"What does this ability do..." thread

[dragonn]

My idea of this thread is to ask questions about abilities and recieve answers for them...

This way the uses of abilities will be explained in one thread.

I go first: How does Imbue Arrow work? Becuase the description says that u can imbue your arrows with offensive damage spells, but it does no seem to work...

[Xenofex.XVII]

You spend your turn imbuning the spell in the next attack of hero. Kinda useless if you ask Me

[dragonn]

You spend your turn imbuning the spell in the next attack of hero. Kinda useless if you ask Me

It would be useful if it would work with offensive spells. Because in this way your hero attack would do normal damage + spell damage. But it does not work this way...

[Hipshot]

Sorcery, what does it do? I don't get the description. Does it make me cast more spells and not as the old Sorc in H3, that made more damage?

[Purple Sky]

Sorcery, what does it do? I don't get the description. Does it make me cast more spells and not as the old Sorc in H3, that made more damage?

I think it allows you hero to cast spells more quickly and more frequently.

I dont get one other thing though. Some times i can be an expert in sorcery and other spell schools, however a lower level hero would get his turn before me. Or some times, for no actual reason, creatures in your army with lower speed and initiative get a turn faster than speedier units. And the moral is the same and they didnt get a bonus from it anyway. What the hell?

[Gus]

You spend your turn imbuning the spell in the next attack of hero. Kinda useless if you ask Me

It would be useful if it would work with offensive spells. Because in this way your hero attack would do normal damage + spell damage. But it does not work this way...

where di you get this impression ? of course it works like that, i tried it no later than yesterday evening. BUT, it works only when doing a Ranger special attack, so either Deadeye Shot or Raining Arrow. Deadeye Shot, once taken, replaces your normal attack, so the whole thing looks like this:
- spend a turn casting imbue arrow to put an offensive (curse or damage) spell on your attack
- from then on, every time you ATTACK an enemy with your hero, you'll cast the spell on it.
- if you happen to have many enemy units on your FavEnemy list and use Rain of Arrows, then you'll attack many creatures at once, and cast the imbued spell on each. Same goes for the Ballisat shots if you have "Imbue Ballista".

Every time the spell is cast through your attack, it drains mana.

[Entreri]

Yeah imbued arrows can do MASSIVE DMG!!!And i think that sorcery does give u the speed in casting and that u can cast more frequently but maybe that hero had Expert leadership that does give u moral=iniciative (i think)

[dragonn]

where di you get this impression ? of course it works like that, i tried it no later than yesterday evening.

So in order to use a damage spell with Imbued Arrows:
- first I choose Imbued Arrows and click on a damage spell I want.
- then I choose Deadeye shot, or Rain of Arrows and when I attack with them those offensive spells work also on enemy units.

Well it should work with normal attack, but it doesn't. When I choose Stone Spikes or Lightning with Imbued Arrows, and when I normal attack my enemy the spells won't work...

[Gus]

Let me recap:
- For Imbue Arrow to work, you must have the ability (obviously) and one or both of: Deadeye Shot, Rain of Arrows.
- Deadeye Shot replaces your normal attack by a Ranger attack, which enables Imbue Arrow.
- Rain of Arrows works only against creatures in your FavEnemy list.
- In combat, you select Imbue Arrow, then a spell. Your arrow is now Imbued, and your Hero can do nothing else.
- When you next use the "regular attack" (that is: you just click on the creature to attack it), the spell wil be cast after you hit.

NOTE: i have only tested this with Lightning bolt (a targeted spell), and not Area effects (Stone Spikes, Fireball, Meteor Shower, etc). I cannot tell you for sure that it works. Others have mentioned using Meteor Shower many times, but i have no proof they were talking about reality and not theory. What i CAN tell you for sure is that it does work with Lightning Bolt (and i think it's safe to deduce it works with similar spells, like Eldritch Arrow, Ice Bolt, etc)

[Erist]

Imbued arrow worked for me too... both area and single damage spells. Well when you use it with an area damage spell you must target an enemy stack instead any square (seems logic to me) and iirc the damage area was not highlighted before casting like the normal one (not so logic)

[DaemianLucifer]

I dont get one other thing though. Some times i can be an expert in sorcery and other spell schools, however a lower level hero would get his turn before me. Or some times, for no actual reason, creatures in your army with lower speed and initiative get a turn faster than speedier units. And the moral is the same and they didnt get a bonus from it anyway. What the hell?

