General Science Tree - a little info for those who need it..

[Thejollyone]

This is a huge update and a very daunting one for many. The info below is taken from both the Test and Live servers and is basically a compilation of 3 mails I shared in guild. I got such good feedback from it, I thought it may help others here too

First of all, if you have limited knowledge of the battle system, please take time to visit this link so you can look up terms like splash damage etc and understand what it does:

http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/t...-combat-system

You can invest up to 21 books per general, so make your choices wisely..

Starting with the base line skills, a minimum of 5 manuscripts must be invested here before you can attain the next level of skills.

Part 1 - Manuscripts

Jog - depending on how many manus you invest (1-3) this skill will speed up the general transferring between garrison placements and his return to the garrison after a battle. It does NOT affect his travel speed walking into battle. If it did then block timings would all be out. So this skill is all about speed.

First Aid - Recovers troops killed in any single battle won or lost at a percentage relative to manuscripts invested - 1 manu/3% 2 manu/6% 3 manu/9%. The troops are assisgned back to the general once the battle is over. So you send gen with 100Recruits and he wins the battle but loses 10 recs, you will gain up to 3,6 or 9% of those recruits back when he returns to his garrison. If he loses the battle outright, the troops are still assigned to him but cannot be used until the generals recovery time is over. This skill is about saving troops.

Juggernaut - Increases the general's attack damage by 20/40/60. These attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. This skill is for the general ONLY, it is not applied to the troops he is carrying. This is a power up skill.

Rapid Fire - Increases the attack damage of your bowmen by 5/10/15 (dependent on amount of manus invested). As Nusala has Explosive Ammunition skill which benefits bowmen, this would be a skill maybe worth adding to her. Its a power up skill, although rather limited in its uses.

PART 2 - Tomes (check the level requirements for these skills)

A set of 8 skills to ponder here so here goes:

Row 1 (level 26+)

Navigation Crash Course - a speed skill reducing your general's travelling time to and from adventures by 15/30/45%. In real terms, fully loaded with 3 tomes reduces the travel time from 15 mins to 8 mins 15secs on a fast gen and from 30 mins to 18 mins 30secs on a Tavern gen. With 2 tomes that's redcued to 10m 30s on a fast gen and 21mins on a slow gen. With 1 Tome the times are 12m45s fast gen and 25m30s slow

Hostile Takeover - When this army wins a battle, gain 1 Recruit mercenary for every 600/300/200 XP worth of enemies defeated. The recruits are gained as a buff in the star menu, not directly applied to the garrison/adventure. This may be of more value to lower level players who struggle to maintain a large army. Could also save barrack time in the long term.

Overrun - Decreases the HP of enemy bosses by 8/16/25% This is a powerful skill that will effectively save many troops especially in the Evil Queen series. Consider this for all Champ gens and your MGs.

Sniper Training - Increases your Longbowmen's and regular Marksmen's minimum attack damage by 45/85/130% and the maximum by 5/10/15%. May be interesting on those FT advs that use a lot of bowmen, like HLT and CLT. From my experience I would have to question its value in Ali advs as I do not use many Marksmen. Could be one for the suiciders.

Row 2 (Level 33+)

Just a Flesh Wound - Reduces the general's recovery time by 15/30/45%. In real terms the healing times are Fast Gen (15% 1hr 42mins) (30% 1hr 24mins) (45% 1hr 6mins). Slow Gen (15% 3hr 24mins) (30% 2hr 48mins) (45% 2hr 12mins)

Fast Learner - Increases the XP gained from enemy units defeated by this army by 10/20/30%. Affects only the units actually defeated by the army (ie from the battle report mail), not other camps affected by the army. Example: if the general and his army defeats an enemy leader, only the XP from that particular battle is counted, the experience acquired by other camps that fall around it doesn't count.

Battle Frenzy - Increases the attack damage of this army by 10/20/30% for every combat round past the first. A powerful Boss camp skill which effectively limits any kind of fight to a low number of rounds. Will do well on the Champs and MG gens and maybe help on some of those tight blocks.

Unstoppable Charge - Increases the maximum attack damage of your swift units (Knight, Mounted Marksmen, Cavarly) by 1/2/3 and their attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. This is a power up skill. Perhaps consider this, Overrun and Battle Frenzy all together on your Champs and MGs for a powerful skillset against those bosses in Evil Queen and Alis.

Part 3 Codex

Row 1 - level 40+ required

Confident Leader - Reduces the length of combat rounds by 15/30/45%. Another that is potentially good for players who block.

Garrison Annex - Increases the General's troop unit capacity by 5(1 codex) 10( 2 codex) 15 (3 codex) yes i know the plural is codices but it looked odd As well as the obvious troop increase for those harder battles, this could also be useful on a Major Gen or perhaps MMA where you want to steamroll and intercept/kill your way through weaker camps saving time.

