Posts from Skills and Super Ability of the Orcs.

:) I think many would like to share their experience in allocating skills. And many would like to know about the Stronghold's super ability (to take it or not?). I suggest we discuss all of this!!! Personally, I take: super ability (leadership, attack, machine control), education, and some kind of debuff (depending on the opponent). I would be glad to hear your comments...;)

It all depends on the individual player and the map! If a player likes a particular superpower, they will choose it; if they think it's pointless to collect a superpower, they naturally won't. Personally, I use them depending on my mood or often experiment (changing different abilities). But if you're playing on a small map, would you develop a superpower? Of course not! (because you simply won't have time, and you won't have enough experience to develop it).
But if you're playing on a large map where there's plenty of experience, why not develop it?

And what about skills? Surely, there are some that are more suitable for the Stronghold faction?

Of course, there are: Attack, Luck, Logistics, Leadership, and it would be nice to have some machines.

And what about these skills, what abilities do they have?

Well, from here on, it's up to your personal preference; download the skill wheel and experiment to see what you like!

I always level up Leadership and Attack. In Leadership, I usually choose troop gathering, aura of speed, and battle frenzy. In Attack, there are three possible development paths: 1. Battle frenzy, stunning strike, devilish strike. 2. Battle frenzy, retribution, and something else, such as tactics, archery, or stunning strike, depending on what you prefer or what suits the specific situation. 3. Archery, fire arrows, and something else (if you're developing a ballista with triple shot). It's also possible to develop war machines, usually including a ballista and triple shot. Luck: soldier's luck, magic resistance, and barbarian luck (especially effective against warlocks). And some kind of magic dampening, or if available, education or summoning skill. You can also sometimes skip developing war machines and instead focus on defense or logistics. P.S. Logistics can also be taken instead of luck.

Of course: Attack, Luck, Logistics, Leadership, and it wouldn't hurt to take some Machine skills.

Why don't I see the very important defense skill? After all, Orcs are warriors!
In general, I prefer to develop skills like this:
I consider the following skills mandatory: Attack, Defense, and Leadership.
Leadership: Troop Gathering - Battle Frenzy - Inspiration.
Why like this? Because this is the best path in Leadership, and also the best way to reach the ultimate skill. Defense: Dodge, Retaliation, Resistance.
Why like this? Because Resistance helps Goblins, Centaurs, and Warmongers. Dodge is a very useful skill. It's essential against archers (especially against Elves). Often, players fight Orcs with Mages, so we take Retaliation (it significantly increases survivability). Attack: Battle Frenzy, Stunning Blow, Devil's Blow.
Why like this? Frenzy is very helpful in the early stages. And in the late game, Goblins, Centaurs, and Warmongers will deal much more significant damage. Stunning Blow is overpowered (especially with "Reinforce"). Devil's Blow is also overpowered (especially with "Reinforce" and the hero Krag). There are 3 more skill slots left. Usually, I take Luck, Battle Shout, and Chaos Ward. If we are playing against a Mage, this development is simply ideal. If not, we still have a good choice. Luck: if against a Mage: Magic Resistance - Barbarian Luck - Soldier's Luck/Luck of the Draw. If not against a Mage: Luck of the Draw - Soldier's Luck - Deadly Luck/Spoils of War. Why like this? If against a Mage, Magic Resistance and Barbarian Luck will help a lot – damage is reduced by almost half. If not against a Mage, Luck itself is good + Soldier's Luck/Luck of the Draw. Battle Shout: if against a Mage: develop Battle Shout - Mighty Shout - Distraction. If not against a Mage: develop Battle Shout - Mighty Shout - War Cry. Why like this? The abilities themselves are very useful, and if we are playing against a Mage, developing Distraction will make the enemy use magic less often because they will move less. Chaos Ward: Weaken Chaos - Curse of Chaos - Fire Fury. Why like this? I always take it. Even if we are not playing against a Mage, the "Fire Fury" ability will help us a lot. +10% damage is decisive in the late game, especially considering that it is fire damage. If we are not playing against a Mage, we try to take Chaos Ward as the last skill. But if we are playing against a Mage on a Chaos map, it's a real win. :smile13:

Wow, I wrote a whole essay here :cool: I hope you appreciate my efforts, because we both understand what I'm talking about ;)

2 Crol
I'll answer point by point, but first, a small digression. For me, Creature Ability (CA) is a myth and nonsense, so I don't care what skills lead to it; there are much better options.

Leadership – is inspiring really more useful than a speed aura??? o_O I disagree. Tactics, plus an aura (and even plus boots with +1 speed) means that almost the entire barbarian army attacks from the first turn.

Defense – it can be useful against attacking units (rangers, infantry). But otherwise, it's not worth it.

