Posts from Which creatures from the alternative upgrade options do you choose?

I don't even know... Well, for example, the Succubus, because they temporarily lure enemy creatures to their side, although the others aren't any worse)).

I liked many of them. For example, the dwarven spear master is a terrible archer, but the harpooner fixes that; the Arkat warriors are also quite good. I (and probably not just me) noticed an interesting nuance. Jarls and Earls have switched places. Now, Earls are immune to lightning, deal lightning damage, and are very durable, but they fight like level 5 creatures. Jarls, on the other hand, are immune to fire, quite strong, and instead of lightning, they unleash a fiery wave (in a cone), but much less frequently (without soldier's luck, it happens rarely). Thanks to its ability, the red dragon has become the strongest unit in the game (not counting the phoenix). Archers from the human faction are better than crossbowmen because they don't have a range penalty. They are good with Seraphina's blessing. The creatures from the underworld are also interesting. The elder demon is much better than the fire demon; the fire hounds and succubuses have cool abilities. The new elven recruits look very convincing (the same elder druids, forest archers, unicorns, and ents). The Dungeon has gained interesting and strong advantages thanks to the new units. The Academy was a very difficult race; now, this has been somewhat corrected. Elemental gargoyles help deal more damage with magic (a problem for mages); obsidian golems heal thanks to combat magic; and battle mages have learned to shoot without "stabbing" their own (although they can hardly be called mages now). The viziers of the djinn are more stable and stronger than the sultans; the kshatriya rakshasa are more powerful and attack in an area. The celestials are the same in terms of stats, but their ability is better. And finally, the Horde. I choose goblins depending on who I'm fighting; I prefer combat centaurs, then warmongers, daughters – sometimes; but among the level 5 units, I choose executioners (again, not always). And at the next level, the pao-kai perform excellently. Cyclops (un-upgraded) will show some dragons what's what; bloodeyes reduce luck by as much as 3, but the free ones look more solid.
P.S. I wrote a lot :confused: :rolleyes: :D

"Let's say a dwarven spear master archer is useless."
You're wrong...

Added after 2 minutes
PS: But I like having a lot of archmages...they can really ruin the opponent's day...(if used correctly).

Now I will describe my preferences when playing as Humans:

3. REGULAR UPGRADE. Definitely. Good both in defense (-50% damage from ranged attacks to adjacent units) and in attack (shield bash)... and the alternate upgrade is only good in attack ("bludgeon").

What is "Shield Bash"? I don't see it in the Spearman's abilities, but it's possible that I just have a different translation and it's called something else.

What is "Shield Strike"? I don't see it in the Knight's abilities, but it's possible that my translation is different and it's called something else.

Stunning strike of the Knight
Personally, I usually take both upgrades: a few Knights to protect the troops from ranged attacks and the main force - Zealots - to finish off those who make it through.

A stunning blow from a knight.

Thank you for the clarification. I had the same thought.

Old demons and archdevils can still pack a punch! ;)
And things aren't so clear-cut with the "squids" either...

Who are you referring to as "squids"?

Who do you refer to as "squids"?

I think these are Dungeon lords/creatures, from which, in my opinion, in the vast majority of cases, you should get the next upgrade.

Humans:
1) militia - because of stun, better for assaults.
2) Archers - new ones, no penalty and attack +1.
3) Squires - because of defense and ally protection, although double strike is also very cool
3) Combat units are taken more often, their hp is 1.5 times higher, although initiative is 1.5 times lower, but they are hard to kill, more of them survive
4) Adepts. Inquisitors are obviously great for crossbowmen, but the adept has a cool ability - cleansing, even removing own submission via counterattack happened, + 2 expert punishing strikes or one Expert cleanse.
5) More often paladins, because of the ability, and defense is 4 higher, though 5 to max damage for champions and attack for both is also cool, but a paladin can even remove berserk, which cleansing doesn't even try to remove. What's funny is that the paladin's powerful spell cannot remove a cyclops' hex, which is guaranteed to be removed by the weakest cleanse.
7) Archangels most likely, resurrection rules

