Overview
The best way to fail MP game. After you learn all tricks described author guarantees you lose all MP games you play.It is never too late to learn to lose.
Improper pretender design
Take rainbow
Choose magic diversity instead of enhancing national powers, covering national weak spots or being awake. Almost any rainbow pretender suits this role. Nations with strong sacreds usually want bless, nations with weak or absent sacreds usually want awake pretender, nations with strong soldiers want production – don’t let them have it. Take rainbow. If you survive to lategame these unusable gems may be used.
Play exotic build
Take magic paths, used in late game. High death, air, astral suit this definition the best way.
Never take awake pretender
If you still want to try awake – don’t take Earth Serpent, Bulls. Take exotic Raven or Camadhenu. It is to make sure expansion won’t be significantly improved by pretender.
Don’t take N9, W9, B9 bless
It is boring.
Strategic recommendations to fail
1. Never scout, don’t scry.
Who cares what enemies do? What they utilize in wars? What research they have? Are they big?
Neglect it. Save money.
2. Don’t site search
Never sitesearch. The more magic and holy levels has the mage, the better he is researching. Any independent mages bringing new magic diversity should not sitesearch for new paths too. Who needs these gems and new mages and new troops and free forts? Research faster with mages.
3. Don’t count throne points, do not not scry thrones in advance.
I saw a number of games won by someone because neither leader nor other players cared about thrones. But it won’t happen with you, nobody will steal your victory by throne rushing. Don’t check thrones.
4. Don’t write down big game plan.
Planning is boring. What will you do in middle game? In late game? How are you going to defend vs this Mictlan if they survive to lategame? Who cares? Move troops, do turns, solve today’s tasks and never think about tomorrow. No plan is better than bad plan.
Tactical loser’s guide
1. Play just troops or just mages. Don’t care about synergy, conjunction of mages and troops.
Mages and troops are like human infantry and medics from Starcraft. Weak separately, powerful together. It is weak play to use infantry solo if there are medics available. It is weak play to use troops solo if there are mages available. Buffs, evocation – anything helps.
Don’t do that. Keep mages researching. Bring more troops instead.
2. Do not test important battles in advance.
Is it possible to research some spell for a number of turns to counter enemy and then find that this spell doesn’t counter anything? Yes. But you will be lucky. Don’t test, don’t check, don’t waste time.
3. Never spend gems.
Gems are best to be kept in treasury. Never use it in battle. Soldiers should win the war on their own – it is what they are paid for.
Warfare guide of dead man
1. Wage long wars of attrition. No quick and easy victories. Never diplo peace after first blitzkrieg has failed.
War is very expensive enterprise. Mages spend time marching with troops and not researching, gold is poured in expensive warriors, gems are wasted for items. Research suffers.
War is very dangerous enterprise. Mages and troops conquer some enemy or are being melted in battles, resources are invested in the war, you are vulnerable to any third parties.
War is obligatory enterprise. You can’t win without wars.
Still it is all up to your honor: it is your duty for your nation to fight dedicated enemy till he dies, you die or third party wins the game. If you waged blitzkrieg but failed – never sign a truce. If you can’t quickly kill an enemy – never sign a truce. If generally you are winning, but there are more important things (more dangerous or tasty enemies) appeared – never sign a truce. Long exhausting war is standard nation killer, but you will be lucky and win straight now.
2. Play emotionally. Fight because of revenge and because of “I invested so much already” motives.
If you play to win the game – the war is merely tool to achieve the ascension. Revenging you will revenge, but won’t win the game. However you play for your pleasure. Punish anyone you want, forget about the rest.
3. Siege forts with small army of elites.
Don’t bring chaff. Militia, wolves, more regular soldiers, archers. Forts are not to be cracked quickly. Time is important, but elites should work heavily to earn their huge wages. Don’t help them.
4. Attack neighbors while there are still independents to conquer.
A number of newbies did that trick and lost miserably, but you won’t. Time is important, leave these easy indie provinces to third parties, attack dedicated target instead. Even if you fail – you will spoil their chances to win.
5. Prefer research later to winning battles now.
Don’t waste resources for early battles. These battles define whole nation and game fate. Three additional mages spamming swarm in crucial battle may result in three dozens additional mages of earned income. But the true art is manage to win the battle without gems expenditure. Be true lucky artist, don’t go easy way, don’t spend gems.
Target selection bad advices
1. Go for easy targets instead of ganking future leaders. Let Lanka, Xibalba, Nazca or Sceleria in middle or even late game.
It is simple: if you don’t use chances to kill them early with approximately 50% probability, they kill you later with 95% chances. Still don’t take risks early – someone else may kill them and do all dirty job.
2. Be passive and do not depose current leaders, especially in middle or late game.
Being passive brings huge risks. Every turn leader keeps dominating position they earn more gold, more gems and more research and become even harder to remove. Still it is safer to wait for someone to attack them, never make agreements with other neighbors and do not gank the leader. This problem will solve itself. Probably
3. Go for enemy that are far away instead of attacking someone nearby.
If there is narrow long path for someone’s border – it is bad target. Delay to bring reinforcements is huge. Conquered land is hard to defend. Avoid attacking kingdoms far away.
The longer your mutual border, the easier is war against them to wage. And the easier the war against you to wage.
Still it is dangerous to mess with closest neighbors, attack someone far away. They won’t conquer you for sure, the war is guaranteed to long for years, all this time you will be easy target for all third parties, and will have easy time practicing ultimate survival skills.
4. Stay away from nations managed by strong players who have won other MP games.
The earlier you attack nation managed by experienced player, the less usage of superior skill and experience they have. Still don’t gank them early to learn all these repertoire of tricks they know in late game.
Bad guy diplo know-how
1. Attack someone and do not finish them ASAP.
Enjoy their in-game hate as long as it is possible.
2. Cheat someone and not finish them ASAP.
Let them spread news about your honesty to every other player in game. Diplo is not binding, let sucker eat it.
3. Never reply to diplo messages.
Why bother?
4. Be vile to communicate.
You play for your pleasure.
5. Let it know everyone that you are untrustworthy, your word worth nothing, agreeing with you is lost time.
Why to care about these losers feelings? Lie, cheat, argue, prove they are non-competent, troll, do whatever you want.