Intro to Race/Personality Combinations
Per the suggestions of several (in other threads), I've decided to take a stab at writing a bit of an intro guide regarding the strengths and liabilities of the various combinations. Admittedly, I've been away from the game for a while, but the principles and general dynamics of Utopia have remained relatively unchanged for most of its history.
Roles
All Races are a balance between pros and cons (even Elves), and your choice of Race should be reflective upon your desired role within your Kingdom. The three principle Roles available are: Attacker, Thief, and Mage.
- Attackers, well, attack - not only conquering enemy lands, but also through destructive Razes, Plundering enemy resources, stealing scientific knowledge through Learn attacks, and so forth.
- Thieves scout out information on enemies, conduct subterfuge to weaken an opponent from within, steal resources, and (on occasion) create havoc by assassinating prime personnel within an enemy province.
- Mages hurl damaging spells from afar, killing enemy populations, destroying buildings, and disrupting the normal day-to-day functions of an enemy province.
Some Races lend themselves heavily to one of the above roles; such as Orcs and Undead being prime Attackers by virtue of their 9-point Offensive Elites (among other attributes).
Others have a difficult time fulfilling certain roles; such as Faeries not being strong Attackers due to having a Defensive Elite AND a population penalty, Dwarves and Undead having penalties/limitations to Thievery, Human penalty to Magic, etc.
Some Races lend themselves readily towards two of the above roles; such as Faeries' +50% bonuses to Magic and Thievery, or Halflings' lending towards Attacker/Thief (due to costs and population), or Elves as Attacker/Mage (due to spell bonuses and a respectable Offensive Elite).
While some Races (with certain Personalities) CAN manage all three roles, doing so is far beyond the capabilities of a novice player. In short - if you need to read this, then you have no business even trying it!
Starting out, try to choose one Primary Role and one Secondary Role - based on what YOU want to do in the game - and let that be your guide in selecting a Race. For a novice player, the best option is generally to opt for an Attacker hybrid; Attacker/Mage or Attacker/Thief. I'm in no way saying Mage/Thief is unappealing, but being effective at this combination of roles has a steeper learning curve than A/M, A/T, or Heavy Attacker.
NOTICE:
With very few exceptions (Who here remembers Hel of Dim Forest?), there's no such thing as an impregnable defense. No matter how many Thieves you have prowling about, how many Mages are standing watch, or how strong your army, enemy attacks are invariably going to get through. This is just part and parcel to the game, so don't get upset when it happens - just take notes and return the favor when the opportunity presents itself.
Races
Here, I've tried to suggest the best options for each Race and elaborate as to why they are the best options. Again, this isn't to say that a given Race CAN'T have other roles (such as Faery Attackers), but they require skill and finesse generally beyond what a novice is capable of.
Avians - Heavy Attacker, Attacker/Thief, or Attacker/Mage
The main strength to Avians is the combination of greatly reduced attack times (equivalent to 30%+ Barracks), 6-point Defense Specialists, and 7/4 Elites. While many see Avian Elites as being weak (vs 8- and 9-point elites, as well as no Stables), their defense is second only to Dwarves among offensive Elites - coupled with their rapid speeds, they are less vulnerable to Ambush than most other races.
While the 'No Stables' seems like a liability at first, it's not so bad once you start looking at the actual numbers. The 6-point Defense Specs means you can use 17% fewer specs for the same defense (vs 5-point Specs), meaning more Elites instead for an effective gain of 1.17 points 'per Elite' than you would normally have. (Way back when, an Avian A/T could steal someone else's horses to use - but this has been nixed for a long time.)
At any rate, not needing Barracks or Stables frees up 25%-50% of your available lands for other buildings. Though one could still build Barracks for even faster attack times (and/or opt for the Tactician Personality), you CAN have too much of a good thing. Since most buildings, as well as magic and thievery defenses, are affected by your total land, rapid-fire land grabs can quickly leave you wide open - in this way, the -10% Attack Gains is actually a bonus. However, this combination can be a devastating asset for your Kingdom by focusing on non-traditional (Raze, Plunder, etc) attacks to weaken opponents during war.
