I last played around three years ago (got a masters degree in the meantime). I have read here and there about changes to the game, but I'm wondering whether strategies that were previously important have changed. In particular, I'm curious with regard to how certain factors affect battle difficulty and catering costs in tournaments and spire. I remember that previously battle difficulty was affected by among other things ...
--number of city expansions
--AW levels
--squad size
There are probably some other things I've forgotten. The implication was that one wanted to keep cities small, choose AW levels carefully, and not do optional squad size researches. To what degree is this still true, and are there other factors I should think about?
Thank you!
Welcome back, and congrats on your degree!
I know you said you found the answers, but I just wanted to add/confirm some info. Yes, as far as we know, MinMax's calculations are still correct, although some people were reporting last year that their costs were actually a little lower than his spreadsheets predicted, so there was speculation that Inno may have slightly tweaked the formula. His numbers are still good enough to work with, however. As you probably saw, costs for catering and troop numbers in fights are calculated based on your relic boost percentage (tops out at 700%, I believe, for the purposes of calculation), number of expansions placed (with premium expansions carrying less of a penalty than regular ones), number of wonder levels built, and number of researches completed (this does
not count optional researches, unlike in the past).
Following on from that however, a number of strategies that used to be recommended have been upended, based on the tournament changes (which I think happened after you left, based on your question about ss researches), and recent changes to AWs. It is now very important to
complete all the optional squad size researches because many AW effects are currently calculated based on your squad size, and it does not negatively affect the tournament or spire costs. However, it is still suggested to keep cities small and choose your AW levels carefully, if you want high tournament scores.
It is also probably worthwhile reviewing which AWs you have, and which you still want, because some of the previously important AWs are now less useful and other formerly overlooked ones are having a moment of glory. Wonders were overhauled at the beginning of the year, and a few had effects changed entirely, while many underwent changes in how their productions or power were calculated, and all were rebalanced to have more effect at lower levels. Many players are now finding that the Enar's Embassy is extremely important for mana production, for example, while the Dragon Abbey, which was the foundation of many players' strategy, has been reduced in power. The Lighthouse of Good Neighborhood now boosts the production of all "Discovered Resources" (Mana, Orcs, Seeds) when a building that produces them is enchanted with an Ensorcelled Endowment and receives neighbourly help. The costs for building and upgrading AWs has also been entirely changed, with every level now requiring CCs and Spell Fragments instead of various goods, plus RRs every 5th level.
I don't know what chapter you were in, but all the early chapters (up through 10, so far) have also been reworked in the last year, with the tech tree changing drastically for the first 5 chapters, and quests for all 10 being updated/changed. This has unfortunately led to some foundational strategies that used to be recommended for beginners no longer being viable.
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