New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[LISBOAH]

My review of Act Five Chapter Five
-Hesrathion is a fool. Had he supported Urshan and defeated the undead, he would have won Kersidar's favor and used it to get rid of Ebira. Now the undead are aware of the Souleater Legion's plans.
-Pity that we didn't hear Aridon's speech to Ornassion while bringing him back, like he did in the SUB.
-I find it hilarious that the nexuses use corpses as some sort of currency. Though it makes sense.
-Ornasion's Orb: "2times" --> "2 times"
-Looking forward to know more about the Ras. They will certainly be the Dark Elves' bitter rivals for the position of Aridon's most devoted followers.
-The Deathlord we gain by killing the Demon Count was totally worth the effort. His Unholy Regeneration and ability to regenerate those around have proven to be invaluable
-Those poor survivors from Lor got rescued... and will probably be enslaved by Meya. I'm surprised Ornasion didn't gave them a merciful death.

 

[Enki555]

So, here is the review:
-So, undead tauren chieftain decides to stir from his frozen lodge. Nice to see him very early in the mission. And like his model. His w was good at disabling doomguard's firestorm but maybe his q should be different. Frost nova's aesthetic effect can be changed. Not sure about his e; since he is scholar, what about changing it to make Tremalon gain perma int whenever hero is killed nearby while it provides aura reducing manacost of spellcasters? This can be limited with max threshold. It would've been lovely if it had been possible to use his r... According to his dialogue, he seems pretty ok of dying for cause of Aridon. Perhaps this mindset can ensure his demise in maybe Salria arc...
-That mission was quite a purgatory, omg (in hard). The narrow crevasses and endless doomguard firestorm and cripple? and freaking Urshan with conjurers and catapults? with succubus's silence? wrathguards kiting and targeting meat wagons? real nightmare tho it was rewarding. Only by continuously building forward bases, this mission can be won. Perhaps pathing can be made wider for forces to properly get through.
-Zirr reinforcements should be disabled imo since we already control them in mission. Ejara should include nerog or enslaver as crypt fiend's web is useless in this mission. Perhaps Rohir should add some poisoners instead of deadman.
-Where is Morganur? O' perhaps he isn't raised yet since Kezzar still have many demon corpses to raise. Would love to see him paired with Edoarus in future mission with joint forces of Kezzar and Splecir.
-Well, demon count finds forgiveness in undeath...
-Nice to see new demon slaves models. Well, in hard, it would be even epic if Rasi's raise dead hadn't been disabled... What really made them a value in mission is their reanimation. O' well, lorekeepers can still raise army of bones...
-I found it surprising there is no interlude of Ornasion's rebirth. Perhaps it will be added.
-Well, Meya, agree with u on that: Ornasion is a true gentleman. I would say he is perhaps the most sophisticated character of all. And he is

Spoiler

husbando material

too...
-I wonder if we can play as fallen Urshan in the future. Would be nice. Maybe in Ornasion vs Hesrathion mission, we will control all heroes of Kezzar.
-I wonder if it's possible for Ardoz to trade corpses from Kezzar... Would Ornasion agree to see his subjects made unto frankeinsteins?
-Dat Kazardius in the beginning xD
-I wonder what is next mission: dark elven tunnel? gardon and merlon's skirmish against demons? orcs exodus to Salria? so unpredictable... Best of lucks, Shar, again.

 

[Kasrkin]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Shhh

 

[nchp1903]

Finally done with this chapter. I scuffed myself so hard, which is why my clear takes super long.

Spoiler: "Review"

• I thought Lorekeepers are just normal Necromancers that costs more food, so I didn't build any until very late, without noticing their powerful Raise Dead. in my defense, no one's gonna read an ability that shares the same name as a vanilla one, because they thought they know how it works.
• Turns out the Demonlord aren't just there to handicap early game lumber income. When I finally deal with him, however, the level is already over.

Spoiler: Demonlord

- As the cherry on top, I also forgot to grab the Spirit Legionnaires given to me by Aridon. Cool.

Ok, now for the actual good stuffs:

Spoiler: Review

• Kazardius is just chilling while everyone is arguing and fighting. Sigma male.
• And corpses as currency is weird, but also makes a lot of sense somehow.
• Tomb of Relics and Black Citadel. Scroll spamming/Orb stacking is back on the menu, boys.
• "Your support of Rahandir and Saphira has not gone unnoticed". Yeah, that definitely is the case when I steal their gold mine barely a minute into the chapter to handicap them permanently.
• Tremalon, while his ability is kinda lame, it still works well with each other. Attribute Bonus gives him mana to spam his other skills, dealing great AoE damage.
• Maybe a few dummy abilities should be added to units like Deadmen, Officers, etc to show if they have Endless March or not.
• Overall, the constant attack waves that requires my force to fight continuously to make a slow push is kinda fun, like Bloodbath but with only me taking the credits. Also serves as a good way to anti auto-pilot, because in other levels, my brain tends to slack off when I have access to towers.

Also:

Spoiler: Typos

- He says "cropses" instead of "corpses".

- "Oranasion" instead of "Ornasion"

- I think it should be "Rasi" instead of "Rasii"? I'm not sure.

-Those poor survivors from Lor got rescued... and will probably be enslaved by Meya.

By the way, I see this as a win-win.

 

[Shar Dundred]

-Hesrathion is a fool. Had he supported Urshan and defeated the undead, he would have won Kersidar's favor and used it to get rid of Ebira. Now the undead are aware of the Souleater Legion's plans.

Did he REALLY have the troops available rn to do so though?

