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| Thread: Any [Nature] strategies? | |
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centaurette
Tavern Dweller
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posted July 12, 2003 01:03 PM |
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Any [Nature] strategies?
Hi all,
I'm a newb to this so go easy on me...
I noticed a [Chaos] strategy guide, so just wanted something on [Nature]...
Centaurette.
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HodgePodge
Adventuring Hero
Bard Extraordinairé
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posted July 12, 2003 09:42 PM |
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While I Don't Have The Time Right Now ...
... to write a complete Nature Strategy, I would recommend building your Creature Portal as soon as possible. Great structure.
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Dragon_Slayer
Honorable
Supreme Hero
toss toss toss
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posted July 13, 2003 04:45 AM |
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I tend to play as Chaos more than I play as nature but I have a few ideas about nature.
The first is about nature’s creatures. The creatures in nature are not as strong as the other creatures in the game but they boast increased speed and other abilities. This means you need to understand some of their abilities.
LV.1
Sprites: Sprites are one of nature’s quite weak lv1 creatures. The sprite makes up for its physical weakness with increased movement on the battlefield and a no retaliation ability. This proves quite useful when early in the game you want to destroy a small stack without losing any of your creatures.
Wolves: Wolves are the physically stronger of the two lv1 creatures. Wolves move quite far and have a double strike ability. This ability is excellent early in the game when creatures are not strong and you can afford to lose a few wolves. Later on in the game wolves become a punching bag for other creatures, and in most cases with me I end up losing all my wolves.
LV.2
Elf: I usually choose elf’s when I play as nature because I like to use some ranged attacks. Elves have a double strike ability as well, allowing them to shoot once and then again after the enemy has retaliated. (If they can) Also, an elf dwelling can usually be found quite easily, so you can get a large number quite quickly.
White Tiger: I never really choose white tigers, but they are a strong creature. White tigers have the first strike ability, which is good when you need destroy a small stack without losing any creatures. White tigers are the first physically strong creatures you come across with nature.
LV.3
Unicorns: A great creature all round. I always choose unicorns mainly because… I’m not sure I just like them! Unicorns have about 80hp and a very strong attack when in larger numbers. They also have the blind ability. Unicorns can destroy a stack of creatures without losing one unicorn.
Griffins: Hmmmm… I have never actually chose griffins so I cannot say much. I’m pretty sure they have unlimited retaliations and that’s about all I can remember.
LV.4
Phoenix: Choosing a level 4 creature for nature will be the hardest decision you make. The phoenix is a great unit and can be really annoying when fighting them. You think you have killed them but then their rebirth ability kicks in. Rebirth allows the phoenix’s to re-incarnate one phoenix once the stack has died.
Faerie Dragons: The faerie dragon is not as strong as the phoenix but is has a wide array of powerful direct damage spells. This is very useful when in a siege and don’t want to leave the safety of your castle. Once you get around 10-20 faerie dragons, their magic becomes very strong.
Choosing which lv 2,3 and 4 creature you want depends on how you want to play the game. Early in the game my army usually consists of two heroes, Wolves, Sprites, Elves, and white tigers if I find a dwelling. Later in the game my army would consist of two heroes, Elves, Unicorns, Faerie Dragons, Wasports and white tigers if I found a dwelling. I might have sprites and wolves depending on if they all died earlier.
The creature portal is the best structure for nature and gives them a slight edge over the other alignments. With the creature portal you get a choice of about 10 creatures. Most people would choose out of the Elementals, Wasports or Mantis’s. Personally I would choose wasports. Although they slow your army down, I like having ranged units in my army.
When you get your hero you will receive an archer or a druid. The archer obviously specialises in ranged attacks. Once an archer learns Grandmaster archery he/she becomes very strong with ranged attacks and shoots twice. A Druid specialises in magic attacks and usually starts off with basic herbalism and basic nature magic. I usually have two heroes in my nature army, a Druid and an Archer. That way you receive all the magic benefits of the Druid and all the combat skills of the Archer. (If they have learnt some)
Nature magic doesn’t have any direct damage spells. Nature magic specialises in summoning spells and beneficial spells. Nature also has some spells that directly affect the battlefield or adventure map (like quicksand, summon ship, terrain walk or something like that) Nature magic have great spells like summon Faerie dragons or quicksand, which stops a few enemies in their tracks. Nature also have giant strength which is great when cast on unicorns of phoenix’s.
Overall nature is a strong alignment when used properly and should not be taken lightly. I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it and I hope this helps you play nature.
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EmperorSly
Known Hero
Destroyer of Liver
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posted July 15, 2003 11:22 AM |
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nature is...
... a lovely alignment, a pity only that it is so weak.
on the positive side, with druid you have ample supply of retaliation eaters. in start summon leprechaun is great: first turn they cast fortune on your wolves making them stronger, next turn they attack enemy and die, while the lucky wolves can attack unharmed. summon satyr is also useful -- thay can cast mirth twice + eat up retaliation.
great moment comes when you get the spell "summon water elemental". for most of the game, this is THE spell for nature. water elementals can make the enemy walking army completely harmless. fatigue them, and keep putting quicksands on their way. once you are safe you can also use ice bolting. the big advantage of summoned water elementals over the permanent ones from creature portal is "unlimited" mana supply. every time you summon some elementals, the stack gets their full mana back. plus, if you can summon them, they dont slow you down, plus you can have them killed without regret.
have two druids at least... even a low level druid can be very useful, e.g. for casting wasp swarm on those nasty enemy cyclops every turn, while your main druid summons elementals or does other complex tricks.
elves vs. tigers: RRRRRrrrr... elves are weak, slow, and expensive to build. since you have retaliation eaters and giant strength in your arsenal, i like to go for tigers with the added benefit of quick-moving army (always a very important thing to have). and the first strike is nice.
griffins vs. elves: griffins are ultracool. if by any chance you manage to get master death magic and vampiric touch, vampiric griffins with unlimited retaliations are untouchable. just send them in and let the enemy die. but is hardly ever possible. and they are damn expensive to build. which is why i nearly always go for unicorns that are quite ok too.
phoenix vs. fairydragon: i would make the choice based on whether dragonstrength is available or not. if it is, you can effectively double your phoenix with it, but it wont have influence on the damage fairies do (since theirs is magic) --> choose phoenix. They are also cool since they dont die easily: with dragonstrength they are 550 hp large, and there is the rebirth, which in my opinion you can also use even if you have lost just one phoenix (not whole stack). the rebirth is not on phoenix per stack, but about 55 hp per phoenix. So, 10 phoenix will resurrect about 550 hp. with good enough management you will hardly ever lose a phoenix. build them. (did I mention that an army consisting of heroes and phonixes only is VERY fast...)
creature portal: i'd forget the leprech and satyrs, water elementals i'd rather have summoned, waspworts are way slow to be dragged along, thus its gonna be either mantis, but since it might take some time before you can have them, it could be also cool to have fire elementals -- they are not too slow, and they have ranged ability.
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Damacon_Ace
Famous Hero
Also known as Nobris Agni
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posted July 15, 2003 12:31 PM |
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Nature troops are not weak at all...
Sure nature troops are rather vulnerable to heavy tank troops like dragons and behemoths, but they are also extremely deadly at the same time.
First of all, nature troops are usually very fast, especially on grass terrain. Your first levels, Sprites and Wolves, are very vulnerable to hard hitting troops, but early in the game, with their rather large growth, you can use your sprites and your archer's ranged ability/druid's summoning to clear mine guards with not much loss. I find it to my ability that nature is third best behind life and might when it comes to clearing stacks in the early game.
Second levels, elves and tigers are very different. Elves are vulnerable when an enemy gets adjacent but before that, they strike really hard especially in very large numbers. Protect them in the rear lines and you should be fine. White tigers on the other hand are very durable and offensive, and as some people falsely thought, they are FAR from mediocre. Tigers are very essential to the early game survival of nature, and the druid can summon them in the mid game.
Your third levels, are the mighty griffin and the durable unicorn. The griffin is very powerful in the fact they are very fast and have unlimited retaliation, and with snake strike and dragon strength they are very good, but their defense and attack are rather mediocre and are universially targeted by the AI. The unicorn, on the other hand, has a very good blinding ability and they have better stats although they have fewer HP and don't benefit much from snake strike/dragon strength. But the unicorn is a good unit to have in the early/mid game and don't require much prerequistes.
Now to your final levels, the phoenix and the fairy dragon. The Phoenix has the 2nd best HP behind the black dragon and deals outstanding damage and becomes even deadlier with snake strike and dragon strength. Couple that with their fire resistance and they are a force to be reckoned with. The Fairy dragon has fewer HP and a rather weak physical attack, but man, if you face these creatures, you are going to have an awful time. The fairy dragon has a wide array of offensive spells that can bring down huge stacks of enemies when they even are in moderate numbers. So if you love offensive spells, choose the fairy dragon, but don't choose these if you face against Black Dragons or you are toast.
And the Creature Portal. This allows you to recruit a wide variety of creatures, but take my advice here: don't recruit leprechauns, satyrs or earth elementals - their lower stats aren't worth the extra growth. I would suggest water elementals as their spellcasting ability gives you a tremendous edge in the crucial mid-game and stand up very strong in the end-game especially if your druid has GM summoning. But fire elementals aren't that bad and the preserve could use another shooter - very handy. Air elementals aren't a bad choice either given their fast speed and insubstantial abillity make them ideal hit and run killers. And for the mantises, these are best left out unless you have more than one preserve, loads of money and an external mantis dwelling. However these units are a pain in the neck - believe me, I had more than a nightmare fighting these insects.
So there you go, and don't say nature is weak because it isn't. In my theory, a full-strength nature army is deadlier than any other army (maybe except for a genie-clad order army).
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No one knows my true nature here...
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Lith-Maethor
Honorable
Legendary Hero
paid in Coin and Cleavage
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posted July 17, 2003 09:13 AM |
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nature unleashed...
Sprites: handy in the early game since they can wipe clean low level guards without any losses
Wolves: average, unless snake striked... then they can be very annoying...
White Tigers: great unit for its level, but I usually go for...
Elves: the only recruitable shooter of this town... you need wood tho...
Griffins: one of the best units in the game IMHO, very good when snake striked... always my choice...
Unicorns: never used them actually... when I get one or two of them by summoning I use them to guard mines...
Phoenixes: the powerhouse of Preserve, but I go for...
Faerie Dragons: their spells usually come in handy...
Creature Portal: Water Elementals... in numbers, they can be devastating...
as far as spells go, Giant/Dragon Strength and Quicksand are useful, (Mass) Snake Strike can turn thetides and high level summonings can do the job as retaliation absorbers/temp boosters...
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You are suffering from delusions of adequacy.
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