How accurate is the intelligence obtained from these reports; is it always 100% correct in what it says, and do spy reports vary randomly in detail in some occasions?

For example if the report says a guy only has 4 armies, can i take it as scripture and happily launch an invasion on him?

Oh, one last topic-unrelated question....how the heck do i defeat 154 ballista with only available: lots of archers, a reasonable amount of spearmen, and some scouts? The ballista are behind a screening of mountains, and have a damn outpost right nearby enhancing their scope of vision; the only unblocked pass requires quite a round detour, which risks letting him a few free pot shots with said ballista if he positions them right and some 130 archers, and furthermore, just nearby the pass entrance there is a jolly unit of 400+ scouts camping it there.

I have enough archers to wittle down the scouts to a more manageable size for my spearmen, however this will take a few turns, and that's enough time for the ballista to get into position and start punching holes into my poor archers ( he can knock out 50 archers with that unit, obviously no retaliation, not that it would do much harm to them).

Any startegy tips for such a predicament?

Cheers, A.

Last Edited : Monday, 17 February 2003 - 09:21

can't say how good spy reports are.. but as a general rule they don't really give any info that makes them worth using, unless you have so much money it doesn't matter. there are much better things to buy and techs to research.


against the ballistae.. I suggest using 155 The question is do you need to go buy where the ballistae is? or can you simply go around it and force the ballistae to move?

Try creating a bunch of 5-10 man scout units to rush up next to it, and weaken its retail... then attack with your own ballistae.... or get large stacks of knights... they may take some damage, but in non-Skirmish games there is a max damage limit of 1000 not counting the ballistae level.

He said he only had archers, spearmen and scouts.

I'd suggest: Run away!
Seriously

Otherwise your only chance would be to fool your enemy into making a mistake. Try to stay outside of the ballistas range until you have a clear charge against it. Try to take 'em out one at a time. Remember the ballistas size bonus. Don't go near it with any large stacks unless you're sure to do some serious damage to it first.

Good luck!

Hmm, well i could just finish building walls closing off my territory, so as to gain time for my own ballista growth. But that's just a short time solution.

Still sounds like a pretty good one...!
P.S Spy reports are only really useful to make sure you've got every last guy of your opponent :-)
Pop 800, for example, could just as easily be 800 Heavy Cav or Marksmen as it could be Spearmen :-)

As for, example, 6 armies, that's not saying what's in those armies. Again - could be 5*100 marksmen + 1*1 scouts :-)

You need an answer...Build your own outpost and populate it in the same turn that your 190+ ballistae attack.
Use comms as well!
Otherwise forget it,those other comments were totally unhelpful to you if you want to win.

Are they? The short term solution he's come up with sounds like the best chance to me...

154 ballistas vs archers and spears?? I'd be right in front of DBY..

ok, now i'm starting to produce 28 ballista per turn....

And I've walled off almost all my borders with him; but that damn outpost right next to my border is a grevious liability as it gives him a perfect view over my territory and the key area to get to attacking to him.

Last Edited : Tuesday, 18 February 2003 - 11:22

Update; i'm invading him with 10 armies of archers ( total around 800), and a bunch of melee units; ( + obvously commandeers, a must for archers)

the key novelty here is that my ally is also attacking him with tons of melee units.

I'll keep you informed on my progess

A few stacks of 50 ballista each and you'll be able to tear through easily. I suggest surrounding our archers with melee and wittling down his forces.

My archers managed to kill 90 ballista of his ( he luckily moved them into my range) at a cost of 98 archers of mine. I suppose it wasn't too bad; now my and my ally's melee units shouldn't suffer as much on the rush.

Not bad? It's fantastic! Every one of his ballista is probably worth AT LEAST 2 of your archers, if not 3 :-)

Ouch, he moved away and punched a hole into my archers ( lost 50); I guess i better get moving from here.

The simple rule - if you can't beat him, don't stay. A sore ego is better than a sore head
Come back to the front when you have the opportunity to crush him, either position, numbers, troop type or a combination of some/all :-)

Ouch, ouch, ouch; lost 150 archers, this is getting painful.

He's moved a squad of suicidal scouts to engage and slow down my archers; and he's brought another army of ballista (84). My ally unfortunately has sent some pikemen to help me out with the scouts but this will only slow down the movement of my own melee and archer units once i eliminate the scouts.

I reckon the outcome of this foray will all depend on his melee troops ( he's got macemen thank god!) rushing through and getting at his ballista armies.

My jolly part in this is to play big fat target; my archers will get decimated. But they'll last another 2 turns...max.


Oh, btw, the enemy's blacksmith and Military acadamy are outside his castle...if i take em out, does that mean his ballista production and techs researched go kaput?

Heh, the situation is getting sticky; here is a message I had to write just now in this game;

1)<To Chewbacca>:

"Hmm, you obviously intend to assault me; however consider this proposal of mine. If you refrain from attacking me i can guarantee that for the rest of game you will have a most amiable and respectful neighbour on your right flank.
No doubt you will be asking yourself what advantage can be garnered from agreeing to such an offer of mine that would not be overshadowed by the potential gains in a campaign against me.
Allow me to state several sensible reasons why i would ask of you to seriously consider my proposal.
- First of all i can assure you with full sincerity that an invasion of yours into my territory would be both protracted and costly; though you have 2 castles, and have wisely conserved and built up your strength all these turns, I do still have sufficient military and non-military resources to stall you.
- Protracted campaigns are a liability (as I myself have come to realise) in terms of resources wasted and border neglect, which can lead to opportunist endeavours by your nearest neighbours. A player in a strong position can easily be thwarted in his plans if he is distracted or even threatened by a coalition of such hostile neighbours ( ie; A kingdom with already 2 castles and lots of resource buildings does make an attractive target for such opportunists). Interpret this as you wish.
- Finally, the benifits of an alliance with my kingdom cannot be underestimated. As i have shown by my actions early in game, i am both honerable and diplomatic with my relations with neighbours. I did not attack their scouts immediately on sight, and in certain cases even allowed them passage through my lands. Nor did i attempt to seize resource buildings clearly belonging to them. Nor have i ever in this game made belligerant or downright agressive actions.
As a matter of fact I have during all this time contained a most agressive neighbour located to my right; thus sheltering the whole neighbourhood from his potential acts of perfidy.

Cheers, from your neighbour
A."

His forces number ( so far), 100 scouts, 100 squires, 2x 100 archers, ballista unit of 60.

He's on my left flank, the other i was fighting with was on my right.

Tips, prospects, tricks to thwart or at least slow down impending doom?

Last Edited : Wednesday, 19 February 2003 - 11:34

New strategy,let the wookie win.

heh, well...yes, i suppose that could be considered a useful tip. *not really pleased, but at least amused*

Last Edited : Wednesday, 19 February 2003 - 14:06

The only thing you can really do now is to block up the castle entrances with palisades/walls (NOT drawbridges, they can be taken over and walked through, and are more expensive ), and get every guy you can out of the fight. Also pray your ally can successfully win the battle

If all else fails, use politics to recruit others and even the sides up...but be aware that plitics can get messy...! :-)