I'm Baaacckkk!

[DeletedUser27096]

OK, so I have a few more questions for the community. Thanks in advance for your friendly and insightful help!

Before I go on, I am playing on an iPad with the iOS version of FoE.

1. Are there more functions/capabilities if I play FoE on my laptop (browser) vs my iPad? I get the feeling that I am missing a lot of the functionality that is discussed on here, which may be why I am so confused.
2. I saw that some people are able to customize the text that appears under their name if you click on their name when you are visiting their city. How do you do this? I have clicked on My Profile but the only option I am given is to change my avatar (and as an aside, since I've read this in other posts, the provided avatars are just weird looking. Inno should hire a new illustrator.)
3. Is there a glossary somewhere of all the ubiquitous acronyms I am seeing? GE? GvG? WTH?
4. Do I have to reach a certain age before I can participate in the Guild Events?
5. What are the rewards in these Guild events? What do I need to do to help my guild?
6. I am not seeing any "calls to action" or any communication, for that matter, from my guild leader. Is this normal?
7. What are the best type of soldiers to have to win in battles. The horsemen (and the stone launchers) seem to die easily. I can't figure out what the heck the slingers do. Are the spear throwers my best option for the Bronze Age? What should I invest in in the Iron Age, for the strongest military?

Thanks again everyone...I may write a compilation of all your answers to help other newcomers in the future!

 

[wolfhoundtoo]

Well I'll toss in my 2 cents on some of your questions?

3) You could try the FOE wiki (I haven't looked but it might discuss some of these items there) but mostly I suggest you just ask and people will usually share. GE means Guild expeditions. GvG refers to the guild maps in which your guild can fight other guilds to acquire territory. WTH I have no idea...as the only thing that is short for is not foe related.
4) You have to research a technology to be able to join a guild. That is the only requirement for participation in guild events. GVG has various levels which require troops of that age/era to be utilized in that area (so for example if you were fighting on the Colonial Age GVG map you can only use Colonial Age troops (or no age troops such as rogues) to participate. GE you simply need to be in the Guild by Monday......then you can participate in the GE that begins on Tuesday.

5) GE provides points which convert into power. Enough power will raise the level of your guild which unlock benefits. there are others but most people like the additional forge points that some levels provide in your town hall daily as the most popular benefit.

6) It would depend upon the guild but generally speaking if there are no forums and no real communication going on then I'd suggest finding another guild.

7) The type of troops that you utilize is going to be determined mostly by the enemy units that you face. The slingers you refer to allow you to do some damage at a distance without taking 'retaliation' damage (the damage a unit takes when the enemy counterattacks). I found that the slingers/spear throwers worked best for me (although it will depend upon your style). Do you fight manually or autobattle?

 

[DeletedUser25273]

for 1) Yes, the Mobile version of the Game is missing several features and others are somewhat degraded. The biggest one you miss is the Guild vs Guild battle map, Guild Forums, and Chat (That may be why you don't see some things from your guild). You also miss the Treasure Hunt game, and the ability to customize your profile text (last I looked that was listed as 'coming').

 

[DeletedUser26154]

Are there more functions/capabilities if I play FoE on my laptop (browser) vs my iPad? I get the feeling that I am missing a lot of the functionality that is discussed on here, which may be why I am so confused.

Nomad Richie is right.
I play on my desktop for the serious stuff, and I use the mobile to...
You know...


Always collect on time!

 

[DeletedUser27096]

Well I'll toss in my 2 cents on some of your questions?

3) You could try the FOE wiki (I haven't looked but it might discuss some of these items there) but mostly I suggest you just ask and people will usually share. GE means Guild expeditions. GvG refers to the guild maps in which your guild can fight other guilds to acquire territory. WTH I have no idea...as the only thing that is short for is not foe related.
4) You have to research a technology to be able to join a guild. That is the only requirement for participation in guild events. GVG has various levels which require troops of that age/era to be utilized in that area (so for example if you were fighting on the Colonial Age GVG map you can only use Colonial Age troops (or no age troops such as rogues) to participate. GE you simply need to be in the Guild by Monday......then you can participate in the GE that begins on Tuesday.

5) GE provides points which convert into power. Enough power will raise the level of your guild which unlock benefits. there are others but most people like the additional forge points that some levels provide in your town hall daily as the most popular benefit.

6) It would depend upon the guild but generally speaking if there are no forums and no real communication going on then I'd suggest finding another guild.

7) The type of troops that you utilize is going to be determined mostly by the enemy units that you face. The slingers you refer to allow you to do some damage at a distance without taking 'retaliation' damage (the damage a unit takes when the enemy counterattacks). I found that the slingers/spear throwers worked best for me (although it will depend upon your style). Do you fight manually or autobattle?

