cabbagemeister
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- Joined
- Jun 26, 2008
- Messages
- 517
Theres a thread in the main forum that got me thinking about Govannon. Obviously you eventually want Gov. to have Level I of every spell sphere (well, unless youre taking him out to fight with him like a normal archmage, in which case youre a fool). And because the Amurites start with metamagic, you can get Govannon any sphere you want (except Ice of course) by repeatedly Dispelling just one mana node. But what order should you promote him in? In other words, which Lvl I spells (and, for your priests/firebows, Lvl II spells) have the highest priority to give your army? This is more than an academic question, because Gov. takes forever to acquire a decent number of spheres, and often you will get involved in a war before you get him everything you want.
Here is my list of the best order to promote Govannon in. Id love to hear yours. Note that this is not a list of the best spheres, but the best spheres FOR GOVANNON, and thus for your main army of Swordsmen/Champions (also taking into account Lvl II spells for Priests and Firebows).
1. Death. No question about which sphere should be first. Death allows you to double the number, if not the quality of your army. Yeah, skeletons are pathetic by the time Govannon comes along. So what? Theyre still an unlimited supply of cannon fodder. This is not a good sphere for Priests/Firebows to get Lvl II though, as youre probably not going to be stockpiling Death mana for Uber-Spectres.
2. Body. No question about what should be second either. Overall, haste may be the most useful Lvl I spell in the game. For Priests, Regeneration synergizes with their Medic promotions to make them incredibly effective healers.
3. Entropy. This one is tricky; a number of mana types could be worthy of the #3 spot. But I believe that Rust is the most underrated, combat-effective Lvl I spell in the mid-to-late game. Try attacking Dis with and without Rusting Hyborem and his Infernal Longbows, and see how the odds change. Rust can turn an impossible siege into a cakewalk. The Lvl II spell isnt quite as effective though.
4. Earth. Okay, Wall of Stone is a little useful, but not the most impressive spell. You should give Govannon Earth not because of Wall of Stone, but because of the amazing synergy it has with Firebows. An apprenticeship Firebow can get taught by Govannon and take Earth II as his first promotion out of the gate (yeah, even before Fire II). If he has iron, he is then essentially a Heroic Defense II, Drill III 7/8 monster, much stronger than any iron champion. These guys can be the mainstay of a mighty army. And dont worry, they WILL get the xp to pick up FireII very quickly.
5. Ice (if you have it). Slow is a very strong Lvl I spell that is normally balanced by the fact that the Illians wont have a ton of Slow-casters (you only get 3 Priests, and the Arcane line is not an Illian strength). In Govannons hands, your entire army can be freezing your opponents to a standstill. Ice Elementals are not worthwhile for your Priests though.
6. Chaos. Dance of Blades is a decent little boost to any attack; as it must be renewed each turn, its a perfect spell for a swordsman to be casting. Mutation is neat for one or two Priests to have, but you could just as easily give it to one or two mages. The real strength of Chaos is when you get around to the endgame and have Archmages, Liches, Druids, and High Priests all spamming Wonder.
7. Air. The Lvl I spell is very strong in naval situations, especially since Gov. teaching it means that you dont need to put adepts on Fair Winds dutyany passengers can speed up their own transport. But the real benefit of Air is Maelstrom for your Priests, which really helps soften stacks up for a fireball pounding by your mages.
8. Enchantment. This is tricky because both Lvl I and Lvl II of Enchantment are amazing buffs for your army (Fire-arrow Firebows! Seems kind of redundant actually), but its not actually that useful to give the promotion to Govannonit might be better for one or two mages to get it. On the other hand, having swordsmen cast Enchanted Blade is a very nice synergy with Summon Skeleton to produce an instant army with a +20% buff.
9. Mind. A decent economy-booster to give your garrison units. Charm person is fine, but there are better spells to give to your Priests and Firebows.
10. Shadow. Blur can be an okay promotion, allowing you to ignore first strikes. Shadowwalk isnt too effective, since fireball spamming means you wont be facing many city defenses anyway.
11. Fire. Now we get into the if you feel like giving Govannon the promotion section of mana types. Blaze is a poor Lvl I promotion. Fireball obviously is strong, but I prefer to let my mages throw them around and save the Priest promotions for other spells like Regeneration and Maelstrom. Since you get Fire mana from the palace anyway, I let my arcane units take the promotion normally rather than wasting a Govannon promotion on it.
12. Sun. Scorch is pretty useless as a Lvl I spell. For your T2 casters, Blinding light can be effective, but IMO the resist rate is too high to be super useful unless you have TONS of casters. With spammed Radiant Guards or Rathas, its a good spell. For Priests/Firebows, there are better Lvl II promos.
13. Life. Only if youre facing the Sheaim or have hell terrain to deal with.
14. Spirit. Courage can be nice for the increased heal rate, but you only need one mage to cast it, not your whole army.
15. Water. I cant imagine having so much desert that you need your whole army to Sping it rather than just using an adept or two. Water walking for your Priests/Firebows seems kind of pointless.
