By Wigglefig

Gotten your feet wet in singleplayer and want to test the multiplayer waters? This handy guide will show you exactly how to use the two most common ways to sign up to Dominions 6 multiplayer games: Mr. Clockwork and Dominions Envoy.

With the advent of Dominions 6, Illwinter now hosts their own server where players can create and join multiplayer games. Joining or creating a game on this server is as easy as going to the main menu and clicking Network ⇒ Enter Game Lobby (under Illwinter's Game Server).

This is a great option if you already have a group of friends to play with who you can share the password with. However, there are not usually any publicly open games; most Dominions 6 multiplayer games using Illwinter's servers are facilitated by Dominions Envoy. Alternatively, Mr. Clockwork games run on their own servers entirely.

Dominions 6's multiplayer community primarily exists on Discord servers. See the list of servers here and join one that takes your fancy. My personal recommendations are Nexus (very active and frequent new games) and Dominions Envoy (very frequent new games) to start, but many Dominions players end up joining multiple servers. Once you're ready to actually start playing, read through the sections below.

Regardless of what type of game you're playing, it is a good idea to expansion-test your nation. This means playing the first 12 or so turns of a singleplayer game with that nation until you are comfortable with expansion. You might want to look up popular pretender builds with that nation and tweak your scales until you can produce enough troops to take independent provinces at a good pace. Typically, 20 provinces by turn 12 is a good benchmark for the average player.

Expansion testing your nation is the best way to ensure that you have a good time in multiplayer; nobody likes being stuck on 9 provinces in year 1 while the rest of the lobby gets their cool mages and magic online!

A holdover from Dominions 4/5, Mr. Clockwork is still hosting multiplayer games in the age of Dominions 6. It is integrated into most of the Dominions Discord servers - if a multiplayer game isn't on Envoy, it's on Mr. Clockwork.

Mr. Clockwork tracks which games you are involved in and pings you as new turns become available. You can use the Mr. Clockwork Dominions Hosting Website to track your games from your browser, and host your own games. This hosting service is supported by generous donations from various players in the community; consider donating if you've had good experiences using Mr. Clockwork!

Most Dominions servers have a "recruiting" channels section. These channels are for open games that anybody can join. It is polite to ping the game's host (@ their discord username) to ask for permission to join. If you're joining a multiplayer game for the very first time, look for channels with the word "noob" in their name.

Once the game host has gotten back to you, join the game in Dominions 6 by navigating from the main menu to Network ⇒ Connect to a Game Server (under Personal Game Server). Enter the IP in the game info message that is pinned to that game's Discord channel, then click "Ok", then enter the IP, then click "Ok" again. When joining Mr. Clockwork games, Dominions 6 will automatically download any mods required for that game.

You should now see a list of nations available in that lobby. Click on the nation you want to play and select the pretender design you want to use for that game. You should pre-create one using Tools & Manuals ⇒ Create a Pretender God. Make sure you put a password on pretenders you plan to use in multiplayer games!

Finally, go back to that game's Discord channel and use the /claim command to claim your nation. Congratulations: you have just joined your first Mr. Clockwork game! If you want to message other players involved in the game (such as for diplomacy purposes), you can find their usernames using /pretenders. If you are eliminated from the game, you can stop Mr. Clockwork from pinging you about new turns using /unsubscribe.

If there aren't any games suitable for you, you are welcome to try hosting your own. The easiest way to host your own game is by going to the Mr. Clockwork website, clicking 'Host Dominions 6', and entering your preferred settings. Alternatively, you can use Discord commands as explained below.

In most Dominions Discord servers, there is a dedicated channel for using game hosting-related commands. Check the capacity of Mr. Clockwork's servers using /capacity. Once you have identified one with enough space, use /host to open up a game channel for your own game. The Mr. Clockwork bot will message you privately to allow you to adjust the settings.

When the channel for your game opens, the first message in the channel should be an automated message from Mr. Clockwork containing the basic details for that game, including the IP and port which players will use to join that game. You should reply to that message with a basic description of that game (number of players, which age, and any mods being used) as well as an empty player list. Pin this message so that it is easily accessible (on Nexus you'll need to react to the message with the pin emoji). As players join, you should update the player list with their Discord usernames and which nation they are playing.

You will probably need a map file for your game; popular options include generating one using Cartographic Revision, the base game map generator (Tools & Manuals ⇒ Random Map Creator) or Mapnuke 2, or grabbing one from the Steam Workshop. If you use one directly from Steam Workshop, you'll have to find the file itself by rooting around in whichever directory your have stored your steam files in.

Once your game is full and your map set, /launch, then /start_game and away you go!

Dominions Envoy is the newest hosting service for Dominions games. It has its own Dominions Discord server here, where all Dominions Envoy games are tracked. Similar to Mr. Clockwork, it also has its own website which you can find here, where you can see your games, peruse a global stats from Envoy games, and donate to help fund its operations.

The Dominions Envoy server has its own guides for using its commands, but some instructions are included below for your convenience.

Joining a game using Dominions Envoy is fairly straightforward. Simply go to the open games channel on the Dominions Envoy Discord server, click on one of the channels listed by the Envoy bot, and jump to the latest message. You will usually be able to find a game info message sent by the bot; click 'Apply To Join' underneath this message. Once your application is accepted, the Envoy bot will send you a DM with the lobby's password. Find the lobby in Illwinter's Game Server (Network ⇒ Enter Game Lobby ⇒ Filter ⇒ enter lobby's name), enter the password, submit a pretender you designed earlier, and you're in!

Host a game using Dominions Envoy with /host, or click on one of the Host option button underneath the Envoy bot's message in the open games channel. Within ten minutes, use Dominions 6 to create a multiplayer game with the same details using Illwinter's game server (Network ⇒ Start Game Server). The thread for that game should be updated with the game's details and it will be listed publicly in the open games channel. Keep an eye out for players that want to join your game and accept their applications.