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- Feb 5, 2009
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Okay, so I'm thinking that maybe posting a discussion based on discussing tactics for the individual races of HoMM5 TotE might get a little more activity in the Heroes of Might and Magic Social Group.
Essentially, these discussions will operate on a 'Freedom of Speech' basis, where people should feel free to debate certain aspects of a strategy, ultimately trying to create some good ideas for pros and noobs alike in the game.
Okay, so here's to getting the ball rolling.
Essentially, the Stronghold race in TotE is very unique in that you must always keep attacking your enemy. If you do so much as Defend or Wait, you will find yourself losing precious Blood Rage points, which will leave you with a horrifically underpowered race.
When battling using the Stronghold units, you must remember that a great offense is key to overcoming the low health stats which the units possess. The more you attack, the more Blood Rage you will get, and you will find that this can serve great defensively (as Blood Rage absorbs attack damage) as well as offensively (different levels of Blood Rage gives each unit its own unique stat boosts or combat abilities).
So, in the early game, I find it to be imperative to consider using the fantastic Goblin growth to your advantage. You will find yourself with swarms of these filthy fighters, so sacrifice in the early game is acceptable. In fact, I recommend sacrificing some Goblins for the tougher early game battles. Why? Blood Rage. Every time a friendly stack dies, all of your units will gain 30 Blood Rage points. So, why not fill all your empty slots with 1 Goblin? You will be swarming these in the late game anyway, and that little bit of sacrifice does help you to win some battles that would normally be otherwise unadviseable when playing as any of the other races.
So, what to watch out for? Ranged units are always a hassle in the early game to deal with, especially when you can't choose which units they will attack first. So staying clear of them would be advisable. Flyers can also cause a bit of trouble, as they can (and will) often skip your sacrificial stacks and head straight for your main groups. Other than that, tactical placement should deal with almost everything else.
As for a standardized build order, I do not have one planned out as of yet, but if someone has any suggestions on that, I would be more than glad to hear it (and possibly debate it ;P).
On to the heroes. The Barbarians have a very unique aspect in their skills. That is, instead of having any of the conventional caster skills, they have anti-caster skills. This is where it is good to know what race your enemy is playing as, so that you can get a better idea of which magic school they will draw from most likely.
Here is a list of Barbarian skills and why I would or wouldn't go for them:
15%
Logistics: Okay, Logistics can be very handy in the game, but unfortunately for the Barbarians they don't really get any great or outstanding abilities from this skill. Essentially, if you really wanted to, I suppose you could go for Pathfinding, Scouting and Swift Mind if you really wanted to, but Scouting is next to useless when you've already explored the map to the best of your ability and Swift Mind isn't a must have for the Barbarians.
Attack: This ability is a must have for the Barbarians. Battle Frenzy is always nice, but it's much nicer when you have swarms of Goblins and Orc Warriors to match it with. Tactics is also handy to have up your sleeve for positioning your units better, but I find that the real kicker here is Retribution (which requires Leadership, another ability I would reccomend for the Barbarians). Trolman likes to go for Stunning Blow and Excruciating Strike, but that is not my preference. Although if you did go for that line, it would go well with Swift Mind from Logistics, which I do believe Trolman would most likely do. Nonetheless, I prefer my way to his
10%
Blood Rage: Here is the unique Barbarian ability, in all its glory. And a very nice ability it is, too. Like most unique abilities, it is imperative to master the use of this ability in order to truly master the use of the race as a whole. Without this ability, you will find that the Stronghold units are, in fact, rather underpowered. With this ability, on the other hand, they can become VERY overpowered if you play the Blood Rage correctly. It is a must have, but if you find something else that you want, it is probably advisable to go for that first. All the same, don't leave Blood Rage in the dark.
