Posts from Neutral creatures

Here, we discuss neutral creatures as if they were a separate faction with their own icon :). Below is information similar to what I wrote about the other creatures:

Forest Wolves

The predators inhabiting the forests of Ashan use their speed and hunt in packs. Unlike the bloodthirsty, ferocious wolves, forest wolves usually stay away from humans, but sometimes attack lone travelers, especially in winter, when there is little game. Wolves howl at the moon, and therefore are considered servants of Ash in myths and legends.

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Ferocious Wolves

In the Holy Empire, ferocious wolves are among the most fearsome predators. The warriors of the Wolf Duchy chose this bloodthirsty animal as their symbol, and also learned to tame these beasts, making them formidable, albeit unreliable, allies in hunting and in battle.

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Light Elementals

Light Elementals usually appear at dawn, when the pale pink light is reflected from the clouds and dew, taking on a visible form. These spirits are often friendly and willing to help lost travelers. Although they are related to the radiance summoned by the followers of Elrath, the Dragon of Light, Light Elementals are more wild and do not obey anyone, preferring to judge the purity of the soul of the person they meet according to their own standards. If angered, they emit flashes of blinding Light. Among them, there is a matriarchal body called the "Weavers of Light," which is responsible for finding newborn Light Elementals and weaving them into the sacred fabrics from which the robes of the heroes of the empire are created, or into the stained glass that makes up the magnificent stained glass windows in temples dedicated to Elrath.

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Dark Elementals

Most Dark Elementals are born in the depths of Ashan, in caves and tunnels, where the influence of Malassa, the Goddess-Dragon of Darkness, is great. Dormant from dawn to dusk, they grow and gain strength at night. Sometimes they venture to the surface, but never go out into direct sunlight. Although the most powerful of them can manifest even in daylight. Spirits of darkness and mystery, their form is difficult to describe clearly. Often they appear as moving shadows or as a strange refraction of light.

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Fire Elementals

When the wrath of Arkath, the Dragon of Fire, becomes strong enough to overcome the borders of Ashan, a wave of elemental magic arises, which gives rise to wild and fiery Fire Elementals. The cause and intensity of the fire to some extent determines the character and strength of the elemental. Most of them are born in forest fires, the rest appear in lava flows or volcanic eruptions. Fire Elementals that are born in the depths of Ashan, near the gates to Sheogh, are often influenced by Urgash, the dragon of Chaos, and are therefore unstable. Fire Elementals can also be born in the hearth of a house where Arkath is worshiped, or in a sacred brazier heated by the prayers of a dwarven priest. Dwarven blacksmiths often call upon Fire Elementals to help them create their legendary armor and weapons.

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Water Elementals

Water Elementals can appear in seas, rivers, lakes, glaciers - everywhere where the presence of Shalassa, the Dragon of Water, is strong, or where the Dragon Vein, full of water magic, passes. Their appearance can vary greatly depending on the region and the type of water from which they are born. They can consist of crystal clear water, sea foam, water dust or mist, or even dirty water from river deltas and swamps. The character of Water Elementals can also vary greatly. The Nagas consider them embodiments of the quiet joy of Shalassa, but sailors rightly fear them, as they often wash random victims off the deck or pier and hold them underwater until they die. Large Water Elementals are also often blamed for sinking ships.

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Earth Elementals

Often called "stonemasons" by the common people of Ashan, Earth Elementals usually appear from mineral deposits near Dragon Veins, and the strongest are born during earthquakes and landslides. Although they always consist at least partially of stone, the type of stone and the variety of elemental vary. Therefore, elementals of valuable ores, gold or silver are born, and more mundane elementals are born from granite, quartz, or even dust, dirt, and wood.

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Air Elementals

Fierce winds that sweep through deep ravines, past high mountain cliffs, or across vast plains can pick up and carry powerful particles of elemental energy. These particles are able to concentrate and give rise to Air Elementals. Their spontaneous appearance is also associated with the most violent storms, hurricanes, or tornadoes that scour the face of Ashan. Rare varieties of Air Elementals can also be born from the dying breath of the high priests of Ialat, the God-Dragon of Air. These spirits are incredibly powerful and are usually the rulers among their brethren.

