Best Researcher for LA Abysia ?

[HoneyBadger]

I like magic 3 with Abyssia, and then I use the little blood 1 guys-they're cheap, easy to mass, not susceptible to immediate old age, and function well as researchers when I'm not using them all for bloodhunting-which I'm often not.

[Wokeye]

Yeah I favour more cheap mages, as long as you have the castles to warrant it. Recruit Warlocks etc for spellcasting/forging.

Currently I have decided not to play Abysia any more, it is way too frustrating with the old age diseases destroying my researchers and spellcasters, despite Boot of Youth and nice assassins. It has totally destroyed my game a few times now, as my empowered/nice random pick mages drop off the perch.

There should be a bit more earth magic across the ages (demon knights, that scorpion guy), or perhaps some unique mid-late game fire/blood summons IMO.

Alternatively, I wonder about the effect of Boots of Youth taking away the 'old age' (dis)ability entirely, to never have the old age disease.

[dirtywick]

I think Boots of Youth are a little high up the construction tier.

[chrispedersen]

I have no luck with abysia whatsoever. But when I do play abysia I always buy N5 and race for Enchantment, just to deal with the damn age.

I usually imprison, to maximize scales - besides I don't need the nature until late in the chart. +3+3+3+atleast1,X,+3

Then I usually buy cheap mages, later subbing them out for blood searchers.

[HoneyBadger]

One thing I do is to concentrate on the few-but good-Abyssian units that don't have aging problems. It's one way to limit your expenses/resources.

[Chris_Byler]

IMO, old Abysians' afflictions shouldn't depend on the growth scale, but on the heat scale - heat should reduce their affliction chance the way growth does for ordinary units, and cold should increase it.

Then they can take their 240 points and still have reduced afflictions for their old guys - as long as they stay where it's nice and warm, anyway.

It would go a long way toward bringing them back toward where they used to be as a nation, in Dom 1-2.

But it would require recoding of a kind only Illwinter can do.

[HoneyBadger]

I totally agree. Great idea!

[coobe]

so growth is worthless to abysia ? im playing with cbm, but it seems the problems there are the same. there should really be more earth/death random picks...

so warbreds are the way to go instead of sacreds ? all the other nationals seem to lack something special for that price

[JimMorrison]

That's actually excellent, they live long productive lives in the furnaces of inner Abysia, but where you have old age problems most is the campaigning mages out with your armies, pushing into new territory. Still a nuisance, but not entirely crippling.

I hear daily lava baths do wonders for arthritis. >.>

[llamabeast]

Presumably you can use an N4 bless and shrouds of the battle saint to keep your favourite mages alive. At 3 pearls apiece (with a hammer) they're pretty cheap.