New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[Championfighter25]

My opinions on the newer chapters (with a small delay )

Act 3, chapter 2 - Siege of Kome

• It's not even 5 minutes into the mission and Sasrogarn proves why he should never be in charge of anything.
• I like Sasrogarn's new kit. A nice mix of aoe and single target damage.
• The big force at the beginning definitely helped a lot. With how few units the first few enemy bases had, they were easy to clear.
• For a mission like this, I think giving the player 4 more burrows to make his food cap start at 100 wouldn't be a bad idea.
• I think Frank's forge is a nice idea that needs a bit of a nerf. Getting each character some really good items just by waiting a bit doesn't feel quite right. The Bladebane armour and amulet of spell shield are especially. Maybe make them disappear after the 1st purchase or something like that.
• After I destroyed the first enemy base, the notification for reinforcements arriving stopped appearing.
• I like the new ending of the chapter. It proved that orcs can think a lot more intelligently than most people realise. And on the opposite side, there are still those utterly consumed by their anger.

Act 3, Chapter 3 - Purge of the Pearl

• I think it would be better if the potion of speed was replaced with a rune of speed.
• Galareth is... an interesting specimen.
• Overall, the mission was easy and a nice break from the last chapter.

Act 3, Chapter 4 - Night Hunt

• Poor Krom, even though he succeeded in doing what he was told to the letter, it still didn't change anything major.
• Surprised that the Goldaxe clan were given overlordship over a few minor clans. The Darkmind won't be very amused.
• I can see that prophet having a larger role to play relatively soon.
• This was a pretty straightforward and fun mission.

 

[DD Mikasa]

I am glad that the night hunt mission continued with the over all theme of undead in this act, they move as a quick mobile force to reach their goals and leave, I for one love this non-macro intensive missions (even though the future that awaits us all is just those type of missions :/ )

It was a rather interesting and challenging mission, had to restart twice in order for me to actually find a proper pathing.

What draw my attention was the whole "political" struggle implied in this mission, the undead think they can sow discontent among the clans and use their petty feuds to tear the orcs from within, the golden axe true to their nature, seem to have formed a smaller coalition within the orc clans, and they don't trust the Destroyer at all, I mean look at where the three vassal bases of the golden axe are located, they are all around Destroyer's orc base, this makes you think, maybe Rangul itself thinks The Destroyer will try to do a power grab and allowed the golden axe to subdue some of the clans in order to keep The destroyer in check!

Even though this chapter did not involve a lot of cinematics it feels like what happened in this chapter will have MAJOR implications later on in the story. That clan stuck between a minor and major clan might have some greater role to play as well.

@Shar Dundred is this chapter meant as a replacer for the first human book chapter where the dwarfs and the elves fight the orcs (even though I know those orcs were there after the burn of Kome, the whole thing of killing the chieftains to sow chaos among the clans fits the side objective of that chapter in the first orc book)

 

[Shar Dundred]

is this chapter meant as a replacer

Nope.

 

[Mvicio]

the golden axe true to their nature, seem to have formed a smaller coalition within the orc clans, and they don't trust the Destroyer at all, I mean look at where the three vassal bases of the golden axe are located, they are all around Destroyer's orc base, this makes you think, maybe Rangul itself thinks The Destroyer will try to do a power grab and allowed the golden axe to subdue some of the clans in order to keep The destroyer in check!

That could be, also i think the major clan that will get all the minor clans will be the Goldaxe and not the Bloodhand, they already know how to take control of minor clans.

If that happens the undead plan won´t work at all, since Rangul paid the goldaxe clan, there won´t be any civil war.

 

[DD Mikasa]

That is true but the minor clans who seek the support of bloodhand clan would most likely try and do so, let us not forget some of them have caught wind of what Goldenaxe is doing, and while they might be in disorganized from the death of their chieftains I doubt any of them would like the idea of being send on the front lines as cannon fodder of the golden axe, not to mention some of them (i think two) expressed sympathy towards Bloodhand and destroyer. The wild factor is that one medium (since they aren't minor per say anymore) is the clan who had the civil war. Their prophet expressed some very interesting views that your common orc does not have, if I have a guess its brian influencing the prophet, after all the prophet was way to pacifistic for an orc (after all he did say he did not condone for the death of any being be it orc or not) maybe they will abandon the front lines and make contact with Amari or something, after all this prophets ideology seems to align with that of the Tribal Dominion!

 

[Mvicio]

I doubt any of them would like the idea of being send on the front lines as cannon fodder of the golden axe,

Well, the destroyer said that he want to be in first line. So they'll be cannon fodder of the bloodhand.

if I have a guess its brian influencing the prophet, after all the prophet was way to pacifistic for an orc (after all he did say he did not condone for the death of any being be it orc or not) maybe they will abandon the front lines and make contact with Amari or something, after all this prophets ideology seems to align with that of the Tribal Dominion!

