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Heroes Community > Heroes 5 - Temple of Ashan > Thread: Necropolis creatures review
Thread: Necropolis creatures review
TheDeath
TheDeath


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
with serious business
posted February 02, 2007 07:09 PM bonus applied.

Necropolis creatures review

This is a Necropolis creatures review, it does not include hero specifications or boosting abilities, only the town itself with it's creatures. Skills like Necromancy are considered, at least by me, as an "external module" (i.e not bound to Necropolis creatures, but to the Hero), because it is, after all, a hero skill

Why have I written this review? Because most people just underestimate the Necropolis creatures and rely only on Necromancy. And.. because I like Necro .. The creatures are not underpowered (well.. most of them), and I tried to explain as much statistics as possible about all of them.


* Skeleton
The skeleton is a fragile creature, however it comes in large numbers for a tier 1 (20 per week without any boost, up to a total of 46 with all boosts). The damage is comparable to other tier 1s (week dam 46). For example, the proud Imp does week dam 48 averagely, a bit more, but quite insignificant. However the initiative is average (10), and thus it is slower than the Imp (both are fragile anyway). Their greater numbers coupled with 2 defense makes them more durable than Imps and thus a compromise between damage and durability, because their attack is only 1, unlike Imps which have 2. Of course skeletons also have a lot of specials, including Immunity to Blind or Mind Affecting spells, which is common for all Necro creatures, but never appreciated by most players though.

All in all, the skeleton does decent damage for a level 1 creature, and the weekly cost is not bad at all (appropiately for tier 1s). While I do not discuss hero boosts here, I'll briefly point out that Battle Frenzy doubles the damage of these creatures

* Skeleton Archer
A good upgrade, however it has a few downfalls. First, if it is engaged in melee, it will be weaker than the common Skeleton. However you can shield and protect them, though they still have the same initiative, and lose 1 speed. But the ranged ability does compensate for it, however at far range it deals lesser damage than the common skeleton would in melee (0.5-1 versus 1-1). Most people upgrade them immediately, however it depends really on what neutrals you have to take on the next few days. I usually choose to skip the upgrade early, as I need to place as many dwellings as possible early to have growth (this includes the Castle), and I do not lose town points on upgrades, as later I will run out of them (i.e being unable to place the needed dwellings before the end of the week). But like I said, you have to adapt to the situation and the things you need to accomplish -- if Skeleton Archers are a must for you at that particular moment (to take neutrals or whatever else), then upgrade them, it's a good upgrade. Remember to check your costs before doing so, at least until you have the Capitol.


* Zombie
While the zombie may not be a good tier 2 creature, the fact that it is so durable makes it quite worthile for some purposes. However it deals far lesser damage than the skeleton would, because it is 40% slower (initiative 6 vs 10)! Therefore it is best used when defending some fragile or ranged creatures, like skeletons. A speed of 4 combined with the low initiative suggests that this creature is very, very poor when used offensively -- and the damage isn't exceptional either. All in all, it's quite a poor creature when used in many aspects, though as I said it's durability may compensate for some of it's downfalls, especially to protect your shooters, but it's attack and defense are somewhat low, like the skeleton. Good thing is that hit points are especially effective against enemy damaging spells.

* Plague Zombies
If you plan to make zombies useful in some way to damage enemies, then this upgrade is a must and albeit a very worthile upgrade for these creatures. The average damage is increased by 60% (1-2 vs 2-3) and the "weakening strike" ability allows it to weaken the enemy (attack and defense reduced by 2) for your other creatures as well. However due to it's very small initiative (still somewhat improved from the unupgraded Zombie, by aprox. 16.6%) it's unlikely the weakening strike will work wonders -- however if you have additional slots it's useful to split these creatures, ensuring more weakening strikes as well. The downfalls with this upgrade are that it doesn't improve on hit points and neither on speed, though the attack is improved by a mere 1 and, most importantly, the initiative is improved which is a good thing especially when used defensively and speed isn't that critical.


