http://www.illwinter.com/gods/Pangaea.html
Special Strategy
Pangaea has multiple stealth leaders that can take 50 troops right off the bat! They have multiple sneaking units, including a longbow archer and flyer (scout) support. You could make good use of Pangaeans as CIA operatives. Instead of spreading them equally like butter across the map, send out large sneaking armies that erupt in spots all over. Use some scouts to locate other players first and new targets. Sneak through the big independents and leave them as barriers. Appear and Disappear. Work out from all the little provinces you get a hold of and leave your enemies befuddled as to where your home castle is. They are a counter to anyone who uses the strategy of spreading in a circle and defending borders only.
To makes things more difficult behind enemy lines however, routed sneaking armies will die if they can¿t retreat to a friendly province. Sneaking attackers have to be very expendable or very much assured of winning, as a single death can cause the entire force to route and die.
Stealthy preaching is nice, too. And potentially you can force an opponent to spend a lot of time and units chasing you around or retaking provinces you just snuck up on. And don't forget that taking an opponent's province - even if he takes it right back - destroys his temple if he has one, in addition to denying him the tax revenues. Just keep moving to avoid patrols. Or even try to improve local unrest...
Another point is that stealthy troops don't even show up in military intelligence reports if they're actually sneaking in home territory. If they just "move" however, an enemy can automatically get a fair estimate of the stealthy troops in a border province. Remember that you can store some units in neighboring independents so you don¿t have to feed them.
Don't sneak with a large force (size does affect the chance of being discovered). Sneak with a force that's just large enough to overcome the local militia - all you really need to do (or can hope to do) is hit and run. By picking the weak provinces scattered all over the map they do fine. Quantity over quality.
If several sneak commanders get caught in the same province, they attack separately! So don't take it lightly.
Units:
One of the greatest strengths of Pangean armies is their various units compliment each other well and can achieve a level of synergy many other nations would die for. While you're still learning try using each troop type in your armies and experiment with different battle plans or army compositions. Soon you'll find that Minotaurs are awesome versus ordinary infantry but vulnerable to cavalry - so try to counter these with your own cataphracts. Then you'll find Centaurs archers are good troops but at a disadvantage in long range shooting duels, as the enemy own bowmen usually cost 3 times less are therefore are 3 times more numerous. So avoid exchanging fire with your Centaurs, use them in small groups to dispatch the enemy leaders and use the speed of your hoplites (or minotaurs or cataphracts, although these usually can find better targets) to get rid of the enemy shooters ASAP.
The Minotaurs are nice, but their low skill and size 3 causes them to get destroyed by mounted forces (both immune to the trample attack and hard to hit) or by size 3 and above units (human foot soldiers have size 2) due to their low attack rating, and for 50 gold a pop they're not all that impressive. But they are good and berserking can make up for low attack ratings (they don¿t route). It's only the resource cost that differs between armored and unarmored minotaurs, so unless you're in a hurry, there's no reason to use the unarmored ones. War minotaurs are great for storming castles : a couple of those guys forcing their way through the breach allowing more and more to trample their way in. Remember that a trample attack is armor-piercing (divides armor by 2).
The Centaurs are great longbowmen, but they cost 30. The Cataphract is a good heavy cavalry but the high encumbrance leaves them with little staying power. They are comparable to knights however.
The Harpies are actually one of the better Pangaea units, as they make great patrollers (every flying patroller counts as 2 ordinary units), and they are good scouts. If you find a province with weak militia, call some wolves in (Call of Nature spell) or send some sneakers to take it. They also destroy mages with terrible speed.
Harpies can have many uses besides scouting. Eg, emergency deliveries of gems or miscellaneous items to campaigning armies. They can also escort these armies and feed them with supply items (Enormous Cauldrons of Broth or Endless Bags of Wine), and jump to another army 3 provinces away when their supplies aren't needed any longer.
Also, both the harpies and the stealthy troops can be used to cut the retreat of an invading army by surprise, provided your opponent has neglected to invest in province defense.
Want to get rid of an annoying pretender that keeps blasting your troops from afar with powerful magic? If you noticed the said pretender has an empty misc slot, maybe forging an amulet of Lycanthropy, giving it to a Harpy and having her charge the bugger head on will solve the problem - these cursed items are often picked up, and this one will prevent its bearer to use any battle magic any longer.
