10 Tips For New Players Playing Conflict of Nations (Poll)

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    • 10 Tips For New Players Playing Conflict of Nations (Poll)

      Which of these was most helpful to you? (Feel free to select up to 3) 20
      1.  
        Tip Number 1 - Try to log in at least once a day (11) 55%
      2.  
        Tip Number 2 - Build airports (9) 45%
      3.  
        Tip Number 8 - Make friends and allies (7) 35%
      4.  
        Tip Number 9 - Build arms industries (7) 35%
      5.  
        Tip Number 6 - Technology is key (6) 30%
      6.  
        Tip Number 5 - Don’t expand too fast (5) 25%
      7.  
        Tip Number 4 - The best defense is offense (5) 25%
      8.  
        Tip Number 7 - Make use of the market (4) 20%
      9.  
        Tip Number 10 - Watch your manpower and build recruiting offices (2) 10%
      10.  
        Tip Number 3 - Don't leave units in cities (0) 0%
      10 Tips for Playing Conflict of Nations:


      At the Beginning of the Game & for Newer Players here's some suggestions I wish I would've known when playing this game. Which of these is most helpful? Don't forget to vote in the poll! You can select up to 3 choices.


      1. Try to log in at least once a day.
      But you should preferably once every 6-8 hours to give your units orders. The game is slow paced at first but what you do at the beginning of the game counts. Think of it as compound interest. The more you invest in at the beginning of the game the more you'll have later on.


      2. Build airports to make travel easier throughout your country.
      This will drastically reduce time spent traveling between your cities. When you build airports your units can travel significantly faster from one part of your empire to another. Of note you don’t have to have an army base to build most air or naval units.



      3. Don't leave units in cities.
      The Computer Players will rarely attack you. Keeping units in cities inside the middle of your country is not necessary and reduces the amount of damage you can do by stacking units. This is true unless of course you have neighbors whom you do not trust. In that case keep units on your boarders and be careful of the option for players to air mobile units into your territories later on in the game. You can also stack units by sending them to the same province or city. Once you stack them they will move as one army and be significantly stronger.


      4. The best defense is offense.
      A majority of your units should all be attacking the 1 country you are at war with. Or attack maybe 2-3 countries if you have over 40-60 units mid game or towards the end of the game. If you go full defensive you will get crushed in the end. Be careful of your neighbors but keep in mind that you need to grow. Diplomacy and careful planning help. Sometimes, 10 units used with maximum efficiency allow a country, especially AI, to be conquered with minimal losses, and without leaving your country undefended.


      5. Don’t expand too fast.
      But DO expand your empire by taking other territories. This game is called Conflict of Nations for a reason. Make sure to annex a city and that the city is no longer burning (rebellious) before moving on. This means either keeping 2-4 units on a city or 1 unit with support from patrolling aircraft until Morale is at least 35%. Be sure to use your non critical units for defense, like basic infantry, and keep the tanks/airplanes on the offense.


      6. Technology is key in this game.
      Be careful about what technologies you acquire at the beginning of the game. Like all resources, you only have a limited amount of raw materials at the start of the game. Raw Materials are typically the most expensive resource to buy on the market.
      Research what you need for your next move, not what you want because it's shiny.


      7. Make use of the market.
      Be careful what you buy and sell. This can give you an edge at the beginning of the game by buying resources at a low price or selling resources at a high price. Of note you cannot buy more manpower.


      8. Make friends and allies.
      Avoid attacking other human players early on in the game unless there is a strategic advantage. Allies can be invaluable if other players gang up on you. You might even consider joining an alliance as you become more experienced in the game.

      9. Build arms industries.
      They create generate additional resources over time and cost nothing to upkeep. More resources translates into your empire can support more troops. Particularly at the beginning of the game, build arms industries in cities that produce electronic components and raw materials. However, don’t forget to balance building troops with increasing your resource production.


