Illwiki Dominions 5 Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

Trace:
beginner-s-guide

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revision Previous revision
Next revision 		Previous revision
Next revision Both sides next revision
beginner-s-guide [2020/07/02 10:39]
naaira [Other guides for Beginners by our players] 		beginner-s-guide [2020/10/03 03:12]
bonewhite [Pretender design] Adding advice about first game pretenders.
Line 1: Line 1:
 ====== A Beginner's Guide to playing Dominions 5 ====== ====== A Beginner's Guide to playing Dominions 5 ======
 +
 +Hello my friends.  This is Maerlande.  I started this guide in January 2020 and got very stumped.  But it's mostly my work.  I have some collaborators that will hopefully join in.  The hard part is that I have played Dominions for over a decade and it's not easy to remember the new player challenges.  There is a talk page and you can find me on Steam or many of the discords with your questions.  We will try to add them into the guide.  Please see the talk page for the scope and goals of this guide.
 +
 +Recently new players have been commenting that it's hard to find the lingo and slang used a lot discussing the game.  This wiki page is a good start and feel free to post questions in the discussion page.  [[https://illwiki.com/dom5/acronyms|Commonly Used Shorthands]]
  
  
 ===== Game settings and setup ===== ===== Game settings and setup =====
  
-Your first step will likely be to decide if you want to play alone, in single player (SP), or with other human beings, multiplayer (SP).  A common idea is try playing the game on basic difficulty in single player with a nation you like to get a feel for the core ideas of the game.  There are many long time, even expert players, who only play SP.  Preferably, our community does not disparage that choice as it's fully valid and includes players who helped in the beta test of Dominions 4 and 5.+Your first step will likely be to decide if you want to play alone, in single player (SP), or with other human beings, multiplayer (MP).  A common idea is try playing the game on basic difficulty in single player with a nation you like to get a feel for the core ideas of the game.  There are many long time, even expert players, who only play SP.  Preferably, our community does not disparage that choice as it's fully valid and includes players who helped in the beta test of Dominions 4 and 5.
  
 Let's get started with single player. Let's get started with single player.
Line 10: Line 14:
  
  
-==== Single Player Setup ==== +Your first step is start Dominions 5 and choose "Create World."{{ :dominions5startscreen.png?400 |}}
- +
-Your first step is start Dominions 5 and choose "Create World."+
  
 === Map Selection=== === Map Selection===
Line 36: Line 38:
 === Nation Selection === === Nation Selection ===
  
-This is largely a matter of choice although it's possible to sum up a few basic recommendations.  Some types of nations and magic are significantly more difficult and beginners may want to leave them for a while.  It is a large topic to list nations by ease of play and popularity and is a issue with a lot of subjectivity that generates many long discussion in the community. +This is largely a matter of choice although it's possible to sum up a few basic recommendations.  Some types of nations and magic are significantly more difficult and beginners may want to leave them for a while.  It is a large topic to list nations by ease of play and popularity and is a issue with a lot of subjectivity that generates many long discussion in the community.  I have a couple rules of thumb for nations that are easier to play as a beginner.  Avoid astral and blood magic.  Both are extremely powerful but add a lot of complexity to research, spells and scripts for combat.  Look for nations with a few strong types of magic.  Early Age Agartha comes to mind with one of the best and simple magic choices in earth.  Nations with giant troops can be easy to learn with.  And nations like Ulm with excellent basic troops are simple.
- +
-Some simple suggestions may help for beginners.  A list of [[nations|nation categories (archtypes)]] has been prepared which will help to choose. +
  
 +Some simple suggestions may help for beginners.  A list of [[nations|nation categories (archtypes)]] has been prepared which will help to choose.  The list of types is at the bottom.
  
  
Line 46: Line 46:
 === Game Settings === === Game Settings ===
  
-In a proper Order we'd have to talk about the pretender design part but as it is a tough morcel, you'll find more below, and let's get going with the game settings. +Here I'll fastly cover the settings that really matter for a new player. 
  
-Here I'll fastly cover the settings that really matter for a new player. But more details about this can be found on the following page : https://illwiki.com/dom5/beginner-s-guide_game_settings+   * I'd recommend to play with random events set on rare for a beginner.  
 +Events are affected by many factors and it can prove fatal under certain circumstances. Let's agree that to begin you might want to focus on the game itself and not lose by turn 4( or two with Early Age Mictlan) because you played with fire in the settings. :) 
  
-   * I'd recommand to play with random events set on rare for a beginning.  +   * In the same light I'd recommend to keep the story events disabled. Story events often lead to disastrous ends if not handled correctly. 
-Events are affected by many factor and it can prove Fatal under certain circumstances. Let's agree that to begin you might want to focus on the game itself and not lose by turn 4( or two with Early age Mictlan) because you played with fire in the settings :) +
  
-   * In the same Light I'd recommand to keep the story events disabled. For similar reasons, as story events often lead to disastrous ends if not handled correctly. +   * Thrones of Ascension: Clicking on this will enable to choose the victory condition, the most common being victory by thrones of ascension. Although there are other settings, going with the classic victory setting of the game can never go wrong :) 
  
