More accessable explosives!

[Mas Tnega]

How did the beta players get around this?

We stood there and shot them.

Nobody tried the tactic of sticking an anthill in the spawning base?

Anthills ALWAYS go there.

[bert_the_turtle]

I always put mine a bit away from the enemy base. The ants don't mind, they find their food anyway. But the task force to eliminate the hill minds

[Phelanpt]

Well, tried another game just now... had an anthill stuck in my base, again.

I tried grouping all of my Darwinians in front of the three spawn points. I counted a total of two grenades thrown- nothing else.

Try what I said: formation(s) to wipe most of the ants, and swarms of MWs to throw grenades.
It worked perfectly in my games yesterday.

Also, I mostly do the same as bert. Seems to be more disruptive.

[Kuth]

Of course it makes the most sense, but I seem to find no way to defeat them!

Not even the tactics illustrated here- DGs don't throw grenades when they need to!

[SunKing]

I've played a game where I've had two formations of Darwinians either side and a bunch of free-roaming Darwinians ordered to charge the hive. They still didn't throw the nades and bear in mind I had the place surrounded. This really ought to be addressed somehow

[Kuth]

After getting another anthill in the base I waited around for I think three minutes before the darwinians felt motivated enough to throw grenades into the hive. I was only able to destroy them in overtime (green AI had two statues stuck in his spawnpoint) when I set fire to a black forest that was also sprouting in my spawnpoint. Of course, it was quickly replaced by another anthill.

In a second game, on Scorched Earth, I had anthills and trees infesting my spawn point... but none of the Darwinians there threw a grenade in the two minutes I was waiting for them to. I can't see how 'having a formation to stop the ants' will help- I just need them to throw a grenade!

So, yes, Please IV consider either making Darwinians throw more grenades, making explosives a little more accessible, or somehow changing the anthill/dark tree power ups. Otherwise, should I just expect to loose the game and quit when one/both show up in my base?

[Phelanpt]

I can't see how 'having a formation to stop the ants' will help- I just need them to throw a grenade!

The idea is to not have them aim at the ants, instead of the anthills. If they're attacking the ants, they use lasers, but if they're attacking the anthills they throw grenades.
But Sunking seems to have tried what I did and not get the same result, so maybe I just got lucky at the time...

[Kuth]

I didn't think you could order the Darwinians to attack anything- just move. So I clustered them some distance from the spawn points/ anthills in hopes that one of them would throw a grenade, but they never did.

[Icepick]

I think you are overestimating the effect of a Dark Forest. Unless you leave all your Multiwinians right in the middle of one, you really shouldn't lose that many. If its on top of one of your Spawn Points, you should only lose a couple of your troops as long as you order them straight out of the forest with an Officer. Dark Forests won't effect units operating buildings like Spawn Points, so you don't need to worry about those. They're an annoyance, sure, but they aren't the game ender you seem to be making them out to be.

[RabidZombie]

Dark forest, IMO are better suited elsewhere on the battlefield, eg enemy turrets. They're pretty useless on spawn points.

All I think should change about ants nests is that they are more actively targeted by DGs. Right now, they always go for the ants, meaning they rarely throw a grenade that will hit the ants nest.

[Kuth]

True, I seem to have been overblowing the situation (especially when it's common sense to keep an explosive powerup as backup).

There's still the problem of anthills, in that they need to be eliminated if a player focuses everything he can against them. Darwinians don't seem to throw grenades when needed to, against anthills, something that should be considered.