Enlightenment of a SP Addict
Time for some random thoughts.
I play Dominions 2 exclusively in single player mode. Reading this board makes me realize how much I�m missing in my approach to the game.
Races I can play well include Pythium, Caelum, Vanheim, Arco, Jotunheim, Man, Ulm, Ermor, and Marignon. Vanheim is by far my favorite. In most cases I pick a base strategy that works well (massed longbowmen with fodder in front & wind guide, mammoths & wingless, archbishops summoning horsemen, lots of van, etc) and build around that.
Abysia I�ve tried, but I haven�t found anything that works particularly well, especially versus high strength Indies. Ctis I�m determined to master, somehow. Both those races rate highly on this board and it annoys me I can�t make them work.
I get the impression that in MP it really helps to have a SC pretender. I have yet to be really successful with any SC pretender, excluding Arco/Nataraja. They invariably get horrible afflictions or die. I give them decent items, especially defensive ones. My failing here is likely not building them to take advantage of key defensive spells. Or maybe I just suck.
I like RPs. Great site searching, great research to start, and the ability to cast key spells or build key items. Without a RP, site searching becomes slow and painful. You don�t want to lose your RP, but against the AI you shouldn�t. I am finally beginning to think that a more focused approach to Pretender design is better. Going from Death 2 to Death 5 is not fun.
Mini SCs have been on my build list for a while. Wraith Lords and Ice Devils are particularly tasty. I confess I somehow managed to miss the potential of the Queen of Air. I�m quite curious about building a �Bane factory�. In my Last game I finally tried Tartarian Gate. Titans with GoR are so much fun! Anyone know how many different ones you can get?
A note about Conjuration 8: with Vanheim I build Doom Dwarves � basically, dwarves with earth boots. They search like crazy for every earth site in my dominion. Then I get Conjuration 8. Want to stop an invading army in its tracks? Earth Attack! Want to clean out all commanders in a castle? Earth Attack! You can even pick off Pretenders if you�re lucky. I usually have a dozen Doom Dwarves in my Vanheim games, so that�s 12 possible Earth Attacks per turn, gems permitting. I�m sure this tactic doesn�t work in MP, what with Domes everywhere, but in SP it is a bLast.
Someone made a comment about watchtowers being common in MP games. I found that most interesting. That would save a ton of design points, and the ability to build a tower in 2 turns for 300 gold is great. So where do you put the points? Order, Production and Dominion? More often than not, Growth, Luck and Magic are all 0 in my games. Watchtowers may not be great in games with strength 9 indies.
I think my biggest weaknesses in Dominions 2 are gem distribution and an appreciation of the most powerful combat spells. I�ve tried Thunder Ward/Wrathful Skies once or twice and was not hugely impressed. My mages don�t usually carry gems with them. With Man I had scouts with gems to resupply my mages, since mages take great delight in wasting my hard-earned gems. Maybe it's their revenge for not having a pension plan.
Okay, random thoughts all done. Comments are welcome!
Caseus
|
Threaded Mode