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guides:xibalba_expansion_guide [2025/07/14 00:50]
cybertron2 [Above Ground Expansion Notes]
guides:xibalba_expansion_guide [2025/09/02 00:34] (current)
cybertron2 [The 3 basic formations]
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 To determine how many parties you need, start at a default 6*4. That is the basic optimal number. Never go below 5*3 unless you’ve done some serious testing (I haven’t bothered, this would only work on small provinces in specific circumstances). As a rule of thumb, you want another group of 4 for every 10 troops. So if there’s 70 enemies, you want 7x4. My recommendation is once you get above 6x4, the cost of failure is very high, so be cautious and take extra groups. 10x4 is the upper limit, this clears almost all provinces the x4 would. To determine how many parties you need, start at a default 6*4. That is the basic optimal number. Never go below 5*3 unless you’ve done some serious testing (I haven’t bothered, this would only work on small provinces in specific circumstances). As a rule of thumb, you want another group of 4 for every 10 troops. So if there’s 70 enemies, you want 7x4. My recommendation is once you get above 6x4, the cost of failure is very high, so be cautious and take extra groups. 10x4 is the upper limit, this clears almost all provinces the x4 would.
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 +There is always a temptation to use a 5x4 or 5x5 formation as it only requires one commander. This can work - but the 'magic number 6' was the result of a lot of testing. The issue with 5x4 is essentially a saturation one - it seems at 6x4 against most indies it consistently gets a block on the commander, when 5x4 is somewhere between 66% and 80%. Given an entire expansion party is expended success or failure (but you keep the commanders), this gets very expensive very quickly - and as such the 6 * 4 tends to be better off for expansion overall - albeit there are always times where it's best to be a little risky and just send 1 commander with a 5x4
  
 ===Scorpions=== ===Scorpions===
  
 Broadly, by attaching scorpions to the smaller formations, you reduce the number of enemies that attack your units, and in turn reduce attrition. Similarly, that little extra survivability can really help your bats (the damage units) do better. Broadly, by attaching scorpions to the smaller formations, you reduce the number of enemies that attack your units, and in turn reduce attrition. Similarly, that little extra survivability can really help your bats (the damage units) do better.
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 +
 +===Special Above Ground Addendum===
 +When attacking above ground indies - the sweet spot seems to be nx5 or nx6. This is because you need to usually attack through slightly higher defense and armor values. nx4 still works somewhat - especially on unarmored things like tribesmen, but the parties will be considerably more consistent at nx5 and nx6 (albeit nx4 should still be somewhat reliable). The exact sweet spot for above ground indies is unknown but it sits somewhere between 4 and 7 - and varies substantially based on the poptype. 
  
 ====Troops==== ====Troops====
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 - Heavy Cav commanders - use a 5 * N or 6 * N above ground rather than a 4 * N for consistency (5 should suffice against lighter heavy cav) - Heavy Cav commanders - use a 5 * N or 6 * N above ground rather than a 4 * N for consistency (5 should suffice against lighter heavy cav)
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 +  * Above ground do a 5xn, 6xn or 7xn to factor in the higher armor/hp of most commanders. This can be ignored on a few provinces, but its tricky to min/max. The increased success rate is worth the extra gold
  
 ====Many thanks==== ====Many thanks====
 Many thanks to ER_zero, a longtime pillar of the EA Xibalba community for all his help RE expansion. This guide wouldn’t have been possible without him. The 10x formation is his. Many thanks to ER_zero, a longtime pillar of the EA Xibalba community for all his help RE expansion. This guide wouldn’t have been possible without him. The 10x formation is his.
  
guides/xibalba_expansion_guide.1752454209.txt.gz · Last modified: 2025/07/14 00:50 by cybertron2