Building at the start no longer a viable option?

APT · 2014-02-09 14:32:20

New player here, I have been playing this game for a week or so now and have even managed to get close to the top a couple of times. The issue I am having is with the current mechanics of the game. I’ve noticed once you, as the player, are inevitably forced to start over you have two options to restart; rob or build. With the influx of new players at first it didn’t really matter if you robbed or built as there were plenty of weaker defenses, or non-seasoned robbers to exploit and get back to the top where the real action is (However this model assumes there is always enough newer players).

Now that everyone is slowly learning the game I’ve taken note of a change in the community tactics, it doesn’t make sense to build from the start currently; as people only want to invest their $2000 to go after a larger gain (makes sense). If you build from the start you may grab one or two people in your house, but the majority will not touch your house if you are below $1000 and look like tools will be needed, thus you are in a pickle… you are almost forced to rob and hope for a lucky break at a house vulnerable to $2000 tools, because the alternative is to build then close down the game and wait for 5-8 hours until you hopefully get back to close to $1000.

This is what I have been watching in terms of gameplay recently and want to see what more experienced players are doing? Do you instantly go on a robbing spree or build and wait? Is the current cost vs wait time worth building upon restart?

Storm · 2014-02-09 16:09:46

not viable. I never start building a house with < $10k.

If you have < ~$2.3k as bait your income will be agonizingly slow and you'll be stuck in the slums meta (even worse under $1k), where timid robbers have no tools to leave you even if they do die. at ~$2.3k bait you get all the suicide robbers with $2k tools for you to sell and they don't care if they die.

Wapato · 2014-02-09 16:35:55

I have not had any issues building with the 2k start. Players are more experienced and no longer fall for the very simple traps. You have to evolve your traps to stay ahead of them.

Blip · 2014-02-09 17:24:07

I've built at the start, only did a couple small robberies, and ended up reaching 250K with three paintings. So it is possible, if you know how to build.

The tip is: use hidden commit gates and deathtraps. Something like this will get a lot of bounties from low-level robbers looking for some quick cash. They don't know how dangerous it really is, and often saunter in without tools. As bounties pour in, your house value rises, and you can either wait for a big bounty to make some major improvements, or slowly upgrade as you go along.

Storm · 2014-02-09 17:31:52

the problem is if you ever have < $1k (or even < $2k imo) it takes forever and is extremely boring. therefore not feasible as you're likely to commit suicide during the process.

Last edited by Storm (2014-02-09 17:32:45)

Blip · 2014-02-09 17:51:48

I prefer the slower play-style. I also just have a super packed schedule even on the weekends, so I like being able to leave, come back, make a few small upgrades with a couple thousand in bounties, then leave again. It might be slow and boring to some, but its a fully viable strategy and can have some big successes, along with having the strength not worrying about dying while robbing.

Storm · 2014-02-09 18:17:04

wouldn't you have to constantly be monitoring your new house anyway and updating it as your value rises and you can afford it? (hence the relative boredom) If you didn't, at some point your house could easily find itself in a higher loot range vs better equipped robbers without the house upgrades to handle it. Idk, it looks like you've been around a lot longer than me, I just started playing with steam release. Just seems an altogether better approach to find one $10k-$30k score and start from there. Which hasn't been very difficult for me, so far anyway. plus you get to learn new traps even when you die

Blip · 2014-02-09 18:34:58

Storm wrote:

wouldn't you have to constantly be monitoring your new house anyway and updating it as your value rises and you can afford it? (hence the relative boredom) If you didn't, at some point your house could easily find itself in a higher loot range vs better equipped robbers without the house upgrades to handle it.

Often its surprising the beating a relatively cheap house can withstand - however, when you really have time for your house value to skyrocket, things can go bad quick. Once, a death trap I built had about 4K when I logged off, with a simple trap system. I came back to find that, overnight, I had gotten two bounties of over 30K each, plus lots more cheap bounties and tools. The guy who robbed me and killed my wife got 100K for his efforts, coming off at a profit. He used like 10K of tools to break my place; that was more than the cost of the house itself.

So there is a bit of luck there, but isn't it that way with every way to win in this game? Personally, I love chain robbing, and find it one of the most fun ways to play; but its just so risky that I'll sometimes just try building instead.

Secret Santana · 2014-02-09 22:15:19

I've only been playing for a week or so, but I've been only building (no robbing) and it seems quite viable so far.

I quickly realized that you can't get anywhere trying the traps you see on forums or wikis as-is. Everybody already knows them. Instead you need to come up with your own trap or variation on a trap. Add in some clever planning and you should be able to make a single, new trap that is fortified against tools that cost more than your vault contains.

It may start slow but it does start, and it gets exponentially faster. Catching it at a sweet spot with a lot of $ but before it attracts the big dogs is part of the fun for me.

My current house is only a single trap (there are only 5 squares that you even can die on) and it has gained over $12k in about 20 hours. Each new iteration has made more $ than the last and I'm still learning and improving it.

LiteS · 2014-02-09 22:26:00

Secret Santana wrote:

My current house is only a single trap (there are only 5 squares that you even can die on) and it has gained over $12k in about 20 hours. Each new iteration has made more $ than the last and I'm still learning and improving it.

I built a house like that just now and racked in 5k from 2 bounties in less than an hour. The trick is coming up with your own trap presentation. If we assume nobody dies the same way twice, you have to teach them a new way to die.

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2014-02-09 14:32:20

Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#2 2014-02-09 16:09:46

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#3 2014-02-09 16:35:55

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#4 2014-02-09 17:24:07

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#5 2014-02-09 17:31:52

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#6 2014-02-09 17:51:48

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#7 2014-02-09 18:17:04

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#8 2014-02-09 18:34:58

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#9 2014-02-09 22:15:19

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

#10 2014-02-09 22:26:00

Re: Building at the start no longer a viable option?

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