Worst Summon ??

[odd_enuf]

treelords are enchantments, not conjurations, so a conjuration site wouldn't help.

odd_enuf

[Kel]

Doh, entirely true, my mistake.

Otoh, if I had an enchantment site (I didn't), wouldn't that make it even more clear cut sinec Ivy King wouldn't get a discount at all ?

- Kel

[PvK]

Originally posted by Master Shake:
Personally, I love cave drakes for early Ulm expansion. They are awesome for soaking up indy missles, and cavalry charges. Even with a handful of afflications, their role as a pin cushion is unparalleled.

I agree. I've mentioned Podarkes, my elite Cave Drake flying carpet commando squad leader, before.

PvK

[PvK]

Originally posted by PrinzMegaherz:
I dislike those early game summons that only call one unit. It takes simply to lang / too many mages to produce enough of these summons to make them usefull. Take Vine Ogres as an example. They are good early game troops, however you need 10 nature mages with ivy crowns to summon 20 of them, which is the minimum for a decent force. Compared to the 2 earth mages that would give you 24 Clockwork Horrors, this is ridiculous.

Druids with Ivy Crown and Thistle Mace summon 2/turn for ONE nature gem, and have the upkeep of 7 infantry. A nature-1 mage with a treelord staff and ivy crown can bring 3/turn for one nature gem, and probably even less maintenance. Crank crank crank... Clockwork Horrors use a bunch of earth gems, and IIRC require magical leadership. Anyone can lead vine ogres around, and they are relatively tough compared to Clockwork Horrors. Lots of different pros and cons, but Vine Ogres are quite good, even in fairly small numbers, as long as you combine them effectively with other troops. The point is not to make an ALL VINE OGRE army... that wouldn't be so hot. However, combined as something ELSE the enemy must deal with, along with whatever else you have, vine ogres can make a big difference, especially because they don't use food, are fairly fast, and you get a lot of toughness for every spare ordinary leadership point you have.

PvK

[PvK]

Originally posted by Darryl:
... What nature 5 caster is going to summon a Nature 4 caster who can't move? ...

How about a nature-2 mage using a treelord's staff and a moOnline bracelet from the arsenal this month?

PvK

[PvK]

Corpse Man Construction is better when you have one of the items that makes the spell give you more corpse men.

Soulless are pathetic but still take effort to kill, can go underwater and can't be life-drained and are immune to various threats, such as poison (cough) and coral weapons (cough). They are not the worst summons by far, if you use them as part of a larger plan.

So far I only see people posting about units that they don't appreciate because they haven't figured out how to use them effectively.

Worst summon is perhaps summoning something ridiculous using a Wish.

PvK

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by PvK:
So far I only see people posting about units that they don't appreciate because they haven't figured out how to use them effectively.

Thats how I tend to see it. And most of the game really.

I dont really knock such an attitude. But I do like to say that the way to excell in this game is to experiment and find what works for you. What lets you do the things you would do anyway. Other peoples strategys are fun to read but they dont just fit in your pocket like in other games.

Anyway, I highly recommend that anyone people avoid thinking of things as weak or useless. You will find that advanced players refer to them as "things I havent found a use for yet". That way you might test it again later. Or at least you wont be so stunned when you come up against someone who did find a use for it.

[ May 18, 2004, 00:00: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]