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| The Slayers are very nice; but not only as assassins. With a scepter of authority they can lead misbreds on raiding missions, and their mobility makes them a nice chassis for lifelong protections. A prophet Slayer can reanimate undead.
-> You've got a 2 fire sacred mage for 130 gold. The research is a somewhat of an issue, but if I'm correctly remember +6 fire gem income, you can afford to spam some fire elementals to help with expansion. -> So, one thing I would try in the beginning turns is recruiting the cheapest mages, and spending most of my gold on Salamanders (area attack 1, AP!) or Misbred. Assuming a 400 income base, 80 R... -> I'd recruit two infantry, an Anathemant Salamander, and one Salamander taking up about 60 resources and 230 gold. I'd spend the rest on Misbred. They may be chaff without armor, but 6 prot isn't bad for EA, and it'll help prevent wastage of your infantry. -> Consider taking high prod (2-3) since most units need lots of resources. Note, that I've tried an opposite strategy of taking low prod (-2 to -3) and concentrating on recruiting mages, assassins fire drakes and misbreds. -> Consider taking magic-3 for the research, opening up your fire magic options. Instead of just spamming fire evocations, you can pull off tricky stuff like Raging Hearts and Blindness. Note, I'd usually settle for magic-1, its a nice bargain for getting +1 research. -> scales: Order 3 Production 3 Heat 3 Death 3 (Abysia troops are not effected from lack of food) Misfortune 2 Magic 3
Also, there's really only one old guy I think you'd ever want to recruit, the dragon, but in retrospect you don't really need him. The only nice thing is his F3 gives him easy access to falling fires out of the box, but the lower level F2 guys can just cast Phoenix Power, and then start the spammage. Also, the pretender I cobbled together could make those skulls of fire, and the really expensive F4 guy can forge the -3 reinvigoration +1 fire skulls. -> It's been a while since I've messed around with Abysia in SP (and never in MP), but I remember a few things. Bascially, Abysia has expensive troops that gold for gold probably won't stand up to the troops of other nations on their own. Also, their demons meaning additional weaknesses (though their MR seemed to be high enough that Banishment wasn't a great worry). Regardless, to make them work they need to be supported by mages, and what Abysia has in mages is powerful fire mages. And guess what? All your line troops are immune to fire in EA. The obvious strategy is going to be put troops in the middle to occupy the armies and use your mages to cast the hardest hitting fire evocations available to them. Plus, your line troops have very high protection meaning they can last a while in a fight. Also, if my memory serves, Abysia has a purchasable Fire-4 mage. One more thing, don't forget you can alchemize your fire gems for money. Let me boot up the game to see if I can recommend a Pretender strategy. Edit: OK, I found Order-3, Production-3, Growth-0, Misfortune-2, Heat-3 (this one is obvious and should always be done no matter what your pretender strategy), and Magic-1 with a Solar Disc Pretender with Fire-8 and Dominion-7 (to help spread the heat). Your best path for researcher will be Evocation with Second Sun as the ultimate goal. Early Enchantment gives you little, but starting with level 5 you get Inner Furnace and later on Eternal Pyre. Obviously you should get some Construction to build items that increase fire magic. Alternate strategy found in manual: Take an Imprisoned Scorpian with 9-fire and 9-earth and build as many of your sacred units as you can (which won't be that many). Bless, and use them along side fire mages. I'm leery about this strategy being viable in the long term (as the sacreds are capitol only and it involves taking some scale hits), but it may be worthwhile. -> Important Points: Umm, EA Abysia's normal troops are pretty fantastic in a standup fight, they have phenomenal protection for EA, and xbows aren't available. Their sacreds are also pretty crazy with an earth-9 bless, which synergizes nicely with your sacred mages as well for the reinvig. You can pull off an E9 imprisioned cyclops with 7 dominion and Order 3 prod 3, heat 3, growth 1, misfortune 2, magic 3 (or shuffle the magic and growth scales around if you want) This will make your sacreds nigh-invulnerable to most enemies, your mages get 4 points of reinvigoration and you have a pretty good SC chassis/earth forger for later. Play hard early game and hope to get enough of an advantage to live long