Strategy Guides

Sorry, but it's trial by fire around here. I'm afraid you're on your own.

If I had just saved all the strategy stuff I posted on the forum it would be easy >_<...

Main strategy: Pop down a city on every damn spot you see asap, cities are so worth spamming.

Dont build cities next to monsters, and as long as your city borders doesn't enter monster territory, that city should be good to go.

Keep a steady supply of militia handy during the early phase of the game, they are good at defending cities and standing meatshield for your heroes to level off bigger monsters.
For militia, dont use clubs, they are rubbish, go in and design a militia using the researchable "Spear" or just use staffs.

Dont use maces, they are rubbish, same goes with axes. (for trained units). Heroes should use the best available, just be vary for huge initative decreases or significantly low damage.
Low initiative will have you depend heavily on lucky hits, and usually deals less damage than high initiative weapons/heroes.
Low damage will have a hard time to penetrate heavily armoured monsters and soldiers.

Note: abilities like "Double Strike" always hits (in the current  version). So no matter how much they state they lower your accuracy, they will hit for sure.

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Thanks Kongdej! Tips like this are always helpful!   Does anyone know what Spell Mastery does?

I'm reasonably experienced with this game and I have no idea what that was referring to either.  (I'm sure the poster was making a valid point, I just don't get it out of context, and you should feel free to research as many techs as you like with Magnar

Spell mastery and Accuracy works in a similar manner, accuracy works for melee and ranged attacks (including elemental staves) and spell mastery works for all abilities and spells cast.

If you have 71 accuracy, and is attacking an enemy with 5 dodge, your chance to hit will be 66 (71% from 71 base accuracy (one to one), minus 5 from the enemies dodge (one to one again)).

You take your spell mastery, and reduce that number by the opponents spell resistance to gain the % chance the spell will succeed.
75 spell mastery against 3 spell resistance is equal to 72% chance to succeed on your spell cast (curse, Slow, Shrink) and a 28% chance to be "resisted".

Only offensive spells makes this check (You can freely cast haste without worrying about resistance or failing), and damage spells when resisted still deals half damage, non damage spells fail completely.

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Probably a hyperbole.  Magnar is very good at rushing cheap units at the start, and he can steamroll a few AIs early on, especially on small maps.  He is in no way more powerful that a beastlord with Water magic, a fortify+dodge+blindness assassin, a death/fire/death&fire evoker, etc...

Once upon the time, I started a guide.  There was no interest, but it's still somewhere on the forum.

Magnar does really good with spamming slaves equipped with some leather armour and basic spears, go from that and just increase production to produce the meatshields faster... I think it was a combo of civ/warfare tech.
I recommend to continue researching after the 5 first technologies

Edit: Seeing Tuidjy's face made me remember he did extensive work on a new player guide, there's still a lot of tips in there. https://forums.elementalgame.com/435680

2nd Edit: haha me and Tuidjy posting and editing at the same time

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

*bump* 

One question. Do you have to put your town right next to a forest or river? I don't seem to be able to build a lumber yard or dock if they come into the zone of my city after the fact, even if I have built improvements right up to the forest of the river.

Yes, the city must be built immediately adjacent to a river for a harbor, or a river for a lumberyard.  Snaking to these resources do not allow building of these.

the river and/or forest needs to be within 1 square of your center town thingie, this is done so you can play to focus the game more around the "Autoplace improvements"...

Doesn't really help with forests being removed when you build on them though, so autoplace is still a bad choice

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Well, that seems like a bad design. That' means a 4 mat 3 food 3 essence square is not as good as a 2 mat 3 food 3 essence if that square is close to a forest or river.

Is that right?  Let's see - 6 production per material by default.  Add +1 for each of the 3 levels of lumber mill and +1 for each of the 3 levels of workshop.  so at 2 materials your production would be 12 with a max of 24.  Add another 3 for the level 4 river improvement for a total potential of 30.

Alternatively 4 materials is 24 production by default, the same as 2 materials with six improvements built!   It would be 36 with workshops at level 3 - higher than any 2 materials spot with lumber and water will ever go.

Another thing to consider is the enchanted hammers city enhancement which gives 1 materials.  Access to earth magic means a 3/3/1 city has potential production equal to a 3/4/0.

Anyhow.  Napkin math.  I'm sure I've left a bunch of +1s out but I don't think it'll change the outcome.

In any case a 4 or even 5 essence city(concvlave) with Arcane Forge and Alchemy lab will outproduce anything, right?