Posts from Tactics for playing as the Dwarves.

Yes, light magic is indeed good, but instead of focusing on attack, I prioritize defense; I don't know, I just prefer it, but in this situation, focusing on attack is definitely better. First, I level up defense, definitely up to the point where it's ready; this is the most important thing. It makes it much easier to eliminate neutral creatures, and we don't need anything else for now. Then, we need to decide what to prioritize. If the game will be long, it's better to try to get education to increase magic attraction, as light magic consumes a lot of mana, but we can defeat neutral creatures even without it. However, if the map is small or there are serious neutral creatures that need to be dealt with quickly, we should first get light magic. I only take leadership after that, as it's not as useful without retribution. I would really like to hear how others approach combat, because online battles have been difficult for me lately, as I've been dealing with a slow internet connection for the past 4 months, and I only started playing as the Fortress faction after the Tribes of the East expansion was released.

Yes, light magic is indeed good, but instead of focusing on attack, I prioritize defense; I don't know, I just like it more, but in this situation, focusing on attack is definitely more suitable.
First, I level up defense, definitely up to the maximum; that's the main thing. It makes it much easier to defeat neutrals, and we don't need anything else for now.
Then, you need to decide what to prioritize. If the game will be long, it's better to try to get Education because of the magic attraction, as light magic consumes a lot of mana, and we can defeat neutrals without it. But if the map is small or there are serious neutrals that need to be dealt with, then we take light magic first. I only take Leadership after that, as it's not as useful without Retribution.

Yes, Readiness is indeed a useful skill. I first felt its benefits when I leveled up with humans. Cerberuses, furies, and other creatures that fight without taking damage are easily defeated. I haven't been able to do it with dwarves yet; either the necessary perks don't appear, or I have to choose a perk from defense instead of something more important. And attack, as Player already said, is important for dwarves because of their low attack and small damage output (by the way, if you're going for Chaos, you can take Mass Haste in attack and cast it first). In my opinion, the relevance of Readiness strongly depends on the race of the opponent. When playing against a Necromancer, it's not beneficial to sit in defense: they'll throw Chaos spells; the Necromancer will cast a couple of Mass Curse spells, and then something like Berserk/Dominate, etc. If the enemy learns or can learn Darkness, then taking Readiness is a big risk, as they might cast Mass Dispel. I take Education as soon as it's available. What bothers me about magic is that the magic I planned in advance is given very, very late. I recently wanted to level up in light magic, but I didn't have it by level 15. But on level 1, I got Chaos (and it didn't appear again), and somewhere around level 10, I got Summon...

I would really like to hear how others conduct battles because online dwarves passed me by, as I've been stuck with a slow internet connection for 4 months, and I only started playing as dwarves after the Horde expansion.

For now, I won't give any advice on this; it needs to be tested in practice, and playing against the computer always turns out to be a bit strange... We have a game planned with Vaishan; as soon as we play, we'll post a replay. There will be new food for discussion: analysis of mistakes, highlighting successful tactical maneuvers, etc.

Added 4 minutes ago

Hmm, did attack and defense reach 20? How is that possible? In the early stages of the game? I'm not doubting it, but I'm just curious where you can get that much in the beginning... Especially attack. Please explain.

By the way, I didn't realize it right away. The easiest way to raise stats to such values right at the start is to level up an attack and/or defense hero. I don't know if Alucard had one, but in general, 20 is not the limit. But this leads to a corresponding combat style, which may not always be truly useful (remember the devastating Fireball of the Sorcerer combined with the Fire Lord).

I'm playing as Helmar. I'm focusing on Light magic because of his ability. At level 15, after casting mass speed or mass blessing, almost my entire army benefits, and they also have the punishing strike ability, which is very useful for gnomes. ;) This saves a lot of time by eliminating the need to cast different spells on the army, and with the 2% chance to learn spells, I think it's crucial.

Soldier's Luck is definitely one of the most useful skills (many units have special abilities that trigger).

I don't invest in Runes. The initial ones are good, but the others didn't impress me much.

Right now, I'm deciding whether to recruit Harpooners or Pikemen. As ranged units, they're both not very good. But the crippling strike is quite useful against fast enemy units...

