MP: Primordial Cake - [Game In Progress]

[AreaOfEffect]

Shunwick, the best way to learn how to play, in my opinion, is to play more MP games. Also, your knowledge of the spells can be the most limiting factor in this game. With the right spells, paired with the right mages, 5 plus 40 dudes can route almost any early game opposition. Last of all, you will never learn the most essential aspect of MP by playing alone, which is diplomacy. That said, I'm glad to hear your doing so well so far. Good luck to you.

Everyone, I've extended the timer to 36 hours. We are going along on at a good pace and I don't want to lose that. Still, people are heading into player verse player mid-game conflicts, which requires more attention. Gath vs Ermor, Ulm vs Mictlan, Atlantis vs Marignon, and Pythium vs Robot Abyssia are all examples of current or upcoming conflicts.

[Groundworm]

shunwick, I fully agree with AreaOfEffect. When I started playing MP Dominions 3, I was awed by what an awesome spell Falling Fires is. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing on any level- I didn't know the spells or even how the magic system worked, I was unaware how to script or where to position my units, didn't know how defense and protection worked, didn't know about fatigue, etc. Forget about late-game magic, communions, and thugs/SCs... way over my head. And how to build a pretender or what strategies to use... yeah, still haven't figured that out.

But playing MP is an excellent way to learn, even if it is a trial by fire. You'll lose. A lot. I've played about 15 games so far and have one only 1, and consider myself happy to have won even that one. As long as you have fun in MP, keep doing it, and you absolutely will get better. Part of improving is seeing what your enemies do and taking their tricks for your own!

[YellowCactus]

Yep Yep! +1 to the above posts!

Some of the best players never win the game. (They are just too scary, and people team up on them!) But the devil is in the details.

Build lots of scouts, try to catch a view of battles between experienced players. Everyone has different styles. One guy might have great coverage with battlefield mages, while another player builds strong diplomacy. There are a few 'Game Winners' in the late game, but I'm not very experienced in late game, just know you want to team up on anyone who casts certain spells like...

Burdon of Time: Kills off everything that isn't Undead. Ermor
Darkness: All provinces yield 1/10th gold, armies can't fight well. Used by Nations with Darkvision
Astral Corruption: Kills off all mages! Used by Blood nations.
Gift of Health with Tartarian Gates: Cures the afflictions of HUGE magic undead SC's.
There's a spell that gives you 1/3 of all Gems used every turn by all players......(WOW)

Some battlefield Combonations to watch out for....

Super Combatants: Single Hero with fancy equipment. You want to know how the enemy is equiping SC's before you meet them on the battlefield. If the enemy has high Defense, try to swarm them. If they have high Protection, use armor piercing/negating attacks. If they have low moral or magic resistance, use that against them. There is always a weakness.

If you see a faction using an element to destroy entire armies, start fabricating items to protect against that element.

Example is Caelum calling Storms and then electrocuting entire armies on the battlefield.

Oh, now I'm rambling...Just make sure you have lots of scouts in the field. They are your best defense, and strategic edge!