Horned helmet

[parcelt]

I usually give early thugs/SCs a horror helmet, but how about the horned helmet? Is the gore attack worth it? What kind of attack is this exactly?

At only 5 nature gems it doesn't seem expensive - gives 20 protection just like the horror helmet, which costs 10 death gems. Does anybody use this helmet?

[Folket]

If I already have fear I use gore helmet. The attack is just a head but.

[Endoperez]

The Gore is the same attack that some EA Lanka demon commanders (Rakshasa and something else IIRC) has. Low damage + str, -1 att -1 def, length 0.

[Jazzepi]

The horned helm has the following effects.

-1 Attack
-2 Defense (-1 is repeated twice)
0 length
0 damage attack (this means the attack only does the value of the unit's strength)

I would never put this on an thug, personally. I think the -2 defense is killer.

Jazzepi

[Gandalf Parker]

It gives an extra attack?
I prefer the spirit helm but that might keep a thug from closing which can be a problem.

[Jazzepi]

Yes, it gives you one extra attack. I tested it just to make sure, and though I didn't realize this before the fatigue you incur from attacking appears to be only from one ROUND of attacks, not the number of individual attacks. While quickness might make you get multiple ROUNDS of attacks in a single turn and thus increase your fatigue/per turn, the horned helm does not.

I think horror helm is by far and away the best helm up until construction level 8 for large scale army fighting thugs. Even if you already have fear +0, it upgrades it to fear +5 which increases the radius, and obviously the strength. 5 points is a big jump for a morale check. The only possible exception to this is that the steel helm is construction level 0, which makes it cheap'n'easy to put on an undead pretender SC to clear out indies, and astral skull cap which increases MR.

Jazzepi

[Endoperez]

Spirit Helm does the casting, not the thug. It's just as automatic as the old Totem Shield.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I use it when fear's not a factor, or death gems are precious.
If you're facing R'lyeh, or Ermor, for instance, it's not bad. Admittedly, its not great, but for that level...

And I usually have spare nature gems since my races don't have nature mages, but I do get indies going.

I'd have to test this to be sure, but I don't think the horror helm upgrades all fear skills by +5, merely ones based on death magic. Shinuyama, here I come. I'll have results in a bit.

Retraction: I was wrong. A mujina with a horror helmet goes from fear (0) to fear (5) with a horror helmet.

[quantum_mechani]

I use the horned helmet a fair amount, often you simply don't have any other decent helm options.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

However, while +5 fear affects more places, it doesn't have an equivalent +5 morale check. It simply goes from rolling against ten to rolling against 11. Not to be laughed at with the area increase, but its only one point jump for a morale check, not 5.