Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Majestic7]

That is unfortunately common for many summons and late game options in general, some are just plain better than others instead of being situationally better. I haven't really played Dom5 in real multiplayer yet, but in Olden Times you had to get the conceptual balance mod for the best experience. Otherwise there was always one optimal choice that was simply better in cost-effectiveness than the rest, regardless of !fun!.

I understand that balancing a game this complicated is difficult, though and it doesn't affect those who prefer playing single player.

[Cruxador]

That is unfortunately common for many summons and late game options in general, some are just plain better than others instead of being situationally better. I haven't really played Dom5 in real multiplayer yet, but in Olden Times you had to get the conceptual balance mod for the best experience. Otherwise there was always one optimal choice that was simply better in cost-effectiveness than the rest, regardless of !fun!.

I understand that balancing a game this complicated is difficult, though and it doesn't affect those who prefer playing single player.

In Dominions 4, it was sum1won's balance mod, after an initial year or two with a different balance mod for each community. Right now I know Zonk is taking a go at a balance mod already and I don't know if he's the only one but there's no widely spread mod yet and won't be for a while - even the mainstays like Worthy Heroes and Better Arena are only now retaking their place as every game go-tos.

[E. Albright]

EDIT: Speaking of Berytos, what are people's thoughts on the Melqart spell? Blood 6, 99 blood slaves for another nation's national commander (with a couple modifications), and you still have to pay an exorbitant amount of upkeep on them. Much as I love the fluff, I'm... Not really seeing it.

I've actually usually heard them touted as a superior version of Hinnom's Melqarts because they're not limited to slow-recruit cap-only.

I've never seriously played either nation, though, so I don't have a personal opinion.

[Cruxador]

EDIT: Speaking of Berytos, what are people's thoughts on the Melqart spell? Blood 6, 99 blood slaves for another nation's national commander (with a couple modifications), and you still have to pay an exorbitant amount of upkeep on them. Much as I love the fluff, I'm... Not really seeing it.

I've actually usually heard them touted as a superior version of Hinnom's Melqarts because they're not limited to slow-recruit cap-only.

I've never seriously played either nation, though, so I don't have a personal opinion.

I've heard this as well, and it makes sense to me. Sure, Hinnom's version is better in the early game, but in the late game a blood economy can pump out a ton of blood slaves. The upkeep isn't great but by the time you can summon melquarts and se'irim, there's not all that much to use gold on anyway. And Berytos may not have the best blood hunter, but Hinnom doesn't have the best gold situation either.

[Micro102]

Cavalry seems a little too good against PD. PD doesn't have any formations or strategy, so there are many occasions where a handful of cavalry just run around the massive blob of units and go straight for the commander(s), killing them either instantly or in a couple of turns. 30 units could take out 50 PD provinces with few casualties, it just doesn't seem right.

[Kagus]

I've heard this as well, and it makes sense to me. Sure, Hinnom's version is better in the early game, but in the late game a blood economy can pump out a ton of blood slaves. The upkeep isn't great but by the time you can summon melquarts and se'irim, there's not all that much to use gold on anyway. And Berytos may not have the best blood hunter, but Hinnom doesn't have the best gold situation either.

So, according to the inspector, the only differences between the two (aside from recruitment and availability) are the fact that the Berytian summon has a chance of 2A instead of 2S for its random pick, the Berytian has 3H instead of 1H (arguably useful, as it's the only national 3H Berytos has access to outside of the beefy hero melqart), and it actually costs 35 more gold (resulting only in slightly higher upkeep).

Potentially useful? Sure. But remember that it's Blood 6 and 99 slaves. At the same level, you could cast Five Gates three times, and have enough slaves leftover to cast Infernal Disease three times as well before you'd used up 99 slaves. Even the ice devils cost less, at 88 a piece. And none of those options cost gold upkeep.

...heck, I think you can empower a bloodless mage from 0-3 with 95 slaves, giving you all the potential combinations and uses that that provides.

[MCreeper]

Does bane venom charm works on troops in besieged castles?

[etgfrog]

Does bane venom charm works on troops in besieged castles?

yes, but you would still have to wait 6 months for the army to die off.

[Karlito]

...heck, I think you can empower a bloodless mage from 0-3 with 95 slaves, giving you all the potential combinations and uses that that provides.

Empowering in blood can cause pretty sever horror marking now, so it's not great for getting long term use out of a mage.

[ThtblovesDF]

Horror marks are way overrated - unless its your pretender, don't even care. Lightless laterns can be used for 100 turns without issue, even horror mark spam takes extremly long to be relevant...

Now, if there was a Ry'leh spell that "Thins the barrier between the void and reality" so that even one horror mark is relevant, that would be great.

[Kagus]

Magic and misfortune (possibly also enemy luck?) scales supposedly make a difference in how often marked units get spontaneously attacked, but I don't think there are any hard numbers on occurrence rate.

And yeah, I'd also like to see something like that. I'd actually thought a bit about a nation designed around dealing with increased horror presence/attacks in their dominion, but giving them better national tools for dealing with horrors (even just high-morale bodyguards with magic weapons).

[Karlito]

Lightless lanterns give very little horror marking. Blood empowerment can give like 20 or 30 in one go.

[E. Albright]

There was a Dom4 mod nation that was horror cultists, to the point of being oozing theme but possibly annoying to play as - which seems about right. I can't remember the name, though...

[etgfrog]

Now, if there was a Ry'leh spell that "Thins the barrier between the void and reality" so that even one horror mark is relevant, that would be great.

There is, its called astral corruption, although that does far more then just amp up horror attacks. Also it ry'leh doesn't get easy access to it.

Lightless lanterns give very little horror marking. Blood empowerment can give like 20 or 30 in one go.

In round 501, I've had 4 researchers get killed by horrors. Then again I've had misfortune 1 for quite a while.

[Kagus]

There was a Dom4 mod nation that was horror cultists, to the point of being oozing theme but possibly annoying to play as - which seems about right. I can't remember the name, though...

Was it called... Horrorlando, FL? Possibly Horroregon? Lots of cultists there.

Now, if there was a Ry'leh spell that "Thins the barrier between the void and reality" so that even one horror mark is relevant, that would be great.

There is, its called astral corruption, although that does far more then just amp up horror attacks. Also it ry'leh doesn't get easy access to it.

I think the idea was to make it more useful on an offensive scale, or to give R'lyeh at least SOME form of agreement with the horrors, considering... Y'know, the everything.