Tips for a new player?

[xFadedx]

Played through the tutorial and barely managed to kill the dragon and pick up an egg on the first mission. I'm getting killed out there. Any tips to help out a new guy?

Also multiplayer and randomly generated maps would be awesome.

[rebus_forever]

feeling your pain, struggling through second level, im finding using unit abilities to be essential like the archers shots and the combat effects that flash when u couldve used a battle card, dont buy cards unless u really need to farm mana and look at the maps for territory which has high mana generation when u start at the beginning, i would love some tutorial videos displaying deeper tactics.

if you have figured out more than me please provide more feedback : P

[xFadedx]

We seem to be in the same spot. The most useful card I've used so far was some lady that would completely heal a unit next to her. Surrounding a unit with your units before you attack seems to give some sort of bonus. I never buy cards unless I have no choice.

On the first hand I bring out the best mix I can think of. After that I use my hero's spawn ability to bring out new cards. That way I can save mana for a cards special abilities or spells. Also on the first hand I try to get one or two creatures that can move twice so I can collect more mana.

Game is pretty brutal though. I'm sure the more time I spend figuring out things the easier it will become. Also if my units not attacking that turn I always bring up the shields.

-edit-
When I use an archer it never does any damage to my target. They don't seem to do enough damage. Video's showing deeper tactics would be extremely helpful here. :P

[cluddles]

I'm certainly no expert, but here's what I've found so far...

The ranged units I've seen so far only do 1 or 2 points of damage (although you can stick them on a hill to do an extra point). If your target has a shield up then they won't do anything at all. You can get around this by clobbering them with a melee unit first, brining their shields down and making them vulnerable.

You're right about surrounding enemies to get a support bonus when attacking. Some units provide more of a bonus than others - the golden knights or whatever they're called are particularly good for this, and their fast movement lets them get into good positions for this kind of thing too.

Keep an eye on the panel that pops up near the top of the screen when you're going to attack or shoot something, and it'll give you a bit of a breakdown on how the maths works out. You can bring that info up in combat as well - there's a little triangular button thingy that makes it pop up, and it's really handy for those "why is my guy doing so little damage?!" moments

I find that having no spells in your hand tends to be a recipe for disaster, so buying them when you're running short isn't a bad idea. Getting the balance between spending mana to buy spells while still having enough left over to actually cast the blasted things is one of those tricky decisions that keeps things interesting.

[rebus_forever]

Finally beat level 2 and have found level 3 to be much much much easier, i beat lvl 2 by ignoring the giants that seemed to respawn and just shielding and fighting my way to the north, im pretty sure i couldve got both towns.

I would advise all the above tips in addition to suggesting that you focus on your objective, the units can be re-summoned, if u ever played panzer general or a game that ilk playing kinda passive aggressively is the way to go, get in their face so that they are forced to attack and have a solid defence lined up, saving mana and spells for your turn is essential though on lvl 3 its kinda like the lottery, I hope this helps some one.

and seriously, if you struggled with 2, 3 is a joy, I was just moments from completing it at and decided to quit so I could try it differently later.
also, if you got all happy and such with how well you knew the units and cards from the first 2 levels, well enjoy having to learn a bunch of new ones : D

[KaioShin]

Got another tip for new players.

The AI seems to use up their spell cards pretty indiscrimintely. This means they'll go all out in the first battles of a round, no matter if they actually need to or not. If you are on a big map (scenario 4 or 5 for example) with lot's of battles per turn, initate the most important battles last. Let the AI blow their spells and high-level sacrifices on units that you can afford to lose (for example wounded units with just an HP or two left) first. This can make quite a difference.

[Liova]

Save often. I have around 15 separate save files from the defense campaign map, some of them rewritten multiple times, to achieve guardian victory. Some situations had to be played through again and again and again, until they are just perfect, to give me an edge over overwhelming enemies

[Berek]

Originally Posted by Liova

Save often. I have around 15 separate save files from the defense campaign map, some of them rewritten multiple times, to achieve guardian victory. Some situations had to be played through again and again and again, until they are just perfect, to give me an edge over overwhelming enemies

It sounds like you do what I have done in Heroes of Graxia or Civilization... I save every turn :P.