Demons
1) new ones, even if the ability of the old ones is better, but +1 to defense and speed is still very cool
2) demons - new ones, jump is very cool
3) Dogs - fire ones, they vomit well, but it's a pity damage is 1 lower.
4) succubi old, new only against demons, shot is better
5) horses - new ones, ability is cool, old ones in case there are few of them (up to 5). Damage 10 from one horse is cooler than -3 spirit from the whole nightmare stack.
6) demons - new ones, stats, anti-magic-50% + the ability of the new ones speaks for itself.
7) I take old ones, summoning demons is cooler than uncontrolled teleport, but the main reason is that archdevils have higher initiative and speed, while archdemons have an advantage in attack, defense, healths, but speed and initiative rule, the hero will add stats.
Light Elves
1) fairies - new ones, max damage from them is 1.5 times higher, + resurrection, old ones are slightly faster, but spells aren't very useful, although I often take old ones one by one in a squad - 1 piece - 12 magic damage per turn
2) dancers - new ones, stats are higher, speed +1 and defense is much +, better, I always take them, old ones to the furnace.
3) archers - old ones, if they shoot straight it'll be better, crooked - slightly worse, but there is stun, I didn't notice that new ones stun - they just knock back and that's all. Find a unicorn bow and that's it. New ones are useful when defending the castle from strong enemies, when the main hero isn't defending.
4) druids - if druids are up to 40 then old ones, after 50 I start switching, new ones have higher guaranteed damage, and in quantities of 50+ druids no longer cast spells but shoot, and the ability of the new ones is cool - increasing spell power ))
5) unicorns - new ones, easier to resurrect
6) dendes - old ones, need some meat at least.
7) dragons both are cool, usually take old ones, although on general divine power new ones are stronger.
Dark Elves
1) assassins old - their strength is not in attack, but in poison, which they can spread for free at a distance. That's why them, trappers can be taken one by one to hide and hit with the hero )), and they themselves are very strong, but don't poison as well.
2) furies new, damage is roughly the same, but more defense and hp, everyone tries to kill them anyway and growth is low, although pity about initiative.
3) Goats old, sometimes in defense new ones act as meat
4) riders old, what the hell is a charge, old ones ignore defense, no charge can replace that, plus old ones have +2 to max damage? Only old ones, new ones no-no
5) hydras better old, this is the defensive version, + regeneration. Although when there are many hydras, yellow hydras rule, whoever hits in melee will get a recoil of 1/4 of the hydra's hit (by the way, it's treated as a physical ranged attack).
6) Shadyns - old ones, someone needs to shoot normally, assassins are poisoners rather than shooters.
7) dragons - black, especially against dark elves, max damage +10! And red's breath is of course very cool, but for that you need to place a sacrifice by the dragon, it's not always possible, and red dragon explosion is on one cell, not two. 10 damage is too much.
Necros
1) Skeletons - new ones, of course, difference in damage, stats, arrow protection for self and allies, stun, anti-magic 25; against some weak shot, old ones can sometimes be used when the enemy has a huge advantage while defending the castle, to kill someone at a distance, although it's easier to protect a lich
2) Zombies - plague ones - not only is the ability cooler, but damage is 2-3 vs 1-3! New ones - just meat, +2 hp and defense, for your own hero this isn't needed, new ones are only good as cannon fodder.
3) ghosts - new ones, because of 1 speed, 1 hp stats, true old ones have higher initiative but speed is a very expensive parameter. Although I like the ability of the old ones more.
4) Vampires - new ones - speed +1, blinding is cool, old ones only against undead.
5) Liches still archis, cloud is cloud, unless enemies are undead) And in archliches there are good curses and plague. But new ones are stronger, damage and stats are much higher, and they resurrect. You can even take a few of both.
6) Heralds old, 3 to damage, + some stats, the strongest same-dispelling of blessings. Towers are only good for the scream, melee fighters among them are much weaker, and also as cannon fodder (meat only for mages, herald is resistant to damage)
7) Hard choice with dragons. Astral ones are very strong, their curse is very cool, I usually take them. Although sometimes I switch, spectral ones have death gaze - guarantee of -1 spirit to enemies, only this ability makes me doubt the choice, if not for it I would have forgotten about spectral dragons.
Mages
10 New ones. They knock out catapults, towers, golems as many times as they want (not just once), attack +3(!), defense _1. Without a doubt
