New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[DD Mikasa]

Lera's survival has become kinda like a meme she is always mentioned in the ending epilogues but whenever she dies or lives we always get hit with the same old doesn't mater a single mortal wont change anything.

Its kinda funny that such a meme character actually boasts one of the best if not the best/ strongest skill set in all the books I am talking about Redguard Lera not Huntress Lera ofc.

 

[Shar Dundred]

I wouldn't call Lera a meme because Largoth said so.
Or call anyone anything because Largoth said so unless you want to do what he expects you
to (or is it what he expects you NOT to do?!).

 

[DD Mikasa]

@Shar Dundred

Now I understand where all undeads got their smug we know everything attitude.

Edit: I will add here the legendary Jay Borino reactions to Rahandair's shit talking about golden guard being manipulated by them

Enjoy!

 

[Shar Dundred]

Nah, can't blame Largoth for that one.

 

[merlockqueen]

It doesn't hurt when you get her shes rocking around 3k hp as well and that burning hands skill is just so disgusting to shut down the enemy's entire attack wave for so long.

 

[tottipeter]

can we play with ironfist in elven forest or only the elf without judacitse?

 

[DD Mikasa]

@tottipeter

We playing with Iron fist, that's a no, Gardon our ally on that mission commands the Iron fist, we have only the three Elites that accompany us, from the looks of Shar latest post they seem to be semi-unique characters. At best, we get to command the elven army with the judicators at worse we will have at our disposal the same roster we had back in FHB, which it isn't that bad actually elven spellcaster units are top decent.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Gardon our ally on that mission commands the Iron fist

Are you sure about that?

 

[DD Mikasa]

Ehm, let me re-phrase it,

Gardon commands the prerequisite of what will become the Iron fist as we know it i.e all those soldiers he took away from Selior who are still to go under training or something.


Does not matter what Gardon commands what matter is what we command. I remember not being fun having to deal with infernals when our tankiest unit was the spell breaker.

 

[Boriss]

@tottipeter

We playing with Iron fist, that's a no, Gardon our ally on that mission commands the Iron fist, we have only the three Elites that accompany us, from the looks of Shar latest post they seem to be semi-unique characters. At best, we get to command the elven army with the judicators at worse we will have at our disposal the same roster we had back in FHB, which it isn't that bad actually elven spellcaster units are top decent.

We will see.

 

[Shar Dundred]

What paths lie ahead?

The Path of Wrath
The Path of Dominance
The Path of Destruction

Which one will you follow?

 

[Boriss]

What paths lie ahead?

The Path of Wrath
The Path of Dominance
The Path of Destruction

Which one will you follow?

Spoiler

Dominance sure sounds fun

 

[Mvicio]

Why not all of them?

Actually destrucción is always the correct choice. Always.

 

[Enki555]

What paths lie ahead?

The Path of Wrath
The Path of Dominance
The Path of Destruction

Which one will you follow?

Spoiler

The Wrath is more appealing. Not to mention it is one of the most favorite seven deadly sins. Dominance and Destruction are... scions of Wrath to say the least. So, the progenitor is very much chosen candidate.

 

[merlockqueen]

Is there no path of happy bunnies that frolic in the meadow? oh wait I forgot bunnies are the path of destruction so that's my path "It must be bunnies" Anya Vengeance demon.

 

[Kasrkin]

Hey Shar I've heard some strange rumors lately floating around the office, they've been saying we're going to add night elves! I don't really believe it but they seem insistent.

 

[Shar Dundred]

There was a soldier who once said "Don't fuck with Herdon".
Well. Guess what. Someone tried and he made them... change their minds.

 

[merlockqueen]

undead tree people whaaaa that looks great im so intrested to see who made them what for and why.

 

[Boriss]

Will the next demo update be only 1 map or are you planning to release them by bundles?

 

[Hardric62]

Are.. Are we looking at the start of a split up of the Ironfist in several subfactions?

 

[merlockqueen]

Are.. Are we looking at the start of a split up of the Ironfist in several subfactions?

well reading some of the stories of arkain do imply some things about the future of the Ironfist in regards to that.

