Hidden in Sand does not work properly

[Zenzei]

The new spell Hidden in Sand is bugged, it doesn't give any troops when you cast it. I got the commander, dust king, but without the other units he is supposed to come with the spell isn't exactly good and definitely not worth the 75 earth gems. Also, should the dust king have some magic skill, mine didn't get any, like the commander you get from Hidden in Snow?

Edit: I have worthy heroes mod enabled, could there be some kind of compatibility error?

[llamabeast]

Using my crystal ball, I divine that you cast it on a non-wasteland province.

[sector24]

Sounds like you may have cast the spell outside of a wasteland province.

EDIT: Damn, too slow on the trigger. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Zenzei]

Aha! Indeed I am casting it non-wasteland province, teaches me to read spells more carefully before casting. Thanks for the quick clarification.

However, I'd like to still know if the king can get some magic ability.

[Shovah32]

I don't think so. But the spell can also summon dust priests who do(death, fire, earth and holy iirc).

[Endoperez]

I think the chance of getting a Dust Priest is the same as the chance of getting an Unfrozen Mage with Hidden in Snow: 75% for the first, 25% for the second, Magic scale increases both.

[Zenzei]

I casted the spell two more times, this time in wasteland province, here's what I got.

Casting #1
dust king
F3E1D3H2 dust priest
50 dust warriors

Casting #2
dust king
F1E3D3H2 dust priest
37 dust warriors

I think those results are pretty good, a big stack of good units, a thuggable commander chassis and a high powered mage.

If the scales have an effect, I had luck 3 and magic 3.

[sector24]

Better than 3 Iron Dragons? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Zenzei]

My experience with iron dragons is limited, only used them once or twice in single player, but I haven't been impressed by them so far. They were mostly just very expensive meat shield and they sucked at trampling.

So yeah, I think Hidden in Sand is better than 3 iron dragons. Also, HiS is only sixth level spell so you can use it long before any iron dragons. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[ologm]

I got a Dust priest with two astral and no fire.

[Endoperez]

According to Edi, Dust Priests have

Fixed E1D2H2
Randoms
100% FES
50% F
50% D

but I think that's actually two 100% chances of FES, or magic scale can improve the results.

[NTJedi]

Hidden in Sand does have a high cost for the end result, but the real value comes with the dust priest with fire magic. The game has very few summoning commanders/mages which arrive with fire magic. So if you need access to fire magic then it could be worthwhile, but if you're looking for an army I would suggest living statues or mechanical men for a better deal.

[Endoperez]

The Fire is just random, but I think the chance of getting at least some fire is good, and they always have Death so that ensures access to Flaming Skulls. Similar access to Earth/Astral is also noteworhty, especially if Astral 2 is possible (and ologm says it is).