2) gargoyles - old ones, new ones are very vulnerable to magic. But if the enemy is a knight - new ones - convenient for the hero to help kill the foe, and initiative +1
3) Golems - perhaps, the hardest choice. Steel ones as warriors are cooler, although they are slow, +2 to defense and counter-attacks, while obsidian has anti-magic and 9 initiative instead of 7 (+30%!). I used to take steel, recently switched to obsidian. And 180 obsidians protect neighbors almost perfectly.
4) Mages - new ones, let there be less mana but they cover themselves and don't shoot their own and a small advantage in attack. They protect neighbors from shots of other mages and themselves.
5) jinns - new ones, even if attack and defense are 1 lower, but +5 hp, magic protection 75 (instead of sultan's 50) and immunity to air. Neither knows how to fight, spells are better for the sultan, but because of magic protection I take the vizier.
6) Rakshasas - yellow ones rule. Hitting without answer is cool, but a hit on everyone with rakshasa strength, 1 initiative, 1 speed makes an ordinary strong monster a super-killer. This is even too strong a creature for mages.
7) Classic titans. What can that [bad word] do, 1 cloud of 10 damage, and arrow damage is lower, yes one cloud, but what if the enemy has skilled evasion, which AI loves so much, that it will hit with a cloud or shoot through and lose 70% damage? And titan's lightnings are infinite, while the loser has only one cloud. Titan rules.
Dwarves
1) classic defender. Mountain guard is a loser, he only has 5 defense stat, and that's when standing still, and stats are slightly higher, but the defender has shield wall, the best ability, because of it they are harder to kill than berserkers, this ability is cooler than a couple of stats that a hero can give. Nothing gives a shield wall
2) harpooners (new ones). Let them not cripple, with a penalty, but there is immunity to defense reduction and most importantly: master spear damage 2-3, harpooner damage 2-5! This is already an argument to ignore masters.
3) Bears: varies, lords are more about defense, northern ones are attack, I take northern ones more often, they are more useful (not against undead, there lords and that's it)
4) berserkers new, stun, defense, increasing stats and initiative all better and better
5) Old priests. Let damage be lower, only one strike spell, but it's better than the new ones and a shot capable of hitting 5 enemies at once ) For this and +3 damage of flame priest is not a pity, attack with rest ability decides everything.
6) jarls. They have fire sign (1/1), together with damage, convenient for priests with fire spells. Earl is cooler as a melee fighter, if the dwarf has a battle fury rune, then I switch to earls, one rune and an earl in the epicenter (especially if activating berserker rune before) is unseen and unheard of horror, it will sweep away the enemy army. If I get this rune I switch
7) Old ones, they have fire shield
Orcs
1) trappers, they have more hp. When I get a super-ability for barbarian I change to sorcerer, on fury the sorcerer throws curses without answer, and his damage is higher.
2) Only combat ones. Let nomadic have initiative +1, damage 3-6 instead of 3-5, (don't care about hp), but maneuvering is more a minus than a plus! Once they hit, and that's it, the centaur ran to the center where others who couldn't reach started hitting )) The centaur is worth upgrading at least so that he loses this stupid ability, it's not needed at all, better answer without penalty like a combat cent, and also hp +1 is important, centaurs have few of them.
3) Warmongers, they have 20 hp vs 12 for ordinary ones. Very many, self-protection, put under a centaur - will protect the centaur. Double recoil, cool.
When I get a super-ability for the hero, I still switch, as ordinary ones take 3 damage, this is too much, speed and attack, they start killing well.
4) daughters of earth. Stats are higher, hit is stronger, hit without answer during slow, which these shamans have. Sky only when defending the castle, to eat a goblin and shoot lightnings, otherwise only earth.
5) Executioners, extra strike is more expensive. Leader can be used in defense when the castle definitely won't hold, with centaur and daughters of earth standing
6) Pyrocais, practically immortal, green ones only when there are few of them.
7) Free own, I don't take blood-eyed. Look at the "damage" parameter, all answers are there. Creepy, true, have to place them so they don't kill their own, allocate 8 units of space in formation for them (4*2). But damage decides everything, and gates or a tower can be broken so they don't rage.
By the way, there is an upgrade algorithm for the orc.
Super-ability gives second level of fury. If you add a mastery pendant artifact, education and "fire of fury" skill to the super-ability, then orcs upon entering battle receive 3rd level of blood rage. Used it often, proven.

