Build order

[HotNifeThruButr]

I usually play on Aran with the minimun number 5 opponents, and even though there are over a hundred provinces to go around, I always find myself clashing with a computer before or right after I've "liberated" all the provinces around my capital. I figured the problem lies in my inability to expand quickly. I'm currently using this "build order," but if you use a more efficient one, please enlighten me. This order is without a supercombatant pretender.(BTW, this is for T'ien Ch'i, but the order should still be almost the same for any other nation but Ermor.)

Turn 1: Send scout to neighbor province. Train the cheapest priest (Ceremonial Master) and as many Imperial Guard as my resources would allow. If my Pretender isn't a rainbow mage, I'd train a Celestial Master instead.

Turn 2: Attack the weakest or most rewarding province with my starting army, my new ceremonial master, and Pretender (or Celestial) follow. Train Imperial Archers (or Crossbowmen if the next province I've got my eyes on is full of heavy infants) and a Ceremonial Master (no Celestial)

Turn 3: Build temple with master and patrol with Eunuch. If I used a Celestial Master instead, I'd search first and make a temple in turn 4. If not, then I'd search with my rainbow Pretender this turn. Train more Imperial Guard and a Eunuch to lead my second army.

Turn 4: If my first army is still in good condition and there's another weak province next to it, I'd attack with the first army and a ceremonial master, followed by my Pretender if I picked a rainbow mage. Train more Imperial Archers/Crossbowmen.

Turn 5: By now, I should have a good amount of Imperial Guards and Crossbowmen at my home province. I'd lead my second army out with the ceremonial master to a weak province, or if it's a strong one, I would wait until next turn. Pretender searches, master builds a temple, and first army patrols. Train more Imperial Guards if my second army isn't full, and a spare Eunuch.

Turn 6: If I'm after a tough province, I'd pincer attack with my 1st and 2nd armies, if not, then my second army will patrol in its province and ceremonial master builds temple. Rainbow pretender moves to the province with second army to search next turn.

By now, I've stumbled upon the enemy, even at Easy AI.

[Gandalf Parker]

Main answer: turn up the independents. They give the AI more trouble then they give you. I dont know why a setting of 3 is default. I think 4 would help alot of newbies. 5 works well with normal AI. Personally I prefer 7.

some opinions of my own
Initial turn: put everyone on research that can, and the rest on patrol. Hire any mercs. Turn taxes to 200%. Build whatever is best to boost your troops and the merc depending on nation. Healer, bows, flyers, cavalry. Whatever is lacking. Notice what you ran out of first in making troops, gold or resources.

2nd turn: take weak neighbor with an eye on whatever you ran out of Last turn. Build cheap patrollers (or turn down taxes). Rent more mercs.

Always build a commander of some sort. Always put 1 in a province defense, 11 if its important (lab, special recruitable units), 21 if its a chokepoint or has a castle.

Take every province that connects directly to your castle. Then start selectively doing provinces.

[ April 12, 2004, 01:28: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[HotNifeThruButr]

Always make commanders? Even without troops to command? Do you mean comms that can fight, since Eunuchs are useless in a brawl?

Edit 1: about taxes, I usually take a high order domain, how high can I crank out taxes if I want no unrest with 1, 2, and 3 levels of Order?

[ April 12, 2004, 01:35: Message edited by: HotNifeThruButr ]

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:
Edit 1: about taxes, I usually take a high order domain, how high can I crank out taxes if I want no unrest with 1, 2, and 3 levels of Order?

The order/turmoil scale has no effect on unrest. Any taxation above 100% will cause unrest and population death. Any taxation below 100% will cause unrest to decrease and the population to remain the same.

edit: Fixed my error in the Last sentence, low taxes reduces unrest.

[ April 12, 2004, 02:17: Message edited by: Graeme Dice ]

[Yossar]

Why wouldn't you attack with your army on turn 3? Searching provinces and building temples are important but if you feel like you aren't expanding fast enough, those are the main culprits.

[HotNifeThruButr]

I really like having a temple in every province, is it really necessary? I remember when I used to put fortifications in every province, until I found out that they were more effective without neighboring forts.

I usually don't attack on turn 3 because my army would have just got licked, and I loathe losing income to tax reductions, so I find patrolling better. I'll try it your way.

[Duncanish]

Any taxation below 100% will cause unrest to increase and the population to remain the same.

Taxes below 100% cause unrest? I thought they lowered it. Or have I been making a big mistake this entire time?

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Duncanish:
Taxes below 100% cause unrest? I thought they lowered it. Or have I been making a big mistake this entire time?

Sorry, that's a typo, and I've fixed it in my post now.

[Yossar]

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:
I usually don't attack on turn 3 because my army would have just got licked, and I loathe losing income to tax reductions, so I find patrolling better. I'll try it your way.

Hmm? In your turn order it doesn't seem that you're reinforcing your army after turn 3 so being licked shouldn't matter. If you are getting licked, keep it at home an extra turn and make it stronger. Also, I loathe losing population to patrolling much more than I loathe losing a tiny amount of income for one turn from lowering taxes.

Temples are nice and eventually youre going to want quite a few of them, but at the beginning you can use the 200 gold a lot more effectively buying troops, mercenaries, or fortifications. In your case I would spend it on mages. You usually aren't in immediate danger of having your dominion wiped out and the benefits of the temple aren't so great until you get closer to the enemy. There are exceptions but Tien Chi with a non-SC pretender is not one of them.

[ April 12, 2004, 02:53: Message edited by: Yossar ]

[HotNifeThruButr]

So you just build temples at border provinces? I thought dominion power increases income or something too.