Features request for Warriors of the North and KB saga in general

[Fatt_Shade]

@SirLancelot I`m not sure when will ppl realize that strenght/size of enemy army have nothing to do with no loss playthroughts. On this forum are guides how to finish almost all game with only 1 black dragon= that only 1 unit, and some1 got up to end of Reha island with it, defeating all other battles with spells/pet dragon. In red sands mod it`s possible to finish game only using Asmodeon beholder familiar unit and it gets sick late game with 5000 HP, 25% evade,high crit%, bonus retaliations, life steal and other strong feats. So concentrating to stop some players from doing no loss runs, can repel many other casual players form enjoying in this great series (impy finished game in only 14 obligatory fights, on 35lvl hero). So why waste time and resources to make game impossible to finish 0 loss, who will play it ???
I would suggest for developers to pay attention to enemy AI and move/attack patterns instead simple rise of stats (speed, initiative, etc). Also to introduce time relevance to game, something like in HoMM series, the longer you play bigger are enemy stacks, or something related to your main quests (when player finish side quests, he gets some reward, gold/item..., but after finishing main quests army needed to finish next step rise numbers - something like hero`s reputation spreads, and enemy recruits more units to stop him plot).
@rickah I think it possible with mage hero. Get hero on start, finish tutorial and kite whole game to get lvl`s int bonus and phoenix/inferno dragon and resurrection spells , return to Debir island and go from there game should be playable.

As for how to make this game difficult without 1-1000 hero enemy leadership ratio try this mod http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=29080 . Matt made interesting changes there with enemy heroes - that really made it difficult to finish no loss campaign (for me at least). Some heroes have bonus resistance for their troops, or -ress to your units, expl high intellect heroes have double spell cast and mana regen, like mage hero higher magic and give -50% magic ress to all your units (imagine black dragon killed by 100 fairies), high attack heroes have -35% physical ress to your units, and +2 initiative/speed for their units in first 2 battle turns, high defense heroes have bonus resistances/hp to units. Who played TheLegend this mod for it, and if you remember Baal fight here he casts 2 demon portal, and gets in averege 15 Archdemons/turn , or Xeons demoness hero gives you -50% fire resistance and cast fire rain/fireball with devastating effects. Modder here made great changes without simple increasing enemy leadership on start to 400% of players hero, but really improves enemy hero AI and give them bonuses same as hero have on some of skills (tactics, frenzy, higher magic, concentration ...). He also made things more difficult with 0 mana/rage inflow after some battle turn so no more 100 battle turns so you can regain mana, and resurrect units. You play to turn 15/20 and after that what mana/rage you have that`s it no more.
So that`s why i said just giving simple bonuses to enemy units wouldnt really make some difference in players going with no loss campaigns, but to try to change how enemy units act.

[Sirlancelot]

@Fatt_Shade:

You are right to some extent. But on some stages of the game you cannot go for "no casualties" no matter the circumstances if you have to face superior opponents. In fact, you can be completely defeated... something that I honestly would LOVE to see from time to time (after all, be defeated is not game over... )

Allow the player to skip all the battles that he/she wants on a regular basis is a real nuisance and obstacle for those like me who want a more thrilling, unpredictable experience.

But yes, AI improvements will help, as usual, and the key thing to definitely get rid of the EXPLOITS and dominant strategies (because that's what we're talking about), would be to nerf/adjust/remove overpowered spells, spell combos and skills.

The other changes I suggest should enchance the variety and randomness of the game experience as well, plus encouraging players to adopt different strategies depending on their preferences and gaming style.

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I use to colaborate with a magazine as a reviewer and no doubt the oversights/drawbacks that I critize the most are the ones we have referred to.

PS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-dZQBeNsUw

[rickah88]

LOL! Great vid clip! That brought back some fond memories!

[Sirlancelot]

I have re-read your reply and notice didn't pay attention enough the first time:

Originally Posted by Fatt_Shade

So why waste time and resources to make game impossible to finish 0 loss, who will play it ???

Are you serious about this? Think twice. What are the difficulty levels for, then? Impossible with zero casualties should only be a joke, a parody. Hell, check the "Super-Easy mode" vid I have posted above.