Edain Mod 4.5: The Spellbook of the Dwarves
Greetings, companions of Edain,
Today we want to present you the next overhauled spellbook:
SPELLBOOK OF THE DWARVES
Naturally the dwarves also get a reworked spellbook. Because there are 3 different dwarven factions, but only one spellbook, it was not easy to find spells that fit all factions. But all dwarven houses have a focus on architecture and so does the spellbook. A few spells already led in this direction. But we also wanted to include the craftsmanship of the dwarves and their readiness to fight. So we removed 3 spells and added 2 new ones. One of these is the central spell, which is unique. Furthermore 4 spells were reworked.
You can read more about the new spellbook structure in general, including the new long-term and short-term strategic trees, in our first Edain 4.5 spellbook Update.
THE FIRST ROW
As you might guessed the healing-spell, "Dwarven Beer" is gone. It always was more a fill-in spell than a fitting spell for the dwarves. Also it was in too many spellbooks. The "Rallying Call" and "Carc's Ravens" are now the spells of the first row and we think they are quite fitting. We had the feeling that the ravens were often only used as a debuff and not for scouting. So we changed the concept of the spell.
Carc's Ravens: Control the ravens and send them to an own structure. Nearby enemies loose 25% armour and damage. Nearby allied buildings gain +50% armour and +200% sight. Does not affect walls.
Now the ravens have a more passive role, because you cannot control them actively. If you use the spell on a building the ravens change their location. So you can only move them if the spell is ready and you can only guard one building. The spell is in EG very good, because you get a lot of sight. Because of the debuff it is still useful in LG.
"Rallying Call" stays the same.
THE SECOND ROW
Both spells of the second row are already known and they barely changed. The "Lone Tower" fits perfectly in the left branch of the dwarven spellbook. Yes it is same as Gondors but also blends well with the other spells of the dwarves, like the "Dwarven Runes". Because of a slightly debuff, the tower should not be as powerful as before.
On the right branch there is also a building summon to strengthen the significance of buildings and defenses in the dwarven spellbook. "Undermine" is a well known and offensive summon, which can be used to surprise the enemy in the right moment. It costs 2 spellpoints now.
THE THIRD ROW
In the third row there are 2 spells from the old second row and there is also a new spell on the left:
Weapon Art of the Dwarves: Dwarven units with Heavy Armour and Forged Blades/Fire Arrows gain additionally +15% armour and damage.
It is a spell which focuses on the smithery of the dwarves, which was important for us in the new spellbook. This spell enables the player to upgrade his units in LG even further.
The "Dwarven Runes" were also reworked:
Dwarven Runes: Offers a variety of different runes, that can be attached to dwarven buildings.
There are 4 runes:
1. Rune of Inviolability: The chosen building gets +50% armour.
2. Rune of Inspiration: Allies nearby the chosen building gain +15% armour and damage for 30 seconds. As before the effect stays even if the units leave the area of influence.
3. Rune of Power: The chosen building gets every frequently repaired. Every 20s 500HP are restored.
4. Rune of Productivity: The chosen training building trains units 30% faster. Economy buildings produce 30% more resources.
Because of it's diversity the spell is useful in every game situation. You can boost your economy, train troops faster or generally play a defensive tactic. It also is a good spell to upgrade the dwarven defenses to get them as strong as they should be.
You can use all four runes on one building and all runes have their separate timer. So you can use them quite often, unlike Radagst. Runes do not work on the citadel.
On the right side there are two known spells. "Gandalf the Grey" did not change much, but got a light and stun effect when summoned.
The "Beorn" spell was strengthened, because it moved to the third row. Now there are 4 beornings and Beorn spawned, which can change their form.
THE CENTRAL SPELL
It was difficult to find a central spell for the dwarves, because of the three factions. At the end we found a common ground: All dwarves fight to the last man.
The new central spell is:
Final Stand: Allies in the target area gain four times as much armour, are immune against knock-back and slow down cavalry twice as much for 20 seconds.
The central spell of the dwarves is special. It is the only one which is active. The spell can be deciding a fight, when your troops are surrounded or slightly weaker than the enemy. So even a hopeless battle can be won. We thought this is a good spell for the fiercely-fighting dwarves.
THE FINAL SPELLS
The final spells were already quite fitting for the dwarves. The "Summon Citadel" is the defensive spell and the "Earthquake" will be the offensive spell. "Earthquake" is a perfect finisher, because it also knocks down units.
We hope you enjoyed the update and look forward to your feedback.
Your Edain Team
No more durin's day nooooo but I understand your thinking. Limiting the ravens to buildings concerns me but at least it can be comboed with lone tower to not only attack the enemy but debuff them as well. It seems the left side powers are for longer matches, given the weapon arts of the dwarves is only effective once you have all your upgrades. On the flip side if you're predicting a shoter match, 2 points for undermine and then only 5 for gandalf means you can quickly burn down an army and rush the enemy base. Gandalf's stun on arrival still makes him better than the buff to beornings in my opinion unless the stun is a relatively short one. Great picture for the final stand power. Weapon arts of the dwarves is a tad long for a power name though, I would change it to du bekar given it means 'to arms' or perhaps 'dwarven forges'. Overall I'm happy with the changes.
Happy to hear. :)
The ravens may seem a bit too stationary, but I think they fit püerfectly on the left side and if correctly used it is one of the strongest spell of the first row, imo.
If Gandalf is worth 5 or 6 spellpoints was just recently brought up and is being discussed.
What you describe is exactly the type of decision we wanted you to make with the new spellbook :) Do you bolster yourself for a longer match and maybe play more defensively to make use of your long-term advantages, or do you press for a quick finish with powerful offensive spells? We want all spellbooks to have this sort of dynamic.
Very good! Like the new central spell!
Just a couple of questions.
1) For personal "academic interest. At Carc's Raven I suppose the code was adjusted so the power won't be used on walls. My question is, does the game engine consider the Walls applicable Structures by itself? And if yes, does that affect the whole Wall Circle or just the seperate segments?
2) Dwarven Runes -> Rune of Power. Does the Repair happen gradually, meaning that during the 20 seconds 500 HP are restored, OR when 20 seconds pass you immediately get 500 HP back and then again ONLY when the 20 seconds pass?
Yes, it won't be useable on walls. What do you mean by applicable?
None of the whole wall circle will be useable for the ravens as well as unused build plots.
2) The latter one.
Here's my questions for the new Spellbook
1. Are the ravens permanent? since its a defensive power it would make sense if it was a permanent ability to go along with the whole building buff theme of the tree. This question also applies to the runes, I understand a building getting a permanent boost from Spellbook powers is probably not balanced in some ways but it would make sense of those powers were permanent to fit the theme of defensive trees. The last part of this question is will those buffs stack, for instance I buff the same building with a rune and ravens?
2. Wouldn't it be better to remove the Earthquake power and replace it with something else, I know its an iconic power from the vanilla game but I always felt it was very generic and didn't connect with the theme of the Dwarves beyond the whole Earth aspect of Dwarven culture. Compare it to the Fires of Isengard, that power works because we see Saruman's minion commence the bomb explosion which makes it more identifiable as compared to, an Earthquake coming out of nowhere. Also the whole earthquake AOE damage spell concept is a very generic ability in terms of games set in the Fantasy genre.
1. Once you have used this spell and sent the ravens to a specific building they will stay at that building until you send them (by using the spell again) to a different building.
And the runes are permanent, too.
And yes the can stack.
2.
It fits good with the dwarves and is the only spell that represent their connection to the earth and their craftsmanship when it comes to siege.
Also it is one of the few AoE spelly that affect mostly buildings. Most AoE spells affect troops.
What if you made the spell act a bit differently, like the Dwarven machine in Fornost, the Earth-Hammer, it would be more apt upgrade
- In fact, it can be a Fortress upgrade, akin to the Dark tower (Dwarven Holds), that would replace the Grand Catapult, and have global range, firing the power only when the timer comes down.
Also if the structure/fortress gets destroyed, it doubles the timer. I understand that destroying the fort is probably game over, at that point, so I guess the Earth-Hammer could be made a separate structure, that would spawn akin to the Lone Tower, and when one would destroy it, it would reset or double the timer.
I think this change would make it more apt for the Dwarves and making it counterable could justify the damage buff, and A.O.E reduction - making it a slightly more focused, but just as devastating a spell.
Just a thought, I hope you consider it -
Ether the latter, as a mere power, or the former, as a structure.
Thanks.
Best regards, Destromath.
Nice one there.
I have another though:
Let's think I got the short-term branch, I just got the undermine spell. In the next step, I have available Beorn or Gandalf. Two summons without a clearly differentiated role, but Gandalf is a bit cheaper and opens the possibility to make a bypass to the other branch of the spellbook. Beorn, instead, is cornered in the spellbook, and it's more limiting for the next step of the spellbook.
So I will always go for Gandalf. I think that the Beorn one could be a bit underused in this situation.
So maybe the two summons could be joined in a tier 4 spell, with some additions, to make for a battle of the five armies themed spell, supressing the earthquake and making room for Durin's day and another short-term spell in third tier of the branch.
Yea, I see the earthquake as too generic also, it's the less themathic one of the "last spells", most of them make us recall a chapter from the Middle-Earth history, but in this case there's nothing that has to do with middle earth history in it, looks taken from Warcraft. The lone tower one is a bit bland also, as it is duplicated.
Not a lot of changes, not a surprise, this spellbook was better structured than the Rohan one, but it could benefit from more profound changes!
About the spell "Weapon arts of the Dwarves" is it a passive or an active one? It is one of the best fitting spells for this faction/race that someone can think off so far. Personally i like the whole concept but, ingame, I am more for the left side tree in gameplay eventhough i like the Earthquake very much :))
Cheers and keep this tempo for the all your future plans/ intentions :D
It is passive.
Ouu yeah, great :D
Just a question here,
Are you planning to remove all heal spells for units from the game ?
As I remember now only Isengard have heal, with Ugluk, and Imladris with Arven. Not counting in the well buildings.
No, just primarily from the spellbooks. The aim of the rework is to prevent as much overlap in the spells as possible. Completely removing any form of overlap is impossible, especially with how much content Edain has, but we're trying nonetheless.
From a gameplay perspective, spells that heal are statistically the most chosen and usually suffocate strategic diversity in the spellbook.
Hope I answered your inquiries :).
I love the raven spell rework and the central spell.
I have to be a little critical here. You remove healing spell, which was atleast a little bit different, as your units were slower after using it. But you keep rallying call and lone tower, which are 100% copy of Gondor spells. You could atleast change something about them, like you did with ravens. Keeping the main concept but change it to suit dwarves better.
Secondly, Weapon Art of the Dwarves: Why? Really, do you think upgraded dwarves lack power? They are strong AF without any buffs.
Apart from that, great work. I am glad to see a progress :)
I think that the "Art weapons of the Dwarves" is a solution and compensation to their loss of healing power since they lack in numbers compared to Rohan/Gondor and the evil factionwhich is quite fitting for this faction from lore aspect
Hi, Love this reworked spell book. I think its got some of my favourite changes so far out of the ones you have posted about.
HOWEVER something that concerns me is the the power "Undermine" which now is very cheap and available early game.
When you give such a heavy hitting faction like the dwarves good mobility you get a very well rounded, strong faction with few exploitable weaknesses. Ered luin is an example of how frustrating that can be to play against.
I think its great how you identify what characteristics make up each faction but its important to focus on what weakness each one should have aswell, imo the dwarves weakness should always be their mobility. The reason why the mineshaft system is balanced is because there are only certain places these buildings can be placed and it gives the opponent a chance at counter play.
Maybe a way to balance this would be to have a ridiculously long cooldown on this spell etc
Just a concern of mine though. Many Thanks for the amazing work you do!
Great points and I completely agree with your train of thought. The Undermine is optimally used for the Dwarven Realms that lack mobility, like Erebor and Iron Hills, who will have gameplay significant changes coming to 4.5. However, as you say, that doesn't mean Ered Luin is exempt from it, and giving the mobile Dwarven realm more mobility is a recipe for problems. That's why Ered Luin is going to be adjusted accordingly in 4.5. We've read the complaints and feedback that Ered Luin is currently too strong, and we're planning to do something about it.
Hang tight and thank you for the kind and insightful words!
we will get the Gundabad with dol guldur orcs,faction?
Gundabad Orcs will be available in the Misty Mountains faction, in the own Gundabad subfaction. Dol Guldur Orcs are already playable in Mordor, via their proper outpost.
when will be the release of 4.5?
When it's ready to be released. It's not possible to provide specific dates. Stay tuned and you shall know when the right time comes.
Are you going to revamp the Arnor spell-book too?
Arnor's spellbook is to be overhauled as for the other factions. Only, it will be kept as a surprise for the Community.
can´t wait to play with the Gundabad Faction,all of the fans we wish you goodluck!!
Thank you! The internal staff appreciates your kind words. I'm sure you won't be disappointed ;)
This is going to be great! This is everything I wanted and more!
I think dwarves should have the final stand but its a buff with summoned troops
e.g iron hills get all the hobbit dwarves and king dain with an small army of iron hill soldiers and ram raiders like the movie
and another special which lets king dain use the arrows to stop arrows from archers
also we will get Bolg gundabad troops?
I don't know yet. If I recall correctly, the official plans for the faction do not comprise them, but those are quite old plans (the article was published almost three years ago). I think there are a few proposals in the forum that concern those troops. In case you were interested, just visit the official forum of the Edain Mod (Modding Union).
When will you be finished with the misty mountain faction ? Can't wait !
When the faction is ready to be released. It's not possible to give other more precise indications of time. The Edain Team is currently working on the upcoming patch, which is to revolutionise siege and spells in the game. Official plans for the Goblins will be unveiled only in the form of official articles; I can't give anything away, not even if I wanted to. Keep in touch with the progress on this page or on Modding Union and you shall be fine ;)
hey. um my launcher is a bit interesting...i have the all way newest version that is the 4.4.1, but i found update. how is that even possible?
nothing happened, maybe the game has been missing some files...i don't even know
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when do you guys know approximately when the update will be reliset?
It's not possible to provide a precise release date, nor a vague indication of time. The patch will be available after all spellbooks are finally overhauled. And there might be other additions/changes also, before the coming of the update.
very well, just asking :)
Never mind, anytime :)
Follow the news here or in the official forum, and then you will certainly know when the patch is to be made available. In the meantime, feel free to discuss with the other members of the Community and to propose concepts you might want others to be aware of. Possibly, in the official forum.
allrighy :)
I love the quality of the work that the team is doing(really can't wait for the 4.5!), but mostly what I would like to see is some way to fix the terrible lag that happens even with moderate amounts of troops. Maybe the trick is to have some sort of game extension like the CMT team did to power their Spv3 mod.
The lags are only because of the old game engine...for example only one core is used :/
So it only helps to decrease graphics, even with a very good pc.
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I need a new update like a Dwarf needs beer, an Elf lembas, a Hobbit a second breakfast and an Orc an axe in its neck.
Can't wait for misty mountains...also I saw it mentioned you have two faction slots left after the goblins you could fill. Maybe go for Valar and Morgoth factions, or possibly even a Bright Lord Faction? Not canon, but great material even still, and he audio clips for heroes would be easy to get. Only other thing I suggest are more big maps, styled like arnor:east west road, or tournament hills.
Bringing the Valar or Morgoth into the game would be wrong for a few fundamental reasons. The game is mainly set in the War of the Ring, with the exception of Angmar, the Blue Mountains and the Iron Hills. The focus is nonetheless on the Third Age. Every possible element from the First Age would not be in tune with the generalities and very essence of the game. Furthermore, how could characters as the Valar or Morgoth be ever balanced in the gameplay? It would be a quite disastrous outcome.
If you visit the official forum (Modding Union), you will see that the Edain Community has already come up with two proper proposals for the two empty slots, which are to be occupied by two new factions.
Any idea when a new update will be posted? This one dates from May 3Oth... :-( I'm just afraid that you're losing fans because it takes so long.