Cow - Class

The Basics
Cow is a class in Mega Walls. Its class tags are support and tank, which mean that it is a very good class for surviving and helping teammates survive.

Because Cow is a starter class, many new players like to play it. However, bhoppers often abuse it and therefore you should keep your eyes peeled in case of foul play. What makes Cow so formidable is that it gains milk buckets (which heal you and your teammates) very quickly. It can really help in group fights and can even keep a Herobrine on max health almost constantly. More on milk buckets later. Some would say that it is the best starter class because its skills make it lose almost no health in a fight, but this is just a matter of opinion.

Who is Cow For?
First and foremost, this class protects teammates. If you are starting out and want a starter class with teamwork abilities, Cow is for you. Don't even think about using Cow as a main class if you are a lone wolf. Another aspect of Cow is its tankiness. It isn't as solid as Golem, and can't deal as much damage as Pigman, but is a really solid team healer. If you enjoy playing Zombie, chances are you will like Cow too. However, they are vastly different from each other in playstyle - see our Zombie guide to learn more.

Another thing that should be noted is that if you are playing Mega Walls for finals, Cow is not a good class for you. Cow wasn't designed to get finals. It was designed to help teammates get finals.

Skills You Need to Learn
Cow is a very easy class to play, but there are three core skills that you will need. Unlike some other classes, these skills aren't about gameplay itself, but they are about training yourself in real life to be a better Cow player.

Teamwork: This should be an obvious one. Mega Walls is a team game, but for Cow, teamwork is particularly important. You need to learn to communicate well, and if you can get a party together you should try to make some friends who you can work well with in the future.

Self-Restraint: As previously mentioned, Cow is not a class that gets a lot of finals. This means that if you see a single enemy running across the map at low health, you need to have the self-restraint to not go for him, but stick with your team and heal them as they target bigger threats. This is a very hard thing to master, even though it sounds easy.

Positioning: There are many formations that can be used in Mega Walls, and a good Cow needs to know where they should go in each one. There are four main places you could go in a group of over three players. First off, you could go at the front. Unless you are very confident and are outnumbering all other teams, I would not advise this. This is because although Cow is a tank, it isn't a tank like Golem is, who can charge into the thick of fighting and just survive. When you are at the front, it is easy to get swept away from your teammates by the flow of battle, where you cannot heal them and will likely die when your milk runs out. Secondly, you could go at the rear, which is very useful. It means that if the cow is hit, it will be knocked into its allies and can regen them before a battle. However, if you aren't good at running this mightn't be a good idea. Thirdly, you could go in the midst of them. This, in my opinion, is the best place for a Cow to be because it can heal all allies via AoE. It also protects the Cow from higher damage classes that could threaten it. Lastly, you could go on either side. This only works in specific formations and is not a widely practiced strategy, as it makes the sides of the group unbalanced. However, if you have two Cows, one at each side, you stand a higher chance of success unless you are a huge group.

Cow vs X
Cow vs Skeleton = Ranged classes can hit the cow from afar, so if the Skeleton has good aim and the Cow is not at full health, the Skeleton could probably get a narrow victory. If the Cow could get behind cover though, it would have a much greater chance.

Cow vs Zombie = Zombie has a lot more brute force than Cow and can take more hits as well. A Cow might be able to hold its own for a bit, unless the fight is in a hole, in which case the Cow has almost no chance of surviving.

Cow vs Creeper = This varies greatly. The Creeper can do so much damage, but the Cow can tank most of it. It would probably come down to teammates or who had upgraded their class more.

Cow vs Enderman = This is a very rare occurrence, but a Cow could at least make it out alive, and if the fight was in a hole or underground, the Enderman would be dead.

Cow vs Herobrine = Herobrines would normally destroy a Cow, so unless the Herobrine isn't wearing armour, is low, or isn't even half maxed, the Cow would likely lose.

Cow vs Spider = Cow would probably be able to absorb some of the dropshock damage, but the slowness would be hard to deal with. If the Cow was maxed then it would definitely have a chance of winning.

Cow vs Squid = Squid, in many regards, is a tank, but can also do many other things, meaning that Cow would likely be outclassed in this battle.

Cow vs Cow = This would be a stalemate in most cases, with neither player dying until teammates came along or the game ended.

Cow vs Shark = A rare occurrence, and it is really hard to say who would win. It would probably come down to the players, not the classes.

Cow vs Dreadlord = Dreadlord, like Herobrine, would use its strength against Cow and Cow would likely lose unless it had teammates to back it up or was good at escaping.

Cow vs Shaman = A Cow would actually stand a chance here. Shaman is a good all-rounder, but Cow is very specialised, so it would certainly be an intense fight.

Cow vs Arcanist = Even though Arcanist has a high damage output, Cow could easily tank the Arcane Beam, and, whats more, break an Arcanist's kill chain.

Cow vs Golem = Golem would destroy Cow. Golem is an absolute beast and is more tanky than Cow, even if it lacks the support aspect.

