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Heroes Community > Heroes 5 - Temple of Ashan > Thread: Academy guide
Thread: Academy guide
Vangelis21
Vangelis21


Supreme Hero
Manchild
posted September 20, 2008 03:39 PM

Academy guide

First of all I want to warn that this guide is strictly for multiplayer game as the AI is a lot easier to be beaten and not a lot of players play single player games nowadays. Also it is only my opinion on how academy can be played and you should follow it only if you think that my ability to play is good! Strategies are hundreds and this guide is only to give the newer players an idea about this faction. You are more than welcome to add your thought and corrections. Have fun and improve your gaming!

Academy is a magic faction to the core. Although there are exceptions (havez) as in a lot of things in heroes!

Let’s start then by analyzing the heroes.

Faiz

He is a hero that I don’t choose ever as dark magic is not always a good choice for academy. Recommended against orcs as dark spells there is a must choice. Not recommended against necromancer (vampirism, puppet master, frenzy, blindness don’t work) or academy ( single stack spells against mirror is always a risk)

Galib

Another hero I rarely use. His luck skill is not a must for academy and could be replaced by something else. Very useful hero against dark magic users for his spell twister ability and the cleansing spell although you will probably need expert light magic.

Havez

Crazy creeper but with many disadvantages in final battle. His gremlins do great job against any opponent. His war machine skill and the free ballista and ammo cart make him save money and creep very fast and effectively. At the final battle though his war machines are not strong enough as academy has only 2% chances of getting attack as skill and therefore flaming arrows. So academy could use other skills better in final battle.

Jhora

A total magic hero. Starts with eldritch arrow and sorcery which makes her fast and good caster for creeping. Her specialization doesn’t give a lot as at level 20 she has initiative 11 instead of 10 which is not enough to win you a game.

Narxes

Good hero but only with good planning because if for any reason you can’t have enough mages at the final battle his specialization is wasted. Starts with enlightenment which guarantees a faster leveling up and it is a skill that academy needs anyway.

Nathir

A great caster. He focuses in casting destructive spells and especially fire-based ones. He starts with a great fireball and the high mana makes him very strong. A very strong creeper but with the only disadvantage that the destructive magic skill is not necessary and could be replaced with something better in final battle.

Nur

A hero that I don’t recommend. He starts with sorcery, mana regeneration and eldritch arrow. But her specialization is not needed for academy as wizards are known for their incredibly high levels of mana. However, she might be extremely useful in very long battles.


Razzak

A defensive hero. Not recommended by me as golems are not a priority and defense as skill is not a must for academy. His haste spell that he starts with is very useful nonetheless.

Building the town

Here there are two ways you can take. The might way and the magic way. In the magic way all heroes are favoured, in the might way only havez is favored and maybe nathir.

Might way of building your town

I will not get into details on how to build the town each day as every map has a different town level at the beginning. When you want to focus on might you need 2 things. Large army and large amount of money.
That means, we set aside the magic guilds and we focus on building quickly capitol, castle and all the creatures before the end of week 2. Try to get mages, gargoyles, gremlins  djins week 1 and rakhasas and colossus week 2. this means that you probably need to leave out the golems and have a lot of resources for the rakhasas. As for money and growth you need town hall week 1 and capitol week 2. In the same way you need citadel week 1 and castle week 2. Don’t forget of course to build war machines in case you have havez and you couldn’t find the first aid tent in another secondary hero. This way of building gives you great numbers of creatures in the final battle BUT needs a lot of money and resources which means fast creeping and keeps you low on magic. That’s why it Is a good plan for Havez.

Magic way of buiding your town


I will not get into details on how to build the town each day as every map has a different town level at the beginning. Here you need to focus on good creature only and mage guild so I suggest gremlins, mages, djins week 1 and gargoyles, golems colossus in week 2. rakhasas can wait for week 3. also don’t run for money or growth building as they need to be sacrificed for mage guilds. The general idea though is to be bale to have magic guild 5 before the end of week 2. Mind that this is for extreme magic building. There is always the mid-way to be followed. That plan is more suitable for jhora-like heroes as their only hope of surviving is spells.

*Take notice that each map differs in starting town level, in resources and in needs so adapt your plan as you want. Also it is necessary to upgrade gremlins on day 1 !


Creature abilities

Master gremlin: Great for a plan with lots of golems and war machines. Keep in mind that they heal only once these things per combat.
Gremlin saboteur: great against war machines. It disables them and they can’t play. Also the disable enemy golems. Higher initiative than master gremlins.