enough to fix your horrid magic diversity, which is going to suck even if you take a rainbow pretender (just less so). Get a shaman recruitment center up as soon as possible and pump out a few N site searchers. Find an enchantress site and your game starts looking very promising. The other option would be to rainbow out to help their magic diversity if you're in a big game that'll last a while, but this option is pretty slow to develop into any sort of real options. If you go this route make sure to take decent levels of death and astral, I'd say to take take blood too and focus on getting the blood economy going so you can summon up a few devils ASAP to give you a counter to the fire-immune thugs/SCs that will inevitably show up. I'd say to work on blood even without a high-blood pretender, since it's the easiest path to empower, and you need as much diversity as you can get. Getting a B1 anointed or an F1 Warlock will make it pretty easy to path up for Arch Devil summons, and they're pretty sweet. And second sun sucks, don't cast it, especially since post-fire storm evocation isn't worthwhile. Pillar is janky, especially since any large single targets are going to have fire immunity at that point anyhow...Flame storm and Fires from the Sky can be useful, but aren't worth slogging through level 8 and 9 research for until much later on. To qualify about fire storm - it's an effective spell, but I don't think dropping another 2800 RP into Abysia's one trick pony right off the bat is usually going to be the way to go. Evocation is going to be one of their primary research paths, and I think you're generally going to be better served by branching out after you hit level 7 instead of keeping with the narrow focus. Fire storm is already doing a pretty good job incinerating the battlefield's lightly armored troops (especially the enemy mages way in the back) and falling fires does the same thing as flame storm does, just with a much smaller AoE, which will let you take out any heavily armored units that make it through the BE. The problem is that by the time you hit level 9 research (especially with Abysia's subpar researchers and having to slow down for blood) anything fighting you is likely going to be doing most of the heavy lifting with FR troops. I suppose a Anointed could be used quite effectively against a raiding force with Flame Storm and some PD, but that seems like a large investment of cap-only mage time and research to serve as a raiding counter. 8.11.2 MA Abysia 8.11.2.1 Original post Abysia is a nation of lava people, demons, and half-breeds that love heat. They only have heavy infantry and heavier infantry for their national troops, but no archers or cavalry. All of them are completely immune to fire damage and have wasteland survival keeping them well fed where most other nations would starve and get diseased. They radiate heat which can start enemies on fire, which greatly helps against effects that disappear when the unit is damaged, like glamour. They have strong priests, fire, astral, and blood mages and can perform blood sacrifices to help spread their hot dominion. On the negative side, they¿re all also very young and age young, so old age is a problem for them, and most of them are very slow on both the map and battlefield. At first they seem very bland and straightforward, but once you start to play around with the blood magic and other spells they have more depth than you imagined at first. 8.11.2.1.1 Suggested Pretender Design -> Blood Fountain, Imprisoned E6 D9 B5 Dominion Strength: 6 Order: 2 Productivity: 2 Heat: 3 Misfortune: 2 This pretender is probably best for small or medium maps, as it¿s designed specifically for the bless. It might work well on larger maps as you have access to Vampires Lords through it, but you¿d probably run into problems with the Misfortune scale and no Growth scale. It¿s a good bless for Abysia over others because anything you meet that¿s resistant to fire is going to give you problems, and they probably got that resistance through equipment so the D9 bless will tear them apart and leave them with afflictions if they live. Alternately, you could go with a W9 bless which also works well as it gives your sacreds 4 attacks and an improved defense skill (which will still be abysmal), or a F9 bless if fire immunity isn¿t an issue to you. I think this is a happy medium, though. -> Scorpion King, Dormant F4 E4 B4
