These are the sorts of enemies that Human or Elf ranged fast weapon Silence work well on. Once a Shaman or Mummy Pharoah has been neutralized for 15+ seconds, they aren't hard to dispose of. I've a level 72 Dwarf, but I can't remember how well I've dealt with this problem with them. I do know, as I've often said here, that having lots of distraction units in the field is good, and I think that kinda auto-solves the Pharoah vs hero hinder-lock problem, usually. The AoE poison of the Shaman unfortunately is a huge problem for melee field units that a dwarf hero can't heal by aura like Elf/Human can. So taking Shaman out at range seems best--perhaps Elven Archers and Hunters help? Has anyone compiled a list of notable enemies by Wave? It would be helpful for testing, as I rarely remember which Wave a nasty enemy shows up in, to try out my "answer" before posting. P.S. if it matters, I formerly had a 70s Human (lost in my reset/iCloud oops) and now only have a level 50. I do have a level 95 Elf, who has never used a bow (my lost Elf, in his low 60s, was a pure bow user). My available gear is insane, because I accumulate crystals for bedtime, then save/reload shopping like sleepy zombie until I find the one item for my collection that's worth the price of 200+ crystals. I do this for quirky fun... my one remaining bucket-list wish-list rune, for example, is 35% Discount Plainsman with 15% Unit Discount (which I would use on a Dwarf hero with 25% Plainsman discount by skill, for net 75% off, then seeing if I could somehow use that as my primary M.O. for all Waves--that graphic glitch needs fixing still, though!). P.P.S. Yes, I realize, if I were to ever play PvP, that having used save/reload to vastly shorten the time it takes to acquire gear would be unfair to my opponent. (I have the intention to never play PvP, FYI) Yes, I realize Foursaken made more money off of me in HC1, because I bought the unlocks there, but I will not buy "coins" for any iap app as a matter of policy. I have taken the time to file several detailed bug reports as tit for tat to Foursaken. If Arena mode will be offered as an $unlock I would pay for it. If one could pay $1 per specific double-perk legendary rune, there are several I would buy. If I could buy a Castle Watchtower to elevate my battlefield view, I would. Etc etc. etc.
level 32 For those having a difficult time beating level 32. I finally beat it!!!! For some reason i couldn't do it with a 50lvl paly or 44lvl druid, but breeze thru it with a 40 lvl mage... I kept spamming timestop, loaded up my wall with snipers, and pumped out footman for mana battery. For research i used the +200 command points/fast reload/human resolve?
That level is simple and easy enough by spawning the right units at also the right time. Strategies for wave 32 has been stated in this forum multiple times already. You could look back a few pages and find strategies that would work for most heroes, but I guess if your strategy worked then awesome!
Hey, congrats on Wave 32! Since you're using humans already, you might also like trying: 200CP, Mage's Fortune, Mankind's Resolve, Footman Training because you can skip the Elven Snipers entirely and use Fire Mages for the heavy killing job. I'd never gotten around to trying Time Shift in HC2, but your post reminded me to... the time bubble radius is much larger than I expected, and it's kinda hilarious being able to push to keep an enemy from landing an in-motion melee attack on one of your units!