-Pity that we didn't hear Aridon's speech to Ornassion while bringing him back, like he did in the SUB.

-I found it surprising there is no interlude of Ornasion's rebirth. Perhaps it will be added.

Act Five already has a high amount of interludes and the prologue was not really offering that much
content for this scenario. It was a good way to start the Second Undead Book but it fares worse as
an interlude than a prologue.
Originally it was adjusted to be an interlude but I then removed it due to it disturbing the overall "flow"
of the act.

-Where is Morganur? O' perhaps he isn't raised yet since Kezzar still have many demon corpses to raise. Would love to see him paired with Edoarus in future mission with joint forces of Kezzar and Splecir.

Don't worry, Morganur is going to have his appearance.... ; )

Ornasion is a true gentleman

Until he starts killing her toys.

Tomb of Relics and Black Citadel. Scroll spamming/Orb stacking is back on the menu, boys.

I think you already know what will happen to that.... ( :

Maybe a few dummy abilities should be added to units like Deadmen, Officers, etc to show if they have Endless March or not.

Considered doing that multiple times in the past and might still consider it eventually but I always felt
like it wasn't worth the effort.

 

[Navy45]

My review of the latest chapter Siege of the Dead Mountain.

• In the loading screen, the chapter is called "Siege of Dead Mountain"
• A demon "Count" ? Is the Mindslayer legion hopping on the tree-hiding business ? Well either way the Demon Lord is very useful.
• I like Meya's appearance and... oh my god I just noticed the neutral humans there. Poor lads. Well maybe she'll get on well with Ornasion. She might remind him of a certain succubus.
• The assistance of the Zirr nexus is invaluable. Even without master training, Lorekeepers really show necromancers how it's done (and Ras are good to get rid of silence). Tremalon's abilities are good (spammable war stomp and frost nova is really strong) but I'm not a fan of animate dead giving invulnerable units (I know we don't get it this level but still). It just seems useless except for cheesing the enemy.
• Axe of the Rasi gives brilliance aura... On one hand it makes perfect sense. On the other, the ghost is never gonna get built isn't it ?
• I think the Icekeeper could benefit from at least one hit points upgrade since they are extremely fragile (they have less hit points than officers which just seems wrong).
• Maybe the Zirr reinforcements could be replaced by Ardoz boys (a couple of Invaders would be nice)
• While attacking the ennemy bases is suitably difficult, I think the early attacks of the demons are a bit lacking. On normal difficulty, the only way for the Black Citadel to fall is to either destroy it yourself or spend 30+ minutes doing nothing in the mountain (and roleplaying Aridon gets boring quickly). Overall you either let Rahandir fight alone or fight in forward positions so you never really "assist" him in defense. Maybe there could be more early waves of demons (like the Golden Guard waves in last chapter) that require you to assist Rahandir if you don't want him to fall.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Axe of the Rasi gives brilliance aura... On one hand it makes perfect sense. On the other, the ghost is never gonna get built isn't it ?

Tremalon can't be everywhere at the same time but he is meant to kind of "replace" it.
If you use the Zirr Nexus without Tremalon being given to you, the Ghost still has its uses.

Maybe the Zirr reinforcements could be replaced by Ardoz boys (a couple of Invaders would be nice)

Funny that you'd mention that, I literally just did that in the editor.
As in I just finished editing the trigger a few seconds ago.

While attacking the ennemy bases is suitably difficult, I think the early attacks of the demons are a bit lacking

The reason behind this is the condition of Aridon "dying" in the Bloodbath mission. If you win the mission
by him dying, there is a strong wave coming early.

 

[nchp1903]

I think you already know what will happen to that.... ( :

I guess Urshan can sleep easy now that he knows I can't pop 4 Scrolls of Healing mid fight.

Jokes aside, without Unholy Aura/Death Coil, using Obsidian Statues to sustain still feel a bit lacking. Maybe change Tremalon's Frost Nova to something like "Coil Nova", which damages an enemy unit and heal allies near that unit?

Then again, I'm an Undead player, so I feel obliged to complain about everything.

It just seems useless except for cheesing the enemy.

Can be a late game option, when tons of Demonlords and Elite Doom Guards come into play. Still require a fair bit of micro though, so it can use some extra cast range/lower mana cost.

I think the Icekeeper could benefit from at least one hit points upgrade since they are extremely fragile (they have less hit points than officers which just seems wrong).

The Icekeepers are quite hard to balance in my opinion, since they have an aura AND an active ability, which should make them very strong when used well or when given extra stats, but useless when your army composition have more ranged units than melee, or when you accidentally suicide him into something like a Doom Guard.

Tremalon can't be everywhere at the same time but he is meant to kind of "replace" it.
If you use the Zirr Nexus without Tremalon being given to you, the Ghost still has its uses.

And then there's me who trained Ghost anyway because I forgot to read the Axe's description.

Funny that you'd mention that, I literally just did that in the editor.
As in I just finished editing the trigger a few seconds ago.

Those Fel Stalkers are finally going to get the taste of their own medicine.

While we're at it, can we also get Enslavers and Poisoners? Wink wink.

Maybe there could be more early waves of demons (like the Golden Guard waves in last chapter) that require you to assist Rahandir if you don't want him to fall.

It's up to player to make it harder, by dragging a bunch of pre-placed Darkblade demons to the base.

But personally? I like it the way it is, because babysitting an allied base sucks.

