So, what does /tg/ think about Dominions?
Let's start this one off, EA Dominions 3.
Will have a multiplayer game going in a couple of minutes.
First pick:
Nifelheim: Imprisoned Cyclops: E9N8
Second pick:
Vanheim: Dormant Great Mother: E6N4
More info after picking.
>>45095304
Dominions 3 is bad though
4 is so much better that going back to 3 is barely conceivable.
>>45095387
>Dominions 3 is bad though
It is not.
>4 is so much better that going back to 3 is barely conceivable.
I agree. Yet here I am soon starting a Dom 3 game.
Any favorite eras and races?
>>45094928
Dominions 4 is way better.
I really like Hinnom...
Also like Abyssia
Terrible at actually optimizing for this game
>>45095454
>Terrible at actually optimizing for this game
Why? Is the scripting the problem?
>>45095474
I meant as in optimizing my god and my armies
>>45094928
Tons of fun, even if I'm terrible at it.Sauromatiastronk.
>>45095481
>I meant as in optimizing my god and my armies
Any examples? Optimization in Dom games usually means whether to go a bless- or scale "game".
:I am pumped for this game:
>>45095507
>Sauromatia stronk.
Indeed. Not only did they bring Ermor to the brink of death, you also don't fuck around with the androphags!
>>45095553
I'm so fond of them, not only because I think they're fun to play, but because they were the first nation I really enjoyed. I don't play a lot these days, and lately I've just been playing whatever strikes my fancy, but Sauromatia would probably still be my go to nation if I ever were to play online.
But I'm horrible. I can consistently beat the AI on easy, and usually on normal, but I've never played against other people.
Probably the only games I actively play still. I'm bad at it though.
>tfw the mod community is barely alive
>tfw the WHFB race mods will probably never finish
>>45095692
Whats WHFB race mod?
>>45095675
>I'm so fond of them, not only because I think they're fun to play, but because they were the first nation I really enjoyed. I don't play a lot these days, and lately I've just been playing whatever strikes my fancy, but Sauromatia would probably still be my go to nation if I ever were to play online.
>But I'm horrible. I can consistently beat the AI on easy, and usually on normal, but I've never played against other people.
We are no world beaters either. Would have been cool to see you join us in this one!
>>45095692
Any particular era? Or just bad in general? Let's try to cure either one!
>>45095454
You really need to play online to git gud at it. The AI is so terrible that even if you set it to master, no amount of practise is going to make you gud, and it actually teaches you some really bad habits due to it's general strategy of spamming H1 priests and unarmoured troops until everything in it's army starves to death.
I enjoy it quite a lot. Shame I don't have anyone to play with.
On a /tg/ related note, our DM once had us play a Dominions setting game.
Anyhow this will be a non-CBM game.
I will go Nifelheim. Why E9N8 imprisoned cyclops? It is quite simple to be honest. We will want to go a bless strategy, however N9 would give berserk, which I find dangerous/unwanted for my Jarls. That is, we will go for 15% regen instead. That gives us: Imprisoned Cyclops D:6 O:3 S:1 C:3 G:2 M:1 D:3.
>>45095811
>You really need to play online to git gud at it
Indeed!
>>45095964
Who are you talking to? Who do you think cares?
>>45095692
Who do you play with? /domg/ or some other community?
>>45096005
>Who are you talking to? Who do you think cares?
You?
>>45095764
I should say factions.
There's a ton, but almost none of them are finished.
Empire, Lizards, Rats, Chaos, etc.
Just go on Desura's Dominions forums
In this particular game we will play a 10 person "land of eternal squirells".
As for scales, nothing particluary eye shattering, Drain 3 because of skull mentors.
>>45096084
>Just go on Desura's Dominions forums
Or here: http://z7.invisionfree.com/Dom3mods/index.php?act=idx
>>45095964
>Blessrushing ice giants
How original
>>45096231
>How original
There is no need to be original in this case is it? Magic paths from mages are good enough (gygja). Blood economy will be started (skratti). We have thugs: Breath of winter ->Quicken self (Skratti in werewolf form). We have SCs Jarls - Blessing->breath of winter->soul vortex. No need for originality here.
>>45094928
I wish there was a wiki with every piece of lore and unit descriptions.
>>45096311
>I wish there was a wiki with every piece of lore and unit descriptions.
Like this? https://larzm42.github.io/dom4inspector/
>>45096305
Yeah, but it's a really boring and cheesy strategy that will make everyone in any MP game hate you, and teaching potential new players to bless rush is a cardinal fucking sin as far as I am concerned.
