Posts from What is the source of the Mages’ power?

Recently, I decided to play as the mages. Honestly, I was disappointed. I wouldn't say they have any particular strengths or anything that could be a key to victory, and then I remembered that I had heard many times that the Academy is a very strong faction, etc. So, I became curious, maybe I was just playing them wrong? Maybe I was using the wrong tactics, heroes, and so on. I would appreciate some help because I have a lot of questions. Starting with the hero. Which hero do you play as, what are his advantages, etc.? I have developed a tactic: I choose a hero, level up his Mentoring skill, etc. Then, when he levels up, I hire an Ogre or a Narghile and level up their Spell Lore skill. Next, I would like to hear your thoughts on creatures. Which ones do you build first? Which ones are best to upgrade early on? And finally, let's stop at Miniatures for now. I've heard many times that they are good, etc. But if you're playing on Veteran or Hero difficulty, there's always a shortage of resources. And spending them on Miniatures instead of upgrading a creature? Besides, you can only make decent Miniatures towards the end of the game, when they don't play a big role anymore...

Hero selection: - Against magical factions - Jalib (in addition to his ability, the starting skill "Luck" will also be useful - magic resistance and lucky spellcaster). - Fast clearing of adjacent zones, capturing secondary artifacts (for sale) and mines, employing a "rush" tactic - Nazir (practically unbeatable, for example, on maps like "Former Friends" or "Key to Victory"). - Fast initial development - Narhiz, Nur, Ora. - Razak (one of the most essential skills for a mage, available right from the start!). - Faiz - the specifics of his ability imply specific hero selection. - Hafiz - a questionable hero. I usually use him starting from the mid-game to replenish the gremlins weekly (if, of course, there are no more than two unbought mages left, for example). In my opinion, mentoring makes sense if we cannot immediately buy the desired hero in the tavern. In the first week, it is necessary to build level 4 creatures; it might even be worth sacrificing the construction of the town hall. Everything depends on the difficulty level of the created game and the specific tasks that we face at the moment. As a rule, we first upgrade mages to archmages to fight with them in stacks of 4. Then, we can re-specialize them if they don't suit us. And by the third week, we should try to have all the creatures in the city. I agree that on standard maps, it might not be possible to create mini-artifacts. But on random maps, it is necessary to create them. For a mage, this is a kind of compensation for the skills that were not obtained and for their "underdevelopment." Let's remember that the power of mini-artifacts directly depends on the "Knowledge" parameter. By the end of the game, they can change the entire course of the final battle, combined with a developed (and not just one, it all depends on who we are playing against) school of magic. When creating mini-artifacts, you need to pay attention to the faction against which we are playing. If the faction is magical, you can focus on magic defense; if it is non-magical, focus on damage, initiative, and luck/defense/hit points/speed, etc. There are many options for creating them: both the mini-artifacts themselves and for which unit of the Academy they are intended... For example: we create magic defense for all creatures of the Academy, except for obsidian gargoyles, of course. And then we hit with Armageddon in battle:smile40:

Okay, thanks for the answer. I just have a couple more questions. First, what does it mean to "fight with them in 4 stacks"? Next, as I understand it, you should upgrade the mages first, but I didn't quite understand the purpose. Then, who should be upgraded next? Goblins? I've heard they become quite strong. So, maybe upgrade them in the early stages? I also have some questions about the creatures. Djinn - I don't like them at all; they die like flies, and their ability isn't that great either. I build them very late in the game. Colossi - I try to keep them in the castle; otherwise, even 6-7 colossi don't have much of an impact, and they only become effective when there are many of them.

"In 4 stacks": this means you divide them into 4 parts. Regarding upgrades: battle mages shoot and attack with their fists, archmages shoot and attack with fireballs. You can shoot first, then attack with spells, or vice versa – it all depends on which neutral creatures you are fighting at the moment. Regarding gremlins: their strength lies in their numbers and their ability. Djinn are usually only needed in the final stages: to cast dark spells (against enemies) or light spells (on allies), to reduce the luck parameter (of enemies), or to increase it (of allies), depending on the djinn's upgrade. Titans or thunderbirds are better, of course, but colossi will do. A hero with the regeneration spell can overcome many obstacles with them. 4-5 of these units is already a formidable force...

But if we level up the mages, we'll have very few resources left (especially on Veteran difficulty; I won't even mention Hero difficulty). In that case, we won't be able to build a castle, and it will also be difficult to build a town hall.

at the "veteran" difficulty level, archmages are built almost automatically; at the "hero" difficulty level, I agree that there may be difficulties with resources (but not with the castle).

Here's an example: we give all creatures from the Academy, except for obsidian gargoyles, of course, magic resistance. And then we hit them in battle with Armageddon:smile40:

I agree with everything else; you forgot that golden golems don't need a minor artifact for magic resistance, as they are not vulnerable to any magic at all:smile03:!

I believe that you need to know how to play mages correctly, and then they become very difficult to defeat. I consider necromancers to be the main rivals of mages.

the strength of a mage lies in diversity! A hero can be developed as a pure mage or as a warrior with blessings. In my opinion, no other faction has as many development options as the Academy.

Well, yes, after seeing a wizard, leveled up in the Dungeon faction and equipped with Sandro's Cloak, I'm not surprised by anything anymore.

even a cloak isn't necessary. I leveled up in all schools of magic, maxed out almost all skills, and almost always the hero turned out to be viable.

The strength of mages lies in their large number of spells, Titans, and mage units.

In Puzo and Kalyan..

Mages are a weak race in themselves. It's good to play as a mage if you have a high level. The mage heroes themselves receive very useful bonuses, which is a plus. Personally, I play most often as Faiz, Orai, and Nazir. Mages have anti-magic units, which are effective, especially against Dungeon. They can also fight against the undead. Advice: See who your enemy is, because they are not stupid and may maximize their defense against chaos. In this case, switch factions.

Pay attention to who your opponent is, as they are not unintelligent. They might maximize their chaos resistance. In that case, switch factions.

What do you mean?:eek: You started playing as the Academy, and then on the 3rd week, you saw that your opponent had built up resistance to magic, so you changed and started playing as Orcs:)
But in general, you don't necessarily have to focus only on chaos magic when playing as the Academy. All types of magic work well for it, which makes it difficult to defend against, as you don't know what to expect. That's why I like the Academy:smile20: