UNIFIED SHATTERS!
The new Shatter merges Light, Dark and Summoning. Shatter Destructive was not included because the map does not provide high amounts of spellpower and that could introduce balance issues. Plus.. Bloodrage already acts like Shatter Destructive :)
While the Shatters are merged, the Detain perks are not:
- Detain Light unlocks Stormwind and Refined Mana.
- Detain Dark unlocks Corrupted Soil.
- Detain Summoning unlocks Back to the Void and Fog Veil.
As compensation for the ability to Shatter multiple magic skills, the effect was toned down.
No tier is reduced by more than 1 level of mastery and there are only Detain perks - no Corrupt or Weaken.
Unified Shatters is one of the things I've long wanted to try as they come with considerable benefits:
- No gamble between hard-countering the opponent or wasting skills.
- The Shatters were hardly equal, with Dark being a must and Destructive usually being overkill.
- With the map giving you a variety of spells, the gamble had grown pretty risky.
NON RANDOM DISPEL
I've always felt that Dispel success being chance-dependent was at odds with the spirit of a tactical game. Failing to dispel a Puppet with a unit caster could make or break your game and similarly Eternal Light making buffs harder to dispel. Now Dispel works 100% and its mastery is what determines up to what tier it can cleanse: Basic up to lvl 3, Advanced to lvl 4, Expect to lvl 5.
NEW ELEMENTAL BALANCE
When used vs Conjuration summons, Elemental Balance will now counter-summon its own unique unit, the Lost Soul. Spending only 1 skill to potentially get a free summon with the opponent's spellpower was a little questionable balance-wise. Lost Souls are a little weaker than most summons but still a force to be reckoned with.
BATTLEFIELD OBSTACLES
Obstacles count has been reduced from 5 to 4. Although the battlefield is now wider by 1 line, 5 obstacles could occasionally cause trouble with 8 speed walkers.
FIXES - TWEAKS
- Celestial Conjuring has been fixed and is back in the game. It teaches your hero the Conjuring spell and bolsters your summoned Celestial stack by 40%.
- Torpor is no longer removed by First Aid Tent!
- Advanced Frenzy now lasts 2 turns because 1) it is tier 5 2) shatter won't cut its power in half
- Distract back to 15%.
- Stronghold's Stunning Blow and Excruciating Strike returns to Offence.
- Some minor tweaks, improved visuals and ingame descriptions.
Finally the Manual has received a number of improvements: Hyperlinks to relevant sections, warning icons for important changes and a completely remade Skillwheel section!
Enjoy :)
