Damned Troll Whelps

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Kozel123
Posts: 2
Joined: March 11th, 2022, 8:37 pm

Damned Troll Whelps

Post by Kozel123 »

Hello! Here are two replays, I have a question: why in the first case did Troll Whelps not attack Thugs, but in the second they decided?

Здравствуйте! Вот два повтора, у меня вопрос: почему в первом случае Troll Whelps не стали атаковать Thugs, а во втором решились?
gnombat
Posts: 670
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 8:49 pm

Re: Damned Troll Whelps

Post by gnombat »

The AI is complicated, and it's hard to tell exactly what it is "thinking".

However, there are differences between the two replays which can probably explain the AI's behavior.

In the first replay (where the trolls did not attack the thugs), the thug at 14,13 was strong, resilient. This is the worst possible case from the point of view of the trolls, because the thug will deal a lot of damage and he has the highest possible number of hit points (meaning there is a low chance of killing him). So the AI might be reluctant to attack such a powerful unit. The thug at 14,15 was weaker, being quick, resilient - I would think the AI would be more likely to attack this unit, as he delivers less damage and has fewer hit points. However, note that this unit ended up with a blue troll and a green troll adjacent to him. This may be a problem for the AI, as (I think) the AI will not take its allies into account when planning an attack. This means that the blue side can attack with only one of its units at a time (or possibly two if it moves a unit between the villages). I don't think the blue side takes the green unit into account at all - as far as it is concerned, the hex at 13,16 occupied by a green troll is simply unavailable for launching an attack. (Similarly, when it is the green side's turn, the green trolls would be reluctant to attack because they can only attack with one unit at a time.)

In the second replay (where the trolls did attack the thugs), there was a quick, strong thug at 14,13 and a resilient, quick thug at 14,15 - later replaced by another quick, strong thug. The blue trolls seemed eager to attack the resilient, quick thug (and his quick, strong replacement) at 14,15 without any green trolls in the way. There was a green troll occupying the hex at 13,13 and blocking access to the thug at 14,13, but after a while the blue trolls attacked anyway; by that time there was a blue troll between the two villages, so the thug was getting surrounded and perhaps that encouraged the blue trolls to attack.

To summarize: For holding a defensive line, resilient and strong traits are best. The quick trait is useless for that - in fact, it is actually harmful, since it reduces the unit's hit points. The intelligent trait would also be pretty useless in that situation - except of course if you can get enough experience to level up...

(On a different note - I'm actually not sure if it is actually possible to win this scenario on Nightmare difficulty any more. It was possible at one time, but recently this scenario was redesigned and I think it is more difficult now.)
Kozel123
Posts: 2
Joined: March 11th, 2022, 8:37 pm

Re: Damned Troll Whelps

Post by Kozel123 »

gnombat wrote: March 24th, 2023, 1:49 am The AI is complicated, and it's hard to tell exactly what it is "thinking".

However, there are differences between the two replays which can probably explain the AI's behavior.

In the first replay (where the trolls did not attack the thugs), the thug at 14,13 was strong, resilient. This is the worst possible case from the point of view of the trolls, because the thug will deal a lot of damage and he has the highest possible number of hit points (meaning there is a low chance of killing him). So the AI might be reluctant to attack such a powerful unit. The thug at 14,15 was weaker, being quick, resilient - I would think the AI would be more likely to attack this unit, as he delivers less damage and has fewer hit points. However, note that this unit ended up with a blue troll and a green troll adjacent to him. This may be a problem for the AI, as (I think) the AI will not take its allies into account when planning an attack. This means that the blue side can attack with only one of its units at a time (or possibly two if it moves a unit between the villages). I don't think the blue side takes the green unit into account at all - as far as it is concerned, the hex at 13,16 occupied by a green troll is simply unavailable for launching an attack. (Similarly, when it is the green side's turn, the green trolls would be reluctant to attack because they can only attack with one unit at a time.)

In the second replay (where the trolls did attack the thugs), there was a quick, strong thug at 14,13 and a resilient, quick thug at 14,15 - later replaced by another quick, strong thug. The blue trolls seemed eager to attack the resilient, quick thug (and his quick, strong replacement) at 14,15 without any green trolls in the way. There was a green troll occupying the hex at 13,13 and blocking access to the thug at 14,13, but after a while the blue trolls attacked anyway; by that time there was a blue troll between the two villages, so the thug was getting surrounded and perhaps that encouraged the blue trolls to attack.

To summarize: For holding a defensive line, resilient and strong traits are best. The quick trait is useless for that - in fact, it is actually harmful, since it reduces the unit's hit points. The intelligent trait would also be pretty useless in that situation - except of course if you can get enough experience to level up...

(On a different note - I'm actually not sure if it is actually possible to win this scenario on Nightmare difficulty any more. It was possible at one time, but recently this scenario was redesigned and I think it is more difficult now.)
Thanks so much! I am very grateful to you! Hope to see you soon in multiplayer!
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