power leveling & testing strategies I just realized I'd forgotten wave 9 is a siege (I remembered 6, 15, 29) so I propose, over a few days, to collect descriptions of each Wave is like and edit them in here, to better remember levels that are good for testing strategies, or just enjoyable while leveling. I think roughly how long the wave lasts, what the initial enemy spawn is, what the final enemy spawns/rush is, whether there's a lot of em, which battle field (small, medium, large) etc. would be useful. [any one who would then want to add this info to a faq or wiki would be welcome to, btw]. Keep in mind, there are errors in the following! [eg forget units, mix up Skeleton Knights with Shield Bearers, etc] Waves with enemy castles (sieges): 6, 9, 15, 21, 29 Waves with Crystal reward achievement for not killing with hero: 7, 13, 18 [harming enemy is fine, just don't get kill credit] Waves with Crystal reward achievement for not paying to build units: 5, 10, 15 [research or skill generated units are just fine] Wave 1: large battlefield, daytime, 2.5 minutes, Skeleton Warrior. Wave 2: medium battlefield, daytime, 4 minutes, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Archer. Wave 3: large battlefield, dusk, ?5 minutes, Goblin Warrior, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Shield Bearer. Wave 4: large battlefield, daytime, 6 minutes, Skeleton Archer, Ghoul, Skeleton Warrior. Wave 5: large battlefield, nighttime, 6 minutes, Skeleton Warrior, Executioner. Wave 6: small distance castle siege, daytime, 3 minutes*, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Shield Bearer, Skeleton Knight, Executioner. [* = time for a defended but lone unenhanced Catapult to destroy the enemy castle] Wave 7: small battlefield, daytime, ?6 minutes, Skeleton Archer, Skeleton Knight, Ghoul. Wave 8: medium battlefield, dusk, ?6 minutes, Hammer Knight, Skeleton Knight, Tomb Ghoul, Skeleton Warrior. Wave 9: small distance castle siege, daytime, 4 minutes*, Goblin Warrior, Orc Archer, Orc Warrior. [* = time for a defended but lone unenhanced Catapult to destroy the enemy castle] Wave 10: large battlefield, daytime, 6.5 minutes, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Shield Bearer, Skeleton Knight, Executioner, Skeleton Captain. Wave 11: medium battlefield, daytime, 5.5 minutes, Mummy, Cultist, Ghost, Hammer Knight. Wave 12: small battlefield, nighttime, 7 minutes, Ghoul, Goblin Bomber, Orc Shaman, Tomb Ghoul; final rush spawns a bunch of Ghouls Wave 13: large battlefield, daytime, 8 minutes, Leopard Spider, Goblin Warrior, Goblin Shaman, Spider; final rush spawns a bunch of Leopard Spiders Wave 14: medium battlefield, daytime, 8 minutes, Mummy Charger, Skeleton Runner, Skeleton Shield Bearer, Burrow Spider, Skeleton Archer; final spawn of many Skeleton Shield Bearers Wave 15, small distance castle siege, dusk, 5.5 minutes*, Orc Warrior, Goblin Shaman, Goblin Alchemist, Bone Giant. [* = time for a defended but lone unenhanced Catapult to destroy the enemy castle] Wave 16: small battlefield, nighttime, ?8 minutes, Goblin Sneaker, Goblin Warrior, Goblin Bomber, Goblin Sapper, Orc Elite; final rush? Wave 17: large battlefield, sunrise, ?8 minutes, Mummy, Cultist, Goblin Warrior, Mummy Pharoah, Catapult, Goblin Mad Doc; final rush? Wave 18: large battlefield, daytime, ?7 minutes, Skeleton Runner, Skeleton Knight, Executioner, Skeleton Captain, Bone Giant. Wave 19: medium battlefield, daytime, 8 minutes, Goblin Rocketeer, Goblin Warrior, Heavy Gunner, Goblin Mad Doc, Goblin Engineer, Leopard Spider, Spider, Goblin Spider Rider; final rush? Wave 20: large battlefield, daytime, ?8 minutes, lots of Goblin Mad Doc, Orc Warrior, Orc Siege Hammerer, Orc Shaman, Orc Chieftain; final rush? Wave 21, small distance castle siege, dusk, 6 minutes*, Ghost, Cultist, Wraith, Skeleton Longbow, Mummy Charger. [* = time for a defended but lone unenhanced Catapult to destroy the enemy castle] Wave 22: small battlefield, daytime, ?7 minutes, Skeleton Archer, Necromancer, Skeleton Warrior summoned?, Bone Giant, Executioner; final rush? Wave 23: large battlefield, daytime, ?8 minutes, Hammer Knight, Mummy Charger, Mummy, Siege Mummy, Mummy Pharoah, Mummy Tomb Lord; final rush? Wave 24: large battlefield, daytime, ?7 minutes, Skeleton Archer, Skeleton Shield Bearer, Goblin Sapper, ?, Skeleton Knight, Skeleton Captain; final rush? Wave 25: medium battlefield, nighttime, 8.5 minutes, Tomb Ghoul, Goblin Mad Doc, Burrow Spider, Ghoul, Ghoul Overseer.
