Heroes of Might and Magic Community
visiting hero! Register | Today's Posts | Games | Search! | FAQ/Rules | AvatarList | MemberList | Profile


Age of Heroes Headlines:  
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
6 Aug 2016: Troubled Heroes VII Expansion Release - read more
26 Apr 2016: Heroes VII XPack - Trial by Fire - Coming out in June! - read more
17 Apr 2016: Global Alternative Creatures MOD for H7 after 1.8 Patch! - read more
7 Mar 2016: Romero launches a Piano Sonata Album Kickstarter! - read more
19 Feb 2016: Heroes 5.5 RC6, Heroes VII patch 1.7 are out! - read more
13 Jan 2016: Horn of the Abyss 1.4 Available for Download! - read more
17 Dec 2015: Heroes 5.5 update, 1.6 out for H7 - read more
23 Nov 2015: H7 1.4 & 1.5 patches Released - read more
31 Oct 2015: First H7 patches are out, End of DoC development - read more
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
[X] Remove Ads
LOGIN:     Username:     Password:         [ Register ]
HOMM1: info forum | HOMM2: info forum | HOMM3: info mods forum | HOMM4: info CTG forum | HOMM5: info mods forum | MMH6: wiki forum | MMH7: wiki forum
Heroes Community > Library of Enlightenment > Thread: Best Seventh Level Creature...
Thread: Best Seventh Level Creature... This thread is 24 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 10 ... 20 21 22 23 24 · «PREV / NEXT»
wog_edn
wog_edn

Promising

The Nothingness
posted August 31, 2010 05:53 AM

Maybe we should also test with different skillsets, stat-boosts, artifacts, number of creatures (you SHALL get behemoth week 1, cannot necessarily say the same about angels), etc...

If you're going to be that picky, you should try making a couple of hundred tests yourself instead of just complaining
____________

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
storeslem
storeslem


Hired Hero
posted February 28, 2011 10:29 PM
Edited by storeslem at 22:30, 28 Feb 2011.

1 mighty gorgon can win evry single fight 1 vs 1 but not aginst undead.

fortress is the best town + tazar when tazar learns enough spells nothing can beat him. i had 15 chaos hydra vs 40 archangels(computer impossible) fortress wins every time (defence ftw)

mix tazar with black dragons/archangels and he becomes even more deadly

there is no such thing as best creature but best hero

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
angelito
angelito


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
proud father of a princess
posted February 28, 2011 11:22 PM

Quote:
fortress is the best town + tazar when tazar learns enough spells nothing can beat him. i had 15 chaos hydra vs 40 archangels(computer impossible) fortress wins every time (defence ftw)
Then maybe you should face Crag Hack and 40 Archangels AND a good human player....then we will see how good Tazar is doing..
____________
Better judged by 12 than carried by 6.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ohforfsake
ohforfsake


Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
posted February 28, 2011 11:53 PM
Edited by ohforfsake at 00:07, 01 Mar 2011.

A seventh level creature I find interesting is the Ancient Behemoth.

I really enjoy the Arch Devil, the Ancient Behemoth and the Titan. Each of them are quite unique among level 7 units that in many ways are the same, with very small differences.

What makes the Ancient Behemoth special is, as would be expected, its offensive capabilities.
However, if one were to do a test between AB's versus any other creature, using two heroes of 0/0 ATT/DEF, one would not get the correct picture of the real power behind the Ancient Behemoth.

As far as I know, no other creature share this special ability, which the Ancient Behemoth holds, and therefore, other 0/0 ATT/DEF tests should still give an accurate result.

The special ability is not that the Ancient Behemoths lowers the opponents defense, but that its lowered by a percentage.

As far as I know, the damage between HoMMIII creatures are calculated as:
((ATT-DEF)*0.05+1)*DamageStat. Where the (ATT-DEF)*0.05 is capped at 4.

As the Ancient Behemoth lowers the opponents defense by 80% it basicly means that the opponent hero must aquire 5 points in defense for each point your hero gains in attack to adjust the difference.

If asuming that in a final battle, heroes most often have stats in ATT/DEF between 20-30, I think using the average of 25 gives a realistic picture. The AB deals 40-60 damage, which averages to 50.

