ACADEMY

Necromancers weaken the enemy, elves shoot with bows, warlocks cast spells, but they only like Chaos magic; other types are difficult for them. But the Academy scholars can easily handle any magic. As for their troops... one might say that they counter the enemy's magic. But you can't win a battle just by defending, and after the orcs invaded, the Academy warriors learned many new tricks. Now it is they who bring victory, and the wizard commander, proudly sitting on an elephant, must provide them with support: with a blessing, stone skin, or, for example, by raising luck and morale. A mage is great because he uses all of this equally well, and, by the way, he does it well.

That is why you can take almost any hero into battle. The elves have only two or three decent commanders, but here almost everyone is good, although each of them has their own special path to glory. Perhaps this is what makes mages interesting – you won't get bored with them. But it is much more difficult to learn how to play with them. We will try to figure out who is the best of all the Academy scholars.

Nura. Mystic. Each turn in battle replenishes mana. Before each turn, her mana is restored by one unit for every three levels of the hero. A pleasant specialization, to say the least, especially for those who intend to fight using Chaos magic, which consumes mana like seeds. However, at the beginning of the game, Nura's specialization is almost useless. A few units per turn won't hurt, but they won't be of much use either...

At the beginning, we get "Fundamentals of Spellcasting" and "Mana Restoration," but "Secret Advantage" and "Distraction" will be unavailable. You can ignore the first one, but it's a pity about the second. In the "Spellcasting" line, it is worth learning "Counterspell," but it is not related to the specialization. Of course, take "Skilled Spellcasting."

Faiz. Destroyer. The "Destructive Ray" spell not only weakens the enemy but also deals ten units of damage for every three levels of the hero. Even one hundred units of damage is not much, and it is already difficult to reach level thirty. Besides, "Destructive Ray" is not the best spell at all. In general, a strange hero.

At the beginning, Faiz receives "Fundamentals of Dark Magic" and "Pain Master." This hero will have to specialize in weakening spells and focus on the additional damage they can inflict. But, unfortunately, there is not much point in this...

Hafiz. Gremlin Master. All kinds of gremlins in the army receive one unit of attack and defense for every two levels of the hero. Frankly speaking, gremlins are not outstanding fighters, and even with such a skilled hero, they still do not impress. It would be better for Hafiz to abandon his ungrateful task and go train creatures that are more suitable for fighting. And let the gremlins repair golems. They are good at that.
Initially, "Fundamentals of Mechanical Mastery" is available among the skills. And that's it.

Razzak. Golem Creator. All golems in the army receive one unit of attack and defense for every two levels of the hero. Golems are much more combat-ready than gremlins, especially those proudly called obsidian golems. The hero can build the entire battle around them, as there are special abilities designed to increase their movement speed. On the duel server, Razzak's golems caused quite a stir, and they also do not fail on the global map, although it is noticeably more difficult for them here.

At the very beginning, Razzak receives "Fundamentals of Defense" and "Resilience." A very useful ability, since doubling the health allows troops to fight longer. Here, perhaps, it is worth studying "Stone Strength" – then our golems will become truly invulnerable.

Nazir. Flame Lord. Enhances the "Fireball" spell: each time the damage from the spell is calculated, the hero's magic increases by one unit for every three levels of the hero. It's not that casting fireballs is a great occupation, because there is, for example, "Meteor Shower." But if you instruct the hero to only shoot fireballs and develop the entire Chaos line very well, you will get a nice mess.

Initially, Nazir has "Fundamentals of Chaos Magic" and "Fire Master." The latter allows you to further enhance the "Fireball" spell.
Narhix. Mentor. All mages receive one unit of attack and defense for every two levels of the hero. Unlike Razzak, Narhix loves communication. There is not much to talk about with golems... Unlike mages. But attack, and especially defense, is not particularly suitable for them. Therefore, the hero should be chosen only if you are sure that archmages will not be your trump card.

Initially, the hero has no skills, and this will be useful for those who want to create a hero from scratch. But the specialization cannot be changed, and you will have to take it into account.

Ora. Wind Speaker. The hero's initiative increases by five percent each level. An excellent ability, and combined with "Skilled Spellcasting" – simply magnificent. Remember, you can turn an Academy scholar into any mage – be it a Dark Mage or a Chaos Mage. She goes more often than many fighters on the field, and causes a lot of trouble to the enemies. And if Ora has more mana, she will become almost invincible.

Initially, Ora has "Fundamentals of Spellcasting" and "Secret Knowledge." All that remains is to develop the first to the expert level, and then gain skills as you see fit. Ora is a great hero. She does not specialize in any one spell and does not have favorites in her army. The player can choose her development path himself. This is a great advantage!

Jalib. Spell Weaver. Increases the likelihood that the "Magic Mirror" ability will reflect the spell not into a random target, but specifically into the enemy. The probability of this is 40% + 2% for each level of the hero. If the specialization does not work, the spell is reflected into a random target. Jalib is ambiguous. "Magic Mirror" is good against a necromancer, but not very good against a warlock.

Initially, he receives "Ghostly Luck." Luck is always useful – especially for those who rely on the army, not spells.

The third strongest hero is Nazir, from whom you can make a good combat mage. All his spells are chaotic, and the army is mostly antimagic. His obsidian golems are especially good: they can approach the enemy and take fireballs on themselves. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise they will absorb all the power of the blow and give nothing to the enemy. At the same time, a djinn vizier, possessing an artifact with bonuses to magical defense, can stand next to the golems. Both are immune to magic, but you should not overdo it with this either. After all, we are hitting the enemy, not demonstrating defense...

An elemental gargoyle will also look good in the army. It approaches the enemy, stands defiantly next to him, and... that's it. It is vulnerable to fire, but this vulnerability is contagious, so everyone around it dies from fireballs, as if from the plague.

Second place is awarded to the hero named Nura. Her mana replenishment in battle solves the problems of prolonged battles. Now you can exhaust the enemy fighters – especially the warlocks, whose mages quickly spend mana. If your troops survive the bombardment of Sinistar, it will not be difficult to win. The dark elf army is good, but requires magical support. And there won't be any.

The army of Nura needs to recruit the most stubborn fighters, who should move little and hit back a lot. It is not necessary to choose exactly this tactic, but otherwise it will be more difficult to realize the advantage. And so – the troops defend themselves, and Nura casts spells, and casts, and casts again. Like a machine.

And the first place is taken by Ora. She is a versatile hero, and her strength lies in the fact that she copes well with any magic. You can build the game only on her, or you can not take her into account at all, although it is not worth it – she goes too often. It is pointless to ignore this feature. Ora is not rigidly tied to any kind of spells or abilities, but at the same time she can be made a very strong mage.