What are some useful strategies for construction?

[Nick_K]

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about the skull mentors. The lightless lantern at Const 6 is also very good: it's more efficient in terms of RP/Gem and the horror marking isn't actually a big deal... but those extra two levels of research needed are a bit annoying

[Taqwus]

Some items are rather useful, militarily. For instance...

Supply items: starvation really bites.

Staff of Storms: shuts down -most- fliers, really weakens missile fire, and ensures Summon Storm Power will work.

Sword of Aurgelmer: luck to all friendly units :O

Banner of the Northern Star: +1S to all astral mages. Helpful if you're astral-happy and they're not.

[Nightblade]

After the 1st time i encountered the rogue commander Bogus the Troll that single handedly routed a whole army of mine, i never underestimated the values in battles of good items anymore.

[BigDisAwesome]

yeah those guys are insane. i'm pretty sure i remember seeing a flying unit with a defense of 29.

[General_Jah]

What about some SC strategies for pretenders? IS the pain point to get your defense really high or your protection really high?

From the manual it seems that though high defense can make or break you in a huge battle with masses of troops that have a superior defense. A smaller force, especially a lone pretender, that even has a high defensive will get dropped when he is swarmed by 2 a hit.

So is this really that viable a strat for a lone pretender?

Thanks!

[Meglobob]

General_Jah said:
What about some SC strategies for pretenders? IS the pain point to get your defense really high or your protection really high?

From the manual it seems that though high defense can make or break you in a huge battle with masses of troops that have a superior defense. A smaller force, especially a lone pretender, that even has a high defensive will get dropped when he is swarmed by 2 a hit.

So is this really that viable a strat for a lone pretender?

Thanks!

You after go for defense first for a SC, this means awe, fear, etheral, luck, regeneration, mistform, invulnerability, mirror image, high protection/defense etc...

Once you are satisfied he is near to invincible then look to how he will kill everything.

Creating a SC/thug that can defeat the AI is fairly easy, creating one that defeat other players in MP is very, very hard.

[Teraswaerto]

If plan to use your pretender as an SC, pick paths that give him advantages you can't get from your national mages.

All paths have useful buffing spells, but in Blood and Death they require high levels of research.

A few spells that come to mind:

Air: Mistform, Mirror Image
Earth: Summon Earth Power (for reinvigoration), several spells that increase your protection, such as Stone Skin
Fire: Fire Shield
Water: Quickness, Breath of Winter
Astral: Personal Luck, Body Ethereal, Twist Fate, Astral Shield. Don't take a little Astral on your pretender in an MP game, go for 9 - 10 or not at all, otherwise he will be killed by Magic Duel
Death: Soul Vortex
Nature: Regeneration, Moss Body