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Thread: ~ StratO's Truck Stop: Age 74 Virtual Kingdom ~

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    ~ StratO's Truck Stop: Age 74 Virtual Kingdom ~

    Hello and welcome to The Virtual Kingdom, age 74.


    The PREMIER: Asia
    Bocan: rogue ~*Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
    Dwarf: war hero ~*Liver & Onions
    Elf: mystic ~*Sliced Turkey with Stuffing & Gravy*
    Human: sage ~ Manburger & Fries
    Orc: tactician ~ Pineapple Turnover

    The DELUXE: Eastern Europe
    Avian: paladin ~ Smoked Ham with Red-Eye Gravy
    Bocan: heretic ~*Jumbo Fried Shrimp
    Dark Elf: mystic ~*Pan Fried Catfish
    Dryad: warrior ~*French Toast & Canadian Bacon
    Orc: undead ~ Our World Famous Cinnamon Roll*

    The SPECIAL: Western Europe, HQ
    Bocan: rogue ~*Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
    Elf: sage ~*Blueberry Pancakes & Maple Syrup*
    Faery: paladin ~ *Spam & Slaw Sandwich*
    Faery: tactician ~ BLT sandwich & Tatertots*
    Human: undead ~ Mr. Bigs Breakfast Burrito *

    The CONTINENTAL: America
    Avian: undead ~*Corned Beef Hash
    Dark Elf: mystic ~*Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes
    Dryad: warrior ~*Fried Chicken & Waffles
    Dwarf: heretic ~*Steak & Eggs
    Orc: paladin ~ Ulster Irish Stew

    The PLAZA: Australia
    Avian: tactician ~*Arkansas Chop Suey
    Dwarf: sage ~ Beanie-Weenies*
    Elf: heretic ~ Spaghetti & Meatballs
    Faery: rogue ~ Toasted Western
    Human: war hero ~ The Big Rig Rueben*

    In this version my aim was to cross divisions with elements of the spearhead and assault units. This is due to the decided ops/sabotage resistance we are enjoying this age. So my endeavor for the t/ms sake was to work the ops into the elliptical wave rather than a concentrated force at particular predictable times. Some of these builds are both violent and fragile in the interest of potential impact.

    Your comments are welcome, and thank you for your time.

    Edit: I'm doing some switching with the Bocan and Dwarves to achieve certain balances. It occurred to me the Bocan war hero may find it hard to find focus other than honor whoring. Your mileage may vary. Switches are Premier Division Dwarf sage to war hero, Special Division Bocan war hero to rogue and Plaza Division Dwarf rogue to sage. The intent was to offer an HQ unit of more telling strength in the support role.

    Edit 2: General GMT(continents) was designated for each division to help clarify the synchronicity of the elliptical wave. These aren't confinements but act as a guide to optimum activity focus.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 07-12-2017 at 22:03.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
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    A big thank you to RattleHead for helping me through this TVK.

    I'm still browsing his version you'll find in the Strategy Forum.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

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    Forum Addict RattleHead's Avatar
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    Looks good. I like the Continental Menu myself!

    In general I like seeing the Paladin outside of a 'caster' role, (moreso last Age) it seems relegated to a support TM role, but I think it can be much more diverse than that.

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    Thank you.

    I'd have arranged the menu more sensibly, but work takes me away from my creative time. I also wanted to get The Virtual Kingdom out before another week passed. War and work make these things a little difficult.

    I'm running a paladin orc this round. I'm exploring the dimensions, as it appears to be a fairly elastic build. What can't be realized without experience I'll attempt to put together as the age progresses.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

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    With the advent of no stances this age we are now in live situations all age with the exception of eowcf.

    Because of the lack of stances my subtractions to the racial medley in The Virtual Kingdom were the Dryad and Dark Elf. This isn't necessarily that I don't see their role, it's more that the role required a deeper core count and the economic strain reduced kingdom flexibility.

