LA Atlantis, another thread looking for tips

[Jazzepi]

I thought it was fairly effective. You got hemmed in by an unfortunate starting position.

Jazzepi

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Hmm.... things not to do as LA Atlantis, unless you're looking to make your opponent die of laughter.

1). Cast stoneskin on your Frost Father pretender with his 25 chill. It's rather embarrassing to have your super fall unconscious during a critical battle, after about four rounds. He will be affected by his own chill. It might have worked combined with a ring of frost. But thank god it happened to me in SP.

2). Get a Snow Captain with Heroic Agility (increased attack, def, and ambidextrousness), prophetize him, give him two Ice Swords. So far, so good. Now you just need to let him get ahead of the Seal Hunters so they can promptly throw a harpoon in his back at point blank range. Also a SP gem.

He survived, amazingly, only weakened -4 str. I had to draw him back to my fortress, where he has 42 hitpoints, 15 prot, 30 morale, 15 MR, 5 Enc, 18 str (+10 from dominion), 16 attack, and 25 defense. Still no shield, or missile protection, unfortunately.

[Rytek]

I have another to add to the 'not to do" list.

Don't ever have frost wolves guard your mages. Even with 50% cold resistance the mages quickly get over fatigued and die.

[MaxWilson]

Rytek said:
I have another to add to the 'not to do" list.

Don't ever have frost wolves guard your mages. Even with 50% cold resistance the mages quickly get over fatigued and die.

I have to wonder whether cold is really AN as the manual describes. My experience has been that mages casting spells near a chill-equipped monster (Wraith Lord, etc.) take lots of stun damage, whereas normal troops in melee against multiple chill-equipped undead usually don't take significant stun damage unless they're entirely surrounded. (I am, of course, accounting for the fatigue they suffer from regular melee attacks. I mean above and beyond.) This makes me wonder if cold damage is perhaps AP instead of AN--I think it must be at least AP because Agarthan Blindlords with 24 protection still take some cold damage when grouped with Sepulchrals.

-Max

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Here's my tip on fighting undead.

You're likely to have a lot of Tungalik's on hand, but be uncertain how to use them. The answer depends somewhat on what undead nation you're facing.

Ctis and Ermor both get MR boosting prayer. While Pangaea does get special prayers, but no MR boosts. And then there's nations like the Ktonian Necromancers, who get no special prayers.
Among the last two, Banishment is effective, but against the Tomb Kings isn't likely to be enough on its own. That's where Dust to Dust comes into play. It's easy to overlook this level one spell, but it will continually prove useful throughout the game. It does 22 damage, with a range of 25, and is both armor negating AND ignores magic resistance. And did I mention that it attacks the entire square?

It's main drawback is its low precision, but you'll likely have a bunch of death mages on hand, there's little friendly fire, and undead tend to travel in groups.

I've used four Tungaliks (with support) to just ravage four Banes. Needless to say, I got the better part of the bargain. Because it's area affect, its not a total waste against MR boosted skeletons/skelly cavalry either.

it's effective against LA Ulm's Ghoul Guardians, too, and several other late age units.

If you've got Angakok, Cleansing Water looks similar to banishment, but with two key differences. First, it is not negated by magic resistance. Second, it has a fatigue cost, but that only comes to about 13 with 3 path water and 3 encumbrance. It's a handy method for clearing out lesser undead. That unfortunately takes until Evo 6, but don't underestimate the utility of Dust to Dust, available much earlier.

[sum1lost]

Witherbones trumps Cleansing water against undead, unless you have way more water mages than death mages.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I hadn't noticed that spell, but it does look superior. Though the lack of D3 mages (though easily accessible with forging or lucky picks) does put a damper on its use, especially at 50 fatigue. Still, its worth at least three - though probably more - Cleansing Waters, and works against tougher targets as well.

[vfb]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
2). Get a Snow Captain with Heroic Agility (increased attack, def, and ambidextrousness), prophetize him, give him two Ice Swords. So far, so good. Now you just need to let him get ahead of the Seal Hunters so they can promptly throw a harpoon in his back at point blank range. Also a SP gem.

He survived, amazingly, only weakened -4 str. I had to draw him back to my fortress, where he has 42 hitpoints, 15 prot, 30 morale, 15 MR, 5 Enc, 18 str (+10 from dominion), 16 attack, and 25 defense. Still no shield, or missile protection, unfortunately.

Ha ha ha . I've been playing a little SP LA Atlantis 'cause this thread got me interested. I find it really hard to get my hapooners to throw their harpoons, and when they do, half of the nets end up on my guys. But the nets look really cool, so I can't stop doing it!

By the way, I made my first Angakok my Prophet. I figured the extra base HP and the ability to self-buff with quicken self would be nice. He's W4D2. Then the next Angakok I recruited was A2W3D2. Damn, Mirror Image and Mistform too! I supposed I'll thug the new guy out anyway. Even though he won't have Prophet HP, he can still bless himself.

[SelfishGene]

Remember LA Atlantis' only real advantage is that it's a fully amphibious land nation; it faces many of the same problems that EA Agartha has to confront. Only, imo, LA Atlantis has an even narrower magic base from which to build it's empire.

Things like Burdon of Time are a good idea for Atlantis and takes advantage of some of it's few subtle advantages, like it's near immunity to old age with units that have lifespans over 500 years. Send Tupilac is a questionable spell, as the Tupilac has very poor attack and defence ratings, and it's only certain to kill weaker commanders. (Of course, i've had a Priest Starspawn, unequipped, fight and kill a Vastness that attacked it summoning stuff, so victory is always possible).

Ulimately Atlanis is a nation whose armies are built around mobility not staying power. Use that mobility to get an advantage over your opponents.

[Ewierl]

SelfishGene said:
Remember LA Atlantis' only real advantage is that it's a fully amphibious land nation

It goes one better: try playing around with the amphibious + sailing combo. You can do fun things like starting in an deep-sea province and leaping over a hostile shallow-sea province to hit a land target on the far side. Good scouting is key, because your armies can be just about anywhere anytime if you've got an ocean handy!