 

[Enki555]

There was a soldier who once said "Don't fuck with Herdon".
Well. Guess what. Someone tried and he made them... change their minds.

Oh, damn. Just what I foresaw (no pun intended xD: I actually had a vision of playing as treant-like undead). The Black Druid is really something important for Ironfist.

 

[Mvicio]

Did the Ironfist already had necromancers at this point of the Story? Or it is a new change since we saw them in the trailer?

 

[Shar Dundred]

The Interlude "introducing" Human necromancers comes right after this mission so the Ironfist already made arrangements.

 

[Enki555]

Necromancers are also puppet-agents of Lady Meya, more or less known. I wonder necromancers introduced will be ones from Eternal Beauty short story.

 

[LISBOAH]

My review of the new chapter and interlude

Act Two, Chapter Five
-I noticed that it lacks the parts regarding the factions. And why did the characters part only appeared after the middle interlude?
-Only now do I find it weird that those demons at the beginning are classified as creeps, rather than being part of a demonic legion
-Why are the Troll Huts in the southeast invulnerable, when the ones next to the elven base aren't?
-Larantos' logic is absolutely mindblowing! He is against being cooperative with the Empire, but offers the idea of joining with the Demons?
-In the middle interlude, the orange elven ranger attacks Larantos, he goes to the left and the ranger goes to the right and the camera is fixed on a place where there is no one
-Well, in the end, Larantos was kind of right regarding the Imperials
-You should maybe give Riana an unique model, otherwise she looks like the average sorceress
-Wait, is it Queen Renova or Ranova? Because in the final cinematic the queen is named Ranova
-I enjoyed those three Ironfist, their competence and the mechanics they provide. I hope we get to see them later on

Interlude
-Feron just sealed his fate, didn't he, by saying "As long as I live...", right?
-Now this meeting makes a lot more sense than the one in the First Human Book! I mean, why would either Harmos and Aedale be there to begin with?! They are not commanders !
-I found it very funny that the meeting consisted of the highest-ranking commanders in the Kingdoms, and then there was Daric behind Lerrig. XD

 

[Enki555]

So, here is my review on latest chapter and interlude:
Act two, Chapter 5: Wew some Larantos action and motivation. And three ironfist soldiers are perfect; able to revive them really helped. I like the three-sided mechanism you introduced. First one gives nice item for Salana and upgrades attack & armor. Second one finally gives judicators; thus giving a chance against vast army of elves and demons. Third one... the one which gave a perfect addition for techtree was the most desirable: those treant mages are proper necromancers and i found myself training like 6 of them to distract and overwhelm.
Enemy waves are... gruesome. Lera's starfall made me retreat my army by the time she activated it: it was one heck of diversion and calculation to evade her, and trick her ultimate to activate it prematurely. There is one helpful tip: have like 10 Walkyries cuz they deal magic damage and spell immune. They are a good counter against doom guards, felhounds, towers, and swordsman, and can kill them very quick. Yet you must have like 5 archers with Salana to shoot down enemy Walkyries cuz they are pain in the ass during Lera's Hunters' aerial attack. Also have 6 or 7 priests: three to activate inner fire and remainder to heal. And have like 7 spell breakers along with 3 judicators; they will be good frontline and hero harassment along with three Ironfist; use them against those accursed infernals mostly. 3 Ballistae were enough. Ancient unit was a good tank but so slow, so I hardly trained them after witnessing how quick they died. I think they should benefit from armor and attack upgrades too. What about giving them active ability of shockwave that heals friendly units and harms enemies? 3 sorceresses should be enough. Yet it took like 7 or 8 full food armies to fully vanquish enemies. There was the mistake: I was too lazy to build forward bases which actually saved a lot of time and movement. As long as Elven Traitors base destroyed, build the base around its goldmine. But those demons and aerial attack are nasty that will attack your main base. Destroying Lera's base was perhaps the one true nightmare: it was continuously reinforced by Larantos's units, thus u need to sacrifice full army to at least destroy southern or northern section. Larantos himself is lvl 9 hero and is nasty as hell with his banish and flame strike. Well, well it was worth it.
I think elven council need to become heroes instead of demi-heroes. And giving three Ironfist different models would be nice. Or even making them full heroes in the next missions. So, what becomes of Lera??? I didn't complete the side-quest of destroying her base completely and expecting her to appear in the end cinematic. But well... it seems Ironfist will have undead units though not as strong as nexus. They obviously gathered a massive amount of corpses since the dead surpassed the living.
Interlude: Well, well. So many new familiar and new faces. Now it looks more canon and decent. Even Imperial generals support Gardon... so, he is gonna have an edge at some point in the future. Aedale and Harmos's absence was logical. So far, quite satisfied with the execution.

