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Heroes Community > Heroes 5 - Temple of Ashan > Thread: Schools of Magic : Summoning Magic
Thread: Schools of Magic : Summoning Magic This thread is 7 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 · «PREV / NEXT»
Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 28, 2009 10:54 AM

Lol Towerlord the summoning abuser The question in that match is whether you would not have lost with fireball, 11 power isn't all that impressive. And suppose you had, what if he had power of speed? You'd stand virtually no chance.
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Towerlord
Towerlord


Promising
Supreme Hero
Hero of Good, Slayer of Evil
posted January 28, 2009 10:58 AM

It is good for creeping, that is true, I already mentioned that in first post, probably best in early creeping, but later on dark/light become better even at that.

At rushing, I cannot agree, Destructive is better than Summoning, that's for sure.

Of course, it is better than Shattered Destructive versus Orcs, but that's obvious . And, actually, by the number of defenders it has got, I would say it's the most over-rated Magic School .

Anyway, numbers are clear, Summoning is the weakest, there is no spell that stands out as better than spells from other schools of magic, and the sooner you give it up, the faster you become a better player

The way I see Summoning is this : if you can't get the spells you want, from the 3 other schools, than you can go for it, otherwise DON'T !
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Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 28, 2009 11:04 AM

Btw how come you did not use motw? Also with all these barriers fire warriors looked like a natural choice. Not that elemental balance would not serve you well but I guess tough luck..
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samiekl
samiekl


Supreme Hero
posted January 28, 2009 11:07 AM

I didn't say anything about shattered (or not) destructive. While wasp swarm, hive and barriers keep the enemy at distance, the bird with arcane armor and fire warriors kill them. Shattered or not, destructive is less powerful vs orcs than summoning.

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Towerlord
Towerlord


Promising
Supreme Hero
Hero of Good, Slayer of Evil
posted January 28, 2009 11:10 AM

I used MotW a lot in that game, what do you mean, don't you see the double fences poping all the time . The reason I didn't have Fire Warriors or Elemental Balance was that I couldn't get my hands on Master of Conjuration.
Once I got MotW skill, and I got it pretty early, as it was crucial part of my plan, I was flooded with Exorcism skill , and anyway if I were to go for one of the two skills I would prefer Elemental Balance.
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Towerlord
Towerlord


Promising
Supreme Hero
Hero of Good, Slayer of Evil
posted January 28, 2009 11:17 AM

Quote:
I didn't say anything about shattered (or not) destructive. While wasp swarm, hive and barriers keep the enemy at distance, the bird with arcane armor and fire warriors kill them. Shattered or not, destructive is less powerful vs orcs than summoning.


Samiekl, if you get to cast Phoenix, Fire Warriors, Blade Barriers and Wasp Hive vs. Orcs, and still have troops on the battlefield it means you would've washed him completely with four Empowered Meteor Showers, Implosions, Deep Freeze or even other Destructive spells.
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Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 28, 2009 11:19 AM

My bad, for some reason I didn't notice you marking the zombies. Maybe I accidentally skipped that part. The funny part is that if you had raise dead the game would easily be yours and yes I agree about elemental balance.
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samiekl
samiekl


Supreme Hero
posted January 28, 2009 11:30 AM

Quote:
Quote:
I didn't say anything about shattered (or not) destructive. While wasp swarm, hive and barriers keep the enemy at distance, the bird with arcane armor and fire warriors kill them. Shattered or not, destructive is less powerful vs orcs than summoning.


Samiekl, if you get to cast Phoenix, Fire Warriors, Blade Barriers and Wasp Hive vs. Orcs, and still have troops on the battlefield it means you would've washed him completely with four Empowered Meteor Showers, Implosions, Deep Freeze or even other Destructive spells.


You haven't played many dungeon vs orcs games, have you?

