What makes a skillful Dom 3 player?

[Twan]

Winning without more diplomacy than "ok NAP 3" and "I end the NAP" is perfectly possible. It's just a matter of luck, and success to look like a medium threat (too big for one neighbour alone, too small to have a big coalition against you).

I think early game luck (like being surrounded by rich badly defended indy provinces, finding good indie mages early, having one neighbour trying to rush another guy and not succeeding well so you can expand quietly, or a nation weak against yours to rush) is mosty what decide who are the players who can compete for victory, it's very rare to be in the list after a bad start.

Then midgame reduce the list to the people who have also a good knowledge of their national magic possibilities and a good execution of their plans (how many battles are won/lost because of a gem forgoten somewhere or a cancelled move order ?), and like I said above, succeed to avoid a coalition against them.

Then if there are still several competitors, late game limit one more time the list, to people who know well the limitations of the engine and the imbalances of the game, using standardized strategies winning against anything else (magical economy items, diversification to death/astral magic, tartarians, art of defensive round one casting, knowing the big list of summons/spells/units not worthing to be used at this stage of the game, etc...).

Finally in this group victory goes to the one who know the better how the others play, and is able to predict some crucial ennemy moves, going to the good provinces with the good units and scripts is crucial as it's often a matter of "if I go there and he send force X I win, but if I go there and he send force Y I lose".