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#4428896 - 07/04/18 07:15 PM Total War : Warhammer (x)  
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I'm a long time Total War player, and always the historical titles. I love the series, have spent thousands of hours playing virtually every title since Med2 (I did skip Rome 2 and Britannia which I have yet to buy). The mix of turn based strategy and real time tactical battles is a winner. One thing I always have found appealing is a sense of asymmetry. I love a faction system that gives each one it's own unique bonuses or advantages. Not only does it give the game better replay value, it makes for more interesting battles. Shogun 2 was probably the best example of this in a Total War title. Gunpowder and swords made for good gameplay to me. Other notable examples might be English Longbowmen in M2, or Carthaginian War Elephants in Rome 1. These units give those factions something entirely unique, not only fun to play with, but an interesting challenge to overcome when fielded by your enemy. Atilla to me was a nice step in this direction, with more distinct faction mechanics. Playing as WRE is a far different experience than say the Ostrogoths or Atilla even.

But I've long wished for this to be more distinct. Let's face it, by making games based on history, you're constrained by what you're recreating. Prussian infantry might be the best, but by how much? The difference between my great swordsmen and your average swordsmen might be a simple +1 morale, +1 attack or -1 armor. The asymmetrical aspect is there, and evident in battle, but the difference is still fairly small. This concept carries over to the strategical layer as well. Historical TW titles don't have a great degree of it. Sure, maybe you research tech faster, or gain more through trade or diplomacy than another faction, but it's still more or less a level playing field, with all factions capable of the same strategical plans.

None of this is to say that historical titles are subpar, far from it, but I've always wished for a more singular faction experience. Which brings me to this thread. For a while, years in fact, I've ignored fantasy versions of TW. Even back in the Med 2 days, when I was a big fan of the Stainless Steel mod I ignored the Middle Earth mod, Third Age. It was (is?) immensely popular and I assume, quite well done. When Warhammer was released I took notice. Not only are reviews and player comments largely positive, it seemed to hit that spot, with distinctly asymmetric factions, unchained to the constraints of history. With Warhammer, CA was free to imagine units and factions. Now, I'm no Warhammer fan, honestly I know little about the lore and universe, and surely even here, the devs were shackled to a certain degree. But in a general sense they were far more free than before.

But I didn't buy it.

Then Warhammer 2 was released. Great reviews, player comments and seemingly even more factionality, which is a word I just made up, but seems to fit the point I'm making. Now I was seriously thinking about getting this game. I mean, I play lots of fantasy games, just never a Total War fantasy game. But why not? I really couldn't think of an answer, aside from the spyware Redshell. CA bowed to public criticism and recently removed Redshell. And that was the final straw. So I bought it (marked down slightly in the Steam summer sale for what it's worth). I had planned to wait a few days before posting about it. I wanted to get a feel for whether it was good, or even if I'd like it, though deep down I already knew these answers I think. With some time under my belt I could more objectively critique the game.

But screw it. I liked it straight away. The tutorial is really good. As a veteran of the series I could have figured it all out, but the tutorial has the opening moves covered and explains most of the basic mechanics. I'd reckon Warhammer 2 is the most accessible TW title for someone new to the series.

I chose to start as High Elves and played 12 or 20 turns, who knows. Fought some battles, took some territory, improved my towns, all standard TW stuff. But the new setting and completely new units are awesome. I have an army made up of spearmen, bolt throwers, some sort of cavalry which I still don't know what they are, and dragons, well actually a Phoenix, but dragons are coming. Assymetrical, indeed.

Time will tell whether I grow to like it more, or if I find it lacking. But early returns are quite positive and I've really enjoyed it so far. As mentioned I was a fairly steadfast historical guy for a long time. But I'm glad I moved past that and gave this one a go. It's both the same beloved Total War, but entirely new at the same time. Now, to find some Dark Elves to impale.



No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
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#4429064 - 07/05/18 11:35 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Glad you are enjoying it, DBond. I don't know anything at all about Warhammer so I haven't even considered buying those titles. I am a huge fan of the TW series but to be honest the fun kind of left it for me starting with Attila. That, and an update broke my far-in-progress saved game in Rome II, so I haven't touched any of them in a while now.


"I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold."
1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC
in Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918
#4429134 - 07/06/18 02:18 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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I really liked Attila, the campaign was great I thought. As mentioned I never did get Rome 2. Came close a couple of times but ended up skipping it, though that isn't forever necessarily. I may still do. I take long breaks between titles like you, and some I've revisited a few times, especially Medieval 2 which is easily my most played Total War game.