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Towerlord
Towerlord


Promising
Supreme Hero
Hero of Good, Slayer of Evil
posted January 28, 2009 12:02 PM

I played a lot of those in arena.
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Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 28, 2009 12:09 PM

Sq had commented that dungeon has a pretty good chance against the orcs in arena but it's not easy to draw conclusions because the growths are tweaked here and there. One thing to note is that dungeon has 8 dragons and orcs 6 cyclopes, if you try with equal growth armies dungeon is usually toast. Or that furies while arena is around one week more growth than my map it has double the amount of furies.
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samiekl
samiekl


Supreme Hero
posted January 28, 2009 12:24 PM

Quote:
I played a lot of those in arena.

Which says exactly nothing, since in arena you don't need warmachines build and can take only skills directed to fast attacking which isn't the case in a real game

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Asheera
Asheera


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Elite Assassin
posted January 28, 2009 03:06 PM

Quote:
And, actually, by the number of defenders it has got, I would say it's the most over-rated Magic School
Hehe, that's because this topic is about 'attacking' Summoning Magic, I would defend any other spell school as well

I have to agree that there is something worse with Summoning than the others, and that's the basic abilities. Master of ... from Summoning magic are simply weak (not to mention unoriginal), giving only +4 Spellpower to a small group of spells. Some advanced abilities are pretty good though, like Fog Veil (it was improved and now it decreases the enemy ranged creatures' damage by 25%, and their initiative by 10% - seems a lot better than Evasion at least), while others are annoying to even pop up (like Exorcism). Elemental Balance is a pretty good perk as well if you know the enemy is likely to cast a powerful Phoenix, and Fire Warriors helps the somewhat useless Summon Elementals perk by not only making it 40% better, but also making sure Fire Elementals are summoned which are one of the best.
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alcibiades
alcibiades


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
posted January 28, 2009 04:38 PM

Towerlord > I understand you rate Light Magic very high, and it is perhaps also my favored magic school, if more by aligned inclination than due to its actual power. Problem with Light Magic is that it requires you to have an army to boost, without an army, you won't get much use of Light Magic. Therefore, not all factions are suitable for Light Magic use. In the same way, Dark Magic can be amazing, but against a Warlock who focuses on Destructive Magic, you'll have little use of Dark Magic. It depends on circumstances.

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Towerlord
Towerlord


Promising
Supreme Hero
Hero of Good, Slayer of Evil
posted January 28, 2009 05:10 PM

I am not attacking Summoning, it is a very pleasant sight on the battlefield, but after trying it in several ways, I can conclude that it simply doesn't do enough for the levels used( at least 6, cause without Sorcery it trully is nothing).

Dark Magic and Light Magic are complete guilds and have solutions for all the situations.

For example, Dark Magic vs. Dungeon with Destructive, has the following options:

1. Curse of the Netherworlds, and focuse on killing the Blacks
2. Vampirism on a big stacks, combined with curses. If you have a very big stack of Vampires, they will never die with ~150% life stealing
3. Mass Vulnerability
4. Puppet/ Frenzy on important opposing stacks like the Raiders

Add to these the Power of Speed ability and you have the perfect solutions.
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samiekl
samiekl


Supreme Hero
posted January 28, 2009 05:23 PM

Quote:
I am not attacking Summoning, it is a very pleasant sight on the battlefield, but after trying it in several ways, I can conclude that it simply doesn't do enough for the levels used( at least 6, cause without Sorcery it trully is nothing).

Dark Magic and Light Magic are complete guilds and have solutions for all the situations.

For example, Dark Magic vs. Dungeon with Destructive, has the following options:

1. Curse of the Netherworlds, and focuse on killing the Blacks
2. Vampirism on a big stacks, combined with curses. If you have a very big stack of Vampires, they will never die with ~150% life stealing
3. Mass Vulnerability
4. Puppet/ Frenzy on important opposing stacks like the Raiders

Add to these the Power of Speed ability and you have the perfect solutions.


1.easy to say, hard to do it against people who know what they're doing
2. a good implosion/deep freeze usually takes care of them
3.the most useless mass dark spell against dungeon
4.don't bring raiders against dark users. don't even build them

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Lexxan
Lexxan


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Unimpressed by your logic
posted January 28, 2009 06:00 PM
Edited by Lexxan at 18:03, 28 Jan 2009.

