Noob Question: Capture Enemy Castle

das123 · #1 July 24th, 2007, 07:08 PM

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.

sum1lost · #2 July 24th, 2007, 07:18 PM

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

das123 · #3 July 24th, 2007, 07:29 PM

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.

Stryke11 · #4 July 24th, 2007, 07:37 PM

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.

Saulot · #5 July 24th, 2007, 07:36 PM

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.

das123 · #6 July 24th, 2007, 07:42 PM

Quote:

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

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.

llamabeast · #7 July 24th, 2007, 07:53 PM

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.

das123 · #8 July 24th, 2007, 08:01 PM

Great advice!

Thanks everyone. I was really at a loose end but this gives me a very clear direction.

Halancar · #9 July 25th, 2007, 08:40 AM

Quote:

das123 said:

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

Wow, a Sphinx is about the hardest pretender to kill in the game... in combat at least. In fact, short of using some high level spells or summons, I doubt it can be done. Bad luck getting that one in your very first game !

Edi · #10 July 25th, 2007, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Halancar said:

Quote:

das123 said:

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

Wow, a Sphinx is about the hardest pretender to kill in the game... in combat at least. In fact, short of using some high level spells or summons, I doubt it can be done. Bad luck getting that one in your very first game !

Actually, it can be done. All you need is a quickened thug or SC with enough MR and armor negating weapons set to attack large mnonsters and the sphinx starts coming down in no time. Of course, if it enslaves said thugs or soul slays them, bad luck, but it will come down. It does need a specialized team to bring it down, though.