Dominion Strength: 7 Order: 3 Productivity: 3 Heat: 3 Growth: 1 Misfortune: 1 The Scorpion King makes a good SC with a few pieces of gear, but is missing a couple of equipment slots. Depending on your research choices, you might need one and with this pretender you¿ll get a decent one early enough, although against most armies Abysia has little problems defeating them with just national troops. The bless here is decent, and he can cast most of the better blood rituals, like Father Illearth and Summon Arch Devil, and forge some choice equipment, like the Hell Sword. -> Divine Glyph, Imprisoned F4 E4 S4 B4 Dominion Strength: 8 Order: 3 Productivity: 3 Heat: 3 Growth: 2 Misfortune: 1 Magic: 1
Humanbred (spear) 15G, 10R-The Humanbred is comparable to other light infantry of other nations, with the exception that it¿s fire immune and a little bit tougher. They have a pretty good defense skill and a spear for repelling. The spear isn¿t as strong as the axe, but I prefer this one because it¿s a little more survivable. The main advantage these guys have over other Abysian units is it¿s move is 2, so they make good bodyguards to mages and don¿t slow them down. Humanbred (axe) 15G, 10R-Nearly identical to the Humabred with the spear, except it has a lower defense skill and carries an axe that does more damage than a spear. Not a bad unit at all. Also has a movement of 2, and may make a better bodyguard than the one with the spear. Abysian Infantry (battleaxe) 20G, 26R-This Abysian Infantry is a powerful force. They don¿t carry a shield, but instead carry a heavy battleaxe. They¿re very similar to the Abysian Infantry with the flail, but have a higher defense skill and the weapon does more damage, and as such it¿s superior for the same price. I like to keep these guys out of arrow fire and put them on attack rear to flank the enemies front lines. Abysian Infantry (flail) 20G, 26R-These guys are nearly identical to the battle axe infantry, but are armed with a flail which gets two attacks at a reduced damage and a lower defense skill. I don¿t think they¿re worth it when you could recruit the battle axe users, but I have a feeling that there¿s a certain defense/protection point where one will do better than the other. Not worth splitting hairs over though, you could go either way and probably won¿t notice much of a difference. Abysian Infantry (shield and axe) 20G, 27R-This one carries a shield, which automatically earns it a place at the front of the army. They¿re high protection and hit points and moderate defense skill makes it an all around good heavy infantry. Additionally, it has a higher defense skill than it¿s counterpart with the morningstar and the axe is more powerful. It¿s a slightly better unit. Abysian Infantry (shield and morningstar) 20G, 28R-This unit is about the same as the one with the axe, except it has a higher attack skill. Generally, though, I don¿t choose this infantry to kill, but rather to hold the enemy in place and let units better at killing to handle that, so I almost always choose the one with the axe. But, again, we¿re splitting hairs as they¿re really similar and the difference is negligible. Salamander 60G, 1R-The Salamander is a magic creature, so ordinary commanders can¿t lead them, which is a negative. Their stats are also pretty bad overall, and they die easily to normal troops if you don¿t shield them with your heavy infantry. But, their attack effects a whole square and does 20 armor piercing damage, so they do take down tough enemies quickly. Also, with Abysia, you¿re bound to run into times when you have an odd number of resources left, and filling the rest out with these guys isn¿t a bad idea if you can afford it as their cost adds up quickly. Lava Warrior 55G, 41R-These are the best unit Abysia has. Their defense skill is abysmally low and their encumbrance is ridiculously high, but they¿re still worth it. First, they¿re sacred and they get two attacks with morningstars so any boosts to their attack, strength, or weapon damage counts twice. Their hit points are high and their protection is high so they can take a hit or two, or more, from most units. On top of that, they¿re berserkers. What happens in battle is they¿re sure to get hit by most attacks for little damage, and when they do they go berserk boosting their strength and attack to the point where they rarely miss and do high damage against even high protection units. There are very few units that can stand toe-to-toe with these guys and come out on top. One thing, though, if you plan on using them at all, make sure your pretender has at least Earth 4 and make sure they¿re blessed or they¿ll get fatigued really quickly. 