Orcs on the March thread

Kings Bounty Hunter · #1 01-02-2011, 12:37 AM

lvl 18 doing a no loss run with mage. I've been playing this game for years but i'm totally stuck here. I get annoyed with myself really. The resources just AREN'T THERE

I suck at using a Mage maybe. My intellect is 32 and fire arrow does 1000 dmg and as I only have 55 mana it's all I can do early doors. Obviously enemy armies are far too vast so i'm just...

ugh i'm boring myself now.

stupid game

ckdamascus · #2 01-02-2011, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kings Bounty Hunter

lvl 18 doing a no loss run with mage. I've been playing this game for years but i'm totally stuck here. I get annoyed with myself really. The resources just AREN'T THERE

I suck at using a Mage maybe. My intellect is 32 and fire arrow does 1000 dmg and as I only have 55 mana it's all I can do early doors. Obviously enemy armies are far too vast so i'm just...

ugh i'm boring myself now.

stupid game

After the new Crossworlds 1.31 patch, I had a relatively smooth time as a Summoner mage.

I go for Ancient Phoenix LVL3 asap, get enough transmute stuffs and mana so I can also cast Dragon of Chaos LVL3. I also use rune mages and dragons.

I have been using them together to steam roll a lot. Up to around level 49 now. Mostly no-loss (lost some dryads against shenobi), and wanted to go for a faster time, so I couldn't really avoid it. (If I went solo black knights, maybe I could have done it).

I don't suggest going for damage mages unless you have a clear way in winning initiative and hiding your unit (ala invisibility) and have methods to restore the mana (that's why some go emerald green dragons).

I probably have casted flame arrow like 5 times. Haha.

Mandea · #3 01-02-2011, 04:06 PM

The new patch has a very nice feature, albeit they don't tell it officially. Now you can find complet sets of items relatively easy. I've already found 7-8 sets and I have 3-4 about to be completed. I guess they did something with the random generator tweaked it to have more chance to complet sets. wonderful

ckdamascus · #4 01-03-2011, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mandea

The new patch has a very nice feature, albeit they don't tell it officially. Now you can find complet sets of items relatively easy. I've already found 7-8 sets and I have 3-4 about to be completed. I guess they did something with the random generator tweaked it to have more chance to complet sets. wonderful

Hm, I just tried it (albeit only one round) and didn't seem to find anything too out of the ordinary.

You might have just been really lucky.

As of yet, I have never been able to complete the Madman Set, Knight Set, and Scale Set.

The other sets are either really common, or too junky for me to mention. I really wanted to see if I could pull off like 2 Belts of the Victors or something.

I'm really interested in pulling off the Madman Set, although perhaps one could argue it is sort of junky anyway. Haha.

atlatea · #5 01-03-2011, 07:27 AM

I might have to try the new patch if that is true.

Because i never complete even one composite set except the dragon toy and a ring (which is also a reward from defeating scrounger)

.

Kings Bounty Hunter · #6 01-03-2011, 01:12 PM

Still struggling. Been so long since i've used a Mage warrior and my damage spells are just not enough. No Phantom and No Resurrect. I think my army composition is wrong tbh, probably didn't dig up enough chests early on. mages,inq,druids,RD and Rune Mages/cyclops are my army. It's a shame RM are so weak, they really should cause more damage as they cost 15000

Might start again tbh as it's frustrating atm

ckdamascus · #7 01-03-2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kings Bounty Hunter

Still struggling. Been so long since i've used a Mage warrior and my damage spells are just not enough. No Phantom and No Resurrect. I think my army composition is wrong tbh, probably didn't dig up enough chests early on. mages,inq,druids,RD and Rune Mages/cyclops are my army. It's a shame RM are so weak, they really should cause more damage as they cost 15000

Might start again tbh as it's frustrating atm

The Ancient Phoenix and Dragon of Chaos summoner style only really STILL works (up to Reha so far, but they can withstand a few hits from Ktahu.), if you have Belt of the Victor. Without it, ugh, you start losing the mojo around Elon. Still doable though.

I'm telling you, direct damage spells is NOT the way to go for mages in Impossible

Disable, debuff, distract, is key. Summon is good too if used properly. That said, a well placed Ancient Phoenix does about the equivalent of up to 18 flaming arrows for the cost of 7 flaming arrows, draws aggro, provides a tank, burns up to 3 enemies, and can RESURRECT a red dragon. Why would anyone ever cast flaming arrow again with that sort of power is beyond me.

All mages have HORRIBLE HORRIBLE damage per leadership. Rune Mages are not meant for damage. They are there to distract the enemy with Illusions or to Sheep the enemy.

If you don't have 17+ magic runes, and 20ish mind runes sitting around, I wouldn't bother using them at all. A shame you don't have Phantom though, but I did ok by splitting the Rune Mages into two stacks to double the odds of sheeping.

Can you find any other damage dealer unit in your mix? Druids and inquisitors are so weak.

You do want a high initiative unit so you can get the jump on the enemy, even if that unit doesn't attack immediately. I guess reds are somewhat fast though.

