tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post4626242867706031113..comments2024-03-26T04:01:20.919-07:00Comments on Vigaroe: Warriors of the North Unit Analysis Part 1: VikingsVigaroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02405424233776571308noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-56904092806211046132023-01-24T11:25:12.999-08:002023-01-24T11:25:12.999-08:00The point is: why do the Vikings -and only the Vik...The point is: why do the Vikings -and only the Vikings- have such a distinct art style? Saying 'it's a different team, so they had different art direction and all' doesn't answer this question, which was the original thing you said to explain it.<br /><br />'Complimentary' as in it sounds like you are positive on this realization.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-31197077630976366812023-01-24T05:51:34.984-08:002023-01-24T05:51:34.984-08:00Jotun is Neutral and doesn't have to have any ...Jotun is Neutral and doesn't have to have any similarity to Viking racial units. And he's extremely ugly to my taste.<br /><br />I am not sure what is 'complimentary', but what I meant is that you've made me realize something I previously ignored.Highly Likelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15203878708017340756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-32190780913963778572023-01-24T04:14:59.693-08:002023-01-24T04:14:59.693-08:00I don't see how Jotun are an example of such.
...I don't see how Jotun are an example of such.<br /><br />Not sure what you mean about the Vikings, but it sounds complimentary?Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-12846645125082840052023-01-23T22:30:51.310-08:002023-01-23T22:30:51.310-08:00That's exactly the catch: Vikings had to be in...That's exactly the catch: Vikings had to be invented from the scratch, while other new units had their how-to-put-it? references? - in previous games. <br /><br />But anyways, after your insight I can't perceive WotN Vikings the same as before.Highly Likelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15203878708017340756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-59614783166854185302023-01-23T20:43:25.997-08:002023-01-23T20:43:25.997-08:00That doesn't really explain why the art contra...That doesn't really explain why the art contrast is peculiar to the Vikings. Base Warriors of the North mostly adds Vikings, yes, but it also adds Ice Dragons, Ice Minions, Jotun, and Ice Spiders, none of which stand out so much from the prior designs (The Ice Dragon fits right in with the other dragons), and only the Ice Spider is probably a reskin. (Where the Ice and Fire units are closer to the prior aesthetic sensibilities, but that's at least partially a side effect of Ice and Fire units being uniformly reskins) And Dark Side doesn't have this oddity -its new units have a similar aesthetic to units from the first two games. So the Vikings having distinct art really looks like a deliberate choice.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-92003019660889537322023-01-23T04:16:57.329-08:002023-01-23T04:16:57.329-08:00>On an aesthetic note ... I'm kind of curio...>On an aesthetic note ... I'm kind of curious as to why that was done, what the thought process was.<br /><br />This one is simple. WotN and Darkside has been made by completely different team, with no original artists or even original art direction.<br />(And Ice and Fire - by yet another nano-team, with very low budget as mentioned above).<br /><br />>On top of all that, Warriors of the North finally hits the point where it has enough randomness.<br /><br />Wow, that's made my day! Thanks )Highly Likelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15203878708017340756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-52936388686517227622022-10-14T10:06:33.546-07:002022-10-14T10:06:33.546-07:00Huh. Not a big deal, but still. Updating the posts...Huh. Not a big deal, but still. Updating the posts appropriately.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-34492149968724061262022-10-13T08:16:26.694-07:002022-10-13T08:16:26.694-07:00And Skald's Phaen can still apply Negation, bu...And Skald's Phaen can still apply Negation, but only if target has more debuffs on it than buffs. Timelessness will never be casted in such case.<br />I don't know how I missed it. 