[Esben Mose Hansen]

Originally posted by Ironhawk:
1) Blanket an area w/ army+defense:
This tactic basically means I have to deploy far more troops (and spend on defense) a great deal more than the enemy has to spend to build an attacking force. This implies that the game is offense favoring.

More or less. If games are to end, ever, the game must be slightly favored toward offense. Otherwise, everybody would just hole up. A few points, though;

a. Firstly, you don't have to pay upkeep for you PD. He does. PD combined with a real army is more powerful than it seems, though not against huge armies.
b. If you can enclose his army and break it, even partially, he will lose those troops. Breaking (parts) of an army is usually not that hard. Enclosing big armies corks well. Also, see 2.
3. He will (probably) be fighting in your dominion. This is a huge handicap, especially since breaking quickly becomes a real troop killer. Cavary and/or flying units set to e.g. hold+attack rear do a terrific job in capitalizing on breaking.

2) Traps and Guesswork:
As I said in the original post I already do this - I'm looking for a better way :}

The key here is TRAPS. Humans can also be tricked. Use baits (you pretender works well), partially concealed armies, hide your armies just beyond sight and so on. This is how dom was meant to be played, I think.

3) Castle Spam:
Technically, this solves the problem, BUT at the cost of ruining the fort resource gathering. This is turn (while costing a fortune) would also mean a terrific amount of MicroManagement since all your troop building could no long be focused on key forts due to resource shortages.

Yeah, it works, and it sucks. I fervently wish that castle spamming is killed by a balance adjustment of some sort. I suggest an global earthquake like spell, that destroys 10% of all castles in the world. Mhu-hahahahahaha. I'll put castlespamming on my deathlist together with wish and the clam

5) CounterAttack:
A valid strategy. But it sidesteps the fact that there appears to be no good way to defend.

As I said, it is important that offense is slightly favorable to defense. Also, it is easy to forget how expensive that pillaging-army-until-it-dies strategy is for the offensive player. Try doing it to the AI once, and see how well it works for you

6 + 7) AI Strategies:
Those are good strategies for the AI, but I am looking for MP strategies in the long term.

That was just examples of 2 and 5

The only thing that I've seen so far that might really address the fact that offense has the advantage are these new maps that people are talking about. But it saddens me that this effectively means that Dominions 2 at the base level favors an all-offense strategy!

All-offense is a catostrophy. Try it againt the AI if you please. No amount of offense is going to give you dominion, and dominion is a key to victory.

BTW, all of this advise is useless against the Vampire Queen-wielding camp. Against those, only a high dominion and extensive alliances help And you will still get beaten.

To quote an english author that rose to some esteem. "I'd rather be a canker in the hedge than a rose in his grace.": I'd rather lose every single game than stoop to micromangement. Too bad the best magic school (blood) cannot be used without mucho micromangement