...

Well, whether an explanation is good or not depends on the situation.

Mostly, I choose based on the situation, but there are a few reliable choices:
1) With the Dungeon, I never recruit new Riders, new Minotaurs, and almost never new Furies (only for the endgame, and even then, not always), only Assassins for the endgame, sometimes.
2) With Haven, I never recruit new Peasants.
3) With Inferno, I don't recruit old Cerberi, almost never old War Hounds (if there are very few of them, then old ones), almost never old Imps.
4) With Necropolis, I almost never recruit new Messengers, I upgrade old Zombies for the endgame, and only new ones for leveling up (it's cheaper to level them up).
5) With Academy, I don't recruit old Djinns, very rarely old Rakshasas (when there are very few of them), almost never new Titans (only if there are a lot of them, then new ones).
6) With Fortress, I never recruit new Dragons (they are completely useless compared to the old ones).
7) I never recruit Nomadic Centaurs, almost never Orcish Warriors.

AltUpgrades are definitely a bold and powerful theme for Heroes, and it's a first in the game's history. But in practice, not everything turned out to be as smooth and well-thought-out as it could have been. Some alts tend to be practically useless, or excessively one-dimensional. Here are some examples: 1. Archers are definitely the go-to choice in almost every game. 2. Hunters (level 1 for the Tower) are also a clear winner, especially at the start. 3. Fire Demons look absolutely pathetic compared to the higher-level ones. 4. When it comes to Demonesses and Succubi, the latter are preferred in 75% of cases. 5. Death Dancers die like flies compared to the epic nature of their alt. 6. Orcish Warriors are good, but not in every situation, so Warmongers definitely take the lead, as they are more durable. 7. Kshatriya Rakshasa clearly outperform Rajas. It's enough to focus their main attack on a weak target, and a powerful area-of-effect attack that decimates everything around them is practically guaranteed with minimal losses, believe me. 8. Thunderbirds are a very questionable alt. They are rarely chosen. 9. Vampire Princes are an absolute overpowered unit. The chance of stunning needs to be reduced by at least 1.5 times. 10. Astral Dragons are a clear choice compared to their old upgrade. Although Grief can be resisted or removed, you first need to be able to create the right conditions for that, and a -1 penalty to morale is, frankly, insignificant! 11. Swift Riders are simply terrible compared to the old version; I don't think I need to explain why. The rest of the alts are more or less balanced and justified.

Here's my opinion about Haven: 1. In my opinion, there isn't much difference, but I personally prefer Landlords. 2. I choose Archers - definitely - being able to hit an enemy at any distance with the same damage is a big plus. 3. I choose Zealots - the double strike is more beneficial to me. 4. Battle Griffons and Royal Griffons are just unbalanced. Of course, I'll choose Battle Griffons - hitting along a line is more advantageous than hitting a single cell. 5. Here, I don't see much difference, but Adepts are more useful because of their cleansing ability. So, I choose them. 6. I prefer Champions - for the charge attack and the tournament strike. 7. Archangels are better - resurrection is much more beneficial than some silly ability of Seraphs.

Well, if we're talking about units.
1. I think stunning is more useful than charging; peasants don't deal enough damage to rely on a second attack.
2. Archers.
3. It depends on the situation, but usually armored units: they provide excellent cover for their allies, which is useful not only in the endgame against an enemy with strong archers, but also when clearing certain neutral creatures.
4. Regarding combat griffons: the enemy doesn't often line up nicely enough to get a good charge attack off. You can often only attack two, at most three, creatures at a time, and even then, you're sacrificing the fact that you're not attacking the ones you'd ideally like to attack right now. And the damage from the combat griffons' ability is only half! But royal griffons, although they hit only one target, deal double damage. And their stats are slightly better. So, in all situations, I choose them, and I also think they are overpowered.)
5. Also, adepts, because of their cleansing ability.
6. Usually, it's the Knights of Isabelle. Although, when clearing certain neutral creatures, I find the paladin-angel combination more useful, but in the endgame, champions are definitely better.
7. In a prolonged battle, seraphs might be okay, as divine retribution is not a bad ability. But you don't know in advance if you'll be able to use it effectively, and resurrection will definitely be useful in the endgame, and when clearing creatures, so archangels.

But the damage of the war griffons from the skill is only half!

75% of the normal damage))
I'll add my two cents in favor of seraphs - they fit wonderfully into the concept of a knight-buffer. Mass divine power on artificial light will enhance them by one and a half times compared to archangels. Besides, the latter often don't have time, just like paladins, to deal with healing/resurrection, and a flying tank that moves around the entire battlefield, with decent initiative, 75-75 damage, and a lot of health, is not bad.

75% of the normal damage))

I guess I made a mistake, but compared to double damage, it's still not that great.