New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[Tuwnew]

Didn't finished the chapter yet but... I must say it feels weird to see Lerrig make use of some logical sense!
Nice to see Daric too!

 

[Championfighter25]

Chapter 6:

- The mage in the beginning could use a different model if the commander refers to him as boy. Or alternatively, he could call him a stupid mage.
- yourdamnselves -> your damn selves
- I like the replay value the different nexus choices add. For this mission, I chose the Rohir Nexus due to the power of the seeker and officer.
- You missed a good opportunity of adding an actual enemy emissary, who if caught by the player, makes the garrison aware of the Undead's presence only after they attack. Or alternatively, gives the player a few more minutes before the garrison's first attack.
- Lor irregulars = Pyrrean rebels light
- Commander Restras' final words convinced me he could never make it in the Golden Guard in any timeline.

Chapter 7:

- I'm surprised that Dorbric and a few units of the Bull Regiment like the Charger don't have a charge ability.
- Aedale's new title may have already sealed her fate.
- Overall, this mission felt a lot easier than last time. There are many factors to it like the extra hero, Aedale having chaos damage, the elites you get after freeing her, the tough units of the bull regiment and the big reinforcement wave.

On a side note, I have a few suggestions for some other units, when we get to that point:

- The Goblin Shredder could have his armour reduced by 1, attack damage reduced by 40-50 % and made 1 less food. You'll be removing him from a role nobody uses him in - a combat unit and improve him as a lumber harvester.
- The Bloodfang unit could use a rework. A critical strike and slightly more damage doesn't make it a good alternative to other 4 cost units like a fully upgraded knight.
- Compared to the other Orc/Dominion units, the Batrider is pretty weak. His low food cost, low damage and survivability put him on pretty much the same tier as the brawler. I think removing him, or alternatively, changing his attack and/or armour type so he can be a better anti-flyer unit would be better.

Edit: After playing with the other 2 nexus in chapter 6, I have a few more things to say:

- The Ejara Nexus wasn't bad in terms of power, but felt boring to play due to not having much in terms of original units as the other 2 nexus. (at least as of yet)
- The Zirr Nexus was fun. The Lorekeeper + Ghost combo was great. Rahandir could spam Fist of Ice like a maniac because of the ghost too. The Firebearer's Flame of Knowledge upgrade didn't seem to work when I researched it though.

 

[LickMyEyeBall]

Regarding chapter six:

1) That intro dialogue, boy oh boy. Or rather the usage of the word "boy" is kind of lame considering he is referring to a guy who definitely is not a boy.

2) Zirr nexus OP.

 

[LISBOAH]

My review of the new chapters

Chapter Six
-In the opening cinematic the Imperial base's commander says "yourdamnselves" rather than "your damn selves"
-I chose Ejara Nexus because all those dead men would soon join it

Chapter Seven
-Poor Rath. He went from the only sane guy in the Darkmind Clan to one so obsessed that even his allies and half of his own clan left him to die.
-Aedale surely is OP now. She deals a lot of damage and its is classified as Chaos.
-Shar, did you really have to put orc women and children there? Was there some "Anakin Skywalker" achievement there? XD
"I…I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children too. They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals."
Blen Greymore

 

[krawg]

man i must say it felt so freaking good playing your campaign again tho its a damn shame i had to play undead then orcs i prefer humans <3 i like the boost on aridon he looks like the watcher not the measly weak lich he was i love that the trash ghools are gone when u take the nexus and u get those great armored skelatons as frontline its just so good could you please do that for orcs too maybe change trash shamans they are the worst spellcasters in the game if not for their blood lust and man u are a beast maybe an autocast purge the dream i like the new story change of how amari got the scepter to her father or did she ? it gives more insight on her story i would love to play a mission where she meets and gathers the rest of all her exiled clan maybe with a mission we never knew where she would rally the gobliens or do some special job with them now to our great Blen man its feels great playing him again i just hate that damn wolf lady insulting him near his man he doesen't feel like the respected general we knew anymore i love his grey guard RIP for 'KASARKIN' so good combination we lost the knights ok we dont have that great each tree from start but its fine we got great and i mean awesome frontline same for backline support and his buffs ofc its his strength after all making his units so strong i didint try the wolf regiment yet but i will hit you up when i do i understand why the 1st missions are not that hard i mean the empire had all the advantages back then so hopefully it will scale i hope u make better units for elves too man this is so exciting please do keep this great work and rangul on first mission didint get sobimask and he used to in bandits i think anyways it has been a pleasure as allawys i cant get enough from your campaigns i hope u make a leader ship boni to all races not only humans because i have played all warcraft 3 custom campgains and today i say yours are the best in the whole fkkking world without a doubt keep up and thank you so much im glad u didint strip us of the right to test for you because i hated 2 undead book because i had already watched it in jay's channel so it was spolied peace and out

 

[Mvicio]

Review of chapters 6 and 7
Chapter 6

-Boy, really boy? give him a priest skin or something to call him boy, not that elder mage.
-Picked Ejara nexus, by far my favourite undead faction, but will replay with the other 2. I´ll edit later
-Didnt expected the betrayal, it was around the time i was cutting down the trees so no resistance and the backdoor destroyed them all, i left the irregulars alive but Krom was taking care of them so.

