skirmish help

[tnors]

hello. newb here. yes, i just started playing. i need help

in my second skirmish, i moved to moderate difficulty. i got my rear end kicked in minutes multiple times on carolina map. i even tried starting at post-industrial. i swiftly spawn 30 settlers. race to get as much artillery and cavalry as possible. i am able to hold off the first 2 or 3 waves and then i'm squashed by superior weaponry and overwhelming numbers. i can't figure out how the npc's are able to get to such a high level so fast. napolean has a factory in no time!?! i've never even seen one before that. i've tried defensive walls and not. i've tried holding a trading post. i've seen various suggestions on other sites but they all contradicted each other; go kill npc settlers, don't waste time doing that. i enjoy playing max # npc's so there's no way to run over to the other 7 town halls and destroy them.

one weird thing i've noticed is, on one occasion i visited one of the towns with my explorer right at the beginning. there were no settlers to be seen. it was a ghost town. how were they able to advance when the settlers weren't out reaping? none of the military were visible. yet, a whole division appears out of nowhere at my town and flattens it in minutes.

another thing i've noticed is creating a plantation or a trading post really seems to bring the heat from npc's. i haven't cataloged this scientifically but, they almost ignore me if i don't do those two things early on but if i do, they are there in no time and i have just a few minutes left before i'm annihilated

it's making a really promising game extremely disappointing

[dansil92]

If you're losing to the moderate ai it sounds to me like you're having some deck/ build order problems first and foremost. Do you have a basic build for a specific civ that you are familiar with?

[tnors]

thanks so much for the reply. i only wish i knew what you are referring to. that leads me to believe you are right. i would be happy for some guidance in that area. what information can i supply to help you diagnose?

[dansil92]

A build order is a simple layout of how you want to get your economy, infrastructure and military in order. It usually is designed for the first 5-6 shipments, what buildings you build or units you train, and which age up politicians you use. Basic deck building is also Essential. What civ have you started with? I can't help a whole lot before that

[tnors]

i am seville, level 12. i don't recall choosing that but, whatever. my xp - 197. my build order the last times i played skirmish was to get to 30 settlers as quick as possible and then roll through the town hall ages. then i would build the most advanced military units. iow, i skipped all the lower military units because they were pretty much useless.

is it better to have livestock/pen than windmill?

[dansil92]

You should make some new home cities and get them leveled up using the xp mod. Spain (seville) is one of the weaker civs and is quite difficult to play well. You dont need to go to imperial age as spain, usually just fortress age

[Squamiger]

sounds like you're at a really basic beginner level. thats fine! glad you found ESOC and are interested in getting better, we all started where you are. can i recommend first, having a look at this guide: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=9698

and then, watching some of these tips and tricks, especially the ones about herding, and shift clicking:

if you're set on Spain, (which isn't a bad choice-- it's pretty straightforward), then have a look at some of the Spain guides on the Strategy Wall: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=9169

the thing is, most of these things require you to have a deck with all the cards in it, which you won't get if you are level 12 homecity. It's widely agreed upon that the idea of having to grind out homecity levels was a really silly and bad choice by the devs, so the kind folks at ESOC have made a quick tool to get you level 100 home cities right away, so you can start playing the game to the full potential. Download the ESOC patch here, and then read about setting up the xpmod: esoc-patch.php

you need a partner to help you with this, so I recommend also joining the ESOC discord, where you can find people who will help you set up your homecities to be level 100. here's the discord link: https://discord.com/invite/nyqM7Mq

or, you can just add me on ESO, Squamiger, and I'll be happy to help you with the xpmod if you catch me while im online.

[tnors]

whoa! a treasure trove of info. looking forward to diving in! thanks so much! sorry for spamming the board with remedial questions but i didn't exactly know where to go

[aligator92]

you came to the right place

[tnors]

so i installed the esoc patch and i can see what people mean by leveling up. any help with the xp mod would be appreciated.

[Shikari]

Welcome to the community mate. @tnors

[Squamiger]

so i installed the esoc patch and i can see what people mean by leveling up. any help with the xp mod would be appreciated.

the best way is to use the ESOC discord, post in the channel for xpmod and you can usually find someone

[tnors]

that's exactly what i did. thanks!

[tnors]

thanks shikari. the community is great so far!