Getting My Ass Kicked

[atlatea]

ck already cover most of it (to my experience, he loves mage), and i must agree that damage spells are not worth in impossible mode, except black hole (death star can compensate for it) and geyser with very high int (minimum is 50).

However i'd like to add some comments to his list of recomended spells.

The best debuffs in the game is probably
Pygmy Level 3(for level 1-4)
Helplessness Level 3(for level 5s)
Plague Level 1 (for black dragons).

They are also VERY cheap for the crystal/mana usage.

I recomend going for plague lv 3, even if it's only 10% difference, but it is a very significant difference.

Best support spells for yourself are
Stone skin level 3
Phantom level 3
Divine Armor level 2
Turn Back Time level 3 (if you use level 5s a lot... otherwise, just get enough to help your primary damaging stack)

I recomend getting all those mentioned to lv 3. Ok, divine armor lv 2 and lv 3 have such a little difference, but it really helps, even a 5% difference is significant.

Maybe you're wondering why? Divine armor best use is againts dragons in case you do not use single stack red dragons or green dragons (i'd recomend red dragon though) againts enemy dragons.

Another use of this divine armor is when you use units which have very high negative resistances, example of this case is plant type units (thorns, ents, etc). All plants have -100 fire resistance, with divine armor, you can flip those negative resistance to positive resistance instantly, that's why even 5% is significant difference.

Good crowd control spells are
Target level 3
Fear level 3
Blind (eh)

I want to add sheep to that lists. As usual, i recomend to upgrade all of them to lv 3.

Of all those four, only blind and sheep that can cancel enemy heroes move (making them cannot use spells).


And i'd like to recomend some useful spells that most peoples tend to ignore.
Here is my list:
1. Gizmo -> Usually lv 2 is enough, though it's up to you if you need lv 3. The only purpose of this spell is to heal your black dragon in case you go solo with single stack black dragons.
2. Ice Thorn -> This spell is tricky, one of its use is to deal againts archdemons, this spells can saves your key units againts their halving effect, and it can screw enemy movement especially in castle battle.
3. Precision -> In case you loves long range units army, this one is a must have spell. Lv 3 is recomended if you go long range unit.
4. Haste -> Pretty obvious. It's one of the most useful spell. Lv 3 is a must.
5. Battle cry -> Best use of this spell is againt most orcish race (especially ogres). I recomend upgrade it to lv 2, go for lv 3 if you need it.
6. Dragon arrow -> You need this one if you love long range units.

[ckdamascus]

Originally Posted by MrBlister

Will this allow you to increase a unit beyond your leadership?

It will, but if you go over leadership, the unit will go "out of control". You have to do some careful planning for it. It helps if you only can find say 4 Trolls... and you really want more. Although it is fairly hard to raise high HP monsters with it. Much easier to top off the lower level / HP units.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

Initiative is what determines unit order, right?

Yes, going first is key. Lets you cast spells first, etc. You always want to have high initiative.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

Though, I never use phantom. I'm using demonologists, druids, and rune mages mostly right now (have been for a while, actually), and they summon enough fodder for me that I don't do much summoning, unless it's the occasional phoenix or party-time dragon. But, I'll keep it in mind if it gets rougher as I progress more. And as far as target, I've used it twice, but it didn't seem to work against lvl 2 units that were more than 1 hex away. Haven't touched it since.

Phantom has one unique subtlety that you can abuse. The phantomed unit has all the abilities of the first unit, rearmed.

This means if you cast Phantom Level 2 (20 mana), then Phantom Level 3 (25 mana) on a Rune Mage, you can summon 3 stacks in a single round.

It also means if all rune mages focus fire on a single unit, AND you have 20 spare, unused magic runes, you have a very good chance of sheeping the enemy.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

What's playing "No-Loss"?