The abilities that come with the Blood Rage skill aren't too bad, either. Memory of Blood provides a very nice Blood Rage boost at the start of each battle, while Powerful Blow allows for your units to have a little extra kick when attacking enemy units (works great on ranged units, btw). Might Over Magic, however, is a bit of a joke. This ability weakens your enemy's spell power based on how much spell power your hero has. As a Barbarian, spell power is hard to come by. This is one of the instances where Enlightenment can come in handy, but more on that later.
Defense: This skill can serve well for the Barbarians, but I would only truly reccomend getting the base abilities if you choose this skill. Vitality will make your Goblins even more imba than they already are, Protection will add magic resistance to your army and Evasion will reduce the blow from those nasty ranged attackers. Abilities like Stand Your Ground, Resistance and Defend Us All are laughable. First of all, you don't defend as the Barbarians, making Stand Your Ground obsolete. Resistance adds +2 Defense. Seriously, that is all. Stupid, huh? Defend Us All could be handy, but only if you miraculously got that ability as an option on one of those rare late game level ups and you were about to finish your enemy off, but wanted a one time boost in Goblin numbers before you did.
Leadership: An absolute MUST have for the Barbarians. The morality boosts alone are enough reason to get this ability, but get this - with the sacrifice of having Recruitment in one of your ability slots, you can have Battle Elation, an ability which gives +50 Blood Rage points for every triggered morale effect any of your units have. And as if that wasn't good enough, you could also get Aura of Swiftness to fill up that last slot. Just keep your morale high, and you will find your Blood Rage points to be incredibly high in almost every battle. Furthermore, with Battle Elation, you can go for Retribution in Attack if you want. Not bad, eh? :3
8%
Luck: As we head to the less likely attributes, Luck is in limbo in terms of probability. In terms of use, however, I would reccomend Luck in a heartbeat. In combination with great morale and Blood Rage, a luck boosted attack on some of your most powerful units is all you need to seal the deal in utterly humiliating your opponent. So, what abilities are advisable? Well, I would go for Magic Resistance, Barbarian's Luck and Soldier's Luck. Magic Resistance and Barbarian's Luck offers a great amount of magical protection, while Soldier's Luck will help (as far as I know, don't quote me on this, though) with the Goblin abilities being more successful. If you wanted to go the more offensive upgrade of the third tier unit (forgot his name), Soldier's Luck would have more use. But mainly it's a slot filler. Do not place a high priority on Soldier's Luck.
War Machines: I wouldn't really reccomend this ability, as it doesn't have anything out of the ordinary that would make you stand out more than you would with any other skill. But if you wanted a powerful Ballista, I suppose you could go for it.
5%
Shatter [Magic School]: A quick note about ALL of the Shatter Magic skills. They are useless unless you know what spells your opponent is relying on. Easy way to do this? Probability. If you find them to be a race that relies on Light spells, go Shatter Light. If you find them to be a.... etc, etc. As for ability choices, it's a matter of opinion. However, with Magic Resistance, Luck of the Barbarian and Protection, you probably might find it to be better to ignore these skills and go for something else. It's entirely up to you.
2%
Enlightenment: And now to the least likely skills of all. I find that Enlightenment for the Barbarian is surprisingly useful. If you can get it, that is. The earlier the better (as the exp. gain boost can really help in the late game). The stat boosts that the skill itself provides are great in anyone's books, but the ability selection is usually horrific. So, what should you get as the Barbarian? Surprisingly enough, there's a few great abilities you could go for. First of all, Bloodfire is great. Although it can backfire pretty horribly, it will generally work in your favour. Then there is Battle Lore and Intelligence. These are OPTIONAL. It all depends on how much you focus on the Barbarian Battle Shouts. The ability to learn Battle Shouts off of allied heroes regardless of skill level can prove handy, but the main reason for choosing this path is to get Intelligence. However, it is unlikely to get this ability, and I don't reccomend it too highly, but it may help you out if you do choose this path.
Shout: Not a great skill to have. Only really good if you want to focus on Battle Shouts. I generally don't want to focus on Battle Shouts. End of story.
