Posts from Various mods by zahar0z Auto-translated

Well, overall it doesn't matter; I will definitely modify the large kraken to fit my plan. Otherwise, everything is fine, and I like it.

''I won't offer any advice because I'll end up modifying everything to suit my needs anyway.''

I want to thank my dear colleagues on the forum once again; your support helps me move forward and gives me the strength to create new things.

you don't need to see hidden meanings in everything that aren't there.

Forget it, this is a pointless conversation. It was silly to even try.

Lizard – a creature with growth rates more typical of a 3rd-level unit than a 2nd-level one, but that's fine, because the only purpose of a level for neutral creatures is to modify the damage dealt by the hero. Compared to its closest analogue in terms of growth, the Hound, it looks roughly comparable: more damage, less initiative, less survivability, a ranged attacker. Poison – is it like the Assassins? If so, then that will add to the damage, which is good. Although not by much, it adds more to its nuisance value. Sea Elves – essentially an improved Dancer, but with slightly higher growth rates and no abilities (double damage doesn't count, it just changes the damage from 2-6, right? Although, if attacks are considered independent, then as a consequence, the statistical variance of the damage may also decrease, but that's not crucial either). In short, it's good. Black Guard – wow, a 3rd-level unit with betrayal! Interesting feature. With a growth rate of 10, it makes sense to compare them to Swordsmen. And, doing so... Hmm... They have the stats of a Swordsman... No stun or frenzy, but they have Cleave (almost like a double attack) and Betrayal (a strong negative ability). It seems harmonious, but I would tweak the stats a bit so that it isn't just a copy. Slightly less health, but slightly more attack, for example, since it's so aggressive, with Cleave. Elite Black Guard. First, the name seems too long to me. Seriously, look at the screenshot! In most Western countries, you can get into a lot of trouble for "Elite Black." Something more harmonious, maybe "Black Guard"? Although, there will be a problem with how to translate it into English. I also like using Roman terms, like "Praetorian." In terms of stats and abilities, it's a Zealot with slightly more damage and a crippling wound. There are suggestions here. First, slightly reduce the attack to avoid taking away the Zealots' unique feature ("the highest attack in the game among 3rd-level units"). Second, you could consider giving this unit Betrayal as well, at the cost of increasing it in some other aspects: health and/or defense. Then the unit will be less like the Zealots and become noticeably more unique. Ancient Golems are similar in class to Bone Golems. Less initiative, more damage, better protected (including against magic), a stunning strike. They seem noticeably stronger, but considering the outsider status of Bone Golems, that's how it should be. Blazing Golems. I agree with Gerter, the Fire Sign looks interesting if it works with the Fire Shield. If not, it might be worth giving these Golems some kind of activated fire ability, perhaps at the cost of the Fire Shield, but keep the sign. Stun is definitely not appropriate. But, in my opinion, magic immunity should be a feature of all Golems. Reforged Golems – with that 6-10 damage, infinite retaliation, and a stunning strike... Does the stunning strike work with infinite retaliation, by the way? In general, it needs to be tested in the field, especially in terms of comparability with the regular upgrade, but it's hard to say. But, reducing magic resistance to 50% would be a good starting point. Although, compared to Royal Griffins, maybe it doesn't need to be nerfed much? It's hard to say. Ancient Titan. Slightly weaker than the regular one, doesn't regenerate, that seems reasonable. From a lore perspective, the Shantari Titans in Heroes 7 also regenerated, right? Well, let them, otherwise how would these mechanisms have survived for so long. Have you tested, by the way, whether autoregeneration works for creatures with the "mechanism" property? Regarding the applicability of enchanted armor, it's hard to say where it would get attack magic from... But at least Warlocks won't be able to take it down with magic, that's also a feature. Kraken. Quite comparable to other 7th-level units, such as the Black Dragon and Archangel. The lack of offensive abilities and stats (flight, initiative, speed) is compensated for by fear and terror. Well, I'll admit, a speed of 5 seems a bit low to me, there's too much chance that Krakens won't be able to reach anyone to scare them. The fact that they were assigned to Urgash's creatures, I personally like – not everyone has to be fiery, it would be an inappropriate attempt to exploit Arkat's feature. Boss Kraken. Excellent, a tough one, lots of health, defense, everything, attacks in 2x2 cells. How much damage does the poison deal? With these parameters, less than 100 damage per turn would not be respectable. Of course, it needs to be tested to see at what point in the game this beast can be defeated. Regarding speed, if you increase the speed of the regular Kraken, then you can leave it at 5 here. Like a big, slow one. But it will be a little easier to deal with. Oh, and what about dark magic? There are still many spells that can be used to focus on it. Also, a note – all creatures should be named in the plural, as in the game itself... Except for the Boss Kraken, perhaps.

Thank you for the feedback. I will try to take everything into account.

The developers of the sixth game used the Pretorian, but the localizers changed it to Guardsman.

