What King's Bounty to start with?

[ZbojLamignat]

You level them up by paying crystals, but you do need a corresponding skill level.

I don't agree simply because the spell costs tend to be so high you may not actually have the mana reserves to make use of the level three spells right away.

Well, before you can actually get chaos magic up to level 3 you do need to gain some levels and I don't think that mana is such a big problem then. It never was for me as far as I remember.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

How are spells leveled up? Automatically when gaining new levels in their schools, right?

hohoho no you have to upgrade each of them with crystals mang
go with shit like bless and so forth

 

[Grunker]

Oh, so that's what they were for. I was wondering. Picked a bunch of them up but hadn't gotten around to using them for anything yet.

Can't really go Order magic now, am skilling the right tree first . Next level I'll be picking up the experience and intellect bonus from Mind though. I'll probably level that first.

 

[Gregz]

As for reserve troops, yeah, but you can't keep reserves of your favourite units as far as I can tell, since that'll break the leadership-cap.

You can keep a 2nd full stack of your favorite unit in one of the 2 reserve slots, and then transfer to 'refill' any losses. This reduces the 'back and forth' problem quite a bit. (Which honestly isn't a huge deal since sea travel is instantaneous, and most of the hireable locations are at lighthouses etc. on the coast). The more islands you clear, the less of an issue it will be.

And as others have suggested, if you're going mage set your skills so you can cast fireball twice per round, then max the damage on that. Try to have enough mana to do that at least 2 rounds. Many times you can clear the battleground without losing a single unit that way. But yeah, the game is challenging .

 

[Metro]

Yeah, my pattern as a mage now is the oil spell that covers half a dozen or so hexes and (at level three) increases fire damage by 60%, then drop a chaos dragon that is both a nuke and tank for the rest of the battle, then the next round drop two fireballs on the stacks in the oil. Pretty much nothing survives that. Especially when you've got all the boosts to spell damage and keep stacking int where each point gives you another 5%... oh and those medal/achievements where you can get another 30% damage boost. Those medals were definitely a nice addition from TL -- helps to specialize the classes more. Also the traveling is a lot better than in TL where you had to sail to those instance portals to switch maps. Now you can just get in the boat and hit the button.

 

[Grunker]

Hmm, Scarlet Wind seems considerably harder than the first map. I was squandering my money at first because I got so much of it (like five times as much as I could use), but on the new island I can barely handle a single fight at a time - I HAVE to restock after each fight, and I lose a ton of units in each battle. So my gold is slowly running lower, I gain less than I spend.

My army consists of Royal Snakes, Marauders, Sea Dogs, Black Knights and Skeleton Archers, all with positive morale save the Black Knights. I have the Higher Magic talent but with my extremely low mana cap (26) I can only cast around 3 or 4 spells before I run out. Half the fights on the island are Invinceble or Lethal. The best I can hope for is Very Strong or Strong.

To make money I'd like to use my pet's treasure searcher ability, but I really need to use it's attack (crushing blow) if I want to win the fights. I really need an AoE spell like fireball, but I haven't been able to find one.

So yeah, hanging from a thin thread atm.

 

[Jaedar]

I'd tell you to replace the marauders or sea dogs with some orc shamen(should be some if you're playing crossworlds). May also want to consider the priest dudes(the ones in red). The trap spell and egg dragon ability are also really good.

And mage is prob the hardest class in AP, especially in the beginning.

 

[Grunker]

There are no Orc Shaman available.

The priest dudes have not impressed me.

The Dragon Egg ability costs more rage than I have.

I managing better now though. I'm running ancient and polar bears, and got some skeleton archers... The tanky bears do a good job for me and my Royal Snakes are as awesome as ever. I just got an artifact that improved my Fire Arrow spell by 50%, and since I usually cast two of those in the first round, that helps a lot.

It's challenging but... I'm managing so far.

 

[Grunker]

(I'd really, REALLY, like to find a fireball soon though)

 

[Jaedar]

Huh... there should be an orc vendor on the first island.

 

[Grunker]

Huh... there should be an orc vendor on the first island.

Debir? Not that I know of. And I've cleared the whole map. Where is it supposed to be?

 

[Gregz]

Hmm, Scarlet Wind seems considerably harder than the first map. I was squandering my money at first because I got so much of it (like five times as much as I could use), but on the new island I can barely handle a single fight at a time - I HAVE to restock after each fight, and I lose a ton of units in each battle. So my gold is slowly running lower, I gain less than I spend.

My army consists of Royal Snakes, Marauders, Sea Dogs, Black Knights and Skeleton Archers, all with positive morale save the Black Knights. I have the Higher Magic talent but with my extremely low mana cap (26) I can only cast around 3 or 4 spells before I run out. Half the fights on the island are Invinceble or Lethal. The best I can hope for is Very Strong or Strong.

