Favourite faction in H5 - 2007

[arturchix]

Because the strongest factions in most cases are also the favorite ones. Fun factor, first love and stuff can make an exception.

[Wolfsburg]

Faction strenght is hard to evaluate without being partial, when you are passionate about a faction. That means your evaluation is somewhat subjective. Apparently soccer fans always claim their teams as the best ones as well.



So what comes first: the "strongest" faction turns into your favorite or your favorite faction turns into the strongest? (either by skill or enthusiasm)

[danhvo]

Whoa. I just finished the Orc campaign in Tribes and I have to admit - I never experienced such a total domination with any faction, before finishing this campaign. In the final scenario Gotai was just smiting everyone out of the way since the very beginning, a real tank! He had a pack of cyclops, also ballista with triple shots plus fire arrows (with luck ~1400 damage per hit!), first aid tent, logistics with snatch - really awesome. I just loved when the threat level often was saying "Challenging", while in fact Gotai was winning with quick combat without losses. Since Stronghold also is an extremely interesting faction to play with (I just love the goblin throws), it's my favorite.

Yes, Stronghold is very powerful, as long as you don't run into a hero with Expert Dark Magic. Even if you have Expert Shatter Dark, you will feel very helpless.

[Metathron]

Yes, Stronghold is very powerful, as long as you don't run into a hero with Expert Dark Magic. Even if you have Expert Shatter Dark, you will feel very helpless.

That was exactly the case in the penultimate battle of the last map of the Stronghold campaign. The enemy hero had Expert Dark Magic and my barbarian was pretty much helpless. However, after I merely reupgraded my executioners to chieftains, I was anything but. I made short work of his army with my cyclops, and it seems to me that Shatter Dark is not of importance at all, because spells like Slow still lasted for 10+ turns, so I'd say experience would be put to better use somewhere else.

[asuka]

Faction strenght is hard to evaluate without being partial, when you are passionate about a faction. That means your evaluation is somewhat subjective. Apparently soccer fans always claim their teams as the best ones as well.

Yes this is true. Perhaps because when u have a favorite faction, and you end up defeated by another faction NO MATTER WHAT you do, you start to play that winning faction. And then when you start to like this faction & you keep winning maps, you change favorites.

Back in H3, I believe Castle was the strongest faction. But my favorite was the Dungeon faction. With correct play, H3 Dungeon was very strong & fun play with. Now in H5, I find it very hard (if not impossible) to win with Dungeon against a human Necro player. And slowly, my favorite faction became Necro.

[parcaleste]

Yes, Stronghold is very powerful, as long as you don't run into a hero with Expert Dark Magic. Even if you have Expert Shatter Dark, you will feel very helpless.

That was exactly the case in the penultimate battle of the last map of the Stronghold campaign. The enemy hero had Expert Dark Magic and my barbarian was pretty much helpless. However, after I merely reupgraded my executioners to chieftains, I was anything but. I made short work of his army with my cyclops, and it seems to me that Shatter Dark is not of importance at all, because spells like Slow still lasted for 10+ turns, so I'd say experience would be put to better use somewhere else.

That's why I found them Witch-Doctors so in handy late game against human players

And Shatter Dark I choose because of Weakening Strike (and Detain Dark can REALY come in handy )

[Milla aka. the Slayer]

I voted Sylvan. It's so beautiful and I really like both the heroes but also all of the creatures.
It was a close call though cause I really like Necropolis

[nmiz]

I have played all factions almost equally and i beat every faction and lost to every faction there is. It's all in the tactics! And the circunstances of course.
My favorites: 1) Dungeon
2) Stronghold
3) Academy
4) Haven
5) Fortress
6) Necro
7) Sylvan
8) Inferno

Dungeon: great hero and units, expensive but tough(except the furies) with warlock's luck you're virtually undefeatable assassins are great and the black dragons are the best unit in the game they cost a lot but with good resource management you won't have any problems

Stronghold: Might makes right! great power

Academy: golems+MoW+wizard's spells=victory

Haven: good might faction various approaches light magic buffs are the way to go

Fortress: great defence not so much attack but with ultimate protection(as early as lvel 25) your units just won't die

Necro: strenght in numbers + darka magic(ROCKS)

Sylvan: don't like them very much can't stand the hero's arrow shot animation good units though

Inferno: really don't know how to play them lose in 90% of games

[Allaryia]

Stronghold it's my favourte! Cool and strong! But i like the others too!

