Solution/HintsSeeker's Guide to Battle
a Play / Strategy Guide for Multiplayer NetStorm
Contents
1.1 Getting Started
2.1 The Rest of the Game (Battle)
3.1 Strategy
4.2 Appendix : Spells 4.3 Appendix : Unit Strengths & Weaknesses (Strategy) 4.4 Appendix : Spells, Pros and Cons, Tips and Tricks
1.1 Getting Started The first thing you have to do of course, is start a multiplayer game. Once you are in, get the temple built right away. While the temple is building, don't sit there and watch it finish like I see many people doing. Get your workshop started. Then you can finish building both at around the same time, and not have to waste time building your workshop later in the game. Then start connecting to geysers and start gathering storm crystals, as much as possible, as fast as possible.
2.1 The Rest of the Game (Battle)
By this time you should have your temple up, your workshop ready, and
your transportation units (usually golems at the start) gathering storm
crystals. You should now have enough storm crystals to build an outpost,
and if necessary, build a generator. Now pick an island to build an
outpost. From this point on, expand your control and when you feel you
have sufficient resources, begin to build offensive and defensive units,
starting your attack against the enemy. Once you have eliminated your
opponent, have a transport go grab the immobilized enemy priest. Build
an altar, and have the transport set the enemy priest on the altar (for
aerial transports, in order to set the priest on the altar, you must aim
a little lower on the altar). Then have your priest sacrifice the enemy
priest.
3.1 Strategy
Lets resume where we left of in the Getting Started section. It is
important that you get a head start on your opponents by building your
temple and workshop quickly. In a real time game like this there is no
time to sit around and think. You can do that after you have started
attacking your opponent. If you do sit around, that will allow your
opponent to get the first blow. Now, it is important that you expand
quickly. Start using bridges to connect to geysers, taking control of
them, and to islands, also taking control of them with outposts. The
quicker you start your expansion, the less your opponent can get his
hands on, and the weaker he gets while you get stronger. This has helped
me win many games, in as little time as 5 minutes. When you build an
outpost, try to set them as close as possible to a geyser, if not right
next to one. This allows your transport units, preferably golems, have
less distance to move and allow you to get a quick initial infusion of
storm crystals. Then you can have enough storm crystals to start your
offensive early. If you see any of your opponents transport units
around, attack them so your opponent not only loses units, but gets a
smaller flow of money also. Also, make sure you yourself have plenty of
transport units. It is essential that you have a steady and constant
flow of storm crystals. If you are using aerial transports, then build
at least 10 and you don't have to worry about them any more. They will
go about gathering by themselves. Ground transports are a different
matter. Since they can't fly, you need to constantly be connecting to
storm geysers. If there aren't any left, they stop gathering and you are
in big trouble, your money supply being cut off. But don't just go
blindly building bridges, pay attention to two things. First is that you
are not going into enemy territory, because they can then destroy your
transports with ease, as they keep going back for more. The other thing
is that you make sure you are not getting attacked. You do not hear the
sound that are off screen, and by the time you hear "our island is under
attack," it is usually too late. Keep your eye on the battle field
constantly. If you are lucky and get the area with a lot of geysers, you
should have quite a bit of storm crystals in your pocket. It is time to
start attacking. Put units, if you haven't already, into production. If
you run out of slots, it is cheaper to build another workshop than to
upgrade, but you need to have room. Once you have put into production
what you need, start building units and attacking your opponent. Note:
You do not have to have your own bridge connected to an island to be
able to build on it; as long as you are able to get to that island with
a ground transport, even using or connecting to enemy bridges or
islands, you can build units on that island. Make sure you have plenty
of room to build so that you do not have one unit attacking, while the
opponent has three or so defending. Though it is usually not recommened
that you group your units closely together, it is smart at times to do
so. The more you have in one area, the more damage is done at one time.