I'll join the Band Wagon as well, then...

I see Summoning as a Powerfull and Usefull Magic school, Which is able become the most powerfull school in several occasion. Imo, Summoning is completely underrated as a school of Magic on its own, since Of the Two/Three Spells per level, there only one that's really, really good. Not that the others suckk, but they are simply a lot less desirable.

That's the main weakness of Summoning - You'd rather have Arcane crystal over Wasp Swarm or Phoenix over Arcane Armor. It's a simply fact. Another weakness, imo, is that it's quite expensive: Spells like Crystal and/or Phoenix cost a LOT (in mana), compared to other Spells of that Level, but they are generally worth it imo.


SPELLS



Fist of Wrath: Self-proclaimed Anti-Dragon Weapon.. uuuuhm right.

Cost: 5

No: 20+4*SpP Physical Damage
Basic: 30+6*SpP  Physical Damage
Advanced: 40+8*SpP Physical Damage
Expert: 50+10*SpP Physical Damage


Comments: Imo of the weakest Spells in the Game, if not the weakest (though Stone Spikes is almost as sucky). Physical Damage is cool, making it a good Magical Alternative to Units with  (Partial) Magical Immunity (Magnetic Golems, Black Dragons, Obsidian Garg, Magma Dragons, Earth Elementals). Those who actually believe the previous sentence, forget it. Fistr of Wrath is only good on paper. On expert Mastery it does (taking that the Enemy is a Warlock/Wizard/whatever with 10 Spellpower) 150 Damage. That's enough to kill half a black dragon, or 9 Magnetic Golems. Even Eldrich Arrow does more damage on Expert Mastery WITH a Hero with the Same Spellpower, but costs one mana point less. It sucks, bad time.

rating: 2/10





Fire Trap: Most Powerfull Level 1 Spell.

No: Places 2 Mines that do 50+10*Power Fire damage.
Basic: Places 4 Mines that do 50+10*Power Fire damage.
Advanced: Places 6 Mines that do 50+10*Power Fire damage.
Expert: Places 8 Mines that do 50+10*Power Fire damage.

Cost: 8

Comments: Contrairy to Fist of Wrath, the other lvl1 Spell is probably the most powerfull spell for it's level (eventhough Slow and Haste both come close to it), and should be preferred to Fist of Wrath in... let's see... 100% of the Circumstances. Fire Trap's main use lies in battles against charging factions (Sylvan, Inferno, Stronghold) or in creeping Walkers. The best results I had with Fire Trap was with Warlocks, since they give the best spellpower boost. However, Why pick Summoning of you have Destructive. Occassions when I would use Fire Trap (with Summoning Master ofc) is in the two cases mentionned above, ESPECIALLY when you play with Dungeon against Stronghold (the latter is certainly going to have Shatter Destructive). Overall a very good spell, tho it's use is somewhat occassional. It's damage is quite decent too: 150 Damage from 8 Mines => 1200 Damage in total.

rating: 8/10




Arcane Crystal: Block and Destroy.

Cost: 8

No: 40+8*Power Physical Damage
Basic: 60+12*Power Physical Damage
Advanced: 80+16*Power Physical Damage
Expert: 100+20*Power Physical Damage

Comments: Crystal is probably the most versatile spell in the game: It has multiple purposes, varying from blocking enemy shooters and passage ways, to covering corpses and dealing quite decent damage. Like Fist of Wrath, damage is physical, but unlike FoW, the damage isn't low at all. Arcane Crystal is the true anti-Magical imunnity spell. If we let our Hero (see not at the end of the post) cast AC and let the Crystal explode, it will do 300 Damage. Judging that 10 Spellpower is  easy to get, even for Wizards and certainly for Rangers, Arcane Crystal is simply dangerous. Imo, it's even one of the most annoying Spells in the game, especially with Wizards, who can spawn two Crystals in one go due to MotW. Only downside imo is the pretty high cost (8!), but is it worth it? Hell Yeah! Use AC to block enemy shooters or summon it near enemy forces (afterwhich you let your smallest stack of shooters; preferably 1 Gremlin) shoot it, to annihilate the enemy's troops. Remember that AC may work against you, as when your troops near it, the enemy can destroy it to decmate your force. Use with caution.