Dwarves - Heavy Attacker or Attacker/Mage
Solid and stoic, Dwarves are good, all-around Attackers - and one of the few races who can benefit from an all-Elite army. Their +20% Building Efficiency can be a far greater boon than is readily apparent, and free construction frees up an active attacker's funds to maintain all-ELite forces. While they do have the weakest offensive Elite in the game, Stables bring them at least on par with Avians.
Their biggest liability is +50% food requirements - coupled with their -25% Thievery Effectiveness, a warring kingdom will usually open by stealing all your food reserves. Fortunately food has very little effect on Trade Balance, so this shouldn't prove too ostentatious a liability in an active Kingdom.
Elves - Attacker/Mage or Mage/Thief
With the changes for Age 53, Elves are strong contenders for A/M or M/T. Though lacking the attack time bonus of Avians, Elves can maintain Stables (which Avians can't) as well as having the second-least-expensive Elite in the game. Their bonuses to Mana Recovery and Spell Damage - in addition to their range of spells - enable an Elven A/M to deliver devastating one-two combinations against their targets. Though not the most potent as Attackers or Mages, they fare well as both and lack the liabilities other races have.
Faeries - Mage/Thief
No two ways about it - Faeries ROCK as M/Ts - having access to ALL spells as well as having +50% bonuses to both Magic and Thievery Effectiveness. Though some have been successful as Attackers, they have only their Offensive Specs to rely upon in this regard. (Even more difficult now that Magicians have been nerfed to 4/0.)
But as wonderful as that is, the combination of -10% Population and their $1000 defensive Elites make their economy (both Gold and Building Efficiency) difficult to manage. More Houses to offset the population loss means fewer jobs (and employed workers) to fund their province. Tree of Gold helps some in this regard, but can quickly burn through Mana and Runes.
Halflings - Attacker/Thief or Mage/Thief
The epitome of Thieves, Halflings have quite a lot going for them - 2/2 Soldiers (vs 1/1 for all other Races), 50% training cost for Thieves, +1 Stealth recovery, +10% Population (due to small size), and 100% accurate espionage during war. Their 5/6 Elite is among the weakest in the game, but also the least expensive - both to train and in NW value.
Like Dwarves, Halflings have the luxury of maintaining all-Elite armies, granting them unusual flexibility in their military conquests. They also have the advantage of offering 6-points of defense, making them a tougher nut to crack than most Races.
Their -20% Birth Rate can be a serious liability, particularly starting out, though a surplus of Houses and keeping Love & Peace active can offset this most of the time.
Humans - Heavy Attacker or Attacker/Thief
Though often viewed as the de-facto 'standard race', Humans hold a few unique distinctions in Utopia and present challenges for newer players. Their +30% Income frees them from needing Banks, as well as strongly offsetting the $800 training cost of their Elites - effectively reducing to cost to $615 (without Armories). With this in mind, their 4/0 Off Specs prove to be less of a liability.
Their +40% Thievery Damage makes a Human A/T a very nasty opponent during war, but is of lesser benefit other times - a difficult toss-up against their -20% Magic Effectiveness. Humans also have an easier time investing in Sciences - the +30% Income helping to invest and Tree of Knowledge garnering more Books to invest for the same cost.
Orcs - Heavy Attacker
One of the two races tailor-made as Heavy Attackers, Orcs live for battle. +25% extra gains (on all attacks) and free training credits for Elites are immense bonuses for active Attackers.
However, their -10% Building Efficiency (along with diminishing returns) makes it difficult to maintain an effective infrastructure - and the -50% penalties to Magic and Thievry ops means their Mages and Thieves are relegated mainly to defense. That being said, Orcs can instead opt to build Watchtowers to defend against enemy Thieves and instead keep a larger army to recover such losses by Pillaging.
Undead - Heavy Attacker or Attacker/Mage
The other tailor-made Heavy Attackers of Utopia, Undead have a number of notable advantages. They require no food (so no need for Farms), both spreads and is immune to the Plague (no need for Hospitals), suffer 50% fewer losses on attacks, and some 5/0 Offensive Specialists automatically upgrade to 9/3 Elites (the most powerful in the game) for free with successful land grabs.
Their -20% penalty to Sciences can be a serious detriment later in the round, and their thievery options are limited, but their formidibility in combat more than compensates for these liabilities (for the most part).
