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Post by pathdoc on Oct 19, 2017 22:25:24 GMT
Another Tier 2 analysis tonight.
Villeneuve: 570 medals or three emblems. 3 navy, 2 fort, 1 econ, 1 retraining. Skill: navigation (1 extra hex on water). His skill is tied to his best stars, which is good. He is one of the cheapest Tier 2 generals, being as cheap or cheaper that some of the high Tier 1's, so spending Emblems on him is sort of pointless. The problem I have with him is that he is a one-trick pony; a reasonable player can get Sophia with little effort, and with Sophia, Dumouriez and another good artillery general you can get Kate, who is a better admiral in every way with two more strongly naval-biased skills. If you want to know what Villeneuve is like to fight against, Battle of Trafalgar will give this to you. As a tavern admiral, he is not a bad deal. But there are better places to spend your money. Comes with 28 health and 1 nobility out of the box.
Drouot: 715 medals or 3 emblems. You get a 3* artillery general with 2 fort, 1 econ, 2 retrain. His skills are engineering, Artillery Trainer and Fence. Fence is broken, and Artillery Trainer is only useful when you're getting rid of him; Engineering is possessed by Carteaux at Tier 1, who is over 200 medals cheaper, and Carteaux has more artillery skills besides. So does Kutaisov, who is the cheapest artillery trainer. So does Sophia, who is free. In short, as an artillery general he is not worth the medals or the emblems.
Kleist: 670 medals/3 emblems. Four infantry stars, 2 fort, 2 econ, war expert and trench. War expert is not a combat skill and trench is broken. 28 health, 2 nobility. There are better Tier 2 infantry generals, notably...
Dobeln. Dobeln also costs 3 emblems, or 870 medals. Dobeln has FIVE infantry stars, Infantry tactics (+1 min attack), bugle (cancels terrain-related fire evasion) and mass fire (equivalent to snare drum). He is the heavy hitter of infantry generals at this tier. In Russia 1815, he is a tavern general (near Warsaw IIRC); make use of him in longer conquests, especially since he has the Armoured Carrier in this setting and can transit over the seas and attack enemies moving between Britain, France, the Nordic territories, etc. Put him on a double-formation machine gun and watch the body count rise. If you want a five-star infantry general while you're waiting for Victoria, he's the one to save your pennies for.
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 22, 2017 22:24:21 GMT
Sunday 22 October:
Tier 2, Refresh 1.
Wilhelm III: 695 medals/3 emblems. 2 inf, 2 cav, 2 fort, 2 econ, Nobleman, Banner, Defence Art. Do you want an infantry general or a cavalry general? It doesn't matter, because he has no active combat skills particular to either. Defence art lets him laugh at the blows of his enemies, which is good given that he comes out of the box with few stars, 28 health and 4 nobility. It's what elevates him into Tier 2 and makes him cost so much more than any Tier 1 general with two inf and cav stars and no particular skills. Banner we have already discussed. His nobility will increase without the use of items, but that's assuming you buy him in the first place. And getting his defence art to trigger for all the enemies he's attacked by on fortress duty will exhaust the patience of even the most obsessive save-load player.
Cornplanter: 740 medals/3 emblems. 4 inf, 1 navy, 2 fort, 1 econ, 3 movt. 1 retrain, 28 HP and 1 nobility. Banner, formation and disguise. Disguise, sadly, is broken, while Banner is expensive in terms of items and Formation gives him +1 attack. His four infantry stars and three mobility stars do make him useful, though. If you play as the Indians in the US conquests, he is your starting heavy hitter.
Eugene: 725 medals/3 emblems. 28 health, 1 nobility. 3 inf, 2 cav, 2 art, 4 econ, 2 mov 1 train. Banner, bugle, disguise. One infantry star fewer than Cornplanter, but Bugle deprives terrain evasion which can in some circumstances be more than equivalent, and if you use him in campaigns he can make buying items cheap. Again, Banner is contentious and Disguise is broken. If you ask me, I would spend my money on generals with a greater number of immediately useful skills.
Exelmans: 710 medals/3 emblems. 28 HP, 1 nobility. 2 inf, 2 cav, 5 movement, 2 retrain. Move trainer, Disguise, Trench, Fence. *sigh* So many skills that just don't work, and you can get a cheaper move trainer. If Disguise, Trench and Fence all worked, he would be a combat engineer or sapper. What he has in his favour is speed, but does this make up for his relatively low combat power out of the box? It takes about 1200 medals to make a five-star inf or cav general out of him, if you decide to take him on. Infantry have Geography/War Horse as an inherent skill, so that plays best to his fleetness of foot if you decide to take him on.
Second Refresh:
Bulow: 680 medals/3 emblems. 28HP/1 nobility. 3 inf, 4 fort, 3 econ, 2 mov 1 retrain. Logistics, Formation. You can do better; there are Tier 1 generals who are superior. His skills have all been discussed, and they are not worth the cost. At least you know he can't starve.
