Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Not clear from the other threads on this global but:

What would happen if I script a mage to simply "retreat" and then he/she is attacked by one of the relevant horrors after using a bunch of gems in a ritual or forge?

Will that mage escape to a nearby province or will he die/disappear?

Will it make a difference if the lab he/she did the casting/forging in was in a province with castle or in a province without a castle (i.e. just the lab in it)?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

that's an assasination battle- dead magi

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Astral Corruption, I think, is probably the single most annoying spell in the game considering it's cheapness (because it uses blood slaves) and power. The only truly effective counter is to kill the guy that cast it.

Now... I'm not terribly experienced, and I haven't tried this, but you can wish other people dead right? As long as it's just one person...

so unless it's an immortal pretender, you could just wish him dead for 100 pearls and cancel a 999 slave spell for a fraction of the cost provided your wish caster is immortal or could kill the resulting horror with his guards...

I think I read somewhere that you could wish specific named units dead like...

"Kill Tomaso Del Monferrada"

Does that work?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

The best method is to script returning with two pearls and the read level/research. There is a chance the returning will trigger another horror. Also the mage
must be in a non cap prov.

Option 2 is to script dd spells for the horrors. However if you get a named horror you will be toast.....
Ssj

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

The spell description for returning is wrong. It works just fine during horror attacks whether or not the caster is in the capital province or their home province.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

RoR is much cheaper than Wish and more versatile. Much better. Still... I would like to wish his pretender dead...

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Even if this were true, 100 astral pearls is not a fraction of 999 blood slaves. If anything 100 astral pearls is a higher cost than 999 blood slaves. It is not unusual for people to have blood slave income in the hundreds.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

999 slaves for Astral Corruption? who said that?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Its so easy to put a huge load of slaves into AC, that nobody is going to try to dispell it outright, especially because it would be right back up the next turn. I don't see anyone bothering to put so many slaves into the effort. Just overcasting with maybe 200-250 slaves total is more than enough.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Maybe Im so dumb. I was actually trying to save a good number of astral pearls for that... and the next turn is up for grabs I guess...

Unless he can cast it as a 6th global so to replace one of the 5 up using again 166+200+ slaves? hmmm, not that familiar with blood economy, caster is Mictlan LE...so is it really that easy to get so many slaves?

Fukc.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I wouldn't suggest trying to dispel AC, unless you have a huge pearl income and there are other globals up with huge overcasts. It is just too easy to put it back up. Having a slave income of 100-200 a turn is not uncommon.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Geez, then unless you are a decent astral nation who can script forgers with returning just in case then there is not much choice but to limit forge and casting to low gem consumption, is there?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Yeah, it's a game winning spell.

The other thing you do is ally with everyone else in the game to destroy whoever cast it. That's why it's a risky game ending spell.

Are blood and astral casting and forging exempt? Or am I thinking of something else?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Actually in my experience AC never was a game winning spell. It hurts the caster almost as much as everyone else, and there are some nations that are very resistant to horror attacks (returning, mandragora bodyguards, ordinary bodyguards + frozen heart, etc) and with proper measures (that require tons of micro however) they can outplay the caster of AC.
Of course if you are already winning it can help you to do it faster because anti-AC measures can be quite expensive. But if your nation is of the same power level as others, I wouldn't recommend casting AC if you play with experienced players.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I would agree, it isn't game-winning. It is just a pain in the butt.

I cast it in the MP Game 'Thunderdome', and it hasn't been game winning. Or game ending. and it hasn't gotten me attacked. It is just a hassle to everyone. Increases time for micro, and is unlikely to do much, you don't even get to watch the battles as 'your' horrors attack the enemy!

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Yeah micro increasing spells kinda suck.

Same problem with wild hunt.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I agree it's a pain because of the micro, but I do like the doom horrors that show up, just because they look cool. Some good side benefits are:

- Send Lesser Horror has a chance to get upgraded to a regular horror
- The Hunter of Heroes will hunt down heroes in the HoF

It's not a game-winning spell IMO. I'm 0-for-3 (maybe more) in MP games where I've cast it.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I'm 2/2 out of games where I've cast it.

I think it depends on the games, and how you've set it up.

If you've played the game to setup the global (deprive other nations of a blood economy, attack astral nations first), and can get the spell off pretty early - its pretty brutal.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

In my case, and the reason of opening this thread, is that I am playing as LA Ermor, and allegedely somewhat dominating the game, having the lead in research and being the first at having forged a decent number of artifacts etc

Thus my opponents casting AC to limit my ability to continue sumonning tartarians, mages and rituals that LA Ermor is based upon.

My opponents have reached a state where they do not care much who really wins aslong as it is not me. As Ermor LA has little Astral I'm quite fukced and c'ant blame them obviously, a good move.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I did not know this! Do you happen to know the chance of upgrade?

I have been forging astral boosters for my S3 mages to let them cast the bigger horror spell; if the chance of upgrade is high, this is likely a waste (or a bigger waste than it already is).

