So what is the intended radius for Unstable Magic skills AOE? It was 0 before. Not sure if worth getting it.
Ok awesome. Hadn't thought about trying that. So then, I didn't accidentally sell my hammer (it was equipped but I tried to sell the crossbow). Will definitely give this a try. Much appreciated!
Thanks for all the tips on Wave 32 guys... I was able to beat it with the mercenaries and incorporating these suggestions (a few Runesmith levels have been a big help), but still can't beat it on history. I'll have to give it some more tries. Once I got by that one, I've been able to keep going, I'm up to Wave 40 now, but haven't tried it yet. This is definitely my game of the year by far, surely a must-have for any fans of the genre.
For quality of life improvement and to keep conversation alive I'm curious to other's thoughts on this: since the paladin overhaul "the elite" research has become amazingly clutch, I'd argue almost indespensible against 20/20 missions. I know that if I'm playing a little off or with a build that's a little wonky and lose the territory that provides it, I tend to go into a several loss spiral before I adjust tactics sufficiently or respec/switch to my higher level toons. Could it be possible to link that research as one of the castle-leveling unlocks (even if it's the 10star level, always though war elephant was a little niche). That's a super-specific request I know, but does anyone else have a "must-have" research that might be worth making a permanent member of the list and not subject to territory loss?
In my opinion, The Elite research isn't that indispensible for 20/20 missions. In fact, usually I don't use it at all. Part of the game is the variety of strategies, so once lost a territory + research we should switch to a different strategy. Anyway, I think that researches are somewhat unbalanced. Some of them are just worthless or underpowered. For illustrate this, I will compare runes stats (legendary) vs researches: Health: 65 HP Rune vs 125 HP Hero Health II Regeneration: 3 HP/sec Rune vs 1 hp/sec Regeneration Stun: 10% Stun chance Rune vs 5% Heavy Blows Damage: 20 or 25 Damage Rune vs 10 Hero Damage II Except for Hero Health II (and General's Rally too), Runes bonus are way better than their Research counterparts.
. That's an interesting comparison. The "best" research options are probably the flat "+%dmg/hp to all ___ units" as a force multiplier (the elven version in particular is great) as I feel like these research choices have a greater overall impact on the battle than the hero-specific buffs, which as you point out largely lag behind high tier perks from armor/runes. And let's be honest, heroes can tip the scales but armies still tend to win/lose you the game. Not that it needs any particular help since almost every strategy I read includes it but maybe general's rally needs a +cp gain component, say +.5 like a captain that can't die. I know you're right about adjusting strategies, but I still feel like the units/research options unlocked just from levelling the castle could use some adjustment to make them more interesting compared to the land-unlocked options, which are superior almost as a rule, and that may be deliberate as keeping land requires sustained effort... The options that buff otherwise obsolete units like footmen and archers are cool in-theory but buffed footman are still vastly inferior to infinity-speared pikeman, which are almost ridiculous if combined with humanity's resolve and captains benefitting from elite(they kill a lot more stuff with double damage/hp). Add a paladin or rune master that can further push an entire army's damage/defense and you've got quite the steamroller.
Agreed. In the end units are who win the game. So usually the most efficient are the unit +dmg/health research. For missions, General's Rally is very useful but for endless/coop, where it should be easy to get to 999 points, means playing with -1 research. Can't wait to try Arena mode (hero only combat), research options will be only for heroes I suppose. It's time to adapt the strategies and hero builds too. Without units, it seems to me that HP regen and Vampirism will replace Unit discounts and 0.5 extra income runes. Curious to see how a Human hero does without unlimited mana
My gunmage didnt have Arcane Magic for a long while just coz i was testing its viabilty. It could definitely do fine as far as mana management is concerned. Arcane Magic is overpowered plain and simple. Sure it gives the Human Mage class a solid identity, but it's hands down one of the best powers in the game as it fuels EVERYTHING in the human's kit. The Arena mode would be a fantastic balanced mode, but we'll have to see how balance the other classes get. Should be awesome though, that's for sure.
Defense skill? So...is there any way to get the defense skill raised in any race other than the dwarf? My poor human knight/paladin with 93 armor still soaks hits that are 100+. Level 35, with an army of armor piercing goblin heavy gunners sucks in particular. The only reason my elf druid survived is that an army of dryads soaked the hits. I felt like a QB in the pocket. Stay inside and you're fine. Step outside and you'll hit the ground wicked fast. Finally, is there a better place to level than 29? It's getting really monotonous. I'm at wave 39 currently.
Defense is a very rare stat. Other than Dwarf, Knights can get reduced damage thanks to Valor and Taunt. Paladins can give some defense to nearby units passively. Elfs can also get defense with Circle of protection (stackable). Alternatively, Lead Foot research gives +15 defense when standing still.
I did a lot of levelling on 39 once you get the hang of managing those siege mummies. The most xp/win is still the enemy castle mission. If you spam catapults and can keep the skellies under control with just hero it can be a fast win too. I like the Druid's self-generating army concept (the QB analogy is strong) but I'll re-ask a question I've never resolved: have you ever seen a summoned dryad spawn a sapling on death? I want to like/use sapling because it could be a sweet damage buff to my trees, but the proc is so low and dryads die so infrequently it's been tough to test. Still think that skill needs reworked to a simple plant man passive buff that includes poison damage... I suppose the ultimate answer is self evident in that between the rare proc and low death rate, I can't count on my skill summons to both replenish and buff my army, but would be nice to know.
I take it the enemy castle mission is unlocked after wave 50? For crystals - Surrendering waves seems the only way to get enough to craft with, and that feels kinda cheesy. Plus I risk losing lands, because the timer on my heroes is kinda long. Is that the only way? Regarding humans (and elves) - so with no defense skill, how much does that 100 armor matter over 93 or 78? It seems like you have to live off of your mana pool and taunt/juggernaut(Or, well, die if you're an elf) so is the armor relevant?
I don't have any advice on grinding crystals other than losing lands hurts in the long run. ( I spent.. A lot on crystals). Better to conquer them all to increase the equipment and crystal drop rate and maintain your gains on defense. I think attacks can feasibly outpace your ability to defend so there may always be push/pull on your conquer % The enemy castle is unlocked after you've exhausted all defense waves and conquered all the lands/spires. The iOS version is still 40 waves but if you're on android 50 is the right number now. I would say you can't ignore armor entirely, but it's diminished returns to push it over 60ish or so (others can chime in on the math). AP is rampant in enemy units so they'll cut even a strong block chance to shreds. Mobility to allow dodging is almost better as most of the big hitters telegraph their attacks with enough room to parry or dash away. If you're elfing it up I would suggest bark armor or circle of protection in the Druid tree, camo in ranger tree or master parry in grandmaster tree to improve survival. Circle of protection is beastly if you park it right at the enemy gate. My knight/paladin ignored taunt/juggernaut in favor of trauma/retribution and I just stunlock the bejeezus out of most everything I can reach while dashing around the ranged guys I can't until it's safer.
It'll be interesting to see how that's implemented. Will there still be friendly units to benefit from the more army-buffing builds? How will the defense-centric engineer fare without walls to hide behind!
