Helping hands

Looks like she's in need of some helping hands.

Evony Age 2 - Capture level 8 NPC

I've become quite the fan of Evony Age 2, an online browser game that can be played through a link on Facebook, or through direct connection using your email address as your ID.  (WWW.Evony.com)

One of the more frequently asked questions by players as they an reach intermediate stage in the game, and a question for which I could NOT find a decent how-to summary, was how to capture a level 8 NPC.  This is part of the King/Queen's quest and is different from just "farming" the materials available at an NPC, this means actually taking control of the city and making it part of your own Empire.

This post will be something I can reference when I see the question asked again.

First of all, make sure that your rank/title allows you to add another city to your Empire.  The higher your rank/title, the more cities you are allowed to own and you must be sure you have the capacity to add another city or all your work will be for nothing.  (You can abandon a city if your capacity is already full.  Before you abandon, be sure to move everything out of that city that you might want.)

Secondly, make sure that the city/cities from which you will attack each has room for adding another valley.  If you don't know what this means, you're not ready to tackle this quest.  Do a Google search for "evony wiki" and read all about it there.

Next, you must have at least a few thousand of each type of troops, with about 80,000 warriors and 130,000 archers (or more).  You must attack from a city, or combination of cities, with several heroes with base attack skills (attack skills - hero level) of 65 and above.  You must also make sure you've got a bunch of food - each attack requires some food to feed the troops.

Now, you must also make sure that the level 8 NPC is very close to the cities from which you will attack.  If it's over 4 miles, you will be suffering much greater losses, or you will need a lot more troops and heroes.  If you do not have a level 8 NPC near you, you can create one.  Capture a level 8 flat nearby (flats increase 1 level everyday, so you may have to wait for a lvl 3 to become a lvl 8), capture that flat.

When you are fully prepared, build a city on the lvl 8 flat you conquered, then immediately abandon it - don't build anything in it.  It will become a lvl 8 NPC for just about 24 hours, then disappear and the space will become a flat again.  Once you've created a lvl 8 NPC, you don't have too long to begin your fight.

The fight to actually take control of the lvl 8 NPC will probably take 30 to 60 minutes.  You will send an initial large force, then follow it with somewhere between 40 and 50 smaller waves of troops and I saw no way to automate this - you've got to send all of those waves manually.

The first wave of troops should be what is called a "rainbow" of something like this - 1000 warriors, 1000scouts, 1000 pikemen, 1000swordsmen, 1000Cavalry. and 80,000 to 85,000 archers.  You will lose all of these troops except for the archers - I lost about 6,000 archers on the first wave.  This first wave should wipe out all of the troops and defenses of the lvl 8 NPC.  However, loyalty in the city remains high enough to allow the troop and defense levels to immediately begin to regenerate.

The following waves of troops are to lower loyalty - you must get the loyalty in the city to zero in order for the city to become yours.  You can track the loyalty by periodically checking an attack report.

About a minute or two after the first attack, when you are sure the next wave won't get there ahead of the initial attack (they'll all be wiped out of they do), send out a wave of 20K archers (20,000) and 10K warriors.  Do this every minute or two until the city is yours - about 45 attacks for me.  You will lose a few troops on each wave, but most will return to be used over and over again.  If you wait TOO long between attacks, loyalty will begin to increase again and lengthen the time of the war.

Once loyalty in the NPC drops to zero, you'll get a screen inviting you to name your new city - which will be filled with everything at level 8.  One problem for me, however, was that there were about 20 cottages in the city and only 1 barracks.  Also, there were few resources left - I had to send some in from my other cities.

Note #1 - use of ballista does not seem to help.  You won't lose them, but they won't do you any good either.

Note #2 - If you want, with your first attack, send about 1200 transporters and collect all of the resources in the city right up front.  However, if you don't send the transporters, each wave sent to fight will bring back some of the resources and you'll get most of the stuff anyway.

Note #3 - You don't want to try this unless most of your important research in the game is at lvl 9 - things such as archery, military science, military tradition, etc.

Good luck - and feel free to pass along any further information that you think is relevant.

Calling For Help On The I-Phone

From Chuck's Fun Page 2

Computer Tech Humor

Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one.
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Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't sound good. I'll make a note.
Customer: No, wait a minute. I hadn't inserted it yet! It's still on my desk. Sorry.
---
Tech support: Click on the My Computer icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
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Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello. I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on Start for me and...
Customer: Listen pal, don't start getting technical on me. I'm not Bill Gates!
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Customer: Hi, good afternoon. This is Martha and I can't print. Every time I try, it says "Can't Find Printer." I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it.
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Customer: I have problems printing in red.
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah! Thank you.
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Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at 7-11.
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Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer: Okay.
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes.
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah, that one does work.
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Tech support: Your password is the small letter "a" as in apple, a capital letter "V" as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
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Customer: I can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
---
Tech support: What antivirus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That's not an antivirus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry. Internet Explorer.
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Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
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Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: Okay and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter "a" in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
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A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech Support: Are you running it under Windows?
Customer: No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window and his printer is working fine.
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Tech support: Okay, Bob, let's press the Control and Escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now, type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager.
Customer: I don't have a "P."
Tech support: On your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: "P," on your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: I'm not going to do that!