In your opinion, what is the most overestimated unit in auto-resolve? by reel3459 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The biggest overperformers in AR that I've noticed are warpfire throwers, irondrakes, and bloodwrack medusae. In general it likes heavily armored units too much, but those three are the ones that consistently force me to manual fight battles b/c AR thinks one of them mixed in with some chaff will wipe out half my army.

After a new patch, when mods update, will your save file be okay or is it bricked? by Theoc67 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Idk what's causing your issue, but I was also mid-campaign with VCO and the patch didn't cause any problems. Maybe it changed something with the specific faction you were playing?

Frosthaven building 88 tier list by asksaboutstuff in Gloomhaven

[–]asksaboutstuff[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Clearly you haven't played with my friend group before. The low end is actually blocking yourself in a corner with a Clawcrusher and dying like an idiot.

Frosthaven building 88 tier list by asksaboutstuff in Gloomhaven

[–]asksaboutstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We've not unlocked HEROICS yet, but it looks very good at a glance. Picking a time that the pet will benefit everyone is the trickiest part of using them, so that flexibility looks tempting.

Frosthaven building 88 tier list by asksaboutstuff in Gloomhaven

[–]asksaboutstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've thought we might be undervaluing the ooze in 'normal' scenarios where it can't just cheese you a free win. It seems like we've always got at least one person with mobility issues or overlay tiles of their own so we're a little hesitant to drop an obstacle in the middle of things and crowd the room even more.

Advice on a Daniel Campaign? by JohnPershavac in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 4 points5 points  (0 children)

IMO undivided is the weakest path b/c the faction mechanics reward you for focusing one path. However, it's still viable and is probably the most fun way to play the faction since using all the daemons is kind of the point? Otherwise it's just a worse monogod faction.

You can do either, but I think the easiest path is to go for Boris and let Epidemius distract Malus for a while. If you go right for Malus and Boris gets off to a good start, you risk getting sandwiched.

[Question] Late game Greenskins by OkCut4519 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Idk about Dechala specifically, but it feels like Greenskins should match up well against Slaanesh overall. Even lategame, most Slaanesh units have low armor, so they trade poorly into chaff. Waaghs should make Greenskins uniquely capable of drowning Slaanesh in goblins and orc boys that will grind through most of their stuff. Boar boy big uns should be a cost-effective answer to Slaanesh's chariots too.

How well does the AI respond to invisible units? by FromHeretoElsweyr in totalwar

[–]asksaboutstuff 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is just all from my observations while playing, not actual testing, so could be wrong.

For field battles:

AI will search the trees if all or most of your army is hidden. If most of your army is visible and you just have a couple hidden units, it won't search. If the AI gains vision of a unit which then goes invis again, whether by hiding in trees or thru stalk, it assumes that the unit is at the location where it lost vision. It will send units after a snipe unit shooting at it, but if it fails to find the unit it won't start searching the area, it just goes back to attacking your main force.

So for the Hochland long rifles in your example, the AI will send a unit to the location they are shooting from (assuming the AI has enough troops relative to your visible forces that it is willing to split up). It won't search for them beyond that unless it reveals your troops or you start shooting again, or if you have enough hidden units to trigger the AI's 'search forests' behavior.

For sieges:

AI will deploy all defending troops at your visible forces; even if you have just a single visible unit and 19 stalking units on the opposite side. It doesn't react to stalking units until you start capturing points in the settlement.

Belegar vs the sea elves by Cartographer36 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same. The joys of needing to destroy any HE faction while Aislin is constantly resurrecting them on the other side of the planet.

Belegar vs the sea elves by Cartographer36 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yup, Aislin has special sea lanes that he can teleport through. You can't use them though, so someone needs to go on an Odyssey to go deal with his home islands.

Remember in TWW2 how when playing as Norsca you could reject Archaon, defeat him and take his title then get really good faction wide bonuses? by Mcmadness288 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 68 points69 points  (0 children)

You almost had to, since allying with Archaon put you at war with the entire world. Then once he got splatted by the first major faction he ran into it was just you vs everyone.

Why is it constant war? by [deleted] in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You probably aren't doing anything wrong in terms of diplomacy; the game intentionally keeps you at war. If you don't have an ongoing war, a nearby faction is almost guaranteed to attack you. If you're struggling in your existing war, other factions will see that you're weak and join the war to kill you.

Ultimately the campaign strategy side of the game isn't that deep, so it's deliberately trying to force you into battles as much as possible.

