Posts from Heroes 6 - Discussion

Well, here are the rumors about the upcoming bankruptcy of "Black Hole Entertainment"... I hope they don't come true.

I actually like Heroes 6.
Yesterday, I played the "Broken Alliance" scenario on "hard" difficulty against 5 "strong" AIs. I tried playing as Jaywood, a Warrior hero from Necropolis. The conclusion is that playing as a Warrior is boring and unpromising. IMHO
Let me explain. 1) The Warrior doesn't have ghosts at the start, so you have to take the Hall of Heroes and 2 heroes, which wastes a lot of time and creates a development lag. 2) The Warrior's abilities at level 15 and above are insignificant compared to the Mage's abilities at the same levels. 3) I played for 5-6 hours and could only hold 3 cities, and I rarely managed to keep the 3rd city. 4) The opponents were higher level and stronger. 5) This is despite the fact that the Warrior was very strong as a warrior and had a LOT of powerful artifacts (for example, an artifact that makes the first three attacks of the enemy deal zero damage, i.e., are unsuccessful). 6) I couldn't finish the game because I didn't have time for replays. Although, perhaps, it should be interesting because it's difficult. ;)
I got angry and loaded the same scenario, but with Zendai, a Mage from Necropolis, and, lo and behold:) After only 1 hour, Zendai controlled 4 cities, and the opponent was hiding somewhere in fear. I didn't have time to finish the game. Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow.
Conclusions: 1. I came to the conclusion again that the "Reinforcements" skill is not effective (at the beginning, and it's not needed at the end either). 2. The best spells are "Agony (area)" and "Drain Life (area)" because of their mass effect, simplicity, and high efficiency. And the very best SPELL of ALL SPELLS is "Agony (area)", yes, despite its seemingly insignificant nature. The cool spells are, of course, "Time Stop" and "Summon Earth Elementals", as well as "Explosion", "Lightning", and "Ice Block". IMHO

Supric, what can I say? Well done! I don't have time for games :) How many months and weeks did it take you to complete this battle?

Why can't I do it faster? Because, scared by the first DIFFICULT attempt, I don't attack the "deadly" opponent until I reach level 15. This is a mistake; you need to attack much earlier.

What does "aggressive AI" mean? There's easy, medium, and strong AI. By the way, in your first message, you mentioned "against 5 complex AIs," but there aren't any; you must have confused it with "5 strong AIs"?

I see several advantageous points for the Sanctuary:
1. For all factions, the weekly growth of skilled creatures in unupgraded buildings is 1, but for Kirins, it's 2 (this is a significant advantage). In upgraded buildings, Kirins grow by as many as 3.

After analyzing your gameplay, I was once again convinced that it's better to upgrade Spinners into Weavers in one city than to build additional Spinners in another city. Upgrading costs 10 crystals and 5000 gold less than building new ones, and the result is the same; the increase is +2, but the upgraded units are stronger.

No, that's not right. In the fan-made guide, in the "Creature Summary Tables" section, everyone has a +1 bonus, while Sanctuary has a +2 bonus. Maybe they're confusing things? I'll be playing soon and check it myself.
And I didn't even know that forts, castles, and strongholds give a bonus to skilled creatures. Doesn't the fort give a bonus? Only a special fort, and it's not always nearby; constantly running to it is a pain.

Thanks to analyzing your game, I was once again convinced that it's better to upgrade Weavers into Spinners in one city than to build new Weavers in another city. You spend 10 crystals and 5000 gold less on the upgrade than building new ones, and the result is the same, a +2 bonus, only the upgraded ones are stronger.

I have some questions about your walkthrough of the "Broken Alliance" battle.
1. You write that at the end of the 2nd week, you build masters. This requires 20 crystals. Upgrading to Cerberuses costs another 2 crystals. The mine will give 12 crystals (if you capture it immediately), and there are about 4-5 crystals near the city, which you also have to fight for. Where did you get the missing crystals?

2. From the 1st question, the second question arises: to get the missing crystals, you have to break through the gates with the pillars, and they are guarded by serious neutrals, usually either archers or some harpies in large numbers (I usually break through them in the early 3rd week with ghosts, spearmen, and vampires or liches). How did you break through such forces in the early 2nd week with a few Cerberuses and a few single, frenzied units? Especially without losses, and you didn't have any healing units? If you start with the mines, and there are losses, there will be no one left to attack the gates. Moreover, the crystals behind the gates are not unguarded.

3. Then what's the point of protecting Cerberuses? They don't shoot; they still have to engage in melee combat? Or were you removing retaliation? Interesting. I don't play much and don't know everything. Maybe there are some techniques?

4. From the 3rd question, the 4th question arises: did you take "Tactics," what skills did you take on the 1st and 2nd turns, what were the first 10 skills you took?

To what level did you upgrade the hero by the end of the game?

Did you attack the enemy with a "deadly" threat, and were they higher or lower in development level?

5. I read the guide, and how long does it take to study this 6th skill?:) Basic, Improved, and Best Fortifications increase creature growth by 1. Which creatures? ALL? Then only +5 skilled creatures in the city and +1 in the special fort. How many are there in reality?:) That's why they are always born in a drunken state, sometimes 10, sometimes 20, depending on the mood of ALL 5 AIs.

By the way, a question for discussion: is it worth upgrading buildings for hiring in all cities? If you only upgrade in one, there will be significant savings in resources, and you can hire all troops with the upgraded bonuses if you hire them in the city with the upgrade. On the other hand, there will be less growth, especially of the main creatures.

But in the second city, you can build another set of fortifications, which don't cost crystals, and that will give you +4 to creature growth :).

By the way, a question for discussion: is it worth upgrading the recruitment buildings in all cities? If you only upgrade in one, it will save significant resources, and you can recruit all troops as upgraded units if you recruit them in the city with the upgrade. On the other hand, there will be less growth, especially of the main creatures.

I thought that "Intimidation" is a really smart move against the AI when your army consists only of elite creatures. That is, for 4 turns, you beat them, and they just stand there and can't do anything, not even retaliate. But a human player will cast "Dispel Magic" and will still attack with their elite creatures.

So, it took less than 2 months?

Garnet, what about "Slippery Ground"? It's a magnificent tactical spell.