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Round Table of Arkain

Level 10
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120
Hinata28, your... unique habit of dropping this forum for months before posting a wave of posts in several threads and repeating the cycle, often answering posts over one year old in an equally... unique way for some of them aside, could you kindly at the very least fuse your posts to avoid triple-posting, please?
 
Level 8
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Jan 2, 2017
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87
  • Harmos
  • Dorbric
  • Harmos
  • Equal, but skill wise, Gardon
  • Arcanum
  • Ornasion. Kersidar was strong when there's any allies around.
  • Being a former leader of Souleater, maybe yes. There weren't known any older Dreadlord than him.
  • The Dragons are all equally strong. But it wasn't enough for the Gold and Silver ones, because they didn't bred enough, and now they are extinct.
  • Blackguards were strong.
  • Zyainor can beat the Empire, given the circumstances.
  • Zairmak can equal Kenos with skills, but my bet is on Zairmak.
  • Daric's Mercs gets the win.
  • Seabright was strong, if that was the Zyaise flagship.
  • Birram was strong, but his techniques were so mysterious. Further fleshing of him should unravel his skills.
  • Garan maybe equal to Daric, if their ages were the same.
  • Zurae and Parlea will be equal to Aedale, given the push they needed.
She maybe inherited the skills of Larine.
* Hotar was strong.

  • The Imperial Army was strong and numerous, as we can see. They can churn countless men from the Empire. The Imperial Regiments were those identified right now, while Golden Guard was what we call Crusaders if they were Catholic. Regarding the Nexuses, they are large, given the corpses they had in hand.
  • Yup. The Amulet Amari gave to Grella was the same Amulet that was forced to Korjaha by Birram. But Amari did tweak the controls. In regards to Merlon's amulet, look at him, he doesn't do dissenting opinion.
  • If we can see the Second Human Book, Renald path, Largoth was controlling the Emperor, which was a cocoon.
  • Not as equal as the Nexus ones.
  • Nope, Whitefield was just a new character, as Blen was really killed either way.
  • Absorbed by the Golden Guard.
  • Marin had the originals, Pechan was just stealing his ideas like what Pechan did to the Dwarves, according to him.
  • Goldaxe Clan was multiracial economists. As we can see Jadira, Hortnog, Maronogin, Dogran, they didn't discriminate races.
  • Order of the Bleeding was built to resist and blow Genethas as the Demon Slave he was. Well, Genethas just exterminated them all, no witnesses.
  • Elites will be OP had they have the Endless War.
  • As of this time, the ones in Arkain were the official Imperial Regiments.
  • Nope. They are on their throats. They were the first to quarrel before Aridon did the dirty work.
  • As far as we can see, nope.
  • Aedale will still be corrupted, Blen or not, had she took the artifacts.
  • Well, maybe yes, maybe no.
  • She heard the news about the Butcher, well, we know she doesn't have favourable to say about him, being an Elf she was.
  • Because Tregakh cannot underestimate Aridon, as he did once, but ended up dead like the Demon God.
  • That depends. If you play as Gardon, he survived and built up the Knights of Kome. If playing as Renald, nope.
  • As we read the Wiki, the Forgotten were servants of another of the gods, the ones the Four defeated. Because Largoth didn't gave anything to help them if they were his, and Tregakh just steals whatever he wants, he didn't create creatures.
  • Killed or converted off-screen. Because Necromancers tend to "disappear" one they got powerful.
  • Maybe a feral Red Dragon.
  • The Black Fist were the most zealous of Zyaise soldiery.
  • They were old enough by the time the Zyaise story were set, except for some of the siblings. They were not influenced by their dad, they just are what children sometimes do what their parents want.
This answered a lot of my questions. Thanks Hinata :)).
now, i have a few more questions. im wanna ask as much since i'll prolly go on a hiatus from hive and war3 since college is starting, but here are my last set of questions:

-is nazraseeth the guardian (from FUB, Dark Secrets) a servant of bharizeel?
-does aridon only have undead within arkain or does he also get from other continents?
-do the grave wardens have the potential to convert to aridon when they're strong enough?
-did theoden of kome survive the undead assault in SHB finale?
-how can we distinguish the ironfist elites to the other kingdom's elites besides armor? or does gardon just have more elites than the others (since thanok is one hell of a trainer)?
-if the entire world's forces faced off against aridon, would aridon still win with his nexi?
-How strong is the emperor's elite guard vs the golden guard as an unit and as elite soldiers? can individual soldiers beat individual elite guards?
-since black dragons are equally strong, how come the black dragons have a dragon queen of their own while the others don't?
-are the blackguards just stronger bloodfists or are they a separate group? and what exactly are bloodfists? are they like former elites that became stronger thanks to thanok's training?
-are the ironfist soldiers canonically stronger than golden guard soldiers individually? i just wanna confirm this since the soldiers themselves are kinda underwhelming against golden guard and redfist units like the figher and cavalry. ironforged and knight of kome was unique to ironfist, but they feel more like a different faction than the ironfist itself.
-is the alliance between zyainor and the tribal dominion fragile enough for gardon to start a war with them, or does gardon genuinely want them as allies instead of servants?

