Being Evil responsibly? Just got pwned by Stephanos as the Sheaim
- Thread starter Cliftor
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And at what point should I, as the Sheiam, research infernal pact? Since, that, in itself, ranks up the AC, which can severely weaken me if im not ready.
Bill Bisco
Callous Calling
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Planar Gates aren't that great. They're very costly for little return. You could build several troops for the cost of a Planar Gate.
AV is good due to Sacrifice the weak and Ritualists. I wouldn't focus on pumping the AC at all. The Sheiam have one unit, Pyre Zombies, a stack of 14 or so Pyre Zombies can kill everything. Think of every Pyre Zombie after 14 or so, killing a unit in the stack.
Rush for AV. Rush for Pyre Zombies, Rush for Ritualists, Rush for Military Strategy, Rush for Ironworking, Rush for Strength of Will
Emptiness
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Planar Gates provide a potentially unlimited stream of units for a single fixed cost. Your statement is like saying a deal to pay a large fee to receive free food for the rest of your life isn't that great because you could buy several meals for the same price.
Emptiness
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The Water I spell Spring will change desert into plains. It can also be cast on Burning Sands, to turn them into Fields of Perdition, if your caster is able to enter the Burning Sands tile. If your caster cannot then you can use the Life I spell Sanctify to temporarily turn the surrounding tiles into non-hell versions. So standing next to Burning Sands you can Sanctify and turn it into a Desert, then move into the Desert and cast Spring to turn it into a Plains, which will then revert to a Fields of Perdition soon.
Spring can't be cast on Flood Plains tiles, but the change to hell terrain will remove the Flood Plains feature as the tile is converted to Burning Sands. After that you can use Spring or Sanctify/Spring to change the tile to Fields of Perdition.
Spring can't be cast on Flood Plains tiles, but the change to hell terrain will remove the Flood Plains feature as the tile is converted to Burning Sands. After that you can use Spring or Sanctify/Spring to change the tile to Fields of Perdition.
Bill Bisco
Callous Calling
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And exactly how long are you playing a FFH game? A planar gate costs 300 hammers. A Pyre Zombie costs 60 Hammers. I can get 5 Pyre Zombies for the cost of a planar gate, and Pyre Zombies are often superior to what comes out of the Planar Gate. As soon as I build my 5 Pyre Zombies I can use them to go attack immediately. When I build a Planar Gate, I have to wait a certain number of turns before a unit pops out that may or may not be as good as a Pyre Zombie, and I only have one of it.
Yeah, I could make armies of units that came from Planar Gates and be willing to sacrifice them since I'll eventually get back the same # of units. But that is way too costly in terms of speed. There are better, cheaper buildings that give a good and longlasting return on investment rather than overpriced miniwonder Planar Gates.
Uhm, but as Sheiam, its a bit strange that one should have a problem with burning sands and fire... especially since they are supposed to benefit from high AC.
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That statement makes me unsure of the purpose of your question. Are you asking how the Sheaim can deal with Burning Sands, or are you saying that the conversion of Deserts to Burning Sands should be an improvement for the Sheaim?
Lone Wolf
Deity
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Re the planar gates, it seems that building them is good when the game will be a long, drawn-out affair, either because you want it to be so, or because circumstances demand it - the cost of free units will eventually compensate for the cost of the gates.
If you plan a relatively early rush, there's no need to build them.
If you plan a relatively early rush, there's no need to build them.
. as tebryn, i'd just go arcane and forget about em all together thoughi could have sworn i've read that in another of the sheiam strat threads...
. If not, then she REALLY is the lesser sheiam leader
MagisterCultuum
Great Sage
It was suggested that the trait be made to boost Planar Gate production when she was changed from Spiritual/Summoner to Industrious/Summer, but that never happened.
popejubal
Emperor
People keep saying this, but it doesn't match my understanding.
The Sheaim want to end the world, but that doesn't mean that they benefit from it.
My 4 year old wants candy for dinner. He really wants that candy. He's willing to go through all sorts of shennanigans to get that candy and he loudly proclaims that he's not hungry for any other food and he doesn't want dinner; he just wants candy.
That doesnt' mean that candy for dinner is good for him.
The Sheaim and the AC is the same way. They want to end the world.
Even though it's where they keep all their stuff.
Emptiness
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Ah, but candy is good for the Sheaim. Higher AC means more free units per planar gate, and a higher gate spawn rate. It also empowers their worldspell to be more destructive. Oh, and a higher AC means hell terrain can spread to neutral and eventually good opponents' lands, erasing trees and reducing the total health available from resources. This doesn't directly help the Sheaim, but it levels the playing field which indirectly helps them by removing their opponents' advantage.
popejubal
Emperor
I agree that it does come with benefits, as does candy. Candy's primary benefit is that it's tasty. AC's primary benefit is that it messes with your opponents and you're smart enough to dodge the worst effects while the AI gets hosed (at least that's the idea).
Still doesn't mean that a very high AC is good for the Sheaim. It just means that they get a couple of benefits from it. Seen as a zero sum game, the AC can be "good" for the Sheaim in that it's less bad for them than it is for many other civs, but Civ IV is not entirely a zero sum game - especially if you want your empire to thrive.
Again, I'm not saying that you're wrong. I'm just saying that pushing the AC up as high as it will go is not healthy. Or sane. The Sheaim just don't really mind that.
