Best Faction

[whobetta]

Hey guys n gals. Just wondering what everyone thinks is the best faction?... I have been playing a lot of games on Hard/Rise to Power with 1 other friend. so 6 players 4 comps and 2 humans. I seem to win every time I am Necropolis. their middle game isnt that great, but late when you have so many archers, and high numbers of everything else. You are almost unstoppable. I would have to put Haven or Inferno as #2 and #3 respectively as Haven can get just as many archers, and well Paladins are ******ed. Inferno is just dirty but I havent seen enough of them. anyway anyone else feel like GOD when playing with necropolis?

[ShanaPiep]

Until now I am a huge fan of academy. It fits me best. But in a few months it should make no difference. At least, I hope so. Because at that point, when all towns turn out to have their own great imbalances, I'll really think of HoMM5 as a great game. Just like H3 and H4 were.

[mrk10941]

i think necro is the best. with raise dead u should virtually never lose a creature to neutral stack. and with necromancy u actually gain troops by fighting them. all the other factions can at best hope to limit their casualties. and with 3 flyers and 2 shooters the necro are very balanced and fairly cheap at every lvl.

i think academy and inferno are the 2 worst. academy is too expensive. and i think inferno has the worst units overall, but gating helps.

haven,sylvan and dungeon are all in the middle and i'd say pretty well balanced against each other.

[DarkMystery1979]

the best faction is the one that i like the most and has many strategies availible to play around with.

so the best is Dungeon ;-)

i usually vote for undead in each game, but since they are so 1dimensional this time i can't :P

[tadaeusas]

http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/16x16_smiley-surprised.gif
i remember about month ago mostly everyone said that Necro sucks. and look at that now. i see some fans of necro appeared or just we're fastly changing..

[pavel44]

Necropolis is just way too easy--Raise Dead, Necromancy, Skeleton Archers, Undead Transformer, Necromancy Amplifier, Eternal Servitude, etc.

Necromancy has to be changed or Skeloton Archers should be exchanged for a melee unit.

[DarkMystery1979]

Originally posted by pavel44:
Necropolis is just way too easy--Raise Dead, Necromancy, Skeleton Archers, Undead Transformer, Necromancy Amplifier, Eternal Servitude, etc.

Necromancy has to be changed or Skeloton Archers should be exchanged for a melee unit.

and you have to give more power to the bone/spectral dragons, so its not just another lvl6 unit that is more expansive.

[WiTcH.CrAfT]

Best Faction hmmm??? Well I have to say overall strenght-wise wizards take the cake.
If you add developing and cost - nigromancers
My favourite? Sylvan/Inferno/Heaven
Heaven - just owns with flyers and shooters + archangels when you finnaly get them, get sick on the battle field! they move about 2 times faster then your hero without sorcery and with sorcery about 1.5 faster
Inferno - strong offensive, a little too much on the ground but meh... if you get balistics it shouldn't be a porblem becuase the inisiative is good. If you meet on neutral terrain you have the advantage vs anybody and anything in equal or 0.5 + enemy army force.
Sylvans - My favourite becuase of best defence wich can turn into 1 powerful offence in a blink of an eye.

[tadaeusas]

Originally posted by pavel44:
Necropolis is just way too easy--Raise Dead, Necromancy, Skeleton Archers, Undead Transformer, Necromancy Amplifier, Eternal Servitude, etc.

Necromancy has to be changed or Skeloton Archers should be exchanged for a melee unit.

don't joke, dude, necro is the hard way out, still almost everyone says it sucks, but not almost everyone knows how to play with it http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/winky.gif .

[pavel44]

Originally posted by DarkMystery1979:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by pavel44:
Necropolis is just way too easy--Raise Dead, Necromancy, Skeleton Archers, Undead Transformer, Necromancy Amplifier, Eternal Servitude, etc.

Necromancy has to be changed or Skeloton Archers should be exchanged for a melee unit.

and you have to give more power to the bone/spectral dragons, so its not just another lvl6 unit that is more expansive. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yes, of course

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

Dungeon is mad fun, and so is sylvan, those dragons rox.

BUT

My favorite is Academy. Shoots your troops down before anything happens, and can rain mass spells on your troops, not to mention the excellent artifacts I create. ( just got to +9 attack, +9 defense, and +28% initiative at lvl 18 the other day).

plz don't talk about necro on this thread cuz there are enough threads on them, and they're not imbalanced.

[whobetta]

Madcrazy, how do you make artifacts that good with Academy how do you have the resources? you must have 3 castles by that time and 2plus mines of each material. anyway I like Academy but they took out the Damage +/- ability in artifacts. and Genies/titanies arent that strong.

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

lol, u capture all your mines by the second week in heroic, build up to tier 7 in third week, get lucky, and have good knowledge growth, cuz academy heroes are most likely to grow in knowledge. Find the crown of sar-issus and a dragon bone artifact for +9 knowledge, have expert enlightenment. Let's see, that's about 40+ knowledge for me, and i think i got to the high 40's. Resources? I dunno, academy uses lot of gems and that's about it, and attack/defense don't even need extra gems, but crystals. Plus I got a trade town, which allow me to trade resources cheaply, its not like you can get it every game, or else i wouldn't post it, just saying I got lucky once.

genies are mostly luck anywayz, but they're fast nonetheless. They can be great if casting decay, a bunch of them can cast one that deals excellent damage.

titans are the only tier 7 shooter with no melee penalty, suits the basic academy strategy of shoot first talk later perfectly.

[unreal_az]

Conflux & Dwarves ownz all O_O.
..
..

...

Oh forgot you guys don't have the add-on ^^.

[VeNtRuE-666]

Originally posted by mrk10941:


i think academy and inferno are the 2 worst. academy is too expensive. and i think inferno has the worst units overall, but gating helps.


take ultimate on an inferno hero and tell me if gating isnt broken , and heaven... man its broken just play it and enjoy

[pavel44]

Originally posted by MaDcRaZy2KS:
lol, u capture all your mines by the second week in heroic, build up to tier 7 in third week, get lucky, and have good knowledge growth, cuz academy heroes are most likely to grow in knowledge. Find the crown of sar-issus and a dragon bone artifact for +9 knowledge, have expert enlightenment. Let's see, that's about 40+ knowledge for me, and i think i got to the high 40's. Resources? I dunno, academy uses lot of gems and that's about it, and attack/defense don't even need extra gems, but crystals. Plus I got a trade town, which allow me to trade resources cheaply, its not like you can get it every game, or else i wouldn't post it, just saying I got lucky once.

genies are mostly luck anywayz, but they're fast nonetheless. They can be great if casting decay, a bunch of them can cast one that deals excellent damage.

titans are the only tier 7 shooter with no melee penalty, suits the basic academy strategy of shoot first talk later perfectly.

if you could do +28 to initiative, that means your knowledge was 28.

