When the BoT goes just right edition
Previous Pantokrator >>142522107
Dominions is a fantasy turn-based strategy game created by two dudes. One of them is a teacher.
The game combines a simple presentation with an extremely wide array of strategic options, including over 2800 units, 800 spells and 300 magic items. Turns are resolved simultaneously, with players planning battles rather than directly controlling them.
It has simplistic graphics but is easily moddable and extremely deep.
Basically, it's an autist’s wet dream of a strategy game.
>Steamgroup
Join the steamgroup for multiplayer
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/vanheimageofvidya
>Group chatroom
steam://friends/joinchat/103582791434709795
>Our work-in-progress wiki
http://dom4.wikia.com/wiki/Dominions_4_Wiki
>Our pastebin
http://pastebin.com/dHdZ1cch
>Dom4 Manual
http://jaffa.illwinter.com/dom4/manual_dom4.pdf
>Dom4 Inspector
This is a community resource that has every unit, spell, and item in the game in an accessible database.
http://larzm42.github.io/dom4inspector/
>Play by email guide:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=202096551
>Debug Mod:
For testing battle formations and spells
http://dom4archive.kermodebear.org/www.desura.com/games/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascensions/forum/thread/debug-mod.html
>Where do I get it?
It is available on Gamersgate and Steam. Desura is kill.
>THE BASICS
>Read the manual
>Read the wiki
>Read the pastebin
>Watch some LPs by Maerlande or NuclearMonkee
>Start playing multiplayer games
Submit completed games here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jHX_ZoJi6zIvDq6ANdp-W1Y89W5_fmShuDyHmAj5qC4/viewform
Results Here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dlrvyEqLFYIaXRc49TheMmfdoP8jEh1m5rZJHJAzDWQ/edit?usp=sharing
first for not changing edition, anon pls
Gas the birds, race wars now
Third for ichtyids.
Dryad butts.
what's the point of this
filename specifically
Ulm, I swear to god. Your army has 5 mages. AGAIN. If you're going to fucking lose the battle to come, I'm officially AI'ing myself.
Also, those RoS/EQ traps are too obvious.
>>143134713
1998 is the number of that monster, in this case a Fossil Warrior. In modding if you want to refer to that creature you use number 1998. Each monster has two sprites, the regular and the attacking sprite. The _1 indicates this is the regular sprite.
>>143136607
Ah yes, the classic SC work. Nothing surprising considering >>>no mage support
>>143136607
in a world of memes, You gotta show the world who's the top jew
>>143136712
It's a player gone AI, it's just for people wondering where the thousand or so chariots went.
>>143136840
also
>golden throne is UW
muh adepts
help atlantis is bullying me
>>143138823
Get bullied, nerd
>>143137114
What is Thetis' Blessing?
Reminder that it is indeed the time for everyone to invade Ermor as he killed 4 massive armies of cap-sacreds, expensive indie sacreds, banefire spamming augur elders, and enormous stacks of Roarii against me, who was only armed with a ragtag band of yakshas, gurus, and wolves.
>>143139451
I'm not the guy you're responding to, but does Thetis's Blessing do that? Allow you to recruit land mages from UW thrones? I've never tried it, but damn if there haven't been some games where I'd have really liked to get a specific mage that was part of an UW throne.
>>143140209
did he even bother to use normal augers? why waste such good utility mages
One last try, Wittymemename Ulm, if you see this today please get in the Steam chat. I'll be in there most of the day.
Marverni did you fight the birds?
New LA game when? Heck, new game when?
I want to play a nation that isn't as painful as EA Marverni, MA Man or LA Pythium.
>>143146226
nigger
>>143146226
Why not make a new game yourself?
>>143146930
Because I'm stupidly picky with maps, and I haven't finished my own yet. If someone else makes it, I can just blame them for the map.
>>143147029
>>143147257
I never said it was a good reason, just that it was a reason.
xth For ball pit
>>143146226
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=LAte_to_the_party
New LA game up, vanilla game, Magic site frequency 45
>>143147550
>equip skullcap + armor of knights +double shield + double water bottle to a void spectre
>enter into the void gate
>lost in time and space
>10 turns after that i still keep hearing of his adventures destroying void beings
go get them champ!
>>143149109
make it 48 hours and i am in.
So I need an extension on the upcoming tuns in my games. Grad School suddenly decided to pile on a ton of requirements. 36 hrs should be enough. Sorry about this.I deeply regret joining this many games, holy shit
>>143151168
36 be fine until 1st year is over?
>>143151183
what nation are you playing?
>>143151915
Mictlan, Berytos, Pan, Ulm.
>>143141571
This Global makes any unit capable to walk UW. I have never tried to use it for recruiting some throne-mage UW, though. But as far as I know, you can recruit them even in UW normally, but they'll die the same turn smashed by the weights of water above.
So, this Global must have to help.
>>143153268
Actually you can't even recruit non-waterbreathing units underwater. One suggested fix was to give each throne with recruitables an UW version - as you would only see either the land or sea version depending on where the throne spawned.
But of course UW can't have nice things so instead they get nothing.
>>143137114
Almost as bad as getting The Shattered Throne UW.
Extension, if it hasn't already hosted.
Definitely didn't forget to send the turn before going somewhere.
>>143156970
it's already been extended to 8:38pm EST, is that' enough time for you?
>>143157415
Uh, what's that in gmt? Probably thanks.
>>143151183
I was intending to extend to 48 relatively soon anyway, so not much of an issue.
On another note, if anyone wants to sub into a likely doomed Abysia or Marverni, feel free to ask. Both have more provinces than Arco at any rate. Otherwise they will be left to stale - setting them AI is often worse imo. If I notice those two are the only ones remaining to put turns in though, I will be autohosting.
>>143138823
At least I gave you a two turn heads up!
>>143158834
Abysia has cancerdom memestyle, so it'd just be a "join to meme". Marverni still has some life, and if you negotiate with people, you can become relevent.
