Monday, March 31, 2008

Finished all level 3 quests

Total play time 1 hours 38 minutes

All Level 3 quests complete (8 of them)

I was lucky and found enough leather armor to equip each of my units and even a slightly upgraded version for my Cavalry, Spearmen and Light Infantry.

My strategy for this portion was deploying my unit of archers then waiting to see what the enemy had and deploying a good counter such as Pikemen against mounted units, Cavalry or spearmen against ranged and infantry against large infantry blocks.

All of my peasants now have homes thanks to being able to purchase some wood from the market. The Nation Status screen shows I am net 75 food positive per day but in the hole 21 gold for upkeep. I will need to make sure to construct a gold mine tomorrow.

I can see that I am getting close to enough gold to be able to afford buying another troop on the market so I try the level 2 “Easy Pickings” quest on Silver Difficulty, figuring that since the units were split unto 3 groups, I would be able to handle them one at a time.

After selling the extra armor and some food I am able to gather 1000 gold, enough to buy another Human Spearmen unit.

I cant wait to fill up my Spearmen and Pikemen units so that I can start buying Human Swordmaidens in preparation for some of the harder levels. I think a unit of Human Heavy Cavalry will also come in handy, since there are bound to be many ranged units to fight and they have the highest DR (Defense Rating) available to me.

Status
Nation level 5
Peasants: 25
Farms: 4
Houses 3
Units
25 Human Archers: level 2
12 Human Light Cavalry: level 2
21 Human Pikemen: level 1
21 Human Spearmen: level 1
25 Human Light Infantry: level 1
Fireball: level 1
Rally: level 1
Heal: level 1

Finished all level 2 quests

Total play time 0 hours 43 minutes

All level 2 quests complete (4 of them)

My strategy was using a combination of either Human Archers with Human Spearmen or Human Light Cavalry with Human Pikemen depending on the situation, both equaling 55 CP (Command Points). I lost 1 Pikemen during the questing which I must remember to resurrect and stick back into his unit.

I was lucky enough to find 2 leather armors a bow and a sword, all of the lowest quality but it will have to do for now. I now have enough wood to build a house before going on to the level 3 quests.

Status
Nation level 2
Peasants: 23
Farms: 3
Houses 1
Units
25 Human Archers: level 1
12 Human Light Cavalry: level 1
21 Human Pikemen: level 1
20 Human Spearmen: level 1
25 Human Light Infantry: level 1
Fireball: level 1
Rally: level 1
Heal: level 1

Tutorials Complete

Total play time 0 hours 23 minutes

Status
Nation level 2
Peasants: 23
Farms: 3
Units
25 Human Archers: level 1
12 Human Light Cavalry: level 1
21 Human Pikemen: level 1
20 Human Spearmen: level 1
25 Human Light Infantry: level 1
Fireball: level 1
Rally: level 1
Heal: level 1

Now it’s time to see if I can do any of the real quests.

Let’s play this thing

Total play time 0 hours 3 minutes

My goal will be to create a flourishing economy while funneling gold at a steady rate into buying more troops to expand my army.

I create a light nation since I don’t have a rare nation specific unit and I like the special the market purchasable light unit has. (Human Sword maidens have a 1 second per figure stun)

I sell all the troops that are not of my nation and use the money to buy a Human Light Cavalry to complete my full unit of 12. I must remember to click on the mailbox to retrieve my gold and troops. Next I start production on 3 farms.

Having put all of my troops into units I start the tutorial quests remembering to pillage everything for added peasants and food.

Registering for the game

Total play time 0 hours 0 minutes

Since I already have Saga installed, the only thing left to do is register a new nation.

I click on buy boosters and redeem my:
First Free Booster
Human Light Cavalry (Common)
Elven Archers (Common)
Human Javelineers (Common)
Human Pikemen (Common)
Human Mercenaries (Common)
Orc Dog Soldiers (Uncommon)
Giant Warriors (Uncommon)
Orc Arsonists (Uncommon)
Wooden Tank (Uncommon)
Fireball (Rare)

While a fireball is a great pull, I would have preferred either a rare unit to help me choose my nation or a less useful spell that I could sell to help me jump start an economy.

My Goal

I believe and really love that people are able to play Saga at what ever cash investment level they choose. Although I have heard some say that the game is simply too hard without spending boat loads of money.

It was always our intention to strike a balance between allowing everyone to enjoy the game free while putting in enough incentives for booster pack purchasing, which provides funding for continued development of new features.

To prove to myself and provide some guidance to those who would wish to try this great game, I have created a free account for myself and will document my progress each day.

Please remember that I have been playing Saga for 6 months, your millage may vary. Of course if you enjoy the game I encourage everyone to at least register. On a per hour basis, you really can't beat the price for entertainment value.

To clarify the difference between the free and registered version. The free version removes the ability to effect the economy. Free players may not use the market or the mail feature to trade with other players. Free players may also not join guilds since they would then contribute funds daily based on their production. One player could make 30 free accounts and gain an advantage over someone who simply doesn't have that much time. Really no human should have that much free time.

Free accounts may participate in most of the other in game features, the most entertaining of which is the ability to quest with friends, registered and trial alike. I plan to take advantage of this feature should I come across any particularly difficult quests and just to have fun with some Heroics. Free accounts may buy and sell resources to the market as well as purchase basic troops for a set gold fee.

About Me

I am the Marketing Director for Silverlode Interactive. You may find me trolling the forums at www.playsaga.com