0. 2 Description 3 Credits
Download 5.74 Mb.
|
| #1 The trident is a length 4 weapon, which will provide extra defense in the form of repels much more often than the length 2 falchion.
#2 They have a 12 morale as opposed to the flachioneers 10. That's a huge difference, particularly for C'tis, who has no other troops with good morale. #3 The higher attack skill is absolutely critical. In practice I find that the Elite Warriors simply deal damage on a much more consistent basis. #4 The lower resource cost means that I can generate more troops. When playing C'tis I often find that numbers are the key to victory, and the production limitations are often a tighter constraint than the gold costs. #5 I have tried games using both troops, and while this is certainly nothing more than anecdotal evidence, I have found that the Elite Warriors appear to out perform the Falchioneers in practice. ] [Comment: I added Ctis's normal units and ran a little test. This is what I got: Deathmatch Power Ratings for 10000 rounds: CT Militia ------------------ Wins: 7.1% Power: 109 Overall: 223 CT Light Inf ---------------- Wins: 35.7% Power: 636 Overall: 692 CT City Guard --------------- Wins: 59.8% Power: 1341 Overall: 1243 CT Heavy Inf ---------------- Wins: 67.3% Power: 1703 Overall: 1577 CT Falchioneer -------------- Wins: 47.8% Power: 936 Overall: 913 CT Slave Warrior ------------ Wins: 38.9% Power: 708 Overall: 732 CT Elite Warrior ------------ Wins: 57.3% Power: 1243 Overall: 1116 CT Runner ------------------- Wins: 27.8% Power: 471 Overall: 541 CT Swamp Guard -------------- Wins: 81.5% Power: 3011 Overall: 2275 CT Serpent Dancer ----------- Wins: 76.2% Power: 2359 Overall: 1657 CT Sacred Serpent ----------- Wins: 50.6% Power: 1019 Overall: 1000
Median ---------------------- Wins: 50.6% Power: 1019 Overall: 1000 ...........
CT Light Inf ---------------- Wins: 44.2% Power: 837 Overall: 913 CT City Guard --------------- Wins: 56.2% Power: 1203 Overall: 1134 CT Heavy Inf ---------------- Wins: 59.4% Power: 1326 Overall: 1201 CT Falchioneer -------------- Wins: 49.2% Power: 977 Overall: 1000 CT Slave Warrior ------------ Wins: 45.4% Power: 870 Overall: 933 CT Elite Warrior ------------ Wins: 55.9% Power: 1193 Overall: 1133 CT Runner ------------------- Wins: 38.0% Power: 687 Overall: 809 CT Swamp Guard -------------- Wins: 66.0% Power: 1629 Overall: 1354 CT Serpent Dancer ----------- Wins: 66.4% Power: 1653 Overall: 1378 CT Sacred Serpent ----------- Wins: 47.4% Power: 925 Overall: 972
Median ---------------------- Wins: 49.2% Power: 977 Overall: 1000 As far as I can tell, Falchioneers are simply no darn good because their ambidextrity was set too low - I'd give them 3, minimum. They don't hit enough.
'CT Elite Warrior' versus 'CT Falchioneer' in 40000 bouts. ~ Attacker's Deathmatch Statistics ~ Score: ---------------------- 576 Wins: ----------------------- 57.68% Losses: --------------------- 42.33% Kills per battle: ----------- .58 Kills per round: ------------ .32 Deaths per battle: ---------- .43 Life expectancy (rounds): --- 3.80 Life expectancy (battles): -- 2.09 Avg. Rounds Elapsed: -------- 1.82 Avg. Rounds to Win: --------- 1.86 Avg. Rounds to Lose: -------- 1.77 Hit Rate: ------------------- 66.97% Evade Rate: ----------------- 41.75% Repel Rate: ----------------- 41.19% Damage done per swing: ------ 3.81 Damage done per hit: -------- 5.69 Damage taken per hit: ------- 8.26 Hit damage taken per life: -- 22.38 Total damage taken per life: 22.91
>But still, City Guard beats Elite Warriors and Falchioneers, plus is more durable (prot=14) and arrow-resistant (shield). And cheaper in gold then either of them (midway in resources). This is why you must be careful with the combat program. The City Guard really isn't a very good unit in practice.
]
Like C'tis? So do I.
Yes that's mucho magic, but it really sets you up nice. Make 8+ Shaman (cheap, and make good researchers in a magic dominion). Upon starting a battle; Have 4 Shaman cast Communion Slave. Have 4+ Shaman cast Communion Master. Now the masters have Nature-3 and Astral-3 (not bad for cheapie lizards!). Have the masters cast Growing Fury (Lizards Go Wild!) and Mass Protection (Wild Lizards need extra protection). Have one master cast Relief x5. Any extra masters can cast Paralyze or Soul Slay.
