Team Strategies

Team battles add a cooperative dimension to Robocode, where bots work together to defeat opposing teams. Success requires not only strong individual bot capabilities but also effective communication and coordination.

Team Battle Basics

Team Composition

Teams typically consist of 2-5 bots:

Standard roles:

• Leader - Coordinates team strategy, tracks all enemies
• Soldier - General-purpose combat bot
• Droid - Specialized bot with reduced radar (cannot win alone)

Droid special properties:

• Droids score 2× points for their team
• Droids cannot win battles (team needs at least one non-droid alive)
• Droids often have limited radar range (120° instead of 360°)

Team Messages

Bots communicate via team messages to share information and coordinate:

// Send message to teammates
sendTeamMessage("enemy.spotted", enemyData);

// Receive message from teammate
onTeamMessage(TeamMessageEvent event) {
    String message = event.getMessage();
    // Process teammate's information
}

See Team Messages for complete messaging API and protocols.

Communication Strategies

Information Sharing

What to share:

• Enemy positions and headings
• Enemy energy levels (track damage dealt)
• Your current target (avoid duplicate targeting)
• Your position and status

Message frequency:

• Send updates when significant changes occur
• Avoid flooding with messages every turn
• Balance information timeliness with communication overhead

Message Protocols

Establish consistent message formats:

// Example protocol
"ENEMY|Tracker|x:250,y:300,h:45,e:80,t:150"
"TARGET|Tracker|MyBot"
"STATUS|MyBot|x:100,y:100,e:100"
"HELP|MyBot|x:100,y:100,e:20"

Components:

• Type - Message category (ENEMY, TARGET, STATUS, HELP)
• Sender - Which teammate sent it
• Data - Relevant information (position, energy, etc.)

Basic Team Tactics

Target Selection

Coordinate targeting to avoid overkill:

Distributed targeting:

private String myTarget = null;

void selectTarget() {
    for (EnemyData enemy : enemies) {
        if (!isTargetedByTeammate(enemy.name)) {
            myTarget = enemy.name;
            sendTeamMessage("TARGET:" + myTarget);
            break;
        }
    }
}

Focus fire (when advantageous):

• Multiple bots target the same enemy
• Useful for quickly eliminating dangerous opponents
• Announce target to team: "FOCUS|EnemyName"

Positioning

Crossfire formation:

• Position bots at different angles to enemy
• Enemy cannot dodge both bots simultaneously
• Requires coordination and positioning awareness

Cover formation:

• One bot engages while another provides support
• Useful when one bot has low energy

Corner trapping:

• Coordinate to push enemy into corner
• Reduces enemy's movement options

Energy Management

Share energy status:

• Announce when low on energy
• Request support from teammates
• Protect low-energy teammates

Example:

if (getEnergy() < 20) {
    sendTeamMessage("HELP|" + getX() + "," + getY());
}

Sacrifice plays:

• Droid can sacrifice itself to damage enemy (2× scoring bonus)
• Low-energy bot can ram to benefit team

Advanced Team Strategies

Team-specific content is currently being developed for The Book of Robocode. In the meantime, explore advanced movement and targeting techniques that apply to team battles:

• Anti-Gravity Movement - Positioning based on multiple threats
• GuessFactor Targeting - Advanced targeting for coordinated fire

Shared Enemy Tracking

Build a team-wide view of the battlefield:

Leader maintains enemy database:

• Receives scan data from all teammates
• Maintains most recent position/status for each enemy
• Broadcasts consolidated enemy data to team

Teammates contribute scans:

• Send scan data to leader
• Receive processed enemy data back
• Use shared data for targeting calculations

Role Specialization

Example team composition:

1. Scout/Leader

• Wide radar coverage
• Tracks all enemies
• Coordinates team strategy
• Low firepower (focus on information)

2. Sniper

• Advanced targeting algorithms
• High firepower
• Relies on scout for enemy data
• Limited radar (can be a droid)

3. Protector/Soldier

• Protects sniper
• Engages close-range threats
• Anti-ramming capabilities
• Medium firepower

Team Battle Scoring

Team scoring differs from 1v1:

Team results add each member's individual score:

• Damage dealt by any team member
• Each living bot earns 50 survival points for every bot defeated on another team; teammate deaths do not earn survival points
• When one team remains, each living member earns 10 last-survivor points per opposing bot
• Droid bonuses (droids score 2× points)

Winning strategy:

• Maximize total team score
• Consider sacrificing low-value bots for team advantage
• Protect high-value bots (strong performers)

See Scoring for detailed scoring rules.

Debugging Team Bots

Testing team coordination:

• Run team battles with debug output enabled
• Verify messages are being sent and received
• Check that shared data is used correctly
• Ensure bots aren't targeting same enemy when using distributed targeting

Common team issues:

• Message overload - Too many messages slow down bots
• Targeting conflicts - Multiple bots targeting same enemy unintentionally
• Poor positioning - Bots blocking each other's shots or movement
• Communication failures - Messages not reaching teammates

See Testing & Debugging Guide for debugging techniques.

Team Development Workflow

1. Build strong individual bots first - Each bot should be competent alone
2. Add basic messaging - Share enemy positions
3. Implement target coordination - Avoid duplicate targeting
4. Add positioning awareness - Maintain formation, avoid friendly fire
5. Optimize communication - Reduce message overhead
6. Test extensively - Run team battles against various opponents

Further Reading

• Team Messages - Team messaging API and implementation
• Scoring - Team scoring rules and calculations
• Testing & Debugging Guide - Testing team coordination
• Anti-Gravity Movement - Positioning with multiple threats
• Energy Management - Resource allocation strategies