[ejony10]

Here's my two cents!

1) To speed up mana gathering use horse units to take land quicker.
2) Use landscape to your advantage - can shape a battle from being taken from 7 health to 3 health.
3) Use your guardian!
4) Know your objectives.
5) Keep your ranged damage dealers in range or they are pointless.
6) When fighting a stealth unit use a melee to knock out their stealth, then wallop on them with your guardian.
7) Don't be afraid to lose a unit. I have sent a unit to the enemy lines just to keep the enemy tied up for one or two turns while I engage from another direction.
8) Your not a wuss if you have to retreat. Your being smart in some cases.

Fun Tips
1) Explore! You might find something interesting...
2) Some magic cards have interesting affects, depending which time you use them.

1. Don't forget to focus on mana-generating terrain. The AI will almost always have a significant mana-advantage on you. So be efficient. Take control of terrain that provides more mana/turn (e.g. lake) if you have a choice. Also remember that the more units you have on the battlefield, the more territory you can conquer.

2. If you control a Guardian, use him/her to summon a new unit every turn, if possible. It's much cheaper than summoning without your Guardian. You can move and summon (but I don't think you can attack and summon, so you do have to think strategically about this).

3. As others have mentioned, goad the AI into blowing lots of its cards in the 1st battle of the turn. Pick an unimportant battle to start with. If you have the card that lets you cancel an attack, you can even let the AI play a ton of spells and then cancel the battle. This can be a bit tricky, however. Save your most important battles (esp those involving your Guardian) for last.

4. Lean on unit support. It's more useful than you think.

5. Try to get your ranged units on hills.

6. If the scenario you're playing involves capturing certain territories (like distant towns), you may *need* to use the portal ability of your Guardian. Use it early, and send a heavy troop through to capture an unoccupied castle/village. Start marching cavalry reinforcements in that direction immediately, or else the AI will surround and conquer your sole unit.

7. Try not to pay for spell/unit cards too much. If your hand is empty and it's the AI's turn and you expect them to attack you in some important battles, then it's definitely worth it to buy a card or two - just so that you have something to sacrifice. But otherwise, try to conserve mana.

8. Don't forget to use your unit's special abilities - like Stealth. Or abilities that you activate once in battle - like "from the shadows". I often forget these exist, and they're very powerful. The AI will never forget to use them.

9. I like to attack with my Guardian quite a bit, but be careful - if they die early on (and they AI knows to target them), you're screwed. Never expose them to multiple enemies, unless you have a seriously good hand.

10. Pay attention to terrain bonuses (for both attacking and defense). They are HUGE. Keep magic-wielders in swamp, cavalry in open-terrain, and infantry/heroes in towns. Don't attack well-defended units unless absolutely necessary. Have a Siege spell in hand before attacking a town/castle.

[Rhylos]

I just started playing this last night and just barely beat the tutorial map, then got lolstomped on the first map. These are all very useful and I hope to have more success tonight thanks to you guys!

[Liova]

Originally Posted by Severian73

6. If the scenario you're playing involves capturing certain territories (like distant towns), you may *need* to use the portal ability of your Guardian. Use it early, and send a heavy troop through to capture an unoccupied castle/village. Start marching cavalry reinforcements in that direction immediately, or else the AI will surround and conquer your sole unit.

What could also be useful is casting a portal on a tile your guardian is on, then teleporting your guardian in the middle of enemies on the next turn. Try to get a decent hand of units and save a bit of mana, then simply teleport your guardian and summon units all around him at the same turn. Sure your unshielded units would take some damage at first, but with the ability to summon reinforcements right in the middle of enemies and multiple units to support each other the technique may just win you the game.