[Saxon]

Related to the issue of strategy, how do you search when you take over another player’s land in MP? If you have very different paths, it is easy, you search. However, if you share a path, you have to decide if you should search or not. Do you assume the other player searched religiously with radar spells? Do you assume he will have missed some provinces or only used a low level mage? The absence of a site closer to the capital, to me, suggests it is more likely they searched, but can I be sure?

One does need to consider how many gem sites they had before you took their province, as that will give some indication on how seriously they were searching. Also, if it was a rush victory, the land was unlikely to have been checked, while a victory later in the game would suggest otherwise.

Spending on searches is a form of investment. You want to get a decent return and the first part of the thread helps one calculate that. However, the MP dynamic complicates things. Do you spend the gems/mage time for low returns? I guess part of it will depend on your need for gems, the time you think you will have to recoup the cost and what resources you have free to invest. However, any ideas on how to maximize the return are welcome!

BTW, great point on searches with holy units, thanks for that.