[Dominions 5] Grogspocalypse Now! (FINISHED)

[al_infierno]

As this game is heading swiftly toward a climax, does anybody have any thoughts on what era they would like the next game to be set in?

I'm feeling EA would be a good change of pace, but I'm also up for LA if we want to really switch it up.

[TheMeInTeam]

I'm not sure this game is near ending yet, but for next game I'd be okay with any age.

I would like to emphasize the importance of practicing expansion in whatever choice is made though.  Games skew too much with massive disparity in expansion and it's not as fun for anyone IMO if players are effectively out of the game before 1st war.

[al_infierno]

Sorry, this was my first online game and I didn't realize how important expansion is in the first 10 turns.  I've been doing a lot better in my latest online game as MA Agartha, so maybe C'tis just isn't for me.

[TheMeInTeam]

I'm not intending to call out you specifically (this is only game 2 for me! We are all still making mistakes)...realistically we had 3 nations shoot out far ahead of the other 3 in initial expansion.  And anybody can have a bad opening (Lucid just got styled on by indies in a recent game a few times).  It's just that with 6 nations and the province count on this map it allowed three of us to get ~30 provinces of land without fighting another player, which is a devastating advantage that skewed diplomatic choices heavily shortly after year 1.

Nations have different strengths and weaknesses, and some are considered broadly better or weaker overall.  C'tis can get to 15-20 provinces year 1 with scales, but it's pretty finnicky and very punishing if you make a mistake in the attempt.  I'd say find a nation or few nations that speak to you and just practice them repeatedly until you can handle the openings reliably.  In game 1 I played Xibalba which is considered a bad nation in MA, and scales expanded it to 20 provinces at end of year 1.  Most nations can do something like that, or have a setup that allows them to cut some scales and still perform well (for example EA Kailasa's monkey troops are really bad in scales expansion, but tanking sloth is almost free for them, so they can go awake expander or take a decent bless and work with the sacreds to expand).

[solops]

I could go for EA. EA Agartha was fun last time. I learned a lot and would like to try it again. Al_infierno, I have found MA Agartha to be a mediocre expansionist, not good, not bad. It has a good middle game, but it has some real drawbacks to go with the strengths, as it should be. In our game (game 3 for me) I found myself pinned on all sides by competitors who started 4 or 5 spaces away. I had a bit of a breathing space to my west, but did not discover this until too late. I wasted too much energy to my east and south. North was a lake, which in hindsight, I wish I had jumped early.

[W8taminute]

I'd be up for another EA game.  Not sure who I'd pick but if I can't decide I might go with Vanheim since they are the nation that I have the most single player experience with.

Early expansion is key but there definitely is a formula to it that might be hard for a new comer to pick up.  But there are some tips that I've learned over these past few multiplayer games I've played with you all that have helped. 

1. Don't be afraid to buy a bunch of cheap throw away units.  They more often than not can take on independents and grab you territory.  Don't use them against actual human players however.

2. Build a couple of useless indy generals and use them to cart around reinforcements to you 'good' generals. 

3. Don't underestimate the use of a general kitted with construction 1- construction 3 items.  He can easily beat most indy armies all by himself and grab land for you quickly. 

[al_infierno]

 O0  Appreciate the tips.  MA Agartha is certainly a blast - my current game has a rather large province count, so I had no problem establishing some hefty Shard Guard + Magma Children armies.  It's the squid people just south of me in R'lyeh that worry me.    #:-)

If we play EA, I think I'd like to pick Tien Chi.  If we do MA, I might give C'tis another spin.

[Ajidica]

@Solops: Oh god, not more Magma Children and Great Olms! So many brave humans and adorable little Bakemono have been scorched to a crisp by Agartha!

@al_infierno: I would make sure to practice a lot with Tien Chi, especially mid to late game magic. They are a pretty high skill cap nation with awkward magic paths and mages.

[al_infierno]

^ I'll keep that in mind, my initial testing with TC has been pretty strong but it's hard to really practice for mid/late game against the AI, unfortunately.

[TheMeInTeam]

EA TC has good troops (really good by EA standards) with below average mages, unlike MA which gets the earth/astral it can recruit anywhere which can be nuts.  The main challenge for them is dealing with anti-human magic as the game wears on.  Site searching and getting higher path mages is really critical.  National summons help a lot too, you can summon nature 3's without bothering to boost and some of the summons are strong.  They can do meme blesses to give summoned ghosts some amusing effects, but they're probably best off emphasizing scales.

[W8taminute]

EA TC is another of my favorites and one that I have a lot of single player experience with.  And yes by mid game their mages aren't that great.  At least I haven't figured out a way to use them properly.

[Myrmidon]

Oh man, missed out on some fun!

I'd be up for an EA game.  LA has got a whole different feel in another game that I'm in.... not bad, but different.  Lot less magic, lot more Crossbows and knights.  But still fun, don't get me wrong.

Just throwing this out there, but if we end up with an even number of players, a disciple game may be a fun thing to try.  No biggy if we don't though.  I'm going to start hitting the books on some EA nations I'd like to try.

[TheMeInTeam]

Oh, disciples sounds fun too actually.  Could be an interesting changeup.

[Myrmidon]

OK... looking at EA Caelum for some excitement if we opt for Early age.   

Echoing some of the comments above, and me being a relative MP noob as well, I can't stress how helpful several of the "Let's play" videos are which are readily available.  Lucid's MP expansion video about testing a nation in SP at least 4 times and seeing how many provinces you can capture in the first 12 months is gold.  Learning which types of indies your troops can handle, and learning what expansion parties your nation needs to move are crucial.  This testing also helps one to know whether they can get away with a dormant Pretender or need one to help with expansion. 

Or, you could be like me, and bank on an imprisoned Pretender, only to have him die on the very turn he appears as your cap is taken.  And then he dies again when you realize that calling a God automatically summons him to an occupied capital....

[al_infierno]

Or, you could be like me, and bank on an imprisoned Pretender, only to have him die on the very turn he appears as your cap is taken.  And then he dies again when you realize that calling a God automatically summons him to an occupied capital....

Damn, where's a "skull face crying with laughter" emoji when I need one?

My end was swift and brutal, but not nearly as hilariously unfortunate.   :clap: