letsdance's rebalance mod (LRM)

[letsdance]

i made a rebalance mod =) inspiration came from the KMDale mod, but i wanted a mod that is fully compatible with the insecticide patch. thx to the tweaker, modding is quite easy and fast, so i made my own =)

my goal was a better balancing and harder choices. i did many, but no significant changes to the game. 3 spells, that i consider too problematic have been replaced by copies of other spells. full features list posted as first reply to this post.

feedback appreciated!
download LRM (current version 1.4)

[edit: i got a sticky =) thx. a note: this mod includes the insecticide patch 1.40m - update to the current v1.40n is not planned atm]
[edit: several updates to current version]

dance!

[letsdance]

LRM features (version 2012/06/12):

features list of this mod:
my goal was a better balancing and harder choices. i usually changed only costs and options. the function of various game objects (spells, buildings etc) stay the same. 3 spells, that i consider too problematic have been replaced by copies of other spells.

custom wizard:
increased number of picks to 12. this is to enable artificer ONLY. i am balancing the item costs to be used with artificer.

UNITS/RACES:
improved growth rates of some races + updated help entries
increased all unrest modifiers by +2 (you pick a race, you play with it!)
all catapults: cost 100 -> 80
all warships: +scouting II
all cavalry: +large shield (simulate high speed)
all halberdiers/pikeman: +negate first strike, require armory, hitpoints +1, increased costs
all spearman except barbarian: figures 8 -> 6
all bowman: reduced cost by about 1/3
all cavalry: movement 2 -> 3, increased costs
all settlers: reduced cost (if higher) on myrran to 120, on arcanus to 90
all high end units: significantly increased build costs, also increased build costs of some mid level units

draconians: doom drakes scouting 2 -> 3, fire breath 6 -> 8; air ship +transport capacity 4
barbarian: swordsman, bowman, cavalry figures +2, beserkers moves 1 -> 2
beastman: minotaurs damage 12 -> 6, +10 to hit;
manticores require stable, hitpoints 7 -> 5, attack 5 -> 3, cost 160 -> 120
dark elves: nightblades poison 1 -> 3, require alchemists guild, nightmares +cloak of fear
dwarf: steam cannon +long range, +wall crusher, golem +all immunities except missiles, needs miners guild+armory,
hammerhands need armorers guild, defense 4 -> 5
gnolls: bowman ranged 1 -> 2, wolf riders +first strike, also require armorers guild
halfling: swordsman figures 8 -> 6
high elf: pegasi figures 2 -> 4, shots 8 -> 4
high man: paladin -armor piercing, +death immunity
klackon: all unit costs -25 %, stag beetle +fire immunity, defense 7 -> 10
lizardman can build sages, alchemist and animist guilds, javeliners require armorers guild, ranged attack 3 -> 4
dragon turtle needs animists guild, +cold immunity, +transport capacity 1
nomad: horsebowman ranged 2 -> 3
orc: wyvern riders +2 to hit, +poison immunity; cavalry +missiles immunity -large shield, engineers move 1 -> 2
troll: war trolls need armorers guild, def 4 -> 6, war mammoth require animist guild, cost 240 -> 200

sprites: resistance 8 -> 12
earth elemental: +large shield
hell hounds: movement 2 -> 3
great drake: movement 2 -> 4, +scouting II
phantom warriors: units 6 -> 4
sky drake: movement 4 -> 5, +scouting II

MAGIC ITEMS
changed many costs, possible effects and premade items. in general i made the premade items more efficient and some inefficient ones available at reduced cost
added some LEGENDARY items, that could not be created by usual means, and capped their cost at 5000. increased chance to buy magic items (be2d4 2 -> 10) and heroes (be581
3 -> 5, be57b 25 -> 10).