>>45096734
>Yeah, but it's a really boring and cheesy strategy that will make everyone in any MP game hate you
Indeed. It will be interesting how our opponents in this game deals with it. Just came across Vanheim... And they are bringing lightning spam at the table, as they should.
>, and teaching potential new players to bless rush
In Nifelheims case it is not just a rush though. Jarls with that particular bless are good the whole game.
If rushes angers you, I guess you hate Hinnom? They don't even need a bless do they?
>>45096828
All rush strategies are cancer because counters are few and far between, and even when available, very difficult to pull off. They essentially just mean that whoever starts next to the rusher gets shat on with no real ability to fight back.
It's anathema to strategy - There's no acumen involved in blessrushing, no real thought required, no battle of wits. It takes the things that make strategy a genre in the first place and hurls them out of the window.
>>45097022
>All rush strategies are cancer because counters are few and far between, and even when available, very difficult to pull off. They essentially just mean that whoever starts next to the rusher gets shat on with no real ability to fight back.
>It's anathema to strategy - There's no acumen involved in blessrushing, no real thought required, no battle of wits.
Agreed. However if you ignore a bless you are not playing Nifelheim to their potential, do you? Vanhereses are currently tearing some Niefels apart, as they should, under lightning spam. We will see if they have an answer for skratti raiders though...
>>45097022
>>45097097
>no counter
"HEY GUYS HELP KILL THIS FAG OR HE'LL FACEFUCK YOU NEXT*" is the best counter to ANYTHING in Dominions.
Git fucking gud.
*not recommended wording
>>45097126
>"HEY GUYS HELP KILL THIS FAG OR HE'LL FACEFUCK YOU NEXT*" is the best counter to ANYTHING in Dominions.
Indeed. It is a no diplomacy game though.
>>45094928
Amazing setting. Wish I could play other games in it.
>>45097126
>"HEY GUYS HELP KILL THIS FAG OR HE'LL FACEFUCK YOU NEXT*" is the best counter to ANYTHING in Dominions.
Depends on the community. /domg/, for example, is full of french people who seek to appease the obviously megalomaniacal rusher by letting him eat their neighbors.
>>45097304
>Amazing setting. Wish I could play other games in it.
Cool to hear it. Anything in particular you enjoy about the setting?
I bought it recently and just signed up for a multiplayer game. Does anyone know how to play EA Xibabla? The swarms are good for independents, but once you start getting into the meatier armies they just get ruined after a blunted alpha strike.
>>45094928
obligatory
>>45097554
>Does anyone know how to play EA Xibabla
Are we talking Dom- 4 or 3?
>>45097572
Heh, thank you. It was missing.
>>45097319
>Bandar Log and R'lyeh kill each other by accident, Arcoscephale commits suicide via elephant on PD.
10/10, sides obliterated.
>>45097184
Yeah, funny how removing a critical component of the game fucks up the balance.
>>45097685
Would have been better if LA ermor and LA ryleh killed each other, but yeah.
>>45097750
>Yeah, funny how removing a critical component of the game fucks up the balance.
You are correct. However no-diplomacy games are certainly not a new thing, and have been played since the very beginning. The balance is not as fucked as one would assume though, since I am facing Vanheim and Helheim. Vanherse are giant killers, and my giants are literally standing in a shower of lightning in every fight (as they should). The skratti raiders don't seem popular with them though...
>>45097022
Or you bless rush harder, but that just causes more cancer.
>>45094928
I think the soundtrack is the best part of it and should be in a downloadable format.
>>45097891
>Or you bless rush harder, but that just causes more cancer.
So I went E9N8. It gave me cancer. It is good though.
>>45097913
>I think the soundtrack is the best part of it and should be in a downloadable format.
It is not the best part of it though is it? You are correct though, the soundtrack is indeed brilliant.
>>45097920
Two blesses? How cute, it's a little baby sacred!
>>45097920
If you're gonna do it, might as well do it shamelessly, after all.
>>45097976
Ermor here, I noticed you have worse scales than I do, m8.
Everyone's talking about tactics, and I just shove as many Spear Zotz as possible at the enemy while saying "EEK EEK EEK".
The one time I tried to supplement that with wizards, I just ended up fireballing by own swarm in the back. Nowadays I just use a Batab with a squad of warriors to harry the rear while the hordes just throw themselves at anything that looks to have some measure of stab potential.
>>45097976
Hello Quadbless Mictlan. Enjoying your random domkill?
