NECROPOLIS CREATURES

Balance Discussion

• The Necropolis, similar the Inferno, has received new creatures and balance changes to entice players away from the primary objectives of "farm Skeletons and powerstack Vampire Lords".

• The Skeleton line remains untouched in terms of balance. The Skeleton Archer provides amazing support to early Necropolis armies and has the potential to scale well in the late game, provided ample buffs are given to it shooting over walls and long distances.

• "Zombies" have been renamed "Plague Zombies" and have received a major buff to their Disease chance due to its effect being minimally impactful in combat past the early-game. They have also received a minor bump to their Attack and Defense, allowing them to be statistically on par with the Skeleton Warrior. Rot Zombies have slightly less Defense and Health, but compensate with higher Attack and Speed and a 20% chance to cast Disrupting Ray after attacking, making them a riskier but potentially deadlier alternate option.

• The Wight line has received an ample set of buffs. In the base game, the Wight line is a set of very mediocre units whose only purpose is to annoy the player when split into 7 stacks in neutral combat; they are incredibly weak and are seldom used in any Necropolis strategies. This has been remedied by giving Wights Mana Drain and Wraiths Life Drain (50%), thus giving the Necropolis another (less effective) vampiric unit. Banshees let out a piercing scream before they attack, which allows them to be fantastic units for clearing out dwellings or creature banks, but they will cause concern in any strategies involving Blind since any Blinded creature will be freed by the damage caused by their Death Ripple.

• The Vampire line has received some minor stat adjustments and a big change for the base Vampire: it no longer has No Enemy Retaliation, but has Life Drain (50%), thus actually functioning like a true Vampire. It can regain No Enemy Retaliation if it is upgraded into the Vampire Lord, who is now slightly more menacing with 12 Attack. Vampire Princes mirror their Heroes V counterparts, with "Sleep" being functionally the same as Blind in Heroes III, though they can still be retaliated against; this makes them a more technical and strategic unit to use, especially in one stacks, where their Blinding attack may come in particularly useful.

• The Grim Guard line is the bulky alternative set of units to the Vampire line. They have a higher Damage output than Vampires but less are not self-sustaining without being able to Drain Life. The upgraded units scale particularly well against high-level enemies with their percentage Attack/Defense reduction in Damage calculation, and every member of this unit family possesses Death Blow, much like their Level 6 Dread Knight counterpart.

• Power Liches have received a minor buff to their minimum Damage, ensuring they remain competitive with their new alternate upgrade. Lich Masters provide a way to Reanimate lost Undead units without the hero having to spend a turn doing so, freeing up 2 extra turns of spellcasting that many Necropolis players sorely lack. They lose out on their Death Cloud attack, but always deal full Damage to targets at range or behind walls with their staff's beam attack.

• The Black Knight line is a set of perfect Level 6 units. The Dreadtaur provides a heavy-hitting and more consistent alternate option to the Dread Knight, but they scale particularly well against high-level enemies with their percentage Defense reduction.

• The Bone Dragon line has received decent stat buffs, compensated with a higher unit cost. Players will no longer bleed or have to Reanimate as many Ghost Dragons as they are now able to dish out more Damage per unit, taking out more creatures and suffering less retaliation damage as a result. While Ghost Dragons can halve a stack's Health, Spectral Dragons can instantly kill enemies with their Death Stare, providing a more consistent but potentially less effective way to remove the target stack from the battlefield.