Caster of Magic Release thread : latest version 6.06!

[Seravy]

Right, but by 1420, either I'm dead (or dying with few cities) or I have multiple stacks that can take 3 or 4 enemy cities each without needing reinforcements and my enemies gave nothing that can threaten my core cities.

Taking 3-4 cities out of a 40 city enemy empire on Myrror is going to...matter how much exactly? not at all?
Wait 3-4 cities each? We are talking about 1420 man, you're supposed to have massive losses from stacks of normal units! All those rare combat spell should have no problem killing them and then there are the enemy garrisons which will also be 9 high end normal units, with a few summons mixed in. I don't think we are talking about stacks of great drakes here on your side, otherwise you'd admit very rares are important...so I don't really get it. Unless you are always only fighting Life wizards in the late game or something along the lines of that.
Also, you are talking about your "enemies" here. What about your allies? The biggest and nastiest late game wars happen when you finally break the alliance you made earlier and start to fight the wizard who was too powerful to face earlier.

[Nelphine]

I very rarely have late game alliances. I typically end up in 3 or 4 way wars, which is probably why my hands are so all or nothing. Either I can beat them off and after the first few years, it means I win (I send my best srscks after their capitals. Once a capital is gone, I simply lay waste to everything else until they come back, then I repeat) or I can't survive the opening salvis, and in dead.

I generally try to kill the first opponent by 1405-1408, and then I just go around eating attacks until I have my doomstacks. I don't ever try to have drawn out wars where I bite chunks out of them and kill them piece by piece.
Its always defend defend defend, kill capital, rampage. Either they kill me during the stage that I'm defending against multiple at the sane time, or I win. (Very very rarely do I encounter capitals I can't beat if I could defend successfully.)

But my strategies are either to use primarily common spells (life halberdiers) or to rush a single very rare (death/sorcery) - in both cases, my doomstacks get going long before most AI have a chance to cast many very rates. They tend to be preoccupied with me and each other and so they need big armies, usually of uncommon with a heavy smattering of rare.

Now, I haven't won an impossible super recently, and part of that may be my playstyle. Perhaps playing more conservatively until very rares are big influences, I could.

[zitro1987]

The issue with books and why they appear (and can be) underpowered is because their effect is more noticeable later in the game (access to better late game spells). Retorts (as opposed to books) can sometimes have more immediate effects. The 'guaranteed spell' idea will certainly give incentive towards books, the extra power for books after 8 also helped. Maybe the last little push should be more common spells for higher books.

*Spell accessibility - same
*Instant turn 1 spells - 3 commons with 4 books, 5 commons with 5 books, 7 commons with 6, 9 commons with 7, 10 commons with 8 or more.
*book cost/research bonus - start at 8 books (heavy, especially on research)

Summary and thoughts
*Books 1 through 4 are mainly to have a few more spells of all rarities (early-mid-late game), get a few initial essential commons (early game) trade spells (mid game) or gain spell awards when you can beat strongest beasts (late game)
*Books 5 through 7 really help with *many* more commons (early game) and easier access to uncommons (early game) while later on you have chances of getting the good late-end spells (mid-game, late-game). However, my proposal has no book cost/research bonuses yet
*Books 8 through 10 - More spells available, heavy book bonuses start kicking in (4% cost, 8% research?) so that you can spend your research on those spells.


A skill proposal is: Once overall skill hits 200, a shift takes place - instead of spending 400+2X for each additional point, it will always be '400' but only target overland skill.
*Will buff overland spell power faster to catch up with overall mana production and city production.
*Combats at 200 is plenty for most cases, but not feeling like infinity. If more needed, bring a wizard hero or magicians, efreets, etc.
*A flat '400' makes it easy to understand.

[Domon]

so, what about

when you gain a spell:

- if you have it available but not researched, it researches it.
- if you have it unavailable, it adds it to your research queue
- if you have researched it, as before

it would probably require reducing the treassure value of spells to 75% or something like that?

btw, just for knowledge: coud the treasure system be modded in order to be able to give you spells of colors you don't have books for?

[Seravy]

I usually have at least one ally (or at the very least, wizard's pact/peace treaty/peaceful/lawful etc - someone who cannot attack me unexpectedly). I have beaten 4 way wars before but that's pretty hard even on Extreme. If possible I try to do one wizard at a time. I prefer to snatch weaker cities first, capital only if I already have a stack capable of doing it. It usually needs a much more powerful stack to beat the capital than anything else - while other cities are filled with magicians or other normal units, the capital has all heroes and fantastic creatures - If I'm lucky and that doesn't happen, I strike at it first. That is, if I even find it to have that choice - If I see a city in front of me I can take, I do it instead of pushing further into enemy territory.

*book cost/research bonus - start at 7,8, or 9 books

agreed, this should be included. I don't think I agree with the rest though.

btw, just for knowledge: coud the treasure system be modded in order to be able to give you spells of colors you don't have books for?

Yes, it's possible to do that.

A skill proposal is: Once overall skill hits 200, a shift takes place - instead of spending 400+2X for each additional point, it will always be '400' but only target overland skill.

A very hard to implement idea with marginal effect - games usually end around 200 (base) skill anyway or are at least decided - which corresponds to ~400 including Amplifying Towers.

[zitro1987]

[quote pid='627351' dateline='1489625088']

*book cost/research bonus - start at 7,8, or 9 books

agreed, this should be included. I don't think I agree with the rest though.


[/quote]


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[MrBiscuits]

Playing the latest version, I used AEther Sparks to reduce storm giants ammo to 0 (it went 3->1->0) but the next turn they all had a shot left and killed a couple of my heroes.

Also I tried to use Flame Blade on some heroes, but it came up with the error "You can only use this on normal units". The heroes had wraith form at the time.

[Seravy]

Playing the latest version, I used AEther Sparks to reduce storm giants ammo to 0 (it went 3->1->0) but the next turn they all had a shot left and killed a couple of my heroes.

Also I tried to use Flame Blade on some heroes, but it came up with the error "You can only use this on normal units". The heroes had wraith form at the time.

Wraith Form shouldn't be a problem, but Chaos Channels and Blood Lust do that because they turn the target to a chaos/death creature.
Added AEther Sparks to the list of bugs.

[MrBiscuits]

Playing the latest version, I used AEther Sparks to reduce storm giants ammo to 0 (it went 3->1->0) but the next turn they all had a shot left and killed a couple of my heroes.

Also I tried to use Flame Blade on some heroes, but it came up with the error "You can only use this on normal units". The heroes had wraith form at the time.

Wraith Form shouldn't be a problem, but Chaos Channels and Blood Lust do that because they turn the target to a chaos/death creature.
Added AEther Sparks to the list of bugs.

Ah yes you're right, the heroes had Chaos Channels on them. Seems a shame since Flame Blade and Chaos Channels are both Chaos spells so you'd think they might work together.

[MrBiscuits]

Shadow Demons have regenerate, but when I lost three and won the battle they didn't come back to life afterwards.