Or if you get a fire mage, just equip Harpies with exploding amulets of vengeance, set them to "attack commanders" or mages and try a Kamikaze attack (that doesn't seem to work too well vs fire-immune commanders, like Abysia's demonbreds - they seem to be immune to the exploding damage).
The Satyr Hoplites are quite good too. 14 prot only, but the ability to heal to make up for that. And they're fast - even the hoplites have 12 AP - so when they do run, most of them live to fight another day. Plus they can often run down enemy routed troops.
But their 10 morale means they have a very good chance of routing during any significant battle. You should be using priests to bolster it anyway (Sermon of Courage or Fanaticism).
Pans bring a lot of free Maenads : (each and every Pan summons between 1 to 16 Maenads/turn with turmoil scale of +3) they're useful as arrow fodder and harassing troops.
They can do significant damage when they frenzy, and their high morale isn't to be underestimated. But satyr hoplites are better for the frontline : maenads die too quickly from arrows, so try 5-10 satyr hoplites or armored centaurs in the front with hold and attack orders, armored minotaurs up top with attack commanders, and hordes of maenads on the bottom with attack closest. The hoplites and centaurs will draw the arrow fire, and since they are on hold and attack, the maenads will probably not get too much fired their way.
Magic:
Pangaea takes a long time to come on line. Especially the killer spells you actually need to be worried about. But she has interesting summon spells -- think of the Awaken Vine Ogre, esp. with an Ivy Crown, then you can summon two 43 hp Ogres every turn for 1 gem, or Summon Kithaironic Lion / Horned Serpents (more expensive).
And there's always the harpies to fall back on. They are a good counter-magic, remember !
All of Pangea¿s mages have Nature, which is handy for helping with supply problems (they can feed 5 extra troops per level of Nature Magic). And they're tough - a Pan can shrug off damage that would kill most mages. They can even fight, with some decent items (armor helps a lot, since they have low prot, but they start with good hp and strength). Plus they have really high leadership for mages, and the free maenads...
But Pangaea does not get any random magic on its mages (the only other nation like this is Ulm), so if you want any access to other paths you want it on your pretender! Astral is nice, since you can find a couple of astral sites that will give you mages with random magics.
One of Pangaea's main weaknesses is the limited choice of ritual or battle spells. There are really only 2 schools available: nature and blood. Nature offers useful spells mainly in the Conjuration and Enchantment spell lists. The Blood path is trickier to use and require you to harvest blood slaves - but even if you don't want to practice blood rituals, you may want to hunt for slaves, as there are a few interesting items available to you that require some.
On the religious field, you don't get any level 4 preachers, which is very useful (Fanaticism is a level 4 spell). So make sure to use a level 3 preacher as your prophet (he'll get a +1 level bonus).
National Heroes:
(There may be more powerful heroes available to other nations, but no other nation that needs its heroes more then Pangea!)
* Arcopythera (the Harpy Queen): gives your 2 levels of air magic and free Harpies. Keep her safe, as she might be the only air mage you'll find in a game! If you're lucky enough for her to join, try trading for a Bag of Elemental Summoning or Winged Helmet with another player to boost her skill.
"This ancient harpy has grown older and wiser than all other harpies. Reputed to be the oldest living being in all of Pangaea, she is the queen of all harpies, who serve her every whim. Arcopythera is skilled in magic and is a competent leader".
* Menopathos (the White Minotaur): not absolutely needed, but if you get early enough to make him your prophet, the stats boost he'll get will make him more survivable than a Dryad - and he can defend himself if you equip him decently. Slight drawback: he may go berserk when hurt and forget to fanaticize your troops like he's supposed to - but then again a Dryad would probably be dead in the same situation.
"Minotaur calves born with white hide are remarkably rare, making such births occasions of great celebration in Pangaea. These calves are given special care and are trained with the White Centaurs. The birth of Menopathos was seen as an omen of great importance. Since his birth Pangaea has begun the reconquest of the civilized world".
