[Daynarr]

Originally posted by apoger:
The ten whammy's were;

1> Super Combatants
2> Instant Magical Movement
3> Magic Duel
4> Ritual Summons
5> Battlefield Summons
6> Battlefield Domination Spells
7> Storms
8> Army BLasting
9> Province BLasting
10> Assassination

1> Super Combatants - Toned down? How?
2> Instant Magical Movement - Only lab to lab now? Not sure if I like this. I would have prefered making it much harder/expensive, but keeping the effect.
3> Magic Duel - Not sure how this has changed, if at all.
4> Ritual Summons - Probably have changed, but I don't know about the changes yet.
5> Battlefield Summons - Word is that battlefield conjuration has been seriously limited. Gem costs for even lesser elementals and double fatigue. Not sure I like this, as it was a mainstay of the game. Will judge when I see the new system in action.
6> Battlefield Domination Spells - With ward rendered non-perfect these combo's are severely weakened.
7> Storms - Delighted to see this taken down a few notches.
8> Army BLasting - Stuff like Murdering Winter. Might be more popular than ever now that it's harder to project power.
9> Province BLasting - Same as above
10> Assassination - Not sure if the spells that kill commanders are still around. Will have to see.

In the new enviornment we may see much more play with magic pretenders and bless. Also we may see more done with global spells, since that may be the only way to "reach out" with your power now that you can't get there with troops. This is all conjecture of course... I'll have more to say once the game is released and I have a chance to evaluate the situation.

In the meantime if some beta testers have comments, feel free to give us a clue.

1) Super Combatants are practically non-existent, at least not in the same way they used to be in Dom I. There is new combat system that allows units to hit enemy with fire shield before they take damage, so even if fire shield will kill them, they still do damage. Also, any following attack after first one (during same turn of course) reduces protection by 1 and defender's fatigue also increases chances of penetrating armor. In effect, units may gang up on "super combatant" and take him down even if they suffer heavy losses. I've seen this in action and rarely if ever send my combatants in battle without some heavy cover from other troops.

2) Well, I'm not 100% sure about change since I'm not sure how it was, but you can move armies between friendly labs and there is teleport spell that can teleport your mage anywhere. Note that labs have more strategic importance now since they can repair magical units that normally don't heal (like crushers). Of course, you can destroy labs if needed.

3) Not sure about this one since I rarely use it.

4) Again hard to tell what has changed about them since I have little insight on how it was in Dom I, but as far as I can tell there are lots more summons which vary greatly. Also, seasonal spirits have been toned down and since there are seasons in game now, their power depends on time of season they are in. E.g. Summer Lions are weakest during winter and strongest during summer.
There are elemental Kings and Queens that can "Summon Allies" (no cost of gems) and add elementals to your standard armies. They are in limited number for each element and each has his own name, characteristics and special abilities. They even summon different creatures.
Not sure if it was in Dom I but there is Fairy Queen that can be summoned which can heal your troops just like Arco priestess. The rest of the changes you will probably be able to see for yourselves, but in my experience there is no real summon that will dominate all others. All have some purpose.

5) There have been discussions about that already but you are first person I saw that liked previous system better. Its true, now all elemental summons cost gems, but there are high level spells that can summon a larger number of them instantly (at great cost of gems and fatigue of course).

6) Wards have been nerfed, but Pocus is right. There are high-level (8th level) enchantment spells that will protect all your troops. However, that can be thwarted by simply increasing research costs to high or very high, thus making their usage available only in late long games.

7) Yes, storms are toned down but still useful. Of course there is still arrow fend spell that gives 80% protection from missiles (rather hard to get to if high research cost though)

8) Not much experiences with that one but they are probably still useful. I have experienced enemy global spell (Wrath of God I think it was called) but his effect was slight anywhere outside his dominion. I WAS losing troops to it, although rarely. Most likely those spells are domain dependant: stronger caster's dominion = more powerful spell.

9) Not sure what has changed

10) Seeking arrows and flaming arrows are still working but not overpowered since they cost significant number of gems and you can never be really sure of the effect they had (no report if you killed anything). Also, AI will use lots of them and will use Assassins and spies a lot. Protect those commanders!