 

[Mvicio]

Review Act five Chapter five:
-"You undead are more political than you think" you are right Ornasion. In the past they didn´t seemed political at all, but now the last 2 chapters have something about politics in the undead faction. However they dont betray each other at all.
-Kazardius is just there, staring menacingly, no one dares to talk to him.
-I saw that the imperials that Meya has are killeable and that triggers a "secret" dialogue where Meya ask Ornasion to give him new toys... poor prisoners. I think they are safer in cages than in Meya´s or Ardoz nexus hands.
-This chapter is a direct improvement. Now we can build ranged units and not only demons, also Tremalon is quite the literal guy. Ornasion threats someone and then he writes it. Weird.
-Using the corpses as currency is a nice touch. We knew that Ejara and Ardoz trades between then but now it makes sense. Also Zirr nexus are really bad at negotiaton, no matters how many dies we will get the same amount or corpses. That seems like a unfair trade most of the time.
-Why is Hesration giving the kingdoms of Salria and the elves to his lituenants before asking Kersidar, he don´t have that right even if they win the war.

Also i´m not sure why but i couldn´t build anything in the human base after defeating them. Only necropolis but no other building.

-Those poor survivors from Lor got rescued... and will probably be enslaved by Meya. I'm surprised Ornasion didn't gave them a merciful death.

I suppose Kezzar nexus have enough undead human slaves in their ranks.

-I wonder what is next mission: dark elven tunnel? gardon and merlon's skirmish against demons? orcs exodus to Salria?

I suppose it´ll be Gardon and Merlon´s fight against the demons. Either that or Zairmak+Grofzag mission so we can be aware about most of the important characters after the first books era.

Axe of the Rasi gives brilliance aura... On one hand it makes perfect sense. On the other, the ghost is never gonna get built isn't it ?

The only 3 missions we had Zirr nexus available either had: Rahandir and his brillance aura or Tremalon with the Axe. However if any other hero uses this nexus you´ll need the ghost.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Also Zirr nexus are really bad at negotiaton, no matters how many dies we will get the same amount or corpses. That seems like a unfair trade most of the time.

The units provided by the Zirr Nexus are all ranged. Just saying.

Also i´m not sure why but i couldn´t build anything in the human base after defeating them. Only necropolis but no other building.

Did you forget that Undead structures require blighted ground unless they are the Necropolis?

 

[Championfighter25]

Didn't notice any bugs that other people haven't reported already.

• If the demons could've agreed to kill and betray themselves after they killed Aridon, the undead would've been a very distant memory by now.
• Ornassion being one of the few undead who questions the rationally behind the undead's action is very refreshing.
• The addition of the Zirr Nexus units here was nice. Opens up additional compositions and makes things a lot more interesting than before.
• If possible, I think Tremalon's model should be given a more "undead look".
• I hope this siege gets a mention by the humans and orcs at some point. Them ignoring to do it in the original was weird.

 

[Navy45]

Did you forget that Undead structures require blighted ground unless they are the Necropolis?

I think he's refering to a bug where despite building a necropolis or a haunted gold mine, the blighted ground they generate remains unbuildable. I also encountered this bug in the Demon Slave base and in a few other campaigns. (as far as I could tell, the only way to get buildable blight in this situation is to drop a sacrificial skull before building the necropolis.

 

[Mvicio]

The units provided by the Zirr Nexus are all ranged. Just saying

Good point. You are right.

Did you forget that Undead structures require blighted ground unless they are the Necropolis?

Of course not, but the game didn´t let me build As @Navy45 said

I hope this siege gets a mention by the humans and orcs at some point. Them ignoring to do it in the original was weird.

Well the orcs are on the run in this moment and the humans retreat to Kerrel that is really far away from the dead mountain, maybe they didn´t knew about this siege.

 

[DD Mikasa]

If the demons could've agreed to kill and betray themselves after they killed Aridon, the undead would've been a very distant memory by now.

Well by now we have all come to terms that the biggest enemy of a demon is...Another demon.

Ornassion being one of the few undead who questions the rationally behind the undead's action is very refreshing.

I think that might be either due to him being still relatively new to his undead form or is due to Aridon bestowing him more "autonomy" than other undead that are directly bounded to him.

If possible, I think Tremalon's model should be given a more "undead look".

I mean he does look undead enough to me...Not the fleshless bone variant or the meat and bone construct But id say Edoarus and Mordin look just as undead as Tremalon.

"You undead are more political than you think" you are right Ornasion. In the past they didn´t seemed political at all, but now the last 2 chapters have something about politics in the undead faction. However they dont betray each other at all.

I think more than political its bantering among the various undead subfactions OFCOURSE this bantering/politics happens under Aridons gaze/permission. As for the betray part, well i already said it, aridon allows and controls it.

This chapter is a direct improvement. Now we can build ranged units and not only demons, also Tremalon is quite the literal guy. Ornasion threats someone and then he writes it. Weird.

I think thats the shtick with most side undead characters. One of their emotions/priorities grows to consume all their identity. Tremalon is a recorder of history, Edoarus is a headhunters, Galareth is a "researcher" etc etc. As if their undeath actually empowers their most prominent trait I'd say.

Axe of the Rasi gives brilliance aura... On one hand it makes perfect sense. On the other, the ghost is never gonna get built isn't it ?

Remember that even on this chapter one ghost can be used as a support unit for your ally and the garrison you'll leave at their base to protect them when the demon waves come. They aren't entirely without use EVEN on this chapter when Tremalon's item makes their aura useless.


As for my input on the chapter...The others have pretty much stated everything I had in mind. I find the addition of a new Hero unit quite helpful tremalon's kit even though weird and all over the place at first glance IS hella useful.