Basicly, it means that the AB's used in the final battle between two heroes of 25/25 ATT/DEF deal double amount of damage compared to what they'd deal for a hero with 0/0 ATT/DEF versus another hero with the same stats.

This extreme strength is however reversed through the higher number of units in the later parts of the game.
As damage is tied to the number of creatures and therefore the damage goes down faster with higher numbers, as the health for each creature becomes less important, a slow creature, such as Ancient Behemoths, becomes weaker.

However, using a combination such as phoenix for getting the first turn + haste for the AB's to be able to act before the other side, you'll probably have the strongest power house in the game.

Also, just for the fun of it, comparing two heroes with 99/99 ATT/DEF, 1 AB vs. 1 Azure Dragon:

Azure Dragon:
ATT: 50+99 (149)
DEF: 50+99 (149) [30 effective]
Health: 1000
Damage: 85
Speed: Goes first

Ancient Behemoth:
ATT: 19+99 (118)
DEF: 19+99 (118)
Health: 300
Damage: 50
Speed: Goes second

The Azure Dragon deals ((149-118)*0.05+1)*85=217
The Ancient Behemoth deals ((118-30)*0.05+1)*50=250

Surely the Azure Dragon would win, in round 2, but the Ancient Behemoth deals the most damage of the two, eventhough both Heroes are of equal strength and quality.
Five Ancient Behemoths should be enough to 1-hit the Azure Dragon.
In comparision, had both Heroes had 0/0 ATT/DEF, it would require 18 AB's to 1-hit the Azure Dragon.
And 1-hitting the Azure Dragon is the only way to win without any loss, because the Azure Dragon, given equal stats, heroes, etc. will always deal 217 damage, unless damage is reduced by means of armorer or the shield spell.

Edit:
If my calculations are correct. The Rust Dragon deals 77 damage pr. attack versus the Ancient Behemoth, not including the acid breath, which I don't know how to calculate. That in total requires 4 attack to take down 1 AB. Which means as soon as the AB deals 250 damage, 1 AB is superior to 1 Rust Dragon in pure power.

The equation:
FinalABdamage=((AB(ATT)+Hero(ATT)-(RD(DEF)-Hero(DEF))*0.2)*0.05+1)*50 can basically be shortened to:
FinalABdamage=2*x+C
Where it's assumed that [AB]Hero(ATT)=[RD]Hero(DEF)=x
Also C is a constan equal to the damage dealt by the Ancient Behemoths had both Heroes had 0/0 ATT/DEF, which is ~82.

So when the two heroes have stats of 84/84 in ATT/DEF, the AB is greater than the RD in a 1vs1 fight.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Fauch
Fauch


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
posted March 01, 2011 12:13 AM

I think rust dragons lower defense by 3 and it is cumulative, that means the advantage could become greater than with the behemoth ability. I also think they have a chance to deal 30 additionnal damage per dragon (and it ignores the defense, like the lightning attack of the thunderbird)

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ohforfsake
ohforfsake


Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
posted March 01, 2011 03:53 PM

In that case, the Ancient Behemoth will probably never be as powerful as the Rust Dragon.

The reason that the AB ability is by far superior to the RD ability when considering high stats, is because it's already likely the AB have hit the 400% cap, whereas the RD will require more and more turns the higher the stats are.

Finally, if two Ancient Behemoths deal 250 damage each, they should be able to defeat a single Azure Dragon. Since two Ancient Behemots as well should in average defeat 6 Mighty Gorgons, it means that Ancient Behemots, at sufficient high stats, may very well be the strongest unit pr. weekly unit growth.

Finally, I have tried playing through some maps, using Stronghold and Tazar. Ancient Behemoths have the best defensive capabilities if one can up their defense, together with Titans. I.e. the 300 health points. The reason I'm not including the Black Dragons in this is because their magic immunity is hindering them getting the benefits from spells such as shield.

Tazar with some 20 Ancient Behemoths, expert Armor, around level 25 and expert shield spell, can really bring down much bigger armies quite efficient.

