NEW Dark Elves stuff from the book!

RIDICULOUS INFO INC!

RULES, UPDATED 8:29am PST

For assasins and Death Hags:
Are gifts of khaine supressed or is there a list in the book (and of course can you write/picture it?)?
looks like i shall write here rather than post pics, maybe its safer for me :P
now assasin and hag use different things, former is 3 kinds of poison, latter is 3 kinds of gift. and remember hag can only take 50pts magic weapon, while assasin have access to 50pts magic items. for normal characters, they can only take one from the three. shadowblades and hellebron have all 3 kinds at the same time.
poison:
black lotus: for each unsaved wounds suffered by the character, he got a cumulative -1LD
dark venom: KB
manbane: +1 bonus to wound rolls

gift:
cry of war: fear, and all fear test made by the enemy unit in base contact with the hag suffer -3LD
rune of khaine: this model gain +D3 attacks
witchbrew: she and her unit get frenzy. if they already have frenzy, they become super-frenzy with +2A. but the unit suffer -3LD when testing not to charge.

Can I ask a background question please? What's the relationship between DEs and Slaanesh now? Does the cult of Slaanesh exist in fluff? It looks like the warlocks have something to do with Slaanesh from the captions in the pics, but I can't make it out.
sry i havent read the background. but one thing for sure is the warlocks have been cursed by malekith, if they dont find and kill the innocence, their souls will be taken by slaanesh. so they have to kill and satisfy the dark prince all the time for survival.

hydra regen works on wounds lost that turn or all she lost erlier and havent regenerated yet? And it works only in our turn or enemys too? Could You please rewrite wording of this rule?
Whats the cost of harpies, do they ve any special rules like no panic ti other DE?
Still 2 RBT per slot?
All lores for small sorcerress (2lvl) too? Is she 80pts?
for hydra, it's regaining wounds happens at the end of your turn only. RBT is one per slot, but it's special and you can take four. it's strange but certain. small sorcerer can also take 8 lores. and she's 80pts. for harpy, they're special, 15pts and do not have any special rule except for fly.

Whats about the rules of the Black Guard? Do they have changed? Does a Assassin gets mundane armor? Whats about the stats and rules of the cauldron. Does it have a 4+ Ward Save and does the hag get it aswell? Thanks!
the bg have eternal hatred to all enemies, that means reroll all failed rolls to hit every round. they keep other rules in 7E.(warrior elite took place by eternal hatred) assasin do not have access to armour, and cob has a 4+ ward save itself; it can give the hag and witch it joins 5+ ward save, other units a 6+ ward save.

Four more questions. Does the missing of an armour-option mean, that an assassin cannot get a magic armor aswell? Do Assassins count against the heroslotlimit? Is the Sea Drake Cloak avaibel for all characters- or just for corsairs? Are the Hydra and the Karbdyss watercreaturs?
no he cant; yes he does; yes the cloak is available to dreadlord and master; no they dont have sea creature rule.

That's a potentially solid debuff. What's the Ld of the beasts?
hydra is 6445552(3+remaining wounds)6, 160pts, 4+AS, 20pts for flame breath and 20pts for a 8'' shooting with multiple shots=remaining wounds, s=remaining wounds. kharibdyss is 650755456, 160pts, 4+AS, poison attack, abyssal howl(reroll successful ld test), feast of bones(if all attack hits, auto hit D6 S7 hits afterwards.)

Thank you for your enthusiasm Zhangyi. Do you mind if I ask you about how sea dragon cloak changed in this edition?
well it's now a 5+ scaly skin.

Just guessing now that zhangyi has left, but given that the scroungerunner's cost includes the bolt thrower, I'm quite sure the High Beastmaster can man the bolt thrower.
yes, he takes place of one crew. he get bs7.

Thanks....what are the rules for the Fleet Admiral and the Beastmaster characters?
they're both lord choice. fleetmaster is 155pts with 566433739. he has two hand weapons, light armour and sea dragon cloak. can take 50pts magic items. have a special rule called show no weakness that if he's fighting in a challenge or killed a character and still alive, the unit he joins become unbreakable till the end of that turn. high beastmaster is 300pts which must take a manticore or scourgerunner chariot by free. his 577433839 with spear, light armour and see dragon cloak. can take 100pts magic items. have a special rule called beastslaver that at the start of each of your turns, choose a friendly monster within 3''. that monster get +D3 A till the start of your next turn.