SPELLS
many changes to spell research costs (generally cheaper)
many changes to spell casting costs
many changes to upkeeps

after these general balancing, the following changes have been made:
death: spell research costs halfed
chaos: unit summon costs reduced to 60 %, upkeep increased
nature: unit upkeep is gold + 1 food instead of mana (units aren't actually summoned, they are recruited living beings and can be merceneries - yes this includes wurms)

changes to spell effects:
cracks call = doom bolt strength 4
petrify: resist 0 -> -1
confusion: resist -4 -> -1
Stasis: resist -5 -> -4
warp creature: resist -1 -> -3
chaos rift = earth gate
holy word: resist -2/-7 -> 0/-5
black sleep = shatter, but harder to resist (-2) (might be same resist as shatter, not sure which value is used)
wrack: resist +1 -> 0
terror: resist +1 -> 0
spell of mastery: research 60k -> 15k, cast 5k -> 15k
disjunction/disenchant true: doubled minimum casting cost, which reduces relative efficiency

BUILDINGS (make it more expensive to build best units) LIST INCOMPLETE (some more changes to requirements missing)
armory: upkeep 2 -> 1
armorers guild: upkeep 4 -> 3, requires armory, cost -> 800
fighters guild requires only barracks
war college requires fighters instead of armorers guild, upkeep 5 -> 4, cost -> 1000
stable: cost 80 -> 60, upkeep 2 -> 1
fantastic stable: upkeep 6 -> 3, cost -> 1200
library: cost 60 -> 40
sages guild: upkeep 2 -> 1
alchemist guild: upkeep 3 -> 5
shrine: cost 100 -> 80, upkeep 1 -> 2, no requirement
parthenon: cost 400 -> 350
cathedral: upkeep 4 -> 2
marketplace: cost 100 -> 80, upkeep 1 -> 0
bank: upkeep 3 -> 5
merchants guild: cost 600 -> 400, upkeep 5 -> 10
granary: cost 40 -> 50, no requirement
farmers market: cost 100 -> 150, upkeep 2 -> 3
foresters guild: cost 200 -> 250, upkeep 2 -> 3
builders hall: upkeep 1 -> 0
city walls: cost 150 -> 200, upkeep 2 -> 1, defense behind wall (anywhere) 1 -> 3

HEROES
increased hitpoints of all caster heroes 5 -> 7, some others by +1
sage: cost 100 -> 150, sage -> sage*
dwarf: +construction ability, +poison immunity, +cold immunity, +wall crusher
barbarian: thrown 3 -> 5, +negate first strike
dervish: -noble, +leadership, +resistance to all
bard: +blademaster
orc warrior: -mountaineer, -random ability, +might, +large shield
thief: +lucky
druid, cost 150 -> 100, ranged 8 -> 6, scout III -> II, +forester
draconian: +scouting III, fire breath 5 -> 8
golden one: +noble
ninja: defense 5 -> 0, resistance 6 -> 0, +first strike, +illusionary attack
rogue: leadership -> leadership*, +illusions immunity
amazon: thrown 4 -> 10, +first strike
paladin: -magic immunity
black knight: -magic immunity, +death immunity
knight: -legendary*, constitution -> constitution*
necromancer: +power drain
chosen: -missiles immunity, hitpoints 12 -> 10

WORLD:
decreased strength of myrran nodes


known issues:
spell immunities don't always work as i intended, but it doesn't really matter.

[zitro1987]

Hi, your mod appears to be a good start, but don't be afraid to push further changes within some units that were way unbalanced in Master of Magic (overpowered slingers, underpowered mid-game summons in general)

UNITS/RACES:

Changes go to the right direction and interesting cavalry idea. Spearmen might be too weak? I initially wished they had 6 figures and 2 melee (+1).

draconians: doom drakes scouting 2 -> 3, fire breath 6 -> 8; air ship +transport capacity 4

I thought of air ship transport too. It works surprisingly well in the game. I agree that doom drakes are disappointing.

beastman: minotaurs hitpoints 12 -> 10, figures 2 -> 4;

Isn't that seriously overpowered? (4 figures of 12 base melee and 2 to hit? you could be defeating behemoths with these)

halfling: shaman cost 75 -> 60

Don't underestimate them. They're fantastic units.

high elf: pegasi figures 2 -> 4;

Possibly overpowered due to +1 to hit.