Probably. Aridon hates the orcs and Trekagh wouldnt allow any orc that wont fight. So is Bryan 100% since the Demons cant manipulate the orcs.

 

[Shar Dundred]

The next chapter has been sent to @Kasrkin to be tested.
I intend to upload both this chapter and the next one in the next update.

Stay tuned!

 

[Kasrkin]

BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD

That is all, testing is done for the chapter sent to me.

 

[Shar Dundred]

And another chapter has been sent to @Kasrkin. This is a special one.
As soon as its testing is done... Well, you know the drill.

 

[Kasrkin]

Testing is done once more, the nature of this mission might still cause problems even with all the problems I have observed and reported.

 

[LISBOAH]

My review

Chapter Five of Act Three:
-Oh, don't you dare play the victim card Rangul! The Darkmind survivors? And what about the survivors of the villages that the Darkmind Clan pillaged and burned? Didn't they deserve revenge as well?
-I attacked the Undead rather than the Imperials.
-Love the new Nerog unit and the Rohir Nexus faction. I hope that we can play both on later missions.
-And the award for most Honorable character till now goes to Mordin!
-Oh no! If only the orcs have planned better rather than launching a massive invasion in such a rush! Now they are about to fight each other AGAIN, and right next to the Imperials! Plus, as seen in the Second Book, they left their home pretty much defenseless against a highly predictable Imperial counterattack.

Chapter Six
-Good guy Hortnog gives us help for free and even tells some of his warriors to guard the Fountain of Health for us!
-How are Nerogs inside the tomb if Rahandir said that they were the Ejara Nexus' newest creations? Unless this is happening before the previous chapter and Aridon sent reinforcements
-The Pillage ability of the Bodyguard is useless in this mission
-So the Guardian in The True Story is a creature subvervient to Brian rather to Aridon
-Kazardius only delievered pretty good points. I bet he will enjoy Retka's rebellion
-I am glad that you made Aedale's downfall more realistic and sympathetic. In the First Human Book, she didn't mind Largoth killing her comrades and was totally fine with listenning to him. Here, her thoughts and actions make more sense. Except the whole part of "you still don't control your powers, so let's give you even more power"
-Well, now we know for sure that Lisara wasn't warping Aedale's memories concerning her father, not even one bit. I hope that his death will be more satisfying in this story
-It would be more fitting if the "soldiers" that fought alongside dear 'Papa of the Year' were Redfists rather than the average Imperial Soldiers

 

[FOEHN]

I was just trying to look at what new map looks like and... Salomar became Renald?

 

[Enki555]

So, here is the review:
Chapter Five: -Nerog? The name derived from nerubian-orc hybrid? Those frankensteins were scary and they should have Dread Aura to reduce the damage of attackers. O' the wrath of orcs upon the undead will be... sanguine.
-No undead Lera? Hmm... seems she survived.
-Glad to see Mordin. Surprisingly he holds no grudge against those who killed him; seems undeath clearly wipes most if not all rancor and ire the risen had in life. Him also concerning over Vanessa is cute. Hortnog and he would get along if they hadn't been enemies.
-It was heartbreaking to slaughter my favorite race yet I had no choice. The aerial attacks from Scarec were too wrenching, and the forces from both Rohir and Splecir were too merciless. It felt so therapeutic to kill those revenants and damned vulture riders. Rahandir is one hell of nasty due to his undying condition. His showers of meteor would make any sane person crazy and can instantly raze the most well-fortified outpost. Just one wave with Rahandir is enough to destroy a whole base if u r not careful. And, yes, Veringar is not fully forgotten .
-It is advisable to quickly invade Ardoz with your current forces, and quickly make an outpost there. The initials forces will be enough to raze it. Be warned; as soon as Great Hall is built, the undead will shift their focus and strike the newest base instead. Make sure to fortify the third base in Imperial army location. Once Rohir is destroyed (which took two full max-fooded armies), things will become a bit breezy. With unholy aura, scepter of healing, brilliance aura, and golem, the Splecir base can be destroyed with only 50 food forces if things are managed well. Remember to always soul burn, finger of death, and hex Rahandir.
-So, Rohir elves are canon with the presence of Stalker unit. Elves being present in three nexuses further solidifies Aridon's favor to his children.
-Ah, Bloodhand's survival clearly led to this... chaotic state. If he can be convinced to lead his subjugated clans, he will prove useful instead of eliciting the wrath of Rangul.

