Posts from Upgrade or alternative upgrade?

question from the audience: how do you build a dragon cave on veteran difficulty? (if the ruby mine is captured by archmages/druids or something similar)
do you sacrifice your tanams?

question from the audience: how do you build a Dragon Cave on Veteran difficulty? (if the Ruby Mine is captured by Archmages/Druids or something similar)
do you sacrifice Tanams?

Elementary, my dear Watson. No, I never sacrifice Tanams; I only build them on week 3. That's when I have to capture the crystal mine. I have enough starting resources to build dragons. I eliminate Druids and Mages exclusively with Mountain Guards and bears, plus the Energy Rune (I only play as Inga). I often have to sacrifice them early on to clear out neutrals.

And it’s even easier to quickly build a warehouse and not sacrifice anyone, while the Druids take care of the enemies with their melee attacks, and the Mages with their bears (it’s dangerous to only use melee attackers against Mages, they can be defeated with Magic Bolt). Of course, it’s desirable to build a guild up to level 2 as quickly as possible and recruit upgraded Northern Riders.

So, let's calculate.
Veteran difficulty – at the beginning, you have 10 crystals (we're not considering the small chance that you might get crystals as a resource bonus).
Tans cost 20 crystals, and dragons cost 10. Let's assume you build dragons on the second week (you'll have 0 crystals left) (we're not considering the probability of finding free crystals lying around). You capture a ruby mine (let's assume the ideal scenario) around day 9 (free rubies lying around the mine will give you approximately 6-7 at best, let's say 7). Now you have a ruby income of 1 per day. So, to get 20 rubies, you need 13 days, which is almost 2 weeks. If you calculate that the mine was captured on day 9 (and if there are some High Druids or Archmages there, it will be a bit more difficult), then it takes 22 days. This means that after 18 days, the third week has already begun, and + 4 days, only then can you build Tans (if you follow this strict plan). But in this case, you won't have a Mage Guild, or maybe only a level 2 one. Furthermore, if you rush things like this, you'll lose out on developing your city (especially upgrading creatures, which is natural when you only have a Castle without a Tavern or Fort).
It doesn't look like a good plan in this case.)))

Maybe I'm not considering something correctly.
Please outline the construction and actions day by day. Because I find it hard to believe in the reliability of this scheme with dragons on the second week and Tans on the third

Firstly, yes, on the second week, we build Draconians and sacrifice Tanos, but on the first week, we build a Warehouse and immediately gain +1 crystal per day. On the third week, we immediately rush and clear the mine with Draconians; firstly, there are usually crystals nearby, and we also eliminate the neutral creatures guarding other crystals. As a result, we have an increase of +2 crystals, which is 14 crystals by the end of the week, plus what we accumulated from the 2 previous weeks. In total, we can easily build Tanos. What's unclear?

First of all, yes, on the second week we build fighters and sacrifice Tan, but on the first week we build a warehouse and immediately get +1 crystal per day. On the third week, we immediately rush and clear the mine with fighters; firstly, crystals are usually lying around there, and we also eliminate the neutrals guarding other crystals. As a result, we have an increase in crystals of +2, which is 14 crystals at the end of the week, plus what we accumulated from the 2 previous weeks. In total, we easily build Tan. What is unclear?

That's right! That's exactly what I do! Plus, I always try to take neutral crystal clusters from the neutrals, and fortunately, every map has them!

Okay, I think I understand.
Tell me, what units do you have available by the end of the second week?
Everything seems to be going smoothly, but what about gold? Ten units cost 10, the market costs 5k, plus the other buildings.

Just replace experience in chests with money; also, you can sell artifacts at the market. Then, you can postpone building the Capitol; it's quite cheap, by the way. By the end of the second week, we have bears (I prefer the upgraded ones), upgraded warriors, and spearmen (you can also use the non-upgraded ones), and we start building bone collectors, whom we leave in the castle for the time being. We mostly deal with neutral creatures using magic.

That's right! That's exactly what I do! Plus, I always try to take out neutral groups with crystals from the neutrals, and luckily, every map has them!

I agree. I do the same. But tell me, do you take Jarls with you to clear out neutrals?

In my opinion, the upgrades aren't impressive. The first Dwarves' Shield Wall is better, +5 defense. Besides, why sit there and take damage from the natives when you can go on the offensive and beat up the enemy?

Or, take the Harpooners. Yes, they have higher damage, but less health (if my memory serves me right) and a questionable ability to push back enemy units. The original upgrade looks more appealing. And it's more effective, and can even strike at the enemy's main force if needed, and most importantly, it has the Cripple skill, which is very helpful at the beginning.

Terrifying Bears... well, I don't know, giving them Orbit without Sahar and a hint of watermelon flavor... The regular bears have a better pushback on the scale than the stench from the upgraded version's mouth (10% of 30 health is not serious), and the paw strike happens more often. Unreturned attacks are valuable.

Berserkers. The originals are again better: a full-power strike and no return is great. And those who don't believe, go to the Vampire thread, and they will quickly tell you that the original upgrade is better due to the unreturned attack, even if the new Vampire is stronger.

Original Priests. Area attack. No comments. (we smile and wave to the Liches, we smile and wave). Although, I should add: the first priests are for the late game, the second ones are for a fast game.

Jarls or Earls. It all depends on the tactics. I'm not even afraid to say that the upgrades are more or less equivalent. It depends on the situation.

Original Dragons. Fire Shield, more health, more defense. If the upgraded version had more initiative, it would be worth buying. (given its stats).

If anyone can prove otherwise, I will be happy to hear it. )

I agree. I do the same ) But tell me, do you take tans (jarls) with you to clear neutrals?

I only take them if I have the "Regeneration" spell; with 8-10 tans, you can wipe out almost all neutrals, including Dragon Utopia, without a single loss.

If anyone can prove otherwise, I would be more than happy.

For my choice, read post 14 of this thread.

Regarding the choice of dragons, if you're leveling up with Armageddon's Blade, I think the "Living Flame" ability of the Artcat dragons will be just as annoying as the fire shield, right? What do you think?

No, that's not true. The Fire Shield is still better. Because Liquid Fire depends on the number of creatures in the stack. And to deal decent damage, you need too many of them.

I think the lava shield is more useful than liquid fire.

Let's look at some numbers to make it clearer: - Liquid Flame deals 10 damage for 2 turns to each dragon, but what if the enemy unit moves out of the line of fire? Hmm... it doesn't look very good; - The Lava Shield deals fire damage equal to 40% of the damage dealt, regardless of the number of dragons in the unit. And that's much better!

There’s a clear imbalance in the choice of dragons.((((
Instead of this weak fire, they could have come up with something better.