Can't Figure This Game Out

from Stardock Forums

I confess, I'm lost with this game. I played around on Easy to get a feel for it, then moved up to Normal setting with Normal AI intelligence. I first tried the strategy that works with a lot of strategy games, spamming cities as quickly as possible. However, there often aren't that many city sites around, and even when there were, I found that I couldn't defend all those cities. I kept getting overwhelmed by roving monster bands, or got my cities picked off by AI factions. Fine, so I decided I'd expand slowly, build up a city or two before expanding. That works fine at first, but the AI factions just grow like mad and I quickly end up way behind. BTW, I'm playing as Altar. Any suggestions?

4,759 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top


There are a few newbie threads around, one is stickied at the top of this forum.  I don't have time right now (cooking dinner) or I'd link to some stuff myself and others have written before.  If you have specific questions feel free to ask them and I'll be back later, but reading the stickied thread is probably a good idea =)

 

 

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top


Go play Age of Wonders....it's easy on Expert difficulty hehe

This game is more like chess even though you know how to move all the pieces it could take years to figure out how to be good at it.

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

There's generally 2 strategy:

1) To build up normally, you want to aim for a balance of expansion and mob clearance. Mob clearance is particularly important, because it'll allow you to expand without getting your cities wrecked by monsters. Note that mob clearance also means learning how to control your ZOC so that it doesn't disturb powerful lairs (build your cities enough distance away from hard lairs to account for growth, AND don't build ZOC improvements, use manual building placement if needed). The most important thing to learn is what monster you can fight, and what you can't, fight what you can beat for exp, avoid what you can't. If you are just starting out, don't be afraid to save/reload to learn what you can fight, as the strength rating is a rather poor indicator... as you gain experience with the game, you'll be able to tell without reloading.

2) The second strategy is basically to rush. Forgo everything, and just focus on building an army of spearmens and just attack your nearest neighbor at first encounter. They'll die nearly instantly. Let the AI build your cities for you.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

As Parrottmath points out, Tuidjy's  "Newbie Guide"  thread is excellent.  You should definitely take a look at it.  One nice thing Tuidjy does, is provide extended explanations for some gameplay aspects, and then (often) finishes with a  One Sentence summary, which says something like:  "If there is one thing you take away from this ... "

          https://forums.elementalgame.com/435680

This is most useful, because you don't really have to understand and memorize everything that Tuidjy has "diagrammed", to get some genuinely useful help from his thread! 

 

But then we are left with the fact, that this game  REALLY  is very complex, textured, and (at times) kind of unforgiving ...  As an example, I just finished my 14th game, which I won; but it was a tortuous, Major Struggle, almost to the very end.  My playing time ran over 25 hours (I am slow, I admit); I played on Easy, facing only two AI races; and the game lasted 348 turns!  The thing is, I have been a Beta tester since the end of February, have been playing 4X games since the first version of Civilization, and generally I can have fun at pretty advanced levels in most such games.  But with Fallen Enchantress, I have played about half the games on Easy, and half on Normal, and I have still managed to lose 2 games out of 14!  This game is just plain hard, IMHO.

On the other hand, I really do love this game.  You just have to keep plugging away at the Learning Curve!  In the meantime, I suggest focusing on the Start-up Screens, to tailor the game to your strengths and preferences.  For learning, I suggest playing the easiest level your Ego will permit ( :) ); dropping the number of AI opponents by one on smaller maps, and by at least two, on "Large" maps; and selecting opponents who do not have "killer" advantages.  I find it easiest to play against Procipinee, Magnar (which is counter-intuitive to me), Markin, and Verga.  I suggest keeping monster density at Moderate, because the leveling that your hero's gain from killing all those monsters, is a real advantage.  However, as Kalin rightly points out, you have to pick city sites carefully (to avoid awakening the worst monsters), and pick and choose your battles with care (at least, when you have the option).  Finally, hang in there -- occasionally you may find a game that is easier than you expect; and  ALL  of the games will add to your expertise! 

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top


What kind of tactics do you like to play with in other games, perhaps we can suggest a faction that better suits your playstyle?