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Post by pathdoc on Feb 7, 2017 11:46:17 GMT
Decision to be made:
1) Get it now (it's in HQ)
2) Wait for Napoleonic Code.
3) Get it, then sell it once the Code comes.
I easily have enough medals for both right now. Fatimah gets regrouped once the purchase is made, and I buy a move trainer (Diez), followed by Kutaisov, to boost Sophia before I go Isabella-hunting. I'd go for Kutaisov first, but Diez is in the Academy right now whereas looking for Kutaisov requires refreshes. Besides, for the same levels of nobility and rank, Diez is a better cavalry general than Fatimah in every way - more movement stars, more combat stars, and she has no advantage in battlefield skills (she has War Master, but that isn't a direct combat skill in and of itself, and I have On War to boost Diez up anyway if I choose to use him in combat at all.)
If Encyclopaedia is as good as or better than Economic Master, I might as well get it now and pick up the Code at leisure - fewer medals regardless of how it's obtained, and I have more left over to get trainers with. "The best is the enemy of good enough."
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Post by dain on Feb 7, 2017 18:35:12 GMT
Go to battle of Trebbia (Coalition Campaign 5th mission) attack Rome and buy it there cheaper. Then you can wait for Napoleonic Code.
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Post by pathdoc on Feb 7, 2017 19:26:49 GMT
Go to battle of Trebbia (Coalition Campaign 5th mission) attack Rome and buy it there cheaper. Then you can wait for Napoleonic Code. Trebbia seems to be a hidden mission for me (Kindle platform) and I can't crack/haven't yet cracked the specific requirements to unlock it. |
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Post by Jean-Luc Picard on Feb 7, 2017 19:50:48 GMT
Go to battle of Trebbia (Coalition Campaign 5th mission) attack Rome and buy it there cheaper. Then you can wait for Napoleonic Code. Trebbia seems to be a hidden mission for me (Kindle platform) and I can't crack/haven't yet cracked the specific requirements to unlock it. The French fortress in Italy (Yellow target) is the requirement |
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Post by Stonewall Jackson on Feb 7, 2017 20:43:22 GMT
Go to battle of Trebbia (Coalition Campaign 5th mission) attack Rome and buy it there cheaper. Then you can wait for Napoleonic Code. I would personally just wait for Napoleonic Code and skip out on the encyclopedia, but that's just me. |
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Post by Banastre Tarleton on Feb 8, 2017 2:35:56 GMT
I would agree that you need to replace Fatimah, if she's your primary cavalry and you're doing a "rush" campaign. But I'm pretty sure Diez isn't the answer. He trains for move, and that about sums him up. I'd agree with those who call Dumouriez a strong value pick for cavalry. He carried me through much of the game until he got bumped to second string by Golitsyn and eventually regrouped into Lan.
But I wouldn't prioritize training Sophia for move. Even with 5*, movement isn't her strong suit, and there's better ways to spend medals in early and mid-game. And if you're rushing for Isabela, then I assume - perhaps incorrectly - that you're going to do HRE 1798, where Sophia belongs on the double seige artillery near Brunswick, with a movement item as you mentioned that you're purchasing in that other thread. She won't ever have to travel beyond the borders of France and will spend much of the game stationary; bombarding Moreau, Claude and then Paris.
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Post by Jean-Luc Picard on Feb 8, 2017 2:39:38 GMT
I would agree that you need to replace Fatimah, if she's your primary cavalry and you're doing a "rush" campaign. But I'm pretty sure Diez isn't the answer. He trains for move, and that about sums him up. I'd agree with those who call Dumouriez a strong value pick for cavalry. He carried me through much of the game until he got bumped to second string by Golitsyn and eventually regrouped into Lan. But I wouldn't prioritize training Sophia for move. Even with 5*, movement isn't her strong suit, and there's better ways to spend medals in early and mid-game. And if you're rushing for Isabela, then I assume - perhaps incorrectly - that you're going to do HRE 1798, where Sophia belongs on the double seige artillery near Brunswick, with a movement item as you mentioned that you're purchasing in that other thread. She won't ever have to travel beyond the borders of France and will spend much of the game stationary; bombarding Moreau, Claude and then Paris. I find that France 1798 is the superior conquest for Isabela, even though HRE 98 is better for Lan. Why? France is richer, has better generals, is better-positioned, and is simply less boring |
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Post by Imperial RomeBall on Feb 8, 2017 2:52:17 GMT
Jean-Luc Picard , you can say that again. I will eventually have to do HRE for Lan, but its so much less boring doing France for Isabela. Of course, perhaps I have PTSD from my android and am overestimating HRE 98. Wait, no, darn Hotze! You will always suck! (I apologize for any offense with my second sentence, not sure what the alternative would be) To be more on topic, If the Encyclopedia is that money item, I would indeed wait for Napoleonic code. As for Nobility items, I will just note that with the new chain the beast tactic, nobility items are now a waste of medals IMO.
