[NFP] Hero Observations

[tsf4]

I was hoping Heroes wouldn’t be simply new fancy weapons. Oh well, butter luck next time. I am not a war player so not useful to me unless for defense!

 

[Victoria]

I was hoping Heroes wouldn’t be simply new fancy weapons. Oh well, butter luck next time. I am not a war player so not useful to me unless for defense!

You just have to wait for the right hero, be ready with a monument and grab it quick.
Maui may seem Ho hum with 4 lux bonuses but after a few eras it adds up... a couple of others are similar... sinbad is an awesome CV tool just for accessing the other civs early, all other hearts in comparison are so-so for a CV.

 

[AsH2]

... no I want to attack the city with the quad
I also want to change the warrior into a knight and attack with it

I think this will be fixed with next mode..

Spoiler corporations :

 

[cain3456]

Sinbad is an awesome CV tool just for accessing the other civs early, all other hearts in comparison are so-so for a CV.

Oh hell yes, Sinbad is awesome. And the money he makes off barb ships and camps is just ridiculous
Anansi is kind of the anti-Maui, removing luxes and bonuses for science & civic.
Haven't got far enough in the game, but I'm imaging recalling Hercules to instabuild a spaceport.

 

[UWHabs]

One extra bonus of Himiko and her envoys is that since you can discover new heroes with CS envoys, she acts a little like a mini-heroic tales project too. Every batch of 8 envoys she can pop in seems to add 1-2 new heroes that can be recruited.

 

[Palo]

One extra bonus of Himiko and her envoys is that since you can discover new heroes with CS envoys, she acts a little like a mini-heroic tales project too. Every batch of 8 envoys she can pop in seems to add 1-2 new heroes that can be recruited.

I've seen her discover 5-6 heroes if she's my first hero out and nearly all the heroes are still to be discovered.

 

[kaspergm]

Oh hell yes, Sinbad is awesome. And the money he makes off barb ships and camps is just ridiculous

Sinbad is absurdly OP. In ancient era, you get 300 gold + the standard reward for clearing barb camps with him, and he has 7(!) charges. Any naval unit you encounter will net you double that, because it takes two charges to kill the unit. That's potentially 2100 gold in ancient era, and frankly, it's not that had to find barb camps on the coast unless you play on pangea map. On top of that, you get gold from discovering new continents which does not even take charges. Add to that the fact that he has extremely high movement and can enter ocean from turn one, and you have an absurd source for early gold and era score.

In my current game as Ethiopia - which is arguably OP in its own right - I got Sinbad as my first hero, and I was able to gold-buy three settlers in the ancient era - that's basically worth somewhere between two and three times the benefits of Religious Settlements right there in its own. In the end, I chose to hold off from sailing cross ocean to discover new continents and civs - which would probably have earned me even more gold - because I was already at 58/25 on era score, and I wanted to save some for classical era as well, so I could secure a golden medieval as well.

I think Babylon + Sinbad will make the most ridiculous combination. Babylon more than any civ needs the gold to upgrade units from those advanced eras, and Sinbad will secure you buckets of gold.

The could nerf Sinbad to start at 100 gold in ancient era, and he would probably still be easily the best hero.

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

Sinbad is absurdly OP. In ancient era, you get 300 gold + the standard reward for clearing barb camps with him, and he has 7(!) charges. Any naval unit you encounter will net you double that, because it takes two charges to kill the unit. That's potentially 2100 gold in ancient era, and frankly, it's not that had to find barb camps on the coast unless you play on pangea map. On top of that, you get gold from discovering new continents which does not even take charges. Add to that the fact that he has extremely high movement and can enter ocean from turn one, and you have an absurd source for early gold and era score.

In my current game as Ethiopia - which is arguably OP in its own right - I got Sinbad as my first hero, and I was able to gold-buy three settlers in the ancient era - that's basically worth somewhere between two and three times the benefits of Religious Settlements right there in its own. In the end, I chose to hold off from sailing cross ocean to discover new continents and civs - which would probably have earned me even more gold - because I was already at 58/25 on era score, and I wanted to save some for classical era as well, so I could secure a golden medieval as well.

I think Babylon + Sinbad will make the most ridiculous combination. Babylon more than any civ needs the gold to upgrade units from those advanced eras, and Sinbad will secure you buckets of gold.