Of course this was against the A.I.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
herodote
herodote

Tavern Dweller
posted March 03, 2011 11:12 PM

Do you guys still play in multiplayer?
If yes, how do you do?
____________

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Dannnn
Dannnn

Tavern Dweller
posted March 06, 2011 12:53 AM

Depends on the fight to be honest, although Archangel would be best in most situations.
____________

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ohforfsake
ohforfsake


Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
posted March 13, 2011 07:51 PM

As mentioned earlier. I really enjoy the Arch Devil. For me, they've a set of advantages that does not only make them an isolated unit, but goes well with other units as well as spells.

So the inferno army in general will often consist of a huge number of demons, together with the efreets, the pit lords and the devils.

Where the demons are the strong stack, the efreets are probably the strongest level 6 unit, especially due to their speed. Not most powerful of course, other units have better att/def/dmg/health.

A unit that however often seems truely useless is the pit lord. At least for the main battle. However they've their use as well, even after they're done with their demon summoning duties.


Now, not only does the Arch Devil defeat every other level 7 in equal number toe on toe battle, except for the Arch Angel, they are also the third fastest level 7 unit and have a no retal attack!

A weakness often complained about, considering the arch devils are their lack of hit points. Which only makes their ability to defeat other level 7 units, with up to 50% more hit point, so much more impressive.

Often the complaint is that the low hit points opens the Arch Devils up for hostile spells. A spell that would take down 4 Titans, would take down 6 Arch Devils! And they're a front line unit, so they'll most likely go down fast!

However the low hit point is actually an advantage. Due to the rather likely inferno spell, sacrifice.
Sacrifice, unlike any other spell in the game, is not a multiplum of hero power with a constant, but rather hero power with stack size.

Basically, it means the power of Sacrifice is often unmatched! Especially for high number units, where all other spells stops progression at a power of 99.

How powerful is sacrifice actually? Well at 99 power, you can ressurect 1 arch devil for each 2 familiars!! Though to stay realistic, and taking into consideration the army you'll actually end up with here.
Also going back to the use of pit lords.

A pit lord have 45 health points, meaning, iIRC, at a power of 13, you can ressurect 1 arch devil for each 3 pit lords!


So what good does this do? Well basically, your Arch Devils gets a second life. Unlike many other towns, you can afford to go very offensively in with your Arch Devils and cripple units more important than your Pit Lords. Having your Arch Devils restored, while your demons are spreading havoc and having Efreet Sultans taking the retal for them.

It'd be foolish for the opponent to focus on your demons while your Arch Devils are out, dealing huge damage, taking no retal. However, it'll cost many rounds, especially due to sacrifice, to bring those Arch Devils down and Demons won't take any retaliation due to spots open for an extra efreet sultan stack, together with wyverns and Angels.



Finally, there's the speed factor. Having the fastest level 6 unit in the game, together with the third fastest level 7 unit, basically means that you'll always win any type of wait+blind war. Of course except if the creature you're targeting should be immune to blind.

Further more, it means that if the opponent just goes right away and casts haste to destroy as much as he can, not only will he suffer a lot of damage, but you'll be able to get in both a slow and another spell!


All in all, the Arch Devils are truely a great unit. Their low hit points is, in my opinion, an advantage, their power is already extreme and they're one of the fastest units in the game!

However, they're especially good versus the AI!

Here you can go for those intelligence specialists, with force field and ressurection on expert level, you'll be able to get some very easy wins in impossible battles, as long as you've enough mana.

The AI is about to take your town? Getting rid of the catapult and having Arch Devils is often a very easy way to win an otherwise impossible battle!


I think Arch Devils are actually my farvorite level 7 unit. Because, they're not only extremely strong by themselves. They go very well with their town, with other units and with spells! They're a tactical unit and if you're well enough prepared they become SO much stronger that it's incredible!

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
heroes_player
heroes_player


Known Hero
posted March 14, 2011 02:46 PM

well

you brought a lot of new and good facts about ABs and ADs! you should deserve +QP in my opinion!
People should read these posts about ABs and ADs, they are recommended!

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ohforfsake
ohforfsake


Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
posted March 15, 2011 11:36 AM

Well thank you! That's really nice of you.
I'd rather not want a qp to be honest. I only write here for my own pleasure, not others appreciation.

