I will assume a few things before I
share my strategy:
- There are no independent
villages/towns/cities on the map.
- There are no techs seeded (heroes
optional).
- This is a team game on a
mid-to-large size map (160x160 to 256x256).
- Starting gold is 500-750.
Why all of the things above?
Well, first, independent towns can really throw off the balance of the
game. So can the techs. With those 2 features disabled random game
will start off fair for all the players (mines are not huge game
deciding factor, imo).
Also, I've only played on maps 160x160 and larger. So I can only speak
from my personal experience. Games on smaller maps could be totally
different, I don't know.
Starting gold is also important. The less gold you have at the
startup, the more tough decisions you must make. If you start with 900
gold, well then its just a game of who can get the most units faster.
Anyway, moving on. If you play
nationalist, you know what makes them unique:
- Bonus component slot.
- 20% increase in supply range.
- Upgrades are 25% more expensive.
- Elite guard (probably the
deadliest infantry unit)
With those things in mind, here is
what I recommend you do while playing nationalists.
In your first village, build market
and upgrade to bank. Then you should build blacksmith and upgrade to
iron export. In the mean time, you should have had 1 company of
settlers out already and probably start building a new village. Doing
this will boost your economy to +35 gold/minute (15gold for the bank +
15 iron export + 5gold from taxes).
In your second village, build market first. Why? Because while you are
going to upgrade that market to a bank, it will be selling off 1 extra
iron that you have left over from your first iron export. Sure, it is
only extra 3 gold/minute but it is better then none. Upgrade your
market to a bank as well. If you started the game with 500 gold you
should have run out of cash right around this point. So, what do you
have going for you at this point? your economy will be at +55
gold/minute, you will have 2 villages, and no troops.
This is not as bad as it may look
though. Like i said, if you were playing on a mid-large sized map you
and your team-mates wouldn't have probably even revealed the fog
between your towns. Depending on where you are on the map and what
resources you have around you, you can continue to build banks/iron
exports and expand with limited troops for defense or get some engineers
out and build mines and use them as defense.
As your army grows, you can sell off iron exports 1 at a time for 99
gold and build blast furnaces if you need iron.
Here is a link to a game I played a
few days ago that demonstrates what I am talking about.
http://timur.iserver.net/files/kohan/nationalist_economy.TGF
That game lasted for 63 minutes. If
you look at the end scores you will see that I produced the most
amount of gold but I did not have a big army at all. Why do you ask?
Because I started behind the front lines I told my team-mates that all
I will do is build my economy and give them cash throughout the game.
Hell, for the first part of the game all I had was my 1 group of engineers.
I kept donating cash to 2 of my team-mates as they needed it or I just
had too much of it.
I guess that's about it for my first
edition of nationalist faction.
Basically, here are a few important
points about nationalists:
- Expand constantly
- Build Banks and Iron Exports in
at least your first 4 settlements to boost your economy
- Do not upgrade to a town early
on! It is a waste of your resources!
I would like to hear any comments
you might have. If I made a mistake, please let me know. And if you
want to keep a copy of the film above on your site or a database, feel
free to do so.