[freelancer61]

necro in mutltieplayer if i can stay out of trtouble early on...dungeon so far for solo.releag got mad power and seting up the combo with the grim riders is awsome... i also like inferno but hate fighting them ther gating take out my range fairly fast, if leveled riggt i say gating rocks

[VeNtRuE-666]

god blessed necros (u know his son is in the game lololol)

[Dooks_Dizzo]

I am all about Sylvan for some reason.

Max luck and Leadership and start bombing arrows.

[L0uCypher]

This is how I would rate the factions. This analysis is based on version 1.0 at heroic level on average size multiplayer maps with only access to lumber and ore. No access to random free skills, attributes, resources, creatures, etc. In other words this is how races compare to each other without maps providing any compensations for their flaws.

1. Heaven â€" 2nd best unique skill. Best combat specialized heroes that don’t depend on the luck or randomness of spells. Best units for the money. Can upgrade their useless units like peasants to more useful archers. Arch angels resurrect. They completely own early and mid game.

2. Academy â€" 2nd worst unique skill that requires a lot of resources, best magically specialized heroes so you don’t get many useless level up with bonuses to attack or defense. 3 ranged units. They own the late game if heaven allows it.

3. Necropolis - best unique skill. Lousy heroes that depend on knowledge which is an attribute they don’t get so they depend on getting sorcery or learning early on. Worst units for the money. Undead units are immune to confusion so your ranged attackers will always work. Can convert living units to undead units. They own the late game if heaven allows it.

4. Dungeon â€" worst unique skill that only works with direct damage spells which are the worst spells available. Lots of great units but with low growth. Nice town but completely hindered by being the best at the worst spells in the game, it is like saying you are the smartest mentally ******ed person.

5. Sylvan â€" 3rd worst unique skill that only works against specific creatures which you must have already killed and you need to go to a town with the appropriate building for the skill to activate the skill. The hero can’t specialize in combat or magic because he will get about the same level ups in defense as in knowledge which means he is a jack of all trades master of none. Lots of great units but absurd building cost will prevent you from building them on heroic level. This town won’t be able to survive the mid game in heroic due to the absurd cost of their buildings which won’t let you get your powerful creatures.

6. Infernal â€" 3rd best unique skill. The hero can’t specialize in combat or magic because he will get about the same level ups in attack as in spell power which means he is a jack of all trades master of none. Only 1 ranged unit. The most absurd building cost I have ever seen will prevent you from building even a castle n heroic level. This town won’t be able to survive the mid game in heroic due to the absurd cost of their buildings which won’t let you get your powerful creatures. They won’t be able to survive an attack to their town because they won’t be able to build their castle.

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

just to comment on some of your analysis

1. peasants are not useless, they're the most useful tier 1 in the game, giving you 1 gold a day. Hiring Ellaine (best support hero ever) as a secondary hero, because she has recruitment AND your peasants pay 2 gold a day. This allow you to have 1000 extra gold a day by the second month, or third month. The income boost from peasants gives heaven an edge.

2. i guess your analysis is fine on academy, but knowledge = power for academy, not spellpower.

3. necropolis doesn't have lousy heroes, they have good heroes just like the other factions. The reason that they don't have any way to really increase their knowledge is that they don't need it. I don't even think sorcery is necessary most of the time unless playing against fast inferno or heaven heroes. Necros concentrate on summoning and using raise dead.

4. uhhh..... is this analysis of dungeon some kind of a joke? Elemental chain only works with direct damage spells? LOL??!! You have to build the alter of the elements in order to see your own unit's element, and the opposite element can deal more damage. This is the most important building for dungeon. The bonus damage units deal is MUCH more than bonus damage direct damage spells do, MUCH MUCH MORE. (its more than learning cold steel + fiery wrath, on par with hellfire + searing flame but minus mana cost). What do you mean by being best at worst spells anywayz, another LOL joke?

5. the sylvan heroes are extremely versatile and works wonders with light/dark magic. The buildings are kinda expensive, but its worth it, they WILL survive mid game. Sylvan got high initiative on their side.

6. Inferno is the symbol of offense in this game. Concentrate on offense with some spells will make any inferno army something to fear. They fashion two strategies, hellfire + searing flame + expert attack + expert destruction for fast power, one big spell for the finish.

[TAPBG]

MaDcRaZy2KS i think you play with academy little because you dont see the flaws of the Ultimate skill[artefacts]atm.On heroic and even hard difficulty the academy struggles for resources.Take a look for the ore demands in the begining its unbelivable[goblins,gargoiles and golems want an enormous amount to upgrade].The conclusion is that the artifacts are almost impossible to make until the very end of the game or when the game is already won which makes them useless[off course you can choose another strategy not to develop for higher lvl creatures and just make artifacts for lower lvl but this senvolves extreme risk].My suggestion for artifacts is that their cost have to depend of their power[more powerful=more expensive]this will make them cheap in the begining and expensive later in the game.And one more thing about your previous post if you have 28%initiative it means you have exactly 28 knowledge which cant give you +9 attack and defence it will give you around 5 .
The best factions at the moment are Necro and Sylvan behind them and very close is Haven the others are maybe equal.

[pavel44]

Originally posted by TAPBG:
MaDcRaZy2KS i think you play with academy little because you dont see the flaws of the Ultimate skill[artefacts]atm.On heroic and even hard difficulty the academy struggles for resources.Take a look for the ore demands in the begining its unbelivable[goblins,gargoiles and golems want an enormous amount to upgrade].The conclusion is that the artifacts are almost impossible to make until the very end of the game or when the game is already won which makes them useless[off course you can choose another strategy not to develop for higher lvl creatures and just make artifacts for lower lvl but this senvolves extreme risk].My suggestion for artifacts is that their cost have to depend of their power[more powerful=more expensive]this will make them cheap in the begining and expensive later in the game.And one more thing about your previous post if you have 28%initiative it means you have exactly 28 knowledge which cant give you +9 attack and defence it will give you around 5 .
The best factions at the moment are Necro and Sylvan behind them and very close is Haven the others are maybe equal.

28 Knowledge would probably be +7 to attack or defense. Academy is powerful enough to win even without the artifacts, Mark of the Wizard + Expert Sorcery and when the smoke clears it is El Asso Wipos--the flying toilets will finish off the rest. And why judge factions in the Heroic difficulty? If you want things easier then DON'T play heroic. A good way to improve resources is take Resourcefulness. But even without it you should have plenty of resources late in the game. Basically Artificer is not a necessity, it is more of a luxury to push you ahead of the competition later in the game. And even in the mid game you can probably get +20% to initiative to at least several of your key units.

[grotesc666]

to judge the potential of a faction in terms how well it does against AI (even on heroic difficulty) is plain stupid.

Factions should be judged how powerful they are and what opportunity they give you when you battle a HUMAN OPPONENT! no AI can match the adaptability and versatility of the f.*.c.*.i.n human brain.

