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| Thread: Academy guide for new players | |
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Vangelis21
Supreme Hero
Manchild
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posted September 27, 2008 09:16 PM |
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Academy guide for new players
Academy guide
First of all I want to warn that this guide is strictly for multiplayer game as the AI is a lot easier to be beaten and not a lot of players play single player games nowadays. Also it is only my opinion on how academy can be played and you should follow it only if you think that my ability to play is good! Strategies are hundreds and this guide is only to give the newer players an idea about this faction. You are more than welcome to add your thought and corrections. Have fun and improve your gaming!
Academy is a magic faction to the core. Although there are exceptions (havez) as in a lot of things in heroes!
Let’s start then by analyzing the heroes.
Faiz
He is a hero that I don’t choose ever as dark magic is not always a good choice for academy. Recommended against orcs as dark spells there is a must choice. Not recommended against necromancer (vampirism, puppet master, frenzy, blindness don’t work) or academy ( single stack spells against mirror is always a risk)
Galib
Another hero I rarely use. His luck skill is not a must for academy and could be replaced by something else. Very useful hero against dark magic users for his spell twister ability and the cleansing spell although you will probably need expert light magic.
Havez
Crazy creeper but with many disadvantages in final battle. His gremlins do great job against any opponent. His war machine skill and the free ballista and ammo cart make him save money and creep very fast and effectively. At the final battle though his war machines are not strong enough as academy has only 2% chances of getting attack as skill and therefore flaming arrows. So academy could use other skills better in final battle.
Jhora
A total magic hero. Starts with eldritch arrow and sorcery which makes her fast and good caster for creeping. Her specialization doesn’t give a lot as at level 20 she has initiative 11 instead of 10 which is not enough to win you a game.
Narxes
Good hero but only with good planning because if for any reason you can’t have enough mages at the final battle his specialization is wasted. Starts with enlightenment which guarantees a faster leveling up and it is a skill that academy needs anyway.
Nathir
A great caster. He focuses in casting destructive spells and especially fire-based ones. He starts with a great fireball and the high mana makes him very strong. A very strong creeper but with the only disadvantage that the destructive magic skill is not necessary and could be replaced with something better in final battle.
Nur
A hero that I don’t recommend. He starts with sorcery, mana regeneration and eldritch arrow. But her specialization is not needed for academy as wizards are known for their incredibly high levels of mana. However, she might be extremely useful in very long battles.
Razzak
A defensive hero. Not recommended by me as golems are not a priority and defense as skill is not a must for academy. His haste spell that he starts with is very useful nonetheless.
Building the town
Here there are two ways you can take. The might way and the magic way. In the magic way all heroes are favoured, in the might way only havez is favored and maybe nathir.
Might way of building your town
I will not get into details on how to build the town each day as every map has a different town level at the beginning. When you want to focus on might you need 2 things. Large army and large amount of money.
That means, we set aside the magic guilds and we focus on building quickly capitol, castle and all the creatures before the end of week 2. Try to get mages, gargoyles, gremlins djins week 1 and rakhasas and colossus week 2. this means that you probably need to leave out the golems and have a lot of resources for the rakhasas. As for money and growth you need town hall week 1 and capitol week 2. In the same way you need citadel week 1 and castle week 2. Don’t forget of course to build war machines in case you have havez and you couldn’t find the first aid tent in another secondary hero. This way of building gives you great numbers of creatures in the final battle BUT needs a lot of money and resources which means fast creeping and keeps you low on magic. That’s why it Is a good plan for Havez.
Magic way of buiding your town
I will not get into details on how to build the town each day as every map has a different town level at the beginning. Here you need to focus on good creature only and mage guild so I suggest gremlins, mages, djins week 1 and gargoyles, golems colossus in week 2. rakhasas can wait for week 3. also don’t run for money or growth building as they need to be sacrificed for mage guilds. The general idea though is to be bale to have magic guild 5 before the end of week 2. Mind that this is for extreme magic building. There is always the mid-way to be followed. That plan is more suitable for jhora-like heroes as their only hope of surviving is spells.
*Take notice that each map differs in starting town level, in resources and in needs so adapt your plan as you want. Also it is necessary to upgrade gremlins on day 1 !
Creature abilities
Master gremlin: Great for a plan with lots of golems and war machines. Keep in mind that they heal only once these things per combat.
Gremlin saboteur: great against war machines. It disables them and they can’t play. Also the disable enemy golems. Higher initiative than master gremlins.