Hydra and Kharibdyss
and one more thing... hydra and the kharibdyss both are monsters now, without handlers. though u can see two on their base, they're nothing about them in the rules.

Magic items aren't that great but everything else seems awesome. Is malus the exact same? What's the pricing on sorcereress and lords?
he's been changed slightly, now the daemon gives him +1 to WS,S,T,I and frenzy. any to hit roll of 1 hit a friendly model in base contact. supreme sorcerer is 185pts with lvl3, dreadlord is 140pts. sorcerer is 80pts with lvl1.

Rules for kuran and tullaris?
kouran 596432739 join bg and make them unbreakable. have a +2s crimson death, and a 5+AS with armour of grief which make a S5 hit every time an opponent hit him. tullaris 566432739 join ex and make them frenzy. have a magic great weapon which called the first draich that gives him 5+KB

Are they champions or moved to hero slots?
moved to hero slot, u see they have w2 both.

Hydra Regen how specifically does it work ? Thank for answering all my questions by the way!
at the end of your phase if it still alive, u roll the number of dice equals the lost wounds. every 4+ it regain a wound.

This is nuts! If I don't go WE I may go with these girls and march and charge them up the field before they can get shot to pieces. Are they khanites and do they get the same bonuses from CoB as WE's?
no they're not brides of khaine, they're arena fighters. COB can give them 6+ ward save if join them... but still if they're 6'' within COB they can reroll all the failed rolls to wound. and COB have a bound spell can make them frenzy.

Which special characters are in, which are out?
they stay the same. no new special characters.

What does the magic item section look like, Do I still have access to the Hydra Banner (fingers crossed)
from my first glance they're not as good as HE. only 10 items, including one 100pts nearly useless sword(hydra blade, +D6 A, every close combat phase u must make a -2LD test or suffer -5WS, but gain HKB.) and one 100pts useless banner(banner of nagarythe, the unit take it will unbreakable). hydra banner is not there any longer, so does the banner make cosair frenzy.

Does Malekith get cheaper? Don't need points just wondering.
yes, he's only 510pts on foot. didnt change much of his rules, now the circlet grants him an bonus dice if failed his casting/dispelling attempts once per magic phase.

points and options for black guard and cold ones pls. Also what does the medusa chariot thing do?
BG=15pts, EX=12pts, cold one knight=30pts. the chariot make units from this book in 6'' +1LD, and all others -1LD, called aura of agony.

Witch Elves keep poison? How does Power of Darkness work? Available lores?
yes they keep poison. power of darkness is one of the two signature spell, which cast on 8+, target the caster's unit. all models in unit get +1S until the caster's next magic phase, and recover D3 casting dice, if you rolled 3 dice, the caster suffer a wound that cant be saved by armour. dark elf have access to all eight lores this time, cheers.

can you list the magic items and new spell lore. Do executioners still have Killing blow or are they now D3 wounds
still KB, not D3 wounds.

rbt and handbow rules? what about the bleakswords? any rules for them? What about shades? do they still have options for great weapons?
rbt is now special and 70pts, u can take four.(yes four) handbow become 12'', the rest stay the same. bleakswords have no other rules have to be metioned, 9pts. shades is 16pts, hand weapon and repeater crossbow, no armour. u can take great weapon or two hand weapons by 2pts/per model.

hows the assassin looking ? Manbane ? Repeater Bows armor piercing ?
90pts with poison attack. can get two hand weapon or a handbow. access to 50pts magic items and one of three poison. one is to wound roll+1, one is KB, the other is if u wound a model, his LD-1 for the rest of the game.

Is there a sac dagger and pendent?
yes the dagger is there. no pendent.

sac dagger
everytime when u cast a spell but before dispelling, u can use the dagger. remove a man from the unit, and roll a D6, 4+ u get an extra dice and must be rolled and add to the result, then opponent try to dispell. if u roll 1-3 then u can try the dagger again and again until you get a dice, or you can simply give up.

