Newbie questions...

[deccan]

Okay, after playing the game for a while, here are some newbie questions:

1) How does one defend against "Seeking Arrow"? I see that "Air Shield" works because I once got a message saying that a general's air shield repelled a seeking arrow, but what else? Does high protection help? How about lucky? Sometimes, my moving armies get hit by seeking arrows. Does that mean the enemy targeted the province the army was in or where they were going to be?

And oh, I know about domes and such protecting provinces. What I really want is to help my moving generals as such from being killed by these things all the time.

2) How does lucky work anyway? 50% of attacks miss? That's really powerful isn't it?

3) How do bless effects work? Sacred troops who are blessed gain bonuses depending on your pretender's current magic paths? So, in theory, you could empower your pretender to be good in all magic paths, and your sacred troops could cumulatively gain all of the bless effects? Does it depend on dominion in any way? Does that work the same way with that item that makes units permanently blessed?

4) How do I find enemy spies? I've heard that having units patrol provinces work? But what are the factors involved? Having the commander have a lot of units under his command, having a large patrol bonus or what?

5) If I have growth scale of 0, does that mean that my population is static, so that if I ever want my population to grow, I must take a positive growth scale? If so, then with a growth scale of 0, disasters cause permanent population loss to provinces!

6) What combat spells are good? So far I see that my mages mostly either miss, do piddly damage or damage insignificant targets. I know that combat support spells are good, but I read that people can build mage heavy armies and do most of their combat damage through spells instead of troops, so I'd like to know how that's done.

Okay, more questions as I think of them.

[Cainehill]

Originally posted by deccan:
Okay, after playing the game for a while, here are some newbie questions:

1) How does one defend against "Seeking Arrow"? I see that "Air Shield" works because I once got a message saying that a general's air shield repelled a seeking arrow, but what else? Does high protection help? How about lucky? Sometimes, my moving armies get hit by seeking arrows. Does that mean the enemy targeted the province the army was in or where they were going to be?

High protection helps the commander survive, but it'll stay take a severe chest wound (+5 encumbrance). Luck, etherealness, and air shield (from item or permanent bless - think prophet or the shroud) all give a chance of totally evading the effect. Some think that the best defense, however, is to have lots of chaff - cheap commanders like scouts in the province, so the scout dies instead of someone else.

And it targets the province they were in - spell effects like that take effect before normal army movement. Not sure the sequence of events if, say, a commander teleported or cloud trapezed at the same time the arrows were sent.

2) How does lucky work anyway? 50% of attacks miss? That's really powerful isn't it?

Yep, that's why 9 out of 10 housewives prefer Pendants of Luck.

3) How do bless effects work? Sacred troops who are blessed gain bonuses depending on your pretender's current magic paths? So, in theory, you could empower your pretender to be good in all magic paths, and your sacred troops could cumulatively gain all of the bless effects? Does it depend on dominion in any way? Does that work the same way with that item that makes units permanently blessed?

Blessings are based on your Pretender's starting magic paths - neither empowerment nor death changes the blessings. If you want heavy blessings, you have to build them into your pretender at the start.

And no, dominion doesn't affect blessings, except maybe the Death-9 blessing, as I'm not sure if they'll come back to unlife in hostile dominion.

4) How do I find enemy spies? I've heard that having units patrol provinces work? But what are the factors involved? Having the commander have a lot of units under his command, having a large patrol bonus or what?

Province Defense (PD) 10 or more has a chance of catching spies; PD 25 (such as in capitals) will nail most normal (stealth 0) scouts, with diminishing chances as you get to stealth 25 or 30. Patrolling armies have a chance as well - flying troops patrol well, as do commanders or troops with a patrol bonus. Not sure if the size of the patrolling army really matters, nor if two patrolling armies is better than one patrolling army twice the size.

5) If I have growth scale of 0, does that mean that my population is static, so that if I ever want my population to grow, I must take a positive growth scale? If so, then with a growth scale of 0, disasters cause permanent population loss to provinces!

Yeppers, pretty much. There are events (supposedly) that cause population to increase, but I think you have to have a Growth scale to get them. So, otherwise - taxes, patrolling, and disasters reduce population, rather like entropy.

6) What combat spells are good? So far I see that my mages mostly either miss, do piddly damage or damage insignificant targets. I know that combat support spells are good, but I read that people can build mage heavy armies and do most of their combat damage through spells instead of troops, so I'd like to know how that's done.

Depends on the mages. If a spell targets a single person, either the mage or the spell has to have a good precision - air mages with lightning bolts, for example, are very effective. Air magic gives a precision bonus to the mage, lightning bolt has a high precision bonus, and best of all - lightning will always find a target, if it hits a square with targets. (Not counting if the target has luck.)

Poor precision mages are best using spells with large areas of effect - area of effect 1 at a minimum, larger is better. Fireball is good, for example, but Abysia's mages will often miss with it, sometimes even at point blank range. Good thing most of their troops are immune to fire.

0 range area effect spells are also potent, if the mage can survive being up close and personal, and is also immune to the spell's damage. Various lightning and fire spells originate at the caster, for instance; these can also be devasting to friendly troops and commanders as well as to the enemy.

But a mage with high 'defenses' (etherealness, Defense, mistform, armor, awe, even hit points) can be quite potent if it can cast immolation, shockwave, etc, while right in the middle of the enemy.

Hope this helped.

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by deccan:
1) How does one defend against "Seeking Arrow"? I see that "Air Shield" works because I once got a message saying that a general's air shield repelled a seeking arrow, but what else? Does high protection help? How about lucky?

You might want to read this thread:
Defeat Seeking Arrow?

Does that mean the enemy targeted the province the army was in or where they were going to be?

Spells take place before movement.

What I really want is to help my moving generals as such from being killed by these things all the time.

If your enemy is using commander attacking spells, then you need more commanders to soak up those spells.

2) How does lucky work anyway? 50% of attacks miss? That's really powerful isn't it?

Yes, it's fairly powerful.

3) How do bless effects work? Sacred troops who are blessed gain bonuses depending on your pretender's current magic paths?

Bless effects depend on pretender paths at creation. The current magic does not matter at all.

4) How do I find enemy spies? I've heard that having units patrol provinces work? But what are the factors involved? Having the commander have a lot of units under his command, having a large patrol bonus or what?

Patrol the province, or have 10 or more province defense in that province. Patrol bonuses work as described on those units that have them. The unit acts as a number of extra patrollers.

5) If I have growth scale of 0, does that mean that my population is static, so that if I ever want my population to grow, I must take a positive growth scale? If so, then with a growth scale of 0, disasters cause permanent population loss to provinces!

Population only grows with a positive growth scale, and yes, disasters cause essentially permanent loss.

6) What combat spells are good?

There are far too many to make a simple list.