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Originally posted by apoger:
They do have the forge bonus on the IF main mage.
However I do agree that IF is a weak theme for a nation that is already sub par. Ulm is a very challenging nation and I wish people would stop recommending it to the new players. I suggest Arcoscephale or Man as better training nations.

I don't agree with that : Ulm is good for training as it is relatively easy to play.
I don't find it subpar , but is not flexible, you have to follow a relatively rigid strategy :
* Research/Sage pretender to keep research at a good level on early game, then to find sites
* Try to get indy sages asap
* Focus research in Construction first
* Forge Earth Boots and Dw Hammer asap to maximize item production (funny : the Hammer even works for Blood items !!)
In MP the forge bonus is also very useful to get good trades and keep allies - you build at 50% cost, can sell at 80% and get profit !
* Once your smiths have Earth boots they can use Summon Earthpower to get Earth-3 and summon Elementals, and use nice support spells.