Posts from Necropolis versus Orcs. Auto-translated

Hehe... Orcs have higher initiative...

In a prolonged game, Necropolis loses, but you can try using Darkness.

That's possible. However, after the "Frighten" spell, the debuff remains, meaning the stack still doesn't counterattack, and the "Frighten" spell itself reduces 90 rage. Undead with Battle Blessing deals significant damage to Orcs without rage, and you might also run out of mana for constant "Frighten" spells.

That's the problem – there's nothing to counter the Darkness spell with Orcs. The Silence spell is too weak.

With thousands of Goblins, the chance of disrupting a spell will be high. On a large map, there's a good chance of finding a Dwarf Shield against a Berserker, as well as a Dwarf Helmet against Blind, although it can be removed by Warlords or the Warlord's Word ability. As for mind control, a well-placed Darkness spell can protect even a Cyclops. There's also an option to feign a controlled unit and prevent it from attacking its own side. As a last resort, take a couple of talents or artifacts for resistance. If you consider everything, it's a decent counter to Darkness. However, an undead army falls apart against an Orc army under a good Blood Fury.
If the battle is in the early stages and the undead have Darkness, then it's a grim situation.

The only way to waste Rage is by using it on yourself while the Necromancer is subduing your units. Vampires and zombies remove 90 Rage with their abilities upon attack, while Orcs, without Rage, get heavily damaged by the Necromancer's spells and Claw attack (which has a higher chance than the Shield and Hat of Darkness). You need to split the leaders into several stacks; otherwise, they won't survive the Blind spell. As for resistance, there's a staff for that. Goblins, in large numbers, can cause significant trouble, but again, you need a really large number of them. They can be subdued by the hero, but usually, the hero without Out of Turn moves before the goblins, although there's a lot of randomness involved.

I once fought a Necromancer on a large map, and the Goblins never allowed the hero to recruit anyone. Only the Banshee's Wail, enhanced with the Howl of Terror, could do that. To make them move earlier, I used their leaders to push them forward. With Fury, considering the Pure Fury skill, they gained level 3 almost immediately, especially with the Amulet of Mastery. Cyclops were simply tearing through the enemy, they were barely damaged, considering that 80% of the damage was absorbed by Fury with a maximum skill level. He couldn't recruit them, he couldn't cast Berserk because of the Dwarves' shield; I don't remember if I had the Dwarven Helmet against blindness or a hat for morale and luck. In the end, there was nothing to control them with, which leaves what? Darkness isn't a panacea, even if it's dangerous.

I once fought a Necromancer on a large map, and the Goblins never let the hero recruit anyone. Only Banshee Cry, enhanced with Howl of Terror, could do that. And to make them move earlier, I used their leaders to push them forward.

With Pure Rage taken into account, there was enough Morale; they practically reached level 3 right away, considering the Amulet of Mastery. The Cyclops were simply tearing through everything; they were barely being damaged, considering that 80% of the damage was absorbed by Rage with maximum skill.

In the end, there's nothing left to control them with, so what else can you do?

Why wouldn't a Necromancer use Creature Ability (CA) against an Orc? Just to see the opponent whine about morale and realize that a bunch of levels were wasted? With a sharp mind (and Logistics on a large map being decisive), the hero almost always moves before the leaders. Summoning is weak in the late game. Education, Logistics, Darkness attack and defense are needed in the late game. Orc CA is strong, yes, but for it, you have to give up speed aura, retribution, and take 6 skills in useless machines. Subordination under Offensive Unit (OU), Stone Skin, acceleration, transferring subordination/giving mass debuffs. Necromancers with Claw and Blood Beast hit hard, plus zombies and vampires, plus zombie and vampire attacks of 90 rage each, which are reduced by the ability, so 80% absorption will quickly disappear. Probably that Necromancer didn't level up attack.

With this playstyle, the Necromancer should always take OU. (The exception is only if the Deidra got lucky with a cloak and staff from the Necromancer set, then you can go for CA.) Subordination is cast before the goblins' turn on the goblins themselves or on a stack that can immediately seriously damage them, for example, Executioners. In the late game, neutralizing shamans is a top priority, because nothing but Darkness will save the Necromancer from Cyclops. And if the shamans are out of the game, you can even just cast Vampirism, and the rage will go away very quickly.

Maybe you should start playing on 3.1? They fixed a lot of balance issues there, including rage. With the amulet, it will be 65%, and rage is reduced a little faster.

In general, as has been written many times over many years, the most important condition in the late game is how many neutral castles there are on the map. In game N, with N growth, the Necromancer loses to everyone, and the Barbarian is one of the strongest. But with an abundance of neutral castles, due to the Undead Converter, there will be a stable 3-4 times more, and that's a completely different story.

He had a set for the Necromancer. Goblins would attack before the hero, thanks to the Goblin Leaders.

Skilled Anti-Magic prevented him from casting Subdue on them, and the Dwarven Shield protected against Berserk.

I was playing version 3.1, but I didn't see any reductions to 65%.

That's true, but it requires a lot of money.

When playing Single Adventure, I always take a mass spell of Light from Attack or Defense, more often from Attack, because it combines with readiness. After the curse on the Sorceress, the Necromancer casts mass haste, and the curse disappears. And calmly, BEFORE the next round, Subjugate is cast on the Goblins, and even more so on the leaders, if they can attack the Goblins. It is very difficult to coordinate the attacks of the hero and the leaders with the constant resetting of the mark with mass haste.

Blindness and Sleep. Even in battle, the Princes have a 60-70% chance to put the enemy to sleep. No one ever hopes to Subjugate Cyclops.

So, you were not attentive. Load the duel, arm yourself with a calculator, and check.

The Magistrate in every city pays for itself, almost like buying levels 1-5. And the Necromancer has nowhere else to spend the money.

But aren't mass spells dispelled by Decay?

Blindness is dispelled by Warlords or the Warlord's Word, and you can also find the Dwarven Helmet.

I didn't calculate it with a calculator, but I don't remember such changes in the description for patch 3.1, and when you hover over it, it says 80%, although they like to give incorrect data, like with the warehouse for Orcs.

On that map where we were playing, there were a lot of forts, and almost all the money went to them.

You still need to find a helmet and sacrifice +2 Morale and +2 Luck. This is very unpleasant against Creatures of Armageddon. Especially in 3.1, where dragons inflict -4 Morale/Luck.
Leaders under control are killing goblins.
All that remains is for the hero to attack against Blindness and Sleep (1 vs. 2), or for the hero to attack against Sleep and negative Morale. And the hero will have more initiative than the vampires. The situation is clearly not ideal. If the leaders are under control and the shamans are defeated, control over the Necropolis is guaranteed, no matter what.

The patch description contained almost nothing of the important changes. But everything was in the English manual for 3.1.

Neither 5k nor 50k in the late game seem to be a problem. However, everything really comes down to the ability to seize neutral castles. Most often, this is possible in the late game. Was it not possible in a particular game? Too bad for the donkey, i.e., not a problem :-)