Attack – why are you so categorical? Apparently, because you play with CAs. Nevertheless, this is the most versatile skill for a barbarian. Only tactics are almost beyond discussion and should be at 98%.
a) Fire Arrows, if you're rushing with machines.
b) Retribution in the late game with morale (which is 100% because an orc 100% needs leadership).
c) All three basic skills. Although, only if you're playing as Garun, because he initially has ranged attack, which isn't very useful for an orc. Also, ranged attack with Hagesh, but it's debatable.
d) Again, for Garun and Hagesh. Battle Balance and Retribution, but it's a pity to sacrifice Tactics.
e) For Krag, choose Stun and Retribution. Because doubling the damage from a hero's attack is nonsense (the stun is more important) compared to +25% to the entire army.

Luck – what searches are you talking about? It's a waste of levels. Luck at +3 is enough; we only pump perks if there are free levels. Against mages, you need resistances. And Soldier's Luck... well, who does it work for? Maulers for the second strike, but they're not even taken. Earth elementals for spells on hit, but it's not that important. So, it's a questionable skill to spend a level on, especially at the beginning.

Battle Orders – a skill at 2%, that says almost everything. Of course, casting spells a little more often is nice, but not enough to spend 4-6 levels on it.

All the resistances (not just Chaos, which is generally nonsense to take against the League) are very questionable. There's no benefit if you don't guess (and 100% options are basically only Darkness against Lethos, and Necropolis can be Chaos against Sinister), but spending 6 levels, especially in the early game, is a death sentence for your build. And if you take it later, you might not have time to level up.

Well, and in general, the main thing is, WHERE IS LOGISTICS??? This is the main skill for a barbarian, along with Pathfinding.

I didn't mention machines. It's just a skill for a fast game, and it's mentioned in the attack section with fire arrows; otherwise, it doesn't make sense. And in general, there are many ways to counter machine units now, and it's useless in the late game anyway, so it's a very, very questionable skill. Creeping is more fun with it, but six wasted levels can really hurt in a rush or anti-rush.

I basically agree with everything, but regarding logistics... I don't understand what its usefulness is for the Orcs.

I basically agree with everything, but regarding logistics... I don't understand what its usefulness is for Orcs.

Well, firstly: I generally think this skill is very useful and I take it for almost everyone.
Secondly: Orcs are a creeping race whose effectiveness doesn't depend on external factors (amount of mana per battle, etc.), i.e., they kill as much as they can run around in one turn. Logistics, combined with Warpath, allows them to make many more attacks in one turn (especially for machine gunners; you practically need to take Tilseck before the attack. Unless you're going up against heavily armored units right away).
Thirdly: Movement speed and, as an option, forcing a final attack at a moment that is advantageous to you.
Fourthly: Getting +4 to speed during a siege is also a big advantage, because storming a castle is one of the problems for Orcs.

First of all: I think this skill is very useful and I take it for almost every hero.
Secondly: Orcs are a race whose creeping doesn't depend on external factors (amount of mana per battle, etc.), i.e., they kill as much as they can move in one turn. Logistics with Pathfinding allows them to make much more battles in one turn (especially for machine gunners; you practically need to take Tilshek before the attack. Unless you're going to fight tough enemies right away).
Thirdly: Movement speed and, as an option, forcing the final attack at a moment that is advantageous to you.
Fourthly: Getting +4 to speed during a siege is also a big advantage, because storming a castle is one of the problems for orcs.

Hmm... interesting... I just thought that attack is the most important thing for orcs, and after that, upgrading logistics isn't very relevant... but I'll try it. :rolleyes:

ALAN, CROL, please take a look at the topic: how to fight against Necropolis, and tell me: will my tactic work against Necropolis? I'm waiting for advice!!!

ALAN, CROL, please take a look at this thread: how to fight against Necropolis, and tell me: will my tactic work against Necropolis?? I'm waiting for advice!!!

I replied in that thread. The main mistake in your strategy is the choice of diplomacy and education. And a few other things :rolleyes:

I played against StormaS-K, Orcs versus Haven. I completely crushed the Haven faction without giving them a chance. The map was Dragon Cape. The hero was Haghesh against Axel. I wanted to go for pure Aggression, but it wasn't meant to be, so I went with a tactic of attack + defense + luck + leadership. I won using only Centaurs, and my artifacts were all focused on initiative – rings with +20 and +10. I also had an Amulet of Skill, which resulted in Absolute Fury of Blood. The rest, StormS-K will tell you. I didn't think that Orcs had something like "inspiration" – the Hero's War Cry has a 100% effect! The Centaurs fired, and Haghesh used War Cry, and the Centaurs were ready to fight again. Well, Orcs are a delicate matter, to put it mildly, and no knightly charge will kill them in one go.