Chapter Six: -By the moment I checked Aedale's skillset, I knew she was doomed.
-So, no independent undead protecting the artifact? Now changed to the shadow-lings of Brian? Makes a nice sense here since all undead should serve Watcher instead.
-Imagine Goldaxe clan acquiring the demon eye... since they are orcs, they would be immune to its effects or may be protected by the shadows of Brian who favors the greenskins. Or, they would probably leave it there due to their unwillingness to be tainted by Demons.
-Due to the narrow corridors of this mission, it is easy to lose your units especially at the chokepoints guarded by Zirr nexus. Make sure to make good use of Mark of Chaos.
-Well, well, Skeleton lorekeeper and warlock should be given different models imo due to their custom unitship. Scourge's disease cloud should be changed, and, yeah, Ras's spirit link and disenchant should be replaced; they are obviously not undead tauren xD.
-Kazardius; such a fine gallant. Too bad that he is all armor and bound spirit. The fallen soldiers of Zyainor are cool. Too bad that they had to suffer the fate of being betrayed, killed in sleep, cannibalized, and got their remains consumed by the dogs. The extremity of humans knows no bounds. Salomar finally knowing the truth before his death is enlightening. Ca'rach is such a catch in a boss fight, and Korzar, the undead black dragon, was such a nice reference to LotR. Witch King Kazardius? Yet: don't tell me he is slain for good. I just dearly hope he will return: wanna play as him in the future. Also, hope Fleshtearer's soul escaped its slain abomination body.
-Poor Salomar and Gerrazar knights: their fate was sealed once Aedale consumed the first shard. Edoarus vs Salomar boss fight is not gonna be canon .
-O' Papa Redfist's new model... not sure what to tell about it.
-Lisara being "imprisoned until the end of times" bears a resemblance to the Watcher imprisoned in Tartarus.
-Seems Lisara has been preparing a lot during her incarceration. Her skills in subterfuge and manipulation are outstanding. She definitely has scores to settle with Ebira. Not sure how it's gonna proceed.
-Chevaran's past adds a nice flavor. Being a slavemaster in the past becoming a slave in the present is a nice cliche. Gerrazar order being potentially aligned with Aedale is cool (they would especially come in handy against Redfist). He and Aedale can definitely make a great duo; both are now slaves to the succubus... if they can miraculously free themselves from her. The chance of Aedale now freeing herself is as slim as silk.

-The last mission is probably gonna be where we have to choose as humans, orcs, and undead. So, it will probably be a while since the full release of FB era. Keep going, Shar.

 

[Shar Dundred]

-It would be more fitting if the "soldiers" that fought alongside dear 'Papa of the Year' were Redfists rather than the average Imperial Soldiers

I deliberately decided against it because it is a nightmare scenario and also not the right time to introduce the Redfist faction. Yes most people playing this will already know them but from an ingame lore perspective I decided against it.

I was just trying to look at what new map looks like and... Salomar became Renald?

Apparently the spawn trigger that only fires if you skipped the final mission of Act Two is creating the wrong unit.
Easy fix, either wait for me updating or play that mission.

-No undead Lera? Hmm... seems she survived.

You did not kill her then.
Yes, that one is on you.

So, Rohir elves are canon with the presence of Stalker unit. Elves being present in three nexuses further solidifies Aridon's favor to his children.

Keep in mind that the Daviliad Nexus does not exist yet.

 

[Championfighter25]

Thoughts on the new chapters

Act 3, chapter 5

• The faction knowledge about the demon slaves brings up an interesting question. Will the Goldaxe clan ever assist or not fight the demons if offered enough gold for it? Or have they already done it at some point and we don't know about it?
• The new undead units gives the mission a nice reason to play through it again.
• Happy to see Veringar... oh, never mind he went out as he lived - without anybody noticing.
• The Destroyer's betrayal wasn't unexpected. I think this is the closest the undead will ever get into manipulating the orcs successfully and delaying them a bit like they intended.

Act 3, chapter 6

• Hortnog was too nice. His troops and the bodyguard proved to be a great help in the chapter.
• If anybody else got that ancient knowledge (especially Gardon), Aridon would probably want them dead immediately.
• It was interesting to see what I presume to be Brian's shadows this early.
• After you defeat the Fleshtearer, you don't have much time to pick the rune of restoration. His positioning also makes it hard to not engage him and the other shadows that have the tome of intelligence at the same time.
• Poor guardian, Aridon hates Brian so much he doesn't even care that the shadow, while indirectly, helped him a lot.
• The way Kazardius was defeated made it look like he's permanently gone.
• Cheveran wearing black now makes a lot more sense now.
• It's nice that Aedale's downfall was made more realistic. She being hesitant was much better than previously just going along with what Largoth and Lisara told her.

 

[FOEHN]

Apparently the spawn trigger that only fires if you skipped the final mission of Act Two is creating the wrong unit.
Easy fix, either wait for me updating or play that mission.

Well, if that's the case I'd say no problem. Only if I had more time to play campaign properly.

 

[Enki555]

Since Margazar's defeat looked as if he is fully killed, just hoping that the same will apply to Kazardius. Since Splecir warriors are all specters, it would be safe to assume he would materialize back after his spirit disembodied and returned back to Dead Mountain after the boss fight. It is still too early for him to die.