Also one itty bitty tiny question here. Urshan is going to become a member of the new Demon nexus right? Does that mean that Haran and Ornassions wont get that much more screen time together?

The reinforcement seems a bit counter productive truth be told...Most of the time they managed to clog my production points than be of actual help CONSIDERING how far from the front lines they spawn and how quickly they become part of your army, i'd suggest that they stay "neutral" until they arrive at the actual front line base after all its highly unlikely a base that big would fall before all the reinforcement waves get exhausted.

EDIT: @Shar Dundred The base of the demon slaves + the first chokehold where the first two demon gates are located even tho blighted you cannot be build upon, there are some specific tile you can build but its clearly a bug. You might want check that out.

 

[nchp1903]

Also one itty bitty tiny question here. Urshan is going to become a member of the new Demon nexus right? Does that mean that Haran and Ornassions wont get that much more screen time together?

There are a lot of unplayable named character, so I think Urshan might be one of them, and Haran and Ornasion are still going to have their time together.

I think more than political its bantering among the various undead subfactions OFCOURSE this bantering/politics happens under Aridons gaze/permission. As for the betray part, well i already said it, aridon allows and controls it.

If the betrayal comes from Rahandir and his raised dead then Aridon won't be able to do much. But then again, Rahandir is a chad who values loyalty, so I don't think that will ever happen.

I mean he does look undead enough to me...Not the fleshless bone variant or the meat and bone construct But id say Edoarus and Mordin look just as undead as Tremalon.

Wrapping a Spirit Walker's skin onto a Tauren Chieftain makes him creepy enough to pass off as an Undead. So yeah, I agree.

The reinforcement seems a bit counter productive truth be told...Most of the time they managed to clog my production points than be of actual help CONSIDERING how far from the front lines they spawn and how quickly they become part of your army, i'd suggest that they stay "neutral" until they arrive at the actual front line base after all its highly unlikely a base that big would fall before all the reinforcement waves get exhausted.

The units can help you get to 100 supply quickly to quickly push out to build a forward outpost. And I don't think the base is supposed to fall unless you roleplay as Ornasion and let him do a bit of trolling.

 

[Shar Dundred]

I figured out what caused the building bug for some of you, it appears to be different between
different game versions - some versions treat the low ground as unable to properly put blighted
terrain there because it is below what the normal sea level is.
Fixing it would require increasing the overall cliff level - which is limited to 14, at least for 1.29.2.
And the heighest point on the map is on cliff lvl 14.
It would require quite the terrain & camera changes and, to be perfectly honest, given the history
of this map bugging out to a point where I had to remove literally 70% of the original Dead Mountain
to prevent the map from bugging out, I would rather not touch it unless I absolutely have to.

 

[Mvicio]

Remember that even on this chapter one ghost can be used as a support unit for your ally and the garrison you'll leave at their base to protect them when the demon waves come. They aren't entirely without use EVEN on this chapter when Tremalon's item makes their aura useless.

Rahandir has brillance aura, so they are useless on this map in particular.

If the betrayal comes from Rahandir and his raised dead then Aridon won't be able to do much. But then again, Rahandir is a chad who values loyalty, so I don't think that will ever happen.

Well Rahandir was betrayed and killed because of that. As he said Aridon had a lot of opportunities to betray and dispose him, yet he didn´t. So Rahandir dont have any reason to betray Aridon. He values Loyalty over everything.

About the Bug, its okey, we can build the gold mine and the necropolis to defend, so we´ll use Rahandir´s base as a further position to reinforce.

 

[Kasrkin]

Spoiler

 

[nchp1903]

After seeing that Siege of Dead Mountain now has Leadership Bonis and overpowered reinforcements, I tried to challenge myself by not using units from the Kezzar Nexus, including Ornasion. What should have been a disaster has turned into a glorious bloodbath, thanked to the discovery of a powerful combo.

Spoiler: Screenshot

This is a solid 10/10 strat in my opinion, and I definitely would recommend others to try this at least once.

 

[DD Mikasa]

he units can help you get to 100 supply quickly to quickly push out to build a forward outpost. And I don't think the base is supposed to fall unless you roleplay as Ornasion and let him do a bit of trolling

Well in a more defensive play style yes...But i make a habit of setting up production structures and spam units to drown my enemies on their own blood, so in that regard they tend to clog up my production points to the point i dont have enough meat shields for my front line, in this chapter this wasn't that much of an issue though considering Necromancer/obsidian statue spam is ungodly broken to the point I feel like it made this chapter a breeze to blow through unlike the old SUB.

 

[Kasrkin]

Never dropped to 100 food or below gang show your hands.

Spoiler

Maybe the Infernal Juggernauts should added back in.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Maybe the Infernal Juggernauts should added back in.

"Added back"? Never been there.

 

[LISBOAH]

My review for the newest chapters

Act Five, Chapter Six:
-So in this mission we face three demon legions (Souleater, Darkblade and Dreamhunter)
-Merlon is right. How in the world did the Dreamhunter Legion managed to create a portal from behind our lines? Especially since the opening text says that it takes time for one to be built.
-Merlon's Leadership Boni is useless in this mission. Increasing the hit points of buildings is only useful because we use towers, but the increase isn't high enough for it to be invaluable, and we don't have access to naval units. Gardon's boni is far more useful.
-After seeing how the Souleater Legion treats the Darkblade Legion, and that Pit Lords in general are seen in contempt, I am starting to think that Pit Lord was sent here to be killed. Because they chose a Pit Lord in specific to coordinate these attacks
-So Maronogin being here and somewhat helping is considered canon, Shar?