    The Dryad can excel oow and thus the warrior designation(thx RattleHead) here is to offer as deep a reach into bottom feeding kingdoms as possible. Why is this important? Because the bottom feeding culture is reliable and offers an instant war in some cases. The Dryad warrior is not a deterrent, it's part of the intent to win wars by reducing enemies unbreakable potential.

    The Dark Elf economy is the biggest detractor to an otherwise high utility race. The reason I went with mystics for Dark Elf was to keep retooling efforts to a minimum and in war have one of the most devastating assault vehicles in the game.

    The Dark Elf and the Dryad both require a significant escort fleet to keep them upright in war. Enemies aren't keen on having the combination of deep offense and obliterating casters rampaging through their ranks. Despite the fact that we're only running 2 of each in The Virtual Kingdom, they aren't part of the same tactical sphere.

    The Dark Elf is actually part of the assault/interference that helps to push enemies away from the Dryad. The Dryad is part of the spearhead initiative. The Dryad shares status with the Elf Mystic, Sage and Heretic. There's a rather hazy line between hybrid and t/m this age, so the spearhead seems small yet is fortified with numerous backup scenarios.

    This age, creating pure spearhead divisions projected very brittle strats. Without stances this would result in entering wars in marginal shape in many cases. The premise here is to exert compound leverage on bottom feeders. So the spearhead is slight but sure and the massive clutch that supports the spearhead can go into action. So we're looking to crash their strength and push them to isolation. This is a philosophy I've used in province tactics. Like a predatory spider you grab them and drag them away to your lair. It's like cutting off the arm of a power lifter. He's badass but no match for other power lifters minus one arm. It's not the war you lose, it's the wars your enemy can no longer fight.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

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    Reflections on Assualt tactics

    If we look at the Continental Division the province out of place would be the Dryad Warrior. Unlike previous TVK spearhead division I've moved the working parts into assault divisions. The intent of the Dryad Warrior is to break enemy near unbreakables prelude to war. There's no expectation the Dryad Warrior will maintain constitution going into war. However, we devise ourselves around making the Dryad Warrior more difficult to dispatch by running interference.

    Interference/assault are close quarter tactics we use to break enemy objectives into less efficient and time consuming objectives. The initial quest of the Dryad is to break a hard defense. By breaking that hard defense the hope is to make the enemy more breakable to the orcs, the humans and then the avian. This is a spearhead by opportunity, not the focus. This is where command and control between 5 divisions operate.

    If the Continental Division achieves an opportunistic break on an enemy hard target then the "action" of spearheading takes place. This then pushes the initiative of the Plaza Division to run interference on enemy attackers. The practice is to collapse into the funnel created by the division that achieves breakthrough, thus pinning enemy counter measures into a narrow field.

    Let's move on to the assault, starting with the Dwarf Heretic. The Dwarf Heretic opens with Expose Thieves on the likely suspects and reports any cast difficulties. If cast difficulties are encountered, the Special Division(HQ) is notified and lays down a casting field appropriate to the encounter.

    Next, look at the DE mystic as a belt fed machine gun. We don't want the DE mystic dragging resources vulnerable to enemy sabotage, so we feed a nominal rune battery as the DE unleashes, let's say Nightmares on near enemy attacker(s). The DE mystic can exercise the option to concentrate NM or spread them out to maximize attacker taps. We always feed more than a cast requires. The Dwarf Heretic moves with sabotage and may or may not march depending on field status. We'd like the Dwarf Heretic to camp when possible.

    If enemy theft is well microed then the Orc Paladin takes action to crash the saboteur, and the Human Undead from the Special Division is dispatched to cover the Orc. If not the Orc Paladin attacks the interference target, followed by the Avian Undead.

    A word on targets: Assualt/interference targets generally fall into the category of enemy heavy attackers and attacker hybrids in near nw/acre range of TVK t/ms. Divisionally the objective is to push these potential dangers out of max effect range. This is not the end of our enemies offensive encounters. The objectives of an adjoining division might be to push those enemies out of their own max effect and thus results in a default chaining by incidental design. We can change intent on a dime if we sense blood in the water and the status is apparent to HQ.