 

[DD Mikasa]

Well most of the guys already pointed out what I was gonna point out, as for the fate of Kazardius I am pretty much sure we haven't seen the last of him I mean as a character who is heavily implied to have knowledge of Zyanor having him die this early would be a tad bit counter intuitive. Hell i can see him fighting along gardon in the undead "civil war".

Glad that lera survived though...Now if Salana were to be the elven queen that would be just perfect in the elven front.
Apart from that not much changed from the orc chapter we had the chieftain hunt mission as a standalone so that explains the cut portion where the skullblade and goldenaxe chieftains are killed. The new undead units seem rather interesting cant wait to get my hands on them!
That one chat between rangul and mordin seemed a nice touch that hints on the things that wait us in the future.

One small note here, this is more of a balance thing than a lore thing, the ranged units on the human mission have the passive envenomed arrows ability, Am I only ne that thinks that a researchable ability that offers a 3 hp dmg per sec is kind of a waste, wouldn't a ms or as slow effect be far more better on that ability slot?

 

[Hardric62]

To add a bit more than what has already been said, I'll say that having the Ejara Nexus as 'scenery' during Mission Five is nice for the player, since it populates the map without leaving you with an additional enemy out to get you. And clearing the little 'side dungeon' where the first part of the old map happened was a fun thing to do for repurposing that part of the map. And I am curious to learn what Hortnog was planning for with his little help of Greymoore here. I also wonder about Cheveran's order and its abilities now it looks like they'll be Aedale's grunts besides (or instead of?) the Mog'Thar... Someday, I really hope it becomes possible to adapt Arkain's various rosters for battles on 'regular' maps. The diversity of this toybox looks tremendous and leaves you wanting for more, even after playing all these campaigns.

 

[ShadowGamerXXX]

Act 3, Chapter 5

• I like it much more than the original, since you will find many different nexus with their units.
• On the other hand we can kill the imperials or the dead... That Aridon rots, I like humans and Vanessa... And Vanessa's humans.
• I would love to have more explanations with demonic slaves, especially I think you could create very good stories with them, even a rebellion against demons (?).
• Lera?, Lera? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LEEEEEEERAA. XD, Already really Is she alive or dead?, never kill Lera in the mission of the elves, Maybe I have to do the mission again?, every time I delete the campaign of my Warcraft and then reinstall it when new missions come out. I don't know why I like Lera a lot, maybe it's just because BALDgoth told me it was irrelevant, but it's funny why I like this character.
• Let Brian, Aridon, Largoth or the demon God take pity on their orc souls, and well Who is hungry?

 

[Verb8im]

In the orc mission, I know that the standalone part with the 2 chieftains is gone, but is there any point to that area now? There are still enemies, but no way to get there

 

[Shar Dundred]

There is an opening, you can go there.

 

[Mvicio]

A bit late but here we go

Act 3, Chapter 5:
-So Rangul said that the darkmind clan survivors needed a revenge? Pretty much like the Kingdoms AND imperials on that bloody clan.
-I attacked the undead, i mean the ardoz nexus just wanted to torture them
-I found in my save that Lera is undead, so i suppose that not killing her is the right thing to do.
-The ejara nexus techtree is sick, the crypt knights, the nerog, the disgusting flying units (How the hell the nerubians can fly, they are spiders). I suppose is a mix between nerubians, orcs and sludges in the future.
-The old zone where gorthog and Dogran dies now serves as lore zone at all, we can see how the nerubians are slaves and they are just breeding eggs, a couple of items too that´s nice
-I dont know if intended but the ejara nexus never attacked me, the Rohir, Splicer and the fucking Scarec yes, but the ejara were passive all the time.
-Mordin is a nice fella, he doesn´t want to take revenge on the orcs like Saphira, he just want to win the war so his kind can live peacefully.
-So the Splicer nexus attacks are monstrous, those casters are hella strong.
-The demons can´t control the orcs, i don´t think even the goldaxe clan will fight for them even if paid, they are the enemies of all other races.
-I keep thinking that the Destroyer won´t fight Rangul, he´ll try to submit the minor clans to continue the invasion and have a big bloodbath.

Act 3, Chapter 6:
-So Cheveran was actually a "good" soldier, i mean he wasn´t Largoth.
-Fighting that amount of nexus was challenging, but having 2 paladins and 4 heroes make it a breeze.
-The Fleshtearer needs some extra bodies to sustain his spirit, but i don´t think it is finally dead.
-The shadows are the remnants of Bryan´s race i suppose, now they are gone for now.
-Kazardius made a lot of strong points, the citizens betray them after all they have done to defend them. The kingdoms took the chance and now they are paying the price.
-This boss battle was really easy in comparison to Rahandir´s. Also cool detail the black undead dragon, did all the Ca´rach have black dragons partners?
-WTF Aedale, if you can´t control the power and you just saw how salomar and the gerrezan died, how having more power will help you AT ALL? You need time not more power.
-About the memories, it seems that Redfist likes cory a bit more than Aedale.
-Now Cheveran and his order are slaves to Aedale, maybe the Moghtar will be completely erradicated by the orcs and Ogres and Krogar won´t be around.