So drop all this stupid fights about what faction is the BEST, play some 500 matches (after someone really manages to balance things up) vs human opponents (not noobs), and after 3 years we will meet again on this thread saying what is the best faction.

amen!

[eldbane]

Heh, do not think most players need 500 games and 3 years to realize which faction is the strongest, this is not rocket-science you know.

Perhaps that is what you need before you have learned the inners of a computer game but let's not throw everyone in the same boat http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[TAPBG]

pavel44 i said around 5 and this mean 5,6 or even 7 mark of the wizard is nothing if you dont have enough destructive spells this means more resources for magic guild and library in the begining in the game.And i dont want things EASIER because if the things are easier you losing many of the strategy of the game.I also said that when the time has come for the artefacts the game is pretty much over thats why i think they are useless atm.In mid game 20% initiativeis good you could give but useless to give initiative for golems or gargoyles[are you using gargoyles for att].Thats why i think they have to make them more accesible in the begining[lowering the cost and make them dependedable of their power]less powerful=less resources

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

is that another lol joke ppl make. Now why would you build any artifact when your knowledge is like below 20. Besides, there is no point in giving an artifact to anbody until late game, when you don't use those resources any more. I had plenty of left over resources ON HEROIC during the second month, wut to do? yeah?

btw, all you need is mark and lightning bolt or ice bolt, get a mastery, blah blah.

why would you ever get meteor shower or anything that high when spellpower for academy isn't nearly as strong as necro or dungeon. If you go destruction, master of storm with lightning bolt is excellent.

[pavel44]

Now why would you build any artifact when your knowledge is like below 20

because you can then take it apart and make better artifacts, plus it would cost not that much if the artifact does only 1 or 2 bonuses

[L0uCypher]

MaDcRaZy2KS, I agree with you that peasants aren’t completely useless because they provide extra gold and that is why I always buy all of them but since they are completely useless in combat and will die easily in combat especially to area of effect spells designed to kill your archers but as a bonus they get to kill your peasants. You should only bring three units to fight neutrals so you can minimize your losses and save resources. I usually bring two range units and one strong melee unit usually level 6 or 7. Peasants have an amazing growth so I usually upgrade peasants to archers when I have more than enough resources. It is very demoralizing for a necromancer to come to a battle with 2k of skeletons archers to face 2k of marksman with frenzy, archery, expert leadership and expert luck especially when Dougal is heaven’s hero:-)

The comment I made about necropolis having lousy heroes is because their heroes are not as good as heaven or academy, which are the best at what they do. I don’t think that necropolis has the worst heroes that honor belongs to dungeon but necropolis needs raise dead because their troops are the weakest and unless you start with Vladimir there is a 50% chance you won’t get that spell on your magic guild so there is a 50% that you will have a completely useless hero to make matters worst to cast raise dead you need lots of knowledge which is an attribute they don’t get. Since necromancers don’t get knowledge, sorcery is absolutely necessary to a necromancer because of arcane training and mana regeneration. If you don’t get sorcery within your first three level ups then learning makes a poor substitute because it has intelligence but if you don’t get either one then you have a completely useless hero and that is why I hate necromancers. I don’t like heroes that depend on luck or randomness to be effective.

In normal gameplay no one will ever develop their ultimate skill, like elemental chain so don’t brag about something you are never going to see in a normal game. Dungeon heroes would be a lot better if irresistible magic worked for all spells not just for damage spells, that way you could use dark magic on magically resistant enemy troops and light magic on your black dragons. Direct damage spells are useless because it makes no difference if you can kill 100 archers when you are facing 3,000 archers it is a lot better to confuse them so they won’t be able to attack.

Have you taken a close look at what the cost of buildings for sylvan and inferno? In heroic they won’t have any resources for their creature buildings, much less for a mage guild. In other words sylvan and inferno won’t have powerful units or spells above level 1 until the third month which is too late because other factions will have a 4 week advantage in powerful units. This is a complicated concept that few people take into account because they only look at the power of creatures, spells, skills, etc but never at the resources you have to spend to get what you want. I will try to explain my point as brief as I can but as clearly as possible. In heroic level with access to only ore, lumber, resource silo and other random resource building, a faction can build:

Heaven can build all their basic buildings(including capitol and castle) without the need of any luck because the total resources cost is 73,200g, W50, O75, M2, C12, G2, S2. By the end of the first month heaven will have built all his important buildings and by the second month he can proceed to wipe out the competition. He will be unstoppable by the third month. Since heaven doesn’t need spells they don’t have to waste time looking for wells to replenish their mana, so once heaven’s army is moving it doesn’t stop till they completely annihilate the enemy. As a bonus they are completely immune to the devastating imp/familiar.

Academy can build most of their basic buildings(including capitol and castle) except for library and silver pavilion for a total resources cost of 67,200g W35, O85, C5, G20. To build the library and silver pavilion they will need 9,000g, O5, M2, C2, G2, S7 which makes it impossible for them without luck because they need an extra C2 and S2.

Necropolis can build most of their basic buildings(including capitol and castle) except for pillar of bones and sepulcher for a total resources cost of 62,500g, W55, O95, M25, C5, G5, S5. To build the pillar of bones and sepulcher they will need 3,000g, O10, C5, G5, S15 which makes it impossible for them without luck because they need an extra C5, G5 & S15.

Dungeon can build most of their basic buildings(including capitol and castle) except for dragon spire and hall of shadows for a total resources cost of 43,100G, W50, O50, M5, G5, S5. To build the dragon spire and hall of shadows they will need 20,000g, W5, O15, M4, C14, G4, S14 which makes it impossible for them without luck because they need an extra M4, C9 & G4. They have a random weekly resource source.

Sylvan can build most of their basic buildings(including capitol and castle) except for blooming grove, stone ring, treant sapling and dragon altar for a total resources cost of 43,100g, W45, O45, M5, C5, G10, S5. To build the blooming grove, stone ring, treant sapling and dragon altar they will need 15,000g, W25, O25, M13, C13, G8, S18 which makes it impossible for them without an absurd amount of luck because they need an extra M13, C13 & S18!! To make matters worst they don’t get sulfur as a starting random resource bonus they get crystals however they have a random weekly resource source.

Infernal can build most of their basic buildings(including capitol and CITADEL) except for hall of temptations, heart of the pit, halls of horror, sacrificial pit , temple of the fallen and castle for a total resources cost of 35,900g, W25, O30, G5, S10. To build the hall of temptations, heart of the pit, halls of horror, sacrificial pit , temple of the fallen and castle they will need 30,000g, W15, O35, M28, C15, G10, S18 which makes it impossible for them without an absurd amount of luck because they need an extra C9, G10 & M23!!!! No random weekly resource source! Even with M6 as a starting random resource bonus they will still need M17!!!!