WE Initiative?
they're I6

what's the chariot with RBT do ? is it special or core ? thx for the pictures and information!
it's my pleasure:P it's special, cost 150pts, profile is S4 T4 W4 with 5+AS, M9, two crew with spear and repeater crossbow. it has a harpoon launcher, like a bolt thrower but far more powerful. it's S7, 24'' range, and cause D3 wounds. if a monster suffer any wounds from it, the monster will be dragged D6'' directly towards it. if D6>3, the monster suffer another wound with no AS.

What would you say is the best magic item the DE's got? The dagger sounds pretty nice, how much does it cost?
25pts. DE have some "OK" items IMO, but i cant tell which is the best. wait for me to post them.

it looks like the Dark Riders now have shields? Is this a default now, or still an option which causes loss of Fast cav?
it's an upgrade with 1pts/per model. DR can have both light armour and shield without losting fast cavalry.

DE sorcerer cast dark magic gain +1 bouns in casting value. it's called HEKARTIS BLESSING

Warlocks:
they're fast cavalry in rare with state 544431528, and M9 on horse. 25pts/per model. they only have hand weapon, but have 4+ward save except for wounds caused by model with mark of slaanesh or daemon of slaanesh. they're considered to be level2 wizard which is used like pink horrors. +1 for casting value for each extra rank except the first, to a max of +3. they know 2 spells, one is doombolt from DE army book(see #2221), the other is soulblight from lore of death. great unit.

I'm afraid to ask but... how much for a Dark Rider?
16pts per model with light armour. 1pts for shield, 3pts for crossbow.

what's the basic warrior cost ?(without spear , shield , RXB ..)
shield is auto. spear is another auto. 9PTS for spearmen and swordsmen.RXB is 12pts without shield upgrade(+1PTS)

Last masochistic question: Sisters of Slaughters?
they're rare choice with very impressive state 564331629. 15pts/model, with shield and hand weapon. can have a magic banner up to 50pts. 4+ward save in close combat, and every close combat phase it can choose an enemy unit in base contact. they lose parry and rank bonus in combat result.(still can steadfast). if any enemy model in base contact with them have highter WS or S(before weapon matters), they get +1 to hit and wound rolls.

WHFB Army Rankings

This is going to be good.

Haven't done one of these for a long time, so I figure why not, let's start up a discussion.  I've been playing a good amount of games lately with my Daemons army and before that, I played the crap out of High Elves.  Without further ado, let's get down to it.

S-Tier - Warriors of Chaos, Skaven
Tier1 - Vampire Counts, Ogre Kingdoms, Dark Elves*
Tier2 - High Elves, Lizardmen**, Orcs and Goblins, Empire, Daemons of Chaos, Dwarves
Tier3 - Bretonnians, Wood Elves, Tomb Kings, Beastman

Dark Elves are in limbo right now because they're getting a new book very soon.  Right now, they kind of ridiculous.  Lizards are still very new so they currently have no solidified tournament results, but I'm expecting them to sit in Tier2.

Let me explain some of these:

• Warriors of Chaos stand on the view top of the pyramid because they have some of the best units in the game.  Arguably the best core selection, strong monsters, powerful magic and ridiculous lord/hero builds.  There's several powerful builds and they have the strongest showing in several tournaments.
• Next comes Vampire Counts and Ogre Kingdoms.  Vamps have their scream lists and blenderlords, Ogres have their cannons, chaff and the fact that the book is just very solid.  If you think about it, both of these books are very well-designed internally.
• The next tier hangs pretty comfortably as a fairly balanced lot.  High Elves actually have a very well-designed book internally, but lacks external power.  The rest of the armies here either have one or two things going for them, or answer specific things in the meta that prevents other armies from ascending.
• Tier3 simply means there's very limited builds, poor power, or a mix of internal balance issues that's keeping it from being competitive.

Alright folks, the floors open.

New Dark Elves cover and rules

Look at this badass.

Looks pretty epic to me!

