s9”, just type “watcher?” If the game host accepts, you’re watching.
Set your race as the opposite of the players. If all (or most) of them play orcs – set human.
Obey all the players in the game. They’re doing you a favor by allowing you to watch their game. Do what they ask.
Remember, the best watcher is an invisible watcher. You shouldn’t help or disturb anyone who is playing. So, keep your peon as out of the way as possible — don’t let players even see it if possible. Do not interfere with the game in any way.
After the game begins:
Click on the”Allies” tab in the top right of the screen and set “Allied Victory” and “Allies” to everyone in game.
You can do this at any point during the game, so it is recommended to set Allies+AV as soon as the game starts. If you wait and forget to do it, the ending of the game could be delayed after the losing team has left. This is annoying and disrespectful to your hosts, and they may not be so gracious next time you ask to watch.
About shared/allied vision:
There are 2 options for game types: Top vs. Bottom (TVB) and Melee.
If you watch a Melee game, vision is switched off to all players by default, so, you are done. Never switch it on and you will be okay.
If you watch a TVB game, your team will see your peon and thus your starting position, but your opponents won’t. This unbalances the game. You need to do 2 things:
Set vision to all players.
Unset vision to all players.
After you this, you can move your peon. Don’t move it until you unset vision to everyone, othewise they will see additional explored territory. Remember, the watcher’s main responsbility is to be completely invisible.
(For TVB only) If you know the number designation of your starting position, send a message to all players telling them where you started. Example: if you appeared on position 5 on GoW, write a message that simply says “5”. Then your allies will know that you’ve told the opponents where you started.
Move your peon from your starting position to an out-of-the-way location.
Select the most unobstrusive location that is also close to your starting position.
Sometimes watchers will hide somwhere and build, just for fun. This seems okay while that corner is not visible for the players, but it is strongly recommended that beginning watchers don’t build anything at all. Watching the other players will give you insight and help you improve your skills, so it’s important to pay attention.