Thanks for your answers! I fight manually but since I don't understand very well the functions of each soldier, the field strategies (i.e. how far to advance, use of terrain, etc.) or what some of the stats mean (when I click on the soldier type, there is a lot of stats information that I don't understand and during a battle, the enemy shows numbers (such as 4/7) above them (along with a blue/red bar) that I believe somehow equates to number of hits needed to kill them but I can't figure out how the numbers are calculated. Is it based on the strength/type of my soldier I am fighting with? In other words, if I use a spearfighter, does each hit equal one strike but if I use a warrior, each hit equals 2 strikes? Is it affected by the type of soldier I'm fighting against?

I really appreciate the help!

 

[DeletedUser27096]

for 1) Yes, the Mobile version of the Game is missing several features and others are somewhat degraded. The biggest one you miss is the Guild vs Guild battle map, Guild Forums, and Chat (That may be why you don't see some things from your guild). You also miss the Treasure Hunt game, and the ability to customize your profile text (last I looked that was listed as 'coming').

Thanks for your reply! This really kind of ticks me off as Inno is advertising this game all over the place that it is the mobile version of the game. Nowhere do they say that the mobile version is incomplete and will not allow you to take full advantage of resources other players enjoy. It's basically a bait and switch tactic, which is illegal in the US (you can't offer someone something (in this case, the same game, now on mobile) and then supply an inferior product (not the same game). At the very least, Inno should provide mobile users a clear list of what they won't be able to do on mobile that they can on desktop, Then people could decide if having the app and playing solely on desktop is worth it. Sigh...sorry for the rant but trying to play and not having all the tools needed is very frustrating. Have a great day !

 

[wolfhoundtoo]

Thanks for your answers! I fight manually but since I don't understand very well the functions of each soldier, the field strategies (i.e. how far to advance, use of terrain, etc.) or what some of the stats mean (when I click on the soldier type, there is a lot of stats information that I don't understand and during a battle, the enemy shows numbers (such as 4/7) above them (along with a blue/red bar) that I believe somehow equates to number of hits needed to kill them but I can't figure out how the numbers are calculated. Is it based on the strength/type of my soldier I am fighting with? In other words, if I use a spearfighter, does each hit equal one strike but if I use a warrior, each hit equals 2 strikes? Is it affected by the type of soldier I'm fighting against?

I really appreciate the help!

I'm going to post some tips that were put up in one of my guilds awhile back to hopefully help you:

Ok, first thing to know about battle is….

UNIT STRENGTHS- (Not strength in numbers!) Just because an opponent has a stronger army than you doesn't mean you can't beat him, also just because you have a stronger army, don't get overconfident that you will win. So you want to match up your army's strengths against their weaknesses. How?

MATCHUP CYCLE- By what I call the unit matchup cycle, which is true in any battle game or even real combat, namely every unit excels against one other unit type and is weak against another unit type. As follows: Light Units beat Fast Units; Fast Units beat Ranged Units; Ranged Units beat Heavy Units; Heavy Units beat Light Units. See the cycle? So the goal is to match up your units so they have the best chance to win. For example, don't attack a heavy unit (i.e. warrior) with a light unit (spearman). If possible, attack warrior with slinger or archer. Even if your opponent has more advanced units, this is still true. A mounted warrior (fast unit, Iron Age) is no match for a basic spearman (light unit, bronze age)

KNOW YOUR ARMY UNITS - Whenever you are about to go into battle, you will see the list of your available army. If you pass your mouse cursor over them, it will give you a rundown of their defense, attack, what type of unit they are, matchup strengths, movement limits, and range. The more you know about what they do and how they do it will maximize your success.

GEOGRAPHY - Next we talk about using the battle map to your advantage. First, you will notice in your army information that some units have attack/defense bonuses related to the terrain. For example, ranged units have more attack when they are shooting from the rocks. Meanwhile, light units have a defense bonus AGAINST ranged units if they are stationed in the bushes or forest when they are shot at. Certain terrain formations also limit your troops movements more than others, be aware.

FORMATION - Where you initially move your units on the map may not seem important, but it can be make a difference. Where you place your troops can limit the movements of your opponent. For instance, suppose you are attacking a province that has horses and warriors. So you attack with spearmen for the horses, and slingers for the warriors. Great. However, the computer will try to get your slingers with their horses, so the first move they make with them will be to put the horses in range of your slingers to attack them on the next move. (You can determine how far a unit can move if you place your mouse curser over it) Make sense? If they get to your slingers, they will wipe them out before your slingers can reach the opponents warriors. Still with me? But remember, you have the kryptonite for horses, spearmen! Fact is, you can form a wedge far out in front of your slingers if you group your spears together and then hide your slingers behind them out of reach of the horses next move. Your slingers will live to fight another day, and the horses will have to attack your spears, which will not go well for them.