Really nice maps Shar. Nice work.

-The Pillage ability of the Bodyguard is useless in this mission

So if you pay Hortnog you get extra help in this mission?

-Imagine Goldaxe clan acquiring the demon eye... since they are orcs, they would be immune to its effects or may be protected by the shadows of Brian who favors the greenskins. Or, they would probably leave it there due to their unwillingness to be tainted by Demons.

They´ll get in touch with Gardon and sell it for gold.

And I am curious to learn what Hortnog was planning for with his little help of Greymoore here.

Maybe Largoth is the Goldaxe Chieftain disguised as orc. So he ask hortnog to help the imperials there, securing Aedale´s downfall.

 

[LISBOAH]

Act 3, Chapter 5:
-So Rangul said that the darkmind clan survivors needed a revenge? Pretty much like the Kingdoms AND imperials on that bloody clan.

I would love to see his reaction if Vanessa said that. Though my impression is that no one told her the reason why the Imperials attacked the Darkmind

Joke is on Rangul however, because a certain individual will soon come for him and show him firsthand why their culture of pillaging only serves to come back to bite them.
He burned a little mansion simply to secure his right to be chieftain. It was just a mansion belonging to an insignificant noble, right? Nope!

-WTF Aedale, if you can´t control the power and you just saw how salomar and the gerrezan died, how having more power will help you AT ALL? You need time not more power.

Exactly! What kind of logic is that?!

-About the memories, it seems that Redfist likes cory a bit more than Aedale.

People say things that they don't mean when they are angry XD

So if you pay Hortnog you get extra help in this mission?

But the Pillage ability only works on buildings, right? And there are no buildings in this map.

Maybe Largoth is the Goldaxe Chieftain disguised as orc. So he ask hortnog to help the imperials there, securing Aedale´s downfall.

It is a possibility.

 

[Mvicio]

He burned a little mansion simply to secure his right to be chieftain. It was just a mansion belonging to an insignificant noble, right? Nope!

Yep, he´ll be burned to the ground. Maybe Redfist is linked to the fire because his wife and mansion was burned down, that would be quite interesting.

But the Pillage ability only works on buildings, right? And there are no buildings in this map.

I asked because back in the day i payed Hortnog, however in this save i didn´t have help from the orcs, also i didn´t killed Lera and she appeared so.

 

[Enki555]

-Now Cheveran and his order are slaves to Aedale, maybe the Moghtar will be completely erradicated by the orcs and Ogres and Krogar won´t be around.

During the Purificator mission in SHB, where Saphira mentions Rahandir's forces being arrived at the back, there could be moghtar instead of undead. So, yeah, most if not all of them would die at Ogre front and/or Purificator front. Maybe Aridon actually wouldn't allow his subjects to fight each other as it would be kinda irrational but instead allows Saphira to lie and make-believe Gardon; in truth, her forces actually face Baldgoth's host (he could be interested in this weapon; who knows). So, Red vs Black theme could happen in the Redfist showdown. As a rule, black tarnish the crimson of ichor...

-So the Splicer nexus attacks are monstrous, those casters are hella strong.

Can't wait to command them at the last mission of FB.

-About the memories, it seems that Redfist likes cory a bit more than Aedale.

Would he like Cory after knowing she swore loyalty to the lich?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Anyone wanna see what Arkain Industries is working on?

Spoiler

 

[LISBOAH]

Anyone wanna see what Arkain Industries is working on?

Spoiler

Imperials: Defending Arkain from a Demonic Invasion
Undeads: Defending Arkain from a Demonic Invasion
Orcs: Time for a civil war, boys!

 

[Hardric62]

At least it looks like the Goldaxe Expansion Subsidiaries and the Proto-Dominion aren't involved?

That said... Maybe, just maybe, Destoryer isn't quite angling for a civil war directly? I mean, if he upsatges the Deathbreeze during the invasion, it might offer him more ammo to trample Rangul's leadership, and Rangul couldn't throw first punch without damaging his own leaderhsip. Might do for an interesting concept for a map: You and the Destroyer racing to destroy a key objective first to strengthen your claim on leadership of the Orcs while the Destroyer is trying to stealing that from you to usurp the position. Neat unique designs for the two minors next to him too.

 

[Mvicio]

Imperials: Defending Arkain from a Demonic Invasion
Undeads: Defending Arkain from a Demonic Invasion
Orcs: Time for a civil war, boys!

Rangul: We should unite to defeat the imperials and then the demons.
Destroyer: We orcs, we smash.

At least it looks like the Goldaxe Expansion Subsidiaries and the Proto-Dominion aren't involved?

I suppose the prophet took over the clan and retreat them.

