Might & Magic V

Horrible week for me. Overslept for a Maya class, had a terrible raid, rushed a proposal, slept 6 hours (+1 in class) in 2 days, had 3 meals in 3 days. Something's not too right. Time seemed to have been cut short, I'm not sure how and why. Johnny had his 23rd sometime last week, 26/4 iirc :P. He said he felt old. The word glistens. I feel old too, shit.

Within those lines I managed to play some Heroes: Might of Magic V. It's been fun for the most. Just early-game is boring, mid-game is annoying and end-game is draggy. I try to perfect my turn rotations early-game, as that would give a significant advantage for any stage of the game. I'm a bit lack-luster when it comes to controlling shit troops, they just don't deserve my attention. But I've always loved a Hero system, it was what got me sucked into DOTA; alpha. I was a Mannoroth specialist for quite awhile. Nymph was fun support too I felt. Mannoroth had the highest burst damage before Bone Fletcher was added so it was hella fun farming, and KSing of course. I'm not too sure when he was removed but I never returned to DOTA after that. That was around March 2003 anyway.

In MoMV, leveling my primary hero is my main focus. Making sure he's completely buffed to hell so he can meltfases (the only close-to-orgasmic part of the game) is fun and can be challenging depending on difficulty.

There are a number of serious flaws in the game. Melee troops are just urgh for seiges. Ranged troops happen to be the most consistent type of troops. That is erm, an overly-convenient balance mechanic and in most cases unfair. The 3 consequential numerical battle mechanics are Luck, Morale and Initiative. Attack and Defense are of course useful stats but those 3 usually outweigh any attack, defense or spellpower you can stack.

The more the amount of Morale and +Initiative your army has, the more often they're going to attack before your enemy. Conversely, the more your enemy has, the less likely you're going to attack first. So stacking morale and intiative are extremely pertinent, especially in cases where ranged troops are in the equation (which is like 50% of the time vs decent opponents). Getting the first-hit is crucial.

Luck modifies crit rate (double damage). To my surprise, +1 Luck seems to be 10% more chance to crit. Which is ridiculous because you can spec a base +3 luck, and another +3 from artefacts. I think it's possible to get up to 5 luck from artefacts, so it's quite a broken mechanic. But then again, if you don't get your turn first, you're going to incur battle casualities (which is basically what you have to avoid).

I haven't found a favorite Race per se. All of them have their own flavor: Haven, Sylvan, Academy, Dungeon, Inferno and Necropolis. It is true that the Hero-specific trait ability makes a significant difference. For example, Zoltan (Necromancer) from the Necropolis has Spellwringing, which basically stops you from recasting a spell more than once. It's ridiculous especially against spell-based heroes like those in the Academy.

For me however, complementing a full Army (possibly including hero himself) is most important. Academy's Titan/Archmage combo works well but Archmages are pretty damn squishy. Dungeon's Shadow Matriarch/Black Dragon is quite imba. Haven is quite good because of Benediction. The Hero really gives a lot of support, but that is essentially the problem - it's too Army-based. Archangels are indeed quite powerful but the rest are meh. I absolutely hate Inferno early-game. Imps annoy the hell out of me. It gets better mid-game as you get Succubi then Succubi Mistresses. End-game with Archdevils and Pit Lords are quite good to pwnfase though. Necropolis looks like one of the weaker races, but it's more interesting to play because Raise Dead is an essential component when playing Necro, and if played well, can be retardedly annoying. It's like a Shaman's Nature's Guardian/Earthshield spam. Sylvan is particularly fun because of Ancient Treants. They, are, freaking, unkillable. Otherwise, a somewhat squishy race.

The best of the best might look something like that for me.
tier1: Skeleton Archers/Peasants(each peasant generates 1 gold per day)
tier2: Blood Fury
tier3: Master Hunters
tier4: Elder Druids
tier5: Inquisitors
tier6: Ancient Treants
tier7: Black Dragons

Unfortunately, the Morale deficit will be tremendous. Overall, I love Dungeon because Assassins are overpowered for early and mid-game, and then u have Shadow Machs and Black Dragons to deal with end-game.