 

[wolfhoundtoo]

My recommendations to you guys to be successful and get a lot of wins in one sitting, would be to focus on building a lot of soldier barracks, archer barracks, and Ballistas. Mounted Cavalry (Mounted Warriors/ Knights) work just fine but I don't recommend them due to the extra space and population required. You can build 2 soldier barracks for the same space, less pop, and you get more troops in the long run. Win Win.

Read the units strengths and weakness. Use terrain for the att/def bonus for the unit. Example: Archers are stronger on rocks, Ballistas on hills, Soldiers in trees/bushes, Legos on the plains.

Pick and choose your battles. There is nothing wrong with surrendering in GvG. Look for the ideal army to fight based on your attacking force and terrain. Example: if you go in with 8 Ballistas and the enemy has 8 soldiers or 8 mounted cav, SURRENDER. Only fight battles you are sure you can win. Do not take chances unless it's an all out push for the last few wins.

A couple great attacking setups that I use all the time in GvG are the following
- 5/6 Ballistas and 2/3 archers = Look for the battles where the enemy has a lot of archers and legionaires. If they have a couple Ballistas, kill those first with your ballistas. Keep your archers far back to defend the ballistas. Split up and move your ballistas to the Northwest and Southwest corners. Be patient and let them come to you, picking them off with your ballistas as they advance across the battlefield. Keep your archers safe untill the Legionaires have closed in on your Ballistas, then finish them off with your archers.

- 8 Ballistas = Absolutely devastating against enemy army of 8x archers or 8x legos. Keep them at the back of the battlefield and spread them apart (Some Ballistas to the North, South, and keep 1 in the middle) Pick off the archers as they advance.

-8 Soldiers = Devasting against enemy army of 8 ballistas or 5/6 ballistas and 2/3 archers. Careful not to rush to far out and in range of the archers on the first move. On 2nd round rush and kill archers first, then ballistas. If you're up against 8x Ballistas then rush the enemy fast using the bushes/trees as cover while you advance. There are usually a lot of GvG enemy armies of this setup which is why having a lot of soldier barracks is a good thing. This also works great for mounted cavalry also, but I choose not to use them because of the space issue in building the barracks.


Strengths/weakness of all unit types. Using IA troops as an example but it's basically the same for all ages.

Soldier: Strong against - Ballistas, mounted cavalry, archers defense
Weak against - Legonaires, archer's attack

Archer: Strong against - All units except mounted cavalry, strongest against Legions
Weak against - All units, archers dish out the damage but can't take the
hits
Ballistas: Strong against - Archers, Legonaires, Ballistas
Weak against - Soldiers, Mounted Cavalry

Mounted Cavalry: Strong against - Archers, Ballistas
Weak against - Soldiers, Legionaires

Legionaires: Strong against - Soldiers, Mounted Cavalry
Weak against - Archers, Ballistas


The most important tip I can think of is, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS finish off a unit before you move on to attack another. If it takes 4 of your troops to kill 1 of theirs, then so be it. Remember the enemy can only counterattack on the first hit from your troops, so if you have 3-4 of your guys attack 1 enemy, he will only counter on the first hit. Always remember that 1 enemy troop with only 1 health bar left, will come back to bite you, so finish it off first. Also try to kill any archers and ballistas first. Range attack can always bite you from far away so eliminate that first before you go for close quarters battle. Always kill first what is most threatening to your attacking army!

 

[wolfhoundtoo]

Sorry since I don't play on mobile I can't really answer the 4/7 thing. But I will suggest maybe that's the unit order? Meaning it's the 4th enemy unit out of 7?

As for the blue bar I presume that's the 'life meter'. It's a different color on my home computer. The amount of damage done is going to depend on the attack/defense value of the units. Read the posts I put above this and I think it will help you out considerably. If not let me know and I'll try a different explanation.

 

[DeletedUser27096]

I'm going to post some tips that were put up in one of my guilds awhile back to hopefully help you:

Ok, first thing to know about battle is….

UNIT STRENGTHS- (Not strength in numbers!) Just because an opponent has a stronger army than you doesn't mean you can't beat him, also just because you have a stronger army, don't get overconfident that you will win. So you want to match up your army's strengths against their weaknesses. How?