Pretty easy chapter but fun nonetheless

Chapter 7.

-First conversation and i already like dobric, he is a good pal, sure with some beers he´ll be even funnier.
-Holy shit. Is this the same Lerrig i hate so much? I mean, he is a good leader here, Darin is here too so i suppose he command the troops but anyway is good to see this character development.
-So Aedale is a demonologist and chaos damage? So we wont be choosing his fate, she´ll take the shard and the demon eye all for herself.
I completely forgot about the bloodhand clan, i used vision cheat after ending the mission and found the outpost, not even a threat.
Lerrig (or rather Daric) finding the women and childen hiding in the forest. I have to agree with Lerrig, killing them now serves the purpose to have less loses in the future.
Did the Bull dont have any ranged unit? not even someone throwing rocks?

How could you do this Shar, you made me agree with Lerrig not once but TWICE.
One when he said that maybe the soldiers are on a secret mission for the empire, and the second when he killed the hideout of the Darkmind clan. Its true that killing them will cripple their clan, since the future warriors are dead and the woman died too.

Really nice missions this time too, congrats Shar

- Overall, this mission felt a lot easier than last time. There are many factors to it like the extra hero, Aedale having chaos damage, the elites you get after freeing her, the tough units of the bull regiment and the big reinforcement wave.

Same thought

Poor Rath. He went from the only sane guy in the Darkmind Clan to one so obsessed that even his allies and half of his own clan left him to die

He deserved it, if he hadn´t killed that tracker and let some of the darkmind forces to leave searching for Rangul, i wouldnt mind. But he take everysingle one of them and charge in.

Also in chapter 7, cut some trees on the top left of the darkmind main base. The Far Seer hero attacked just once, then get blocked by the trees until i stormed the base. Kind of bug.

 

[Hardric62]

I finished Chapter 6 today with Ejara Nexus (I plan on trying my hand with the other Nexi later today):

-Sorry to say it again, but yes, if that guy is to be called a boy, better give him a Chapelain-like model... Would make a rather Fluffy the Terrible impression too for bonus points.
-Ejara sounds like a no-frills, low-micro intensive army with rather high average quality for its units thanks to the mix of Nerubian and Undead Orcs (I'll freely admit I've taking a look at the Campaign's files to see more details beyond the visual preview about how the future Ejara units will tick and mix with the ones already there). Which is quite fine by me, since while I can micro a little (SOB Forest mission, Necrolytes are salvation), I'm not always spot-on for it.
-I fully intend on testing the other two Nexi fully soon. But from what I saw after a cheat-sped up construction of the early base to take an early look, Rohir looks like it will mix swarms of Deadmen with walls of Seekers boosted by Officers for durability, with the future Undead Dwarves likely adding the needed ranged firepower to kill the enemy from behind these two kinds of walls, the swarms or the tanks. Zirr looks like a more caster/micro-intensive force, maybe not for me, but from what I saw about what they can do, the spell spam can become big real fast. You gotta love Necromancers raising Skeletons flat-out surpassing the Ghouls on all points, their mana-boosting Ghosts, the Ras promising more rising deads, and the Firebearer to pepper the enemy from behind these swarms of super-corpses.
-The mission was a fun one to play, the betrayal a surprise, but an interesting development nonetheless. I might have sent some people to help them survive long enough for them to keep drawing the Imperial Garrison's attention while I ravaged the base from within. The Irregulars were funny to fight too. Having chosen Ejara and being the 'high quality' army to their militia swarm instead of the usual reverse for Undead/Human match-up only made it funnier. At the very least, it makes the Nexi look really promising to me, can't wait to see how all the units will feel on a campaign map.

Looking forward for future maps, and Mission 7. Bull units look like they're unstoppable.

 

[Shar Dundred]

- The mage in the beginning could use a different model if the commander refers to him as boy. Or alternatively, he could call him a stupid mage.

1) That intro dialogue, boy oh boy. Or rather the usage of the word "boy" is kind of lame considering he is referring to a guy who definitely is not a boy.

-Boy, really boy? give him a priest skin or something to call him boy, not that elder mage.

-Sorry to say it again, but yes, if that guy is to be called a boy, better give him a Chapelain-like model... Would make a rather Fluffy the Terrible impression too for bonus points.

Alright, alright, I heard you. Can't use "boy" as an insult unless the other person is literally looking like a child, apparently.
I am not changing it though.

Also, damn editor reset Aedale to chaos mode again, goddamnit.

-Shar, did you really have to put orc women and children there? Was there some "Anakin Skywalker" achievement there? XD
"I…I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children too. They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals."
Blen Greymore

Blen, you were the chosen one! It was said you would destroy the Orc murderers, not join---- Wait.... X)
To be fair, you killed human women and children in the very first chapter. Which is worse?
Be glad I did not add the crying and slaughterered orc woman dialogue/cinematic.... yet... X)

Lerrig (or rather Daric) finding the women and childen hiding in the forest. I have to agree with Lerrig, killing them now serves the purpose to have less loses in the future.

And flanking the Orcs at the same time!

-Holy shit. Is this the same Lerrig i hate so much? I mean, he is a good leader here, Daric is here too so i suppose he command the troops but anyway is good to see this character development.

Lerrig is still Lerrig but it should be pointed out that he is still far above Sasrogarn level.

How could you do this Shar, you made me agree with Lerrig not once but TWICE.
One when he said that maybe the soldiers are on a secret mission for the empire, and the second when he killed the hideout of the Darkmind clan. Its true that killing them will cripple their clan, since the future warriors are dead and the woman died too.

I mean, the first part was already in the original.

 

[Tuwnew]

My review is the same as the others, so nothing to add. I really liked to play again theses two chapters.

You skipped Chapter Two of the First Human Book. Well, it was a filler to be honest. Are they any others chapters you want to skip too?

I am really looking forward the final chapter! Who will be against whom?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Are they any others chapters you want to skip too?

Yes, Chapter Four of the First Orc Book (the mission where you can choose between attacking Ironfist or Moghtar) i. e.

 

[Tuwnew]

Thanks for the answer!

 

[Stalker98]

Love me boy Blen feels good to be as him again also he feels even better now will be even more sad when he dies

 

[Alon]

Found a bug in Chapter 5. These trees act as normal trees, what can ruin game experience b̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶l̶p̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶e̶d̶r̶u̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g

 

[krawg]

omg i know u like torturing us but please please dont kill the bull and makes us play him more a i hope will get many more chapters similliar to the one with the bull and harder i have to say in the 1st human book we never had to do great fights with demons maybe that will change ? with the support of the regiments i sure hope so all is great i like rahandir's item too shapira is whatever i never really liked dark rangers i can see that this is gonna be your greateast campagain its poping off even now from the start

 

[Shar Dundred]

@Alon: Good find, I think it should only be the bottom trees though. I will look into it, thanks!

@krawg: : )

 

[LISBOAH]

To be fair, you killed human women and children in the very first chapter. Which is worse?
Be glad I did not add the crying and slaughterered orc woman dialogue/cinematic.... yet... X)

Well, in the first chapter we killed them because they were there. If they had escaped, the orcs wouldn't have gone after them. But in Chapter Seven, we do it because we want it. And in the ending cinematic, they say that they will kill all those that have escaped.

There is a difference between a raid and downright genocide.

 

[Boriss]

I simply imagine that someone says "Thats for duke Redfist's family!". Besides, its fun popping them with that firebomb passive on Harmos.

 

[Mvicio]

Played mission 6 with the three undead nexus and i think right now is Zirr>Ejara>Rohir

-The Zirr lorekeepers are extremely strong with that amount of undead skeletons, at this point of the history.

-Ejara have a bit stronger cript units, the orcs and the crip fiends but i think we´ll be able to enslave more races in the future. Probably the best nexus if you know how to micro properly.

-The Rohir, at least for this mission, seemed pretty weak. We had no undead dwarf units to have some dmg, and the soldiers are too weak. Only the Knights were useful, but i prefer abominations instead.
At least the Rohir nexus will have just humans and dwarves, not elves on their ranks.

 

[Andreiki]

I do not know why, but in chapter 1, a few seconds after the video, my game crashes (Version 1.30) Can someone help?

 

[krawg]

Played mission 6 with the three undead nexus and i think right now is Zirr>Ejara>Rohir

-The Zirr lorekeepers are extremely strong with that amount of undead skeletons, at this point of the history.

-Ejara have a bit stronger cript units, the orcs and the crip fiends but i think we´ll be able to enslave more races in the future. Probably the best nexus if you know how to micro properly.

-The Rohir, at least for this mission, seemed pretty weak. We had no undead dwarf units to have some dmg, and the soldiers are too weak. Only the Knights were useful, but i prefer abominations instead.
At least the Rohir nexus will have just humans and dwarves, not elves on their ranks.

ye not only that their death chain does 150 damge 4 untis ofc it deals less with each time but still 5 death chains could make a whole army at this point into paper 1 comet from rahndir they all dead and then they are all rise to serve

 

[Enki555]

Zirr nexus was the best to play. I massed lorekeepers for extra skeletons and death chain. I conserved their mana by Rahandir and obsidian statues, while Krom had ghosts. Damn those are some ultimate combos. With death chain, large attack force was effectively wiped out, and you can send a risen skeleton army to overwhelm and distract bases. Hardly trained rasi cuz only one op spell, animate dead, wasn't researchable (that was prolly from balancing). Firekeepers were really good to train as they were tough (trained them even more than abominations xD) though its flame of knowledge upgrade needed some... buffing. I wonder if Zirr have any flying units (preferably magical).
Betrayal from Demon Slaves made things much easier (Note: you have to endure till it happens tho). Protect lorekeepers well from siege weapons. And rest is assured victory will be yours.
Ejara and Rohir were fine but not as glamorous as Zirr. They had the best meatshields tho (enslavers and seekers). But haven't seen the full power of these two so future missions might bring some satisfying armies.
@Shar Dundred Good luck!

 

[Ebanu8]

I quite like the factions playable and on the AI side, though I think the Elven side might warrant a little rework, just my opinion.