Claude: 535 medals/3 emblems. 2 inf, 1 art, 2 fort, 3 econ, 3 movt. Economic expert. He can't fight, so it's just as well that he can make lots of money for you when you put him in cities. He comes with 44 HP but no nobility. If you have lots of slots, he might be worthwhile... but Fatimah can be won (without a huge amount of effort) for nothing, and she is everything he is and more. This may be the reason he is the cheapest Tier 2 general so far (cheaper than some Tier 1's).
Scharnhorst: 795 medals/3 emblems. 28 HP/1 nobility. 4 art, 2 econ, 1 movt, 3 retrain. Accurate, Engineering, Artillery trainer. Here is a relatively good bargain; his skills are strongly linked to his stars, with Accurate depriving terrain evasion and Engineering giving him the equivalent of 2 movement stars bonus. There are cheaper artillery trainers (Kutaisov) who are almost as good, but in really rough country Accurate is worth yet another artillery star at least, compared to someone who doesn't have it. His artillery trainer ability means that he can be regrouped into Isabela when you get her, but I wouldn't waste him on anyone else. If you get him as a starter general, remember that along with all the others who have Accurate, he is at his relative best in mountainous terrain.
Augereau: 680 medals/3 emblems. 36 HP, 1 nobility. 2 inf, 4 cav, 1 econ, 2 mov. Skills are mobility, fence. Mobility is +1 to minimum attack, generally regarded as useless. Fence is broken, but even if it wasn't, he is wasted on infantry (and they are the only ones who can build fences). Dumouriez, at tier 1 at a lower price, has the same cavalry stars and a more useful skill, and can be regrouped for cavalry training when the time comes. Reject Augereau.
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 23, 2017 15:10:24 GMT
Today we are going all the way up to Tier 3.
Soult: 6 emblems. 54 health, 3 Nobility out of the box. 4 inf, 2 cav, 3 art, 4 fort, 2 econ, 2 mov. 3 retrain. Accurate, Formation, Mass Fire, Infantry trainer. Primarily an infantry general (mass fire keeps him hitting hard when his health is low; Formation gives +1 maximum hit, for when RNG/S+L favour you). Accurate helps a lot when you put him on artillery (deprives terrain evasion; can be quite significant), and I would imagine this also counts when commanding a fortress (best in rough ground). A true hybrid, but his Infantry Trainer skill is largely wasted; unless you are shoving huge wads of money at this game, you're not going to want to regroup him into anybody except Victoria. As a starter or tavern general, or as an opponent, be aware of where his artillery skills are best and the fact that he is a major heavy hitter on infantry. Expect him to be able to hurt you badly even when you've got him on the ropes; this is one guy to take out with artillery if you possibly can, and lots of save-load if you can't, to minimise the damage he dishes out. IIRC it is just possible to win six emblems in-game.
Napoleon: 8 emblems. 64 health, 4 nobility out of the box. 3 inf, 3 cav, 5 artillery, 2 navy, 3 fort, 3 econ, 3 mobility, 3 retraining. Banner, Infantry tactics, Engineering, Siege Master. One soldier to rule them all. Or is he? The use of Banner is debatable (unless you're keeping people around you to defend you in the dying hours of Waterloo). Engineering and Siege Master are very well directed towards his artillery stars (slightly extra movement; increased effect on troops in buildings). Infantry tactics is +1 to minimum hit and of questionable to no use. He's strongest against units in cities, so face him out in the field if you can. When you face off against him under AI control, his health and nobility are frequently maxed out, making him difficult to kill; when you are put in charge of using him and keeping him alive, the opposite is often true (and you are sometimes put on less-than-optimal units for his strengths). His stars mean he can do anything; his skills mean he often doesn't do it particularly well. If you play Russia in the 1815 conquest, for example, he is on triple Grenadiers, and even with 110 extra health and 6 nobility the fight sometimes goes out of him quite quickly. I have on one occasion during a princess rush seen the Neapolitans kill him, so he's not an invincible monster by any means.
Refresh:
Blucher: 8 emblems. 54 health, 3 nobility out of the box. 4 inf, 5 cav, 2 art, 1 navy, 3 fort, 3 econ, 3 mov, 3 retrain. Formation, Banner, Mobility, War Master. Well, he gets his health/rank up fast, and he can fly flags, but neither of these are directly relevant to him. Formation give him a +1 max on infantry units and Mobility gives him a questionable +1 minimum on cavalry. He has lots of stars, but not as much in the way of output-directed infantry and cavalry skills. I would rather spend those emblems on Napoleon and have a focused 5-star artillery general. Blucher's historical reputation comes from sticking by and working with his ally (Wellington) and being in the right place at the right time when it counted. As a general in this game, he has much not to recommend him. The money you spend to buy eight emblems can be spent better elsewhere.
