Holdfast: Nations At War – Guide for Beginners and Information in Holdfast

Disclaimer

 
I will not presume to tell you how to play the game or what is makes it fun. Moreover any way that you have fun playing the game is good and you should not let a stupid man on the internet stop you from doing that. This said I will make some strongly worded suggestions throughout the guide, feel free to disregard them or let me know if you think they are wrong in the comments. 
 
 

On the composition of pubs

 
Pubs, or public matches are the most common type of game played in Holdfast. This section will delve into what I find useful information for newer players considering Pubs. Feel free to skip this section if it bores you or if you find the weapons or character analysis more interesting. Firstly many regiments like to style their more organized and regimented “line battles” as more historically accurate than their public counter parts. This is inaccurate because in relatively small battles of 300 or so volley fire and close order formations are counterproductive and the more open order skirmish tactics seen in the pubs are actually more reflective of real world small battle tactics. Secondly its important to understand the makeup of players in these matches. Refer to the chart.  
The majority of players are in their first ten games or so and have probably bought the game thanks to a new Philps or Womble video. They understand little and make good cannon fodder for the more knowledgeable. 
Next we have the more experienced yet out of their element players known as the regimentals. This is a catch all for players in a reg who are more accustomed to line battles pubs. don’t let their narrow mindedness fool you they are deadly in melee albeit terrible shooting ability due to their lack of experience firing out of line. 
Next we have the Pub stompers or “regular crowd” so to speak. If you see a name on the scoreboard and think to yourself how you played with them last week and the week before that they are probably one of these. I consider myself to fall into this category. Often in clans like EB or EC, they are experienced and skilled in the art of dishing out death to those with 10 times less their hours. Or any other poor saps in their way. It is said of pro pistol players such as Amblco that you may run but you will just die tired. 
Lastly my and my most favorite class are the Unicorns. These are players who involve themselves in pubs and make a name for themselves the same way Unicorns do; that is as shining brief respites from the horrors of war. Often armed with a funny voice or an enjoyable micspam these players lift your spirits and make you feel hope. 
The experience gap between a new player and a pub stomper is astoundingly low believe it or not. Players in clans like EB and EC like to hide knowledge and skills away from newer players and often communicate in private voice channels such as discord. This creates a sort of information embargo that prevents newer players from effectively combating them. This is in now way meant to be construed as an insult against these players this is just my personal observation and analysis. In truth I feel guilty for my part in slaughtering the cannon fodder to sate my primal enjoyment of destroying those weaker than me. This guide seeks to change this pie chart by giving newer players the tools necessary to have a fighting chance against the pros of Holdfast. 
 
 

Your class

 
I will state bluntly and quickly all that you need to know to choose a class. I will start in ascending order of what I believe to be the best classes for pubs. 
 
Riflemen are an awful class. They have the slowest reload in the game for only a marginal improvement in long range accuracy. Whats more they have no bayonet which is doubly bad because it makes them much less deadly and trains the user to avoid close range engagements with melee. 
 
Musicians and flag bearers are not bad classes as they are helpful to the team with their reload bonuses they just do a poor job of teaching you how to play. If you would like to watch and learn just park yourself near a group of friendlies and you will likely shoot up in the leaderboard. Just don’t expect to improve you skills. 
 
Lights are a really sorry class. They can’t spawn on flags, almost always die in one hit, and suck in melee. And what do they get for this? a 10% speed increase. Pathetic, because of the time lost by not being able to spawn on flags you will literally spend more time walking than other infantry classes and have a much harder time getting kills. Fun fact the 10% speed increase is an outright lie and the real speed increase lies much more in the 6-8% range. With that in mind I don’t know why anyone would pick such a clearly ineffective class other than for fun. 
 
Cannoneers, sappers, and carpenters are very useful but highly situational. Don’t pick them unless you are confident in you understanding of them. Emplacements help your team greatly but will not earn you any points. Swivel guns can quickly propel you to the top of the leaderboard and can make you and infamous player if you know the spots for them. Let me know if you want a guide for swivel gun locations on various maps. Cannoneers are often experienced regimentals and can offer you good advice. Its a very boring class however and is often overshadowed by more attractive options. Carpenter is a quirky unreliable class that is poorly suited to the wide expanses of most maps. 
 
