Posts from "Might vs. Magic"

Many strong players fought well for the Tower. Its main problem, in my opinion, is its instability. But if a good hero comes along and gets a decent start, it allows for significant progress.

Personally, I think its main problem in the early game is the small number of shots the Gremlins have.

The Tower's main trouble is unit speed — everyone is slow as hell. Upgrades help to some extent, but they require money, which isn't always available. Plus, the most profitable buildings are Naga banks; the Tower struggles to take everything because of that same speed issue. A speed pendant/ring really makes a difference here...

The second trouble is an unbalanced army (compared to Rampart, for example). Only Nagas and Golems can fight reasonably well, and in contact battles, it's basically only Nagas. Moreover, they should ideally be upgraded, which again means money. And they are weak in Dragon Utopia — dragons often start hitting them specifically, ignoring the same-type units.

Only Golems are good for absorbing hits; Gargoyles are poor at it, and Mages can only be taken into a serious battle if they have an external dwelling, whereas usually they are taken in a quantity of 1 pc. Giants and Djinns appear late (rarely) or do not appear at all (more often).

It's unclear, please specify which parameter (damage, attack, defense, health) makes the Nag weaker than other level 6 units.
Upgrading Nags to Royal Nags is the top priority in week 2.
Regarding unit speed, why doesn't anyone pick Air or Haste for the Fortress?

Speed wasn't just about combat; the Tower is generally a slow castle in terms of tempo – very often, until the end of week 2, everyone is running around with a speed of 6, with a maximum native speed of 11, and even that requires upgrading the Djinns, which isn't always done. This leads to slow movement on the map; many castles switch to 7-9 speed by week 1, or even start with 9 speed.

Speed wasn't just meant for combat; the Tower is generally a slow castle in terms of tempo – very often, until the end of week 2, everyone is running at a speed of 6, with a maximum native speed of 11, and even that requires upgrading the Djinns, which isn't always done. This leads to slower movement on the map; many castles switch to 7-9 speed by week 1, or even start with 9 speed.

After all, there's the option to upgrade Gargoyles to 11 speed, so everyone can run at 9 speed.

After all, there's a way to upgrade Gargoyles to level 111, and with a speed of 9, everyone can move quickly.

Instead of Gremlins?:smile52:

Yes, Tower is a slow faction, but their respawn is richer than average, which allows hiring 1-2 more heroes from the start and thus clearing the respawn more effectively (compensating for the low speed). So mages/alchemists crawl slowly, but they have plenty to eat :D at every step.
As for taking the Nagas, I recently took them (in a game with bRitvo4kA) on the 2nd Naga Bank on 3 with a ground stack, a scout hero (swamp dweller), and saved all the Gremlins and all the Nagas. I wouldn't say it was an easy fight, but no harder than for other castles. IMHO of course, but I tested it. ;)

I don't understand, please specify by which parameter (damage, attack, defense, health) Naga are weaker than other 6th-level units.

Did I claim that somewhere ?

Upgrading Naga to Queens is task #1 in the 2nd week.

Who would argue ... only it's not always the case. And it's much easier to buy some horses on 121 and go-go break everything even without an upgrade.

Regarding unit speed, doesn't anyone take Air and Haste for Tower?

Air and haste are not a prerogative of Tower, other castles have them too, so it doesn't change the balance of power. But while many other castles can do without it, Tower finds it harder to manage. That is, when Castle-Rampart-Dungeon shine with their strike stack, Tower is forced to haste its stacks one by one.

Take the Griffin Conservatory - even on native terrain we have a speed parity for griffins, gremlins, naga, iron golems. But on non-native terrain, griffins move earlier. You need to carefully calculate turn order, and again use haste.

Yesterday, for instance, I played Tower vs Tower with Matroskin, in battles I was mostly busy hasting either gremlins or naga (there was no money at first, then no chain for their upgrade). Given that mana is not infinite, and you also want to use other spells.

but the respawn is richer than average

Where did you get that information from? :)

Did I state this anywhere?

No, you didn't state that Nagas are inferior in any parameter, but you did state:

they are weak in utopias - dragons often start attacking them, ignoring the creatures with high hit points.

This is more of a problem with good hit point creatures, rather than a weakness of Nagas.

Of course, if you compare a Tower to a Rampart or a Dungeon, it will be inferior. But I said that the Tower can compete with a Castle and a Swamp.

No, you didn't claim that Nagas are inferior in any way, but you did state:

This is more of a problem of good "feeding" rather than the weakness of Nagas.

This is specifically a problem with Nagas, or rather, with their inability to retaliate effectively. Dragons love to attack units with special abilities – Nagas, Vampires, Pit Lords, etc.

In other words, equally strong stacks of Nagas and Knights have different chances of getting the first strike from dragons.

Of course, if you compare a Tower with a Rampart or a Dungeon, it is inferior. But I said that the Tower can compete with a Castle and a Swamp.

The same applies to a Castle and a Swamp. For the Castle, the Marksman + Knights combination is clearly stronger and easier to manage, plus Angels in the long run. And the Swamp has a very balanced growth and excellent heroes. Both of these castles are clearly stronger than the Tower in both Shades of Darkness and The Restoration of Erathia.

Of course, Rampart and Swamp don't have any forbidden heroes :D, and Tower's main advantage is restricted by the rules;
With Solmyr, I think you can even compete against Necropolis.

I think the problem isn't with the weakness of the Castle or the heroes, but rather in how to manage all of this... Perhaps influenced by Alex's games, but lately I've been enjoying playing with the Tower, and it's not going so badly. And that's with my level of play... what is a good player capable of?

I think it's not about the weakness of the Castle, or the heroes, but only about how to manage all of this... Perhaps influenced by Alex's games, but lately I've been enjoying playing with the Tower, and it's not going so badly. And that's with my level of play... what is a good player capable of?

It can work or not work with any Castle. With a bit of luck, you can even win against Gosh with a Pikedram. This is about playing the long game.

In my time, I've played many games with the Tower (on TE), including serious tournament games, and had series of 7-8 games in a row with this Castle.

Conclusion - success when playing with the Tower depends on many small things. Often, the game breaks because of some trivial thing. There are many nuances that you need to watch and pay close attention to.

For example, whether or not a Scholar comes (if it's not the starting unit), whether there are heroes with starting Haste, and generally, pay close attention to what spells come on level 111 (with a starting Scholar). You also need to carefully look for opportunities for a second front (mages + nagas) and timely train the necessary spells for them.

There can also be problems with resources; nagas are usually built, but there might not be enough gold for an upgrade, especially if you put the 2nd guild on the Companion for expanding the magical knowledge.

You also need to earn money more carefully; you need a lot of it and quickly, so the 2nd and 3rd fronts are welcome. In general, you need to play much more carefully than with many other Castles. The planning horizon should be a day or two longer.

I've already written about battles. You can't win many battles with a cavalry rush; you need to prepare for many of them in advance. By the end of the 2nd week, Gargoyles, Golems, and Nagas are often upgraded, but the upgrade sequence is very variable... it depends not only on the money but also on the planned battles. Plus, sometimes you have to build and upgrade Djinns on the second front (against some snipers).

Plus, heroes often run out of mana, so you have to fight battles with different heroes and look for wells. By the way, this is one of the reasons for the popularity of the starting Josie - Haste in the book and Mysticism from the start.

Instead of Gremlins?:smile52:

sometimes it's more useful to upgrade Gremlins to level 112.