rating: 8.5/10




Wasp Swarm: All you need is Stun

Cost: 5

No:  10+2*Power Physical Damage
Basic: 20+4*Power Physical Damage and an Additional ATB-value reduction of 20%
Advanced: 30+6*Power Physical Damage and an Additional ATB-value reduction of 40%
Expert: 40+8*Power Physical Damage and an Additional ATB-value reduction of 60%

Comment: Eventhough Wasp Swarm is cheap, it's simply weak, and at it's best ability, mediocre. It's can be very annoying with Wizards (MotW) and with Rangers (Imbue + Rain of Arrows), but generally not worth the cost. It's main use, ATB reduction is weaker than Stunning (which, iirc gives an ATB reduction of 100%). Our Hero's swarm would do 120 damage, lower than Fist of Wrath, but I will not deny that Wasp Swarm has it's uses, since not all Faction can access Destructive and MoS, and 60% is never much of a waste. Hive is TONS better though, and makes this spell obselete.(except for Dirael)

rating: 2.5/10




Antimate Dead: Don't let the Dead rest

cost: 9

No: 120+15*Power Hit Points raised, and the Target's Max HPs is decreased by 20%
Basic: 160+20*Power Hit Points raised, and the Target's Max HPs is decreased by 20%  
Advanced: 200+25*Power Hit Points raised, and the Target's Max HPs is decreased by 20%
Expert: 240+30*Power Hit Points raised, and the Target's Max HPs is decreased by 20%

Comments: Naturally, Raise Dead is the best with Necromancer, who have this spell by default. However, the main problem with Raise Dead is not the 20% Hit Point reduction; it's the cost, as 9 Mana is quite a lot for a lvl2 Spell. (only Cleasing has more). Luckily the 20% damage Reduction ensures that you use the spell at the end of combat (or your troops will easier to kill). Raise Dead also works on Living Creatures, but i'm not a fan of using it like that. The Rasing isn't permanent for them, and any creatures that weren't killed before the raising, will die first (meaning that the raised creatures, those that laready died, will die last). Only if the Stack is quick, annoying and beyond saving (Blood Furies being a good example) I would recommend it. Apart from that, it's use on Living Creatures purely depends on occasion and opportunity. Finally, it's Rasing Potential is quite Powerfull, as our Hero will restore 530 Hit Points (105 Skeletons) with merely 10 Spell Power. However, there are much better spells around.

Rating: 6/10




Blade Barrier: Block and Keep Blocked.

Cost: 12

No: 20+5*Power Hit Points
Basic: 40+8*Power Hit Points
Advanced: 60+10*Power Hit Points
Expert: 96+12*Power Hit Points

Comments: Blade Barrier is a more Powerfull Blocking Spell than Arcane Crystl, but a bit less Versatile. Depending on Foes and Occasion, it can be more powerfull that crystal, but it usually it not. It's true power doesn't lie in damage; it lies in Blocking. It acts as a free obstackle, one that absorbs 25% of all Damage it suffers and rebukes it to the attacked if it was damaged in melee. It has only one real weakness: Ranged Attacks, which only do 25% of their normal damage (1/8 if at Half-range). Blade Barrier is extremely usefull in shielding your own units from Enemies or in halting/post-poning the Charges of Inferno, Sylvan or Stronghold; eventhough it's hit points are quite low, especially for the end-game. Of the three Summoning Factions, Blade Barrier works the best with Dungeon, since it needs a way to shield it's fragile units from impending Harm (but as we all know, the best way for Dungeon to defend themselves is to use Destructive Magic). If our unknown hero would cast it, it would have 216 hit Points.

Rating: 7/10




Earthquake: Is it even a spell?