Obsidian gargoyles: Great against destructive magic using factions.
Elemental gargoyles: great when you use destructive spells.
Steel golem: Immune to slow and magic proof (75%). More attacking than the magnetic golems.
Magnetic golems: heals itself from enemy destructive spells so it is more defensive as it needs to guard allies.
Archmages: saves hero’s mana, great spellbook, not recommended against high protection/resistance factions.
Battle mages: they don’t hit friendly units adjacent to them, recommended when you have the luck skill.
Djinn Sultan: 50% magic proof , casts light magic to friends, or dark to enemies. Very good upgrade.
Djinn Vizier: 75% magic proof, decreases luck to enemies and raises yours. Recommended against high-luck factions
Rakhasa Raja: great no retaliation ability. Recommended against high-attack factions.
Rakhasa Kshatra: Whirlwind ability great against low defense faction but very effective overall. Better to be used with high speed statistics. Don’t use it against dark spell casters as it can kill several of your creatures at ones if frenzied or puppet mastered.
Titan: exactly same stats with the Storm titan. Only difference is his call lightning ability that delivers a good damage even if you are blocked from shooting.
Storm titan: exactly same stats with the Titan. Only difference is his Stormcaller ability that summons a storm to stay above the head of enemies. Lower damage than lighting but stays for 3 turns and decreases the enemies ranged attacks.
Spells
Academy is obviously a magic faction. It is the only faction that has high possibilities of getting any of the magic skills and the only faction that can receive 1 extra spell in its guilds in every level. That makes it very effective with any of the magic schools. Of course you have higher possibilities of getting better light and summon spells as you get for sure 1 in level 4 and 5 guilds. On the other hand you can get 1 extra (dark or destructive) in these 2 levels by building the special building they have.
Here I have some good combinations and strategies with spells.
Spells depending on enemy factions
Against orcs: dark spells are essential. Expect them to have shatter dark though. Aim for their centaurs or whatever else you find more important and cut them in half!
Against necro: choosing summon magic is a risk. They will probably have summon too and that means elemental balance. Remember that you can do the same! So play smartly and let them cast phoenix or elementals first! Light is great as you need cleansing for their puppet master and haste for you!
Against sylvan: they will have some magic resistance, so puppet or frenzy are risky although they are needed. Mass slow is also a must. Your call. Light spells also important as you will need the endurance, deflect missile and haste spells.
Against dungeon: be careful of their black dragons that your spells can’t touch.
Against dwarves: remember that they will have high resistance. So be careful of single stack spells.
Against haven: mass haste and mass slow very important.
Against inferno: mass haste, mass slow and in general dark spells are good . destructive may work well as they will fill the battlefield with creatures and you need spells of area affect.
Combinations with mark of the wizard (motw).
Motw + frenzy = great results as they hit each other !
Motw + fire trap = terror when they walk!
Motw + resurrection = fast healing!
Motw + phantom forces = double great copies of your high level creatures!
Motw + any of good destructive spells = chaos on them!
*remember that you can’t combine puppet master or phoenix with motw .
Artificier
You must use your artificier skill depending on the opponent and the situation everytime. Most of the times though things are standard. We use defense against orcs, haven, sylvan. Initiative against sylvan is Obligatory if you want to live. Use health on low health units (gargoyles, golems, gremlins, mages), initiative on everything if you can. Luck is also very good. Speed at Rakhasa Kshatra and Djinns. Don’t forget the magic protection against dungeon. Getting the pendant of mastery is a bless for academy as it cuts your expenses in resources by half (considering you have expert and therefore ultimate aritficier skill)
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Heroes VI is here and Necropolis is serious trouble!
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Strider_HL
Famous Hero
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posted September 27, 2008 09:38 PM |
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Appreciable introductory guide - good effort for new players  Unless this thread is sticky, it will drown fast though...
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Elit
Famous Hero
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posted September 27, 2008 09:40 PM |
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I think you have to learn alot more for Academy before start make guide.
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Vangelis21
Supreme Hero
Manchild
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posted September 27, 2008 09:40 PM |
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i dont know how it can be sticky, i just hope new players will see some things
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Heroes VI is here and Necropolis is serious trouble!
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Destro23
Promising
Famous Hero
Keeper of GrongGrong
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posted September 27, 2008 09:44 PM |
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There is also a whole forum dedicated to homm5 strategy discussion. This is not it, I don't see anything like a strategy guide regardless of its merrits getting a sticky here.
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