Academy Strategy Guide....

[LordErtz]

Bad news, Master Gremlins only get one repair per entire combat with the new patch....totally screws up a major strategy

[Shauku]

I noticed that too.. I really hope they compensated for it somehow, cause Academy needed that combo.

[Campaigner]

I noticed that too.. I really hope they compensated for it somehow, cause Academy needed that combo.

Please, were talking about NIVAL here....

Mr.Genie: Time to change your cheap tactics ;p

[LordErtz]

I noticed that too.. I really hope they compensated for it somehow, cause Academy needed that combo.

Please, were talking about NIVAL here....

Mr.Genie: Time to change your cheap tactics ;p

That's not a cheap tactic Academy needed that so hard. You can't resurrect or raise gargoyls or golems, and limiting MG to once per combat removes the ability to raise any mechanical unit (but one time).

Inferno has it's "cheap" gating free units
Necro has it's "cheap" free archers and the ability to convert any unit to same tier for free
Warlocks have insanely high "cheap" spellpower that stacks with "cheap" elementals
Haven has the paladin which can heal the top unit (including phoenixes) to full health unlimited times, add that with resurrection from archangels, man is that "cheap"
And sylvan has some insane range attacks, but can't really think of anything they have that's "cheap"

Now Academy has it's artificer (which costs resources and isn't fee) but no real combos. Sad.

[juventas]

Yeah, really. Even with the master gremlin repair tactic, Academy is still considered a late bloomer. Now, Academy is pretty much crippled on small maps.

[LordErtz]

My thing is, why didn't they include this in the patch info!!! lol

[Mightor Magic]

I noticed that too.. I really hope they compensated for it somehow, cause Academy needed that combo.

Please, were talking about NIVAL here....

Mr.Genie: Time to change your cheap tactics ;p

I agree. I've used Academy lots of times but I rarely use the MG's repair ability. Acadeny doesn't need the combo, especially early in the game. It's easy to get Mages the first week {especially if you skip Gargoyles} and they are so much better than just Gremlins/Golems; line them up or stick in one corner, whatever you need. Eventually, I recommend keeping a stack of mages in each corner which helps with both the offensive spell power and regular attack. Leave the Gargoyles at home.

[asandir]

very nice work, this is a great heads up for me now that im about to head into the academy campaign

[fercorwin]

Dont forget that before master gremlins repair only for 2 points.

Now a MG repair only one but for 5 five points..


So the patch change a little repair illimtate by a big repair once.

Fercorwin

[Alamar]

That's not a cheap tactic Academy needed that so hard. You can't resurrect or raise gargoyls or golems, and limiting MG to once per combat removes the ability to raise any mechanical unit (but one time).

I think the combo was cheap but also necessary. Intially I didn't use the combo becuase I thought it was just too cheesey. After a while I relented on my view and found that really the only way to be competitive with the big 3 [Sylvan, Haven, Necropolis] on heroic difficulty.

[LordErtz]

That's not a cheap tactic Academy needed that so hard. You can't resurrect or raise gargoyls or golems, and limiting MG to once per combat removes the ability to raise any mechanical unit (but one time).

I think the combo was cheap but also necessary. Intially I didn't use the combo becuase I thought it was just too cheesey. After a while I relented on my view and found that really the only way to be competitive with the big 3 [Sylvan, Haven, Necropolis] on heroic difficulty.

To add to your comment, elementals were a huge adjunct to academy troops, but now they're only a small adjunct. It'd be hard now for an academy player to beat a swift inferno hero with gating skills.

[Sir Charles]

Well, I've played around a bit with Academy after the patch. What can I say, the change flat out sucks. The people who're complaining that the gremlins were overpowered and needed a nerf need to really look at that town again. The way it is now, they're pretty much screwed on every single map. The Gremlins were never powerful attackers, so now look at what they've got.

Level 1 ranged attacker with range penalty. These will be decimated by ranged attacks and spells if they're even remotely threatening as a large stack.

Level 2 weak flyer with limited usefulness other than blocking enemies and sacrificing themselves for the greater good. Un-resurrectable.

Level 3 slow moving tank. Other than once, un-resurrectable. Which means you'll need to keep them out of range from archers. Defensive unit only now.

Level 4 ranged attacker/spell caster that can't be protected completely without killing your own surrounding troops.