SD won't reduce the range of a ranged unit, although it will force the unit to fire something within range (cause it cannot move). Cannons/Hunters have a tendency to move forward if they cannot reach to attack (ie units hidden behind a mountain), SD can stop them for a while or force them to attack to a closer enemy. I believe Wind Spirit doesn't change the way SD stops allied units (not sure 100%). However, found out that also Shield Knights will continue their charge even buffed with SD, but only if they are already running (which is common). The same for Elf Lion Guard, SD stops them if not charging, and under Warrior Path will keep running. Knight and War Rhino (runners, not chargers) will always stop under SD. Forge Master buffs all units/towers, no matter how nearby they are. Though, he will only heal nearby walls. SD got a big range but won't cover whole map (if map is Endless/Level 30 size). I'd say it has Vengeance Aura/Bark Armor's range. BTW, Druid's Sapling buff covers whole map but I would like to see a green aura or something (such as Forge Master aura) that indicates units are being buffed. BTW-2, SD will also protect/buff non - units such as Saplings and Auto Turrets.
I wondered about saplings, thanks. To easily see Steadfast Defense change targeting for ranged units [ios v1.1] you can use the beginning of Wave 6. Canon can be tricky to tell, but Catapult and Elven Hunter are plain as day. I suggest you stand behind them and watch. They have the range to hit anything. Before SD the Catapult will be attacking either Wall, the Elven Hunter sharpshooting units atop the Wall. Throw the SD and both will change targets for one shot. The Catapult will go for the advancing mass of enemy units (and miss, since they're advancing). The Elven Hunter will shoot low then return to picking them off from atop the wall. Perhaps the normal target selection method is replaced to "nearest"? To test this, units with normally strong preferences might work... Yeah, (I just tested this) in Wave 11, Paladin units have a very noticeable preference order for targets (Wraiths are top priority, then Mummies, and only Cultists if no magic unresistant enemy units are on the battlefield)... so if you throw a SD on a paladin who is charging towards a wraith, he will take a swing at the stuff next to him that he was ignoring as he charged past. Another test, on Wave 15... before finishing Warrior's Way research, using SD on a batch of Wood Elf Warriors freezes them in their tracks, but after the research is already known they just continue running, buffed. If you freeze a group (30 seconds SD duration) and the research completes during, they immediately start running. So I'm betting that Elf Hero Wind Spirit L3 (max, 100% chance to run for 45 seconds after spawning a unit) will allow a co-op SD at the castle gate on the new units to buff them "in motion" (unless they are one of the unit types WS doesn't seem to affect).
I was able to get a coop game going on Saturday after about 30 seconds, we played for about 30-45 minutes, totally epic, UNTIL THE APP CRASHED on my rMini. It was very annoying. It was really fun, the guy was much better than me (revived me about 6 times), both of us ranged dwarf characters. Sad not to get any XPs for it though. I tried to get another game going later in the weekend, and no matches and gave up after 4 or 5 minutes. US East Coast server.
The attack is replaced to nearest but within preferences. For hunters, if there aren't any ranged unit they seem to focus the nearest ones. About Wood Elf and Elf Lions (without Warrior Path), if they didn't start charging yet and you SD on them, they will be frozen. If they are already charging when SD then they will ignore the Stop and keep running, buffed.(just like Paladin unit)
I wonder if we played that day, I do remember your nickname. I always use same golden dwarf armor with the golden anvil, if it rings a bell. I have noticed LOTS of crashes regarding my partner using iPad Mini's, already told FM about that, we'll see if they can figure out how to fix those crashes. Usually it happens more the longer the game it gets... very nasty.
