[0.915] I finished Insane Difficulty with 10 Insane AIs via Master Quest Victory on Season 151.

from Elemental Forums

I would agree that Path of the Assassin is the best Path when you are outnumbered.  Even if only a bit of damage normally slips through to the enemy, if you have a high crit chance and damage you can punch through even the heaviest armor.  Plus all the buffs with Procipinee's Crown including Regeneration of 3 or 4 per turn, and even when you do get damaged you heal it up.  The most essential part of the armor, apart from heavy enough armor - the Ivory Helm.  Being able to crit and being immune to crits is an awesome combination!  I would say that the Ivory Helm is the best helm there is, because being able to avoid all crits (which can get quite big and knock you out quickly!) is one of the best specials.

I didn't end up using any army units, but I did lots of quests via the Quest creator item worth 100 gold.  I only lost one quest, the Garrote quest against the slags, and I eventually took them down a long time later.  I also used the Broken Loyalties spell to capture Karavox's city. =) 

Here is my Sov start and the victory screen:

 

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Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Hm trying to figure out what your post focus is... dunno what to say, hmm...
That victory screen could use a little something if you ask me, like a short "story" of what happened in the game so far.
Would be specially awesome if they could bardify the story, as to make the game history into a little real story, or something like that.

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, I'm just saying that I finally finished Insane difficulty with 10 Insane AIs, with the only reloads being when I got an inactive quest tile from a Quest Map.  The rest of the text was just random commentary. ;-)

Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Man!  I'm glad I'm not that good, because I'd like the game less.  :)  Well played--glad to see it's at least doable by somebody.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Actually, it took me around 15 - 20 playthroughs - and I eventually figured out that when the other settings are maxed, it's not a good idea to have Fast Tech Pacing (because the AIs already get 3 x research and production).

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Gorde, reply 3
Man!  I'm glad I'm not that good, because I'd like the game less.    Well played--glad to see it's at least doable by somebody.

StevenAus:  Interesting !!  

Although, I think I am pretty much in agreement with Gorde, on this point.  While I am glad to see that it is "doable by somebody", I know that I don't play even  HALF  that well.  And really, I never expect to ...

The good news is that I will probably play on Easy or Normal a majority of the time, for the near future.  And I will enjoy that!  Eventually, with practice, I may graduate to a higher level or two; but I don't ever really expect to play on the "Insane" level.  I wlll find my own little "sweet spot" of  *FUN*  -- probably play many, many times -- and eventually conclude that this was a pretty great game, which I was glad to have discovered at a relatively early stage ... 

But I do have a curiousity question or two.  Will you now always play only on the Insane level?  Will it never be *FUN* for you to play on any lower level?  Will there be no challenges left, to draw you back to the game, time and time again?  Please believe, I mean no dis-respect; I just kind of wonder where the *FUN* is, in this ...

 

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

No, I will still play on lower difficulties.  It will be great if "Challenging" will eventually be able to provide a decent challenge without any AI bonuses.  It was just fun playing an "us against the world" type of game.  And if the next patch has Master Scouts no longer providing monster protection for cities, then beating Insane will be significantly harder, as you'll have to make sure your cities are always well defended against monster attack (and can no longer build near monsters).

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting StevenAus, reply 7
And if the next patch has Master Scouts no longer providing monster protection for cities, then beating Insane will be significantly harder, as you'll have to make sure your cities are always well defended against monster attack (and can no longer build near monsters).

Gotta love sneaky cities...

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Thanks for your additional reply (Reply #7), StevenAus.  I really was curious; and I hope that my questions did not sound too stupid.  In my defense    :)    I should add that I am on record (in another Discussion thread) as having said:

                    " We all differ in what we find to be  *FUN*. " 

I went on to observe in that thread, that:  "I remain hopeful that Stardock will succeed in meeting pretty much  ALL  of our styles of play, and ideas of *FUN*.  For one thing, I am heartened that now the range of play is: Novice, Beginner, Easy, Normal, Challenging, Hard, Expert, Ridiculous, and Insane."  By that, I meant that I am glad, that there are  NOW  5 levels above medium/normal and 3 below; and therefore I expect that most of us should be able to find the level or levels that we will genuinely enjoy.  It's a Win-win situation; the more people that can find something they really love, in these kinds of games!

All of that said, I am still sometimes rather surprised at what some folks  DO  enjoy, as well as what they hate.  For my part, I have come to hate the micro-management of cities, that many older 4X games wallow in.  BUT, I know that there are some folks (in fact, I seem to recall that our frequent respondent Kongdej is one of them!  :thumbsup:   ) who absolutely LOVE the micro-management of cities -- and the bigger the cities, the better.  I don't understand that at all  ...    :grin:   

BUT, I really do remain interested in finding out, all the diversity of features, that various folks actualy find to be  *FUN* !   Peace.   

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

In my experience, different difficulty levels provide different levels of fun depending what kind of game you are playing.

If you are playing for a Conquest or Master Quest with super-champions, the highest level (Insane, right now) is the most fun.

If you want to enjoy designing and controlling your troops, Ridiculous is best, because at Insane your troops feel like wimps, due to high AI hps.

If you want to enjoy the diplomacy, the haggling, if you want to complete for world wonders and influence, Expert is best, because at highest levels, the AIs get everything unless you actively sabotage them, which does not fit with a 'nice guys' image for your kingdom.

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Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Tuidjy, reply 10
In my experience, different difficulty levels provide different levels of fun depending what kind of game you are playing.

Tuidjy, I found your observations above (your Reply #10) to be nuanced, and thought-provoking.  In fact, it got me to thinking that I would really like to know what level(s) of difficulty other folks are playing at, too.  So, I have started a new Discussion thread on that subject.  Thanks for prompting me to think about the subject, some more!  (Thanks also to StevenAus, for starting this thread.)