[Wendigo]

Originally posted by Jasper:
This is a very popular strategy and effective strategy; 3 out of 6 players in my current game seem to use it![/QB]

Err, just 2 now, I already killed the 3rd one.

I am the one who just bLasted Jasper's sieging force with a MW, (feel the wrath of the true God you infidel!), so, by references & seeing as Pocus also asked for my opinion, here it goes:

I have mixed feelings regarding the army bLasters, I recon they are both powerful & flexible due to their nº of hits being % based on the size of the targetted army & the abilty to strike from afar, I do however disagree with the point about them being particularly unbalanced when compared to the many other cost-effective aspects/combos/etc of the game. They are just another tool, and they are counterable.

In Jasper's case he spent like 200 or so waters empowering his Nataraja in water & summoning a couple Sea Kings with their retinues, those gems could have been spent in protection gear for his mages & cold resistant troops for example, which might -or not- have been a better option...everything has a trade-off in this game: he made his choice (in a game with a 3 cold Caelum, a 3! cold Jotunheim & a 1 cold Vanheim), I spotted his weak point & took advantage of it. In his discharge it must be said that he's been playing a brilliant game until present and he still has chances to win seeing as I am outsized by my 2 enemies...I only really have a broader experience in endgame warfare to face them, and that might not be enough after all.

FFS comes very late in the game. Leprosy has a slow effect & the diseasing can be ignored by some & cured by others. Murdering winter is weather dependant. The bLasters have their counters & balancing points: resistances, hit points, domes, weather, cures, killing the caster....

One particular point in favour of the army bLasters is that they are one of the few options vs the armies that consist in an horde of mages supported by relief & communion. How should a player that is outclassed in these points face that kind of army otherwise?

By limiting MW we would be affecting the balance between the nations strongly, and downing even more a magic field (water), that is considered by many one of the weakest. IN Dom I IMO Air rules the mid game, while Astral & Blood rule the end game, certainly not Water.
While Caelum could certainly take a little balancing this would be the first time I heard that Jotunheim is too powerful...this is a nation with no proficiency in 3 out of 4 elemental magics, outclassed in Astral by the big Astral nations regarding its combat mages & with huge survival needs.

While we are at this, I will add that I disagree with Alex' list of whammies. While all those are certainly strong tactics, most of them are countereable &, although powerful in the right setting, you can both win without most of them & you can fight them.

If I had to name the most decisive/unbalancing factors of the game in Dom I MP I would name the following:

1.- Diplomacy
Yes, diplomacy!. Nothing more fustrating than being ganged by 6 opponents. While diplomacy can sometimes work in favour of a better game by giving the big guy a challenge it most often than not is used as a way to get an easy, unchallenged win. Diplomacy is the most powerful weapon in the game.

I cringe when I see demands of an increase of this in MP games with stuff like 'right of passage', the Last thing we need is to make these gangfest easier. No problem with an increase of diplomacy options regarding the AI in SP, but diplomacy is strong enough as it is in MP.

2.- The full economy+combat pretender with no magic+full taxing/patrolling triada: Either you play this way or you are handicapped, because all the MP games I have played have either been with Normal or Rich settings, and this is the way to go in such games.

Hopefully this is going to change in Dom II, and we will see funnier designs with more magic & less economy.

3.- Supercombatants: Wyrms & Nataraja types early on, IDs, Pazuzus, FIs and other breeds later on.
This is the way to go for victories with no cost, they are an all or nothing bet, but when they win they win big.

This is also being tonned down a bit for Dom II, which is good. I like playing with these guys, it's funny to equip them & tailor them to the opposition, but they are too strong as the game stands.

4.- The army of summoners backed up with relief. I am surprised this doesn't get complained about more...field 20 mages, have them cast spells as if they were 60 instead, what's balanced about this?

The above 4 are my 'whamies', and IMO you need to use at least 2-3 of them in a vet game or you will see them used vs you & lose. I consider army bLasters secondary when compared to the above four.

--editted grammar

[ October 16, 2003, 11:22: Message edited by: Wendigo ]