Not losing a single unit in every battle. You can revive units though, but basically you save tons of money by not having to restore lost units at the castles.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

I'm totally sure chaos dragon is a terrible spell, but man, come on, he's such a baller. ^^

Ah, in normal mode he is probably fine. I always play Impossible mode... and he sucks in it. Haha.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

You mean it doesn't apply a dot? Units I target with ghost blade are usually ones I want to take out quickly, like friendly gremlin towers, or a giant who I let get too close to my cuties. I sometimes cast poison skull on like a slow-moving group, like a truckload of paladins or something. But, usually I just avoid those guys until they're the only unit left, then I just plink away at them.

Yeah. It does not apply a Damage Over Time. If you are hit by multiple negative status effects, you also reduce their attack/damage rating.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

I've never gotten much damage out of my inquisitors or my rune mages. The demonologists seem to deal good damage, though with limited range. And I never make many attacks with my back-row mages unless it's a longer battle, as they spend most of their time using their abilities, not making basic attacks. Never thought of trying to use them like an archer. I'll try it out I guess.

They aren't really heavy damage unit, quite the opposite. But they might be your best bet if the enemy has high physical resists, but zero magical resists.

Originally Posted by MrBlister

lol, mana is less of a problem now. It is brutal though early game.

Oh yeah, definitely.

[MrBlister]

I've never even seen black hole spell yet. Can't find lightning either, though I now have an axe that boosts lightning damage in that spell. :/

Thanks a lot for the advice. I wish there was more comprehensive info about this game. I guess most of the info out there is from before crossroads which added items and stuff? I can't find a full spell list, or a full item list.

Hey, do you guys know if you can change your armor bearer? I saw some other dudes listed in that other thread, but I've yet to meet anyone else who would join me (carrying around the pirate dude right now).

[ckdamascus]

Originally Posted by MrBlister

I've never even seen black hole spell yet. Can't find lightning either, though I now have an axe that boosts lightning damage in that spell. :/

Thanks a lot for the advice. I wish there was more comprehensive info about this game. I guess most of the info out there is from before crossroads which added items and stuff? I can't find a full spell list, or a full item list.

Hey, do you guys know if you can change your armor bearer? I saw some other dudes listed in that other thread, but I've yet to meet anyone else who would join me (carrying around the pirate dude right now).

Black Hole is new and I believe available on the Nameless Island after you finish Dark Mistikus' mission. You get it late game.

Actually there is a gamer's manual, and quite a few appendices.

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...0&d=1286132646

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=10991

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=12249

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...5&d=1263333685

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...4&d=1262549651

Yes, you can change your armor bearer. But he will take all items with him (de-equip him) and sometimes you face a monetary penalty for doing so, and you can never get him back.

[Jah]

Originally Posted by MrBlister

Hey, do you guys know if you can change your armor bearer? I saw some other dudes listed in that other thread, but I've yet to meet anyone else who would join me (carrying around the pirate dude right now).

The info thread also mentions where the armor bearers can be found. Have you been to those locations yet? All armor bearers are present in every game, but as mentioned, there are penalties (also mentioned in the info thread) to swapping them.

[giancamo]

First of all,very good advices that make my game more playable as a mage.And for that thank you guys.But I still have questions to ask so here I go;

As I mentioned above I'm playing as a mage and havin' a very hard time too.Since i've been playing Crossworlds for 2 days, I couldn't figure out some of the dynamics of the game.

I have many things that i don't understand but the most important one is how to raise my intellect level.If i remember correctly in KBTL when i level up, the game gives me 2 options to choose and usually one of them is to give you +1 or +2 intellect(other one Attack, Defence, Rage or Leadership) so I pick that one and easily have 30 or more Int. in the middle of the game.After that it becomes easier to battle with those bastards who have stronger armies than mine and beat them without any major loss.On the other hand in Crossworlds it seems the situation is different.I'm level 17 and have only 13 Intellect which isn't even enough for me to kill enemies weaker or equal to my strength without huge casualities.There has to be some other ways I'm missing to increase my Int. level because if not, the only way to gain Int. is using your runes in skills that boosts Int. and even doing that gives you what? 13 +5 maybe +8 and nothing more.It just isn't enough.

The other thing I'm not quite sure that I understand is The Initiative thing.My guess is if yours is higher than enemy's, it gives you the chance to attack first.Is that it?I don't know.Where do I look my armies/enemies Initiative before battle? don't know that too.After some reading in this forum, Initiative has to be more than just having first attack.