Cost: 7

No: Between 0-100 Physical damage to each Wall, Gate, Turret, Arcane Crystal and Blade Barrier.
Basic: Between 0-200 Physical damage to each Wall, Gate, Turret, Arcane Crystal and Blade Barrier.
Advanced: Between 50-300 Physical damage to each Wall, Gate, Turret, Arcane Crystal and Blade Barrier.
Expert: Between 50-400 Physical damage to each Wall, Gate, Turret, Arcane Crystal and Blade Barrier.

Comments: Generally Walls have around 250, Gates/Turret around 300 and Powerfull Barriers around 200 Hit Points. When you realise that Expert EarthQuake does between 50 and 400 Damage, an average of 225, it's usually not strong enough to break any wall, Gate or Turret (and Barriers only suffer 25% of all damage and are seldomly destroyed by it.) It can only be used at sieges, and can be supportive to your Trebuchets, but War machine and even Luck are more potent than the spell. MoE makes it a bit more powerfull, and Tremors allows you to stun the defenders, but if a spell needs such boosting in order to have any effect at all, then why even bother? I won't say it's redundant, but It should be an ability, like Banish, or something like that, and not a spell that occupies a spot in your mage guild, that could have been used for Fireball or Blade Barrier instead! SUX.

Rating: 1/10 (0.5 for the possible strengthening and + 0.5 for cheap price)




Phantom Forces: Clone for Dummies

Cost: 18 (oO??)

No: Clones Lvls 1-4
Basic: Clones lvls 1-5
Advanced: Clones all lvls, excluding 7
Expert: Clones All lvls, including 7

Comments: Despite it's extremely expensive Cost (18!!!), Phantom Forces is one of the best spells for it's level. Cloning a stack of 80 Arcane Archers can make a difference. DO know that Clones cannot
use any advenced Abilities or cast Spells  (in other words: only clone your most powerfull stacks). Phantom Forces is always a very usefull spell to use, but beware of the Heroes who can wipe out the Clone with only one spell. The Clones also gain free Incorporeality, which means that an attack doesn't strictly mean "end of Phantom Forces"

Rating: 7.5/10




Summon Hive: Let the Stinging begin!

Cost: 15

No: Summons a Hive with 10 Hit Poins, and an Initiative of 2+Spellpower/4, and a starting ATB value between 0.5 and 1.0
Basic:  Summons a Hive with 25 Hit Poins, and an Initiative of 5+Spellpower/4, and a starting ATB value between 0.5 and 1.0
Advanced:  Summons a Hive with 50 Hit Poins, and an Initiative of 5+Spellpower/4, and a starting ATB value between 0.5 and 1.0
Expert:  Summons a Hive with 100 Hit Poins, and an Initiative of 10+Spellpower/4, and a starting ATB value between 0.5 and 1.0

Comments: Like it's weaker brother, Wasp Swarm, The Hive needs Expert Mastery to function properly. It is a free Wasp Swarm caster, making sure the Hero doesn't need to bother anymore with casting Wasp Swarm. The Hive's Swarm is cast at Expert mastery, at the same Spellpower of the Hero who summoned it. If our Hero would summon it, the Hive would have 100 Hit Poins, and initiative of 13 and a Swarm that does 120 Damage and decreased the enemy ATB-value by 60%. On it's own, the spell would seem weak, and it somewhat is, with it's meager 100 Hit points, but onthe other side, it usually acts often enough to have a significant crippling effect on the enemy's initiative. Wizards produces the best hives, not because of their spellpower (which is all-by-all passable), but because they can spawn many of them through MotW. Overall an extremely usefull spell during those large battles, and especially during Siege offence or defence. Finally, the Spell is quite cheap too, at only 15 Mana (which on it's own is cheap for a Summoning Spell)

Rating: 8/10




Summon Elementals: Occasional and Unrealiable

Cost: 17

No: Number of Elementals Summoned is Half the Hero's Spellpower Basic:Number of Elementals Summoned is Three Quarters the Hero's Spellpower
Advanced: Number of Elementals Summoned is exactly the Hero's Spellpower
Expert: Number of Elementals Summoned is Double the Hero's Spellpower

