AVENGER
- Avenger has gone from 40% chance for +100% damage to 100% chance for +40% damage (credit to the RTA team for the original idea)
- The Sylvan starting area has mixed neutrals for each faction, simply attack them and set up your favoured enemies in town. Not all tiers are available, for balance purposes.
- Imbue Arrow lowers your Atb by 10%. This gives opponents time to position themselves before an incoming triple spell but also guaranteeds that High Druids will channel before the hero casts.
- Rain of Arrows now requires Imbue Arrow to unlock. It was not worth having on its own.
SKILLS
- Summoning replaces Destructive as the second primary school of the faction for thematic and practical reasons. Until H5, Sylvan used to have ties to the phoenix (H1, H2, H4) and Summoning magic (H4) and with High Druid Channeling it is also a very effective choice. Conjuration spell now summons Sun Stags (Agility, Sweep Attack, Immune to Puppet). Worth noting that Rain of Arrows works nicely with Wasp Swarm and that Hive retains its spellpower even if the druids die and your hero spellpower reverts to normal. Summons, Crystals, Firetrap and Barrier generally work like that.
- Destructive remains in a good position. With access to +4 spells per tier it's easy to get enough spells to make a Destructive build work. It could grow seriously out of control with Enlightenment stats and the original Channeling bonus but now it feels better balanced. Worth noting that Rain of Arrows works better with mid tier spells because spamming 3 high tier spells per turn can be taxing on your mana. Also...
- Warmachines is now more common, making Imbue Ballista easier to get.
There are a few nice touches:
- Lack of Triple Ballista keeps Imbue Ballista builds from going off the rails.
- If the Ballista acts before Imbue, WarMachine wait at 25% can reset you to 750 Atb.
- If the imbued Ballista loses its Channeling bonus, you’ll still have Flaming Arrows.
- When an imbued Ballista shoots, your hero Atb is not reset to 0!
- Imbue Ballista is unlocked in Avenger, so you can still have a First Aid Tent.
- Leadership is now an option between Retribution and Empathy. It is no longer a must skill because Aura of Swiftness is only available to Dungeon. With Swiftness you could reach the other side not just with dragons but Dryads, Wind Dancers and Unicorns.
PS, Sorcery cannot speed up Rain of Arrows but Empathy can. - Luck now has easy access to Elven luck which is unique to Sylvan. Warlock’s Luck is available but it does not work with Rain of Arrows.
- Sorcery was originally less important to Sylvan because neither mass spells nor Rain of Arrows benefits from it. It is useful for the now primary Summoning and the mana perks are more important to Destructive than before - since Enlightenment skill is no longer available. It also helps with Warlock’s Luck builds, if you switch to normal casting after a starter Rain of Arrows.
LINEUP
- Sprites are now better casters. Their Wasp Swarm deals decent damage and reduces enemy Atb by 12%. Dryad Symbiosis has a stronger revival effect. Both get +1 speed as compensation for Sylvan losing Aura of Swiftness.
- Pixie 3rd alt added! Less initiative but has 3 uses of Pixie Dust (random 2 turn buff)
- War Dancers got improved survivability, allowing them to reach the opponent with less losses.
- Arcane Archer defence reduction went from 50 to 25% and Master Hunter Warding Arrows from 20 to 25% plus extra initiative and No Range Penalty (damage was slightly toned down to compensate). Arcane Archers are still better from a distance but not overwhelmingly so.
- Druid Elders have improved Stone Spikes and High Druid Channeling bonus has been slightly toned down.
- Pristine Unicorn Child of Light now duplicates light spells on Advanced instead of Expert.
- Savage Treant Rage of the Forest gives +4 init instead of +5. Beta treant model has returned :)
- Crystal Dragons regain the Crystal Scales they were meant to have: Immunity to instakill effects like Harm Touch, Vorpal Blade and Deadly Strike. They are also a little tougher.
- Green Dragon 3rd alt added! Their damage and speed is a bit less than the other two but they make up for it with Flamewave. Unlike with 3.1, it now triggers 100% of the time! It also works with Avenger.