Any suggestions for the strategies for this race are acceptable. Any discussion of the strategies for other races is also acceptable. Any opinions on other races, this race or the strategies is also more than welcome. Anything to do with the game is advisable
Essentially, these discussions will operate on a 'Freedom of Speech' basis, where people should feel free to debate certain aspects of a strategy, ultimately trying to create some good ideas for pros and noobs alike in the game.
Okay, so here's to getting the ball rolling.
STRONGHOLD
Essentially, the Stronghold race in TotE is very unique in that you must always keep attacking your enemy. If you do so much as Defend or Wait, you will find yourself losing precious Blood Rage points, which will leave you with a horrifically underpowered race.
When battling using the Stronghold units, you must remember that a great offense is key to overcoming the low health stats which the units possess. The more you attack, the more Blood Rage you will get, and you will find that this can serve great defensively (as Blood Rage absorbs attack damage) as well as offensively (different levels of Blood Rage gives each unit its own unique stat boosts or combat abilities).
So, in the early game, I find it to be imperative to consider using the fantastic Goblin growth to your advantage. You will find yourself with swarms of these filthy fighters, so sacrifice in the early game is acceptable. In fact, I recommend sacrificing some Goblins for the tougher early game battles. Why? Blood Rage. Every time a friendly stack dies, all of your units will gain 30 Blood Rage points. So, why not fill all your empty slots with 1 Goblin? You will be swarming these in the late game anyway, and that little bit of sacrifice does help you to win some battles that would normally be otherwise unadviseable when playing as any of the other races.
So, what to watch out for? Ranged units are always a hassle in the early game to deal with, especially when you can't choose which units they will attack first. So staying clear of them would be advisable. Flyers can also cause a bit of trouble, as they can (and will) often skip your sacrificial stacks and head straight for your main groups. Other than that, tactical placement should deal with almost everything else.
As for a standardized build order, I do not have one planned out as of yet, but if someone has any suggestions on that, I would be more than glad to hear it (and possibly debate it ;P).
On to the heroes. The Barbarians have a very unique aspect in their skills. That is, instead of having any of the conventional caster skills, they have anti-caster skills. This is where it is good to know what race your enemy is playing as, so that you can get a better idea of which magic school they will draw from most likely.
Here is a list of Barbarian skills and why I would or wouldn't go for them:
15%
Logistics: Okay, Logistics can be very handy in the game, but unfortunately for the Barbarians they don't really get any great or outstanding abilities from this skill. Essentially, if you really wanted to, I suppose you could go for Pathfinding, Scouting and Swift Mind if you really wanted to, but Scouting is next to useless when you've already explored the map to the best of your ability and Swift Mind isn't a must have for the Barbarians.
Attack: This ability is a must have for the Barbarians. Battle Frenzy is always nice, but it's much nicer when you have swarms of Goblins and Orc Warriors to match it with. Tactics is also handy to have up your sleeve for positioning your units better, but I find that the real kicker here is Retribution (which requires Leadership, another ability I would reccomend for the Barbarians). Trolman likes to go for Stunning Blow and Excruciating Strike, but that is not my preference. Although if you did go for that line, it would go well with Swift Mind from Logistics, which I do believe Trolman would most likely do. Nonetheless, I prefer my way to his
10%
Blood Rage: Here is the unique Barbarian ability, in all its glory. And a very nice ability it is, too. Like most unique abilities, it is imperative to master the use of this ability in order to truly master the use of the race as a whole. Without this ability, you will find that the Stronghold units are, in fact, rather underpowered. With this ability, on the other hand, they can become VERY overpowered if you play the Blood Rage correctly. It is a must have, but if you find something else that you want, it is probably advisable to go for that first. All the same, don't leave Blood Rage in the dark.
The abilities that come with the Blood Rage skill aren't too bad, either. Memory of Blood provides a very nice Blood Rage boost at the start of each battle, while Powerful Blow allows for your units to have a little extra kick when attacking enemy units (works great on ranged units, btw). Might Over Magic, however, is a bit of a joke. This ability weakens your enemy's spell power based on how much spell power your hero has. As a Barbarian, spell power is hard to come by. This is one of the instances where Enlightenment can come in handy, but more on that later.