And yes, I am enjoying Warhammer 2. It is the same TW formula, but way different at the same time.

The campaign is a departure from usual. The one included with the game is called the Vortex campaign. The goal isn't necessarily domination, although you can go for that, but the game can also be won by completing rituals, which would make playing a tall faction viable. It is also very mission driven. Missions have become more common through each version, and quite heavy in this one. The rewards are great however, and most are not timed, so you get it when you get it. There is a second, downloadable free campaign that I believe does not have the alternative ritual type campaign goal.

One big difference here is that city-building is simplified. There's no squalor type mechanic to worry about. All buildings give bonuses only..

I don't know what to think about the tech system. As a noob, I found that I didn't have the right buildings to unlock anything other than the starting Military group until turn 50 or so. So for all that time I made no trade or economic or any other sort of tech progress. Just +3 melee attack sort of stuff. After you've played through once you would know which tech you'd want to rush, and rush that building line. I guess. Not a fan so far of how it works in Warhammer 2.

One of my favorite aspects of the series is character traits, retinue and so forth. It's a lot of fun in this game.In Warhammer 2, generals are Lords, and the agents are Heroes.They gain traits in a similar fashion as always, but they also have various skills, items, objects and followers. These are acquired through battle, quest/mission rewards and 'treasure hunting', not unlike uncovering those shiny gold locations in Civ 5. You gain magic swords, armors, talismans, banners and followers that can be freely assigned and swapped between your characters.

Earlier I was talking about 'factionality', and while it's still true, the many factions are one of four? races.So all of the High Elves clans are more or less the same, but the races are strikingly dissimilar. There are also 'rogue' factions, not unlike the hordes in Attila. Some wacky creatures for sure.

The battles are awesome. I've gotten my butt kicked a few times. Tactically it's probably the most diverse TW title I've played. The units are so varied. Flying units have a big impact on how it plays out. Monstrous units too. Battlefields are good, but be careful of sallies. When you maintain a siege you are said to encircle the town. I had one sally battle where I was given a glorious, commanding ridge from which to rain pain upon my enemy. down in the valley. When the enemy reinforcement arrived they were a full stack which emerged from the forest right behind me. Caught in the pincer I lost this battle, and my only Phoenix too. Ugly stuff, but lesson learned.

In all, I give Warhammer 2 high marks. Very engaging campaign play, and a neat end-goal mechanic that allows the player to play a bit taller if desired, and to eschew the standard TW blobbing that always turns the end of the game in to a tedious slog where no one can possibly rival you while you paint another 20 provinces to reach the victory conditions.



No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4429135 - 07/06/18 02:24 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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I'm really happy for Creative Assembly that Warhammer was a huge seller for them because I want the developer to stay in business but I never bothered buying the game. I'm just not into the fantasy stuff when it comes to strategy games. I'm all about the historical stuff.

I guess you can say I'm a big fan of the Total War historical series.

Hours played according to Steam:

TW Attila 3,539

TW Rome II 2,681

TW Thrones of Britannia 126

TW Shogun 2 1,514

TW Napoleon 478

TW Empire 285


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4429138 - 07/06/18 02:41 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
I'm really happy for Creative Assembly that Warhammer was a huge seller for them because I want the developer to stay in business but I never bothered buying the game. I'm just not into the fantasy stuff when it comes to strategy games. I'm all about the historical stuff.


I hear ya. That was me, before. I bet I could find a post I made saying the exact same thing. But I softened the stance as I no longer saw the reason why. It's FUN to play with these units. It's Total War: Refreshed. It helps that it's a good game of course.

Wizards and monsters and magic and goblins. There was a time when this didn't appeal to me. Now it does. Go figure smile


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4429156 - 07/06/18 04:07 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Originally Posted by DBond

Wizards and monsters and magic and goblins. There was a time when this didn't appeal to me. Now it does. Go figure smile


Those things appeal to me as well but in movies, tv shows and even PC shooters like the LOTR games from Monolith. I just don't care for it in a strategy game.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4429911 - 07/11/18 07:01 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Still playing Warhammer 2, and I gotta say I am feeling like it's the best Total War title of them all, but these sorts of things are tempered with time. But it's really polished, interesting and fun. I played the Vortex campaign as the High Elves up to the fourth Ritual. I've set it to Hard/Hard as I've done with every one since Med 2. Upon reaching he 4th (of 5) Ritual I put that on hold as I wanted to try the Mortal Empires campaign that I saw was a free DLC.,

