Balseraphs Walkthrough

Hi! After reading a bit, I thought that it may be easier if I had a more detailed and game specific guidance on how to start playing FfH2. I started a new game (this time it's not Erebus mapscript) and would like to learn to play with your help.

This is our leader.


The settings.


The start.


Where should I settle? What should I research?

I've updated the initial save to version "i".

I see 3 good options for settling (in 2 places).

1) Quick settling: the closest tile to the southeast, there you'll get a riverside town near pig (faster growth from the start), with a cotton avaliable in the 2nd ring and an access to the water buildings.

2) Quite obviously a better place would be near that gold. There're two options: either settle down on the forested hill or on the tile directly to the left.
If you settle on the hill, you get +25% defence in the city. If you go 1 tile to the left you lose the defence bonus but instead you get a plains hill which gives a good production with a mine (but probably, looking closer, that tile in the fog of war is a hill too, then you should go straight there without any thinking).
Also there're 3 floodplains which are awesome for cottaging (probably 1 will be a farm) and there'll be an incense (not avaliable soon, but still nets a nice yield).
Also you shouldn't neglect the fact that there you will be deeper in the continent thus it allows more space around the capital for other cities = less maintance for the distance from the palace. I always prefer to have my capitain inside of an island/continent and not on an edge.

I think the tile to the left of the forested hill is the best option. Beeline education and build cottages over the floodplains, after education go for mysticism for a God King or for mining for the gold (+ 1 and nice monetary/research boost).

Leave the place to the south-east of your current settler position for the 2nd city (unless you find a better place inside of the continent).

Settle on the Forested Plains Hill to your Direct west. Research Education then Mysticism.

i agree with Deon: one to the left of that forested hill would be best. Check how long that river is though, the longer the better

Choosing Perpentach may seem like not the best thing to do when you're learning how to play : be warned his traits randomly change during the game. So don't rely to much on those you have, and use the bonuses they give you the sooner possible.

Sidney Magal said:

On a side note, I've seen people talking about patches. How do I get to know what version I'm running? If I upgrade to the newest patch, will I still be able to play maps I already started?

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This is the current patch, patch I. The current FFH version used to be in one corner of the main menu. If theres no letter beside the version number, you're on the unpatched vrer and need to patch up as soon as possible! Yes, patch upgrading often breaks save games.
http://kael.civfanatics.net/files/FfH2041i.exe


Regarding the game you posted, theres really only one possible first turn move. Move on to that Plains/Forested hill to your west beside the flood plains and river. Depending on what you find, you may or may not settle on it. Your first settler has bonus vision and from the top of that hill you'll probably be able to see the best spot for your capital and maybe as many as 4 other good city positions. The decision about where to actually put the city will depend on how much production you can get. If you settle on a plains/hill your capital will get +1free hammer forever, but there may only be one other hill in the area so you won't be able to have very high production in the capital until you research Archery which will give you Lumber mills. Those 4 Plains/Forest tiles could take lumbermills quite nicely.

As you saw in your last game research times are long. This means any starting positions with high commerce resources are very strong. Look at that one on the left there - Incense on plains, gold, river, multiple floodplains. Thats a game winner right there. A size 4 city working two flood plains + Incense and Gold could be making about 28 commerce right there, or 3 times what your whole empire last game was. Thats without cottages.

So that should influence your game plan. Research Calendar first so you can adopt Agrarian civic and start working that Incense. Research Crafting second - then you'll have to decide whether its more important to be able to build a monument for culture in your second city or start working that Gold, so you'll research Ancient Chants and Mining in the order you think important. After that, Education so you can put down some Cottages on all those river/plains tiles.

After that its a bit difficult to guess from this stage of the game!

Sidney could you attach your turn 1 save, I'd like to do a test.

Sidney Magal said:

Where should I settle?

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On the plains hill three squares west of your settler. Three floodplains, gold, and incense = mega commerce. Two hammers instead of one from your city square = a significant boost to your early game production.

Sidney Magal said:

What should I research?

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Unfortunately, the resources require three different paths: you probably want cottages on your floodplains (requires education), a mine on your gold (requires mining), and a plantation on your incense (requires calendar). I would recommend going for calendar first, since it's on the path for festivals, which will let you build freaks and freak shows. Then mining, since it will reveal copper and let you work the gold. If you have copper nearby, go for bronze working next, and connect the copper.

Sidney Magal said:

On a side note, I've seen people talking about patches. How do I get to know what version I'm running?

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Look at the Readme 041.rtf file in the Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Mods\Fall From Heaven 2 folder. The second line should give your current version (latest is .041i).

Sidney Magal said:

If I upgrade to the newest patch, will I still be able to play maps I already started?

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Probably not, unless you're only going up one letter (from "h" to "i"). Check the first post in the bug thread, and look for the dreaded words, "will break save games."

I agree with the Plains Hill 3W of your settler. I would go for Calendar first to build a plantation on that incense, then Mining to get the gold. Build farms on the floodplains(not cottages, as is often done in BtS) and possibly grassland tiles as well. Switch to Agarianism once you research Calendar. You can build farms on the plains, but they will be less useful then the grassland/floodplains ones. I would build cottages or even workshops on them.

