Unconventional Extreme game tips...

[Kaivian]

I could maybe write a guide, but I have some tips (and would like to hear yours). Mostly nonobvioius stuff.

1. Early game (first two years) it's better for one villager to die to neutrals than to have many slightly injured ones.

2. During a blizzard, you might as well throw villagers on money/lore/fame because food and wood production is close to 0 anyways (regardless if you'll hit starvation or not).

3. Villagers can be quite a force if sent in simultaneously. Trickle in a few at a time (like at ghosts) and they're worthless.

4. The defensive war strategy for both ox and dragon is a huge boon for the extra unit slots off defense towers (a bit counter intuitive...)

5. The conquest bonus that gives starting warriors can cripple your early economy. However, if you immediately turn them into peasants, you've just jumoed your economy forward a couple of months.

6. Be flexible with your build orders, especially in conquest and with different clans. Sometimes an early shipyard and iron mine can mean a very early warchief. Sometimes a fast warrior to clear a good tile with some low wolves is worth a quick rush.

7. You can "chip away" at tiles by positioning your units close to an edge with a nearby neutral. You can often killa wolf before another wolf from the other side of the tile can run to you. Then, you run back, heal, and repeat when able.

8. Pay attention to the stone and iron near you early game. If there's just one stone mine, you might upgrade just your townhall and save the rest to build an alter of kings. If there's a lot of stone, you can upgrade a bunch if things.

9. Likewise with Iron, if there's a ton of it you might upgrade smith tools, miner tools early on. If there isn't, don't bother!

10. On extreme conquest... map matters a lot more. Frequently there's not enough food and no forest. I've had maps with zero food sources adjacent. If a map has just two food sources within tiles 2 away, it's probably impossible or will take you so many extra years, you should just restart. The computer quickly builds a huge army and 2 food sources just doesn't allow you to field a large enough army.

10b. Likewise, certain maps are layed out terribly or perfectly for a scenario. I've had the same scenario on two different maps, where one was virtually impossible and the other was handily won with no effort. Specifically Yggdrisil (never even seen a map with enough food sources nearby to store enough food on extreme), Frozen Gates, Incasion from Hellheim, Muspell's wrath are all very dependent on map setup.

(I had a Frozen gates where both computers were closer to all the gates than I was and they deflected many of the attacks meant for me into their own zones, eventually killung them outright).

There's more, I'll add as I remember them.

[RageOfPerun]

Wood is the most important resource in the 1st year, get 2 Woodcutters ASAP.. I usually go for Scout, House/Wood, Wood.. etc.

and dont worry about running out of Food the 1st winter(I mean dont go below 0 but dont worry about eating everything)

[Wyrtt]

Originally posted by RageOfPerun:

Wood is the most important resource in the 1st year, get 2 Woodcutters ASAP.. I usually go for Scout, House/Wood, Wood.. etc.

and dont worry about running out of Food the 1st winter(I mean dont go below 0 but dont worry about eating everything)

House is a mistake though. Better eat up that cap and get wood fast. Someone gets hurt by a wolf anyway so you might as well kill that useless 6th guy/

[vipersan]

Originally posted by Kaivian:

5. The conquest bonus that gives starting warriors can cripple your early economy. However, if you immediately turn them into peasants, you've just jumoed your economy forward a couple of months.

Can you elaborate on this point, please?
Because in my experience, it does cripple your early economy and immediate turning that person into villager does nothing positive for your economy. It is better to start without that warrior in any case unless you willingly start with a bit of economy handicap.

The warrior is not one extra person at start, if I remember correctly. You actually start with one less vilager because of that bonus and no matter what, you will take a blow to your early economy.

[Kaivian]

Originally posted by vipersan:

Can you elaborate on this point, please?

You still start with 4 villagers (3 if dragon). I've tested this recently.

Villagers are 4 food collection, .75 food consumption during the first summer. Since you can have +1 or +2 warriors, if you immediately turn them into villagers, it's the equivalent of getting your 5 and 6th villagers months ahead of time. That means you can grab your first unguarded tiles faster and dedicate more specialists sooner to woodcutters hut, scout camp, lore pillar, etc.

Don't get me wrong though, it's still a B or C tier bonus. But if your choice is heralds production, smith production, or warriors, I'd go for the warriors, personally. Stronger starts are good.

A tier bonuses, if your curious, are generally the +resource generation ones, the "Free" weapons for any military units you are using, X building doesn't take a slot (if a building you build several of, food silos or for bear clan, shield bearer camps, are good examples).

[RageOfPerun]

Upgrade Healers at Forge = 15% Food gathering, then make lots of Healers :) its always good to have as many healers as you can(except for Bore Clan they do Lore)

[Bomjus]

Originally posted by RageOfPerun:

Upgrade Healers at Forge = 15% Food gathering, then make lots of Healers :) its always good to have as many healers as you can(except for Bore Clan they do Lore)

does an upgraded healer, with no upgraded silo in tile, make more than a regular villager in a tile with an upgraded silo?

[vipersan]

Originally posted by Fortytudo:

Lol no, you dont start with 1 less villager.

Originally posted by Kaivian:

You still start with 4 villagers (3 if dragon). I've tested this recently.[/quote]

Yeah, I get all this calculation. It makes perfect sense. It's just that, I was really sure, I remembered you got one villager less at start, because he was a warrior :). Maybe that was changed or I just have really bad memory (which I would not be surprised, since I've been having some age related issues these days, LOL).

Thank you both for this. I think it can be usefull indeed.

Originally posted by Bomjus1:

Originally posted by RageOfPerun:

Upgrade Healers at Forge = 15% Food gathering, then make lots of Healers :) its always good to have as many healers as you can(except for Bore Clan they do Lore)

does an upgraded healer, with no upgraded silo in tile, make more than a regular villager in a tile with an upgraded silo?

I think there is no bonus to regular villagers from food silo (upgraded or not) except for Stag conquest second bonus?? And same goes for healers. They also don't get bonus from silo anymore, I think.

[mark.r.hendrickson]

Little help. The description of blizzard is that it reduces all production. Wouldn’t it reduce lore production as well? Does it?

[RageOfPerun]

Originally posted by mark.r.hendrickson:

Little help. The description of blizzard is that it reduces all production. Wouldn’t it reduce lore production as well? Does it?

no just Food everything else is normal (wood usage goes way up)

[mark.r.hendrickson]

Not a single piece of advice put out on this forum but someone disputes it. Is this Mount Horeb or what?

[mark.r.hendrickson]

If you’re right, I want rageofperun to cease and desist. That’s what I want.

But the big takeaway I get is that winter is a good time to build. Thanks.

[RageOfPerun]

Originally posted by mark.r.hendrickson:

If you’re right, I want rageofperun to cease and desist. That’s what I want.

No I shall NOT!

[Salmon Snake]

Originally posted by Fortytudo:

Originally posted by mark.r.hendrickson:

If you’re right, I want rageofperun to cease and desist. That’s what I want.

But the big takeaway I get is that winter is a good time to build. Thanks.

Its a good time to build, mine and forge because outside of Blizzard only wood+food production is getting a penalty. During blizzard everything that is considered villager-production getting a penalty.

Only food gets a penaulty, wood is just consumed at a higher rate, you still gather wood at the normal rate.

[Kaivian]

Blizzard penalty:

So penalties are multiplicative. I'd rather be getting 50% lore than 10% food... So unless you're clan of the bear, have Freya, Winter Festival, and Hearthstone (effectively negating the winter portion of the penalty), Blizzard reduces food more than others.

Also, it appears sailors are affected less (or maybe not at all) from Blizzard, at least as far as I saw.