Regarding runes, they are very useful, especially if you get an energy rune... (By the way, I don't quite understand how runes are used now? Are they for all units, one per unit, and if one breaks, that's it? Or is it like in Lords of Magic?) I like to develop my heroes with Chaos (Pirk) + Defense + Leadership, although if I get Logistics, I'll never turn it down... And the hero is definitely good for early-game units (I don't remember his name). As for battles (although I'm a very inexperienced player), I try to use air units (I think they're called Erls) as effectively as possible. In this style: 1. Turn: Energy rune + jump to the enemy and attack. 2. Turn: Either attack rune on all around + attack, or double attack rune + attack rune on all around on the next turn (a deadly combo when the opponent is defending - I tested it on a friend in a duel). Basically, I tailor all my attacks to air units and berserkers - harpoon pull + bear claw attack = the enemy stands in a line => the air unit wreaks havoc + berserkers attack around with frenzy (when all defense is converted to attack). My dragons are just strong tanks, and that's it. Priests and gnomes are in defense. Of course, everything depends on the runes, because they give a huge boost to the possible uses of a particular unit on the battlefield (the same rune that steals buffs has saved me more than once, and the rune that reduces the opponent's initiative is also a fantastic thing)

I've heard many different opinions about Jarls and Earls. It's actually interesting when there isn't a clear choice for which unit to use. Everyone uses them according to some strategy. Right now, I'm hiring units for fire-based attacks. In the first turn, the Jarl applies the fire mark, and the Flame Priest deals damage with a Fireball. :)

I was recently playing with the Dwarves. I decided to focus on light magic. And I realized the true benefit of the "regeneration" spell. Thanks to the spell, 5 Dwarves managed to defeat 67 ghosts without any losses... Without the spell, the Dwarves would barely withstand 6-7 hits. I could, of course, have deployed all my troops and defeated the ghosts (the threat level was low), but there would definitely be losses, and probably significant ones. You don't need to be told that ghosts don't take damage when luck strikes or the strongest unit attacks)) According to Murphy's Law)). In general, replays are key (as someone already said)...

My entire gaming experience boils down to completing campaigns, so I can’t claim to be an experienced player. However, it seems to me that developing the “Light” skill for Dwarves is redundant, as runes and light practically duplicate each other. Runes include resurrection, dispel, and punishing strike, just like light. What Dwarves lack is a unit that can effectively counter archers, which is why the “Blind” spell was very useful. Of course, you can use the “Wall of Fire” spell for priests against archers, but I think “Blind” will be more useful because you can break out of the fire, while the priests might not have enough strength for a second attack.

My entire gaming experience boils down to completing campaigns, so I can't claim to be an experienced player, but it seems to me that investing in Light magic for Dwarves is unnecessary, as Runes and Light magic practically duplicate each other. Runes offer resurrection, dispel magic, and punishing strike, just like Light magic. What Dwarves lack is a unit that can effectively counter archers, which is why the Blindness spell was very useful. Of course, you can use the Fire Wall spell for priests against archers, but I think Blindness will be more useful because you can break out of the fire, but there might not be enough time for a second attack from the priests.

Most importantly, all the effects of Runes and Light magic spells are cumulative. Try applying the Dragon Form Rune and Punishing Strike to Jarls/Earls. The damage will be extremely high. The same applies to resurrection. If you really want to, you can first resurrect with a Rune and then with the hero. Bears with the Energy Rune can successfully counter archers (but it depends on the map). And for the Blindness spell you're talking about, you need Darkness magic. But where do you get the spells? And it's not a given that you'll find it. In general... I advise you to read the last few posts in this thread; I think they clearly and concisely describe when and which magic is best to take and why.

How can archers defeat bears when they are protected, as they usually are? I carefully reviewed the posts, and only Chaos and Light are being discussed, but what about the other schools of magic? Are they completely useless for a Dwarf? I think Phantom is more useful than Meteor Shower or Shock, because these spells won't be particularly effective for a Dwarf, and they are also quite expensive. Having two squads instead of one is more useful than having one squad, even with a punishing strike and a dragon rune applied to it. If you don't get Blind, you'll get something else, like Berserk. But in the campaign, I always found Blind.