Dragon turtle needs animists guild, +cold immunity, +transport capacity 1

Creative, I might end up borrowing this idea

troll: war trolls need armorers guild, cost 160 -> 240, def 4 -> 6, war mammoth require animist guild, cost 240 -> 160

That's a very good solution

sprites: resistance 8 -> 12, upkeep 3 -> 2
nagas: upkeep 2 -> 1
war bears: upkeep 2 -> 1
phantom warriors: units 6 -> 4
earth elemental: +large shield
great drake: move 2 -> 3, +scouting II
sky drake: +scouting II
demon lord: upkeep 15 -> 10

I think you could do a lot more for summons. There are plenty of uncommon/rare that are really not worth their cost/upkeep, especially now that you upgraded many race units like pegasi, etc. Best example: giant spiders.


SPELLS

just cause: upkeep 3 -> 2

This is one of the best global enchantments in the game as it automatically removes 1 unrest in every city - +50% gold! (and gives you 10 fame)

cracks call = doom bolt strength 4

cool one, cracks call is a broken spell


BUILDINGS

fantastic stable: upkeep 6 -> 10

It's a personal preference but beware of giving high upkeep to recruiting buildings as units have high upkeep already.

HEROES

I'm not good at this stuff.

[b0rsuk]

UNITS/RACES:
all cavalry: +large shield (simulate high speed)

I don't know how and why it should work. Infantry are already disadvantaged against cavalry, so archers for keeping them in check is a good idea in my opinion. You can fire a bow either for accuracy or for range (45 degrees upwards). In battles, bows were often fired from far away, without aiming at individual soldiers. This resulted in a rain of arrows. You can't dodge drops of water and remain dry in a rain, you can't dodge a rain of arrows either. It's not that hard to fire in the general direction of galloping cavalry.

Dominions 3 is interesting in that it has 2 defense stats: Protection and Defense. Defense is basically dodging and it works for melee only. Protection helps against arrows as well.

all halberdiers/pikeman: +negate first strike

Makes sense, but it makes those races with Negate ability less special. This includes already bad races, gnolls and lizardmen.

all spearman except barbarian: figures 8 -> 6

And barbarian spearmen might be the best ones. Why ?

barbarian: swordsman, bowman, cavalry figures +2, beserkers moves 1 -> 2

Ah, flavor. Horde/berserk bonus.

beastman: minotaurs hitpoints 12 -> 10, figures 2 -> 4;

I'm not convinced they need a buff. They hit hard and withstand damaging spells very well. Beastmen are one of my favorite races anyway, one of better balanced ones although centaurs suck.

manticores hitpoints 7 -> 4, figures 2 -> 4, require fantastic stable

Manticores are sort of unique because they are an early flyer. There are very few flyers available at that point of the game. This change also makes Beastmen tech tree more linear. Without it, you can opt for manticores or minotaurs.

Furthermore, I would fix Wyvern Riders by making them come from Animist Guild. This would make Orcs have something unique - a race of Arcanus with early access to flyers.

dark elves: nightblades poison 1 -> 3, nightmares +cloak of fear, cost 160 -> 200

Oh cloak of fear makes sense !

gnolls: bowman ranged 1 -> 2, wolf riders +first strike

Wolf riders are already pretty much the only unit worth using. And they're surprisingly good for simple cavalry, they're very meaty and hard to dispose of. Great with Nature magic - 3 moves on water with Water Walking, 6 with Pathfinding. Make good scouts too.

Wolf Riders are one of best units for early rushes. Try this:
- Granary
- Stables
- Wolf Riders
That's right, you skip markets ! You'll get your food and income from your conquests. This strategy can even work on Impossible, or on Myrror.