>>45097993
>If you're gonna do it, might as well do it shamelessly, after all.
Indeed.
>>45097612
>4.
Never played them in 3rd, even though I have played that game for years, nor 4th. Let's have a look at their roster in general though (from: https://larzm42.github.io/dom4inspector/). Some observations:
-You get B2 which means that you can create a blood economy.
-Which implies growth.
-Drain or Magic is up to you (skull mentors can be forged).
-Loads of sacreds.
A bless seems to be the way to go. W9 or F9 (in the case of dom 4) seems reasonable.
>>45097685
It was an eventful game.
>>45098283
It ain't easy...
>>45098225
Personally I run 3 Order, 3 sloth, and 3 growth with a demilich god. I don't use the Sun Guides often, as they're just too expensive to use when I could get 15 warriors for the same resources. I'll try to incorporate them into my army as monster-slayers.
>>45097976
>>45098283
>>45098417
>>45098283
You could make a sitcom out of that shit
>>45098417
And finally
Remember kids, Elephants are not a toy.
>>45098377
>I don't use the Sun Guides often
It is not necessary though is it? Give them strength of giants though and they will probably give those beings a match.
Jaguars/bats/ozelotl etc are all sacred. Which in my mind implies at least a single blessing.
>>45097572
What about Ermor?
>>45098387
Glory of the gods?
>>45098492
>What about Ermor?
Nothing. Ain't anything special about them is it?
>>45098492
>>45098018
Little baby skeletons with all their "creature comforts" this and "not being a total shithole for everyone" that. GROW A SPINE.
>>45098089
>>45098387
I'm bloodsaccing on turn two, I'm fine thank you very much.
>>45097976
>Two blesses? How cute, it's a little baby sacred!
Indeed. Let's see how they perform against those goddamn vanherses. My dear neighbor, with their skelli spam, muspelheim is out. It seems like they don't appreciate fire brands.
>>45098766
>bloodsaccing
Probably the most underrated skill there is. With some careful maneuvers and some luck --> Domkill.
Fantastic Game and Fantastic setting.
I steal lots of the ideas behind how pretenders work, and lots of mythology for my own settings and games.
In general though I am pretty terrible at the game (and most strategy games in general, though they are among my favorite genre of game).
I also like way to many races (Pangea, C'tis, Tir Na N'og, Machaka).
>>45099463
You know, you CAN play without nature magic.
>>45097402
The way you can start in a seemingly normal fantasy game, then ramp it up with insane Ascension Wars bullshit and wacko races like Abyssians and Zotz.
You just tell your players that they're starting in fantasy Rome (and ps egypt is lizardmen). Then you go to town on them.
Also, some guy posted this as a comment on a Dom4 review back at launch, and it still hits a lot of the right notes.
>There’s a common fantasy trope about living in the after days.
> You know the one; once upon a time powerful magic ruled the world and things that are unimaginable were common place, but those days are gone now, leaving behind only a few conveniently scattered swords of +5 fire attack or whatever.
> I’ve always felt a little disappointed that I had to read/watch/play in these after days.
> Why couldn’t I live in the time of unimaginable power?
> What was it like?
> And why did anyone need so many swords of +5 fire attack anyway?
> Dominions fills in this blank. As a pretender God vying with others to be the supreme being, the gloves are off.
> If it takes legions of demons, or withering the entire world, or reaching through the veil to free insane dead gods from their chains to fight for me, or producing magical weapons on an industrial scale to equip my terrible servants, then that’s what it takes.
> The prize is worth it.
>>45099521
Sorry, I am an edgelord who has to be a contrarian and play all the not edgy nations that have death magic.
Though to be fair, two of those have death magic anyway. I just like the idea of making lots of living fodder units, but it doesn't seem to hold up very well.
>>45099615
Yeah, Dominions has an amazing setting for PnP. Doubly so if you have the Ascension Wars start halfway through the campaign.
>>45094928
I wish there was a tabletop game that could somehow mimic the insanity that is Dominions. The main thing to nail down would probably be the complex interactions of spells and surprises.
>>45095675
You can spend 100+ hours in multiplayer games and still be a newbie. I don't think it's possible for someone to actually be able to grok all of the strats and counter strats. I take a Dwarf Fortress approach: losing it fun! Anyone who says that they're good at the game is a liar.
Any tips for playing EA Ulm? The thought of ninja raiders sounds amazing
If you like Dominions so much,why are you so shit at the game?