Horsemen are a odd bunch. You will often find their slots fill up quick and the people who play them are often the rock stars of the game. They require skill and malice to play effectively. remember to always create an S pattern when moving and to try to kill players who are not paying attention. NEVER charge enemy positions head on and avoid using you gun. Finally the best way to rack up 30 kills on a horse is by flanking around the entire map and then descending of a column of reinforcements from spawn from behind. This way they almost guaranteed won’t see you coming and you will often have a hard time shooting you before you get at least 10 kills. Avoid wasting time dueling other horses or going after lone targets especially if they are aware you are pursuing them. 
 
Grenadiers are the worst of the 3 mainline infantry. They have a higher health pool than line infantry or guards (like you’re planning to get hit) which is their selling point but they don’t have the longer melee range that guards do. Yeah that’s another “fun” fact guards have a secret ability which isn’t mentioned in their description: they have a longer melee range than any other class. On top of this grens don’t help their team with guard buffs and their shooting abilities are lessened because they don’t get the same bonuses as line infantry when standing in line. All in all not the worst class but pretty pitiful compared to other options 
 
Line infantry are a good choice especially for learning. Their bonuses to shooting in lines go unused more often than not in pubs but they are a respectable pick for a new player. 
 
Guards are the real best choice among the big 3 infantry classes. They have the best melee range class abilities and are just an all around great choice. So you get a secret better bayonet (which you need to learn to use) and also guard buffs. This means you give a inf officer or surgeon near you a 25% reduction in incoming damage or something like this which stacks marginally up to 3. This is incredibly helpful for the officer or surgeon near you and they are sure to appreciate it. For a reward you get 20 XP for every kill they get in compass range of you which is massively helpful. 
 
Surgeon, in all ways a pocket officer and they have access to the beautiful pistol as well as guard buffs. To top it all off they can also heal themselves and others which can net they up to 70 xp per heal! You can feel unkillable with these buffs, seriously, and can tank 2-3 shots before requiring healing. if you learn the arc of the pistol and aim for the head you are considerably more deadly that an infantryman to boot. To clarify the pistol reload is 6 seconds versus the muskets 12. You get a slight downgrade of the officers saber but it is still super easy to block with and a very dangerous weapon if you know how to use it. 
 
Finally the Creme de la Creme, The Infantry Officer. They have the best weapons, best abilities, best uniforms, command respect and have various secret advantages working in their favor. The officer pistol is the best weapon in the game. with a 6 second reload, a 25% damage increase, and secret ranged damage fall off improvements it is simply great. The saber is the best melee weapon it is the same that the cavalry are armed with. blocking is a breeze and you can kill any class with 2 side slashes in theory. A special tip for officer class melee is to use the downward thrust a lot and shake your screen. This will confuse you opponent and I find it much easier to control the kill hitbox of my blade. DON’T FORGET TO PUT DOWN FLAGS or lines and at least try to command your troops if they don’t have a leader. you also have a much larger VOIP range in game than other classes which helps with marshaling the troops. 
 
 

Your weapons

 
This weapon details the practical aspects of the weapons in this game. 
 
Muskets are the most common weapon and a great pick. They have a 12 second reload which can be greatly quickened by standing in a line with your comrades. It also has the bayonet which is the second best melee weapon in the game and has really far reach. learning how to use a bayonet effectively is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Side blocking is rarely worthwhile and most people will do up attacks so 80% an upblock will save your life. Another good tip for any kind of melee really is to greatly increase your sensitivity. I recommend putting it on the edge of where you feel comfortable. People good at melee often do a sort of “spin” maneuver and this can make their attacks hard to block. Don’t let this confuse you try ganging up on them with friends or shooting them first. If 1 on 1 melee is your only option then just try to focus on identifying which direction they are attacking and block it, you will get better with time. Back to the ballistics of the musket; It has a very slight drop off which increases dramatically after 20m of distance. Biggest tip for shooting any weapon though is cutting through the games lies. The normal crosshair is an awful crosshair for shooting 90% of the time. The dynamic crosshair that expands and contracts to your movements is just the worst. Disable both of these in setting and practice aiming with a red dot. I promise after practice you will aim much better with a simpler crosshair. 
 
 
This is an example of the drop of an officer pistol 
 
 

Your Playstyle

 
Work in progress. 
 

This is all about Holdfast: Nations At War – Guide for Beginners and Information in Holdfast; I hope you enjoy reading the Guide! If you feel like we should add more information or we forget/mistake, please let us know via commenting below, and thanks! See you soon!