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Post by Erich von Manstein on Feb 8, 2017 3:01:16 GMT
Jean-Luc Picard , you can say that again. I will eventually have to do HRE for Lan, but its so much less boring doing France for Isabela. Of course, perhaps I have PTSD from my android and am overestimating HRE 98. Wait, no, darn Hotze! You will always suck! (I apologize for any offense with my second sentence, not sure what the alternative would be) To be more on topic, If the Encyclopedia is that money item, I would indeed wait for Napoleonic code. As for Nobility items, I will just note that with the new chain the beast tactic, nobility items are now a waste of medals IMO. Hotze: Why me? Look at Davidovich! He simply sucks! Davidovich: Huh? Me? You didn't see August I? That guy is the worst! August I: Hey, see... Who?  |
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Post by Erich von Manstein on Feb 8, 2017 3:05:17 GMT
For encyclopedia, either borrow it or leave it there.
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Post by Imperial RomeBall on Feb 8, 2017 3:07:14 GMT
Jean-Luc Picard , you can say that again. I will eventually have to do HRE for Lan, but its so much less boring doing France for Isabela. Of course, perhaps I have PTSD from my android and am overestimating HRE 98. Wait, no, darn Hotze! You will always suck! (I apologize for any offense with my second sentence, not sure what the alternative would be) To be more on topic, If the Encyclopedia is that money item, I would indeed wait for Napoleonic code. As for Nobility items, I will just note that with the new chain the beast tactic, nobility items are now a waste of medals IMO. Hotze: Why me? Look at Davidovich! He simply sucks! Davidovich: Huh? Me? You didn't see August I? That guy is the worst! August I: Hey, see... Who? August then pulls rank on Rosenberg  His stars are horrible, and August appears in many campaigns (to mess up) but I kinda like his skills. I could have mentioned any of these, but Hotze is the only one who has to handle an entire front on his own. (Scandinavia) Or so was the method I was taught. |
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Post by Erich von Manstein on Feb 8, 2017 3:09:39 GMT
Hotze: Why me? Look at Davidovich! He simply sucks! Davidovich: Huh? Me? You didn't see August I? That guy is the worst! August I: Hey, see... Who? August then pulls rank on Rosenberg His stars are horrible, and August appears in many campaigns (to mess up) but I kinda like his skills. I could have mentioned any of these, but Hotze is the only one who has to handle an entire front on his own. (Scandinavia) Or so was the method I was taught. Rosenberg isn't that bad on guards cav. Hotze at least he can take care of sth before he dies. August I... I don't think he can even handle a fort alone, I rather have a blank on that arty and turn HRE to a 4*country. |
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Post by pathdoc on Feb 8, 2017 17:38:46 GMT
I would agree that you need to replace Fatimah, if she's your primary cavalry and you're doing a "rush" campaign. But I'm pretty sure Diez isn't the answer. He trains for move, and that about sums him up. I'd agree with those who call Dumouriez a strong value pick for cavalry. He carried me through much of the game until he got bumped to second string by Golitsyn and eventually regrouped into Lan. But I wouldn't prioritize training Sophia for move. Even with 5*, movement isn't her strong suit, and there's better ways to spend medals in early and mid-game. And if you're rushing for Isabela, then I assume - perhaps incorrectly - that you're going to do HRE 1798, where Sophia belongs on the double seige artillery near Brunswick, with a movement item as you mentioned that you're purchasing in that other thread. She won't ever have to travel beyond the borders of France and will spend much of the game stationary; bombarding Moreau, Claude and then Paris. Currently Dumouriez is my primary cavalry asset. My desire to get rid of Fatimah is to make room for trainers rather than to bring in a second cavalry general (though it might be interesting to see whether a 2-cav, 1-art mix or a 2-art, 1-cav mix works better), and I was merely musing that as a field combat cavalryman, Diez does have the edge over Fatimah. Most likely I would buy him, regroup him at once, and then go looking for Kutaisov to do the same and elevate Sophia or Carteaux. Diez's move star might even be better put into my other artilleryman, Carteaux, since he has the Engineering skill (+2 move already built in). And he's there in the academy right now, and I like to try stuff out even if it means more grinding (which is a very good way to relax and let off steam before I go to bed). The other thing I'm interested to see is how long it takes me to get across the map from Russia. I know I can beat the Ottoman Empire as Russia in 31 turns with Yermolov (start general) and Dumouriez without S/L; what remains to be seen is how long it takes me to fight my way across Europe, and whether I can do it fast enough to get Isabela. I reckon if I boost Carteaux and Sophia in artillery and movement stars and share War Horse and Horse Artillery between them, with a couple of starter cavalry units to follow behind and occupy critical cities as they're cleared, I might be able to do it. But I need to study that phase very carefully, and I just haven't had the time recently. |
