Thejollyone
15.05.17, 15:52
This is a huge update and a very daunting one for many. The info below is taken from both the Test and Live servers and is basically a compilation of 3 mails I shared in guild. I got such good feedback from it, I thought it may help others here too:)
First of all, if you have limited knowledge of the battle system, please take time to visit this link so you can look up terms like splash damage etc and understand what it does:
http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/15301-G-Few-words-on-combat-system
You can invest up to 21 books per general, so make your choices wisely..
Starting with the base line skills, a minimum of 5 manuscripts must be invested here before you can attain the next level of skills.
Part 1 - Manuscripts
Jog - depending on how many manus you invest (1-3) this skill will speed up the general transferring between garrison placements and his return to the garrison after a battle. It does NOT affect his travel speed walking into battle. If it did then block timings would all be out. So this skill is all about speed.
First Aid - Recovers troops killed in any single battle won or lost at a percentage relative to manuscripts invested - 1 manu/3% 2 manu/6% 3 manu/9%. The troops are assisgned back to the general once the battle is over. So you send gen with 100Recruits and he wins the battle but loses 10 recs, you will gain up to 3,6 or 9% of those recruits back when he returns to his garrison. If he loses the battle outright, the troops are still assigned to him but cannot be used until the generals recovery time is over. This skill is about saving troops.
Juggernaut - Increases the general's attack damage by 20/40/60. These attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. This skill is for the general ONLY, it is not applied to the troops he is carrying. This is a power up skill.
Rapid Fire - Increases the attack damage of your bowmen by 5/10/15 (dependent on amount of manus invested). As Nusala has Explosive Ammunition skill which benefits bowmen, this would be a skill maybe worth adding to her. Its a power up skill, although rather limited in its uses.
PART 2 - Tomes (check the level requirements for these skills)
A set of 8 skills to ponder here so here goes:
Row 1 (level 26+)
Navigation Crash Course - a speed skill reducing your general's travelling time to and from adventures by 15/30/45%. In real terms, fully loaded with 3 tomes reduces the travel time from 15 mins to 8 mins 15secs on a fast gen and from 30 mins to 18 mins 30secs on a Tavern gen. With 2 tomes that's redcued to 10m 30s on a fast gen and 21mins on a slow gen. With 1 Tome the times are 12m45s fast gen and 25m30s slow
Hostile Takeover - When this army wins a battle, gain 1 Recruit mercenary for every 600/300/200 XP worth of enemies defeated. The recruits are gained as a buff in the star menu, not directly applied to the garrison/adventure. This may be of more value to lower level players who struggle to maintain a large army. Could also save barrack time in the long term.
Overrun - Decreases the HP of enemy bosses by 8/16/25% This is a powerful skill that will effectively save many troops especially in the Evil Queen series. Consider this for all Champ gens and your MGs.
Sniper Training - Increases your Longbowmen's and regular Marksmen's minimum attack damage by 45/85/130% and the maximum by 5/10/15%. May be interesting on those FT advs that use a lot of bowmen, like HLT and CLT. From my experience I would have to question its value in Ali advs as I do not use many Marksmen. Could be one for the suiciders.
Row 2 (Level 33+)
Just a Flesh Wound - Reduces the general's recovery time by 15/30/45%. In real terms the healing times are Fast Gen (15% 1hr 42mins) (30% 1hr 24mins) (45% 1hr 6mins). Slow Gen (15% 3hr 24mins) (30% 2hr 48mins) (45% 2hr 12mins)
Fast Learner - Increases the XP gained from enemy units defeated by this army by 10/20/30%. Affects only the units actually defeated by the army (ie from the battle report mail), not other camps affected by the army. Example: if the general and his army defeats an enemy leader, only the XP from that particular battle is counted, the experience acquired by other camps that fall around it doesn't count.
Battle Frenzy - Increases the attack damage of this army by 10/20/30% for every combat round past the first. A powerful Boss camp skill which effectively limits any kind of fight to a low number of rounds. Will do well on the Champs and MG gens and maybe help on some of those tight blocks.
Unstoppable Charge - Increases the maximum attack damage of your swift units (Knight, Mounted Marksmen, Cavarly) by 1/2/3 and their attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. This is a power up skill. Perhaps consider this, Overrun and Battle Frenzy all together on your Champs and MGs for a powerful skillset against those bosses in Evil Queen and Alis.
Part 3 Codex
Row 1 - level 40+ required
Confident Leader - Reduces the length of combat rounds by 15/30/45%. Another that is potentially good for players who block.
Garrison Annex - Increases the General's troop unit capacity by 5(1 codex) 10( 2 codex) 15 (3 codex) yes i know the plural is codices but it looked odd As well as the obvious troop increase for those harder battles, this could also be useful on a Major Gen or perhaps MMA where you want to steamroll and intercept/kill your way through weaker camps saving time.
Weekly Maintenance - Increases the attack damage of your heavy units (cannoneers, besiegers) by 10/20/30. For a truly powerful Gen, consider adding this with Battle Frenzy, Overrun and Unstoppable Charge.
