Tower of Mastery Victory

[krasny]

Is a ToM victory possible on anything but a really large map?

You need at least 12 magic nodes to build the prerequisite towers, which given that I have 200 turns to go on a small world, I'm not going to achieve.

One though I had is that I'm using a map script (perfect world), which doesn't generate enough mana nodes.

 

[Grakor456]

You need the mana nodes to build the towers, not to keep them. One tactic is to use a Metamagic node and get a mage to dispel nodes that you no longer need and rebuild them as different mana types.

Also, you can demand other people's mana if you force them to capitulate.

 

[Stoik]

You can vassalize civilizations to take their palace's mana.
You also can build oghma rites to create random new mana on the map.

 

[krasny]

Thanks for the replies

There's so much I don't know about this mod.

 

[GoodGame]

You can also try to found religions and build their Holy City with a Great Prophet (or conquer those cities). Each has one mana associated with them---Earth, Nature, Sun, Water, and I believe Shadow. I forget what Order's mana is.

 

[Luckmann]

You can also try to found religions and build their Holy City with a Great Prophet (or conquer those cities). Each has one mana associated with them---Earth, Nature, Sun, Water, and I believe Shadow. I forget what Order's mana is.

Law, if I'm not mistaken.

Order - Law.
Esus - Shadow.
Octopus - Water.
Empyrean - Sun
Leaves - Nature.
Kilmorph - Earth.
Veil - Umm.. Entropy?

 

[kumquatelvis]

Using dispel magic to build all of the towers feels almost like cheating to me. I know it's officially supposed to work that way, but it really takes out all of the challenge.

 

[KnightBoat]

Yeah Veil is entorpy. And if you want to build the ToM without Dispel, play as the Khazad. No Tier 2 sorcery, no dispel.

 

[Emptiness]

Anyone can choose not to use Dispel Magic to facilitate a ToM victory. There's no need to play as the Khazad to do that. Or was that an attempt at a backhanded complaint that the Khazad don't have access to Dispel Magic?

By the way, anyone can get access to Dispel Magic if they follow Octopus Overlords and build Hemah.

 

[zup]

CoE and Gibbon work too.

But I'd rather secure all mana than%2

 

[ZHONN]

Acquiring all the nodes for different mana is very much a domination victory so I don't really see it as cheating or such to use just the three or four nodes needed for it. Just to get four nodes usually means a very big empire in my games.

I think that the amount of mana nodes should increase. Maybe there should be twice as much of them, then we could possibly get rid of the dispel node playstyle. It could also work nicely to limit the stockpiling of nodes to sth like four nodes of each. I once played as the Sheaim, built the Soul Forge and got the Sepulcher and then I built four death nodes. The summons were pretty ridiculous.

 

[zup]

And what do you do after you have 4 of every mana? Yes, I understand perfectly that if one can secure so much mana, there's a huge incentive to make them all into death nodes. But I like my magi versatile.

 

[Kornaki]

Does having more mana directly effect your mage's spells? I know it says the effects are cumulative, but I assumed that was referring to the extra bonuses like -5% upkeep and stuff like that

 

[schlalex]

The Tower Victory is so damn easy. All u need are 4 Nodes (sometimes even less) and metamagic mana.
Its a good possiblity to win fast, when the turns begin taking 2-3 mins on the big maps and u get bored waiting.

 

[HadesScorn]

Kornaki- Some spells are effected through their result. For instance, Spectres have affinity for Death Mana, so every node you have results in more powerful summons. Any bonus listed as cumulative should function, though I haven't tested them in a while.

Then of course, there are the mana types that don't give a civ bonus.

And the mana types with completely worthless spells.

Show of hands, who misses Meteor?

 

[deadliver]

Using dispel magic to build all of the towers feels almost like cheating to me. I know it's officially supposed to work that way, but it really takes out all of the challenge.

Clever though.

 

[Deon]

Does having more mana directly effect your mage's spells? I know it says the effects are cumulative, but I assumed that was referring to the extra bonuses like -5% upkeep and stuff like that

The main purpose of multiple mana nodes (if not affinity) are free spells. For each 2 manas of the same type your arcane units with channeling I recieve a free Tier 1 spell of that sphere, etc.
I.e.:
Mana:
2 - free Tier 1 spell for Channeling I
3 - free Tier 2 spell for Channeling II

So with 3 fire nodes ALL your mages will recieve fireball for free. I am not sure about archmage level spells, but I think it works the same way (4 mana nodes => free Tier 3 spell for an archmage).

 

[civ_king]

yes, works same way for Archmages, personally I think Rites of Oghma should be cheaper and repeatable,

 

[schlalex]

Metamagic is the problem. Why not change it the way, that every mana-node can only be changed once/game?!
So you could not beat the game so easily.

 

[xalien]

I'd rather make the ToM impossible to rush, like rituals. And maybe disable the spellcasting for your civ while it's being built.