H2 priests: Why, when, how?

[Baalz]

Originally Posted by Sombre

So which nations with h2 priests do you recruit them for?

At the moment it seems people are talking theory and citing niche examples where having +2 morale makes a difference. I think it's much more common that it makes no difference and the national H2 is a waste. And it's silly to compare it with just a support mage slot - it should be compared with a researching, site searching, ritual spamming mage slot. The general run of the mill mage you make almost every turn wherever you can. While the H2 is a near complete waste if he doesn't toddle off and support an army, that isn't true of the mage, so don't restrict the comparison as if it is.

Well, a direct comparison is a bit difficult because they fill such different roles, but to sum up:

1) H2 priests are pretty cheap, so recruiting a couple (rather than more expensive premium units) will get you almost an extra 800 gold fort in some cases. Certainly it'll speed up getting your second fort if you're doing this early.

2) Research is important, no doubt, but I think you're completely discounting the benefit a H2 priest gives you outside of combat. Pushing your dominion to cover those border territories which otherwise wouldn't be is significant. Not only do you get the benefits from your scales (which is often drastic), this is also the area you're most likely to be fighting in and also right where it's usually unwise to put up temples. Aside from preaching, you can gain a non-inconsiderable astral income from site searching with the priests.

3) As Agema mentions, if the priest is responsible for a fight being in dominion which otherwise wouldn't, it's really a 4 swing in morale for your friendlies and a -2 for the enemy. You tell me, is there a big difference in troops with an 8 morale and ones with 12? This type of swing can *certainly* be significant even in the late game. How much is it worth for your blockers (soaking up those big evocation spells the enemy is dropping) to stick it out a couple extra turns so your own mages get some more shots in? As pointed out, this doesn't make a difference for lopsided fights, but it's going to win you the close ones.

What more could you ask out of a unit costing 100 gold? Certainly they're not as useful as a 400 gold big mage across the board, but they can carry their weight. It's also kind of silly to ask for examples of when they make sense to use, several suggestions have been made already - Arco, C'tis, Abysia - well, using your mage/priest as a priest at least. There actually aren't that many straight h2 national priests, but I think they have a role most any time you've got them. They also make sense to recruit non-nationally when you've got the opportunity.