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Age 85 Virtual Kingdom ~ Now With Blue Diamonds
ASSAULT DIVISION
Dark Elf: cleric
Dark Elf: rogue
Dwarf: sage
Elf: heretic
Human: war hero
SPEARHEAD DIVISION
Avian: tactician
Dwarf: artisan
Faery: mystic
Halfling: rogue
Orc: warrior
HQ
Elf: sage
Faery: heretic
Halfling: cleric
Undead: tactician*
Undead: war hero
SPEARHEAD DIVISION
Avian: tactician
Avian: warrior
Dwarf: artisan
Faery: mystic
Halfling: rogue
ASSAULT DIVISION
Orc: cleric
Dark Elf: heretic
Elf: mystic
Human: sage
Human: artisan*
You don't always get better at the game with experience, but you can learn from being observant.
If you can run a race with the lowest offense as a successful attacker then you have definitive evidence in the tap exchanges. The intent of TVK isn't to emphisize that phenomena, it's a byproduct of the design. In ages where attackers aren't as vulnerable the design follows.
So what we get here isn't hardened unbreakables; say a well groomed dark elf tac with cleric support. What we have are a plethora of difficult builds with deep economic cardio that can all take a run at virtual unbreakability.
Part is in how the spell array is implemented. When runes and mana are high we can exhaust those in favor of losing them to theft or sabotage. The initial use of amnesia, fools gold, lightning strike & nightmare is opportunity based; so are the physical objectives in this elliptical wave. Most resources are then committed to suppression.
From an idealist standpoint, my philosophy is to primarily fund a dragon with enemy gold. Funding dragons with your own gold is a form of self mutilation. Ask any chained province or province on the edge of collapse. The fact is, we are stronger when we have the least number of provinces begging for resources vs our enemies welfare account.
I'm fond of sages, especially out of war. I wanted a faery sage here, but needed a hard target platform for fools gold & nightmare. Since nightmare effects tpa I like it complimentary to rogue activities. Fools gold is one of the best CF obtainers vs opportunistic predator kingdoms. I never comply out of fear so we will always agree to not harming each other or go to war.
Part of my ghetto discipline was never to explore unless maintaing a balance under random duress. I've always made my acres in war. Unlike the greedy narcissist, my acres are intended to be healthy so I can provide aid to the less fortunate. This helps free up t/ms to focus resources on their end. Yes, I'm primarily an attacker with experience in thwarting chains. This type of doctrine was years in developing but my previous game experiences offered templates for success. I had clear understanding of nw/acre zones from area effect attacks in paper&pencil games. The same is true of relay tapping. These tactics apply individually, not in macro. My theory is to micro which results in macro achievements.
So when you use nightmare here you're not using it as an artillery barrage. You're using nightmare to achieve a tap more. Why not several taps on the same target? Because like most game effects, nightmare is effected by diminishing returns. This is why in the elliptical wave we exert broad pressure constantly like a constrictor. When they exhale we contract to their current resource level and continue to suppress. Thus amnesia, thus blizzards, etc.
If you're unfamiliar with TVK, the division are set through GMT: Americas, Australia, Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe. The wave system is called "elliptical" because each division is on its own schedule. This means there will be overlap at times and activity will be constant by one division or another. The strategic blend of pragmatism is based in great players who never had the time to play in 24/7 kingdoms. This, to my knowledge, is the best compromise. TVK offers high order organization with time sensitive sensibility.
Unlike full kingdom waving, TVK truncated waves allow quick micro, the ability to seize opportunity as well as quash local catastrophe. I've experienced full kingdom waving with oops! or against enemies that knew how to derail the wave. I know how to derail waves, I just don't because I'm sensitive to players that have time limits. If you haven't experienced a wave traffic jam with core players who are playing on a tight work schedule....it's a sad affair in chat and can be a strategic and morally deflating drama.
The mechanics of individual builds is basically taking ghetto sensibility and organizing. Unlike most organized kingdoms we're not dealing with ammo strip also ran attacker cores, and here's why.
Each province has individual strength and purpose. By force of build I've engineered toward team dynamics. Face hard facts; when an attacker gets chained in most kingdoms that province becomes an afterthought because all they were was another gun in an arsenal of clones. People are children at heart and they will be self serving unless they are shown an extistential truth: the team is victory.
Make no mistake, this is not a kingdom based in mechanical efficiency as much as splendor and pageantry. Civilization is stronger for art stronger for culture. I'm a player who chose to run an Orc Mystic because that age not one player had chosen it. Because I was confident I could make it work. Even if you see undead as garbage this age, it's no easier eating their attacks or risking plague for 24 ticks or burning runes and mana to cure. Know the strength of everything to attack and the weakness to defend. It's not enough to take the most ill reputed build; you must want to let the best players from the best kingdoms in the game hit you first and then defeat them. Only now can you feel the power to control the world you occupy. I've also run a solo province in a kingdom shell and exchanged randoms with 4 of the top 5 kingdoms that age. That's how sure.
TVK is designed by dividing as many races and as many personalities into a 25 provinces kingdom as possible. This means we have every game capability in our toolbox. This also equals a lack of depth if you think conventionally. If you think unconventionally, then you see a kaleidoscope of keys to unlock enemy provinces.