General starting tips for a noob?

[Hooch]

I'm playing only on the Beginner's level. I'm new to the Eador games.

I think the trouble I keep running into is that I spread myself too thin and the enemy "local lord" is able to take my lands pretty quickly and easily. Him conquering my lands and me overspending in the beginning is probably what is resulting in this problem.

I find myself with a shortage of gold...so to avoid this...as far as I can tell..I should:

1) not overspend in production of buildings in my fortress
2) protect the lands I've conqured w/ hired troops

If both are correct then....

1) Which buildings should be a priority? How do you know when to buy other buildings? Should I focus on military buildings first? Are there income generating buildings?

2) Should I purchase troops to guard each province? All that seems to be available are militia units (and they are for 30g). How do I get other types of armies to guard those provinces and perhaps more importantly...should I hire other troops besides just the militia?

[mbpopolano24]

First tip: don't get frustrated at the beginning, take your time to learn this beautiful game. I got my ass kicked (a lot) at the beginning, it is OK.

Second tip: please go the official forum, there are a lot of people who will be glad to help you.

About your questions:

1) Balance spending. At the beginning, it is better to invest on the right equipment for your hero; don't forget about developing the economy; it is a delicate balance but you will soon get the hand of it.
2) Playing with the Warrior is probably the easiest way to start. A warrior does not need an expensive army, and a high level warrior with the right equipment can win a lot (if not most) battles by himself.
3) Do not waste money on guards. The enemy AI will always win (unless you have very high level guards, which usually are difficult to find and VERY expensive) and will get valuable experience in doing so; so let the enemy have a free path to you castle, catch him there and destroy him; then launch an attack to his territory (having a primary and secondary heroes will help immensely, but I don't want to get into that here).

Hope this helps a bit. Most importantly, just play to have fun and learn the game. You'll see that even 'impossible battles' will be easy to win employing the right tactic.

[Hooch]

Thanks for the tips.

One last question...you said "don't forget about developing the economy"....how do you do so? Via building or via conquest?

[mbpopolano24]

Both. You can build improvements in your castle and in the province. These buildings will give you from +1 gold to a lot more (later in the game). But the main source of income is probably defeating monsters you found in provinces when exploring. The amount of resources (gold and gems, sometimes artifacts and spells) you get is related to the level of the monster. So more gold = stronger monsters. There are also random event that can give you money (or take money away, sadly).

[Hooch]

Holy crap. I can't win on the first shard regardless of strategy. I chose a tiny shard that yields only 2 energy (forest) thinking it would be easier than a larger one.

But no matter what I do, the AI, despite being on beginner, completely pwns me. I had thought that with the setting being on beginner there would be advantages given to the player (me). I see nothing "beginnerish" about this level whatsoever. It's an extremely difficult game...

[Percopius]

You'll get it, trust me.

[Hooch]

Doubtful. Just got rocked again on a smaller shard that yielded only 1 energy. I may give it 1 last go before I uninstall this and regret the purchase.

There are so many other games on the market that it is difficult to stay interested in one that is so off-balance play wise. Reminds me of Majesty 2 and the lack of difficulty setting it had.

[buchecker]

Originally posted by Aionion:

Doubtful. Just got rocked again on a smaller shard that yielded only 1 energy. I may give it 1 last go before I uninstall this and regret the purchase.

There are so many other games on the market that it is difficult to stay interested in one that is so off-balance play wise. Reminds me of Majesty 2 and the lack of difficulty setting it had.

I thought it was off balance too. Try to learn the encounters and what the monsters can do, focus on defeating the easy ones and dont overextend.

If you want a good allround party use Scout Hero with Shamans. The Shamans have magic ranged damage which very few monsters have high resistence against. They especially make short work of Undead. The Scout can focus on the few ranged troops that have longer range than shamans and should focus on pathfinding skills and damage when leveling up.

[GreenFeline]

Originally posted by Aionion:

Doubtful. Just got rocked again on a smaller shard that yielded only 1 energy. I may give it 1 last go before I uninstall this and regret the purchase.

There are so many other games on the market that it is difficult to stay interested in one that is so off-balance play wise. Reminds me of Majesty 2 and the lack of difficulty setting it had.

I got wasted my first shard as well, but then I picked the warrior hero for my next try and things are going MUCH better, the guys a walking tank, even at lower levels...combine this with some decent equipment and troops and you should have a good start. Then I picked a second hero(scout) to help out when I had a good economy going and could easily afford it.

Also pay a lot of attention to how hard your hero thinks the battle is going to be, if it even sounds like its gonna be hard, retreat and come back later once you gained some levels.

Also not sure what you mean about the lack of difficulty setting, its hard to miss.

[Jayman]

warrior is the best imo when you don't have access to great stuff and can do well with basic equipment and some level ups. a commander needs good units, a wizard needs good spells, and a scout is a bit of a hybrid although less dependant than those two on either units or spells. once you unlock better units and good spells, the other heroes will be more useful. if you do go wizard and don't mind being considered "evil", summoning/necromancy is strong.

[Percopius]

I used a Commnader first, then a Warrior for teamwork. You have to have two early, to level the second. You don' t need to expand much at first, just explore your home province and kill easy targets. Expand slow and level up heros, add gold producing buildings, make just 2 unit, for me Barbarians and Shamans, equal split. First time I had to directly kill the lord I sacrficed my Warrior to soften him up for my Commander. He never recovered completely, I recovered very quickly making a bee line for his stronghold, while he was taking territory, with my Warrior nearby to slow down. Seige for 4 turns, Lord is one province away, I Assault, there is NO ONE THERE, I win!

[Percopius]

This was on beginner :) Tough, tough game.

[Kauzu]

I've only played a few hours, but I've been able to handle most basic encounters using a wizard focusing on necromancy. Skeletons have no defense but they move fast and hit reasonably hard. Using ranged troops and magic arrow I can usually have one out on turn two. They can also act immediately after being summoned.

[Shad]

If you're struggling, try to have a warrior starting hero - they have the easiest learning curve and small staring costs and if you find decent items they pwn everthing on early shards.

[buchecker]

Originally posted by jayman:

and a scout is a bit of a hybrid although less dependant than those two on either units or spells

How is the Scout a Hybrid? Hes a Sniper that doesnt have to use Magic at all. Actually hes probably the best Hero to kill Dragons(which are immune to Magic).

[Tyr]

Hardly changes the fact that Beginner is too hard. Beginner is Beginner, it should be very easy, you learn the game as you advance to higher difficulties. Getting 3 slugs that own your hero in 3 rounds on turn 1 is retarded.