Most people seem to become blinded by the idea of fielding enormous armies. Rows upon rows of warriors in shining armour. Their swords held high in honor of their lord, gleaming in the sun like a bountiful harvest of steel. The strength of an empire made physical form. Impressive yes? It would be well worth keeping that nice sight intact would it not? Mountains of gold spent. Years of preparation. So why risk it when you do not have to? Cut of the head and the body dies, as the saying goes. Ten assassins can do more harm than army one thousand strong. Fifty assassins can change the course of the war entirely. One hundred assassins and your enemies will throw themselves at your feet, begging for mercy from your unseen might. Creating an assassin "guild" in a province that is out of the way and mostly worthless is always a good investment. Add a mage with no other buisness then the steady construction of cheap but dangerous tools like Dragon Helms, Skull Talismans or Snake Rings. Assassins are cheap when compared to most commanders and expendable. It's a lot of micromanagement at times but five Groups of ten assassins can create an endless migraine for your opponent and tie up a lot of resources that would otherwise be used against you. Don't like C'tis? You can do the same stunt with the Seithkona of Jotunhiem (Giants Gone wild! Goblins Gone Wild!). [Smile] 8.6.1.2.11 SUMMONED UNITS DON'T HAVE UNIONS What's better than a loyal soldier ready to give up his life for your empire? One that doesn't ask for a salary. Summoned units, save Trolls who are all members the Bridge Squatters Union, don't have a gold upkeep. The Monthly Ritual command is not to be ignored. Having a mobile provincial defence is quite worth it's cost in gems. And some summons even summon their own units! Remember that the next time you think about purchasing that new regiment of shiny knights. 8.6.1.2.12 THIEVES? Blood magic 2 allows for Hellbind Heart. Other spells along the same line are possible. Spells which summon commanders to you exist such as Wind Ride. Or giving the Black Heart to sneaky mages so they can become assassins. You steal an enemy commander, get commanders you wouldnt normally have access to, get equip that the other guy spent gems on, and you leave large chunks of his army leaderless. Leaderless armys will rout from things like Call of the Wild or Call of the Winds, or even just a lone scout (a really funny sight) If an assassin uses such a spell the newly converted commander will then attack his own troops in a fresh battle following the successful "assassination". Rinse-and-repeat until you snag the Last commander in a province and you will own that province no matter how large an army was there when the assassin walked in. Pick up some new blood slaves and sneak away to the next target. 8.6.1.2.13 EVERYONE LOVES DRAGONS In Dom1 Dragon pretenders were mediocre at best. It came a great (and welcome) surprise that they are dramatically better in Dom2. Part of this is becuase they now keep all but 2 levels of magic skill while in dragon form, and part is due to the new bless effects. Even without improvement the dragons are "Thugs". They can be sent into many independent provinces alone and can beat down the locals. This does risk afflictions, but it's great for getting a fast start on the game. As for my thoughts on the specific dragons; 8.6.1.2.13.1 RED DRAGON Adding fire skill adds attack strength to it's melee ability, making this dragin even more thuggy than the others.
8.6.1.2.13.2 BLUE DRAGON Early research provides Quickness and Breath of Winter, which make the dragon much more formidable.
Water-9 caster also has a very nice spell that can deal massive damage versus both normal armies and big creatures and cannot be resisted. What is it? Falling Frost! It has area = 5+ AND damage 18+. When cast by a water-9 mage, it deals damage to an area of 11 and does enough damage to kill all normal troops and severely wound all better ones. And unlike most water/fire spells, it just cannot be resisted with anything but high protection. I mainly use it with the Jotunheim Son of Niefel, who can easily power himself up a level or two with robe of the sea and sea king's goblet. W-11 falling frost tested against heavies of ulm, nothing survived the first bLast and it has the area of 13. ]
Reasonable research provides Personal Regeneration and Elemental Fortitude. Not bad, but not as thuggy as the other dragons.
Vanjarls have godly defence and a builtin Mirror Image, and thus are rarely hit. You can use that feature to your advantage to use an effect similar to Wrathful Skies, except this one kills things much faster if you have half a dozen Vanjarls in the battle. And you only need to research Evocation 2 to use it - for Shock Wave, a close-range (therefore high precision) AoE armor-negating spell that can kill a fair number of troops each round. Script your Vanjarls like this: (Resist Lightning)(attack one turn)(Shock Wave)x3(cast spells) If you have researched Alteration 3 you can insert (Mistform) at the beginning of the list, and don't forget (Air Shield) if you see missilemen. If you have researched Construction 4, you can forge a Staff of Storms and use the cheaper Vanherses instead, just remember to start with (Summon Storm Power). Or you can have a Vanjarl to cast the Storm spell. Also, remember both Vanjarls and Vanherses are sacred, so always have one bless the others, it will at least boost their morale. If your god provides bless effects, then all the better - although nature blessing doesn't really fit in that strategy. A pack on Vanjarls/herses sneaking near your border can setup deadly ambushes for approaching enemy armies. All Vans have a strategic move of 3 and thus can react to unexpected threats in very short time. Even Vanjarls aren't invulnerable, so a pack of Vanjarls/herses operating deep in enemy territory may be lost if any of them is slain. So it's always a good