Defender vrs Warrior
Elemental Forums
So aside from Mage, I have also read that Defender is very good.
I just cant seem to find any thing about this class that is fun.
What classes (BESIDES Mage) do you find fun to play with?
Assassin is also fun but you do not get the fun of donning Champion armor later in game.
Thoughts?
Defender is a tank/support mostly, you have to play them as such.
A defender will not be used to win battles themselves but they will save your other hero's butts and allow your regular unit to stay on the battlefield longer.
Here are some examples of how I like to use a defender:
I really like the Guard ability. I just put a row of tree units in front of the defender and cast guard on all 3. On some battles it can make a huge difference by allowing a few crap units to tank lots of damage.
I will also use them to heal other units or save them by switching place with them.
In general you gain by having a defender with lots of armor and high initiative. So that means equipping him with sword/dagger + shield and mounted on warg.
Edit: Also, don't you hate it when you fight a bunch of archers and they decide to all attack your weak mage at the back?
Brave defender can stay by the side of the target and cast heal and guard.
Heh, there's only the five of them...
Defender was very good in Fallen Enchantress, much less so in Legendary Heroes. All of the classes have their place, but (aside from mage), I actually like Commander best. You don't actually put them in melee, but they act as great force multipliers. Defender is similarly a force multiplier, plus a tank, but with less overall "bang for the buck", if you will.
Assassin can be very strong on easier difficulties if you beeline the dodge picks (but higher difficulties means that the AI researches +accuracy, which more or less negates that.)
I haven't played it enough to be able to get some classes off the ground so I usually make a commander and try to get the healing spells for them. Then they can stay out of the fight and just keep everyone else in shape. If they find a bow, even better. Plus the Empire wide benefits seem to fit my style of play better. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to make a killer Mage but so far I've not had a lot of luck.
- My sovereign is almost always a mage. Sometimes I go summoner route and other times I go evoker route. I do find that the summoner really doesn't need much troops production to hold the lines...
- I love building defenders though. I tank 'em up....then go out and find the biggest, badest, heavy hitter out there.....and go and solo the beast. I yell "HIT ME" and it does....and I laugh..."hahaha...you call that a hit?!" 
- I'll build an assassin if the right champion comes my way. It's gotta scream "I wanna backstab someone" and then I'll build the assassin with all the max crit bonuses.
- If I pick up a 'useless' champion, I'll make a Commander out of him. Always the govenor path....roads....unrest....gold...research. I really don't find much use for the tactical side as that's what the defender is for.
- Lastly is the Warrior. I really don't build any warriors because they all turn into glass cannons. Runs in fast...hits for massive damage and hopes the enemy is dead....cause if he's not...you are. It's the class that I find to be the least interesting.
I am using the patchwork mod and the experience on lvling your main seems to be a bit better. Also the trees are changed quite a bit. I have found that a Warrior around mid game in chain with at least a pike is just awesome. Also the mage, while not a big sword weilder can do significant damage in melee if given proper equpement. They suffer from lack of defense as they cannot equip chain or plate.
However put the mage with a ranged weapon in back and he will cast death all day long.....
Making a strong mage starts with a large mana pool, the best mage is a meaningless bug without plenty of mana. ( So that means meditation on your cities and get to them altar/shrines early. )
then in the skill tree I usually beeline the spell schools before anything else. 2 magic schools seems good. More than that seems too much.
What schools do you prefer?
I like water, I also found Death 'ok' the 'kill' spell takes too long to get going and dragons resist it about 1/2 the time. Life would be good I suppose, and of course Fire is great all around for aoe killing goodness!
The forum ate my post.
Edit: Ok, summary: Water, Death, Air, Life, Earth, Fire. In that order.
The best damage spell seems to be the mage lightning one with spell bonuses but mostly reduction in mana cost if you can find it. I try to get at least 2 in every school of course, but for my evokers I always start off with Life and either I play a race with the books or make nice with Pariden until I can buy them.
Generally though, I mostly use that Lightning spell, it works great, especially if you have the movement to line them up.
Defenders are amazing. The key is to level and equip them so that they can stay alive.
Then, send them into battle with archers/mages, and some hard-hitting melee units.
Then, just use the defender to get the in the enemy's face. If the bad guys are attacking the defender, you're winning. Have the melee units follow the defender and kill whatever is near the defender - the ranged units mop up everything else.
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