Re: Newbie come lately?
 

Just for the record, when I said "units" I meant "recruitable troops" ;) Your usable troops are basically the skinshifters, the sacreds, and the javelin throwers. The... whichever they're called, with broadswords, are acceptable as arrow catchers and heavy infantry because they can generally survive a few turns in melee without dying, but you don't want to use them to try and kill things. That is the job of other things. They'll work, it's just other things are more efficient.

Re: Newbie come lately?
 

Of course we do not react "OMG NOOB", we actually like good opponents here :D. (At least I do). Of course I also like to win, but most people have that. Steamrolling over no opposition is no fun. (Well, most of the time it isn't) The closest fought battles are the ones you will remember. (Or the dirty tricks Calahan pulls when he subs into a position!).

Re: Newbie come lately?
 

You can learn the basics of combat from just about any nation. Just putz around with different troop types, see what gets you killed and what doesnt.

More important is learning how to use mages, which definie about 90% of the game's content. But that takes a lot of experimentation, so just have fun and putz around with them.

After that, I would read some of the excellent guides in the strategy section (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=38122) and on the wiki (http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Nation_guide). Some of the strategies described are really elegant and complex, so dont worry about copying them to the letter. Just read them to get an idea of how to use the resources each nation has available. If you try out one or two of their tricks in each game you play, and you'll master them in no time.

Of particular note are two of Baalz excellent guides:
On Communions:http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Nation_guide
and on Blood Hunting: http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Reign...d_Bloodhunting

These were some of the harder things for me to figure out, and these guides helped tremendously.

Re: Newbie come lately?
 

Play as any of the water nations with at least 5 Dominion in a map where all the computers are land opponents. 95% of the computer opponents have zero skill at enter water provinces. You can take your time to learn the game while the stupid AI opponents are stuck on land.
As time passes you'll most likely play only maps with land since the AI is so painfully stupid at entering water provinces.