I have never won a sp game...

[shovah]

just won my first sp game doom horror prophet with 9 everything bless then wished for power on itself ( 9 everything bless came from wishing for magic power with my pretender alot )

[High_Priest_Naresh]

I can only PBEM so if any one or ones want a quick game....

[magnate]

shovah said:
just won my first sp game doom horror prophet with 9 everything bless then wished for power on itself ( 9 everything bless came from wishing for magic power with my pretender alot )

?? The bless effects are fixed at the start of the game, so wishing for magic power on your pretender shouldn't make any difference. Can you post a screenie of your prophet with 9-eveything bless?

I really don't understand how people's games can go on for so long that they cast loads of wishes and empowerment and stuff. My longest game ever (on Orania map) is 86 turns. That's enough to get one or two schools to level 9 (on Normal research) - maybe 3 if you ignore the others. I have never yet cast Wish in any game, simply because Alteration 9 is so low on my list of priorities (Blood 6, Conj 7 or 9, Alt 6, Const 8, Ench 5 etc.).

I do agree that mopping up the last couple of dozen AI provinces is tedious when I control 90% of the map, but I don't really like any of the other victory conditions. You can control 5 of 8 capitals (or even 7 of 8) and still not be in a winning position. Ditto with VP provinces (really hate those). I guess I could go for a "80% of provinces" VC.

Anyway, I've read a lot of stuff in recent threads about how crap SP is, and I love it. I love MP too, of course, nothing gets the adrenaline going quite like it, but I think SP is fine. Ok so the AI is not perfect, but it's still challenging enough. I don't build castles (because I know the AI cannot) but otherwise I play exactly as I would in MP. It's good practice.

CC

[Wyatt Hebert]

Having played Ulm quite a bit, I have a few remarks to give you.

1) Jotunheim is a really bad matchup for you. High Cold adds to your fatigue problem, and they have the Strength to blow right through your armor, and you can't kill them nearly as fast.

2) My recommendation for troops is fairly simple. Go with the 10G 24R Morningstar troop (NOT the Black Plate guy). Produce 5 or so a turn, and a set of like 30 of these guys can typically eat through most provinces... 60 can chew through lots of stuff.

3) Watch out for any kind of magic issue. Your resistance is pathetic.

4) Master Smiths are immune to the Drain Scale, so get 120 extra points by maxing that out. I would recommend Order 1/2, Production 2/3, and Drain 3, at the very least. If you can get Order 2, Prod 3, you can pump out troops rather quickly.

5) Mercenaries are excellent for early expansion, and a few of them can be excellent even late game. Use them.

6) Use good summons, and keep looking for sites. For Ulm, I would recommend researching Thaumaturgy 2 immediately (to be able to use Gnome Lore), and then working on Conjuration or Enchantment (depending on your Pretender).

Those are my first thoughts on how to build a game that is stacked in your favor. I personally avoid ever taking Turmoil or Unlucky, and only like taking Death as Ermor. And, yes, I agree that Soul Gate Ermor will typically cream the computers barring early mistakes or problems.

Wyatt

[High_Priest_Naresh]

1.mercs. are good but you need the right ones
2.I do use summons! have you seen my thread tarraques?
3. I use mages quite alot and I do not play ulm that often usally its rley(something like this?) mictlan and tien ci
4.I know how to use these perfectly well but the comp. just smegs me!

[shovah]

if your playing as ryleh go for maelstrom and arcane nexus if playing witheasy research and lots of sites and when you have around 20 or so mages crank out priests.

with that maestrom running if your worried about getting crushed, summon loads of krakens/sea trolls or something like that.

if you like ryleh (which i do) then try playing as atlantisatlantis, their mages are very cheap for what they can do(try clamming with atlantis) and with maelstrom you can pump out troops like nobodys buisness (try getting the 3 water queens and then start kraken spamming, if i did my maths right with maelstrom and your main province you can really crank out underwater nastys(for atlantis i suggest a pretender with 6 water 5 nature and some earth and atleast 3 astral for dispel)

atlantis are really underestimated and with those big preiests spread around and focused in your capitol its hard to get dominion drained. and yes i do have an obsession with gem making globals(hugs gem making globals)

edited for reading purposes

[PDF]

shovah said:
if your playing as ryleh go for maelstrom and arcane nexus if playing witheasy research and lots of sites andhwne you have around 20 or so mages crank out priests. with that maestrom running if your worried about getting crushed summon **** loads of krakens/sea trolls or something like that and if you like ryleh (which i do) then try atlantis, their mages are very cheap for what they can do(try clamming with atlantis) and with maelstrom you can pump out troops like nobodys buisness (try getting the 3 water queens and then start kraken spamming, if i did my maths right with maelstrom and your main province you can really crank out underwater nastys(for atlantis i suggest a pretender with 6 water 5 nature and some earth and atleast 3 astral for dispel)atlantis are really underestimated and with those big preiests spread around and focused in your capitol its hard to get dominion drained. and yes i do have an obsession with gem making globals(hugs gem making globals)

Whooh, I'm totally out of breath after reading that !

[shovah]

probly my longest and most messy post yet (hugs self then stops and trows up, i feel sick 2day)

[Wyatt Hebert]

Most mercs can be very useful if you know what to use them for... as an example, the 30gp Mutant merc group is perfect for Man... Use them as the expendable meat shield to keep the enemies off of your Longbowmen and rip the guys to shreds...

Tarrasques are, by any normal thought process, a late-game summon. Better investments are the unbreakable wall of Vine Ogres (which you can start getting _very_ early if you have good Nature Magic) and the Elemental Kings/Queens.

Another strategy that is almost fool-proof, imo, is to play any country with good Nature gems and Nature mages and play a N9 or N10 Naga, get Haruspex, then blitz for Summon Lamia. The Naga will get something on the order of 10-12 Lamia per summoning, and they are very solid wall troops against most enemies. An army of 50 of those (4-5 turn investment) will kill most enemy armies up to twice their size (conservatively).

If I have time tonight, I'll spend more time on other strategies. Enjoy,

Wyatt

[shovah]

Wyatt Hebert said:
Most mercs can be very useful if you know what to use them for... as an example, the 30gp Mutant merc group is perfect for Man... Use them as the expendable meat shield to keep the enemies off of your Longbowmen and rip the guys to shreds...

Tarrasques are, by any normal thought process, a late-game summon. Better investments are the unbreakable wall of Vine Ogres (which you can start getting _very_ early if you have good Nature Magic) and the Elemental Kings/Queens.

Another strategy that is almost fool-proof, imo, is to play any country with good Nature gems and Nature mages and play a N9 or N10 Naga, get Haruspex, then blitz for Summon Lamia. The Naga will get something on the order of 10-12 Lamia per summoning, and they are very solid wall troops against most enemies. An army of 50 of those (4-5 turn investment) will kill most enemy armies up to twice their size (conservatively).

If I have time tonight, I'll spend more time on other strategies. Enjoy,

Wyatt

that would work pretty good with a carrion woods pangea and then some little manakins could join in as well