A Note About 'All-Elite' Forces:
The "benefit from an all-Elite army" has gone around and around since the very beginning of Utopia, but here's the overall gist from my perspective:
Defense Specs contribute 1 NW per DP - as such, a Dwarf Elite only has an 'overhead' of 1 NW (vs Specs) while a Halfling Elite has an 'overhead' of a mere 0.25 NW. "NW Inflation" by having all-Elite armies is minimal, particularly when the NW of their offensive value is taken into account (4.8 for Dwarves, 4.0 for Halflings). When this is factored in, Dwarf and Halfling Elites are actually undervalued by 3.7-3.75 NW per unit.
Where this becomes important is the extreme versatility in attacking. Apart from those gathered by Halflings, SoMs are inaccurate - you can never be 100% certain how many of those Elites are still at home. A small variance, to be sure, but often enough to turn aside an otherwise successful attack against you. Not to mention offering incredible defense when all your troops are home. Also, since Halfling and Dwarf elites are fairly balanced (between offense and defense), and can readily fill both roles, it's an easy enough matter to send a few extra to assure breaking a larger target (an option not available to Def Specs) or stay home as extra defense when attacking a weaker target (an option not available to Off Specs).
All other Elites in the game are either offense-heavy (such as Orcs, Undead, Humans, Avians, and Elves) or defense-heavy (such as Faeries) - lacking the inherent versatility and usefulness of Dwarven or Halfling Elites.
To further address the NW issue (using a Dwarf Attacker w/raw 60 OpA and 50 DpA):
- Established land contributes roughly 65gc/Acre NW
- Wizards, Thieves, etc adds roughly 15gc/Acre NW
- 18.57 Elites + 8.57 Horses adds 116.57gc/Acre NW
- 10 of each Spec + 10 Horses adds 106gc/Acre NW
That's a 10.57gc/Acre difference in NW.... of 196.57 - a mere 5.38% difference (with a LOT of troops and minimal Thieves, Wizzies, Science, and other assets). Not as significant as many would lead you to believe. True, one could shave it a bit by mixing Specs and Elites, but then you wouldn't have more than 100 DpA when your forces are home or as easily send a few extra forces to assure victory.
It's a trade-off, of course, but one that a great many are more than willing to make.
Personalities
Personalities are all positive, and there are two equally-valid philosophies in making this selection:
The first, most common, and generally recommended, is to select a Personality which builds atop the perks for a given Race - such as Human Merchant for a +82% total bonus to Income, Avian Tactician for 40.5% faster attacks, etc. As Topsy points out, perhaps a better description would be synergy - though not necessarily 'duplicating' effects between Race and Personality, the attributes combine to make the Province more effective in their chosen Role. Avian Cleric would be a good example: Combat losses factor in per attack, so meaning that more frequent attacking (due to -30% Attack Times) accumulates more losses in a given amount of time. Replacing losses can easily sap your economy, so a 50% reduction leaves you better funded in building up and defending your new acquisitions.
The second, less common but equally valid, is to select a Personality which counters a Racial liability - such as Undead Sage (the +20% and -20% modifiers to Science cancelling out), Dwarf Shepherd (bonus food production and immunity to Droughts countering the extra food consumption), etc.
Both approaches are valid, so it really comes down to where your priorities are based upon how you intend to play - emphasize your advantages or compensate for liabilities.
NOTICE:
Always keep in mind that (with VERY few exceptions) multiple modifiers to any given attribute are MULTIPLICATIVE, not ADDITIVE - which can cause a world of confusion. Using the aforementioned Avian Tactician as an example (with Barracks thrown in for good measure):
- Avian's -30% Attack Times = 0.7
- Tactician's -15% Attack Times = 0.85
- Max Barracks (-37.5%) = 0.625
Granted, this combo would reduce a 16-hour Attack Time to just under 6 hours, but that's a reduction of 62.81% rather than 82.5%.
The opposite is true when combining positive bonuses such as Human (+30% Income) Merchant (+40% Income): 1.3 x 1.4 = 1.82 or +82% Income.
Merchant
It goes without saying that money makes the world go around, and few know this quite so well as Merchants. One would have to dedicate more than a third of your lands to Banks to match the Income bonus - and even that wouldn't safeguard your funds from being Plundered or preserve day-to-day accounting during Riots or Plagues.