* Ghost
Ghosts are average creatures. While the damage may be quite low for it's growth rate and tier 3, the Ghost's greatest potential comes from it's "lucky" durability due to the nature of the Incorporeal ability. Every physical attack against this creature has a 50% to miss and therefore not hurt the creature at all. Ghosts suffer from a mere 16 hit points and 4 defense, but that is compensated by the Incorporeal ability itself. However you can have at most 3 misses or hits in a row, therefore the ability won't work all the time no matter the chances. The poor damage of this creature (2-4) with attack 4 does not make it a very offensive unit. Instead the Ghost is an average creature, focusing both on destroyability and survivability, especially because of the Incorporeal ability. Another tactic to use with Ghosts is to fly over obstacles, reaching enemies that are hard with walkers, though it's medium speed of 5 doesn't make it as good as any other fast flyer.

* Spectre
Spectres improve on ghosts' weakness: the damage. The offensive potential of this creature is greatly enhaced, providing a good 66.7% increase to damage, though other improvements are not so obvious.. the hit points are increased by a slight 19% bonus (from 16 to 19), but there is also another new ability: Mana drain. This allows the spectre to steal mana from an enemy creature and ressurect as much spectres in the actual stack as the mana drained. For example given a stack of 50 spectres, only 20 alive, attacks a creature with 10 mana left, the attack will ressurect 10 spectres obtaining 30 spectres alive, BUT also drain the creature's mana, so now it is left with 0. This ability is very useful against enemy casters because you drain their mana completely, and also ressurect some fallen Spectres. However due to the medium speed and still average initiative (10), the spectre will be unlikely to strike the enemy caster early, thus reducing the potential if it used some of it's mana (to cast spells, obviously). But keep an eye out for casters that didn't use their mana yet (preferring to shoot first, or something like that).


* Vampire
Vampires are all around average units for their level. The damage at 6-8 coupled with a 6 attack isn't really exceptional, though the No Enemy Retaliation ability can compensate for it due to no losses suffered from retaliation strikes, which sometimes can prove really deadly. The 30 hit points are not bad either, and a defense of 6 says it's not fragile, but not a massive tank either. One very nice tactic for the Vampire is the Life drain ability. This ability heals the vampire (and even ressurects fallen vampires) with an amount being equal with half the damage dealt. This further suggests that it is best to suck the life from weak creatures, which have a poor defense -- inflicting greater damage translates into more draining power. The initiative of 11 coupled with speed 6 makes this creature quite a good offensive unit.

* Vampire Lord
The Vampire Lord improves on the Vampire on almost all statistics: attack and defense increased by +3, damage increased by 28.5%, hit points by 16.6% (from 30 to 35), and even the speed is increased by 1. Furthermore, the teleportation ability allows it to reach the enemy lines quicker, and hidden enemies behind obstacles can be targeted with ease unless they are totally blocked. This upgrade simply makes the Vampire a more offensive unit, being able to drain life even easier from almost any enemy within it's large range (speed 7). Again, the Life drain ability is especially useful against creatures with low defense.


* Lich
This creature is by far one of the most offensive units for it's level. With a high damage of 12-17 and high attack rating of 15, it is obvious best suited for offensive tactics, and it should be considering it is a shooter. In defense it is not bad either, with a great 15 in rating and 50 hit points, the Lich seems to be quite durable. The poor speed of 3 ensures that this creature is next to useless at offense without shots. The Death Cloud ability can damage all living creatures adjacent to the target (they receive half the original damage, and it can also damage your own creatures if you have any living ones). This suggests that it is better to attack a creature within the "near" range of the Lich, and damage all the adjacent creatures to it (even if they are in "far" range), than to attack a creature within the "far" range and damage all adjacent creatures within the "near" range. Simply put, the Death Cloud does not care for the range penalty at all, only on the original damage dealt -- try to attack creatures within the "near" range of the lich as they will receive higher original damage than those which imply a range penalty.

However the Lich suffers from the fact that it is a large shooter -- directly translating into being easy to block by enemy creatures. Keep in mind and use obstacles for your liches.. and protect them as much as you can then with your creatures. Tactics ability helps a lot here.