 

[krawg]

Shar Dundred please think of a leader ship boni for your whole new campaign wether humans undead or orcs it is the best thing u have ever thought of and it makes your campaign more special i played the 2 nd human book over 100 times cause of the leader ship boni and its diversity i think it will be the arkain pillar to have it thank you for your great work

 

[Alarich]

Dear Shar Dundred,
I have played a new version of The True Story. All maps, All the Nexuses.
Well done, but The Legends of Arkain are probably the best custom campaign on Hive, so the expectations from the True Story are too high.
1) The Second Human mission - only one fraction is playble (Bull Regiment) - that is OK, but still dad, since in the first mission there was at least two factions. Apart from that, new factions need their own lorebased magical support that corresponds to their factions. Firemages are a large part of Rengar Kingdom's reinforcments and can't be regular members of Imperial Regiments (Grey Guard, Wolf). Probably, conjurers can serve as Imperial casters (it was a little sad that their are unplayble in The First & Second Human Books).
2) The Second Undead Mission. Initialli started to play as Rohir, was glad that Side Quest was Rohir related ... but the same Quest for other Nexuses looks weird. There was one good idea of yours in The Second Undead Book concerning the Side Quests: improving Nexus of players choice according the way of side quest implementation.(Like Killing Ancient Sludge or leave it alive\ desroy human bases (Bonelords) or leave them alive(Rohir)).
3) Undead Nexuses are different, but still too similar in gameplay, although their lore component allows to divers their game styles. The Rohir Nexus consists of spirits and spies not just possessed warriors. So their game style should apeal to sabbotage, espionage, use of advanced shades. Possesed warriors could be much weaker but release spirits with no mana from their bodies in order to find a new host later(much later). Necromancers - doesn't fit Rohir Tech-Tree well, since their don't like sceletons. Probably they need some kind of sabbotaging or infiltrator caster.
The Zirr Nexus. Their second goal is to collect knowledge and protect it from those who seek that arcane powers, so their must be really good at secret traps and dealing with enemy magicians. Lorekeepers - are just advanced necromancers, although that doesnt correspond to their names - lorekeepers aren't archnecromancers, probably - that's Ras's role. That is normal that their are overpowered, because their cost is higher. In my estimation their should have spells like: Mark of the Learner(buff like Inner fire, but gathers mana (knowledge)also), Explosive Trap and Mass mana burn that turns burned mana into sceleton-mages(easy to make spell). Ghoasts - brilliance is nice, but Rahadir has it's own. Some kind of debuffing aura, especially stacking one fits a little bit better. Ras's - can't say anything special about them because don't under their lore.
All above, like i have said due to too high, probably, unrealistic expectations. The True Story is good and i love it. So no offence for my point of view.
Good luck in your activety.

 

[Mvicio]

Quest was Rohir related ... but the same Quest for other Nexuses looks weird.

Different Rohir Nexus members, the ones Who get the information about the demon slaves werent an assault force like the one you play.

- brilliance is nice, but Rahadir has it's ow

You wont get rahandir in every Zirr Nexus mission. Neither always Zirr Nexus un every Rahandir Nexus. And you'll want more mana in all your spellcasters every instance you get Zirr Nexus.

 

[Championfighter25]

The new prologue was nice.
The classy dreadlord seems interesting. I expect him to be the demon equivalent of what Brian is.
Poor Merlon probably didn't want to be leading an army of regular footmen on land.
One of the Flesh Golems can be moved to the right. He was making Keera harder to see.

 

[Mvicio]

Really cool the prologue.

The imperial navy looks awesome with thouse dragons.
Most imperial army are footmen, seems proper.
Poor Haran is really low in status despite being the leader of his race and a strong commander.
Hortnog is back baby
We dont know the green and yellow orc chieftain. Also no red one.
Why is Lokar there? he is an assistant of the warchieft at this time.

So marogonin is one of the imperial leaders in disguise. Probably the hawk one.

One of the Flesh Golems can be moved to the right. He was making Keera harder to see.

I mean, no one wants to see Keera or his nexus so...

 

[LISBOAH]

Just watched the Prologue

0:59 - The Golden Guard arriving to Arkain
1:06 - The various factions of the Imperial Army
1:33- King Dorten of Kerrel, probably observing if the Imperials can accomplish what they came for
1:44- The Undead Nexuses awaiting the orders of their Master
2:03- The Orc clans gathering for the invasion
2:22 - The Blooddrinker and Souleater Legion discussing the upcoming invasion
2:33 - General Cleavehand, General Elvir and General Harron
2:39 - Not sure what this means. Is this a reference to them being killed by the orcs or has their fate been changed in The True Story?
2:51- Gardon and his Ironfist
3:00- Amari probably waiting for her master's orders
3:11- So Maronogin will play a role in this? I would bet that he is going to find a way to screw Kersidar after all this time as payback

 

[Ebanu8]

Great trailer, Shar. Will be waiting for more.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Shar Dundred please think of a leader ship boni for your whole new campaign wether humans undead or orcs it is the best thing u have ever thought of and it makes your campaign more special i played the 2 nd human book over 100 times cause of the leader ship boni and its diversity i think it will be the arkain pillar to have it thank you for your great work

I have not forgotten about them, don't worry.

Apart from that, new factions need their own lorebased magical support that corresponds to their factions. Firemages are a large part of Rengar Kingdom's reinforcments and can't be regular members of Imperial Regiments (Grey Guard, Wolf).