L0uCypher

[Minrhael]

I definitely have to agree with Lou here on the Inferno, I finally had to quit playing them on hard/heroic settings as I always end up with not enough mercury. Something has to be done about this, it has never made sense to require so much mercury for the building and then sulphur to recruit the devils. If you're going to give me sulphur from my resource silo, then make sulphur the limiting resource for buildings.

I haven't really had the problem with Sylvan though as their troops are much better early on for taking mines and I almost always build the resource generator first week, 2nd week at latest.

The inferno's combination of heavy resource requirement, no resource production, and lousy troops for early expansion have finally turned me off from a town that I really enjoy playing.

[H5forem]

Inferno is the best race in "epic size" battles...

something like: 200 Archdevils, 400 Pit Lords, 700 Nightmares, 1000 Succubus.... 3000 Imps...

with no mana for enemy they will trash everything...

[Oakwarrior]

3000 Imps...

+Frenzy and Expert Attack and Hellfire and Searing Flames...

Boom headshot..

[panamabigcat]

1. Necro- skeleton archers plus attach and defense 1 extra hit point damage, plus 2 health.
raise dead, 2nd level spell, this town scares me the most!

2. Heaven Paladins, Angels, Griffins, archers all very useful, learning skill the best and most usefull of the skills

3. Inferno, gating and summoning

4. Sylvan, defense, exellent mellee creatures and shooters, hero rain of arrows 3 x damage regardless of spell resistance

5. Warklock good melee creatures, and damage dealing magic

6. is by far the worst and has worst heroes Posted Thu June 15 2006 12:01
I have played hot seat muliplayer game. The fact is I hate to say it because I want to play Wizard heroes. Last of offensive oriented spells is one reason, low spellpower in comparison to Necromancer or Warlock.

Summon elemental spells are worthless, resurrection is not strong enough, a might hero will roll over wizard for example Haven.
In a long game, might hero will get artifacts and magic resistance to negate any offensive oriented spells and they are too weak to stop them. Summon elementals needs to be stronger either more of them or they stay till end of battle by dissappearing when heroes monsters are killed it is worthless. Ressurection should be 3rd or 4th level spell.

The duel hero Ihora is not a representation of a real wizard hero. The offensive spells and spell power are not easily attainable with a Mage guild. You would have to visit a Warlock Castle to get them that is developed.

Titans are way too expensive to develop, Collossus worthless, they need to be cheaper.
Why does it cost more to build Academy creatures in terms of resources, they need resources even more then might heroes for mage guild, What you end up having is a might hero who is weak because magic can never be built up enough before might heroes come into play. Unless a large map is being played, the smaller ones there is just no hope. I would drop collossus cost down to 10,000. Heroes 3 use to be 5,000 for giants allot less then other 7th level creatures. Charge 20,000 for upgrade.
Currently it just is a ridiculous class and will be sure to lose to every other Race with players of equivalent ability.

On a side note I still think Necro is the strongest, having 1,000 skeletons or more with attack and defense hit point and damage adjustments, tactics and raise dead spell are tough to beat

invading a castle is easy, skeleton archers, with bones, vampires, ghosts and, liches all able to reach defenders.

Lets here what you think

Panama



Posted Thu June 15 2006 12:01
I have played hot seat muliplayer game. The fact is I hate to say it because I want to play Wizard heroes. Last of offensive oriented spells is one reason, low spellpower in comparison to Necromancer or Warlock.

Summon elemental spells are worthless, resurrection is not strong enough, a might hero will roll over wizard for example Haven.
In a long game, might hero will get artifacts and magic resistance to negate any offensive oriented spells and they are too weak to stop them. Summon elementals needs to be stronger either more of them or they stay till end of battle by dissappearing when heroes monsters are killed it is worthless. Ressurection should be 3rd or 4th level spell.

The duel hero Ihora is not a representation of a real wizard hero. The offensive spells and spell power are not easily attainable with a Mage guild. You would have to visit a Warlock Castle to get them that is developed.

Titans are way too expensive to develop, Collossus worthless, they need to be cheaper.
Why does it cost more to build Academy creatures in terms of resources, they need resources even more then might heroes for mage guild, What you end up having is a might hero who is weak because magic can never be built up enough before might heroes come into play. Unless a large map is being played, the smaller ones there is just no hope. I would drop collossus cost down to 10,000. Heroes 3 use to be 5,000 for giants allot less then other 7th level creatures. Charge 20,000 for upgrade.
Currently it just is a ridiculous class and will be sure to lose to every other Race with players of equivalent ability.

On a side note I still think Necro is the strongest, having 1,000 skeletons or more with attack and defense hit point and damage adjustments, tactics and raise dead spell are tough to beat

invading a castle is easy, skeleton archers, with bones, vampires, ghosts and, liches all able to reach defenders.

Lets here what you think

Panama

[prasopes1984]

I don't know which town is the best, each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. I didn't play multiplayer yet so I think they are quite balanced. But my favourite is Academy. Just look at these beautiful creatures as Rakshasa Raja, Titan or Djinn Sultan (maybe gargoyles could have better appearance). I like to play with them and mini artifacts are great.

[Bethrezen1984]

i think that necropolis is te best
if only the shadow dragons and wights/wriths ware strongererhttp://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
but thats not the only faction i think inferno is te 2 best because they have gaiting

[Vicheron]

Originally posted by L0uCypher:
In normal gameplay no one will ever develop their ultimate skill, like elemental chain so don’t brag about something you are never going to see in a normal game. Dungeon heroes would be a lot better if irresistible magic worked for all spells not just for damage spells, that way you could use dark magic on magically resistant enemy troops and light magic on your black dragons. Direct damage spells are useless because it makes no difference if you can kill 100 archers when you are facing 3,000 archers it is a lot better to confuse them so they won’t be able to attack.

3,000 archers? With one Haven castle, you'll only get 24 archers per week, 56 more if you train the peasants. Even with external dwellings and an extra Haven castle, it'll still take a long time to get that many archers. Unless everyone's just sitting in their castles twiddling their thumbs, most games will end long before you can get 3,000 archers.


Have you taken a close look at what the cost of buildings for sylvan and inferno? In heroic they won’t have any resources for their creature buildings, much less for a mage guild. In other words sylvan and inferno won’t have powerful units or spells above level 1 until the third month which is too late because other factions will have a 4 week advantage in powerful units. This is a complicated concept that few people take into account because they only look at the power of creatures, spells, skills, etc but never at the resources you have to spend to get what you want. I will try to explain my point as brief as I can but as clearly as possible. In heroic level with access to only ore, lumber, resource silo and other random resource building, a faction can build:

People aren't going to sit around like idiots. They're going to be flagging mines. On every map there are rare resource mines near the vicinity of castles. Even on heroic difficulty, you can flag those rare resource by the second or third week unless they're guarded by casters or Hunters/Master Hunters.

[grotesc666]

Originally posted by eldbane:
Heh, do not think most players need 500 games and 3 years to realize which faction is the strongest, this is not rocket-science you know.