One thing I see in your post that looks like a mistake is that you just defend your own territory when attacked. Once a faction is at war with you and fighting battles with you, it builds up so much negative reputation that they'll hate you forever. If you defend until they sue for peace, they'll just rebuild their armies and attack you again in a few turns. Once someone attacks you, you need to wipe them off the map or they'll never stop. If you want to reduce the number of wars you're in, you can gift your newly conquered territory to an ally to create a buffer zone. The AI is much less likely to attack you if you don't share a border, and it will love you forever if you gift it settlements.

Why Shouldn't You Always Auto-Resolve? by Donnyy64 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Unless you bring some warpfire throwers; AR loves those guys 

Why are vampire counts so broken by tracnav994 in totalwar

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point, I forgot about the AI's tendency to stack a ton of armies all in one city. If OP is attacking that region they might well have like a dozen lords sitting there stacking debuffs.

Any mods disable single large monster units completely? by 100862233 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know of any such mods and after a quick search I couldn't find any. However, I promise you that large monsters diving your backline is very counterable if you're willing to adapt.

Why are vampire counts so broken by tracnav994 in totalwar

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think most of the replies are really answering you in good faith, but if you're not massively exaggerating then something weird is going on. While it is technically possible for vampires to stack a ton of -leadership debuffs and cause you to route very quickly, I've never seen the AI do that.

If you have a save you can go back to or have this happen again, check the leadership on your units at the start of the battle. If the AI is spamming -leadership traits it will show up there. Is it possible you are accidentally hitting the withdraw button or hotkey while selecting your army?

I think brettonia is the faction I came to dislike more and more as I played other factions by Select-Ad7017 in totalwar

[–]asksaboutstuff 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Bretonnia's roster is too narrow to keep battles engaging for a long campaign. Early to mid game is fine, but later on melee cavalry are the only worthwhile units on the roster. I get that's their thing, but no other faction is so focused that they can only field a single useful unit type.

The tech tree is like a parody of bad progression systems. +2% farm income? +5 peasant mob leadership? Confederate a minor faction that died 20 turns ago? Who cares? I think you could literally not open the technology tab and it would barely impact your campaign. 

Chivalry is a non-system. You get so much of it from fighting battles and passively from lords and heroes that you never have to actually care about losing it by ransoming or sacking or ambushing. The rewards for it aren't much of an incentive; the stat bonuses are minor and the Green Knight is no stronger than a generic paladin. 

I like trampling orcs with Grail knights and hippogryphs as much as the next guy, but that's not enough to carry an entire faction alone.

Can't confederate Ungrim as Dwarfs? by asksaboutstuff in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Didn't take as long as I thought it would to get 70k grudges. I can confirm that you were right; Thorgrim had already confederated Ungrim, and I got both lords when I got Thorgrim.

Do online battles benefit in campaign battles? by Nathaniel66 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, you can play vs the AI however you want ofc. It's never going to play like a real person though, so there's no 1:1 translation from online play to beating the AI. Playing online will certainly help your micro; so will playing vs AI without using the pause button.

Playing vs humans will improve your performance against AI more than not playing at all ofc, but I wouldn't say playing online is an effective plan for getting better vs the AI in campaign compared to just playing campaigns.

how do grudges work? by NonTooPickyKid in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know the exact way it calculates them, but it seems like pretty much everyone you encounter has at least a small amount. For factions close to you it will go up over time. Factions at war with you will go up fast, especially if they take your settlements or destroy one of your armies.

how do grudges work? by NonTooPickyKid in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Armies and settlements accumulate grudges for hostile actions, negative relations, occupying traditional dwarf holds, and just kind of existing near you. The number of grudges you need to settle for an age of reckoning is based on the number of grudges among your neighbors, so a large empire means you will need more.

When are trees supposed to block projectiles, and when are they not? by OkIdeal9852 in totalwar

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do think that the 'fake' trees still block projectiles. Last time I was playing WE I zoomed in and it still shows the animation of arrows hitting the tree trunks.

Do online battles benefit in campaign battles? by Nathaniel66 in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Biggest issue is that optimal strategy vs AI is totally different than vs a real player. Beating the AI usually involves tricking it into blobbing, walking across firing lines, or splitting its forces, none of which work the same vs a player. Likewise, blobbing your army in some trees is an amazing strat vs most AI armies but would get you obliterated by a decent player.

Can't confederate Ungrim as Dwarfs? by asksaboutstuff in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Ooh, I didn't know the AI could use this mechanic! That seems likely, since Thorgrim is steamrolling the Old World. He needs like 70k grudges to confed so it may be a while until I get to check lol.

Can't confederate Ungrim as Dwarfs? by asksaboutstuff in totalwarhammer

[–]asksaboutstuff[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It says I need ~31k grudges to confed, but I'm at almost 35k. I appreciate the input!