[PvK]

Each hero and special magic creature I lose to my own archers needlessly shooting at targets that endanger my own men, feels like one too many. I've even lost a couple of important units to javelins thrown by my own men only a few paces behind. Even if I place my archers exposed on a flank, and there are swarms of targets behind the front line, they often fire right at the melee and hit men of both sides. Same with things like fire bLasts and poison clouds. No-risk targets should get chosen first, and risky shots only taken in desperate situations, or not at all. Or at least, that doctrine should be an option.

I have to admit though that I enjoy Dominions so much that I won't mind buying another Version right after buying the first. I might wait a while though to savor the first - there's a ton of gameplay I still want to get to in it!

One of my favorite spectacles is the tough castle assaults with large numbers of attackers. I recently had a spy observing an Emorian force of hundreds of units assaulting Marignon held only by about six Knights of the Chalice and a paladin, a handful of pikemen, and about fifteen high clergy with all sorts of holy fire magic. The holy magic was sweeping away scores of undead every turn, and the necromancers were re-animating skeletons almost as quickly, but would occasionally get bLasted themselves. Four Chalice knights and some pikemen moved to the breach as about twenty heavy spear infantry moved up to assault, and I thought they would be overrun, but they managed to hold them off, thanks largely to all the fire support - one situation where having your own wizards set fire to everything around you might be ok. Marignon only barely held out, wiping out hundreds of the undead... but there are hundreds more ready for a rematch.

PvK