Flaming Golems. I agree with Gerter; the fire sign looks interesting if it works on the fire shield. If not, it might be worth considering giving these golems some kind of activatable fire ability, perhaps at the cost of the fire shield, but keeping the sign. Stun is definitely not a good idea. However, magic immunity should be included, in my opinion; it's a feature of all golems.

I've tested it, and neither the fire sign nor the vulnerability aura buffs the shield. And if you give it a fire cast, well, there are already Archmages and Druids with lightning at level 4, and my psyche wouldn't handle a third such neutral creature. So, the sign isn't synergistic, so it could be removed, and just leave the shield and immunity, which would make the creature a tank that is unpleasant to break through with both magic and physical attacks.

Ancient Titan. Slightly weaker than the regular one, doesn't regenerate, which seems reasonable. From a lore perspective, the Shantiri titans in the seventh installment also regenerated, right? Well, let them, otherwise how would these mechanisms have survived for so long. Have you tested, by the way, whether autoregeneration works for creatures with the "mechanism" property? Regarding the applicability of enchanted armor, it's hard to say where it would get attacking magic from... But at least Warlocks won't be able to take it down with magic, which is also a plus.

Regeneration still doesn't look very good because it's tailored for Hydras, and on a level 7 creature, it will be less effective. Also, we shouldn't forget that mechanisms can be repaired + they also get healing from magic... I think no mage would refuse to exchange regular titans for such a creature.

Kraken. Quite comparable to other level 7 creatures, such as the black dragon and the archangel. The lack of attacking abilities and stats (flight, initiative, speed) is compensated by fear and terror. Okay, I'll admit, speed 5 seems a bit low to me; there's too high a chance that Krakens won't be able to reach anyone to scare them. The fact that they were assigned to Urgash's creatures, I personally like -- not everyone has to be fiery; it would be an inappropriate attempt to exploit Arcat's feature.

It's probably closer to Shalassa. Although, the idea of sea demons seems interesting to me, even if it's very illogical.

Boss Kraken. Excellent, a tough creature, lots of health, defense, everything, attacks in 2x2 cells. How much damage does the poison deal? With these parameters, less than 100 damage per turn would not be respectable.
Of course, it needs to be tested to see at what stage of the game this beast can be defeated.
Regarding speed, if you increase the speed of the regular Kraken, then you can leave it at 5 here. Like, big and slow. But it will be a little easier to deal with )
Oh, and what about dark magic? There are still many spells that can be used to focus on it.

The situation with poisoning seems to be the same as with regeneration. The abilities of Wyverns and Hunting Hounds depend on the number of creatures, and it turns out that the Kraken will poison very weakly when it's alone.

This word is problematic in general. And I don't like it when they randomly insert certain designations. I also don't like "Guard" and "Watchman" because it's very difficult to see the difference between the two words. But the name "elite black" really needs to be changed. There's also the fact that this isn't a problem in English because the same thing sounds shorter. There are several ways to solve the problem. We could call the un-upgraded version "black mercenary" and the upgraded version "black watchman." But that's not a great option either, because, in fact, they are both mercenaries. We could call the upgraded version "black veteran watchman," then the word "veteran" would be hidden. And in principle, everything is fine. It's not a very good option, but in the absence of alternatives, I think it's okay. If there are better ideas, I'll be happy to listen. Regarding the rest, I generally agree, and once again, thank you all for the feedback. We just need to discuss the fire golem and the kraken boss in more detail. By the way, regarding the lizard upgrade. The stats, including the upgrade, are copied from the archer of the Order faction. Regarding the fire golem. I don't understand why you don't like the fire sign? It doesn't prevent it from being a separate ability for a neutral creature, but it adds a good strategic opportunity when using this creature in conjunction with a fire mage. By the way, it will be a guard in the gnome bank. Regarding the fire shield, I agree that it might be too strong, but what should we replace it with? There aren't many other fire abilities in the game. Regarding the reforged golem and its infinite retaliation and 75 magic resistance, these are the abilities of the steel golem from the academy. I didn't want to create a new golem that would be a tier higher than the old one, but weaker in abilities. Maybe we should weaken all three new golems in terms of characteristics? Regarding the kraken boss, it's complicated. It seems that we need to remove its area-of-effect attack because no ability, not even spellstrike, poison, or even fear, works in conjunction with the area-of-effect attack. And that looks strange. The kraken hits everyone, but the abilities only work on one creature.

He's probably closer to Shalassa. Although, the idea of sea demons seems interesting to me, even if it's not very logical.

To avoid misunderstandings, this isn't exactly zahar0z's idea.

The abilities of wyverns and hunters depend on the number of creatures, and it turns out that a single kraken will be very weak at poisoning.

Yes, but they have different formulas for one ability. So, it all depends on where and how this is controlled, and whether it is controlled at all.

There are several ways to solve the problem. We could call the unupgraded one "black mercenary" and the upgraded one "black guard." But that's not a great option either, because, in fact, they are both mercenaries. We could call the upgraded one "black guard veteran," then the word "veteran" would be hidden. And in principle, everything would be fine. It's not a very good option, but in the absence of alternatives, I think it's okay. If there are better ideas, I'll be happy to listen.