In general, this Personality is best suited for Heavy Attackers and players who can only sign on once a day.
Shepherd
The food bonus can be a powerful incentive, freeing up part (or, later in the game, all) of your Farms for more productive buildings, and the 30% discounts to building and exploring (equivalent to 15%-20% Mills) are nothing to sneeze at. But the bonus many overlook here is the immunity to Droughts, Storms, Dragons, and the Plague - effects which are generally the most damaging during war.
Best for explorers, and lacking the razzle-dazzle of some Personalities, Shepherd remains a useful all-around option for any Race/Role combo.
Sage
The true value of Sciences tends to vary from Age to Age, and some Races (Undead in Particular) have less incentive than others to invest. But, for those who plan to focus on utilizing Sciences to give their Province a decided edge, this is a strong contender.
Generally best suited for Mage/Thieves and Explorers, but a valid option for most any Province.
Rogue
An absolute must-have for anyone serious about Thievery - particularly Human and Halfling Attacker/Thieves - though a potent addition for Faery Mage/Thieves when combined with their access to all spells.
Mystic
As Rogue is to Thievery, so is Mystic to Mages. Elves and Faeries generally have the most to gain from this Personality, though it can also give Avian, Dwarf, or Undead Attacker/Mages a decidedly nasty bite.
Warrior
Hands-down a solid, reliable choice for any serious Attacker - fewer losses means less spent to replace them, the +10% Offensive Military Efficiency reduces the number of troops needed for attacks, and the +50% bonuses from Honor can be a major game-changer once things are well underway.
Causing 15% extra casualties to your enemies (both attack and defense) is just the icing on the cake.
Tactician
Though Orcs seem to have the most to gain from this Personality, this is a strong choice for any Heavy Attacker. The extra Building credits save money in making use of your newly-gained lands - which you can use 15% sooner - and the 30% bonuses to Specialist Credits and Training Time helps build the defensive forces to keep your gains.
Cleric
The 50% casualties (roughly equivalent to 25% Hospitals) is a godsend to anyone in the thick of things - defenders as well as attackers - and can save a world of money that would otherwise be spent replacing casualties. Not to mention the extra General which can add an additional 3% to your Military Efficiency or be used to launch an additional attack.
PS ~ I'll be updating this post as respondents point out places where information is lacking or incorrect (of which I am sure there are many), but this should at least be sufficient to get the ball rolling.
Age 53 Statistics:
For those interested, here are the most popular Race/Personality combinations in Age 53
Avian (14.02%)
29.11% Cleric
24.53% Warrior
19.75% Tactician
13.51% Merchant
Dwarf (2.29%)
52.87% Shepherd
13.38% Merchant
12.74% Sage
Elf (11.09%)
51.51% Mystic
15.37% Warrior
13.40% Sage
Faery (14.45%)
39.86% Rogue
29.16% Sage
22.81% Mystic
Halfling (8.89%)
50.33% Rogue
18.03% Sage
Human (16.31%)
33.42% Sage
22.25% Merchant
18.32% Rogue
Orc (5.66%)
36.24% Tactician
29.12% Cleric
20.88% Warrior
Undead (27.29%)
34.83% Tactician
28.58% Warrior
10.31% Cleric
Though the balance shifts every Age (often radically), Undead Attackers are the clear favorite for this round, followed by Human A/Ts, Faery M/Ts, and Avian Attackers. Notable absences (as in combos NO ONE selected) include Dwarf Rogue, Faery Tactician, and Orc Mystic (though Undead Sage and Shepherd have made a showing).
Generally speaking, 75% of all Provinces have an Attacker aspect, 45% have a Thief aspect, and 40% have a Mage aspect. (These numbers don't equal 100% because most Provinces run dual aspects - A/T, A/M, M/T, etc.)
The above figures shouldn't be taken as gospel - uncommon (aka 'stupid') combinations have shown unexpected strengths in the past - but the predominant options should serve to aid a newcomer in selecting a Race/Personality/Role combination likely to assure their first experiences in Utopia are reasonably fruitful.
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Originally Posted by Jo3MoMMa
