I think I have a hunch on what makes raids feel so imbalanced that the double or triple layered wall is a required tactic, and it’s density.
Not quantity but density.
When even just 30 enemies can stack on top of each other to hit a wall, that wall will never be strong enough to protect anything.
We have to encompass our villages with hundreds of squares of wall just to have a raid focus on 1 single point of the walls without any physical limitation (the fact that they always seem to know exactly the layout of the walls and know exactly the fastest pieces to attack to get inside is another thing that bothers me, but it’s not for this discussion…)
Would a “max 5” enemies hitting on a wall make attacks more spread and walls be more meaningful?
Could we then have villages with a resemblance of realistic structure instead of absurdities of walls stacked upon each other?
That’s an exaggerated example, but we never built more than a layer of wall in any of our testing. V0.8.0 is buffing raiders on Vanquisher difficulty because all the early nerfs have made them too easy.
I have no doubt there’s people who tackle the invaders issue with more finesse than I do, the linked example is of someone who micromanages battles, not really an average player.
I’m sure there will be mods that will satisfy all tastes, but the only counter to how raiders attack ATM is an overwhelming counterattack, simple defense won’t cut it.
If they are allowed to stack on top of each other will we ever be allowed AoE defense? Boiling oil? Burning tarballs?
FF is part strategy game. What is your strategy to defend your city? Set defenses and forget it? How well has that worked for you in other areas of this game? Setting something and leaving it? Do you just “get by” or do you excel in certain gameplay? I expect in this game where you excel involves more “micromanaging.”
Managing resources is part of the game. Your army is one of those resources. You don’t need to micromanage them like I do. You should properly engage them in the battle though. A properly established single perimeter wall at t3-t4 with well positioned guard towers will prevent most raiders from entering the interior of your city. A well placed army should finish off those who make it inside.
That “micromanaging” you discuss is me setting my army and hunters into attack positions. Raiders attack with different methods depending on the individual raider. To be effective you should adapt to the type of raiders that come each time. Just like you need to adapt the soil conditions in your fields to the crops you choose to raise. Just like you need to adapt your trading each year to the trader that shows up. It’s part of the gameplay.
I should also state that I don’t expect to win every battle, kill every enemy, prevent all destruction, or prevent all looting. I try to limit each to a minimum. I manage my resources. After a raid, even if my town takes it on the chin, it rebounds quickly.
If you don’t want to manage the battles then you can play an easier level than vanquisher (they only changed vanquisher raider difficulty from 7.6 to 8.0). If you don’t want to fight at all you can choose pacifier. Seems they’re giving everyone the ability to make the choice for themselves.
I don’t have to control the internal structure of coal mines hoping they won’t collapse. I just decide where they’re built and how many workers go in.
I don’t have to control the market delivers the correct items to the correct house. I just decide where to build it and then it does its job on its own.
I don’t tell the doctors how to cure a patient, I just build a healer’s house.
You ignored the traders house I brought up. Trade doesn’t play itself. The only method for trade to play itself is for you to choose to not trade. You can choose to not fight too. It’s called Pacifist mode.
What game difficulty are you playing? Can’t you just “set and leave it” in Pioneer mode? Or does throwing a combat flag ruin that? I don’t imagine I’d even need an army in pioneer mode. I could do it with single layered walls and guard towers. And in Pioneer mode the raiders rarely come, leaving you to “set and leave it” for longer periods. Is there a specific reason you want to play a harder level?
Are you willing to accept some damage, mayhem, theft, and killing inside your city? Most double and triple wall setups are meant to prevent ANY intrusion into a city. So Crate has reacted to that by making the Vanquisher raiders ai stronger and directing them in larger groups at weaker spots. The purpose of the raiding is to strain your resources in multiple ways, even “death by Bambi.” They can’t do that if they can’t make it through your defensive structures.
That’s not micromanaging in the slightest… it’s buy and sell. You move a couple of slides and you’re done.
The difficulty has nothing to do with the problem I’m raising.
All I said is that the raiders being able to compenetrate each other to all attack the same single piece of wall is what makes walls useless.