>>143159832
>>143138823
The nation with national magic weapons vs the nerfed ghosts that have to rely on ghosts. Who'd have thunk it?
Yesterday R'lyeh made a post about this game and I went ahead and totaled up all the losses from the battles in just this one province so I thought I'd share a little story for those of you that are interested.
First to set the stage, this is the turn as it was when shit hit the fan. For context, the game is 5 victory points to win and Agartha already has 4. Regardless, I was fairly confident in my position because I believed that Agartha did not possess any significant far-strike capabilities and so if he did make a move for his 5th capitol I could see his army and prepare to intercept.
Clearly I was wrong about his capabilities. I forgot all about the very existence of The Flying Ship until Agartha dropped an army on the poorly-defended fort under Ragha's control. Somehow I missed having a scout in that province so unfortunately I didn't have exact intel on the army composition but based on Agartha's recently lightning fast capture of Marignon I was sure he would be able to siege and storm the castle in one turn. That means just one turn to prepare a counter attack or we'd instantly lose the game.
R'lyeh and I immediately convened to hash out a panicked all-in strategy to try to push Agartha off the fort. I even pulled my preachers back to keep from domkilling Ragha, who I had just managed to get down to 1 candle left. Even if our efforts were futile then just maybe the defender inside the castle would have a chance.
This was R'lyeh's contribution. Everything he could muster and teleported into battle. The golems did a remarkable job of holding the line against Agartha's undead, slowly and painfully carving through the coldres 30 units with Frost Brands. Neither side had much in the way of evocations from what limited mage corps the could bring to the battle so once the big battlefield globals went off it was just a slow meatgrinder in the middle.
Our first look at the enemy. Smaller than the scouting report, though we knew we were dealing with the limited capacity of the Flying Ship. Agartha does have a few more mages hidden among the Giant Eagles in the back but again this was mostly a battle of the chaff.
An interesting note, both sides brought a Staff of the Storms to the battle.
The results of the first battle. Agartha's retreat was cut off by 4 squadrons of my imps and the battle ultimately ground out till the turn limit so R'lyeh lost everything that wasn't amphibious. It was a very close call, too. Only a few more Eagles and one more Enchantress were left on Agartha's side of the battle with the golems closing in on them before they all started falling apart.
I've compiled a list of the resources lost by all three nations from all the battles in this province this turn and it is rather shocking.
R'lyeh:
587 Astral Pearls
309 Nature Gems
238 Air Gems
148 Water Gems
109 Earth Gems
20 Fire Gems
5 Death Gems
1045 Gold
Agartha:
387 Death Gems
171 Air Gems
153 Water Gems
130 Earth Gems
95 Nature Gems
51 Fire Gems
47 Astral Gems
30 Blood Slaves
3427 Gold
2 Cap recruitment turns
1 Prophet
Aseftik's Armor
Krupp's Bracers
Sceptre of Dark Regency
Twin Spear
The Flailing Hands
Bell of Cleansing
Tome of Gaia
Abysia:
59 Blood Slaves
52 Fire Gems
3 Death Gems
570 Gold
2 Cap recruitment turns
My first contribution to the war effort, though by now the almost shameful lack of necessity is clear. Knowing that Agartha would be casting Army of Gold and that I would be attacking with Fire Elementals and Fire Storm in the normal movement phase I wanted to take every opportunity to drain his gem supply hoping that he wouldn't have fire resistance.
So I teleported in an undefended mage and left him to die.
Not yet knowing the full extent of R'lyeh sacrifice I was expecting him to be torn apart but all that was left was one Enchantress. I wish I had scripted my Warlock a bit now but ultimately he just got torn apart by the Bottle of Living Water elemental.
She actually picked up a lot of goodies from the battlefield in addition to the bottle. Might be a fearsome warrior in her own right if she weren't afflicted with Dementia and Blindness from R'lyeh's Solar Brilliance.
R'lyeh's second foray into the breach! As the very last ditch of last ditches he collected his store of Bottles of Living Water and threw them on what commanders he could muster in the immediate vicinity of Man. Their goal was to toss just a little bit more damage at whatever was left after the first strike, though you've seen already just how little that was.
A little bit more than expected, however. A second Enchantress just flew in and boy are her legs tired. She's carrying with her a pair of Winged Shoes,a Thistle Mace, and the Tome of Gaia. She died just as quickly as her more beleaguered of course and R'lyeh suffered no losses in this battle.
And then I finally show up. I was quite distressed by the lack of options I had with which to assault Agartha's forces at Man. The vast majority of my demons were more than a day's flight away and I had a lot of otherwise useful mages either too far away or in transit and not sitting in a lab. Still, I mustered what I could, figuring I'd be the final nail in the coffin and keep Agartha from winning for at least one turn longer.
The plan here was Fire Storm and a lot of Fire Elementals. Naturally not the best possible decision versus Army of Gold but it was either that or Earthquake. I figured that earthquake would not only have a hard time getting through Fog Warriors but it would also harm my own army. I wanted my blockers up as long as possible to get as much damage over time as I could.
Geryton and a Vampire Lord were up front to cast Wither Bones, though as it turns out they didn't actually have any undead to target.
You've seen R'lyeh's army here, just imagine them facing to the left this time.
This was a bit disappointing but rather representative of my previous attempts to use Fire Elementals this game. I can spam out a ton at a heavy cost to fire gems and then the enemy dies before they make any real impact. The Imps cut through R'lyeh and he routed just before the elementals could make contact.
He managed to escape with about half his Bottles of Living water; it was hard to keep track of which specific commander retreated and which died.
So, Agartha's plan to sneak in a win was foiled and I've got a long, difficult war ahead of me. Luckily I suffered significantly fewer losses than the other two players in this game and I've got very deep blood access. The game is far from over, but I went from panic to confidence pretty quickly.
-fin.
Marverni ya got a second?
>>143167261
i have no seconds for you, malakal-chan
Cealum, would you like to talk peace terms?
>>143169135
Let's not be hasty with the peace terms. I'm sending you a message with new intel.
