blakkmantis
Legionary
posted 21 June 2009 14:39 EDT (US)
I have been starting to dabble with using Assassins and killing other Assassins. And how Spys fall into this. Also how to protect my Generals and high ranking family members from these nasty little dudes who are always trying to "wack" them, lol.
mrcash
Legionary
posted 21 June 2009 15:08
EDT (US)
1 / 12
Practice makes perfect. Have your assasins and spies work on low lv target to raise their skills. Perfect targets include all the wandering diplomats the A.I usually has around your place, rebel captains (sometimes), and any low lvl general you see. Be on a sharp lookout for any general that has traits affecting his security (some generals grow too trusting and make easier targets for instance).
To protect against spies and assasins, you need to use your own spies and assasins. I also suggest not leaving important generals inside settlements for TOO long or they start to develop bad traits that diminish their security.
blakkmantis
Legionary
posted 21 June 2009 15:52
EDT (US)
2 / 12
Ah very good advice thank you! I have noticed spys seem to be almost impossible to kill. I suppose it's safe to assume then, I have to level up my assassins first before having a decent chance to "wack" them?
Somewhere here on these forums I remember reading someone was saying having a spy and an assassin travel in your generals army to help them avoid being killed by enemy assassins. Is this correct?
tbarak
Legionary
posted 21 June 2009 17:22
EDT (US)
3 / 12
A couple of things that haven't been mentioned:
Spies
When you infiltrate an enemy city with a spy you'll notice a message that says something to the effect, "There is a xx% chance the spy will open the gates". So, when you attack that city, the spy may open the gates for you so you won't have to smash the walls to enter it.
Also if you don't have towers in place, spies are great for seeing what is approaching your cities, giving ample warning of an attack.
Assassins
I like to visit enemy towns a few turns before attacking them with a spy and a couple of assassins. Send the spy in, and if you notice a low morale you can sabotage "moral buildings" with assassins. For example if you flame a temple, the morale in that town may drop to critical and the town may revolt. I use two assassins since sometimes one attack only drops the building down to 25% - 50% damage, and when you take a turn, the AI will repair the building. So two assassins are more effective. Interdicting a town like that will deny the enemy the resources that town generates - and it's fun too!
Arkrai
Legionary
posted 22 June 2009 08:31
EDT (US)
6 / 12
Another more advanced technique, though fairly easy to use, is using spies for biological warfare.
The idea is for a spy to infiltrate a city which is infected with the plague. The spy will get the plague, and then you take the spy and infiltrate nearby enemy cities, spreading the plague to their cities.
Its probably not a good idea to use high-skill spies for this, as chances are they will die from the plague at some point.
Lanky Lancer
Legionary
posted 23 June 2009 04:03
EDT (US)
8 / 12
By cleaning house of rival diplomats on home soil, training assassins is not that hard. Especially mid game, most diplomats are crappy, cause the really good ones from the beginning of the game are dead, and Lord AI doesn't make enough treaties and alliances later in the game to train up decent diplomats. Hence, easy targets. Enemy assassins are very rarely any good because they send them against hard targets too soon, fail and end up with no skill points at all, and weaker agents are easier targets. If you've already been using assassins, trading ancillaries from an old, skilled assassin to a younger recruit makes it even easier.
Having, say 3, 5-7 skill assassins is enough to make any invasion easier. The idea isn't having an assassin that will never die, cause there is always a chance of him messing up his last job. The idea is that there is a good enough chance of him succeeding on any given job. Continously destroying military buildings stops his production, but if his economy is still going, he can keep repairing them. Sure it means that he can't train that turn, but its time consuming and not that effective.
Trashing Lord AI's economy is even more fun and effective. Ports to kill naval trade, markets to cut what trade remains. happiness buildings so he has to cut down on taxes. If you completely neuter his economy, then wipe out his military buildings when he can't afford to repair them you can, quite literally, destroy Lord AI's kingdoms capacity to wage war. I think Subrosa did that really well in her Scythian defensive campaign, have a look there.
it seems, unless Lord AI is stacked on Law buildings, sabotage missions are easier than assassinations, but don't build up your agents as much. So, kill some agents to improve some Assassins, then proceed to go all out against some buildings, then, once the enemy is broken, attack.
Arkrai
Legionary
posted 23 June 2009 05:35
EDT (US)
9 / 12
I never saw the point of using assassins in sabotage missions. It would be more useful if the building was actually destroyed, rather then being reparable the next turn.
Lanky Lancer
Legionary
posted 23 June 2009 06:39
EDT (US)
10 / 12
true, that is why sabotage on mass is important. If you sabotage a building you deny its use for one turn, great if you want Lord AI to have one less Armoured Hoplite in its garrison when you attack next turn, and have a squad of Peltasts instead. However by attacking on mass (at least 3 assassins) you can be crippling every economic building in a city (port, market, temple), not only costing money to repair, but also lost income. If his income is already struggling, Lord AI might lack money for repairs, which is ideal. While repair in one turn is still possible, its the economic strain that sabotage causes thats is the real strength.