 

[merlockqueen]

Hmm I do have a question that may be silly do our choices of side quests effect anything going forward or no in the true story in Ex spareing Lera or destroying her base competely?

 

[Tichlor]

Love the newest true story map. Lore-wise, I loved how much the 3 Ironfist soldiers were the ones that had complete control over the battlefield making Salana seem like an archer carrying out orders, and the mechanic of having undead trees, cool concept. Gameplay-wise, this map was a pain in the ass. This is one of the maps where tower spam could be countered easily because of that Starfall and rain of fire ability. What I like doing is taking possession of 3 gold mines and just wait till I have TOO many resources. From there on, tower spam could be repaired easily, and building a large army shouldn't be that much of a problem. I suggest having about 7 judicators, 10 archers, priests, and ballistas. Balancing between ballistas and priests should be your choice, but I had about 4 priests and the rest being ballistas. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I strongly advise you to attack after the enemy has attacked you, the enemy has got strong AoE spells like flame strike, rain of fire, etc, which could destroy your whole damn army. Well, this mission was fun, all you need is Patience! looking forward to the End of an Uprising mission, it's one of my favorites (+) fix the Larantos cutscene, it confused me for a while.

 

[Championfighter25]

Act 2, ch. 5

- I think the forest trolls, in the beginning, should be part of the forest troll faction.
- There were 2 invulnerable troll huts on the bottom left of the map. I don't think they should be.
- I mean, on top of what happened, the smaller base of the elves occupied a 75,000 goldmine instead of being nicer and moving to the 50,000 gold one. I don't get why Mina is sceptical of them being traitors.
- The new tree units are cool. Especially the Ancient Ironbark, who provides the much needed heavy unit that this mission lacked before. I think it would be cool if he got an armour upgrade later on.
Though they mess up a few hotkeys once becoming available. Ancient Ironbark shares a hotkey with Impaling Bolts - D and Thornkin with Improved Bows - S.
For the next missions, I think they should be put in a brand new structure.

Interlude

- Poor Daric. Kenos is at least a general and technically got a line. The Elites are there to provide additional defence. He's there to just stand behind Lerrig.
- all eligable necromancers -> all eligible necromancers

 

[LISBOAH]

- I mean, on top of what happened, the smaller base of the elves occupied a 75,000 goldmine instead of being nicer and moving to the 50,000 gold one. I don't get why Mina is sceptical of them being traitors.

They deny being traitors when:
-They attack us, you know the ones defending the elven capital, if we send our units near their base
-If we decide to attack them, they say that Larantos was right all along. This means that they not only had talks with Larantos, the guy that is leading an army of demons against his own people, but even agreed with some of the stuff he said.
-They occupy an important goldmine which could be invaluable in defending the capital. They could have left and allowed us to use it freely, but instead they purposely occupy it so that we can't use.
-And for that matter, if they were truly neutral, why were they in the middle of a warzone in the first place? This is not like the case of the mysterious soldiers near the Darkmind base. Those soldiers were relatively away from the battlefield and they were ordered by van Durce to be there. These elves were there because they wanted.

 

[Tuwnew]

For the interlude:

The first time I played your campaign, I wasn't really careful on people motivations. But I noticed Gardon was quite dark, so I sided with Genethas.
Back then, I really liked my "hesitation", even if I just had to repeat the next interlude to discover the truth.

But now, I think it's clear how Gardon is a loyal warrior with only some questionable methods.
I don't know what you prefer, but I suggest you to create a small scene with Genethas and some Generals (Lerrig for example) discussing about how Gardon is a traitor.
What do you think?