Anyway, I'll write my final entry, about the Titan, in a weeks time!

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Urosius
Urosius

Tavern Dweller
prso ki lajsna
posted March 15, 2011 04:26 PM

I think Chaos Hydras are special in a way!
____________

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ohforfsake
ohforfsake


Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
posted March 22, 2011 08:01 AM

The last one of my farvorite level 7 units. The Titan.
The Titan is actually incredible strong and versatle. Not only can it shoot, but it has the highest potential battle stats of all units in the game.
Here battle stats are those that you often cannot alter to a high degree and which determines the strength of the unit, i.e. health and damage.

First of all, Both Health and Damage can be changed, but either only through relative rare, not very often used, artifacts, or through in battle spells. As such battle stats aren't nearly as variying as att/def stats.

Secondly, the Black Dragon have equal battle stats, 300 health and 40-60 damage. However the magic immunity means you cannot bless the black dragons, thereby it has a lower potential battle stat (300 health and 50 damage for black dragons, vs. 300 health and 60 damage for Titans).

So not only is the Titan the best shooter in the game, it also have the highest potential base damage and top health as well among all units below level 8.


Against the AI, the Titan alone can often determine the game for you. Especially if you've one fast unit with you, and spells such as forcefield, haste, anti-magic and forgetfulness.

As such, like the Arch Devil, though if you've the speed for it, doing double as fast a job (meaning you only need half the mana), the Titan is one of the easiest way to take down the AI.

Including the Titans mind spell immunity, you do not have to wear blind, but on the other hand, you cannot cast frenzy either.

However, against the AI, you'll often have much higher att/def and as such, frenzy should not be needed.

In principle, the Titan is both great in town defending and town attacking. If you've a big enough stack, then in a siege, you can simply place it outside the town gate and together with a mass forgetfulness spell and a sufficient strong ressurection spell, you'll be able to shoot in on units that cannot retaliate and the few flyers that do attack you will most likely just be squashed, by the almighty Titan.

Likewise goes for town defending, where, given you get rid of the opposing sides catapult, again having a sufficient strong ressurection and mass forgetfulness (here assuming the computer doesn't have earthquake), you can often easily ward off the computer with a much weaker army, only made up with Titans.



Against other players, the Titan is great as well. It works very well with its town, which is the town in the game that not only have the most shooters, and it also have the strongest shooter for each level represented.

Forcing the opponent to attack, their slow, but clearly strongest stat-wise, had it not been for speed, units this town pocess, such as the Naga Queen and the Iron Golems who're perfect for taking up retaliations, together with very offensively strong level 5 and level 2 units, this towns units seems to fit very well to eachother.

However, had they had any other level 7 than the Titan, I'd say they'd be seriously weakened! Because without the level 7 shooter threat, the town would pocess lower ranged threat than other towns, such as the Castle. Meaning their slow but though unit would suffer quite a lot, I believe!

It also means that you often aren't forced to use your turns on casting stuff like haste and slow. You can actually focus on damage and place your units to your advantage!

Finally. Fighting against the "ultimate" opponent, i.e. Tazar with orb of inhibition, high stats, and a ton of skeletons and shackles of war, I'd really prefer having Titans on my side.

Should you be able to take down all other units than the skeletons and are you left with the Titans, it means you can often keep on walking away and shooting, landing you a victory most other level 7 creatures wouldn't be able to. Probably except for the Arch Devils as well.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Fauch
Fauch


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
posted March 23, 2011 04:22 PM

I remember black dragon deals 40 to 50 damage.

of course it can not be buffed, but its greatest strenght is it is almost unstoppable. though, the mind immunity of the titan might just be as annoying.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ohforfsake
ohforfsake


Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
posted March 23, 2011 06:08 PM

My problem with Black Dragons is that you cannot ressurect them. Meaning they give a disadvantage when increasing your kingdom.

Together with the relative fragile level 6 unit, this is one of my main concerns when playing Dungeon.
They just don't really combine speed and power well in this town. However looking at each creature individually, together with Necropolis, it may very well be the most powerful town, if not for Conflux double growth of Phoenix, etc.

