Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 21:21:40 GMT
Another conquest guide. Probably the last general conquest guide I'll make for a while. Specific conquest guides are on their way, tho they would be much shorter. The point of this thread is to simply give insight on how to do conquest quicker and do avoid dragging it out unnecessarily. Although, it will be discussed in the point of view of someone who wants to beat a low turn count record, so some advice might not necessarily apply if one just wants to get the conquest done.
So the best way to think about doing conquests more efficiently is to think of a goal and go backwards to see the steps needed to take to attain the goal. The goal is to beat the conquest faster, or rather more specifically, more efficiently and avoid wasting time. The best way to do this is to spend less turns capturing individual cities, therefore being able to capture multiple cities in a few turns is the way to do it. The best way to do so is using units that can go from one place to another faster, while also being able to deal a lot of damage quickly. Avoiding unnecessary battles with enemy units also reduces time to take cities. If unable to take a city, then quickly moving on to the next is more turn efficient So the best way to do all that is to know your own logistics and the enemy.
For those who are impatient to read that wall of text, here is a flowchart detailing it:
Efficient conquest < less turns capturing cities< using units with better mobility to get from point A to B faster<stronger units/generals to capture cities faster<if unable to capture city, choose or move to another city<knowing logistics.
So the steps are as follows:
I. Knowing your own and enemy logistics
II. avoiding heavily defended cities
III. Using stronger and more mobile generals
The thing to keep in mind in general then, is:
I. Logistics
II. Location
III. Mobility
IV. Flexibility
For an example, I will be using a recent I did with Macromanii, which is currently the lowest turn count for Rome and Han conquest for 1 star nations(not for long, some new comers are here, and stoic might be planning something).
I. Logistics
For one, why did I pick Macromanii for the conquest rather than say, Boii? We should compare and contrast both using the starting units.
Macromanii:
1 heavy cavalry
1 heavy infantry
1 axeman
1 archer gen
Boii:
1 heavy cavalry
1 infantry gen
1 marksman
1 heavy infantry
1 light cavalry
On paper, it seems like boii is superior. But one thing to note is that not all units are created equal. To summarize, in conquest, here is the hierarchy of usefulness: cavalry>=infantry >>>>archers. Cavalry is great for quick capture of cities, and can deal with multiple enemy units if necessary. Infantry is universally useful, and great for defending cities due to cost. Archers are generally bad for conquest, atleast for faster runs due to having lower mobility, and shine through damaging other units outside sieges , which isn't what you want to do the majority of the time. They're also quite fragile, so going solo with them is not great, unless you're using Attila, but he's still inferior to good infantry and cavalry generals in terms of conquest.
Even considering that, it still seems like Boii has the edge. What truly makes Macromanii better decisively, aside from location in relation to the enemy, is one really important unit:
Low cost, high damage against units that matter, high damage against cities, spammable. Axeman in terms of special units is one of the, if not the, best special unit to have. All it needs is a strong infantry general to command it, and watch how easy the majority of mid to low lvl cities fall. Even lvl 4 and 5 cities can be captured if the general has high damage, has a siege weapon, and has destroy and forced March. Also, infantry commanders on axemen can easily replenish 2 legions after capturing a city, making them really cost efficient for infantry generals, and makes them much more consistent compared to using elite units with requires lvl 3 military camps to resupply.
Other points such as resource gained per turn or technology doesn't matter to much honestly in this example, as for the first few turns, all you want to do is to spend them on bribing allies.Foe technology, you only need government tactics for forced March, which is already unlocked, so no need to waste resources on technology early on. For the specific case of Macromanii and other gaulic and germanic tribes against Rome, declaring war on Bosporan kingdom is a good idea, as it leaves their major city defenseless, making it easier to take over.