Along with these 2 major problems I also have minor problems too.Firstly; What about Rage or Mana? I can gather only 20 rage & 41 mana and until now all my pet does is kicking enemies or putting an egg in the battlefield.And 41 mana means 2 fireballs and that's it.I can't use the lightining ball or the lava stuff with the rage I have and the spells besides fire arrow, fireball, pain mirror I can't even touch them.I know i can gather +1 or more rage/mana points when I visit specific places.But there has to be any other ways to gather them, right?And again if not; How can I have reasonable rage/mana stats before the game nears its ending?

I know these are the very basics of the game but without them I can't enjoy it the way I enjoyed KBTL.All I do while I'm playing until now is sweating during battles, cursing the enemy and desperately seaching for gold after that.I am only able to find 3 maps(Scarlet Wind, Bolo, Rusty Anchor) beside Debir.I also revealed Verona but There I can't even touch the land so that doesn't count.

Anyway; briefly I'm stuck and I can't go any further.Everywhere I turn, I see invincibles and there is nothing I can do about it.So if you enlighten me in these subjects, that would be highly appreciated.

[onepiece]

Giancamo; in CW, when you level up, you don't choose now, you win a set amount of leadership and a random number of runes accordingly to your class. You now have to invest in abilities to get more INT and choose items that give you it (or items/skills that enhance spells).

The order of creatures in battle is determined by the initiative. Units with more start before those with low in a global way (yours and you opponents). Look here for their stats and other useful info: http://www.celestialheavens.com/kingsbounty/hs-en.htm (you can also look their stats in battle but not before them)

You have to choose items/skills/units ans spells that get you mana, transfer rage to mana or regenerate mana. There are quite a few of them. Since you are a mage is way harder to have rage to use the dragon effectively (a weakness of the devs since the dragon is way too useful for warriors but not to the mage).

To have a lot of mana get the Wisdom, Concentration, Meditation, Transmute and Thesis skill, Absolute balance, Scouting and Learning if you have excess runes.

Get the following items:

Portrait of the Queen of ice +20mana
Well of mana belt: +3 mana per turn /+20% mana regeneration
Archmage Staff: +20% lighting spell/unit attack /+5 INT (can even get 2 of them)
Perfect Shoes: +30mana
Magician cape: +20 mana /+30% magic resistance
Crystal helmet: +10mana
Dress of the mages: +4INT/+30% Archmage crit/+800lds
Necklace of firestorm: +30% fire spells
Skull of Death: +5INT/ATK
Diploma in anti-magic: +2DEF/INT + 20% magic resistance

While invincible enemies can look "invincible" they are not that impossible (although try to search for strong or lower if you don't want heavy losses). If you know an invincible enemy blocks the way to a castle (new units/items/etc.) fight it, the reward will help you greatly even with some loses.

[atlatea]

onepiece pretty much cover most of it, however i'd like to add something about mage.

Ok, those invincible label on your enemies only taking account your amount of units vs theirs, in other words leadership vs leadership.

That means that mages will most of the time see their enemies as invincible, while warrior will see it otherwise (warrior is the class with highest leadership, in other words, highest amount of troops).

So don't be intimidated by those invincile labels.

Many invincible enemies are often can be defeated very easily if you use the right strategy, and to figure the right strategy you need to know all things about all units in this game, then about spells.

Here is my advice, try to search for the information about all units info (their status, talents, abilities, etc). Most players around the world have documented it, in other words they have created more useful game manual than the one provided by the developer. Try search for it, you can begin on this forum, or KB Armored Princess forum, or use google.

And when playing, before engaging your enemy, things that matter the most is the composition of enemy army (what type of units thaf form their army).

Then as you've already know, you figure how to defeat them with your own army supported by your spells and pet dragon, there are many possibilites to win your battle.

That's why knowledge of units is very important.

Well, mage is the hardest class at early phase of the game.