-   * **Thrones of ascension** : Clicking on this will enable to choose the victory condition.  +   * In this pop up you'll want to ensure that Cataclysm is disabled. Although it is a setting often used in multiplayer to avoid games that never ends, let's say you don't want the end of the world to just end your very first playthrough. 
-The most common being victory by thrones of ascension. Although there is other settings, going with the classic victory setting of the game can never go wrong :) +
  
-   * In this pop up you'll want to ensure that Cataclysm is disabled. Although it is a setting often used in Multiplayer to avoid games that never ends, let's say you don't want the end of the world to just end your very first playtrough. +   * Then probably the most Important aspect of this selection : The number of ascension point required. And number of thrones of each level present in the game. I'd recommend to set the thrones to level 2 or 1 being as many as the total nation count for the game and divide the total value of those throne +1 as the required number of ascension point required. It'll ensure a fairly doable game condition for you, and a defeat that won't come too fast either otherwise. 
  
-   * Then probably the most Important aspect of this selection : The number of ascension point required. And number of thrones of each level present in the game.  +===== Review your Nation =====
-      +
-I'd recommand to set the thrones to level 2 or 1 being as many as the total nation count for the game and divide the total value of those throne +1 as the required number of ascension point required. It'll ensure a fairly doable game condition for you, and a defeat that won't come too fast either otherwise. +
  
-===== Nation selection =====+The game includes a nice feature to make reviewing each nation quick.  From the "Choose Participants" screen in starting a new game, after you have set your nation, click "Ok" and a screen opens with your nation shown with the lore, a summary of it's key features and icons for all the commanders, units, and sites.  A feature many do not know when new to the game is that each of those icons has a tool tip giving most detail about the unit.  Click on any icon to open a detailed description.  And most of the listed statistics or attributes can be clicked for more detail.  Try it out.{{ :ulmnationreview.png?400  |}}
  
-  * Discuss [[nations|nation archetypes]]?+  
   * What makes a nation easy, or hard, to play.   * What makes a nation easy, or hard, to play.
   * How to quickly review the commanders and troops of a nation.   * How to quickly review the commanders and troops of a nation.
Line 74: Line 71:
  
   * [[pretender-archetypes|Pretenders Archetypes]] There are a few main options for competitive Pretenders you can choose from. Scales builds, Bless builds, Expander builds, Specific Spell builds, and Rainbow builds.   * [[pretender-archetypes|Pretenders Archetypes]] There are a few main options for competitive Pretenders you can choose from. Scales builds, Bless builds, Expander builds, Specific Spell builds, and Rainbow builds.
 +
 +==== Your first game Pretender ====
 +
 +Awake Pretenders with an Expander build are a good choice for your first game. This allows you to have a combat-suited Pretender from turn 1 that can help you expand and explore more of Dominion's mechanics from the start, such as [[thugs-and-supercombatants|Thugs and Supercombatants]] and [[combat-magic|Combat Magic]].
 +
 +You can find many suggestions for your Pretender's build on individual guides for that race, but in general a Dominions 2 Monster Chassis is usually a simple and effective start. Pick one you like, give it some magic and add a [[bless|Bless]] or two.
 +
 +Note that your pretender will only receive your bless //if// you are attacking or defending a province with your [[dominion|Dominion]].
 +
 +==== Subsequent Games ====
 +
 +For later games, feel free to mix up your Pretender design. This is often done in consideration with a race's [[power-curve|Power Curve]]
 =====  First turns =====  =====  First turns ===== 
  
Line 91: Line 100:
  
 As you begin expanding, you will generally want to begin producing mages from your capital as soon as possible and setting them to research and/or search for magic sites. If you are new to Dominions, the magic system may seem intimidating. The best way to learn is to experiment with it! As you begin expanding, you will generally want to begin producing mages from your capital as soon as possible and setting them to research and/or search for magic sites. If you are new to Dominions, the magic system may seem intimidating. The best way to learn is to experiment with it!
 +
 +===== Joining and Playing Multiplayer Dominions =====
 +
 +More info!
 +
 +
 ===== Other guides for Beginners by our players ===== ===== Other guides for Beginners by our players =====
  
 [[https://illwiki.com/dom5/wiki/pretender_design_analysis_maerlande|Pretender Design and Analysis by Maerlande]] [[https://illwiki.com/dom5/wiki/pretender_design_analysis_maerlande|Pretender Design and Analysis by Maerlande]]
 +
 [[https://illwiki.com/dom5/wiki/common_beginner_mistakes|Common Beginner Mistakes]] [[https://illwiki.com/dom5/wiki/common_beginner_mistakes|Common Beginner Mistakes]]
  
 +[[http://dominionsmods.com/index.php?showtopic=3364|Taorec's All Nations Guide]]
beginner-s-guide.txt · Last modified: 2020/10/31 21:46 by fenrir

Page Tools

Content is available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. The Illwiki Dominions 5 wiki is not affiliated with Illwinter Game Design, the creators of Dominions 5.