Posts from War machines in Heroes V.

It doesn't destroy anything; having two units on the walls is actually beneficial, and you rarely have enough time to destroy the central building and the catapult before the enemy runs out of troops.

The thing is, the earthquake spell might appear in the Mage Guild, or it might not! Also, not all castles have a magic priority for summoning spells; that is, only the Academy, Dungeon, and Necropolis have it (and you're probably playing as Necropolis:D), but all castles have the catapult!

The catapult is available to all, and I used to upgrade siege weapons for all factions, but the catapult, with its unpredictable behavior, "slightly" disappointed me. And after seeing what the earthquake does, I stopped using it. The catapult is already there, and I don't think it's worth upgrading it, because it's not very effective. That's what I mean.

Got it! But how often do you encounter earthquakes in your castle? And does it really destroy towers on par with walls?

The upgraded catapult destroyed everything except the moats. My main tactic is ranged combat, so my problem is towers and the hero, because to destroy all the towers (3) and the gate with an upgraded catapult takes 4 turns, and I've concluded that I don't need these machines unless they're already there, like with Kaspar, then I'll upgrade them, but I won't go out of my way for them.

Your strategy is clear to me. It allows you to: 1.) Not waste a hero's skill points on unnecessary abilities (excellent for large maps); 2.) Not spend levels on abilities you don't need (excellent for any map). 3.) Earthquake requires a skill that you already have (you're leveling up summoning magic for skeletons). But it doesn't allow you to: 1.) Use the hero's turn for its intended purpose (you need to replenish skeletons, but you have to cast Earthquake instead). 2.) The catapult does the same thing as the hero (they're doing the same thing - it's inefficient! Why?). Here's an example (I'll use the Academy for clarity): You attack them, and they start hiding in the Castle, shooting at your ranged units (and they have plenty of units to shoot with!). The melee units cast spells on their own and your units, like Benediction, etc. And your skeletons and zombies die from the ranged units and towers. THIS IS NOT RIGHT! YOU NEED TO GET TO THEM QUICKLY AND FIGHT IN CLOSE COMBAT! THIS MEANS OPENING THE GATE, OR IF THE GATE IS DIFFICULT TO OPEN, GO THROUGH THE DITCH AND INTO THE HOLE IN THE WALL! And the hero, knowing that the catapult is useless, casts Earthquake 2 times (it doesn't always destroy the necessary walls and doors on the first try), WHEN HE SHOULD BE RESURRECTING HIS OWN UNITS! You captured the Castle, necromancy has almost replenished everything, but if the catapult worked properly, THERE WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE UNITS! That's what I mean

The catapult, even the improved one, doesn't always do what you want it to. It's better to spend a turn with the hero and immediately destroy the walls and gates, rather than waiting three times for a miracle from the catapult, i.e., that it won't shoot at the already destroyed part of the wall or tower. With archers and liches, I can overwhelm the mages easily, and gremlins are not a problem either, especially with their "killing power" and "initiative." After that, I'll hypnotize the djinn, rakshasa, or, if there are titans, I'll defeat the enemies with my own units. That's roughly how I do it, with possible variations.

2 Silovik, you're planning to clear everything with a single cast... you'll have to cast Earthquake 2-3 times. And then you also want Hypnosis to drop in the guild... isn't that too many wishes for one map? (by the way, Titans are immune to mind-affecting spells, so you won't be able to charm them). Against your archers, one Mass Slow will make you kill them for four years. And there's also Dispel against Hypnosis.

2 Silovik You're dreaming if you think you can wipe everything out with one cast... you'll have to cast Earthquake about 2-3 times. And then you want Hypnosis to drop in the guild too... aren't those a bit too many wishes for one map?? (by the way, Titans are immune to mind spells and you won't be able to lure them away). Against your shooters, one Mass Slow and it'll take you four years to kill anything. And there's Dispel against Hypnosis.

Whether they are or aren't, it's just guessing; I've never tried Titans because I usually use Hypnosis on those who can't fight back. I don't know if upgraded Earthquake immediately took out the towers on the walls and an unupgraded catapult finished off the rest; Mass Slow is also necessary, so we'll see, I don't see a problem with the mages.

Do you have a Ubisoft account? I haven't played in a while, but I won't let anyone disrespect mages... And as I already mentioned, there's a mass dispel to counter your mass slow.

Do you have an account on Uplay? I haven't played in a while, but I won't let anyone disrespect mages... And as I already mentioned, there's a mass dispel to counter your mass slow.

No one is disrespecting anyone, don't get upset. We just provided an example of how mages can defend a castle against Necropolis, without an upgraded catapult with an earthquake ability. So, I drew a rough picture of how the castle could be captured.

And you said you don't see any problems... but I'm more than sure that your arguments will fall apart. I just pointed out the weak points in your reasoning; too many factors need to align.

And you said you don't see any problems... but I'm more than sure that things will go wrong.
I just pointed out the weak points in your arguments; too many factors need to align.

So, regarding the topic of conversation, it turns out that a Necropolis with an improved, but still somewhat unreliable, catapult can destroy (with difficulty or not) a Magic Castle, but a Necropolis with an improved Earthquake spell fails and doesn't... it doesn't have a chance, because too many random factors prevent it, but they don't prevent the Magic faction's army from capturing (or defending) a castle??

I played very often with the upgraded catapult and learned to tear down both towers and the gates on the first and second turn... Even though I don't like summoning magic, this is more relevant for me. Although as a Necromancer you are headed straight for summoning, but I play them extremely rarely. And I didn't say that in the first case the mage would die, and in the second he wouldn't... it's just that a catapult is always there, whereas what you wrote: earthquake, hypnosis, etc., are already random factors (this is off-topic, but I had a case in Heroes 3 where a fully built Mages Guild with a library in Tower didn't give me a single attacking spell... since then I've been wary of randomness 8)) ). A lot depends on the players here, but for me (in prolonged games) it was always difficult to storm mages, because three shooters and two flyers supported by thick meat and naturally an upgraded mage make you strain.

I often played with the upgraded catapult and learned to destroy both towers and the gate in the first and second turns... Even though I don't like summoning magic, this is more relevant to me. Although, for Necropolis, the direct path is summoning, but I rarely play with them. And I didn't say that in the first case, the mage will die, and in the second, he won't... it's just that the catapult is always available, and what you wrote: earthquake, hypnosis, etc., are already random factors (this is not the point, but I had a case in Heroes 3 where a fully built guild of mages with a library in Tower didn't give me a single offensive spell... since then, I've been wary of randomness 8)). A lot depends on the players here, but for me, during a long game, it was always difficult to storm the mages, because three archers and two flyers, supported by tough melee units and, of course, a pumped-up mage, make you sweat.

So, do you consistently destroy 2 towers and the gate in 2 turns, or are you just lucky? I used to destroy towers and gates, I didn't even know about the earthquake spell, but I got frustrated when I aimed at a tower, and the catapult shot at the opposite wall twice (damn gunner), and sometimes it would destroy the tower in one shot, but instead of targeting another tower or the gate, it would keep shooting at the same spot, or it wouldn't do enough damage and would hit the wall as if I was going to go through it, even though there's a moat there... so, after realizing and learning about the earthquake spell, I thought and decided to save my remaining nerves and not upgrade the catapult specifically, only if it's already built.
Regarding capturing castles in Heroes 5, with any race, a pumped-up hero, and a decent army, it's difficult to conquer and defend all of them, so I don't focus on castles; I defend my own, and the rest depend on the situation. In Heroes 4, it was generally easier to defeat an army in a castle than on the plains.

Added 1 minute ago
Yes, now I will capture the mage castle with particular interest.