>>143167261
Sure, give me a couple of minutes and I'll be in the chat.
>>143163771
Thanks for the effortposts! You got the general course of events right, I believe, though I'm not sure about the gems calculations (all the Shard Wights were summoned by a D9 Tomb Oracle, for instance). And my prophet is this guy who's awesome and definitely not dead.
>>143170824
>12 awe on a scout
neato
Put him against PD and see if anyone can hit him
I am seeking several individuals for discussion. Ulm, Pangaea, and Vanheim (otherwise known as the Real Memeheim . . . I think).
>>143170824
>all the Shard Wights were summoned by a D9 Tomb Oracle
Ah, yeah, I generally just went with the lowest caster level for the summoning spells. There were a lot of things I kind just guessed on so that ended up as the top end, really. I also ignored any forging bonuses which would probably shave some gems off both lists. D9 casting Hall of the Dead would save something like 75-100 Death gems so that's a pretty big difference.
And yeah for some reason I thought I saw H4 on your tomb oracle but clearly not.
>>143169526
Well, turns out he'd only accept me giving him his shit back, which is a rather optimistic stance given how the war is going so far.
Still, new intel is good.
>>143172252
I really had no idea why you thought that was going to go any differently. I guess you weren't in DwD.
Another player could literally be about to win the game, and he keep fighting you until you had at minimum returned all his provinces.
>>143172804
Nope, I wasn't, the only times I've fought him before has been him ignoring someone winning to attack me, attacking his W9 Pan to stop him blocking me in and now.
>>143172214Ulm is too busy raping Marverni to kill bats.
>>143173076
Marverni is fucking staling, it really shouldn't take that much effort to kill him.
And you are geographically disoriented if you think Vanheim is adjacent to bats. If Vanheim is adjacent to bats . . . . .
Well then.
how's you day so far
>>143175046
I went to a funeral
>>143173539
I'll be on steam chat tonight, hit me up then.
>>143177231
Did you find any good items afterwards?
>>143179152
An endless bag of wine
>>143172214
I am available now. Though I don't really know why you want to talk to me, you're nowhere near me.
Fuck it, Item Units PBEM
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=FireAndSteel
10 slots available, 13 nations to choose from.
Man
Ulm
Marignon
Mictlan
Jotunheim
Caelum
T'ien Chi
Ermor
Machaka
Abysia
R'lyeh
Ashdod
Oceania
>>143181952
What does item units do?
>>143182708
Basically you run Prod 3, build your item units only (nothing else is worth it, period) use your mages to buff your item units, then laugh.
>>143182708
Currently it adds 4 recruitable units to the MA nations he listed above. Each of these units has a specific forgeable item (e.g. frost brand).
It's a bit silly using it in the current unfinished state, since the item units aren't meant to be available so early or so easily. Right now you can spam many of the units from every fort, starting from turn 1.
>>143183515
Ya know, I probably would be so much more okay with the mod if the itemunits were tied to construction levels.
As is it's an utter piece of shit. But if they were added at 3/5/7/9 (depending on units, etc) I could see it.
>>143185004
Yeah, I'm not sure what the modder's plans are but I'm waiting for him to reach 1.0 before trying to use it for a game.
>>143185004
I'd think 1 3 5 7 would be better.
>>143185004
>>143185792
You don't have to join :^)
Hello all you Great People! I need to get a hold of C'tis from Memegeddon, and I have already sent a request for a chat with Conan the Memarian. When you are next able to talk, I would love to speak with you about some things, namely Trade. I do apologize for not being on earlier when you were available today Conan, but I'm a busy Bat, and sometimes things don't always fall right into place.
Play your turns
>>143186091
1 would have to be for some of the weakest ones. I said 3/5/7/9 in order to make construction 9 actually a useful research pathing.
I'd research the fuck out of Construction 9 for Units with Firebrands at the price offered. Might not take priority over Alt 9, but probably better than any other (besides Blood when relevant ofc)
ded thred
>>143152453
Is that in the order you listed them? i.e. NoBully Mictlan and PoL Ulm? I'm in both those games as Patala and Arco respectively. I'm dying in both, as you probably well know. I'm also in a situation like yours irl where with finals/research papers coming up I cannot focus on Dominions at this moment. In both games, take what you can from me. That goes for anyone else in those games who border me.
I'm getting burned out of Dominions anyway. I'll probably be fresh and ready to play again once All Tomorrow's gets running (if it gets running). Alternatively, probably in the summer.
>>143191554
Fire brands are construction 4
Hay birds, what's all this then?
>>143198414
Fire Brands are priced at 10 gems, and are an exceptionally good item.
Unit mod effectively prices firebrands at 35 gold. If you sell Fire Brands at that price, you're insane. I'd also like to do business with you more often.
>>143199218
The only unit that uses fire brands are the cap only Anakites in the mod
>>143199564
. . . . . . which are still priced at 35 gold per fire brand. Which is still bonkers.
I understand item mod takes Zheyadans as the bottom line of power, but come on.
>>143199798
They're not costed at 35 g though?
>>143200043
150-115=35
Difference in price between an Ahiman and a Gehenna. No change in resource pricing either so don't try to explain it with that.
>>143200201
Sry, there's a resource difference of 4. So 35 gold and 4 Resources.
>>143200348
There you go, 150 gold and 95 resources for a fire brand.
>>143199218
>Unit mod effectively prices firebrands at 35 gold
They're fixed to a specific unit and set of gear. A fire brand is far more valuable on a SC or thug than just on a unit, because you have more scripting options and because you can give it other gear.
A constructed fire brand can also often be reused if the wielder gets afflicted or dies in a fight you won, which is not the case with these troops.
>>143200575
I guess the giant with great stats wielding it pops out of the fucking ether? You selling those for free now?
The chassis is very clearly priced at 115 gold. Maybe there's some minute changes there, but not enough to warrant too much, and they all made the Gehenna chassis EVEN BETTER!
So which do you want, 35 gold fire brands, or 0 gold giants? Both are absolutely fucking bonkers.
