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Digital Gaming => Ally/Opponent Finder => Dominions III LFG and Strategy Discussion => Topic started by: claes on June 15, 2013, 08:02:26 PM

Title: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: claes on June 15, 2013, 08:02:26 PM
If you have a question that you would like answered about this intricate game, try asking here.  I am confident that there is enough knowledge in our collective minds to answer it, and at the very least someone can point you in the right direction.

I'll start it off.

My current questions are about end-game.  I have discovered that it can be both a blessing and a curse to be located in the middle of nowhere.

There are a number of players that have set there factions to AI for the remainder of the current game I am in.  Am I correct in assuming that they have a negligible impact on the rest of the game?

I will likely be getting a nice intro to lightning-quick sieges soon because I am not really sure how to defend myself.  Defense-wise (and upkeep has a lot to do with this question) is it better to have more troops or to build fortifications with less troops?  I am thinking that it depends on the faction that will be conducting the siege and which troops/thugs they have and with pretender abilities they have.

I am really going to have to learn the hard way several times I think, and then learn from my mistakes.  But a little info on how to set up a nice defense would go a long way ;)

The purpose of this thread is to have a single place where anyone with questions about various aspects of the game can ask (and hopefully those engaged in a mp game will be able to do so in such a way as to not give away their position to a rival faction - even if it means saving your question until your game is complete) but I encourage anyone with questions to reply to this thread.  I am sure that someone will be able to help as soon as they can.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: W8taminute on June 15, 2013, 08:25:31 PM
Great idea for a thread!

What I want to know is if there are any spells that can make a stormy, rainy, battlefield into a sunny day?  My battle plans are absolutely useless in my current game due to heavy storms and electrical activity.  Not knowing much about spells and how to counter them I would argue that Dominions 3 has certain uncounterable buffs that kind of break the game. 
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: elitesix on June 15, 2013, 08:45:08 PM
I'm no expert but in my 3.5 MP games of dominions 3 so far I've done ok  (subbed out halfway because I didn't like a race) .

Quote from: claes on June 15, 2013, 08:02:26 PM

My current questions are about end-game.  I have discovered that it can be both a blessing and a curse to be located in the middle of nowhere.

There are a number of players that have set there factions to AI for the remainder of the current game I am in.  Am I correct in assuming that they have a negligible impact on the rest of the game?


Depends on the skill of the other players. Players who are new to dominions might find an AI faction somewhat troublesome. For anyone with any experience with mid and late game strategies, they are easy to conquer. A gift of a neighbor, if you will.

Quote
I will likely be getting a nice intro to lightning-quick sieges soon because I am not really sure how to defend myself.  Defense-wise (and upkeep has a lot to do with this question) is it better to have more troops or to build fortifications with less troops?  I am thinking that it depends on the faction that will be conducting the siege and which troops/thugs they have and with pretender abilities they have.

I am really going to have to learn the hard way several times I think, and then learn from my mistakes.  But a little info on how to set up a nice defense would go a long way ;)

I'm not sure what you mean by defense. The best defense your nation can have is being able to defeat the enemy's offense. Early game, basically the only strategies revolve around blessable troops, or strong nation troops, or SC pretenders (there are always exceptions). By mid game however, you want to have armies that have one or more of the following (1) strong thugs (2) strong summons (3) battlefield wide spells (4) mass communion spellcasters. I'm sure that list is not exhaustive as I still have a lot to learn. With respect to upkeep, I think it can vary a lot but it seems most players have 1/4 to maybe 2/3 at most in upkeep on troops. Any less and you may have too few troops, any more and it may start to eat into income that can be used to build forts, labs, and temples.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: elitesix on June 15, 2013, 08:54:31 PM
Quote from: W8taminute on June 15, 2013, 08:25:31 PM
Great idea for a thread!

What I want to know is if there are any spells that can make a stormy, rainy, battlefield into a sunny day?  My battle plans are absolutely useless in my current game due to heavy storms and electrical activity.  Not knowing much about spells and how to counter them I would argue that Dominions 3 has certain uncounterable buffs that kind of break the game.

Most singular magic paths have 1-2 paths that counter them well, and as such you should never plan on relying on only one path of magic (perhaps one exception is blood magic).

That being said, you can burn fire gems to help reduce fatigue of your spells by putting them on your casters and they will automatically use them when they have a lot of fatigue - it doesn't help a ton, but it can make the different in a crucial fight.

In my limited experience, the only general way to deal with rain or storm if you massed fire casters is to plan (1) on using something other than fire for most of your battlefield magic (2) killing the enemy spellcasters.