At early phase of the game (lv1 - lv 30), don't use pure damaging spells (like fireball or fire rain), they're useless untill you have 45 int or more (i'm sure you already know about this).

In KB CW, your int progress is much more slower than KB TL, which force you to use spells that provide buffs or debuffs or damage over time (posion skull or fire arrow) or crowd control type and forget damage spells.

[ckdamascus]

Originally Posted by giancamo

...strength without huge casualities.There has to be some other ways I'm missing to increase my Int. level because if not, the only way to gain Int. is using your runes in skills that boosts Int. and even doing that gives you what? 13 +5 maybe +8 and nothing more.It just isn't enough.

As described in my earlier thread, you don't need high intellect to win in Impossible difficulty with ZERO Losses throughout the entire game EVEN with a mage.

You need to find the most mana efficient methods, best unit combinations, and best support spells.

The real advantage of a mage is the double-cast.

Originally Posted by giancamo

The other thing I'm not quite sure that I understand is The Initiative thing.My guess is if yours is higher than enemy's, it gives you the chance to attack first.Is that it?I don't know.Where do I look my armies/enemies Initiative before battle? don't know that too.After some reading in this forum, Initiative has to be more than just having first attack.

Right click over the enemy. You can also mouse-over different parts of it to get a lot of information. e.g. mouse over the Defense and you will see the enemy's resistances.

Originally Posted by giancamo

Along with these 2 major problems I also have minor problems too.Firstly; What about Rage or Mana? I can gather only 20 rage & 41 mana and until now all my pet does is kicking enemies or putting an egg in the battlefield.And 41 mana means 2 fireballs and that's it.I can't use the lightining ball or the lava stuff with the rage I have and the spells besides fire arrow, fireball, pain mirror I can't even touch them.I know i can gather +1 or more rage/mana points when I visit specific places.But there has to be any other ways to gather them, right?And again if not; How can I have reasonable rage/mana stats before the game nears its ending?

Don't use fireball. It is one of the most inefficient spells in the game.

Flaming Arrow, Poison Skull will do far more damage to a single unit than Fireball ever will. The aggregate or splash damage of fireball is so low, it is basically worthless. Again, I only play on Impossible, so the strategies should be more than applicable.

Originally Posted by giancamo

I know these are the very basics of the game but without them I can't enjoy it the way I enjoyed KBTL.All I do while I'm playing until now is sweating during battles, cursing the enemy and desperately seaching for gold after that.I am only able to find 3 maps(Scarlet Wind, Bolo, Rusty Anchor) beside Debir.I also revealed Verona but There I can't even touch the land so that doesn't count.

Anyway; briefly I'm stuck and I can't go any further.Everywhere I turn, I see invincibles and there is nothing I can do about it.So if you enlighten me in these subjects, that would be highly appreciated.

You might have to kite the maps.

[giancamo]

For starters; thank you all for your quick and useful replies .

And what i learnt from your advices, I should do couple of things if I want to progress further in the game.

First; I understand that Crossworlds dynamics are totally different than KBTL.So if I want to improve my INT. stat, I have 2 options.Either I put some gold on the table and buy items that give improvements to these stat or I need to use my runes on necessary skills like Linguistics, Scouting, Thesis etc.Before writing down my first message I calculated how many Int. points left on skill tree and to be honest I was very pessimistic.But with the help of the items you say enough Int. stat can be restored.So say 35 maybe 45 Int. points isn't a dream.It takes time but it is possible.

Second; Now I get the Initiative thing.Battle Cry is now more important than it used to be.

Third; Mana & Rage.Same treatment with the first one.I have 2 options to improve.Skill Tree or Items or both.

Finally; The spells, instead of using damaging spells like fireballs, casting spells like fear, helplessness, target, bless, berserker is much more useful earlier in the game.At least until I have reasonable Int Stat. after that some changes can happen.Knowing enemies' weaknesses and using spells according to them is the key for success.

Oh btw; before I finish the message I need to inform you that some(4-5) invincibles and couple of heroes (2-3) say hi to you from the land of the dead.They were killed by my sword and magic but it's your tactics that did the trick.They are after you so be aware .