    While the totality of actions seem sophisticated, remind yourself that the objectives are achieved within the division. In our example the complexities that face the division are then channeled to the Special(HQ) and Plaza Divisions as objectives. The order of battle is to take initiative tactically to serve the theater of war. What this is, pragmatically, is understanding the importance of winning battles room to room that dictate the pace of war. A war analogy would be a sniper holding back an infantry unit. We must have tactics in place to be snipers and counter snipers.

    When the decisions are conducted in real time between 5 people that understand each others tendencies we can sharpen our teamwork. Top kingdoms may have superior command and control, so all we can do is what we know in our wheelhouse. Keep it tight and be a conduit of opportunity.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 05-12-2017 at 22:29.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
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    Reflections 2: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

    Quickly I will add that plan A never works. In light of this we note that the Continental Division is perfectly capable of marching. The options to open the field around your mystic via zone, chain and cross-chain are all there. These actions could also be part of the initiative if for instance a breakthrough is achieved by another division. We can't depend on having a wealth of runes, mana or stealth so we imagine ourselves moving toward enemy weakness perpetually, while adapting to our own weakness.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

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    Forum Addict RattleHead's Avatar
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    I wish I had more to add... Excellent work.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RattleHead View Post
    I wish I had more to add... Excellent work.
    Thank you, but I gave your views great consideration. The only reason I kept one faery paladin was because I wanted a plague immune bottom feeder. In fact I'm still contemplating a shuffle that'd retain the paladin bottom feeder ability and improve the t/m core.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

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    Macro, Micro & Meta

    We know what it is but sometimes we don't know where. The simplest form of macro is evident in one of our most prolific whoring kingdoms, Emeriti. Currently rated number one in land, the phrase of the age is Orc Smash. On the surface this doesn't require study. We can see that orcs can hit deeper in nw and land not just because of their offense and gains bonus but also because their nw/elite is efficient in this function. Note also this is raw capability, with no two-stage presumptions based in mana/runes or dependence on soft variables.

    Emeriti macro objectives are to win the land crown. If we look into what they're doing different from the rest of us it's in how they maximize these strengths. They still retain the inherent weaknesses all orc core kingdoms experience, but the focus is the land gains. One hint of interest was that Emeriti was using a great number of conquest attacks in their war vs Frost Giants, a dwarf/faery kingdom. This in itself demonstrates the savvy of their approach. They perhaps calculated their gains within a given frame and would then withdrawal before those gains would recede. Winning wars is not their objective.

    We keep this knowledge so that we always have a fundamental position to work from. When in doubt we look at the best. We use our environmental perspective, but when we want land we point to Emeritis example on the chalkboard.

    I'd say the simplest way to look at micro is how macro supports your leverage. An example is in avian speed. While many simply look at avians as a way of gaining more attacks through volume there's a level of sophistication speed can provide. An observant player will note the specific strength in being faster than your opponent is in what you attack. Like a fighter jet with a tighter turn radius, you will find yourself capable of hitting your opponent twice inside their single unique. Once you've arrived here you can dismantle a single opponent piece by piece. You're not restricted to land gains because you can equalize your gains within the nw/land framework.
    I'll qualify my experience with avian tac in that I've gone on runs where I'll segment my attacks at roughly 1.5-2.5 ticks. That is one general with a defense breaking army every 2ish ticks. These were initially experiments in land fluidity, but I soon learned I could afford abducts(learns), massacres, razes or plunders.

    How did I use these?

    When facing an enemy avian tac I maximized my rax and stole gold to accelerate build. Once I had established a very slight margin being faster than the enemy avian tac I razed with one tap. This then gave me speed supremacy and I followed with general arson because there was a reduction in WT as well as rax. I continued my rax push and levied my gains through ambush. If you're working between your enemies uniques they can't ambush without leaving troops home. The difference in speed between trad march, ambush and alternative attack types allowed me to trad without exposure to ambush and use alternative(abduct, mass, plunder, raze) attacks when I would be exposed to ambush. Thus spreading my 4 attacks over a 7 tick spread, I dispatched my most dangerous opponent quickly.

