Seasonal Changes news - Hyrule Conquest mod for 0 A.D. Empires Ascendant

We've recently taken a look at two factions that received a bit of an overhaul. The Kokiri had many new Koroks introduced, while the Gohma had a complete visual overhaul. For all the other factions, the changes will be extremely minor and not exactly worth discussing in an article, save for one faction. Let's take a peek at the Fairies, who are the last faction that will be getting quite an overhaul.

For the Fairies, their overhaul has less to do with finding a home for a selection of units (the Koroks being added to the Kokiri), or a desire to visually overhaul a faction to fit their nature more (the Gohma). The Fairy changes are quite simply the result of the new Node System being incompatible with how Fairy Seasons worked in older versions of Hyrule Conquest, and therefore a necessity. In all previous versions of Hyrule Conquest, the Fairies had a smaller roster of units compared to every other faction, but they could cycle between four different seasons to transform the way units behaved to adapt to certain situations. While potentially useful, quite a few people reported that the system was a bit convoluted and difficult to time properly when trying to counter an opponent. With this criticism in mind and the new Node System forcing my hand, I went back to the drawing board to try and find an interesting way to salvage Fairy Seasons.

At the moment the solution is to really lean into the Seasons replacing the Phases that most other factions use to progress through their techtrees. From a technical standpoint, think of the Fairy Seasons as a modular and non-linear techtree. Where's most factions have to progress through a linear techtree (They start in the Village Phase, progress to Town Phase, and ultimately City Phase), the Fairies, their units and techs require one of the four seasons to be "researched," however the player gets to choose which season to begin a match and the order of seasons to progress through. This should in theory give the Fairies a much larger set of build-order options for various strategies, especially in the early to-mid game. The intention is to give each season and the units connected to them a general theme, but still have some utility so that a player is not screwed over for picking any particular season before others. Another means to help in that regard is to have several of their units and techs not be connected to any particular season.

So lets take a look at the following chart, which shows the new Fairy roster and what units can be found in which seasons. Afterwards will be information on the Fairy Heroes and details for each units; while many units will be returning there will still be a few new units joining their roster!

Non-Seasonal Units
Drove - Droves are returning as the Fairies' early-game, cheap swarming unit. They are slow and frail, but can hover over all terrain and attack from any direction.
Stray - Stray Fairies are also returning, with some minor changes. They are now a ranged unit, spitting out small insect-like stingers at their targets. When Abilities are added to the engine, 15 Stray Fairies will be able to combine and transform into a Great Fairy.
Great Fairy - A returning Fairy unit, this time leaning much more heavily into the role of a Commander. Great Fairies will have a large passive impact on the performance of other units under their command, as well as a powerful melee magic attack. When slain in battle a Great Fairy will shatter into a Battalion of Stray Fairies.
Small Maku Tree - A new unit joining the roster of Fairies, these trees from the Oracle of Seasons will serve as non-combat units that passively increase the health regeneration rate of everything within their aura. In future versions they will also be able to replenish Battalions and restore lost Fairies.

Spring Units
Scent Fairy - A brand new Fairy unit that uses the magic of the Scent Seeds from Oracle of Seasons. This Fairy will be followed by a randomized group of Wild Animals. In the next release the list of creatures will be relatively small (Probably Dodongos, Tektites, and Arachs), however in future versions the animals will likely be based on the Biome of the current map that is being played on.
Magic Fairy - Technically a returning unit, this one was called the Banshee in previous versions. Other than the name change and visual overhaul, they function the same as a ranged magic unit.
Great Mayfly Fairy - A large and majestic Fairy that only appears for a short time in Spring. The Mayfly Fairy is able to summon Mayfly Fairy Droves with each attack, which will then proceed to seek out and attack further targets. A trio of Great Mayfly Fairies can quickly spawn an out of control swarm of Droves if they are not dealt with. These Mayfly Fairy Droves have a very short lifespan however, and will eventually die on their own. They spawn several Stray Fairies when slain.
Great Fairy Sword - A Unique Unit tied to the hero Venus, these animated swords seem to be carried by an invisible force and hack at enemies. They function much like a standard infantry unit, however since they seem to have no bodies to actually target they have a high dodge rate.

Summer Units
Gale Fairy - A brand new Fairy unit that uses the magic of the Gale Seeds from Oracle of Seasons. This fairy creates small tornadoes that slow down the movement speed of all enemies nearby.
Blast Bloom - A small flower that seems innocuous, but when in the presence of a Fairy they spring to life. The Blast Bloom vomits a large gust of wind at a single target, sending them flying back with Knockback Damage.
Great Dragonfly Fairy - A large and reclusive fairy that only appears in Summer. She has power over the earth and can hurl large stones from the ground at her targets. This makes her function much like a catapult, making her a Fairy Siege unit. They spawn several Stray Fairies when slain.
Gale Boomerang - A Unique Unit tied to the hero Sekaia, this one is returning with minimal changes. As before, the Gale Boomerang is a fast moving unit that passively deals damage to all enemies around itself, as well as being hard to hit.

