Looking for the old Protocol guide, is it anywhere to be found?

[Ugrilainen]

After a while, it became mass towers and feeding :(

just like ffa became in fact? :D

[Tleilaxu]

Well the protocol was "Play 4s like it's a FFA"

Originally, this meant ignoring your allies, and just doing your own little thing. This meant that even if one player died the team would not be cut off a certain type of units.  Also whenever someone "died" he would do the ffa thing... try to rebuild in a corner, NOT feed whoever else is on the team. This meant that the game would not usually end after one decisive battle, but would drag on into the late game, where the FFA players had an advantage. It was basically a 4v1v1v1v1

After a while, it became mass towers and feeding :(

  I always wondered why the play styles of players like Kodos_Forsaken and ANGRY_KOREA_MAN was called proto. Really surprised to hear the name originates from an ancient 4v4 guide made by FFA players!

[Lightweight]

After a while, it became mass towers and feeding :(

just like ffa became in fact? :D

You can easily pace up the speed of ffa games by making a tower limit for each expand and main base like 5 for example. Mass Towers invite other players to hoard and play defensiv, so it prolongs the game for no reason. This playstyle is unattractive for any kind of viewer and oberservers.

[Tleilaxu]

Wouldn't be a problem at all if siege units didn't suck so much. Tanks are an amazing unit but suck balls against human towers. Chims are amazing too but the stupid ai always makes them fly into tower range. Glaives, Mortars, Demolishers and Meat Wagons are all super weak. Meat Wagons don't even get an armor upgrade, wtf Blizzard?

[Tleilaxu]

Wouldn't be a problem at all if siege units didn't suck so much. Tanks are an amazing unit but suck balls against human towers. Chims are amazing too but the stupid ai always makes them fly into tower range, vulnerable to Dragonhawks. Glaives, Mortars, Demolishers and Meat Wagons are all super weak. Meat Wagons don't even get an armor upgrade, wtf Blizzard?

[Dovekie]

Glaive Throwers don't either IIRC.

Ouch, I wouldn't say that. I mean, the protocol was written by FFA players to adapt an FFA strategy to 4s. I'm not saying it can't be beaten, but it wasn't written up so that it would get crushed by initiated FFA players. Most likely, the meta could evolve pass the protocol, but it was the master of all meta back in the best, most competitive 4s days. I agree it could have evolved, but it didn't.

And that meta included a lot of FFA players, playing with or without the protocol.

The general strategy was harass, play your own game, annoy, tower, expo, create all sort of chaos.  What often boiled down to was a couple players dying early and them harassing people with blade masters and bats, while the last player on team Proto had like 7/6/6 DK/Lich/DL and would demolish people with super tier 3 Undead army.  And that is why I don't think it would work versus good FFA players, especially those of today. Undead was considered stronger back then, now we can all counter that with one hand behind our backs. 

Maybe I am just overestimating everyone but, even before I got too into FFA, I would go things like 27-2 in 4's RT, just because my understanding of the game alone. After FFA knowledge it felt almost impossible to lose. If you take 4 FFA players who play proto, versus 4 FFA players who play as a team, i.e. 1v1v1v1v4, the team who plays as a team will win.  Even in the guide they stated a few of their strategies big weaknesses, and they were things like "getting rushed", and "enemies knowing what they were gonna do before hand".

[LDX]

The general strategy was harass, play your own game, annoy, tower, expo, create all sort of chaos.  What often boiled down to was a couple players dying early and them harassing people with blade masters and bats, while the last player on team Proto had like 7/6/6 DK/Lich/DL and would demolish people with super tier 3 Undead army.  And that is why I don't think it would work versus good FFA players, especially those of today. Undead was considered stronger back then, now we can all counter that with one hand behind our backs. 

Maybe I am just overestimating everyone but, even before I got too into FFA, I would go things like 27-2 in 4's RT, just because my understanding of the game alone. After FFA knowledge it felt almost impossible to lose. If you take 4 FFA players who play proto, versus 4 FFA players who play as a team, i.e. 1v1v1v1v4, the team who plays as a team will win.  Even in the guide they stated a few of their strategies big weaknesses, and they were things like "getting rushed", and "enemies knowing what they were gonna do before hand".

There's an argument to be made, I'll give you that. However the problem with this kind of statement (quote: the team who plays as a team will win) is that it hasn't been proved yet. I could see why they would win, but it's a would, it hasn't happened yet, and isn't borderline close to happen either with a dead scene.

I can only base myself on the previous, factual proto domination and its application in the current ladder. Will you tell me, the current players on the ladder aren't skilled FFA players I'll agree, but I have to work with that I have, and can't theorize too much. It's a thing to have a weakness, but if no one can exploit it, you're most likely going to win anyway.

That being said, I'm only looking for the written guide and didn't want to create a debate, especially a theoretical one. I'm still pleased to read your opinion tho :)

[Lightweight]

@LDX: I think many of the guys in ladder know how to play or what to do nowadays. Most of them just dont practice a lot so the micro sucks a bit. But experience is more important in ffa than micro. Ntropy has beaten and schooled me several times with 60 apm.

[EM_RAT_THICH_VO]

great article. FFA is nice!