To make money I'd like to use my pet's treasure searcher ability, but I really need to use it's attack (crushing blow) if I want to win the fights. I really need an AoE spell like fireball, but I haven't been able to find one.

So yeah, hanging from a thin thread atm.

It can be pretty difficult in certain patches, but does get easier. Also, you don't need to 'clear' an island before going to the next. In fact, my strategy was the very moment I discovered a route to a new island, I would travel there and try to kite around mobs just to pick up treasure or sneak my way into a building. You can find lots of stuff that way, and you may also see a few encounters on the new island that are easier than those on the island you came from. I would also, if I saw a searoute while on board my ship, try to find a way to 'bait' a mob to follow me, run around it with my horse, grab the route, and see if I could make it back to the ship. Those extra routes (maps to new islands) are priceless.

As far as the fireball spell, it's not crucial. As I'm sure you've noticed, in this game the RNG plays a very large role. Try taking stock of your current spell set and building a strategy around those spells until finding fireball. I didn't find 'Geyser' until the end of the game and it's a major OMGZIWIN spell. Hang in there, if I recall the 2nd and 3rd island was probably the most challenging part of my playthrough. You will lose some units more often than not, unless you are rolling with a 'shrek' crew (ogres and trolls and giants and dragons etc. which is mid-late game).

Oh, and shops can carry more items than show on the screen, be sure to use the (arrow icons?) to view the entire inventory. Your fireball spell may be the next one over.

And lastly, don't overlook the importance of the red-robed 'mages' (Inquisitors) especially at the beginning when you really need rage regen. Rage is a very important part of the game because your dragon pet depends on it for his abilities like crushing blow, and later some very nice AE attacks like lava call etc.

Edit: Also, some people like to spam the search key while running over areas, there's lots of treasure buried around. When you are standing near it a beacon will shine there, but you can just run around and spam the key and any treasure you run by will pop up.

 

[Grunker]

It can be pretty difficult in certain patches, but does get easier. Also, you don't need to 'clear' an island before going to the next. In fact, my strategy was the very moment I discovered a route to a new island, I would travel there and try to kite around mobs just to pick up treasure or sneak my way into a building. You can find lots of stuff that way, and you may also see a few encounters on the new island that are easier than those on the island you came from. I would also, if I saw a searoute while on board my ship, try to find a way to 'bait' a mob to follow me, run around it with my horse, grap the route, and see if I could make it back to the ship. Those extra routes (maps to new islands) are priceless.

That's my tactic atm. I have one island I haven't been to, and there's another map behind an invinceble mob.

As far as the fireball spell, it's not crucial. As I'm sure you've noticed, in this game the RNG plays a very large role. Try taking stock of your current spell set and building a strategy around those spells until finding fireball. I didn't find 'Geyser' until the end of the game and it's a major OMGZIWIN spell. Hang in there, if I recall the 2nd and 3rd island was probably the most challenging part of my playthrough. You will lose some units more often than not, unless you are rolling with a 'shrek' crew (ogres and trolls and giants and dragons etc. which is mid-late game).

Well, I'm doing alright now. Not good, but alright. The fireball would just make things easier I suspect.

Oh, and shops can carry more items than show on the screen, be sure to use the (arrow icons?) to view the entire inventory. Your fireball spell may be the next one over.

Ye, I found that out pretty quick. Still, no fireball

And lastly, don't overlook the importance of the red-robed 'mages' (Inquisitors) especially at the beginning when you really need rage regen. Rage is a very important part of the game because your dragon pet depends on it for his abilities like crushing blow, and later some very nice AE attacks like lava call etc.

I only have two abilities - Crushing Blow and Treasure Searcher - that does not consume more rage than my total. All my other abilities (Mystic Egg, Mana Accelerator, Ball Lightning, Dragon Dive) are unusable because they cost too much rage. I can't not level them up, so unless I get more Rage soon I think the same's going to happen to CB and TS.

Edit: Also, some people like to spam the search key while running over areas, there's lots of treasure buried around. When you are standing near it a beacon will shine there, but you can just run around and spam the key and any treasure you run by will pop up.

Yeah, that's such a bad mechanic, lol.

 

[Gregz]

And lastly, don't overlook the importance of the red-robed 'mages' (Inquisitors) especially at the beginning when you really need rage regen. Rage is a very important part of the game because your dragon pet depends on it for his abilities like crushing blow, and later some very nice AE attacks like lava call etc.