II. Location
The next thing to consider is location. If your nation is on the far edge, is there a way for you to get to the other side to conquer the enemy? Which path is the quickest and safest? Does bribery work? For the specific case of my run, Macromanii is almost perfect placed: the starting units are placed optimally, distance to the biggest threat, which is Rome, is close. The next big threat, which is Persia and friends, is closer compared to the other gaulic nations. One key tactical reason why Macromanii is also superior to boii for a faster run is that, there's a path that is uncontested by the Romans, meanwhile boii struggles to quickly move towards the Italian peninsula as the path that it takes using it's units is the path the Romans take as well, rendering mobility practically useless early on.
One key thing to also keep in mind is locating the hardest to capture cities and farthest cities from your starting location, and send a general there, or capture a close by city and spawn units to capture those cities.
III. Mobility
Cavs are the best in terms of mobility due to their inherent ability that gives them a 60% chance of making an action after defeating an enemy. So having more cavalry /cav generals is a good idea. Next best idea is having the skills March and commander skills, March giving flat mobility when marching on land, while commander skills give a chance to act again when commanding a unit. An alternative is using mobility items, tho it trades mobility for damage, which is usually why it's preferable to use generals with high damage and mobility. Mobility also allows a lot of room to maneuver, and makes taking cities easier as you can get to an unprotected city before reinforcements or before they spawn units.
For this instance, turn 3 and I'm already able to capture a city before reinforcements arrive, while my cavalry commander is already close to the Bosporan city, which normally would take 6 or more turns if they weren't mobile.
If it took.me longer to capture those cities, my generals would have been overwhelmed by the enemy reinforcements, especially my infantry generals close to Rome.
IV. Flexibility
A really important factor. For example, if you fail to capture a city due to having a persistent infantry spawning and you lack resources to capture it, the best way then is to simply move on. But, if you have the resources and the city is a major city, maybe it's best to capture it. But what if it's easier to capture surrounding cities, then quickly siege it? Basically, don't follow strictly a set of rules if it's advantageous to do something different. Also requires some good judgment call, which sounds hard but quite easy when you get used to conquests.
That's it. I could ramble more, but it's already long enough. Good luck on your conquests and have a fun time doing them. As for me, I'll be waiting for EW7 to come out,and keeping tabs on the conquest records.
So the best way to think about doing conquests more efficiently is to think of a goal and go backwards to see the steps needed to take to attain the goal. The goal is to beat the conquest faster, or rather more specifically, more efficiently and avoid wasting time. The best way to do this is to spend less turns capturing individual cities, therefore being able to capture multiple cities in a few turns is the way to do it. The best way to do so is using units that can go from one place to another faster, while also being able to deal a lot of damage quickly. Avoiding unnecessary battles with enemy units also reduces time to take cities. If unable to take a city, then quickly moving on to the next is more turn efficient So the best way to do all that is to know your own logistics and the enemy.
For those who are impatient to read that wall of text, here is a flowchart detailing it:
Efficient conquest < less turns capturing cities< using units with better mobility to get from point A to B faster<stronger units/generals to capture cities faster<if unable to capture city, choose or move to another city<knowing logistics.
So the steps are as follows:
I. Knowing your own and enemy logistics
II. avoiding heavily defended cities
III. Using stronger and more mobile generals
The thing to keep in mind in general then, is:
I. Logistics
II. Location
III. Mobility
IV. Flexibility
For an example, I will be using a recent I did with Macromanii, which is currently the lowest turn count for Rome and Han conquest for 1 star nations(not for long, some new comers are here, and stoic might be planning something).
I. Logistics
For one, why did I pick Macromanii for the conquest rather than say, Boii? We should compare and contrast both using the starting units.