P.S.
though aridon wants to protect some kind of balance for arkain, his methods are no different, or even worse than gardon's. and given how much he already has, it just makes me question if he's really doing it for arkain, or just playing god at this point. though, im not sure, im a mortal so i can't understand a god's mind.
also, since shar has liked the post, im gonna assume that shar approves of hinata's answers.
 
Level 27
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480
though, im not sure, im a mortal so i can't understand a god's mind.
I'd like to think that this also works the other way around, meaning that Aridon being an immortal, he only sees thing in a big picture and that he's helping everyone. In reality, none of the mortal (Demon included) appreciate what he did, and the fact that Aridon has a bunch of overly obedient servants makes him less likely to receive any kind of negative feedback.
If anyone can turn his head around, I'm guessing it's either Bhaarizel or Tregakh.
 
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12
Bit of a non sequitur but I wanted to see what people think about this

Maybe this is just some "wanting Amari to be the most moral faction leader" copium but I think people are reading the whole Grella Amulet situation as a darker turn for Amari than it is. We don't know everything about how the Amulets of Discipline work, but we have seen generally how they function through Salana and to a lesser extent Merlon.

It seems like rather than being direct mind control, they instill a sort of "directive" into those wearing them, with the wearer's previous personality kept intact except where it conflicts with that directive. In Salana's case, this seemed to have been "find and kill traitors, no exceptions", and with Merlon it was probably something like "Take no issue with Gardon's extreme approach to most situations" (it was mentioned that before they were assigned to work together he disapproved of how Gardon handled things). In addition to this directive, it seems the wearer gains a powerful affinity for and unwillingness to work against the person who gave it to them (though this may be something that Gardon adds and not inherent to the shadow magic). We know that the amulets aren't direct mind control (and that they can't be changed once their magic is applied) because otherwise, Gardon would be able to turn Salana to his side, which he would've done if able. Rather than their magic being able to broadly get the wearer to do what someone else wants, they seem to have very specific uses.

This explains why Salana's mind breaks: her primary directive conflicted strongly with her artificial loyalty to Gardon. She couldn't do what she was programmed to without working against Gardon's interests, hence her just letting herself be killed (at this point the only way to not contradict her directive or her loyalty).

We can now speculate as to what Grella's amulet does, and it looks like it's exactly what Amari tells her. When the dark trolls unleash their bloodlust, it's presumably all of them that do so (remember the purple base in The Southern Realm going berserk) which tells us it isn't the amulet making Grella become more violent. Given the specific use of the amulets, I think that Grella's directive is probably something like "restrain yourself when told to do so", as we see it used this way.

Another piece of evidence that Amari doesn't have sinister intentions behind giving Grella the amulet is the whole scene with Golden Guard Captain #87. Amari goes to great lengths to prove to Grella that she'll be kept in check. If someone was your slave, you wouldn't have to prove to them that you have good intentions for them.
 
Level 8
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87
Bit of a non sequitur but I wanted to see what people think about this

Maybe this is just some "wanting Amari to be the most moral faction leader" copium but I think people are reading the whole Grella Amulet situation as a darker turn for Amari than it is. We don't know everything about how the Amulets of Discipline work, but we have seen generally how they function through Salana and to a lesser extent Merlon.

It seems like rather than being direct mind control, they instill a sort of "directive" into those wearing them, with the wearer's previous personality kept intact except where it conflicts with that directive. In Salana's case, this seemed to have been "find and kill traitors, no exceptions", and with Merlon it was probably something like "Take no issue with Gardon's extreme approach to most situations" (it was mentioned that before they were assigned to work together he disapproved of how Gardon handled things). In addition to this directive, it seems the wearer gains a powerful affinity for and unwillingness to work against the person who gave it to them (though this may be something that Gardon adds and not inherent to the shadow magic). We know that the amulets aren't direct mind control (and that they can't be changed once their magic is applied) because otherwise, Gardon would be able to turn Salana to his side, which he would've done if able. Rather than their magic being able to broadly get the wearer to do what someone else wants, they seem to have very specific uses.

This explains why Salana's mind breaks: her primary directive conflicted strongly with her artificial loyalty to Gardon. She couldn't do what she was programmed to without working against Gardon's interests, hence her just letting herself be killed (at this point the only way to not contradict her directive or her loyalty).

We can now speculate as to what Grella's amulet does, and it looks like it's exactly what Amari tells her. When the dark trolls unleash their bloodlust, it's presumably all of them that do so (remember the purple base in The Southern Realm going berserk) which tells us it isn't the amulet making Grella become more violent. Given the specific use of the amulets, I think that Grella's directive is probably something like "restrain yourself when told to do so", as we see it used this way.

