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You can afford a Dormant Astral 6 Statue with a Dominion 8, Order 3,Growth 3, and Magic 3. Just a head's up. 8.33.1.2 Good Pretender for T'ien C'hi? -> I've been studying pretender design for MA T'ien Ch'i, and this is my advice: - You have healers. This means you want a living, awake, out-of-the-box, supercombatant pretender, non-undead. There are merits to either the Cyclops or the Wyrm - the Wyrm is much cheaper. - Order is great. You get national bonuses for Order on top of that, so take Order. - You also get bonuses for Fortune - specifically, you get very efficient bad-event prevention out of the minister of rituals, and you get a number of really cool unit-triggered events. So take Fortune. - Your army is effective without being too resource intensive, and your mages (with the exception of the geomancer, who is kinda useless anyway, at least as far as I can tell) are not old, so you take Sloth and Death. - You have every magic path except death and blood covered, so you don't really need magic on your pretender. So, you can afford: A domstr 10 Awake Wyrm, with 3 Order, 3 Sloth, 2 Death, 3 Luck and 1 Magic. For long games, consider 2 Drain and 1 Growth, instead. A domstr 10 Awake Cyclops, with a 4th point of earth magic, 3 Order, 3 Sloth, 2 Death, 3 Luck and 2 Drain. Note that this guy gives your communion mages a bit of recuperation, which is not entirely shabby.
8.33.2.1 Tien Chi and conscription Hmm. No hard numbers on conscription--but MA Tien-Chi is one of my favourite nations, even though it seems to be considered sub-par here on the forums. And I recruit other leaders all the time. Here are some examples as to why you would: Scout: Never. Ever. Recruit this. Period. Forget they exist. (I have.) If you absolutely have to have scouts, find an indie one or build Spies instead. General: Limited utility. Good leader, not great. You start with one, and Generals will probably lead most/all of your armies created from non-capital castles. For your capital, the Prince General is almost always better. Eunuch: Solid niche unit. Great, cheap patroller (+25!!! bonus), and a 40-man leader as well. I often build three of these at game start, set them to Patrol the Capital, and ratchet up the taxes to 200 for massive initial income for, oh, as long as I need it--without having to worry about keeping an army in the home province. Ever. They also make good, cheap ferriers of armies later on--although indie leaders would work just as well for that. Imperial Consort: Wonderful unit. I use these in groups of 5 to shut down enemy castles (particularly underwater--just give them Rings of Waterbreathing). Or--rarely--use them as spies; you get more information than you do from scouts. Ceremonial Master: Never, ever build this unit. Minister of Rituals is superior in every way. Minister of Rituals: Good unit, not great. I sometimes build these in groups of 3-5 to preach if my Dominion is hurting, and I usually have 1-3 running around at any one time building temples and stuff. Master of the Way: Your default research unit. These units actually have a better ratio of cost/research than Celestial Masters. They also do not suffer from old age. Build these everywhere until you reach the level of research you want. Celestial Master: Capital-only. I usually build these early game (after getting my Eunuchs patrolling) until I've got a nice mix of paths that don't suffer from old age, and I have enough to join armies later. (Which usually means up through mid-to-late game.) Other than paths and combat, however, the Masters of the Way are better units. Prince General: Capital-only. My default army-leader, with a 120 unit base. I usually build these whenever I need to lead an army, give them a crafted bow, and send them off. I also often build these instead of Celestial Masters on those turns when I'm hurting for gold. 8.33.3 LA TC 8.33.3.1 Tips for LA T'ien Chi -> I really enjoyed my Imprisoned Lady of the river with W8 for a light bless. I had 6-7 dominion and great scales. The most important thing about the sacred horse guys, to me, is their high protection and defense. All you really need besides that is quickness, and the different between 21-22 defense is probably negligible because at that point a standard unit swinging at your scared units with a sword is already going to have to hit 6 on their opened ended DRN before they get a chance to hit you. LA T'ien