Has it really been 10+ years? Help a bro out.

[Zauper]

Thanks for the response, was informative!

So what came first? The chaining? Or the super-sized offenses?

When i played (believe me i hate referencing this like i am) we would micro chain, and follow up attacks but it was more because a particular prov or KD was 'fat' not to 'disable' them, that was for the TMs to do. Generally once you broke them they wouldn't send out again for fear of taking further losses. Now losses are expected, mandatory even. I understand some of this is a condition of reducing defenses, especially with all elite armies. I don't know if this achieved what they wanted it to though. Seems a large segment of the 'active' population left. I'd be interested in seeing how high NW KDs war and if it looks anything like it used to, i suspect it doesn't however.

Age 17/18 saw the emergence of Wolfpack Tactics and other, similar kds that relied on heavy chaining, which got adopted more and more by the top kds over time. In age 16, the quasi ghetto I was in was using NM-chain and peasant kill tactics to completely remove provinces from war.

I would say, however, that kds in the early ages didn't really war to grow -- they warred to destroy opponents. Wars were actually much more destructive in the single digits and even the teens than they are now, in spite of the chaining.

High offense has also always been a thing, though in the early teens and single digits there were other viable strategies -- stronghold/guard station based, or barracks based moreso than it always being about high offense. However, dynamic build efficiency -- introduced in age 27 -- has really prevented those kinds of strategies from emerging again because the value of a building declines as you run more of it.

The top growth kds are still generally acknowledged as the best/most talented kds in the game, but the post-fame honor world has lead to kds playing for honor and then purely for war, rather than just doing that in off ages.