Possible bug report: With some Spoilers

[apoger]

Originally posted by josh_f:
I noticed the old units were still there, and I ignored them. I don't want spoil you, but some of the new ice devils start off with very nice magic items. I've look through the spell list and I see no good way of dealing with an Ice Devil with any spell below level 7. If Ice Devils were a level 6 summons they would still be better than any non-blood summons. It's possible that my dom 1 experience taints my analysis, and when the full game is out it'll be no problem. Looking at the stats, however, I don't see it. I suppose we'll find out soon enough.

We must assume the player summoning an ID will protect it with elemental immunities.

That leaves;

The following could do the job via spell check failure: mind burn, sleep, paralyze, and soul slay.

Starfire, even in it's very weakened form.

Curse, and pray that you can beat it down with afflictions.

and...

That's it. The amount of counters for ID's or super combatants is fleeting in DOM II. Frankly I think this is going to poison multiplayer.

Ice devils would be worthwhile at double the current cost.

Blood summons, already a problem in DOM I, had their costs increased by 50%. Meanwhile elementals had a 100% increase in fatigue, plus gem costs. Seasonal spirits also got a 100% increase in gem cost. Evocation spells are now wildly inaccurate. Starfire got a 400% increase in fatigue while it's damage got cut in half. Undead counterspells now don't work versus "devils".

I can't believe IW dropped the ball so hard on game balance. Pretender super combatants and the blood summons are going to dominate multiplayer games.

Unless of course if I'm missing something...
By all means if you can see some way out of this, let me know!

[licker]

Just wondering if these blood summons are for the uniques? In which they are still badass, but you can only get a limited number of them to begin with.

[apoger]

>Just Mans Cross does 30 armor piercing to undead or demons (for the low low price of 5 fire gems).

They aren't good for much else. So if you have the time to make them. The gems. The research. the mage skill. And *IF* you can actually connect with them in battle... you have a chance, if you can pump in enough damage to beat the ID's regeneration (rings of regen being standard equipment for protecting your devils).

That's a tall order.
In all my time playing Dom I, I never saw an ID killed by a just mans cross.


>Banishment still works on demons.

In Dom I, I have witnessed thousands of banishment attempts on ID's. Once in a blue moon the banishment does 5-6 damage. That's it.

Unless banishment has been massively upgraded, I wouldn't count on it.

[apoger]

Originally posted by licker:
Just wondering if these blood summons are for the uniques? In which they are still badass, but you can only get a limited number of them to begin with.

They aren't limited enough. Not even close. There are enough for each blood nation to get 3-5 each.


It's just my opinion... but I think 6 ID is 5 too many.

[Nerfix]

Originally posted by apoger:
It's just my opinion... but I think 6 ID is 5 too many.

I'll just have to ask this:
What is so scary in Ice Devils?

[DominionsFan]

apoger, you know that there are fantastic balance mods for SE IV, and that lot of players are using those in MP games.

If we will have the mod tools, we can balance the game ourselves. I am totally sure that we will see balance mod(s) for Doms II. and it is all cool!

[apoger]

>What is so scary in Ice Devils?

They have outstanding stats and make a superb foundation for a super combatant. They are easy to produce if you plan ahead, and get you fantastic value for your investment.

An ID with ethereal cloak, pendent of luck, and a ring of regen, casting quickness and going into battle, can defeat almost any army composed of conventional troops.

Later in the game they can be upgraded with better magic items to provide elemental immunities,improved magic defense, and ridiculous levels of protection or defense. They can be crafted to an extent that makes them very hard to destroy. With the dearth of magics in DOM II, the situation went from bad to worse.

It's like having an extra pretender god. Or worse... like having FIVE extra pretenders.