-------------------------

I think in general, killing spellcaster is one of the primary things your nation has to be able to handle in this game, come mid and late game. In general, you have to be able to kill the following:
(1) backfield spellcasters
(2) raiding thugs
(3) in late game - super combatants

If you lack in one of these three areas, you will probably die horribly regardless of your other strategies unless you just are a bigger or more researched nation.

For killing backfield spellcasters on the battlefield, I personally have found:
(1) mass flying units on attack rear (doesn't work in a storm)
(2) multiple strong flying thugs with attack rear and aoe attacks (doesn't work in a storm)
(3) battlefield spells that hit everything on the field (you need to plan for this or you will kill your own mages). For example, getting a flying mage to cast earthquake. Or a fire resistant mage to cast firestorm. Or a lightning resistant mage to cast the all battlefield lightning storm. 
(4) using an overwhelming amount of force - maybe your own evocation throwing spellcasters - such that you hope to win and kill the mages during the route (or you cut off their retreat)

Outside of combat, there are assassins and assassination type spells that work to kill commanders or units in a province. Sometimes that's the best you got (flames from above, etc)
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on June 15, 2013, 11:00:09 PM
Quote from: claes on June 15, 2013, 08:02:26 PM
I will likely be getting a nice intro to lightning-quick sieges soon because I am not really sure how to defend myself.  Defense-wise (and upkeep has a lot to do with this question) is it better to have more troops or to build fortifications with less troops?  I am thinking that it depends on the faction that will be conducting the siege and which troops/thugs they have and with pretender abilities they have.

I am really going to have to learn the hard way several times I think, and then learn from my mistakes.  But a little info on how to set up a nice defense would go a long way ;)

Every fort has a defence score, which you can see by clicking on the fort tab.  If an army attacks a province with a fort, there will be a siege, during which they will try to remove the defence score of the fort, so that the army can then storm the fort and fully capture the province.

Every turn a comparison is made between the strength of sieging and besieged forces, with the difference being subtracted from the Fort Defence if the sieging force is stronger, or repairing the defence up to maximum if the besieged force is stronger.

The base score every unit contributes to a siege is their strength score squared, divided by 100.  So a normal human unit with a strength of 1 will have a siege score of 1 (10 x 10/ 100).  Flying units get a bonus.  Mindless units get a 90% penalty, but only in defence.

Certain items and units make sieging easier, due a siege bonus, but units with a castle defence bonus are not that common AFAIK, unless your can recruit them as national units.

Strong units make good castle defenders, especially if they can fly.  Mindless units (such as soulless and vine men) are not good at defence.

There are spells (Iron Walls)  that increase the defence of a fort.  There are also spells that reduce fort defence (Crumble).  Many remote spells will target the sieging army when cast, not effecting the defenders of a fort, so you can cast spells like Fires From The Sky at your sieged fort with no risk of hurting the friendlies within. 

Page 81 of the manual goes over some of the mechanics at work. 



Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Faux on June 16, 2013, 12:10:43 AM
How do helmets and head protection work? Didn't find anything with a quick search through the manual.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on June 16, 2013, 01:20:33 AM
Attacks have a hit location.  It's something like 20% of attacks will strike the head.  The protection of the head is used to reduce damage taken from headshots.  If you click on the unit, you can see it's stats.  Clicking on the protection stat will show the protection values for the head and body.  You can also see the armour they are wearing.

I don't know if different 'hit locations' spawn different afflictions.  I am not sure how spells and special attacks interact with head protection. 
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: parone on June 16, 2013, 06:00:44 AM
W8-NOTHING is uncounterable

if you are struggling with fighting against thunder strike, join the club. i  have struggled with that also.

however, good players have told me it is fairly easy to counter if you prep for it.  they have good ideas, but you have to be a good player to implement them.

i tried-im not a good player
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Faux on June 17, 2013, 02:00:34 AM
What's the point of equipping a trampler with a weapon like frost/firebrand? Is there ever a situation where it will use the weapon and not just trample all the time?
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: undercovergeek on June 17, 2013, 02:29:17 AM
when it runs into somone larger than size 1
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Faux on June 17, 2013, 03:10:12 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on June 17, 2013, 02:29:17 AM
when it runs into somone larger than size 1

