Convince me to buy this game please.

from Elemental Forums


So, I played War of Magic and I was simultaneously disappointed and excited. Some things were great, like the resource management and city building system, not to mention the magic system was reminiscient of Master of Magic. However, I felt that the game fell flat in the aspect of magic's importance in play and race/unit diversity. So I want to ask about the newest installment and see if it has changed for the better.

 

In WoM, racial choice was almost entirely independent of unit stats and composition. Really, toward the end of the game the best units were always the same (partly because you build your own units and everyone has the same choice of items).

Is there more unit diversity, perhaps link to racial choice in some way?

 

 

In the same vein as the above comment, heroes/champions/etc did not have much diversity, either. They had an activated ability and/or you could make them a channeler that just cast the same spells as your character. There were also no items that aided your character's magic ability and there was no penalty or opportunity cost for just throwing the most powerful armor on all of your heroes.

Is the hero system more diverse and interesting?

 

 

I felt that the magic system, while having great mechanics, was not an integral part of the game. It was very hard to build and maintain a good mana base and you could not maintain a dacent amount of buffs or be a casting-oriented player. Even if you focused all of your resources on it, it really did not stand up to just building mundane units. In fact, you could win the game just fine without casting a single spell or using any magic at all.

Is magic a more integral part of the game now in terms of viability and use? Have the machanics of the magic system been changed or is it fundamentally the same?

 

 

I very much liked the technology and research system in this game. I was also a big fan of the city building and resource gathering/managing mechanics.

Have these aspects changed significantly?

 

Is there anything else I should know about the game?

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Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top


FE is worth the investment, both in money, and time. It needs a little TLC, but overall I think it's a game with a lot of potential.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top


Is there more unit diversity, perhaps link to racial choice in some way?
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Very little. They added some mildly interesting units and equipment options specific to certain races, but most of that is either not very useful or only useful near the beginning or middle of the game, late game there is still a best armor and best weapons used by all the races. There is some other racial diversity that's a little more exciting related to spells or city improvements, but as far as units go it's still quite bleh. There is a pretty big mod that adds a bunch of really interesting races, but even in that you still have the same best armor and weapons that late game units will be using.
 


In the same vein as the above comment, heroes/champions/etc did not have much diversity, either. They had an activated ability and/or you could make them a channeler that just cast the same spells as your character. There were also no items that aided your character's magic ability and there was no penalty or opportunity cost for just throwing the most powerful armor on all of your heroes.

Is the hero system more diverse and interesting?
End of quote


They actually did a really good job with sovereigns and champions, all of your concerns have been addressed. There's basically 5 different classes now that are fairly distinct, and some expensive champions are multi-classed. Heavy armor is pretty much only going to go on warriors or defenders, because it's too heavy for the other classes to use effectively for the most part, there's lots of spell caster gear, and also a fair amount of dodge/crit gear for the assassin class. There's even a governor class that doesn't get much in the way of combat abilities but is good at supporting cities or other units.

 

I felt that the magic system, while having great mechanics, was not an integral part of the game. It was very hard to build and maintain a good mana base and you could not maintain a dacent amount of buffs or be a casting-oriented player. Even if you focused all of your resources on it, it really did not stand up to just building mundane units. In fact, you could win the game just fine without casting a single spell or using any magic at all.

Is magic a more integral part of the game now in terms of viability and use? Have the machanics of the magic system been changed or is it fundamentally the same?
End of quote


You can still succeed without using spells, but focusing on magic is also very viable. Mana is easy to get, especially if you play with dense shards, and caster sovereigns can throw powerful spells around every battle.

 
I very much liked the technology and research system in this game. I was also a big fan of the city building and resource gathering/managing mechanics.

Have these aspects changed significantly?
End of quote

Very much so. Cities are much smaller, only about a dozen buildings each that upgrade, plus a half dozen or so world wonders. The tech system has also been cut down quite a bit. There's only three tabs now, civic, combat, and magic, and everything has been tightened up into much fewer techs displayed in trees.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

 

Is there more unit diversity, perhaps link to racial choice in some way?

I like the diversity. There are different classes of weapons, and each has its own advantage. There is armor that requires iron and other pieces that require crystal. There are numerous traits that can be assigned to units. There are also specific racial advantages. While there are a few who say there isn’t enough diversity, I am very pleased with designing units.

Is the hero system more diverse and interesting?

Again, there are a few who say there isn’t enough difference, but I disagree. I love all the traits, the four basic branches, the five magic schools, and the equipping of your sovereign and heroes.

Is magic a more integral part of the game now in terms of viability and use? Have the mechanics of the magic system been changed or is it fundamentally the same?

I’ll give a similar answer as I did to the first two questions. I’ve seen some say magic isn’t powerful enough, but I wonder what game they’re playing. I think magic is more than powerful enough, and there is a nice balance with wanting to cast the best spells but not being able to do so indiscriminately or you’ll run out of mana.

Have these [technology, research, city building, resource gathering/management] aspects changed significantly?

I don’t know since it has been a long time since I played E:WoM, and I hardly played it even then. However, I find all of these aspects in FE to be very enjoyable.

Is there anything else I should know about the game?

I did not like E:WoM and played it very little. Fallen Enchantress is one of my all-time favorite games. FE still has a few things that should be improved and it needs some polish, but it is still very fun to play right now. Time Sink Warning: If you like the game, expect to spend hundreds of hours playing it. (You'll have to decide for yourself if that's a good thing or a bad thing!)

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

I can tell you that I am one of the biggest EWOM haters out there.  I can also tell you that FE is worth the money.  Is that enough?