When it comes to the end battle, the spells you most typically want to cast, I believe, haste, is something the black dragon is immune to. Further more, it's slower than both the Gold Dragon, Arch Devil and Arch Angel, meaning 3 towns will go before in combat.

It's of course an awesome creature that, like every other creature, can be very potent. It's just not one of my farvorites, it's not highest in any category really.

Though with the high armageddon chance of the Dungeon, Black Dragons are very suited for attack & surrender types of attacks, firing strong Armageddons.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Fauch
Fauch


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
posted March 24, 2011 03:14 AM

there isn't only mass haste in life. there is mass slow too
and well, dungeon isn't too bad in ranged combat

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
ledger
ledger

Tavern Dweller
posted May 30, 2011 10:40 AM

Oww, so many favourites, but not necessarily as standalone units, but with certain synergy.

I probably enjoy Hydra the most with
- Expert Fire for Frenzy (def->2x attack, hits twice to all adjacent, no retaliation)
- Expert Water for Mass Forgetfulness, Bless and Teleport
- Necromancy for renewable skelly force fields
- Tactics to place them right
- Some leadership or morale glyphs

Or Ghost Dragons
When necroing up, I typically like to play longer battles with a lot of mass debuffs and buffs on my units, I divide ghosties to as many stacks as I can and try to get most out of Aging mechanic.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Nelaelu
Nelaelu

Tavern Dweller
posted December 03, 2011 07:02 AM
Edited by Nelaelu at 07:07, 03 Dec 2011.

I love 7th level units and I love Heroes for letting you play with the coolest and most powerful units in the game! With that being said, lets take a look at those creatures:
____________

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Nelaelu
Nelaelu

Tavern Dweller
posted December 04, 2011 09:55 PM
Edited by Nelaelu at 08:09, 05 Dec 2011.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
GHOST DRAGONS - a Creature's in Depth Analysis
By Nelaelu (nelaelu@op.pl)
----------------------------------------------------------------------


You call those weaklings 7th level creatures? I don't even know if I should be discussing  them here...

*HEALTH AND DEFENSE SKILL*
Only 200 health, lowest among 7th level tied with Archdevils and Phoenixes. However, Archdevils have much higher defense rating (28) and Phoenixes have double growth... Ghost  Dragons with their mere 17 defense aren't much ahead of some 6th or 5th level troops  (Champions and M.Gorgons have 16 defense and Minotaur Kings 15; not to mention Dread  Knights with a whooping 18!) Low HP and defense in conjunction causes Ghost Dragons to vanish quickly, from both damage spells and hand-to-hand combat.

*DAMAGE AND ATTACK SKILL*
The big damage gap between 25-50 just begs to be blessed... which won't happen cause Ghost  Dragons cannot be blessed (no curse or bless for the undead). Their low attack skill (19)  doesn't help here either. Again Ghost Dragons seem to be inferior to other 7th levels: Phoenixes compensate for their low damage (30-40) with their numbers, Archdevils (30-40) with a very high attack of 26, and Ch.Hydras (who suffer from both low damage 25-45 and only 18 attack) can improve their results by hitting multiple units.

*SPEED AND MOVEMENT*
The speed (14) is quite good. Ghost Dragons are the fastest unit for Necropolis, which makes them that much more important for a Necro army. With them you'll most likely get the first turn against Fortress (Dragon Flies have 13 speed), Tower (Titans, 11), and Stronghold (Thunderbirds, 11). They are also flyers, so you can easily move them over town walls or obstacles. Together with Wraiths and Vampire Lords, who are other flyers for Necropolis, Ghost Dragons make up a good aerial force for town sieges.

*DWELLING PREREQUISITES*
You need all other creature dwellings except for Tomb of Souls present to built the Dragon Vault. You also need Mage Guild level 1. Considering that there are some useful buildings for Necropolis that you wanna get as soon as possible (like Necromancy Amplifier) getting Ghost Dragons in the first week seems very unlikely (even if there's plenty of resources for it).