Ch'i has some great battle mages too. The E2 guys can forge themselves some boots of earth, and cast summon earth power, so that they can spam blade wind. The D2 guys can spam the raise skeletons out the door without any equipment. I usually build a ton of them to begin with. The key to getting a bless cheaply is to find a pretender that has 3 levels of the type of bless you already want and a dominion score of 2-3. It's important to remember that increasing the magic skill of a pretender is exponentially more expensive based on where you started from. Increasing your W skill from 1-2 is not as expensive as from 8-9. So a pretender that starts with W3 and goes to W9 pays a lot less than a pretender that starts with W1 or no water magic at all. A lot of times you can makeup for the extra points that pretenders with higher levels of magic because they end up being cheaper to get a single or a dual bless. -> Call me a heretic, but I don't think that LA TC is really a bless nation. Yes, the sacred cavalry are cool, but they're also cap-only and quite expensive. More importantly, the Barbarian Kings don't have any decent priests, so applying your blessing is a bit tricky. I'd go for a minor bless and concentrate on good scales. LA TC's real strengths are its magical diversity (outstanding for a LA nation!), composite archers, and amazing cavalry that you can recruit anywhere. Minor blesses to consider are: E4 to reinvigorate your sacred mages and/or N4 to help protect your sacred units from battle afflictions. I could go with a dormant GH, lvl 4 magic in everything but earth/blood, moderate scales. So, +2 atk, +2 def, 20 AS, +100 afflic, +5% regen...nothing amazing but keep ok scales and get SOME bonuses. I think the scales would be order 0, prod 0, heat/cold 3, death 3, luck 2, drain 2. Obviously rather not take death 3 or drain 2 but its a bit resource intensive. thoughts? -> LA TC is the nation for a Death bless. Unlike F9 the extra afflictions part of the Death bless works with arrows, and with battle magic. I've used W9D8. A few rounds of fear and affliction causing arrows, then they reach your lines and hit the nasty quickened heavy cavalry. They can get off 2 volleys of arrows with the water bless too. -> Try an awake D9 Prince of death with Dominion 9. Expanding is a piece of cake and you get decent scales and a nasty bless. Dont use the prince early vs knights, lizards (curse) and crossbows. Once you equip it with a lucky pendant, blacksteel armor and shield any inde is possible. Early on put the prince in a back corner and script hold hold attack archers. One other options if you want a better bless with better scales is a Dormant D9,N4 PoD with a dom of 6. -> Death and Water are both good blesses for LA T'ien Ch'i, but I have to agree that you're gonna be better off going with good scales than a dual bless. The non-sacred heavy horseman is plenty good enough to carry you through the phase of the game that a good blessing really helps with, and T'ien Ch'i really benefits from good gold, resources, and research. Also, LA T'ien Ch'i has some of the best PD in the game. -> I really like the idea of using blade wind with a self-blessed W9D8 priest battle mage as a retreating affliction crippling anti-invasion technique. Here's what I'd do to script some PD backed up mages. Summon Earth Power, Bless, Blade Wind, Blade Wind, Retreat -> Just keep in mind that afflictions are more psychological warfare than an invasion-stopper. In practice, Leprosy will probably create more afflictions than the D9 battle mage. However, the battle mage doesn't cost gems. -> 8.33.3.2 LA Tien Chi: Barbarian Kings Strategy Guide 2.0 Article Author: DonCorazon 8.33.3.2.1 Summary: Here is where I start off saying how LA TC is totally underrated and picking it will allow you to open a twelve pack of whoop-*** on the world. Now that you are fired up to try them out, lets get to the facts. LA TC is a versatile & powerful nation, with mobile ground troops, excellent cavalry and archers, and a diverse set of magi that come geared for battle. While many focus on TC¿s fearsome barbarian horsemen, what makes LA TC a formidable nation is the diversity of its sacred mages, who have level 2 access to every school but Fire and Blood. Most of its mages have higher than normal HP and are armored, with a high encumbrance that makes them perfect for an Earth blessing. In addition, LA TC is highly mobile for a non-flyer nation, a consideration