8.11.2.1.3 Commanders Slayer 80G, 10R-The slayer is a pretty good assassin, not the best by any means though. They have poison daggers, so if they hit the target just once the target is done for even if he kills the Slayer. Later, I like to give them a Heart Finder Sword to make sure the job gets done right. They¿re not invincible and tend to be spotty. I¿ve seen them take out a Trog Chieftain one turn and lose to an indy commander the next, but they¿re effective enough for the price where you don¿t want to ignore them as useless. Warlord 60G, 38R-The Warlord is a standard commander. It has 2 map movement and a leadership of 80. They¿re tough enough to wade into battle on the front lines, and with a few minor magic items they fare well. Beast Trainer 75G, 41R-The Beast Trainer can lead up to 10 magical troops and 10 regular troops, meaning it can lead Salamanders or summons, but other than that there¿s no reason to recruit them. Avoid them if you can get afford a mage instead. 8.11.2.1.4 Mages Anathement Salamander 160G, 1R 2F 2H-I generally don¿t use these guys much except to lead Salamander groups, casting Augury, and to do blood sacrifices. They can cast a few useful combat spells, like Fireball, Rage, and Bonds of Fire. They¿re inferior in every way to the Anathement Dragon, but substantially cheaper. They start out with old age, though. Anathement Dragon 320G, 1R 3F 3H-This is a great unit, and makes a good prophet. They can cast Divine Blessing, which will bless everyone on the battlefield. They can also cast Flare, Falling Fires, Smite, Fire Cloud, and later Pillar of Fire which are excellent spells. If you make it a point to recruit a lot of cheap indy archers, you can cast Flame Arrows easily and the Abysian only spell Inner Furnace which increases the range of the radiant heat of all Abysians, and coming up with the fire gems to do that should be easy. They can also do blood sacrifices and preach to high levels of dominion. They also have a high leadership so they make good army commanders if you give them a few bodyguards. It¿s a good unit that you can recruit from any castle you own. Again, it¿s old age here. Warlock Apprentice 130G, 1R 1S 2B-I don¿t really find much use for these guys on the battlefield besides spamming Body Ethereal. They¿re capital only, so it¿s difficult to get them to where you need them quickly, so they don¿t find much use in my armies. However, they have a lot of uses on the map screen. They make good blood hunters and can forge a few useful items, like the Boots of Youth and Sanguine Dowsing Rod and a handful of astral items. You can even use them to set up Communions or Sabbaths which is beneficial as the more effective blood spells cost a lot of fatigue. It¿s also another old age mage. Warlock 270G, 1R 2S 3B 1? (FESB 10%, FESB 100%, FESB 10%)-This capital only mage is quite a bit more useful than the Apprentice, depending on the picks. A fire pick is probably the worst option as it doesn¿t add much. An astral pick is great as it allows you to cast Soul Slay and Teleport, both of which are great spells for these guys. An Earth pick is good as well as it lets you find some earth sites and eventually empower him at 30 gems to summon Demon Knights. A blood pick lets you use some good battlefield blood spells and a few summons. Other spells to note, no matter what the picks, are Mind Burn, Paralyze, and Agony. Following the pattern, this unit is also old age. Demobred 260G, 1R, 2F 2B 2H-This is probably the best pure battle mage Abysia has. They don¿t have old age and live for hundreds of years so you¿ll probably see them until they die in battle. They have the unholy ability to reanimate the dead, so they¿re not a bad choice for prophet. They¿re sacred, so they benefit from whatever bless you¿ve chosen. They fly as well, so they have fast movement on the map, which helps as they¿re capital only, and in the battlefield. Demonbreds can also lead magic beings and demons and have a high leadership overall. They can also summon Devils with no empowerment or items. If you gear them up fully they can make out as a makeshift thug that you probably shouldn¿t need, but works if you¿ve got nothing else. However, they¿re a bit fragile. If you want to use them as a thug, script them to cast powerful spells and buffs, cast Reinvigorate or Leech last which will set their fatigue to zero, and attack rear and, as long as they don¿t get swarmed and you¿ve geared them up properly, they should be OK. 8.11.2.1.5 General Tactical Strategy With Abysia, unless you¿re working on some kind of special tactic, I find that they¿re most effective placed as close to the enemy army as possible and not using hold and attack. Since you don¿t have any national archers there¿s no reason to try and avoid friendly fire and closing