Recommendation for army pack [newbie]

[Sharkall]

Hi !

A friend lent me his Mac recently and I chanced upon FoG browsing his game directory. These couple of days I've been reading the rules, some AARs, played a couple scenarios and it's really the type of game I enjoy so I'm thinking about buying it. However, since I've been reading a lot of books lately, my student capabilities and objectives deny the option of buying a lot of army packs. In fact, I will barely manage to get the game and _one_ pack, plus the viking pack when it gets out

So my question would be, which one should I get for playing multiplayer ? I would guess that one with a bit more diversity would be better. But, well, I wouldn't know

Also, if sometime (when I manage to get a decent game going) I would like to play a tournament or such, are there any pack requirements or something of the sort ?

Thanks a lot !

[iandavidsmith]

Hi !

A friend lent me his Mac recently and I chanced upon FoG browsing his game directory. These couple of days I've been reading the rules, some AARs, played a couple scenarios and it's really the type of game I enjoy so I'm thinking about buying it. However, since I've been reading a lot of books lately, my student capabilities and objectives deny the option of buying a lot of army packs. In fact, I will barely manage to get the game and _one_ pack, plus the viking pack when it gets out

So my question would be, which one should I get for playing multiplayer ? I would guess that one with a bit more diversity would be better. But, well, I wouldn't know

Also, if sometime (when I manage to get a decent game going) I would like to play a tournament or such, are there any pack requirements or something of the sort ?

Thanks a lot !

I would say that Rise of Rome would be the pack i would choose to by, its not my favorite ( Storm of Arrows is) but i think it has a good selection of different armies of that period , others may have different opinions.

With Multiplayer , i think i am right in saying that you should be able to accept any game even if you have not purchased the book required and still be able to play it the same , its only Solo play and when you need to organize a challenge that you need the army packs.

There are quite a few tournaments around , the LOEG the main one , you do not need any specific requirement , but you need the army pack to enter the specific division ,take a look at the LOEG forum for more details , there should be a new tournament starting end of next month.

Ian

[petergarnett]

Every pack has enough players now to be able to offer you games so I'd suggest that you go for one where you like the period. You mention the vikings (coming in Wolves from the Sea) so perhaps Decline and Fall.

[Sharkall]

Thanks for the replies !

I've looked at the tournament, so *new goal* : get some experience and try to win more games than I'll lose for the next LOEG.

Indeed choosing a period seems a sensible thing, and mostly my knowledge (and interest) lies somewhere around 900AD - 1200 AD, N or W Europe. So I could either go for Decline and Fall (good period but not location) or Storm of Arrows (later but good location). And definitely the vikings when they get out. Which one of those two would you say it's more fun ?

I can't wait to play some. Hope competitive learning curve is not extremely steep

[stockwellpete]

Indeed choosing a period seems a sensible thing, and mostly my knowledge (and interest) lies somewhere around 900AD - 1200 AD, N or W Europe. So I could either go for Decline and Fall (good period but not location) or Storm of Arrows (later but good location). And definitely the vikings when they get out. Which one of those two would you say it's more fun ?

I would definitely have to vote for "Storm of Arrows" - and maybe then you can add "Wolves From The Sea" (due Mar/Apr 2012) and "Oath of Fealty" (due Jun/Jul 2012) and then you would have a really good group of north/western European modules covering 800AD-1500AD.

[Old_Warrior]

I really love the cavalry armies. The Swords and Scimitars pack is probably one of the more "exotic" of the game and offers a good combination of infantry and cavalry armies. Some have TONS of cavalry and little infantry while others are mainly infantry armies with some knights.

The Eternal Empire is a really good pack as well. Great cavalry mixed with some tough infantry as well. Lots of archers mounted or dismounted.

Decline and Fall had a good mix of army types as well.

Rise of Rome is a personal favorite - Rome vs. the World! Good basic infantry army - Rome - vs. hordes of barbarian infantry OR cavalry armies. You also get to see why the phalanx was declining by this period of time.

The Immortal Fire pack is still another favorite - the armies are mainly infantry but there are some good cavalry armies available.

Lots to choose from. If Medieval period is your bag then wait for the Oath of Fealty but buy the Storm of Arrows pack first. Good solid armies both mounted and dismounted. The "hordes" armies in this one do get a bit tedious and thus keep the point count down to something like 500 max so that you do not find yourself fighting a gazillion Welsh units.

[Sharkall]

Thanks for the input ! I've been playing a lot of Rome TW lately so I'd like to change the settings a bit Also lots of cavalry is not really my style, so I guess I'll go for Storm of Arrows as it looks like the best option from the input you're helpfully providing. Thanks again for the comments.

Hmm, I've barely played a couple of maps with 300 points, and I would be terribly scared of anything with more than 500 I'll have to practice a bit to get confident in handling a large number of units around I'll get SoA and try to find some multiplayer matches tomorrow, hope there are people with a little bit of patience around ^_^ but since I had to spend like 1 year playing Starcraft online and watching streaming (10 years ago or smth) JUST to get rid of the habits acquired playing vs AI, I vowed never to get into the same situation again. So multiplayer and overwhelming defeats for now, it is

Have a nice weekend, all of you, and see you around !

[stockwellpete]

I'll get SoA and try to find some multiplayer matches tomorrow, hope there are people with a little bit of patience around

Just open a thread in the "Field of Glory : Leagues & Tournaments & Seeking Opponents" part of the forum and head it up something like "New player seeks tuition" and indicate your choice of army and size (400pts is a good size to start with). You should get some replies quite quickly.