I only have two abilities - Crushing Blow and Treasure Searcher - that does not consume more rage than my total. All my other abilities (Mystic Egg, Mana Accelerator, Ball Lightning, Dragon Dive) are unusable because they cost too much rage. I can't not level them up, so unless I get more Rage soon I think the same's going to happen to CB and TS.

One of the many things about this game I like is how runes work. You may find you are accumulating lots of red and green runes. I believe there's a skill on the right column in the fighter tree that specifically raises your dragon's rage cap, put some runes in that. It's a cool system because you want to save runes to plan ahead, but at the same time, any runes you are saving go to waste, so you are equally inclined to spend them. Very early I put points in the right fighter column, and left paladin column so I didn't have red and green runes sitting unused.

Edit: Also, some people like to spam the search key while running over areas, there's lots of treasure buried around. When you are standing near it a beacon will shine there, but you can just run around and spam the key and any treasure you run by will pop up.

Yeah, that's such a bad mechanic, lol.

Well, yeah kinda...I only did it 3 or 4 times when I was really desperate. I'm an exploit whore though, so play as you prefer .

I only have two abilities - Crushing Blow and Treasure Searcher - that does not consume more rage than my total. All my other abilities (Mystic Egg, Mana Accelerator, Ball Lightning, Dragon Dive) are unusable because they cost too much rage. I can't not level them up, so unless I get more Rage soon I think the same's going to happen to CB and TS.

This is another mechanic that's kinda sketchy, but you can in fact choose to not level them up. Often I would put a level in something I wasn't using (you have 3 choices) if I knew leveling a useful skill would make it too expensive. The only skill I leveled with abandon was TS. I would usually dump points this way in ME, Wall or BL.

 

[Grunker]

One of the many things about this game I like is how runes work. You may find you are accumulating lots of red and green runes. I believe there's a skill on the right column in the fighter tree that specifically raises your dragon's rage cap, put some runes in that. It's a cool system because you want to save runes to plan ahead, but at the same time, any runes you are saving go to waste, so you are equally inclined to spend them. Very early I put points in the right fighter column, and left paladin column so I didn't have red and green runes sitting unused.

Yeah it's a pretty good system. Well-designed. I'm not complaining about not having Rage-points since I didn't focus on them, it's just a statement. I'm a mage, so I simply can't afford the right mage-tree as well as the right warrior tree and prioritized the first. However I've prioritized the left paladin-tree too, so I'll be getting +4 to mana and rage cap soon, and then some more.

Well, yeah kinda...I only did it 3 or 4 times when I was really desperate. I'm an exploit whore though, so play as you prefer .

It's horribad, haha. Should have made it so you had to discover the ray or something.

This is another mechanic that's kinda sketchy, but you can in fact choose to not level them up. Often I would put a level in something I wasn't using (you have 3 choices) if I knew leveling a useful skill would make it too expensive. The only skill I leveled with abandon was TS. I would usually dump points this way in ME, Wall or BL.

Well, I've leveled up so many.

 

[Metro]

I would ditch the skeletal archers and pirates. Low health units aren't the way to go -- at least not for me. Unfortunately the RNG of troop spawning plays a role here, however I think this one tent has fixed troops. On Scarlet Wind there is a tent with some horseman hero dude guarding it. You can engage him in conversation, spur him to attack at which point he'll chase you, run away, kite him, get to the tent -- there should be paladins there. They make great tanks. It's tricky and cheap but after a few tires at kiting the guy you should be able to pull it off. With that early game I combined paladins, swordsmen, inquisitors (mostly for the rage/bless and res spells), archmages, and maybe gryphon or royal gryphon if you can find them.

Early game as a mage is frustrating. You won't be able to make use of nukes. You'll never really be able to cast the major rage spells (this is how AP differs from TL where you could get a high rage level as a mage) without the use of items (which you probably shouldn't equip anyway in favor of +int stuff). Mostly it's about making use of stoneskin, that mana return shield, and other protective spells as you work towards the leadership medal bonuses.

 

[Terpsichore]

I used mana restore cheat after tough fights because circling around the same place for a couple of minutes wasn't exactly fun.

Another retarded timesink.

 

[GreyViper]

Hmm going to try continue my TL play through to finish it. Oh and thanks for the advice about dragon and item placement Gregz. As for starting troops, I found that bears due sprint and enrage make nice tanks. The Royal Snakes due no retaliation and long range attack. Third was Inqusitor since it does all the things that monk does and more.

 

[Jaedar]

The Leadership medals are pretty essential, especially for a mage. +1k leadership is huge, and if you play more or less perfectly you can get it by the third or fourth island or so, which would almost double your troop cap iirc.