Cleave - Increases the attack damage of your Elite Soldiers by 4/8/12 and their attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. Touted as possibly the worst skill in the tree as it is limited to the Elite Soldiers (NOT the Elite Army). Elite soldiers are really used more for blocking than attacking these days.
Row 2 - level 45+ required
1-up - The general recovers instantly after their first defeat in every adventure. Useful for suiciders and maybe Nusala.
Bounty Hunter - After completing an adventure, gain 1 star coin for every 1,000 XP worth of enemies defeated by this army (only the units defeated by the army, not other camps affected by the army).
Example: if the general and his army takes down an enemy leader, only the XP worth the battle is counted, the experience acquired by other camps that disappear doesn't count. Those who are over say level 65, think about how much longer before you are Level 70 +Pathfinder quests and the abundance of star coins you will be gaining weekly from that...
Master Planner - Adds 10% to this army's accuracy. I looked on test server and it states there the "Army", not just the Gen, though it's tough finding proof. Anyway, still a pretty useful skill to add to the set.
Lightning Slash - The general attacks twice per round. That second attack's initiative is "Last Strike". Question the value of this extra attack from a gen as Last Strike - when gens have a low attack value, it's limited - tho it maybe good for gens such as Champs with high attack values
Other nuggets noted and things to consider:
If you have a lot of BHG-like gens, consider making those suiciders in the long term. If you are going to go all out, then combining Rapid Fire and Overrun could actually reduce losses significantly esp on the FT advs where bows are used a lot. Imagine reusing them straight after with the 1-Up skill on them...
Although Ive touted 1-Up on the suicide gens, the faster recovery skill Just a Flesh Wound needs to be judged on how fast you do the adventures as to whether you think it is worth investing. Theres no point skilling up a suicide gen to use him more than once if you regularly do an FT adv in a little under 2 hours...
Question whether you need more troops on a Major Gen. Sometimes 270 units with a whole lot of damage boost combined with a significant damage boost each round is way more valuable. (bri0sheje from test server forum)
If you're thinking about a cheap lootspot Gen rather than keep sending an MMA then perhaps Dracula with 2 on Jog, 3 on Juggernaut and 3 on Nav Crash - makes a kill with 1R on the nearest forest camp on a VLT and gets to the adv in 8 mins...
Finally, any feedback is good, as are corrections and constructive criticism. With that in mind, please do be reminded that each players style can be different, and so they will be looking at the best set up for the particular generals they own and the adventures they prefer/enjoy most.
Cheers
Jolly
First of all, if you have limited knowledge of the battle system, please take time to visit this link so you can look up terms like splash damage etc and understand what it does:
http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/15301-G-Few-words-on-combat-system
You can invest up to 21 books per general, so make your choices wisely..
Starting with the base line skills, a minimum of 5 manuscripts must be invested here before you can attain the next level of skills.
Part 1 - Manuscripts
Jog - depending on how many manus you invest (1-3) this skill will speed up the general transferring between garrison placements and his return to the garrison after a battle. It does NOT affect his travel speed walking into battle. If it did then block timings would all be out. So this skill is all about speed.
First Aid - Recovers troops killed in any single battle won or lost at a percentage relative to manuscripts invested - 1 manu/3% 2 manu/6% 3 manu/9%. The troops are assisgned back to the general once the battle is over. So you send gen with 100Recruits and he wins the battle but loses 10 recs, you will gain up to 3,6 or 9% of those recruits back when he returns to his garrison. If he loses the battle outright, the troops are still assigned to him but cannot be used until the generals recovery time is over. This skill is about saving troops.
Juggernaut - Increases the general's attack damage by 20/40/60. These attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. This skill is for the general ONLY, it is not applied to the troops he is carrying. This is a power up skill.
Rapid Fire - Increases the attack damage of your bowmen by 5/10/15 (dependent on amount of manus invested). As Nusala has Explosive Ammunition skill which benefits bowmen, this would be a skill maybe worth adding to her. Its a power up skill, although rather limited in its uses.
PART 2 - Tomes (check the level requirements for these skills)
A set of 8 skills to ponder here so here goes:
Row 1 (level 26+)
Navigation Crash Course - a speed skill reducing your general's travelling time to and from adventures by 15/30/45%. In real terms, fully loaded with 3 tomes reduces the travel time from 15 mins to 8 mins 15secs on a fast gen and from 30 mins to 18 mins 30secs on a Tavern gen. With 2 tomes that's redcued to 10m 30s on a fast gen and 21mins on a slow gen. With 1 Tome the times are 12m45s fast gen and 25m30s slow
Hostile Takeover - When this army wins a battle, gain 1 Recruit mercenary for every 600/300/200 XP worth of enemies defeated. The recruits are gained as a buff in the star menu, not directly applied to the garrison/adventure. This may be of more value to lower level players who struggle to maintain a large army. Could also save barrack time in the long term.