 

[Morris]

Anyone wanna see what Arkain Industries is working on?

Spoiler

So the next chapter's title is going to be "UNLEASH THE WAAAGH!!"

 

[LISBOAH]

So the next chapter's title is going to be "UNLEASH THE WAAAGH!!"

We are about to see what happens when two WAAAGH's collide.

While Aridon eats popcorn and Brian facepalms.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Kasrkin has already received the first draft for testing purposes as we speak.

 

[Kasrkin]

This chapter made me think of the Iliad.

 

[Morris]

This chapter made me think of the Iliad.

So we are expecting an epic Agamemnon\Achilles fight and Trojan Wars style mission. Please let there be a Trojan horse.

 

[LISBOAH]

So we are expecting an epic Agamemnon\Achilles fight and Trojan Wars style mission. Please let there be a Trojan horse.

The Trojan Horse wouldn't work on the Destroyer. That guy would burn it for no reason.

 

[Morris]

The Trojan Horse wouldn't work on the Destroyer. That guy would burn it for no reason.

The Destroyer gotta have a soft spot for something. Pigs maybe?

 

[Hardric62]

Just finished the last map (spoilered because welp, it's still only a few hours old):

Spoiler

-The Bloodhand Clan had fun units to play with for its units variations. Slingers were a fraking godsend with the Siege Damage. And Berserkers can stand proud next to Clan Brutes (thank whatever for that) Never the Shieldbearers though.
-Whitehound looked neat with their own unique units indeed.
-Proto-Dominion was flat-out evil though. All these Clan Brutes standing guard able to stand pound for pound compared to your Berserkers, and them spamming like mad while your only spellcaster support is Witch Doctors/Shamans (yes, SOB spoiled me)? Only reason I managed a breakthrough is a suicidal dash for their Fortress (again, bless you Slingers for your quick and mobile Siege Damage to save us all). Their designs are very cool though, I hope the Actual Dominion ends up using them for its Orc troops in the future. Iphizog better be bringing the armors when he comes. Armored Goldaxe Spearmen were a nice addition too.
-Liked the bonus Undead area and its boss too. At least one makes sure Aridon isn't getting more than he hoped here.

On the bug front though, the selection screen gave me a strange black and white mess instead of the usual burning background this time. Missions on the right side were unaffected though.

 

[LISBOAH]

My review of Chapter Seven of Act Three

Hidden

-"How can we win this war?" It is simple. You can't.
-Rangul's invasion was doomed from the get-go. The orcs were too rushed, and the undead took advantage to distract the frontlines while killing great part of their chieftains that were in reserve, And even if the undead hadn't intervened, they would have to face Cleavehand's defenses on one side and the Demons from the other. And, in the meantime, the Redfists are burning their home to the ground.
-It is funny that the Destroyer, of all people, says that Rangul was too forgiving with the minor clans.
-Pity that the Destroyer is simply an unit, rather than a hero with his own abilities.
-It would be cool if all the Bloodhand Clan units had some sort of unique clan ability to show their bloodlust and so-called battle-prowess.
-Funny that the Subjugated Clans are deemed as hostile by the other clans. It is like they are "What is wrong with you? We all made a pact!" XD
-A possible good optional quest could be destroying the Strongholds of the three Goldaxe-affiliated clans in order to gain more resources and to get them out of the Bloodhands' way.
-I am surprised that Ishzog is still in his cell. I would have expected for him to escape during the chaos. My bet is that the "higher power" told him to stay where he was.
-Wow, the Destroyer is so stubborn that the only way he can get depth is when other characters express it
-The problem with the Destroyer's goal is that he was born in the wrong time. It is hard to be remembered in terms of slaughter with both a huge Demonic invasion and an upcoming Imperial civil war ongoing.

Grammar mistake: One of the Goldaxe mercenaries says "seperate", but he should say "separate"

 

[Enki555]