Festivals is more important than normal for the Balserphs, because it enables Freaks. Freaks cost the same as Swordsmen and Archers, and can be upgraded for 5 gold. What makes them useful is they start Mutated. Mutations give a wide range of promotions, some of which are very useful and some of which are very bad. Bad freaks can be sacrificed for extra happiness, while good ones should be added to your army.

Once you get your economy up and running, you have to decide what you want to do. For most new players, I recommend going up the melee line, as it is most similar to BtS combat. To make things even nicer, one of the Balserph's UUs, the Mimic, can steal promotions from other units you defeat in combat. On the other have, the Arcane line(which is much more complex and hard to understand) allows a neat trick with the Balserphs; Domination spam. By summoning puppers, you can attempt to Dominate units without risking your actual Archmage or Hero. A Dominated unit joins your army, no combat involved, with all his promotions and abilities. You can even steal other civilization's heros this way.

Humakty said:

Choosing Perpentach may seem like not the best thing to do when you're learning how to play : be warned his traits randomly change during the game. So don't rely to much on those you have, and use the bonuses they give you the sooner possible.

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It's alright. I guess it can help me understand FfH's traits a little better.

Senethro said:

This is the current patch, patch I. The current FFH version used to be in one corner of the main menu. If theres no letter beside the version number, you're on the unpatched vrer and need to patch up as soon as possible!

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Man, I'm running version "d".

After that its a bit difficult to guess from this stage of the game!

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I'll play according to what's being suggested. Calendar, Education, then I guess Mining. I'll probably settle on the plains hills, unless something very good shows there. But shouldn't I be prioritizing food instead of commerce?

Bill Bisco said:

Sidney could you attach your turn 1 save, I'd like to do a test.

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It's already there in the OP. BTW, can anyone try to open it in the patched game? If it doesn't work, I can always change it to a WB file, can't I?

Thanks everybody for the help so far. I guess I'll convert it to a WB save and patch my game first then I'll start playing.

Sidney Magal said:

But shouldn't I be prioritizing food instead of commerce?

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With Tech:Calendar comes Civic:Agrarian which gives +1 Food per farm and -1 Hammer per farm. This makes Grassland/FLood plain farms better and Plains farms different. Its so good that you might even find yourself farming on Pigs or Bananas sometimes as you get more food that way. It also causes the biggest difference in city placement from BTS. In BTS everyone places cities to maximise food resources so cities grow quickly. In FFH, you only need fresh water and terrain you can farm.

I've just patched and the initial save was broken. Fortunately, I was able to convert it to a WB save so I was able to start again. The new saved file is already in the OP. I'll start playing now.

I agree that you'll eventually want to cottage the floodplains, but I think that's a mistake at the start. Your capital needs to push out settlers, and Farms + Agrarian is a great way to do that when you've got flood plains and grassland to farm. I would research Calendar> Crafting> Mining> Ancients Chants> Mysticism> Education.

Alright, so I started playing the game and went to turn 76.

Following everyone's advice, I moved my settler to the plains hills west of the original location. Turns out it was a great call because I met a neighbor between the turns.

What's his personality like? Should I expect an attack at any moment? They are close, oh yeah, they are.

I settled the city there to block them. I have blocked a big area for the Balseraphs. You'll see it in a while. Meanwhile, my traits changed three times. I don't remember exactly, but I think I'm Industrious, Raider and Philosophical now. I was there, improving the land when I noticed something a little odd.

That made me start building some more warriors because I don't feel like getting killed already. That was good because the barbarians have just started to enter my land. I already killed a warrior and have another one to be killed as of the save. I got a free monument in an event. Anyway, this is where we are now:

Our two cities.


The land.


This is the demographics. Doing well economically, but still weak.


The research was:

1. Calendar
2. Crafting
3. Mining
4. Animal Husbandry
5. Ancient Chants
6. Education
7. started Festivals

Do I finish Festivals? It lets me build freaks, but they are as strong as warriors so I don't know if it's worth it. After it, what should the research be? Regarding expansion, am I being too slow? Does what I'm doing sound right?

Oh yeah, I forgot. I changed civics to Agrarianism and Apprentice something.

Thanks everyone in advance. The save is attached. (Patch "i")

This is awesome-ly helpful! I feel like such a fool because I almost always settle on the first turn and rarely move very far... even though I play on Marathon speed. I'm just stuck in my ways sometimes.

One of the big advantages of freaks is that you don't need to build monuments. Just pick a freak you don't like and sacrifice him for a freak show: +2 culture and +1 happy! This lets you build a (better) monument for your new cities in a high production city, instead of limping along for 30 turns building a monument. A freak show in your capital will help push the borders against Prespur.

For future reference, animal husbandry is a so-so tech and should have come a lot later in your list.

The lack of copper is a bummer. You could push along to smelting, hoping iron will appear, or go for Way of the Earthmother and Arete for guaranteed iron with the Mines of Gal-Dur. Next research priority should be Code of Laws, though, for Aristocracy. That will give you tons of money with all your farms.