If you can find Black Dragons, use them with the reds. Rune Mages can revive Black Dragons.

You want to take advantage of shoot-through-no-retaliation that dragons can do.

You can use similar tactics with the Ancient Phoenix and Dragon of Chaos (have Ancient Phoenix hit the weak enemy next to a strong enemy to get a cheap hit).

You might also be at the stage where you need to throw up Ball of Lightning a bit more for added offensive power, I know I forgot to use this in the mid game.

You can use Pygmy, Helplessness, Oil Mist to help hurt the enemy more. You might find it does more equivalent damage per mana than Flaming Arrow.

Also, consider raising your rage to increase rage generation speed if you got so many summoners.

Kings Bounty Hunter · #8 01-03-2011, 05:45 PM

19 blood sharmans do 1450 dmg to my cyclops

Also, how can two, yes two BShamans do 883 dmg lol

farce

Mandea · #9 01-03-2011, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckdamascus

Hm, I just tried it (albeit only one round) and didn't seem to find anything too out of the ordinary.

You might have just been really lucky.

As of yet, I have never been able to complete the Madman Set, Knight Set, and Scale Set.

The other sets are either really common, or too junky for me to mention. I really wanted to see if I could pull off like 2 Belts of the Victors or something.

I'm really interested in pulling off the Madman Set, although perhaps one could argue it is sort of junky anyway. Haha.

And how do you explain never being so lucky in my other 10 times I finished AP/CW?
Scale set is one of those I completer, however playing with orcs and having ogre set (another nice set) I'd rather keep ogre set. I really don't think it's a coincidence and it's not so hard playing with the random generator to be more flexible (for the programmers I mean).

ckdamascus · #10 01-03-2011, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mandea

And how do you explain never being so lucky in my other 10 times I finished AP/CW?
Scale set is one of those I completer, however playing with orcs and having ogre set (another nice set) I'd rather keep ogre set. I really don't think it's a coincidence and it's not so hard playing with the random generator to be more flexible (for the programmers I mean).

Bad luck. Probability and statistics. Some people get really lucky, some people don't.

I vaguely recall DG stating twinkling boots has a 1/15 games spawn rate or something. It has since improved in Crossworlds though (1.3.0). So, maybe what you are seeing is the Crossworld's item generator improvement.

Your sample set is already below the probability rating for at least ONE item.

You've completed the Scale Set. I have NEVER completed it in the equivalent of 70+ saved game scans, most of them in Crossworlds. No one argued it wasn't hard to reconfigure the randomness. Just that, if the game was truly re-jiggered to do that, I should see a Scale Set in the next 20 rolls.

That said, until I roll for 20-30 games, I can't say for sure. I'm too lazy to re-roll right now though, haha. Although, just some statistical and anecdotal evidences of the power of randomness before said 1.3.1 patch.

That said, Ogre Set is MUCH MUCH easier to complete now in Crossworld's than it was in Armored Princess, but that's before the 1.3.1 patch. That said, I still only completed it twice. How is that possible? Easy, they make the probability for some of the items much better. I almost always see at least ONE of the three items now. I rarely saw the club before Crossworlds. It has taken me more than 10 games to get the complete Ogre Set the second time.

Well, if there was a change, it probably occurred in Crossworlds, 1.3.0 as noted by DG. He noticed Twinkling / Slippery Cuirass has a much higher probability of spawning now, etc. It was in one of the older posts.

Also, Crosswolrld's FORCES the inclusion of Gift Bag Items from Armored Princess. Not sure if you used that Official mod or not, not that it would help your set items, just composites.

I have also noticed it does have a much higher spawn rate now. In the past, my mages could almost NEVER get slippery cuirass. Now, I have a much better item mix-up. In my last mage game, I got 2 dress of the mages, sandals of the martyr, magician's cowl, belt of the victor, slippery cuirass, etc. Yet, this was a saved game which I was gunning for 100% critical demon, so it has most of the items for that build too. This was a Crossworld's 1.3.0 game. The future games in 1.3.0 I rolled were CRAP in comparison.

My games are mostly item driven to create strange or ridiculous combinations, as such, I've re-generated maybe 70+ games and scanned all of them for content before playing them. My feel probably isn't as good as say DG who probably have an even larger sample set and probably KNOWS the random generator mechanics itself.

It took me QUITE a few tries to get the Princess Set (Fairy Girl Power) set to spawn, maybe about 20 alone. (ah conditional probability is so evil). I nearly gave up and waited for any other interesting set/combo to show up.

That said, sometimes I just look for decent item sets, and in some games I get really good combos, then sometimes I have a dry spell of like 15 games in a row with nothing but the worst items ever. I don't play them unless I'm in the mood for the ad-hoc game style.

I've only spawned Belt of the Victor twice, so I am really sad that the one dude who got TWO of them to spawn in a single game, might not have saved his initial saved game.

All I am saying is, if your sample set is only 10, then you may or may not ever see a really really good saved game get rolled. We need a much larger sample set, or analysis of the files (we got to ask DG how or where he looked at for this). Analysis of the files is probably preferable and conclusive.

Sample set analysis is tedious.