Without reading about it I downloaded it and went to play it. A message popped up saying that Warhammer 1 must be owned to play the ME campaign. Well if that ain't a kick in the pants, but entirely understandable if not forseeable. So I went to the Steam store and lessee, Warhammer 1, that will be sixty freakin' bucks! Whoa there pardner, that's a bit steep for the old game. I really wanted to play it though, but not for 60. So I searched and found it was that expensive virtually everywhere. Except for Fanatics. I bought a key there for $13. It doesn't even need to be installed, just owned. And that was all it took.

The Mortal Empires campaign is essentially both maps and all factions from both games stitched together. That results in one HUGE map and 117 factions. 117! Total War Battle Royale is what it is, and it's fun. Epic, even. I chose the Empire, a human faction loosely based on I guess Prussian or Holy Roman Empire armies. Swords, knights, artillery sort of stuff. A bit of an odd choice I thought with so many weird, wonderful races and factions to choose from, but they are far from the strongest faction and I liked their starting position and units and mechanics so stuck with them. My campaign is going well enough, but it's the tasty part early in the game when you are stretched to the limit and every decision feels so important to your survival and success. As an "Old World' faction (from Warhammer 1) it maybe isn't as fleshed out as the New World factions, but still I am having a blast, in some cases literally (mmm, artillery)

Despite doing well enough, I feel like at any moment it could all be lost, such is the state of affairs in the world. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, and whatever those things are? biggrin


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4430243 - 07/13/18 08:46 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Warhammer 2 Mortal Empires campaign is awesome. Great game!!!


"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Matthew 5:11

Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James 5:11
#4430313 - 07/14/18 02:22 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Yes it is! Which factions have you done in ME Airdrop?

My Empire campaign is going well. I have access now to most elite units, though affording to field them is another matter entirely. I've essentially unified the Empire lands through conquest, diplomacy (confederations) and alliances. Now we are staging to attack the Vampire Counts for control of Sylvania. That corruption is a serious deterrent though. It's like marching your armies through Russia in the winter.

After about 50 turns or so I had grown to 10 provinces, which put me in the top 3 to 5 in strength. This fluctuates as armies battle and towns fall and are taken. Early on I wanted to attack my neighbor Marienburg, mainly for their port. But other matters kept taking priority and I never did launch the attack, and they began growing, essentially matching my pace. Eventually I saw that it might makes sense just to be friends, since they could at least protect my western borders.

I've read some threads about Empire campaigns, and virtually all of them say attack Marienburg early on. But now it didn't make sense for me to do so. And it nagged at me. I wanted that territory. And that port.

Every few turns I run down the diplomacy screen and check each faction to see if any new deals can be struck, and dutifully clicked on Marienburg and saw that Confederation was green. Well now. In a single click I essentially doubled in size, and got that port I wanted haha. One thing I do not like about this title is that when you capture a town through conquest, you capture it down a level from where it had been, and the good buildings the enemy had there are gone. I saw this in my High Elves Vortex campaign. One of my enemies had a library that gave tons of good bonuses including 12% research rate. But when I took the city all of that was gone. Wasn't pleased about that.

But when you confederate, you get everything intact, and the AI has plenty of money to burn on buildings it seems, so gaining all nine Marienburg towns was a big shot in the arm for my campaign. You also get their armies and agents, but a few had to be sacrificed as the upkeep was crippling. I was surprised to see that another faction that was essentially my equal was willing to confederate, but they were indeed.

So now we turn to the east and the Vampires. Sylvania is a victory objective and there is a gold province there. If successful, it will put us in a good position to prepare for the Chaos Invasion, which I assume is still a thing? Not sure exactly what to expect as it seems CA has tweaked it a few times and maybe it's not so strong any more. But I want to be prepared.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4430355 - 07/14/18 08:52 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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I play as Empire. I just started a new one. I decided to go for Marrienburg as soon as I got rid of the secessionists.

In the past, I’ve gone straight for the vampires. I hate that corruption. But the units I need to beat them cost a ton. And the vampirism is brutal to deal with. I’m going to see if the other states can mess with the.

Given my cancer and chemo, I now have a ton of time so I should be able to spend a good deal on this.

I’m color blind. How do you tell if they’ll accept confederation?