*DWELLING COST*
Dragon Vault costs a little bit of everything: 5 wood, 5 ore, 5 mercury, 5 sulfur, 5  crystals, 5 gems, and 10000 gold. It doesn't seem hard to build, just keep in mind that you first need 6000 gold to buy Hall of Darkness (add 2 sulfur, 2 gems, 2 mercury, and 2  crystals to upgrade it), 10 sulfur for Liches (+ additional 5 for Power Liches), and 5 mercury if you want to upgrade Tomb of Souls.
To get Ghost Dragons instead of Bone Dragons you need to spend additional 5 wood, 5 ore, 20 mercury, and 15000 gold. It's the cheapest upgrade (nice!), but Pyre, Behemoth Lair, and Hydra Pond are only marginally pricier to upgrade (5 more wood and ore). Also, Necropolis doesn't  produce mercury inside the town, so you need to quickly secure an Alchemist Lab.

*CREATURE COST*
Ghost Dragons are more affordable than most 7th levels. 3000 gold plus one mercury doesn't  seem much and you could almost buy 2 Ghost Dragons for the price of 1 Titan or Archangel.  However, if you consider that one A. Behemoth costs the same price (3000g, 1 crystal) and  Phoenix only 2000g and 1 mercury then Ghost Dragons still seem a little overpriced for their stats. Also, when you're on a tight budget you're probably better off investing in Dread Knights or/and P. Liches.

*UPGRADED VS UNUPGRADED*
Upgrading Bone to Ghost Dragons will give you 50 extra hit points (from 150 to 200), 2 more attack (form 17 to 19), 2 more defense (from 15 to 17), and 5 extra speed (from 9 to 14). You also get the Aging special. The upgrade is 1200 gold more expensive and costs an extra resource (1 mercury). It's definitely good to do switch form Bone to Ghost Dragons for extra speed and aging special, but a small increase in both attack/defense and health is disappointing.

*IMMUNITIES*
Basically the same as all undead: Ghost Dragons are not affected by mind spells, Mirth and Sorrow (no morale), Curse/Bless, and spells corresponding to living creatures (Resurrection, Sacrifice, Death Ripple). However, Destroy Undead is a spell only against the Undead (equivalent of Death Ripple, but higher level and stronger), while Animate Dead is an equivalent of Resurrection (about as strong as Ressurection, yet cheaper in terms of mana and easier to get because of lower level).  
Except for the lack of Frenzy mind spell immunities are great (you don't need to worry about Blind or Berserk) while no morale is a double edged sword (no lost turns, but no extra turns as well). Lack of bless/curse causes Ghost Dragons to be very damage inconsistent no matter what.

*SPECIAL: -1 TO ENEMY MORALE*
It's the opposite to Archangels special. Useful, might cause enemies to lose turns or lower their chance for extra turns. Great against heroes with leadership, but no good when facing another undead army or elementals.

*SPECIAL: AGING*
Every time you attack with Ghost Dragons you'll have 20% chance to age the enemy, which will reduce hit points of all stack members by half. If it works and you take full advantage of it, then Aging might give you truly astonishing results. Because of the nature of this special you should always think about attacking enemy's strongest units. Unfortunately, attacking the strongest enemy stacks may quickly tear the relatively fragile Ghost Dragons apart and give you fewer chances for Aging to work.
What severely limits this special is a fact not known by many that AGING CAN BE CURED (or dispelled). In worst case scenario the enemy might cure his stack before any of your creatures are able attack it. You might end up playing the Aging dice, getting lucky and making it work, and yet gaining nothing from it.
OK, now the things get interesting: Aging is considered to be a 5th level spell. Because of that it works on Green/Red and Gold Dragons, but they (obviously) CANNOT be cured! I  learned that the hard way when I played with Rampart and the enemy aged 30 of my Gold Dragons. After aging them he swarmed them with all he had and destroyed them in an instant! I managed to win that battle somehow, but I was left with Unicorns only. In contrast to Gold Dragons, Black Dragons' absolute immunity will remain untouched by Aging, so don't even dare to attack the Great Black Dragons with Ghosties.