* Taurotyrannnos (the Black Bull): not absolutely needed, unless you want to commit yourself to real Blood Magic. Taurotyrannos has the required skill to forge the items that will improve your summoning abilities, and other things as well. Eg, your Panii have only 1 level of earth magic and that might not be enough to get a reliable earth gem income. OTOH blood slaves can be harvested in numbers, and using 50 to empower a Pan isn't that big an expense. Now have TT forge a Brazen Vessel and a Blood Thorn, and give them to this Pan. Have this Pan forge a Blood Stone, equip it, then forge a pair of Earth Boots - your Pan now has 3 levels in earth magic, and with the earth gems you get from sites and the Blood Stone(s) you should be able to empower him soon to earth 4 (costs 30 gems). And now, summon a Father Illearth and see what you can do with him. TT himself can use the Brazen Vessel and Blood Thorn to summon Heliophagii, who themselves can summon Fiends of Darkness for free, or more Heliophagii - both are stealthy and more deadly than your lowly Satyrs.
"Taurotyrannos the Black Bull is the offspring of a female Pandemoniac and a Minotaur bull. The rare hybrids who survive such a crossbreeding are seldom welcome and this was true in the case for Taurotyrannos as well. During his early years he was trained by his mother in hidden groves of Pangaea as a Pandemoniac. When he came of age he sacrificed his father and placed his skull upon his staff. Now Taurotyrannos has become a most powerful blood mage. His father's legacy makes him lapse into fits of berserker rage should he be angered".
6.5.1 Pangaea - the complete guide
by Mikko Heikkilä.
The Pangaea Strategy Guide (v1.2) by Mikko Heikkilä
(Any comments and suggestions: mikko.heikkila@avainteema.inet.fi)
Disclaimer
This guide is written for the game "Dominions: Priests, Prophets & Pretenders" by
Illwinter and is by no means an official strategy guide. All the information listed here was
checked by the author but is not necessarily correct. The strategies presented here are
based on the author's own experiences and opinions and should thus be taken with a grain of
salt. I apologize for my bad spelling in advance. All the trademarks presented in this
document belong to their respective owners. All the stuff written by me is (c) me
(Mikko Heikkilä). This document may be copied and printed for personal use and published
freely as long as the content stays unchanged and I'm credited for the work (I've got an
ego, too).
6.5.1.1: Overview & Version History
The land of Pangaea is a wild place populated by all kinds of forest creatures ranging
from the humble Satyr to the massive Minotaur. This gives the armies of Pangaea lots of
different troop types to choose from making their armies very versatile. The Panii are
decent nature mages and have some skill in earth magic. Some Pangaean troops and commanders
are stealthy. In addition, all Pangaean basic troops and commanders can heal battle
afflictions.
v1.2: Pretty much everything was rewritten again. It should be simplier now.
v1.1: ...and it wasn't quite complete. Pretty much everything is updated.
v1.0: Well, the whole guide was written in one sweep...
6.5.1.2: Pretenders
The choice of pretender is very dependent on the type of game you play, but here are some
good alternatives. The choice of pretender should complement your style of play. The
alternatives presented here are designed to complement specific styles of play. You're not
required to use pretenders anywhere near these to succeed with Pangaea. Dominion scales are
about as much up to you as the pretenders itself but here are some guidelines. You don't
really need order higher than +0 as you got decent patrolling troops. Even full Turmoil is
quite feasible. Maximum Productivity is advised as War Minotaurs cost quite a bunch of gold
and resources. Full growth is also nice for the tax benefits. It also covers the pop loss
from patrolling and bloodhunting. Fortune scales are useful, but 1 or 2 clicks will do if
you're short on points. One scale of magic is also useful to boost your research since none
of your mages are especially good at it.
Legend:
[melee weapon name] (damage, attack modifier, defence modifier, length, specials)
[missile weapon name] (damage, precision, range, ammunition, specials)
[armor name] (protection value, defence modifier, encumbrance, specials)
6.5.1.2.1: The Blood Fountain
Cost: 50 Weapons:
Hp: 10 Ap: 2 -
Prot: 22 Enc: 0
Str: 12 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 5 Prec: 11 -
Def: 0 Mrl: 30
Mr: 18 Ldr: 50
Special: Causes Fear (+15), Inanimate, Need Not Eat
Magic: 3 Blood
Dominion: 4 candles
The Blood Fountain is an excellent pretender if you intend to use blood magic. It is cheap,
has high dominion and gets a bonus when collecting blood slaves. 3 or 4 levels of blood will
be sufficient in most cases. It would also be a good idea to select some supporting magic. I'd
advice against picking more than one or two paths. I've had good experience with air recently
(as air mages are generally hard to find as Pangaea). Fire is also a decent choice. This setup
leaves you with enough points to pick some nice dominion effects as well Dominion of ~5 is
recommended. Higher dominion doesn't hurt, but isn't necessary.