>>143200906
I can agree with this, and if the price was say, 100 effective I might call it fair play. That's 10 gold per gem, but the gems aren't being used in the most effective way, so w/e.
But 3.5 gold to effective gem is crazy. Or construction 9. If you needed construction 9 for those, I'd be so okay with the price. Is it stupid? Oh yeah. Is it dumber than Army of Gold/Lead? No.
>>143200913
That's not how pricing works. If I offer to add double sandwich meat for 50 cents extra, that does not mean you can buy only the meat for 50 cents more without buying the sandwich.
>>143201070
Eh, there's a certain point where it has to be useful. Thugs are supposed to fast and mobile, and scripted a certain way. Troops are clunky and harder to work with.
There are much powerful things that cheaper mages can do at level 9 research than a unit at that cost.
>>143201141
If you're going to be difficult on this, I can just go to the Golden Arbalest shit. Ya know, the Rec anywhere, 3!!! Gold per Gem (even if inefficiently spent, YES PLEASE) dude.
Though the fact that you're arguing that Sacred Firebrand wielding giants for 150 gold, which make Ragha sacreds look tame, are okay, is pretty funny.
>>143201476
Yeah but no one forges golden arbalests anyways.
>>143181952
I'll just sign up as Oceania then.
>>143201318
Such as? I can't find a single mage (for the price of 150 gold sacred, or around 120 gold for a nonsacred) that matches 20 attacks (keeping in mind Enc 5) of unbuffed 17 atk, 34 AP damage, with the usual Firebrand proc.
>>143201658
I'd forge the everliving shit out of them for that price, considering that it's a 90% discount, and takes no mage turns.
>>143201946
Well any E3 or F3 mage can cast firestorm or earthquake. A few low level S mages can spam stellar cascades and shut down large numbers of units.
>>143201070
>>143201476
What's with this obsession with gold-to-gem ratios?
I'd even fucking agree that the firebrand and arbalest troops are too strong, but framing it this way is just dumb.
There are other units in the mod with even better gold-to-gem ratios which aren't half as ridiculous, the issue clearly isn't how much each gem of equipment 'costs'.
Funny thing is that arbalests and fire brands cost the same amount of gems and research but not one forges the first one
Gonna make an MA game soon; probably just gonna use Worthy Heroes.
You guys have map/max player preference?
>>143202430
Maerlande or the other maps that have fixed starts.
>>143202149
Just a note, if you decide you want to firestorm with an F3 mage, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
I'm also not sure where you're getting F3/E3 mages for 120-150 gold, but I might be missing it. I couldn't even find an A3 mage for those prices.
>>143202430
Make it EA or LA or just ban Ermor and Sceleria if you're going to run MA
>>143202430
Summod. Or ban Ermor. Both effectively do the same thing.
>>143203185
>ban sceleria
Why?
>>143203156
The thing is, an F3 mage can kill an entire battlefield's worth of undead with one casting with phoenix power+crystal shield. A cheap RoS mage can do something similar.
>>143203308
Because 10 million ghouls in a fort is annoying as well
>>143203185
>Ban Sceleria
Sure, but only if we also ban Ulm, Pangaea, Agartha, and Nazca. And Ermor ofc.
>>143203185
>>143203290
Salty, lazy, bad sons of bitches.
>>143203185
>banning nations
I think you misunderstood me. I meant to convey that I was going to make a PBEM soon.
It seems that you understood my words to mean that I'm a hyper-effeminate turbopussy.
I hope this clears up your confusion.
>>143203326
>Crystal shield
I suppose those also cost some hilariously low amount of gold? Or does Unit Mod have mages that come with those for free, I didn't check.
I guess the fact that no F3 is 150 or less gold is also solved by them coming with a 5 gold cost flame helmet or something?
What are the scrying spells besides Scrying Pool? I know there has to be one for Astral but are there any more? Furthermore, is there a way I can search this on the inspector? Usually I just look up something that has the attribute I want then search for that attribute but the Scrying Pool spell didn't have a "scry" tag or anything.
>>143203565
When I said that summod Ermor was effectively banning them, I was honestly more hoping to lure sum1won out defend their virtue.
Lots of people say summod Ermor is utter trash, sum1won disagrees. I wanted him to put his money where his mouth was. So to speak.
WHY IS THE KING OF BANEFIRES ONLY D3!!!! HE CAN JUST BARELY EVEN FUCKING BANEFIRE!!!
WHY IS RHUAX E1! HE CAN'T EVEN INTO BOOTS!!! HE SHOULD GIVE HIS TITLE OF MAGMA KING TO RANDOM ULMISH SMITH #435
>>143203629
You're just moving goal posts now. What I'm saying is that at very high research levels, units like that won't matter significantly compared to mage casting really strong battlefield spells. People research level 9 for Tartarian Gate, not Legion of Wights.
>>143203185
>>143203290
If you think Ermor and/or Sceleria are auto-win tier, then you're free to join the PBEM as either of them and collect your free win :^)
>>143203629
Adept of Pyriphlegeton is 150
Fine then, MA Game
NoBones
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=NoBones
Worthy Heroes 5.5
No Ermor or Sceleria
>>143204167
>there are people who unironically ban nations
>>143203980
I didn't move the goal posts a single inch. You tried to bring in free 20 gem items, and failed to give a single example of a mage of that price beating out the Gehenna. And I've seen so many people lost because they cast all the battlefield buffs, but so did their opponent, and their opponent is fielding demon knights/green lions/dust warriors/etc while they have chaff. The 2nd Army of Lead just doesn't do much.
>>143204062
This guy on the other hand. Firestorm is nice and all, but Firestorm doesn't stack with Firestorm. They CAN however Phoenix Power into some pretty nice Pillars of Fire and Flame Storms, so I'll concede that Adepts of Pyriphlegeton are a better use of 150 gold. If you have the right throne/site ofc.
>>143204431
They're weak people. Maybe they need more calcium?
>>143204656
They can also cast Living Fire, which is basically 5 ethereal guys with fire brands.