Another piece of evidence that Amari doesn't have sinister intentions behind giving Grella the amulet is the whole scene with Golden Guard Captain #87. Amari goes to great lengths to prove to Grella that she'll be kept in check. If someone was your slave, you wouldn't have to prove to them that you have good intentions for them.
I do agree with this. Gardon is someone who would use any means necessary, while Amari does this to a less extent as shown in the books. But the difference between them imo is how each of their factions work. Since Gardon is in the world of politics, he needs to use more forceful methods. While Amari has the advantage of the others being in a pinch. Amari wanted to unleash the Dark Troll bloodlust when necessary, but stayed true to her word when Grella cannot control herself properly.

tl;dr both use shadow magic, but gardon is forceful, while amari is moral.
 
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Feb 23, 2018
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Good point that the lack of unity in Gardon's faction makes him feel the need to be more heavy-handed with his use of shadow magic. Say what you will about the orcs, but their factional cohesion is on point. However I kind of doubt that his utilitarian extremism is necessary, and his methods do come back to bite him a fair bit. Given that his domination magic and alliance with the black dragons causes the dwarves (and potentially the green dragons) to join his enemies, you could argue he ends up alienating potential allies and unnecessarily making new enemies with his questionable tactics. I think that without the whole Salana situation Gardon probably could've convinced the dwarves to join him, as the Empire pulling out of Arkain would leave them in just as much danger as everyone else.

This effect really compounds with the whole scheme to bring back Zyainor. By doing this he gains the black dragons as allies but ends up making friendly post-war relations with Kerrel and Rengar impossible. It's interesting to wonder about what would've happened if instead of bringing back a hated empire he just kept his junta in Toran and Pyrru (Kerrel and probably Rengar would likely recognize his legitimacy, dwarves wouldn't care), splitting Lor and Isalmur with the other kingdoms after the war. This could lead to a closely diplomatically tied Arkain, which could then either try to incorporate the Tribal Dominion or isolate them effectively. I think this would be a better future for Arkain, but perhaps not a better future for Gardon.

However I guess to get to this point, they would need to win the second voidwar in the first place, and we don't really know how necessary the black dragons are going to be for the war effort. I think we can safely speculate that if the narrative going forward is that Gardon is morally grey (and not a common megalomaniac), we'll see a lot more emphasis on the black dragons in the True Story, and how they were pivotal in beating Van Durce/The Demons. Maybe there will even be some new demonic air units (would flesh out the faction a bit more in gameplay), and the human armies need a way to counter them. That last part's total conjecture though
 
Level 2
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Sep 5, 2021
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4
Hey all, I was wondering if anyone knows about how Legends of Arkain would be going in Reforged now that Custom Campaigns work on it? I know Shar has said he wasn't going to use any of the newer map editors, but so far doing the first mission seems fine in Reforged, you got the whole base game units are high rez and custom models are low rez, and I doubt Shar would have time to make high rez models for everything, as that would take a long long time to do I think. Either way, can't wait to get back into Arkain, I took a break from War3 back when the 3 big missions that where the last missions of the first books came out.
 
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24
Hey all, I was wondering if anyone knows about how Legends of Arkain would be going in Reforged now that Custom Campaigns work on it? I know Shar has said he wasn't going to use any of the newer map editors, but so far doing the first mission seems fine in Reforged, you got the whole base game units are high rez and custom models are low rez, and I doubt Shar would have time to make high rez models for everything, as that would take a long long time to do I think. Either way, can't wait to get back into Arkain, I took a break from War3 back when the 3 big missions that where the last missions of the first books came out.
There is a lot of custom models already, that would look off in Reforge.
In reality, it would be better, if someone would make all these models for Reforged, and ofc optimization for it. And that's a lot of work too.
 

Shar Dundred

Community Moderator
Level 72
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5,862
Hey all, I was wondering if anyone knows about how Legends of Arkain would be going in Reforged now that Custom Campaigns work on it? I know Shar has said he wasn't going to use any of the newer map editors, but so far doing the first mission seems fine in Reforged, you got the whole base game units are high rez and custom models are low rez, and I doubt Shar would have time to make high rez models for everything, as that would take a long long time to do I think. Either way, can't wait to get back into Arkain, I took a break from War3 back when the 3 big missions that where the last missions of the first books came out.
Happy to hear you came back to enjoy it, have fun!
However I recommend you to play with classic graphics instead of Reforged graphics.

I currently have no intention to bring Arkain to Reforged versions as I to not think they would be backwards compatible and don't think they are stable enough.
If I ever were to do that however, I would never switch to Reforged graphics as they are both inconsistent and not to my liking.
Therefore I will neither request nor use custom Reforged assets even if my current stance on Reforged ever changed.
 