I haven't messed with the long reach weapons as much, because they're typically 2 handers, which means you're either only using one of them, (which cuts your functional attack speed in half), or else you're dual-wielding them, (which reduces their attack speed). Huge reach, but slow, which isn't ideal for chain-triggering procs. Or, at least, that's been my experience the few times I've played around with it. In terms of functional attack speed, clubs/maces are the weapon that will pretty comfortably give you the most hits per second once engaged, (provided you can hit multiple enemies with some frequency). Which isn't to suggest that two-handers are BAD. In truth, they're almost certainly much better than clubs from an objective standpoint. They're just slower and not as suited for a chain-proc build, which is what I've been finding most fun recently. As a related aside, does anyone know the relative reach lengths of each weapon type? Something like 2hSwords > Double Swords > Scythes/Spears > 1hSwords > Daggers, or something? (I don't know if that list is correct, that's just a "for instance".) And also, all attack speeds are based strictly on weapon handedness, right? Like, all 1-handers have X base speed, all 2-handers have Y base speed, and all 2-handers being wielded in 1 hand have Z base speed, (ignoring ranged weapons, of course)? In terms of bootstrapping heroes... when starting completely from scratch (i.e. without any unit upgrades or unlocks), I found the Elf to be most self-reliant. Druid + dual-staff + Treeman Retinue + Captains is a pretty quick, easy, powerful, and versatile combination. You have magic damage, physical damage, great economy, and great survivability (the treeman bodyguards aren't just good at drawing aggro, they also tank a lot of the ranged magic hits directed your way). And for a starting no-twink character, I'm pretty convinced that unit heals are the single most game-changing skill you can get. Druids don't access theirs quite as quickly as the Paladin, but it's still pretty quick. But when not starting *completely* from scratch, I've actually found Dwarves to be quicker/easier to level. The first few missions are tough, but once you reach level 15 or so, things ramp up exponentially. "+Starting CP" rune, Stalwart Defenses, maxed Advanced Artillery, and the 200cp research. Just spam catapults and use your hero to keep the enemies off them long enough for them to take down the opposing keep during sieges. My dream is to one day find a 100cp/-35% catapult or -15%unit/-35% catapult rune.
I was too sleepy last night, so when my bedtime 277CP shopping got a rune: Red Guard -35% & +100CP. I tried it out for a while, then hit iCloud "load"/yes instead of "save"/yes, oops! ...so yeah, that rune you want is one of the many I'd iap for $1, if Foursaken offered it. The 35%/100CP was really good for a direct rush march against castle walls. Oh well, not the first time I've spaced out, and one of the reasons I'm very aggressive about power leveling and shopping (I spend too much time on the game as it is, so I want to do in the game what I want to do, without hundreds more hours grinding). I can't answer your excellent range question, but staff/spear/scythe all have great range, and double sword does not, for certain. I'm less certain, but I don't think 2h sword matches them, either. As to speed of weapons, my Elf is dual wielding two legendary scythes with slightly different stats, but both have 0STA and +35% speed. They are awesome! Also the dual penalty nerf affecting the tiny on-scythe damage is irrelevant, as the damage comes from the un-nerfed +perks with crits and AoE proc skills. Note that long melee range weapons will actually hit an enemy behind the one you're swinging at, should the "obvious, natural" target be missed... should that hit then proc, you may actually hit the foreground "missed" target after all. Additionally, since I can kill my stamina to dash to most any target and stop shy of their range and yet, with my reach, immediately start pounding on them (0STA weapons don't trigger a oo STA damage penalty nerf), my effective not-engaged downtime for DPS is likely lower than most builds. The most game changing skill is whatever grants you access to game changing resources. Generally those resources are: access to battles, units and upgrades; payment (crystals) for resources or accesses; level-ups for skills/stats. The common theme is that, in games of this type, you get/earn power/access over time, so a simplified version is... The most game changing skill is: whatever speeds up getting what you need. Level-ups speed up other needs, so speeding them up is often a key trick. Exploitation cheese and twinkee co-op are the fastest levelers, but "legit" power-leveling, in HC2, clearly is fastest by winning siege battles fast (xp bonus for win is large, time to win is small). The earliest siege is Wave 6. Therefore the earliest "fastest" power-leveling skills are those that, early on, let you do that super fast. Plainsman are unlocked after wave 5. Maxing them (crystals to L5 unit)) is a pretty fast rush win of Wave 6 (over and over, to level-up). Elven Hunters and Siege Archers unlock after Wave 8. They are awesome castle destroyers. Units need CP, so early crystals to roll a +80CP rune are a huge boon... this is why conquering much of the world before winning Wave 3 