      10. Watch your manpower and build recruiting offices.
      These are the soldiers your country has recruited and are available to build additional units. You also need manpower for upkeep of your units, upkeep of cities, and for annexing cities of other players. Of note if you go full infantry, manpower isn't critical for the 2-3 first days.


      Anything you'd add or correct from this list? Leave a comment below!

      The post was edited 1 time, last by JonathantheGr8t: Edits based on suggestions by Opulon. Edits are in italics. ().

    • I voted, for 4-5-6

      A new player should understand that the game waits from him to expand, but will also impede him if he goes too fast.




      For other advices :

      1 - It's a good advice, but sadly, it's not one can really be helpful on... It's like someone would come to me and i would said "You know a good trick to fencing ? be in good physical shape". To be honest, i don't have a better wording.

      2 - Good general advice, nothing to say.

      3 - This advise needs a bit of wording :p. You explain what are the limits, but some read only titles ^^.

      4 - This is a double edge advice for a beginner. I'm sure you already killed a player that attacked too recklessly another. We usually prey on this kind of players, because once they are committed, they are free kill. Maybe a good alternative advice is "If you go full defensive you will get crushed in the end. Be careful of your neighbors but keep in mind that you need to grow. Diplomacy and careful planning help. Sometimes, 10 units used with maximum efficiency allow a country, especially AI, to be conquered with minimal losses, and without leaving your country undefended."

      5 - Good general advice. I would add "be sure to use your non critical units to that, like infantry, and keep the tanks/airplanes on the offense"

      6 - A lot of game mechanism learning goes through curiosity and a certain time in the research panel... to compare, think, and make theories. I would make a sub-advise to your 6, or another wording : "Research what you need for your next move, not what you want because it's shiny."

      7 - Good general advice. Nothing to say

      8 - Good general advice. Nothing to say

      9 - I suggest you advise to build those first on critical resources like electronics or rare materials. A player that would follow blindly this advice would find himself without any starting resources to keep the units produced.

      10 - Good general advice. You could add that except if you go full infantry, manpower isn't critical for the 2-3 first days.
      Running an online alliance is pretty much like running a small company, except you need to find other way than money to keep your employees productive. May they play or work, they are humans.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Opulon ().

    • Thanks Opulon! I have edited the OP based on your suggestions. Great feedback and pointing out some things I hadn't thought of before. :)

      What did you think of the edits for #4, #6, #9, and #10 edits?

      How would #1 be more useful or helpful? I feel a lot of players only log in once every 24 or 36 hours.

      What is tip #11 and #12 that you'd add to the list?

      The post was edited 1 time, last by JonathantheGr8t ().

    • Nice one - but I am totally not sure if #3 headline is worded well for new players. From a newbies perspective this can be badly misunderstood.

      May I propose to turn this around to read something like this: Only leave central cities undefended if you can trust your neighbors.
      "Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion." Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf
    • You are missing one crucial tip: Watch your coastal cities.

      Because you have hardly any vision there, you can get easily overrun with a sneaky landing party.


      Best defense is offense can be easily your own doom. Some units are better in defense than in offense like Motorized Infantry, throwing them into offense can put you a serious disadvantage, even more during the early phase.


      For 3 it would be perhaps better to say: Strength comes in numbers. Sending single units into combat can easily be a death sentence for them.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Kalrakh ().