Act Five, Chapter Seven
-It's weird that Ornasion starts already at level 4, while Haran starts at level 3. This is weird because Haran has been an undead servant of Aridon longer than Ornasion.
-There's not much to add concerning this mission since it is very similar to the one in the SUB.

 

[Shar Dundred]

-So Maronogin being here and somewhat helping is considered canon, Shar?

Are you, the player he talks to, canon?

 

[LISBOAH]

Are you, the player he talks to, canon?

Good point.
But what about him being alive? Is that canon?

 

[Shar Dundred]

But what about him being alive? Is that canon?

I think you have to watch the Prologue again.

 

[Cassandra Jones]

-It's weird that Ornasion starts already at level 4, while Haran starts at level 3.

Indeed, since Ornasion is already a powerful Brute Dreadlord with a lot of potential and investment, while Haran has to be spared during Act I just to even get one more level, nothing more.

 

[nchp1903]

Dark Depths is pretty easy, so even when Ornasion and friends keep derping around, Rahandir can still take care of the job given enough time. The focus here, however, is Dark Blades.

Spoiler: Review

• Naval Expertise is kind of a meme choice for the Leadership Boni here, unless I go for tower spams. However, I'm pretty sure that a lot of Demons have Hardened Skin, so Guard Towers are not strong enough, and Cannon Towers are too expensive for the early game.
• Mfw trying to cheese the Dreamhunter's gate with Catapults only to realize there's a damn firewall.
• Mfw activating Dark Secrets just for the Doom Guards to dispel it 0.01s later.
• Fuck Mana Burn.
• The early game is painful and took multiple attempts to get through, and the second gold mine being locked behind 3 Demon Gates is the cherry on top. By accumulating a big army of Knights/Catapults to destroy the Darkblade's gates and the Pit Lord in one push, the mission from then on becomes 10 times as easier.
• Overall, the mission is not a usual walk-in-the-park that I'm used to, because it required me to figure out the right strat, when to push, when to defend the base, etc,... But those are what make it fun in a 'unique' way.
• Also, full clear.

Spoiler: Typos and oddities

- I think Dorganash sends additional forces to the southern flank instead of western flank, or is this not referring to Gardon's base?

• Ornasion's Orb says "2times" instead of "2 times".
• Hidden Rahandir can still bestow Brilliance Aura.

- He says "Loes" instead of "Lord".

- I think "They are worth less than" should be "They are more worthless than..." or "They worth less than..." instead.
Edit: Apparently my English knowledge got rusty. So please ignore this part.

- Nice easter egg. Too bad the minimap can't show it properly.

 

[Navy45]

Wow ! Two chapters at once. It's christmas in march !
Here's my review (plus the one for the updated siege of the Dead Mountain)

Siege of the Dead Mountain :

• I didn't think I'd ever come to say this about an arkain macro mission but... between the leadership boni and the stronger reinforcements, the level feels a little too easy. I think the enemy could increase the pressure a little bit.

Dark Blades :

• This level was definitely harder than I remember it to be but never in an unfaire way since we get great chokepoints for towers.
• I had forgotten how brutal the bloodfangs were. These things can chew any demon down in seconds.
• I think I get why the Order of Air didn't contribute to Lor's defense. I don't think stormcallers have a worse matchup than against the demons. All high priority targets have Resistant skin so even if Cyclone doesn't get dispelled, it lasts only a few seconds. Hope they'll get more useful against Retka.
• Seems like Gardon has completely given up on Aedale. It makes perfect sense considering the circumstances but it's still a bit sad.
• Isn't it weird that the Royal sergent is called the Greywolf when there is both a Grey Guard and a Wolf Regiment and he isn't part of any of them ?

Dark Depths :

• And so the spider ring was once more lost and forgotten. And the people cried, for the world's light was dimmer for it's absence (I still hope either Inara or Pentiss gets it)
• I really like Haran and Ornasion. Haran especially seems selfless : he doesn't talk about himself or his torments (despite likely having quite a few of them) and instead he seems to care about others. The all powerful dreadlord getting life (or unlife) advices from a random nerubian is just really moving for me.

 

[Mvicio]

Act 5, chapter 6:
-So merlon is worried about Aedale? Is it because the demon magic or because a young girl was corrupted and pretty much lost his life? I suppose is because it reminds him about his own daughter.
-Holy shit this chapter was hard, until i cleaned the pit lord it was pretty much impossible but after cleaning the secondary objective + the darkblade demon gates it was really easy.
-Why is the dreamhunter legion here? I thought the only legions on the attack were Souleater, Darkblade and Bloodrinker (dreamhunter and the white one were on the defense)

Act 5, chapter 7:
-Well, it was pretty much like in the SUB but now Rahandir´s forces are much stronger and that´s good. A fast map where you meet Haran and his point of view while murdering a bunch of orcs.
-Killing the orcs will give any reward in the long run?

-Merlon's Leadership Boni is useless in this mission. Increasing the hit points of buildings is only useful because we use towers, but the increase isn't high enough for it to be invaluable, and we don't have access to naval units. Gardon's boni is far more useful.

Merlon´s boni is useful while fighting with SHIPS. So he´ll be useful in the mission where we are allowed to use Terrors.
Also i dont know if the bonus HP works for allies or not, if it works maybe in another missions would be good.

-So Maronogin being here and somewhat helping is considered canon, Shar?

Maronogin was on this mission? I think I missed, where was the dialogue?

-It's weird that Ornasion starts already at level 4, while Haran starts at level 3. This is weird because Haran has been an undead servant of Aridon longer than Ornasion.