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Mermaids

In 512 of the Era of the Seventh Dragon, the mages of the Seven Cities created beastmen for protection, for performing errands, and simply "for fun." Mermaids, a product of the union of humans and dolphins, were intended to guard and scout along the sea borders of the mages' domains. Unfortunately, the lands of the Seven Cities are mostly deserted, so mermaids rarely saw water, remaining, for the most part, exotic pets in the homes of vain mages. As a result, although mermaids did not actively participate in the orcish uprising, they preferred to quietly disappear in the chaos. Since then, they have lived a free life in the seas, where they have few worries and few natural enemies. In one thing, they remain steadfast: in their distrust of all land dwellers and hatred of mages. Only the Nagas and the wisest and most diplomatic sea captains manage to earn some respect from these capricious and dangerous creatures.

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Phoenixes

The Phoenix is a primordial spirit, belonging to the aspect of Life of Ashan. It embodies the primitive life force, it is immortal and eternally reborn. If a phoenix dies in material form, its spirit does not leave the shell, but is reborn into a renewed phoenix, like a falling star. In the process of "rebirth," part of the original force turns into pure light. Because of this, this extraordinary sight is best viewed from a distance.

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All elementals can be summoned using the appropriate spells, and phoenixes can be summoned using the Disk of Shantiri. Mermaids and wolves are the most neutral of the neutrals; you can play as them only if it is provided for in the map :).

Now I suggest we discuss which of the neutrals you liked the most, in terms of strength or appearance.

Wolves are unremarkable, neither one nor the other.
Light elementals are clones of fireflies from the human dwelling, so it's just embarrassing.
Dark elementals seemed interesting to me personally, and their abilities are decent. I voted for them.
Fire elementals don't quite match their element; they're a kind of mix of fire and earth, and in the third game, they were called magma elementals. I also didn't like them because they look silly.
Water elementals are clones of river nymphs from the city of Nag, so they're also embarrassing.
Earth elementals are so-so. But they're not too original, except that the presence of vegetation is pleasing.
Air elementals are some kind of monstrosities; they definitely aren't contenders for a prize. :)
Mermaids didn't impress me, to be honest. They need to decide whether they're fish or dolphins. If they're fish, then they're clearly aquarium fish; their tail gives them away.
Phoenixes are good, and the idea is original. I initially wanted to vote for them, but I decided that the developers went a little overboard with the proportions.
That's how it is.

Visually, they're acceptable. Although the phoenixes disappointed me. It's a bird of thunder, not a phoenix. There's not even any ash left after death. Horrible. And the rebirth is somehow buggy – it occupies a cell, and the phoenix won't be reborn. But the other abilities are powerful, especially the return ability; it's devastating, and the undead and humans can only cry about it. The air units are good archers. I used them in the first mission of the Alliance campaign – they performed very well at the beginning. The fire units are standard, although the explosion after death is nice. The earth units have good potential as tanks and can disable a dangerous enemy unit for a while, or protect an allied unit. But summoning them makes sense only with a scroll; it's not worth investing in magic. The water and sprite units have useful abilities, but the fact that they are a repeat is a huge drawback for the developers. It's now easier to kill the wolves. The mermaids are an unpleasant unit if you're not undead or a human with sprites. The darkness element rules! Excellent abilities, good speed. Summoning these creatures is a must-have.

