TS

I understood that you guys were abandoning this one? Should I continue?

Play your turn (as lazily as you want) and I'll surrender on my next turn so I get to see the wonderful charts showing how pathetic I was.

James will do the same. :)

Galadriel, day 31
As my newly seduced cyclops - those nymphs are quite... Flexible - march towards the warlord snagga's likely position I start planting trees in the underground to make a lovely paradise of this island. Who wants to leave anymore, now?!

I already mentioned those, did you just jump my previous post because of its length? X-D
It was a bit wall-of-texty tbf. Could you read it? Just the last 2 paragraphs, from 'prognosis'. I'd be interested in other opinions about DoSeTRe - dominate, seduce, trap, resuscitate.

I read it. Just didn't have the mental energy to provide a reply. :)

Usually there is a good counter in PBEM to the DoSeTRe abilities and auto-combat targets the offending units. This map was poorly designed. The Archons started with none of the aforementioned abilities and the beginning instructions sent my troops in the wrong direction for optimum Empire growth. Oh well, next game...

All the maps that we've played so far have the same issue though. The problem is that author maps are always tightly packed, which means that you're going to have a choice of neutrals to attack close by all the time. As a result, you can always attack neutrals without excessive ranged troops - melee troops don't matter against DSTR. Haha, DeSTRoy. One can always have around some webber/entangler as well as previously DSTR'd escort to use up the target's move allowance should nothing else work, to try again next turn.

If by counter you mean other troops, well, the DSTR player can build other troops too, basically from the troop cost point of view the first unit that a DSTR unit converts pays its price, and any successive conversion is on top. The DSTR player can have camps join him and get the gold/item, can free fortress prisoners and recruit the defenders... What counter do you see that the DSTR player can't use himself as well? ...Using random maps? That'd make the map less packed, that's for sure :)

Congratulations Arnuz, good game!


I surrendered too. Surprisingly, the graphs showed a lot more balanced game until the last 5 turns or so. I don't think there's any need to create additional rules. I don't know about the elves, but I only had one town that could produce seducers, I think I produced 6 total in the game. They helped for sure, but I still think the imbalance in the game came from the elves successful rush on the darkelves. No map can ever be 100% balanced, and most players have a mix of races. Its a roll of the dice and there are so many variables that go into a victory that I don't think access to seducers is that much of a problem. Besides i love seducing free units, but I don't build my whole strategy around it. I think the house rules are still fine.

GG guys. James, had you not stopped to loot the halfling town, you'd have bagged this. That was just the break - 2 turns - that I needed to cast holy woods in the strategic spot to block you, and DSTR (from now on a verb) some units from the halfling countryside. Snagga and his army would have breezed through anything I had.

On the contrary. That rush crippled me. Lost the hero, locked my army south, converting DE and undead towns - I haven't yet managed to free the fortress in my underground, which you both have long ago. I was saved by the layout of the map - those swamp bridge choke points O_o'
Your observation from the graph nails it: it was a lot closer than you both imagine.

Mimo has 5 pegasi now, were those all built? I'd have had absolutely no counter had those - even fewer - come north earlier. Archons have it really rough without any water unit, perhaps building some djinns would have helped.

So in essence, at the end of the day, a farmer's gambit that worked because of lack of aggression from the opposition. And on DSTRing, it seems that you all disagree... I won't fool myself and believe to be able to convince anyone, we'll see!

An easy and non-controversial approach to the DSTR Question is maps with more gold and city production relative to starting units and indie strength.

It's not a full solution, so I would support a simple mod to be made in future and bullying people to adopt it. the Hotseat AoW2:SM discord group has its own MPE sub mod which they patch occasionally, after all.

I approve of bullying people. Most of us are sheep and the person organizing a PBEM game should feel free to set up games with whatever rules they want. :)