 

[DD Mikasa]

Hmm kinda interesting how in the new version of the elven kingdom map we actually get to chose on making it easy/harder for our self...

Still tho going with two of three paths it does feel wrong, the "deserters" and the druid magic part I mean. One is a blatant corruption of the tree spirits or call em what you want by Iron fist's dark magic and the other...If they were demon slaves they would have attacked us like the other three bases we just butchering them feels wrong even tho we get access to Cavaliers.

Larantos is kind of a dummy while he does have a strong point about imperials and their shady deals he still went and allied with demons who will outright enslave them, instead of "formally" accepting the imperial Aid and then using his position to veto/undermine them he went and gave the elf kingdom even a stronger reason to get closer to the empire, something really bad must have happened in the past for him to hate the empire, I hope this does get a spotlight later on, when we get to see why he did not like imperials at all.

Finally we get the much awaited semi unique units,i think this adds a nice touch to the book over all.

As for the cinematic yeah there is the imperials bickering with each other, something tells me they would very much like to bash each other with maces and hammers as much as they do with the demons.


Looking forward to the other maps!!

 

[merlockqueen]

I would say going through each path from what we have seen so far I ranked the seeming consequences to the elves descending

3 the path of Domination this one could still be troubling however with what we know from what Salana told us they have been attacking more aggressively so clearing them away helps both now and perhaps in the long terms the elves.

2 the path of Wrath the Elves choosing non commitment is reflective of how the elves large scale have always behaved even when the choice seems obvious and like the deserters the elves occupies an extremely valuable plot of land but refuse to commit to the war against the demons. They are guilty as the Elves are as a group during the previous wars take that as you may.

1 the path of Destruction this one involves you tearing down a decent chunk of the elven woods to empower a forribiden ritual which Herdon corrupts and binds the spirits of nature to his own will likely this one is undoubtly the most risky for the elves as whole as it involves herdon taking the most powerful aspects of nature magic away from the elves.

oh bonus rounds why are the paths called what they are?
Domination removing the trolls leaves the Elves with control of the forest dominating and removing all other races that would live there.

Wrath Destroying those who are maybe not fully guilty but not innocent its a choice of grey but regardless it is one of aggression and anger at the elven Deserters.

Destruction two fold as i see the destruction of the forests of nature that Herdon summons and destruction in what it does to the nature spirts and the forest itself.

 

[Mvicio]

There isn´t much more to say. 10/10 Chapter
A great improvement from their previous version
-The 3 ironfist soldiers were the truly generals of the battle
-The side quest were on touch, the Wrath path was the best, but the most useful was the domination (the one where we kill the trolls)
-Kill those "neutral" elves, they are guilty, GUILTY.
-Larantos was talking to either Bryan or the undead, maybe Largoth.
-Salana was much more cruel at the end, cutting the heads of the traitors. Procs to her, but choosing Larine over Salana won´t make that much sense in the future.
-So the ironfist now have necromancers and Ironbarks. They just need some runepriests and hidromancers on the mix to control everything.

I suppose the next maps will be both the underground caverns, The human with Salomar/Aedale and the undead with Edoarus/Saphira.
I´m looking forward to the legendary sea battle (we´ll probably play as undead since they won at the end but that may change like other things)

 

[Boriss]

I really didnt like the ending, especially Salana's request. Or should I say Selana's request?
Also, I do miss the allies we could call in the human book. Seems im the only one here tho.

 

[Mvicio]

Or should I say Selana's request?

You should not open that box.... yet.

Also, I do miss the allies we could call in the human book. Seems im the only one here tho.

Well this new map makes much more sense.
You could call for an allie, but why would you just call one and not all 3? Since you could call for any of them it means that their territories are about the same distance.
So, why would you call just one? Bring all of them to fight the traitor and the demons.

 

[LISBOAH]

Well this new map makes much more sense.
You could call for an allie, but why would you just call one and not all 3? Since you could call for any of them it means that their territories are about the same distance.
So, why would you call just one? Bring all of them to fight the traitor and the demons.

Yeah.

