Staking

[lord_frank]

It is probably the single most asked question in Archmage. Just about every new player in one form or other has asked "What is stacking?". If you were to search the message boards, you would most certainly hit the 200 Topic ceiling before the 3rd board was finished. It's a critical question and the answer is vital to mastery of the game.

By Definition, "Stacking is the process of arranging stacks within your army by modifying the number of units in each stack." The definition itself doesn't make much since, but let me define a few words and then I will explain the process in detail.

Stack Power: An unlisted number comprised of a units Power Rank times a Modifier (2.5 for Flying, 1.5 for Melee, and 1.0 for Ranged).

Unit: A single creature. (A Mindripper or A Sylph.)

Stack: Any number of one unit. (2 Mindrippers or 37 Sylph).

Army: A group comprised of 1 - 10 Stacks.

Reserve: Any stack that is not placed into the army.

Force: Only the top ten stacks are placed in the army, the rest are left as reserve. The combined army and reserve is a Force.

Now, this should help you grasp what "Stacking" is. But your still probably not sure about the PROCESS that is called Stacking. In Archmage, your battles are mainly between Units. You will need to know how to set up your army so that certain units are "Paired" against another unit. Know how to do this, and of course which pairings work best, will lead you to the top of the ranks.

First off, you need to know what each stacks "Stack Power" is. A formula: (N*P*M) = S will help you figure this out. N is the number of units in a stack. P is the Power Rank of that unit. S is the Stack Power. M is the modifier. The modifier is one of the more confusing parts of Stacking. Each unit is assigned one of three modifiers:

Flying Units get a 2.5 Modifier
Ranged Units get a 1.0 Modifier
Melee Units get a 1.5 Modifier


To determine which modifier that unit gets, check the Unit Database. An "Advanced" Search for Flying will give you a list of all units with the Flying Ability. Ranged is a bit harder. Any unit with a "Ranged" first attack will get the ranged modifier. It doesn't matter what the second attack is. The first attack must be a ranged attack to get it. Any other unit is Melee. We call these Non-Flying, Non-Ranged because they don't have any sign that tells you that they are melee.

Here is a chart of all of the units in Archmage by Modifier:

Flying Units Ranged Units Melee Units
angel
archangel
dominion
pegasus
faerie dragon
griffon
phoenix
air elemental
djinni
sylph
chimera
red dragon
wyvern
devil
fallen angel
fallen archangel
fallen dominion
gargoyle
imp
succubus
vampire
wraith
falcon
capsule
squirrel
catapult
high priest
soul speaker
druid
dryad
elven archer
elven magician
nymph
ice elemental
mind ripper
psychic wisp
water elemental
efreeti
dark elf magician
lich
orcish archer
archer
renegade wizard
bounty hunter
astral magician
crusader
knight
knight templar
paladin
preacher
spirit warrior
titan
unicorn
creeping vines
druid
earth elemental
gorilla
mandrake
swanmay
treant
werebear
ice elemental
laviathon
medusa
shadow monster
sirene
sprite
dwarven deathseaker
dwarven elite
dwarven warrior
fire elemental
fire giant
hell hound
hydra
lizardman
ogre
salamander
troglodyte
cave troll
demon knight
ghoul
horned demon
orc raider
shadow
skeleton
unholy reaver
wolf raider
zombie
militia
phalanx
pikeman
cavalry
iron golem
mercenary
assassin
starving peasant
war hound
trained elephant
fanatic
sheep
frog




We determine the modifier in 3 steps. First, look for the Flying ability. If that is not there, then look in the first attack section for "Ranged". If it is not there, then that unit is melee. Now, let's look at some possible scenarios.

Sylph have an ability of Flying. They recieve the 2.5 Modifier Efreeti have no flying ability, but have Fire Ranged First Attack. They recieve the 1.0 Modifier Titan has no flying ability, but have Melee Holy First attack. They also have a Lightning Ranged Second Attack. Since we are using the First attack only, they get 1.5 as a Melee Unit. Unholy Reaver has no flying ability. They have a magic paralyze first attack and ranged psychic second attack. Though it is not listed, since they have not flying or ranged attributes, they are melee.

These are the four common occurences of modifiers that you'll see. Remember, if it's not Flying and the First attack is not ranged, it's Melee! Once you've determined your units modifier, multiply that by that units Power Rank. Multiply that number by the total number of units in the stack and you now have your stack power.

Again, and example: My stack has 25000 Sylph. They have a Modifier of 2.5 since they fly and a Power Rank of 68. (25000 * 2.5 * 68) = 4,250,000 Stack Power. After several minutes at the calculator, we come up with:

Sylph SP of 4,250,000
Mind Ripper SP of 5,250,500
Ice Elemental SP of 6,187,000
Archer SP of 3,000,000


Ok. We've got the Stack Power of every stack in our "Force". Now, we need to organize them. This part is easy. Looking at the Stack Power, Ice Elementals enter battle first, then the Mind Rippers, then the Sylph, and the Archers take up the rear. Remember, only the top 10 stacks will join the Army. You may have more, but the rest remain in "reserve".

You've got your army now, but something isn't right. Your Mind Rippers just don't seem to be able to hold out in the second stack. You want to move them back one, but since MR's are undisbandable, you can't take any away. What you need to do is either summon up a few more Sylph or attack someone with only your MR. Should you decide to summon Sylph, watch your upkeep. This can bite you in the bum if your not careful. Make sure that you keep about each stack about 2 castings apart. This means that if you have Mind Rippers, and in one casting you can summon 500 of them, then you want to have 1000 MR more so that if you lose some, your stack doesn't slip out of it's position. Otherwise, you will lose every battle after that...a costly experience.

At this time, you should have a better idea on how to stack. About 2 years ago, I designed a JavaScript Program dubbed the Stack Calculator that could tell you the stack power of any unit. A brilliant programmer named Lord Ra developed my calculator through 6 more designs until the current "Stack Organizer" was created. With this design, you can enter in up to 10 stacks and how many you want/have in each. The organizer will tell you the upkeep, netpower, stack power, and even sort the stacks for you. Recently, a CGI Programmer named Funk created a simple cut and paste form that allows you to copy the "Source-Code" of the Disband.cgi page into a text box and his CGI Program will sort the stacks for you. Afterwhich, his CGI form of the Stack Organizer will take over.

Many people use these programs for the simplicity, speed, and accuracy of the work over paper and pencil. Use the programs to develop a stack you like. You can build and arrange them as you need without affecting your mage. Once you have established a good "Stacking" then go in and build it in Archmage. Make sure you know how many of each unit you can summon in one turn. It will help you maintain that well oiled stack of yours.

One last thing. When your going into battle, you need to consider a technique known as "Pairing". This is the effect of pairing one attacking stack with one defending stack. I will go into more detail on this topic as I finish my research on it, but remember these rules:


Flying Stacks will engage Flying Stacks first
Melee Stacks will engage Melee Stacks first
Ranged Stacks will engage Flying Stacks first
The Most Powerful Offensive Stack will engage the most Powerful Stack Defensive
A Stack will not engage a stack if the Net Power between the two is too large
Melee Stacks CANNOT engage Flying Stacks
These rules are child inherent. This means that the 1st Rule is applied, then the 4th Rule. So, Flying Stacks will seek out the Most Powerful UnPaired Flying Stacks. If a Flying Unit cannot find a Flying Stack, it will take on the next available stack down. Ranged also. Melee must engage a Melee stack. If there is not one available, then the Melee stack does not fight. Remember this when stacking and do not place your Melee Units too far down in the Army otherwise you will lose that stack for the battle.