Got some infos on the new stuff today:

• Kharybdis is WS 5, 5A, S7, T5, 4+AS. If all attacks hit, it deals an aditional d6 s7 attacks
• Warhydra is s5, 5wounds. A is equal to number of remaining wounds +3. its a special choice
• RBB (?) is switched to special
• Crossbowmen retain the option for shields
• Bloodwrack shrine and cob are a chariot, which may narch and join units. Cob has a bound spell for frenzy and grants the unit he joins a 6+ ws (5+ in case of witchelves)
• Bloodwrack medusa has a 4 shot s4 shooting attack wirh killing blow, and is monstrous infantey (s and t 4)
• Models in b2b suffer a s4 hit with killing blow if they fail an i test
• Sisters of slaughter gain a bonus to hit and to wound if their opponent has a higher ws ir strength. Their 4+ ward save only applies in close combat. They negate enemues ranks for combat resolution. 
• It was hinted that black guard and executioners will be more expensive.

NEW PIC INC:

New Sisters of Slaughter art?

UPDATE:
Pre-orders are up!
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCatsLarge.jsp?catId=cat440004a&rootCatGameStyle=wh

More Dark Elves rules

Kill everything!

via Geruchteckuche
http://www.magabotato.de/tabletop/item/geruechtekueche-dunkelelfen-erste-bilder
Sisters of Slaughter: WS 6, I 6, A 2 and a 4++ ward.


via Jossy on Druchii.net

• Black Guard are ItP, ASF, Eternal hatred, Stubbord, Murderess prowess
• Stats are 5, 5, 4, 3, 3, 1, 6, 2, 9
• War Hydra is 180 points including fiery roar. Interesting the WD description talks about a lashing tail and poisoned tipped claws (possible upgrades IMO). The WD describes the War Hydra being able to regain wounds during the game, and then goes on to say its like an improved regeneration rule.
• Dreadspears are 9ppm with Shield and spear, whilst rptxbows are 12ppm.
• All Dark Elves all have ASF, Hatred (High Elves), and murderess prowess special rules
• Witchelves also have Frenzy, and Poisoned attacks ontop of ASF, Hatred (HE) and MP. 
• The frenzy is increased to +2 attacks with the CoB apparently (unconfirmed)
• The CoB also magnifies murderous prowess - reroll all failed to wound rolls instead of just 1's
• A High Beastlord has the ability to boost nearby monster units. Unsure of how. Presumably you can still get a beastlord hero as the High beastlord is a lord option.
• The Medusa can be taken on a mount (bloodwrack throne) or on foot (er tail)
• On foot it is 90ppm and is selected from the rare option, has some sort of shooting attack with kb
• I am surprised and happy to see the return of points values in WD battle reports  :mrgreen:
• Edit: Hellbron is included in the CoB model. Yes Plastic Hellbron, alongside a Bloodwrack Medussa, and a Hag...
• I forgot to add, I've had confirmation that Black Guard are on stock run down. That means only one thing...
• The WD also supports this as it mentions several times the "total redesign" of the Dark Elves, with only the CoK and Corsairs being 'sacred'

More via Druchii.net

• The Hydra btw lost its Regeneration. Has the ability to get Lifepoints back. It has d3 attacks + 1 attack for each lifepoint and will cost 160 points. (Without breath)
• cauldron of blood will have a +5 Ward for the Unit its placed inside. It also gives Frenzy (Rage or what ever it is in english) if the Unit already has it, they will get 2 attackes instead of one.
• It also gives something in a range of 6" around the CoB. But forgot what it is sorry.
• The Medusa will have an ability to force Initative tests with models in base contact. And it has Killing blow as a Range attack. I think it was 3 Attacks. 

Dark Elves rules leaks

Dark Elves go!

Dark Elves rules leaks
The lads over at kiwihammer podcast have managed to get their hands on a White Dwarf a little bit earlier than most. They report the following:

New Releases

• The DE Army book is written by Matt Ward
• The largest dual kit is the Cauldron of Blood which allows you to make either a Cauldron of Blood or a Bloodwrack Medusa. You can also use this kit to make the special character Crone Hellebron.
• The next dual kit is Witch Elves and the Sisters of Slaughter – Sisters of Slaughter are apparently the lost daughters of fallen noble houses and look great.
• The new DE Core box allows you to make your warriors with Spears, Swords and Shields or Repeater Cross-bows.
• The Dual Hydra/Kharibdyss kit looks pretty good, there are pictures of the Hydra with different paint schemes that actually look a lot better than the leaked photo we’ve already seen.
• The Special Character Shadowblade  is a single pose figure that will come in a clampack
• There is a Lore of Dark Magic Card set being released.

