Re: Machaka screwed more than ever ?
 

But, if I understand the fever fetish correctly, it doesn't even produce a gem every turn. Which leaves it even more nerfed. By far the worst of the gem producing items.

Re: Machaka screwed more than ever ?
 

I've run some short tests, and on commanders that get disease afflictions, it produces a gem nearly every turn. There does seem to be a start-up period where the commander is sick, but he isn't coughing up gems yet.

Re: Machaka screwed more than ever ?
 

heh, I like that. The commander with the fever fetish is diseased, and has a terrible hacking cough, eventually he coughs up gems instead of phlegm.

Machaka\'s great and so is fever fetish...
 

Actually, I think its a very, very good gem producing item. I have been sticking them on great hawks (15hps), I get 10'ish fire gems out of it. Then I just repeat the process, over and over again.

Nothing wrong with Machaka, its a powerful, fun nation to play.

Machaka is good IMO, but
 

Personnally the only problem I have with Machaka is the lack of death gems, which seem to be a site distribution problem (or just bad luck for me). I've noted playing Ermor and C'tis that I find many little death income sites with astral or water searches and the very good death gem sites only with d3 mages ; the d1 sites seem to be mostly battlefields giving just 1 gem. With Machaka you'll have lots of d1 mages, a small number of d2, only 1/40 black sorcerer d3, and you have no astral or water mages to find lifeless lakes etc..., what, coupled with no death gem capitol income makes death gems very rare (I've never found a death income site with a fire or earth search, don't know if some exist, I've found one or two dying forests with nature but they seem rare). So you have to hope having luck with Dark Knowledge, and DK cost 1 more gem than all other site detection spells, without a starting death income you won't be able to cast it a lot without alchemizing your other gems (and if you are unlucky you lose your rare death gems in the process without finding good sites). Don't know if I am cursed but in the 3 games I've played with Machaka I had less than 10 death gems income after 30 or so turns, each time with more than 30 provinces all explored d1 at least and some with dark knowledge, and you need a lot those gems for boosters as d2 is the minimum to make this path useful on the battlefield.

Machaka has also the general "no air" weakness, a problem worse for nations with very light (weak against arrows) or very heavy (not cost effective against lightning) troops, the two kinds of troops Machaka have, but it's something that affect any non air nation. When there are anti-fire spells with water/earth, and when water magic is the easiest to develop, allowing all nations to use anti-cold spells/items, the only anti-shock / anti-arrows spells/items are in air magic, and air magic is ridiculously hard to develop with the boosters only forgeable at A4. The air nations are boosted by the new randoms system giving no way to all non air nations to have protective spells/items to counter wind guide or lightnings without an enchantress or crystal amazons province, or incredible amounts of gems for the empowerements (80 to have a mage able to cast thunder ward, 120 for arrow fend, 170 to start to forge air boosters... hum). I think it would be a good idea to add anti-arrows items/spells out of air magic, in example in fire ("arrow combustion"), an anti-shock version of "fire ward" accessible with two non-air path, or an air booster needing just a level 1 like the water one.

Re: Machaka is good IMO, but
 

Machaka has good access to Legions of Steel, which is a very effective anti-arrow spell. Lightning is a weakness, but I think it's good that most nations have weaknesses, and with Machaka able to field almost unlimited amounts of LoS'ed chaff (cheap warriors plus supply items), it's a pretty mild weakness. Lightning Machaka often means frying 1 or 2 10/3 warriors - big whoop.

I agree Machaka would be far stronger with death gems. However, 27.5% of sorcerers, and all Dark Sorcerers, have D2, so D2 is easy to come by.

Re: Machaka is good IMO, but
 

The only units Machaka have that may benefit from LoS are hoplites and heavy spider riders, who are already good against arrows. Units with only natural protection like spiders without riders are not affected, as well as the machaka archers and the light infantries without armor.
Also only 1/4 BS has D2, they have F2E2D1 + 1?.

Re: Machaka is good IMO, but
 

On a side note:
All spiders should have at least 50% Darkvision... I guarantee spiders do quite well in cave provinces.

Re: Machaka is good IMO, but
 

I think it's nature magic that deals with increasing base protection. Fortunately Machaka has nature mages. Of course, it's just 10...
But there's an another spell: I don't remember the details, but it's Earth/Construction, high level, and grants 20 protection.

Re: Machaka is good IMO, but
 

You probably mean either Army of Gold or Army of Lead, both of which are high-level Alterations.