They aren't part of your faction per se, they serve as support, i. e. the Firemages are provided
because of Harmos not because of the Bull Regiment. The Bull Regiment in itself is not really
known for its many casters but for its brute force.
I intend to work on this, the Wolf Regiment will get a (AI?) caster unit or two. The Bulls may get
something more unique as well.
But I can do only so much. My time is not infinite and I do not wish to work several years on
the True Story of Arkain.

3) Undead Nexuses are different, but still too similar in gameplay, although their lore component allows to divers their game styles. The Rohir Nexus consists of spirits and spies not just possessed warriors. So their game style should apeal to sabbotage, espionage, use of advanced shades. Possesed warriors could be much weaker but release spirits with no mana from their bodies in order to find a new host later(much later). Necromancers - doesn't fit Rohir Tech-Tree well, since their don't like sceletons. Probably they need some kind of sabbotaging or infiltrator caster.
The Zirr Nexus. Their second goal is to collect knowledge and protect it from those who seek that arcane powers, so their must be really good at secret traps and dealing with enemy magicians. Lorekeepers - are just advanced necromancers, although that doesnt correspond to their names - lorekeepers aren't archnecromancers, probably - that's Ras's role. That is normal that their are overpowered, because their cost is higher. In my estimation their should have spells like: Mark of the Learner(buff like Inner fire, but gathers mana (knowledge)also), Explosive Trap and Mass mana burn that turns burned mana into sceleton-mages(easy to make spell). Ghoasts - brilliance is nice, but Rahadir has it's own. Some kind of debuffing aura, especially stacking one fits a little bit better. Ras's - can't say anything special about them because don't under their lore.

The problem with unit spells is that most "special" ideas require triggering. Yes, I can use triggers
to create new spell systems and I have done that for some hero spells, but I also want to limit
the use of trigger spells for heroes. Having the AI use spells that rely completely on triggers is
an annoying chore and, while doable, nothing I wish to spend my time with.
In addition, those spell triggers also each have the possibility of causing their own issues and new
bugs and stuff.
TLDR: When it comes to new caster units, I try to stick with these 2 rules:
1) No trigger abilites for non-hero units unless they are unique units that need it (i. e. Purificator has some minor triggering involved) and try to limit it even for (demi-)hero units
2) Try to make the casters different from the rest of the unit set available to their race, I am more lax on this one but I still try to stick to it
I am not saying "Don't make suggestions" of course, keep providing them, but I am just explaining this
because I don't think I ever really have given insight to this process.

One of the Flesh Golems can be moved to the right. He was making Keera harder to see.

What @Mvicio said.

We dont know the green and yellow orc chieftain.

Gorthog the Blooddrinker & Dogran, so the latter is not a chieftain either.

Why is Lokar there? he is an assistant of the warchief at this time.

So is Dogran.

So Maronogin will play a role in this?

You are going to meet him eventually. ;-)

The new prologue was nice.

Really cool the prologue.

Great trailer, Shar. Will be waiting for more.

Thank you!

 

[Vorongen]

Good health to you, Shar Dundred! I have been playing your Arkain campaigns for almost two years, I`ve had a great time, and I would like to give you my feedback and some suggestions for your greatest creation so far – True Story of Arkain!

1.Consistency of colors of factions. I think it would be great if the faction leaders would keep the color of their faction when played as allies. It makes them more distinct on battlefield while enforsing the lore. Example: in the 1st human mission of TSoA when Harnos rejoins imperial regiments he keeps his orange color along with initial firemages – that’s pretty cool. In the 2nd human mission of TSoA both Harnos, Blen and later Aedale are teal. In latest update during final cutscene Blen even turns green ( Grey Guard does not approve). At the same time Lerrig steals grey color from Blen. Should`t he have his own colors: lavander (reference to Salria/noble), snow (Imperial noble/elite mercenary), maybe mint? About Aeadale – I think red/maroon colour would fit her better as either reference to Redfist as her heritage or suggesting she is a part of some regiment specializing in mages. Phoenix comes to mind first but I don’t know your plans for them.

2.The Elves. In short stories they are described as isolationist who hide in the forest while in the game they are typical magic addicts “High” elves. I think it would be cool if they would be distinguished into two basic subfactions. Already available example is Bloodstone dwarves and Hammerfall dwarves. The first ones are sinister/progressive in technology while the second ones are classy/rune-based. For elves it would make sense to divide them into Expeditionary and Royale forces. The first ones are more of versatile, agile, lightly geared force focused in nature magic, they would be under command of Rangers like Saphira, Salana, maybe Lera, and leave the forests to interact with “outside world” and potentially having different political visions to their elven bretheren. The second ones are more straightforward, more armored, regular troops with arcane mages (between elite “Red Guard” and Expeditionary, but more numerous) under control of elven generals (Laranthos, Durin and others) and remain in the forest until ordered otherwise. I have no idea what your genius mind have prepare for Daviliad Nexus, but I think some kind of visual evolution in time of the three different forces would be cool. In the end, I think such changes would increase variety of rather disliked faction, add gameplay options when taking an elven ally in some missions and willalso show difference in magic affinity of different human allies: Empire – holy/arcane; Kingdoms – elemental; Elves – nature/arcane; Dwarves – runes/warlocks.

