It's been nearly a month since the last release of Hyrule Conquest came out, and the feedback has been pretty great. Pretty soon some more new features are going to start showing up (Minor Factions!), but there's still a few small changes that were not completed in time for the last release. While most of the factions currently in the game only have minor changes to account for the new node system, a handful of them are somewhat incomplete since the transition. Several factions will have slightly changed rosters of units, and today we'll talk about the first, the Kokiri.
If you've checked on the latest release, you might have noticed that the Mudmen building was replaced by the suspiciously named Korok Colony. This should have been a hint as to what was coming...
"Ya-ha-ha!"
Back in the olden days of Hyrule Total War, there were plans of a Korok faction being added into the game. However, due to engine limitations each faction had about 8 unit types... where's with no limitations that's been bumped up to a whopping 20 unit types for each faction. While I could really push into OC territory to make the Korok roster have 20 full units, I felt it was probably more appropriate to simply combine a smaller Korok roster with the Kokiri, considering the two cultures have extremely blatant connections both in Nintendo's official canon and the canon of this mod. That being said, the current Mudmen units are being removed from the Kokiri and replaced with a selection of Koroks. Down the road when we finally add Navies into the game, much of the Kokiri's navy will also be composed of Korok designs. So lets take a look at all the new Korok units that will show up in the next release:
Korok Explorer
A small Korok that serves as the Kokiri's Scout unit, replacing the previous version of the Explorer. They are Camouflaged and can detect enemies that are Stealthed. In addition, they can switch into a flying mode to cover much more ground, but they lose their ability to attack and spot invisible units while airborne.
Korok Walker
A larger variation of Korok that wanders around with a spear. They will be completely immune to any kind of poison effects, but otherwise function as an average spearman. If the Korok Walker is slain in battle, its corpse will grow into a small tree that will heal nearby Kokiri units.
Korok Leafer
A small Korok carrying a giant Deku Leaf around. This Infantry unit deals very little actual damage, but the large gust from its attack will Knockback multiple enemies and stun them. The Kokiri are very much lacking in units with Knockback (they currently only have one in the Deku Tree), and Knockback is usually only present on units of Large size, so to have such a small and low-cost unit with that ability will be very handy for any Kokiri player.
Korok Mantlet
Replacing the Mudmen Mantlet, this unit will function exactly the same as it did... it's just carried around by a pair of Koroks now. When Battalion attachments have been added as a feature to the game, these units can be attached to any Battalion to dramatically boost their protection against non-magic projectiles.
Deku Sprout
This new unit will serve as the Unique Unit of one of the new Korok Heroes. A feisty Deku Sprout mounted by a Korok rider. They are armed with a spear and shield, making them excellent for intercepting enemy cavalry and resistant to arrow fire. They can also plant themselves into the ground to become invisible and improve their health regeneration rate.
Naturally since the Mudmen are being replaced by Koroks, the Mudman hero is being replaced by a Korok hero. In addition, there have been several other changes to the Kokiri Heroes in general.
Makar
- Riding on the Sprout of the Great Deku Tree, Makar will be replacing the Mudmen hero in the next release. Naturally his focus is on improving Korok units.
Focus: Koroks
Unique Unit: Deku Sprouts (Spear armed Cavalry unit mounted by a Korok. Can plant itself into the ground to gain Stealth and regenerate faster.)
Unique Tech: Minutekids, Slingshotters, and Grove Watchers gain a chance of transforming into a Korok when slain in battle.
Hero Bonus: Deku Trees gain a chance to spawn a Deku Sprout when they are slain.
Mido
- In addition to a new Korok hero, Mido will be replacing Gulley as a tier 3 Kokiri Hero. Much like Gulley, he will ride on a Mountain Deer and improve Cavalry units.
Focus: Cavalry
Unique Unit: Stag Chariot (Light and fast chariot with a pair of Slingshotters riding.)
Unique Tech: Improves the speed of all Cavalry units.
Hero Bonus: Kokiri Chiefs are mounted on Deer and count as Cavalry.
The four other Kokiri Heroes are all returning, with updated models and slightly tweaked abilities to make them fit in better with the node system:
Know It All Brothers
Focus: Infantry
Unique Tech: Upgrades Kokiri Minutekids with Deku Spears.
Hero Bonus: All Melee Infantry move 10% faster.
Hero Bonus: Kokiri Minutekids can replenish their Battalions anywhere.
Fado-la
Focus: Economy
Unique Tech: Gather rate of all Fruit (includes Berry Farms) is increased by 50%. All bases can now gather from twice as many bushes as well.
Hero Bonus: Minutekids and Slingshotters have a small chance to gain extra Rupees from all loot.
Hero Bonus: Community Houses all provide +1 additional Population.
Fado-ti
Focus: Support
Unique Unit: Fiddler (Support unit that improves the speed of attached Battalion. )
Unique Tech: All Walls and Towers now deal passive damage to melee attackers.
Hero Bonus: Fairgrounds all spawn a free Fiddler when complete. Fairgrounds will replace Fiddler for free if slain in battle.
Saria
Focus: Magic Damage and Magic Defense
Unique Unit: Enchantress (Kokiri Mage that deflects ranged attacks when attached to a Battalion.)
Unique Tech: Emerald Archers, Settlements, and Outposts are armed with Fairy Bows , gain 25% additional attack range, and deal magic damage in addition to their normal Pierce damage.
Hero Bonus: Starts game with the Guardian Fairies tech researched.
That about covers it for the Kokiri changes. One of the other factions that got a big overhaul in the last version was the Gohma, an overhaul that is still incomplete. Next time we'll take a look at their new Heroes and Units so stay tuned.
I love it!!
Glad to see this; honestly since the Koroks and Kokiri are functionally one and the same in the official canon it makes sense to have two under the same faction especially given the fact that they are just different evolutions of the same species. Also glad to see Fado added in as a hero, now I can have both my favorite Kokiri characters on the same team since you get multiple hero selections at the start
Still not entirely a fan of the fact that nodes have replaced free building making the factions more homogeneous (I liked how the Kokiri, Gorons, and Lanayru were all a weird hybrid of nodes and free building because you could place down their buildings wherever. But, their buildings had different slots. It was a really cool idea). But, it’s growing on me. I really like the new look for a lot of the factions. Plus, it’s really good that ai and minor factions will become much easier to produce. Although, the walled settlements seriously need a back door and/or other exits because it makes traversal kind of a pain on certain maps where the base is bigger than the bottleneck it’s in. I’ve said this before, but it would be really cool if you had mini nodes at certain check points where you could place down towers, and walls/traps for defense like you can in Halo Wars 2. That way siege units would be useful in more locations. Great job so far.
The new Korok units look really good. While some people will be disappointed with the removal of the mudmen. I’m not one of them because it seemed odd to me for there to be feral Kokiri on the margins. These will definitely fit the theme much better. I really like how they’re pretty much functionally identical to the mudmen, and other removed Kokiri units. But, they look a lot better. I really like the new scout unit how it can switch between flying and walking, but loses the ability to see cloaked units and attack when in the air. It’s definitely a creative idea. Same thing with the Leafers. Like you said it will add more variation to the factions by having weak/small units with knock back.
Do you have any plans for the maraca guy from BOTW to be a hero or special unit. Or most likely not since the manlets already fill the role he’d most likely have.
I think the faction I’m most excited for in the future is the monkeys. That will definitely be really interesting. Although, I am kind of disappointed that they’ll most likely be a minor faction because they don’t have a lot to them. You’d really have to stretch things in order to make them fully fleshed out.
Great job, and I wish you luck!