The orc merchant is right on the dock of Debir iirc, between the mage tower and the castle. I'd take a screenshot but for some reason my game won't launch. He's p easy to find. You sure you're running the crossworlds expansion?

Remember that on higher difficulities the best dragon spell is the lightning ball as it does 10% or more of the stacks total health.

EDIT: Screenshot of one (1) filthyorc
There's also this major landmark that you should be able to see.

 

[Terpsichore]

Royal snakes are probably the best starting unit, get as many as you can.

 

[Disconnected]

Been a while since I played, but wizards & snakes can shift enemies around the battlefield, and the wizards can make your stuff near-immune to melee damage.

Early on that makes them super-powered for getting treasure chests, and if combined with a trap spell, for taking out stuff that you can't survive melee with. And it works even better in AP/Crossworlds than in TL.

The downside is it's very-terribly grindy.

 

[Grunker]

I would ditch the skeletal archers and pirates. Low health units aren't the way to go -- at least not for me. Unfortunately the RNG of troop spawning plays a role here, however I think this one tent has fixed troops. On Scarlet Wind there is a tent with some horseman hero dude guarding it. You can engage him in conversation, spur him to attack at which point he'll chase you, run away, kite him, get to the tent -- there should be paladins there. They make great tanks. It's tricky and cheap but after a few tires at kiting the guy you should be able to pull it off. With that early game I combined paladins, swordsmen, inquisitors (mostly for the rage/bless and res spells), archmages, and maybe gryphon or royal gryphon if you can find them.

Early game as a mage is frustrating. You won't be able to make use of nukes. You'll never really be able to cast the major rage spells (this is how AP differs from TL where you could get a high rage level as a mage) without the use of items (which you probably shouldn't equip anyway in favor of +int stuff). Mostly it's about making use of stoneskin, that mana return shield, and other protective spells as you work towards the leadership medal bonuses.

I got paladins by coincidence in Verona. FUCKING WOW. Those guys are insane. My army now is Guardsmen, Swordsmen, Bowmen, Royal Griffon and Paladin. Starting to kick ass.

I used mana restore cheat after tough fights because circling around the same place for a couple of minutes wasn't exactly fun.

Another retarded timesink.

A-FUCKING-MEN BRUTHA

Where did you get this cheat? I can't fight without full mana, so it's a question of doing nothing for a full minute between fights or cheat. Think I'm gonna go with cheat on this one.

Hmm going to try continue my TL play through to finish it. Oh and thanks for the advice about dragon and item placement Gregz. As for starting troops, I found that bears due sprint and enrage make nice tanks. The Royal Snakes due no retaliation and long range attack. Third was Inqusitor since it does all the things that monk does and more.

Bears and Snakes carried me through early-game.

The Leadership medals are pretty essential, especially for a mage. +1k leadership is huge, and if you play more or less perfectly you can get it by the third or fourth island or so, which would almost double your troop cap iirc.

The orc merchant is right on the dock of Debir iirc, between the mage tower and the castle. I'd take a screenshot but for some reason my game won't launch. He's p easy to find. You sure you're running the crossworlds expansion?

Remember that on higher difficulities the best dragon spell is the lightning ball as it does 10% or more of the stacks total health.

EDIT: Screenshot of one (1) filthyorc
There's also this major landmark that you should be able to see.

Leadership: Impossible task. One ranged unit = at least one of my units dead. No ranged units means tanks and I don't chew through them fast enough to survive encounters without a single loss. Maybe now I have paladins...

Orc merchant: HE IS NOT THERE :conspiracy:

I know for a fact I have Crossworlds - I can choose the new campaigns in the main menu! Waaaat

I can't see the landmark either

It says King's Bounty: Crossworlds on launch.

Royal snakes are probably the best starting unit, get as many as you can.

Yep, as I said many times now, they carried me through early game.

 

[Jaedar]

You probably selected standard campaign when you started then? Cause if you can't see either of those things I posted, you're not playing with crossworlds content actually enabled. Sux, especially since I don't think you can convert your save.

And to get the leadership: This is why you have paladins and inquisitors. You also have to get good at "exploiting" map architecture with trap spells and summoned units(royal thorns are especially good at this).

 

[Grunker]

WHAT?

Are you telling me that "The New Campaign" is the same as "The Original Campaign" except with the added content? Why THE FUCK would you EVER have the option of playing without the new content and even IF there was a reason for it what THE HELL made them put that option as the first one?!?

 

[Grunker]

Yep... You have to choose the last option in the main menu... FML...

EDIT: Yeah, so I restarted with a Warrior but I'm really not motivated to restart the fucking game. Will probably end up putting it on ice for a while. Thanks for all the help though!