Mongoose - Starting (at last!)

Sensori · #1 November 8th, 2007, 12:55 PM

If you want to use scout decoys, yep, they have to move with the army. Although I think it's not worth your time getting them and using them - it's useless unless they can be in some way useful in actual fights. Hell, for that effect, I just have a crapload of Star Children moving with my army which seem to be preferred targets for your attacks - with full research, they aren't really worth anything to me anymore, other than as a bit more expensive than regular Illithid Mind Blasters.

So, your main problem is that you don't have any cheap commanders which actually would still be worth something in a fight as well, but are expendable enough, too. If you start putting items on them they become better in battles, sure, but then it'll actually sting when you lose them... Which makes it less nice, and not really a good choice when you could put the items on your mages which need the protection a whole lot more.

WonderLlama · #2 November 8th, 2007, 01:41 PM

I think it would have been worth it. I've had plenty of time when I couldn't afford to recruit mages at all my forts to grab scouts. And they're nearly free (20). Your nukes have totally dominated me. But that's neither here nor there. I had them, I just didn't use them correctly.

So just to make sure I understand, they have to move, not sneak. So sneaking units are immune to (most) ritual attacks?

Sensori · #3 November 8th, 2007, 02:38 PM

Yeah. I think Fires from Afar and Flames from the Sky type of things will still also hit sneaking units. But that's different, since, especially Flames, is a rather indiscriminant killer in the first place.

But you know, watching that one fight in the north where you took back one of your provinces was kinda funny. I've never seen one guy getting enslaved, then charmed, then enslaved again and charmed once more before. I wonder why everyone was so happy about hitting that Tartarian Monstrum in particular. ;p

WonderLlama · #4 November 8th, 2007, 03:14 PM

Yeah, that was a hillarious fight. I was upset when he (my highest HP guy) got enslaved, and then when I noticed my guys started casting charm on him, I was really excited and rooting for him. And then he went over to fight my elephants, and I couldn't tell if he was attacking the charmed one or not, so I didn't know if he was mine or yours. That was fun.

There was another one lately when Pangea attacked my raiders with an army and the gorgon. I won the fight pretty handily except for the gorgon. Which passed out due to grip of winter. My whole army proceded to kill itself on her, plus lots and lots of my summons. All but one of my casters were out of range. So I think the frozen gorgon sat there while phantasmal wolves killed themselves on her until the 50 turn autoroute. That one was fun too. Plus I learned a valuable lesson about not always sticking my casters in back.

BigandScary · #5 November 8th, 2007, 06:54 PM

yeah, you really outmaneuvered me with that storm. The Gorgon was set to attack rear, and as I watched the fight all I could think of was "Why is she walking?"...(the sound of me sapping myself) Oh yeah, no flying in storms.

Also, I think sneaking units can be hit by province hitting spells. Sensori's mind hunts killed three of my scouts in Ulmish territory.

Sensori · #6 November 8th, 2007, 07:16 PM

Oh, they did? I guess I was wrong, then, and WonderLlama just got really, really unlucky.

But... That kind of lack of luck seems kind of impossible. I never hit scouts when they were sneaking in Caelum's territory. Maybe you can only hit scouts of other people rather than the one who owns the province?

WonderLlama · #7 November 8th, 2007, 07:59 PM

Well, some of the time I was sneaking my scouts with my army. And then that didn't work, so I guessed that maybe stealth movement came before rituals, so I started moving them one step behind my army. So it's not quite as unlucky as it seems.

But there must be something special about stealth and rituals. I've seen people on the boards say that one of the advantages of stealth is that you can raid and then stealth before your opponent can react with rituals. I wasn't sure if that meant stealth movement came before rituals, or protected against rituals, or what.

Could it be that mind hunt ignores stealth, but summoning style assainations (like earth attack) don't?