I hate Shadow units. No mithril what do i do?

[gravitygroove]

First post. I'm playing as hippus, and i tend to like mages/archmages with law and mind. I dominate my way into other cities, and use law to immediately overcome the rebeling counter. However, with a mage/arch heavy force, shadows make the game unplayable for me. I have bowyers, and the techs needed for marksmen, but without mithril all i can do is watch my archmages get slaughtered.

Any suggestions?

(more info)

on a large map, in world builder, there are only 2 mithril resources in the entire game.

This is a problem.

 

[Endovior]

Only using mage-types is dumb, especially if they're all the same spheres... you need support troops. Sending your Archmages in alone is asking to lose your Archmages. You can use them to soften up and convert part of the opposing force... but mostly, you need more standard troops. Otherwise, a single Summoner can kill all your Archmages with his nastier summons.

 

[Sureshot]

Fire 2 for summoners lets you summon Sand Lions, which can see shadows.

 

[Sarisin]

I mentioned before that the Shadows can be a real problem...especially, if you get into a late marathon barb game when the barbs are SPAWNING Shadows.

My suggestion was to have a Ring of Warding type city improvement that would detect stealth units in the city limits.

Of course, this would not help much if you ventured outside your borders.

One strategy I used when 1-2 barb Shadows were attacking was to surround my weaker casting units with stronger units. When approached by units I could see the casters would pound them with meteors or whatever. The stronger units would usually kill the attacking Shadows before they could get to the casters.

 

[gravitygroove]

well its not like i had a STACK of just mages. i had 3 UU's in there (the 13 archers) and 2 heroes. it's just that shadows pick off 2-3 mages a turn and without mithril all i could do was lose the game.

 

[grumpylad]

Any unit with Marksman promotion will let you spot the shadows. Assasins start with it from memory. Also floating eye spell will also detect them for you.

 

[eerr]

well its not like i had a STACK of just mages. i had 3 UU's in there (the 13 archers) and 2 heroes. it's just that shadows pick off 2-3 mages a turn and without mithril all i could do was lose the game.

get horde of adepts/higher level magic users
with death one, skeletons defend on default...
i think anyway(i'm not sure if this is negated by marksman or not)

 

[loki1232]

Well you can mass produce workers and use them as a human shield while you steamroll your enemies.

 

[Gamestation]

Send some hunters with hawks on them. Shadows would target the hawks instead because they have a strength of 0. Then kill the civ that is sending the shadows and the shadows will disappear.

 

[eerr]

Well you can mass produce workers and use them as a human shield while you steamroll your enemies.

yey... meatshields

Send some hunters with hawks on them. Shadows would target the hawks instead because they have a strength of 0. Then kill the civ that is sending the shadows and the shadows will disappear.

hawks on a ranger are considered to be in "transport"
though, it may work temporarily in cities

 

[Chip56]

well even units "in transport" can be attacked.
I had to learn that the annoying way.
I tried to transport some HN units in a non HN ship.
Guess what happenend:
Some ship of my "friends" attacked the transported troops and killed them.
Hurray!

 

[Sureshot]

a HN unit loading onto a non-HN unit should declare nationality on the HN unit

 

[QES]

Well you can mass produce workers and use them as a human shield while you steamroll your enemies.

This is why you can never be allowed any sort of real power. Or conversely, exactly why I will give it to you if I ever obtain real power.
-Qes

 

[loki1232]

This is why you can never be allowed any sort of real power. Or conversely, exactly why I will give it to you if I ever obtain real power.
-Qes

you clearly have no idea what my day job is

 

[eerr]

you clearly have no idea what my day job is

training meatshields?
smurf wrangling?
sheepzorx herding?
civ4 testing?
telemarketing?
taste-testing wine?

 

[Chip56]

a HN unit loading onto a non-HN unit should declare nationality on the HN unit

Well this would be logical, but right now that isn't the case.
But we all know HN will be fully implentend in shadow and until then there will be a lot of logical flaws/bugs.

 

[Yoshi2942]

This is why you can never be allowed any sort of real power. Or conversely, exactly why I will give it to you if I ever obtain real power.
-Qes

QES -- I do have to say that your one-liners are very creatively lifted from other sources - or you may have one of the best sense of humors I have heard/read.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

you clearly have no idea what my day job is

Taste testing live babies?

 

[QES]

you clearly have no idea what my day job is

If you work at the UN i'm going to laugh.
-Qes

 

[QES]

QES -- I do have to say that your one-liners are very creatively lifted from other sources - or you may have one of the best sense of humors I have heard/read.

Everything I say has been said before - its just that sometimes people remember it and it becomes famous.

I am after all, a pirate and a theif.
-Qes

"Yar, off to pilfar the funny."