Discussion of the Necropolis faction. — Necropolis

Supric

14 years ago

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I don't aim to win the tournament. I just enjoy playing with my favorite faction, and things aren't as hopeless as they seem.

Supric

14 years ago

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Chingis

Very interesting! Please tell me briefly about these tactics? What is the essence of "Harass the enemy" and how is it used?

It is applied to archers. We get an additional attack from the hero (or even two, if morale is high). In the beginning, when there are few archers, this helps a lot.

And another question. Where can I read about these unique abilities of ghosts that you mentioned above? Is it not described in the fan guide? Or do I have to gather all this information from battle logs?

Everything is in the fan guide.

Supric

14 years ago

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Chingis

Thank you. I meant that when ghosts don't move at all, the damage is reduced by 50%. I was browsing a fan-made guide, but I couldn't find it. Where exactly is it mentioned?

Creature abilities - Spirit. This ability is not exclusive to ghosts. Spider Mothers, Water Spirits, Kirins, Luminaries, and all Elementals possess it.

Supric

14 years ago

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Chingis

So, can Spiderlings also perform concerts like ghosts do (stand and do nothing without taking damage)?

What does "without losses" mean? The damage is significantly reduced, but it is still dealt. In addition to this, ghosts also have "intangibility."

Chingis

14 years ago

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I just finished a "Broken Alliance" skirmish on "difficult" against 5 "strong" AI opponents. I have 2 SAVES (day 1 and the last day).
Here's a SCREENSHOT:). Tomorrow I'll tell you in more detail how I played. In short, I played as Supric taught me: that is, with stationary ghosts or specters (each hero has a different one) accompanied by one skeleton. I managed to finish in 1 month, 3 weeks, and 6 days. That is, 19 or 20 days. Conclusion: playing this way is boring, but interesting;). I chose "very fast" for Hero development; I don't know if it makes the game harder or easier.:)
The most interesting thing is that in the "Favorite Target" section, related troops are indicated. It turned out that thick neutral units in the form of bone pikemen guarded all the gates everywhere.
There is another interesting point about the cheating AI: Azure was a Necropolis, all the gates around his city were tightly sealed (because he sealed them himself), all the shipyards or ports were also sealed by neutral units (he sealed them himself), and there was no ship on the southeastern island. But the city on the southeastern island was captured by the Necropolis, rebuilt, and a Necropolis hero was stationed there. I don't know if this is a joke or cheating by the AI:) Or maybe they have some secret passages?;)
I mainly played with two heroes, Luna and Zenda. I upgraded them with: recovery, endurance 1, 2, education, training, logistics, stealing, defense 1, 2, attack 1, master siege 1, 2 (approximately). I don't remember exactly.

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The first time I started, it was difficult. I found out that when you restart the computer to re-run a battle, the computer loads the situation more and more difficult (as if the computer often gets lucky, often takes several turns). I had to replay it from the beginning. I barely forced myself to find the strength and play it anyway.
You can, of course, try to play a little faster. But this will only be after consulting with the respected Supric;)

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In reply to Chingis

Supric

14 years ago

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Chingis

He chose "very fast" for Hero development; I don't know if it makes the game harder or easier. :)

It makes the game much easier.

There's another interesting point about the cheating AI. Azure was Necropolis; all the gates around his city were tightly sealed (because he sealed them himself), and all the shipyards or ports were also sealed by neutrals (he sealed them himself). There were no ships on the southeastern island. But the city on the southeastern island was captured by Necropolis, rebuilt, and a Necropolis hero was stationed there. I don't know if this is a joke or cheating by the AI. :) Or maybe they have some secret passages?

I think he starts with two castles.

You can try to play a little faster, of course. But only after consulting with the respected Supric. ;)

Why bother? :) Necropolis cheating is still cheating. It was worth trying as part of studying tactics, but playing as Necropolis afterwards is uninteresting.

Chingis

14 years ago

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I was just trying to improve my score in Broken Alliance, but I didn't get to finish because my friend had to go to work. It was day 12, and I had already taken 3 towns. The 4th town was a neutral WHITE town (I didn't need to take it), and the 5th town was mine. My hero was standing in front of the 6th town. Another hero of mine was 1 day's travel away from the 7th town, and my 3rd hero was 2-3 days' sailing away from the 8th town. If I don't have to chase after enemy heroes, I think I can finish in 14 or 15 days. I didn't make almost any unnecessary moves. I leveled up Luna like this: Restoration (specialization), Education, Logistics, Rob, Magic Affinity 1, Drain, Secret Keeper 1, 2, Stamina 1, 2, Protection 1. Drain is useless; Restoration is enough. Magic Affinity is also not needed. But Secret Keeper 1, 2 is a good skill; it significantly increases the hero's attack power. Instead of Drain and Magic Affinity, it's better to take Retaliation 1, 2. I just finished this battle. It took 13 or 14 days. I cleared the first neutral guards at the gate with 16 ghosts. On the way, I got distracted by battles with neutral creatures for resources (but resources aren't really needed with this tactic). So, I could have played faster. That's why it took a little longer in HOURS than the previous time. I'm attaching a SCREENSHOT. This time, instead of HEROES at the bottom, it shows the information "Orange AI Player's Turn (strong)".

