Time Hopping Attacks

What is time hopping?
Time hopping is an attack strategy designed to test online/offline status of a target and if offline, allow for rapid attacks/plunders while greatly reducing the ability of the target's alliance to defend. If the target is online, it also reduces the chance of troop losses due to garrisoning.

Advantages:
Detect online/offline of player, allow for rapid attacking if offline, Greatly reduces chance of troop loss due to last-minute garrisoning/reinforcing if target is online.

Disadvantage:
Longer setup time, close timings, excess archers and heros needed, possible garrisons based on distance from target could mess up the time hop.

Using:
To do an attack time hop, you send an extra attack to hit your target about 30s before your real attack hits with the intention of recalling it and scouting. The attack must look like a real attack and should have a decent hero with it. Why recall this attack? Most (good) players will time their garrisons/reinforce to come in 1 or 2 seconds before your first attack lands to prevent a last-minute scout/recall. By sending this army with the intention of recalling it anyway, your actual first wave attack time "hops" back 30 seconds. This allows you the time you need to get your scout and see if he's been reinforced. If he has been he is online and receiving help and you can recall. If he hasn't, he is probably offline and you can let your real and subsequent attacks hit.

Example:
Your target has 10k archers no scouts and rainbow and 17k towers and 2k abatis along with a lot of resources you want to plunder.

You dont know if he's online or offline.

You want to do a time hop attack to reduce troop losses and detemine online/offline


 * Send at least 3 Waves and 2 scouts:
 * Scout set to arrive at 11:59:30am
 * 1st wave: 99k arch + rainbow - 200 attack hero hits at 12:00:00pm
 * Scout set to arrive at 12:00:05pm
 * 2nd wave: 99k arch + rainbow - 250 attack hero hit at 12:00:30pm
 * 3rd wave: 1k arch + 10k trans (yes i said a lot of resources hehe) hit at 12:01:00
 * 4+ waves: 10k cavs for loyalty hits (optional) hit at 12:01:00

After your first scout arrives - check and see if any of the defenses have changed

Outcomes: They have changed - He is online and upped his defense recall your remaining waves

They haven't changed - Looks good so far, but he may have just set a 1s reinforce/garrison time

At 11:59:55 recall your 1st wave set to hit at 12:00:00 Now your first attack time has hopped back to 12:00:30

When your seconds scout hits: Outcomes: They have changed - He is online and upped his defense recall your remaining waves They haven't changed - He is almost definitely not online or he would have defended your first wave with reinforce/garrison - go ahead and let your 2nd and 3rd waves hit and plunder away.

You could even follow up your waves with 1k cav waves sent to hit after your 3rd wave to lower loyalty, point is - you know he's not online. Detecting a time hop: Time hops can be difficult to detect because 2 attacks on you could just be 2 legitimate attacks. Also I think this strategy is fairly new, so you might not see it at all. (let me know if someone time-hops you). Some telltale signs are:

First attack has a low level hero/lower than the 2nd wave - Why send your high-level hero on an attack your recalling. A person could just send a low-level hero knowing that he's gonna get recalled anyway. This is suspicious and could indicate a time-hop attack.

First wave is significantly smaller than 2nd wave

First attack is 100k arch but 2nd attack is 125k archers. Same mentality - why use a war ensign on an attack you're recalling? A 125k second wave is a good indication of a time-hop attack.

Countering: Very difficult to counter because it could just be a legitimate attack. Possibly set your garrisons to land just before the 2nd attack rather than just before the 1st, but this could lead to increased losses.

Why it works: It works because most people set their garrisons/reinforces to be 5s or less before the first wave hits. By recalling the 1st wave at the last second, you buy yourself time to scout and reasses the situation. Why's it called time-hopping - because your attack time "hops back" 30s to allow a 2nd scout.