The could nerf Sinbad to start at 100 gold in ancient era, and he would probably still be easily the best hero.

Amateur. I got more than a 100 Era Score in my Inca run. Arguably, I didn't have Sinbad, but I know he's overpowered, and I am playing on Prince difficult, but hey, I can still brag about it.

 

[Fluphen Azine]

Anyone see if the AI makes Knights with Arthur?
I've seen the AI snag him a couple times but never Knight any units.

 

[kaspergm]

Anyone see if the AI makes Knights with Arthur?
I've seen the AI snag him a couple times but never Knight any units.

Is the AI even able to use the special ability of any of the heroes?

In the presentation video we saw that AI just parked their hero in the city, which is basically the same thing I see in my game. It was sold as a smart move because it increases the city defense, but I have my suspicions about the actual reason for this ...

 

[King Rad]

He certainly can - 4 scouts and you can suddenly have the most frightening army the Ancient Era has ever seen! Sure they have a short lifespan but if you time it / place it right you should be able to roll over a neighbour maybe even two.

The other thing you can do: buy/build the scouts, then let them accompany Arthur until you're located where you intend to use them. Then convert them to questing knights. I converted too quickly the first time, and by the time I got them where I wanted them they only had 2-4 turns of life cycle left.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

he other thing you can do: buy/build the scouts, then let them accompany Arthur until you're located where you intend to use them. Then convert them to questing knights.

Absolutely, you don't want to waste their limited lifespan travelling towards your target.

 

[tsf4]

You just have to wait for the right hero, be ready with a monument and grab it quick.
Maui may seem Ho hum with 4 lux bonuses but after a few eras it adds up... a couple of others are similar... sinbad is an awesome CV tool just for accessing the other civs early, all other hearts in comparison are so-so for a CV.

I can see this a lot better now. In particular a hero can beat back a early rush by the ai or help barb hunt. And some have decent charges such as Hercules.

 

[DogeEnricoDandolo]

Not sure if anyone mentions this, but I think among all Heroes with an active ability, Beowulf is the only one that does not end his turn immediately after he uses his ability.

 

[Palo]

Arthur and Hippolyta don't end their turn after using their abilities.

 

[Stringer1313]

My first hero was Hippolyta - who I thought was bit dull. Then I rolled over Lautero in short order (I don't usually go in for early game warmaking) and changed my mind! She is GOOD.

Agree 100%. I've tried a bunch and just tried Hippolyta, who is by far one of the strongest heroes in my opinion. The auto heal is so key b/c healing is the biggest barrier for me with other heroes. But her ability to make units act twice is HUGE - I just keep using it on siege weapons.

My only mild complaint is I think 2-3 more heroes should have charges that can be used outside of war, like Hercules and Anansi.

 

[UWHabs]

My only mild complaint is I think 2-3 more heroes should have charges that can be used outside of war, like Hercules and Anansi.

Yeah, my first game I've had 4 heroes, Hercules, Himiko, Beowulf, and Sinbad. Of them, it's great to have Hercules, Himiko, and Sinbad able to help while in peacetimes (the little that I've had). I've been at war enough that Beowulf has still been quite useful, but if I wasn't going on a conquering spree, he'd be pretty useless.

Even if not all the heroes had a secondary ability, could use a few more with them. Although the fact that 5 of them do have uses even outside of war means if you're not playing an aggressive game, you should still be able to get 1 or 2 of them if you want.

 

[DogeEnricoDandolo]

I've seen her discover 5-6 heroes if she's my first hero out and nearly all the heroes are still to be discovered.

So only these 3 can freely use their abilities without ending their turn, right? Anyone else?

 

[Banazir864]

My first hero was Hippolyta, and even though I didn’t go to war, I still got a lot of use out of her expediting my builders and settlers. Shaving those extra turns in the opening more than paid for the cost of the dedication.

 

[iammaxhailme]

Random: I'm playing with Heroes as Simon Bolivar. Some Commandante General's retire effects do indeed give Heroes (also Vampires!) a +4 if they're the right one (i.e. Melee for Vampires and Beowulf, etc). Sadly, when Heroes lifespan runs out and you recruit them again, the +4 from the Commandante General retirement is gone. Not sure if Vampires keep it when they are sent back home with 1 hp.