Army Special Rules/Points Cost

• Dark Elves now have the armywide special rule of ASF (unsure if this will apply to monsters/cold ones)
• Dark Elves also have Hatred but presumably only in the first round
• Black Guard have eternal hatred
• New Rule called murderous prowess allows Dark Elves to re-roll 1′s to wound. Unsure if this will extend to shooting and magic.
• There is a new Beastmaster Lord Level Character which costs 300 points when naked on a Manticore
• Witch Elves are core and 11 points per model. They can also take magical banners.
• A unit of 30 Spear Elves and of 30 Xbow Elves with Full command costs 390 points. Unsure what options were used but that means the warriors were 12 points per model.
• A DE Sorceress Hero looks to be 80 points
• Cauldrons of Blood still come out of Hero slots and look to have increased in points. They can join units and one of their powers allows a unit to re-roll to wound. In the Batrep a unit with a Cauldron and this buff up deletes a unit of Sobunz.
• Bloodwrack Medusas are rare and have a shooting attack called Bloodwrack Stare. Not sure what it does
• Hydras can now regain wounds in a manner similar to the Slann with the regen power of the old ones. They are now 180 points, have monster+handler but have to buy their breath weapon.
• Lore of Dark Magic – The attribute is called spiteful conjuration and does extra wounds to enemies that have spells cast on them. Unsure of how the mechanic works but could be similar to Tz lore attribute?
• Lore of Dark Magic – Only spell mentioned is called Word of Pain and it reduces WS/BS/I
• A Dreadlord with Heavy Armour and a Shield on a Black Dragon costs 449 points.
• Cold Ones are 30 points and have 2 Attacks, unsure if the cold ones themselves have ASF

Leaked Pictures:

http://loserstudio.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/new-dark-elves-2013-leaked-pictures.html

GDS: Warhammer and Total War

It's hammer time!

One of the most exciting game concepts that I've been looking forward to is the thought of Warhammer being played on the Total War engine.  Personally, I think these two work perfectly with one another because of all the similarities they share.  From a game design standpoint and from a systems/engine standpoint, both games are intrinsically the same.

Let me throw out a few examples.

• First, WHFB and Total War share the same design philosophies and game engine.  Both game systems are based around large-scale combat via troop formations, charging, arrows, and applying swords to face.  Once combat happens, what makes or breaks the army is combat resolution through morale mechanics.  How these morale mechanics are applied depends on how well you maneuver your forces and employ your strategies to the fullest.  This is just how both games were designed on a surface level.
• What do I mean by this?  I mean that armies fight and break depending on morale.  This is active in the Warhammer system via combat resolution and leadership, and this is active in Total War through different morale modifiers.   Being charged in the flank is not as bad as being charged in the rear, outnumbering your enemies (think 7th Ed. WHFB), being surprised via ambush, being on higher ground, are all examples of different modifiers that exist in the Total War system.  Being able to translate Warhammer's combat resolution system would be like a walk in the park because the system is already in place.
• If we look even deeper into the combat system itself, all the necessary components to make a full transition is already there.  Look at Rome2's combat engine for example:  The Melee Attack stat is comparable to Weapon Skill, Melee Defense to Toughness, Weapon Damage to Strength, Armor to Armor, and Health to Wounds.  The concept of Initiative and Attack is lost in the mix, but I wouldn't think it would be too hard to hard-code one unit attacking more frequently than another.  How this would play out with High Elves' having ASF or a Dwarf Lord sporting multiple, slow-attacks because he has a Great Weapon is up to the designers' imagination.
• Both games work off of points calculation in terms of army design.  I would say a 2500 point game of Warhammer is similar to a medium funds army in Shogun2 or Rome2.  It's a fairly medium sized game, but the point is that I have a certain amount of "points" or "funds" to work with to buy all the units for my upcoming battle.  Right now in 8th Ed. Warhammer, we're using a percentage model:  If we're playing 2500 points, 25% of that has to go into Core, or 625 points, 50% is the max allowed in Special, so on and so forth.  This checks and balance system allows us to build more balanced armies than we could in 7th Ed.  Unfortunately, something like this does not currently exist in Rome2 because I can take an army of nothing but Praetorian Guard.  If this was translated into WHFB terms, it would be like taking nothing but Black Guard in my army.  My point here is that if WHFB meets Total War, there would be a checks and balance system already in place, thus simplifying balance design on top of the fact that both games already use the same army purchasing system.
• To expand upon the above point a bit, one of the interesting things that Warhammer can add to the Total War series is variable unit sizes.  Say you have a unit of 160 Royal Spartans for 970 points.  In Warhammer, that would be like taking a unit of 40 White Lions no matter where you go.  Since Warhammer has a unique system where you can take however amount of guys you want to pay the points for, maybe we'll see W:TW adopt something similar.  Instead of 160 Spartans for 970, how about I take 80 for half the points?  That would be an interesting idea as it would appeal more to the casual hobbyist.
• Speaking of causal, let's add customizable colors back into the game.  True to Games Workshop hobbyists everywhere, the army painter system was one of the best things about Dawn of War.  Having this in Total War would not only help tell one person's army from another ingame, but it will help add individuality and uniqueness.

