[Koki]

Originally Posted by Falconhurst

Master of Spirits: increases experience of spirit of rage in combat
1: 4/1/0 +10%
2: 5/1/0 +20%
3: 6/1/0 +30%
Useful once you actually get the spirits of rage.

As long as you're not a mage(Who has huge -40% Spirit xp nerf) and you're summoning Spirits first round each combat(Which you should) you won't need more than level 1 to keep the Spirits at your Hero's level. Incindentally, you can get that level before you even get the Chest, so just do that and forget about it.

Tactics:
1: 10/2/0 Allows troops to be arranged on the battlefield before combat
2: 14/4/0 allows troops to be arranged in a broader area
Expensive and of limited benefit.

One level in this and you can re-position your units so that enemy dragons won't get a free hit on the very first turn(usually). Quite worth it, even with the hefty cost. Level 2 seems useless, unless you're playing with all-melee army.

Frenzy – increases attack bonus for hero’s troops
1: 4/1/0 +2 attack
2: 6/2/0 +4 attack
3: 8/3/0 +6 attack
A great skill, everyone should get this ASAP as attack makes a big difference. These are big bonuses to an attribute that is hard to raise by other means

As someone pointed out, the bonus only applies once the troop killed something; still, the hardest battles in the game are the longest, so yeah, it's worth it.

Onslaught
Hero’s troops receive initiative bonus in first turn
1: 5/0/0 +1 initiative
2: 6/0/0 +2 initiative
3: 7/0/0 +3 initiative
This is a puzzling and largely worthless skill, since it works only during the first turn (even at level 3) when only missile troops typically have the range to engage the enemy. If it worked all the time it would be worthwhile, but as a first-round only bonus it does not warrant any serious investment.

This is the skill about which I disagree with you the most - in case of two troops having same initiative, the enemy will always go first. And in combat, you want to be able to use a Spirit and cast a spell before the enemy moves. This skill allows you to do just that.

Learning
1: 1/5/1 +10% combat experience
2: 1/6/1 +15% combat experience
3: 2/7/2 +20% combat experience
Level 1 is useful; 2 and 3 reach diminishing returns. This skill helps you get levels faster, but levels are still capped at 30 and so this won’t necessarily change the end-game dynamics. Stick with level 1 unless you have lots of useless might runes and nothing else to do with them.

I always take level 1 of this before I fight anyone(After the Trials of course). This gives me one "free" level in mid-game, and two late-game. The difference can be pretty big because the leadership bonuses you get scale to your level.

Diplomacy
Entice away enemy troops if you have enough leadership and the same troops in your army
1: 1/6/0 entice 5%\
2: 2/7/0 entice 10%
3: 3/8/0 entice 15%
You are rarely going to have spare leadership, and enemies will rarely have the same troop types. And it’s expensive for only a small boost. Skip it.

I think this skill is good, but only for Paladins(Too expensive for other classes). Getting through battles with no losses at all is hard and you find the banners everywhere so you will usually have some spare leadership, so the skill allows you to keep your troops at maximum strenght. This gives you free units at the same time reducing the number of enemy units. The enemy troops are varied enough so you will find what you want sooner or later, and it's a great source of otherwise rare stuff(Griffins, Inquisitors, Faeries, Dryads, etc.).

Trade:
Sell items and scrolls for higher price
1: 0/1/0 items 50%, scrolls 30%
2: 0/2/0 items 75%, scrolls 40%
3: 0/3/0 items 100%, scrolls 50%
Given the great abundance of cash if you play well and the relative scarcity of items and scrolls, this skill has little use. Its only upside is that the rune cost is low.

The cost is absolutely pathetic(I think it's cheapest skill in the whole game) and it practically doubles your income from items and scrolls, and you'll find a lot of both. And money = runes. I always get level 3, and I never even sell anything before I get it(Your inventory is unlimited anyway).

Inquisition: Can upgrade priests to inquisitors
1: 1/5/1
Since you can buy inquisitors anyway, and can replace them if numbers run down through “sacrifice,” this skill is almost completely worthless.

I have absolutely no idea what they were thinking putting this at the top of Paladin skill tree. Inquisitors are good, but how can this compare to things like Higher Magic? Should be swapped with Holy Anger or something.

Holy Anger (Paladin Only)
Increases attack against demons and undead
1: free (+5 attack)
2: 5/8/0 +10 attack
3: 5/8/0 +15 attack
A nice bonus; however, demons and undead are only a fraction of the enemies in the game. These targeted bonuses against selected enemies are not as useful as the all-the-time bonuses of knights (rage) or mages (magic power & damage).

On the other hand, both undead and demons are "imba", receiving big race bonuses(such as immunity to mind spells), and both have good units and innate abilities as well(especially demons). Adding the fact that you will meet most of the demons in Demonis(where they get Def bonus because of the lava terrain) and undead at cemeteries(Where they get morale bonus), I'd say this skill is pretty awesome for what it does and it's cost(no prereqs).

Necromancy:
1: 0/2/4 Resurrects 15-20% of slain soldiers after a battle, necro call + 10%
2: 0/3/5 raises 20-30% of soldiers, necro call +20%
3: 0/4/6 raises 30-40% of slain soliders, necro call +30%
Offers some useful bonuses, but once you get the “sacrifice” spell along with inquisitors (resurrect) and order magic (resurrect), it becomes less helpful. Investing 0/9/15 points to get 30-40% of soldiers back after battle may be worthwhile, but there are other ways to keep your troops healthy in most circumstances. Unless you are playing with a lot of undead, it is likely better to wait on this.

Even with Necro Call boos this skill is kinda bad - if you lost entire troop during battle(which is about only time when the skill is useful), you were either prepared for it(Because it was hard battle), or you messed up and are about to reload.