"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Matthew 5:11

Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James 5:11
#4430356 - 07/14/18 08:54 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Chaos is tough but if you have say two full strength armies in the northeast, you can hold them in check. It puts a cramp on expansion though....


"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Matthew 5:11

Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James 5:11
#4430364 - 07/14/18 10:00 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Cool thanks man, and I'd be interested in any thing you'd care to post about your campaign, especially as we are the same faction.

The icon to the right of each diplomacy option is color-coded, which you cannot differentiate I imagine. It's reddiish-brown for low chance, beige-brown for moderate and green for high chance.

I already killed one Vampire faction, Von Carstein, but the territory was occupied by Averland. So just the VC left for Vampires as far as I can tell. They have about 6 towns, but are listed as 5th strength, so I think their units must be quite strong. I have arrayed 3 stacks along the border and will invade tonight. I have a few untainted traits/items/followers, but invading provinces with such high corruption will prove a big challenge I think. I see it taking 40+ turns to wade through while maintaining sufficient troop counts. Untainted buildings do not seem to give adjacency bonuses like other titles (like similar buildings since Shogun 2 I think. Even Vortex has adjacency. Maybe I've just missed it so far. Maybe it's a legacy from the Old World) so it is hard to overcome and has such a debilitating effect.

As for my run, the first move was to squash the seccessionists, like you said. That took about 5 turns, and then had to repel a couple of stacks from Skullsmasherz. Once i was ready to expand I invaded Middenland and through time made it my main cavalry-recruiting province. A muddled war situation saw us eventually occupy Hochland, and I confederated Marienburg after that. Of course this was the most pivotal event so far, doubling my size, economy and military. I then confederated Talabecland, who were down to a single region. Ostmark held the other Talabecland city and they DoW'd me and we took the Talabecland capital, which tidied up the lines to the east. Eventually got a peace with Ostland, but they just got attacked by Kislev and I don't think they will be any trouble from here on out. In the end I decided to let Ostland live, even though they have a gold province sitting right across the border. I reasoned that with the gold they might actually be able to field good armies, and would make a good buffer state to the east. I believe that direction is where I can expect the Chaos invasion to come from? Or at least one part of it?

So it's about turn 90 and we hold 20 or so regions. I just finished waiting for the diplomacy timer to tick down after breaking treaties with Bretonnia, and will attack next turn. This will further shorten my lines and give me some peace of mind. It will also complete control of two provinces that Bretonnia and I have shared since we incorporated Marienburg. I'm allied with (the quite strong) Tyrion, but we haven't helped each other yet. But it's one more friend to the west which is a good thing. Knowing what I know now I think if I did it again I would move south against Wissenland rather than north against Middenland. North is Norsca and south is Greenskins so I guess it's a pick your poison sort of thing. In the end it may not make a difference as I should have all of it confederated at some point down the line.

Dwarves and Wood Elves I have good relations with at the moment. So it's the VC to the east and Bretonnia to the west as the next moves for my Empire. I recently got called to war with the Greenskins who are very strong in this run, but there is quite a buffer standing between us (since I didn't invade Wissenland I would reckon lol). For what it's worth I started with Franz, in case there had been a choice smile


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4430561 - 07/16/18 01:36 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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That didn't go well.

As mentioned I invaded the Vampire Counts and Bretonnia simultaneously, one on each flank of my realm. I sent my two best armies against the VC, easily took two settlements in a single turn, and then got crushed in the counterattack, when the VC brought three full stacks of foul creatures against my stacks who were understrength due to attrition and combat losses in the taking of the town and castle.

It's a standard tactic of mine to run two armies together, supporting, and I imagine many players do. Here, I had my Emperor's army in the castle-town, and the other army encamped just behind, within the reinforcement range.But the AI was smart. During their turn they sieged the castle with one army, then send a second and third around the back to attack my encamped army. Of course this meant my besieged army could not reinforce and it all went to hell, and each was defeated in detail.

Meanwhile..... in the west, I attacked two-settlement Bretonnia with two stacks of my own. Their two settlements were fairly far apart, so I planned to take the first with both armies, and then move to the second. There was little they could do. Or so I thought. On the first AI turn after I sieged, Bretonnia began confederating. Each turn they grew bigger and stronger to the point where I realized that I might have bitten off more than I could chew. Instead of a quick conquest I got a slog. In the end I took the two provinces, but Bretonnia was actually bigger after the peace deal than before the war started.