GDS: Rome II MP Balance Proposals

Fix the game man.

Aside from the SP glitches, crashes, progression blockers, and optimization issues, Rome II has some MP issues as well.  I'm talking specifically about the gameplay and how some things are just.. off.  Having played MP since day 1, I'm still sitting comfortably in the Top100 but the game is getting a little stale.  Needless to say, there are some problems.

Pikes are just too good.  They pretty much kill everything in the front and units don't even have a chance to get close.  The major ones that really stand out are Foot Companions and Hellenic Royal Guard.  As if Elite infantry don't already dominate the game, elite pikes simply rule it.

My suggestions, can be a mix, one, or just some.  These are all viable fixes while keeping their intended functionality intact.  The main goal here is to keep pikes the way they are, but make them more vulnerable to flanking and good micro.  Things are a little tricky here because if you press a button, or make an action, the player expects to see movement from his troops.  If the animation and art is already there, the fix post-production has to be smart enough to get the job done with the least amount of time/resources.

My suggested fix will be in green, if I had to choose one.

• Reduce their turn rate in Phalanx formation.
• Reduce their overall speed and acceleration.
• Increase the time it takes them to setup in Phalanx formation.

Being able to take an unlimited amount of "elite" infantry is just strange.  I'm not quite sure what the design decision is about this, but I find it odd that you can take an entire army of Praetorian Guard.  Considering how these units were essentially the Emperor's Bodyguard that stood outside his tent all day, taking an entire army of these guys is just wrong.  Not to mention all Elite Infantry are just insanely good, and make their standard counterparts look like dead weight.

I'm not a personal fan of unit caps because I believe that's a lazy solution to address a generic army building issue.  If some guy wants his army to be super elite, he should have the right do so.  Likewise, if said guy wants his army to be made of nothing but Hoplites, he should.  Player options mean everything in a game where you're told to design your army, and I intend to keep it that way.  The fix here would be something more subtle, with hard caps being the last resort to a tricky fix.  It is indeed the safest way to limit a unit's presence on the battlefield while preserving its function and power.  Increasing the price of said units would be a good soft cap instead of hard cap.

Some ideas would be:

• Increasing Elite Infantry's price by 100.  They're currently in the ~900 range, putting them in the 1000s would be a greater deterrent.  This would act as a soft cap instead of a hard cap.
• Reducing their squad size from 160 to 120.  This would make them more elite in only marginally more effective than their line-infantry counterparts.  Due to this nerf in fighting/staying power, their price would go down to the 800s range.
• Hard cap their availability to 6.  While this certainly makes certain factions weaker, it makes other factions borderline unplayable.  Some factions such as the Averni function entirely off of their elite infantry.  This is a general faction design issue that needs to be corrected if this fix is to take place.

