Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

the difference with mind hunt is you have to expect at least +3 penetration, and many times +5. that makes it a lot more effective

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

S4 mind hunter - MR against 14 or die. Illithid 5s + cap + eye + spell focus + rune smasher - MR against 20 or die.

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

Illithid 5s is not even remotely plausible for a standard issue mind hunter. 2s + cap + coin + boosters, or 3s + cap + boosters is more along the lines of what one would expect to be fairly standard, with 4s being impressive.

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

The order of assassination/casting is irrelevant. The point is, your enemy knows every single turn where the Harvester is, when the Harvester is in your enemy's lands.

Non-reaper assassins are fairly easy (if time-consuming) to counter as it is, but at least the only turn your enemy knows where it is, is when it actually assassinates. So if a Mind Hunt following an assassination attempt fails, your enemy wonders, is it still in the province? Or did it wander off? You can't "lay low" with a Harvester.

If you sneak your Harvester onto an army (and if you've got conj-7, he'll have mage support), the next turn:
- your enemy gets the "disease" message
- he gives patrol orders, and Mind Hunt if he is capable
- you give assassinate orders
The next next turn:
- maybe you get killed by mind hunt
- maybe you kill a commander
- the mage-supported army kills you

If you sneak your Harvester onto a forge/research center, the next turn:
- your enemy gets the "disease" message
- he gives his mages some gems & scripts them, and casts Mind Hunt if he is capable
- you give assassinate orders
The next next turn:
- maybe you get killed by mind hunt
- maybe you kill a mage, or maybe you get killed by elementals/sprites/skellyspam

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

Silly me. Assassination never works as a strategy because you'll always have a mage with the perfect load out waiting to mind hunt something. Other players are never limited by other concerns during a game and will always have the appropriate mage, army and gear to root out a harvester the moment they appear. And players only ever use one assassin at a time, never send them into domed provinces or use them in conjunction with more direct forms of warfare or other ploys.

I've been playing the game wrong. I realise that now.

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

Ok your cases:

2s + cap + coin = 14
2s + cap + coin + eye = 16
2s + cap + coin + eye + smasher = 18

add +1 if you have slots for spell focus (3s or 3 misc slots).

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

The biggest problem with assassination - the reward is low. Ofc it could work, and as surprise tactic will work. But in many case it will be - you spent a lot of time and resources to kill 5 of 30 mystics in the army - omfg result, isn't it?

Powerful assassins are great thugs and assassination is just an additional option. Weak assassins in middle-late game couldn't kill anyone.

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

So people don't take risks in MP?

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

Assassination often is high risk/low reward strategy. And people prefer high risk/high reward.

Re: Good Assassin in Conjuration?
 

Assassins are sometimes useful. They certainly make your opponent have to do a lot of tedious work, and they can cause havoc if they get lucky in some situations.

Harvesters are also useful, and you can fly one geared up with a lot of MR items into a province full of a bunch of old age mages and then have it leave the next month before it can be patrolled out. Or attack PD in a mass raid, and sneak away. Or sneak into a patrolling army (with the Harvester on retreat) where you own a neighbouring province.

Harvesters are just lousy assassins because they can't move into a province without your opponent knowing they are there.