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The very nature of Populous is strategy and the more knowledge and tactics you have, the better. The list gathered below has been gathered over many hours playing the game, and is sectioned off into relevant sections. Tactics marked by an asterisk * indicate that you may have to use cheats to obtain the desired result! If you have any tactics you wish to add, email them in.
FOLLOWERS
- try and build a large number huts as quickly as possible so as to increase your population and mana production.
- place idle trained followers into vacant huts to produce more mana
- try to aim for two firewarriors to every warrior
- unless your heading into Armageddon, try and keep a small collection of braves to repair huts and build
SPELLS
- if an enemy, or group of enemies, is near the sea use blast and in most cases, it will push them into the water
- if the enemy hypnotises your followers, then hypnotise your hypnotised followers (confusing but it works!)
- in many levels, the enemy will approach using boats: cast swarm on the oncoming boats and the enemy will jump out and drown
- swarm is a good way of dispersing patrolling enemies
- use the earth changing spells such as flatten, earthquake, landbridge and erode, on areas of high land to create the greatest amount of damage
- using a firestorm creates a shield for your Shaman (but not your followers!)
- when an enemy casts an Angel of Death, try and counteract by casting your own Angel: the two will fight it out and allow you time to prepare in case your Angel should be destroyed
- if you are close to completing a level, use an Angel of Death to pick off the final few enemies that can't be reached otherwise
- if several volcanoes are cast in the same place right after each other, the lava spreads further than usual, destroying more*
- casting multiple Angel of Deaths keeps your enemies busy while you build up*
DEFENCE
- place your most important buildings (temple, training huts) near to the reincarnation site and then provide a protection barrier of huts around them.
- place guard towers at entrances to your site, and have them patrolled by a number of firewarriors
- preachers work well in guard towers provided the enemy hasn't been blown away by firewarriors
- if you have high hills around you, take advantage and use landbridge to create earthen walls which your firewarriors can patrol - do note that sometimes the enemy will use their landbridge spells to make their way through!
- invisible enemies, especially spies, can be difficult to see: switch to the world view for a clear view of who's running around your site and from which tribe they belong to
- before attacking, enemies usual gather in groups: casting a well-place swarm or hypnotise can affect their invasion greatly
- when going off to attack, allow a small group of followers to protect the homeland: enemy tribes can be quite clever sometimes and spring an attack while you're away!
- boats can be destroyed by blasting them onto land
- arrange several guard posts and station preachers randomly around your site so they can take care of any enemies that manage to slip in under your nose
- cast swamp at entrances to catch a group of enemies
- if in a level with Fog of War, send a brave in a boat or balloon around the world and clear as much darkness as you can
ATTACKING
- when attacking, after your Shaman has caused an array of damage, pull her out so as she won't be attacked
- get rid of the enemy Shaman as early as you can to avoid swarms and lightning bolts that will affect your invasion plans
- make it your priority to get rid of the training huts and places of importance
- when in an enemy camp, disable the huts rather than taking the time to destroy them completely: once a hut is disabled, it cannot produce mana for the enemy
- destroying buildings causes land to become damaged and can add further headache to the enemy when rebuilding
- send invisible and shielded preachers into the enemy camp to start converting
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
- if an enemy is praying a stone head, wait until the last moment before hypnotising the group, selecting them to pray, and claiming the prize for yourself
- when enemies attack by air or sea, try and steal the balloons and boats for yourself
- try not to cut down all the trees: it takes longer for a tree to grow right back than if you leave it with one piece of wood
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