Spoiler

So, here is the review:
-Destroyer... is more important than he was first introduced. In meantime, I expect him to become a full hero; even the member of Character Sheet; to further consolidate his importance to Arkain's history. He could have skills like Shockwave, Cleaving Attack, How of Terror, and Veteran Rank; it could be imagined.
-Bloodhand units are nice. Faction sheet says even the women of this clan best the other warriors of the clans. O' Okri would be so happy to be successor of Destroyer. There could be some female orc units in this clan; maybe something focusing on air units or even cough Helen of Troy taking axe and aegis. Slingers were good enough to stall even Whitehound attacks. Berserkers can stand toe to toe with clan brutes, and they are quite tanky. Perhaps Bull Regiment should quicken their extermination efforts; otherwise they are gonna be crushed soon. They seem to be quite analogous to Redfist, who promise the strongest land warriors but not aerial forces.
-Goldaxe defenses were nasty, but could be quickly managed once you rush towards the stronghold. Kamikaze style would fit better for the destruction of these three bases.
-O' it seems Aridon still wishes Orcs to be in his entourage; in undeath; despite his blatant disfavor towards them. Spirits of Chieftains was a cool opponent though it could be given unique model- something like Bone Wraith mbe or Remnants of Ner'zhul-like model xD. It would be cool to make a revenant frankeinstein completely infused with orc leader spirits -in the future ofc and that could be a cool representative for Splecir nexus.
-Ishzog really needs to meet Amari real quick. Brian does see the shadows of his children in Orcs. Ishzog having unique model and even becoming a hero to be added to Character Sheet would be fitting. One of his spells could even be reanimating the orc units with shadowborn traits.
-Destroying Blackrazor is the most difficult if you use the frontal assault tactic. They not only retrain their units but also have full food army. The entrances are narrow; not allowing berserkers even Destroyer to fit. Trojan Horse would fit the best in this siege (no pun intended). Just use the Demolisher to fell trees and make an opening to sneak into the base (though you will also lose most of units; especially in the main siege). Or, make quarter of your army to lure and distract Blackrazor units at the frontal path while taking the rest to "opening" would also work fine.
-Wonder what surprises will the End of Act Three bring. Best of lucks.

 

[Morris]

Spoiler: Spoilers

I just finished the chapter and I liked it. It's a tough challenge at first but when you go full Waagh! on the fortresses of the clans associated with Goldaxe clan, it gets a bit easier though the Blackrazor base requires a good strategy to destroy or you can launch two assaults, one as bait to take on the main host, and the other comprised of siege damage units to quickly destroy the fortress.
Though I have some notes on the chapter

• The Factions Sheet stated that the Bloodhound clan had also womenas warriors yet there aren't any in the units that you can train, it would be a good idea to include them in the army composition.
• Shouldn't be the Destroyer be made a hero or demi-hero instead of him being just a Champion on steroids? And maybe give him an ability or two just to show his brutality.
• I think the Bloodhand should have a race specific ability to reflect their battle bloodlust.
• This is more of a question, during the chapter that Rangul fights against the other clans, aren't there minor clans also who were subjugated during the assault and presumably annexed by the Darkmind clan to bolster their forces,in that case, should there be any minor clans at all since they were taken over by Rath?
• Have you thought of having a side quest in this chapter, maybe about the Goldaxe affiliated clans or the Spirits of the Chieftains amalgamation, or somehow convince some of the clans of allying with you instead of only subjugating them?
• I thought that after subjugating the clans, they'll start helping the player fight against the rest but they only remain idle while at the same time enemies with the non-subjugated clans and don't even rebuild their forces when their bases are attacked by them.

that's all I can remember for now, I have a bad memory so don't know if that's all or not

I haven't encountered any bugs in the chapter but the totem had no units available to train, don't know if it's intentional or a bug and the selection screen background kept glitching in black and white.

 

[Shar Dundred]

the selection screen gave me a strange black and white mess instead of the usual burning background this time.

the selection screen background kept glitching in black and white.

That's Blen being so desperate for attention that he keeps placing himself in the place of the
actual campaign screen background model.
It is literally his model so the guy really IS desperate.
This is not the first time he has done that. I'd have expected him to at least choose GREY instead...

In other news, I will make the subjugated clans go and commit suici- I mean heroically attack the
Blackrazor Clan in the next update.

 

[Championfighter25]

Thoughts on the new chapter

• Rangul didn't think things through when he allowed the Destroyer to live, let alone have any power. For him, I think this will be a valuable lesson on the topic of trust.
• So, did the undead successfully manipulate the orcs? They made them rebel without the orcs even technically extensively questioning what's happening. Even if that doesn't delay their invasion by a lot, it still fulfilled a part of their plan.
• The design of the chapter was interesting. It can be a little tricky at times due to the limited resources, but could also be brute-forced.
• In the final cutscene, I assume Ishzog is talking about Brian.
• If what Ishzog said about the Destroyer is true, then he's quite the egomaniac and considering how he reacted to it, pretty steadfast too.

 

[LISBOAH]

• The Factions Sheet stated that the Bloodhound clan had also womenas warriors yet there aren't any in the units that you can train, it would be a good idea to include them in the army composition.

I think the Faction Sheet means that if the female orcs were allowed to fight, they could beat the orcs of other clans. It is a statement that their clan is so strong that even their women can defeat the other clans if allowed.

• Rangul didn't think things through when he allowed the Destroyer to live, let any have any power. For him, I think this will be a valuable lesson on the topic of trust.

He didn't take into consideration a couple of more things if you ask me.

• So, did the undead successfully manipulate the orcs? They made them rebel without the orcs even technically extensively questioning what's happening. Even if that doesn't delay their invasion by a lot, it still fulfilled a part of their plan.

