What exactly counts as an animal & humanoid? And other questions.

[DGDobrev]

Looking at the russian guide, here's what I found:

1) These units are Animals in KBAP: Fire Dragonfly, Lake Dragonfly, Werewolf (in wolf form), Unicorn, Black Unicorn, Hyena, Wolf, Bear, Ancient Bear, Polar Bear, Snake, Swamp Snake, Royal Snake, Griffin, Royal Griffin.
2) Humanoid is every male unit in this game with the exception of all undead units, ArchDemons and Shamans. These are affected by Charm and Beauty traits/abilities.
- On the side note, the persistence of mind trait should affect hypnosis and charming, but I'm not entirely sure.
3) The Undead are not affected by these spells: Bless, Resurrection, God Armor, Sacrifice, Weakness. Demons have immunity to the following spells: Healing, Plague, Hell breath, Necro Call and Light of Life.
4) Evlin can heal/resurrect undead units, and is an extremely overpowered spell, as it raises a % of the entire troop.
5) Archer are: Archers, Skeleton Archers, Elves, Hunters. In general, every unit that wields a bow and arrow.
6) Plants are: Thorn Warrior, Thorn Hunter, Royal Thorn, Ent, Ancient Ent. They have the persistence of mind trait (cannot be affected by mind spells) and cannot be affected by the following spells: Healing, Resurrection, Plague, Weakness, Necro call.
7) As for caution, lvl 1 doesn't have a def boost. The bonus starts at lvl 2.

Your question are very valid, because most of those abilities are considered "hidden" - meaning there is no clear explanation of them in-game.

[WhYdOyOuThInKtHaThApPeNeD]

Wow that's great, thanks a lot DGDobrev!

[WhYdOyOuThInKtHaThApPeNeD]

Originally Posted by DGDobrev

5) Archer are: Archers, Skeleton Archers, Elves, Hunters. In general, every unit that wields a bow and arrow.

That doesn't seem complete. Cyclops and Beholders can receive the spell Precision, so it would seem they are archers under some circumstances. Even the graphic shows an arrow going through an apple. Maybe the only way to have a certain list is to try every spell and every item on every range unit and keep a list.

On a side note: Evil Beholders loaded with Bless and Precision are pretty sweet. From a potential 9dmg. to a certain 20. I've been able to keep huge potentially lethal stacks of low level units totally paralyzed till dead through the whole battle.

[Rhygadon]

Cyclops also benefit from the Might skill that boosts Archers. (I forget the name, the one that gives +3 Attack and +1 Initiative.) So they do seem to count.

Also, if you choose the blue pet dragon, which gives a speed boost to "animals", dragons get the boost!

All very puzzling ... but then, these little details do enable one to develop that feeling of arcane mastery.

[Metathron]

Originally Posted by Rhygadon

Also, if you choose the blue pet dragon, which gives a speed boost to "animals", dragons get the boost!

I don't think dragons count as animals. Doesn't that pet's ability say +1 initiative to animals and dragons?

[Zechnophobe]

Dragons are not animals, otherwise third point in Voice of the Dragon wouldn't be helpful.

Oh, and we determined that the term 'archer' refers to different units depending on the context. In many cases it is 'guy with a bow', but in some it is 'anyone with the Archer trait' and there were one or two that were even different than that!

[Elias_Maluco]

Originally Posted by Metathron

I don't think dragons count as animals. Doesn't that pet's ability say +1 initiative to animals and dragons?

Exactly. Thats why I insist that the blue dragon is the only one worth choosing: all other offer bonuses that will be irrelevant later on (+1 attack, for example, is very little when you are at level 50 with 30 attack). That speed boost is useful till the end of the game, if you plan to use dragons.

[Metathron]

Originally Posted by Elias_Maluco

That speed boost is useful till the end of the game, if you plan to use dragons.

And it's damn hard to resist the temptation, too. Has been for me, at least.

You make a good point about +1 initiative probably being much better in the long run. The 2% critical attack is another solid one. However, I will rarely choose the same dragon, regardless of the bonus they provide, for the sake of diversity.

[BB Shockwave]

Quick question - you have not listed Spiders as Animals... If they are not animals, and they are certainly not humanoids, what the heck are they?

Also, Dragonflies are (for some artifacts and spells) affected as dragons, guess they are related.