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42
It feels weird too see okri, an orc, telling rangul, also an orc, an old "man"
1675142997872.png
 
Level 5
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Tier List.png

Here's my list, I think some of this is gonna be a bit controversial so here's some explanation:

Cora is S because she immediately goes all in on supporting Gardon when Retka is defeated. She basically tells him "hey if you want to form a junta, this branch of the Redfist family has your back 100%, just give me a chance to save my sister". When she said this Gardon hadn't said he was going to declare himself king, she had no way of knowing that he was planning to do that, making that speech kind of a risk. She's clearly the best adjusted of the Redfist daughters, and has a ton of moxie.

I know people like to meme about The Destroyer being the best character, but he actually is easily one of the most compelling characters (you brought this on yourself Shar). He's easily one of the smartest orcs and is seemingly the only pre-Amari era orc to call Rangul out for being delusional. Yet he's still willing to go with his plan for his personal desire for glory. I will also point out that it's The Destroyer who ruined Aridon's plans, as it was his surprising decision not to challenge Rangul for leadership that ultimately caused the Watcher's machinations to fail.

Zarin is S because of how strongly his motives contrast with most other people in Arkain. For his people, the obvious best call is to read the room and work with Gardon, but he's unwilling to compromise his morals and work with (in his mind) a monster. His strong moral fiber is key to the Golden Guard plot, and represents a strong contrast from most other faction leaders/factions.

I put Gardon in A because I feel that despite his screen time he's a somewhat stagnant character. His absolute devotion to humanity is very compelling, but there's seemingly not much more to him than that. Other than arguably his relationship with Larine, there's no evidence that Gardon has any selfishness at all; throughout the story he's a true paragon, which again is interesting, though it makes it kind of unclear why he personally has this unwavering commitment to the people of Arkain's survival. The way he's characterized doesn't indicate he thinks human life is precious or has some great appreciation for the common man tilling the earth, or another reason why he fights so hard to protect humanity.

Redfist is E because he's a terrible person whose terrible parenting might cause even more problems for the world than his genocidal rampage. Arkain seems to be in a state of near constant war. Humans, orcs, minor factions, and especially demons have incredibly militaristic societies presumably because they have to. Knowing this, it's hard to imagine most people in the world haven't lost several family members to a variety of conflicts, which makes his unending rage after losing his wife a bit hard to understand. Obviously everyone processes grief differently, but he mistreats his daughters so much that Aedale begins absorbing demon artifacts, then forms a powerful human faction that completely ignores the demonic invasion and massive civil war to hunt orcs.
 
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WhatsApp Image 2023-01-31 at 12.44.03 PM (1).jpeg
WhatsApp Image 2023-01-31 at 12.49.46 PM.jpeg

Here are my new list for both, characters and factions.
In case of the characters, there is not lot of changes. I decided to raise Saphira to the S Rank after her development in the Elven Kingdom invasion, and her still care for her former comrade Salana. No matter is she is undead now, she still cares for her former kingdom and her former people.
I also raise Lokar to the A rank because of his deny of support towards Rath's foolish vengeance. He saved many lives, including Inara's so she can have her retribution against the wolves in Salria. And of course Gorthog raise positions as well, though I dislike his well-planted miss trust with Amari, he has a good point to not trust her and her motivations.

Moving to the factions. Kezzar nexus and Rohir nexus move to the S rank. I like the idea of the undead demons seeking revenge toward their former kind, and their units are awesome (The seductresses are my favorite). And Rohir nexus... what can I say? the idea that even your friends and family could be in truth some of them is spooky but cool, and of course their units have amazing models.
 
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Here are my tier lists, as someone who basically only played True Story (and hasn't finished the seventh act yet) and just very vaguely remembers the plot of the Second Human and Orc books from watching LPs years ago:

1675274807514.png

1675274778640.png
 
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I think this is the first time ever I have seen Gardon being called a paragon.
I feel it's an accurate characterization based on what we as an audience have seen so far. People often think of paragons as people who can do no wrong, and always stick to the "correct" moral code. However, this word is pretty subjective, and whether or not you consider someone a paragon depends entirely on your personal morals. A paragon can also refer to someone who's a perfect example of a specific ethical/moral code (Che Guevara could be considered a paragon of communistic ideals to someone, even if they despise communsim). The only real common thread is the idea that paragons are aren't self-interested.

While I disagree with Gardon's extreme methods, it seems like he whole-heartedly believes they are necessary; I don't get the sense that he mind controlled Salana and then took over the Elven Kingdom because he gets a thrill out of controlling people and nations, but rather he did these things because he believed that a militarized and controlled Elven Kingdom would be needed in the war. When he takes over Pyrru and Toran he gives Brian a speech on how he isn't doing this because he desires power, but because he needs it to protect humanity. Assuming he's telling the truth here (I can't remember any evidence to the contrary) Gardon is showing that he's a paragon of utilitarian ideals, as he's willing to do literally anything for the collective benefit of humanity without regard for himself.

If there's one decision he makes that conflicts with this, it's his refusal to let Van Durce sail back and fight the Empire. In the Second Human Book he chooses vengeance over a path that would weaken his enemies and preserve his army. I think the Gardon-Van Durce final talk will likely play out differently in the True Story, or if not I'm sure we'll see Saphira call Gardon out for breaking his code. But until that happens I would consider Gardon to be a paragon.

