Myth - EA, CBM 1.92, no diplo - tratorix/Agartha & Valerius/Vanheim win

[Valerius]

First off, welcome to the Dominions community!

As far as joining the game goes, I play for fun so I'm ok with it but I should mention a few things. It sounds like you have a good grasp of the game, as well as CBM, but keep in mind that MP is very different than SP. And without diplomacy you can't gather allies to try to even the odds. In the end, the worst that can happen is you have an early exit and learn some things (and hopefully have fun). It can have an impact on other players if one player is defeated too easily but I'm willing to rely on the other players realizing that and taking action (of course they may not help the person being attacked but rather try to get their own share of that player's provinces ). And of course you may do well - some new players are competitive from very early on.

Btw, if you're interested in getting advice from vets (without it being posted in a public forum for your opponents to see) you can try the Dominions IRC channel. This is pretty much the way to fast track your MP knowledge.

So, it's up to you. I'll reserve a spot for you and if you'd like to give it a shot, feel free.

Also, the only comments specifically regarding Yomi/Shin/Jomon I see in llamabeast's change log are the following:

- Removed national hp nerf (standard Jomonese had hp 9, which was widely disliked)
- Fixed inconsistency in kami encumbrance (all now have enc 0, by analogy to elementals)

But there may be other changes to things like scales or magic items that you'll need to consider the impact of.

[BrodieSWR]

Wow! Thanks for the long reply Valerius! I'll try my best in this game. I enjoy putting up a big fight, and I am not a total noob. I am aware that players online will try to use every trick up their sleeve, included power gaming, which I'll plan ahead for.

The guides on this site are very useful, and give a lot of insight into the staple strategies for each nation.

I found the link to the CBM 1.91 changelog, but thanks for the quote.

See everybody in game when this gets started! I already have my pretender designed using the new CBM.

[Valerius]

Originally Posted by BrodieSWR

I enjoy putting up a big fight, and I am not a total noob. I am aware that players online will try to use every trick up their sleeve, included power gaming, which I'll plan ahead for.

Welcome aboard, then!

Originally Posted by BrodieSWR

The guides on this site are very useful, and give a lot of insight into the staple strategies for each nation.

There's definitely good info there and on the wiki but keep in mind that most of the guides were written for earlier versions of CBM or vanilla so you'll have take that into account. Still, the basic character of nations (lending themselves to bless, scales, etc.) as well as the magic paths are relevant. Once the list of nations is finalized you may find it helpful to start up a game with those six nations, setting each to human controlled, and you can conveniently review the units you'll be facing (and even run some test battles if you want).

Originally Posted by BrodieSWR

See everybody in game when this gets started! I already have my pretender designed using the new CBM.

You're way ahead of me then - I just started testing Van and considering builds. And speaking of testing, SP and MP are very different - but the beginning of the game, when you are conquering indies, is the same. So you'll definitely want to run test games to make sure your build is getting you off to a fast enough start to get your share of provinces.