>>143204167
Didn't we already learn that there's a bunch more nations to ban if you want no bones?
C'tis, Asphodel, Nazca . . .
>>143204790
Phoenix Power -> Living Fire with an F3 should be 4 guys, but still, yeah. And they lack the initial 34 AP hit, which is the most valuable part for endgame (got to punch through 30 prot fuckers somehow). Ofc, Gehenna aren't ethereal, and the mage usually wakes up and does stuff afterward in the longer fights (sans Rigor Mortis being cast).
>>143203980
>>143203629
>>143203326
>>143203156
>>143202261
>>143202164
>>143202149
>>143202142
>>143201946
>>143201658
>>143201476
>>143201141
>>143201070
>>143200913
>>143200906
>>143200575
>>143200348
>>143200201
>>143200043
>>143199798
>>143199564
>>143199218
>>143204656
>>143204790
Got it. I'll set the game's setting to very easy research then..
>>143205141
Umm, well.
I guess that's one way to mitigate the flaws of Unit Mod, yes. Not the one I would have taken, but it sort of works.
>>143204167
>banning ermor and fucking sceleria
>when ma pan exists
>when ma ulm exists
>when ma agartha exists
>when nazca exists
>when asspoodle exists
>>143205326
One of these is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong.
It's . . . . Asphodel.
>>143203424
If we're banning nations based on annoyance level of fighting them, then we've got a lot of banning to do.
And while we're at it, we should ban wishing for armageddon. And ban toxically unfun globals.
>>143205752
Let's just ban me not winning, okay?
>>143205752
How about we ban every nation that ever won a single game. In a OneAge game ofc.
We'll go break mogger's server to play it, and I call EA R'yleh.
Thats all folks
>>143206267
>People saved this
Hahaha, glad to be a part of something I guess, even if in this case it's me getting called a faggot.
I just realized, TC is also a nation that I would enjoy having the chance to talk to. If you are by the steam chat anytime, ask for me! I want to hear about you and how you are doing. It's important to get a feel for the people of Oeridia, and I've never gotten the chance to deal with you.
>>143207885
it's a trap!
Hey Pan, do you still want a Bloodstone? Cuz I still want Air gems.
>>143207995
After playing in Armemegeddon and paying attention to Bats' diplomacy, here's what I've noticed. His profit isn't in making bad deals, he genuinely does make honest trades that are beneficial to both parties. However, here's the thing. Let's say that in each trade he gains 10 "value" and the other player gains 11. Well if he keeps that up he's going to be behind, right? But since he deals with as many people as possible it's more like he has 100 "value" and 10 other players have 11. That's his secret. He's not doing anything special. It's the general cageyness and mistrust between other players that he aggressively attacks and works around. Sure, it's not that hard to make a deal with a few people in your games but he really pushes it to the next level.
>>143208492
It's also that deals inherently benefit the board leader more. Rule 1: Be cautious when making a deal with the board leader. Though apparently that's Niefel atm . . .
I'd argue though that giving Xib what he wants will never end up well.
>>143208767
Honestly, you can argue that you should never give anyone what they want.
>>143208991
My thesis is that by doing so, you inevitably fall behind the people who do trade. The only winning move is to trade the most.
>>143208991
That's not true, since getting what you want is often valuable enough to warrent it.
The four rules of thumb to keep in mind are:
1: If somebody's soliciting trades with multiple people, they're benefiting like crazy and should be told to fuck themselves. Treat them the same way you would a known diplomonster.
2: Only a diplomonster proposes a trade they don't have good reason for. Always assume whoever proposed a trade stands to make a killing.
3: Always assume the worst regarding the enemy's capabilities. Proceed under the premise that the enemy has unlimited resources aside from the one thing they need from you to do something horrible. Don't give them anything unless you know what it's likely to be used for and how you'll beat it.
4: Trading, if you're not a retard about it, makes you stronger. Do it, but on your terms.
it only took 600 hours to finally see this guy, sadly it's not me but one of my opponents who encountered him
>>143208991
There's no need to go that far, just be careful with who you're dealing with.
I even know of one case of a person outright giving gems/gold to an Agartha who was in a bad position, just so he'd keep the player invading him busy for longer. I don't know exactly how much it cost, but it changed the invasion from a quick and painless affair into a bloody mess, and basically took the invading player out of the running for victory.
>>143209761
I've managed to secure a tiny amount of foreign support while trying to be a thorn in the side to a much larger threat. Wish I could milk it for more, honestly, since I've been buying them over a year of peace by this point.
>>143208492
Very astute! You can't run a business if you don't actively do business after all. I learned my trade from both the Critique of Nicknight7, a master Diplomancer in his own right, and Trump's The Art of the Deal. Great guy, you'll love him, and a great book that is worth the read.
It is more than just making a lot of deals with a lot of people though. Some people have exactly what another person needs, but neither of them know to talk to the other. That is a big part of what I do, I get people with compatible goals working WITH one another to benefit both of them, and me. The more that people trade with each other, the more I trade with other people, and the stronger the economy gets through strong business practice and healthy competition.
It isn't going to make Oeridia Great if only I do well, everyone has to do well if we are going to build a better future for the Great map of Oeridia.
I quite like bats! He's quite nice! And squids as well!
>>143209517
I've already said it once before, back in Armemegeddon. If you don't like the worst case scenario of a deal attempt, then don't even go to the table to offer it. The thing is, the worst case Scenario of almost any attempt at a deal is not liking what you hear and not accepting it. Even if the majority of the offers I make are turned down, every single person in them got the full repercussions spelt out for them. I freely share what the gems I will be gaining from a trade are going to when people ask as well. Being transparent is very important to let people make decisions that will benefit them, and to know that it will not negatively impact them in the short/mid run.
>>143209460
A strong idea, but I think you focus too much on the material aspects too much. I understand that you want to base it in concrete objects in the game so far as possible, but don't ignore the more immaterial assets of social capital.
