Of the 3 'normal' factions,
Nationalist requires the most radically different style of play. The
reason is simple: they have extremely expensive upgrades and a 'bonus'
extra component slot. They also can only have one company at the
beginning of the game. These three factors mean that if you attempt to
do a standard Council or Royalist start, you will almost certainly
stagnate and never fully recover.
The first thing you should take into
consideration as a Nationalist is that the cost of Settlers is MUCH
cheaper than the cost of an upgrade. If you awaken a Hero (recommended),
it's even cheaper. Also note that since you start with 2 component
slots, you will have to build 2 components before you even have the
option of upgrading. This means upgrading a city is considerably more
expensive and time consuming for Nationalists than for any other
faction.
Now, the kicker is that a new
settlement gains 2 new component slots due to your +1 component faction
advantage... and you only receive 2 slots with that ultra-expensive
upgrade.
Thus the math is simple: as a
nationalist, you better have the Manifest Destiny in spades. Expand fast
and hard. It is much more efficient to expand than upgrade.
Now, given that Nationalists can only
field one company at the beginning of the game, it is my opinion that
you have no choice but to make your first company settlers. You need to
expand and Scouts simply won't cut it - especially since they can't even
take an Independent. I also recommend against going for a military
company as your first unit. Not only does this take awhile to build
components for and heal, it may not do you any good. Even assuming you
went for a Infantry/Mage combo with your 2 component slots, it's
possible you'll lose against some Independents or, even worse, that you
won't find an independent at all.
So, commission Settlers immediately
after your first build order (I will discuss build strategy in a later
article). As soon as you get 4 (no need for full health) charge them in
press formation in the direction of your choice (preferably towards an
ally). Keeping them in press
formation is extremely important - trust me, you will learn to hate
mountains and Slaan. Your goal is to find open land asap - as such I
highly suggest playing with ZOP on. If you happen to find an
Independent, take note and go back for it later when you have military.
Once you find an open area expand to skirmish formation. Have a brief
look around (I generally spend less than 5 seconds) and settle your
second city in the most strategic spot you found in those few seconds.
Now, the other important thing to note
about your cities is that upgrading a Nationalist settlement will give
you a total of 4 slots. And 4 slots is the magic number: Blacksmith,
Barracks, Library, Temple = Elite.
This means you can get Elite
capability with only a single upgrade, which is an advantage over all
other factions. Use it.
However, I do NOT recommend making
your first city your Elite Military Base, but more on this in a later
article.
Also note that 4 slots is enough for 2
other key city types: the Resource Maker (4 resource components upgraded
for extra production) and the Money Maker (4 resource components
upgraded for churning out cash).
Since expanding is cheaper than
upgrading, the best route at the beginning to mid-game is to only
upgrade the one city that you deem your military base. Leave the rest of
your Nationalist settlements at 2 slots. Take over independents and use
them. Ask for or 'buy' a non-Nationalist settlement from a teammate.
There are very few things that make
upgrading a Nationalist settlement worth the cost (raising company count
is definitely one of these, but expanding achieves the same goal for
cheaper). The key to remember is that, from a cost perspective, a
Nationalist settlement is the best buy on the map. Upgraded once, it can
produce Elites. Upgrade more than once, and you can hear the gold
flushing down the toilet. If you do have so much cash that you can
upgrade cities for no reason, you should be giving it to your teammates.
If have a Citadel fetish, either get
over it or do it with a non-Nationalist indy that you won via battle.
Be careful, because expanding may
potentially leave you 'overextended' compared to other factions.
Fortunately, this isn't as bad as it sounds. You should be able to
afford to lose a city or two and not have it impact your economy since
you'll only be losing 2 components per settlement.