Utterdark : Living With It

[Atreidi]

I had never seen this ritual as a problem until now. I am playin EA Hinnom and the enemy is casting Utterdark again and again. They do not posses the darkvision powers but they are still casting it. I have dispell it twice but he just keeps on casting it. I am trying to summon uints that have no maintenance but many of my provinces' defence is being weakened by the lack of funds and constant attacks.

What would you do?

[Gregstrom]

Given that Hinnom has ample summons with Darkvision, I'd suggest attacking. Maybe use your non-darkvision units as chaff to reduce your upkeep?

[Renojustin]

Dispelling is naturally easier to do than any other ritual. You can just force him to keep recasting it, and eventually run him out of gems. Attrition!

[PvK]

You can also form a team to strike at the source, one way or another - go slay the caster.

[Zeldor]

What? Keeps on recasting Utterdark? He either won and is flooding with gems or you have insane amounts of gems too. Put 5 of your own really strong globals or attack him with 50 tartarians and all lords of civilization you should have.

[NTJedi]

Atreidi... is this a human opponent or computer opponent?

[Atreidi]

Humman Opponent. Hes nasty. I dont know where he is getting all those gems from. Hes got about 15 more provinces than me, (Playing the Cradle Map). I cant afford to cast dispell since my peal gem production is too low.
I've lost alot of territory in the last couple of turns thanks to Tiechi's Impossible AI. Is it my imagination or is my City Defence Points degreasing with each passing turn. My upkeep is always about 1000 and my income only 300.

I would gladly slay the caster but I dont know were he is, nor have I the means to get to the other side of the continent. In addition I have Vanheilm steath armies attaking me all over the place. ;(

[MaxWilson]

Renojustin said:
Dispelling is naturally easier to do than any other ritual. You can just force him to keep recasting it, and eventually run him out of gems. Attrition!

<cue Fiddler on the Roof music>

"Attrition! Attrition!

Who turns day to night
To summon scary beasties
Making bloody feasties
Munching flesh and bone?
And who has the right
As master of the world
To have the final bite at home?

EA Hinnom! EA Hinnom!
Attrition! Attrition!"

-Max

P.S. I can't decide which is creepier, Hinnom or Bogarus. Both of them seem a lot more evil and scary to me than LA Ermor. Fivefold Angel? Brrrr!

[Baalz]

Blood hunting nations do surprisingly well under utterdark. Bloodhunting isn't effected by it, and demons all see in the dark. Use whatever gold you have to just recruit blood hunters and switch to just using demon troops. Depending on your research level, Hinnom has easy access to:

Those national lighting throwing demons.
Demon knights
Devils
Hoard from hell
Ritual of the five gates
Arch devils, Heli-however-you-spell-it, Lords of Civilization.

You've also got those quasi-imps in the conjuration tree for nature gems who are cheap, see in the dark, and work quite well after being buffed by bloodlust and weapons of sharpness.

Ps. Go tit-for-tat and put up Astral Corruption on top of Utterdark. Then stick your tongue out at him.

[Sombre]

Hinnom doesn't have easy access to the lightning throwing demons. They require A2B2. They also aren't as good as the Se'irim for the cost.

But Hinnom has plenty of summonable DV units and demons, that's true.