Comments: Summon Elementals is another of those spells that requires Expert Mastery and HIGH spellpower to fucntion properly. Overall, the Number of Elementals Summoned is simply too low to be significant, and makes MoC almost compulsory. Using this spell will either give you a Charger, a Tank, a Shooter or a Caster. It's sounds good on paper, but in practice it usually does not. Earth Elementals are extremely surdy, but too sluggish to have any importance in the game; Water Elementals are powerfull caster, but they can only cast Icebolt twice and they are overall weak in combat; Fire Elementals are Sturdy and strong shooter, but they are very, VERY slow (in=8); Air Elementals will serve you the best, with their HUGE initiative and NER. However, Airs are vulnerable and fall easily. Depending on your situation, you could of course always use Airs, Waters or Fires (Earths are useless, point blank), but unless you have MoC or HUGE spellpower, I would recommend you spent that 17 Mana on something else.. something more usefull. Our hypothetical Hero would summon merely 20... which is kinda low, n'est-ce pas?

Rating: 4/10

Arcane Armor: Invulnerability, eh?

Cost: 20

No: Creates a Shield that absorbs 25% of All Damage the Target Suffers. The Shield has 250+25*power Hit Points
Basic: Creates a Shield that absorbs 25% of All Damage the Target Suffers. The Shield has 250+25*power Hit Points
Advanced: Creates a Shield that absorbs 25% of All Damage the Target Suffers. The Shield has 250+25*power Hit Points
Expert: Creates a Shield that absorbs 50% of All Damage the Target Suffers. The Shield has 600+60*power Hit Points

Comments: Another of those Mana Draining Spells, Arcane Armor is a bit weakish for it's level. 25% damage reduction isn't that great, and admittedly, there are better ways to protect oneself. Regardless, if your enemy concentrates on one of your stacks, Arcane Armor is a life-saver indeed. The Armor's hit points are simply gargantuan, and at expert mastery it finally is  the spell it should be. However, without doubt, Summon Phoenix is the better spell in 80% of the cases. Our Hero would make a Nice Arcane Armour of 1200 Hit Points (meaning that there's 2400 damage needed) to destroy it. In late-late game, where stacks easiliy do +4K damage each, you will not find any good use for this spell.

Rating: 6/5/10




Summon Phoenix: Incendio!

Cost: 25!

No: Summons a Phoenix with an Attack/defence of 10*lvl, Damage of 10-15*(Spellpower/4) and Hit Points of 300 + 30*(Spellpower/4)
Basic: Summons a Phoenix with an Attack/defence of 10*lvl, Damage of 10-15*(Spellpower/3) and Hit Points of 300 + 30*(Spellpower/3)
Advanced: Summons a Phoenix with an Attack/defence of 10*lvl, Damage of 10-15*(Spellpower/2) and Hit Points of 300 + 30*(Spellpower/2)
Expert: Summons a Phoenix with an Attack/defence of 10*lvl, Damage of 10-15*Spellpower and Hit Points of 300 + 30*Spellpower

Comments: Summon Phoenix is probably the best spell in the game. The Phoenix it summones is fast, powerfull, and a menace. A force to be reconned with. However, as Towerlord already made clear, it also has many weaknesses: Puppet, Frenzy, Cold Death, Harm Touch, Vorpal Sword, Arcane Archers... But despite all these, your Phoenix will halp you a lot in most cases. Especially factions that have difficult access to the above abilities (Haven, Stronghold, Dungeon). However, like with Arcane Armor, in the late-late game the Spell becomes somehwat redundant, as the average stack usually does more damage that the Phoenix has hit points. Warlocks can also easily blast them away with a single implosion. Despite it's many flaws, Phoenix is great and a real life-saver.

Rating: 8.5/10

Note: our Hero's Spellpower is always 10, and he has Expert Summoning.
Note2: Weak Spell, Average Spell, Good Spell




Summoning's Potential: On it's own, Summoning is the least desirable and most unreliable of all magic schools. Like I said in the opening Paragraph, the chance of getting Fire Trap or Arcane Crystal Fist  equal the chance of getting of Wrath or Wasp Swarm. Summoning litterally depends on Luck; If you get the wrong spells, forget it.