16. Nature. Treetop defense is pretty weak IMO. Nothing else is worthwhile about Nature since you probably wont go down the Recon line.
17. Law. Loyalty is pointless, and Einherjhars are bland.
18. Metamagic. Maybe for a mage or two. Not for your army or for Govannon.
Here is my list of the best order to promote Govannon in. Id love to hear yours. Note that this is not a list of the best spheres, but the best spheres FOR GOVANNON, and thus for your main army of Swordsmen/Champions (also taking into account Lvl II spells for Priests and Firebows).
1. Death. No question about which sphere should be first. Death allows you to double the number, if not the quality of your army. Yeah, skeletons are pathetic by the time Govannon comes along. So what? Theyre still an unlimited supply of cannon fodder. This is not a good sphere for Priests/Firebows to get Lvl II though, as youre probably not going to be stockpiling Death mana for Uber-Spectres.
2. Body. No question about what should be second either. Overall, haste may be the most useful Lvl I spell in the game. For Priests, Regeneration synergizes with their Medic promotions to make them incredibly effective healers.
3. Entropy. This one is tricky; a number of mana types could be worthy of the #3 spot. But I believe that Rust is the most underrated, combat-effective Lvl I spell in the mid-to-late game. Try attacking Dis with and without Rusting Hyborem and his Infernal Longbows, and see how the odds change. Rust can turn an impossible siege into a cakewalk. The Lvl II spell isnt quite as effective though.
4. Earth. Okay, Wall of Stone is a little useful, but not the most impressive spell. You should give Govannon Earth not because of Wall of Stone, but because of the amazing synergy it has with Firebows. An apprenticeship Firebow can get taught by Govannon and take Earth II as his first promotion out of the gate (yeah, even before Fire II). If he has iron, he is then essentially a Heroic Defense II, Drill III 7/8 monster, much stronger than any iron champion. These guys can be the mainstay of a mighty army. And dont worry, they WILL get the xp to pick up FireII very quickly.
5. Ice (if you have it). Slow is a very strong Lvl I spell that is normally balanced by the fact that the Illians wont have a ton of Slow-casters (you only get 3 Priests, and the Arcane line is not an Illian strength). In Govannons hands, your entire army can be freezing your opponents to a standstill. Ice Elementals are not worthwhile for your Priests though.
6. Chaos. Dance of Blades is a decent little boost to any attack; as it must be renewed each turn, its a perfect spell for a swordsman to be casting. Mutation is neat for one or two Priests to have, but you could just as easily give it to one or two mages. The real strength of Chaos is when you get around to the endgame and have Archmages, Liches, Druids, and High Priests all spamming Wonder.
7. Air. The Lvl I spell is very strong in naval situations, especially since Gov. teaching it means that you dont need to put adepts on Fair Winds dutyany passengers can speed up their own transport. But the real benefit of Air is Maelstrom for your Priests, which really helps soften stacks up for a fireball pounding by your mages.
8. Enchantment. This is tricky because both Lvl I and Lvl II of Enchantment are amazing buffs for your army (Fire-arrow Firebows! Seems kind of redundant actually), but its not actually that useful to give the promotion to Govannonit might be better for one or two mages to get it. On the other hand, having swordsmen cast Enchanted Blade is a very nice synergy with Summon Skeleton to produce an instant army with a +20% buff.
9. Mind. A decent economy-booster to give your garrison units. Charm person is fine, but there are better spells to give to your Priests and Firebows.
10. Shadow. Blur can be an okay promotion, allowing you to ignore first strikes. Shadowwalk isnt too effective, since fireball spamming means you wont be facing many city defenses anyway.
11. Fire. Now we get into the if you feel like giving Govannon the promotion section of mana types. Blaze is a poor Lvl I promotion. Fireball obviously is strong, but I prefer to let my mages throw them around and save the Priest promotions for other spells like Regeneration and Maelstrom. Since you get Fire mana from the palace anyway, I let my arcane units take the promotion normally rather than wasting a Govannon promotion on it.
12. Sun. Scorch is pretty useless as a Lvl I spell. For your T2 casters, Blinding light can be effective, but IMO the resist rate is too high to be super useful unless you have TONS of casters. With spammed Radiant Guards or Rathas, its a good spell. For Priests/Firebows, there are better Lvl II promos.
13. Life. Only if youre facing the Sheaim or have hell terrain to deal with.
14. Spirit. Courage can be nice for the increased heal rate, but you only need one mage to cast it, not your whole army.
15. Water. I cant imagine having so much desert that you need your whole army to Sping it rather than just using an adept or two. Water walking for your Priests/Firebows seems kind of pointless.
16. Nature. Treetop defense is pretty weak IMO. Nothing else is worthwhile about Nature since you probably wont go down the Recon line.
17. Law. Loyalty is pointless, and Einherjhars are bland.
18. Metamagic. Maybe for a mage or two. Not for your army or for Govannon.
). That makes Spirit somewhat more attractive, maybe boosting it up as far as #9 on my list. Though I have to say, in SP I loathe the idea of wasting hammers in order to garrison my cities with expensive, powerful firebows or priests (or anything but warriors).