Defense: This skill can serve well for the Barbarians, but I would only truly reccomend getting the base abilities if you choose this skill. Vitality will make your Goblins even more imba than they already are, Protection will add magic resistance to your army and Evasion will reduce the blow from those nasty ranged attackers. Abilities like Stand Your Ground, Resistance and Defend Us All are laughable. First of all, you don't defend as the Barbarians, making Stand Your Ground obsolete. Resistance adds +2 Defense. Seriously, that is all. Stupid, huh? Defend Us All could be handy, but only if you miraculously got that ability as an option on one of those rare late game level ups and you were about to finish your enemy off, but wanted a one time boost in Goblin numbers before you did.
Leadership: An absolute MUST have for the Barbarians. The morality boosts alone are enough reason to get this ability, but get this - with the sacrifice of having Recruitment in one of your ability slots, you can have Battle Elation, an ability which gives +50 Blood Rage points for every triggered morale effect any of your units have. And as if that wasn't good enough, you could also get Aura of Swiftness to fill up that last slot. Just keep your morale high, and you will find your Blood Rage points to be incredibly high in almost every battle. Furthermore, with Battle Elation, you can go for Retribution in Attack if you want. Not bad, eh? :3
8%
Luck: As we head to the less likely attributes, Luck is in limbo in terms of probability. In terms of use, however, I would reccomend Luck in a heartbeat. In combination with great morale and Blood Rage, a luck boosted attack on some of your most powerful units is all you need to seal the deal in utterly humiliating your opponent. So, what abilities are advisable? Well, I would go for Magic Resistance, Barbarian's Luck and Soldier's Luck. Magic Resistance and Barbarian's Luck offers a great amount of magical protection, while Soldier's Luck will help (as far as I know, don't quote me on this, though) with the Goblin abilities being more successful. If you wanted to go the more offensive upgrade of the third tier unit (forgot his name), Soldier's Luck would have more use. But mainly it's a slot filler. Do not place a high priority on Soldier's Luck.
War Machines: I wouldn't really reccomend this ability, as it doesn't have anything out of the ordinary that would make you stand out more than you would with any other skill. But if you wanted a powerful Ballista, I suppose you could go for it.
5%
Shatter [Magic School]: A quick note about ALL of the Shatter Magic skills. They are useless unless you know what spells your opponent is relying on. Easy way to do this? Probability. If you find them to be a race that relies on Light spells, go Shatter Light. If you find them to be a.... etc, etc. As for ability choices, it's a matter of opinion. However, with Magic Resistance, Luck of the Barbarian and Protection, you probably might find it to be better to ignore these skills and go for something else. It's entirely up to you.
2%
Enlightenment: And now to the least likely skills of all. I find that Enlightenment for the Barbarian is surprisingly useful. If you can get it, that is. The earlier the better (as the exp. gain boost can really help in the late game). The stat boosts that the skill itself provides are great in anyone's books, but the ability selection is usually horrific. So, what should you get as the Barbarian? Surprisingly enough, there's a few great abilities you could go for. First of all, Bloodfire is great. Although it can backfire pretty horribly, it will generally work in your favour. Then there is Battle Lore and Intelligence. These are OPTIONAL. It all depends on how much you focus on the Barbarian Battle Shouts. The ability to learn Battle Shouts off of allied heroes regardless of skill level can prove handy, but the main reason for choosing this path is to get Intelligence. However, it is unlikely to get this ability, and I don't reccomend it too highly, but it may help you out if you do choose this path.
Shout: Not a great skill to have. Only really good if you want to focus on Battle Shouts. I generally don't want to focus on Battle Shouts. End of story.
Any suggestions for the strategies for this race are acceptable. Any discussion of the strategies for other races is also acceptable. Any opinions on other races, this race or the strategies is also more than welcome. Anything to do with the game is advisable