Final thing, how do you quote someone else, such that it links to their post? I tried doing that but I don't think it worked.
 
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I think this is the first time ever I have seen Gardon being called a paragon.
TVTropes terms are Knights Templar or Well-Intentioned Extremist.

The only thing keeping him from becomming a villain in my eyes are that his cause is noble and he is not insane.
In a way he feels like a better version of Illidan. Maybe not in theory but in execution over a long term.
It feels like the same character appearing at the outpost as in the epilogue and the short stories.
Illidan feels like the writers could not handle such a complex character.
 
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186
I think this is the first time ever I have seen Gardon being called a paragon.
In the end, I think a lot of it also comes down to success. Guardon is hardly the most moral character in Arkain, but he's effective and so, does more actual good than other characters, even if he's also effective at doing bad stuff. If you see him compared to Lerrig, to go to the other end of the spectrum, I think Lerrig's goals are more moral and selfless than Guardon's (or at least, Guardon gets a lot more power with his goals than Lerrig would seek, even if he was more successful), but Guardon did a lot more good because, in the end, he's capable, in both good and evil, whereas Lerrig is pretty much useless overall...

(except in diplomatic skills, getting Salria to send even a single phalanx to the war is one of the greatest feats in Arkain)
 
Level 19
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Jun 26, 2019
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359
Lets see the differences between the older one and the new one:

CHARACTERS OF ARKAIN PREVIOUS.png


CHARACTERS OF ARKAIN AFTER.png


A lot of characters were dropped from S tier to A tier, Harmos was burned down, Vail also went down, those 2 mainly because they haven´t had much screentime yet during the second books era. Bryan switched places with Thanok and Gardon and the elves in general went really high.

I´ll make another once the true story is over but now is clear that orcs, demons and Ironfist + allies are my favourites characters.
 
Level 27
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Nov 25, 2021
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480
Finally have time to make my own tier lists, and although my opinions have not changed much, I can give a better elaboration than last time, albeit still long af.

t1.png


  • Laughing stock: It's just embarassing to be one of these two. Completely incompetent, knows that they're being used, but let themselves be used anyway. Thankfully, Gardon took care of them.
  • Very bad: They're power-greedy not for a very compelling reasons, but are slightly less bad. In Ferdal and Fleshtearer's case, they're just...dudes. I don't like them, and I can't see that their character can ever take an interesting turn.
  • Bad: Slightly incompetent but still capable of doing stuff (like Sas and Kersi), or they're just worse version of characters I already like. Like Birram. He's not as good as a shadow mage as Brian, and his xenophobia towards the Dark Trolls doesn't take off to a comedic extreme like Redfist. Lisara is a worse (and less hot) manipulator compared to Ebira, and Keera has too much self-pity, which reminds me of myself.
  • Neutral: Characters that don't have enough screentime yet, were killed before their character could go anywhere, are plot devices, or has potential but I just don't like them that much. (Come to think of it, I should put Jadira a bit higher, but I'm too lazy to fix.)
  • Decent: Thanok, Renald, and Kenos would have gone to the lower tier, if it weren't for their dope-ass model. Shoutout to the ones who made them. Rangul and Vanessa, I slightly like their character, but not on a deep enough level. Inara's true motive and allegiance was the topic of discussion, and I'm slightly interested in seeing how her character will develop, too. Logan is loyal, honorable, but not stupid. Blen was snorts copium and perhaps still is not a bad guy. Zoia may just have a bias against him when her hatred reaches its peak, right?
  • Good: Characters that are currently undergoing interesting development imo, or characters that are just good manipulators that make the story interesting. Guys like Edoarus, Galareth, Destroyer are better than 'Decent' tier in terms of design and personality, but not good enough to be 'Very good', so I put them here. Hortnog and Gorthog are the thoughtful uncles that give you money and gifts everytime they visit. Larine's a good mom and a decent ruler. Zoia and Okri are also good, but most importantly, they're hot. Now where's my Zoia/Okri body pillow?
  • Very good: I just love them. They have cool design, memorable personality, and sometimes even be comic relief. In the case of Selior and Dorbric, they are honorable men in trapped in the cruel machination of fate, which turns them into tragic characters, which I like.
  • I also want Darkfang to be put here, but he's missing. As much as I hate that guy, he's one of the few characters who can pose a genuine challenge to my Hard-difficulty runs. He's my rival character now, and I will miss him once he's finally dead.
  • SSS: Already explained too much about Gardon, Rahandir, and since there are also a bunch of Ornasion's simps already explaining why he's loved, let's move on to Borean. Simply put, Borean is a bearman that rolls. He's also a bearman that bears, a bearman that bears bear, bears bear man bear, bear, bear fluffy bear rolling bear oh god I love bea

t2.png


  • Not much to say here, except it's ranked by whose design/ideals I like the most.
  • I put the Elves low because they can't do shit without human intervention, Falcon Regiment is just Walmart Skullblade, Ironthunder is Ravaging Fire but less swag, Bear Regiment are just Bearmen imitators, Boar Regiment is annoying af, and the L-word Regiment is because I can't think of a better joke (but seriously, they're also Skullblade but worse).
 