*DRAGON TRANSFORMER*
All Necropolitans know that when you whack a dragon, hydra or behemoth into the Skeleton Transformer you will get a Bone Dragon. So lets say, you conquer a Stronghold, Fortress, Rampart, or Dungeon town and have a chance to create some extra Bone Dragons. Should you bite?
First of all, let me recommend that you shouldn't be buying upgraded units for that purpose. Both upgraded and unupgraded units will only become Bone Dragons, so don't waste money buying the upgraded creatures. Still, buying more expensive (and with better stats) Red/Green Dragons to get Bone Dragons sounds like a bad deal. Bone Dragons cost 1800 gold while Green cost 2400 plus 1 crystal and Red 2500 gold plus one sulfur. You end up losing 600-700 gold and one resource for each transformation (and lose possibility to get Gold and Black Dragons). Yet, if you're really rich and desperately wanting to enlarge your main army (without replacing old army slots with new creatures) then it might be a pretty good tactic.
It gets better when you buy Hydras. They cost 2200 gold each, so you only end up losing 400 gold without losing a resource. Buying Behemoths though is hands down the best deal you can get. They only cost 1500 gold each and you might be saving (!) 300 gold when you transform them. So if you have an access to a stronghold town (or seize a Behemoth Craig) then always consider a transformation possibility.

*SPELL BOOSTING*
There are definitely some good options for improving Ghost Dragons with spells, but you won't find anything extraordinary here. Haste will help them to achieve full battlefield range and at expert level it will help other Necropolis flyers to get through the walls quicker and more. Stone Skin and Shield will let Ghosties survive longer (in terms of physical attacks) and have more chances for Aging to work. Similarly, Anti-Magic and Magic Mirror will help with their weakness towards damage spells. Magic Mirror unlike Anti-Magic though won't prevent you from using Animate Dead (which is obviously a useful spell for Ghost Dragons and all undead alike). If you want to improve Ghost Dragons' attack skill, Bloodlust might give you an extra edge against other creatures.
Surprisingly, you can cast Prayer on Ghost Dragons (and other undead) and have Stone Skin, Bloodlust, and Haste all at once. It might be one of the best spells to use on Ghosties (which will improve them all around). Getting Prayer and Water Magic when you play Necropolis might be troublesome though...  

*OVERALL USEFULNESS*
Ghost Dragons are good to have on your side for their 14 speed and they make up a good flying combo with Vamp Lords and Wraiths. -1 morale often comes in handy too. In some specific situations Ghost Dragons can be a deadly force, for example, when you manage to take advantage of the aging special or when you gain extra units from the transformer. In most cases though, Ghost Dragons (in comparison with other 7th level units) seem soft and unreliable in combat.

*CREATIVITY & DESIGN* (strictly personal opinion here)
I don't like Ghost Dragons (and Bone Dragons) that much. They seem to fit with the whole Necropolis idea well, but their design was easy to achieve (they're yet another dragons, just a skeletal/ghostly version of it). They also lack cool details (and colors) that other creatures possess. Overall, not a bad workmanship, but when compared with the awesomeness of other 7th level creatures, they seem a little underwhelming.  



By Nelaelu (nelaelu@op.pl)

-------------------------------------
If you want to use any part of my analysis elsewhere please acknowledge me for it!
If you want to see an analysis for a different creature (as long as it's not Peasants!) then let me know.
Comments, suggestions, and polite criticism are always welcome...

I have also created a 2 player combat scenario called Ultimate Hero Kombat. If you're interested, I can send it to you via e-mail.

____________

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
looom
looom


Adventuring Hero
Flying High
posted December 27, 2011 06:15 AM

I personally like the Chaos hydra and devils the most.
Get your 1 devil, or arch devil, frenzy it and all slow troop throngs are a walk in the park. Chaos hydras, the AI doesn't like attacking it because of the attack retaliates to all enemies around it, I remember seeing a tactics post done with Chaos hydras versus I think it was a swarm of mighty gorgons and it was bloody brilliant. Personally I think these 2 lvl 7 creatures have the best tactical use. Sure you can say the arc angel is superior in raw power and speed, but the arch devil is much more potent in tricky battles.

Then again I am an inferno fanboy so yeah

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Jump To: « Prev Thread . . . Next Thread » This thread is 24 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 10 ... 20 21 22 23 24 · «PREV / NEXT»
Post New Poll    Post New Topic    Post New Reply

Page compiled in 0.1998 seconds