    Things don't always go as planned and when they don't we look at the macro serving the micro first.

    Meta is by definition "above the game". We won't go into the existential meta like octo but we can look at something as simple as diplo. Again I'll refer to top kingdoms and their understanding of meta within my simple grasp. Top kingdom homes pump is a derivative of diplo. This is fundamental and aimed at the less informed player:

    The key to whoring-top-diplo is that the competitive ceiling is based on the biggest kingdom on down. It's more complicated due to player awareness and relationships, but the brass tacks are apparent. When you compete in the top your primary diplo is with the few kingdoms that compete for land. This keeps the number of kingdoms you CF within a tight neighborhood. This doesn't mean you don't do diplo elsewhere it's that the CF environment at the top allows for accelerated growth. By achieving size you gain bigger armies, the capacity to generate greater quantity of resources and reduce the number of kingdoms that can affect resources. Meta comes in the form of basic fear as well: small kingdoms might be afraid to screw with a kingdom that can raze kill them. So meta works both mechanically and psychologically.

    There are other forms of meta like sending mail to certain kingdoms to find out what personalities a given kingdom has without wasting stealth to find out. We're not here to discover all top kingdom secrets, but to simply give you an idea why top kingdoms are top kingdoms.

    It Is One

    All of these factors are interrelated. That's not compelling, but stated to address the way we perceive the game. The example in micro, with avian tac, is a very narrow example. A triumph over a single province isn't the point, it was a demonstration. The big picture is the elimination of the type of province(avian tac) that is dangerous to your heavy attackers.

    Perhaps chaining is necessary, perhaps not. The idea of how to get the best from the kingdom isn't in the definition. If we're chaining highest offense first while leaving relative dangers largely unaddressed we squander resources. You'll find yourselves in direct max range with enemies you know will march. So will many.

    The question is in the push. How much can we use efficiently and muster significant differences against the enemy? Many times we will ignore efficiency for effectiveness. There are times for it, but we should recognize it when we do.

    Many kingdoms ignore the basic morale of province safety and self sufficiency. The flaw of chaining "because you can" is responsible for many kingdoms wasting time and losing wars. These provinces that take part in the chain sometimes are victim to such glaring threats. Sure, the player might enjoy fighting in the mud but they often require significant and timely aid that might be better spent if the chain was avoided.

    Again, this doesn't mean you don't chain. But you might begin a chain from a mid tier position to open a zone. Then your tops max on the enemy tops instead of chaining, dropping them into your chain zone. At this point your top plays the zone, forcing any enemy down that crosses the nw/acre barrier designated by smart people.

    My belief system is in the feel of the situation. We can prep for scenarios but it's the action that requires here and now conscientiousness. Just to clarify a set of circumstances, you have your top attackers and a number of t/ms operate against enemy top attackers in an assault designed to create a difference in nw/acres from your top. Your midrange attackers might have instructions to chain highest offense/returning army/etc, while you bottom are max gains and one raze on large enemy attackers.

    ~ My best wishes to your enjoyment of Utopia ~
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 15-12-2017 at 20:40.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

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    Feeling Good About It

    Good about what? Your place in the game. Your kingdoms place in the game.

    There's a time when a small kingdom wins a war BIG and finds itself among the old savvy war kingdom ranks. All who've CF'd each other, looking down on this poor child....

    You need to do two things: get over your trepidation and take the initiative.

    The war tier is fairly proficient. They know what they're doing, but they don't always know what to expect. They know how to play hostile, but may not know where you will focus.

    Behold your enemy. Trust me, they'll try to drain resources to both take material necessary to challenge them and invoke fear. Don't let this control you.

    You are talking to a guy who builds pretty fat provinces that would be comedy gold in war kingdoms...but I fight and I probe for weakness. The fact I almost never have support isn't about me being frustrated. It's that I'm convinced that if I asked and received assistance in finding the creases in the enemies strategy that we would be in a position of dominance.