Yes, they did. This will not end without a ton of bloodshed. More than half of the chieftains are dead or will be dead by the time this civil war ends, and the same can be said about the number of warriors. And with heir fleets destroyed by both the undeads and imperials, the orcs have little choices remaining. By the time they reach Cleavehand's defenses, I would have to say that around 50% of their former strength is gone.

• In the final cutscene, I assume Ishzog is talking about Brian.

If it is, it would be ironic since Ishzog talks about Light, when Brian is the Lord of Shadows.

 

[Shar Dundred]

He didn't take into consideration a couple of more things if you ask me.

I want a "The Flaws of Rangul" book now.

 

[Mvicio]

Chapter Seven act Three.
-So the minor clans tried to fight the destroyer, they knew that was a bad idea but anyway. Many orcs died for no reason.
-The whitehound clan riders are really cool, i don´t remember them in the undead mission.
-Some people have already state but the clans being the same faction means that the "help" you could get stay on the initial bases.
-I didn´t killed the goldaxe goons but i should have, they cut off my reinforcements.
-The undead were a nice little detail, just using some berserkers, witch doctor and the destroyer is enough to kill them all without an issue.
-So Destroyer just wants to be known for generations for both humans and orcs, that´s... interesting.
-I knew the destroyer won´t challenge Rangul, using those warriors to actually help Rangul would give him more fame than fighting him.
-So iszahg still on the cage? i thought he would leave, but since Bryan gave him a mission i suppose not.

Nice Chapter Shar.

-Funny that the Subjugated Clans are deemed as hostile by the other clans. It is like they are "What is wrong with you? We all made a pact!" XD

They joined the destroyer, so better start killing the allies of the Blackrazor clan instead of being killed by the bloodhand´s.

-The problem with the Destroyer's goal is that he was born in the wrong time. It is hard to be remembered in terms of slaughter with both a huge Demonic invasion and an upcoming Imperial civil war ongoing.

Unless he reach the Tribal Dominion era. In that case he would be remembered for both the orcs clans and the allies, as the strongest (brute force) orc of all.

-Ishzog really needs to meet Amari real quick. Brian does see the shadows of his children in Orcs. Ishzog having unique model and even becoming a hero to be added to Character Sheet would be fitting. One of his spells could even be reanimating the orc units with shadowborn traits.

He may already know her.

This is more of a question, during the chapter that Rangul fights against the other clans, aren't there minor clans also who were subjugated during the assault and presumably annexed by the Darkmind clan to bolster their forces,in that case, should there be any minor clans at all since they were taken over by Rath?

Rath just took some forces of each clan, but not all of them. Since they would be the largest clan by far with that amount of clans subjugated.

Rangul didn't think things through when he allowed the Destroyer to live, let any have any power. For him, I think this will be a valuable lesson on the topic of trust.

Well, the other option was to let the Bloodhand clan being leaderless, so that would disrupt the invasion 100% with minor rebelions or even full attacks on the deathbreeze clan.

 

[Ebanu8]

No Orc, no life. This is the way or Arkain. But still, I have to admit the Destroyer is more trouble than he's worth.

 

[DD Mikasa]

Tad bit late on this one but here it goes,

For starters when I open the True story of arakin demo instead of the normal burning background the screen is a mess of white and black colors flashing this is the only bug I saw in game.

As for the implications of chapter...Its kinda...How do I put this, maybe shar its doing this as a way as to keep us guessing what is going to happened next but I still feel like Destroyer seemed really ambiguous in this chapter, WHICH is rather Weird for him, the only thing of note he said was that he is going to subjugate the upstarts for the sole reason that they are messing with his plan of glory, which kinda makes sense if the words of the mad preacher are to be believed, But if he wants to die in glory so his name would never be forgotten by time why would he revolt against Rangul... Rangul essentially is funneling Destroyer's dream of leading the orcs in killing and plundering the humans and their kingdoms.

Now unless The Destroyer is pulling an Ornasion on us, which isn't totally without basis, this chapter brought up more questions than answers.

The lunatic preacher on the other hand its pretty much under the influence of Brian, Which makes sense why he tried to turn The destroyer against rangul.

As a side note this chapter was short but I loved the little touch of details such as the fallen minor orc chiefs on the northeastern part of the map and the fact that the whitefang clan actually uses models with them riding white wolfs.

The new goldenaxe spearthrower model was much more well polished than the old one. Oh and the blackrazors are rocking some neat unique models themselfs!

 

[Morris]

The lunatic preacher on the other hand its pretty much under the influence of Brian, Which makes sense why he tried to turn The destroyer against rangul.

Hold up. I thought Brian had no beef with the orcs even Rangul, he always did his best to save them from Aridon. I understand that he has chosen Rangul's daughter as his apprentice but it's.. idk. against Brian's character to play with the orcs like that. They are his tool, yes, but he doesn't treat them as Aridon treats his undead legions.

 

[Shar Dundred]

I have just sent the End of Act Three to Kasrkin for testing/grammar checking before release.
I am finally done with this damn act. XD