Last edited:
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Wolffus1996-Arkain Tier List.PNG


The Legends of Arkain Tier List by Wolffus1996

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THE GRANDMASTER: Inara, the Darkmind Assassin, the Viper, the Femme Fatale and the Ultimate Arkain Character.

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The Kingpin (named after one of my favorite characters from Marvel Comics):

-Brockta the Stomper:
The Kingpin of Arkain and the character on whom this tier is primarily based and centered around. Has Inara, Lisara and Rath Wolfscar as his personal assassins, bodyguards and enforcers (similary to how the Kingpin had Elektra, Typhoid Mary and Bullseye as his top enforcers at different points). After Inara, Brockta might be by second favorite Arkain character, though he may also share the spot with Vanessa. While I like them individually, they are at their best when they are together. In this particular case, since Brockta is the basis and the core around this specific tier, he takes precedence over Vanessa, but overall they have equal positions for me.

-Vanessa: Either the second or third favorite Arkain character, the former if equal with Brockta, the latter if Brockta takes precedence over her. If Brockta is not in charge, then Vanessa takes the reigns as the Queepin of Arkain, having Grofzag and Oneeye as her bodyguards, and Hortnog and Amari as her advisors.

-Lokar the Crusher: Either the third favorite or fourth favorite Legends of Arkain character. Alongside Iszhog, Lokar can function as Brockta's counserlor and advisor. The consigliere to Brockta's Don. If Brockta and/or Vanessa aren't in command, Lokar becomes the Kingpin of Arkain, with Borean as his champion, while Brak Stormteacher and King Gran Gorehowl serve as his counsilors and advisors.

This tier can also be seen as my answer as to who should rule over the world of Arkain (a question that was asked by Shar Dundred a while back).

----------------------------------

The Godfather:

-Rangul:
I lacked a fitting name for the characters coming after Lokar the Crusher, though I chose the title of the Godfather since at one time I briefly recasted Rangul as Vito Corleone from the Godfather. However, Rangul is not the axis on which this tier revolves around the same way that the Kingpin tier revolves around Brockta.

-Oneeye

-Iszhog

-Sir Edoarus the Executioner

-Lord Margazar

-Haren'tel-Kazor

------------------------------------


Typhoid Lisara
(named after Typhoid Mary, a character from Marvel Comics):

-Lisara: The focus of this tier. She is the boss to most other Arkain characters, excluding the ones from upper tiers and few others not shown here, such as Flammedus and Logan the Skirmisher. Lisara is someone who is presented as boss, but it turns out that there are certain others above her (such as Brockta). Like Inara and Rath Wolfscar, Lisara also works for Brockta as his personal assassin and enforcer.

-Largoth: Alongside Vermon, Largoth is one of my favorite dreadlords in the Arkain series and example of what a Dreadlord should be.

------------------------------------

Interim Tier
(a "filler"/"placeholder" tier of sorts with two characters that I felt I had to include):

-Mordin Hammerfall

-The Fleshtearer.

---------------------------------


The Wild Cards
(a non-existent tier for characters that aren't currently available in the tier list and who are notable for me, but their ranking/placement is ambiguous in relation to characters listed in the upper tiers):

-Vermon

-Krogar the Conqueror

---------------------------------


The Double-Edged
(a tier for characters that I may have mixed opinion on. This doesn't mean that I dislike some of them, but there are some caveats to these characters):

-Amari (the True Story incarnation).

-The Destroyer

-Grofzag

-Dorbric Berangar

-Lord Brian the Fallen

---------------------------


THE ENEMIES:
These are the characters that I, sadly, do not like, root against or even despise. I'm glad that fans and players enjoy characters like Gardon and his Ironfist. They certainly have their merits, it's just that I did not find the same enjoyment that I had with Inara, Brockta the Stomper and the others.

-Kenos Harran

-Jadira

-Maronogin

-Zoia Blackwolf

-General Aveen Elvir

-Ferdal

-Tormin

-Herdon

-Birram

-Thanok

-Gardon Bloodclaw

----------------------------


My apologies that this tier list may have come ascross as being too uncanny and unorthodox, especially in comparison to tier lists made by other people. It's simply for my own personal self-expression. Don't mind some details too much. With that said, I wish you a great day!
 
Level 1
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Oh wow. There was also a guy who went off the radar a few months ago that had the exact same taste in characters as you do.

Very coincidental, indeed.