The Perk of the Summoning Magic Skill are generally not that strong; Good Perks include Fog Veil and Haunted Mines, average perks are Back to the Void, Elemental Balance, Runic Armour and the Master of X series. However most perks have only occasional uses and are weak overall: Banish, Exorcism, Elemental Balance and Fire Warriors.

In essence Summoning Magic is simply a let-down and weak skill that's fuelled by spells that can turn out to be both Majestic and Pathetic. Whether I would pick it depends on faction to faction, so I'll give you a small resumé of this:

Haven: Haven doesn't have the Spellpower, nor the Mana to be an effective Summoning Caster. They don't exactly need Phoenix or Barrier to be strong. However and Arcane Armour or a well placed Hive can do miracles.

Inferno: They Spellpower is too pathetic to use Summoning. Never pick it.

Sylvan: They Summoing has the potential to become powerfull, but buffs from Lightning are simply a lot better.

Necropolis: Summoning is a must, as they need a powerfull Raise Dead. Fire Trap, Crystal and Phoenix are very handy. They usually have the Strongest Hives.

Dungeon: In most cases Destructive is simply better; there's one exception: When fighting Stronghold, who ofc have Shatter Destructive, a Powerfull Summoning can save the day (phoenix, crystal, barrier, Hive and trap to be precise). Their Barriers, Traps and Crystal are generally the strongest. The Combination of Phoenix and Teleport Assault (+ Sorcery) is simply too scary for words.

Academy: As Academy can easily handly two Magic Schools, Summoning is a good choice here. Summoing is best combined with Dark or light here, and if this is the case, Academy might have the best Phoenixes, since theirs can easily get buffed by allied Archmagi and Djinns.

Fortress: Summoning isn't really an unlikely path for Fortress, as it needs Summoning to get Absolute Protection. Their Phoenix completely fits with possible Armageddon tactics, as does Summon Elementals/fire Warriors, and Arcane Armor is downright scary when cast on Magmas or Defenders. Overall, Summoning is not needed, and there are lots of better skills to take, but if there's an arcane Librairy or nearby Dungeon/Necropolis/Academy present, then why not?

Stronghold (Shatter): Shatter Summoning isn't a real must, except against Necro, which is by far the only town that has a nearly guaranteed use of Summoning. It's usually not worth taking, but Shatter Summoning simply destroyes enemy Summoning Potential, as Summoning Magic mainly depends on Mastery and Spellpower.

Overall: A skill that's mediocre at most, and not worth taking in at least 70% of the cases. It's unstable (meaning Broadstrong would simply despise it), ubt with a bit of Luck, summoning can be stronger than any magic school (but that's pretty occasional)


Also, something Towerlord wrote and I completely agree with:

Quote:
ll in all, Summoning Magic is great for creeping, where you face a dumb opponent(AI), and can make your walking over the map really easy, but when it comes to real battles, it is weak compared to the real top gun schools.



Phew, I'm almost becoming a Strategist here


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Coincidence? I think not!!!!

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Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 28, 2009 06:54 PM

Maybe I should start penalizing people who make such monstrous posts that I have to read
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H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb

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Lexxan
Lexxan


Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Unimpressed by your logic
posted January 28, 2009 06:57 PM

Quote:
Maybe I should start penalizing people who make such monstrous posts that I have to read


Sorry



I really like to talk  lot in RL , that's why I probably tend to make Huge posts (I keep writing and writing, untill I don't have anything to say anymore...or grow weary)

btw: you are right right? :S)
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!

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Arcax
Arcax


Promising
Famous Hero
Its quite hot inside...
posted January 28, 2009 08:17 PM

QP assault

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rubycus
rubycus


Known Hero
-student of the mind-
posted January 28, 2009 08:36 PM

Quote:

CLICK HERE FOR REPLAY

Wow, what a long, weird game!!
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A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.

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