Your expansion could be faster, but you're not terribly behind or anything.

You've had the starter, now for the main course. You need to pick a military specialisation (melee units, mounted units, arcane units, religious units), an economy, and a religion.

Military: FFH is designed such that its better to specialise in a few unit types, rather than try to do everything. You need a rank-and-file unit that get a good conversion of hammers spent into enemies killed - melee, mounted and very rarely recon units may be your options here. You then need support units that are usually designed to crack cities or support your offense - Catapults, the magic line, the priest line. Depending on if you have Arcane trait or Spiritual trait at the relevent time, your choice may vary.
For a new player I'd suggest melee units (Bronze Working), Siege (Construction) and priests (get a religion, Priesthood tech).

Economy: There are two main economy types for the mid game - City States/Cottages and Aristo-grarian. Late-game they both merge into a big messy specialist economy. City States is a civic that will halve your maintenance costs allowing you to really spam cities everywhere for cheap, and most of what you'll build in their radii are cottages. Aristograrian requires more rivers and grasslands than you've got and involves picking civics of Aristocracy(farmsget -1food +2commerce), Agrarian(farms +1food), grabbing all the techs that boost farms and happiness, and using farms as the main income for your economy.

Religion: This is your call, but I'm going to suggest the Overlords (founded with Message from the Deep tech). Your map looks very coastal so Overlords giving you access to soggy zombies that walk underwater and mad priests with a tidal wave spell would work for me. Would you want to do an amphibious assault on Prespur where at the touch of a button all units inside are reduced to half health?

Freaks: Freaks are generated with a bunch of random promotions - some good, some bad. They're more expensive than warriors for the same strength, but they can upgrade for 5 gold into some of the more advanced units while keeping their random promotions. If you get bad freaks you can get rid of them at the Arena building (a barracks replacement unique building) where they either die for the entertainment of your city, or survive and get bonus XP. With enough XP even a bad freak is worth keeping.

Edit: Hadn't noticed there was no copper. Maybe mounted units would be better than melee then.

Ugh... I am not a fan of that second city placement, but it will have to do. I'd get on a settler or two ASAP after Loki to backfill cities. Send LOKI directly at the Calabim and use his "Disrupt" spell to destroy or capture their new cities without combat or war. If you do it too much though you will lose all relation with them so be careful.

Keep an eye on your power graph. If you start really dropping militarially then switch from freaks to warriors. Yes freaks are generally better, but they take almost twice as long to build if not longer (I can't recall). If you keep your power comprable to Flauros and consistently eliminate his cities you should have no problems knocking him out of the game completely.

EDIT: FYI, I'd put your next city south of the southernmost cotton resource. With no copper you're best bet for military is those horses and a roving band of four or five horsemen.

Senethro, those are things for me to think about. I'll be doing some civilopedia reading later. Thanks.

Feyd Rautha said:

Ugh... I am not a fan of that second city placement, but it will have to do. I'd get on a settler or two ASAP after Loki to backfill cities.

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Yeah, I will hurry the next settlers. I like your cotton / horse town idea. Why do you not like the second city? It has pig and floodplains. I was between the fps or the southwestern clam for it. It would be a very nice city in BTS. Any reason why it's not so hot here? I'm honestly trying to learn here.

Send LOKI directly at the Calabim and use his "Disrupt" spell to destroy or capture their new cities without combat or war. If you do it too much though you will lose all relation with them so be careful.

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How does Loki work when it comes to flipping cities? Can I flip their capital?

Regarding leader personalities, does anyone know which XML file I should read to get a better idea of how they act? Something like the Civ4LeaderHeadInfos.xml of BTS.

Sidney Magal said:

Yeah, I will hurry the next settlers. I like your cotton / horse town idea. Why do you not like the second city? It has pig and floodplains. I was between the fps or the southwestern clam for it. It would be a very nice city in BTS. Any reason why it's not so hot here? I'm honestly trying to learn here.

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I would have gone southwest and settled to get those clams, still get the pig, and not give up the entire top third of your BFC. I am not one that really loads my cities in tightly, however, preferring to give space if it means a marginally better city. Overall I may lose one city in the tradeoff, but all my cities have a bit better individual BFC. Regardless, you had three extra spots available if you'd just gone ONE southwest. If it is because the spot was a desert you need to realize that in FFH you get terraforming magic that can make a desert into a plains and a plains into a grassland.

Sidney Magal said:

How does Loki work when it comes to flipping cities? Can I flip their capital?

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Loki's "disrupt" spell will subtract 2 culture from the city. If it has no culture then it will flip for you instead. Really this only works until the city gets a religion or monument. If you see him moving a settler across his lands, though, you can get a freebie or at least raze the one he founds if you hit it right away. In a previous game as the Belseraphs I used Loki to utterly slaughter two of my direct neighbors. They would found a city, I'd raze it, they would be stuck for another 30 turns building a settler. Add to that the fact that I had popped hunting from a hut and picked up a bunch of bears and spiders and they couldn't do anything. And all this while still at peace...