Resurrect, Sacrifice, Phantom.....hard to get?

[Gatts]

Sometimes you don't know how usefull a unit is till you really don't try it... for instance Wolves look much more interesting than bears- still bears proved much more useful for me than faster wolves - I wouldn't believe it when not seeing it

BTW: I just started new game for Mage - and found "PHANTOM" scroll in the Mage Academy... (where you pick up the rage cage)... LUCKY!

[lauvhk]

Marshan Swamp cementary/crypt run is great for acquiring higher end spells even though they are always random. They are most of the time my first stop when I start a new game.

[YENKO]

Originally Posted by Gatts

I just started new game for Mage - and found "PHANTOM" scroll in the Mage Academy... (where you pick up the rage cage)... LUCKY!

Upon restarting the game a couple (dozen) times, the best spell i ever found in the first 2 castles+mage academy was Phoenix. Not a bad spell, but the items sucked so bad, that i restarted again. This time i got crap spells but got the Gladiator Sword and the banner with +800 leadership.

[Smash]

I failed to see how phantom is useful for a mage?

[Gatts]

Originally Posted by Smash

I failed to see how phantom is useful for a mage?

well - I can only tell you how I find it usefull (and I am afraid that my findings are not anyway original or different from other players )

1.) Phantom is useful for mage especially that the % increses by INT - so even if you have less ATT/DEF - you can create greater stack (more units) even if your original stack has less units than it would have for warrior/paladin

2.) many enemies have resistance to many spells - and you may encouter it easier to hand "dummy" to the feet of the enemy instead decreasing their numbers (provoke normal attack - and enemy won't using their killa skills)
- giants won't create earthquake
- beholders and other mind casters may not posses your units
- shooters will shoot dummy as they want benefit from "no range penalty"
- foot troops will gather around your dummy, losing all their planning - as AI will fully abandon it's way to attack your shooter, but go for "hit nearest" tactic (you will gain at least 2 turns thill enemy will re-taticise their moves)
- when enemy is not paying attention on battlefield - you can use much more "techniques" like snake bite, bandit strike, strike and return for units that have not retaliation etc...
You can use area effect dmg spells even hitting you phantom guy - normally enemy units would try to attack your ranks scattered (possible far away from each other) but now you can hit them all with firerain...

Still - many battles (like many suppress item battles) have very random tactics and use random targets - so phantom would not be as useful as other spell - still you can use phantom non-upgraded and still gain nearly 100% of the tactics benefit on hard-core battlefield

I use it very often when my vampires are too low on numbers - enemies will start hitting the phantom one (who may survive thanx to life steal ability longer than it would) my original vamps could freely suck their numbers back from the ingorant enemy...(sacrifice needs other stack, ressurection does not work, god armor does not work - if there would not be phantom - I would lost much more of my precious vamps)

For me is phantom very important - much more than damage spells.

When I play mage, I never select leadership for first 15~20 levels (nearly 75% of the game) so I could not withstand direct skirmish - but phantom makes the enemy tactic useless - no damage spell can do this - as with fantom I not only defend my ranks, I gather the enemies where I want to have them - I play a role of indirect puppeteer -> when having only Fireball - this is most important... and it is even better than any possesson spell - as by this you can gather all enemy units where you want them, not only the possessed one (+ you can use magic spring on phantom unit and get all you mana back even with interest)

Believe, if it would be possible, I would much likely use "blast blast" technique - but on impossible it mostly reduces enemy ranks by only 20~25% -> what is not as good as if I can totally desorient enemies, gain 2~3 turns, accumulate even rage from my phantom damage -> and gain the good feeling that I have won not only based on INT/DMG (power of my hero) but thanx to my tactics - I outsmarted them... Fireball can't never give you the feeling of "outsmarting" enemy... Phantom can

[YENKO]

Not to mention the very elementar use of phantom-stack: cast phantom on a high speed high velocity flier, like the griffin, and in no time you can reach the most dangerous enemy shooter stack, thus forcing it to act melee vs. your phantom unit and losing it's valuable turn, or moving away from it. Next turn, they are cannoneer food (or spell food, whichever comes handy).
At the moment, i am using Pahntom mostly on my shamans to cast it's two totems, especially the healing totem right behind my rangers. One extra healing totem saves for me tons of mana on resurrecting that 1 or 2 killed Inquisitors. The other one, the Death totem can soak one enemy attack, no matter how weak it is or how powerful the enemy stack is. Istill need that Sacrifice spell Though, yesterday i found a new spell: Doom It is very interesting to use