Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

Hi,

I just got Dominions and have read through the manual (the best manual I have seen for any game btw). I have played the tutorial but not completed it (just played through the turns in the manual) and I have played a couple of short random games (small map) 1 vs 1 (AI Easy Defensive) where I am playing Middle Age Man.

I now have a loose grasp on setting up army orders etc and have progressed to the point where I can win battles against the easy AI in the provinces except when it comes to storming the castle.

My units besiege the castle and batter down the gate. I then give the order to storm the castle but invariably the Prenteder God is way too powerful for my units and even though I can wipe out all other forces, the God is practically impossible to defeat.

Can someone give me some clues as to what I can try please?

My basic army setup is:
Castellan (Prophet) with many longbowmen and some spearmen.
Mother of Avalon with Air Helm and heaps of Air Gems casting Wind Guide and Aim (does Aim help the longbowmen?) from amidst the longbowmen.
Mounted Commander with troop of Knights of Avalon.
Priest casting Bless.
Lord Warden with troop of Wardens of Avalon.

There is still enemy Dominion (about 4) in the target province.

My Pretender God has level 4 in Fire, Air and Nature to get the various Bless bonuses (does the Pretender God need to be with the army for the troops to get the bonus?).

Thanks.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

Try lightning bolting the enemy pretender. Armor negating, and can cause stun damage.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

Thanks for the reply.

So I should have more mage commanders in the army casting spells specifically to defeat the God? My regular troops are very ineffective.

I was going to try a strategy of getting heaps of Lord Wardens armed with magical weapons but mages sounds like a much easier solution.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

You get the bless you start with no matter what happens in the game. (ie. your god dies, gets empowered, whatever.)

Lightning bolts are great always. Try to make some reinvigoration boots on your mages to make them last the battle.

It will help for advice if you list what the enemy pretender is.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

I always wondered why my armies would mop the floor with the AI, but then I'd storm a fort and I'd lose like 10X the amount of men as the enemy and lose the fight. Turns out it's all about morale.

My guys were in enemy domain and starving. I even had the prophet Sermon of Couraging but still the majority of my elite troops had morale 5.

So the moral of the story is when seiging, especially if the enemy pretender has fear and you're in their domain, keep an eye on morale.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

As an aside, I believe Aim doesn't stack with Wind Guide; WG is basically casting Aim for everyone.

If you were playing a nation with stronger priests, an alternate option can be just sitting on top of the castle and preaching away until the hostile dominion vanishes. With Man's cheap temples, you can speed the process greatly by conquering and building temples in all the adjacent provinces.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

First game was against C'Tis. Pretender was an ethereal Sphinx with 1000hp. I only scored 1hp after heaps of battle turns.

Second game is against Arcoscephale with a White Bull Pretender.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

Your army sounds good by the way, and researching and casting Wind Guide is excellent work for a beginner.

In battles where your pretender is around to cast Flaming Arrows, that would also be enormously effective.

As to how to kill the pretenders - lightning sounds like a good idea, or if it's really tough (it sounds like this sphinx is), just sit outside and try to wipe out his dominion with priests and nearby temples.

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

Great advice!

Thanks everyone. I was really at a loose end but this gives me a very clear direction. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle
 

You might try Air Elementals, also. They have an AN (armor negating) attack that can be very dangerous. Plus they fly so they'll skip right over the enemy walls. Make sure to get a fair amount of them on the field tho - dont just cast one and assume it will carry the battle for you.