Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

Let´s hear it about Ulm. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

cast rigor mortis, invoke some skeletons to hold the line, and wait for the little men to pass out, the nose in the mud.
quick & efficient.

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

Stacking the anything that causes them to pass out into the dirt is pretty amusing. If you have have a high heat or cold domain, then combine with Heat from Hell or Grip of Winter, and Rigor Mortis as well, they'll pass out into the dirt before they can even reach you. It's humorously cruel.

Alternatively, you can always just preach him out. Ulm tends to have little or no priestly power and may be overcome by your Dominion before you ever attack him at all.

If you are Ulm, on the other hand, don't let this happen to you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ February 04, 2004, 20:48: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

All lightning attacks are armor-negating. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">All advice so far is humorously cruel http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ; keep it up!

I am playing Man, so Orb Lightning is already booked! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Also, I´ll search through Thaumaturgy and similar; a strong mind seems not what Ulm is famous for, so everything confusionish, panicish, poison-cloudish looks good to me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

Poison is really amazing vs. Ulm. Once playing Ulm against the computer I was fighting a couple of hydras which I hit a while...they turned around and my ulm infantry...who couldn't catch the hydras...followed them into their poison clouds all the way to the edge of the combat map. I lost about 80 ulm morningstars...only 2 or 3 in combat...the rest to chasing poisonous creatures.

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">HAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif THATS SO SAD...

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

Well, some advice for Ulm now...

- Once you are encountering high hp and/or heavy armored troops, don't forget your trusty crossbows. That Hydra might take out 80 morningstar with its poison, but it'll die instantly to your crossbows on "fire at large enemy monsters".

- Use and abuse magic items. They are your magic. Your smith should be given a dwarven hammer, and forge ahead ! Give a new heart to your spies and make them assassins, equip your commander with fireball throwing items, make sure to distribute elemental protection as needed. Make yourself some flying thugs, and see how enemy mages like it !

- Don't forget your province defense. Those 20 crossbows may not stop a real army, but they will cause a lot of grief. At 40 your defense will stop anything short of a full scale assault.

- I recommand a rainbow pretender. Get yourself a very high gem income, then MAKE yourself some mages. Aim for spells that buff your troops, and see how your enemy like mass protected, berserking, flying, flaiming Ulmish infantry.

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

A real blessing for Ulm is to find some Druids for Poison Ward, or better Shamans, who also allow Communions (with a Matrix for a Smith). A Smith with Boots and Fire Helmet + 2 comm slaves is F4/E5 after Summon EP and Phoenix Power, rather powerful ... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">what, you have also a master matrix?

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Do you really need the Shaman for the Communion? Once you've got a forger with Astral and Earth, just give him a Hammer and pump out the Slave/Crystal Matrices...

This is one thing I like in Iron Faith Ulm: your forgers get a random pick, which with your forging powers, greatly improves your magic versatility. If only they didn't lose their Drain immunity...

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

I found that Miasma or Burden of Time or both together really disturb Ulm. Well, they disturb everyone, but when Ulm invaded and I had to keep falling back into my own dominion, their big units got weaker and weaker. Their armies soon lost all the fodder, but the big units kept coming. Then they got very sick.

I cut them off then and hit them with my pretender with fear causing items. They broke fairly quickly, especially as many had battle fright. When they fled and had no where to run to, they died. Seeing twelve cave drakes which had been trashing my provincial defense disappear that way was encouraging.

Curse also helped, I had the shield that throws a curse each turn. That set them up for more afflictions in battle. It seems those strong and long Lasting units can be worn down this way. Also investigate fear. Does Man have access to Terror on the Nature magic side of things?

And yes, another vote for crossbows!

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That would be fun, but then you would not really have any reason at all to play standard ulm. As it is now iron faith only loses the the master smiths. The master smith's earth2 fire1 is nice but priests with earth1 random1 are often better.. since they are cheap and sacred. except when it comes to research

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I just discovered an interesting trick for Iron Faith Ulm or anyone with high drain. Keep your Dominion out of one corner of your area, build a lab there, and let all initiates, sages, and whatever else use that province for their research.

The only problem is that this province is likely to be pretty close to a proselytising neighbour, and when he attacks, you'll lose all your scientists. So protect them well.


mcv.

PS: Hi! I'm new. Played the demo Last week, got the game this week, and I'm hoping for a multiplayer next week.

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

With Ulm's forging bonus, and especially with Iron Faith's weaker researchers (particularly in Drain), I recommend doing the obvious: make a bunch of research bonus items and pile them two per researcher on cheap researchers, such as Revenants. Ideally, you dig up some death gem income and invest in Skull Mentors and Lightless lanterns. That +15 research bonus for about 7 gems and zero gold goes a long way towards catching up on research, and lets you use otherwise-lame researchers, leaving whatever good magicians you might have, to do other work.

Ulm needs to develop some alternate forces, to deal with its opponents' "solutions" to Ulm's heavy armor. Deploy spies and scouts to track what's coming your way, and deploy a counter. Undead mobs are good complements to Ulm, since things like poison, fear, mental attacks, soul attacks, bone grinding, etc., generally have zero effect on them.

Always include cannon fodder with elite units, to soak up enemy attacks so your better, slow-to-build units live a lot longer.

PvK

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Do you really need the Shaman for the Communion? Once you've got a forger with Astral and Earth, just give him a Hammer and pump out the Slave/Crystal Matrices...

This is one thing I like in Iron Faith Ulm: your forgers get a random pick, which with your forging powers, greatly improves your magic versatility. If only they didn't lose their Drain immunity... </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ulm generally can't mass produce Slave matrix, and it's a waste to use Smiths as slaves, I'd much prefer to get indy Astral-1 mage http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

"IF Forging power" ??? I believed that Iron Faith doesn't have forging bonuses (it has no Smiths) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif ...

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">what, you have also a master matrix? </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hey, that's a strategy thread, I don't talk about what I really do in our game, you filthy curious Abysian ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

(And if you really want to talk about it : if only other players weren't asking Ulm lots of toys I'd have made some Matrix earlier ... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif )

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I'm almost positive that the Black Priest has a forging bonus, but then, you are the Ulm specialist - I'm just a newbie, and trying to learn, O Fountain of Wisdom.

[Looking for an ally http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif ]

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

Black Priests have a 25% Forging Bonus, same as Smiths.

Not that you'd want to make Slave Matrix' anyway. Unless they cost just 5 Earth ;P

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not wanting to step on anyone's toes, but... from their description IF black priests have 'inherited' the forging bonuses of the Smiths. It's the drain immunity they lack. Which sucks because of the forced drain.

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ahh cool ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I thought IF sucked bug time and that only the "real" smiths get Forge bonus, but if IF Priests have it the theme isn't that bad maybe ...

PhilD,
I'm not at all a specialist, only an Ulm player trying to convince the other that I am ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
But I really don't know IF, had a short try in SP but quit, in fact I didn't had a correct strategy for them. Will retry .
But now in the new game I'm mighty Pythium ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Fighting For and Against Ulm -Expert Advice, Please
 

Mid-late game tactic:

Squads of mechanical men, first rank, attack closest with appropriate support troops in second/third ranks (arbalests/archers, cavalry, etc.)

Mechanical men ignore those pesky fire, ice, lightning, cold and poison attacks. Use a couple of them to guard commanders as well. Speaking of commmanders, they should be well protected by now since by this point in the game Ulm should have construction 6+ and a boatload of forged items.

30 mechanical men. My favorite brigade.

T-