My Blood Fountain:
Magic: 4 Blood, 2 Fire, 2 Air
Order/Turmoil: +0
Productivity/Sloth: +3
Heat/Cold: +0
Growth/Death: +3
Fortune/Ill Fortune: +1
Magic/Drain: +1
Dominion: 5 candles.
50pt castle.
6.5.1.2.2: The Great Mother
Cost: 75 Weapons:
Hp: 135 Ap: 12 Fist (-2,0,0,0)
Prot: 5 Enc: 4
Str: 20 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 8 Prec:10 -
Def: 8 Mrl: 30
Mr: 18 Ldr: 50
Special: Regenerates, Trample
Magic: 1 Earth, 1 Nature
Dominion: 3 candles
The Great Mother has got lots of hp and good str, but is lacking in the prot
department to be effective right from the start. Size 6, trample and regeneration allow her
to wreak some havoc as soon as you equip her with some armor or research a decent protection
spell (Iron Skin or Invulnerability). Combat pretenders are always a big gamble, though. I'd
thus advice against going for one (even though I often do due to the fact that they're cool).
My Great Mother:
Magic: 3 Earth, 1 Nature
Order/Turmoil: +0
Productivity/Sloth: +3
Heat/Cold: +0
Growth/Death: +3
Fortune/Ill Fortune: +1
Magic/Drain: +0
Dominion: 7 candles.
50pt castle.
6.5.1.2.3: The Prince of Death:
Prince of Death is one of the nicer pretenders for Pangaea. He makes for a fantastic
combatant as his fear aura can rout armies easily. He's physically quite strong but not
invincible by any trade and lacks in strength compared to other supercombatants. 3 levels
of earth is a good investment even though he can get 25+ prot with just some armor. He
can provide you with early access to Death gems and also helps with your otherwise meager
earth gem income. Empower him in blood and he can summon Father Illearth and Vampire lords
for you.
Cost: 50 Weapons:
Hp: 45 Ap: 14 Rod of Death (10an,2,0,1,str not added)
Prot: 12 Enc: 1
Str: 16 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 15 Prec: 12 -
Def: 15 Mrl: 30
Mr: 18 Ldr: 50
Special: Causes Fear (+10), Undead, Need Not Eat, Flying
Magic: 3 Death
Dominion: 3 candles
My Prince of Death:
Magic: Death 4, Earth 3
Order/Turmoil: +0
Productivity/Sloth: +3
Heat/Cold: +0
Growth/Death: +3
Fortune/Ill Fortune: +1
Magic/Drain: +0
Dominion: 5 candles.
50pt castle.
6.5.1.2.4: The Moloch:
Cost: 50 Weapons:
Hp: 55 Ap: 14 Claws (0,0,0,0,2 attacks)
Prot: 15 Enc: 1
Str: 18 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 20 Prec: 12 -
Def: 15 Mrl: 30
Mr: 18 Ldr: 190
Special: Causes Fear (+0), Fire Resistant, Need Not Eat, Heat, Flying
Magic: 2 Fire
Dominion: 3 candles
The Moloch is in many ways similar to Prince of Death. He is physically superior to him
in every respect but lacks his fear aura. He makes up for it with his fire resistance. He
also radiates heat which is a boon most of the time. He can also summon devils and provides
Pangaea with fire magic which is hard to get otherwise. Empower him in blood for Arch Devils
and Father Illearths. I'd say he is _the_ pretender for Pangaea at the moment as he can act
as a supercombatant and a support mage at the same time at bearable cost.
My Moloch:
Magic: 3 Fire, 3 Earth
Order/Turmoil: +0
Productivity/Sloth: +3
Heat/Cold: +0
Growth/Death: +3
Fortune/Ill Fortune: +1
Magic/Drain: +0
Dominion: 5 candles.
50pt castle.
6.5.1.2.5: Other Pretenders
The ones mentioned above are just examples what you could take. It might be a good idea to get
a cheap Wyrm if you intend to get into water early. A sitesearcher might come in handy if you
intend to rely heavily on magic. Manticore and Oracle are cheap but can still do you plenty of
things. A Phoenix might also be used to get the wards early, but I find them overall weak,
immortal or not. Medusa might also be a good choice, but she's pretty weak after all.