Archer and Skirmisher units are ineffectual.
Either their damage is too low, their armor pen is too low, or their range is terrible, Archer-type units serve virtually no purpose vs. the high-armor elite infantry metagame.  Even vs. regular troops, unless you take a overwhelming amount of ranged firepower, there's virtually no damage being dealt to the rapidly-advancing enemy.  I say rapidly advancing because this game moves a ton quicker than previous titles from what I've noticed.

Regardless, something needs to be done here:

• Increase missile units damage armor penetration.
• Increase missile range.

Now onto some messed up cavalry mechanics.  For one, all the cavalry move at the same speed practically.  Aside from the skirmisher-type cavalry, everyone else chugs along at the same speed.  This largely a design mistake I think and needs to be fixed immediately.

The fix is simple:

• There's 90 armor, 60 armor and less than 60 armor cavalry.  Very Heavy cavalry should run the slowest and fatigue the quickest.  Medium cavalry (most if not all Shock "Lancer" cav) should run faster and fatigue in the middle.  Light cav should obviously move the quickest and fatigue the least.

Lastly, some units are just broken from a technical standpoint.

• Not sure what's wrong with the Chariots or Elephants, but they don't see to be doing what they need to do ingame at all.  Pretty sure their functionality tech or unit AI is just broke.  Fix it.

Remember, I'm not saying implement all of these changes, especially if they double-nerf a unit or invariably nerf a unit.  For example, the worst balance changes happen whenever someone balances a game with a hammer rather than a scalpel.  You gotta test the waters before you make the plunge.

More Rome II ramblings

Thoughts on Rome II after being Top50, now in Top100 because I actually go to work.

• All archer units are pretty weak in a game where the heaviest of infantry have strong armor, or formations that increases armor.  Not only that, but the units move fast and the range of most missile troops are 125.
• Only really heavy missile based armies have much effect, but a lot of the MP maps have random weather conditions and terrain that reduces their effectiveness (such as fog, rain, heavy brush, dense trees).
• The same applies here for artillery units:  Half of the maps do not favor the use of artillery so they can be a huge points sink.  All you have to do is look at the map, see what you random into, what kind of terrain you'll be fighting in, and adjust accordingly.
• Elite infantry are superior to other infantry:  They have superior stats, strong abilities, resilient to missile troops, are not unit capped, and have the same amount of bodies as a regular unit.  There's no reason to take any other unit.  Just form a line with Royal Spartans, Oathsworn and Praetorian Guard.
• Foot Companion are kind of ridiculous; they hands down beat every unit in the game from the front.  What's their counter?  Flank and rear charges once the pikes themselves have been engaged.  What counters that?  Just a little bit of micro and a IQ over 45.
• Lancer units are pretty trash overall.  Their pitiful melee defense, relatively low armor overall, and their overall impact on the battlefield is not worth their cost.  They will charge into other units, do damage sure, but other units with above average melee defense and armor will just swing back and make up for the damage done.  Once you're in combat, you also can't pull out; you'll lose half of your guys just trying to run out of combat.
• Also, all cavalry run at the same speed from what I've noticed.  The pricing of the Roman units are a joke.  Why would you ever take Praetorians over Praetorian Guard?  Or Evocati Cohort vs. Armored Legionaries?
• So what do we have here?  A game of rock paper scissors where none of it really matters.  If Archers are paper, they sure the hell don't kill the rocks which are all the heavy elite infantry.  If Scissors are the Lancers, then these must be safety scissors because they don't do jack.  And then we have Foot Companions, which might as well be a shotgun assuming you're terrible.

Some of best units in the game so far from what I've noticed:
Foot Companions, Hellenic Royal Guard, Praetorian Guard, Oathsworn, Swordmasters, Royal Spartans, Noble Horse, Aspis Companion Cavalry, Praetorian Cavalry

Playing Rome II

Royal Spartans!

Summer's been pretty dry for in terms of minis, but I have been playing a lot of computer games.  Right now, I'm playing Total War: Rome 2 and I'm top50 on the leaderboards.  The game's pretty buggy right now and there's some issues to be addressed, but I just wanted to drop a line and let you guys know what I'm up to.

As I play more, I'll blog more and more about it.