Weekly Maintenance - Increases the attack damage of your heavy units (cannoneers, besiegers) by 10/20/30. For a truly powerful Gen, consider adding this with Battle Frenzy, Overrun and Unstoppable Charge.

Cleave - Increases the attack damage of your Elite Soldiers by 4/8/12 and their attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. Touted as possibly the worst skill in the tree as it is limited to the Elite Soldiers (NOT the Elite Army). Elite soldiers are really used more for blocking than attacking these days.

Row 2 - level 45+ required

1-up - The general recovers instantly after their first defeat in every adventure. Useful for suiciders and maybe Nusala.

Bounty Hunter - After completing an adventure, gain 1 star coin for every 1,000 XP worth of enemies defeated by this army (only the units defeated by the army, not other camps affected by the army).
Example: if the general and his army takes down an enemy leader, only the XP worth the battle is counted, the experience acquired by other camps that disappear doesn't count. Those who are over say level 65, think about how much longer before you are Level 70 +Pathfinder quests and the abundance of star coins you will be gaining weekly from that...

Master Planner - Adds 10% to this army's accuracy. I looked on test server and it states there the "Army", not just the Gen, though it's tough finding proof. Anyway, still a pretty useful skill to add to the set.

Lightning Slash - The general attacks twice per round. That second attack's initiative is "Last Strike". Question the value of this extra attack from a gen as Last Strike - when gens have a low attack value, it's limited - tho it maybe good for gens such as Champs with high attack values

Other nuggets noted and things to consider:

If you have a lot of BHG-like gens, consider making those suiciders in the long term. If you are going to go all out, then combining Rapid Fire and Overrun could actually reduce losses significantly esp on the FT advs where bows are used a lot. Imagine reusing them straight after with the 1-Up skill on them...

Although Ive touted 1-Up on the suicide gens, the faster recovery skill Just a Flesh Wound needs to be judged on how fast you do the adventures as to whether you think it is worth investing. Theres no point skilling up a suicide gen to use him more than once if you regularly do an FT adv in a little under 2 hours...

Question whether you need more troops on a Major Gen. Sometimes 270 units with a whole lot of damage boost combined with a significant damage boost each round is way more valuable. (bri0sheje from test server forum)

If you're thinking about a cheap lootspot Gen rather than keep sending an MMA then perhaps Dracula with 2 on Jog, 3 on Juggernaut and 3 on Nav Crash - makes a kill with 1R on the nearest forest camp on a VLT and gets to the adv in 8 mins...

Finally, any feedback is good, as are corrections and constructive criticism. With that in mind, please do be reminded that each players style can be different, and so they will be looking at the best set up for the particular generals they own and the adventures they prefer/enjoy most.

Cheers
Jolly

[JohnTheDon1980]

Good advice. I would also point out if your super new and only have tavern generals, don't be afraid to skill one of them with offensive skills. Itll make the game so much easier and enjoyable I think, if you face waiting months for a fast general.
As far as some of my personal thoughts,

First aid- 9% of troops back after camp battle- seems amazing saving to troop build times/reduces weapon use. Also on multicamp battles offers new options and potential bonus.

Juggernaught- early on with basic adventures= very useful, but i am gearing my tree towards alis as this is where u get most xp with the least effort & troop and time costs are a factor in my ability to play them. In these adventures i see this skill as a waste on all generals. Maybe Nusala as she is a sac general or MMA but on alis the damage gained is minor, relative to the hp of enemy units. You would be better off improving skills of whole army using another skill in my opinion.

Rapid fire- Consider as an option on tavern generals, noting cannot use other offensive skills as ruins blocks. Bows arent used in blocks but on Tailor adventures sometimes a sacrifice is required, and if you dont have lots of generals can def help as using tavern generals for sacrfices is necessary for a fast play through (not waiting for other generals to regenerate health). If your using 1up can be very good combination i think, but not priority to get both to reap rewards.

Next skills i like in next row

Navigation Crash course- If time is important, and leveling is important your travel time to addies can cut massively. With jog, which is an essential skill for me, can really help with or without prem if you intend to grind some xp across multiple adventures. If you do the odd adventure or 1 a day, not so important. Very personal choice but def strong skill to consider.

Over run- On alis there are many leader camps. This can really save you many units and make blocks safer as battles will last less time. Combined with other skills this can be very very strong on Anslem, Vargus. Leaning towards not picking this and Battle frenzy as rare your need both, but on really hard ali baba camp bosses i have simed Anslem with this combo and swift skill or move heavy unit power skill to devastating effect. Ask yourself, what addy do you play most? if its woodcutter mainly then pairing this wouldnt be as good as other choice but if you grind big xp addies def worth putting both on Anslem, as its as close to overpowered as ive seen.

Fast learner- Interesting and def a personal choice for you to make. If you play slow or fast there is incentive to use this, but would need on all Mgs and COA to really maximise xp returns I think to be a worthwhile choice. On just one MG as example could be really awkward ensuring he is always available for big xp camps etc

Battle Frenzy- Very very strong on MG/Anslem for big boss camps, but as earlier said, if you rarely play against these camps it is not worth it. You will gain massively when using it on these camps though, so a very personal choice for each player again.

