Guide: LA R'lyeh or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dreamlands

[Squirrelloid]

Originally Posted by Illuminated One

I'd go the other way round, I'd first build a research base from the cheap mages you have around and then start building some combat mages.

Here's the problem I have with that theory: you won't get the starspawn mages you need reliably, and that's a problem. There are a lot of possible combinations, and only a few of them are really desirable (many of the others are pretty interchangeable). W3S3, W1E2S3, W1S3D2, and W1S5 are your preferred combinations for most purposes, and to get those in any numbers you need to buy a lot of mages.

Further, starspawn mages are more efficient turn-wise with research, and are more efficient capability-wise as well. I'll pay the extra upkeep/purchase price for that versatility alone. That they are better than the priest starspawn at any activity isn't something to be looked down at. Only after my versatility needs are met would I start to think about specialist researchers. (If you could purchase the exact paths you wanted when you bought a mage my opinion might be different, but the random element means I want to have those mages before i need them so i do have them when i need them and don't need to spend 4+ turns buying mages to try and get the one(s) i need).

Its not like you need to buy troops. You're trading gold efficiency for other kinds of efficiency, and advantages like research tempo and crafting tempo.

Edit: Want efficient cheap research? Craft skull mentors.