Is MA ulm really for experts?

[jaif]

Disclaimer: I play a lot of online games, and in most of them I see a pattern in which a very few but vocal players defend a weak power/class/whatever by saying "well, obviously you are not an expert like me" or "this class requires real skill, perhaps you can't handle it" and so on. It comes off sounding very arrogant, to me at least. Therefore, I will try to backup my statement and keep it very narrow in focus so it doesn't sound like I'm great (which I most assuredly am not).

Ulm has been hashed to death in this forum, so I won't belabor the points. In theory, Ulm has the heaviest infantry/cavalry/archers and strong battle-mages who can make items very cheaply. This is to balance out a general lack of flexibility in arms and magic, along with absolutely pathetic priests (no better than indies).

The general consensus appears to be that new players would do well to take Ulm, as its narrow focus will allow a player to get into the game rather quickly; you can't go that far wrong building more infantry, cavalry, and arbalests early on.

I think this is misguided in two ways:

1) I think many other nations have very familiar opening games as well, e.g. Marignon or Tien Chi. They both have strong infantry, cavalry, and archer choices. Also, even some of the more exotic races are pretty easy to start, e.g. Jotunheim; build a mass of giants and party.

2) Using the item advantage to the fullest takes a lot of familiarity with the game. It's hard from the outside looking in to see the value in 1 or 2 pearl amulets of anti-magic, or to know that you shouldn't waste a 40-gem artifact on a 10-hp commander, and so on.

I think #2 is very telling. It is very, very hard to learn which magic items are worthwhile in which situations without a large number of games under your belt. I think with battle magic spells and conjures/rituals you can go a long way with just a little reading and few trial games "to get a feel", but items seem to be so situational (and so diverse) that it's hard to figure it out without having played a long time.

Anybody else agree?

-Jeff

[Shovah32]

It is true that to use MA Ulm to its fullest you need to know more than a new player, but the same is true for pretty much every nation - specific unit/spell/item combinations don't tend to get used well until you have some experience.

So, MA Ulm is sort-of for experts, but so is basically every other nation. MA Ulm is one of the easier nations to play - although I would probably suggest Man to a player who wanted to get used to the game due to how regular most of their army is(similar to many indy troops).

The giants are nice and tough, but in alot of cases their troops suck and the cold preference can hurt troops without the giants cold resistance.

[Baalz]

Yes, I agree. The problem is that Ulm (at least in MP) has some glaring weaknesses that are not very obvious how to overcome. Ulm SP should be fine for a newbie as the AI won't exploit your weaknesses, but you definitely have to walk a very fine line in MP.

[jaif]

So, MA Ulm is sort-of for experts, but so is basically every other nation.

We agree. However, I think utilizing magic items fully only comes with experience. There is no real easy path that I can see (or maybe we are just an FAQ away, I don't know). With all other aspects of magic - battlefield spells, good conjures, good rituals - I think a little reading and a little intuition can really help. But with items, I don't think reading and intuition are that useful - you really need to get a bunch of games under your belt to learn.

Since Ulm becomes so dependent on items, I think they are ultimately a trap for the newbie. You play them because sending black steel plate at the AI is easy, but your magic game depends on extensive experience which takes a lot of time.

-Jeff

[thejeff]

On the other hand, against the AI, Smiths spamming Blade Wind and Magma Eruption, behind a line of black plate works pretty well throughout the game anyway.

And it doesn't take a lot of experience to learn that throwing a pair of Earth Boots on each combat Smith helps out a lot.