Impart Wisdom on this Newb Please

[Pug]

Hello People:

Well, I'm new to DOM II ... been playing a few days or so and I think I have the basic concepts down pretty good. Just a few questions I need help with please:

1. Is it correct to say crafted items only enhance stats on commanders only?

2. Am I a wimp or playing incorrectly if I tend to keep all my commanders in back?

3. Does the AI always go a big land grab? It seems #Provinces is a key AI strategy. How do Human players do this w/o spreading too thin and leaving everything unprotected? Or should I even bother to worry about this. I tend to expand area methodically while ensuring some defenses are created or available.


Thanks for the help, Mike

[Ironhawk]

Most items effect only the single commander that you give them to. Some will effect the troops around them, like the morale standard one. And others can have a battlefield-wide effect, like the staff of storms.

In the early game you are not likely to be sending your commanders into battle on the front lines, no. They are more useful for moving troops about and whatnot. But as the game progresses you will be able to equip commanders (usually higher level summons) with kits of magic equipment that will turn them into SCs (SuperCombatants). And then you will most certainly want them in the front lines.

Of course you could also just pick a SC Pretender right off the shelf, too...

Additionally, during early expansion you are unlikely to have encountered any enemy empires. So you might as well just expand as fast as possible. Once you bump into some enemies just convert that indy-killer force into a temporary defense force until you get a fort built or bring up a reserve army.

[ June 29, 2004, 23:42: Message edited by: Ironhawk ]

[Cainehill]

Early game, I'd say that most commanders should stay away from the front line of combat, but there are certainly exceptions. Pangaea's centaur commanders, for example, can easily handle being put close to the front, with orders along the lines of "Hold, Hold, Attack Closest", depending on the enemy. Archers, Militia, light infantry, aren't really a threat to him. Crossbows, heavy cavalry / knights in the province being attacked require moving such commanders to the rear and perhaps removing the "Attack" command altogether.

Primarily, it's the armored cavalry commanders I'll throw into the melee - they usually have enough defense and armor protection to do quite well, and also have the mobility to outpace the enemy when things go sour.

Originally posted by Pug:
2. Am I a wimp or playing incorrectly if I tend to keep all my commanders in back?

Depending on the Nation you are playing and the survivability of your commander(s) you should not waste resources without the reward being enough (I.E. taking a province that you normally wouldn't have been able to, or by saving significant amount of gold/time by sacrificing said commander). This is especially true when you *need* a commander (since troops cannot move without a commander) and should be avoided at all costs when you only have a single commander to lead your troops or otherwise enhance their capability (Like a Priest) to fight without an immediate replacement.

3. Does the AI always go a big land grab? It seems #Provinces is a key AI strategy. How do Human players do this w/o spreading too thin and leaving everything unprotected? Or should I even bother to worry about this. I tend to expand area methodically while ensuring some defenses are created or available.

The AI has several nuances about it's province grabbing. It will usually take the weakest provinces then expand into weakly defended opponent (other Pretender) provinces rather than throw themselves at a heavily defended Indep Province. But at some point, usually during the midgame, the AI will try to take those heavily fortified Indep Provinces sometimes without sufficient forces (more often than you'd think). If you make yourself inviting to take provinces from (little to no defenses) the AI will see that as a sign of weakness and usually declare war (if it hasn't already).

[Saxon]

Commanders in the back is a decent idea for many of them. I tend to spread them out from the default starting point, in case they attract arrow fire.

I like giving military commanders missile weapons and having them fire at the rear. It is a bit of a lottery, but it is a way to target enemy magic Users. I like to take weapons which have fun effects, like feeble mind or instant kill, so when I get lucky, I get really lucky. You can consider adding an eye of aiming to this type of commander. This is not a game winning strategy, but does give you a bit more than normal.

For spell casting commanders, you need to look at what you want them to do. Some are casting spells which boost your troops and their location is important. Body ethereal, for example, is a nice little boost, but you have to be in the middle of the troops to have them receive it. Some people put the troops on hold and attack, with the spell caster sitting in the middle of them. Other spells have a range and you need to be relatively close to use them. Consider things like Pendants of Luck, which give you a 50% chance of avoiding a hit, for magic commanders.

Do you expect to win easily or do you think you might lose and run away? In tight battles, leaving commanders at the back gives them a higher chance of escaping. Personally, I avoid battles that I can not win easily. Overwhelming force means few loses and conservation of strength, while a close fight leaves you shattered and weak. That said, sometimes you have little choice and should think of the potential of a loss.

Finally, Johntun, the race with the giants, has very different commanders. They are very big and tough, so you play them differently than other races. Run a search on super combatants to get some ideas of how to play with them and SC pretenders.

[Pug]

Thanks for the replies people. I'll take your advise and continue to "experiment" ... heh. Still have much to learn, but having a great time doing it.

I still have some difficulty determing effective ranges of everything and I know there's a grid in Battle view that is probably useful. Heck sometimes I dont know if a unit is range equipped or not ... i.e., do they throw the spear or jab with it. Also, I remember I read somewhere about stacked orders, but I been playing w/o that because I completely forgot ... until the game I'm about to start.

Lastly, I wish there some ref to describe relative effectiveness of everything. For example, when you first start playing, DEF 8 dont mean much if there is no scale or point of reference. Guess experience applies here.

Thanks again!

[Boron]

Originally posted by Pug:
Lastly, I wish there some ref to describe relative effectiveness of everything. For example, when you first start playing, DEF 8 dont mean much if there is no scale or point of reference. Guess experience applies here.

Thanks again!

if you right click there is always a description like for def :
a normal soldier without heavy armor has a def of around 10 , a heavy armored of 5 + a description of the mechanics of defence and attacking .
i find it very useful