Well, Ornasion was the leader of a demon legion while Haran is the leader of a subrace. Their powers are quite different.

 

[Championfighter25]

Dark Blades:

• The main quest said I needed to destroy only the demon gates, but I also needed to destroy the shrines before it got completed.
• I think some dialogue could be added when the demons attack you from the north the first time and when you fight the dreadlord in the northern part of the map.
• I bet Krom would enjoy doing lines on set with the Weedhunter Tribe.
• As the others have said, Naval Expertise isn't particularly good here. Maybe a use could be found if the player really wants to take his time and set up defences everywhere, but very few would do that.
• The level is as difficult as I remember.

Dark Depths

- I think berserk should be moved to be Haran's 5th ability instead of being part of his item.

-It's weird that Ornasion starts already at level 4, while Haran starts at level 3. This is weird because Haran has been an undead servant of Aridon longer than Ornasion.

I think Haran starts at level 4 if you don't kill him in Rise of the Dead.

-So Maronogin being here and somewhat helping is considered canon, Shar?

Where was he? I completely missed him.

Edit: Watched True Colors and there are plenty of things to unpack.

• Maronogin is a very interesting case of a demon and I hope the full reasoning behind his motives and complete backstory will be revealed at some point.
• Maronogin should be magnitudes more powerful than the entirety of the Redfist high-command. I wonder why he decided against taking on Volarian, Fox, Thorn and Zelech. He had a very good chance of defeating them.
• Dorbric's evolution is one of my favourite parts of the second books. He symbolised the romanticesed version of war in the first books period, now its more grim realities in the second.
• Who wrote the letter for Lerrig? By the tone of the thing, I think some forgery may have been involved.
• Some pretty good foreshadowing for the entire rebellion being a ploy to kill Gardon among other people.

 

[Tuwnew]

I don't often comment new releases... But this interlude...

Oh my goodness.

 

[Enki555]

My words on new interlude:
-HOLY SHIT!!! Maronogin leader of Goldaxe??!!! That was hella suspenseful! And he is also alive. And new character, Jadira... I wonder what kind of hero she would become should she decide to participate in war... Gold-mage? That would be fine. Srsly that was the ult reveal. And it seems Maronogin is major independent force outside of Four's factions. I can see him interacting with Aridon soon. Perhaps, Watcher could use his influence and funding as a part of bargain in SB war. In Toran mission, I expect human counterpart of Goldaxe to assist Ironfist alongside Brian's shadows. I wonder which side will Maronogin choose in era beyond SB... maybe Brian? With Dominion and Ironfist under his wing, it would be a bounty for our baronly dreadlord...
-Nice to see Thanok glow-up. And Redfist... now his actions are more understandable, and it's good he is been softened a bit; realistically. He still has a shade of sentiment as in days of Stephanie and Vanessa... He is clearly not irredeemable. So, Redfist is hotspot for major powerhouses; both Undead and Maronogin shews interest in em. But classy dreadlord perhaps wishes Redfist to not exterminate Orcs with Goldaxe being among em. His vision of keeping all realms alive but for business reasons eerily resembles to Aridon's view... perhaps he indeed met him and perhaps been influenced.
-So, fate of Daric's mercenaries has been sealed... With Taray becoming part of Ironfist and Cassius dead... Logan and Daric's fates are uncertain. And Dorbric; you still have chance of defying orders at the last moment and survive along with other generals. It would be fitting for em to die in Golden Guard vs Ironfist scenario with em restoring honor in death.
-The next missions would be: Underground Druchii (pun-intended) rebellion, skirmish in Pyrru, and orc's march to Salria/Dish best served in cold I guess. Keep up the work.

 

[Vindicator777]

Dorbric and his Bull regiment committed war crimes against orc women and children, and then suddenly crying about Fergor, who was a combatant. Pathetic.

It seems like Gorthog is the one who kills Fergor. Thats good. It's still unclear who kill Ramerius, though.

 

[nchp1903]

This interlude foreshadows a lot of cool stuffs in the future, and now I can't wait for act 6.

• So it seems that Lerrig paints himself as a brave and glorious warrior in Daric's eyes, which is why Daric is loyal to his cause. Logan seems to see through that charade, but too bad that no one else listens.
• Dorbric is slowly becoming a dude with anger management issue, who directs their hatred towards the Orc with his brutish army. Now where have I heard that before...
• The other humans (and maybe some Undead too) be like "Gardon bad", but in the end, he's the only one who actually cares about others, even if he seems to be angry all the time. And that's why I love him and his best bro Merlon.
• Praxeus is quite friendly towards Zed, but Gardon doesn't even bother calling him by name. Might be reading a bit into this, but I think it's kinda important.
• Also, Redfist's first appearance. I love the way he uses his creative insults to absolutely destroy Aedale. Based.
• Maronogin is not that unexpected, but still, it's nice to see a Dreadlord that doesn't want to kill anything that isn't a Demon. A classy dude too, with monocle and everything around him painted gold/made of gold. He can be good friend with Pechan in the future.
• It's gonna be quite a feast to the eyes if Maronogin sends Goldaxe mercenaries to aid the Ironfist, who then proceeds to catch the attention of Redfist, which makes Gardon's job a lot harder.

 

[Vindicator777]

This interlude foreshadows a lot of cool stuffs in the future, and now I can't wait for act 6.

• The other humans (and maybe some Undead too) be like "Gardon bad", but in the end, he's the only one who actually cares about others, even if he seems to be angry all the time. And that's why I love him and his best bro Merlon

What about Rangul? He cares about a whole orc race.

