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Faction skills, parameters, and players
Dynamics of character development
Demon Chaoser (lvl 14)
Chaos. What does this word mean for any Lord? Deadly magical damage one can't escape, and also a swift Gargoyle or an impenetrable Hydra. In both cases we are talking about a fearsome sorcerer with almost useless army, who destroys his opponents with spells only. Public techniques involve Lizard Charge or Gargoyle flight, but few players use the other troops.
This article is about a more interesting chaoser – Demon, who can simultaneously damage his opponents not only with his hero, but with his units as well. In this case you can't just press a defence button and kill your enemies with the powerful magic. Demon has to enter a close combat with his enemies. Unlike the common chaosers whose armies deal about 5-10% of all the damage, Demon troops do more than a half of all the damage and hero spells are only an auxiliary force in reaching the certain aim.
Get ready for the constant lack of parameters. Demon burns his mana faster than other chaosers because of Hellfire and he doesn't get the proper bonus from "saving mana" perks from Sorcery branch. That's why demons have to put their parameters into additional Knowledge which weakens their spell power. Moreover the defence is rather weak, and hybrid rings are often more useful than the magical ones, which leads to the damage loss. So when Wisard on the level 14 can have more than 30 SpellPower, Dark Elf - 25-28 SP, Demon has only 22-24 SP. But this weakness is compensated by the faster speed of mana spending because of Hellfire.
The majority of Demon's damage is the fire damage, which is rather uneffective against the Wizard's army, which is immune to magical damage. Dwarven lava dragons and patriarchs are also troblesome, though there are not many of them.Pierce through the magic resistance doesn't work with Hellfire, though magic resistance works against it. So Demon Chaoser becomes weaker, with the growth of magic resistance with every level. It is important that this talent set is not well-researched, so this article is just a generalization of common tactics and facts about the mechanics. Some variants have not been tried yet, so you have to discover a lot of new things anyway. Demon Chaoser doen't stand any patterns!
Despite of all difficulties this build is awesome. If you understand the basic aspects of playing Chaoser you will certainly surprise your opponents with many spectacular victories.
Let's have a look at our fragile army. Almost every unit in your army can be valuable on the battlefield unlike Wisard or Dark Elf armies. Let's have a closer look at our units:
Spawns
The only use is stealing of mana. Though not every Lord has even 1 Knowledge, so spawns are useless against such opponents. They are also fragile and not effective in the Chaos build. So when the damage becomes enormous on the higher levels, they are often replaced by tougher Incendiaries. It's a pity.
Incendiaries
Their efficiency is not obvious. It is a subject of constant arguments between the players. They are a good anchor – it is difficult to kill Incendiaries with a single blow. But the anchor is not good enough and still doesn't live long. Inflame ability is not very useful, though rage sometimes helps at the end of the battles against other chaosers. It is comfortable to block the enemy archers such as Druids or Skeletal bowmen with gated Incendiaries. It is up to you to take Incendiaries or not, their role in a combat is often underestimated.
Cerberi
Here comes the first attacker troop. Polycephaly attack costs the same 5 mana, but these doggies deal full damage to all three targets and there is no retaliation! High speed and initiative helps to cover against Dreadbanes or Brilliant Unicorns strikes with small stack of Cerberi. The problem is that they are very fragile and a small stack of Cerberi can be killed with the single blow. Recruiting Cerberi prevents us from recruiting more useful units - Incendiaries, Mistresses or Cave Demons. As the Demon’s army is not very big it is recommended to use Cerberi in small numbers for cover or the first single strike.
Mistresses
By the damage dealt are the match for Cerberi or even superior to them. The choice between them is not clear though. Mistresses have less initiative and can't cover big stacks, but if not blocked they can attack any enemy stack. Hellfire damage is not reduced by the distance, as the physical one, which is reduced by half (for example, 100 damage on the first target, the next gets 25 damage instead of 50) if the distance is out of the range of the direct shot. Ricochet shot increases the damage greatly with the same 5 mana spent. Not every shooter will risk attacking the big stack of Mistresses, as he is aware of Return Fire. So players usually take few Cerberi for cover and many Mistresses to survive the first enemy shot.