that is sometimes ignored but very useful in MP when you will at some point be facing off on multiple fronts. With map move 3 cavalry, move 2 mages (most of them), and with easy access through gear to teleporters and cloud trapezers, LA TC is a stick and move nation ¿ pick them when you see a map with relatively clear terrain. It is also a great nation to learn Dom 3 because it will expose you to a broad set of concepts: spells from most schools of magic, how to use items and summons to boot strap to higher magic levels, communions, military tactics involving tower shields, archers, pole arms, mounted archers / lances, and oh so much more. Finally, they just look so innocent ¿ nothing really stands out ¿ no giants, no hydras, no demons ¿ so just play the quiet sleepy neighbor and fly under the radar in MP. But TC has an answer to almost every problem and with the right combination of luck and diplomacy, LA TC should be a contender in any MP game. Now lets delve into the Battle Mage Nation. 8.33.3.2.2 The Troops 8.33.3.2.2.1 Footmen TC is all about having a tool kit of answers to various problems and your troops are an excellent example of this. Lets start with the lowly Footmen. Your Footmen come in several flavors allowing you to choose the one that fits your taste. You have light armor (the Regulars) vs. medium and heavy armor (the Heavies) and tower shield / spear (the Blockers) vs. no shield / glaive (the Tacklers). For the detail-oriented among you, here are the stats: * Regular Footmen w/Pike (10G / 9R) ¿ Att 10 / Def 8 / Pro 9 / Move 2 * Regular Footmen w/Glaive (10G / 11R) - Att 10 / Def 8 / Pro 9 /Move 2 * Regular Footmen w/Shield (10G / 9R) ¿ Att 10 / Def 14 / Pro 9 / Move 2 * Medium Footmen w/Glaive (10G / 14R) ¿ Att 10 / Def 8 / Pro 11 / Move 1 * Medium Footmen w/Shield (10G / 14R) ¿ Att 10 / Def 14 / Pro 11 / Move 1 * Heavy Footmen w/Glaive (10G / 20R) ¿ Att 10 / Def 7 / Pro 14 / Move 1 * Heavy Footmen w/Shield (10G / 20R) ¿ Att 10 / Def 13 / Pro 14 / Move 1
Glaive Dam 10 / Len 4 Pike Dam 5 / Len 6
- Comp Bow (Dam 12 / Pre 1 / Range 35) With composite bows and decent morale for archers, who are usually complete pansies, TC¿s archers make respectable foes. You will get the most use out of them in the early game and will have A2 mages that can boost their efficiency with Wind Guide (Alt 4 ¿ A2). Sadly, LA TC completely lacks Fire magic so you will not easily be able to torch your enemies from afar with the Flaming Arrow spell. You will eventually find your Archers less useful later as your foes develop counters like Arrow Fend and Darkness. So don¿t get bonded too tightly with them but just love them while you can. 8.33.3.2.2.4 Barbarian Horsemen Welcome to the upper echelons of LA TC¿s military ranks. These guys are mean, fast, and can accumulate into fearsome hordes. They come in two flavors ¿ Regular¿s and Heavies. * Reg Barb Horsemen (20G / 12R) ¿ Att 11 / Def 15 / Pro 9 / Move 3 / Prec 8 / Morale 11 - Comp Bow (Dam 12 / Pre 1 / Range 35) - Light Lance (Dam 3 ¿ Charge bonus first strike / Len 4)
- Hoof (Dam 10 ¿ Str not added) - Lance (Dam 16 ¿ Str not added ¿ Charge bonus first strike / Len 4 / only used once per battle) - Falchion (Dam 7 / Len 2) - Comp Bow (Dam 12 / Pre 1 / Range 35)
- Hoof (Dam 10 ¿ Str not added) - Lance (Dam 16 ¿ Str not added ¿ Charge bonus first strike / Len 4 / only used once per battle) - Falchion (Dam 7 / Len 2) - Howling Bow (Dam 12 / Pre 2 / Range 35 ¿ Magic ¿ causes ¿lesser fear¿)
8.33.3.2.3 The Commanders 8.33.3.2.3.1 Scout
- Hoof (Dam 10 ¿ Str not added) - Lance (Dam 16 ¿ Str not added ¿ Charge bonus first strike / Len 4 / only used once per battle) - Falchion (Dam 7 / Len 2) - Comp Bow (Dam 12 / Pre 1 / Range 35)
MoWs kick *** from turn 1 until the end of the game. These little buggers can be WW, WN, WS, and WA. They only cost 100gp ¿ to put that in perspective a lizard shaman can get you WS but costs 180 gp. They are map move 2 so can get around fairly quickly in clean terrain. In the early game your MoWs will provide all the routine priestly duties like blessing and banishing undead. Once your research catches up to your dreams of godhood, these guys are one of the most cost effective deliverers of pain in the game. All of them can spam Frozen Heart (Alt 6 - W1) which will force enemies to develop cold resistance for those SCs that don¿t already have it. Your A1W1s can light up the battlefield with Orb Lightning (Evo 5 - A1) and your Astrals