* Archlich
The Archlich is even more offensive than the lich, providing a good +4 bonus to Attack, as well as defense. The damage is improved by a good aprox. 24% bonus (16-20), but doesn't shine on hit points improvements, since it is increased only by a 10% amount (from 50 to 55). The extra shot the Archlich gains is more than welcome if you don't have an ammo cart, and perhaps the most obvious improvements are to be seen in it's spells -- the Archlich becomes a caster with three spells: Weakness (Expert level), Decay (Advanced level) and Suffering (Advanced level). With 16 mana points, the Archlich can be used to cast around 3 spells at least, ensuring even more "shots" left, as well as activity to do when blocked (and obviously don't wish to attack with the melee penalty, since it involves enemy retaliation). Decay can be cast at most 2 times, however, the 4 mana left can be used for a Weakness spell. And so on... the Archlich's great potential is in the spells and it's high damage. Again, the Large creature ability is one of it's downfalls, but you can still cast spells when blocked, unlike the unupgraded Lich. Anyway, protecting this creature with obstacles and tactics ability is worth it.


* Wights
While the Wights seem, at first glance, to lack specials and therefore be weak, this creature has a great potential, especially in offense. Wights very good damage for tier 6 (in fact, the most), suggesting that the creature can be fearsome even if it lacks abilities. The damage 20-25 and 24 Attack speak for themselves. Survivability with 95 hit points, which are quite low, is compensated by the high 22 defense. The Wight has great potential in an army, especially because Necropolis lacks good damage dealers in melee. The speed of 6 and 11 initiative make it even better for offense. However another important role for the Wights is to protect your Liches, especially because Wights are large creatures, therefore blocking them easier.

* Wraith
The Wraith improve on Wights in offense even more, but also on survivability, though the speed and initiative remain unchanged. Attack and defense are improved by 2, the damage increased by a 22.2% amount (25-30) and the hit points by only a mere 5% (100 vs 95). The upgrade doesn't lack specials as the Wights, it has the Harm touch ability. This ability kills one creature in the enemy stack, meaning you can kill 1 Peasant or 1 Angel with it, without the enemy retaliating on the Wraiths. Another overlooked effect of this ability lies in the fact that it "cleanses" the enemy stack of all positive effects, as if you cast cleansing on the respective stack, without failing. Therefore the Wraith has more potential than the Wight, and even more tactics due to the Harm touch ability.


* Bone dragon
The Bone dragon is very weak compared to the other tier 7s, however it costs much less and comes in greater numbers (with the specific Booster: the Dragon Tombstone). The Bone dragon does exactly the same average damage as the Wight, however the dynamic range is greater (15-30 vs 20-25), but it's better attack of 27 makes it a more damaging unit, even if not by much though. The speed and initative are the same as for Wights, but the greatest aspect of this creature is in it's hit points, having 150 lot of points, up to a total of 450 per week (with Castle and Dragon Tombstone). The defense at 28 is also very high making this creature a somewhat "tank-ish" tier 7. Another interesting property of this creature is the Flyer ability, which makes it overall better at offense than the Wight.

* Spectral dragon
While the improvements of this creature seem irrelevant for survivability, the offensive potential is greatly enhanced. The attack is increased by +3, and the damage by a great 33.3% bonus, making it better to offense, even more because of it's Flyer ability. The hit points are increased only by +10, and the defense is the same, showing the poor increase in survivability from the Bone dragon. However the speed is increased by +1, improving the creature's offense potential. The Spectral Dragon also has a Cursing Attack ability, which casts a Weakness on it's target, rendering it very effective against creature with a large Dynamic range, but also against those who have been blessed with Divine Strength because it dispels and puts the new curse on it, without even casting a spell. Most underestimate these creatures because they are weak for their level, but come in greater numbers (3 per week) and makes them one of the toughest at survivability, and the damage is compensated by the Cursing attack ability.
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Shauku83
Shauku83


Promising
Famous Hero
posted February 02, 2007 07:57 PM

Very good

I am very fond of those percentages about upgrades. I sometimes like to combine the +Attack and +damage rating to an overall increase in damage, like in the case of Lich->Archlic they have +4 Attack (20% more damage) and average damage from 14.5 to 18 (24% more damage). So overall, the Archlich upgrade gives nearly 50% more damage!!!

That is not entirely accurate though, as it depends on the defense of the defending creature as well. But as a pure comparison to non-upgraded to upgraded it works.

The same is true for defense, but Necropolis has a peculiar line of upgrades, as they focus on offence without exeption. Even Zombie, the tank of Necropolis, gains offensive power through its upgrade rather than more tanking capabilities.