Initiative doesnt seem to affect the starting troop position,so if you have a creature with double the initiative of the enemys creature there are three posible starting positions on the initiative bar:Enemy creature,then yours twice,your creature,then enemys,then yours twice,yours twice then enemys.Although judging by the initiative it should always be the 3rd outcome,its not always like that.

[Gaidal Cain]

I believe that starting position on the initiative bar is to a degree influenced by the initiative stat. However, there's a large random component as well, so the "natural" order is frequently messed up.

[dragonn]

OK I'm able to use Imbued Arrows with offensive damage spells now
The ability works...

[dragonn]

I think the abilities like Mark of the Wizard or Imbued Arrows should work at once, I mean without loosing your turn especially to activate them. It is so unuseful! It's better to cast two spells instead of using those abilities, the effects are better...

[Gus]

I think the abilities like Mark of the Wizard or Imbued Arrows should work at once, I mean without loosing your turn especially to activate them. It is so unuseful! It's better to cast two spells instead of using those abilities, the effects are better...

errr.... it's the kind of abilities that work best when the fight lasts enough for you to cast/shoot many times.
look, with Mark of the Wizard:
- you spend one turn to cast it
- then you cast, and tada, you've got the equivalent of two spells cast, by your second action, so you're already on par.
- every casting thereafter is a free additional casting.

what's not to like ? same for Imbue Arrow, if your spells are powerful/useful enough, then you're in a winning situation. And if you have Imbue Ballista...

[HodgePodge]

Imbue Arrow is a pretty good skill … your Ranger casts Imbue Arrow, then immediately chooses a spell to imbue arrows with (let's choose Lightning Bolt). Then when your Hero shoots, the arrow carries the Lightning Bolt spell with it and it can do lots of damage. If you have the War Machines-Ballista skills too and are lucky enough to get the Imbue Ballista skill, the Imbue Arrow will also work every time the Ballista shoots.

[dragonn]

errr.... it's the kind of abilities that work best when the fight lasts enough for you to cast/shoot many times.

what's not to like ? same for Imbue Arrow, if your spells are powerful/useful enough, then you're in a winning situation. And if you have Imbue Ballista...

Well in long battles they are useful, but in short battles with fast units not...and you loose a turn for Imbueing/Marking each unit every time...

And about Imbue Arrow. It should be written somewhere that offensive spells work with it only after you learn Deadeye Shot or Rain of Arrows...

[Gaidal Cain]

As far as I'm concerned, casting a spell is almost always better than using any of the hero skills, with the possible exceptions of Benediction and Banshee Howl. Armies are going to start clashing round two, at the latest. Having a Mass Spell then is going to be worth much more than an imbued arrow. Rangers doesn't have enough spell power for damage spells, and they don't get Dark Magic in their guilds. Imbue Arrow might be worth it with Imbue Ballista, but otherwise, I think it's weak.

[DaemianLucifer]

As far as I'm concerned, casting a spell is almost always better than using any of the hero skills, with the possible exceptions of Benediction and Banshee Howl. Armies are going to start clashing round two, at the latest. Having a Mass Spell then is going to be worth much more than an imbued arrow. Rangers doesn't have enough spell power for damage spells, and they don't get Dark Magic in their guilds. Imbue Arrow might be worth it with Imbue Ballista, but otherwise, I think it's weak.

Mark of the necromancer and consume corps are also nice to cast in some very long battles.

[vicheron]

And about Imbue Arrow. It should be written somewhere that offensive spells work with it only after you learn Deadeye Shot or Rain of Arrows...

It does say that:

"Allows Ranger to enhance his or her arrows with attacking or cursing spells. All Ranger's attacks (Multishot or Deadeye Shot) will now not only inflict damage upon enemy creatures but also will immediately cast an imbued spell, draining Ranger's mana. Imbue Arrow lasts till the end of the fight or untill all Ranger's mana is drained."