 

[nchp1903]

What about Rangul? He cares about a whole orc race.

Didn't mention him since he's not in the interlude.

But yeah, Rangul may care about his race, but he treats his daughters (both the adoptive one and the blood-related one) like crap, and his actions help pave the way for Largoth's invasion, so I can't exactly defend his action. Hell, not even Brian can.

 

[Vindicator777]

Didn't mention him since he's not in the interlude.

But yeah, Rangul may care about his race, but he treats his daughters (both the adoptive one and the blood-related one) like crap, and his actions help pave the way for Largoth's invasion, so I can't exactly defend his action. Hell, not even Brian can.

Crap a bit harsh term for Rangul treatment. Rangul defend Vanessa no matter what, about Amari, well she is alive. Rangul much better person than Gardon, that's for sure.

 

[Kaftarepir]

well done shar its amazing I just think the New Highlord model is awsome BUT the golden gaurd aren't golden anymore somewhat of a silver gaurd or so!

 

[DD Mikasa]

The interlude was a DOOOZY!

First and foremost THE LACK OF ORCS IS REFRESHING, got tired of every arc starting with them backwards greenskins!

1.Regarding Lering and his fate, I had hoped this would mean a major shift from the second book relation between the mercenary and orcs but shar resolved this on a rather anti-climatic way, yet it is understandable, after all the Mercs play a important role in the Orc book.

2.The imperial regiments being sent after orcs was obvious, after all you fight them alot in the second orc book (and the Lering letter foreshadowed that they along the mercs would be sent after the orcs).

3.Papa redfist despite retaining his old scrip when he first met his disgrace of a daughter, had some new lines...That oddly enough make him sound disappointed rather than mad towards his daughter.

4.Gardon Van Durce exchange didn't change much apart from the introduction of Praxeus and yeah as I had guessed they don't get along anymore. Kinda sad that the "fanatical" paladain clearly showed signs of friendship towards his old friend and yet Gardon wont even speak his name.

AND THE DOOZIES OF THEM ALL.

To the guy (whoever you are) who first hypothesised that the leader of the Gold axe could be a demon, you're a bloody GOAT.

SO Maronogin quit is life as a leader of a demon legion to become a aspiring banker, what an absolute CHAD of a dreadlord, normally i wouldn't trust a single word a dreadlord says let alone a BANKER Dreadlord BUT I AM LAUGHING MY ASS OFF RN. He looks so posh as well. Homeboy is backing a mercenary crew of orcs and funding the new Tyrant of the kingdoms, and non of them suspect a thing. This makes the other dreadlords and their petty political scheming seem like child play compared to Maronogin. He truly is playing chess while the rest of his kind is playing cheekers.

 

[Mvicio]

This interlude was looong. I expected Rangul arriving to the goblin camp during this one but Grofzag and Zairmak are still out there.
-Marogonin as goldaxe chieftain... how we couldn´t see it clearly? is a RICH dreadlord, of course he would have slaves to make the dirty work for him (both humans and orcs)
-So whitefield joined the rebels because he wants to kill Gardon.
-Poor Dorbric. We all know what burning hate can do and we have more and more characters trying to kill the orcs. Gorthog is dead pretty much (he wouldn´t ally with other races in the dominion but rather slave then all so...)
-Gardon don´t want to talk to Praxeus or even say his name... I hope we get more details of their past during the next acts.

SO Maronogin quit is life as a leader of a demon legion to become a aspiring banker, what an absolute CHAD of a dreadlord, normally i wouldn't trust a single word a dreadlord says let alone a BANKER Dreadlord BUT I AM LAUGHING MY ASS OFF RN. He looks so posh as well. Homeboy is backing a mercenary crew of orcs and funding the new Tyrant of the kingdoms, and non of them suspect a thing. This makes the other dreadlords and their petty political scheming seem like child play compared to Maronogin. He truly is playing chess while the rest of his kind is playing cheekers.

Banks truly are devil´s business. Arkain reached a new level with this.
Also you are damn right, why would you bother conquering all the land (and then share with other legions while trying to survive) when you can use both greddy orcs and humans to buy lands, armies and weapons so you can live an easy life.

 

[nchp1903]

Since everyone seems to love Maronogin, I guess the last step is to make him playable, maybe alongside other Orcs while wearing a disguise. He can turn his foe into gold with Transmute, then throw that gold back into the enemy's face to deal damage.

-Marogonin as goldaxe chieftain... how we couldn´t see it clearly? is a RICH dreadlord, of course he would have slaves to make the dirty work for him (both humans and orcs)

I think he would prefer the term "business partners".

SO Maronogin quit is life as a leader of a demon legion to become a aspiring banker, what an absolute CHAD of a dreadlord, normally i wouldn't trust a single word a dreadlord says let alone a BANKER Dreadlord BUT I AM LAUGHING MY ASS OFF RN. He looks so posh as well. Homeboy is backing a mercenary crew of orcs and funding the new Tyrant of the kingdoms, and non of them suspect a thing. This makes the other dreadlords and their petty political scheming seem like child play compared to Maronogin. He truly is playing chess while the rest of his kind is playing cheekers.

Beautiful, ain't it? Ornasion got the Blooddrinker Legion, Largoth got the Souleater Legion, while Maronogin got paid. He truly is keeping up the sigma male grindset.

And I know I mentioned it already, but I love his monocle.

