I'm overwhelmed by FFH2, advice please.

[icemanjmw]

Okay so this may be a dumb question, but here goes.

I just got Civ 4 about two weeks ago, and I've been having a lot of fun playing it and learning what works and what doesn't. However, I'm a big fantasy/magic buff so when I read about FFH2 I had to download it to try.

Honestly though, I felt very overwhelmed playing it the first time. Should I stick to regular Civ4 until I get a firmer grip on everything and then try FFH? Or should I just stick with FFH and learn it instead of "regular" Civ 4? It seems like some things (tech trees for one) are so vastly different that spending time on Civ4 may just be a waste of time and I'll be starting over again whenever I do decide to finally play FFH.

 

[Tasunke]

just stick with FFH and learn it rather than regular Civ4.

I still don't have internet yet (curses!) but would you be interested in multiplayer as well?

I would suggest either playing as the Grigori ... or playing as the Orcs and building Warrens in all of your cities.

You could also try playing as the Hippus, beelining Horsebackriding, and building almost nothing but horses.

 

[Sonereal]

FFH2 is an overwhelming game at first. I suggest you read the FFH2 sub-board for advice and keep trying at it. The Civipedia is very helpful for learning how some things work as well.

 

[mynystry]

well, there are many new things added in FfH2. I was very familiar with Civ4 whenn I began playing FfH2 and I still have some trouble remembering things about magic for example. But hey, c'mon, it's a game, i think you should just stick to it and you'll learn for sure even if you get your butt kicked by the AI the first couple of games

Also visit the FfH2 subforum, lot's of useful information there.

cheers

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

what makes FFH vastly superior to civ vanilla is the sheer amount of variety.

vanilla gets boring quickly, traits and UU/UBs are not enough to make each play through really feel different than the one before.

With 21 civs and 7 religions, FFH is potentially endlessly replayable... there's a lot of interesting mechanics that yield to VERY different playstyles.

plus the lore is amazingly good.

 

[Tasunke]

well, there is a lot more variety in game mechanics in FFH2, plus there is terraforming (which really, can be more important than magic in some ways).

It really gives extra feeling of the "world" or Erebus ... especially when you consider the Blue Marble terrain. (or whichever variant is currently used by FFH).

Of course, it is still a Civ game, so don't expect anything *too* radically different ... but I think its just about the best Civ type game that I have played.

 

[nabaxo]

Start playing the scenarios. It helped me to get to grips with FfH2. It is a great primer to both the lore and gameplay.

 

[cypher132]

I would pick the Bannor as a starter civ. They're very basic and easy to figure the game out with.

 

[The_J]

Moderator Action: Threads merged + moved to the FfH2 forum.

And yes, Bannor is a good choice for a beginner.
If you choose a civ with many special abilities, UUs and UBs you might get confused to fast at the beginning, so picking a civ with less is the best to get into it.

 

[Valkrionn]

I'd actually say Grigori. Less need to focus on heroes, no religion to worry about, not too many UU/UBs.

 

[Jarrema]

IMHo the easiest civ for begginer are Khazad.
Why?
Because the most complicated aspect of the game is arcane magic, and they are almost 'free' from this 'problem'. They are easy to play with a focus on metal line and/or religion; their unique mechanic (vaults) also encourages slow, cautious growth, which is something that people new to FfH may need (as it is really harder to survive early game)

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

Doviello are also nice, as are Hippus.

 

[Tasunke]

Khazad is probably better for the slow, defensive begginner.

Now, if you are a warmonger beginner, then maybe Hippus or Bannor.

 

[nzk13]

I'd actually say Grigori. Less need to focus on heroes, no religion to worry about, not too many UU/UBs.

I agree. The Grigori were the civ i played as for a long time so i could get a grip on the game, but now I mostly stick with the Ljosalfar.

 

[cypher132]

My first civ was the Doviello. I wanted to play a civ familiar from AOI, but didn't want to be the Illians or Amurites. So I lost thoroughly as the Doviello.

 

[Buckwild]

I would definitely suggest playing the Grigori. I played them first for 4-5 games until I began to succeed.

 

[HannibalBarka]

Is there a "light" version of FfH? I also start playing a game one Monarch, I wasn't really struggeleing but I was still "lost" with magic, arcane (what the hell was that again), priest etc....
there are so many promotions paths that it is just impossible to choose. I very often found many religions, but I seen here that some time it's not good, why?

 

[Tasunke]

It's usually good to found all religions. At least AV, Esus, and Empyrean have *really* strong incentives for founding them.

Shrines are nice if you spread the religion ... and free mana!

Esus and Empyrean shrines are especially good, and AV shrine gives you stronger units (stigmata promotion)

And if the world is going to end (AC 70+) the Messhaber is a great unit to build (requires AV holy city)


also, if you want to dominate w/ religious heroes ... you can always try out conquering a map with a stack of Rathas + Chalid as the Empyrean. Blind + PillarofFire/Crown of Brilliance works really well

 

[Jarrema]

My advice would be to play "magic low" civilization - like Khazads. That way, you can learn all FfH stuff save for magic, and then switch to other civ in order to learn magic (which is the most complicated part of the game). Also, for a few first games, maybe try to stick to the lore and "feeling" of civs? Like going for Runes of Klmorph with dwarf, and not bothering with other religions. And go deep with it - for all heroes and units, for Arete, and for Mines. Next time, try for example Malakim with Empyrian. After those two games, you should have a feel how religion works.

Also rather easy and similar to regular civ would be a game with Hippus - just research all "horse" technologies, and conquer the world... maybe trying to build a couple of adepts and founding one religion that you will like to try (in fact, all religions work pretty well with Hippus). Also, game with orcs could be really straightforward - go for warrens, build them everywhere, and flood enemies with ogres, supported by one kind of priests...

Founding religions is good... but not always. There can be another good tech that could be researched instead of religious one, and there are other uses for great people, not only founding temples. That said, it is not a bad strategy to found 2-3 religions, but going for all of them can be an overkilling

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

you can also use grigori and just ignore the magic and religion paths. just get economy techs + choose one military line. best economy is usually aristograrian by far, just get education and build some cottages near your capital to get you to code of laws, then just build farms everywhere and get sanitation, then medicine for medics. choose financial trait with adaptive and you're going to dominate easily. don't farm plains though. pacifism is usually good to get more adventurers.