>>143210849
And I'm not being mentioned in this list despite gallantly coming to your aid in your time of need?
>>143211052
Maybe they're just bashful, senpai~
>>143210963
>I freely share what the gems I will be gaining from a trade are going to
It's cute how you think people are dumb enough to believe that gems are some sort of discreet trackable quantity wherein their use is easily traceable. We both know that having the gems now to forge/cast X means can often mean not having to spend future income.
>>143211052
Sauromatia? Let's hope you do as well smashing into Ermor like you did me so many turns ago.
>>143211461
That was an accidental smashing. What I'm going to do to Ermor is far, far worse.
>>143209885
That's a pity. Far too many people don't realize the value of tying up an opponent's resources, especially when you can do it secretly.
>>143211289
Well, if I ask for Air gems (which I am actually looking for air gems, Chat me up if you have some to trade) and someone asks me, "what are you going to do with those Air gems?" I'll tell them exactly what I am going to do with them: I have no air income and only a single A1 mage, so I need to empower so I can sightsearch better with Auspex and actually get an Air income. I will most likely be making Feathers, or using call of the winds with later air income, or any leftovers from the trade.
See? Transparent, laid out right there. You can't run a country properly from the shadows. You can't build trust off of known unknowns and half truths. I want to work WITH the people I make deals with. Sure, I am going to make it the best deal for me, but I am not going to try to make a deal worse for *the other*. I don't deal with *others*, I deal with people, with great people that want to do as good for themselves as I do, and can work together with me and great people like me to make it happen.
>>143212157
>Trading with bats
>letting bats get even stronger
Don't give him the air. Whatever you want, I'm sure another nation can trade it. Let the bats wallow in their lack of airiness.
>>143213260
Haven't you watched the elections? Trying to turn people against Trump is an exercise in futility! As long as I wear his face, I could first-blood kill a nation and people would still be willing to trade with me.
>>143213757
You say that like its an achievement, it's really not.
>>143211052
>>143211702
Sauro, I think some of your blood slaves got away. I know that you don't need as many with your newfangled throne and all, but it's still bad form.
Hey guise, Ipiratedthis game a while back to get a feel for it with singleplayer to see if I liked it and now I've finally bought it. Do I join a game now or is it better to get a strong grip on the basics first? I can beat AI but I imagine that isn't saying much.
How does somebody into Dominions 4 general?
>>143213929
Yeah, when you act like Trump, getting people to like you, and succeeding at diplomatic action is pretty much an absolute. Not really an achievement...
Wait, that only works because it is a meme-game and because my neighbors in the last game were so much worse than me that I looked like the better option in comparison. Which was a great analog to the election cycle this year. Hot damn it was fun though.
The most important thing is that I am having fun with it, and I am helping other people get what they need to also have fun with it. I was always only ever in it to try and stop Cancer Globals, and to make it to the end of the game as the most well liked person left on the map. I will win this Election!
>>143213973
I only have use for virgins.
>>143214328
I mean Ur had an excuse (he was Ur). Not sure why Pan and Fomoria shit the bed so hard though.
>>143214416
floors or leave
>>143215176
That'll be 10 virgin girls.
>>143215717
That floor isn't a virgin, stop with the used goods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6JGA4xSudU
is this what /domg/ diplomacy is like?
>>143215967
>30 Years
Only in Flatus
>>143215967
What the fuck...
>>143214893
Pan was bad, and decided using Revelers to retake his own provinces was what the cool kids would do (and never made Maneads until the last 2-3 turns of the game), and Fomoria got multiple Fomorian Kings assassinated by me. The turn the game ended, I was going to have 3 assassins go in on the single guy left leading his army in my province, then cut off and auto route his army. Also finally had a force that could fight his other armies in Storms too, which was gonna suck for him with most of his sacreds dissipated into the cutt-off route.
>>143216774
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_8KzyBl3mc
is this how trade deals are done in /domg/?
>>143214295
If you can beat AI, you're probably not going to learn much from playing more singleplayer.
Keep an eye out here for a game which is looking for players, preferably something without mods, and join that using the llamaserver guide in the OP. Mention that you're joining the game here when you do.
I haven't kept track of which games are currently recruiting, so hopefully someone else can fill you in there.
Make sure that you can get 12 provinces in the first 12 turns with your chosen nation. More is better, ask here for advice if you're having trouble. I find it's good to decide on an initial research goal to work towards as well.
The first few turns may seem very slow, but don't join lots of games. As you get further into the game turns will take much longer and it's easy to get overwhelmed if you joined lots of games at the start.
Outside of that, you'll probably learn as you go. Just pay attention to why you're losing (if you're winning instead, good job!) and consider asking for advice once you've been defeated.
>>143217193
>I WANT AIR GEMS, SELLING DEATH GEMS
>OK
>>143217763
Thanks for the help. I've decided one or two games at the most since I've got studies to focus on. I'll look out for an open game with no mods. Does anybody actually use the steam-group/chatroom or is it all done here?
Also, any help for quickly taking provinces? I tend to take too long to build momentum.
>>143218709
The Steam Chat Room that most people I know use is /v/anheim. That is where a lot of the talking and dealing happen, and there are constant Blitzes that occur if you have a few hours for a fast game against 2-4 other people.
As for faster expansion, it depends on what nation you are playing. Some need Awake Gods to expand properly, some need the right bless for their sacreds, some have jank strategies that they utilize. What nation(s) do you normally play?
>>143218709
>Does anybody actually use the steam-group/chatroom or is it all done here?
Some games require you to sign up in the steamgroup, they'll mention it if needed. Most games recently have allowed anonymous signups, so you just need to show you're from around here by posting your intent to join.
The chatroom is mainly for people to hang out and chat about dominions or play blitzes. Sometimes people will get into the chatroom for diplomacy, but they usually go off to talk in private after they find each other.
>Also, any help for quickly taking provinces? I tend to take too long to build momentum.