'sigh'Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-52487854926276353122022-10-04T08:05:14.220-07:002022-10-04T08:05:14.220-07:00And Volhv's Divine Hand actually has limit of ...And Volhv's Divine Hand actually has limit of 15, not 10. True for DS too. How did I missed that?..Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-87485794371233697572022-10-04T07:24:59.962-07:002022-10-04T07:24:59.962-07:00Jarl's Daring actually has limit of +10 to att...Jarl's Daring actually has limit of +10 to attack, not +20. True for DS as well.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-77173080034869579502022-09-08T14:13:06.454-07:002022-09-08T14:13:06.454-07:00Incorporated all this info, and this does fit very...Incorporated all this info, and this does fit very well with... everything about my play. I would never have guessed Mana/Rage amount scaled crit chance, but I do indeed see crits a lot more often early in a battle with Spells and to a lesser extent Rage, I just wrote off that experience as bias on my part, where I care more about early crits (Or failure to crit) than later ones most of the time.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-52218999061374901772022-09-08T10:47:40.138-07:002022-09-08T10:47:40.138-07:00Ah, crit chances. For some reason I thought they w...Ah, crit chances. For some reason I thought they were in introduction. I actully wanted to write it for a couple of weeks atleast, but was always distracted by something.<br />Anyway, for spells: <br />If it is a player's hero: (current mana (before the spell cost)/mana limit)*3. Yes, merely 3% if we cast the spell having full mana and even less later. Destroyer's bonus is added to it, so with Destroyer 1 and full mana we have 8%.<br />For AI hero: (mana count/mana limit)*(INT*0.35) but no less than 15%.<br />Any spells casted by units (like Books) will use talent chances.<br /><br />DoTs (Burn, Poison etc.) use spell crit chances too. For AI armies without a hero it's just 15%.<br /><br />For Rage it's similar: (current rage(before the skill cost)/rage limit)*3. Icy Rage stacks addictively, just like Destroyer with spells. Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-27378217105410215592022-08-08T05:38:43.770-07:002022-08-08T05:38:43.770-07:00Some random cut stuff info because why not - origi...Some random cut stuff info because why not - originally Divine Hand also increased chance of Volhv's dispel on hit.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-59392394569959895172022-07-17T11:15:09.449-07:002022-07-17T11:15:09.449-07:00A minor technical addition on Axe Thrower - when I...A minor technical addition on Axe Thrower - when I told about reasons for why his stat block shows melee damage instead of ranged, I propably should have mentioned that fixing it is actually pretty easy. It's not like axe throw implementation is something that makes it impossible for the statblock to show it's damage instead of melee.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-84401309647143908232022-07-17T04:22:50.200-07:002022-07-17T04:22:50.200-07:00Well, to me it works both for me and for enemies. ...Well, to me it works both for me and for enemies. Really weird. I use Steam version, if it matters.<br />If you'll want me to check up code on your side, I'll need 'addon_arena.lua' from game directory/sessions/ice_and_fire/ses.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-25484468137565416292022-07-16T20:02:38.563-07:002022-07-16T20:02:38.563-07:00I've never had summoned units come up as relev...I've never had summoned units come up as relevant to Escort to Valhalla. I just kill enemy stacks, have an enemy Skald play their little animation, and absolutely nothing of consequence happens unless the Skald stack also died in which case the semi-alive bug might kick in. I honestly probably never tested whether it worked in player hands, now that I think about it.<br /><br />Jotun and mythological Norse have a complicated relationship that trends toward overall antagonistic but then you have stuff like the evidence is that pre-Christianization Loki was overall a clear good guy figure who was good friends with Thor while being half-giant himself. If Jotun were had been more developed in WotN -like, we actually met distinct societies and had more than one unit type- them not being a Viking unit would've been fine, but overall I wish they'd been thrown in with Vikings given what the final game is like.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-7287087370765756122022-07-16T16:34:29.103-07:002022-07-16T16:34:29.103-07:00Alright, I won't use this words anymore.
