Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

Is it worth sending your commanders to the Death Match tournament, to only win the Trident?

Not sure, personally....what are the vets' thoughts on the Trident?

Chris

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

Yes and no.

It's a really nice item for a critter that's built to take advantage of it.

It isn't, however, worth the risk it entails.

Mind you, it can be fun to send, say, a Black Servant with that nifty Cursing dagger, a rod of the leper king, a bane venom charm, a Lifelong Protection.... and any other Cursed item you can think of. With the specific intent of LOSING ... so that the opponent will pick up something (horror mark, Curse, Disease, et cetera)

Edit:
Also fun are astral builds with that nifty cursing shield set to Horror Mark and then cast Returning.

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

but how does the weapon itself stack up to the items you can forge?

Damage 12 (not bad damage....from what i have seen, most weapons do that or less...from what I have seen)

Attack 3 (not sure how this is....higher than most that I have seen)

Defense 6 (good defense boost, I think)

# of Attacks 2 (I am going to assume that this means he gets 2 attacks per "turn" in combat? If so, that seems like it is a good thing....)

compared (with my small amount of knowledge) to other magical items, the Champions Trident doesn't look too bad....

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

Against 4 or more computer opponents it's never worthwhile to send any commanders except maybe a diseased commander or a mercenary commander which lost his troops.

Other topics have been started regarding the death match and overall the combined prize of the trident and experience are definitely not worth the life of a good commander. Everyone attending the death match will be dying except for the winner and in some cases even the winner dies.

I really do like the death match... but it's prizes in Dom_2 makes it just not worth sending anyone.

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

Normally it's best to avoid the deathmatch in sp... but in mp it is more or less ignored and is a good opportunity to beef up some commander.

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

The Trident also bestows its wielder Quickness.

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

Hopefully the prize(s) have been improved for Dominions_3 for the death match.

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

I'm NOT a vet to this game, but I will say that my experiences in SP say that you will probably win the deathmatch. I think of all the times I've sent a good SC into the deathmatch, I've only lost once. Sending in a diseased/crippled SC isn't a bad idea, but remember that the trident is going to be stuck with him. If you have a powerful SC you want to get the trident, why not? Then again, I only play in games with 4-8 opponent AIs. I would probably never try to get it in MP, though. People are too crafty. The chance of an assassin being in the tourny is WAY too high. Also don't forget that winning the trident means that SC will always be required to attend the tourny until death!

=$= Big J Money =$=

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

Well obviously SC's are good in it vrs ai, they suck vrs SC's (even decently equiped black servants can slaughter most enemy pretenders). Also dont forget the trident cant be removed and uses up valuable hand slots where you could have a life-drain (nerfed in dom3) weapon.

Re: Champion\'s Trident - Is it worth it?
 

You see, it is precisely that line of reasoning that makes the deathmatch viable in mp. That's what everyone is thinking, and if that's what they are thinking, why would anyone bother sending someone to the deathmatch just to mess up the other players (or anyone at all)?

In practice, three types of commanders get sent:

1. Junk commanders with little better to do, that no one cares if they lose.

2. Mages that can use battle summons. Chances are very good they win against whatever mediocre commander is sent, and it is still a rather trivial investment. Sending one of these is about as close as it gets to sending something just to mess up other combatants. Even for a frail caster the trident is useful, quickness, bonus research from the xp, and possibly a useful heroic ability.

3. SCs/thugs that can't afford to be equipped, and would be greatly improved by the trident (or rather, the combo of the trident, the extra xp, quickness, and whatever heroic ability they get). These can be anything from beefy national commanders all the way to, in rare cases, pretenders. The worry of getting them harmed if the deathmatch comes up again is not very large, no one knows when it will happen, and getting something ready ahead of time on the off chances is a waste of time. Further, it's not really worth anyone's effort unless they are in conflict with you anyway.