Smoother normal game play - warrior, paladin, or mage

[loreangelicus]

Originally Posted by N3MES1S

U can do more "battle after battle" with warrior thatn with mage. Instead of mana, with warrior u can raise the rage, and the bloodthirst skill, i finished the game on impossible with warrior 3 or 4 times, and it is eeeasier than with mage. And if u play with all level 4-5 units (like i did) u can just kill em all without being touch. Just cast fear, and see how they die one after another xD. (logically fear only is not enough, but playing with level 4-5 units its more easy).

Hi N3MES1S, I have always wondered how a level 4-5 only army fares against mass-attacking bosses, namely Zilgadis/K'Tahu/Baal. Could you tell me your experience with regards to these bosses (ie. level you fought them, how many turns to end the battle, any losses, what units you used)?

I'm asking this because against other enemies, be they regular enemies or hero-enhanced ones, I think one is spoiled with a bunch of tactics that work towards no-loss; it seems it is only the boss fights against the top 3 bosses that require superior tactics.

[ckdamascus]

It is funny you should mention that, lore. My previous impossible mage tries consisted of the Unholy Rainbow Dragon Force (red, black, green, bone) and demonologists.

With the proper tactics, can beat the normal stuff, but the bosses, eek, forget about it.

Well, maybe if I had the right resist gear...

[Zechnophobe]

Originally Posted by loreangelicus

Hi N3MES1S, I have always wondered how a level 4-5 only army fares against mass-attacking bosses, namely Zilgadis/K'Tahu/Baal. Could you tell me your experience with regards to these bosses (ie. level you fought them, how many turns to end the battle, any losses, what units you used)?

I'm asking this because against other enemies, be they regular enemies or hero-enhanced ones, I think one is spoiled with a bunch of tactics that work towards no-loss; it seems it is only the boss fights against the top 3 bosses that require superior tactics.

Well, I don't really agree there. Pretty much each boss is defeated by stoneskin + Eviln. Or RepairDroid-RepairDroid.

The real difference between bosses and non bosses, is that your strategies for bosses MUST revolve around resurrecting your troops (especially the final three) because you simply can't keep them completely intact otherwise.

My experience is that Zilgadis can be beaten without massive army change (just need high resist magic gear). Ktahu and Baal though, require a different formation for zero loss, or slight modification for minor losses.

[loreangelicus]

Originally Posted by Zechnophobe

Well, I don't really agree there. Pretty much each boss is defeated by stoneskin + Eviln. Or RepairDroid-RepairDroid.

The real difference between bosses and non bosses, is that your strategies for bosses MUST revolve around resurrecting your troops (especially the final three) because you simply can't keep them completely intact otherwise.

My experience is that Zilgadis can be beaten without massive army change (just need high resist magic gear). Ktahu and Baal though, require a different formation for zero loss, or slight modification for minor losses.

Hmmm... a matter of terminology then? I consider a tactic superior if it flexible enough to work against most if not all of the enemies in the game to hand you either a quick or no-loss victory, moreso if it gives you both. And I would rank these criteria in this order:

1) flexibilty (it is of prime importance that it works against all enemy encounters)
2) no-loss (keeping your army intact without re-supplying)
3) speed (battles should be decisive and quick)

What do you consider as a superior tactic?

[Zechnophobe]

I would consider a superior tactic the average of those things across all battles you fight.

Black-knight armies take a long time to finish off an opponent, so do repair-droids. They are flexible (due to being a resurrection strategy) but not horribly fast. Yes, in the three hardest battles, they remain effective. But I don't really consider it superior when it is so slow every other fight.

[ckdamascus]

Please don't remind me of the horror of dual droid stacks with cross healing against physical resistant enemies....

But, thanks for pointing it out, since I am not quite sure what is "fast" and what is not. Everyone has different standards.

I thought black knights were fast in killing (I mean, if you teleport them to the target) due to their Rising Fury super critical hits?

[loreangelicus]

I hear you both Zechnophobe/ckdamascus. I scour these forums for good tactics, and I do try to experiment as well to see if I could discover and contribute something new.

ckdamascus, you may have seen some posts concerning solo strategies using black knights + stone skin + eviln. The strategy is effective, albeit a bit slow in finishing fights simply because you are using just one unit. This is somewhat compensated by the shard from Moro Dark that gives the unit unlimited retaliation, but the focused damage of enemies and enemy spell effects do take their toll on single unit tactics.

And this is the reason why I do not solo with black knights; you may be guaranteed to win all fights at no-loss (and even then, be prepared to change tactics a bit when you encounter heroes that dispel your stone skin, or those that cast spells like sheep), but you need to prepare for some long boss fights.

I have tried merging different tactics, namely black knights/bone dragons/droids, but the lineup has a large hiccup when taking on Zilgadis.

Oh well, maybe I'll try experimenting some more with different lineups/tactics if I do decide to play the game again as a mage.

[ivra]

If the primary goal is a quick and efficient fight, then I think a mage using Armageddon + Time Back is the way to go. I was able to complete the fight against Moro in just 4 turns with no losses. Of course, the downside with this is that there is no time to dig for treasures and that you tend to be empty of mana when the battle is over... Also, the strategy does not work for bosses.

Out of curiosity, has any of you managed to down Moro in fewer turns with no losses, using another strategy?

More info here:
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=13933