 

[Navy45]

I am just speechless... Maronogin as a demon banker and chieftain of the fricking Goldaxe Clan. This poses so many questions. Do the high-ranking goldaxe even know who or what their chieftain is ? If they do, are they under influence or just rolling with it ? Does Brian know about this ? Given his fascination with orcs, there's no way he wouldn't have tried to know who the goldaxe chieftain actually is. So either they are business partners or Brian knows but tolerates it or Maronogin somehow managed to hide from one of the Four, wich is even more concerning.

About the rest of the Interlude:

• Honestly, I don't know if this is intended, but except for the part about why he "got lost" in the retreat, Lerrig's letter really seems like a forgery to me. I don't know if there's a reason of if i'm just paranoid.
• It's a little disappointing that the mercenaries learn right away that Lerrig died, I think it was more satisfying to see them learn it after they got involved in the mess in Salria.
• There will be a lot of reasons to kill Van Durce but, as far as I'm concerned, the only valid one is that he didn't let Zed at the reunion. (Though Praxeus gains both an introduction and a cool point)
• Poor Dobric. Hope we'll get the chance to charge as the Bulls one last time at least.
• New Redfist : "I'm not mad, I'm just... no wait that's a lie. I am VERY mad as usual but I am also disappointed"
• I like how Lisara always picks the right time to speak. Almost like she deliberately keeps anyone from trusting or having hope for Aedale

 

[Vindicator777]

Gorthog is dead pretty much (he wouldn´t ally with other races in the dominion but rather slave then all so...)

Interesting. In that case who would be avenge Gorthog death? I hope it would be Rangul.

 

[Navy45]

In that case who would be avenge Gorthog death?

I mean... if we keep avenging every character that gets killed there won't be many people left.

 

[Vindicator777]

I mean... if we keep avenging every character that gets killed there won't be many people left.

So far (from second books) only humans can get his revenge. Duke, Aedale, Harmos, Gardon.

 

[DD Mikasa]

So far (from second books) only humans can get his revenge. Duke, Aedale, Harmos, Gardon.

You know going around pillaging human lands, while they are on a ongoing conflict with a enemy whose numbers are limitless and can literally torch the entire arkain if they unified, tends to make them rather avenging towards your kind. In every case of "revenge" the humans have been wronged first. Its not like they are hunting orcs as a free time hobby, the green numb nuts are to stubborn to realise that, and besides if we wanna talk about preferential treatment, ORCS GOT AN ENTIRE KINGDOM dedicated to them. Humans got shafted.

 

[LISBOAH]

I finally had time to watch the End of Act Five
"Fallen in battle against the demons" Like he would get that honor. Lerrig is very good in sending others to their deaths, but not good enough to let himself die.
"You are paid to follow orders, not to question them" Sure. If Lerrig told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it, Daric?
-Poor Dorbric.
-So van Durce is sending all regiments after the orcs, even though they are going to leave the continent? This is almost like the "Emperor" wants to get rid of all of them.
-I dearly hope that the regiments will go after Rath and the Darkmind clan first. Those guys deserve to be wiped out. I can only hope the Ironthunder clan have the opportunity to flee.
-van Durce here makes kind of a point. The Kingdoms criticize the Imperials, even though the Imperials have been the ones doing most of the fighting.
-"My sister has turned into a monster" Hmm, have you met your father, Cora? He is the main reason why Aedale turned out like this.
-"How could have I been so wrong?" Wrong abot what, Redfist? You spent your entire time criticizing Aedale. How can she get even lower than top bottom for you?
-After hearing this, I dearly hope that we get a cinematic where Aedale criticizes Redfist while he is on death's door. I would love to see him still calling her weak even after she killed his followers and beat him to a pulp, and is currently kicking him and spitting on him like the pathetic excuse of a father he is. And she is yelling "Are you proud of me, daddy? Huh?! Say how proud you are of me! Say it! SAY IT!!"
-Wait, so Maronogin used to live in the Orc islands? Wait, Maronogin is the Goldaxe chieftain?!! I started to notice a pattern when they he and Jadira were talking about money on a golden-painted room, but this is still a plot twist!

 

[Navy45]

This is almost like the "Emperor" wants to get rid of all of them.

Well technically, Van Durce is sending them to deal with routed pillagers during a demon invasion. You could argue they got the easy assignment. It seems more like a way to get them something to do so they don't suicide themselves against the demons out of boredom (I doubt Dobric would have stayed in the capital if Van Durce had ordered him to stay put).

 

[nchp1903]

the green numb nuts

Now this insult is Redfist-level of creativeness. Definitely using this one from now on.

ORCS GOT AN ENTIRE KINGDOM dedicated to them. Humans got shafted.

Yeah. But at long as the Dark One is still the one pulling the string, humans are doomed to get shafted. If somehow Gardon or Renald realize that, then maybe things will go different.

-Poor Dorbric.

Once Blen is killed by Rath/van Durce, he's going to get even worse. Future ain't looking too bright for his mental state.

-"How could have I been so wrong?" Wrong abot what, Redfist? You spent your entire time criticizing Aedale. How can she get even lower than top bottom for you?
-After hearing this, I dearly hope that we get a cinematic where Aedale criticizes Redfist while he is on death's door. I would love to see him still calling her weak even after she killed his followers and beat him to a pulp, and is currently kicking him and spitting on him like the pathetic excuse of a father he is. And she is yelling "Are you proud of me, daddy? Huh?! Say how proud you are of me! Say it! SAY IT!!"

I love Redfist as a character, but damn, he's such a shitty parent.

Even if Aedale beats him like in the original SHB and SOB, he'll still think of new ways to be disappointed in her. Like an Asian parent, he'll never be satisfied with his kids.