Overrun - Decreases the HP of enemy bosses by 8/16/25% This is a powerful skill that will effectively save many troops especially in the Evil Queen series. Consider this for all Champ gens and your MGs.
Sniper Training - Increases your Longbowmen's and regular Marksmen's minimum attack damage by 45/85/130% and the maximum by 5/10/15%. May be interesting on those FT advs that use a lot of bowmen, like HLT and CLT. From my experience I would have to question its value in Ali advs as I do not use many Marksmen. Could be one for the suiciders.
Row 2 (Level 33+)
Just a Flesh Wound - Reduces the general's recovery time by 15/30/45%. In real terms the healing times are Fast Gen (15% 1hr 42mins) (30% 1hr 24mins) (45% 1hr 6mins). Slow Gen (15% 3hr 24mins) (30% 2hr 48mins) (45% 2hr 12mins)
Fast Learner - Increases the XP gained from enemy units defeated by this army by 10/20/30%. Affects only the units actually defeated by the army (ie from the battle report mail), not other camps affected by the army. Example: if the general and his army defeats an enemy leader, only the XP from that particular battle is counted, the experience acquired by other camps that fall around it doesn't count.
Battle Frenzy - Increases the attack damage of this army by 10/20/30% for every combat round past the first. A powerful Boss camp skill which effectively limits any kind of fight to a low number of rounds. Will do well on the Champs and MG gens and maybe help on some of those tight blocks.
Unstoppable Charge - Increases the maximum attack damage of your swift units (Knight, Mounted Marksmen, Cavarly) by 1/2/3 and their attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. This is a power up skill. Perhaps consider this, Overrun and Battle Frenzy all together on your Champs and MGs for a powerful skillset against those bosses in Evil Queen and Alis.
Part 3 Codex
Row 1 - level 40+ required
Confident Leader - Reduces the length of combat rounds by 15/30/45%. Another that is potentially good for players who block.
Garrison Annex - Increases the General's troop unit capacity by 5(1 codex) 10( 2 codex) 15 (3 codex) yes i know the plural is codices but it looked odd As well as the obvious troop increase for those harder battles, this could also be useful on a Major Gen or perhaps MMA where you want to steamroll and intercept/kill your way through weaker camps saving time.
Weekly Maintenance - Increases the attack damage of your heavy units (cannoneers, besiegers) by 10/20/30. For a truly powerful Gen, consider adding this with Battle Frenzy, Overrun and Unstoppable Charge.
Cleave - Increases the attack damage of your Elite Soldiers by 4/8/12 and their attacks have a 33/66/100% chance of dealing splash damage. Touted as possibly the worst skill in the tree as it is limited to the Elite Soldiers (NOT the Elite Army). Elite soldiers are really used more for blocking than attacking these days.
Row 2 - level 45+ required
1-up - The general recovers instantly after their first defeat in every adventure. Useful for suiciders and maybe Nusala.
Bounty Hunter - After completing an adventure, gain 1 star coin for every 1,000 XP worth of enemies defeated by this army (only the units defeated by the army, not other camps affected by the army).
Example: if the general and his army takes down an enemy leader, only the XP worth the battle is counted, the experience acquired by other camps that disappear doesn't count. Those who are over say level 65, think about how much longer before you are Level 70 +Pathfinder quests and the abundance of star coins you will be gaining weekly from that...
Master Planner - Adds 10% to this army's accuracy. I looked on test server and it states there the "Army", not just the Gen, though it's tough finding proof. Anyway, still a pretty useful skill to add to the set.
Lightning Slash - The general attacks twice per round. That second attack's initiative is "Last Strike". Question the value of this extra attack from a gen as Last Strike - when gens have a low attack value, it's limited - tho it maybe good for gens such as Champs with high attack values
Other nuggets noted and things to consider:
If you have a lot of BHG-like gens, consider making those suiciders in the long term. If you are going to go all out, then combining Rapid Fire and Overrun could actually reduce losses significantly esp on the FT advs where bows are used a lot. Imagine reusing them straight after with the 1-Up skill on them...
Although Ive touted 1-Up on the suicide gens, the faster recovery skill Just a Flesh Wound needs to be judged on how fast you do the adventures as to whether you think it is worth investing. Theres no point skilling up a suicide gen to use him more than once if you regularly do an FT adv in a little under 2 hours...
Question whether you need more troops on a Major Gen. Sometimes 270 units with a whole lot of damage boost combined with a significant damage boost each round is way more valuable. (bri0sheje from test server forum)
If you're thinking about a cheap lootspot Gen rather than keep sending an MMA then perhaps Dracula with 2 on Jog, 3 on Juggernaut and 3 on Nav Crash - makes a kill with 1R on the nearest forest camp on a VLT and gets to the adv in 8 mins...
Finally, any feedback is good, as are corrections and constructive criticism. With that in mind, please do be reminded that each players style can be different, and so they will be looking at the best set up for the particular generals they own and the adventures they prefer/enjoy most.
Cheers
Jolly