Nightmares
Our heavy metal. This rather tough and fast stack is often used against high-level troops, as they have weaker retaliation than 3-5 level troops and Fear Attack ability is more likely to work. If you are lucky, Intimidation Aura can slow fast and big enemy troops such as Brilliant unicorns or Lizard Assailants. Nightmares can also run away from slow enemies like ogres or guardians. A very precious troop that should be protected.
Cave demons
Another anchor like Incendiaries. Fireball can be useful against high-level troops or troops of cover. For Chaoser it is recommended to recruit maximum number of them. On the level 15 and higher Pit Demons gain Blade of Doom ability, which is extremely useful against high-level creatures, (especially Lava Dragons, who are immune to fire)
Devils
Are rather useless troops in the Chaoser's army. Not tough enough in defense, without interesting abilities and rather slow to be a good warrior. Devils are good against low-level creatures as their high basic attack is good against creatures with low defenses, even without Hellfire. Some builds are with only one Devil or without them at all. Arch Devils will be more useful, as they are tougher and can summon Pit Demons, which can be helpful in defense. And one more attacker stack is useful.
Unfortunately Demon skill wheel is not very suitable for Chaos, as the perks are rather expensive and there is no Erudition branch. Though it can be even worse, with Dwarfs, for example. Hellfire is the key-perk as we don't have great hero damage and a tough army as common chaosers. With this perk Demons can deal damage with their troops which makes Chaoser’s build interesting.
Perk description:
Hero's stacks gain 30% chance to deal extra 7+7*[Hero's Spell power] Fire elemental damage. Each trigger of Hellfire costs 5 mana. If your Hero doesn't have at least 5 mana,the talent won't trigger.
But:
-Though Hellfire has magical nature pierce through magic resistance doesn't work with it. Though the resistance from perks and arts works fully.
-Hellfire on Cerberi also costs 5 mana, but can do triple damage.
-Hellfire on Mistresses deals damage as Ricochet Shot, but the extra damage from Hellfire is not reduced by the distance between targets.
-The chance to trigger Hellfire works as luck and morale.
For more information about luck and morale see (//help.ordenmira.ru/information/articles/luck.htm).
The main difference is that Hellfire is calculated for the whole army as Elf’s critical damage. So triggering of Hellfire can be forecasted. Eg: If Demon’s with the 10th demon faction skill-level stack attacks without Hellfire the next attack will certainly be with it. But there are some exceptions:
If the attacker misses (Incorporeal Apparitions or the Dwarf's troops under the Rune of Etherealness) the trigger chance is not calculated, as well as multi-target attack, when one of the targets is not incorporeal. Example: Demon’s with the 10th demon faction skill-level first attack is without Hellfire, then Cerberi attack standing close to each other stacks of Apparitions and Vampires, missing the Apparitions. It is a 100% trigger chance, but the extra damage will not be dealt even to the stack of Vampires. The same is with Mistresses, even if Apparitions are not the primary target.
Hellfire is triggered even with attacks on the Immune to Fire creatures. Extra damage will not be dealt, but mana will be spent anyway. Try to kill such creatures with your hero's magic.
According to the Administration, Hellfire is not a spell so such perks as Concealed Knowledge or Fickle Mana don't work with it. Even with them Hellfire will cost 5 mana.
All magic protection perks except Necromancer's Protection from Chaos Magic reduce damage from Hellfire.
Dominion of Fire perk doesn't work with Hellfire, the defense is not reduced.
Judgement ability doubles the damage from Hellfire.
Chaos branch
Searing Flame is the most interesting perk in this branch. The 1.5 amplification of Hellfire damage is necessary, as without it the mana would be spent ineffectively. Basic and Advanced Chaos Magic are necessary for the 3rd and 4th level spells respectively. Expert Chaos Magic improves your spells, but is less effective than Searing flame, as the troops deal more damage than the hero. Dominion of Fire perk is useful in Group battles on levels 10-13 but on 14th level is less effective because of the 4th level spells and Dominion of Tempest perk.( Used in some builds) The other perks are not used.
Defense branch
Is on the second place. Demon is rather fragile so improvement of defense is useful. Last breath perk is the most interesting one. The survivors after the enemy attack prolong our agony and sometimes can even strike back with Hellfire, but this perk is very expensive. To take it we must abandon Searing Flame and the 4th level magic, which decreases the total damage dealt. Advanced Chaos is more preferable, though there is no certain choice. Avoidance can be helpful against factions with archers. Vitality is less useful as it improves Incendiaries mostly. Barrier is useful against Dark Elf Chaosers but is seldom used. The other perks are as costly as Last breath perk but not so effective in a battle.