ground and getting your enemies infantry mixed in with yours exposes them to friendly fire and your radiant heat aura, so it only hurts them. I put my Humanbreds and Abysian Infantry with shields in the front to deal with arrow fire, and on the flanks the Lava Warriors and Abysian Infantry with no shields, putting some on attack rear to either flank the enemy and skip them outright and go for the archers in the back. After I start getting summons out there, or depending on who I¿m fighting, I might change it up a little bit, but in general this seems to work really well. Just remember that if you¿re using indy troops to keep them away from your Abysians as they¿ll burn from the radiant heat like anyone else. This is especially why I don¿t use much blood magic in battles, and when I do I don¿t bring more slaves than what I need and blood hunt for more when I run out. General Strategy No matter what pretender I¿m using, my beginning game starts the same because, I feel, Abysia needs the scales badly and will probably have to at least have a dormant pretender to be effective. Anyway, your starting army is very strong and capable of taking out the provinces surrounding your capital alone 9 times out of 10. So do that, and just beware of Knights or Elephants as you¿ll probably take heavy losses from them. In the meantime, I usually recruit Warlocks (hoping for an earth pick) and an Anathement Dragon whom I make a prophet. In the meantime, set them to research and exclusively Lava Warriors and fill the rest of my resources out with Humanbreds and Salamanders, and maybe building temples and once the Lava Warriors are sufficient in number I use my prophet Anathement Dragon to lead them and join my starting army. Don¿t be afraid to use alchemy to turn your fire gems into gold if you need it to pay for your expensive mages or to set up a PD (21 is sufficient to take most random barbarian hordes and small armies), you get plenty of fire gems, probably more than you¿ll use in the early game. You should be expanding very quickly and when you have all of the surrounding area, take a moment to survey the land and look for farmlands, which makes both a good place to get gold and a good province to set up blood hunting, and a place to build a second fortress, preferably on a province that can get a lot of resources and you can recruit cheap indy archers from, even the more expensive ones like Longbowmen are OK because of your scales. My usual research order is Evocation to 2 for Flare and Arcane Probing, and a handful of other fire spells to use. Then I move on to Thaumaturgy 2 for other site searching spells which are useful later, and Mind Burn and Bonds of Fire which are both decent spells for taking out indy provinces. Finally, I move on to Blood 4 to summon Devils and Demon Knights. The Devils are good fliers and can be ferried quickly by a Demonbred, as can the Demon Knights if the terrain type agrees with them. Demon Knights are too good to pass up though, and can be boosted in power by casting Blood Lust which also comes at 4, so I make massing them a high priority. After that, it depends on what pretender I¿m using. If it¿s the Scorpion King, I¿d pick Alteration to 3 to give him some self-buffs and get Body Ethereal. If not, I usually take a pit stop at Evocation to 4 for Fireball, Fire Cloud, and Fires from Afar or Thaumaturgy to 4 for Rage, Soul Slay, Teleport, and Paralyze, and for a few other spells and concentrate on Construction to 6 to forge Boots of Youth as I¿m sick of seeing my mages get diseased, and other good items along the way. Focusing on Enchantment wouldn¿t be a bad idea either, as you can cast Flame Arrows and Inner Furnace which helps you destroy enemy armies with ease, and Fire Shield is nice if you¿re using the Scorpion King or Demonbred thugs. 8.11.2.1.6 Suggested Magic Schools Conjuration: Normally this is a great school to at least put a few levels in, but in the case of Abysia who has easy access to blood magic summons I don¿t find it necessary unless you want to use your pretender to summon. The Summon X Power spells are good as always, so you might want to make a stop there to level 2 later in the game. At level 5 you can cast Acashic Record which is a great site search spell if not costly that some of your Warlocks will be able to cast. At level 8 there¿s the Summon Scorpion Man spell which is a national spell, but that means dredging through 6 levels and hundreds of research points for little gain. I don¿t recommend this school at all unless you have all of your major research goals covered. 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