Level 5 fragile melee flyer/spell caster. Without major buffs they fall like flies.

Level 6 Solid all-around unit especially after artificer boosts

Level 7 solid all-around unit.

So what SHOULD the academy do now? Their early expansion is going to be unbelievably slow now because they'll be loosing gargoyles and golems at a faster rate now (gargoyles will HAVE to be put into use now due to fewer golems). Which of course means more expense in replenishing troops. Mages will HAVE to be brought out MUCH earlier in order to advance, which means you'll lose MORE much earlier as well. Genies will HAVE to be brought out in full force just to try to help defend the grems and mages and to lend some sort of offensive power to the line up. This town is now totally handicapped in the fact that they don't have a TRUELY viable unit until level 6 now. That one little change has pretty much destroyed this town. It will now be a HEAVILY dependent hero town. You'll now be forced to go for nearly all magic-based skills to compensate for the lackluster lineup. And the option of adding on Artificer artis is no longer an option. It's a freaking requirement. Bad move all around here Nival.

I'll play around with it some more and see if I can come up with some semblance of a viable strategy with this town. It sure isn't looking promising though. :-(

[LordErtz]

http://elrath.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=176


You can find a mod here for unlimited MG repair in v 1.2

[Sir Charles]

Thanks....but no thanks. I loath mods. It's just a personality quirk I think. But I refuse to have anything to do with mods. This even includes WoG and Equilibris. Thanks for the effort though. I'm still struggling to find a working strategy for that town now. It's ridiculously underpowered now. :-( I'm having one heck of a time just getting past week 2 in Heroic mode on most maps. Sheesh.

[stijn]

for now academy really sucks, but i think they'll make them somewhat better later. we just have to wait some more

[Mightor Magic]

I'm still not having a problem with Academy.

Gremlins: Cute yet kind of weak. Outside of Heatlh bonus Artifact there's very little you can do to help these guys. Kind of useless, really.

Gargoyles: There's nothing you can do to help them help you. Leave them out entirely.

Golems: Slow yet powerful, keep them ALONGSIDE the mages in order to use them effectively. {Three ranged units means you use your Infantry/Flying units defensively, yes?}

Mages: Wizard faction, wizard unit. Stick them in the corners so their attacks are more likely to hit more than one target at the start of a battle. Iniative Artifacts are key, then Health and Magic Resistance {or Luck and Attack}. They are the backbone to your army yet they must strike first.

Djinis: They drop like flies but since they are always targeted first, it's handy to always keep 4 or 5 summoned from your own castle in just plain vanilla style. But a stack 40 or 50 with a Creature Artifact makes for a pretty good unit. Resurrect them? Waste of spellpoints. Health, Defense, Magic Resistance.

Rashaki: Strong with no counterattack, they are also slow with low Iniative. Iniative, Speed and Luck makes a good Artifact for them.

Titans: As it says, skip the Colossi and go straight for the Titans. Main Artifact attribute is Iniative. Luck and Attack are pure frosting compared to that but makes for some sweet, sweet cake.

Iniative, Iniative, Iniative. And more Iniative. Keep remaking them until you get about a 20% boost {20 Knowledge}.

The key to the Academy is Knowledge. Always get Enlightenment/Scholar/Wizard's Reward and Graduate, a much better skill for Wizards than War Machines.

More Levels means more knowledge.
Enlightenment means more knowledge.
+2 knowledge means, yeah, more knowledge.

More knowledge also means more Summons, more Instant Travel and more Town Portals. Spellcasting during battle is kind of secondary, really. You can pretty much succeed with any Magic skill in combat.


The main hero has to live out of the castle until decent Creature Artifacts are made but it isn't that bad but it is neccessary.

[LordErtz]

I mean absolutely no offense when I say this, but you haven't said anything different from what everybody has already been saying, except that knowledge alone cannot help you win a battle or the map. Sure, talk about creature artifacts but not their excessive cost in heroic or the fact that your djinn are dropping but where are you getting the $ to keep 5 around in the castle, and even then 5 will not do much for you.

[Caradoc]

One point worth emphasizing is that it is vital for Academy to acquire mines early so as to build a store of resources for making artifacts. At 90 per army, they are going to need 630 units to fully outfit one hero.