Cow vs Blaze = Blazes are certainly powerful, and it would be up to circumstance to decide the winner of this fight.

Cow vs Pigman = Pigman would win this - a bit like Golem, it is so strong that even a Cow couldn't really stand much of a chance against it.

Cow vs Pirate = Pirate is probably the class that would kill a Cow the quickest. Cow is a group fighter,whereas Pirate is suited for 1v1s, meaning that a duel between these two classes would not end well for the Cow.

Cow vs Hunter = Due to Hunter's lack of pots and the randomness of the class, Cow could easily defeat it IF it caught the Hunter at the right moment.

Cow vs Moleman = It would be likely a win for the Moleman, and the Cow would be caught if they ran away.

Cow vs Werewolf = Werewolf is an absolute brute, but if it didn't have a jump pot or its ability charged, then the Cow would be able to tank long enough to get in some decent hits.

Cow vs Phoenix = I have never seen this type of battle before, and honestly have no clue how it would pan out.

Cow vs Assassin = Everyone knows that Assassin has the worst armour value in the game and that Cow is one of the tanks. The thing that would make the difference would be if the Assassin had its ability. If it did, then it would win. If not, the Cow would be the victor.

Cow vs Renegade = I suspect that although Cow could win, the Renegade could easily get out of the way and bowspam the Cow if it felt threatened.

Cow vs Snowman = Unless the Cow was hit by one of the Snowman's slowness icicles, the Cow would be able to dispatch the Snowman.

Cow vs Automaton = This would likely be another stalemate. Although Automatons rarely die, they aren't good killers either.

Cow's Place in the Meta
Cow is not regarded as the best of classes - certainly not for 1v1s. However, it is on a par with Zombie when it comes to healing allies, so it has earned its place on the Mega Walls class list. It doesn't have any particular damage rating, isn't massively mobile, and is rarely seen sniping, and so some people assume that Cow is a weak "filler class", and isn't at all unique. This is wrong, because Cow is undoubtedly the best class in the game to heal others, even though it does not have the force that a Zombie has. Generally, the community think that Cow should be slightly buffed in terms of damage output and slightly nerfed in the defensive department. However, many also say that this would undermine Cow's purpose, and they do have a point. Cow, being a choice class for bhoppers, is certainly a controversial class and many disagree with its place on the starter class list.

Strategies
During a pregame as Cow it is a good idea to trade your milk buckets for a bit of iron from teammates - see tips and tricks. Cows aren't very good at building defences, and because you're a healer, you really don't need to gather many blocks. Rushing the diamonds can sometimes work, because the Cow, at max upgrade, gets a health pot that heals 10 hearts. This can be useful if you get hurt in the initial mid rush.

When pregame is over, you need to actually decide what do as a Cow. Every one of your options has something to do with healing people.

Healing Rushers: This is a very effective use of Cow. It can be used as support for a Dreadlord, Enderman, or a Spider to help take down some withers. Having a Cow do this is especially beneficial during the enrage period, because it can heal rushers from the wither's attacks. If the rusher themselves die in the wither room, the Cow might be close enough to get a few last hits before dying. However, it is still a bad idea to rush with Cow, because it will get flattened by the high damage defenders with regen to counter the Cow's.

Healing Groups at Mid: On some maps, healing the groups that go to mid to gain control is a really good way to be effective as a Cow. The less deaths, the less armour is wasted, the less armour wasted, the more protected your team is in DM. Be careful, though, and know when to run away from high damage enemies. You will definitely want at least two teammates - for two reasons. First, that extra healing you are carrying round in the form of your ability will be wasted on healing only you so that you survive to heal others in the future, and also, you will want some protection as a Cow because, despite its tankiness, there are classes that can absolutely obliterate Cow.

Healing Snipers: Unusually, this strategy only really applies to one map: Steppes. It can be used on others, but Steppes is absolutely perfect for this. One of the signature strategies on Steppes is having all Skeletons, Hunters, and some other ranged classes at the edge of the grassy cliff which stretches along your quadrants front line and fire shots at enemies who are rushing or who are employing the same tactic. The majority of these players are Hunters, who have no source of healing other than gapples that would be stupid to waste before DM. As a Cow, you can heal the Hunters and any other allies that are taking arrow damage. This can be a really good tactic that is becoming more recognised by the community.

After the midgame comes deathmatch. What should a Cow do then? Some of this has already been covered, but three main strategies are recognised by some as the meta for Cow in deatmatch.

Get in the Middle of a Fight: This is certainly the most common of the four strategies, and works very well no matter how much your Cow has been upgraded. The Cow can use its AoE healing powers to give attackers a short boost. This can really turn the tides of an outnumbered fight, and with more than one Cow it becomes nothing short of easy to wipe out enemy groups with even 4 or 5 more players than you. However, the Cows need to have a bit of gamesense. They need to recognise where the best position is for them (again, the positioning skills really come into play here). They also need to realise that if they die when the group is already engaged in battle, they will have effectively killed some teammates. Without them, an outnumbered team that was previously pressing advantage will be forced to retreat, normally losing up to 4 players in the process. They need to know how to escape sticky situations, but also need to know how to fight if the need arises. It is a very delicate balance which should not be overlooked.