I suppose the two month break is over.
Hope it was healthy.
Yes, this is the user WolfDominion1996/BatDominion1996. I had decided to come back to Hive Workshop with a new account (since I requested to have my previous account deleted). Already commented on few models and decided to publish my tier list here. I am generally satisfied with my decision to return to Hive. As far as Arkain discussions go, I think I might act more like a passive, neutral observer and not participate in discussions as much as I did before. Even if I might throw a comment here or there, I prefer for my demeanor to be more modest and mild-mannered.
 
Level 16
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183
I have been having quite an unorthodox fancy and what-if question: What if three races we play (Humans, Orcs and Undead) are (unintentionally) inspired by three minds of Sigmund Freudian psychoanalytic theory? Well, let me bake theory time now and then here xD
Id-Orcs (Conscious: Pleasure principle); Orcs are violent and warlike by nature with propensity of talking with their fists than reason. They are also immune to Aridon's manipulation (could be taken as resisting Super Ego; therefore, authority figures) and let their primality control them (The new era of Amari is perhaps a symbol of change into more tempered Id with Brian as subterfuge part of Super Ego on her part.) Yet even despite their resistance, the destruction of their homeland perhaps unconsciously led them to their current state and prioritizing glory and being divided into clans to serve their own agenda with like-minded group of their race. The effect of uncontrollable or semi-uncontrollable environment.
Ego-Humans (Preconscious: Reality principle); This one is tricky, I admit. Ego gratifies Id in realistic ways. It is also realm of accessible memories. Humans are, so far, known to act upon certain moral code and established doctrine. Particularly Golden Guard worshipping God of Light, despite being now dead primordial god, perhaps sprung from their semi-veiled needs about salvation, oblivion and morality instilled upon by religious figures (the act of Super Ego). This, however, can both include and exclude some morally grey characters who rejected certain means to serve their own interest or on behalf of their troubled memories (Ironfist, Redfist etc). Yet most of them are gratified in reason with humane characteristic.
Super Ego-Undead (Unconscious: Morality principle); Super Ego includes drives, instincts, repressed traumas, and painful emotions. Undead were once mortals who followed their Id and Ego in life. Yet due to their death and regret but given a gift of resurrection basically translates to desire of redemption or at least change in their characteristic due to the painful memories (Keera being the most prominent example). They also have their fleshy desires pared off, giving no way to feel Id and Ego but still affected by memories in life. Also, Undead are known to have significant grasp on Arkain and interfere, when necessary, with little to no opposition (Example being Rohir nexus having untold numbers of their spies among the living masqueraded a mime and visage of breathing flesh.) Many if not all events were influenced by Aridon and Undead, and it is as if they are Super Ego-authority that precedes all. So, them serving Aridon who is also affected by schism of gods (another example of Super Ego which guides and lays laws for mortals in beginning of time) in ancient Arkain and deciding which race will have-what-or-know-what could be the uniting point.
Ah need to ponder more... my sleepy head xD
 
Level 2
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Oct 31, 2022
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Question! I'm intrigued to start playing this series, but I have no idea where to start. I saw some posts that say do Human1 --> Orc1 --> Undead1 --> Human2 --> Orc2 --> Undead2, but I've also seen something that says this new True Story thing will have all of them combined? Will they basically be the same thing? Or should I play the old ones while waiting for True Story to be fully completed?
Thanks in advance!
 
Level 27
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480
Human1 --> Orc1 --> Undead1 --> Human2 --> Orc2 --> Undead2 is the same order I played, and in my experience, it can be quite confusing since Human1+Human2 is a seperate timeline, and so is Orc1+Orc2 and so is Undead1+Undead2. (Undead2 is also incompleted fyi)

True Story is basically all of these combined into one canon timeline, with many redundant map removed/revamped, and overall has better writing, more interesting characters, and better gameplay balance changes.

Tl;dr if you start fresh, I recommend going straight for True Story. If you want to have more choice-oriented gameplay, try Human1-Human2 and Orc1-Orc2.
 
Level 19
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202
Since ACT 7 is finally concluded. I have a feeling or some speculations for the upcoming Chapter 8:
The First Chapter of Act 8:
Either be focusing on the introduction of Vail and the Return of Harmos as they discovered that the Order of the flame castle has been invaded by Demons. Plus, I think it will be canon that Harmos will side with the Fire Revenant Grenan and that the Human Fire Mages are in fact Demon Slaves.

Or

The master of Arkain is gonna pull the rug to surprise us with NEW UNDEAD EXCLUSIVE MISSIONS.

The rest of the ordered chapters would be....
We Recruit PIGMEN or Ogres chapters
Then another Human exclusive story where we get to witness Praxius recruiting Green Dragons? (I still haven't forgotten that picture Shar.)
Then We go back to Gnoll Island (With Borean joining the Expedition? Who knows I like this Bear Chieftain)
Then Another Undead Exclusive Campaign
Then Another Human Exclusive Campaign

Then to wrap things up in conclusion it will be??
For Orcs- Dealing with Zora's Pirates
For Humans- Recruiting the Hammerfall Dwarves
For Undead- A Lead about Hesthrathions Wearabouts. AKA HIDING IN CASTLE KOME? MAYBE??
All I know is that may the epilogue for Act 8 is that Gardon makes an alliance with Kerrel, Propose to Vail, and then makes an Alliance with Black Dragons That's all.
 