Obsidian gargoyles: Great against destructive magic using factions.
Elemental gargoyles: great when you use destructive spells.

Steel golem: Immune to slow and magic proof (75%). More attacking than the magnetic golems.
Magnetic golems: heals itself from enemy destructive spells so it is more defensive as it needs to guard allies.

Archmages:  saves hero’s mana, great spellbook, not recommended against high protection/resistance factions.
Battle mages: they don’t hit friendly units adjacent to them, recommended when you have the luck skill.

Djinn Sultan: 50% magic proof , casts light magic to friends, or dark to enemies. Very good upgrade.
Djinn Vizier: 75% magic proof, decreases luck to enemies and raises yours. Recommended against high-luck factions

Rakhasa Raja: great no retaliation ability. Recommended against high-attack factions.
Rakhasa Kshatra: Whirlwind ability great against low defense faction but very effective overall. Better to be used with high speed statistics. Don’t use it against dark spell casters as it can kill several of your creatures at ones if frenzied or puppet mastered.

Titan: exactly same stats with the Storm titan. Only difference is his call lightning ability that delivers a good damage even if you are blocked from shooting.
Storm titan: exactly same stats with the Titan. Only difference is his Stormcaller ability that summons a storm to stay above the head of enemies. Lower damage than lighting but stays for 3 turns and decreases the enemies ranged attacks.

Spells

Academy is obviously a magic faction. It is the only faction that has high possibilities of getting any of the magic skills and the only faction that can receive 1 extra spell in its guilds in every level. That makes it very effective with any of the magic schools. Of course you have higher possibilities of getting better light and summon spells as you get for sure 1 in level 4 and 5 guilds. On the other hand you can get 1 extra (dark or destructive) in these 2 levels by building the special building they have.

Here I have some good combinations and strategies with spells.

Spells depending on enemy factions

Against orcs: dark spells are essential. Expect them to have shatter dark though. Aim for their centaurs or whatever else you find more important and cut them in half!
Against necro: choosing summon magic is a risk. They will probably have summon too and that means elemental balance. Remember that you can do the same! So play smartly and let them cast phoenix or elementals first! Light is great as you need cleansing for their puppet master and haste for you!
Against sylvan: they will have some magic resistance, so puppet or frenzy are risky although they are needed. Mass slow is also a must. Your call. Light spells also important as you will need the endurance, deflect missile and haste spells.
Against dungeon: be careful of their black dragons that your spells can’t touch.
Against dwarves: remember that they will have high resistance. So be careful of single stack spells.
Against haven: mass haste and mass slow very important.
Against inferno: mass haste, mass slow and in general dark spells are good . destructive may work well as they will fill the battlefield with creatures and you need spells of area affect.



Combinations with mark of the wizard (motw).

Motw + frenzy = great results as they hit each other !
Motw + fire trap = terror when they walk!
Motw + resurrection = fast healing!
Motw + phantom forces = double great copies of your high level creatures!
Motw + any of good destructive spells = chaos on them!

*remember that you can’t combine puppet master or phoenix with motw .


Artificier

You must use your artificier skill depending on the opponent and the situation everytime. Most of the times though things are standard. We use defense against orcs, haven, sylvan. Initiative against sylvan is Obligatory if you want to live. Use health on low health units (gargoyles, golems, gremlins, mages), initiative on everything if you can. Luck is also very good. Speed at Rakhasa Kshatra and Djinns. Don’t forget the magic protection against dungeon. Getting the pendant of mastery is a bless for academy as it cuts your expenses in resources by half (considering you have expert and therefore ultimate aritficier skill)

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Lexxan
Lexxan


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Unimpressed by your logic
posted September 20, 2008 05:29 PM

Mind if I post a Complete Arteficier Review?
____________
Coincidence? I think not!!!!

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Vangelis21
Vangelis21


Supreme Hero
Manchild
posted September 20, 2008 05:48 PM

as long as it is a good one put it, thats the idea of the thread
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Lexxan
Lexxan


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Unimpressed by your logic
posted September 20, 2008 06:51 PM
Edited by Lexxan at 22:22, 20 Sep 2008.