3.Rohir and Edjara nexuses. We had only one mission to mess with the different undead factions, and I really liked Rohir, but I have already some ideas regarding spellcasters. For Rohir some sort of undead priest or heretic with dreadlord-ish/infiltrative abilities would be a good replacement for necromancer. For Edjara undead shaman or any other enslaved spellcaster might be reasonable replacement for banshee. Replacements for meatwagon and obsidian statue for the 3 initial Nexuses would be welcome as well.

4.Dragon Regiment. This faction is of course is not available yet, but with my rudimentary knowledge of modeling I might suggest using kodo rider model of lizard with human rider on top for ordinary or “officer” unit.

5.Seabrights forces. In both human books and the trailer we saw him control ordinary imperial units. Is it planned for him to have at least different visuals for his units like Pyrrian marines, maybe with a trihat for distinction? I imagine him using some sort of Kul-Tiras alternatives, like having a slightly weaker footman “marine/mate” with an autocast (10-15s c/d & 115-135% of normal attack) pistol shot instead of defend for some ranged utility in defending the shores, and “buccaneer/grenadier” type of ranged unit with a gimmick of its own.

6.Knights of Kome. Once again, I have no idea what Shar have planned for them, but I`ll give my 2 cents anyway. 3-food “light cavalery” initial unit with maybe a late game upgrade for siege damage (batraider style) to keep them relevant. 2-food spearthrower with Ensnare for anti-air. I hope that glorious 5-food knights will make their way into first book part of TSoA. In general I suggest any changes that will make Salrians mad and jealous.

7.Veterans of Voidwar. I imagine them using veteran, old-looking infantry with a focus on anti-demon, anti-mage type of spellcasters (demon hunter style), which will “change their mind” and use their abilities ‘differently’ in the future. They could potentially be an elite Demon Slaves later down the story.

8. Bloodhand Berserker unit uses the same model as axethrower of Deathbreathe and some other clans. More visual difference would be very welcome.

That’s all that have come to mind, althought some of my suggestions could be quite ecsessive or timetaking. I`ve really liked the changes to all factions in the True Story and I hope we will see more progress like that in the future!

 

[Enki555]

I also have some suggestions and feedback regarding some undead nexus though we don't know what you planned for all :
1) Splecir nexus: So, this has the spectral armies. So far Spirit Legionnaires, Frost Ghosts, and Val'kyr units have been introduced. Frost Ghosts might replace necromancers, so there could be a replacement for banshees. My mind is imagining Wraith-like banshee that has totally different spells. Ghouls can be replaced as revenant-like variant that has the cold attacks instead of ghoul frenzy, while crypt fiends' variant could be ghost archers that have the ability to fire arrows capable of activating frost nova (5-10% chance) instead of web. Obsidian statues and meat wagons could remain the same tho if u have plans for them it won't matter.
2) Zirr nexus: Lorekeepers' unholy frenzy is kinda useless. They can be given some sort of mana burn spell. Abomination can be replaced as undead arcane golem as a tank and lore device. Not sure if Zirr has frost wyrms, but it would be nice to have a spellcaster riding on frost wyrm. Ras's spirit link or disenchant can be replaced as buff-granter that makes the cast unit deal arcane explosion around it, so they can be more combative (manacost, however, should be higher than most debuff spells).
3) Ejara nexus: there could be a nerubian caster unit that replaces necromancer, since nerubians have been known to used magic to increase numbers: one of the spell could be sacrificing friendly unit's health to hatch cocoon capable of spawning some unique nerubian units. In the future, Ejara might enslave sludges so there could be some surprises.
4) Rohir nexus: one such infiltration spellcaster mentioned above could be a possessed elven unit given a different model to not be confused as dark elf or Daviliad elf. So far the theme of humans and their allies is strong in Rohir, so some possessed elves along with possessed dwarves and possessed humans could be a good point.
5) Kezzar nexus: So far, we've seen deathguard, icekeeper, undead eredar sorcerer, undead succubus, and undead doomguard. Frost wyrm can be replaced as undead nether dragon variant. Gargoyles can be replaced as undead demon slave unit, possibly undead pegasus rider, as there is expected to be two or three out of ten units be former demon slaves. Undead felhounds can be introduced as obsidian statue's replacement with its former life's mana burn: however, in undeath, instead it will burn both health and mana, and distribute it to Kezzar. Well, it sounds too far-fetched. Meat wagons can be replaced as undead fel cannon variant.
6) Lenira nexus: So far we've seen lasher, drider, spider caller, priestess, enforcer, guardian, and witcher (not sure if it is a trainable unit). So, we are left with possible three remaining units. One of them could be an undead dark elf that's purely tank. Not sure if Lenira have air units. If they do, air creatures should be ridden by them.
7) Daviliad nexus: we've seen undead swordsman, undead archer, undead agent of queen, undead glaive thrower variant, and undead dragon hawk rider. Remaining five could be undead Walkyrie, undead spellbreaker variant, undead sorceress variant, undead priest variant, and undead judicator variant.
Currently have no ideas regarding Ardoz. Scarec is fine. So far those are just suggestions and hopefully your plans turn out to be the best. Best regards, Shar.

 

[Mvicio]

Bear Regiment. Another science creation from the empire. A Wild one.
The bears will be the new addition to the tribal dominion ranks, just like the harpies.

Boar Regiment. I didnt like this one, i suppose every Major Army needs a tracking division but anyway.

