How do you keep up with the AI (troop building)

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Kjeld:
It's now turn 20-40ish, there are hostile enemies at my borders, how should I spend my ressources and magic, how can I manage to keep my territorial integrity. ?

First and foremost: Province Defense! I use 21 for most border provinces, 31 for key ones (good magic sites or income 50+).

The other thing that helps is to use lots of summons. Most cost zero upkeep and supplies, which frees my gold and supplies for other things (like temples for dominion push). I use the low-strength summons (Call of the Wind, Army of the Dead, etc) as garrisons, and the good ones (trolls, etc) as shock troops.

Another tactic that helps is to use commander-killing (Wind Ride, Earth Attack, etc) and mass-damage (Fires from Afar, etc) spells on those AI stacks that threaten your borders. The AI will have a hard time attacking without commanders (or with fewer of them) and the mass murder spells will thin them out a bit. Just killing 10-20 out of a stack of 100+ may be enough to make the AI reconsider attacking you for a turn, which gives you yet another chance to hit the AI again.

[Gandalf Parker]

Set the independents a couple of notches higher.
It hurts the stupid AI more than it hurts you.
A larger map might help also.

[Saber Cherry]

I think you just need to expand faster. Expand as fast as possible, early... the AI is obviously out-incoming you. Look at the score graphs - the province graph and income graph should reveal your problem.

[diamondspider]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
I think you just need to expand faster. Expand as fast as possible, early... the AI is obviously out-incoming you. Look at the score graphs - the province graph and income graph should reveal your problem.

Exactly! Too often people give beginners tips regarding this spell or that troop when nothing is going to make any difference if the AI has 3x more provinces than you!

[ February 01, 2004, 16:44: Message edited by: diamondspider ]

[Argitoth]

Originally posted by diamondspider:

quote:

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Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
I think you just need to expand faster. Expand as fast as possible, early... the AI is obviously out-incoming you. Look at the score graphs - the province graph and income graph should reveal your problem.

Exactly! Too often people give beginners tips regarding this spell or that troop when nothing is going to make any difference if the AI has 3x more provinces than you!

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Actually I have a strategy which allows 10 C'tis mages to take out hundreds of units by themselves.

[diamondspider]

Originally posted by Argitoth:

quote:

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Originally posted by diamondspider:

quote:

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Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
I think you just need to expand faster. Expand as fast as possible, early... the AI is obviously out-incoming you. Look at the score graphs - the province graph and income graph should reveal your problem.

Exactly! Too often people give beginners tips regarding this spell or that troop when nothing is going to make any difference if the AI has 3x more provinces than you!

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Actually I have a strategy which allows 10 C'tis mages to take out hundreds of units by themselves.

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Even if 10 Fiends of Darkness swarm them and kill them before they cast?

[Kjeld]

Thanks for all the answers thus far.
Actually, I am rarely behind (or at least, that much behind ) the AIs in the # of provinces owned, or income.

However, I am starting to realize that I tend to put too many eggs in the same basket. I am often tempted to make "superstacks" of very powerful troops, but I am starting to think that more numerous armies, with a lower but decent number of elite troops/mage backing up lower quality troops might allow me to both expand faster, and control marauding enemy armies. I, however, always fear to spread my forces too thin.

Which leads to a question : how many armies and of what strength do you all feel comfortable with ?