I'm about 150 turns in, holding 26 settlements. Both Wissenland and Averland are willing to confederate, but doing so would put me close to 40 settlements. Doing just one would put me around 33. As I believe imperium is the trigger for the Chaos invasion I am holding off doing so while I continue to prepare. Not ready for that just yet.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4430702 - 07/17/18 10:20 AM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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I don’t have 2 yet, still playing through 1....but I love the battles in this game. The various factions and units look amazing and are a blast to watch/see what they do.

#4430732 - 07/17/18 02:41 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: Hardtale]  
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Originally Posted by HardTale
I don’t have 2 yet, still playing through 1....but I love the battles in this game. The various factions and units look amazing and are a blast to watch/see what they do.



Agreed. I wish now that I had played Warhammer 1 first. I'm sure I will give it a go at some point. For me there is lots to like about this game, but as I alluded to earlier, the 'factionality' is one of the most appealing aspects. The sheer variety and asymmetry from one to the next is awesome. And it's not just the units, but virtually all aspects of the faction. Bonuses, abilities, tech trees -- it's all different. Empire is only the third faction I've tried so far, and I'm looking forward to trying more. The ME and Vortex campaigns are also really fun, the mechanics are interesting, how it plays out is fun to watch. Having a lord dedicated to do nothing but treasure hunt the entire campaign is great too, as it essentially keeps me afloat I think haha.

In my Empire run, after taking Sylvania from the VC and more of my west coast from Bretonnia, I attacked Moussilon (spelling? the Vampire dudes) who were adjacent to the territory I just took. They had two settlements, and both with ports. Won that war, taking me to 28 settlements and must have hit the imperium trigger, and the Chaos invasion began. In no Total War game is there a more sweeping geopolitical shift than when this happens, I don't think. Suddenly, everyone's in it together, and united (for the most part) against the forces of Chaos. Once it triggered, I no longer needed worry about imperium and immediately confederated Wissenland, as I wanted that gunnery school they have. And then peace treaties were signed, alliances made, and trade agreements with factions that wouldn't consider it for the first 150 turns. Shogun 2's Realm Divide was the first thing of this sort that I recall in a TW game, and for the most part I don't like how it was handled. The Chaos invasion though is pretty cool, and we will see if I feel the same after having battled them.

It caught me off guard, I thought I would need closer to 35 settlements, but imperium is not just territory, but also army number and strength and how well developed your settlements are among other factors I suppose. So when it triggered, most of my armies were down south, arrayed against the Greenskins, so they are being rushed north and new armies are being drafted as well. If we do hold them off, I wonder though about the game afterwards, with all of this good will as we fight a common foe, will peace simply reign in it's wake? We shall see.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4431739 - 07/25/18 04:09 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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A few years ago I started a thread asking folks to rank the TW games.My original list had Medieval 2 at the top. As time went on I played more titles and first Napoleon, then eventually Atilla claimed top spot due to it's polished mechanics and interesting campaigns, and of course the 'factionality' thing I keep going on about. Having now played Warhammer 2 for many hours I dare say it now tops the list. It's a close run thing, but I just find the game compelling in ways that the historical titles are not. In a sense it's like deciding on your favorite Ferrari, they're all good and it comes down to personal preference or taste I suppose.

I've played as a few different factions, in both the Vortex and Mortal Empires campaigns. A couple days ago I started a ME run as Dwarfs, not knowing much about them, aside from the stereotypical Dwarf stuff. But what a fun faction to play. I can't recall which factions I may have played in TW that didn't have cavalry. It's a core facet of my tactical approach. I have purposely avoided non-cav factions before, like the Danes in Atilla. I mean, who is going to run down all those routers? Certainly not Dwarfs with their stubby little legs.

But that is part of the appeal. Finding a new approach, solving the tactical dilemma with different rules. In the past, I would wipe armies, because once they routed, my cav would clean them up, leaving not enough stragglers in most cases to maintain the force and they were gone. As the Dwarfs, some always get away it seems. The upshot is there is a follow up battle against the remnants, leading to more experience and better generals, or Lords in this case, and better units.

The start for the Dwarfs (not dwarves, as it seems to be in Warhammer) I found very challenging. You start with a single settlement, a Karak carved out of a mountain, as Drawfs do. The remaining two settlements that make up the Silver Road province are not too hard to take, and that was accomplished in a few turns, giving me three settlements, or one province. So far so good. But you also start at war with five Greenskins factions, who hate you. By turn 40 I finally captured my fourth. By turn 50 I was back to three haha. It's a seemingly never-ending procession of stacks from all directions. If I dealt with two stacks from one faction this turn, it's two more from another faction next turn. It was fun, all these battles, hanging by a thread, patching armies together to meet each new threat. But I was making no progress. Economy was stagnant since I had to keep armies in the field capable of defending my little corner of the mountain range and I continually spent to my limit.

