Discussion about the FORTRESS race – Dwarves.

By the way, can a lava dragon cast spells?

Nope, it can't.

And why are so few people discussing it? Has most of the audience not bought it yet?

I've played a couple of maps with the Dwarves, and my impressions are more coherent. Rune magic is awesome, especially the rune that gives 100% speed at the beginning, allowing you to easily crush archers (I almost wiped out 35 Elven archers with basic troops and a tent, without any losses... I couldn't believe it myself)...

Regarding the units, I'm still not sure about the Bonecrusher/Berserker; I had about 12-15 of them, and they felt like useless baggage (although they like to be targeted, so you can use them as bait). The Bear is very good; upgrading it is a must, as it provides a significant boost. Levels 1-2 are quite good; the first level can withstand the initial attacks, and the second level can slow down enemies considerably. Mages and Inquisitors are not very useful to me, as they deal little damage and don't have good spells for un-upgraded units. The Tank is the core of the Dwarven army... The Dragon is just a dragon, a level 7 unit, and it's on par with other level 7 units.

I appreciate that you can't clump up troops against the Dwarves; many things hit multiple units standing next to each other at once (the Tank with its attack, the Jarl with his spell, the Dragon with its breath, the upgraded Priest with his wall and attack, plus the rune for area attack... with that rune, the Dragon's breath attack is devastating).

The hero levels up more like a mage; the Strength and Knowledge stats grow at the same rate, while Attack and Defense also grow, but at a ratio of approximately 3 to 1. Among the skills, Luck is very useful, especially with Soldier's Luck (there are attacks where it's needed). Defense with +2 to health is also useful; the first unit becomes 14 health, and if you add a ring... And while I'm playing with combat machines and a tent, it's very useful at the beginning, as you can cut through everything with almost no losses. As for the other skills, it's not yet clear (I played a hero with a special ability for Lightning, and it was very good; I got Chain Lightning from the Academy of Mages, and it was awesome). But you need a skill wheel to assess the overall picture (lovers of ultimate abilities, rejoice; there is a hero who ONLY has a basic skill, and all five skill slots are empty).

Overall, I have positive impressions of the race, although I wouldn't say it's overpowered; the balance is good. And I'm really looking forward to the skill wheel, as many things are still unclear....

P.S. I think I've written a treatise, so I should stop... I'm waiting for your impressions and discussions.

Added after 16 hours 47 minutes
I found a program with the Dwarven skills; it's not SkillWheel, but it will do for now.
http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/heroes5/runemage_skills_abilities.shtml

The main stats of the Dwarves increase in the following ratio:
Attack 20%
Defense 30%
Magic Strength 30%
Knowledge 20%

Honestly, it doesn't seem to be the case in the game.... and with such an increase, the specialization in a Ballista with triple damage seems strange, because the stats that increase its damage grow more slowly.

The hero with a special ability for the first level is particularly impressive; in addition to the standard 1/1 for every two levels, it adds 1 health for every five levels. At level 20, it has 11/16 and 20 health (without counting bonuses from the hero's stats); it's just amazing, and that's just the first level....