Is it useful to cast Storm when you have dominant battle magic?
 

I have been playing this game on and off since it came out, and only now I realized that Storm actually reduces my Precision! LOL.

Anyways, so what's the use for Precision if you have strong battle magic at the mid- or end-game juncture? I suppose it stops flyers but is it worth the greatly reduced accuracy when you cast offensive spells? It almost seems like Storm is more useful when you have a strong melee army but weak battle magic.

Re: Is it useful to cast Storm when you have dominant battle magic?
 

Yep. Works wonders if you are suffering heavy casualties by enemy archery, flyers or Precision-dependant battle magic. It multiplies the value of infantry and cavalry if you have the upper hand in those ;) I think also Prec-100 spells are unaffected.

Also don't forget that, like Rain, it reduces the power of Heat (the heat-spreading units I mean) and makes Fire battle magic more fatiguing to cast. *hint-hint*

Re: Is it useful to cast Storm when you have dominant battle magic?
 

I am finding that as Caelum, Staff of Storms is an amazing tool for larger armies.

First, Summon Storm Power magnifies the power of most of your mages.

Second, with primarily Air/Lightning evocations, your mages already get a Precision boost, so it's not as bad.

Third, if you are an Air nation, you can then cast Wind Guide to get all mages back to high Precision.

Fourth, now your troops do not all fly straight into the way of your spells, and don't get spread out to die. Obviously this point is a direct trade-off from the potential benefits of flying troops, but most of Caelum's units are not very durable, so having them form a slow moving line, and give your mages time to work, can do wonders for you.

Fifth, Storm has the same effect on Heat auras, and Fire magic that Rain does, so you are getting that effect for free if you are fighting Abysia or another heavy Fire nation.

Sixth, as mentioned, the Storm will also help shield you from missiles, so if you can do the Air Mages' Delight (triad of Storm + Wind Guide + Arrow Fend) you will become almost totally immune to enemy projectiles.


Other nations may have different results with Storm (and those beautiful beautiful staves), but it definitely has powerful uses.

Re: Is it useful to cast Storm when you have dominant battle magic?
 

Storm is also nice defensively with Astral nations that use lots of 100 range / 100 precision spells like Soul Slay.

Re: Is it useful to cast Storm when you have dominant battle magic?
 

It depends.

if your enemy has a lot of flying troops(Pythium angels, Marignon, angels, Pangaea, swarm, blood nations, imp spam, devils), or you are facing deadly missile fire or flaming arrows, you may want to cast storm. But if it is just missile fire, you are better off casting arrow fend, not storm.

But you need to protect your mages. And if the enemy is getting his flying troops to them quickly, you may have to use storm. Note however that air elementals and some other
flying units can fly even in a storm.

Storm does not effect 100 precision spells. So if you have astral mages, storm typically will not hinder them. Drain life, frozen heart, incinerate, and other spells that are 100 precision should be scripted if you are using storm if possible.

Or you can use evocation spells that hit such a large area that storm will not effect your mages too much(niefel flames). Make fure your n and a mages cast eagle eyes and aim as their 1st spell if you do not have the gems or research to get wind guide up.

These same tactics are also good against Lanka and other nations when they cast darkness. Lanka typically casts storm and darkness, so you really need to use items and spells with 100 precision to kill stuff.

Re: Is it useful to cast Storm when you have dominant battle magic?
 

Some other things to keep in mind, Storm will only halve base precision. The bonuses recieved from magic and experience do not go away. Hence, casting windguide is a way to mitigate the precision lost. However, 50% of projectiles (not magic spells) are automatically lost in storms as well. So, its problematic for an archer heavy nation to cast it.

Here's my run down of things to consider before casting storm.

1) Is your army archer heavy?
2) Do you have Air mages that would benefit from Summon Storm Power?
3) Do you expect your opponent to be archer heavy and/or cast Flaming Arrows?
4) How about flyers, anyone depending on flyers?
5) Regarding Precision, how big are your mutual armies? Big armies tend to get hit no matter what your opponents opposition is.