    • Any tips on how to defend the coastal cities? That was my coalition's downfall in a recent game, well, there was also a lot of gold spent by the winning coalition, but the massive fleets appearing on our shores with no warning was a huge problem. The options I can think of are 1) building a big navy of your own, with frigate/destroyer/cruiser stacked 2) a lot of attack subs 3) artillery and radar in coastal towns 4) NPAs and ASWs. I assume there's no perfect one-size-fits-all, but is there a generally good path? My plan in the games I'm in currently is mostly to expand via land, but I want to be able to defend my ports so no one can sneak up on us from the Americas, for instance.
    • Dealing with naval offense... I feel there is a moment, when player must 'switch to navy', otherwise he will screw up public game sooner or later. Everything depends on geography, but I suggest to invest in AWACS ( quite cheap, but lv4 airport :C ) and place it somewhere over an ocean few hours away from a homeland. Movement on the radar should turn on the Red Alert. Sometimes it's good to sacrifice a drone( very cheap ), and see what exactly is coming. Also it is better to organize a group, and strike first, otherwise we can see in the morning that hostile fleet is sinking our guards one by one, not to mention that ships can seriously damage city's structures = paralyze production = do economy damage. So, it is better to keep them far. Also ASW Helicopter seem to do the job very well. Currently testing it, heading to master them. 8)
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    • Well... no. 8h sleep + 8h work gives 16h inactivity. So fleet can move from Canada to England twice, and do what they want with you. I think most people should play 0.5 x speed maps, but with some advanced start to don't get bored to death. 8o
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    • Well, not 16hrs straight I don't think, though I may not be able to check in the AM before work. But I can't help but be off for maybe up to 10hrs with work and commute, and it's working in a hospital so I can't just sneak time at the computer on here. That is the tricky thing with this game, it's slow when you're on, but if you're off for a normal long period like sleep or work you can get totally devastated. It's tricky. Ideally you'd need to be able to get on like every 2hrs or so to be
    • Yup, all depends on your work. But It can change after mobile version.

      About annexation.

      Maybe it's my opinion, but I always calculate how much units annexation costs and I always head to conclusion that better is to research ballistic missile, produce some warhead and hit opponent homeland - best defense is offense right? :thumbup:
      ( and best defense against most offense are single runners :D )

      Annexation is good when you capture a 'rich' city - naval base 4, airbase 4, army base 4 etc ( its cost remind annexation ), or if you play small country (with success). If every production line is busy and still there is much resources to spend - this is a sign, that you should seriously think about it.

      ( I feel we are off topic :whistling: )
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    • Actually if you cant be in game 24h per day is better take country with lot of inland core cities :). In this case you are able just not develop 1-2 port core cities if they arent safety enough. Cose any type of effective defence require your online management.
      In any case best ways are :
      1) Be in good coalition with near countries which has active people and is able to control sea jointly.
      2) Take inland countries like India, Russia which have not many ports for enemy invasion and some "safety bag", giving time to react.
      3) Third way is remote countries like New Zealand, which cant be invaded fast and easy.

      Generally you can defend ports, building there bunkers (lvl 2-3 is good for first time) and placing there long range artillery, plus couple SAM when available. This way is effective enough for your offline time, it makes port difficult and costly to take.
    • Paintpro wrote:

      Why do I see majority of players only going up to level 1-2 arms industry? I try and Max mine out As fast as possible. That's of course after I build the army 2-3 depending on which units I'm going with. But near day 60 and I still see people with only 1-2 and they're playing because I'm at war with them.
      Because in 90% games real competition finished within 30-35 days, in 50% games all is clear till 30th day. So you never return resources you spent for industry above 1-2 lvl . Fast conquering competitors resources is much better and cheaper way to have them :)
    • I think 'maxing' Arms industries is worthwhile, if player can't easily grow. Not the best choice early, because it makes player an easy target to 'rushing'.
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    • Raf wrote:

      Paintpro wrote:

      Why do I see majority of players only going up to level 1-2 arms industry? I try and Max mine out As fast as possible. That's of course after I build the army 2-3 depending on which units I'm going with. But near day 60 and I still see people with only 1-2 and they're playing because I'm at war with them.
      Because in 90% games real competition finished within 30-35 days, in 50% games all is clear till 30th day. So you never return resources you spent for industry above 1-2 lvl . Fast conquering competitors resources is much better and cheaper way to have them :)
      Even if games are finished quickly, i can see some merits in building arms industry to level 5 in critical core cities, once you achieved your "desirable mass" in units. Around Day 15 and the 50 th city milestone (in 64 players map), it's something that may come to your interest.
      Running an online alliance is pretty much like running a small company, except you need to find other way than money to keep your employees productive. May they play or work, they are humans.