Draft rate

[Karitas]

Does anyone know when we can select draft rates other than 'Aggressive'? Is it 1 week after the start of the Age?

[Thunder TA]

yes

[scorpio86]

on the subject of Draft Rates, it seems it is the thing to do to run a very high draft rate.

i understand why some might do this, squeezing the most warriors out of the available peasantry as possible, but by doing so it denies a province of workers and lowers BE overall. i know that BE can be altered through sciences but to make up for a Draft Rate of 75% or so would mean major focus upon that one science alone.

my draft rate is currently at 44% and i feel that is fine for now, i am slowly and steadily growing through science research into housing and casting paradise at least once or twice every 24 hours RT, as my Kingdom is planning for a war quite soon i shall be raising it to 48% or perhaps 50% at the highest.

i don't understand how provinces can run properly with three quarters of their population off fighting battles.

also since my province is Elf i figure they would frown upon being too war like and military orientated.

am i the only one running a low Draft Rate?

[Bishop]

60% minimum - mid 80s be is fine for the army you get in return

[scorpio86]

may i ask what race and personality you are playing Bishop?

[Bishop]

doesnt matter - 60% is standard

[scorpio86]

i appreciate the wisdom, yet i am sticking with my below 50% Draft Rate 'hippy Elf' strategy, at least for a while to see if i can make it work

[Bishop]

a decade of playing says it wont :)

[scorpio86]

we shall see :-)

[Budlightyear]

Some people play T/Ms or banks or support attacker hybrids... honestly I don't think a good pure T/M should be running 60% draft, considering they would need 5+ WPA and TPA on top of whatever army they have and would barely have room for peasants. 60% draft may be standard for certain roles (read: attackers), but I disagree that the only measure of a province should be the size of its army and its offense, and the only role should be "attacker".

[Ordray]

a decade of playing says it wont :)

That's what my decade of experience is telling me as well.
@Bud - your draft includes thieves, and T/Ms have to have large defense.

[Quest]

your low draft rate cannot support your lofty ambitions.
say u have no sci and no homes, u can only house 25 population per acre then. now u want 60dpa so thats 10 defspec per acre. then u want 5tpa and 5 wpa cos u r a very modest t/m. now thats 20 military units per acre with 5 population remain for jobs.
if u draft just 40%, then thats setting 0.4*25 = 10 population aside for military. congratulations! thats just enough for your 10 defspecs and u r a t/m with 0tpa and 0wpa.

and i read from other posts that u want to be "an all-rounder" and train elites for attacking as well. i worry for your kd.

[Militaryman]

To sum it up what everyone is saying, 100% BE doesn't outweigh a 55 or 60% draft. I run a 55% draft as I atk 2x a day so ill never reach the % unless my kd goes into a pump stage. Even as a T/M you can run a 60% and be fine. As far as a all arounder if your wanting to get the NW range like u say over a mil or even close a low draft won't get you there. You need to look like a bad target to hit and a small army is never a bad targ. I'd be more likely to hit a elf if I can se they have more peasies then army ratio. Plus idk if it matters a lot, but your nwpa will be lower with a smaller army... And a lot of peeps check the nwpa then do intel ops(if not in war) to find random land grabs. Least I do anyhow.

[Militaryman]

O and no one will ever frown upon a elf having to big of a army as long as your wpa stays in a good range. As for pure T/M ewww...I personally think A/M or a/T is a good way to go. Esp in a ghetto kd, where activity isn't its greatest. A T/M does have advantages but in the ghetto its about land grabs and fbing or nsing on the side. That and if a kd does have 1 or 2 T/Ms its usually a more experienced player that can get around nw growth stalls etc from not atking as much.

[scorpio86]

cheers for that, i have a great deal to learn