[AWellTrainedFerret]

This was a real brain twister for me. Mostly because of what has happened throughout the thread; people have mistaken the question's wording "favorite" not "most powerful". My favorite faction is necro. Simply put, I'm an evil sadistic necromancer, and I love the dead (maybe a little too much...). But I actually voted Warlock, because most of my playtime isn't spent playing simply for fun, it's serious arse-whupping, and I feel that Warlock is much more powerful.

This statement comes after the TotE expansion. When HV first came out, it was different. Necro was the powerhouse imho because so long as you protected your stack of several-k skellie archers, victory was a given. Dark Energy completely changed that. I found that the Dark Energy completely reversed necro gameplay. Once they were the endgame killer with that stack of archers, now I find they excel at early game rushes by sacrificing those worthless zombies to raise much more powerful units first week (I love knocking on an opponents door day five with a wright or two)

Warlock...well with the introduction of invisibility, I simply can't see how someone can lose with them. In fact, the only time I have ever lost playing them was because someone did the exact same necro rush I stated above. Bust if I do survive week one, week two is simply take my stack of stalkers and wipe the floor with everything I run across. Who needs an army when you have empowered + luck spells for Three Turns? Only possible counter is a large, fast army and counterspell, but counterspell is counterproductive because is won't stop the sorcery skill and even if you do snipe my stalker stacks after my three turns are up, I've still got an entire tier 2-7 army sitting at my castle ready to be hired, while you on the otherhand have just been decimated.

[Panda Tar]

Sylvan comes first, and then Fortress. I play better with those units, having balanced units with satisfactory speed, damage and defense that fulfills my necessities for almost any battle strategy.

My favourite is Academy, followed by Stronghold. I always liked those ranged units of Academy and the combination with artifacts. Stronghold is always a fun when playing with rage, no spells and offensive stance, which is more likely the opposite of what I usually do.

[Lord Lakely]

For this was a though choice: I really like Academy the most, but I'm not good playing it.
I voted Sylvan, it's the town, I'm best playing at and I pick the most.
Academy is a close second and Stronghold finishes my top three.

[Asheera]

Dungeon is my favorite faction for me. But I don't consider it the strongest though (I don't play Heroes 5 very well either)

[Banedon]

Warlock...well with the introduction of invisibility, I simply can't see how someone can lose with them. In fact, the only time I have ever lost playing them was because someone did the exact same necro rush I stated above. Bust if I do survive week one, week two is simply take my stack of stalkers and wipe the floor with everything I run across. Who needs an army when you have empowered + luck spells for Three Turns? Only possible counter is a large, fast army and counterspell, but counterspell is counterproductive because is won't stop the sorcery skill and even if you do snipe my stalker stacks after my three turns are up, I've still got an entire tier 2-7 army sitting at my castle ready to be hired, while you on the otherhand have just been decimated.

Play more humans, because last time I tried this I had 7 invisible Stalkers and my opponent did Rune of Charge -> charge wherever the Stalkers are and I wound up in a retreat or die situation before I cast a single spell. Since then I've concluded the 7-Stalker strategy works only against the AI, especially since (for some reason) your opponent can see where the Stalkers are going.

I personally like Dungeon, Sylvan and Haven at the moment. I'm an offensive player and favour offense over defense. Dungeon's fast and powerful units suit this strategy. Haven is very effective too, especially late-game. Sylvan I like if I can get the army built up with relatively little pain. Stronghold I'd play if they had something other than Centaurs to deal raw damage with (or maybe I'm not playing them correctly - I'm not sure). Academy is inferior to Dungeon with my playstyle, Fortress is way too defensive and I have no idea how to play Inferno since the Deleb nerf.

[parcaleste]

... 7-Stalker strategy works only against the AI, especially since (for some reason) your opponent can see where the Stalkers are going...

Isn't that fix now with the 3.1? I am pretty sure I can't see where the computor is moving them now and can not hit them when find them on my way through the battle field.

[Asheera]

Yes, in 3.1 the AI goes towards your invisible units' starting positions (when they got invisible). Then they search the battlefield, just like a normal human

[parcaleste]

But can you "step" on them? That's what I ask Cause either I "missed" them or eather they are truly invisible... except for the Armageddon

[Asheera]

When you get near an invisible unit, it becomes visible.

[parcaleste]

I know, but you must "step" on it to do so When one becomes invisible it 'loses turn" like - meaning it stays on it's place. I did fly with my Red Dragon on top of it and it didn't showed up at all.

[danhvo]

When you get near an invisible unit, it becomes visible.

Are you sure? I thought they become visible when you run into them (you're trying to move somewhere and they're in your way), or, if a flyer, land on them.