Level 27
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480
Now this is an interesting topic to talk about. Think I'll go with a classic 4-member JRPG party style.

  • Tank: Borean/Gardon, interchangeably. Borean can heal the whole team, while Gardon is selfish and can only heal himself. The former is good for AoE boss, and the latter is good for boss with sustained damage/ST damage.
  • Thief: Assassins/Spies like Larine, Krom, and Ebira were initially my first choices, but I'll go for Keera. She's that one sleeper OP unit in the game that I forget about, so it's time to give her the spotlight.
  • White Mage: Again, my first choices are Renald and Salomar, but then I remember: "What if I want to use Undead party members? Who will heal them then?". That's why I go with Grella, because of Regen Aura (and because diversity is good). While the regen is slow, it is passive and won't eat up mana.
  • Black Mage: Rahandir is tier-0, and is one of my favorite characters, but since I don't have a Demon character in here yet, I'll go with Maronogin. He'll most likely turn his enemies into Gold, so more money for the team. The best thing is, there's no inflation in a fantasy setting.

Conclusion: Borean/Gardon, Keera, Grella, Maronogin. I don't know where to fit myself into all this, because they would literally do all the jobs for me. Guess I'll be the companion pet.
 
Level 1
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Alrighty, here would be my Legends of Arkain character RPG team

The main protagonist: Wolffus1996 (me). I would be the main hero and the protagonist, who seeks to create and maintain bonds with the characters in my team, as well as to defeat the main Big Bad (whoever they might be). Though I am generally a light-hearted person, I do have a darker and more problematic side, both in real-life and in that RPG story-scenario, as well as certain flaws and facets that I must confront and work on being a better person than I was before.


The deuteragonist: Inara. Inara would be my main companion and the second most important character, right after me. She would also be my foil in certain regards: while I'm an easy-going, light-hearted and a bit awkward, dorky at times, Inara is dark, vengeful, vicious and aloof, with a far colder demeanor. While Inara is an agility-based hero, who is an assassin, I would be a strength-based Hero of warrior class.


The brains: Lokar the Crusher. Rational, reasonable and cool-headead, Lokar would be my team's strategist, tactician and the one to come up with all sorts of plans. While I would be technically the main character, Lokar would be the actual leader of the team. Aragorn to my Froddo Bagins.


The brawn: While Inara would be more than a capable to defeat all her opponents by herself, a "brute strength", "muscle", "the big guy" kind of character is still needed for the team. That honor would go to either Haran'tel-Kazor, Lord Margazar or Urshan. A big guy with great physical strength and honorable demeanor.


The heart: Vanessa. While Vanessa is no doubt a great warrior, I can also see her being "the heart" of the team, who offers emotional support and is always there for everyone, functioning as caretaker and peacekeeper, ensuring everyone's emotional and spiritual well-being.


The sixth addition: Lisara. A later addition to the team. Think of Toph Bei Fong from Avatar: the Last Airbender, who joins up with an already established group (Aaang, Katara and Sokka) at a later point in the story (Book Two: Earth) and becomes the newest member of the main cast. Lisara could also initially serves as an antagonist to my team, but later on changes sides and becomes one of my companions.


The authority figure/mentor: Brockta the Stomper. Technically, Brockta would not be part of my team. Rather, he would be a mentor, supervisor or "the great king" type of figure.
 

Kasrkin

Hosted Project: LoA
Level 26
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Apr 6, 2014
Messages
802
The dream team is just various Ironfist. For something that would be interesting I'd put Praxeus, Gran, Dorbric, Ishzog, Zairmak, and Orgen.

The mediator
The leader
The BRAWN
Your resident priest is actually a priest
The mage
The hunter

I was going to say isometric style but I just remembered Dark Messiah of Might & Magic and it just looks awesome in my head. Save a city, kill some demons, find some artifact I don't know, sack a city maybe. KICK EVERYTHING
 
Level 3
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Nov 30, 2021
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12
Ornasion Gardon Zairmak Harmos Krom Zoia Aridon Grofzag and their own perspective armies and alliances in a war magic the gathering style card game would be just amazing to me like the splecir and scarec nexus waging war against gardon and the ironfist as he makes an alliance with a free willed undead ornasion and the newly risen kezzar nexus
 
Level 1
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Mar 28, 2023
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I have a weird theory. In chapter 7, FOB ( oh the nightmares), Zairmak talked about ancient, evil magic. Then he mentioned meeting the most dark and dangerous human of all time. Of course he could've been referring to Gardon, but calling him a soulless abomination sounds a bit extreme. What if he was referring to Brian? He would fit that description a lot better. Will this get batter or not stay tunned with us
 
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