Perhaps that is what you need before you have learned the inners of a computer game but let's not throw everyone in the same boat http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

one more remark like that one and you'll really hurt my feelings this time!

[L0uCypher]

Vicheron, my 3,000 archers were used as an example to illustrate my point it wasn’t supposed to be taken literally. But since you have taken it literally I will also take it literally. The best warlock I could make was Sinitar, level 26, spellpower 25 and expert destructive using empowered implosion for 1,440 damage could only kill 205 archers out of a single stack of 540 that where guarding a mine. If those had been marksmen controlled by a hero with magic resistance, protection and vitality then the mighty warlock would only kill about 100 or less. If the hero had some items that provided some protection from spells or extra hps like the Dwarven Mithral Cuirass or Ring of Life then the warlock would have killed even less.

As heaven in the Warlords map on heroic difficulty with all 6 factions and 2 random factions, my final battle was on month 5, week 2, day 6. I had access to an extra heaven town, two heaven military posts and a peasants hut. My hero was Dougal with level 25, att 21, def 16, sp 6, know 8, morale 3, luck 3, expert counterstrike, expert attack, expert defense, expert logistics, expert leadership, expert luck, benediction, archery, scouting, magic resistance, estates, evasion, protection and vitality. Unfortunately I had no frenzy because in this stupid random system it never came up so I had to settle for the useless scouting. My hero was wearing necromancer’s helm, dragon scale armor, shield of crystal ice, dragon eye ring and ring of caution. As you can see the only things useful that I was wearing was dragon scale armor, shield of crystal ice and dragon eye ring. My army consisted in 1062 marksman, 1062 marksman, 43 arch angles, 86 paladins, 263 imperial griffins, 247 inquisitors and 247 inquisitors. Yes, I had two groups of marksmen and inquisitors. Besides upgrading the combat useless peasants, I also upgrade footmen. The stats for my marksmen were att 25, def 20, hp 12, damage 2-8, speed 3, initiative 9. My mighty marksmen could go through black dragons like a hot knife through butter even in melee combat :-)

You really have no idea of what you are talking about. There is no way that anyone can flag a rare resource mine on heroic within the second or third week. I challenge you to do it in the Peninsula map which is the only practical map for multiplayer because it is small enough to finish it in a day. I suppose that, if you can’t do it then you are going to blame the map because it would be impossible for you to think that the game designer could have made such a huge mistake with two factions and no one even complained about it. It makes absolutely no sense that Sylvan and Inferno have such a high requirement of rare resources because they don’t have the best troops, best hero or best unique skill they are an average town. IMHO the best troops are probably dungeons but they are hindered by low growth and the worst hero. Heaven has the best troops for the money, the best specialized hero, the 2nd best unique skill and the easiest town to build. Sylvan and Inferno won’t be able to survive the early game in Peninsula because of the early rush by a hero 8 levels above you. Only heaven can handle this map without any problems unless the computer falls asleep and doesn’t rush which happens once in a while. I will post my game results to illustrate my point better.

Faction: Heaven
Difficulty: Heroic
Date: Month 1, Week 4, Day 4
Location: In the road near my castle

Defending Hero: Dougal, Class Knight, Level 5, Att 3, Def 5, Spell 1, Know 2, Morale 1, Luck 1, Mana 20
Defending Troops: archers 83, griffons 26, priest 13, cavalier 6

Attacking Hero: Class Demon, Level 13, Att 12, Def 4, Spell 3, Know 4, Morale 1, Luck 2, Mana 40
Attacking Troops: familiars 26, horned overseers 22, hell hounds 15, succubus 7, hell charger 7, conscript 74, skeletons 8

Best Results
Defending troops lost: archers 4, griffons 4, cavalier 1
Attacking troops lost: All

Faction: Necropolis
Difficulty: Heroic
Date: Month 1, Week 4, Day 5
Location: My Castle

Defending Hero: Vladimir, Class Necro, Level 6, Att 0, Def 2, Spell 7, Know 1, Morale 0, Luck 0, Mana 10
Defending Troops: skeleton archers 182, zombies 30, ghosts 31, vampires 20, wights 8

Attacking Hero: Class Necro, Level 14, Att 3, Def 9, Spell 13, Know 4, Morale 0, Luck 0, Mana 40
Attacking Troops: skeleton archers 263, plague zombies 30, specters 18, vampires 10, wights 2, blade dancers 5

Best Results
Defending troops lost: All
Attacking troops lost: Skeleton Archers 23, Attacking Zombies 30

As a note I will like to point out that the stupid castle towers always fires at ghosts if they are within the attacking units and misses most of the time. Why couldn’t castle towers fire at missile troops only? But who needs a castle to defend a town when you got Dougal and his mighty archers to annihilate the enemy anywhere he pleases. In conclusion Heaven is the most powerful town and with Dougal it becomes absurdly powerful.

L0uCypher

[SlickRR]

#1st are academy, those mages are unstopable and the titans ranged attack is great, they have at least 1 turn ahead of any other faction.

#2nd are Haven, also inquisitors are really powerful, great attack and high defence+ magic abilities. Paladins are also very powerful taking the fact that their movement is so good.

[lazarus_vt1]

Yes Doughal is really powerful.The archers under his command are brutally dangerous. With 321 marksmen I killed 13 black dragons in close range just in one shot. There is almost nothing to be done when you surround your archers with squires and paladins. Every enemy that goes too close to hit them is killed because of precise shot. And the ranged attack do not damage good all of the forces because of the shielding ability.

And I was amazed how weak are the academy. This race is totally underpowered. Their heroes are absolutelly the weakest. The last of my academy hero was 0 0 6 14. By the god- what can I kill with this hero - I had magi in my army, a melt artefact skill and my most powerfull spells cost 4-5 mana.How can I play with such a hero when I face demon lord 9 1 6 5.

[ParsimoniousK8]

I feel like such a girlie-girl saying this but I think the Academy creature artifact creation is just too cute for words! I also am very smitten with the Academy music which puts it as my favourite. I tend to play Necropolis whenever I feel like playing a kick-the-bejeezus-out-of-my-enemy-with-minimal-effort type game though because it is stronger.

I think that a lot of people do get hung up on problems of balance between different factions, but I've always felt that the significant disadvantages of some of them were designed to give more challenge. People moaned a lot in H3 about the weakness of the Fortress town, but it often made for more interesting maps for me because it was more difficult. H4 always seemed far too even and balanced, probably because each town was basically bland and exactly the same and the only creatures I ever dreaded being up against in any number were cyclopses :-/

[hprwhg]

Originally posted by L0uCypher:
This is how I would rate the factions. This analysis is based on version 1.0 at heroic level on average size multiplayer maps with only access to lumber and ore. No access to random free skills, attributes, resources, creatures, etc. In other words this is how races compare to each other without maps providing any compensations for their flaws.