Paget: 6 emblems. 44 health and 4 nobility out of the box. 4 cav, 1 art, 2 navy, 2 fort, 2 econ, 3 mov, 2 train. Strike, Mobility, Assault art, Economic Expert. Mobility we have discussed, but strike gets around terrain evasion in mountainous territory (a very good thing to have) and assault art lets him make the best use of the damage he can dish out (with save-load, at least). Economic Expert increases your $$$ and is okay when you're occupying enemy cities, and as a powerful cavalryman that's something you're going to spend at least some turns doing. On the other hand, it would be a mistake of the highest order to let him stagnate in cities because of it. He's a bad@$$ cavalry general, and he needs to be on the move. His combined talents would seem to be best used where there are lots of cities to hit in rapid succession (east coast of the US, Western Europe) so he's frequently in them at the end of a turn. Also useful when those facilities are next to each other (e.g. Istanbul, Budapest and Paris), so (for example) you can be making money and wrenches in the artillery factory while you await your next turn to attack and conquer the city (though in Budapest you will frequently take the city first, as it's not a Level 7 capital and won't be defended with everything the enemy can muster).
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Post by Marshal Ney on Oct 23, 2017 15:42:51 GMT
IIRC it is just possible to win six emblems in-game Actually you can earn four emblems. The first one is a game gift and 3 from campaigns |
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 23, 2017 15:54:35 GMT
IIRC it is just possible to win six emblems in-game Actually you can earn four emblems. The first one is a game gift and 3 from campaigns Whoops! My bad. Thanks for clearing that up. |
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 23, 2017 23:26:00 GMT
I ground out some more kills for medals, so you get more "What's in my Academy?"
Tier 1:
Chichagov: 520 medals. 20 HP, 0 nobility, 2 art, 4 naval, 1 retrain. Navigation (one extra hex moved) and transport (cheaper as a land unit to travel on water). He's a fast four-star admiral. If you want one of those, he is your man. If you prefer a woman, then Kate (who's free)with Elphinstone (two hundred medals cheaper than Chichagov) regrouped into her has as many stars and more directed skills, and Victoria (with both assault and defence art)is in many ways the uber-admiral. But if princess chasing isn't your thing or you want a stop-gap before either of them arrive, he's definitely worth a look.
Klenmayer: 405 medals. 10 HP, 0 nobility. 3 cav, 1 movt. Fireproof. Unless you will be using him to attack a lot of fortresses and artillery bases, his one skill isn't much use. There are better cavalry generals for not much more, and possibly for less.
Hotze: 270 medals. 10 HP, 0 nobility. 1 inf, 2 cav, 2 movt. Skill: transport. Have we got the Hotze for him? No, we don't. Choose someone else, and be lucky you don't have him on your side. Unless you are the Holy Roman Empire, in which case hope at least that he is on cavalry so he has two stars instead of one.
Lechi:320 medals. 10 HP, 0 nobility. 2 inf, 1 econ, 1 mov. Skills: transport and trench. He's twice the infantry general Hotze is, but that isn't saying much. Trench is broken, and transport benefits Lechi but once... when taking a boat to go into exile, because he is such a doofus.
Konopka: 310 medals, 5 HP, 0 nobility. 2 cav, 1 econ, 1 movt. Skill: Trench. A broken skill that he can't use, because he has no infantry stars and only infantry can dig. I think he was in my academy as my first free starter general, and that's about his true worth.
Saltykov: Salty tears are what you'll cry if you spend 430 medals on this man. At least you'll be getting 25 HP and 1 nobility. 1 inf, 3 cav, 1 econ, 2 movt. His one skill is War Expert, which makes him easier to grind for rank, but better cavalry generals are available for not much more. Klenmayer is probably a better bargain, and that isn't saying much.
Tier 2.
Golitsyn. Aah, Golitsyn the beast! What do you get for 955 medals or 4 emblems (the most you can get without paying for them)? 36HP and 2 nobility out of the box, 5 cavalry stars, 3 movement, 1 econ, 1 retraining. Skills: strike (deprives evasion against cavalry) and surprise (+1 maximum hit), which is a nice combination, but the let-down is Fence: a broken skill restricted to a unit in which he has no stars. Now if he had Geography or Assault Art, I might consider grinding out the medals needed to buy him, but I think it's those five stars and the cavalry attack items that make him the best cavalry general in the free-to-play game WITHOUT training. It's clear why people get him for the last slot.
Joubert: 785 medals or 3 emblems. 28HP, 1 nobility. 4 inf, 3 art, 2 econ, 2 movt. 1 retrain. Skills are ballistics (+1 minimum attack, held to be worthless) and bugle (deprive terrain evasion vs infantry). Basically he is an infantry general, with a crumb thrown in the direction of his artillery skills. If he had Accurate, Explosive or Engineering instead, he would be a good true hybrid.