is a great self-bootstrap, since that gives you tons of crystals at this early stage. Naturally a new character "twink" has unit/upgrades/equip benefits, so canon & catapult become attractive to power-level (and 100CP runes, with something else good also!). Even so, taking down a castle becomes even faster than unit methods, once certain hero skills are available. Some of the first ones are... L5 Dwarf TNT L18 Dwarf Steadfast Defense (two walls poof, then non-SD takes tower soon after) L2 Elf (need a skill point! crystals to max Dryads, after unlock conquest to/of Treefolk Woods) Treeman Retinue (summon at wall) L18 Elf Damage Channel (one wall quick, dash to tower before buff expires: poof, won) L18 Elf Elven Arrows L5 Paladin Juggernaut (must have super high damage weapon, net) L20 Paladin Red Guard with L18 Holy Shield ... There are more, but the issue is: how fast can you win it? ("it" being the best xp castle wave you can do) These wins are too fast to worry much, if at all, about healing units, or defending your castle. Indeed I suggest throwing a Knight or Dwarf miner units immediately for those methods where your hero is gonna take out the castle, because those units are very immediate battle-start distracters of enemy attention. [bonus points if you tap dash to enter your castle, washing your aggro off onto your new summons] Conveniently General's research takes a huge 80 seconds, so you can throw it to time your assaults for effectiveness comparison, because none of the great methods take that long... for an example, my level 97 Elf just took out Wave 6 by time that research said 70 seconds remaining. When you get to these speeds, staying "awake" for the repeated blitzkriegs becomes the greater challenge. [~10 seconds in-battle for Wave 6, ~29 seconds in-battle for Wave 29... given overheads, the xp for Wave 29 is way better] I stopped power leveling my Elf by 90, because I knew the remaining 9 levels would come quickly just playing him normally. And probably half his level-ups were already from normal play. The Dwarf can power-level almost as fast now, with Auto Turret fully aided. I'm bummed about losing the Red Guard rune because that's slightly faster than my 15%/100CP Paladin methods (assault or barrage). Co-op twink would be faster at low character levels. The hopefully-to-be-fixed exploit bugs would be only slightly faster. But the point is, normal leveling efforts are possibly 20x slower. So the question becomes, do you want the choice of high level gear and skills, or are you content just playing along? I actually do both. In Diablo we used to play naked or with cursed gear, for fun, as well as naked/live-off-the-land variants ("iron man"), or crazy stuff like PvP duels inside Diablo's L16 chamber (all enemies still alive, to start). Level 81 is a key point in this game, because then you have enough skill points & req to try out combos of any 2 skills, max'ed, that you wish. Hard to know what build & gear you want to enjoy playing (or work towards) until you've actually tried that out, eh?
Yup, I'm pretty sure that was you! It was a really fun game, it showed how awesome the coop can be once all the kinks are out, automatch works well, and crashes no longer happen. My rMini is the same power as an Air1, so I don't know why that causes problems. I hope we get to coop again in the future!
I'm on coop sometimes, hope too see some TA personalities in battle this is hands down my favorite iOS game and tbh I've probably spent $15 bucks on crystals. I have never been one to buy consumables but here I'm more than happy to.
Useless skills? So - what, if any, skills do you find utterly useless? God Rays? Stalwart Defense? Discuss.
Druid Sapling skill I find useless, because the only units that seem to die reliably for me are: saplings. Paladin Rush skill I find useless, because I can't enhance it with Forceful Blows or other skills to make it more than hello-tap the more knockback-resistant enemies... nor does it do anything at all for me if I dash... so all it does is scatter (and aggro) lesser enemies, that I probably I could have just killed instead. I liked the skill in HC1 though. The way it works now, I'd really rather it worked on allied units instead. Plus staff damage skill(s) I find useless, because I don't even get +2 damage per skill point, as I'm always dual wielding or shield wielding (staff has 2h penalty). A lot of skills I don't use, but I don't think they are useless (for some build or play style)... My gun wielding Dwarf finds Tremors (melee weapon or ranged staff required, therefore) useless, but my 2h hammer Dwarf loves it.
Love seeing this game back in the Hot Games list on TA. I always wonder, if this was a PC release... how much more they could do with it. I would never have the PC to run it, but the expansion possibilities are truly endless for this game. WHERE'S THAT DURN UPDATE? WHERE'S THE NEW GAMEZ, JAMIE? Great article on the brothers, look it up their twitter. Cool story seeing these guys turning side hustles into a career. Inspiring, for sure!
Played a few rounds of arena mode. It's like the Bug Heroes arena mode, Looks a lot like Only One.... Some of the new enemies are ridiculous, too, lots of them! Itd be fun to play a Heroes and Castles 2.5: The Bad Guys
w00t! Delta update took less than a minute to download. Cant wait to try it later when im done with work
