CONFLUX CREATURES

Balance Discussion

• The Conflux has been rebalanced from the ground up. The core 4 Elementals are no longer "Level 3.5 units"; they have been given appropriate stats for their level while still retaining the key features that make both them and the overall balance of Conflux unique.

• All Elementals' Magic School protections and vulnerabilities have been appropriately changed so that each Elemental is protected from their own element's spells and vulnerable to their opposite element's spells. Magma and Lava Elementals are made from rock and fire, therefore their protections and vulnerabilities reflect that.

• The Pixie line has been redesigned so that they aren't complete cannon fodder; they now provide unique functions to the army. They are much more versatile than before, with the upgrades' 3-headed attack (reminiscent of the spray attack from Heroes V's Pixie line) being used to reward clever manipulation of enemy creatures' positions. Sprites can cast Basic Cure at 5% Power, meaning 20 Sprites = 1 Power; this will help keep units like those from the Psychic Elemental and Firebird line alive in early/lower-risk combats. Faeries instead act like Familiars with their Magic Channel ability.

• The Air Elemental line is no longer completely overpowered for its level, with the original Storm Elemental's high ranged damage being split across its new incarnation and its alternate upgrade. The new Air and Storm Elementals still have an above average Damage range, but it has been neutered to a more tolerable level. Combined with their far lower Health values, this brings this line of units from being an obvious game-winner to a strong early- and mid-game option that has the potential to remain powerful in the late-game. Given that this line of units now fly, there is now a difficult choice to make between the ranged Storm Elemental and the infiltrating Hurricane Elemental, all depending on the player's strategy.

• The Water Elemental line's major point of interest is the addition of casting a spell thrice per battle: the Ice Elemental gains Ice Bolt and the Frost Elemental gains Frost Ring. Both upgrades can still shoot, but the choice of spell (and unit passives) may dictate a player's decision as to which upgrade they focus on. Considering that spells do flat damage compared to the formulaic approach of creature damage, players will find that they must be tactical in their usage of spellcasting and shooting if they wish to maximise damage output.

• The Earth Elemental line now appropriately fills the tank role in the Conflux. As the upgrades are both protected from and vulnerable to multiple Magic Schools, enemies will have to play smarter to counter them effectively. They possess passive enemy Attack reduction, with the Lava Elemental also melting 20% of enemy Defense with its attacks.

• The Psychic Elemental line has received minor tweaks, with the upgrades sporting a major tactical choice between the two units. They are also more expensive than before due to their potential. The Magic Elemental is a powerhouse that cannot be affected by magic whatsoever, leaving its only weakness to be an army that can out-muscle it in raw combat. The Astral Elemental sports some magical immunity to lower level enemy spells, making it unable to be slowed or damaged by more common spells; it is still susceptible to damage from Meteor Shower, Implosion, or Deep Freeze, but it is also able to be buffed by any and all positive spells, making its overall potential higher than its counterpart at the cost of multiple turns of spell casting... unless you possess creatures that can do so for you!

• The Firebird line has also received minor tweaks. Notably, the Firebird and Phoenix have lost 2 points of Speed but compensate for it with their Fire Shield (and increased Rebirth capability for the Phoenix). They are still at the apex of Speed for their Level, but bringing down their Speed reduces the frustration caused with them being incredibly hard to out-speed in combat with other Level 7 units (even with multiple Speed boosting artifacts). The choice between Phoenix and Sacred Phoenix comes down to how prepared the player is to Resurrect them and what their strategy in combat is; do you hit hard and fast with the Phoenix and risk losing units quicker (albeit units that revive half of themselves after falling once), or do you fight with the bulkier Sacred Phoenix and conserve more Spell Points by comparatively having to Resurrect your units fewer times?