Author Topic: Apparent CS  (Read 2068 times)

vonGenf

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Apparent CS
« Topic Start: April 29, 2014, 10:51:33 PM »
When you pay to change your apparent CS, is the apparent value only supposed to appear on scout reports, or is it meant to appear everywhere, in particular in the data marshals have access to?
After all it's a roleplaying game.

Vita`

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #1: April 29, 2014, 10:55:26 PM »
Scout reports. Marshal info can see exact info; you aren't trying to deceive our own leaders who can inspect your troops, but the enemy scouts lurking on the edge of camp from a distance.

vonGenf

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #2: April 29, 2014, 11:28:14 PM »
Scout reports. Marshal info can see exact info; you aren't trying to deceive our own leaders who can inspect your troops, but the enemy scouts lurking on the edge of camp from a distance.

Fair enough, it's working as intended then.
After all it's a roleplaying game.

Sacha

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #3: May 01, 2014, 06:30:01 PM »
Is it actually a useful option in your opinion? To me, the cost doesn't seem to make it worth it.

Indirik

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #4: May 01, 2014, 06:50:07 PM »
To me personally? Nope. Never used it.

To make it useful, it would have to be used by a large number of nobles, each of whom make extensive modification to their equipment. Making an entire army look weaker could entice others to attack without proper strength. But the effect would have to be big. 10% probably wouldn't be enough to make the expense worthwhile, given the unpredictable reactions of your opponents. 20%? 30%

I suppose you could do it to make your army look stronger, and thus prevent people from attacking. But then you'd probably just have someone muster enough to attack your apparent strength, and get yourself slaughtered.

Individually, a noble could use it to make his men appear stronger, and thus get away with not contributing as much to the army as people think. But that does seem to be a very expensive way to do a tiny bit of sabotage. You could do more effective sabotage much less expensively by using other tricks.

This always seemed to be one of those options that sounds cool, but just doesn't deliver what it promises.
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vonGenf

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #5: May 01, 2014, 07:59:23 PM »
Is it actually a useful option in your opinion? To me, the cost doesn't seem to make it worth it.

On an individual level, I find some use but it's definitely marginal. It can have a big effect on your image to have that little push that makes your unit appear to be 1'000 CS, especially if you're the only one in an army/realm to achieve that. It can also make that overzealous marshal or general who insists on controlling everyone's unit get off your back.

As a diplomat, you can use the inverse effect to make a sizable unit look weak and inconsequential when visiting realms who get nervous seeing big units approching.

As a tactical maneuver on an army level, I've never used it; I don't think it would extremely useful, but for all I know I just haven't figured out how to use it correctly.
After all it's a roleplaying game.

Zakilevo

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #6: May 01, 2014, 09:52:03 PM »
I've only used it for one campaign. Sirion reduced their strength by 10k CS by lowering their CS by 20%.

That got their enemies to attack them with 42k CS. Of course when they actually fought, their enemies realized Sirion had extra 10k CS which ended in one of the biggest battle in the history of the game CS wise.

Vita`

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Re: Apparent CS
« Reply #7: May 02, 2014, 05:38:03 AM »
I think it can be useful with proper combination of other tactics, but it isn't something to be relied upon by itself. Constantly paying for CS altering will probably be less effective than recruiting superior troops, but unexpected uses of altered CS can sway a battle and in BM-world, a campaign. It's likely also something that should be done quietly with trusted troopleaders so as to not have word spread of your tactic.