Bug: Retreating into enemy territory

[Endoperez]

How can you "make" assassins? That implies someone spent gems on him, and spending gems on anything that can be killed by province defense is very risky. To my knowledge, no one has figured out how to make massed assassins useful in competitive multiplayer. If you feel someone has, I'd very much like to read how me managed it.

The problems with assassinations are two-fold: assassins die easily, and assassins need items to kill their targets.

Very few nations have worthwhile national assassins. EA and LA Abysia might have, but they're capital-only, which severely limits their use. C'tis Empoisoners are nifty because enemy mages will spend gems against them. Blood nations can put a Black Heart on anything stealthy, which opens up some really tough creatures - Jotun Scouts and Pans, for example - and that MIGHT be worth it. However, most assassins lack the offensive ability to kill someone with bodyguards, and can't surive more than a few of the things a mage worth killing can cast.

Not to mention that assassins can be killed with province defense, patrolling militia or spells like Mind Hunt that can target stealthy commanders. Note that assassination spells and normal assassins are usually talked separately, because the former are used and the latter aren't. Assassination spells can be sent anywhere, their gem cost/success ratio is better and your enemy can't switch his army to "patrol" to remove the troublemaker.


Now, there are exceptions. Assassins can be used to force a player to give all his important commanders bodyguards (taking resources away from elsewhere) and/or invest in patrollers, and a surprise assassination can really ruin someone's plans. Succubi (with their good hp and flight) are tough and fast assassins, and there's always the small chance of successful seduction. Black Heart could also change things.

As I said, if you've seen assassins used effectively, more detailed explanation would be appreciated. As you've noticed, most people here don't think that assassins are as bad as you make them to be. Alternatively, you could just start using assassins yourself - most people here wouldn't expect them, so it could end up working really well.