Macromanii:
1 heavy cavalry
1 heavy infantry
1 axeman
1 archer gen
Boii:
1 heavy cavalry
1 infantry gen
1 marksman
1 heavy infantry
1 light cavalry
On paper, it seems like boii is superior. But one thing to note is that not all units are created equal. To summarize, in conquest, here is the hierarchy of usefulness: cavalry>=infantry >>>>archers. Cavalry is great for quick capture of cities, and can deal with multiple enemy units if necessary. Infantry is universally useful, and great for defending cities due to cost. Archers are generally bad for conquest, atleast for faster runs due to having lower mobility, and shine through damaging other units outside sieges , which isn't what you want to do the majority of the time. They're also quite fragile, so going solo with them is not great, unless you're using Attila, but he's still inferior to good infantry and cavalry generals in terms of conquest.
Even considering that, it still seems like Boii has the edge. What truly makes Macromanii better decisively, aside from location in relation to the enemy, is one really important unit:
Low cost, high damage against units that matter, high damage against cities, spammable. Axeman in terms of special units is one of the, if not the, best special unit to have. All it needs is a strong infantry general to command it, and watch how easy the majority of mid to low lvl cities fall. Even lvl 4 and 5 cities can be captured if the general has high damage, has a siege weapon, and has destroy and forced March. Also, infantry commanders on axemen can easily replenish 2 legions after capturing a city, making them really cost efficient for infantry generals, and makes them much more consistent compared to using elite units with requires lvl 3 military camps to resupply.
Other points such as resource gained per turn or technology doesn't matter to much honestly in this example, as for the first few turns, all you want to do is to spend them on bribing allies.Foe technology, you only need government tactics for forced March, which is already unlocked, so no need to waste resources on technology early on. For the specific case of Macromanii and other gaulic and germanic tribes against Rome, declaring war on Bosporan kingdom is a good idea, as it leaves their major city defenseless, making it easier to take over.
II. Location
The next thing to consider is location. If your nation is on the far edge, is there a way for you to get to the other side to conquer the enemy? Which path is the quickest and safest? Does bribery work? For the specific case of my run, Macromanii is almost perfect placed: the starting units are placed optimally, distance to the biggest threat, which is Rome, is close. The next big threat, which is Persia and friends, is closer compared to the other gaulic nations. One key tactical reason why Macromanii is also superior to boii for a faster run is that, there's a path that is uncontested by the Romans, meanwhile boii struggles to quickly move towards the Italian peninsula as the path that it takes using it's units is the path the Romans take as well, rendering mobility practically useless early on.
One key thing to also keep in mind is locating the hardest to capture cities and farthest cities from your starting location, and send a general there, or capture a close by city and spawn units to capture those cities.
III. Mobility
Cavs are the best in terms of mobility due to their inherent ability that gives them a 60% chance of making an action after defeating an enemy. So having more cavalry /cav generals is a good idea. Next best idea is having the skills March and commander skills, March giving flat mobility when marching on land, while commander skills give a chance to act again when commanding a unit. An alternative is using mobility items, tho it trades mobility for damage, which is usually why it's preferable to use generals with high damage and mobility. Mobility also allows a lot of room to maneuver, and makes taking cities easier as you can get to an unprotected city before reinforcements or before they spawn units.
For this instance, turn 3 and I'm already able to capture a city before reinforcements arrive, while my cavalry commander is already close to the Bosporan city, which normally would take 6 or more turns if they weren't mobile.
If it took.me longer to capture those cities, my generals would have been overwhelmed by the enemy reinforcements, especially my infantry generals close to Rome.
IV. Flexibility
A really important factor. For example, if you fail to capture a city due to having a persistent infantry spawning and you lack resources to capture it, the best way then is to simply move on. But, if you have the resources and the city is a major city, maybe it's best to capture it. But what if it's easier to capture surrounding cities, then quickly siege it? Basically, don't follow strictly a set of rules if it's advantageous to do something different. Also requires some good judgment call, which sounds hard but quite easy when you get used to conquests.
That's it. I could ramble more, but it's already long enough. Good luck on your conquests and have a fun time doing them. As for me, I'll be waiting for EW7 to come out,and keeping tabs on the conquest records.