Try to bring some raiding parties or thugs along. If there's a province which is only defended by PD, you can usually just send out a small group or a thug to grab it while your main army takes on the actual threats or sieges down forts. This way you can very quickly seize large amounts of territory to deny the income to your enemy and take it for yourself.
Flying or stealthy units are often good for raiding parties, since they can quickly move to wherever they're needed. However, a lot of nations don't have good flying/stealthy troops and just have to make do with normal soldiers.
>>143218709
>>143219523
Crap, I thought you meant taking provinces off an enemy player.
Were you asking about expanding against indies instead?
>>143218709
Nearly everyone plays with Worthy Heroes, but that pretty much the universally agreed mod that's okay since it doesn't change too much
>>143219645
More like: Makes heroes actually a useful and interesting force by making them all viable as either powerful niche units or SCs/good thugs.
As opposed to being generally garbage that is occasionally worse than normal mages.
>>143219472
>what nations do you normally play
Still not too familiar with the game and haven't tried loads, but I liked EA Ermor and MA Marignon a fair bit.
>>143219523
I'll join the steamgroup then.
>>143219624
Yeah, I meant indies right at the start. Taking those 12 provinces in 12 turns can be hard.
>>143219645
>worthy heroes
all right then
Yo Ulm, you up for a chit chat sometime in steam?
My page is:
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197993705472
Look for the laughing clown.
Memes
>>143219931
>Yeah, I meant indies right at the start. Taking those 12 provinces in 12 turns can be hard.
It's mainly trial and error. You try stuff, use what works best.
Do expansion practice on a large map with a single AI, so you don't get unlucky and run into someone (or even get attacked).
There are some useful tricks, here's what I've found.
Try to take mountains or forests which are adjacent to your capital early. Forts gain a percentage of the resources of adjacent provinces, so taking those will let you produce more troops per turn. Wastelands (no resources) and plains (no resources, often have heavy cavalry) can wait for later.
Some of the indie types are much easier to beat than others, depending on your army. For example, lion/wolf/deer tribe are generally quite easy to beat, whereas heavy cavalry or elephants are very hard. If you remember which ones you have trouble with and avoid them, you can use fewer troops to take provinces.
Remember that there can be up to +-50% variation in the numbers you see in enemy provinces. If one province consistently comes up with low numbers of troops, it probably doesn't have many units there. Provinces with consistently high numbers of troops might need more troops than usual. Sometimes Heavy Cavalry/Elephants/etc won't show up, so be careful.
Avoid attrition in expansion parties. You want to lose very few units per province taken so your expansion parties can keep going as long as possible. If you're losing 20% or more of your expansion party, it probably needs more/different troops.
When you're actually in a multiplayer game, get mercenaries if you can. Remember that you're bidding against other people and may not actually get them (bids are refunded if you are outbid though), so only bid gold you're not able to spend on your own troops. I prefer to practice expansion without mercs, because you often get unlucky and are outbid in multiplayer.
Specific nation advice for Ermor and Marignon in next post.
>>143224048
>MA Marignon
They're a bit hard to expand with.
Blessed Knights of the Chalice work pretty well with a couple of production scales. Try N9E6 for them. 5 knights led by a friar (to bless them) can take on most indie provinces with no losses. You'll probably need to take a province or two with your starting army to provide resources, as the knights require a lot of them. Once you've done that, expansion should be easy.
When using knights I prefer to use the script in the picture. Put the priest as far back as possible with the knights close enough to bless but far enough so that arrows aimed at them won't hit the priest. The hold orders are so the priest won't run in after the knights as soon as he's done blessing them.
Another option is an awake earth serpent with E6. Use the snake to help take some provinces in your capcircle, and produce armies of pikeneers and crossbowmen to help your snake expand further. Remember to tell the snake to attack rather than leaving it with default script.
>EA Ermor
6-8 Equites with a W9 bless can take on most indie provinces without losses. Lead them with an acolyte to bless them, and use the same scripting as knights.
You could also take production scales and churn out lots of troops. Rosarus seem like the best option to me, but I haven't practiced expanding with Ermor much. Their starting army is pretty good, which should help get you started by taking a province or two.
An E6 earth snake is also an option, but you shouldn't need it in this case.
>>143224048
Thanks, this is very helpful stuff.
This might seem like a very basic question, but what should be done with my pretender if they aren't a fighter? Is research ever an efficient use of them?
>>143225079
It really depends what pretender you have.
Using them to cast rituals which scale with the caster level is often a good idea. You can use them to forge items which your other mages can't too.
If your pretender has some magic you don't get elsewhere, you can sitesearch with him.
If you're fighting a defensive war, using them in combat is a good idea. They're usually best used to cast spells, but sometimes you can kit them out for melee. Avoid using them offensively, as they suffer a number of penalties in enemy dominion.
If none of the above sound like good choices, set them to research.
Marveni and Marignon both suck
Play your turns
>>143203719
Astral Window. Astral Projection as well, though it isn't safe for a mage casting it.
Newfaggot here again. What's it mean when a blitz event starts on Steam? Does somebody want a quick game?
>>143233443
Pretty much, yeah.
Go into the chat room if you want to join. Usually takes a number of hours.
twiceborn
>>143230982
I wish i could play my turn on you, anime-chan, if you know what i mean
So there is a overpopulated throne where most of its units are starving. Plus there are fire snakes whose are can kill some.of the other units.
Should i attack it over and over eith a scout and wait in general so most of the units die?
Or get my army asap so i can fight them while they have reduced morale and abuse the hp rout?
Okay, this shit is finally over.
Reminder to not make games that require you have literally every single land throne in order to win
Why is the order luck combo not recommended?
Also can EA Agartha do well focusing on a strong bless? Or is that more MA Agartha?
>>143240605
It depends.
>>143240605
Order and luck are anti-synergistic with each other since you want more events with luck but get less with order. There are a few very good events like free forts with order/luck scales though. EA Agartha can use a bless mainly due to sacred mindblasters, since pale ones are terrible, but it's not as good as on MA Agartha.
>>143240976
What bless is good for EA agartha? I assume earth or blood as they are already quite tanky.