About Arteficier

Mini-Arties are Vital for Almost Every Academy unit to survive. To create major artefacts, you have to keep you knowledge as high as possible. Knowledge increasing arties, like the Crown of Sar-Issus wouldn't go astray. Note that the Artefacts are upgraded untill your Knowledge reaches 60. If you knowledge is higher, to won't boost your mini-arties

Cost
Basically it's 5 per resource for the First Trait, then 10 per resource for the Second one and 15 per resource for the Second one. Plan if you are low on a particular resource: If you have 5 Sulphur, 15 Wood and  10 Mercury, you can better pick Armour Crush as your first trait and Speed as you second. Why? Because if you switch them, you can't afford them, as the Costs is 15 Ore, 10 Sulphur and 5 Mercury, something you can't afford.

Here is a Screen to illustrate this

The First trait costs 5 of the Required resources, the Second 10, the third 15

Switching traits can be handy...

Possible Effects
Armour Crush: Permanently Lowers the Defence of the Enemy.
Attack: Increases the Wearer's Attack
Defence: Increases the Wearer's Defence
Haste: Increases the Wearer's Initiative
Health: Increases the Wearer's Hit Points
Luck:  Increases the Wearer's Luck
Morale: Increases the Wearer's Morale
Protection: Makes the Wearer partially Magic Proof
Speed: Increases the Wearer's Speed

Armour Crush
Armour Crush lowers the Defence of the Target permanently, making it a free Vulnerability. This can be interesting when fighting against slow opponents with High Defence (Like Fortress, Haven or Academy), weakening them and making them more susceptible to attack. Armour Crush is buffed Slowly. Basically the Defence is lowered by 1 + 1 Extra per every 15 Knowledge, starting at Knowledge 15.

This is:
Know = 1 => - 1 To enemy Defence per hit
Know = 15 => - 2 To enemy Defence per hit
Know = 30=> - 3 To enemy Defence per hit
Know = 45 => - 4 To enemy Defence per hit
Know = 60 => - 5 To enemy Defence per hit

You might think that's kinda harsh, but in fact it would be grossly overpowered otherwise. One thing the Manual didn't speak of was whether it is Cumulative or not.

I used Elvin's Duel Map to test this:


I gave the Master Gremlins and Steel Golems Armour Crush (since Razzak’s Knowledge is 9, it gives a -1 Penalty to enemy Defence)



I let them Shoot the Nightmares, who foolishly stood in my way. As you can see, their defence has Decreased by One. The Gremlins shoot them again;


In the end the Nightmares Defence had dropped from 18 to 16, a -2 Reduction. Though the Manual never speaks of this, We can conclude that Armour Crush is Cumulative, Whatsoever the circumstances.

I suggest you Equip Armour Crush to the faster units, who can easily attack opponents, or can hit Multiple Targets: Gremlins, Djinns and Rakshasa Ktsarra's benefit the most from this trait.

Armor Crush requires Ore and Sulphur

Attack: Self-explanatory, this traits raises the Wearer's attack, making it a non-magical and Permanent Righteous Might. I myself don't consider this trait very necessary, but as the Wizard's Defence is horrifying, it's not obsolete at all. Great paring with Battle Frenzy.

Basically the increasement in attack is 1 + 1 per 4 Knowledge, starting at Knowledge 4.

This means:
Know = 1 => + 1 Attack
Know = 4 => + 2 Attack
Know = 8 => + 3 Attack
Know = 12 => + 4 Attack
Know = 15 => + 5 Attack
....
Know = 60 => + 16 Attack

I suggest you give this to Creatures with Natural High Damage, but Weak-to-Mediocre Attack (Djinns, Rakshasas). Also good For units with High initiative, like Gremlins. But Never, ever give this to Gargoyles. Why bother, If there is not Damage to boost?

Attack costs Wood and Gems

Defence: Self-explanatory, this Trait gives additional Defence to a Target it can be seen as an additional Endurance, cumulative with the Spell .Again, I personally prefer other Traits, but as the Wizard's Defence is Abysmal, an extra boost is always welcome. Great with Vitality.

The Formula is the same as the one with Attack: 1 + 1 per 4 Knowledge, starting at Knowledge 4

This gives the Same Evolution:
Know = 1 => + 1 Defence
Know = 4 => + 2 Defence
Know = 8 => + 3 Defence
Know = 12 => + 4 Defence
Know = 15 => + 5 Defence
....
Know = 60 => + 16 Defence

I suggest you give those to Units with Weak Hit points (Djinns) or units that will have to endure a lot of attacks (Gremlins, Magi). Also good with Low-initiative troops, like Golems and Rakshasas.

