[suggestion]Combating the stack of death

from Elemental Forums

I'll just clarify a few things first.

What I consider as being the stack of death is when a powerful stack is created early, and the player or AI focuses troop creation on that stack.  It is not that creating a powerful stack is bad, it's is just that the stack of death is a very powerful stack that represents most/all of the players power.

 

1. I've posted some strategies before for dealing with single big stack cheese very early in the game, that applies thoroughly here.  One stack just cannot track multiple targets, and with changes to movement, this will be indeed a good tactic.

 

2. The other ways that deal with a stack of death are strategic level spells, more spells that inflict penalties to a single stacks attributes, like movement, healing, attack/defense, initiative etc, are excellent methods of really hurting a player that has decided to put all their eggs in the one basket.  So more spells please.

 

3. Additionally, ensuring that any spell that can dispel magic effects has a cost that is relative to the number of effects the stack contains, would be a wise move.

 

That's it really, and stacks of death shouldn't be as big of a problem as they are.  Lots of stacks of death?  Well that just means that your loosing big time and is not a cheese.

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Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

If a player (AI or human) decides to create a single powerful army with all of their units, this is a strategic decision the player has made and does not need any counters except the fact that a good player will be able to hold off the army then counter-attack appropriately.  It does not need any special attention, because any other player can decide to use the same strategy.

I'm not sure why you consider it cheese.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting mqpiffle, reply 1
If a player (AI or human) decides to create a single powerful army with all of their units, this is a strategic decision the player has made and does not need any counters except the fact that a good player will be able to hold off the army then counter-attack appropriately.  It does not need any special attention, because any other player can decide to use the same strategy.

I'm not sure why you consider it cheese.
End of mqpiffle's quote

The cheese defence is in regards to a question posted by Frogboy, directly about dealing with early game stack defence.  It's on the link.

In general, I'm talking about an AI player holding off your stack of death, and counter attack.  Nearly all games like this have trouble dealing with a stack of death, where the player has concentrated all it's power into a single stack.  The AI typically spreads forces very thin, and human players can typically manage a single stack much better than the AI could (it's the opposite with lots of forces).

I'm trying to produce methods that might help reduce stacks of death, because I have a feeling that due several elements, not the least troop and hero experience, generally difficult wandering monster, that this will be the main way that people win the game.

I'd love to see some stats on force composition of winning games, but I'd guess it will be how it works, it certainly does for me.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top


Another way to minimize the stack of doom (...err death) is to come up with ways to have the opponent take advantage of the concentration of units in such a small space.   Say, allow a 'strategic' strike by missle (thrown, spear, bow/arrow/catapult/magic) the possibility to attack/affect each unit in the stack.  This would give a player the trade off, concentrate forces, but suffer more indirect firing damage.  Thhis, of course, would have to happen before 'tactical combat,'  perhaps via a ZOC around indirect fire units, etc.

 

trade offs, interesting choices....

 

edit:  addition.  Perhaps, since a large force has more trouble foraging, as they go aolong, than does a smaller force, migth the support cost of those units be increased when stacked beyond a certain number?  Charge the owing player more gold, food, etc.  Bureaucracy of a field command... etc.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

For one, there are already Strategic Spells that deal damage to stacks (not to mention whirlwind, which scatters such stacks).

 

In addition to that though ... I guess you could make larger armies have larger 'movement costs' for terrain (except on roads). Such that larger stacks are generally slower.

HOWEVER, armies don't really get 'big' enough for such measures to be taken imho.

Sure most of a nation's power might be in one city, But I don't think its such a bad thing.

 

I kinda like that a Player can basically choose to "Gandalf" a game if they so choose, and just focus on their Sovereign or Champion of choice.