Serurier: 905 medals or 4 emblems. 44 HP, 2 nobility. 4 inf, 2 cav, 1 art, 3 fort, 2 econ, 1 movt, 1 retrain. Skills: Infantry tactics, Bugle, Trench. A much more expensive Joubert, but without a strong second suit and without skills to back his next strongest capability up. Infantry tactics is one of the +1 minimum skills, Bugle is good, but Trench is broken (if it worked, it would be another focused infantry skill). Compared to the far cheaper Joubert, he just isn't worth it.
Prevost: 655 medals or 3 emblems. 28HP, 1 Nobility. 2 inf, 1 cav, 3 art, 2 econ, 1 mov, 1 retrain. Skills: leadership, transport. He won't suffer morale drops if he gets surrounded, and he can catch a boat for half price, but his combat skills are thin on the ground; he has only his stars. He is a starter general for Great Britain in the 1812 conquest.
Tier 3:
Wellesley, aka (the Duke of) Wellington: 8 emblems. 54 HP, 4 nobility. 4 inf, 3 cav, 2 art, 2 navy, 2 fort, 4 econ, 2 movt, 3 retrain. Skills: Leadership, Bugle, Economic Master, Banner. He can charge into the thick of it while enemies find it hard to dodge his shots in mountain territory. When he holds or conquers cities, the money rolls in but he's the sort of general you want in the field for his four infantry stars. At least Leadership stops him from dropping his morale when enemies surround the city he is holding, so if you have a place that must be defended, here is where he probably comes into his own. Banner? No. Mass fire might have been better at this exorbitant price.
Archduke C: 8 emblems. 54 health, 4 nobility. 5 inf, 1 cav, 3 art, 2 fort, 3 econ, 3 movt, 5 retraining. Nobleman, Banner, Strike, Bugle. He gets his price for his ability to dish it out and recover again and again when he's been hurt. Unfortunately, while Bugle and 5 stars make him a heavy infantry hitter, Strike (the sister skill for cavalry) isn't done justice becuase he's only got one cav star. Nobleman means he picks up HP fast on grinding, but banner... well, so many other Tier 3 generals have this skill it's hard to fault him for it in comparison. Flags are normally the last thing you buy, because carrying two of the same is hideously expensive and so many other items that cost the same or less are far more useful to the general who carries them.
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 24, 2017 15:31:18 GMT
Back down to humble old Tier 1, after a morning of occasionally tapping the button on the Trafalgar Grind.
Junot: 425 medals, 10HP 0 nobility. 3* cav, 1* retrain. Strike. If you're going to have only one skill, this is a good one for a cavalryman to have. It means he's at his best in mountainous terrain. Dumouriez is somewhat more expensive, but Dumouriez has more stars and can eventually be regrouped into a high level princess (preferably Lan) as a cavalry trainer. Were it not for Dumouriez, Junot would be a good recommendation. As a starting or tavern general, he is not at all bad.
Georg: 365 medals. 10HP 1 nobility. 1 inf, 2 cav, 2 econ. Unfortunately his skills are Disguise and Trench. Both broken, and both suited to the category at which he is less skilled. Pass him by.
Slimane: 350 medals. 5HP, 0 nobility. 2 inf, 1 naval, 1 fort. Skill: siege master. This makes him more effective against units in towns, stables, etc. You'll generally find him as a starting commander on a North African unit if you play those nations, in which case you want to concentrate on enemy units in towns, stables and artillery parks. Not gonna lie, in my opinion Siege Master is best for generals who can command cannons with some degree of competence or for strong cavalry generals who can combine it with Strike, Surprise or some other heavy-hitting skill (e.g. Assault Art) to clear an enemy unit out of a town and then occupy it in the same turn. As an infantry general he might be able to deliver the killing blow, but he's going to need a companion unit still able to move in order to take the city.
Gazan: 465 medals. 10 HP, 0 nobility. 3 art, 1 econ, 1 movt. Skills: Artillery trainer, Explosive. Explosive gives your guns a +1 maximum attack bonus, which is valuable, but Artillery Trainer? There are cheaper artillery trainers who have more artillery skills (e.g Kutaisov), so Gazan cannot be recommended as a trainer unless you already have Kutaisov and are using him as a fighting general (which I have done from time to time, if only to farm up a bit of rank and nobility before pushing him into Sophia). And as a fighter, he is also inferior to Carteaux, who is the same price with the same stars but has more artillery skills (specifically Siege Master and Engineering).
Abercromby: 380 medals. 25 health, 0 nobility. 2 inf, 2 econ, 1 movt. Skills: Transport, Sailor. I have said this before, but his skills are actually well matched. He can buy a boat for cheap, and when he's on it he is compensated somewhat for the penalty land commanders have when they fight on water. This might be useful if you're fighting on the Great Lakes and need to hit something on the other side, or transitioning between the Ottoman, Italian and African coasts, but as a starter general I don't think he even appears in Europe (someone correct me if I'm wrong), and his combat stats don't make him the best candidate for an infantry general. The Armoured Carrier item duplicates his sailor skill and can be fitted to any academy general or princess, and if you can't afford the extra coin that Transport saves you, you've got bigger problems than just buying a boat.
