Quote:
PCarroll said:
Besides all the behind-the-scenes stuff (the economic and magical dimensions), the most annoying thing about Dom2 so far is the difficulty of establishing defensible borders. In my trial game, provinces changed hands the way they do in Risk; and that got old in a hurry. Nothing is more frustrating than making a successful attack, only to find that the enemy has meanwhile snuck in and taken over a couple lightly defended or undefended provinces behind your armies. That situation soon starts to seem hopeless.
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The best defense is a good offense. It's better to play musical chairs in your opponent's territory.
Build forts in provinces that have good magic sites or high income. If a computer enemy takes a province with a fort in it, it won't move on until it either captures the fort or is defeated. If the enemy goes around your forted provinces, you should be able to cut off its retreat and kill it.
Buy province defense. Every province should have a PD of at least 1, which will give you a look at the enemy army that captures the province. After PD 1, the AI recognizes increments of 10. Having PD of 11 in several provinces will often delay AI attacks. PD is a useful supplement to any other defensive forces you have. Also, you can use low PD to set a trap. If all but one of your border provinces have a PD of 11, and the one has a PD of 1, the AI will probably target the PD 1. You can have armies positioned to pounce after the enemy takes the bait.
Create a supercombatant (SC), a powerful commander who can singlehandedly kill whole armies without taking a scratch. Start with a creature that is already powerful -- e.g., a Queen of Elemental Air, a Golem, an Ice Devil, or a Bane Lord. Give it a lifedrain weapon (Death or Blood) such as Wraith Sword, Hell Sword, or Blood Thorn. Fill its other equipment slots to make the SC harder to injure or to give it other desireable qualities. If the SC can't fly naturally, give it Winged Shoes or a Flying Carpet. Thus you will have a highly mobile commander who can recapture your provinces. Do a search on this forum to get more information about making and using a SC.
Play around with magical movement spells, such as Teleport (Astral) and Cloud Trapeze (Air). These spells allow you to catch your opponent before his army moves in the regular movement phase. Just be sure that the mage(s) you send is tough enough to get the job done. If you have a SC who can Teleport or Cloud Trapeze, you might want to do that even if it can reach the province with regular movement.
Summoning units that don't require upkeep will allow you to have more large armies, which will help defense. Vine Ogres, undead, Wolves, Elementals, and seasonal spirits (Summer Lions, Winter Wolves, Spring Hawks, and Fall Bears) are often used. Some commanders can "Summon Allies" for free. Werewolves can summon Wolves. Some of the Elemental Kings and Queens can summon Elementals. The Draconian Chief can summon Draconians. The Mound Fiend can reanimate undead. The Ivy King can summon four Vine Ogres for one Nature gem -- not free, but a very good deal. Later in the game, you might want to have Mechanical Men and Living Statues. If your nation is using a lot of Blood magic, Devils are among the best troops available. A Vampire Lord can summon immortal Vampires for free.