    I simply don't ask. Why? First, it's not my place, even though the welfare of my kingdom is my truest interest.
    Second, I enjoy the challenge. I'm driven in my half ass state of province management to overpower builds that should defeat mine.
    And third, it's that your people will let you know when they're ready. Success can be intoxicating and can lead to overconfidence. I'm not here to breed bully mentalities. By gifting the power of courage, proving to fellow players that there's nothing to fear, doesn't guarantee they won't become bottom feeders.

    I'm a product of independence. I've spent my most comfortable time in shell kingdoms and this is why I'm acutely aware of behavior. Because in a shell you're exposed to every tier of the game. How? You must retaliate to survive, and when you do you can out gain your opponents. You'll find it's wise to attack for acres when they abduct. You want to get range to push known aggressors away. This pulls you toward the next level of predators and it goes on and on...

    This subject of comfort and how we approach The Virtual Kingdom are part and parcel. The divisions are comfortable to me based on my experiences facing opponents from every tier. There are aspects that are important to me characteristically. The 5 player divisions offer the focus on objectives the way I think. I find most systems overkill which many see as good, that I see as squandering resources. When I look at the Premier division I'm comfortable that division can get things done. You'll note the matching set of paladin and undead in the 3 center divisions for crossover debilitation. Sure, plague can spread in somewhat uncontrolled fashion, but we have the weapon.

    Rest assured I realize from the outside The Virtual Kingdom looks like slop. My provinces look like slop and I expect visitors based on that notion. So you have to be of the mind that it's coming and that you will prevail. Not in some stoked roidrage but in the fuzzy comfort that you've been here before.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

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    Why This Way?

    Despite the range of tools and experience I see throughout the game, communication between operations and attackers isn't as fluid as it honestly should be. Psychologically, some don't want to be bothered to rubberneck what results one may yield from the actions of others.

    We get into protracted encounters where all we're doing is waiting for our number to come up, do our little dance and admire the work for a second. That's great, but keeping the enemy down requires more than sticking our hand up when it's our turn.

    The Band

    [while standing at the entrance to the Triple Rock church watching the service with much dancing and Hallelujah choruses, a heavenly light shines down on Jake and he has an epiphany]
    Jake: The band? The band.

    Most of us aren't from a classical background in music. The art of conducting is certainly a coveted skill, as is an orchestra that can perform the conductors commands. Instead of aligning our kingdom like an orchestra we're arranged into 5 separate bands. The HQ division isn't where the conductor resides it's where the muse resides: it offers an emphasis on the rhythm the kingdom will promote. The strength here is jazz, not classical.

    We want our t/ms working in proximity of the attackers. We want them to work in a symbiotic way to protect and empower each other. But why? Why this way and not another?

    This is an understanding of the micro. When you war a good kingdom you'll notice some of the debilitating steps they're taking while perhaps missing others. When we run kingdoms as conductors with little understanding of classical music we fall on our faces. We tend to make huge oversights in the strategic theater because somebody thinks "less is more" or simplicity is better than sophistication. Let your enemy worry about what seems sophisticated.

    There are fundamental causes to rise toward in war. There's nothing complicated about that. When you make huge, simple moves you often telegraph your intentions and offer your enemy a glimpse at your weaknesses. If no t/ms are targeted they might guess correctly you're one of those kingdoms that doesn't "get it". Thus, the enemy can play possum without revealing their true control of a situation. Why do they play possum? To reap maximum benefit from a sure victory. Letting you believe you're "in it" like Mayweather to McGregor. They can sculpt their kingdom in land and honor to be in exceptional shape for their next enemy.

