Game Over!!

[Saber Cherry]

After you get a feel for Dominions, you forget how lost you were at first, and how all the "obvious" strategies are not, in fact, obvious; but rather things that other people told you, and you never would have figured out otherwise.

[PrinzMegaherz]

On of the most important things to know is, that the AI will always attack the weakest defended province. I usually leave one province without PD, so I know it is this province that will be attacked. Whenever an enemy army appears, I command my forces to move into that province to intercept. This works 99 percent of the time, and prevents the enemy to rampage through your provinces

[castigated]

no one has mentionned archer decoy'ing. basically, put groups of 2-3 cheap troups (militia or something) up in front to draw missile fire. works like a charm against players and AI alike (though players can get around it, but it's not that easy).

[Gandalf Parker]

Not sure if its already been mentioned but as a starting point you might try turning up the independents quite abit. Many early players think that weak indepts make it an "easy" game but it actually just helps the AI to rush you.

You are generally smarter than the AI as far as who to attack. If the indepts are 5 or higher then the player will hold back on the first turn to SEE who is nearby, then attack the province they think they can win. The AI just picks a direction and attacks. If the indepts are weak then the ai can grow quickly winning all the local battles. If the indepts are strong then the ai wastes his first set of troops usually, and sometimes even their god.

[Sandman]

This thread should definitely be stickied, because of Saber Cherry's post. With spoiler warnings.

Don't buy water mages.

Isn't that a bit drastic?

Do:
Hire mercenary mages.
Hire independent mages and especially sages.
Give gems to your mages for important battles.
Script your mages.
Get a level-4 priest to cast fanaticism constantly.
Use fast, flying and cheap units to patrol.
Build lots and lots of scouts and spies.
Protect your mages with a screening force.

Don't:
Engage in a guerilla war against the AI.
Take Golem cult.
Use top-tier mages for research and nothing else.
Use sages in combat.
Try to assassinate a death mage with a bog-standard assassin.
Enter the arena with anything valuable.
Give your mages heavy armour.

[Saber Cherry]

Sandman said:

Isn't that a bit drastic?

Oh, right I was thinking of battle-mages, but water mages are useful for forging a few things, casting Murdering Winter, summoning ice devils and Water Queens, and making clams in an unmodded game. But other mages tend to be more flexible. Overall, I find water mages to be the least useful.

[shovah]

quickness+falling frost can be useful when massed (quite easy with atlantis)

[Endoperez]

Of course it is. It's useful even without massing it. However, Water 3 isn't that common. Quickness + Frozen Heart is much easier to get. The point that there are seldom Water mages on the field stays, and of course there are all those Undead that are almost always immune to cold.

[Cainehill]

Heh. I thought the reason SC said not to buy water mages is because they kill off the other mages by casting Breath of Winter - never leave a water bracelet on a water sage for long.

[shovah]

yea, breath of winter is evil