DeletedUser26965
Welcome to another of my default responses to Frequently Mentioned Topics(FMT) I have others here:
[FMT] Frequently Mentioned Topics - Links
First a distinction. By "racer" I mean one who smartly goes through the ages but as quickly as possible, not someone who mindlessly races though without thinking.
Quite often I see this "NEVER RACE THROUGH THE AGES! ARE YOU INSANE! MY GOD MAN!!!"
Okay, perhaps I'm exaggerating there a little bit, okay a lot, but the advice is pervasive, so much so it seems the only way to play this game is to, well, sit camped in an age to eternity, I guess, okay well maybe not that long but, well, how long and what age?
See, okay, I understand the general advice, it's generally given in terms of PvP however in that if you race through the ages you'll find yourself up against other players who will be able to smash through your city and take all your goodies and you'll have no recourse. But, so what? I mean isn't the common advice to avoid getting plundered to collect on time? Well then what matter what age one is in and how fast they got there, collecting on time is the same no matter what age, how would staying behind in an age help to collecting on time? It doesn't.
But let us broaden this and look at other areas of the game as well.
PvP
Racer - Will have lower military GB's so less neighbors to attack/plunder as easily
Camper - Higher military GB's so can attack/plunder more neighbors
So okay the camper will gain more goods, fp's etc. by being able to plunder more players. The racer though may advance in age just after a neighborhood merge and have higher age units to attack with so while he may not be as strong is not completely without the ability to attack/plunder.
Defensively the camper makes more sense though. A camper will have more time to get Watchfires/Ritual Flames and perhaps defensive GB's and level them, the effect obviously being less successful attacks on them. However, if one plays in a way where plundering is essentially rendered useless, such as with a recurring quest city, or if one handles the risk well enough, then the racer could care less about his city being breached.
GvG
Racer - Will have units/goods from more ages to GvG with
Camper - Only units from that age and below for god knows how long
The racer here blows the camper away hands down. Take a guildmate sitting in IA for a year versus a guildmate who started at the same time who is now in OF, the OF guy is much more valuable because he can fight and make goods for every age whereas the other guy can only do IA GvG which, like, nobody does.
However, the camper will be stronger and be able to make more units and could be of more value, if he ever moves up that is
GE
Racer - Will struggle to fight GE
Camper - Can fight GE like a champ
Yes, the camper wins here, the lower the age the better for GE because one can fight it easier and even more easier the higher the military GB's are. The effect being of course the more goodies you get from GE. However, negotiation is always the same amount so as long as the racer plans ahead a bit to make sure he can negotiate the next age he should be okay and if not well it's not the end of the world.
Treasury Goods
Racer - Can make many goods
Camper - Can only make goods in that age on down
This one really relates to GvG but also GE costs as well and guildmate needs for trade. Take the same situation described above, two IA players one races, the other camps. The racer becomes more valuable as he can provide more age goods as he advance whereas the IA camper can only provide IA and BA goods. That being said the camper will be of more value as his guild goods GB's will be provide more goods, if he ever moves up that is
City
Racer - Space, Space, Space
Camper - No Space, No Space, No Space
I'm fairly certain all the complaints and comments for more expansions come from campers. But seriously the advantage here is obvious, the faster one advances the faster more expansions are available.
Events/Daily Challenges
Racer - win
Camper - lose
I haven't really done Daily Challenges too much but I've read enough about them and done enough on Beta to see they pose pretty much the same issues as Events. If the goal is to do events I think the winner here is the racer because he does not worry about advancing so has no issues with research and map type quests. The camper does not want to advance so at some point he will be met with a decision to forego the event to continue camping or vice versa. The racer again, with the more expansions available, becomes more flexible in order to meet quest demands more easily.
Recurring Quest Cities
Racer - lose
Camper - win
This is heavily dependant on one simple strategy; get Château Frontenac as quickly as possible, leveling it to be able to do an infinite amount of Unbirthday Quests mainly in order to get a gazillion forgepoint packs. Great but boring. Of course in the meantime a year later the racer has gone on to do a ton of fighting, trading, etc. in all kinds of different ages experiencing the game in many ways while the camper click, click, clicks his days away in a sea of recurring quests.
That being said there is one aspect to recurring quests the racer can get and the camper realistically can't. A third recurring questgiver. This requires finishing the Story line which essentially means being at the end of the map and tech. Plus in OF you get to use Blacksmiths, how cool is that!
Conclusion
I think I've covered quite a bit here. In the end it's your game and you should play any way that you like. Though I play a bit at the campers expense I don't mean to besmirch them or the reasoning in any way. In the end there are advantages and disadvantages to both and really it's up to you to decide what will affect you negatively or not by racing or camping though the ages. Hopefully whatever you do you're having some good times doing it.
