The Ages

[Edratman]

Noname, that is a superbly written post. Do you write professionly?

[noname]

No, but I am taught how to write analytically at my college, Fordham University. Thanks for the comment.

[Sombre]

I personally really enjoy middle and late eras and I'm not a fan of early, which really does have some sick magic flying around.

[Fate]

More general than ages, here is a list of nations you DON'T want to start out playing against:

Ermor Ashen Empire (3rd age)
any underwater nation (especially LA R'lyeh)

mostly because they take a radically different strategy from normal to play. You probably also don't want to begin with EA or LA Mictlan because they have wacky dominion spread.

In Dom2 Ulm (now MA Ulm) was the most often suggested starting nation.

I'd agree that it is good to just pick random nations that look fun, play the first 15 turns, then switch if you run into trouble. If you find a nation you can start beating AI's with, try playing around with your god and strategy (maybe play a full game or two against an AI).

Welcome to DomIII, I hope you enjoy it.

[noname]

I find that nations which are more human tend to be easier to play as (usually), but lack an immediate punch to them; one has to build up and summon creatures in order to get the "razzle-dazzle" of the game. Nations comprised of non-humans (giants, lizardmen, agarthans, atlanteans, tritons, illithids, abysians, etc) require different strategies due to their different strengths and weaknesses (giants need more food, abysians radiate heat, agarthans only have one eye, tritons can't leave the sea, etc )but usually have access to flashy units early on. This is so because non-human nations ARE made up of flashy units, though some are more flashy than others (Badar Log's apes really aren't so flashy, neither are the lizardmen of C'tis.)

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

The nation I suggest picking as your first AI opponent is MA Ulm. They're a bit atypical, but their general low speed and low diversity makes them easier to adjust to than a random nation. Their armor is another thing, but I'd rather be faced in my first game with black steel, than a magically diverse nation who could cast dozens, if not hundreds of spells I've never heard of before.

So... the limited variety in a computer controlled Ulm makes it, IMO, the best learning partner. As a plus, their low MR means most of your spells will work as well.

If you want an easy time of learning, set both your nation and Ulm's to human controlled. Design for them a crone with no scales, extra magic, or anything, just the bare chassis. Then set them to AI, play _your_ turn and then host.

When I first picked up the game, and was determined to play with some of the less flexible races such as Agartha, my first enemy was not the AI. It was learning my own troops, and what really is viable against those independents litering the landscape. Once I learned the basics, and stopped sending entire armies on suicide missions (knights, anyone?) then I gave myself a real AI opponent, without any handicaps.

[Kristoffer O]

Nice post noname. You have earned yourself a bachelors degree in dominionology

I think I would recommend starting in the mid era. The game was designed from here, and the other eras were added in dom3. Thus the early and late eras deviate from the more basic balance of the mid era. Playing mid will give you basic knowledge of how the game and nations works, and less surprises from specialized nations. I think some of the descriptions on early and late nations refers to the mid era, so it might be thematically reasonable to test the mid era first. This is not true to all nations however. Agatha and the japanese inspired nations are new to dom3 and are probably thematically easier to follow from beginning to end.

Ulm was suggested as an opponent. Probably a good choice.

I think MA Man might be a good starter. Some diversification in human troops: longbows, medium infantry and knights. Some specialists to explore: bards, stealthy mages and wardens, elite knights. No unique national summons that steer research away from the basics. Air magic to test counters vs Ulm and offensive battle magic. Nature magic for some buffing, summoning.

[Archonsod]

I don't think nation choice makes too much of a difference, as long as there aren't any radical specialisations (Ashen Empire for example). One of the good things about Dominions is (for the most part anyway) is that the way the nation operates and the theme of the nation are pretty similar. Find a nation whose theme matches your play style and you're off to a good start.

One thing to point out is that the stronger you set the independents, the slower the AI will expand. It also gives you plenty of experience with what works and what doesn't on the battlefield before you need to worry about enemy pretenders. I'd go for Silent Seas, with one or two AI opponents and high Independents for a good introductory game. The map is large enough to give you a bit of time learning about your troops and the basics of combat against the independents, but not too large that you'll not be able to encounter and defeat (hopefully) an AI.

[Stryke11]

I second that. Good work!

[Edratman]

Great thread. Would it be possible to make a sticky of noname's and KO's responses? Between the two of them there is significent insight to the game.

And I'll throw in my two cents. After reading all the inputs, I think a real god starting setup for a new player would be to play MA Bandar Log vs an AI Ulm. Bandar Log offers great troop diversity, and one can learn a lot by watching your inexpensive monkeys get shredded. Acceptable magic diversity,great national summons, maybe the best diversity in troops available in secondary castles.