But generally, don't take my advice for pretenders, make your own as they probably suit your
style of play better.
6.5.1.3: Basic Troops and Commanders
Pangaea has a wide variety of troops to choose from. Most of the stuff is very specialized,
though. You thus need to choose the right troop type for the right job. For example when
dealing with the legions of Ermor it is not wise to use War Minotaurs. Sure they will
trample many enemy troops but as they don't break they'll get surrounded and die. Satyr
Hoplites and Centaur Cataphracts would be better suited for this job with their high
defence skill and good protection value. Their morale isn't the best but then again you
got plenty of priests to boost it. I've listed each troop type and commander with full
statline and a brief commentary.
Legend:
[melee weapon name] (damage, attack modifier, defence modifier, length, specials)
[missile weapon name] (damage, precision, range, ammunition, specials)
[armor name] (protection value, defence modifier, encumbrance, specials)
6.5.1.3.1: Troops
6.5.1.3.1.1: Satyr
Cost: 10 Res: 2(3) Weapons:
Hp: 12 Ap: 14 Spear (3,0,0,3)
Prot: 0(2) Enc: 3 (Javelin) (3,-2,str/2,3)
Str: 11 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 10 Prec: 10 (Buckler) (2,1,0)
Def: 12(13) Mrl: 8
Mr: 13
Special: Stealthy
Satyrs are the troops you always start with. You'll soon learn to hate Illwinter games
development for this decision, though. Light Satyrs are probably the weakest troops in
the whole game (after Militia and Slingers) due to their low protection and morale.
Missile fire will rape them and they don't do all that good against the enemy, either.
Sure they're stealthy but their low morale is even worse in enemy dominion. I never
build these as there are millions of better ways to spend your gold. Just leave them home,
trust me.
6.5.1.3.1.2: Satyr Hoplite
Cost: 13 Res: 19 Weapons:
Hp: 14 Ap: 14(12) Spear (3,0,0,3)
Prot: 0(14) Enc: 3(5)
Str: 11 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 11 Prec: 10 Plate Cuirass (11,-1,2)
Def: 13 Mrl: 10 Helmet (1,0,0)
Mr: 13 Buckler (2,1,0)
Special: -
Satyr Hoplites are your basic heavy infantry. They're superior to the light satyrs in
every single respect. They actually got decent morale and protection and the other stats
are above average. Their morale is still quite low, though. I'd use them mainly for
bodyguard duties for which they are actually quite good due to their small size and
overall good combat performance. I still wouldn't use them as line infantry. You should
have enough morale 14+ light infantry to handle the job.
6.5.1.3.1.3: Centaur
Cost: 30 Res: 2 Weapons:
Hp: 20 Ap: 30 Longbow (13,1,30,12)
Prot: 3 Enc: 3 Hoof (0,0,0,0)
Str: 13 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 10 Prec: 12 -
Def: 14 Mrl: 11
Mr: 13
Special: Stealthy
Centaurs are great troops, but like Satyr Hoplites, not meant as line units. They are
great archers individually with their high strength, precision and mobility. They're even
armed with a Longbow on top of that. They're also physically powerful which allows them
to survive some combat with light enemy troops (their high defence skill allows them to
whack troops like Jotun Militia quite convincingly). They cost quite a bunch of money,
though. 30 gold is pretty steep for a single archer. This means that they're better used
in groups of ten to snipe at enemy commanders/magic users. They also have an important role
as stealth troops. A squad of 10 with a Dryad is capable of beating normal province defence.
6.5.1.3.1.4: Centaur Cataphract
Cost: 40 Res: 36 W eapons:
Hp: 20 Ap: 24(19) Spear (3,0,0,3)
Prot: 0(18) Enc: 3(8) Hoof (0,0,0,0)
Str: 13 Fat: 0 Armor:
Att: 11 Prec: 12 Plate Hauberk (14,-2,4)
Def: 14 Mrl: 11 Helmet (1,0,0)
Mr: 13 Round Shield (3,2,1)
Special: -
Centaur Cataphracts are your standard heavy cavalry. They got superior Hp and strength
Share with your friends: |