I've already shared my opinion about the Phoenix – it's a decent unit, but not the best. Mermaids and wolves also didn't impress me. However, the Elementals have become much more interesting compared to the previous game. Now, there are two ranged attackers among them – the Air Elementals throw chain lightning, which is great. The Fire Elementals didn't stand out in any particular way, and their ranged attack is weaker than in the previous game – there's now a penalty. But they still deal significant damage in melee. The Water Elementals haven't changed much overall. They are hard to kill and often cast Ice Bolt – annoying little things. Plus, the model is copied – I didn't like that. The Light Elementals also have a copied model from the Shining ones, and only the icon is different. This is a drawback. But they attack in eight directions, heal friendly units, have spirit protection, pain reflection, and Counterstrike II... Huge support for already strong humans or nagas! Only the Dark Elementals can compete with them in terms of strength – speed, power, weakening strike... An unanswered attack is a plus, but remembering the Light Elementals' counterattack in eight directions is a minus. Overall, I'll cast my vote for the Light Elementals – they impressed me the most, despite the "shameful" model.

Against demons. You take fireflies. Skills for counterattack. Summon them right next to the archers. When they counterattack, they destroy all the demons. In general, if Necropolis and Dungeon creatures were people, they would cry because of such a complete annihilation.

Fireflies, definitely. I like that phoenixes are a tough opponent.

The appearance of almost all elementals was unappealing – they all look alike or resemble some other unit. Everything glows and sparkles, and it's unclear what's happening during their turn in battle: flash-sparkle-horror-boom... your turn... you go to check the combat log to see what all these sparkles meant... Poorly done. The Earth elementals are also poorly made. You just want to shout: Why are you even coming, run away, live, you'll die anyway before reaching our ranks! Fire elementals are also weak, especially with archers and healing available. Water, light, and air elementals are strong, but they are fragile and unoriginal. Wolves and mermaids are weak. But Phoenixes are a challenge; it's interesting to fight them. Even though they aren't beautiful and don't match their name.

Water, light, and air creatures are strong, but they are also fragile and easily copied.

I wouldn't say they are very strong; light creatures are still decent, but the rest are just unpleasant from a moral standpoint.

The phoenixes were patched in a strange way; upon resurrection, not the entire defeated squad is revived, but less than half of it.

Visually, the Elemental creatures of Haven are the most beautiful.

I like that all the elementals have been buffed compared to the fifth game, and they added Dark and Light elementals. In my opinion, the Air elementals were improved the most, because they were quite inconsistent before. I really like the mermaids – they are beautiful, and there weren't enough of them.

I've only used Earth and Darkness Elementals so far. Earth Elementals are very useful due to their spells that disable opponents; they aren't very effective in combat, though. Darkness Elementals are a bit better in combat, but I haven't figured out what else they do yet.

Fire elementals are standard, although the explosion after death is a nice touch.

Water and light elementals have useful abilities, but the fact that they are a repeat is a big drawback for the developers.

The element of darkness rules! Excellent abilities, good speed. Summoning these creatures is a must-have.

Please explain in more detail the ABILITIES of the water, light, and darkness elementals.
Everything seems clear with earth. I know that darkness fights well. But I didn't understand what the abilities of darkness are. And I haven't used light and water at all.

Please explain in more detail the ABILITIES of the WATER, LIGHT, and DARK elementals.
Everything seems clear with Earth. I know that DARK is good in combat. But I didn't understand what the DARK abilities are. And I haven't used LIGHT and WATER at all.

Water has a shield that returns part of the damage and an ice arrow that freezes the target. It's a pity that the arrow was nerfed in 1.2.
Light has a retaliatory attack, which is an 8-pointed star that damages all enemies hit by the rays and heals allied units that are hit by the rays. It also returns some percentage of the damage received.
Dark elementals remove positive spells from enemy units, similar to the "Radiance" spell.

Water elementals have a shield that returns a portion of the damage and an ice arrow that freezes the target. It's a shame that the arrow was nerfed in version 1.2.
Light elementals have a counterattack that is represented by an 8-pointed star, which deals damage to all enemies hit by the rays and heals allied units that are hit by the rays. They also return a certain percentage of the damage received.
Dark elementals could remove positive spells from enemy units, similar to the "Radiance" spell.

Water elementals do not have an ability that returns damage. This ability belongs to the River Spirits and Mizu-kami.