Thanks for the link, Bateau.
I recommend that everyone read that guide Bateau linked to above. I read a very early version of it about a year ago and he’s developed it even more. It’s very nice and gives you some great strategies for building effective companies that will prosper late game.
Yeah, I’m starting to wish I had picked Pathfinder for my backline because I tend to move them around a lot to help with the fights once the enemy decides to rush one of my flanks. Fast Fodder is also something that I’m going to start using.
My current ironman game is going pretty well, I’m at day 30, got 10 level 4-6 men, 5 tanks, 3 backliners with pikes and polearms (Billhook is insane, wow) and 2 archers. So far this setup has worked great, and I’ve even taken down a few necromancers that had about 12-16 zombies each. Last one even had a Fallen Hero and that dude was pretty hard to take down.
In general the game is intense as hell, at some point I got ambushed by 15 Ancient Auxiliaries and one of the dudes that had been with me from the beginning bought it. Or so I thought, he was actually too badass to die. Unfortunately he got a permanent injury that lowered his health by 30% so I let him graciously retire.
Speaking of Necormancers - any tips for taking them down? My current tactic is to let the zombies come to my front line where I try to quickly cut them down and then send one or two of my men on the flanks to deal with the necromancer himself.
edit: Forgot to mention - having a sergeant present is a real game changer. So much tactical depth to this game, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface.
Flankers with war dogs is how I do it. Make sure the war dogs have armor. The necro will always keep a couple of guards near him for protection so two flankers with dogs handles them well. I like having flankers with Long Axes so they can hit the necro from 2 spaces away right over the top of his protectors. The war dogs will usually pin them down until you reach him. You need to make sure he doesn’t run. You just have to make sure you don’t release the hounds too early.
Archers as flankers can work too but they tend to be more vulnerable to his guards and are usually needed to help deal with the main body of undead attacking your bros so I rarely do that.
See for me, I’m sentimental about my starting bros. 30% HP isn’t that bad if he has Colossus. If he didn’t already have it, I’d have given it to him and kept him around. Especially so if he was an archer since they rarely get hit. If he was a tank, maybe not.
I personally think this is one of the best sandbox tactical games ever made, if not the best. I’m still a bit salty about the devs not continuing to flesh it out and give us a DLC or two.
This thread forced me to buy. A decision I have not regretted.
For some reason this has not been on my radar. Sounds interesting, and I got it for Christmas. Thanks for the link to the guide @Bateau!
You’re playing on high combat difficulty? Yikes!
No, High is starting funds.
Done a couple more restarts now, it’s amazing how fast things can snowball on you. And the game is really out to get you - I picked up a quest with some suspicious barrels that I mistakenly opened midway through the trip - only to see the undead pouring out. My second mistake was that I thought I could handle them, since I cleared a bunch of undead infested places before that encounter… It’s amazing how quickly a group of relatively seasoned fighters can get decimated when they’re out of formation. Lesson learned. The worst/best part about all this is is that I can pretty much trace all the bad decisions that lead to this point, so the game does kinda feel fair in that regard, lol.
If you ever run into an event when traveling that has you encounter a funeral for a warrior (and his sword), TAKE THE SWORD.
Finally encountered the Lindwurm. No spoilers but I will say it has an interesting way of moving about. Prior to my brothers encountered a mobile house of ill repute, which was also a new encounter for them.
My renown is 1950, but I am still not getting Noble Contracts, despite what the wiki claims.
Is the wiki not updated?
I just got to this point for the first time today and I had to complete the ambition to unlock the contracts, even though I had more renown that was required (ambition completed almost instantly when I picked it up).
@coldsteel @sharpe @orald @ShivaX
I’m in difficulty level indecision. I had a game from back in February I played on Easy. For some reason I stopped playing. I don’t know if it became too easy, or if I wanted to restart because they patched and updated a bunch of stuff, or if it was because I save scummed so bad I felt I’d cheated too much. Or all 3.
At any rate, playing on veteran for the last 3 games and find myself savescumming again because I end up hiring crappy guys, or battles I lose too many of my core good groups. So I ask, what difficulty levels do you play on? I’m not sure I’d ever get through a game on veteran combat (easy everything else). Wondering if I should stick it out on Veteran difficulty combat? Or switch to something easier.
Note: In my easy map from along time ago I lost just 1 person by day 78. But once again, a ton of save-scumming to do that. Ironman modes scare me. Also, any of you play with Permanent Destruction on? If so is that fun?
I did just pick that Ambition, so maybe it will register shortly, and maybe that Ambition is what opens up the Nobel Contracts. Thanks!
Difficulty level comes down to what type of player you are IMO.
Even though I’m a veteran player, I play on Beginner difficulty as I find that more enjoyable - it’s still a challenge even on beginner, but not painful. This is because I am a “guaranteed victory” player rather than a “risky victory” player - my goal in most strategy games is to guarantee a win so long as I use good strategy. To me the challenge is winning flawlessly.
Some players are the opposite: unless there is a meaningful chance of actually losing, then they don’t consider the game a challenge. A game where victory is guaranteed with a sound strategy would be boring to them.
So pick your difficulty based on whether you want to be able to guarantee a win if you play well or if you want a constant chance of facing a loss. Whatever floats your boat.
Here is my old forum post on this general topic.
This right here. The reason why I can’t stand the new X-com games.
The new X-Coms are great examples of “Risky Victory” games and are beloved by many gamers for that reason. As for me, I used the Long War config file to convert X-Com 1 to a guaranteed victory game (better gear progression, better character progression, etc.)
Hmm, I’m not sure where I fall on this spectrum. It probably depends on the genre too, and it’s probably due to the time commitment. If I’m going to put 30 hours into a grand strategy campaign, I’d better win so I can be done with it. Boardgame style strategy is a different thing entirely.