SC/Thug rating

[Wish]

it works well for a unit that has pretty good starting weapons (like life drain or what have you) because fire bolas will not replace their original weapons.

[OG_Gleep]

Is there any other weapons that you guys like? I typically build the same weapons from game to game. QM recommended the Serpent Kryss, something I had always ignored. Wondering if theres any other weapons I missed out on.

[shovah]

i am currently in love with the gloves of the gladiator (whats so good about serpent kryss?) and sometimes i will resort to a sword of sharpness/stinger. a herald lance is always nice for taking out undead and swords of swiftness are quite good. for shields i like: charcoal shield (duh) vine shield (has its uses) lucky coin (when misc slots are full) and shield of gleaming gold is very effective vrs low morale things

on the topic of thugs/sc's ive actually found fire kings to be quite good (did they get booster in cb?) they have a very strong fire shield, good health, and AoE ap attack and iirc can have weapons without losing their flame strike. they have no protection but if you give them dragon armour, lucky coin/pendant of luck and a ring of regen they become monsters (hard to hurt with ranged weapons and any melee attackers are likely to get toasted)

edit: didnt notice the serpent kryss had 2 attacks now, that definetly makes it useful atleast. the 2 attacks combined with its death poison should make it easier to take out tough enemys atleast.
how about this: serpent kryss x2, any armour, boots of quickness, pendant of luck and cat charm.
the extra defence from the charm and the quickness should make you hard to hit (most high health things dont come in large numbers so you shouldnt face many attacks) and the 4 kryss attacks+ boots should be a deadly combo (i can see miamasa ctis making this) and you could always swap a misc out for an astral serpet if you want more death poison

[Daynarr]

I use Serpent Kryss on assassins. Actually, fully decked assassin can sometimes act as a thug. Can be risky due to their low HP though.

[shovah]

yea, some assasins more than others though (and the ever popular skull face/skele ammy+ boots of quickness can always back up said assasin)

[Saber Cherry]

I used to use fully decked Slayers as thugs, but they just die, even with a Lifelong Protection.

Proof that Assassins are not thugs:

0) Assume Assassins are thugs.
1) Regen is GREAT on living thugs.
2) Regen is not useful very unless the unit can survive taking damage a few times during a round of combat.
3) Units with less than about ceil(2d6) HP cannot take damage even once without a considerable risk of death.
4) Assassins have less than ceil(2d6) HP.
5) Therefore, regen is not very useful on Assassins.
6) This contradicts the original assumption, 0.

I'd be interested in hearing how you use them, though. I have found that even Black Servants, starting with 18 HP, ethereality, high MR, life-drain, and various immunities STILL can't be effective thugs. Maybe my definition of thug is too severe?

Edit: I also liked to use Werewolves as thugs, due to integral regen and decent stats. They always died too. I've had some success with Jotun Herses, though, using a Fire, Nature, or Water bless.

[Saber Cherry]

I'd like to mention that the original purpose of my combat simulator was to "rate thugs", by the way... I wanted to perfect Ice Devil SCs and Slayer loadouts to maximize their effectiveness. Otherwise, it was very hard to decide between (for example) an Amulet of Luck versus Bracers of Protection to fill the last free slot. It works quite well in that role, though it doesn't handle auras or buff spells, so you can't really evaluate the effectiveness of a Rime Hauberk, Unquenched Sword, or a particular spell script before charging.

[Wish]

normal assassins arent great for thugs, but succubi are

[shovah]

assasins arent the best thugs but they can do it. try wraith sword, robe of shadows, flying shoes, pendant of luck and ring of regen on an assasin. hes very hard to hit (only 25% of regular hits affect him and 50% of those are canceled by luck) if he can reach enemy archers hes usually okay and his stealthyness allows him to avoid most tough things (although i admit assasins arent great thugs)

[Daynarr]

Assassins I'd try to use for thugs are generally decked to get as high defense as possible and have as many attacks as possibe to take out weak troops fast. Also luck and wraith crown are important assets for him (undead to help him and etherealness). No regen/life stealing as he has such low hp that he dies if he gets hit anyway. The idea is not to get hit. Still, they really aren't great thugs.