Different strats for FfH2?

[BrknPhoenix]

Well, I had just come off of playing a Warlords game where I was the #1 score with Egypt on Noble when I decided to play FfH2, also on Noble. I picked the Belseraphs as Keelyn and played to my strengths, expanding culture and such, and also making gratuitous merrymen. I basically followed the same strategy I have in my good Civ 4 games and here...

Well, I got owned. Last place.

So how does a player coming in from vanilla or warlords need to adjust their playstyle for FfH2? Or is it because I chose the Belseraphs?

 

[Chandrasekhar]

Heh, I recently tried out a vanilla Civ game after playing nothing but FfH for a long time, and I got owned. I think the lesson here is that playing vanilla Civ makes you suck at FfH, and vice versa.

I suppose I could advise you to not worry so much about the military. A warrior or two in the garrison of each city, with some promoted warriors at the edge of your borders should be more than enough to handle anything that the barbarians send at you. No need to waste valuable hammers and beakers on units you don't need.

 

[Sarisin]

Heh, I recently tried out a vanilla Civ game after playing nothing but FfH for a long time, and I got owned. I think the lesson here is that playing vanilla Civ makes you suck at FfH, and vice versa.

I suppose I could advise you to not worry so much about the military. A warrior or two in the garrison of each city, with some promoted warriors at the edge of your borders should be more than enough to handle anything that the barbarians send at you. No need to waste valuable hammers and beakers on units you don't need.

You really don't mean that last bit of advice IF you are playing raging barb games do you?

This is the AI strategy copied and they soon get overrun and eliminated in raging barb games.

I think it is hard to pin down a set strategy in FFH as it is really dependant on many variables such as length of game, difficulty setting, type of map, the CIV you are playing and those of your competitors.

The adjusting of your strategy to deal with these and other variables is what makes FFH such an outstanding mod IMO.

But, I might have to give Warlords a try based on your rec. just to see what it's like again!

Happy New Year from Bangkok!!!

 

[Sureshot]

chands prolly thinking on the quicker game speeds, where you can usually survive with 2 promoted warriors late into the midgame even on ragin barbs

 

[Nikis-Knight]

I'm getting creamed on Warlords on the >prince levels that I usually do pretty well at in FfH.
I think a rule of thumb is that you can get by with fewer units, as long as they are highly promoted and upgraded regularly. When you play vanila/Warlords, Promotions don't matter as much as numbers do. FfH is reveresed.
Plus, with Keelyn, make sure you pick up conjurers pretty quick, or you have a dead trait for quite awhile.

 

[Master_Hugian]

2 promoted warriors yes, but you need to first get those promoted warriors and if you are like me and like to go out and fight the barbarians (protect those farms ect.) then there is a chance that warrior could die until it gets shock I (Then again, it depends on where your units start with combat 1 or not) it could also depend on the map, highlands for example has alot more barbarians and I have experienced losing 5 warriors just to defend my border, or if orthus comes along (without hunters you need alot of warriors). Also skeletons are quite bothersome as shock dosn't work against them (thanks for them not pillaging though)

 

[Chandrasekhar]

I tend to play raging barbs at a normal game speed on Monarch. Admittedly I generally add a Civ to make diplomacy more interesting, but I also play with low sealevel to give more landmass. I'm completely serious about a garrison of one warrior with a few warriors ranging out. It does fine until about year 250. When I say "a few warriors ranging out," I mean maybe one promoted warrior for every four squares of border. And when I say "promoted," I mean combat I, orc slaying, and generally melee slaying. In the parts of the border that get swamped with barbs, I might use a buddy system so that each one gets a chance to heal. It's really just a game of checkers, at that point.

 

[Sarisin]

OK, got you.

This is what I mean about there being so many variables that affect your strategy.

I always play the huge maps on Marathon because I like the game that last for a week or so. I am in the yr. 1500 now playing the Elves for the first time. The Tier IV barbs have started coming with Lizard Beastmasters and Druids.

Instead of going out and eliminating the other AI civs (I started with 11, there are 7 left), I have built a civ with 7 cities and am concentrating on defending my borders/improvements, getting higher techs, and more powerful units. Much more fun than just going for a 'quick' conquest victory with the assistance of the raging barb against weak AI civs.

I like your checkers analogy, but I would say it is more like chess as manuever your units around the map, protecting and capturing/defeating the enemy. I guess that is why they show a chess match in the cut scene of a Conquest Victory.

 

[xanaqui42]

Well, I had just come off of playing a Warlords game where I was the #1 score with Egypt on Noble when I decided to play FfH2, also on Noble. I picked the Belseraphs as Keelyn and played to my strengths, expanding culture and such, and also making gratuitous merrymen. I basically followed the same strategy I have in my good Civ 4 games and here...

Well, I got owned. Last place.

So how does a player coming in from vanilla or warlords need to adjust their playstyle for FfH2? Or is it because I chose the Belseraphs?

Here is my attempt at a suggestion (it's a little large to post here). Several of the civilizations on the wiki have their own (significant) strategy entries. The Balseraphs really don't have much there (yet).

 

[Arpymaster]

I usually got my balls handed to me in vanilla on noble.

I can win on prince in FFH. They are very different and you will have to change your way of playing (maybe I wasn't paying attention to the military on vanilla, being a builder type myself). FFH is a rough place to live.