Static defense guide

[mrlich]

What is a good defense guide? I want to capture provinces, built a castle and leave them protected. Even PD 125 won't stop a determined attack and I don't like to move my main army all over the place to break sieges.

[parone]

this is not a strat that is going to work for you, my friend. i'm a lousy player, but i can tell you this-you can't defend everything

[mrlich]

I'm just tired of getting stalemated by AI LE Ermor. They attack in stacks of 400-2000 and slaughter the PD. Even with purgatory and the spell that attacks heretics in your dominion, their numbers still manage to grow. That's with a dominion of 10 and a temple in each province.

[Admiral_Aorta]

solution: don't play against AI late age ermor.

[BewareTheBarnacleGoose]

Don't defenders automatically win battles after the turn limit? If so, can't you just kit out some zero enc thugs for high defense and protection, and just wait until the end. The undead will just die when they route since they are mindless, and if you really want to be static, dont move your thugs.

[krpeters]

Originally Posted by Admiral_Aorta

solution: don't play against AI late age ermor.

This is the best answer. Playing against AI Ermor is the least rewarding game possible.

2nd option: give up on "static" defense. It's not going to work. If he is attacking, you must either counterattack with a stronger force or withdraw. Harrasment generally doesn't work in dominions, although you could try archers set to "fire and flee" and mages/priests set to 5x whatever and then retreat.

[Fantomen]

Originally Posted by krpeters

This is the best answer. Playing against AI Ermor is the least rewarding game possible.

2nd option: give up on "static" defense. It's not going to work. If he is attacking, you must either counterattack with a stronger force or withdraw. Harrasment generally doesn't work in dominions, although you could try archers set to "fire and flee" and mages/priests set to 5x whatever and then retreat.

On the contrary I find AI LE Ermor to be the only nation the AI can play somewhat competently. Since LE Ermor, even in MP, is about scorching the earth and drowning the world in undead. You just have to make sure the AI has a relevant pretender (enough death for the summons, dom10, preferably immobile or immortal) This means that it can actually be a challenge to play if you let the AI get some headstart, so it can be somewhat rewarding. It's also thematic to fight the evil empire. It still gets boring pretty soon, but at least it is somewhat viable training for the chaff aspect of facing LE Ermor in MP.

IMO any other AI nation is good only for keeping the game going when testing expansion, and to test if thug builds can handle unlimited chaff. I'd love to enjoy playing the AI, but that would require it to do at least basic stuff, like building forts and hiring good troops.

Static defence is actually great against AI LE Ermor. Mass priests and battle thugs with AOE weapons in the chokepoints and let the AI kill itself. Reverse communioned magepriests are the best, you can get crazy banishments going. There are also some sacreds that can kill unlimited amounts of undead chaff with the right bless. For example LA atlantis. The cruical factor being an earth bless that gives 0 enc and enough protection that the undead can't hurt them. Or you can go with battlefield killers like bone grinding and solar brilliance etc. Once you've secured a frontline where the AI can make suicide you can outfit antichaff thugs to raid the ermorian territories wildly until the mass of chaff ebbs out, then finish it of with an army to go and take the forts. Not that I ever played a SP game to completion, but that's how it would go.

What does NOT work is trying to outchaff LE Ermor (ie high PD), thats pretty obvious.

[Soyweiser]

Harsh lesson learned by the french in WWII, static defenses are obsolete! BLITZKRIEG!

[BewareTheBarnacleGoose]

Originally Posted by Soyweiser

Harsh lesson learned by the french in WWII, static defenses are obsolete! BLITZKRIEG!

Yep, blitzkrieg is pretty much the name of the game here, a la all of the elite guides.

[Shardphoenix]

LA Ermor? Play as LA Abyssia/LA Marignon with high dominion, cast Purgatory and bloodsacrifice like there`s no tomorrow. Purgatory fries undead in your dominion based on the dominionscore, so in provinces with 10 candles it kills them all.