Gnolls are in desperate need of hitpoints, similar to Klackon. They hugely benefit from Elite status.

high elf: pegasi figures 2 -> 4;

Better slightly overpowered than what they do now. I would make them 3 figures, should look interesting.

high man: paladin -armor piercing, +death immunity

-armor piercing is what I did to paladins in my mod. But what's the point of death immunity if you are magic immune ?

klackon: all unit costs -25 %, stag beetle +fire immunity, defense 7 -> 10

Similar to my comments on Wolf Riders. This may make them more balanced compared to other races, but will make them even more preferable within the same race. Race for the best unit.

lizardman halberdiers: +armor piercing, can build sages, alchemist and animist guilds

In vanilla, I frequently choose halberdiers because they're just as good as Javelineers in melee, yet cost 50%. Two halberdiers are not worth 1 javelineer, unless javelineer is highly experienced or buffed. With this change, I would stop using javelineers except against sorcery nodes. A lizard city near you could easily wipe you out in early game if it had Armory.

dragon turtle needs animists guild, +cold immunity, +transport capacity 1

I see the point if it only needs Animist Guild. But if it's an extra cost, then it's a downgrade overall. Only 1 spell deals cold damage.

nomad: horsebowman ranged 2 -> 3

This unit already forms bulk of my force. I don't wait for griffins to attack. Horsebowmen are unusually sturdy bowmen, who can afford to shoot from 2 squares away. They already do high damage, but don't benefit as much from spells.

sprites: resistance 8 -> 12, upkeep 3 -> 2
(...)
war bears: upkeep 2 -> 1

Upkeep is not that bad on these units. Casting cost is terrible.

SPELLS
flying fortress: upkeep 25 -> 5

Does the spell even work ? I thought it was removed in an official patch because it didn't ?

just cause: upkeep 3 -> 2

People already recommend casting it as soon as possible, because fame reduces upkeep you pay for units (units are willing to fight for a famous wizard).

cracks call = doom bolt strength 4

Interesting. I suppose the spell frustrates you. I kind of like how Nature magic is unique in that it has irresistible spells (Web, Cracks Call, Entangle). I think it was a conscious design decision.

chaos rift = earth gate

Why ? :-)

great wasting: cost 1000 -> 1500, upkeep 20 -> 40
armageddon: cost 1250 -> 2000

They are good spells and one of few reasons to pursue this magic.

black sleep = shatter, but harder to resist (-2)

Frustrated by the spell ? It lends itself to some amusing combos, like (usually pathetic) Bowmen + Sleep, or Ghouls + Sleep.

berserk: cost 30 -> 20

Not complaining about the change. The spell would be amazing if more units had First Strike.

BUILDINGS
granary: cost 40 -> 50
farmers market: cost 100 -> 150, upkeep 2 -> 3
foresters guild: cost 200 -> 250, upkeep 2 -> 3

Aww, why ? . The first two are essential buildings, you are going to need them anyway and they will take longer.

HEROES
barbarian: thrown 3 -> 5, +negate first strike

An already strong hero made stronger.

dervish: -noble, +leadership, +resistance to all

I like this one.

bard: +blademaster

Perhaps the bard should get Resistance to All instead ?

druid, cost 150 -> 100, ranged 8 -> 6, scout III -> II, +forester

People call Druid lackluster.

draconian: +scouting III, fire breath 5 -> 8

Too weak ? Really ?

golden one: +noble

I like this, creative. My personal Midas.

rogue: leadership -> leadership*, +illusions immunity

Illusions immunity makes sense.

[letsdance]

thx =)

don't be afraid to push further

we'll see. so far i'm content with what i did. and there might be another insecticide patch, outdating all the work.

spearman: i think they should be weak. currently, they often do as well as swordsman in higher lvls (elite, u-elite).

minotaurs: i didn't test them for balancing (none of the unit upgrades). may be overpowered. i don't like i don't like 2-figure-units, and i don't like beastman so i wanted to give them a serious upgrade.

high elf pegasi: similar to minotaurs. giving them 3 units might be interesting. i didn't want to make units with odd number of figures. 3 figures looks like the unit is damaged.

summons: my big problem with summons is their big power gap depending on the wizards picks. that makes them very hard to balance. i didn't care too much about them. but that's definitely something that could be further improved.

just cause: it seems i didn't know about all effects of fame (though the 2 posts here say different things, gonna have to test this out).

cracks call: i wish there was a way to balance that spell. as it is (was), it needs luck, and it can be extremely powerful. it was the cheapest and easiest way to kill big creatures. compare to doom bolt, who is alot more expensive, rare, and does less. balancing completely broken.