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Yeah, I was wondering if you could still forge blood items as well...

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Its pretty high... also horror marked units spawn bigger and tougher horrors with much lower levels of horrormarking.

Finally the effects of the horror dome become pretty brutal as well.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

So, spamming lesser horror on a province in which you know there is a big nasty, who has a minor horror-mark could produce much better effects than when not under AC?

About horror dome, can you cast it if you are under siege? Will horrors randomly attack both players mages under the dome? I would suspect it could be the last resort of a player under siege at his capital, after being mobbed for casting AC.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I'm the only player I've ever seen use this tactic. I do so in a couple of ways.

1. chokehold provinces, especially chokehold provinces one removed from forts with an active patrol.

usually you want to be careful of unattended labs.. but you can cast the dome, and then destroy the lab, if you wish.

2. forts. Try this as pangea, with your pans stealthy.

finally there is one other very interesting use for the dome, useful for nations that have dominion kill skulpting capabilities such as arco, LA-Pythium, and Mictlan.

Build a lab.
Cast Horror Dome. With just enough blood for a short - medium duration. Start construction of castle.
surround your castle with heretics so no dominion will penetrate.
In a few turns, you will have the benefit of M3 without paying for it

After the dome expires, research your heart away.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

So...just to be clear - are you saying that the horror dome increases magic scales in the province it's cast over? Or am I totally misreading you?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

yes. although its % and I don't know what the % is.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Chris, if you leave the dome up, how do you prevent the mages researching in the domed province from being eaten by horrors? If you let the dome expire, how do you prevent the magic scale in the province from reverting to your dominion scale? If you do not have positive dominion in the province, your researchers will not get positive benefit from any scale.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I've always found it more effective (and easier) to spam a bunch of lesser horrors rather than a few horrors, even when AC is not up. I think 1 out of 3 or 4 gets upgraded to a regular horror under AC.

I had this cast on me while I was sieging an Aby cap. I didn't get attacked at all before storming. The chance per turn must be pretty low (except eventually you'll get marked inside the dome, and then your chance of getting attacked goes up IIRC.) Its best effect is to feeblemind enemies casting remote spells on your province. Just don't accidentally try to teleport into your castle.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I didn't notice that myself. I can't confirm the numbers, but there's a percentage on the Dom3Wiki article on the Dome of Corruption.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Faj,

I can confirm that I am the recipient of several larger horror's the last couple of turns that you targeted me. I assumed you were able to send those, but they might have been a result of my horror marked leaders?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I had to try it :D

out of 8 lessers sent, 3 turned into larger horrors. I don't know if the percentage has anything to do with the level of the blood caster. About half the casters were B5 or higher.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

I don't vfb. No mages (or few mages) in the province I cast it in. Sometimes two - one to cast the spell, the other to destroy the lab (although I forget if I have to do that the next turn or not).



Castle DomeProvince Enemy.

So, suppose you've sent horrors, or previously horrormarked some enemies... you know he is going to hit the province.
Casting dome.. may well way more horrors than you could afford to cast directly.

its highly situational.. but where's the downside. If you cast it for 12 or 20 turns.. usually end up with magic 3.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

You end up with Magic-3 where? In the domed province where you don't have a lab? What is the benefit of having Magic-3 in a province without a lab?

Are you trolling?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Its a niche spell that has several uses.

The first, it can act in a manner similiear to a well of pestilence. Even passing through the province will horror mark enough units usually to make summoning horrors safe in an ensuing combat.

Secondly, if you have dominion sculpting, like I said in my original comment, goingn from drain 2 to magic 3 is well worth the cost of losing one turn of research for each mage.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

The "going from drain 2 to magic 3 plus dominion sculpting" is the thing I don't understand.

You are going to magic-3 scales only in the province that has the dome, right?

Either:

1) you are researching while the dome is up, your mages inside get eaten.

or

2) you wait until the dome is down, but your dominion scales kill the magic-3, if you have positive dominion

or

3) you wait until the dome is down, but you don't benefit from the magic-3, because you don't have dominion


Is there some alternative that I'm just not seeing?

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Yes. With one candle of dominion your chances of having a scale flip are small. Several nations can easily get one candle of dominion, mictlan, lapythium, ea arco. I've lasted 22 turns at a go without losing one scale.

Even if lose dominion in the province, you still lose your penalty (in this case) of -2 drain.

Finally (and this is a tiny bonus)... many events seem to key off scale not dominion.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

Actually, do you need to have positive dominion to get the benefit of the scales, or will neutral dominion (no candles of either color) suffice? Because if you've got heretics/stone idols, getting zero candles is (relatively) easy.

I could maybe see doing this if you had side-by-side castles, and were willing to leave a low value commander or two in the horror domed province to prevent someone sneak-popping your lab.

But it's a lot of micro.

Re: Another quick on on astral Corruption...
 

you need one candle, except for growth.