Is magic worth it?!?

[Ironhawk]

If you are playing the AI and want to see the power of magic, you shouldn't be using Astral. Try the elemental magics. The most obvious example is using a strong Earth nation in EA and casting Blade Winds. Just try it and see - it will open up your eyes to the power of battlefield magic.

Then, when you are ready to take it up a notch, play a nation with strong Fire and cast Firestorm or Flames from the Sky (the really high level one) in midsummer.

[General_Jah]

So if I am understanding some of you right... LA magic has less of an impact on the game... In your opinions does minimizing this huge dynamic of the game (magic) in the LA and to lesser extent MA, make the game less strategically complex? If I am wanting a more strategically complex game do you recommend sticking with EA?

What are most MP games played with?

Any recommendations for a good SP experience?

thanks!

[Jazzepi]

The only difference I've noticed of magic in the game is that EA, by default, has a higher random magic site level.

I guess the nations are suppose to have less access to good mages, as well.

Jazzepi

[Shovah32]

Magic has a strong impact in every age. Certainly there are some very strongly magical early nations(abysia gets F4+randoms on a mage, caelum A4+randoms ect) but LA has some decent mages too(check out patala) and in any game lasting a long time magic will probably be the main factor. As gandalf said small maps, weak independents(7-9 is most common) and many opponents all lessen the effects of magic and limit the time and resources avaliable to develop your magic.

Play a single player game with the minimum reccomended ai players, indies set to 8 and other settings on normal and you should get to use some magic.

LA Arco isnt really a good choice for seeing the powers of battle-field magic when your just starting. Astral is mainly single target up until the end game and nature isnt really a combat path either. Try the game setting i reccomended with EA Abysia and hire a bunch of mages(trying to get atleast a few annointed of rhuax for later) to quickly research evocation(up to atleast falling fires). You national troops are fire-immune so they wont take damage from your fireballs and falling fires which should decimate the enemy.

[Ironhawk]

Yeah, i think that is a valid statement. Magic has less impact in LA cause your mages arent as powerful / dont have as good randoms. But I think the extent of the impact is highly debatable.

If you are looking to maximize the dynamism of a game you should play EA. There will be, on average, more summoned units, more interesting battlefield spells, and more globals due to the prevalance of magic.

[General_Jah]

Shovah32 said:
Magic has a strong impact in every age. Certainly there are some very strongly magical early nations(abysia gets F4+randoms on a mage, caelum A4+randoms ect) but LA has some decent mages too(check out patala) and in any game lasting a long time magic will probably be the main factor. As gandalf said small maps, weak independents(7-9 is most common) and many opponents all lessen the effects of magic and limit the time and resources avaliable to develop your magic.

Play a single player game with the minimum reccomended ai players, indies set to 8 and other settings on normal and you should get to use some magic.

LA Arco isnt really a good choice for seeing the powers of battle-field magic when your just starting. Astral is mainly single target up until the end game and nature isnt really a combat path either. Try the game setting i reccomended with EA Abysia and hire a bunch of mages(trying to get atleast a few annointed of rhuax for later) to quickly research evocation(up to atleast falling fires). You national troops are fire-immune so they wont take damage from your fireballs and falling fires which should decimate the enemy.

thanks i will try that!

[General_Jah]

SlipperyJim said:
[*]WISH ('nuff said)[/list]

I'm a noob... what does wish do?

[Gandalf Parker]

You can wish for things.
Pretty much anything.
It has a long list of keywords that it recognizes and the combinations still have not been fully explored.

[Taqwus]

Well, it depends on what you wish for. Spawns a dialog box and asks you to type in something...

'Death', incidentally, is a valid if not necessarily optimal choice.

[Shovah32]

Some things you can wish for include gems(over 100), blood slaves(250 iirc), various pretenders(such as dragons, although they appear as units), seraphs(considered by some to be the single best SC unit), death(guess what happens), troops(300 militia) and any creature in the game(and many other things too).