Re: VQ Counters - NO Debates
There's basically two ways to go about the problem: Deliberately target the VQ and attempt to destroy it, or simply strike with sufficient force that the VQ is not equal to the task of defending against your attack.
If you want to deliberately kill the VQ, you have to put it down outside of its dominion, or jack the capitol. Capitol jacking is fairly straightforwards, but odds are that the VQ, as the most potent item available to the nation, will certainly try to attend. We'll cover this in the next chapter. You can attempt to kill the VQ in actual combat, which can be rather difficult, or you can try to kill it OUT of combat, which can be easier: The VQ is a physically fragile chassis without its buffing spells.
Killing it in combat can be done either by rushing, as the VQ is a poor fighter without its buffing spells up, or by targetting its weaknesses and using anti-SC spells: As undead, they're susceptible to accurate anti-undead spells like Solar Rays, which can be cast either by your mages, or by herald lancers. Drain life and petrify are other good choices: Drain life will inflict 100-precision damage upon the VQ, and fatigue it at the same time: As the VQ flies, it will invariably outrun most chaff and be in front, and thus be targetted first. Petrify instantly paralyzes any target and cannot be resisted. Once paralyzed, you can put it down with either attacks from units that can survive its damage shields, point-blank arrowing or bolting from archers, preferrably with fire arrows, or with more drain lifes.
Alternatively, you could just rush it in a dogpile of fliers: As the VQ is a flying creature, it can be specifically targetted through the use of "Attack fliers". If you are on defense, your fliers will immediately launch to attack, before the VQ has an opportunity to even cast anything: It'll have maybe 50-odd hitpoints, only a mediocre defense skill, and its only real defense will be etherealness, that you can counter with either flying, fire-9 blessed troops which will tear apart any VQ that doesn't have fire immunity, Caelumian ice lances, or brute force.
All of these methods will allow you to put a VQ down in combat at little loss: At least one of them will be available to most nations, either via summoning, boosting by items, or national troops + a bless strategy.
You may also try to kill it OUT of combat. This option may be available to you if you are attacked and your army is not adequately prepared and gets destroyed: The VQ will be sitting in enemy dominion, and can thus be killed: Fire a barrage of seeking arrows or other assassination spells that do NOT involve combats. The VQ is a fragile chassis, with a mere 23 base HP, and unless it arrived from strong enemy dominion, will not be too high above this: A hail of seeking arrows stands a good chance of putting it down for real. Even if it is armored, seeking arrows inflict armor-piercing damage. If it's wearing robes of missile protection, it won't be as susceptible to Seeking Arrows, but you can use a different spell, such as Fires from Afar, or simply compensate by using enough arrows to overwhelm even that.
The alternative strategy is that you strike only in one place, always accompanied by a kill team, either your own SC, as many pretender chassis are more physically powerful, and when also tweaked for battle, will easily defeat a VQ in single combat. If your chosen chassis flies, this will make singling out the VQ for duelling easier, as you can attack fliers yourself. If your SC has a shorter buffing sequence, you also can catch the enemy before it has finished deploying its own defenses.
Even if you constantly fight in enemy dominion, and as a result, the enemy constantly respawns, this does not matter: He will simply be defeated over and over, forced back to the capitol, and continually lose ground. Of course, once YOU control the castle, build your own temple there and wipe out his dominion, so he won't be able to annoy you there anymore. Remember: The objective of this approach is to take ground, hold it, and replace the enemy dominion with yours to assimilate the territory. If you can take his capitol in such a manner, you've put an end to the problem.
Please note: if the enemy VQ is repeatedly thrashing you without you even KILLING it, then you have far, FAR bigger problems! Your complete and utter failure to even HARM an ethereal, well-equipped SC chassis is *NOT* a problem of the VQ: The Ghost King is very much similar, has a superior base def which would make hitting it even HARDER, and if you are NOT KILLING YOUR OPPONENT, the fact that his chassis is a VQ and immortal is NOT at fault. If you can kill these kinds of SCs reliably, the VQ is no threat to you, immortality and endless respawns or not. If it respawns and comes at you again, it will die again. If you cannot kill them however, then you have bigger problems, and the fact that the enemy is immortal simply won't come into play: If the game ends with the VQ having a flawless death record, having never even USED the immortality....then YOU HAVE FAILED.
[ May 05, 2004, 07:33: Message edited by: Norfleet ]
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