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Post by Banastre Tarleton on Feb 9, 2017 18:33:40 GMT
I find that France 1798 is the superior conquest for Isabela, even though HRE 98 is better for Lan. Why? France is richer, has better generals, is better-positioned, and is simply less boring Well, I suspect that you’re biased by your clear affinity for playing France 1798 and that you’ve written multiple conquest guides on how to run for Princesses using that scenario. I respectfully disagree with all your points.
In another thread, pathdoc mentioned his aversion to playing as France,and I’d add that “boring” is a subjective thing, and shouldn’t be the basis for recommending one scenario over another when doing a princess run. But the primary reason that I disagree lies in your own words: “HRE 98 is better for Lan”.
If you’ve successfully run for princesses all the way to Lan and Victoria, then you know that there are two ways to do it:
1) I’m going to play conquest, and if I happen to do it in enough turns to win a Princess, then that’s nice. You can do this and win Isabela with several different campaign scenarios.
2) I’m going to slog through a S/L conquest to get to 31 turns or less. The most proven method for getting Lan/Victoria is doing this, as you mention,with HRE 1798.
There’s a big difference between 65 turns vs. 45 vs. 31, and like other things that are difficult, fruitful conquests take practice to improve. And the reason that most have trouble getting Lan/Victoria, is that they haven’t practiced enough. You need practice to manage your resources and estimate your effort to completion and whether you’re on pace or should restart. You also need practice to understand how the known variables with your selected scenario are going to affect the outcome, e.g. for HRE 1798, movement of Desaix and Marmont, aggressiveness of Russia vs. Poland, Sweden vs. Norway, Portugal vs. Spain, Spain in Africa, etc.
The point is, why practice something – France 1798 – when you’re going to have to switch to HRE 1798 to get Lan/Victoria? And that when you’re running for Isabela using HRE 1798 you’re really practicing for Lan/Victoria and developing the knowledge/skill for game achievement greater than just getting Isabela.
Regarding your other points:
Yes, France has better generals. But you’re also required to kill off many more full-strength generals playing as France than HRE.
On what basis is France better-positioned? They have more territory to conquer/travel. Just as important for a running conquest, all the rivers in France and countries to the east have a major north south component and at least eight will come into play on a France conquest. With HRE, you only have to deal with those in France itself during post-Paris mop-up and crossing south of Madrid.
France is not richer than HRE, so I don’t understand your comment here. This can be pretty easily seen just by counting the leveled up cities at the start between the two countries but the numbers are as follows: France starts at 50/70 gold to medal and increments at 166/38. HRE starts at 120/200 and increments at 203/38.
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Post by Jean-Luc Picard on Feb 9, 2017 19:40:35 GMT
I'll have to disagree with you.
1. HRE being boring is an opinion, albeit a widely-held one
2. With regards to position: France has multiple secured flanks, which (30-turn conquest aside) is a benefit
3. The tough coalition generals are Nelson, Suvorov, Archduke Charles, and (to a lesser degree) Rowland, Bagration, and Wilhelm III; they tend to end up meeting poweful Frenchmen. Compare to Massena, Napoleon, Jourdan, and Desaix, going against a lineup of 2 HRE Generals worth their salt.
4. A 30-turn conquest, which requires individual Generals to operate alone and behind enemy lines, is fundamentally different from a 45-turn conquest. Practicing on any country doesn't prepare you.
5. France's cities are fewer, but HRE can seldom accumulate as much money as France in the first 10 turns. Outside of 30-turn land, that's indisputably a plus.
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