    As an individual I'll probe for weaknesses myself. You'll know when you've poked the enemy where it hurts. In TVK it's not just me, the individual; now we have 5. Where I was only able to anger the giant we can now cripple the giant. This goes to the Bruce Lee philosophy: Be water my friend. 5 divisions of free flowing vs hard square offense and defense. Again, this isn't about being better, it's a way of taking students of the game and awakening their strategic initiative. Play on.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 23-12-2017 at 19:43.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

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    Thinking It Through

    Though the kingdom is segmented into divisions there's still crossover that can contribute to the overall strat. Faeries are gifted with the ability to share self spells so the breadth of capability was observed as advantageous. I'd have loved to have a faery sage, but we gain more kingdom capability by using sage elsewhere. The faery rogue can contribute revelations. The paladin can contribute a number of advantages including paladins inspiration to the economically stunted builds, and can hit after undead with plague immunity. The tac with invisibility can more easily grab intel on tough opponents and obviously grant clear sight to vulnerable targets.

    The elves offer the high penetration magic necessary to open the field for follow up ops and generate runes more efficiently. If elf sage seems an odd choice we need only observe the bottom feed environment to justify them as a conduit for top harassment. The intent is to force enemy aggressors into vulnerable situations. Unlike many players I'm of the belief you have to make the bottom feeder understand that you can and will war them if they overextend. We aren't pressed about being breakable by bigger kingdoms, we want bigger kingdoms to be breakable. And we don't just want to demonstrate that we can, we do break them. In the big picture you're creating a more hospitable diplomacy environment when you take the initiative away from the aggressor. Damage will be done on both sides and like most things worthwhile come at a price.

    Economy is an all encompassing concept. Why do we have 3 humans and 3 dwarves, but just 2 dryad and 2 dark elves? They're all fine builds in their own right. Humans are simply economic machines, so when we have undead, sage and war hero humans you can attribute these to the cardiovascular system of the kingdom. Dwarves can build in 6 ticks for free at 20% higher efficiency meaning their production vs build time is incomparable. Dwarves aren't sinking resources into their versatility. The dryads we have train 35% faster so we can yield real advantages by supporting them economically. By using our economy to bolster the high offensive potential of dryads we intend to keep them in tip-top shape out of war and able to break t/ms from larger bottom feeding kingdoms.

    So let's say a big kingdom hits ours with abduction. We can aim our dryads at their t/ms to abduct. If the big kingdom hits the dryads to get those scientists back we can hit those attackers with our dwarf and human sages. The yield is key in that the enemy has to lose more than they gain from their aggressive posture. This is only scientist. In giving us unfriendly the game begins on how we engage. Fundamentally the balance between gains and isolation are elemental. Maximum gains are worthless if they are easily won back, so the gains coincide with an eye toward securing the gains through isolation.

    Remember that heavily pumped enemy attackers are an economic limiter. This is why max gain opening waves can be devastating so long as the small kingdom understands the proverb of biting off more than they can chew. This is an incremental statement, not encompassing the entirety of a large kingdom. If the throat is too big to wrap your fangs around you grab an arm and don't let go. You may ask how this works into the economic synergy of the kingdom? This is about knowing what is economically sound throughout the age. Everybody wants to win wars, but we must learn how to concentrate on min time withdrawals with our interests in back2back wars. By dissecting a larger opponent, modifying builds and crushing particular segments per encounter you can render large kingdoms into hapless quagmires.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
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    Breaking The Chains

    The Figurative:

    The consequences of being a common war kingdom are that your subject to every kind of random. The most important are those from above your acre/nw rank. In the animal kingdom there's a chain of life that starts with elephant poop to a predictable curve toward largest predator. In Utopia you'll note this predictable animal law in action. I appeal to your human perseverance in looking at this as the thinking players challenge. What makes Utopia unique is that some of the most intellectually gifted players have tackled their egos and reside together in the highest ranked kingdoms. This does not mean there aren't geniuses among us. There are geniuses that simply have a difficult time communicating their complex thinking patterns to the rest of us. Maybe we don't know how to defeat larger, well organized kingdoms, but what if we get within proximity of these goliaths? Genius can require interest, and engaging other intelligent players in formidable kingdoms might ignite their competitive fires. That's a big maybe. So what's the default? Learning by doing.

