How good would PD have to be for you to make gobs?

[Huzurdaddi]

So after reading the PD post I started thinking how good would PD have to be for me to consider buying it instead of castles for defence?

So I came up with the following examples of INSANE PD. Yet when I talk to people the would still buy castles.

For example:

-- Pythium
-- basic leader: Emerald Lord
-- basic troop: Principes ( 2.0 )
-- advanced leader: Arch Angel
-- advanced troop: Angels of the host ( 1.0 )
#selectnation 2
#defcom1 6
#defunit1 10
#defmult1 20
#defcom2 465
#defunit2 543
#defmult2 10
#end

-- Man
-- basic leader: Mother of Avalon
-- basic troop: Tower Guard ( 2.5 )
-- advanced leader: Firbolg
-- advanced troop: Kithaironic Lions ( 1.5 )
#selectnation 3
#defcom1 152
#defunit1 63
#defmult1 25
#defcom2 559
#defunit2 514
#defmult2 15
#end

-- Ulm
-- basic leader: Black Lord
-- basic troop: Crossbowmen ( 2.0 )
-- advanced leader: Troll King
-- advanced troop: Living Statue ( 1.5 )
#selectnation 4
#defcom1 70
#defunit1 417
#defmult1 20
#defcom2 519
#defunit2 474
#defmult2 15
#end

So I just want to know if the PD were at such insane levels would you buy 20+ of it instead of castle ( 25 PD ~= to 1 watchtower in cost or 30 PD for a castle ).

I'm not really asking if people think this is a good idea for the game it would clearly change it a lot. I'm just asking if you would build this "crazy" PD or castles/watchtowers.

[Tuidjy]

Watchtowers, or course. A well scripted mage squad worth 1000 golds will wipe
out the floor with any PD, including insane ones. It will wipe the floor with
any known well-scripted mage squad, as well.

Forewarned is Fourarmed, right?

For me the whole PD discussion is silly. I do not want PD that can stop a
determinate turn 30 attack. I do not want my temples and resources to be
wiped out by an attack I cannot defend against. I like the risk, challenge
and mystery involved into storming a castle without a way of knowing what I
will encounter. I like being able to tailor a reaction squad against the
invaders. I like thumbling my nose at whatever artilery spells the enemy
throws at my besiegers. I like throwing spells at besiegers.

I think that invading and storming on the next turn is as damn close to
perfect as it gets.

I would still love to be able to forge a 160/160 earth/astral item that
would act as a portable dome. I believe this is close to impossible to
program into the existing engine, but imagine the possibilities!

[Oversway]

That is a good question.

I guess in the earlier game the PD sounds better, but later on the guaranteed 1 turn stop of a watchtower/castle is better.

[Boron]

I think if PD would have 2 Mech Men per point and from 20+ on 1 lesser Horror per point it would be quite tough .
Commanders something rather tough also , e.g. a Banelord as 1st and a Gaap ID as 2nd commander .

It is an insane PD but i wonder how you would beat 50 points of that PD easily with a Magesquad , no matter how expensive it is .
The Mech Men are quite tough and the lesser Horrors fly during storm also and would most likely score some losses in their attack , which is before buffing also .

With sufficient forces you could beat that PD still but you would take some losses . And the weaker raiding stuff like caelum false horror spam would be definitely gone .

[Tuidjy]

Sure. One horror marked high Hp commander with a charcoal shield, one water
mage with a skullface helmet, and a relief spammer.

And yes, of course, the wrong kind of mage squad will be toast.

[Boron]

Tuidjy said:
Sure. One horror marked high Hp commander with a charcoal shield, one water
mage with a skullface helmet, and a relief spammer.

If you have some freetime could you try this please and post Screenshots ?
It could be possible what you say but there is at least the high chance that one horror attacks another mage and kills him e.g. .

And the horror marked high HP commander would be rather expensive , something like an ID SC or similiar . And to get the 2 mages you describe is not so easy possible for some nations also , it requires at least midgame with summons like spectres in order to get/forge all the needed stuff .

[Huzurdaddi]

Hey tuddy would the water mage with the skullface actually cast raise skelly after the script runs out or would he start casting random water crap?

I usually find it better to put items like that on a unit without casting abilities. Perhaps a better loadout would be a commander with boots of quickness and a skullface.

Oh good idea with the horror marked commander. LOL.

It's pretty interesting to me that people would still not really use PD even if it were buffed to "crazy" levels.

[Tuidjy]

I do not have to try it, this is my configuration for killing horror spammers.
In my current game, I had it as Abysia by turn 36, a bit late for taking out
Caelum, but just in time for Vanheim... In anycase, everyone who intends to
win a game should be able to put it together.

Maybe it will not work against 30 horrors attacking at once - in this case,
I guess I should put three horror marked commanders :-) But why are we even
discussing this? PD like this ruins the game without ifs or buts.

We do not need stronger PD, it is just fine as it is now. You should not
expect PD to do your defending for you.

[Tuidjy]

> Hey tuddy would the water mage with the skullface actually cast raise skelly
> after the script runs out or would he start casting random water crap?

In my experience, they do spam undead when necessary. Spamming chaffe is the
one thing the AI does well... even when it would make ten times more sense
to cast damage spells. Furthermore, the skullface is so cheap to use that
when the fatigue rises, it becomes the action of choice.

I use three kinds of skellie spammers.

1. Scout + boots + skullface
Total pest, nigh impossible to catch, four/five of these can mess with a
nation's income for dozens of turns.

2. Teleporter + speed (boots/armour/W) + skelly spam (skullface/Dx2)
No multipurpose mage squad should lack one of these. Given that these squads
include a relief spammer or two, fatigue is not too much of an issue. I use
theurgs, seraphs, warlocks, vanjarls, etc... any astral/air mage is fine.

3. Teleporter + speed (any) + skelly spam (skellface/Dx2) + drain (standard/Dx4)
For when you absolutely have to hold that province, and when you are expecting
losses. Add as many elemental immunities and fatigue regenerators as possible.

So, to answer your question, I do prefer mages to non-casters. I think that
Jurry, Patrick, and Rev. Zombie can testify about the importance of mobility.