1. Heaven â€" 2nd best unique skill. Best combat specialized heroes that don’t depend on the luck or randomness of spells. Best units for the money. Can upgrade their useless units like peasants to more useful archers. Arch angels resurrect. They completely own early and mid game.

2. Academy â€" 2nd worst unique skill that requires a lot of resources, best magically specialized heroes so you don’t get many useless level up with bonuses to attack or defense. 3 ranged units. They own the late game if heaven allows it.

3. Necropolis - best unique skill. Lousy heroes that depend on knowledge which is an attribute they don’t get so they depend on getting sorcery or learning early on. Worst units for the money. Undead units are immune to confusion so your ranged attackers will always work. Can convert living units to undead units. They own the late game if heaven allows it.

4. Dungeon â€" worst unique skill that only works with direct damage spells which are the worst spells available. Lots of great units but with low growth. Nice town but completely hindered by being the best at the worst spells in the game, it is like saying you are the smartest mentally ******ed person.

5. Sylvan â€" 3rd worst unique skill that only works against specific creatures which you must have already killed and you need to go to a town with the appropriate building for the skill to activate the skill. The hero can’t specialize in combat or magic because he will get about the same level ups in defense as in knowledge which means he is a jack of all trades master of none. Lots of great units but absurd building cost will prevent you from building them on heroic level. This town won’t be able to survive the mid game in heroic due to the absurd cost of their buildings which won’t let you get your powerful creatures.

6. Infernal â€" 3rd best unique skill. The hero can’t specialize in combat or magic because he will get about the same level ups in attack as in spell power which means he is a jack of all trades master of none. Only 1 ranged unit. The most absurd building cost I have ever seen will prevent you from building even a castle n heroic level. This town won’t be able to survive the mid game in heroic due to the absurd cost of their buildings which won’t let you get your powerful creatures. They won’t be able to survive an attack to their town because they won’t be able to build their castle. how can u say irrsistable magic affects the worst spells basially what you are saying is that the worst spells are the destructive spells

[Brillenschuss]

I think the strongest faction overall is Sylvan with their luck + favoured enemy = quadruple damge or something and that happens 50% of the time. most fun to play with is dungeon id say cause they got lots of strategies.

least fun to play with is necro, cause they only got necromancy. they might be on par with sylvan in terms of strength but there's only 1 strategy for them.

[gimmeadog]

Academy is not underpowered---

Yes, I agree that almost never getting increases in attack and defense can be a huge pain, that is very true. But Enlightenment is a clutch skill for wizards and can greatly offset such a disadvantage.

A wizard has great ranged units (which im sure there is no disputing over) but their real power is in the tactical use of spells (also something i dont think anyone is disagreeing with) but to use academy effectivly, you need to know that you get town hall advancements as soon as they are available, and the silver pavilion also ASAP. Over the course of a week it provides 3500$, and the small boost of djinns can go to garrisons on key mines, to ensure that if your enemy wants your mines, they have to send their real hero not some scrappy scout.

Mark of the wizard!!! Although summoning magic may be overall the weakest, with Mark of the wizard it clearly dominates. MOtW with phantom forces equals double production! Throw the mark on your titans and then phantom whichever of your units you think eeds it, and if you pick the titans to phantom you get x2 units. MOtW on an opposing unit combined with expert wasp swarm or lightning bolt with master of storms and you can effectivly keep two units from EVER being able to move again. Throwing double phantom forces every turn not only is insanity as long as your opponent doesnt pack too much ranged attack, but also puts a human player into OH **** mode. (just be careful of your phantoms getting frenzied, and killing eachother off. Mark is a waste on most destructive, but its power with summoning is undenyable. It literally allows your wizard twice as many turns, and you should have more than enough spell power to handle it.

[L0uCypher]

hprwhg, that is exactly what I am saying. Ever since HOMMI destructive magic has always been the worst magic because it is better to prevent creatures from attacking you than just killing a few creatures. It makes no difference if you can kill 100 archers when you are facing 3,000 archers it is a lot better to confuse them so they won’t be able to attack. That is why the warlock has always been the worst hero, basically their only winning strategy was with black dragons and Armageddon, which has been taken away from them because of irresistible magic. That is why irresistible magic is the worst unique skill available in HOMMV, it affects the worst spell in all of HOMM and it makes Armageddon useless. It would be a lot better if irresistible magic worked on all spells so you could use light magic on your black dragons and dark magic on magic resistant creatures.

The magic rating for most factions is:
1) Light Magic â€" resurrect, mass beneficial spells
2) Dark Magic â€" mass harmful spells but can be resisted
3) Summoning Magic â€" phantom image
4) Destructive Magic â€" nothing, all spells can be resisted and damage reduced

The magic rating for necropolis is:
1) Summoning Magic â€" raise dead, phantom image
2) Light Magic â€" mass beneficial spells
3) Dark Magic â€" mass harmful spells but can be resisted
4) Destructive Magic â€" nothing, all spells can be resisted and damage reduced

That being said, some factions are at magical disadvantage because light magic never comes up these factions are dungeon and infernal.

[ramad]

Nice post Gimmeadog, academy is strong.Their spells are the best thing this town can offer, not artificer, not titan.Mark of wizard and phantom force make seiging academy castle extremely difficult, the defender have all their time to mark their troops and overwhelm the seige army with phantom forces.On top of that, academy can expand very quickly with golems and gremlins, able to capture rare resources mines in the first week with minimal or no loss.

[p4eev]

but heroes oriented on atacks with proper skills (Tactics) and good initiative and speed of units (right faction (Haven or Inferno (hi Imps!) or ability of hero or artifacts) will deal a lot of damage to academy troops before u even will get possibility to cast spells or use your ranged atacks coz atack and defence are weak.

and dont forget that there is chance that magic guild won't have any usefull spells at all.

[Fenn7]

Originally posted by MaDcRaZy2KS:
lol, u capture all your mines by the second week in heroic, build up to tier 7 in third week

I'm calling BS on this. I'd like to see you have all your mines flagged by the end of the second week - that's wood, ore, crystal, gems, mercury, and sulfur, on HEROIC, with a Cloud Colliseum at the end of the third week. You talk a good game, let's see you post a save game with the above conditions met.

[whobetta]

Dougal is a great hero, but that little example was a freakin waste...

You said that in YOUR CASTLE you won with Dougal/Haven and lost with Vlad/Necro...

Ok here is where your logic is WRONG!!! check at WHO the opponent was. Inferno VS. Necropolis

that is so effin foolish. Inferno in castle fight is weak! especially in beginning of game. they have 1, that is 1 ranged unit and when you have 7 of them that sucks hard.

on the other hand you have 280 plus skellie archers to fend off and your turrets do nothing, yeah sure you lost to them, I bet that same match would have been won by the necropolis if you HAD your haven army.

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

the cap mine thing is totally doable on heroic i seen many players do it, and tried it myself successfully. Its all about luck, if you have a mine full of upgraded tier 5 then you're pretty screwed, if you got good spawn then its totally doable.