Autumn Units
Pegasus Fairy - A brand new Fairy unit that uses the magic of the Pegasus Seeds from Oracle of Seasons. In the next release these Fairies will passively increase the movement speed of all nearby Fairies. In future versions they will be able to attach to other Battalions and even other Heroes, allowing them to have sudden bursts of cartoonishly fast speeds.
Puffstool - Another new unit joining the Fairy roster, the Puffstool is a slow moving creature that deals no attack damage, however every enemy nearby will become Poisoned if they do not move out of the way or kill the Puffstool.
Great Butterfly Fairy - A giant Fairy unit and another new unit for their roster. This Fairy is a non-combat unit, however it can rapidly heal injured units and functions as an expensive but durable medic. They spawn several Stray Fairies when slain.
Zirro - A Unique Unit tied to the hero Xana, these flying creatures drop explosive spores on their targets. They are excellent Siege units, and in future versions their spores will temporarily disable the production of buildings they target.

Winter Units
Ember Fairy - A brand new Fairy unit that uses the magic of the Ember Seeds from Oracle of Seasons. The Ember Fairy is pretty straightforward: they light enemies on fire. While Gorons and constructs can shrug off this attack, most units in the game will want stay clear and pelt them with arrows or other projectiles.
Kyandokyan - A new Fairy unit, the Kyandokyan will function as their Scout. While they move relatively slowly, they have a very large Line of Sight that can see through any invisible unit. These candle creatures have no attack, however when they are killed by an enemy they explode in a burst of flames and damage anything around themselves. When Day and Night cycles are added to the game in future versions, their Line of Sight will remain unaffected by the dark.
Great Crystal Fairy - A giant and powerful Fairy creature of legend that only appears briefly in Winter. The Great Crystal Fairy stuns enemies with her ice attacks, as well as slows down the movement of enemies that attempt to engage with her in a Melee.
Mistwalker - A Unique Unit tied to the hero Valfi, the Mistwaker is a returning unit with changes to its role. The Mistwalker is now a Stealth unit, allowing it to remain unseen by most enemies. Coupled with its ability to hover anywhere on the map, and Mistwalkers will be able to sneak into just about any well defended location and attack from unexpected directions.

In addition to the units, there have been some tweaks to the Fairy Heroes, including brand new Heroes:

Navi

Navi is a new Fairy joining the roster of Heroes. She is a tiny Hero that can barely attack enemies, however in future versions of Hyrule Conquest she will be able to be attached to other units and even other Heroes to give them additional stats and abilities.

Focus: Scouting and Vision
Unique Tech: Line of Sight of all units is increased by 25%
Unique Bonus: Fairy Droves can detect Stealthed units at close range.
Unique Bonus: Kyandokyan Line of Sight is increased.

Ciela

Ciela is a returning Fairy Hero, although she has a few changes. Much like Navi her stats are pathetic and she can barely hold up in a fight on her own, but eventually she will also be able to be attached to units and other Heroes.

Focus: Health and Healing
Unique Tech: Fairy Droves now have a small chance to respawn each time one is slain.
Unique Bonus: HP of all units is increased by 10%
Unique Bonus: Regeneration Rate of all Fairy units is slightly increased.

Venus

A returning Fairy Hero, Venus is a Queen of beauty and kindness, as well as a watcher of the Season of Spring. She wields a Great Fairy Sword and can attack enemies in Melee.

Focus: Rapid Summoning
Unique Unit: Great Fairy Swords
Unique Tech: All Fairy Battalion sizes are increased by one additional unit.
Unique Bonus: Great Mayfly Fairies now spawn double Mayfly Fairy Droves with each attack.

Sekaia

A returning Fairy Hero, Sekaia is the Queen of winds and watcher of the Season of Summer. She harasses enemies with her ranged wind attacks and fast hovering speeds.
Focus: Ranged units
Unique Unit: Gale Boomerang
Unique Tech: Attack Range of all Ranged units is increased.
Unique Bonus: Great Dragonfly Fairy attack now has increased range and deals Knockback damage to units.

Xana

A new Fairy hero, Xana is the Queen of Stray Fairies and the watcher of the Season of Autumn. She is rumored to be quite insane, and is not afraid to fight an enemy in hand to hand combat.
Focus: Stray Fairies
Unique Unit: Zirro
Unique Tech: Stray Fairies gain a Bubble Shield, making them very resistant to non-magic damage sources.
Unique Bonus: Great Butterfly Fairies now spawn twice as many Stray Fairies when slain.

Valfi

A returning Fairy Hero, Valfi is the Queen of all Fairies and watcher of the Season of Winter. She is often isolated on a mysterious island in the ocean, rarely appearing on land. She is invisible to the eyes of most enemies, and can sneak up to unexpectedly attack them.

Focus: Stealth
Unique Unit: Mistwalker
Unique Tech: Fairy Droves gain Stealth.
Unique Bonus: Great Crystal Fairies gain Camouflage

And that is about it for the Fairies. As mentioned earlier, there are changes for several other factions coming in the pipeline but they are relatively minor in comparison to the Kokiri, Gohma, and Fairies. Perhaps it's no coincidence these three factions are so connected in their forest theme, geography, and lore. Regardless, there will be a new version of Hyrule Conquest soon introducing these changes, as well as other fixes and AI improvements Exodarion has been working on. The next time we have an article showing new stuff it will finally be for the brand new feature we've all been waiting for...