 

[Enki555]

Bear regiment: Bull regiment with... ehm... more brawns. Judging from pictures, they are gonna be more involved in the first book's last chapter. They are gonna be a huge hindrance to orcs for sure.
Boar regiment: hunters and trackers are fine. Gonna focus more on the assassination in later chapters, hopefully.
So far, these two regiments are more likely to participate in the Kerrel-Rengar border war. Wonder what they can do...

 

[Hardric62]

Just checked the data of the SOB again... Well, we'll see how the newbies take to that part of the campaign. Although Boar Regiment might be getting kinda outdated as Orcs go from the raider clans to the Dominion, and the scale of warfare increases quite a bit beyond the scope of tracker bands doing scouting and securization of rear areas...

 

[DD Mikasa]

Although Boar Regiment might be getting kinda outdated as Orcs go from the raider clans to the Dominion, and the scale of warfare increases quite a bit beyond the scope of tracker bands doing scouting and securization of rear areas...

They are more of a reconnaissance regiment that anything else sure their "niche" might look like its obsolete when the Dominon forms, BUT there are still demon slaves which they can hunt for and when you are good at reconnaissance that makes you decent at being a spy as well.

Anyway they don't look much of fighting force to me, they are more of a scouting force and probably, if we get to play them, they might have a shit ton of ranged units just as the bull regiment has a shit ton of melee units.

 

[Championfighter25]

Watched the interlude.
How Zoia gets away with sharing her actual opinion of people will remain a mystery. She must have some connections.
You never insult a person who's as large as a door and hits like a brick. Fergon should be careful.
Aedale is still pretty ''ignorant'' in matters regarding the army. I expected her to learn from her father how things actually function.
Nice to see Selior expressing his dislike towards Greymoore a bit more openly. Don't know if you intended it that way, but him complying with Zoia's wish to not work with Greymoore anymore was a smart and subtle way of expressing it.

 

[Mvicio]

Interlude:
Now there are tons of imperial generals in the open field, that´s nice.
I would like a mission where Fergon and Dobric fight together against the demons, well not together but both at the same time.
The falcon general (can´t remember all the names) seems even more mysterious than the phoenix one.
I know that Zoia doesn´t like Blen but saying to cleavehand as an "advice"... He is the supreme commander not her.
This cleavehand is better than the old one, this actually talks back.
I was expecting a Harmos/Grennan moment.
Changing to orc perspective. So the goldaxe clan would join "if the profits are good enough", really polite for orc standars.
Vanessa wants to meet hortnog again, so sweet . Also she wanted to save rath, but Sas didn´t volunteer at all.

You never insult a person who's as large as a door and hits like a brick. Fergon should be careful.

He commands an army of bears and was the second in command of the bulls. I dont think he´ll be scared just by that.

Aedale is still pretty ''ignorant'' in matters regarding the army. I expected her to learn from her father how things actually function.

His father army works like a hivemind, the duke says fortified this position and everyone kill orcs and burn houses.

 

[Championfighter25]

I would like a mission where Fergon and Dobric fight together against the demons, well not together but both at the same time.

One of the regiments will get massacred harder than the undead massacred the Blooddrinker Legion if that happens.

His father army works like a hivemind, the duke says fortified this position and everyone kill orcs and burn houses.

I expected a previous anger outburst that she may have overheard by him to smarten her up on how things outside of his command work.

 

[Mvicio]

One of the regiments will get massacred harder than the undead massacred the Blooddrinker Legion if that happens.

Well, the bears are going to be massacred anyway.

 

[LISBOAH]

Just watched the interlude

For some reason looking General Fergon's face reminds me of Count Dooku from The Clone Wars series.

I chuckled at Genethas questioning Cleavehand's decision. In his mind, he is actually thrilled that Selior's decision has made the upcoming invasion a lot easier.

Thanks to the Second Chapter of the Undead Book, now we can clearly notice the passive aggressiveness that Selior shows towards Blen.

Rangul is both right and wrong. He is right that the Imperials will come for them, but he was wrong at when they would do so. Sure, he wasn't aware of the existence of the Redfists, but he could have predicted that the Imperials could decide to attack them before the demon invasion was to occur, so that the Empire and the Kingdoms could later focus only on the Demons. After all, it is much harder to defend lands from a demonic army while the orcs are pillaging and attacking from behind the frontlines.
Launching a full scale invasion on the Kingdoms and leaving their home practically undefended nearly costed the orcs everything. They were lucky that the Demons were focused on the Imperials and that Amari and her clan had been forming alliances with other races.

I just found one grammar mistake
"The clans must unit and find..." rather than "The clans must unite and found..."

Watched the interlude.
Aedale is still pretty ''ignorant'' in matters regarding the army. I expected her to learn from her father how things actually function.

You actually think that her "beloved" father would teach her anything considering his opinion of hers?

 

[Boriss]

Orcs being dumb as always. Since their arrival they gave the humans all the reasons to hate them. Then complain about humans hating them. Orcypical of them. The dialogue where Rangul tells Vanessa the expedition to save the Darkmind is too dangerous for her has very nonsensical sentence, I would suggest checking it.

 

[LISBOAH]

The dialogue where Rangul tells Vanessa the expedition to save the Darkmind is too dangerous for her has very nonsensical sentence, I would suggest checking it.