And for MA Agartha I imagine the statues would do good with nature to regenerate or blood or fire to kill stuff better.
Is this sensible?
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=LAte_to_the_party
Reminder New LA game started 6/16 joined so far. Settings are 45% site frequency with WH 5.5 NN everything else vanilla
>>143242538
go E9A1, or E9A4 if you have point for it
that way tou have protection for mages and olms and you can get a lot of gargoyles late game, which are a great way to spend earth gems (one of them per earth gem is great)
>>143242992
I am currently getting raped in a blitz which is my first multiplayer Dominions experience, should I bother with this game or would I just get raped and be free territory for my neighbors?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXwWjxbzuIk
Is this what Victorious nations do against nations who are conquered?
>>143243557
You'd probably get raped, but as long as you don't make it clear to everyone that you're new you (probably) won't get rushed right away.
The getting raped part is only natural though. Don't expect to win your first few games unless you manage to get a noob-only game going (and even then your odds won't be great). There are people here who've played dozens of games and have never won anything. There's no shame in that, it's just the nature of the game since there are many players and only one can win, so if you're below average in skill (either by being new or just sucking), your chances to win are extremely low.
I've been playing this game for more than 2 years and I only won like 5 games in all that time myself.
>>143243773
I'll think about it then. I've only really messed around a little bit with Late Age. What's a decent nation that won't require me to get too technical with my magic or anything? I like EA Ermor and MA Marignon even though I'm no good with either. Man look interesting, are they a decent choice?
>>143244049
Man are pretty solid. They have some of the best ranged units in the whole game, which can carry the entire early game for you and midgame as well as long as the enemy doesn't have counters like Storm or Arrow Fend. Their mages are extremely limited since the Magister Arcane is the only thing worth recruiting, but it's not a terrible mage since you can set them up for some Rain of Stone shenanigans and get some nice blasting and buffing going through communions.
Lategame they kinda run out of options other than just doing the same thing you've been doing all along except on a bigger scale, so you'll have to take that into consideration while designing your pretender. I like getting a decent amount of Death magic on their on their pretender since it opens up a lot of options.
>>143244297
That sounds manageable but I might look further into this. How long does a game usually take to fill?
>>143244370
It depends. Right now a lot of big games are still at midgame so it might take a while.
Games on /domg/ tend to come in waves, where a number of big games and around the same time so everyone starts looking for new games, which results in a number of big games being made and filled quickly, which then of course tend to end roughly around the same time as well and the cycle continues.
>>143243370
Are gargoyles better than the earth elementals that agartha gets?
>>143245857
it depends
trampling is great, but gargoyles are size 2 and have 2 attacks each one, plus flying
>>143206682
Sorry Arco, but this was always your fate. You will be missed, and you will still have a place in my pantheon when I become Pankoman.
>>143245857
In early game battles, no. I love them in big mid- and endgame battles though, since flying becomes a really big deal once regular troop combat becomes just mashing them together and hoping your mages win the battle before your frontline starts breaking.
>>143248468
>when
My, such confidence. I missed you yesterday though, and still need to talk in chat. Will be available in around 2 hours
ded
Ulm lets talk.
MA R'yleh looks fun because I like astral magic and all the teleporting, is it as shit as LA and EA R'yleh?
>>143248468
>>143249162In this scenario Arco is the wife.
Postponing for 12 additional hours for the straglers, and moving the timer to 48 hours. If you want faster turns, that's on you all.
If you stale 4 consecutive times in a row, with no explanation in thread, and I notice you're the only one left, I will auto host (Abysia, Marverni)
>>143256317
reeeeeeee
>>143256539
Talk it up with Bery, Pan, and Hinnom then.
>>143251826
According to the spreadsheet of doom they have a decent win percentage:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dlrvyEqLFYIaXRc49TheMmfdoP8jEh1m5rZJHJAzDWQ/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=874928032
Having good amphibious troops, decent paths, coast recruitable S1 mindblast assassins and Vastnesses without killing their own population makes for a decent nation.
Is Sauro a good nation? They look like shit Ctis.
>>143258756
Kinda, except they also have efficient archers, the cheapest S1 in the game, and a smattering of blood in exchange for much lower death access.
>>143251826
MA is the good Ryleh.
>>143259175
As long as they don't share a pond with Pelagia at least
>>143258756
You lose out on shamans which are incredible mages. Everything else is strictly better. Of particular note is that EA Sauromatia can do vampire lords. Giving them a mid to late game strategy before tartarians.
t. Someone who played EA Ctis exclusively for a year but was still unable to get good at them
>>143258756
They are nothing like Ctis at all. Sauro is its own thin.
Closest thing would be LA T'ien Chi's troops with Utgard's mages. If you absolutely had to compare them with somebody.
>>143259293
I've beaten Pelagia before. Although that was a brutal war (and ultimately my prize was 20 UW provinces total, some players might have expanded more against indies) and my start ended up mediocre.
>>143259869
If somebody signs up for a second UW nation, I change my signup. Knifefights are not worth it.
>>143260007
Good. I don't want shitters in my UW.
Can you take blood slaves underwater?
>>143260382
Nope. Can't even use them in battle.
>Neighbors are asphodel and ermor
Guess I didn't need any population anyway
>>143260007
SmallFish was hilarious in that regard, 11 UW provinces, 3 UW nations.
>>143259175
Sorry I'm late replying but are slave mages bugged? It says they're supposed to lose some of their water magic skill on land but they don't. Not that I'm complaining obviously
>>143263201
They used to, however Illwinter thought better of it.
>>143263362
Oh okay, well it would have been pretty annoying. Does the same apply to pelagia too? I always heard they sucked because of that
>>143263525
Yeap, Oceania still has it though.
>>143263791
Ah right, they seemed pretty weird anyway. Time to become tentacle pope I guess
>Not a single EdibleGlove post
Has mylungcancer spread?
>>143267771
It moved to a 48 hour timer, so half as much is happening.
Lanka, Ulm guys can we talk?