>>45107524
Because I play shitty nations like Patala
>>45107524
Because I'm bad in general.
>>45107524
I learned Ermor vs the ai.
Now I can't win without using either burden of time or domkill.
Any advice on how to not be Ermor?
>>45108611
Why would you ever not want to be Ermor?
>>45108678
So that I can play multiplayer.
Alternatively, how do I Ermor without relying on things that will make everyone kill me?
Dom4 MA Ermor, if that changes things.
>>45107524
Because I just suck a lot.
C'tis a best.
>>45109398
Been playing Late Age C'Tis. How do play them effectively? I'm using Tomb Kings that send a 100+ horde of souleless and longdeads out in front of a blessed army of Tomb Guards, with some Tomb Chariots flanking and some ranks of empoisoners covering everything in their venom. It works well enough, but I just feel like I could do better.
>>45107524I'm actually notJust mediocreBut at least I can script communions properly
>>45108961
You don't. Ermor can only pull off a cancer strategy.
Try C'tis for necromancy that doesn't come with a game-ending dominion.
>>45109777
>Shillwinter removed reverse communions from the game
Feels bad man
>>45107524
Because I get network outages that last days on end because my ISP has a local monopoly. If I hit year two without staling, I'm way ahead of normal.
>>45109891
That was actually one of the better decisions they made, to be fair. Linebacker communions just became the be-all end-all strategy for lategame, and if you didn't have astral or blood you got fucked.
How do I truly bring the skelespam in Ermor?
>>45110567
Wait a few turns
>>45110567
Be Sceleria
>>45110567
Spread dominion as hard as you can and kill the world, skeletons autospawn in your dominion.Sceleria is actually better at Skelespamming than Ermor
To give a better answer than I did here>>45110721, do as >>45111133 said basically, early on build forted temples everywhere as they spawn the most/best freespawn, midgame break into EVERY path to get a massive gem income, then lategame use the tonnes of undead with as much magic as possible.The picture is from an ongoing game where Seceleria overran Ermor with skeletons.
>>45098024
Give your swarms some buffs and resistances first. Xibalba's mages are great.
>>45109444
Every one of your sauromancers can cast Bane Fire.
Eater of the Dead is the true pretender
Never forget
>>45110721
>>45111133
For reference, these guys are right because while Ermor can raise a shitload of skeletons right out of the gate, Sceleria can use H1 indy priests, recruited from most any provice with only a temple, to create a number of skeletons per turn. These priests have neglible cost and upkeep, and as you recruit more you start to end up with massive balls of exponential skeletons as the priests continue to raise them each turn.
Sceleria is for playing the long game.
>>45111587
... Is it that good? They take two turns to recruit, which is a bit off-putting. I can see how it deals a metric fuckton of damage to anything in the square, which does make me want to lean towards yes. Should C'Tis be using a high magic scale to exploit this?
>>45111472I am also Zotz Anon, looking to play C'Tis in an LA MP game without failing
While a Buffed swarm sounds nice, most of the good bufffing spells seem to be tied to earth 2-3, which Xiblaba doesn't seem to have naturally.
I am awful, so please tell me if I'm horribly wrong in these matters.
>>45113063
They are STR but you can recruit them in any fort, not just your capital. Bane Fire does 55+ damage, is armor negating, and causes decay. There's obviously a lot more to LA C'tis than banefire but it's pretty much the default for what I make mages cast after they've done their buffs and debuffs.
What you are missing about Xibalba is that they are great at blood communions. Blood 1 gets you Sabbath Master and Sabbath Slave and that opens up all kinds of stuff. I don't play either of these nations regularly so I can't get into specifics but communions are definitely something to experiment with.
>>45113063
It's also fairly easy to get blood stones and earth boots as Xibalba. Both of those boost earth magic.
>>45111848
Only if you don't know how to play the game.
>>45113063
Banefire is AMAZING. Not because it wipes a square, which it DOES, but because of large area decay.
Large area decay is a death sentence for anything with human or lower maxage. They might not die RIGHT NOW, but no way are they living through the battle.
Aboleths the best!
>>45099615
The thing I love the most about Dominions flavor-wise is how the world starts pretty shitty and it only gets far, far worse as the Ascension War escalates. First it's just a couple skirmishes with balls of fire flung across the battlefield, but fast forward a few years of endless warfare and now the world is enveloped in freezing darknes and people wither and die of old age within months, assuming they don't get sacrificed first to bring countless demons and horrors from beyond the veil. It's a world where everyone has nukes and nobody is afraid to use them.