Mark of wizard also works wonders with destruction magic also. For example, Jhora in duel mode is a good way of showing it. You mark the enemy, and then cast chain lightning, sure let your troops take some damage, but ob gargoyles are immune, and golems takes next to no damage. Mark of wizard + chain lightning is my fav move in academy. (mass arcane armor FTW also guys, don't forget about it).

you probably want some simple explaination to go with the mine captures. Especially with Academy, which contain in my opinion two very good fast start heroes. Jhora and Nathir. Nathir can achieve 200+ damage on his fireball by the end of first week, very doable on all maps. With fire mastery, this is extremely good at killing tiers 1-3. Jhora got sorcery which allow her to spell down opponent with elderitch easily. Uhttp://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif the sorcery and u can be sure to loose no troops early game.

[ramad]

I did it in the first tried with ease, luck are not required. http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif It was only a test so the buildings weren't optimized.

By the end of week 2
http://files.filefront.com/save_18sav/;5168257;;/fileinfo.html

On day 6 of week 3
http://files.filefront.com/save_19sav/;5168211;;/fileinfo.html

Note that the elemental bracelets were picked up from the map, guarded by marksman, I didn't start with this artifact(it was the 50% earth boots).It didn't matter anyway I couldn't use summon elementals until later since Jhora's MP were drained by imps.The neutrals that guarded mines were - mages, vampire lords, grim riders and succubus mistresses, only the succubus gave me trouble.In the end I lossed 15 golems and maybe 10-20 gremlins from week 1 to week 3. http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Of course, in real play capturing mines that are not needed right away is not a wise move, neither is building early tier 7 dwelling but it shows how fast and easy academy can expand.

[L0uCypher]

Originally posted by Gimmeadog:
Mark of the wizard!!! Although summoning magic may be overall the weakest, with Mark of the wizard it clearly dominates. MOtW with phantom forces equals double production! Throw the mark on your titans and then phantom whichever of your units you think eeds it, and if you pick the titans to phantom you get x2 units.


You have to be very careful with mark of the wizard and phantom image because the best way to get rid of phantom images is with area of effect spells which will hurt your titans twice as much.


Originally posted by p4eev:
and dont forget that there is chance that magic guild won't have any usefull spells at all.


That is the main problem with the magic system of HOMM, it depends on luck. If you aren’t lucky at getting the few useful spells that a spellcaster needs then you end up with a completely useless character. I have said this many times, luck or randomness doesn’t belong on a strategy game especially in something as important as character development.


Originally posted by Whobetta:
You said that in YOUR CASTLE you won with Dougal/Haven and lost with Vlad/Necro...

Read my post carefully. That is not what I said. I said that I won with Dougal in the road near my castle and with Vladimir I lost inside my castle. I also said, who needs a castle when you got Dougal.


Originally posted by ramad:
I did it in the first tried with ease, luck are not required. Smile It was only a test so the buildings weren't optimized.

Nice try, but couldn’t you have used one of the maps that came with the game? To prove that you can cap all mines within the first 3 weeks it must be done in a multiplayer map which is supposed to be balanced for all players. Single player maps are biased for the single player and it doesn’t really matter if they are balanced since you can change factions if you want to increase or decrease your difficulty levels. Multiplayer maps and games should be balanced so everyone has an equal chance of winning. In heroic the game is not balanced for sylvan or inferno. You may try to balance the game with easier maps but that doesn’t make the game balanced.

[ramad]

Originally posted by L0uCypher:
Nice try, but couldn’t you have used one of the maps that came with the game? To prove that you can cap all mines within the first 3 weeks it must be done in a multiplayer map which is supposed to be balanced for all players. Single player maps are biased for the single player and it doesn’t really matter if they are balanced since you can change factions if you want to increase or decrease your difficulty levels.

Why, the map I used for test - Land of the Outcasts is a MP map and came with the game.I don't think you can play on map that doesn't come with the game now do you? It was on heroic difficulty you can check the neutrals strength.



You have to be very careful with mark of the wizard and phantom image because the best way to get rid of phantom images is with area of effect spells which will hurt your titans twice as much.

It doesn't hurt twice at much, only kills off a phantom and does normal damage(which is pansy on non-warlock hero)to titans and who knows titan's phantom may move before enemy hero.

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

sigh...

try to use either nathir or jhora, easiest start of any hero in the game, no doubt about it. Once, I got nathir's fireball to do 400+ damage on the second week and i combined this with advanced sorcery, which allowed me to cruise all the mines with 0 sweat.

[p4eev]

btw, what u think is the best faction and hero to play against Sylvans with hero who has increased initiative for his troops at the begin of the battle? in my opinion Haven (good defence and atack, it will allow to take less damage untill u will get your turn) (u can choose hero) or Academy with jhora (so at least u will have opportunity to cast spell first).

[KingAlamar]

Everyone's talking about the best faction and they use the 1 or 2 best heroes of a faction as an example of how powerful the faction can be.

IMHO the REAL way to decide which is the best is choosing a random middle-of-the-road-hero of a faction. Then if that faction plays out as cool / powerful / etc. then you know you've got a winner ...

[Neela_590]

all in all I think the factions are pretty well balanced. Each faction feels and plays different enough to appeal to different playing styles. This is a strategy game and the player is the biggest of all variables in it. The reason you might dominate with one particular faction and struggle with another is that you are not adapting your strategy style to the new faction.

ex: I have seen people playing Necros who allow weaker neutrals to flee... always a poor choice for a necro.

[L0uCypher]

Ramad, read Mark of the Wizard carefully it says and I quote "Special combat ability. Caster binds himself to the target with Mark of the Wizard so that each subsequent spell striking has its effect doubled. Moreover every spell striking another creature will affect this creature as well." So a creature with Mark of the Wizard will take double damage from any spell cast during the battle even if the spell doesn't target the creature itself.

I can't open the saved games you have posted. The only way I can see the games is from single player and when I try to load them the game crashes. So there is something funny about those games. I have the European Version 1.1 of the game so my game is up to date.

[whobetta]

I have also found MoTW not work as all have said. I marked one guy then cast fireball on the other creature. but no fireball on the Marked guy... but then I faught another mob and cast mark on a creature, next turn I cast slow on the unmarked one and the both slowed... can anyone explain that to me? but if I marka guy and cast MagicFist on the marked one it takes twice dmg... why no work w/F-ball????

[gimmeadog]

Mark of the wizard should only work if the spell is specificly targeting a unit, so i believe it would only work with fireball if there was a unit of the same alignment as the marked unit occupyin g the center square of the fireball.

[ramad]

Originally posted by L0uCypher:
Ramad, read Mark of the Wizard carefully it says and I quote "Special combat ability. Caster binds himself to the target with Mark of the Wizard so that each subsequent spell striking has its effect doubled. Moreover every spell striking another creature will affect this creature as well." So a creature with Mark of the Wizard will take double damage from any spell cast during the battle even if the spell doesn't target the creature itself.

