Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

Hello:

I'm starting with Dominions 3, but there are a lot of things that I don't know.
I'm playing a game with EA Mictlan, and I want to ask you some questions:


-What is the standart gear for a melee SuperCombatant?

-What is the standart gear for a caster Spercombatant?

I'm thinking in Ice devils and Arch devils.




And, how does the magic fatigue work?
I mean...
I think a F4 mage casting Fireball (F2) would get the half fatigue (10).
How many fatigue will a F4 mage casting a F3 spell get?


Thank you very much.

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

Have you explored the wiki and strategy page? I encourage the peruse those because as you look you'll discover many things important you didn't think to ask.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=38122

http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Super_combatant

SC gear caveat... depends what you'll be fighting..

Some of the best bang for the buck..
amulet of luck
amulet of anti magic
starshine skullcap (+2 mr even if not astral)
frostbrand
shield (Charcoal or vine)
boot of quickness
rainbow armor

add more reinvig if casting pre-combat

-ssj

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

For the spell fatigue question: the manual lists the fatigue formula as:

Casting fatigue = spell's fatigue cost * 1/1+Caster's path-spell path + spellcasting encumbrance

So an F4 mage casting an F2 fireball is only getting 1/3rd of the fatigue, not 1/2. 7, not 10.
Spellcasting encumbrance = natural encumbrance + old age penalty + armour encumbrance*2. This goes even for undead & constructs who do not normally get fatigued !

So a spellcasting SC needs as little armour as possible, and enough reinvigoration items to offset the fatigue of the spell(s) he'll be spamming. Encumbrance 0 shields like Gleaming Gold or Vine are a must (you can equip two shields and get twice the defense bonus/arrow deflection).

Unless he can cast Soul Vortex before wading into chaff then cast point blank AoE spells and the like, in which case the Vortex should take care of any incurred fatigue and the guy can think about wearing heavier armour.

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

In my opinion the only blood summon that is a strong SC chassis is the Lord of Ill Earth.

Some of the others can easily be made into high end thugs or anti SC's, and they all have other uses, but they are sub optimal as SC's.

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

Thank you.

I saw that index, and I use it.
I found with it the Mictlan guide, wich is great.
Thanks for the formula, I didn't found it.


I was thinking in an Archdevil with two shields and a lot of reinvigoration, to spam Fireball or Fire cloud.

Are Shield of the Accursed and Lucky coin a good option?
And in the miscellaneous slot I would put Ring of regeneration and Amulet of antimagic.

I think casting Fireball the devil would get 10 fatigue with the encumbrance of the shields.
Boots of the messenger are Reinvigoration 4.

And... I don't know how to get a lot of reinvigoration.
What items have a lot of reinvigoration?

Thank you very much.

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

Fireball would be pretty crappy for a mage SC. A mage SC needs big aoe spells, which pretty much means falling fires and flame eruption for fire spells. But I have used archdevils this way. Reinvigoration items are messenger boots (n1), girdles of might (e1), amulets of resilience (n2), rainbow armor (n1a1), and heart of... life? I don't recall what it's called, but that one is b2 or so. Anyway you need at least enough reinvigoration to be fatigue neutral, and have your devil cast phoenixpyre just in case things go wrong.

I hope this helps.
 

Spellcasting/ranged SC's are not nearly as popular as melee SC's because almost all SC's will be bogged down in melee during a prolonged battle. When a caster is in melee they will only cast melee spells or, more likely, use their basic attacks. If they have no melee attack (when they have 2 shields...) they should automatically cast melee spells, I think.

If you do go for the long-range spellcasting then you probably will want to stick them with some melee units, otherwise they will only get a few spells off before being swarmed and distracted.

If you can get Pheonixpyre, do it. The spell is ridiculously good, the caster will come back with a fiery blast every time they die for the rest of the battle with only one casting.

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

It's a 50/50 shot for casters (mages scripted to "Cast spells" or for a particular spell.) to cast or attack physically. Even if you've given them 2 shields they'll still have a useless kick or something.

The normal casting AI applies, it's just that close combat spells tend to get higher priority, since there are lots of targets within range.

If you do give them melee bodyguards, make sure they're immune to whatever the caster is tossing around, tough enough to stay alive or few/weak enough not to trigger the 75% hp rout limit.

And Phoenix pyre only resurrects you if you're conscious when you die and it causes a lot of fatigue, so without life drain or serious reinvig it isn't foolproof.

That all sounds awfully critical. Really just intended to be a few caveats.

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

Thank you another time. : D

It will be an Arch devil with Fire-immune good troops, so I thought in Fireball or Fire cloud (both don't need a lot of research).
Falling fires? Wow, I thought it was a bad spell. Is it good?

The troops would stop attackers, so maybe I don't need two shields. Is it?
And I was thinking in Phoenix pyre, but it is an Alteration 7 spell (too much research), so it will take a lot of time.



So, do I use falling fires? It is really so good?
Do I use two shields if at least 10 good units (devils and the earth-blood horsemen) will protet the Arch devil?



Thank you very much, really ^^

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

Fire mages' favorite things to cast when used like this tend to be:
1) flame eruption
2) immolate
3) falling fires
4) incinerate
5) pillar of fire
6) combustion.

Assuming you have the appropriate research, of course. But if you have flame eruption/immolate they will not cast any of the other melee spells.

Edit: Falling fires is definitely better than fireball, and can kill more per turn than fire cloud since cloud is lower damage. Fire cloud isn't bad though, it just depends on what you're using it on pretty much.

Re: I hope this helps.
 

People who have 2 shields still have a melee attack: the stupendiferous Useless Kick.

But yeah, even spellcasting SCs need some ways to avoid damage, because when they're in melee they can only cast every other turn or so (don't know the hard rules on this, just going by observations). Lucky Coin + Vine Shield is a good combo, or Lucky Coin + Shield of Gleaming Gold if the SC has some innate fear (like the Heliophagi have).

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

How are Eye Shields in SC v. SC combat? I've used them for bait-thugs (distracting enemy chaff while mages do their thing), but do they need to pass an MR check or have some other trait that makes them ineffective against other SCs?

Re: Newbie questions about SuperCombatants
 

I understand it to be a normal MR 12 blind check every time an attack is made, this makes it highly effective even facing high MR especially against multi attack since every attack triggers it.

Eg. Stone bird, gladiator gloves, chi boots ...etc wielders are asking for it when lined up with an eye shield user.