Sorcery branch
Is less effective than the Defense branch, as the major part of damage is dealt by the army, and mana economy perks don't work with Hellfire. Sorcery is usually taken after the other perks. Is more useful for Dwarf chaoser.
Darkness branch
Nice branch, but from the other tale. There are some hybrid builds of Chaos and Darkness but they are less effective than pure ones. Darkness magic is useful against monsters from Mercenaries' Guild.
Offence and Fortune branches are useless for chaosers. Tactics perk from the Offence branch can help a little against the terrible rush of Elves or Dwarfs, and the Fortune branch is quite useless.
There is a popular delusion that Demon Chaoser can play only from Mistresses, divided to as many stacks as possible, who can deal enormous damage to enemies with their ricochet shots. And their gates turn the chaoser into a death machine. The problem is that a clever opponent will kill mistresses before the other stacks and prevent it. So, some new builds and tactics have to be discovered as alternative to the common ones. As there are no enough battles, the comparison is rather shallow, but the future chaosers have a giant field of investigations, and may find the new imba builds.
1) Rush build
Probably the most beautiful one, but the most fragile, as well. The rate is on the severe rush to weaken the opponent's army to a harmless state. Recruit Maximum of Nightmares, Devils, Cave demons and Mistresses and few Cerberi. Artifacts with maximum Spell Power and Knowledge should be taken, not the hybrid ones. Searing Flame perk and Advanced Sorcery (to improve our hero). It is enough to have 10-11 Knowledge, the other parameters can be put into Spell Power.
2) Last breath variations
Every stack will live one turn longer, though the damage is reduced. Such build without the 4th level spells is rather weak on the 14th level but is well protected. Take maximum of Cave Demons and Incendiaries,Mistresses,Cerberi and Nightmares with possible abandonment of Devils. Perks are the following: Last breath, Hellfire, Basic Chaos. The magical artifacts with the exception of shield are the best choice for this build. As the damage is low but the vitality is high, which means many strikes, the Knowledge should be at least 14.
3) Hybrid build
Avoidance and Searing Flame are the best choice here. A good damage because of Searing Flame and a good defense because of avoidance and hybrid artifacts make this build the best for the 14th level. The chaoser's defense is almost equal to the defense of his battle brother with Rings of Contradictions, Tower shield and Shard of Darkness. Take maximum of Incendiaries and Cave Demons, Devils, as many Mistresses as possible and 6-10 Cerberi. 12-13 Knowledge is enough.
Here are some battles against typical builds of every faction. Though they are not exemplary because of the rareness of chaos build, they should give a general representation of beauty and playability of chaos.
There are three main builds here – Attacker, Defender, and Holy Knight.
Victory examples:
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Defeat examples:
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Holy knight – a less common build. Teleport spell can catch Nightmares, and Anti-magic spell decreases the damage greatly, which is the way of leaving Demon without mana. Though such Knight is rather weak without buffs, and we can spend our mana carefully. Tactics is similar to the fight against Attacker but we should watch for Teleport and our mana. It is very important to get rid of Crossbowmen who can be teleported and kill any our stack with their Aimed Shot.
Battle examples:
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Defender – a rare, but the most dangerous enemy. Magic defense perks and Cape of Arcane Protection can leave us without mana. The only hope is to avoid close combat and strike with Cerberi and Mistresses trying to weaken the Knight.
Typical defeat:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=375129375
Typical perks in Erudition, Defense and Darkness Magic. The tactics is similar. In such battles Demon becomes the hostage of his build - he usually loses without Incendiaries, but usually wins with them. Necromancer has a huge army and his main stacks can either shoot or fly, so he can destroy the main army without killing the gate. Anchor of Incendiaries is the solution of the problem. Unlike the battle against Knights, Cave Demons and Incendiaries should be put together. Nightmares can cover them so only one enemy stack could attack Incendiaries. This stack can be destroyed by the forces of this box. Devils and Nightmares can counterattack, killing Liches and blocking Skeletons. Mana control is not very careful but sometimes Spirit Link perk provides Necromancer with resurrections which can leave chaoser without mana.