Blasius: 560 medals. 20 health, 0 nobility. 3 inf, 2 fort, 1 econ, 2 movt. Skills: Spy and Formation. Formation gives you +1 on attacks; Spy gives you a bonus hit against fortifications including coastal artillery. What this adds up to is that he needs Grenadiers or Guards infantry under his command to be at his most useful. Spy is really at its best with someone like Sophia, who can command artillery. If you get Blasius as a starter or tavern general, therefore, be aware of his strong points and the targets he is best at hitting. As an academy general he is ridiculously overpriced; it is not that hard to win Sophia, and she makes better use of the Spy skill, while a better three-star infantry general can easily be had for less (e.g. Zakrevsky, with the Mass Fire skill; he will cost you 455 medals but he keeps on hitting at full potential even when he's on death's door).
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 25, 2017 22:36:00 GMT
Wednesday 25 October, we have:
Ballesteros: 495 medals, 25 HP, 0 nobility. 3 inf, 2 cav, 1 econ, 2 mov. Skill: Trench. A trench is what he wants to hide in for charging so much. The skill is broken, and you can do far better in the way of three-star infantry generals. Even as a hybrid he isn't much chop, because he has absolutely no skills that help increase his damage output or reduce his damage input.
Howe:395 medals. 10 HP, 1 nobility. 2 art, 2 econ. Disguise, explosive. Disguise is broken and Explosive is at least matched to his artillery stars (+1 extra maximum damage). However, for an extra 15 medals you get Kutaisov, with one extra star and more useful skills.
Lusignan: 415 medals. 5 HP, 0 nobility. 3 inf, 1 movt. Mass fire. Lusignan is a one-trick pony but a very potent one; Mass Fire keeps him hitting at full strength when his health is down (which it will be, a lot, when you first start using him). For 820 medals you can regroup Latour onto him twice, and have an infantry general who is almost as potent as Dobeln. Well, he is until he gets into mountain country, and then Dobeln's Bugle keeps him hitting just as hard in rough ground as on the plains. Unlike some other skills, I know of no item that will duplicate Bugle's effect, so Dobeln has the edge here and is probably worth the 50 extra medals if an infantry general is what you want. Then again, I can understand people wanting to get him and gradually saving up for those retrainers.
Lusignan is a starting general for Holy Roman Empire 1798, so if you want to know what he's like then give that a try.
Arnold: 535 medals, 20 health, 0 nobility. No nobility, you say? Well, we are talking about Benedict Arnold here. 3 infantry, 1 cav, 1 artillery, 5 econ. Skills: Business trainer and (most appropriately) Spy. He is your wheeler-dealer businessman in the campaign shops, and he can fight too; put him on a very strong grenadier or guards infantry unit and use him to crack forts when he's not sealing deals. In fact, buy him early and fight your way through as many campaign battles as possible, seeking the items so you can buy them cheap. By the time you've bought Warhorse, Snare Drum, the +6 tent, a cavalry pistol and a couple of other must-have items, he's probably come close to paying for himself. Then regroup him into a princess who's already high in econ stars to open up a slot if you need it.
Caradja: 245 medals, 5 HP, 0 nobility. 1 inf, 2 econ. Skill: disguise. His skill is broken, and he is really not all that much better than no general at all. In fact he's worse, because if you buy him he will be taking up a slot that could be filled by a much more capable general. You get what you pay for.
Saltykov: We have covered him in full so recently it is not worth my trouble to do so again.
Refresh:
Andrade: 370 medals. 10HP 0 nob. 1 inf, 1 cav, 3 movt. Skills: Disguise, transport, trench, fence. He can go places cheap and he can... well, actually he can't, because his other three skills are nonfunctional. If they worked he'd be an engineer/sapper/pioneer... if you were the sort to construct a lot of field fortifications. Unfortunately the brokenness of his skills makes him worse than useless.
Franquemont: 420 medals. 5 HP/1 nob. 2 inf, 1 cav. Banner, Mobility, Sailor. I think he has to be the cheapest Banner general I've met so far. Unfortunately, Mobility (for his one cav star) is practically worthless and Sailor is the only skill that's any use (it reduces the penalty he gets when fighting on water, something you might do if you're attacking enemy coastlines in a conquest). He has to join the ranks of the worse than useless.
Galvez: 490 medals. 25 HP, 0 nob. 3 inf, 1 cav, 2 econ, 1 mov. Skills: Transport and Trench. Another general with skills not worth the money, for reasons already discussed, whom we have seen before. Cast him aside and consider...
