Not another elf chick? HidingKneel beats a dead horse. (Spoilers!)

[Ryan]

Hey do you mind If I ded lurk you and ask you tons of questions :P? I have very weak knowledge of the game .

[HidingKneel]

Hey do you mind If I ded lurk you and ask you tons of questions :P? I have very weak knowledge of the game .

Sure, welcome aboard!

[UnforcedError]

The more the merrier

[Ryan]

How do you guys plan the tech tree so well lol. I just pick them randomly

[UnforcedError]

How do you guys plan the tech tree so well lol. I just pick them randomly

In FfH you would usually want to specialize on 1-2 branches of the tech tree. Research will be the bottleneck in all your games as technologies are much more expensive than in say BtS. In a BtS space game it's not uncommon to reach FT and have nothing else to tech, basically. In FfH you wouldn't finish the tech tree even if trying to win via Altar -- but that must be very rare in an MP game anyway, I assume. So in our case we will presumably focus on the Arcane line with either metal or mounted units depending on land with 1-2 religions (priests) for support, plus some economy techs, whatever we need (hope this is close to what HidingKneel has in mind, that is). We won't be aiming for archmagi and high priests and paladins and druids and beastmasters and knights etc, because that's not realistic. So yes, some pre-planning is important. The map will then have the final say about how we prioritize our chosen goals.

[HidingKneel]

Alright, I pulled the trigger on Thessa/Perp/Valledia.

How do you guys plan the tech tree so well lol. I just pick them randomly

I've sunk an embarrassing number of hours into playing this game. When I started out, I was also choosing basically at random (Ljosalfar have always been my favorite civ, so I just tried picking techs that sounded "elfy". Which is not exactly optimal strategy, but the fact that it kind of works to play the game like that is one of the fun things about FFH.)

[HidingKneel]

So in our case we will presumably focus on the Arcane line with either metal or mounted units depending on land with 1-2 religions (priests) for support, plus some economy techs, whatever we need (hope this is close to what HidingKneel has in mind, that is). We won't be aiming for archmagi and high priests and paladins and druids and beastmasters and knights etc, because that's not realistic. So yes, some pre-planning is important. The map will then have the final say about how we prioritize our chosen goals.

My rough idea of a gameplan (which could change entirely upon seeing the map) would be as follows:

If we get Thessa: basic worker techs to make the most of our land, then tech towards Fellowship of Leaves. Once we get that, rely on fawns for defense (they've been ridiculously effective in XXIII) and tech Knowledge of the Ether to let us get started amassing adepts. After that, ignore the arcane line for a bit to go philosophy -> priesthood -> hidden paths (to really get the elven economy rolling), after which we start down the arcane line in earnest. Probably unlocking Divination first to aim for the Tower, which we could use to grab Arcane Lore or Commune with Nature (Commune with Nature is a lot easier to get to in EitB: it's expensive, but it doesn't have expensive prereqs. So if you use a Tower of Divination (or the Infernal Grimoire), druids are not necessarily so unrealistic.)

If we get Valledia: basic worker techs, then knowledge of the ether, then get to aristocracy for our economy. Depending on what the situation looks like with map/neighbors, we could grab archery to play defense (with an eye toward building firebows later). Religion-wise, we go with Octopus Overlords, so that we can double up on archmage heroes when we reach Arcane Lore. At some point, we'll want to get Military Strategy in there to make the most of the organized trait. But we'd try to stay more focused on the Arcane line, and get to sorcery as soon as we can.

If we get Perpentach: there is no plan. Our game will be at the whim of the RNG; we will adapt and glory in the insanity.

[UnforcedError]

Sareln didn't change prophet bulb orders, right? The only change in the bulb order is Sorcery preceeding Alteration / Elementalism / Divination / Necro for sages according to the changelog. So with Thessa we should aim for 1-2 prophets before the sages while with Valledia we'd want sages asap. (Founding OO is not necessary to get Hemah, but getting first to Arcane Lore is.) Also, even if Firebows are nerved we want to tech Bowyers asap IMO, and bulb our way towards Arcane Lore. Firebows are still the cheapest fireballing units in the game.

EDIT: Oh, firebows have not been nerved, actually, they're just worse defenders than normal longbows which is OK. Also, with Thessa we do want Mr Silveric too, don't we?

[HidingKneel]

Woohoo! Got our first pick.

Sareln didn't change prophet bulb orders, right? The only change in the bulb order is Sorcery preceeding Alteration / Elementalism / Divination / Necro for sages according to the changelog. So with Thessa we should aim for 1-2 prophets before the sages while with Valledia we'd want sages asap. (Founding OO is not necessary to get Hemah, but getting first to Arcane Lore is.) Also, even if Firebows are nerved we want to tech Bowyers asap IMO, and bulb our way towards Arcane Lore. Firebows are still the cheapest fireballing units in the game.

EDIT: Oh, firebows have not been nerved, actually, they're just worse defenders than normal longbows which is OK. Also, with Thessa we do want Mr Silveric too, don't we?

Not sure how much has been changed about the bulb orders. But IIRC there's a list of who will bulb what in EitB that
DaveV made in the pitboss thread.

As for bulbing, I could imagine using a GP to bulb Priesthood, but I don't think anything earlier than that is worth it. We'll definitely want a Temple of Leaves, but prior to researching Fellowship of Leaves I think our hammers will be better spent on
settlers (where they get doubled) than pagan temples. (Of course, everything could change depending on what the land actually looks like...)

As for Gilden, I guess it'll depend on what our neighbors look like, or if we can put him to use capturing some barbarian cities.

[Merovech]

Your start, with the traditional caveat that I reserve the right to change pretty much anything except your civ and leader:

Happy planning!