Warriors better than Mages!?

from Elemental Forums

Hi there. Bought the game and started a random map match. It is great and definitely better then the predecessor.

 

I had the original WoM. In there I never bothered with magic. Instead I equipped everything with Horses, Enchanted Armor and big melee weapons. I could outdamage and outlast my mages with ease. So far it seems the same in the new game.

Warriors do more Damage early on.

Warriors have more defense/health.

Crushing Skulls does not cost mana. The mana can be used for city and unit enchantments instead.

My Sovereign has Mastery and Way of the Mage but a recruited Warrior is still better with damage and survivability. Ok I have only played for an hour yet but choosing mage instead of warrior seems to be a bad decision in the early game. Of course it might be getting better later but we all know that in those games the early development is most important. And by the time better spells and greater spell power becomes available Warriors might already be wielding those nasty Swords of Dragonslaying +5.

Please, this is not a complaint, I love the game. I just want to be told by you beta testers how to do a mage right in my next game. Because in this it seems I will be owning everybody with my full iron mounted champion knights.

9,781 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

To have a strong Mage sovereign I usually equip them with decent armor and weapons early on and utilize them like a warrior.  Level path of the Mage, grab any +spell damage or -mana cost traits.  Either level your chosen magic schools when you level up or use Steal Spirit to level them by killing off heroes that give you advancement in your schools.  

Also, focus on building your economy around mana generation.  As many Conclaves as you can support and grab & upgrade every shard you find.  By mid game you can be generating 20ish mana/turn which allows you to cast a few big tactical spells every battle or many small ones.   At that point your Mage sovereign starts to outpace the warrior equivalent.  

Mages definitely start out weaker (though not much if you use them like warriors early on) and by late game they're unstoppable.  Massive AOE spells for 6 to 10 mana when you're generating 30 or 40 mana is basically a sure win.  

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Actually, they will not be wielding those nasty swords.  Mostly because they don't exist.   Loot in the game has a fairly short improvement line.  Once you start getting toward the stronger opponents, your mage will become invaluable, as you conquer more shards and your magic becomes more powerful.

Mages are of course, very dependent on how much magic there is in your game.  With lots of shards, the mana is free-flowing and a couple of Fire shards,  a couple of levels of Evoker and your 80pt Flame dart will just leave your warriors standing there wondering when it'll be their turn.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

A strong fire mage can deal tons of damage. If you are playing Empire also choose Death for the Soulburning spell. Focus your sovereign on spell damage and your empire on mana and spell research, and you'll have a strong mage.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

There is a death spell that instantly kills its victim (for a high mana cost). Its a joy :D

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Thanks for those suggestions.

So early on do your mage just like a warrior for better leveling. And quickly expand to get more shards.

 

Maybe my next game will have magic heavy map settings just to try out those mages. I will try:

- a Sovereign of Pariden (or custom) faction with Decalon trait.

- She will only be given life magic. All the other magic types will be learned with tomes later.

- The free points will let me choose lots of additional traits for early combat strength when leveling.

- I will research basic armor, weapons and mounts and buy those. After that magic and basic economy tech.

 

 

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top


It is a little like D&D or most RPG.  Mages do not start out very powerful and will need help as they build up their power.  Don't worry, you will see a switch about mid game.

 

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Ceresa is the most dangerous unit in the game, especially now that she can cast Dirge and Graveseal at any time.

 

Mages can be super-dangerous, but you generally want wargs, HP boosts (to keep them from being arrows/flamebolted), init boosting (same reason), and spell powering stuff.

 

Mages also make good support for warriors, esp given how strong defense is in general.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

At the beginning - slow & blindness are great spells for your mage to support your other units.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

In my last game I got my sov to level 37.  Managed to get path of the mage and path of the defender, ie nuke plus crazy hit points.  He one shotted the Ice Lord and the Desert-turtle-looking-guy-who-grinds-mountains-to-dust, with a focus cast flame dart.  Late game Mages are amazing, and the elemental summons can be very nice too once you have a couple shards and can power level them further on wild lands or other rabble.  

 

A tip, I find that managing the rabble is super important to leveling your champs.  If you don't need to clear the camp, then don't, let it spawn guys for you to farm.  They get stronger over time and you get far more xp for mobs than for AI players.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Also note that while in the early game it seems that you can build as many heavily armoured troops as you like, metal (and crystal) tend to become limiting once you have a powerful production base, and have the tech for the heavy stuff. Heavy knights are extremely powerful, but you can't afford too many