Another challenge is that movement range is poor in the mountains as you'd expect, and stubby Dwarf legs don't gobble up much ground do they? So it's difficult to parry each thrust. But the Dwarfs have a trick up their sleeves. They can move underground, bypassing enemies or unpassable terrain, and ignoring terrain movement penalties. It's an awesome ability that's really fun to use. Further, armies using the underground passageways can be intercepted, and the battle is fought in a huge underground cavern, with the loser wiped out. Epic battles in a confined corridor that is just smash-mouth, with no subtlety or hint of maneuver.

In the first 50 turns I fought 37 battles, to give an idea of the pace in the early game for this faction. Of those, I fought 35, only auto-resolving twice. I had the most experienced Lords in the land at that stage that's for certain. Since virtually every one for these battles was fought at a disadvantage, playing them in real time was my only hope of survival. I lost a few of course, but the Dwarfs are steady men. They fight to the death, and are heavily armored. No cav as mentioned, but excellent archers and artillery. Did I say no cav?

Yes, no cav, but Dwarfs are ingenious and industrious, as is their nature. To solve the lack of mobility they have.... gyrocopters! Oh yeah. It takes a while to get them, you need the correct buildings of course, and I now even have an 'airport' at my capital. Sadly, I had to work today, so had to shut it down last night before I could deploy them in battle as it was way too late to be playing games. But tonight. Tonight I will unleash my whizbangs against mine enemy! They have been recruited and distributed to the field armies, and only await a battle. It won't be long in coming. Finally, I will be able to counter the enemy's artillery, which have spent many battles firing with impunity from afar. Little do they know, Dwarfs have gyrocopters!



No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4431833 - 07/26/18 08:10 AM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Reading through this post got my curiosity aroused and grabbed it late last night,,,mostly I play Rome II and Shogun II,and think a break from historical to Fantasy would be fun...I've played Medieval II ,,Empire and Atillia to me all good games ,,once I get fully awake and walk the dog and eat I'm settling in to a solid day of Warhammer 2...Good thread here with a lot of useful information


Russ
Semper Fi
#4431854 - 07/26/18 12:24 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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Awesome, happy to hear it. Which faction will you start off with? Which campaign? The Mortal Empires one is free, but you have to download it. Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions.

In the end, the gyrocopters turned out to be useful, but not the death machines I had envisioned. They are a bit squishy, despite high armor. Perhaps those were armor piercing arrows the enemy was shooting. Still, it's a way to counter their artillery which was needed.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4432098 - 07/28/18 10:24 AM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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DBond not really sure where to start..From your post might give the high elves a spin..From what I've seen so far decided to go ahead and get the first Warhammer ..just a bit worn out on the old Nazie's and Japs thing and being a long time fan of LOTR which i read once a year and never get tired of it..Fills a need to escape for awhile..the great grandson was over last night and he got very absorbed in it ..got him flying EAW and now he is grabbing Warhammer and moving away from the X-Box..If it sticks we might do some MP good way to make a connection with him..His comment was "Didn't know old dudes like you are into this stuff" LOL Hey old but not in a coma


Russ
Semper Fi
#4432108 - 07/28/18 12:41 PM Re: TW: Warhammer 2 [Re: DBond]  
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High Elves are a great choice, maybe even the best one for a first run. They were the faction I tried first. They are fairly traditional in their roster, the best cav, great infantry and archers, a bit weak on artillery and dragons! Public order is no issue due to buildings bonuses. And the Sea Guard, which are excellent early to mid game troops. They are a bit like the dismounted Jinettes from Med 2.

High Elves also have a good starting position. I'd go for Tyrion, Teclis has a much harder start. Alith Anar is good too but in a more perilous starting position. Tyrion is awesome, one of the best Lords in the game, he can grow to become a melee god if you take that path.

Quite possibly their most powerful advantage is the influence mechanic, called Intrigue at the Court. High Elves can spend influence to manipulate the political environment. You can make nations like you, hate you, or do it between two AI factions. I found this ability extremely powerful and effective.

So, great starting position, roster, King and abilities. A really good choice in my opinion.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
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