Abo...Alright, I won't use this words anymore. <br /><br />About Escort to Valhalla - weird. I tested it multiple times and tested it again right now (just in case) and it always triggered. Can it be that you only tried summoned units? It doesn't work with them. <br /><br />I vaguely remember fans arguing over Jotuns and Vikings. Some people liked them, for other Jotuns=default mythological 'enemy' of Norse people. Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-39467367850101627772022-07-16T11:35:28.388-07:002022-07-16T11:35:28.388-07:00It's the site deciding the comment was spam ag...It's the site deciding the comment was spam again. I suspect it's the 'I want to explain' opener triggering it -I get a fair amount of spam that does open with that kind of line. I've un-spammed it now, though.<br /><br />Double-checking, it turns out the English description for Pangs of Conscience does correctly state the Skald triggers it on their attack, just in way that's worded awkwardly enough I either misread it or assumed it was being translated jankily. Either way, between that and the fact that they of course by default trigger a retaliation when attacking, I simply misunderstood Pangs of Conscience. That... doesn't do much to change it all things told, but it does at least mean it's easier to avoid being zapped than I'd thought -ranged units are fine for the purpose. Though that's a weird resistance mechanic...<br /><br />I'm aware Escort to Valhalla isn't an explicitly listed buff. Nonetheless, it doesn't affect Initiative in my play.<br /><br />The Spear of Wrath stat modification being mental effects explains why I spent a bit unsure if it actually worked -because most of the time you're fighting Undead, and it doesn't work on them!<br /><br />The usual answer when English breaks a pattern is that a word is stolen from another language that has different rules but wasn't English-ified. (Or, well, was English-ified, but only a little, more typically) A quick check of slinger's word history shows that the English word is actually a slight derivation of a German word -and a casual Google Translate of some other words suggests that Schlinger (The German word in question) is roughly consistent with other German occupational words.<br /><br />Witching Staff doesn't explicitly say it only works at range in English, actually, but English sentence/paragraph rules make it seem like it's saying that the buff-removal is specifically part of the ranged attack, and apparently I never had actual play contradict this idea.<br /><br />Yeah, I'd honestly suspected the Jotun was a Viking unit at some point in development just because of all the little ways the game associates them. Which is kind of too bad -Jotun would honestly be an okay unit if they were classed as a Viking. Their current state is just... unfortunate.<br /><br />Anyway, incorporated all this stuff and substantially updated the post accordingly.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-82301373942970496432022-07-16T09:02:29.937-07:002022-07-16T09:02:29.937-07:00'sigh' This is the supposed latter half of...'sigh' This is the supposed latter half of the comment. I'll try to put the first one once more.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-46105167927706057472022-07-16T09:00:44.162-07:002022-07-16T09:00:44.162-07:00Warrior Maiden's Spear of Wrath has only 30% d...Warrior Maiden's Spear of Wrath has only 30% damage penalty for far range instead of 50%. It's Attack/Defense modifiers are Mind Effect.<br /><br />About Axe Thrower - 6-10 is his melee damage. Ranged is merely 4-7. Statblock shows 6-10 because technically Axe Thrower is melee unit with a free talent that deals 4-7 damage at 3 tiles range. <br />Just in case - Axe Thrower is still ranged unit for stuff that affects ranged units as unit classification is a separate thing, unrelated to their actual capabilities.<br /><br />Um, I have a kinda silly question. Why is that "bow"-"bowman", "sword"-"swordsman", "spear" - "spearman" but "sling" - "slinger"? <br />In Russian this words all follow the same pattern. <br /><br />Volhv deals only 6 damage in melee. So he is a rare example of a ranged unit that generally deals below half damage in melee. Unless he is Weakened. <br />He has the chance to remove a buff in melee too. English localization again?<br />Volhv's Healing fails to remove Plague because Plague is actually a group of effects, not a single one - and Volhv tries to remove less than half of them. <br /><br />Mystic deals 8 damage in melee. Bonus damage against Undead is a modifier that works on all attacks.<br />Empathy doesn't work on Magic Immune units.<br /><br />While in the final game Vikings have no level 5 units, there are clear signs that both Ice Dragon and Jotun were such at some point. Very propably not at the same time through. While I don't know for sure, I'd say that it was Ice Dragon at first, but not for long. Soon is was replaced by Jotun, who was Viking level 5 for relatively long time and only became neutral closer to release.