Artifacts

[theLuckyDragon]

Well, as I said earlier (on the other forum), it depends on what they meant my "scarce" and "powerful".

[Qurqirish Dragon]

* According to a post on the official forum the artifacts will be more powerful, but also more scarce

In Homm3 and Homm4 minor artifacts mattered very little, so I like the idea of less but more powerful arties

I, too, like fewer artifacts. However, this also encourages the super-hero strategy, as you can expect that only 1 (maybe 2) heroes will have enough artifacts to boost his/her powers. Depending on your point of view, this may be good or bad. For me, it depends on how I feel at the time.

I also wonder how they can make artifacts "less common" One thing is to not have treasure artifacts in chests, but otherwise, most artifacts in the previous games had to be placed by the map designer. Maybe an option in the random map generator (if there is one) to choose a relative abundance of artifacts.

Actually, now that I think about it, most of the artifact overflow in heroes 1-3 was from treasure chests. Maybe that will be enough.

* Hopes for more artifact slots (such as earrings, bracelets etc.) have been expressed

I would like that many weapons etc can be used simultaneously. Or boots of speed and these dragon bones that gave + to spell power and knowledge but occupied boots slot. Problem is that one artifact is good in adventure map, other in battles, to get max use, you should switch them repeatedly. Micromanagment which could be avoided, and which was avoided in Homm1 and 2.

Rather than being able to equip more artifacts, maybe you could have two paper dolls- one for combat and one for adventure- that automatically switch. This also leads to the possibility of an "ambush" event on the map, where you enter battle with your adventuring gear- your hero was surprised, and so couldn't switch equipment.

Maybe a beta-tester (if one reads this) could suggest that last idea. Now that I thought of it, I think it would be a really neat addition!

[theLuckyDragon]

That's a really great idea! Two paperdolls would certainly make more sense than one. Or at least the possibility of choosing new artifacts to wear and wield before any battle that is not an ambush.

[Thelonious]

It's like Diablo II LOD -> two weapons

But it's a neat idea.

[DaemianLucifer]

Its an excelent idea to have two paperdolls.

Maybe well have something simmilar to HIV(though I doubt that very much)with artifacts power:Well have regular weapons that can be purchased by anyone,but are weak,and a few very powerful artifacts that are hard to get.

[theLuckyDragon]

I never really liked those common artifacts in Heroes 4.

[DaemianLucifer]

Thats because theyre not actually artifacts,theyre equipment.But since heroes stats again increase creature stats,they would be either too powerful to be called equipment,or to weak to ever use.

[theLuckyDragon]

Artifacts, equipment... whatever . I didn't like them. Elven Chainmails and Dwarven Shields might as well be called equipment and not artifacts, being made by other races with other techinques; they're not necessarily enchanted.

And a thing just struck me. If in Heroes 3 those 4 artifacts were so strong, that their negative effects could only be attributed to a curse of some sort, in Heroes 4 this equipment is normal enough to explain its side effects: it's too heavy, too cumbersome etc.

[Thelonious]

Well the "item's" in heroes IV weren't artifact so they were normal. So why make 'em cursed?

Anyway Relic like artifacts shouldn't have side effects, why else could they be sooo damn good?

[Orfinn]

If there will be werewolves in the game, there should be a silver arrow artifact etc.

I think its good as it is/will be with few, moderate amounts of artifacts total, but they should be powerful, worth getting not that several artifacts are upg and downgrades of eachother, all artifacts should have dis-advantages.

[Thelonious]

First of all, I would like werewolves in HoMM. Period.

Second, Then there should be a wooden pike for vampires, a special lamp to catch genies etc. So no, I don't want that kind of artifacts. Against groups of creatures - such as undead, demon, mechanical (if there are machanical creatures) and elemental - I haven't got a problem.

[Qurqirish Dragon]

I think its good as it is/will be with few, moderate amounts of artifacts total, but they should be powerful, worth getting not that several artifacts are upg and downgrades of eachother, all artifacts should have dis-advantages.

I think that SOME mixed-blessing artifacts (like the heart of ice from Heroes 2:POL) would be nice, but not all artifacts should have drawbacks.

Perhaps (assuming 4 levels of quality), something like:
treasure artifacts are weak, and have drawbacks.
minor artifacts are weak, with no drawbacks
major artifacts are strong, with drawbacks (but not severe enough to make a similar minor artifact better
relics are strong, without drawbacks.

[Thelonious]

That could be, but I don't think they should limit draw backs to 2 levels. Ofcourse - relics shouldn't have drawbacks, but minor could have 'em to.

But they shouldn't make to many - as you say- with drawbacks, that'd be stupid, you couldn't use an artifact without drawbacks - what good will come from an artifact then?

[DaemianLucifer]

Actually it makes more sense for relics to have some drawbacks then for smaller artifacts.It always is a complicated process to create a relic,and it can hardly go flawless.So the four relics from H3 that boosted your stats by a lot were perfectly balance by the -2 they gave.

[theLuckyDragon]

I don't think that relics should have drawbacks. Ther're supposed to be supreme artifacts forged by powerful magicians, maybe even by the Dragons themselves, so there's no problem as to how complicated the process is; relics should be extremely rare (well, maybe not that rare) and hard to find (this depends of course on the mapmaker).

[Qurqirish Dragon]

Note that the main difference between major artifacts and relics, in my post was that relics didn't have flaws.

Looking at the heroes 3 relics, the parts of the titan's thunder would be major, in my listing, while the stronger pieces of the angelic alliance would be relics. I think you would all agree that the Helm of Heavenly Enlightenment (+6 to all stats) was *MUCH* better than the Thunder Helmet (+10 knowledge, -2 spell power), let alone the completed combos (AA=+21 to all stats+mass prayer+no morale penalty for mixing good/neutral troops; TT=+9/9/8/8 +spell book +600 HP lightning bolt at 0 sp)

If you need more gradations of artifacts, then have 6 levels:
Minor (relatively weak)
Major (relatively strong)
Relic (Very powerful)

each of these three would have flawed/flawless versions, the former having drawbacks, the latter not.

[Thelonious]

Could live with that

But we'll just have see what comes out of the great ubisoft artifact machine...

[theLuckyDragon]

Just bringing this topic on the Latest Posts lists because of the Beta being out now. So betatesters, anything interesting in the Artifacts department?

[Gaidal Cain]

Apart from that the paperdoll isn't a doll but two rows of slots? Not much, there are some interesting artifacts but I haven't seen anything revolutionary.

[theLuckyDragon]

* Two rows of slots? How come? That's so... boring! No paperdolls like in Heroes 4?
* What are those "interesting artifacts" and what do they do?