Dom 9 or Dom 10?

[Jazzepi]

Little question to you people out there that like awake SCs. I'm thinking about making one in a new game, and I was curious if there's a huge difference between awe +0 and awe +2 from the 9-10 dominion shift? I get two scales worth of ticks if I go from awe +2 to +0. Or could buy up some more magic paths.

Let me know what you think. The SC in question is a kraken.

Jazzepi

[Kristoffer O]

Of course you go for 10. You can get better titles that way

[Jazzepi]

Kristoffer O said:
Of course you go for 10. You can get better titles that way

And this is why you never win.

Jazzepi

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Yes, there is a huge difference - around 16%, I'd guess. Check the chart on page 5. No guarantees I understand the mechanics correctly, but here's my interpretation.

If you're facing standard 10 morale troops, you could expect to suffer around a third less blows or so as compared directly to awe 0. But compared to the total number of attacks, awe 2 might be expected to protect you from 70% of attacks. That's not as great as it may seem, since a 14 morale troop would hit you 62 % of the time. To consider though, it requires no research, benefits from friendly dominion (weakens enemy morale), and morale is not a static number, and is influenced in a variety of ways. Unlike defense, awe is not reduced by fatigue, and usually increases in value as a battle drags on.

In conclusion, I can't make up my mind.

[Jazzepi]

Keep in mind Krakens have a base of like 250 hitpoints. attacking from a 2 candle province brings you well over 300.

Jazzepi

[Velusion]

Jazzepi said:
Little question to you people out there that like awake SCs. I'm thinking about making one in a new game, and I was curious if there's a huge difference between awe +0 and awe +2 from the 9-10 dominion shift? I get two scales worth of ticks if I go from awe +2 to +0. Or could buy up some more magic paths.

Let me know what you think. The SC in question is a kraken.

Jazzepi

I almost always take an awake pretender. To answer your question: it depends on how badly the scales are needed for a particular nation and what kind of awake pretender is it.

If it is a combat pretender that mostly uses fear to take out indy's then yea... I'll almost always take dom10. If it is a pretender that can take a beating and you are pressed for scales then I would consider taking dom9 or maybe even lower and just play conservatively.

Safest bet: Run the build with your nation through a test game and see how safely they take out indies. If it can do it just fine with Dom9 or less you can save some points.

[Aleph]

Depends on your model. A gorgon can probably get by with 9, since it's part of a compound defense. A prince of death probably wants 10, and enough death magic to boost fear radius a bit as well.

For me, the choice isn't between 9 and 10, it's more between 5/dormant or imprisoned and 10/awake. Once you've gone that far in your concept, you might as well see it through.

[Evilhomer]

Velusians tip is sound. Play a few test games uptil turn 15 or so and see how well you do with your build.

[Jazzepi]

Velusion said:

I almost always take an awake pretender. To answer your question: it depends on how badly the scales are needed for a particular nation and what kind of awake pretender is it.

If it is a combat pretender that mostly uses fear to take out indy's then yea... I'll almost always take dom10. If it is a pretender that can take a beating and you are pressed for scales then I would consider taking dom9 or maybe even lower and just play conservatively.

Safest bet: Run the build with your nation through a test game and see how safely they take out indies. If it can do it just fine with Dom9 or less you can save some points.

I ran the build with Dom 10. I really tried my hardest to get the pretender killed with throwing it at the hardest ocean indies I could find with indy level 5. No matter what I attacked, including provinces with sea trolls and smaller krakens in them, he wouldn't even go below half.

I honestly don't think I need the scales. The only thing it would buy me is luck zero (up from misfortune 2), or magic 3 (up from magic 1). Or I could take production from sloth 3 to sloth 1, but I don't think that's terribly useful and all I'd be doing it for is the gold. None of the units I want to build have that.

Jazzepi

[Kristoffer O]

Jazzepi said:

And this is why you never win.

Jazzepi

I'd say I win every time, while you can't decide if you are a winner