Thanks Dex.
Thanks. If its okay, Ill still edit for readability and note updates.
Hi,
Is there a set time between Zombie spawns? They always seem to appear just as Iām about to arrive!
(Also we are looking for a player to join a six player Watering Hole, Hard Game, can you PM me if interested).
Iām not a mod, but Iām playing one for this post. This would be the wrong thread to advertise a game in. Please use a more appropriate thread for that. Also, the first FAQ in the āenemyā section already answers your question.
Cheers Dex, defo a case of RTFM.
Okay all,
Can someone detail to me the new combat algorithm? Iād like to put some details in the FAQ, but I havent paid close attention so I need some insights into 1) the math and b) the design goal.
Melee combat
- Melee combat works as follows, with Strength a > Strength b:
- The weaker side (Strength b) is entirely destroyed.
- Each unit on the victorious side has a chance to die, equal to bĀ² / aĀ²
Melee Example 1: Close Battle
Mortals with Strength 1000 vs Zombies with Strength 1100
a = 1100
b = 1000
aĀ² = 1210000
bĀ² = 1000000
bĀ² / aĀ² = 0.826
Zombies Win.
Each Zombie has an 83% chance of destruction.
Melee Example 2: Overwhelming Advantage
Mortals with Strength 1000 vs Zombies with Strength 100
a = 1000
b = 100
aĀ² = 1000000
bĀ² = 10000
bĀ² / aĀ² = 0.01
Mortals Win.
Each Mortal has a 1% chance of being killed.
Ranged Attacks
Ranged Attacks work a bit differently. Thereās never any danger to the attacker (Strength a). If the attack is stronger than the defender, the defender is killed outright. If the attack is weaker than the defense (a < b), each defender has a chance to die, equal to a / b. The math works out so that on average, you can assume the attack will kill about a Strength worth of defenders.
Ranged Example 1: Wipe Them Out
Ranged attack with Strength 200 vs Zombies with Strength 100
a = 200
b = 100
a > b
Zombies are completely destroyed.
Ranged Example 2: Whittling Down the Enemy
Ranged attack with Strength 100 vs 125 Zombie Goblins (total Strength 1000)
a = 100
b = 1000
a < b
a / b = 0.1
Each Zombie has a 10% chance of being destroyed. On average, 125 x 0.1 = 12-13 Zombie Goblins die (stack reduced in Strength by 96-104 on average).
Ranged Example 3: Hail Mary
Ranged attack with Strength 200 vs 1 Zombie Dragon (total Strength 1000)
a = 200
b = 1000
a < b
a / b = 0.2
Each Zombie has a 20% chance of being destroyed. On average, 1 x 0.2 = zero Dragons die. But maybe youāll get lucky and beat the odds!
Design Goals
The primary design goals for the change were (as I understand them):
- To make it so that decisive victories actually confer an advantage. In the old system, it didnāt matter if you just barely scraped out a victory or won with fifty-to-one odds; youād still lose the same number of units on average. The new system reflects the fact that lopsided battles should result in fewer casualties for the victory than very close ones.
- To create a compelling reason to actually include high-value units like Dragons in a winning army, because increasing your margin of victory increases each unitās overall chance of survival. In the old system, there was a meaningful advantage to be had if you were able to log in and stop your important units just shy of a battle so they wouldnāt die to a bad saving throw. Consider a 5,000-Strength army with a Dragon in it, going up against a 1,000-Strength zombie group. In the old system, the Dragon would have a 20% chance of dying to this minimal threat, so it was wise to avoid sending it into this combat at all. Now, leaving the Dragon in the army decreases each of your unitsā chances of death from ~6% to 4%, so itās more likely to be worth the risk overall.
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Go right ahead! Though I think I was more verbose in the design-goals section than is maybe appropriate for a Newbie FAQ, haha.
can you do a ranged combat example as well ā to put things in perspective?
Done! 
Iāve improved the formatting a bit as well.
Wow, great work DrBwaa, mind if I fix you up with some free coins as thanks for your great work here!
edit: Also, how are you going for coins right now @Praetorian?
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I have my doubts that anyone would mind that! 
Iām working on a video as well; probably done this weekend sometime.
Okay ā time for an update.
Here is what I think needs to be addressed ā please let me know if I miss anything:
-
New deployment rules. 6 hour cooldown after a card is played. Note the role of banners.
-
Maybe a bit of a meta discussion on how to use Blind Justice and High Elf to max effect (Hint: work with the other players)
-
Zombie Slayer awarded to damage, not just headcount
-
Nightmare games only for level 2
Thoughts?
I donāt think High Elf optimization is necessarily a Newbie FAQ topic. Probably something to be addressed in an Elf Guide.
I was thinking it might be a good hook to talk a bit about sharing resources, Ive seen a couple questiong on the forum about how to use them.
Do you want Penny or I to make the changes Praetorian?
I made a few ā check my work, though.
Bump.
Okay, so what needs to be updated?
Is the Trello board still at the link we posted?
Sorry @Praetorian I made the Trello board Private for a while now that we have opened the game up to Early Access on Steam. I had heard that the elements of steam crowd can be easily upset and I didnāt want folks trawling through the board and assuming things we say in there are promises about what features we are working on, or in what order.
I thought it might be wise to just control the message a little better for a while.
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