Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Phoenix pyre can be a very useful spell for thugs. Unfortunately the dragons aren't really the best race for using phoenix pyre as their slots are quite limited. Maybe with an earth blessed magma dragon with reinvigoration items in all slots and summon earth power.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Reinvgoration items stack?


Besides, these guys had nothing in any slot. They (and others like them elsewhere on the map) are my primary army (I have *NO* troops whatsoever), there's no way I could be equipping each of them.

After the scripted buffs and a few rounds of attacks they're just about unconscious anyway. They're tough, though, and I scripted fire shield so anyone trying to bash them gets burnt. Most of the time a couple of rounds of falling fire causes a rout anyway.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Reinvigoration items stack if you use multiple types of item. For example, amulet of resilience + girdle of strength will stack, amulet of resilience + amulet of resilience will not. Again, I wouldn't try it with a flame tongue, they're too vulnerable and not enough reinvigoration. But if you're going to summon a magma dragon, you could do worse than giving it an amulet of resilience + girdle of strength, script it to cast summon earthpower, phoenix pyre and fire shield.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Your best insurance is to script what you want casted for the first five rounds. It won't guarantee the spells you don't like won't get casted, but it will decrease the chances dramatically. Most of your fatigue from spell casting is generated in those rounds. Afterword the castings become sparser.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Watching the battles I don't see how I can script them very well--what they want to throw depends on the range to the enemy.

Had I scripted falling fires in that battle it wouldn't have worked anyway--everything close enough to be hit was dead in round 4. All his remaining units were staying around his pretender and required longer-range spells to hit.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Fireball is an ideal long range fire spell and will carry you through until you get pillar of fire. Without seeing your battle I couldn't give you any more advice. It might be feasible to place your mages further up. A range of 25 will surprisingly cover quite a distance if your already up most of the field.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Also fireball has an undocumented AoE-6 effect, with fatigue damage 10 + (2 x caster level), which can set units on fire.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

At long range, yes--but by the time the buffing is done there will be units closer that can be hit by the shorter-range but harder-hitting stuff.

In general, watching the battles it's falling fire the AI uses against most stuff. It only switches to fireball if everything nearby is already fried.

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Flame Eruption is also good to script. If no one is in range it will cast Falling Fires or Conflagration or something, but Flame Eruption is too good not to at least attempt. :)

-Max

Re: Phoenix Pyre, ARGH!
 

Regardless of the fact, you shuld get into that habbit of scripting all five spells for important battles. It might not have mattered in this fight, but it might matter in the future in avoiding spells you don't like.