I don't think it works like that. They will trample larger enemies too.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: undercovergeek on June 17, 2013, 03:13:26 AM
i have trample on my chariots in the Dawn of the Grog game - all was squished before us until i ran into Pegasus riders and Dark Vines - then they all died - not everything can be trampled
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Faux on June 17, 2013, 03:48:30 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on June 17, 2013, 03:13:26 AM
i have trample on my chariots in the Dawn of the Grog game - all was squished before us until i ran into Pegasus riders and Dark Vines - then they all died - not everything can be trampled

So it seems Pegasus Riders have the same size as Chariots (size 4) and Dark Vines are size 5. Did the chariots try to trample the riders or were they hitting them?
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: undercovergeek on June 17, 2013, 04:09:45 AM
they charged right into them and then started to attack - but the main crux of the strategy was trample - up until then 5 chariots versus 50 humans wasnt even a challenge - 15 pegasus riders wiped out 5 chariots without blinking

so a commander with trample and a default weapon will do the same, charge in, fail the trample and then start using his feather dusters until you give him something big and shiny
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on June 17, 2013, 04:25:20 AM
Trampling attacks hit an entire square, so they are more effective against smaller units, simply because more units can fit into a square.

Most human units are size 2, cavalry is size 3 and once you get to size 4 or bigger, only one unit of that type will fit into a square.  Each square can fit a size 6 creature, 6 size 1 creatures, 2 size 3, 3 size 2 and any combination of sizes adding up to 6.

If a trampler runs into a unit the same size or bigger, they will not perform their trample attack, instead performing regular melee.  Running into something big like a Pegasus Rider is not very nice either, as the trampler will only hit one per trampling attack.  In the case of Pegasus Riders and Dark Vines, the trampler will also suffer because of the melee attacks these guys have, such as a lance strike or high damage vine attacks.

I have found War Minotaurs to be useful.  These guys are only size 3, so just big enough to trample a human.  They can run through a squad of infantry, but they rarely kill anything with armour.  What they are good for is displacing the formation of the squad they trample, making it easier for my other troops to swarm them and finish them off.  Even so, they tend to get killed a lot.  Of the 25 or so I have recruited in the Dawn of the Grog game for expansion, I have 6 survivors.

What I think trampling is really good for is storming forts.  Having a wall of defenders stand in the fort entrance, blocking your army while tower weapons and wizards blast them with impunity is not fun.  Having a group of chariots front and centre, set to plough through that wall of defenders, can make storming a fort a trivial exercise.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: parone on June 17, 2013, 06:38:39 PM
LOTS of cheap tramplers is good.  but cheap tramplers are hard to come by
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: mkivcs on June 18, 2013, 04:21:04 PM
I've just noticed that half a dozen magic users in two separate locations have developed Battle afflictions in a single turn. No battle and no reports in the messages screen to suggest a reason. I can quiet understand a long distance attack but I thought someone in my empire would have at least informed me of the this development. I only noticed them in my monthly check that everyone was doing something useful.Any ideas?
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Faux on June 18, 2013, 04:28:13 PM
Quote from: mkivcs on June 18, 2013, 04:21:04 PM
I've just noticed that half a dozen magic users in two separate locations have developed Battle afflictions in a single turn. No battle and no reports in the messages screen to suggest a reason. I can quiet understand a long distance attack but I thought someone in my empire would have at least informed me of the this development. I only noticed them in my monthly check that everyone was doing something useful.Any ideas?

Your mages are probably suffering from old age. Having growth scale will increase their life span a bit so they won't get afflictions that often.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: mkivcs on June 18, 2013, 04:46:15 PM
Possible but I don't think so in this case. I have seen the odd mage die over the years but half a dozen to all get old age on the same turn seems unlikely. I'm pretty sure that this is something else.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on June 18, 2013, 04:55:41 PM
Afflictions from old age occur mid-winter every year.  If they all are getting the diseased affliction, it may also be due to a hidden magic site in the province.  I remember a magic site that did that from a previous game.  Search for water or death if it does not appear to be old age and is restricted to a single province.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: mkivcs on June 19, 2013, 12:36:30 AM
Quote from: Phobos on June 18, 2013, 04:55:41 PM
Afflictions from old age occur mid-winter every year.
You are both correct. It is indeed midwinter I had not realised that it was a once a year check rather than a turn check. I must just have got unlucky on the dice roll to have 50% of my backroom staff all age at the same time. They can still research even with the odd bit of body missing so no real hardship (For the empire anyway.)
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: parone on June 19, 2013, 05:35:24 AM
also, i beleive the older they get, the more likely they acquire afflictions.  but that may be something i suspect, not a fact
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: undercovergeek on June 19, 2013, 05:55:30 AM
theres boots for stopping old age isnt there?
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on June 19, 2013, 06:14:48 AM
Boots of Youth.  They are a blood item that will stop aging.

