Spire & T Difficulty

[Wolf Run]

I wonder how the Spire vs T vs Provinces difficulty is affected by squad increases and such.. the last 2 Spires have been really hard, when 4 Spires ago I was able to get to the last guardian in the first level, 3 spires ago I was almost able to get back there, and these last two, the fights have been so hard that I barely make it halfway. I'm halfway through chapter 5, and haven't done ch5's first squad increase yet.

Will increasing my squad size make THIS round of Spire (and T, and Provinces) easier, but the next Spire (and T, and future provinces I haven't scouted yet) harder to fight through? Or does difficulty of one/all of them increase regardless of squad upgrades and is only affected by what chapter I'm in? Will Spire keep getting harder each one I participate in, or is it random? How does Spire difficulty work/how is it calculated, and if T is similar? Does overscouting make Spire extra difficult if I'm not advancing in my chapters and camping?

I mostly negotiate in T after fighting gets difficult and it's generally not that hard. I always negotiate in Provinces because I overscout before moving to the next chapter and it makes overscouting feasible. However, I have NEVER succeeded in negotiating in Spire despite many tries and using the Spire Wizard, which is less effective than just using pen, paper, and your brain negotiating in Spire is needlessly expensive and extremely prohibitive, there is no way I would ever waste diamonds on an extra turn which is basically required if you want it to be worth it on the levels that are too hard to fight through.

I've currently decided to camp at the end of chapter 5 to fully upgrade my city and save up diamonds for a magic residence before the price goes up when I go to the next chapter, so anything I can do to make this easier has to be within my own chapter; also, I don't have much room for many expirable unit damage increase buildings, but I do have Needles of the Tempest AW. I'm taking advice from my FS but don't want to clog the chat with so many specific questions.

 

[Iyapo1]

Spire and tournament costs are determined by your boost %, placed expansions, completed required research, and ancient wonder levels. Premium expansions increase the cost less than province and tech expansions.
Squad size upgrades only increase spire and tournament cost if they are required research.

Map province cost is increased by number of scouted provinces and decreased by squad size research.

I have NEVER succeeded in negotiating in Spire despite many tries ... I would ever waste diamonds on an extra turn which is basically required if you want it to be worth it on the levels that are too hard to fight through.

If you go to youtube and search for Minmax gamer and go to his playlist you can find spire negotiating and fighting videos that imo are wonderfully helpful. Also spending diamonds in the spire is not wasteful if you are in a gold (or silver) spire FS. You just need to make sure you are spending less diamonds than you win when the spire closes. I am in gold spire and usually spend 75-150 diamonds negotiating the spire. The FS reward in a gold FS is 275 diamonds, so every week I win over 125-200 diamonds + all the other extras. I dont consider that a waste.

In a bronze FS the FS prize is 50 diamonds and in a silver the prize is 125 diamonds.

 

[crackie]

"Tournament difficulty is no longer determined solely by Squad Size, but rather by a series of progression factors, which involve city development and research in general."
Source: Tourney Changes Announcement

Please note, there are 2 different Squad Size techs. Some are mandatory (connected to another research on the right side), while others are optional (dead end in the tech tree). They will both affect map provinces I believe, but only mandatory techs will affect tourney and Spire. Also, some wonders are affected by squad size, like number of free light melee given by Dwarven Bulwark.

 

[Myne]

Some advice for getting where you want to be: Upgrade your boosted goods manufactories as high as you can, and if you have time boosts, you may consider using them on Saturday to stock up. UPgrade your armories as high as you can as well. It's a little difficult to do, but I do run my training as much as I can before tourney and spire start to get as many troops as I can.

The spire wizard takes a bit of getting used to. I only use it really for choices of more than 6. For less choices, start with offering your goods in order of tier listing, then subsequently offer first the 2nd one in line. For example, offer coins to the first ghost and follow with all goods in order. Then on your second set of offers, offer supplies first and follow with the goods in order. What you are after in the first two rounds of offers is to ELIMINATE what's not needed so you can place what's needed on the final round.

When considering what AWs to place, consider dwarven bulwark as well as your needles. Study the guide on what troop performs best against which too. No sense in throwing archers at an array of troops that eats them for lunch.

 

[Tehya1]

The spire wizard takes a bit of getting used to

What is this?

 

[Iyapo1]

@Tehya1

https://us.forum.elvenar.com/index.php?threads/the-spire-wizard-for-elvenar.28404/

 

[Tehya1]

nvm, I found it. It won me one encounter already.