    There's a book a friend gave me: 'Looking at a far Mountain' a study of kendo kata by Paul Budden

    Warring small to average sized kingdoms or kingdoms that offer you rhetorical challenges don't offer you the opportunity of epic victory or learning. Sure we war to keep the game fun but without taking the pilgrimage of facing unknown threats we can get limp and fall into tendencies that are easily countered by those who test their sharpness regularly. You must be humble and studious in your observations. You can't just say they were more active or they've got more offense etc. When I say studious I mean take intel; lots of diverse intel. Make it part of your plan.

    We aren't studying how to match our opponents, we're studying how to defeat them. We're studying for ages to come. A great linebacker philosophy is you don't tackle your opponent you tackle through your opponent. You must rethink why you chain without answering yourselves. How did this change the battlefield? Not just chaining but how you engage, what you engage, why, where, when....

    What are the economic systems that make strong kingdoms? Is it lower offensive losses, better use of thieves, a keen understanding of cause and effect? All these things come to mind and the complexity of how they function. Don't con yourselves into simple answers but attempt to reach simple solutions. If the solution is complicated then it is. We don't rationalize to achieve an ideal. This is about pragmatic kingdom thriving in an uphill environment.

    We go back to the fundamentals: which provinces can we break in 3 categories: tpa/wpa/attacking? If your opponent is immune to one you better think on that. If 2 they are a priority. If 3 they are an emergency. Mind you, an emergency can be like a wildfire. It's not something done in a day, but it is a problem that requires immediate and constant attention.

    Final Silly Thought: It's that I never looked at the gains formula, but it works for raze.

    Fine war kingdoms have been razing big attackers etc. from their chain position in the mud for many ages, and doing 3 max gains against other enemies in the chain mud for acres.

    Scenario ~ Enemy t/m has a cache of runes and yours were stolen by the enemy bocan. Logically we usually do massacres/raze but those runes are likely going to be used against attackers who are vulnerable to ops anyway. For whatever reason LS is a gamble and theft isn't cutting it because the enemy has CS etc.

    Well, how about a plunder from the bottom? Grab the runes, put them in capable hands and squander them on your enemies core.

    Sometimes we forget why keeping our chained in good working order matters. We should want to make them a liability to our enemy, not just a liability for ourselves. While plunder might seem narrow minded, this is a narrow situation that requires creative thinking. Yes, if we can continue blah, blah, blah massacre/raze is important, but....what about the functionality of our t/ms? Again, I've not looked at the mechanical liability but a warrior crashing a t/m with a plunder serves kingdom, kills enemy troops, deprives enemy of resources.
    Last edited by StratOcastle; 24-12-2017 at 20:25.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

  15. #15
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    How Do We Know?

    One thing I do is embrace a challenge idiom to not attack unprovoked by my own volition. Oh sure, I'll wave for a war but otherwise keep my army home.

    What I'm saying is I watch enemies take my intel and smash my armies at home. I watch all the training, the cost, the resources and time wasted wiped out. And then I retaliate, particularly if it's a powerful kingdom.

    Imagine if you will the sterling 25er. You know them. They are big, undefeated, perfectly built and prepared for your retaliation. This is who I retaliate without reservation. But why?

    Simulating what an actual challenge will be without accepting the burden of the disadvantage can be misleading. My endeavor is to unequivocally commit to the position of disadvantage so that my perseverance is evident to those who aggress me. There is no question in the victory. It is evident to both sides: for me, Utopia is a game I'm not playing at full potential. I fold for my kingdom unless my kingdom is folding, and that's the most important time to retaliate. Do you understand?

    Why the "me"? It begins with herd mentality. The herd runs away and accepts its losses. The herd always runs hoping for next time. When we want to change kingdoms it begins with changing perspectives. What I've said might seem egotistical but my point is: if I'm driven to retaliate powerful kingdoms in superior position after they have hit me, then you can do much more.

    Now turn into this:

    You're looking for powerful kingdoms to engage.
    You will hit them first.
    You will persevere because you have survived their aggression.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bishop View Post
    Correct me then, instead of being a dick about it.
    love that thick mahogany back with no belly carve or anything...pure thick wood ! The thing ROCK is made of !
    ________
    Weed bowls

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...+say&FORM=VDRE

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