[FMT] Frequently Mentioned Topics - Links
First a distinction. By "racer" I mean one who smartly goes through the ages but as quickly as possible, not someone who mindlessly races though without thinking.
Quite often I see this "NEVER RACE THROUGH THE AGES! ARE YOU INSANE! MY GOD MAN!!!"
Okay, perhaps I'm exaggerating there a little bit, okay a lot, but the advice is pervasive, so much so it seems the only way to play this game is to, well, sit camped in an age to eternity, I guess, okay well maybe not that long but, well, how long and what age?
See, okay, I understand the general advice, it's generally given in terms of PvP however in that if you race through the ages you'll find yourself up against other players who will be able to smash through your city and take all your goodies and you'll have no recourse. But, so what? I mean isn't the common advice to avoid getting plundered to collect on time? Well then what matter what age one is in and how fast they got there, collecting on time is the same no matter what age, how would staying behind in an age help to collecting on time? It doesn't.
But let us broaden this and look at other areas of the game as well.
PvP
Racer - Will have lower military GB's so less neighbors to attack/plunder as easily
Camper - Higher military GB's so can attack/plunder more neighbors
So okay the camper will gain more goods, fp's etc. by being able to plunder more players. The racer though may advance in age just after a neighborhood merge and have higher age units to attack with so while he may not be as strong is not completely without the ability to attack/plunder.
Defensively the camper makes more sense though. A camper will have more time to get Watchfires/Ritual Flames and perhaps defensive GB's and level them, the effect obviously being less successful attacks on them. However, if one plays in a way where plundering is essentially rendered useless, such as with a recurring quest city, or if one handles the risk well enough, then the racer could care less about his city being breached.
GvG
Racer - Will have units/goods from more ages to GvG with
Camper - Only units from that age and below for god knows how long
The racer here blows the camper away hands down. Take a guildmate sitting in IA for a year versus a guildmate who started at the same time who is now in OF, the OF guy is much more valuable because he can fight and make goods for every age whereas the other guy can only do IA GvG which, like, nobody does.
However, the camper will be stronger and be able to make more units and could be of more value, if he ever moves up that is
GE
Racer - Will struggle to fight GE
Camper - Can fight GE like a champ
Yes, the camper wins here, the lower the age the better for GE because one can fight it easier and even more easier the higher the military GB's are. The effect being of course the more goodies you get from GE. However, negotiation is always the same amount so as long as the racer plans ahead a bit to make sure he can negotiate the next age he should be okay and if not well it's not the end of the world.
Treasury Goods
Racer - Can make many goods
Camper - Can only make goods in that age on down
This one really relates to GvG but also GE costs as well and guildmate needs for trade. Take the same situation described above, two IA players one races, the other camps. The racer becomes more valuable as he can provide more age goods as he advance whereas the IA camper can only provide IA and BA goods. That being said the camper will be of more value as his guild goods GB's will be provide more goods, if he ever moves up that is
City
Racer - Space, Space, Space
Camper - No Space, No Space, No Space
I'm fairly certain all the complaints and comments for more expansions come from campers. But seriously the advantage here is obvious, the faster one advances the faster more expansions are available.
Events/Daily Challenges
Racer - win
Camper - lose
I haven't really done Daily Challenges too much but I've read enough about them and done enough on Beta to see they pose pretty much the same issues as Events. If the goal is to do events I think the winner here is the racer because he does not worry about advancing so has no issues with research and map type quests. The camper does not want to advance so at some point he will be met with a decision to forego the event to continue camping or vice versa. The racer again, with the more expansions available, becomes more flexible in order to meet quest demands more easily.
Recurring Quest Cities
Racer - lose
Camper - win
This is heavily dependant on one simple strategy; get Château Frontenac as quickly as possible, leveling it to be able to do an infinite amount of Unbirthday Quests mainly in order to get a gazillion forgepoint packs. Great but boring. Of course in the meantime a year later the racer has gone on to do a ton of fighting, trading, etc. in all kinds of different ages experiencing the game in many ways while the camper click, click, clicks his days away in a sea of recurring quests.
That being said there is one aspect to recurring quests the racer can get and the camper realistically can't. A third recurring questgiver. This requires finishing the Story line which essentially means being at the end of the map and tech. Plus in OF you get to use Blacksmiths, how cool is that!
Conclusion
I think I've covered quite a bit here. In the end it's your game and you should play any way that you like. Though I play a bit at the campers expense I don't mean to besmirch them or the reasoning in any way. In the end there are advantages and disadvantages to both and really it's up to you to decide what will affect you negatively or not by racing or camping though the ages. Hopefully whatever you do you're having some good times doing it.
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