Wishing for snatch?

[Baalz]

No, you have to realize Humakt that the only thing people complain about are the extremes. The game is so complex that clever guys who spend a lot of time on it are invariably gonna find very potent combos, you can play in some newbie games until such stuff isn't so intimidating. Also, keep in mind that all the really scary stuff only comes about very late game as the game is usually about to be over and it keeps the game from dragging on forever. Plenty of games end before gem producing items can gain critical mass.

It is indeed not too hard to get access to every path by the time the map is divided into 4-5 large empires who have site searched fairly well and have hundreds of gems coming in per turn, can empower, summon most everything, forge most boosters, etc. Obviously you're not usually going to be strong in every path, but you can do a lot with a single guy able to cast spells in a path.

[Humakty]

I'll concentrate on one game so to see one day an empire like the ones you describe.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

If you're not enthusiastic about these hypotheticals, consider staying in smaller games. 15 provinces per player, max, 8 players or less.

Smaller games do have some advantages over large in fun factor. While I'm trying out a large game (for curiosity's sake), I'll probably return to playing in smaller games once thats done.

I haven't seen huge, 100 pearl factories in the games I've played in so far, though I expect that may (I'm not certain, now) change with the Big Arse (20 player) game I'm starting up, and will almost certainly be something to keep in mind with one of the 72 player megagames.