Defence costs Wood and Crystal

Haste: Increases the Initiative of the wearer. Basically it's an additional Haste Spell (it cumulative with haste). One of the more powerful Traits, though Haste, if Available is better overall...

The Formula for Haste is: Knowledge = Initiative Bonus, Capped at Fifty.

That's easy. If your knowledge is 1, you have a +1% bonus, if your knowledge is 50, you have 50%, if your knowledge is 354, it's 50%.

Basically, the Light Magic Spell Haste is better than the Mini-artefact. However, it increases initiative Permanent and it work from the start of Combat. In addition, your Hero won't have to bother with Hastening your unit and can use is time to Conjure a Phoenix. Initiative Bonuses are Cumulative though and Combined with Djinns and Titans, it's plain overkill.

I mainly use Haste for units with Interesting Specials, like Djinns, Marble Gargoyles, Magnetic Golems, Rakshasa Ktsarras, Gremlins and Magi.

Haste costs Sulphur and Mercury

Health / At hit point Increasement which is only very effective in Large armies of Units with low hit points. Nevertheless, it can be useful if you are able get you knowledge high enough

The Health Formula is the following: 1 + 1 Per every 5 Knowledge, starting at Knowledge 5  

This gives the following boosts:

Know = 1 => + 1 Hit point to the wearer
Know = 5 => + 2 Hit point to the wearer
Know = 10 => + 3 Hit point to the wearer
Know = 15 => + 4 Hit point to the wearer
Know = 20 => + 5 Hit point to the wearer
...
Know = 60 => +13 Hit point to the wearer

As soon as you Knowledge passes 10 (which won't be long for the Wizard) the Health Effect will be larger than Vitality. The Wizards Knowledge can easily rise to 40 ( 9 Hit points) in longer games, and may even hit 60 (with the maximal bonus of 13!!!! Hit points) in Campaigns.


Of course this Is very interesting for Gremlins, who will last considerably longer than usual. Magi and Djinns benefit Greatly from the Hit point boost as well, and also Magnetic Golems are good candidates for these. Don’t bother with Rashshasas or Titans, the Bonus of 10 usually doesn't make a difference for them, except in vey large numbers.

Health costs Wood and Gems


Luck: Increases Luck of the Wearer. If you imbue you arties with Luck, you have a decisively less hard battle.

The Luck Modifier is 1 + 1 per 10 Knowledge, starting at level 10

this means you get +1 for 1, + 2 for 10, + 3 for 20 etc. As son as you get that + 3 bonus, the Luck Skill become (apart from it's perks) completely Obsolete. As the Cap is 5, 6 Luck won't increase the odds of Lucky strike. However, if you have some Luck in reserve, it will protect you against horrible spells and abilities like Sorrow Strike, the Sorrow Spell, the Cursed Ring and the dreaded Howl of Terror. If you don't face a potential Dark Caster, use the arties to replace Luck, so that you can use that skill slot for another skill, like Sorcery or a second Magic School (to give two examples). Overall, I combine both Skill and trait, if only to get the Benefit from Magic Resistance, Warlock's Luck or Resourcefullness. Handy for units that attack often, like Steel Golems (retaliation), Rakshasa Ktsarras, Titans, Djinns and Battle Mages

Luck costs Wood and Crystal.


Morale: increases the wearer's morale. When Playing Academy you usually are more likely to ger Luck that Leadership. You can compensate the low chances of Leadership by creating Morale Arties. they work Great with Retrubution, Empathy and Artificial GLory, if you manage to get those.

The Morale Formula is the same as the Luck Formula:  1 + 1 per 10 Knowledge, starting at level 10

In this case Morale Arties are more favourable to get than Luck Arties, because of the Rarity of the Leadership skill. Nevertheless, the Morale and Luck Arties work Excellent together, but which of the two you give (if you can't give both) depdns on the Skill and Artefacts the Hero has. Mainly, it's best to give Morale to Gremlins, Magi and Rakshasas while luck is better with Gargs, Golems and Djinns. Titans are excellent with both. If you manage to get Arteficial Glory, Empathy or Retribution, don't hesitate to hand out the Morale Arties massively. They can be very powerfull from Knowledge 10 on (+2 Morale). They, Like Luck arties, help countering Sorrow and Howl of Terror.

