Guide to EA C'tis

[RamsHead]

I agree that the Solar Disk is a good choice, but it requires research in conjuration, alteration, and enchantment to get him up to snuff.

EA C'tis does have Hillforts, but border mountains don't count as mountains for fort building.

I am curious as to how fast you are expanding Lazy_Perfectionist. You should have conquered a minimum of ten provinces by the end of the first year.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

By the end of the first year? Even on easy? Well... in my current game, I started in an isolated corner, with the AI in a preferential position for 2/3s of the map. However, for the first time, I managed to out expand them. This with zero scales but for the two heat, and a Pretender i've barely used. I've got about 12 by year three, but that is the result of heavy conflict between our two nations, with nobody able to head for the southern half of the map. Until I ran into the enemy (very soon, I might add), I'd been averaging a province a turn. My biggest problem is I have no real expansion strategy after I encounter the enemy nation and its a wide open map with only one checkpoint, which I have taken.

The Solar Disc, though, I find that hard to use early on. What strategy allows a solar disc to start being useful ASAP on a large, 2 player map? I'm not very familiar with the fire magic.

This one game I'm going to abandon- I wanted to see exactly how my empire performed with no scales other than two heat. I hadn't expected it to go well as long as it did. Shovah, would you advise using the Solar Disk on a small or large two player map? And what sort of strategy for his use? What scales, and awake or asleep or other?

I hadn't started it out seriously, since I was doing a test with a new pretender and no scales... But I ran straight for Raise Skeletons, and used my Sauromancers more agressively than before. It turned out quite helpful.

I'll keep a little log on my desktop of my next game, maybe report on it later. I'll also turn down the randoms quite a bit in the game setup. I started the first turn of this test game with 200% tax and patrol, but got hit the second turn with an unrest random in addition, and that took longer to wipe out than I expected. So my income was lacking in that game for several turns.

Oh, and I found out Behemoths are quite fun. Three may die quick enough, but squa****y death is fun and quick.

[RamsHead]

Yes, you should have 10 or more provinces by the end of the first year, not counting your capital. Unless you have independents set higher.

The Solar Disc is a good pretender, but you need research in several schools of magic to allow him to take provinces on his own. He will not be useful right away.

Have your Shamans cast Body Ethereal on the Behemoths to make them much more survivable.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

An odd question for you. If none of your units can leave your starting province due to an odd map bug, is there any way to expand outside through C'tis options of summoning?

Edit: Nevermind, I'll just start a new game.

[RamsHead]

I have now uploaded my guide to the Strategy Wiki.

[MaxWilson]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
An odd question for you. If none of your units can leave your starting province due to an odd map bug, is there any way to expand outside through C'tis options of summoning?

Edit: Nevermind, I'll just start a new game.

Not really, so good choice.

-Max

[MaxWilson]

Actually, now that I think of it, that reminds me of Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares. In a way, a starting province with no exits is an ideal defensive position. C'tis can do decent research off of its starting death income and using sacred shamans; I suppose you *could* play the game out from your unassailable home base until you had Astral Travel researched, and then start dropping Gateways everywhere. In the short-term you could be dropping occasional Calls of the Wild ("Antarans attack!") or Arouse Hungers, just to pick up some cash before the provinces get retaken. A very strange but possibly fun way to play, if you have the patience--and a fast enough computer that you don't mind processing 80 turns of doing nothing before you get Astral Travel. (Buy one shaman, hit "Next turn.")

-Max

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Yes, I have many fond memories of that game too, though now Sword of the Stars has replaced that game, for me. There may be no Antarans, but I do get visits by the System Killer, Slavers, and Von Newmann machines who eat all my ships and spawn new ones right there.

I've found the Slave Warriors surprisingly effective, at least against certain independents. Still, 10 deaths is 120 gold... I took down three or four provinces with 40 of them. Not quite certain how they didn't all die on me, but I suspect it had to do with their extra 'bite'. If you're facing mostly light infantry, militia, and archers, 40 Slave Warriors can take down several provinces before they need to reinforce. If some farmlands in the area, it'll pay for itself. I just put them at the back of the field, and hold-attack. Gives the enemy forces time to spread out, and most indie archers too long to fire accurately. They're less likely to run, and are faster than the rest of your early forces.

My starting strat still needs work. My most recent game - which I may still win - I only had eight provinces by around the end of the first year. Advice is welcome. I set my pretender to a Scorpion King, fire and earth approx 5 or six, dominion around the same, and 2 order, 1 productivity, 2 heat, 1 luck, 1 death, 1 magic. Medium random map, one ulm standard easy opponent, rare random events. Going pretty well against the low-level AI, and I'm getting familiar enough with the basics to start seeing more and more of the big picture and better cost analysis of the situation. Realizing that such and such move costs me more than I gain, etc. etc.

Any advice for avoiding curses on my big bad pretender? It seems like it has 100 precision, 50 range, and no MR resist roll.