And how it would work in terms of having Gardon as the ally?
In order to have Gardon's aid, we would have to complete both the Path of Domination and the Path of Wrath in order for it to make sense. Without destroying the "neutral" elves, Gardon doesn't have a place to build a base, and without defeating the Trolls blocking the roads, how can Gardon come?

 

[DD Mikasa]

@LISBOAH

Since the true story is supposed to be cannon I dont think side quests will play a major role in shaping the story, I mean I replayed the chapter without doing the research for the druids and destroying the base and the cinematic was the same, so I guess in the future depending on the side quests we finish or not we might get bonuses/penalties but not anything major in terms of the story, Salana has already made up her mind where it stands with Gardon since the outpost mission, she is his ally.

 

[merlockqueen]

@LISBOAH

Since the true story is supposed to be cannon I dont think side quests will play a major role in shaping the story, I mean I replayed the chapter without doing the research for the druids and destroying the base and the cinematic was the same, so I guess in the future depending on the side quests we finish or not we might get bonuses/penalties but not anything major in terms of the story, Salana has already made up her mind where it stands with Gardon since the outpost mission, she is his ally.

well to be fair he did "help" make up her mind

okay I got some spoiler territory for what they cover WILD THEROIES now note since these are wild some of the may be more silly or unlikely or just silly but regardless they will be wild.

The first WILD THEORY I have is on a Greendale.

Laura Greendale the daughter of Claire Greendale this solider following her mothers footsteps has seen been knocking boots with a certain prince of zyanior but who could be her father?
the options are
Merlon Seabright, while this salty sailor was rather found of claire and already has a daughter to his nameDid Claire like him enough to knock some boots? hard to say.
Thanok, seen by his side prominently through out the second voidwar. Claire being likely one of the few people Thanok had any respect for. Is Laura a half dragon almost certainly not but who could say? (besides Shar)
The most likely husband however is that they are no one of any real import I mean Claire likely settled down in newly reconqured Lor and probably found a husband or just a partner for the night there.

The Second WILD THEORY Is Ardion more biased than their anti orc hate?

I am talking about elves and elf related people lets go over a few different points we have.
first he has a tendency to have Dark Elf Rangers in his service as Saphira bow mentions she's is but the latest line in Dark Rangers under their command While he does employ many many undead angents no others are mentioned of their being a history of their position being filled besides Krom who may have just about always been around.
Additionally while Ardion was indifferent to the fall of Islumar and Lor Largely in that he would not show his hand to save them he does however show his hand extremely drastically to save one group in particular whos that?
why the Elven forest none the less interesting I would say wouldn't you?
And most convincingly he made the dark elves who the "normal" Elves are an branch of (if you believe ardion).

CONCLUSION while Claiming to represent the balance Ardions hypocrisy is shown twice fold in their hatred of the orcs and the special favoritism the elves receive from them.

 

[Mvicio]

Laura Greendale the daughter of Claire Greendale this solider following her mothers footsteps has seen been knocking boots with a certain prince of zyanior but who could be her father?

We know nothing about her father.
It cant be merlon (Claire never agreed at all)
I dont think it could be Thanok, too occupied and never showed any special bond with her during both stories.
It could be some random soldier, Hedron, Tormin, Ferdal, Varan or any of the black guards. Since we know nothing.

Additionally while Ardion was indifferent to the fall of Islumar and Lor Largely in that he would not show his hand to save them he does however show his hand extremely drastically to save one group in particular whos that?

Because if he let the Demons take control of the forest, he wouldn't be able to use the tunnels to get to some places
Also the Demons would surround the death mountain. And since the Demons know aridon and the mountain wasnt sealed... You know what would happen.

 

[DD Mikasa]

@merlockqueen
Well yeah Gardon and his dirty tricks to go a long way but still she did show interest in working with him before he made her his personal puppy.

 

[merlockqueen]

Whos ready for a Crazy Wild THEORY TIME

Amari a savior but by design and not chance?

The question is it chance that Amari happened to be with the dark trolls when the Ironfist/councilor Brriam used shadow magic to help put forth a token effort to wipe the dark trolls out on behalf of the Black dragons? or did Brian know the vaule that the dark trolls would have to Amari's cause and signal her that now would be the time to move?