Kollowrat: 390 stars. 10 HP, 0 nob. 2 inf, 2 art, 1 econ. If there were any general I would be tempted to train up from low stars, it's Kollowrat. You see, he has Geography. And with Geography, that means he can move artillery with unimpeded pace across rough ground. Buy him two iterations of Horse Artillery as time and medals allow (you're going to want them for Isabela when you get her anyway), and suddenly your heavy artillery has a spring in its step. The downside is that he has no other skills in either infantry or artillery, so save-load might be a bit brutal, but if you want to move artillery fast early in your EW4 career then Kollowrat is your man. (Geography is superfluous on infantry.)
Chichagov: 520 medals. 20HP, 0 nobility. 2 art, 4 naval, 1 retrain. Navigation and Transport. As an artilleryman he can buy his unit a boat for cheap; as an admiral he can move his ship an extra hex. And as I've said before, four naval stars at tier 1 is nothing to sneeze at.
Amadeo III. 300 medals. 10 HP 1 nob. 1 inf 1 cav, 2 fort, 3 econ, Architecture and Nobleman. We covered him right near the start; he can upgrade cities for cheap, and he can level his nobility up a bit faster as you train him. Trouble is, he can't do much else. But he is the starter general in Sardinia, and if you have to flee before Napoleon's rapacious grasp, then stealing and inexpensively upgrading cities is probably the only way you can survive. Worthwhile for the bored player who likes to play small nations for the challenge.
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Post by pathdoc on Oct 26, 2017 23:26:57 GMT
Tonight we have:
Greene: 370 medals. 5HP/0 nob. 2 inf, 1 econ. Disguise, Fireproof. Disguise does not work, and Fireproof is really a naval skill. Unless of course you use your general for attacking forts and artillery and coastal guns. But he doesn't have the Spy skill that would make him useful in that respect, so he is a non-starter.
Kollowrat: 390 medals (I accidentally wrote stars yesterday). We have seen him already so recently it is pointless to cover him again. The cheapest general with Geography, in which his artillery capability is best poised to benefit.
Wurmb: 360 medals. 28HP/1 nob. 2 inf, 1 cav, 1 fort, 2 econ, 1 movt. Skill: Nobleman. He bought his commission, and he can buy his way up the ladder of nobility more quickly, but he doesn't have any directly combat-oriented skills. Spend 30 more medals and get Kollowrat.
Amadeo III: We have again covered him very recently. See above.
L'Estocq: 555 medals. 25 HP, 0 nobility. 3 cav, 2 econ, 3 movt. Fence (broken, and useless to a non-infantry general even if it worked) and Mobility (+1 minimum attack, matched to his stars but apparently useless in practice). Pass him by for...
Diez: 540 medals, 25 HP, 0 nobility. 3 cav, 1 art, 1 econ, 3 movt. Movement trainer. The cheapest of these (yes, movement is expensive, as I have said before). He may not have any direct combat skills, but he's really not much worse than L'Estocq in this regard and any cavalry or artillery general or Princess, especially one with Geography, will gladly snap him up to increase their movement stars.
Isabela took one look and said "I'll have that one, thanks."
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Post by pathdoc on Nov 6, 2017 16:12:59 GMT
Tier 1:
Klenmayer: 405 medals, 3 cav, 1 movement, 10 HP, 0 nobility. Fireproof. You can do better. His one skill is not linked to his primary (indeed, only) capability unless you will be attacking forts and artillery a lot, in which case he needs to go on Guards cavalry in order to have grenades and do more damage. If you get him as a starter general on any other cav unit, you are probably behind the eight-ball; if you get him as a tavern general, he would make a good mopper-up of forts that either you left behind in your early rush or the AI spammed in the latter part of a conquest. Again, put him on maximum strength guards cavalry so he uses his three stars to best effect against forts. Otherwise I would leave him be.
Zebulon: 355 medals, 2 inf, 1 cav, 1 fort, 1 econ, 1 movement, 10 HP, 0 nobility, Trench. With his golden blond hair and matching outfit, he's sort of a General Custer do-over (and you know what General Custer was like). If his skill worked, he still wouldn't be worth it. But his skill is dysfunctional in the game, and so is he. If you are Great Britain in the 1812 conquest, you get to kill him.
In fact, I am tempted to say that without a specific and very useful skill that can be built upon and exploited, none of the one or two-star generals in anything are really worth it. This is what makes the Princesses worthwhile; they have directed skill sets which make it worth your medals to buy trainers for them and develop their stars.
Silveira: 290 medals. 2 inf, 1 navy, 1 retraining, 10 HP, 0 nobility; skill = Transport. Unless you want to enable him to travel over-water, he brings no specific skills; if you want that, he will save you 20 gold coins once per battle. This is the reason he is so cheap; he brings nothing to the table so don't offer him a place there.
