Skyekicker Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 Hey guys its SkyeKicker again. I got a question about strategy I'm developing in which I could play the part of a pirate lord.This strategy involves several key ideas: - the conversion of my entire army into Spies and Sentries - after this conversion hire enough Mercs to reduce my income to the point that launching attacks against me are not profitable - use my sentries to protect my Armory from saboteurs - use my spies to find plump looking targets - attack such targets - immediately spend all of my profits on weaponry and upgrades - wait for another opportunity Advantages of this Strategy - attacks against you will never be profitable - this means you can focus almost whole heartedly on purchasing attack mercenaries and weapons - defense mercenaries are purchased only to provide a meat shield for your sentries and spies - your spy and sentry values will be godly - your armory will have a high defense against sabotage - your spies will be more successful on gathering information Disadvantages of this Strategy - People will hate your guts - people will attack you even though there is nothing to gain - make sure to have enough defense to protect your spies and sentries - people will make you the focus of all their sabotage efforts - make sure you have enough sentries to protect your armory - the only manner for you to gain any income is to attack - not that big of a problem but it exists I'm posting this on the board because while it sounds like a lot fun to go around playing a pirate, I feel there is some balance issues. Balance Issues - Mercenaries - the negative income a mercenary produces can be extremely advantageous - it makes my faction less desirable of a target because there is no profit to be gained - mercenaries always take casualties before your other units - this makes defense mercenaries perfect as a meat shield to you more important spies and sentries - Attack Specialists (in general) - cannot be damaged during enemy invasions - this means if even though your forces are Powned in an enemy attack they will not take damage - they make more money than Defense Specialists - Attack Specialist can bring a large amount of income from the enemy - Defense Specialists can only prevent the enemy from taking your points - if you don't have any points for them to take in the first place how much better is that Maybe these issues are not that huge of a problem but I thought I might point them out.I still plan on playing a pirate until it is otherwise illegal but you might want to check this out.BTW I'm currently looking Letter of Marque if "anyone" is offering
Guest Moose Master Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 I don't think this is a new strategy, Aileron already does this (I *think*) or someone else does. You don't need to waste your income, the more you get the better. You raise good questions about balancing though, I'm not sure if you can survive with 0 defence.
Skyekicker Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Posted October 31, 2007 I just thought of something... how many of you guys actually use Mercenaries? I realized that Mercenaries have a large amount of potential. I'm sure you guys all know about the rule in which you can only attack a target that has an army between five times your size and one fifth of your size. Now lets take Aileron who is using the fact that sentries and spies do not count towards the size of your army when someone wants to attack you. What is preventing him from lets say converting his entire army into spies and sentries. I believe the only thing preventing him from doing is the need for a decent military score. Well if he were to convert his entire force into spies and sentries what is their to stop him from hiring mercenaries when he needs them. Heck, if he converts his entire force into spies and sentries he could quietly stockpile a huge stockpile of weapons and when the time is right... an army of mercenaries appears out of no where and slaughters all who oppose him. Of course what stops one of his opponents from reducing the size of their army. In fact using mercenaries small forces suddenly become extremely dangerous because what stops someone from building up their resources and hiring a bunch of mercenaries. Spies now are used to make sure those small and "weak" armies are not building a huge pile of nukes to unleash upon you. While sentries try and prevent this from happening and preventing others from sabotaging your weapons stockpiles. Also the Mercenaries negative income modifier isn't necessarily because it means people have less to gain from attacking you. Also the fact that can't get rid of Mercenaries is important because that means that reducing the size of your army becomes difficult after you recruit them. Again how many of you guys actually use MERCS!!!
JDS Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 mercs are a last resort.. you cant resell them once you buy them you are stuck with them i only buy mercs if i have more money than i have soldiers with out an item if i have soldiers that do not have an item , why would i need mercs. if you dont want people to take your money, log on more offten mercs suck your income right out your !@#$%^&*.
Sound Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 With falcoknight - No.And the only time i ever bought mercs was at the end of last round, which i was desperately fighting for 1st rank, and bought every single merc possible. Yes... every one. That's probably why there's a limit now
AstroProdigy Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 Your merc strategy fails because the lack of income coming to you means you'd have to be able to attack constantly to make up for it, which is impossible with the limit in turns. Maybe if you had a few thousand extra turns.
Hellonearth Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 I don't think this is a new strategy, Aileron already does this (I *think*) or someone else does. You don't need to waste your income, the more you get the better. You raise good questions about balancing though, I'm not sure if you can survive with 0 defence. Thats not his idea he stole it from me last round! pwned everyone with it, had to give it up after the game crashed just before i went on vacation so had about 50k units when i came back (which was f*cked up)
Falcoknight Posted October 31, 2007 Report Posted October 31, 2007 Mercs were abused to the extreme, which is why their price was raised through the roof and they were given an income deduction.
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