The number of enemy units that you can destroy is well worth the cost of
replacing the units you lose because of vicinity explosion damage. It is
also helpful to build a group of units when attacking buildings, since
they can the be destroyed much more quickly. Also, make sure to leave
room for defensive units, since you can hide behind them and attack
enemy units while not recieving any damage. Each unit has its weakness
and strength, and those are documented in the Appendix. If you have
expanded as much and as quickly as I recommend, then you should be able
to make your way to your enemy's island. Attack his temple, if possible,
first so that you can build on his island and if you immobilize his
priest, he can not heal and you do not have to worry about grabbing him
quickly (that is unless there are multiple opponents, where you grab
them as quickly as possible so he doesn't get stolen). Another important
aspect of battle is the use of spells. Many consider them cheap but they
are very useful if used correctly. They are best gotten with aerial
units. Grab all you see in safe zones as quickly as possible so your
opponents don't get their hands on them. The best spell to get is
invisibility. Next to that is decimation because it has such a long
destructive range. Learn when and where to use your spells. Decimation
and invisibility is deadly combination, and the best one I know, but
there are others. Have your unit with invisibility cast it on your unit
with decimation. Then you have that invisible decimation unit head over
to your opponents. Land your unit right in the middle of his buildings,
and start casting. By the time your invisibility wears off, you should
have destroyed all of his buildings and disabled his priest. Then your
opponent is helpless, and you can finish him with ease. Any unit with a
spell that has had invisibility cast on it will allow you cast that
spell anywhere with ease. Treason is good to turn opponents units on him
near his island, and paralyze is good to paralyze units attacking you,
and allow you to destroy them wouthout resistance to get the kill
reward. Kill reward is important, because it provides you with extra
storm crystals. Kill all enemy units, and salvage any units that you
yourself are not using. Thats about all I can think of for now. I will
update this guide as I discover more tips and tricks, and feel free to
e-mail me. In order not to insult anyone, all mentions of he/him/his
on this page can also be replaced by she/her/hers. ;-)
4.2 Appendix : Spells*
Name Type Range Cost
Paralyze Defensive 7 1000
Point Blast Offensive 1 300
Invisibility Defensive 7 1000
Heal Defensive 9 200
Bridge Harden Defensive 7 150
Decimation Offensive 7 800
Devastation Offensive 3 400
Treason Offensive 7 2000
* This chart contains all pertinent information regarding spells. Damage
in game is listed as special, and so there are no numerical numbers.
I'll add them if I can find them. 4.3 Appendix : Unit Strengths & Weaknesses (Strategy)
Sun
Golem - One of the transport units with the least hits. Good for short
distance gathering of storm crystals.
Disk Thrower - An units that has relatively little range and does little
damage. It also does virtually no damage to Cloud Floaters. Useful
against Whirligigs and Man 'o Wars.
Sun Cannon - A good overall shooter. It does a decent amount of damage,
is cheap to build, and requires little energy. It's main weakness is its
slow shot speed, allowing it to be easily destroyed by faster shooting
units such as the Crossbow.
Stone Tower - A cheap wall that requires little energy. Only down side
is that it doesn't have any special abilities like the other defensive
units have. Whirligig and Base - Weak units in both in hits and damage, but have nice range. Are good for bombing enemy units at long range.
Balloon - The cheapest flying transport, both in cost and energy. It is
good for gathering crystals without having to build bridges, but very
easy to kill.
Sun Barricade - A really nice wall when put in pairs that does not allow
any enemy fire to pass in- between. Its weakness is that when one of the
pair is destroyed, the beam in the middle vanishes. Also, when
attempting to make a square around your island, it is a pain to align
all four.
Wind Sail Skater - A fast transportation unit that is useful for all gathering activities. Costs relatively little but is still rather weak.
Crossbow - It's strength lies in its high damage and it's incredible
shot speed. If used in large groups, in
inflicts huge amounts of damage. Its only real weakness is that it can
be attacked from behind and that is has less hits than other shooter
units. Wind Tower - A really useful wall because one face is utterly invincible. Good for blocking all shooters except Ice Cannons unless set right in front of them. Vulnerable to aerial attacks.
Dust Devil & Base - A strong unit with good range. There are no real
weaknesses. The Dust Devil is a really deadly unit. It does lots of
damage and can not be destroyed, except by the Acid Barricade. Dust
Devil only lasts ten seconds. Takes 20 to remake. Air Ship - The most versatile transport unit. It can sustain large amounts of damage, and flies. It is good for all gathering activities. It does however, cost a lot and requires lots of energy.
