Dumb QUESTIONS

[Arryn]

Originally posted by deccan:
Because of this, in my Tien Chi game I'm finding that I can win every battle with my better quality, massed troops, and still lose strategically because I can't chase down every one of the enemy's troops. It's real frustrating.

Feel like you're in Iraq?

[Sheap]

In the single player game, if you attack the computer players' home province, it will draw their fleets like a magnet, saving the annoying "whack a mole" syndrome.

The AI tends to attack the most weakly defended province. You can't catch enemies by attacking where they are, but once you get the knack you can often catch them by moving to where they are going to be.

Another option, which works also in MP, is to simply defend the important provinces, and ignore the others.

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Sheap:
The AI tends to attack the most weakly defended province. You can't catch enemies by attacking where they are, but once you get the knack you can often catch them by moving to where they are going to be.

I used this exact technique to devastating effect versus Ashikaga in my AAR. I "ambushed" the AI's armies in and near his capital, repeatedly, to weaken the AI until I was ready, and confident, that I could take his capital without fear of an effective counterattack.

[deccan]

Originally posted by Sheap:
In the single player game, if you attack the computer players' home province, it will draw their fleets like a magnet, saving the annoying "whack a mole" syndrome.

I assume you mean his capitol. That won't work for me. In my game, I'm fighting the Caelum AI and they're far and away the most powerful nation on the map. They've taken down the Jotuns, Pythium and Machaka and now only me and Abyssia are left. This means that his capitol is a long, long way away from where I am.

I think Caelum's troops are crap compared to mine, since I get huge kill ratios in my favor all the time whenever I can catch one of their armies, but like I said, I can't field enough armies to hold a frontline against them, so they're all over the place.

What I'm doing right now is summoning an angelic host every 3 or 4 turns and having them raid behind enemy lines destroying temples. Caelum seems to have a temple in every province they control.

Note: Abyssia shares a border with me but don't seem to be attacking me. Is the AI smart enough to realize that it should ally with another nation to beat off a more powerful enemy even though there's no diplomacy in the game?

[Atrocities]

Just finished my third game. Man this game is addictive. The micro-Managment though can become a bit tiring though.

Another question, how do you attact water cities? There was a peach of one just off my coast and I could not figure out how to attack them.

Also are there naval units? What other units are available in the full Version of the game? Air, additional ground, etc???

[Arryn]

Originally posted by deccan:
Note: Abyssia shares a border with me but don't seem to be attacking me. Is the AI smart enough to realize that it should ally with another nation to beat off a more powerful enemy even though there's no diplomacy in the game?

The AIs will preferentially tend to go after the biggest perceived threat, which as you describe is Caelum. The AI (at least for most of the nations) also tends to build temples in every province.

While Angelic Hosts are one of my favorite summons, because they can act as "fire brigades" just like you're using them for, the normal angels of the host are somewhat fragile (especially compared to the archangel leader). You might want to step back for a bit and switch to building SCs capable of taking and holding the provinces you're presently raiding into. Especially if you have death magic and good death gem income, which is excellent for such purposes.

[Cainehill]

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
If you own the province you can click on scales, and on taxes, and on defence. Defence gives free troops if you are attacked. Local militia which differs with each nation. It can be very helpful for not losing provinces too much. I tend to use defence numbers like 1, 6, 11, 21

Why 6, 11, 21? I tend to go 2 ( because a scout _might_ get lucky against PD 1 ), 5, or 10, and only very very rarely pay the expense of going to 15 or 20, if I think I'm going to immediately be on the defensive with my army there also.

( For the inexperienced players : A benefit of jacking the PD up in a contested province that also has your army in it : The PD acts as chaff, soaking up a lot of casualties that your army, and quality troops, might otherwise take. And then, as long as you managed to hold the province, the PD regenerates, even if it was _all_ killed. )