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TheDeath
TheDeath


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
with serious business
posted February 02, 2007 08:03 PM

Quote:
Very good
Thanks

Quote:
I am very fond of those percentages about upgrades. I sometimes like to combine the +Attack and +damage rating to an overall increase in damage, like in the case of Lich->Archlic they have +4 Attack (20% more damage) and average damage from 14.5 to 18 (24% more damage). So overall, the Archlich upgrade gives nearly 50% more damage!!!
I wanted to include the combination too, but thought it varies on enemy defense too much

Quote:
The same is true for defense, but Necropolis has a peculiar line of upgrades, as they focus on offence without exeption. Even Zombie, the tank of Necropolis, gains offensive power through its upgrade rather than more tanking capabilities.
Don't forget the Bone dragon to Spectral dragon upgrade.. surely a much more offensive unit.

Should I note somewhere that Necro has very many flyers?

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Shauku83
Shauku83


Promising
Famous Hero
posted February 02, 2007 08:25 PM

Now you have dissected the creatures separately, and the comment about many flyers is general. If you want to write an overall faction summary, that would fit nicely at the end. It could include that Necro has many flyers and the immunities etc.

And yes, the Spectral Dragon is another very good example of what I meant. Practically no increase in durability (unless you count Cursing Attack, but that benefits the entire faction ), but HUGE offensive bonus (especially if you count the increase in attack as well)

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Doomforge
Doomforge


Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
posted February 02, 2007 08:50 PM
Edited by Doomforge at 20:51, 02 Feb 2007.

TheDeath: Actually even with increased growth, the spectrals come nowhere near to real "tanky" level 7s and are among the most fragile. And without the dragon tombstone..

oh yeah, good work!

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TheDeath
TheDeath


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
with serious business
posted February 02, 2007 08:53 PM

Quote:
TheDeath: Actually even with increased growth, the spectrals come nowhere near to real "tanky" level 7s and are among the most fragile. And without the dragon tombstone..
What are you talking about? they have 160 * 3 = 480 hit points, the same as blackies.. how come they are not tanks?

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Doomforge
Doomforge


Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
posted February 02, 2007 09:00 PM

uhh, I had wrong numbers in mind. You're right, checked my chart and with tombstone their survivability is 89%, a rather good score.

The other question is: How to afford enough ore and mercury

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ZombieLord
ZombieLord


Promising
Famous Hero
that wants your brainz...
posted February 02, 2007 09:01 PM

I like your review about the Plague Zombies, it's exactly what I think of these "awesome" creatures.

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TheDeath
TheDeath


Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
with serious business
posted February 02, 2007 09:03 PM

Quote:
The other question is: How to afford enough ore and mercury
Yeah well this review was about creature costs and stats, not the dwellings etc.. The Dragon tombstone was just mentioned to show their "greater" growth (than other tier 7s). Mercury is a pain because they cost mercury (the dragons), otherwise with Resource Silo + Alchemist Lab you have the same income as Ore pits.. so ore is worse at dwellings...

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bixie
bixie


Promising
Legendary Hero
my common sense is tingling!
posted February 03, 2007 09:26 AM

yeah, looks good.

don't you find it a bit ironic that TheDeath is doing a review on nercopolis?
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Jospan
Jospan

Tavern Dweller
posted February 28, 2007 07:08 PM

I like Necro a lot, second from Academy that i play the most, as well as I'm use to play tower and necro on HOMM3.

However, DoomForge, where did u get this 89% number of "survability" of the Spectrals? Is it some kind of calculation? And what this number means?

I know you dont want to involve heroes skills and magic on the summary, but a note should be done to Spectres. I often use them as a spearhead of the army (along with the vampire's no retaliation) to attack a dangerous stack of enemies and try to skip the retaliation with incorporeal. Even if it fails, we can cure the (probably high) losses of spectres with raise dead easily especialy sicne at that point the heroe probably already used Banshee Howl or whatever and will be able to do so. Well, it adds a lot of strategy to Spectres, makes them even more valuable.

Well, overall, I miss the shine of Dread Nites from HOMM3 a lot, as the Wraiths moved 3 tiers higher and are not as strong as the Knights, tough the Spectres are a lot stronger/usefull than the former Wraiths from HOMM3 that sucked!

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