Victory examples:
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Defeat examples:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=375379262
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=367385663
The worst nightmare of Demon Chaoser! Lots of topics were raised, even the administration was asked by miserable Demons, but the answer remained the same. Demon chaoser is doomed to be defeated by Wizard every time. Gargoyles and Golems have resistance from Hellfire, and the hero's damage is too weak, so Wizard can kill the Demon's army almost three times faster than Demon kills his.
Such balance is on the conscience of the administration.
Demons are quite helpless against wizards:
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The result of the combat depends more on the random than on Elf's actions, so the battles against them are full of surprises. Elf can be defeated with the luck on our side. Elves usually use ranged builds but sometimes they take Forestkeepers. The first build can be defeated by blocking the archers with gates and destroying Brilliant Unicorns, even with Meteorite Rain on single target. Praying for Intimidation Aura, fear attacks and enemy's bad luck is also required. Forest keeper build is more dangerous but Forest Keepers can be killed with Hellfire, Unicorns with hero's casts and archers blocked by gates. Praying also helps.
Victory examples:
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//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=388052995
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Defeat examples:
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Attacker - a very difficult enemy. Can be defeated by luck and his crude mistakes. Absence of Tactics perk improves our chances. Divide Cerberi to distract Shrews, if Cerberi are not struck, cover other troops from Lizards. Mistresses, Devils and Nightmares attack Shrews, Lizards are for the hero’s cast. Try to block access to Incendiaries by gates. If you are lucky, there will be Incendiaries against Hydras in the end, which can be destroyed by your hero.
Victory examples:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=386006116
Defeat examples:
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Chaoser
In this case Demon is also the hostage of his build. Dark Elf has a tougher army, but the Demon's troops deal more damage. The winner is the one who deals more damage so magical rings and Sorcery perks are preferable. Incendiaries should also be recruited. Hybrid rings and Defense perks can be a cause of defeat. Tactics is similar to the battle Demon – rush the enemy and try to avoid Meteorites and Chain Lightnings. Keep small stacks alive and provoke your enemy to stand under your mass casts.
Victory examples:
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Defeat examples:
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Usually use Hobgoblins and Ogres. Tactics is similar to the one against Knights. Put Incendiaries and Cave Demons in different corners, block Orcs and Cyclops with gates, kill Behemots and Hobgoblins with Hellfire and run from Ogres by Nightmares.
Victory examples:
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Defeat examples:
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A very unpleasant enemy. It is difficult to escape the runes of mass destruction, and terrible damages with fortune as well as immune to fire units – Patriarchs and Lava dragons can bring easy victory to Dwarf. Our chance is bad luck of the opponent. Settle your troops to avoid Starfire attacks of Patriarchs and Retribution Strike of Dreadbanes. Cover your units with Cerberi, kill Dragons with your hero and block shooters with gates. Frontier Ursaries and Dreadbanes can be destroyed by Hellfire. Then we can survive if we are lucky.
Victory examples:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=386314228
Defeat examples:
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Meeting one on the battlefield means no good for us. Demons are well-known chaoskillers. He can easily defeat us with the defense granted by the racial skill level. Some time ago the victory was still possible, but now racial skill level provides the protection against Hellfire, victory is unreachable. You don't have enough mana and it is useless to have more mana. So just look at these examples.
Victory examples:
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=375267686
//www.heroeswm.ru/war.php?lt=-1&warid=375329076
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Defeat examples:
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Due to some foolish stereotypes few agree to fight with the demon-chaoser on their side, though the potential of such ally is rather high. You can't kill Gargoyles alone? Your teammate will help you! A good team can do miracles.
It is important to understand that Demon is vulnerable at the first turn. Then he can gate his army and spread his troops on the battlefield, but at the first turn he should be protected. The other chaosers are not good for it as well as the Demon-attacker. The good companions are Elves, Necromancers and Dwarfs. Barbarians, Dark elves and Knights are rather good. Though there is the opinion that Demon can't survive even till the second cast, it is not true. Demon can survive much longer so you should have enough mana. Tactical elements can be taken from duels – block the shooters, cover your troops with Cerberi, run away with Nightmares. Anyway, group battles are not a well-researched part of the game, though they are various and interesting. Perhaps it will be you who will discover something new in this enormous field of creativity!
I will end this article with the examples of group battles with demon-chaoser on the winning side!
Good luck!
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