Weyrother: 545 medals, 3 inf, 2 cav, 1 econ, 2 movt, 1 retraining. 25HP, 0 nobility. Infantry tactics. He brings a +1 to your minimum infantry hit. This is generally held to be completely worthless. (If it constrains the random number generator that supplies the output formula it might not be, but that's a separate debate). As a 3+ infantry commander he is not actually weak; it's just that he's so expensive you might as well buy someone else who is also 3-star (e.g. Latour for 410 medals, who has Infantry Trainer skill and can be regrouped onto Princess Maria or Victoria if you've got enough slots to keep him around that long). As it is, Maria the Infantry Princess is not that hard to unlock once you really get going, and she is just as starred-up in infantry and cavalry terms, with more economy, movement and retraining stars to boot. For this reason he is not recommended.
Lechi: 320 medals. 2 inf, 1 econ, 1 mov. 10 HP, 0 nobility. Transport, Trench. We have already discussed both skills here; they bring nothing to the table in terms of his fighting ability. He is a cheaper infantry commander than Zebulon for the same output, but that isn't saying much. Even as a tavern general he would not bring you much. Pass him by.
Jerome: 335 medals. 1 inf, 1 fort, 3 econ, Business trainer, economic expert. 5HP, 0 nobility. Park him in a town and your $$ increases; regroup him into another general or a princess and she can strike better deals in the campaign shop. But he really can't fight worth a damn without lots of items that are better assigned to stronger generals. You buy Jerome to regroup him, preferably into someone like Isabela who has three econ stars already, or Lan who has four, and will be staying around till near endgame regardless of how many slots you have. (By the time you get Lan you're near the end anyway and probably done most of your item buying; Isabela comes in a fair bit earlier and may make the most of the extra star; that juggling act is in your court).
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Post by pathdoc on Nov 8, 2017 16:26:22 GMT
Today we have: Kruse: 350 medals, 2 inf, 1 cav, 1 mov, 1 retrain, 10 HP, 0 nobility. Skills: Trench. Why buy him when you can get the same for so much less? Trench is a nonfunctional skill, and he has no others. As I have discussed previously, a general with only one or two stars in any of inf, cav, art, navy has to have something else to really make it worthwhile buying trainers for and boosting them up. Usually that's either skills, movement, retraining, or a combination of the three that can (depending on the situation) be put to work in an additive or synergistic fashion, and that certainly isn't him. Someone who probably is him is this chap: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_von_Kruse who is interesting for having served on both sides in the Napoleonic Wars. Ricardos: 340 medals, 1 inf, 2 cav, 1 movt. 10 HP, 0 nobility. Skills: Fence and Transport. Kruse's cavalry alter-ego, without the retraining star but with a skill that actually functions in-game. Unfortunately, this skill saves you 20 gold per conquest or campaign. No, really; that's it. And what was said for Kruse goes for Ricardos too, with the added problem that Ricardos's main strength is in cavalry, which can't even build fortifications. In history he appears to be this fellow: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Ricardos He had a good record against French forces but his death from pneumonia occurred at (and may have been the cause of) the downward turn of Spanish fortunes against the French. Chasse: 430 medals, 2 inf, 1 cav, 2 econ, 2 movt, 20 HP, 0 nobility. Skill: Formation (infantry max hit +1). His skill is useful and tied to his maximum stars, which is good, but it's all he's got and he's fiendishly expensive for that slight jump in capability; there are three-star infantry generals who are cheaper, and they arguably deal better average damage if you're not into save-load. This fellow seems to fit the description: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hendrik_Chass%C3%A9 Like Kruse, he has the distinction of having fought on both sides of the Napoleonic Wars, leaving the French Army after Napoleon's first defeat and fighting against him at Waterloo. Melas: 435 medals, 1 inf, 3 cav, 1 econ, 1 mov, 1 retrain, 25hp, 0 nobility. SKill: War Expert (gains rank and bonus HP faster). A three-star cavalry general is nothing to sneeze at, but think about the long haul - what are you going to do with him when you have a couple of princesses to bring on board? He can't be regrouped for training and he requires a lot of grinding to make use of his one talent, which doesn't increase his damage output. Not one for purchase, but if you find him in the tavern you know you have a reasonably solid mid-range cavalry general. I think he is this chap: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_von_Melas, a good commander against Napoleonic French forces, who made one serious error of judgement and paid badly for it. Wurmb: 360 medals, 2 inf, 1 cav, 1 fort, 2 econ, 1 movt, 28HP and 1 nobility. Skill: Nobleman. Compare him with Kruse. His one skill lets him level up in nobility faster, but it's still a long grind to get much use out of it, and it doesn't help him kill the enemy. He can be seen in command of Hessian forces, and his skills in this game do not reflect his reputation, which appears to have been pretty okay. There are several General Wurmbs on a quick internet search, but this one en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Wurmb fits the nation served (Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel) and the time period. Davidovich: 280 medals. Pulled out of the bargain bin, Davidovitch comes to the party with 2 infantry stars, 2 econ, 1 movement, 10HP/0 nobility and Fence. His skill is broken, but he is as powerful on infantry as Kruse or Chasse for significantly lower cost. But without any quirky skills (e.g. Logistics to keep him fighting while others starve), he's got nothing more to show for it than his low price tag. From time period and nation served, I think he is this man: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Davidovich He does not have a very good record in the Napoleonic wars, but he has the misfortune of having faced the man himself at the early apex of his powers. |