Be a Decoy: This has already been mentioned, is a strategy that still works really well. A lone Cow, of course is no threat to other teams and is seen as a free final. A couple of enemies chase him down, but just as they catch him up, his teammates burst out from behind barricades and buildings. They slaughter the enemies in seconds. This is the power of a Cow decoy. Why use a Cow, and not any other class? Because if the Cow is caught before they can reach the ambush site, they can tank some blows and keep running. Though they are not a mobility class and never have been, they work so well and these decoys can take down groups of up to 3 people, maybe up to 4 on Aztec.

Make Use of the False Friend Tactic: This might get a lot of hate, but Cows, being tanks and able to sustain themselves for vast amounts of time, can be used to turn the tides of conflict in one of the best strategies for the class. The idea is that if you are vastly outnumbered by TWO teams in DM, the Cow should go straight to one of those teams, with an Arcanist or another chain killer just in case things get rough. However, they should not attack. Instead, they should hang around a bit until the group starts to chase them. They should run, as if scared, and go right for the other threatening group, causing their assailants to now have no choice but to fight the other big team. The Cow and its teammate should run back to their team and watch as the two larger groups batter each other and diminish each other's numbers.

Good Maps
1) Anchored - this map is a really good map for teams to traverse in DM, and has plenty of large spots for teams to regen with a Cow

2) Launchsite - This map has a large and flat mid, and it is easy to see enemies coming and heal your team as they strike.

3) Steppes - Read the "strategies > healing groups at mid" above.

Bad Maps
1) Imperial - This map is largely about height, so archers can pick at Cows before their teammates come in to attack.

2) Aztec - Bad for the same reason as Imperial. However, this map is very good for Cow decoys, so it is good as well.

Tips and Tricks
1) The milk buckets you have can be used as a bargaining tool in pregame, to get you some iron from teammates.

2) If you are separated from your team, you should /kill unless its DM.

3) Cow can be used as a powerful combo with a Spider to heal it while it rushes the wither.

4) If your team needs some finals, then a lone Cow can be used as a decoy to distract other teams with the prospect of a "free final", when in reality teammates are waiting in ambush nearby. Although Cow is really bad on Aztec, this gives it a good use on the map, where ambushes are easy and fun to create!

5) Cows should never defend the wither - the wither gives regen, making the Cow completely redundant. However, Cows are of great use elsewhere, notably mid.

6) Cows are the Mega Walls field medics - they are key components in any meta team, so don't let them do anything stupid!

7) Save your health pot - it heals a whopping ten hearts so only use it when you're very low.

Analysis
Cow is certainly a useful class. But there are still questions that need to be answered to determine how effective Cow is in the bigger picture of Mega Walls.

Is Cow Redundant?
Are there any classes that are better versions of Cow? The obvious answer would be yes - Zombie. Yet in reality they are very different - Zombie is good in holes, has a better damage output, and really lacks the support aspect of Cow. Cow requires a very different playstyle to Zombie. Arguably, Zombie is a harder class to play in terms of actual fighting, but much easier to play when it comes to making decisions. The Zombie has a very clear-cut aspect - Cow, on the other hand, requires time to make moves that will affect the outcome of a game positively.

Cow and the Hoppers
As mentioned, Cow is a favoured class among bhoppers. So, how do you take on a bhopping Cow as a Cow yourself. The answer is simple - go for them with your team. People who hack often have heads filled with sawdust, so use this to put them into bad game situations where they are outnumbered, in a corner, or in an otherwise precarious position. Also remember that even the bhopper's team may not want to help them because they are hacking, and therefore the hacker might not get a lot of backup.

Cow's Fatal Flaw
Cow has one major problem - its uncanny ability to lose almost every 1v1 it finds itself facing. As a Cow, it is vital that you never run after lone players across the map, even if they are at a couple of hearts. Cow is certainly a team class, and this means that if it is clutching and outumbered it will likely die very quickly. Even though Cow can stay alive for a very long time, it isn't a class to get 18/18 kills and/or assists on.

Cow's Place as a Starter Class
Alongside Hunter and Shark, Cow was initially well received as a starter class. However, when people began to bhop with it, the mood grew sour and many people wanted Cow to be removed altogether. The current general consensus is that although it is used for bhopping, it is a good class for learning the basic principles of the game. Some say that it is basically a free version of Automaton, because of its inability to die and its inability to get kills. Some say this makes it boring and a bit too easy. It is true that once you know the basic rules of Cow, you don't need to think too much about what to do. It is a fairly simple class at one level, yet is also an interesting class to get to grips with.

Summary and Conclusion
Cow is a class which is hard to kill, but doesn't get many kills itself. It is a class focused on teamwork and can heal allies very effectively. Although used often by bhoppers, Cow still is a viable option for new players and there are many good strategies that can be used with this class.