Re: LA Utgard guide
 

Quite true. A very good learner nation if you want to play with strong blood and astral and the associated nuances of effective blood hunting, mind hunts and communions (learned a lot but I'm still a rookie).
-SSJ

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

I find strange to take nature at level 9, meaning your troops berserk but without any bonus.

(edit : hum, not at all, probably a reminiscence of dom 2 where berserk bonus instead of regeneration was scaling with level, in fact N9 give +2 berserk 15% regen, and N10 +2 berserk 20% regen)

If I use nature lower than 10 I'd rather take 8 (same regeneration 15 as level 9 but no berserk effect), then I can give shrouds to all mages (cheap armor and reinvigoration item + regeneration reducing the frequency of old age afflictions) without the risk to see nornas/seithkonas charging.

Earth 9/Nature 8 (and less focus on high dominion) allow interesting builds (weaker in early game but extremely powerful after) with better scales, like Order 3, Sloth 1, Cold 3, Misfortune 2, Death 1, Magic 3, dominion 6 (probably better than my first one for big games ; with magic 3 + 7rp researchers for 90g + easy forge of skull mentors, Utgard can win the race to artefacts, to make the thugs far more deadly (and get the best death items like the sickle and the +3 booster) -and with the earth 9 pretender Utgard has a way to cast Forge of the Ancients-).

edit : or better for this strategy, Order 3, Sloth 3, Cold 1, Misfortune 3, Growth 0, Magic 3, so you have about 10% more income (and no decrease) allowing to build more castles (=more researchers per turn and more recruiting centers to compensate the extreme sloth)

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

N9 gives bersek +2. 5% extra regeneration of N10 is not worth (in my opinion) the big cost on desing points.

Dom 6 is a little bit low for my taste, although just 6 sacreds are enough for indies not so enough for enemy players.

The funny thing is that you do not really need a bless to expand. Substitute the sacred for hirdman and you'll have aproximately the same expansion rate http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

It's actually 5% extra.

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

Hum my memory is bad, I should have verified.

Anyway nature 8 is better for shroud/magic based strategies.

(but I don't regret my nature 10 -even if took by mistake about its effects- in my current game : having Gift of Health up + maxed regeneration is priceless -when 2 nations try to invade me, fighting in my dominion where 90hp werewolfs with shrouds regen about 30hp/round-).

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

N9 gives bersek +2.

5% extra regeneration of N10 is not worth (in my opinion) the big cost on desing points.

Perhaps now it's more clear http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

N10 is ok for some strategies, and of course with GOH it's fantastic, but if you are Uttgarde and are playing defensively you've done something wrong http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif. It should be situational.

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

Already corrected.

I wasn't playing defensively, it's why Arco and Pangea tried to invade me before I could finish Man.

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

Added chapter about research.

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

Twan:

Maelstrom is castable on land.

Re: LA Utgard guide
 

It should be a bug or description is bad, it says : "a huge magical maelstrom is created in a sea".

It seem strange to be able to use this spell without controling one.