[OmikronWarrior]

Originally Posted by Squirrelloid

Talk about things that don't get enough respect - Luck is hugely underrated imho.

Luck provides extra income, gems, and occasionally better things (magic items, etc...).

Luck causes imprisoned pretenders to break out earlier. Possibly sleeping pretenders wake up earlier, but I haven't noticed a difference.

Luck increases the chances of a hero showing up.

Misfortune drastically increases the chances that you will suffer a game losing effect early (lab burns down early year 1, early plague, bandits in your capitol turn 2 or 3, etc...). Eventually misfortune becomes liveable, but its negative effects in year 1 can be truly awful.

I agree with most of this in theory, but in practice I still insist that misfortune (up to 2) is the cheapest place to pick up additional pretender points, especially if growth (or at least not death) and Order is taken. Turmoil+Death+Misfortune looks ugly pretty fast.

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I'd argue you either take 1 tick or 3 ticks in temperature, and never 0 or 2.

H0 - half the time at H1 or C1 = 2.5% average income hit.
H1 - half the time at H2 or H0 = 5% average income hit.
H2 - half the time at H3 or H1 = 10% average income hit.
H3 - half the time at H2 = 12.5% average income hit.

This is completely wrong from my play experience. The math works out fine, but I don't think for a second seasonal shifts in the temp scale come close to being in effect "half the time." If you're like me, you probably have a dozen SP games floating around. Check any of them (which have reasonably sized empires with a good Dom spread). How many provinces deviate from the base temp scales? Not many, and those that do are most likely to be on the fringes or only recently fell under your dominion.

Though the mechanics of seasonal temp shifts are unknown to me, I believe they work like this. During certain seasons (summer and winter, obviously, but maybe fall and spring), provinces have a CHANCE to change temps in a certain direction. This chance is not certain, and I don't think even independent provinces under no dom will change temps with any regularity. Now, even those that do change, are now subject to shifts based on your dominion, the same shifts that change Order, luck, and magic. That drastically cuts down the effect of season on temperature. Meaning "half the time" is more like 1/6 the time.

Note that its only a 2.5% increased hit from H0 to H1, and from H2 to H3, while H1 to H2 is a full 5% income hit. 2.5% is less than the income hit from sloth or death scales per tick. Sold.

Double check that again. Death and Sloth give you a 2% deduction outright, though pop loss might make temp losses more attractive in the long run, I don't think thats where you're going.

Now, if you have a preferred temperature scale it is *always* worthwhile to max out that scale, regardless of what that preference is. C+1 preference? C3 every time.

Let me provide a counter example. Take a nation that prefers Heat-1. Buy Heat-3. Congratulations, you just cost your nation 10% of its capital income for the critical expansion phase. No chance of that going down until winter, and the game starts in summer. Buy the time winter hits, your capital is likely to have a high dominion score, giving you a much reduced chance of going to Heat-2 for any extended length of time. Border provinces also suffer.

I'll admit, this sort of thinking does depend on the nation having a high dominion score, but since we are talking about the Virtue I'd say thats a safe assumption.