Total rookie comments

[aldin]

Having lurked on this board for the Last two weeks trying to get a handle on Dominions 2, I think you'll all understand when I say that - after forty hours of gaming time - I am finally a rookie. I hope you'll tolerate (and comment upon) a series of ideas/conclusions to which I've come. My focus is players who, like myself, never played Dominions 1.

-Getting Started

1) When picking your learning nation avoid death and blood magic as well as underwater nations.

2) Feel free to test drive a few nations, but try to pick a single nation to really learn.

3) Pay VERY close attention to your race's mages. Since much of your research will be aimed at empowering THEM, try to pick spheres of magic for your pretender that capitalizes on the research you will be doing anyway.

4) While learning, use the same map over and over.

5) Pretenders have two basic focii, research or combat. When designing a pretender, pick one, don't try to do both. Even so, your choice of nation has more effect on what makes a good pretender than the research or combat focus do. Since pretender design was one of the most baffling things to me:

-Nations with good holy troops and strong priests benefit greatly from pretenders with lots of magic (for the blessing boosts).

-Nations with resource heavy troops benefit greatly from pretenders with high admin castles.

-Nations with costly troops benefit greatly from pretenders that increase the Order scale.

-If completely lost: Pick any mobile pretender with 50+ hit points. Give them at least four spheres in any two magic schools (except blood and death). Make dominion >=5. Take no negative scales. Pick an admin 30 or 40 castle. Spend any remaining points to taste. This is a basic combat pretender.

6) Early on, you should be cranking out a leader of some sort EVERY turn. Spies spy, Priests preach, Mages research and Leaders lead - and the more, the better.

7) Check for mercs every turn. The judicious use of early mercenaries will win you lots of provinces before you're able to churn out a real army.

8) Make sure a couple of your troops are assigned as bodyguards to the leaders. Bodyguards are allowed to help defend against assasination.

9) Learn which items you can craft. Some have a tremendous amount of use for a very low cost.

Okay, those are the things I wish I had known before I started. If I'm setting myself or others for a big fall with any of these items I'd appreciate correction. I'd also appreciate comments on what it appears I may still be missing based on my list. Thanks!

~Aldin

[Nerfix]

Just one question:

Why should i avoid death or blood magic nations or underwater nations?

[liga]

thkx ... and what do you think about special sites reserach ? In the beginnign I use my pretender quite only to find out new sites ...

do you have also not speak about the prophet ... is something that a rookie (like me) need to know ...

anyway, thkx for this rookie tips

good play
Liga

[aldin]

Nerfix,

From everything I can figure, Death Magic, Blood Magic and Underwater Nations all require unique, sophisticated playing styles and are thus unsuitable for learning the game.

Liga,

I don't have a perfect grasp on when to search for sites. I've also used my pretender that way very sucessfully after I didn't NEED them for reasearch or combat. Make sure you get priests out looking too. Highly mobile pretenders (like the Moloch, flying 3) are awesome searchers.

I left out prophets in part because there's another thread going on prophets and in part because I don't think I have a good feel for the best way to use them yet. My current thoughts have me using the prophet on my defensive border maintaining dominion while my pretender is on the active front spreading dominion.

~Aldin

[LordArioch]

I understand why blood magic and underwater nations aren't good for new players, but there's nothing wrong with death magic itself, but just some themes that use it.
Nations to avoid:
Ermor (Any theme, Default is most normal if you must play Ermor)
Pangea default theme
Pangea Carrion Woods
Mictlan
Ctis Miasma
Ctis Desert Tombs
R'yleh
Atlantis
Marignon Diabloical Faith
Caelum any theme

None of these are probably a great choice for a nation to learn the game with. I might have left something out, but all of these have some unique and possibly problematic features.

Also for prophet choice at least, my general rule is a decision based on the nation's best priest level.
Level 2 priest: Commander becomes prophet for sermon of courage
Level 3 priest: Priest becomes prophet for fanaticism
Level 4 priest: Scout becomes prophet. Smite is nice but my lvl 4 priests are usually busy casting fanaticism anyway. The scout can spread dominion outside of your provinces and stealth preach.

[aldin]

Originally posted by LordArioch:
I understand why blood magic and underwater nations aren't good for new players, but there's nothing wrong with death magic itself, but just some themes that use it.

Lord Arioch,

Awesome! Really appreciate it. As you probably guessed, my experiences with death magic were with nations you listed (Ermor and Pangea Carrion Woods I think). I think I'll try some death spheres with my next pretender 'cause some of the spells/items look really interesting.

Also thankful for the prophet ideas.

~Aldin