idea to have an extra Vanjarl or 2 sneaking nearby to claim lightly defended provinces at the same moment your main group attacks, so if things go bad your Vanjarls/herses have a place to retreat to. Or use Cloud Trapeze once you learned it. Giving Main gauches to your Vanjarls/herses will improve their defense to stratospheric levels, and high defense is a key component for this strat to work. Vanjarls are expensive, and Main gauches are cheap, so build some. Once you learn Orb Lightning, you can have Vanjarls with MGoPs use the Shock Wave routine, while unequipped Vanherses fire Orb Lighnings from behind. Once you learn Wrathful Skies, use it for even more damage. A few Vanjarls/herses can wreak a lot of havoc with the low-level Shock Wave, so don't be afraid to hunt down big armies and don't lose time with the small fry. 8.6.1.2.15 TOO MUCH MAGIC DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF NO RETURN This is really an endgame trick as it relies on a high-level spell, and is best used if you have access to many other high-level spells. It is also extremely expensive to setup (both in gems and items, which also cost gems) but when you can make it work it can lead to really hilarious results. Plus it rarely works twice, so it's not very useful as a workable strategy - but as I said, it's lots of fun and you should try it at least once. The key spell is Vortex of Returning, you get it at Thaumaturgy 7. There are many ways to use VoR but I'll concentrate on (what I think is) the most deadly one. The second key spell is - actually there are 3 of them: Summon Lammashas, Call Lesser Horror, and Call Horror. Note this trick relies a lot on the fact that most of the mages accompanying enemy armies will spend their first round "powering up" with spells that don't directly threaten you - eg, Quickness, Communion Master/Slave, Power of the Spheres, Summon XXX Power, etc... But when you've used the trick once on them, they'll try to adapt to cope with the threat - so try to hit hard on the first attempt! What you need: - a fair number of teleporting/trapezing mages who can summon those "unfriendly" allies: Lammashtas and/or Horrors. Abysian Warlocks, Grand Thaumaturgs, Harab Elders, Hangadrotts, Moon Mages or Galdermen with a random in death and Skull Staves, are examples of this. - a few teleporting/trapezing mages who can cast damaging enchantments that cover the whole battlefield. Eg, powerful astral mages can cast Astral Tempest, or if you lack astral power you can have some of your mages cast Communion Slave and follow with Astral Tempest, but you'll have to give a Crystal Matrix to your mage. Trapezing mages can of course cast Wrathful Skies. If you find an Jade Amazon sorceress with a pick in astral or air, you can give her the stuff she needs to teleport or trapeze in and cast Foul Vapors. The possibilities are virtually endless. - finally, at the bottom of the mage list, there's your VoR caster. Make sure he casts Last, and give him every piece of equipment he needs to survive. If he dies, your other mages might be in serious trouble. You can script an extra mage with VoR to minimize the risks. The only real threat your mages will face is missile fire and fliers. But you can counter that with air shielding gear, a Staff of Storms, and a few Wraith Crowns (for the undead meatshields). The Wraith Crowns are expensive but are only needed if you notice fliers in your target - beware of spells like Howl, though. Still, this trick is best used if you add a Master Enslaver in your hunting pack. Imagine this scenario: 0 - you teleport your mage pack on top of the main enemy army. round 1, enemy phase - the enemy mages power-up or cast battle enchantments that will take effect only 1 round later, the enemy infantry and cavalry charges, the enemy archers fire but fail to hit your air-shielded/lucky mages, the enemy fliers are engaging your undead bodyguards. round 1, your phase - most of your own mages summon Lammashtas and/or Horrors, some may cast Communion Slave to help the Crystal Matrix bearers, some cast Foul Vapors or Wrathful Skies or Astral Tempest or whatever, a couple mages can Curse and Horror Mark the enemy Titan pretender, your Master Enslaver converts half the enemy army, and the VoR caster sends everyone back to safety, including your new recruits. round 1, "ally" phase - the Lammashtas/Horrors engage the depleted enemy army, preferably the horror marked units. [Big Grin] round 2+ - well, do I need to say more? Enjoy the replay! [Wink] Final note: the Horror Harmonica (with boots of Quickness) is a great tool to use with Vortex of Returning. 8.6.1.2.16 DIE FOR YOUR COUNTRY! This is for later games when you're massively outnumbered by undead and want a cheap and effective way of dealing with masses of them.
8.6.1.2.17 THE HOLY BOLTS OF MARIGNON A strategy so fiendish that its use has been Banned by Carmong the Cardinal of Marignon himself, under the pain of torturous death. It is still allowed to be used the holy wars against heretic faiths of course.
8.6.1.2.18 IN THE SHADOWS WE WALK: This is the standard operating procedure for nations which have an easy access to body etheral. The aim is to toughten quite a lot some choice units with BE. You dont need awesome units, good ones are sufficient.
This formation can be repeated for several mages,depending on mage availability and toughness of opposition. Against indep, you can generally win a battle at 1 against 3 w/o too much problem. A further interest is that your small Groups prevent you from a total rout. Groups will rout one by one, when some soldiers are wounded. On high end units, like paladins or knights they will rout if direly wounded, and this is what you want : each wounded retreat, thus preventing the loss of the unit. By the way, for cavalry, adapt the formation, as they are size 3. You can BE 5 cavalry for each mage, put one horseman in each square. Download 5.74 Mb. Share with your friends:
|