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Post by pathdoc on Nov 14, 2017 12:41:19 GMT
Today we have: Franquemont: We have covered him fully very recently (25 October), so I will not repeat myself. He appears to be this guy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_von_Franquemont Carteaux: 460 medals. 3 art, 1 fort, 1 econ. 10 HP/0 nobility. Skills: Siege Master, Engineering. Siege Master negates the penalty he gets when firing against targets in buildings (cities, ports, stables, etc), while Engineering is worth two movement stars (i.e. if he had a +1 movement item, this would be worth an extra hex for him on flat ground). He is a good artillery general because his skills are dedicated to his highest stars. He is perhaps not quite so good because one of those skills requires buying an item to make full use of. However, having an artillery general into the endgame is worthwhile, so buying the movement items is also worthwhile. The only place he loses against Kutaisov is that he cannot train others when regrouped. I used him alongside Sophia until Isabella came along, then I regrouped him into Isabella to boost her nobility and experience up. Kutaisov is arguably slightly better in terms of output because he has Explosive (increase max attack by 1), but you need Kutaisov for upgrading other artillery generals at the lowest possible cost. He seems to have been not a very successful artillery general in real life, mishandling the Siege of Toulon to the point where Napoleon had to be sent to replace him. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Fran%C3%A7ois_Carteaux Felix culpa? Ballesteros: 495 medals, 3 inf, 2 cav, 1 econ, 2 mov. 25HP, 0 nobility. Skill: Trench. His skill doesn't work, and at this price he has nothing else to recommend him as either a 3-star infantry or a 2-star cavalry general. With no combat output, movement, or defence-oriented skills, he is also not worth the price as a hybrid. He seems to be this man: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Ballesteros Graham: 580 medals, 2 inf, 3 art, 3 econ, 1 movt, 1 training. 25HP, 1 nobility. Artillery Trainer, Infantry Tactics, Disguise. Infantry Tactics adds 1 to minimum attack, the effects of which are said to be negligible. Disguise is broken (and if it worked it would be linked to Infantry, at which he is less powerful), and as an artillery trainer he is 150 medals more expensive than the cheapest option. With no specific artillery-directed attack, defence or movement skill, and with cheaper generals (Kutaisov, Carteaux) having multiple such skills with the same number of artillery stars, he is not worth it. There are many Generals Graham, and unlike the others I could not find a good match. ETA: further searching turns up en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Graham,_1st_Baron_Lynedoch Interestingly his first signature service was at the Siege of Toulon, on the opposite side to Carteaux! Dobrnjac: 305 medals. 2 inf, 1 econ. 5 HP, 0 nobility. Skill: Trench. His skill is broken and you can buy equal generals for less. This guy fits the time period and - broadly - the ethno-national alignment: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petar_Dobrnjac Buxhoeveden: 530 medals. 3 inf, 2 econ, 2 movt, 1 retrain. 25HP, 0 nobility. Formation (increases max infantry hit by 1). His skill is balanced to his stars, but there's only the one. Zakrevsky, 455 medals with mass fire, has a far more useful one-and-only skill and is an infantry trainer to boot, and Lusignan, also with mass fire, costs only 415 medals, which makes Buxhoeveden a very bad bargain. He was a bad bargain in real life too, contributing to the Third Coalition's defeat at Austerlitz by being drunk during the battle. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_BuxhoevedenIt is worth noting here that the tiny crumbs of health points and nobility we get given with all these low-tier generals are so easily and quickly obtained by grinding or simple battle experience that there is NO POINT in assigning them any value. When determining if one general is better value than another, all else being equal, they count for essentially nothing. |
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Post by Nobunaga Oda on Nov 14, 2017 16:11:57 GMT
I like how you link Wiki page on thir lives IRL as a sort of FYI bonus.
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Post by pathdoc on Nov 14, 2017 16:17:16 GMT
I like how you link Wiki page on their lives IRL as a sort of FYI bonus. Thank you. There have been quite a few threads on how well (or poorly) Napoleon in the game matches up to Napoleon IRL, and while it's impossible to go into that depth for all the commanders, I thought it might be interesting to provide at least a starting point. Many of them are people I'd never heard of before, and I did quite a bit of reading around the Napoleonic Wars a few years back. Some of them led interesting lives and had successful careers, and in terms of the effect they had and the things they did, probably do not deserve their place in the sub-300-medal trash bin, or to be stuck with only broken skills. I won't be going back and editing previous posts, but I will try to update with biographical links whenever a repeater comes up through the Academy yet again. The Princesses, though, I think are purely fictitious and I'm not even going to try. |
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Post by Marshal Ney on Nov 14, 2017 17:45:23 GMT
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