I can't open the saved games you have posted. The only way I can see the games is from single player and when I try to load them the game crashes. So there is something funny about those games. I have the European Version 1.1 of the game so my game is up to date.

Mark of wizard only binds with the caster that marks it, so unless the creature is marked by enemy hero their spells wouldn't do double damage.

I'm using 1.1 too.I have no idea why it'd crash doesn't surprise me though the game still has some bugs.I could post screenshots if only there is a kingdom overview. :/

[pavel44]

Originally posted by whobetta:
I have also found MoTW not work as all have said. I marked one guy then cast fireball on the other creature. but no fireball on the Marked guy... but then I faught another mob and cast mark on a creature, next turn I cast slow on the unmarked one and the both slowed... can anyone explain that to me? but if I marka guy and cast MagicFist on the marked one it takes twice dmg... why no work w/F-ball????

my guess is weak programmers

[H5forem]

Originally posted by pavel44:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by whobetta:
I have also found MoTW not work as all have said. I marked one guy then cast fireball on the other creature. but no fireball on the Marked guy... but then I faught another mob and cast mark on a creature, next turn I cast slow on the unmarked one and the both slowed... can anyone explain that to me? but if I marka guy and cast MagicFist on the marked one it takes twice dmg... why no work w/F-ball????
my guess is weak programmers </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nop... is just balance issue... just imagine 3x Meteor Shower...
Also no luck on empowered spells or on favorite enemy...
http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/353.gif

Back to main topic... Dungeon... if you don't wait like forever to make useless your destruction spells power... Necropolis have one strong point but it is his weakness too... Expert Sorcery + Chain Lighting + Master of Storms and his skeletons will hardly take action... http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif

[tadaeusas]

Originally posted by H5forem:
Expert Sorcery + Chain Lighting + Master of Storms and his skeletons will hardly take action... http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif

..+ Trident of the Titans.. http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/winky.gif http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/35.gif

[finkellll]

im a die-hard inferno fan, ill like inferno like i did in 3 if they stop giving devils ******ed weapons (wtf is this flaming spoon they attack with????)


my other favs are the necro and sylvan.

[DarkMystery1979]

even in the strategy guide of inferno i read over at CH, they consider Devils as too expansive for what you get.

i prefere h3 devils, infenately.

[a_gnome_too_far]

Originally posted by finkellll:
im a die-hard inferno fan, ill like inferno like i did in 3 if they stop giving devils ******ed weapons (wtf is this flaming spoon they attack with????)


my other favs are the necro and sylvan.

LOL...flaming spoon. I like the devils actually but I like very little else about inferno (nothing wrong with the concept, just not my style I guess). The Pit Lords annoy me immenseley for some reason - they just look weird.

Academy is my fav, followed closely by Dungeon and Sylvan. Necro is okay. Haven and Inferno I personally find uninteresting (except the Haven music which is undeniably awesome).

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

okay, here is a short explaination for the MoTW problems some of you are talking about.

Fireball is NOT a target spell, it is an AoE spell. This means that it doesn't target a specific stack on the battlefield. MoTW only hits the marked target if you TARGETTED another stack on the field. When you used that fireball, you didn't target any specific stack on the battlefield, therefore there was no extra fireball at the marked target.

Marked of the wizard is in my opinion the best special mark of a faction. It is extremely good with master of storm and chain lightning, or regular lightning bolt. It is also good with protecting your units, because by doubling the effect of arcane armor, it now absorbs 100% damage, or mass cast arcane armor for 50% absorption on mass units.

[H5forem]

Originally posted by MaDcRaZy2KS:
It is also good with protecting your units, because by doubling the effect of arcane armor, it now absorbs 100% damage, or mass cast arcane armor for 50% absorption on mass units.
Never try-it but absorb 100%? or is 2x bigger?

[MaDcRaZy2KS]

its 2x bigger and absorbs 100% damage. So now its 1000hp and it absorbs 100% of the damage. mark of wizard doubles the overall spell effects, that means both of them.

[qmox]

for me best is necro, cause of necromancy skills and whats some time even better haunted mine skill. Even the spells for dark are great you know something like pupet master, makes you strong.

Second best espacialy in multiplayer is inferno , you know strong spells and whats best this imps with mana destroing ability can neutralize oponent hero in first round.

Then probably

Dungeon and Silvian.

[H5forem]

Originally posted by MaDcRaZy2KS:
its 2x bigger and absorbs 100% damage. So now its 1000hp and it absorbs 100% of the damage. mark of wizard doubles the overall spell effects, that means both of them.
nice... http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/25.gif

I try-it on phoenix but it not work http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif, cast summon phoenix, mark the phoenix and summon again... same phoenix...

I have to try with resurrection... http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[whobetta]

h5, what did you try. I was thinking this when someone made the Pheonix MOD. You know how you can only have 1 phoenix on the field... or are you talkinga bout Arcane armor?

[H5forem]

Originally posted by whobetta:
h5, what did you try. I was thinking this when someone made the Pheonix MOD. You know how you can only have 1 phoenix on the field... or are you talkinga bout Arcane armor?
Nop.. I want to double the phoenix stats with MotW... http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/35.gif
Just imagine a phoenix with +100 attack and defense, +800 damage, and +3000 hitpoins... http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/crackwhip.gif
but it not work on phoenix... http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/disagree.gif

[Olo82]

does mark of the wizard work with resurrection?
it doesnt work with haste(heheh +80 % to initiative ) and rightous magic http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[Kingofblood217]

Where does everyone place the two factions from the expansion?

[H5forem]

Originally posted by Kingofblood217:
Where does everyone place the two factions from the expansion?
LOL... good old times http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/16x16_smiley-sad.gif

To answer your question, before the original 6 ones. http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[Moragauth]

I find Stronghold dull and mildly like Fortress, so I place the former eighth and Stronghold fourth.

[ImperialDane]

I'd probably rate fortress third on a list and stronghold.. well somewhere near the bottom.

As it is, i quite like fortress.

[nevermindspy]

Originally posted by ImperialDane:
I'd probably rate fortress third on a list and stronghold.. well somewhere near the bottom.

As it is, i quite like fortress.

stronghold are by no means weak , Notice this as a proof :

http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=24080

[Xenofex_086]

The talks about the weak Stronghold and Necropolis are really giving me the creeps. If those guys can't take care of themselves, I'm scared to think who can...

[Moragauth]

I was speaking purely in terms of preference. I don't like Stronghold. Necropolis is indeed the most powerful faction (maybe not, I haven't played the game in a while - but I'm not sure if enough has changed to alter this), and thanks to Nival's brilliant skill at balance, followed by Stronghold, and Sylvan.

[ImperialDane]

Well the latest patch might have changed that.. not sure though.