Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

im wondering what is better for research purposes:

Warlock
270gold not sacred 8rp

or

Anathemant Dragon
330gold sacred 6rp

cant really decide http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

both should be great later on for battle purposes. or should i even go with a cheap 5rp mage (sacred) ?

any tipps on la abysia are also welcome...

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I believe anathemant dragons are more likely to suffer afflictions from old age, since fire magic reduces their maxage considerably. I could be wrong though.

Both are cap only, correct?

Anathemant dragon upkeep = 11
Warlock upkeep = 18

Pretty sure those figures are right. So if you consider that the anathemant has about 75% the research power of the Warlock for 60% of the upkeep cost, in the long run the anathemant is clearly better. After 9 turns the anathemant dragon has made up the cost difference between himself and the warlock in terms of upkeep, however being out of pocket early in the game often leads to reduced gold income from expansion.

They're pretty even all things considered.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Of course, while you may make up the cost after 9 turns, you've also got 18 less rp out of him. And he's more likely diseased and dying (unless you've got boots of youth on him)

I'd build whichever looked more useful for other purposes. Mostly warlocks since they get randoms so you'll want a decent crop to get the useful picks.

Cost efficiency of research is really more of a factor with non-capital researchers later in the game. Early on amount or research and usefulness of the mages trumps it. And of course what you can afford to invest in long-term goals and still expand/fight.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I would say cost efficiency is more important early on, so you can get your expansion machine going.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Both the warlock and the Anathemant Dragon are old, so both will get afflictions. The AD can more easily get Death picks from randoms than the warlock, so it is actually less likely to get afflictions.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I would use cheap mages. They are better for research, as they dont die from old ages. But after you can forge boots of youth, i would only recruit warlocks, and maybe some anathemants.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I always use the Dragons as Abysia. When the going gets rough, the Anathement Dragons get going - spamming Fire Cloud and Falling Fires, that is. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif Abysia is one of those nations that I feel benefits greatly from rushing towards mass evocations as fast as possible. Apparently with your late game so weak, you need to push your early-mid game strengths as much as possible, so at least by late game you are HUGE, and thus somewhat powerful. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

hm i actually used to rush for construction6 asap while keeping me alive with e9s9 blessed guardians of the pyre. what do you think ?

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

< shrug > I never have seen a big bless to be very great with Abysia, least not a dual bless. I did have a lot of fun with a W9 once, but generally I would think that LA would especially benefit from really strong scales, so you can mass Warbreds (they're so cool).

Of course, you COULD go Warlocks, and go for Thaum, playing them as an Astral nation with Warbred shock brigades looks pretty cool. Or you could save money and go with Salamanders, and rely on Phoenix Power to get your evocations up, but it's a lot more research before you're up to speed.

Of course, there's also Ench for mass Ethereal/Luck spam on your already impressive infantry..... LA Abysia is really interesting, with no real standout focus (other than good national troops) but a lot of feasible options of where to go as things progress. Of course, all of these options start to lose relevance in the later game, other than the heavy Thaum strat, but it is also the weaker option early on, IMO.

Seems to me that you want the good scales, because if you can afford M3, you can push a lot of cheaper researchers and develop all of your options, using versatility as your weapon against foes who have had to specialize more.

Help me, I can't stop typing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

im currently toying around with a s9e9 sphynx....

isnt the 50% fire resistance a downside on the warbreds ?

s9e9 bless is really a boost for your mages also

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I like magic 3 with Abyssia, and then I use the little blood 1 guys-they're cheap, easy to mass, not susceptible to immediate old age, and function well as researchers when I'm not using them all for bloodhunting-which I'm often not.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Yeah I favour more cheap mages, as long as you have the castles to warrant it. Recruit Warlocks etc for spellcasting/forging.

Currently I have decided not to play Abysia any more, it is way too frustrating with the old age diseases destroying my researchers and spellcasters, despite Boot of Youth and nice assassins. It has totally destroyed my game a few times now, as my empowered/nice random pick mages drop off the perch.

There should be a bit more earth magic across the ages (demon knights, that scorpion guy), or perhaps some unique mid-late game fire/blood summons IMO.

Alternatively, I wonder about the effect of Boots of Youth taking away the 'old age' (dis)ability entirely, to never have the old age disease.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I think Boots of Youth are a little high up the construction tier.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I have no luck with abysia whatsoever. But when I do play abysia I always buy N5 and race for Enchantment, just to deal with the damn age.

I usually imprison, to maximize scales - besides I don't need the nature until late in the chart. +3+3+3+atleast1,X,+3

Then I usually buy cheap mages, later subbing them out for blood searchers.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

One thing I do is to concentrate on the few-but good-Abyssian units that don't have aging problems. It's one way to limit your expenses/resources.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

IMO, old Abysians' afflictions shouldn't depend on the growth scale, but on the heat scale - heat should reduce their affliction chance the way growth does for ordinary units, and cold should increase it.

Then they can take their 240 points and still have reduced afflictions for their old guys - as long as they stay where it's nice and warm, anyway.

It would go a long way toward bringing them back toward where they used to be as a nation, in Dom 1-2.

But it would require recoding of a kind only Illwinter can do.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

I totally agree. Great idea!

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

so growth is worthless to abysia ? im playing with cbm, but it seems the problems there are the same. there should really be more earth/death random picks...

so warbreds are the way to go instead of sacreds ? all the other nationals seem to lack something special for that price

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

That's actually excellent, they live long productive lives in the furnaces of inner Abysia, but where you have old age problems most is the campaigning mages out with your armies, pushing into new territory. Still a nuisance, but not entirely crippling.

I hear daily lava baths do wonders for arthritis. >.>

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Presumably you can use an N4 bless and shrouds of the battle saint to keep your favourite mages alive. At 3 pearls apiece (with a hammer) they're pretty cheap.

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Yes and no. The regen only occurs in each combat round, so you have to get them into battle to keep them up. And, N bless does not protect you from disease caused afflictions, so it is only prolonging the inevitable.

Though, keeping them alive in some way is definitely of value, and since you want researchers AND combat mages, it just helps you decide which go where, if that's how you handle the situation. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Jim, that's not quite correct. The regen from the shroud prevents them from losing hit points each turn, although you have to get them into battle in order to get them to *increase* their hit points up to their maximum (if they're already wounded).

-Max

Re: Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?
 

Hmmmm, interesting, is that a bug? It kind of sounds like one..... I mean, it should go one way or the other. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif