Elemental Forums
a quest gives you some ophidians, they have decent attack and defense stats, but only 8 life points, only by keeping them in the back and waiting them to level up a few times they become of any use because despite their good defence they die after the first strike against most enemies having a 12 attack
Maybe they need to get given to you at a higher level, equal to the Ophidian monster in the group of three?
It is pretty frail, but I think the quest to get it is available from turn 1 (no research required). Still should have a few more hitpoints, but not so many that a lucky quester gets a roflstomping unit before their second city.
Okay then. Maybe they could start at Level 2 instead, as a compromise?
yep, a 12 life points ophidian should do better, still easily killed by a bear
the sandgolem, dog and wolf charms seem stronger than the ophidian quest and they occure more often. I would hope the ophidian quest would give you someting with a little more oomph than these things. These are what i compare the fragile glittery snake monster too.
EDIT: i would like to see the ophidian level up and gain abilities the way a henchman does, and i don't why the golem dog and wolf don't get the same loving.
Anna the dog seems to die too easily too, the sand golem rocks but for the two points movement
I also quested (won) an Ophidian, early in my first game. It accompanied my sovereign for a while, and died a couple of combats later. On the whole, I wasn't appalled by this outcome ...
I think StevenAus's suggestion is a good one. I would expect that Ophidians (tame-able, and usable, by humans) would be a little more useful than dogs or wolves, but not as powerful as sand golems.
But looked at another way, I view all of these units as "expendables" -- not really permanent units. They are not champions or armed men; and I would not expect them to take the place of such units. I'd think of them as useful "accessories" (mostly for the sovereign) in the very early game -- not as units that would level up, and stick around, for a whole game.
BTW, anyone else think that henchmen are over-powered ? I guess that might depend on whether or not you like to play Altar ...
I agree with your view of these units, but at the same time, they should at least be useful for a couple combats. Presently the Sand Golem is really the only one that is.
Maybe Ophidians (both monster and ally) could be immune to Fire, Cold and Lightning (to fit with their "Immune to Magic" status). This would make them more challenging to fight and also useful with lower starting HP. And if the devs choose, they could have a huge immunity to non-damage spells so they would rarely be affected by any spells.
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