Eventually, every one of us that fights will run into the situation where we are outnumbered. Often near the end of a fight, after both sides have been whittled down, you may find yourself taking on 3 or 4 opponents by yourself. What do you do? Is there anything you can do to even up the odds? Yes there is and it is called “Dot the i”.
The basic concept is to minimize the number of opponents that can reach you.
In most line battles you will start facing each other. There will be a number of opponents directly in front of you, usually 3 to 5 within striking range. At the beginning of the fight that is ok since you will have teammates on your sides so you never have to worry about more than those 3 to 5 and your teammates will be keeping them busy for you (and you likewise for them). You will also have people behind you to repair the damage you are taking, so the occasional hit taken is ok.
However, once those people at your side, and those providing support behind you, are dead, you are now facing the remaining numbers by yourself.
All too often the lone fighter will stay put and try to fight it out, but really 4 on 1 will kill anyone. If we see the four red dots as the letter ' I ' and the black spot as the dot of the letter ' i ' we can now "dot the i". What this means in simply language is, move the black dot (yourself) to the right or left of the line. In effect, it is like placing the dot above the line in the letter " i ".
You now have a 1 on 1. Now you may say that the other team (the red dots) will just swing around as well and you will no longer have a 1 on 1. And you would be right. However, not everyone moves at the same speed. It is very likely you will be able to hit the single nearby opponent before the rest of your opponents catch up, or at the every least you will now only be facing two opponents. From there continue this type of movement, always trying to minimize the number of opponents that can reach you with a weapon.
Note that the "dot the i" maneuver is not simply running around in a circle. It is not running around hoping only a couple of opponents can keep up. You are actually maneuvering into an attack position. Simply running around avoiding combat will not win you the fight. You are attempting to reengage the enemy but with the numbers more favorable for yourself.
In addition, this strategy will also work if you are lucky enough to not be the lone person on your team. Simply have your partner move to the opposite side and do the same thing.
For the record, this strategy will work against almost any number. Obviously the more fighting skill you bring to the table the better you will do, but the strategy will work for anyone. And it is effective. I have seen people win 10 on 1 fights this way.