magnomagus said:

---

Quote:

---

Download

MMH55 RC5 (830MB)

Hotseat & LAN require script activation!

---

First line below the download link and still people miss it.

---

devilfire said:

---

The spell system in HOMM series has always been mixed (buffs, debuffs, damage spells, utility in the same spell schools), while in HOMM 5 its more specialized. Some of the distinctive perks of this kind of spell system are both pros and cons in the same time:

1. Its specialized, maybe too specialized - want to buff? pick Light, want to debuff? pick Dark, want to wreak some havoc? pick Destructive, want to have utility and creative spells? pick Summoning

-> On paper its good to have exactly what you paid for, but the problem is that you get that and only that.. nothing else. There is no versatility in the schools - Light can only buff, Destructive can only damage etc.

2. They are themed in a slighty different manner - they are themed by their functionality as a whole - buffing (no matter if its offensive or defensive buff or healing or anything else), debuffing, damaging, only summoning got diverse spells

-> This is both good and bad. Theme wise its good because its easy to learn - one school is doing one thing (with the exception of summoning), the bad is that the schools cannot be balanced entirely that way because super buffed armies will always be better than the high damage spells (mostly mid to late game, considering that in MMH 5.5 there are more ways to get army and there is much more magic resistance)

3. Having only one kind of spells per school is leading to monotone battles that you know exactly what to expect, even the order in which the spells are executed

-> Again, its easier to learn it this way, but HOMM has always been a
chess-like game, not a checkers-like. Fireball is always going to be better than Circle of Winter etc. which means that you would expect a lot of Fireballs from a Destructive magic master and perks only makes that more obvious. The surprise factor is missing entirely.

What are the advantages of a mixed spell system ?

1. It will bring diversity - no more monotone and predictable spell usage, Fireball will still be better than Circe of Winter only if you have both, but it won`t be that easy to achieve that because they will be in a different spell schools, also having their perks in different trees means that you can pick the extra effects from one and leave the other, or take both if you want.

2. More versatility - if you want a specific spell go for it and get a lot more in the package without penalties

3. Balanced spell schools - Destructive is great in early game but it fades off, while Light and Dark are the other way around. Now that every school have both damage spells and buffs/debuffs it will be a lot more comfortable to pick the school that you want because you will have the freedom to play as a damage dealer in early game but still use buffs and debuffs in late game when you feel the need to.

4. Every spell will have its place - in the current system fire based spells and skills are all over the place, while the other elements are almost non existent, this is making certain skill paths and strategies a lot more viable (I`m looking at you fire path in destructive).

5. A lot new strategies that are more interesting than "buff your army with every single buff in the game".. (just a few examples: lower the armor with a fireball and hit with a buffed attack/damage stack or summon an earth elemental and buff his defense even further to have the ultimate tank or lower the defense of a enemy stack and then flash freeze him for one hit K.O. etc etc)

6. They can be organized theme wise in a balanced way - for example water/ice is associated with healing, so its a natural choice for regeneration, fire is associated with damaging so its a natural choice for divine strength or righteous might etc but in a way that you would still pick a offensive/defensive/utility path but it would be executed in a more versatile and balanced way, so that one spell school cannot have the best buffs, debuffs and damaging spells. Also they can be centered according to what they do - fire can be centered around offense and damage, earth around defense and terrain based spells, water/ice around support and slows and lightning around utility and stuns

7. Occultism and mostly Empowered spells will be a good choice for every spell school instead of just for Destructive as it is now, also Mark of the Sorceror and Counter spell will be a lot more interesting because they will require a lot more thought to be used perfectly

8. Magic resistance is going to be more useful all around, not just against Dark and Destructive as it is with the current system

One thing that is both advantage and disadvantage is that if the schools are mixed it won`t have might OR magic differentiation in the class based skill trees, but this will lead to more diversity in that the different classes would utilize the same spells in a different way and with a different strength.

What are the disadvantages of a mixed spell system ?

1. It will require a lot of work to transition from a specialized spells system to a mixed one - perks will need to move from one tree to another, some of the perk names will have to be changed to better fit their school

2. The perk support is not as versatile as it could be, so some compromises have to be made, atleast they are already balanced in a way that they buff certain spells (for example master of wrath is buffing Righteous Might and Haste which are both offensive spells etc)

3. Some spells are not fitting very well - Curse of the Netherworld, Word of Light, Summon Elementals can fit in every school. Maybe Summon Elementals can be given to every school?

4. For ultra polish it would need to have a different icons along with the name changes and maybe some visuals can be changed to fit better (for example Blade Barrier can be renamed into Ice Barrier and have a ice blocks particle)

5. Dungeon`s Elemental vision.. that one is a hard one if it cannot be made that every damaging spell is receiving the effect of elemental vision instead of just Destructive ones. On the other hand if it can be made, then they will be a true master of elements, not just Destructive.


I will be happy if someone want to express their thoughts and feelings about the mixed spell system.

---

Quote:

---

I opened a generated map in editor and activated script and used the reanimator patcher

---

Quote:

---

Fireball is always going to be better than Circle of Winter etc. which means that you would expect a lot of Fireballs from a Destructive magic master and perks only makes that more obvious.

---

devilfire said:

---

-> On paper its good to have exactly what you paid for, but the problem is that you get that and only that.. nothing else. There is no versatility in the schools - Light can only buff, Destructive can only damage etc.

---

devilfire said:

---

What are the advantages of a mixed spell system ?

1. It will bring diversity - no more monotone and predictable spell usage

---

magnomagus said:

---

Quote:

---

Fireball is always going to be better than Circle of Winter etc. which means that you would expect a lot of Fireballs from a Destructive magic master and perks only makes that more obvious.

---

we have been over this before in MMH55 fireball is NOT better than circle of winter

---

lotihoti said:

---

Some spells are OP too.. Vampirism: You can win battles without losses with legion size armies which is a bit... weird - Thousands of troops and on one site there are no losses? Doesnt sound logical.

---