Elves Autoscout function overpowered

[TF - The Fortress]

It just means that everyone goes back to building only scout-armies. A better solution for long-term viability is to make the "scout" function grant bonus movement not ignore terrain movement cost. An all-scout army of any race can move through all terrain for 1 movement cost as it is anyway.

Rather than bonus movement, perhaps reduce terrain modifiers for the scout trait. It prevents them from running one end of the map to the other in a single turn.

Additionally, scouting function on neighboring provinces should require at least one war move (to reflect gathering Intel, etc). If the scout is stationary for at least the last action of the turn, it would generate typical scout information without requiring a war move.

[MaH - Meganno al Hamam]

At the moment elves are like a airforce- you can‘t catch them and they can attack and pillage a province before you are able to reach them with another race army except halflings. In PvP games every rule is used to extreme so cultural reasons should be priority 2 vs. balance reasons. You can‘t fortify 3 provinces as wizard only because perhaps elves are coming to harass you. In this case all players have to build fortifications instead of other buildings. The gb cost for 3 provinces would be 60gb. To much for turn 8 for most players.

[HaQ - Hakim al-Qadr]

Any race could have gone all-scout. Archers are marginally better than scouts - yes. But it is not that huge a difference. Karamhul should not be spreading out like crazy. It is not a good racial-strategy. They should go tall - they are impossible to dislodge from a secure position.

[TH - The Hunt]

Right, having three provinces to defend isn't something to consider the default position. And a level 1 fortification can be built for 6 GB.

[YK - Yuri Khavlor]

The elven scouting is fine. It's only an issue this game because it's being exploited as the optimal choice and strategy for treating this campaign as a 4X computer game rather than political faction simulation featuring warfare.

Congratulations to James, he found an exploit and strategy for the "win".

The explore and expand mechanic, I love as a way to set up the realms and early factional relations. It's not a perfect system, it requires players to buy in. Buy into the premise, actually devote effort to Interacting, and sportsmanship.

But if the meta is going to be full 4X (heavy emphasis on eXploit and eXterminate) then I dont see the point, just go play Civilization.

[TF - The Fortress]

Why is a wizard ruling three provinces? You've got better things to do...like create sources in your fellow Karamuhl lands.

Everyone can't do everything, when they try, they will inevitably fail.

[TH - The Hunt]

Army units can pillage, but they can't exterminate--the most they can do is reduce a province to level 0. Forced divestiture is still a difficult project. And, as someone who did fortify heavily during the early turns, I'm a little unsympathetic to anyone who is upset about maybe needing fortifications?

The destruction, conquest, and even razing of realms should be part of the game, it's not a sign the game is broken whenever it happens. I don't like getting ganged up on, especially by players who are doing it for OOC reasons, but we should, in fact, see realms fall to other realms. It's a balance issue when that doesn't happen.

[TF - The Fortress]

At the moment elves are like a airforce- you can‘t catch them and they can attack and pillage a province before you are able to reach them with another race army except halflings. In PvP games every rule is used to extreme so cultural reasons should be priority 2 vs. balance reasons. You can‘t fortify 3 provinces as wizard only because perhaps elves are coming to harass you. In this case all players have to build fortifications instead of other buildings. The gb cost for 3 provinces would be 60gb. To much for turn 8 for most players.

3 provinces of Fortification is 24 GBs.

Roads connecting said three provinces (presuming low or high mtns average of 3.5 GBs) would be a total of 10.5 GBs (presuming no NWPs associated) or a total of 4.5 GBs (presuming Guilder/thief took some engineering and sledding NWPs).

Even if starting extra resources aren't weren't utilized, this is an easily achievable sum by turn 8.

If starting resources were taken and utilized this could feasibly be done by turn 4 (presuming reasonable efforts to quickly build a shrine were done to ensure a reach/build of 2).

[CSF - Flint]

I think dwarves have so many bonuses that their lack of mobility SHOULD be exploitable. Elves arent the only ones who have scout, and all halfling units have scout movement as well.

Dwarfs once they are established are impossible to move(+4 def on all units in their home territory?!). But if they are trying to expand wide, beyond the reach of their roads, they definitely should be punishable.

This example has nothing to do with scouts being overpowered, and everything to do with terrible movement being a real hindrance for once. If someone can play to take advantage of a very powerful race's only weakness, they should be lauded, not called exploiter.

[WM - The Waste Mage]

Elves are immortal. So the elves in the units are made up of people that could be high levels. I think keep the units as is but make them more expensive and more training points to show that these are made up of older and more experienced elves. But also have elven units without the scout feature for units made up of younger elves and if the regent doesn't want to spend more GB/TP for the scout units.

Also the players who "exploited" the ability not to build units or castles to "exploit" building realms instead were bested by the "exploit" of blitzkrieg.