It would be great if it worked that way, but the chance for Summoning is only 4%, while Darkness is 2%... So, don't get your hopes up too much. Building both guilds in a town is indeed resource-intensive, and waiting for resources to accumulate is not efficient, as they are needed for runes. However, you can fully develop the Haven faction while neglecting runes (or vice versa), and they won't duplicate each other.

Of course, dwarves are positioned as a magical race, but it seems to me that they lean more towards swordsmanship than magic. I suggest discussing the following development option: we pump luck, leadership, attack, defense, and logistics, and the lack of magic is compensated by runes.

Of course, dwarves are positioned as a magical race, but it seems to me that they are more inclined towards swordsmanship than magic. I suggest discussing such a development option: we pump luck, leadership, attack, defense, logistics, and the lack of magic is compensated by runes.

Yeah, and what about the 50% of stats that will go into knowledge and spellcasting? You can only do without magic in a very, very short game, because, for example, it might not drop, and the power of spells will be quite weak. And magic cannot be compensated by runes; magic needs to be combined with runes. As practice shows, it is not that difficult to build a house with runes up to level 2 within 1 month, and if there are no particular problems with gold, then up to level 3, because by this time, things with resources are already starting to improve.

Of course, dwarves are positioned as a magical race, but it seems to me that they are more inclined towards swordsmanship than magic. I suggest discussing such a development option: we pump luck, leadership, attack, defense, logistics, and the lack of magic is compensated by runes.

Magic must be pumped up in any case so that the hero is at least somewhat useful on the battlefield... otherwise, what will he do? stand aside and smoke? No, it's better to have magic for faster movement than to deal half the damage to the enemy dragon...

I recently played a game with Vaishan. Naturally, I played as the Dwarves, and he played as the Terrors. In general, our final battle wasn't anything special. I achieved numerical superiority, while Vaishan had a somewhat unlucky start, hence my victory. My hero was Helmar, and I leveled him up to level 20. He got Logistics fairly quickly, and considering the map we were playing on, I didn't refuse it (we were playing on the "Art of Strategy" map). Soon after, I took the "Surprise Attack" perk from there (fortunately, it levels up quite easily for a Dwarf). Of course, he was a Light mage. But I was incredibly unlucky with magic. On level 1, the guild offered a divine power that wasn't very useful for Dwarves, on level 2, Regeneration (although I did find a use for it, see the replay), on level 3, Punishing Strike, which Helmar already has from the start. On level 4, Antimagic, which isn't very useful against a Warlock, and on level 5, Resurrection. Partly because there wasn't much to cast, I didn't neglect Surprise Attack. As my third skill, I took Attack, which isn't very typical for Dwarves. I really hoped that I would be offered Mass Haste as a perk, but I didn't wait for it, so right before the battle, I took Tactics. By that point, Battle Fury and Archery were already maxed out. And right before the battle, just for fun, I took the Basics of Magic in the Witch Hut. Education wasn't given to me, of course, and it was affected by the fact that I ignored two skills with 15% bonuses, Defense and Mechanics. As a result, I ended up with a very unconventional Dwarf. I also didn't manage to collect many artifacts. I put on everything that could bring at least some benefit, and as a result, I got the following stats: 6; 10; 9; 15. My Defense and Attack were approximately comparable to Vaishan's Attack and Defense, respectively. My troops fought very effectively, thanks to the fact that I initially cast two mass spells (Divine Power and Punishing Strike from Helmar's ability). They didn't wipe out enemies in entire stacks, but in fairly large numbers... And instead of Divine Power, I could have had Haste or Stone Skin. I think it's very important to take Keen Mind if you get Logistics, and your hero is a Light mage. I didn't risk taking Scouting, which was almost useless at that point, because I didn't really hope to get Education. Everyone knows that Terrors don't excel in Defense, and my troops with the Dragon's Scale rune were wreaking havoc as much as possible. As I said, the battle itself wasn't anything special, and I won't post the replay. But if anyone is very, very interested in watching it, feel free to contact me on ICQ.

I think it's very, very important to take "Quick Mind" if you have poor logistics and your hero is a light mage.

I don't know what good "Quick Mind" does if all your troops have already moved before the hero's turn. Although, there's not much else to take in education and logistics, so "Quick Mind" is okay, I guess. I also played, but not as dwarves; "Quick Mind" didn't help much. The only magic skill worth upgrading is "Light".