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Chingis

14 years ago

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And right after that battle, I played again, Broken Alliance, difficult level, against 5 strong AIs. I tried starting by clearing out tough neutrals at the gate with 8 Spectres plus one Skeleton Warrior, and it worked. This time, I focused on Stone Skin and Retaliation 1, 2. Stone Skin is a great ability; Spectres, combined with Regeneration and Stone Skin, can withstand attacks from tough neutrals with minimal damage. With 8 Spectres, I managed to defeat 56 Dogs and 50 Fanatics. 14 Spectres easily defeated 70 Pearl Priests (although they have magic damage). At first, I was a little scared to fight them, but then I easily won, although my hero was already quite powerful (Luna). There were no economy heroes.
I developed my heroes like this: Regeneration, Education, Stone Skin, Retaliation 1, 2, Logistics, Guardian of the Secret 1, 2, Champion 1. I'm not sure about Retaliation 1, but I didn't really understand Retaliation 2, as I only got the chance for an extra attack once or twice during the entire game. I had the Amulet of Necromancy, and that's a great item; I hadn't really noticed it before, but with it, you quickly gain Necromancy points.
I'm attaching a SCREENSHOT. Here, for some reason, the heroes are displayed at the bottom, you can see four, but there were 6, and I bought the 6th one for no reason. I bought him for 19500 from the Shrine to chase down the enemy, but I caught him with another Necromancer hero.
It also took about 13 or 14 days. I also got distracted by battles with neutrals for resources along the way, out of greed. If I hadn't, I would have played faster. In HOURS, it turned out to be about the same as in the previous battle.
SUMMARY. It's possible to play 2-3 days faster. But that's not interesting anymore. :)
I'm ending my speed runs against the AI with Necropolis! I know other Necromancer tactics, but those are for multiplayer games. I'll do that later. :
I'll write about how to develop a Necromancer mage in a special section. But briefly, it's like this, as mentioned above, only instead of Retaliation 2, you should take Stamina 1.
Necropolis is a powerful faction! But now I'll try playing with another race to gain more experience.

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purchak

14 years ago

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It's embarrassing to admit, but I had never heard of the "Necromancer + Ghosts" cheat before. Yesterday, I tried a few starts on "Broken Alliance," and with eight ghosts, I could conquer any gate and go around provoking everyone: both neutral creatures and heroes.
I wonder how the developers plan to fix this combination? Two options come to mind.
First, they could adjust "Necromancy" so that it only works if the creature's health in the stack is 100% restored. For the "Ghost + Skeleton" pair, this means that 18 points of "Necromancy" are needed to restore the skeleton, which can be accumulated if there are at least 31 ghosts in the army.
Second, they could disable all other abilities for "spirits" while the "Spirit" skill is active. That is, while the creature is not acting and is under the effect of "Spirit," its other abilities will not be activated. However, in this case, we would have to say goodbye to "Regeneration" for earth elementals, "Pain Reflection," and other useful abilities.
It would be interesting to know if other factions have similar exploits and what their fate will be.

Supric

14 years ago

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Other options were also suggested. For example, the ability could only work for the first three turns. With mana regeneration for each killed unit, you could make the amount of mana restored dependent on the HP taken by the last attack. In a tournament, with Necromancer heroes banned for the initial clearing of the map, people switched to Sanctuary mages with Kappa and Priestesses. They also clear the map quite well.

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Zena.Malina

14 years ago

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Supric

In a tournament, with Necromancer heroes banned for the initial clearing of the map, people switched to Sanctuary mages with Kappa and Priestesses. They also clear the map quite well. :)

??? And what do the Kappa and Priestesses do? What's their CHEAT?

Added 5 minutes later

purchak

Yesterday, I tried a few starts in "Broken Alliance," and with eight Spectres, I could reach any gate and go, provoking everyone: both neutrals and heroes.

That's what the gentlemen mentioned earlier were talking about... I also tried this tactic. It's not difficult and it's effective. However, it's not very interesting to play this way, as you don't get to experience the full range of possibilities in the game, and you don't get to enjoy all the features and effects (Lich strikes, Weaver abilities, etc.).
Besides, you can play with this tactic for any faction. Because already in the first week, no matter which faction you play, even on a difficult level, you can buy 2 or even 3 Necromancers, and then easily pass any battle, building and rebuilding almost nothing.

purchak

14 years ago

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Supric

Other options were also suggested. For example, the spirit only works for the first three turns.

I tested the option with eight ghosts, attacking with specters at the beginning of the fourth round. Conclusion: the Walkthrough is quite difficult, but quite possible, with a high dependence on the strength of the attacking army, high mana consumption, and requires the use of auxiliary tactics.

Supric

With mana regeneration for each killed unit, you can make the amount of regenerated mana dependent on the HP taken by the last attack.

I tested the option, manually calculating mana regeneration, assuming that the hero will not receive mana for units raised by necromancy. Conclusion: the cheat remains in full force, there are no difficulties with the Walkthrough, except for consecutive battles with a strong opponent.

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In reply to Zena.Malina

Supric

14 years ago

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Zena.Malina

What are the Priests and Kappa doing? What kind of CHEAT do they have?

There's no cheat, it's just that the Priests have ranged attacks and healing spells, and the Kappa have high initiative and go first often. These heroes are more convenient for clearing out enemies at the beginning.

In reply to Supric

Zena.Malina

14 years ago

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Supric

There are no archers, just priestesses who shoot and heal, and kappas have high initiative and often go first. These heroes are more convenient for clearing the map at the beginning.

My experience suggests that it's easier to clear neutral creatures at the start with the Stronghold, and even easier with the Necropolis. I tried with the Sanctuary, it's not difficult, but the speed isn't quite right. Maybe I just don't have enough experience...
I have some thoughts on the Inferno page.