Unstoppable charge- Most interesting skill to me so far. On normal adventures i dont see a benefit noting cavalry are weak attack with or without the skill. On ali babas though with elite troops, knights- when combined with 10% more accuracy skill and this skill- become superman. MM take 50% more time to make, more expensive weapon cost, and with skill knights have more hp than basic MM, and more attack than unskilled MM. That said skill doesnt improve MM hp but their attack is bigger and with knights and MS new options i see available here for many savings. Mounted swordsman and MM taking 50% longer to make per unit makes this big consideration i think.

Confident leader- Do you just follow guides already made? if yes then avoid i think. You would benefit from other options much more. This is a powerful skill if you intend to resim guides to suit your generals, if you think this sounds like a nightmare but hope other guide makers make guides with it in...well I think that is asking a bit much, especially when you consider your other skills would have to match theirs to use it. If you want to make new safer blocks and guides a strong choice to think about. Just ask yourself the question, will this skill allow you to save that many more troops making new guides than using powerful attack skills instead? (if you dont pick this but other attacking skills u can use old guides and simply save troops)

Weakly maintenance- Very strong. If you find a way to get splash for knights, and this skill, pairing knights with besiegers can be deadly to enemies. Again, if you play cutter mainly the edge isnt as large as it will be if you intend to do higher xp ali babas, as mostly block and few besieger attacks, but on tailors this skill will be very handy here you use allot of cannons. Double use skill, which not all are- by double i mean normal and ali adventures it has good use.

Garrison Annex- all COA generals, vets etc i see this as essential. A vet with this at max has 5 less troops than MG, which paired with other skills i think easily substitutes 5 men u lose in most instances. Again would need you to sim to check, but im confident that in many instances Vet with attack skills/Garrison will be viable option on both alis/tailor addies. On MGs i would do 1 maximum. 15 more troops to 270 makes little difference most the time, as said by Joly and many others.

Cleave/Lightning slash- Cleave i dont like simple lol Thats good though Lightning slash may have a use on Nusala or Anslem but noting if your doing sac and they hit for 1500 twice, even with juggernaught added damage on top, their damage output is minor compared to what using a skill on 165+ troops could do by comparison. Another readon for avoiding on even Nusala may be that on many sacs she may not even make it to the last round, where she gets 2nd attack.

Master Planner- Amazing skill for knights i think and generally all around. Sounds like nothing on paper but when u realise this boost for your whole army and general is massive in big battles.

1up- Amazing skill if you need many sacrifices on big adventures- perfect for MMas/nusala, even skilled vets for tailors and ali baba sacrifices, albeit alis sacs wont make such a huge part in ur decision. Pretty much doubles your sacrifice potential so 8 MMas become equivalent of 16 with no time delay/healing.
People early on would gain most from this skill, but by the time you unlock it and utilise it your prob be doing at least tailor adventures where it is perfect if you dont have lots of generals.

Other skills i see as either strictly for nusala, as far as bow/longbow etc- but even then id suggest ignore long bow and just boost normal bow, as build time for normal bows is much less and less costly. With 1up ur better off just sending two normal bow waves in my opinion.

Also, noting how fast you can level now with excilsor, and the fact the choices seem permanent at this moment in time i am not picking the best set ups for early adventures. Even still i know many will disagree with the way i see the value of the skills, but as said by many, allot of skills are just personal choices down to your own playstyle. As listed above, i see some as plain bad but maybe ive read them wrong and some can tell me why and i can pick better skills its a learning curve for us all, but PLEASE do not just copy some one else. Ask if your not sure, but just be aware that to give you personal advice it does require you asking yourself how do you play? what adventures do you do? what generals do you have? these are the important things that should decide your choices.

[EasyTarget1]

Do yourself and your guild a favour, buy a fast gen.

[Thejollyone]

by way of keeping this a dedicated info thread, there is also some interesting info on Anslem and skills located here:

http://forum.thesettlersonline.net/t...-out-of-Anselm

For those who follow EvilJs Guides, he lists his skills here:

http://forum.thesettlersonline.net/t...hlight=genesis

[Kriegor]

Thank you Jolly. The first clear and concise outline of the skills i have seen and could actually understand

[Brotherjon]

Nice guide, fairly impartial and concise. Managed to scrape most if the info myself over a few days but nice to have it all properly summarised in one place.

[Xibor]

Great post. Thanks for the insights

[BB_Saqui]

Awesome post, Jolly - I'm sure a lot of players are going to find this useful. It's great to see you guys getting stuck into the new update and it's not even live yet!

[Tiamatini]

Thanks jolly! That's really useful I'll be pointing my guild in the direction of this thread when the game's back up and running!

[Steve1077]

Thanks, very useful post