[BTS] News: BOTM 195 - Rome, Monarch - Starts 5 June

[Fine_Distinction]

I thought you were talking about later scouting... Stonehenge will do the early one
Cannot talk about this game, but I remember from an epic/monarch game that animals seemed to stay there "forever".

I hoped initially that animals start later on Epic. But they start T6, in case somebody wonders. So as you said, exactly the same information as we get from SH soon, a bit more entertaining ways to get it.

Yeah, as far as I remember, animals die randomly at some point, but I do not think there is a safe period when it is guaranteed no more animals, but before chariots.

I played two test games, couple times each. The map seem to shape your experience in AW much more than in a usual civ game. First time, I spawned at the end of the hotdog-like Pangea, normally there were AIs on the top and bottom shores, but there was nobody above me, so I had a lot of land to settle, also to the lest, and was harassed only from the right and not that much, nearest AI capitol was 12-13 tiles away, the only problem was choking was logistically difficult due to distance.

Second game was more like the game we are getting, I guessing - much tougher and it was possible to die within minutes. I spawned in a middle of a much rounder pangea, with AIs on each side ... The only bright side was choking them was easier in a sense much less turn traveling. But other than that, the only way to survive was constant vigilance, as DS warned. and frequent reloading, LOL ( I am talking about *test* game). During this game, I finally understood what DS was talking about, in the previous one AIs were so far from me that it was taking them forever to send stacks to me.

 

[Powerfaker]

EDIT: I mistakenly thought that IMP gives you a really sweet bonus for GG points when fighting inside your borders. So one strategy I was trying was to leave Rome empty to lure AI units in - and then to try to kill them before it is too late. When it works, it is great, early GG is very powerful. But try it at your own risk

I was mistaken about higher chances of GG points for fighting on our own soil pre-TGW - but subjectively I seemed to get more XP from these fights I guess it is because I fought at odds I normally would not. BTW, does anyone know how XP is awarded? I know no XP from bombardment. Sometimes I get points even from >99% fights a sometimes nothing from much worse odds I understand that GG points are essentially non-barb experience? I was searching the forums, but there is almost nothing on the subject - or I could not find it..

You can only gain XP from animals when you have less than 5. You can only gain XP from barb units when you have less than 10. So sometimes you get none. In both cases you don't get any GG points. Those can only be earned against rival AI's. You get as much GG points as the XP points you earned (afaik). Against rival AI you always get XP when you survive a fight, at least 1 even when retreating up to >5 for extremely low odds.

This is what I know about the XP stages:
>99% => 1 XP
± 80-99% => 2 XP (could be 79 or 81 or so)
3 XP is all of the 60-70 range
50 and lower is 4 or 5 XP, Below 5-10% there is further scaling

My preferred odds are as close below 99 as possible.That is the optimal risk/reward ratio. I always try to handpick units accordingly if possble. I often do not promote to prevent getting >99 odds, but more like 96-97 instead, ideally 98.

A mistake I made for a long time was thinking that the TGW bonus only applied within the animation, so I thought it was pretty useless or I would try to have the borders spread as wide as possible before finishing it.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

You can only gain XP from animals when you have less than 5. You can only gain XP from barb units when you have less than 10. So sometimes you get none. In both cases you don't get any GG points. Those can only be earned against rival AI's. You get as much GG points as the XP points you earned (afaik). Against rival AI you always get XP when you survive a fight, at least 1 even when retreating up to >5 for extremely low odds.

This is what I know about the XP stages:
>99% => 1 XP
± 80-99% => 2 XP (could be 79 or 81 or so)
3 XP is all of the 60-70 range
50 and lower is 4 or 5 XP, Below 5-10% there is further scaling

My preferred odds are as close below 99 as possible.That is the optimal risk/reward ratio. I always try to handpick units accordingly if possble. I often do not promote to prevent getting >99 odds, but more like 96-97 instead, ideally 98.

A mistake I made for a long time was thinking that the TGW bonus only applied within the animation, so I thought it was pretty useless or I would try to have the borders spread as wide as possible before finishing it.

great info, thanks! I especially understand now why I sometimes was getting no xp, must be barbs>10, a great tips on how to Farm xp more effectively

 

[Tobiyogi]

Great overview, indeed.
I would simply add that 96-98% fights can get lost (if it is 3 out of 100, they tend to appear in the first half of my 100 fights )
That's why I do not risk a CR II mace (for example) who is good enough anyway to take down besieged garrisoned units. Yes, handpicking is good. But I am less brave and just sent in mob-up-guys who are needing +1 xp for the next level

Btw, are the earned promos the same for attacking and defending?

 

[Qactus]

...

Btw, are the earned promos the same for attacking and defending?

Afaik, successful defending and retreating will just earn 1XP, even at improbable odds.

The highest XP I ever earned on the attack was 8, when I accidentally attacked with my healer who had deliberately not been upgraded from warrior.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Afaik, successful defending and retreating will just earn 1XP, even at improbable odds.

The highest XP I ever earned on the attack was 8, when I accidentally attacked with my healer who had deliberately not been upgraded from warrior.

I bet that was a bit of a relief when your healer actually won!

Have to admit I hadn't realised it was possible to get more than 2xp from combat. But maybe that's because I'm quite conservative with units I rarely go to war without catapults and, then build as few units as I can think I can get away with and - other than sacrificial catapults on cities - rarely attack if the odds are below about 90%.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

I bet that was a bit of a relief when your healer actually won!

Have to admit I hadn't realised it was possible to get more than 2xp from combat. But maybe that's because I'm quite conservative with units I rarely go to war without catapults and, then build as few units as I can think I can get away with and - other than sacrificial catapults on cities - rarely attack if the odds are below about 90%.

I was not play often with IMP before. but in the test games for this game I noticed I accumulate GG points very quickly and started to pay more attention to it and farm XP/GG points more aggressively

 

[Tobiyogi]

Does anybody remember if worker stealing also pushes the GG bar forward? I do not think it gives XP to the unit itself....

 

[Deckhand]

Does anybody remember if worker stealing also pushes the GG bar forward? I do not think it gives XP to the unit itself....

I very much doubt it. Especially as (per above post) the GG bar increase is proportional to xp gained.

A general reminder, players are asked not to post in the announcement thread after they have started the game. Thus any who have started shouldn't be replying to questions.

I've learned a lot reading this thread. My first gotm was 34 (so didn't play the original gotm22). There was an always war BOTM that I started but didn't complete. Looking forward to playing this game, probably in July - after 193 & 194.
In bts I mostly use catapults against cities. In vanilla, catapults with combat promotions could be quite effective against enemy stacks in the field.