No, Rangul kind of has a point. The Darkmind are right now being slaughtered by humans.
If they see Vanessa, they might kill her on sight. Or worse, seeing her among the Deathbreeze rescuers might make the Darkmind orcs perceive them as traitors who would allow humans to join them. Or even worse, they could believe that the Deathbreeze, like the Goldaxe Clan, have made deals with the humans and are actually leading them to their deaths.

 

[Mvicio]

he dialogue where Rangul tells Vanessa the expedition to save the Darkmind is too dangerous for her has very nonsensical sentence, I would suggest checking it.

Rangul was right there. Pretty much what @LISBOAH said, they would kill vanessa, or dont trust the deathbreeze clan members, or think they are mercenaries.
However if the chieftain and an elite force go to save the darkmind remnants, they´ll think highly of the deathbreeze and the alliance he offers.

 

[Boriss]

Rangul was right there. Pretty much what @LISBOAH said, they would kill vanessa, or dont trust the deathbreeze clan members, or think they are mercenaries.
However if the chieftain and an elite force go to save the darkmind remnants, they´ll think highly of the deathbreeze and the alliance he offers.

I meant gramatically.

 

[Shar Dundred]

You never insult a person who's as large as a door and hits like a brick. Fergon should be careful.

Fergon isn't weak either but Dorbric is of course stronger than him, yeah.

Aedale is still pretty ''ignorant'' in matters regarding the army. I expected her to learn from her father how things actually function.

You actually think that her "beloved" father would teach her anything considering his opinion of hers?

He did not really get questioned by his troops, I am sure.
*ahem* I mean, you suggest that the best father in the world would scream in her presence?!

Nice to see Selior expressing his dislike towards Greymoore a bit more openly. Don't know if you intended it that way, but him complying with Zoia's wish to not work with Greymoore anymore was a smart and subtle way of expressing it.

Quoting @Kasrkin:
"I imagine Selior trying very hard to hide a smile before he replies."
Quoting me:
"That's basically what happened."

The falcon general (can´t remember all the names) seems even more mysterious than the phoenix one.

Not talking much, is she? Only driving Selior forward, you could say...

This cleavehand is better than the old one, this actually talks back.

The old Cleavehand also was a bit too "insane" and obviously manipulated in retrospect.
Yes, players still know because of the Largoth mission, but it fits better now I feel like.

I know that Zoia doesn´t like Blen but saying to cleavehand as an "advice"... He is the supreme commander not her.

I mean, Selior did not really mind it in this particular case and Zoia has quite the sharp tongue.

Changing to orc perspective. So the goldaxe clan would join "if the profits are good enough", really polite for orc standars.

The Goldaxe Clan being given some more character also made them less "orcy" somewhat, I guess.
There's still "less polite Orcs" don't worry.

Well, the bears are going to be massacred anyway.

Hope you are looking forward to hugging a teddybear eventually.

For some reason looking General Fergon's face reminds me of Count Dooku from The Clone Wars series.

Count Fergon confirmed.

I chuckled at Genethas questioning Cleavehand's decision. In his mind, he is actually thrilled that Selior's decision has made the upcoming invasion a lot easier.

Genethas probably chuckled too when nobody was looking.

Orcs being dumb as always. Since their arrival they gave the humans all the reasons to hate them. Then complain about humans hating them. Orcypical of them.

Goooooood, gooooooooood, let the orc hate flow through you!

I meant gramatically.

Found & fixed.

 

[DD Mikasa]

Am I even surprised that the imperials are just as eager to beat each other to death just as they willing to do that to demons or orcs?
I am surprised there weren't any generals from the kingdoms there as well to join the fun tho.

Orcs being orcs, opportunistic to the very end, I kinda like the new Golden Axe clan tho, it looks as if they were the blackthorns before blackthorns exist. They add some much needed "political scheming" to otherwise a rather dull race , cant wait to see Rath get into fights with them on the future about their honor and all.

Adedale is just as gullible as ever one would think that after noticing how the wolf lady treats Blen there were bound to be more rivalries among imperials, but on the other hand she had so much warnings about the demonic eyes and she still ended up consuming them and ending up a puppet so there is that.

I am loving the bull guy there is something rather charming about a giant Human thinking and fighting like a Orc, *Me charge, Me smash*

While the wolf lady...I find her rather repetitive sure it was cool at first but she has the same three liners each and every time Blen is mentioned.

Also Lerring has the merc captain with him now? Hopefully he wont draw the wrath of other commanders when it comes to his incompetence on leading armies.

 

[Mvicio]

So in chapter 8 we'll be rescuing rath and the darkmind clan. Also fighting 3 regiments ay least.
Probably chapter 9 will be the reunion of the clans.

kinda like the new Golden Axe clan tho, it looks as if they were the blackthorns before blackthorns exist.

A proto-blackthorne idea. They wouldnt allow humans on their ranks.

I am loving the bull guy there is something rather charming about a giant Human thinking and fighting like a Orc, *Me charge, Me smash*

Best new commander for now

 

[Championfighter25]

Those phoenixes and possible fire mages won't be a pretty thing to see and fight.
Anyway, I like how the chapter looks. It has more of a "burning forest feel" than the original.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Hope you like the smell of orc/human barbeque for the next release.