make excellent communion slaves. W2s can cast Quickness (Alt 4 ¿ W2) making your ranged threat even more devestating or make good demon fighters with Cleansing Water (Evo 6 ¿ W2). They also can forge Boots of Quickness, which along with Nike, are one of my favorite sets of footwear for thugs. The Battle Mages The next 3 guys are the heart and soul of TC and what I call the Battle Mages. They are available anywhere, sacred, Research 6, H1, well-armored, above average HP for a mage, map move 2 and with useful magic paths that will get you access to A2, E2, N2, and D2 along with a smattering of astral. Their weakness is encumbrance, exacerbated by Old Age, which is why an Earth bless is almost a pre-requisite for playing LA TC. Diverse level 2 magic is nothing to laugh at in the late age and the armor and higher HP helps them survive those improbable, horrible battlefield incidents that has caused many a Dom 3 player to cry out in disbelief. 8.33.3.2.3.6 Ancestor Smith (200G/16R) E2D1 + A or D or S or N Guaranteed E2, these guys are the foundation for your boot strapping up the Earth path. In the lab, they will produce your Earth Boots and Dwarven Hammers and eventually bootstrap you to summon Earth Kings. For remote economic assault, Blight (Alt 4 ¿E2D1) is an excellent spell ¿ a few Smiths spamming it can completely halt your enemies capital production. In combat, Summon Earthpower (Conj 2 ¿ E2) combined with your Earth Blessing will keep you going long after your opponent¿s wimpy, less armored mages are battered and gasping for breath. All the usual Earth combat spells are useful here: Bladewind (Evo 4 ¿ E3), Legions of Steel (Const 3 - E3), and Strength of Giants (Ench 3 ¿ E3). As Baalz points out, Destruction (Alt 4 ¿ E3) is particularly effective as it not only removes armor but also destroys shields, turning those well-armored late age troops into pin cushions for your composite bow wielding ranged troops. Combine this with some of the troop slowing spells like Earth Meld (Alt 2 ¿ E2) and now those naked fools must endure even more pain before they even get to your barbarian horsemen. And what will the few arrow-riddled attackers find when they finally make it to your back line¿ Oh sheet! Its a bunch of Ghengis Khan looking guys with lances and falcions glimmering with Weapons of Sharpness (Const 7 ¿ E5) (usable by your Smiths with Summon Earthpower + Earth Boots + 1 earth gem. Imagine how that Lance is going to feel slicing through your armor like it was a tub of I Can't Believe Its Not Butter. Ouch! The key here is not to start to feel sorry for your enemy and try to heal him. Army of Gold (Alt 9 ¿ E4) in the end game will get you the fire resistance that you probably cannot find anywhere else given your complete disdain for Fire magic (so uncouth). Finally, your E2D1A1 Smiths can easily case Rain of Stones (Evo 7 ¿ E3A1) and their armor helps protect them from it. E2D1S1 Smiths should think about popping in an Eye of Aiming and dishing out some Gifts from Heavens (Evo 5 ¿ E3S1). Dang, does life get any better? Note: Smiths carry magic Ancestor Swords that cause Lesser Fear. Dedas points out that old Age will disappear on your E2D1N1 Smiths returning them to a youthful attack and defense of15 (18 with the Ancestor Sword), 15 in MR and 15 in morale. This can make them badder then Gogo Yubari. Buff with Fists of Iron (Alt 1 ¿ E1) and scream ¿Hiaaa!!!¿ to ensure absolute victory. 8.33.3.2.3.7 Spirit Master (200G / 11R) N2D1 + D or S or E or A Research 6 Your hippy mages with guaranteed N2, these guys will boot strap you up the Nature path. In the lab, they will make your Thistle Maces, Rings of Regeneration, and Vine Shields, among other herbal things. I am less of a fan of low level Nature on the battlefield, so prefer to use these guys to start Vine Ogre factories that can be buffed with your Smiths. Should you find them on the battlefield some spells to consider are Swarm (Alt 4 ¿ N1 ¿ requires an N gem), Vine Arrows (Evo 2 ¿ N1) or Storm of Thorns (Evo 7 ¿ N2). Equipped with a Thistle Mace and an Eye of the Void, these guys can make nice Charm (Thaum 7 ¿ N3) spammers. Always funny to check your turn and find your enemies SCs in your garrison. Like most hippies, these guys carry a magic weapon called the Spirit Club, helpful if they face ethereal assassins or other drug-induced hallucination. Download 5.74 Mb. Share with your friends:
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