Barbarians & dragons - help

[Swither]

Noob here needing some help please.

Liking the mod, but I seem to get stuffed every random game by the barbarians.

1. Is it normal for the barbarian state & dragon to always choose to start near the player? Every random game I have played this happens.

2. Is there any way to stop the dragon from apprearing? For example I have tried to send units to try and wipe out the barbarian city as soon as it appears near me, in an effort to stop the dragon appearing. Does this work?

3. The barbs seem to ignore other AI players and just constantly attack me, making any expansion or war feasible. What can I do?

4. My son played as Clan and the barbarians just ignored him, so I guess that's an advantage?

5. Even if I switch barbs off in a multi-player game, they still appear?

6. Is it possible to kill the dragon early game?

Any ideas or advice would be welcomed.

 

[TiglathPileser]

1. Is it normal for the barbarian state & dragon to always choose to start near the player? Every random game I have played this happens.

Acheron can appear in any position, he usually appears in the barbarian city with the most production on the map. This may or may not be next to the player. On higher levels the likelyhood is slightly higher next to the player as the AI civs will always be able to do a better job spawn busting their surrounding land than the player can.

2. Is there any way to stop the dragon from apprearing? For example I have tried to send units to try and wipe out the barbarian city as soon as it appears near me, in an effort to stop the dragon appearing. Does this work?

Only so much that he won't appear in that city if you do capture or raze it. He'll still appear on the map, only in a different barbarian city, hopefully somewhere far away though.

3. The barbs seem to ignore other AI players and just constantly attack me, making any expansion or war feasible. What can I do?

Build lots of warriors. Use them to defend your lands and they'll gain experience. Promotions are much more powerful in FFH, pick combat/shock and by level 3 you'll have units easily able to counter barbarian warriors and lizardmen, and with a few sacrifices defeat Orthus.

4. My son played as Clan and the barbarians just ignored him, so I guess that's an advantage?

Yup, certain leaders have the trait 'barbarian', which means they get ignored by the barbs until they reach the top of the scoreboard.

5. Even if I switch barbs off in a multi-player game, they still appear?

Not sure about this one as I've never tried it. And anyway, once you get the hang of building enough defenders and leveling them up, barbs become a benefit because they provide 'free' experience, useful to prepare your troops for fighting other civilizations.

6. Is it possible to kill the dragon early game?

Anything is possible (tank vs spear...) but killing Acheron with basic units is highly improbable. Wait for beastmasters, and you'll need a large stack anyway to deal with the accompanying mages/fireballs.

 

[lfgr]

2. Try the "No Acheron" game option in custom game.

 

[Swither]

Thanks for the reply Tiglath.

So, if I can raze the nearest barb city early on, I might be able to make the dragon choose another barb city that is a bit further away from me, if I have understood that right?

I do keep my cities defended, but the constant barb attacks have been preventing me from waging a decent war on my AI neighbours.

I guess I will just need to persevere.

 

[Swither]

2. Try the "No Acheron" game option in custom game.

Thanks missed your reply

 

[akatosh]

Barbs can actually be a good advantage. Promotions are so important in this game that dealing with the harassment can be worth it for the extra XP you get. Having a combat 3 shock 2 march warrior in the early game is a huge asset in a quick war. If that warrior gets copper, Orthus' axe, and a great general he will be unstoppable. That one unit alone is almost like having a hero.

 

[Kiech]

This is true. Sometimes I make a barb fighting city just to promote troops.