IT can not be overstated how the Dark Trolls were the most important recruits Amari gained for they gave Her and the cliff hunter clan their first sign of legitimacy the Dark Trolls famed diplomats and respected even among some humans Grella's aid made is possible for Amari to recruit the Goblins who just were working for pay before than, The centaurs who also had more interest in a peaceful existence, The Gnolls who had severe distrust of the Orcs at first.

The first and most important Domino was Grella and the Dark Trolls and, while we are here who gave them the vison of the danger to come? It would not be outside of Brian's wheelhouse to do such a thing to encourage them to meet up and prepare for a big event.

Was she a Savior by chance or by Design?

 

[LISBOAH]

Whos ready for a Crazy Wild THEORY TIME

Amari a savior but by design and not chance?

The question is it chance that Amari happened to be with the dark trolls when the Ironfist/councilor Brriam used shadow magic to help put forth a token effort to wipe the dark trolls out on behalf of the Black dragons? or did Brian know the vaule that the dark trolls would have to Amari's cause and signal her that now would be the time to move?

IT can not be overstated how the Dark Trolls were the most important recruits Amari gained for they gave Her and the cliff hunter clan their first sign of legitimacy the Dark Trolls famed diplomats and respected even among some humans Grella's aid made is possible for Amari to recruit the Goblins who just were working for pay before than, The centaurs who also had more interest in a peaceful existence, The Gnolls who had severe distrust of the Orcs at first.

The first and most important Domino was Grella and the Dark Trolls and, while we are here who gave them the vison of the danger to come? It would not be outside of Brian's wheelhouse to do such a thing to encourage them to meet up and prepare for a big event.

Was she a Savior by chance or by Design?

I have got to say that this is quite an interesting and plausible theory.

This theory, however, can be either confirmed or denied by answering one question: Is Brian willing to make his two students clash against one another, even if indirectly?
Sure, Amari defeating those Black Dragons, Ironfist and brainwashed trolls didn't greatly affect Gardon in the grand scheme of things, but, as seen in several stories, even the tiniest slipup could ruin even a plan that has been ongoing for thousands of years.

Those soldiers and dragons could have been the key to defeat the Demons for good if things have gone differently.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Time for a sneak peak at the next chapter, eh?

Hidden

 

[Hardric62]

Nice reskin of the opposition.

Spoiler

Still not going through that gate, no matter how many shiny new reskinned Demon Knights defend it.

Also, new game:

Spoiler

How many shards/energy fields Aedale can consume before her head explode?

 

[merlockqueen]

The Beginning of the End for Aedale

 

[Boriss]

The Beginning of the End for Aedale

We will finally see what is the canon fate of Aedale

 

[merlockqueen]

Alert WILD THEROY 3/?

Demonic eyes are eyes?

the two demonic eyes are literally the demon 'god's' eyes? its possible my evidence their are 2 they are called eyes and they posses extreme amounts of demonic magic.

Demonic EYES ARE literally EYES!

 

[Mvicio]

IT can not be overstated how the Dark Trolls were the most important recruits Amari gained for they gave Her and the cliff hunter clan their first sign of legitimacy the Dark Trolls famed diplomats and respected even among some humans Grella's aid made is possible for Amari to recruit the Goblins who just were working for pay before than,

I'm not 100% sure. But the Goblins (or at least Pechan) were working for Amari already.

Those soldiers and dragons could have been the key to defeat the Demons for good if things have gone differently

Well, Bryan changed a small expedition force for the entirity of a race. I would have done the same. They'll be more soldiers to fight the dark one than the human force.

the two demonic eyes are literally the demon 'god's' eyes? its possible my evidence their are 2 they are called eyes and they posses extreme amounts of demonic magic.

That's a nice theory but why would the demons store their artifacts under the human kingdoms.
I mean, one was protected once they captured the derrin outpost (before that i doubt It)
But why on a lonely island (and a demonic prison) instead of their capital?

I think they are some sort of eyes or Hearts from Dreadlords. Instead of their god's eyes.