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-80449377934441925992022-07-16T08:59:53.062-07:002022-07-16T08:59:53.062-07:00For some reason me replying to my previous comment...For some reason me replying to my previous comment suddenly started to repalce it. Weird.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-58443828009707785012022-07-16T08:55:29.088-07:002022-07-16T08:55:29.088-07:00I want to explain Berserker's visual damage bu...I want to explain Berserker's visual damage bug. Shock Shield description doesn't actually has link to the damage parameter - it's numbers are just flat text. If, say, I'll change it's damage to 50-60, the description will still show 3-5. This ability propably started with damage of 3-5 and was buffed later; person who did it didn't know/forgot that in this case (rather unusually) one will need to edit description manually. <br />Now on the main attack damage. As a rule, Damage shown in unit's statblock is the damage of it's default attack. For ranged unit it's always their ranged attack, for melee - their so called "moveattack". For some reason, in Bersereker's case his 'Shield attack' mistagged as "moveattack" while his normal attack is "secondary". Thus his statblock shows 4-5 damage (from shield attack) instead of proper 4-7. <br />Both of this bugs are purely visual and, obviously, can be easily fixed.<br /><br />Oh, it looks like I semi-skipped Skald last time? <br />Pangs of Conscience is another victim of English localization - it has chance to trigger on Skald's own attack, not when Skald is attacked. It won't trigger against bosses, objects or Magic Immune creatures. It's damage, surprisingly, is also changed depending on target's Magic and Physical resistances ratio. Damage is proportionally decreased when Magic resistance is higher than Physical and increased when Physical resistance is higher than Magic. Damage is unchanged if both resistances are at the same number.<br />Escort to Valhalla should trigger properly. My tests confirm it. Again, it is not shown in current effects but you should see INI being increased by one. <br />Paean spell list: Bless, Haste, Battlecry, Stone Skin, Avenging Angel, Timelessness. Paean WILL NOT affect Skald who cast it (but will buff other allied Skald stacks). It also once included Last Hero (removed due to crash bug) and Negation. Skald can't (and never could) cast Divine Armor that you mention in your example. <br />Evil Taunt spell list: Doom, Pygmy, Weakness, Helplesness, Slow. Skald won't try to cast Weakness on Undead or inorganic unit as they are immune.<br />Spells cast at level 1 but otherwise are as strong as if they were cast by hero. Skald will never cast spells that are already present on target. If, say, the only enemies on the battlefield are Zombie and Skeleton that are already Doomed, Pygmy-ed, Helpless and Slowed, Evil Taunt simply won't be usable. <br />Finally, as both Song talents are neither attacks nor targeted, they give very little experience.<br /> <br />Side note: Skald being phisically weaker than common warrior (aka Viking-the-unit) is rather strange if one thinks about real-life Vikings. And their Pangs of Conscience looks outright random. That said, atleast in the original version KB Vikings are semi-Slavic + have outright Russian Volhvs. Considering this, KB Skalds could be a mix of Norse Skalds and Russian Kalikas (travelling singers and storytellers, who, unlike Norse Skalds, were usually not warriors but holy mystics that inspired allies and called for repentance of enemies). This may be also be one of reasons why Skald is a holy class for the hero.<br />Also, I wholeheartly agree that Skalds as a unit are amazing idea that deserve much better execution.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-36642401838372350712022-06-13T12:36:09.729-07:002022-06-13T12:36:09.729-07:00Updated with this info.
And ah, yeah, that's ...Updated with this info.<br /><br />And ah, yeah, that's very true, and something that struck me right away too. It's just been long enough it's just a background normal thing to me at this point.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-10803055575252116442022-06-13T05:23:13.822-07:002022-06-13T05:23:13.822-07:00An addition: Jarl's Elemental Axe have 30% cha...An addition: Jarl's Elemental Axe have 30% chance to trigger. Once it does, It has equal chance to apply either Shock or Freeze. Elemental Axe will not trigger against level 5 creatures. <br />When I spoke about me liking Jarls, I also meant how unusually they for what is essentially a barbarian faction analogue. Knights are one things, but barbarian chiefs/jarls/whatever are almost always portrayed as just big talking piles of muscles who also often despise magic. So KB Jarl being a leader guy who clearly likes magical stuff is pretty cool. Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-9611287414741570902022-06-10T04:19:12.015-07:002022-06-10T04:19:12.015-07:00I'm glad to see the problem solved.
You know,...I'm glad to see the problem solved. <br />You know, by some strange coinsidence, notifications from your blog randomly started to get autosorted as spam on my side :) But it's allright now.Quaranyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563621496147736585noreply@blogger.com