Morale Costs Ore and Sulphur

Protection: Makes the Creature Magic Proof: this Trait is very weak in the beginning, but is near Imbalance in the end. Imagine you have a Spell casting Runemage with Casts Expert Armageddon . you have Knowledge 25 and all your units (except the Magnetic Golems) have Magical Protection arties. The Armaggeddon will do only 76% of it's original Damage. These triats get pretty strong as soon as Reach Knowledge 2 (the Arties add 656% magic Proofness)

There is no Formula to calculate the Magic Proofness gained. I'll post the numbers here. Note that the Boost of the Artefacts is capped at 85%, even for magic Proof Units

Know = 1 => 6%
Know = 2 => 13%
Know = 3 => 19%
Know = 4 => 25%
Know = 5 => 29%
Know = 6 => 34%
Know = 7 => 37%
Know = 8 => 41%
Know = 9 => 44%
Know = 10 => 47%
Know = 11 => 49%
Know = 12 => 52%
Know = 13 => 54%
Know = 14 => 56%
Know = 15 => 58%
Know = 16 => 60%
Know = 17 => 61%
Know = 18 => 63%
Know = 19 => 64%
Know = 20 => 66%
Know = 21 => 67%
Know = 22 => 68%
Know = 24 => 69%
Know = 23 => 70%
Know = 25 => 71%
Know = 26 => 72%
Know = 27 => 73%
Know = 28 => 74%
Know = 29 => 75%
Know = 30 => 76%
Know = 32 => 77%
Know = 33 => 78%
Know = 35 => 79%
Know = 37 => 80%
Know = 39 => 81%
Know = 41 => 82%
Know = 45 => 83%
Know = 49 => 84%
Know = 60 => 85%

There is a Formula to calculate how much Magic Proof an already Magic Proof Creature would gain (Ie: Golems and Djinn Viziers)

The Formula is the Natural Protecion + (the Magic Proof Bonus * [100% - Natural Portection])

In case of Steel Golems in a heroes' army with 16 Knowledge (60% bonus), that would give: 75 + 25% of 60% = 75 + 15 = 90 (the Artefact bonus would be 85%, because The Protection is capped at 85%)

If we repeat this with Iron Golems we get: 50 + 50% of 60% = 50 + 30 80%

The Use of this trait is Self-explanatory: Usefull (if not overpowererd) against users of Destructive Magic (and Decay, Crystal, Fire Trap, etc). Only spell you have to be terryfied of is Fist of Wrath... Well... Kinda

IMPORTANT: IRRESISTABLE MAGIC AFFECT MAGICAL PROTECTION!! This is: It deceases they effectivity!!

Magical Protection requires Wood and Gems

Speed Increases the Speed of the Wearer. Against it's use is limited, but it is grossly overpowered in late game.

The Formula of Speed Calculation is the same as the one for Armour Crush:  1 + 1 Extra per every 15 Knowledge, starting at Knowledge 15.

This means:
Know = 1 => + 1 To Speed
Know = 15 => + 2 To Speed
Know = 30=> + 3 To Speed
Know = 45 => + 4 To Speed
Know = 60 => + 5 To Speed

As soon as you get a Knowledge of 30 (a pece of cake in the Late-game, due to Enlightment and artefacts) the arties give your units an astonishing 3 (!!) Speed. Imagine this with Golems and Artificial Glory, or with Rakshasas/Marble Gargoyles/Collosi. No here's the Catch: Most units of Academy are either Ranged or Spellcasters, making this trait a little bit redundant. I personally see that as a bonus; simply spend your resources to another trait. Like I said, Equip this to you Golems and Rakshasas (Preferably Rajas) and possible Marlbe Gargoyles and Charge the opponent. Great if Combined with the Luck, Initiative and Armour Crush traits.

Speed costs Ore and Mercury

my 2 cents, hope you found it usefull



____________
Coincidence? I think not!!!!

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Vangelis21
Vangelis21


Supreme Hero
Manchild
posted September 20, 2008 07:04 PM

with the only difference that attack goes +5 at knowledge 16 and not 15.

good job though
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Heroes VI is here and Necropolis is serious trouble!

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Lexxan
Lexxan


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Unimpressed by your logic
posted September 20, 2008 10:24 PM
Edited by Lexxan at 22:24, 20 Sep 2008.

Thanks I always liked Academy, though I'm  below average with it.
____________
Coincidence? I think not!!!!

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