There is also a spell that will lower age by 10 years, Rejuvenation, again blood magic.

Magic paths will extend old age thresholds as well.  Nature magic extends lifespan by something like 50% per point for most units.  Undead can get old as well, but I don't think they suffer age afflictions, just the lower stats from old age.  Death magic extends their lifespan.

Age is not a big issue, as far as I cam concerned, unless you have numerous units that start old.  Spells like Decay will cause rapid aging though, plus there is a global spell that causes everyone in the world to age rapidly.  That tends to hurt human units a lot more than some of the fantasy races, like R'Lyeh or Pangaea.     
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: parone on June 19, 2013, 07:52:31 AM
i beleive the elixr of life also slows/stops aging
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: byrdman57 on June 19, 2013, 10:38:19 AM
Also having fire magic shortens the mage's lifespan and lowers the age at which they become old.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: parone on June 19, 2013, 06:04:10 PM
really?  i never heard that.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Nefaro on June 24, 2013, 07:23:03 PM
Umm.. there are spells and magic items that can cause disease in a location. 

Isn't one of them that 'Bane Charm' that people like to smuggle into enemy territories on a stealthy undead unit (so it doesn't also get diseased & die)?
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: alastair on June 24, 2013, 10:26:11 PM
Quote from: W8taminute on June 15, 2013, 08:25:31 PM
Great idea for a thread!

What I want to know is if there are any spells that can make a stormy, rainy, battlefield into a sunny day?  My battle plans are absolutely useless in my current game due to heavy storms and electrical activity.  Not knowing much about spells and how to counter them I would argue that Dominions 3 has certain uncounterable buffs that kind of break the game.

Cant directly break them, but you can check it by changing your casting to battlefield-wide targeting.  Bloodletting is a good storm counter, as lots of air mages are squishy.  I learned that the hard way.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: elitesix on July 09, 2013, 12:30:43 AM
Fire magic lowers lifespan, but increases leadership ability.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: elitesix on July 09, 2013, 12:35:05 AM
Oh and so far in the theme of counters...

It seems very hard to negate something your opponent does - for example, firestorm is a battlefield wide fire spell.

However, the best battlefield wide protection you can get in one spell is 50% fire resist. There is another level 9 spell that gives the other 50%, but it's harder to setup.

For the battlefield wide lightning spell, there is only one battlefield wide lightning resist, so you're stuck at 50%.

The best counters are using your own methods that are deadlier than your opponents, basically, or at least this is what I am finding. So if you're finding something hard to stop (such as thunderstrike spam), it might be best to look for something to kill him faster in addition to trying to negate the lightning damage.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Faux on July 09, 2013, 02:28:16 AM
Quote from: elitesix on July 09, 2013, 12:35:05 AM
However, the best battlefield wide protection you can get in one spell is 50% fire resist. There is another level 9 spell that gives the other 50%, but it's harder to setup.

For the battlefield wide lightning spell, there is only one battlefield wide lightning resist, so you're stuck at 50%.

As far as I know resists don't stack. So casting two 50% resist spells will leave you at 50%.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on July 09, 2013, 03:39:36 AM
Spells don't stack, though different sources of effects will stack.

eg.  Personal Regeneration will not provide extra regeneration if the commander has also cast Strength of Gaia.  It will stack with natural regeneration, a nature bless and a Ring of Regeneration.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: undercovergeek on July 28, 2013, 04:33:01 PM
does anyone have any ideas on how to counter solar flares and banishment - im pangaea in another game and can happily launch armies of 500 but theyre getting decimated by bogarus with these 2 spells
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on July 29, 2013, 11:24:58 AM
Spells that can increase magic resistance might help.  There are some army-wide spells high up in the alteration path that can do this.  Otherwise you are SOL.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: undercovergeek on July 29, 2013, 11:28:06 AM
im level 8 in alteration - what have you got??
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: Phobos on July 29, 2013, 11:52:30 AM
I was thinking Army of Lead, because it also boosts the protection of units.  It gives them all protection 20 (base) and a bonus to MR.  It is Alteration 9 and requires Earth 4 or 5.

Then I remembered Antimagic, which also effects the entire battlefield.  That is in the Enchantment School at the 4th level of research and requires Astral 3.
Title: Re: Dom 3 Quick Questions Thread
Post by: parone on July 29, 2013, 02:12:19 PM
doesn't fire storm hit his units as well?