MATCHUP CYCLE- By what I call the unit matchup cycle, which is true in any battle game or even real combat, namely every unit excels against one other unit type and is weak against another unit type. As follows: Light Units beat Fast Units; Fast Units beat Ranged Units; Ranged Units beat Heavy Units; Heavy Units beat Light Units. See the cycle? So the goal is to match up your units so they have the best chance to win. For example, don't attack a heavy unit (i.e. warrior) with a light unit (spearman). If possible, attack warrior with slinger or archer. Even if your opponent has more advanced units, this is still true. A mounted warrior (fast unit, Iron Age) is no match for a basic spearman (light unit, bronze age)

KNOW YOUR ARMY UNITS - Whenever you are about to go into battle, you will see the list of your available army. If you pass your mouse cursor over them, it will give you a rundown of their defense, attack, what type of unit they are, matchup strengths, movement limits, and range. The more you know about what they do and how they do it will maximize your success.

GEOGRAPHY - Next we talk about using the battle map to your advantage. First, you will notice in your army information that some units have attack/defense bonuses related to the terrain. For example, ranged units have more attack when they are shooting from the rocks. Meanwhile, light units have a defense bonus AGAINST ranged units if they are stationed in the bushes or forest when they are shot at. Certain terrain formations also limit your troops movements more than others, be aware.

FORMATION - Where you initially move your units on the map may not seem important, but it can be make a difference. Where you place your troops can limit the movements of your opponent. For instance, suppose you are attacking a province that has horses and warriors. So you attack with spearmen for the horses, and slingers for the warriors. Great. However, the computer will try to get your slingers with their horses, so the first move they make with them will be to put the horses in range of your slingers to attack them on the next move. (You can determine how far a unit can move if you place your mouse curser over it) Make sense? If they get to your slingers, they will wipe them out before your slingers can reach the opponents warriors. Still with me? But remember, you have the kryptonite for horses, spearmen! Fact is, you can form a wedge far out in front of your slingers if you group your spears together and then hide your slingers behind them out of reach of the horses next move. Your slingers will live to fight another day, and the horses will have to attack your spears, which will not go well for them.

Wow, Wolfhound! Thanks so much for this wealth of good info! I totally appreciate it! Some of the info you mentioned I don't entirely understand, though. For an army, I have one slinger camp, one thrower camp, one warrior camp and two soldier camps. Should I get rid of any of these for something else? I am sort of 1/3 of the way through Iron Age and just finished the research for the Archer camp. I've attached a screenshot of one of my soldiers' statistics. Part of my trouble is that I don't know what the symbols for the stats mean and therefore, I can't determine the strategy for each. If you know, can you please tell me what each of the symbols means? I've marked the symbols and stats on the photo. Also, aside from your helpful info, how would I determine light versus heavy vs fast, etc? Does it say that somewhere in the soldier details?

Thanks again for your help!

View attachment 1702

 

[DeletedUser8152]

Here's what the symbols mean:

The sword = attack value: higher means your unit does more damage.
The shield = defense value: higher means your unit takes less damage
The gunsight = range: how far away the unit can attack
The walker with arrow = speed: how many spaces the unit can move (though each hex costs more than one speed point)
The double arrow under attack bonus: Gets +4 to attack vs fast units
The double arrow under defense bonus: Gets +4 to defense vs fast units
The blobby thing under defense bonus: Gets +3 to defense while in bushes
The trees under defense bonus: Gets +4 to defense while in forest

Also, you might find this guide useful:
https://forum.us.forgeofempires.com/index.php?threads/military-buildings-and-units.7243/

 

[wolfhoundtoo]

Did Jaelis post answer your questions?

 

[DeletedUser27096]

Here's what the symbols mean:

The sword = attack value: higher means your unit does more damage.
The shield = defense value: higher means your unit takes less damage
The gunsight = range: how far away the unit can attack
The walker with arrow = speed: how many spaces the unit can move (though each hex costs more than one speed point)
The double arrow under attack bonus: Gets +4 to attack vs fast units
The double arrow under defense bonus: Gets +4 to defense vs fast units
The blobby thing under defense bonus: Gets +3 to defense while in bushes
The trees under defense bonus: Gets +4 to defense while in forest

Also, you might find this guide useful:
https://forum.us.forgeofempires.com/index.php?threads/military-buildings-and-units.7243/

Thank you so much Jaelis!

 

[DeletedUser27096]

Did Jaelis post answer your questions?

He sure did! With his explanations and the link he provided plus your awesome overview and strategy recommendations, I should now be able to accomplish my goal of world dom-ee-na-shun....mmmwwwaaahhhaaahaaa !

Seriously, though, thanks again to you and Jaelis for your very thorough assistance!