Black captains (guards)? Or some other minor officer rank... Black lieutenants, perhaps...

Just to clear up any misunderstanding, the idea wasn't entirely zahar0z's.

Got it. I'm completely unfamiliar with Heroes of Might and Magic VII, so for me, the Kraken is only associated with the sea monster.

Regarding poison, there are settings like these:

1
5
4

but changing them will obviously affect other creatures as well.

He's probably closer to Shalassa. Although, the idea of sea demons seems interesting to me, even if it's not very logical.

According to the lore, he was born from the blood of an Urgash.

Added 3 minutes later

Yes, but they have different formulas for the same ability. So, it all depends on where and how this is controlled, and whether it is controlled at all.

Black captains (guards)? Or some other minor officer rank... Black lieutenants, perhaps...

As for the poison, it's hard to say how it's controlled. Maybe by the type of attack? It's probably not the most successful ability. Again, the downside of these abilities is that they don't stack with area-of-effect attacks, and that looks pretty silly.

Regarding the captains/lieutenants, it's not a bad idea.

Added 2 minutes later
Corporals, perhaps? Or "black warrant officers"?

Added 2 minutes later
But in general, "sergeant" would probably be the most appropriate, considering that there could be about 40 of them in some neutral squad guarding a sawmill. And it's strange when 40 captains guard sawmills alone. With sergeants, it's still a bit strange, but much less so.

Added 2 minutes later
Another question. Should creature names in the game be written in the singular or plural? Like "black guard" or "black guards."
In English, it seems to be in the singular, but in Russian, it creates confusion.

I have no idea how the poison is controlled. Maybe it depends on the target? It's probably not the best ability. Again, the downside of these abilities is that they don't stack with area-of-effect attacks, and that looks pretty silly.

The poison scales with the number of creatures. And as you can see from the formulas above, a solo Kraken will deal a maximum of 5 damage with poison. So yes, it's a bad ability for a boss. Acidic Blood would be much better if you want to have a poisonous ability.

In general, the balance of the boss depends a lot on what I wrote about earlier. Will this creature appear randomly on the map, or will it be encountered under certain conditions in a bank or something similar?

Here's another question. Should creature names in the game be written in the singular or plural? Like "black guard" or "black guards."
In English, it seems to be in the singular, but in Russian, it causes confusion.

Well, I'm in favor of the plural; I wrote about it. Because that's the standard in the game.

I don't understand why you dislike the Fire Sign so much.

I'll even elaborate on my position regarding this.
Firstly, we have golems with 9 initiative and 5 speed, which also have a chance to apply the Sign. However, if there's no way to deal fire damage, even a triggered effect becomes useless. On the other hand, if such damage is available, the triggered ability becomes extremely powerful, especially for a level 4 creature (it's no coincidence that dwarves can guarantee a useful application of the Sign only by combining tier 5 and 6 upgrades). So, we have a concept where the ability is mostly useless, but in rare situations, it's close to being overpowered, which, in my opinion, is a bad design choice. And then there's the Fire Shield, which, in my opinion, is also very strong. So, in my opinion, they shouldn't be used simultaneously. And when used separately, I see three concepts: Sign + vulnerability to fire aura = ultimate fire magic buffer; Berserk + shield = an aggro unit that is used to draw enemy fire; protection from projectiles + shield = a tank against any damage

In other words, the concept results in an ability that is mostly useless, but in rare situations, it's almost overpowered, which, in my opinion, is a bad decision.

As far as I understand, you're talking about how the ability is implemented in the original game, right? Well, I wouldn't call it overpowered, nor a particularly rare occurrence, let alone a bad decision. And frankly, your statement is very superficial. You're forgetting that "it can only be used with this and that hero" and that the hero often has Fireball. And I also don't understand what makes it overpowered; it simply increases the damage of specific attacks in the future; it's not an ability in the style of "destroy everything in two turns." In short, it's an example of good situational mechanics that allows for interesting combinations. It doesn't hinder the specific golem at all, and it will be interesting to use it in conjunction with someone else or simply in the hero's army.

Added 8 minutes later
I also don't like the combination of "aura of vulnerability" and the mark. First, I don't understand why a fire unit would have vulnerability to fire. Second, it's not very proactive (it still needs a little more initiative reduced), and its vulnerability can easily be used against its own allies. Third, the fire mark is not applied very often, and in the case of this unit, only when it attacks an enemy in melee. In short, by the time your "ultimate buffer" reaches, attacks, and leaves a fire mark on someone after the third attempt, there will be nothing left of it.

Added 17 minutes later

Acidic blood would be much better if you want to have a poisonous ability. And in general, the balance of the boss depends largely on what I wrote earlier: whether this creature will appear randomly on the map or be encountered under certain conditions in a dungeon or something similar.

I like the idea of acidic blood. And I agree that the poison should be removed. And regarding where the boss will be, I've probably written about it five times already that it won't appear on the maps as a neutral creature (because then it wouldn't be a boss, but just an overly tough neutral). It will be a single guardian in the sunken Temple.