Infantry are already disadvantaged against cavalry

interesting. i think exactly the opposite. in MoM, fights are not big battles with hundrets of figures. ranged attacks in MoM are aimed, that's why some of them have to-hit modifiers.

barb spearman: because i increased figures in barbarian units in general

Manticores are sort of unique because they are an early flyer. I would fix Wyvern Riders by making them come from Animist Guild.

these are interesting ideas. might implement them.

Wolf riders are already pretty much the only unit worth using.

the idea was mostly a powerup for gnolls in general. in my oppinion, the high end units should be pretty much the only unit worth using - once you can build them. same argument for stag beetles.

With this change, I would stop using javelineers except against sorcery nodes.

i can't imagine that, but i didn't test it. armor piercing does little against phantom beasts or warriors.

flying fortress: i don't know if it works. i know i had cast it at least once, and the fortress was flying. but might have been in 1.2.

chaos rift: makes it too easy to conquer capital (or too hard to defend it). besides that, it's overpowered alot. it can easily destroy valuable buildings, and the costs don't really matter because enemy wizard has to pay the same (usually more) for dispelling.

black sleep: much too easy to kill enemies and very little you can do against it. like cracks call. i decided to kill the spell during a game where i played with it, not against.

The first two are essential buildings, you are going to need them anyway and they will take longer.

the goal is that they are NOT automatic first builds. now you might think about building a library or sawmill earlier.

barbarian: i don't like any of the initial melee heroes. they die too easily (i usually don't reload after bad fights). i guess that's why i gave them all upgrades.

Perhaps the bard should get Resistance to All instead?

i like it better on the dervish.

draconian: not too weak, but i want him to be in line with doom drakes. so he gets the same upgrades. should i remove something else in return to keep him balanced?

one thing i forgot in the features list, i reduced the strength of myrran lairs and nodes. when i can safely conquer an enemy wizards capital, the game is usually decided. it makes little sense to have most nodes better guarded than the enemies capitals.

[b0rsuk]

You clearly have a point - units that require more tech should generally be better. But in Gnolls' case, Halberdiers are actually the higher tech ! It takes longer to build infrastructure for them. ESPECIALLY when you are lowering the cost to 60 from 80 in your mod !

Let me rephrase my point. I'm annoyed that early-mid range units are often so bad they're unusable, and players often skip right to top level units. They sit in their cities and do nothing until they get the top unit. I don't see much wrong with the fact that most expensive units are best, but you are giving incentives to use low level units even less. Early units should be useful at some point of the game. Too often I feel like they have simply no window of opportunity.

[letsdance]

i agree with you. i'll think about it =)

btw, i changed minotaurs again. like original, but lowered attack strength and made it automatic damage. this is something unique for melee units and seems to be quite powerful. will upload an update of the mod sometimes.

dance!

[letsdance]

updated version available under the link in first post. replaced the feature list in first reply with current one.

i don't expect any more serious updates soon. i'm going to PLAY for a while, and i have some other projects that need my attention =)

[zitro1987]

be aware of the minotaur idea with automatic damage. At regular, they would deal 7X2=14 automatic damage. Elite with flame blade would mean 10X2 = 20 damage per blow, instantly killing a demon lord or most heroes with one hit.

That, combined with minotaur's hardiness, an army of minotaurs is simply unstoppable.

I'd suggest 'automatic damage' being only for a single-figure unit. I'm planning to put it on chaos spawn on the mod I'll work on (that 'balance and speed' is a first step, but I won't build from there)

[letsdance]

updated features list and uploaded (to the link in first post) latest version from june 12th =) looks like i won't do more updates in the near future. some bugs have been fixed and i removed "automatic damage" from minotaurs. instead i gave them a +10 hitpoints bonus, which is also unique but quite different because you can defend against it.

i enjoyed playing this alot, especially the changes to magic items.