Best 0-4 level combat itens?

[Makinus]

What are the best combat non-unique non-blood non-booster itens from 0 to 4 research level?

My choices (vanilla):


Level 0:
- Axe and Swords of Sharpness (armor piercing is good)
- Fire Sword (better attack)
- Skull Talisman (skellyspan)
- Black Steel Plate and Full Plate (only for low Encumbrance commanders or 0 encuberance undead)


Level 2:
- Faithfull (luck without needing a misc slot)
- Weightless itens (decent protection without encumbrance)
- Amulet/Robe of Missile Protection/Shield of Valor (Missile protection is always good)
- Boots of the Messenger (reinvigoration)
- Burning Pearl (attack enhancer)
- Copper Plate (cheap protection with small bonus)
- Horror Helmet (fear)
- Pendant of Luck
- Sceptre of Authority (Flame Bolt spawn)


Level 4:
- Amulet of Antimagic (magic protection)
- Amulet of Resilience (reinvigoration)
- Chain Mail of Displacement (good low encunbrance armor)
- Charcoal Shield (good area effect)
- Fire/Frost Brand (good area effect)
- Girdle of Might (cheap reinvig/strenght booster)
- Implementor Axe (fear)
- Lucky Coin (luck without needing a misc slot)
- Rainbow Armor (reinvig + magic resistance)
- Ring of Regeneration (regen)
- Shroud of Battle Saint (bless)
- Silver Hauberk (decent with missile protection)
- Rune Smasher/Spell Focus (penetration)
- Staff of Corrosion (Acid Bolt)
- Sword of Swiftness (2 attacks and increases defense)
- Vine Shield (entanglement)
- Wand of Wild Fire (Fireball spawn)

[bbz]

I'd add in thunder bow as well.

[Makinus]

Originally Posted by bbz

I'd add in thunder bow as well.

I did not add it only because you need a strong commander to make it usefull and not all nations have recruitable commanders with decent strenght to make the best use of it...

[TigerBlood]

4 Wave Breaker
4 Snake Bladder Stick
2 Shambler Armour
0 Raw Hide Shield
4 Flambeau
4 Wall Shaker
4 Winged Shoes
2 Birch Boots
4 Elemental Armour
4 Crystal/Slave Matrix

[Makinus]

Originally Posted by TigerBlood

4 Wave Breaker
4 Snake Bladder Stick
2 Shambler Armour
0 Raw Hide Shield
4 Flambeau
4 Wall Shaker
4 Winged Shoes
2 Birch Boots
4 Elemental Armour
4 Crystal/Slave Matrix

Wave Breaker - only useful underwater, but you have a point.
Shamble Armour - how do you use it? i could not find a good use for it..
Raw Hide Shield - seriously? you find it is worth the gems?
Flambeau - Agreed that it is a good item, but i think the gem price is too high.
Wall Shaker - i find it too niche...
Winged Shoes - strategically useful, but is flight really useful enough to justify it in combat?
Birch Boots - I find Boots of the Messenger a much better alternative.
Elemental Armour - You are right... the elemental protections make it a really good item... i´ll add to my list
Crystal/Slave Matrix - Only useful if you make heavy use of communions and i find most communions too easy to disrupt...

[TigerBlood]

Originally Posted by Makinus

Shamble Armour - how do you use it? i could not find a good use for it..

Grants Water Breathing. Also 0 encumberance armour.

Raw Hide Shield - seriously? you find it is worth the gems?

0 level. 0 encumberance. Use it on a battle caster if you can't make anything better and need the protection.

Flambeau - Agreed that it is a good item, but i think the gem price is too high.

Fire gems...I usually don't have much use for them outside of battle magic. But it is expensive.

Wall Shaker - i find it too niche...

Item spam Panic. I like that spell. The seige bonus is just a bonus.

Winged Shoes - strategically useful, but is flight really useful enough to justify it in combat?

Depends. Sending a thug to block cavalry or attack archers is always fun. Allows a regular commander to lead flying units. edit: On a flying raid or to reinforce a regular army, I mean.

Birch Boots - I find Boots of the Messenger a much better alternative.

Resistances may be important depending who you fight. In a strong cold province, for a commander without cold resistance, the net encumberance reduction is better than boots of the messenger.

Other people have noted the benefits of other items.

[Soyweiser]

Originally Posted by Makinus

Crystal/Slave Matrix - Only useful if you make heavy use of communions and i find most communions too easy to disrupt...

These things are useful even if you do not make heavy use of communions. They can give communion power to mages not normally able to commune, and they free up a order slot. (Getting your super spells cast at turn 1, and not turn 2 can be a big deal).

The crystal matrix is the most important one. Because you know the order mages are going to cast spells, you can just have the slaves cast comm slave and give the last mage a matrix to make him a master.

I think you only use communions in huge communions. But they can be great even in small numbers. (And having communable magepriests makes getting h3 easy).

[parone]

i know nothing...so take that into account here.

but one of my favorite combos at low level is this

barbarian commander(cheap, easy to find, natural stregnth of 13)

thunder bow
eye of aiming
boots of giant stregnth
bundled with a mage who casts earth might
possibly bear claw talisman

if he is firing at high value targets(giants, cav, even casters) this guy is nasty nasty nasty.

of course, even with forge bonus, you have 6A and 6E in him. and really, you should put a bit of armor on him so you don't lose him to an arrow or two.

but if you were playing vanilla with d hammers, he'd be even cheaper.

[ghoul31]

Raw hide shields are good if you need to equip lots of sc's and you have lots of nature gems

I also like the shield of gleaming gold

Winged shoes are vital in getting your sc's to the provinces they need to be in

[Shardphoenix]

I did not add it only because you need a strong commander to make it usefull and not all nations have recruitable commanders with decent strenght to make the best use of it...

http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Awaken_Sleeper