Rain Acid Barricade - A cheap defensive unit in both cost and energy. Deadly because it sucks up everything built or moving between it. However, it's not really a wall, so not useful for any other form of defence.
Crystal Crab - A transport unit that I have had little experience with.
It is faster than a golem, so can be used for longer range gathering,
though that requires extensive bridge building. Can take more damage
than Golem and Sail Skater, but still weak.
Ice Tower - Another good wall. It regenerates, so it's hard to get rid
of. Must have base destroyed by a spell. A great cost saver. Bad thing
is that regeneration takes time, and while that happens, damage goes
through. Better used in layers. Ice Cannon - A weak shooter, but fires a lot and very fast. It's projectiles also split and ricochet. Its weakness is that is can be attacked from sides and behind, and that if a unit is placed right in front of it, usually a wall, it tends to kill itself. Man 'o War and Base - Another good aerial unit with good range. The Man 'o Wars can take quite a bit of damage, and deal decent amounts of damage themselves. However, their bases are easy to destroy.
Cloud Floater - Another good transport unit. It has very little hits by
itself, but it's very hard to shoot it. Most shooters miss it 75% of the
time and the Sun Discs just bounce off it. A good unit for all gathering
activities.
Thunder Bulf - A transport unit that can take the most damage out off all transport units, and is realtively cheap in both cost and energy. It is however, the slowest, and not very useful in the long run. Thunder Cannon - A really good shooter. It does the most damage and has the greatest range. It is so damaging in an offensive that may people hate them, and remove them from the game. It's down side is that it is expensive and can be attacked from the sides and back.
Arc Spire - Like the Sun Cannon and Acid Barrier. Works in pairs and
does much damage to the units that pass between it. It's down side is
that is hurts all units, even yours.
Bulwark - The best wall in the game. It can take huge amounts of damage
and is immune to aerial attacks. It has no real weaknesses, and is good
for drawing Dust Devil and Man 'o War attacks away from your units and
buildings.
Vander Tower - A strong shooter that only attacks aerial units. Good to
pick off enemy transports and defend against aerial spell attacks. Its
weakness is that it is easy to destroy. 4.4 Appendix : Spells, Pros and Cons, Tips and Tricks
Paralyze - This spell is very useful when you are able to cast them
amongst a group of enemy units. This is also good to use on an enemy
priest. When cast on an enemy priest, the priest becones immobilized and
can no heal even though his temple still exists. The only way to heal
paralysis is to cast heal. An expensive spell but well worth the cost.
You can then destroy the paralyzed units without resistance and get your
money back. Point Blast - This is one of the worst spells there is. The range is so small that you must use a small unit like a golem or a balloon to be able to even use it. Even then, it is still hard to find a spot next to a scructure close enough so that the spell does damage. This spell is very weak, the weakest it seems out of the damaging offensive spells, but costs relatively little. It's not worth your time to use this spell. Invisibility - One of my favorite spells in the game. Though costly, it is very effective when used with other offensive spells. It allows you units to move without hinderance and destroy the enemy without resistance. It is also useful to hide your priest and altar.
Heal - A cheap spell to cast that is used mainly used to cure paralysis.
It is also useful to around your island when it is being attacked. You
can heal your structures while mounting a defence.
Bridge Harden - Another spell I find rather useless. It hardens your
bridges and prevents them from being destroyed. You do not have time to
do this in the game, and there is no real necessity to. If a bridge is
destroyed, build another one. The only good thing is that it's the
cheapest spell of them all.
Decimation - The best offensive spell in the game. It is best used in
conjunction with invisibility. Becuase of its long range, it is possible
to destroy many enemy structures at once. Especially damaging at the
center of your opponents island, where all his vital structures are
located. You can then blow them all up at once.
Devastation - A weaker spell than Decimation and has half the range.
Your priest can pray for it, and is still rather useful. Can also be
used in conjunction with invisibility to do the same things that can be
done with Decimation.
Treason - Another powerful spell. If used correctly, and even better in
conjunction with invisibility, it can be used to turn an opponents units
against him. Especially useful with enemy aerial units and transports.
The aerial units will be able to target enemy structures since they
won't be facing you instead of your opponent, and the transports will
gather resources for you. The most expensive spell, but what you usually
get out is more than what you put in. |
