Promotion Exploits

[vorshlumpf]

i think triermines deliberately get sentry 1 now, idk exactly which ships it upgrades to though

Actually it's galleys and caravels.

 

[phoulishwan]

Elohim can upgrade Devout (Assasin recon unique) to 2nd Tier Priests of RoK, FoL or Order. Although not to OO or AV, shame about AV as that would also grant Summoning making this upgrade/sidegrade as powerful perhaps more so than the Balseraph Harlequin > Druid one...sort of a side grade strength wise, but from a magic standpoint it's huge. Of course thialso means Scouts can get a few valuable promos from the recon line (Forest Stealth, Subdue) before turning into Disciples through Devouts...the unique benefit of this particular side grade is the Devout unit also has Channeling 1, which opens up the Adept line of spells to your 2nd tier Priests.

 

[w. irving]

The Amurites can use Govannon to train a scout/hunter/ranger with Death I, upgrade them to a druid (Govannon can no longer directly train disciple units), take Death II and III as their first two promotions, and finally become a lich.

The end result is a level 3 (only 5 xp!) lich (an arcane unit so you can gain spell-sphere promotions normally) with Channeling I/II/III, Sorcery, Summoning, and Divine (the ultimate caster, with access to any spell).

If you then rush down one of the other spell-sphere paths (Fire/Water/Earth are all great choices as the have divine spells) you can gain access to their Tier 3 spells by level 6 (only 26 xp)
Better still, if you go down the Nature/Body/Chaos lines (all of which also have divine spells) you can get the first promotion for free (Nature from being a former druid, Body/Chaos can be trained be Govannon) which means you gain access to their Tier 3 spells by level 5 (only 17 xp)

Finally you will already have Death I/II/III for some very good spells, Medic I (from druid) which is kind of useful, Combat 1 (you get this for free when you become a lich) which is good if you summon a lot, Spell Extension I (also free from becoming a lich) which is also very good for the summoning line, and Subdue Animal (from druid) which is useless but funny.

The two big drawbacks to all this are the loss of starting xp from the Cave of Ancestors (since you start as a recon unit) and the loss of three 'free promotion' promotions you would have gotten by being an adept>wizard>archmage (which will hurt your ability to get the combat promotions to buff up your casting)

 

[Kjaaly]

That's not even a big drawback, since liches start with combat 1 and spell extension 1 (according to the wiki), and druids start with nature 1. These make up for the lost free promotion, even though one of the choices may be a bit suboptimal.

 

[w. irving]

good point. actually you also get medic I and subdue animal as free promotions so it's a trade off of 3 of your choice for 5 of limited usefulness.

the loss of xp from the cave of ancestors is also a minor issue since you don't need to reach a very high level.

i guess they're not such big drawbacks after all.

 

[R0GERSHRUBBER]

Some interesting, novel, or potentially overlooked upgrade paths that haven't been mentioned yet.
Archery units: free Combat I Aggressive Leader
With an Aggressive leader, you can build Warriors and upgrade them into Archers for a free Combat I on your Archers (and hence all of the Archer upgrades). You can also use this upgrade route to put Melee-specific promotions on Flurries or Marksmen, which may be desirable since they are primarily used as attackers rather than defenders.

Archery units: free Guardsman Bannor
As Bannor, you can build Warriors with a Bannor Training Yard and upgrade them into Archers for a free Guardsman promotion (Unit more likely to defend and reduces maintenance) on your Archers (and hence all of the Archer upgrades). This upgrade is desirable as Archery units are generally better suited to city defense than melee units.

Bambur, Saverous, Meshabber of Dis, Eidolon: free Guardsman Bannor
With Bannor, you can build Bambur, Saverous, and Meshabber of Dis with a Bannor Training Yard for a free Guardsman promotion. You can also build Diseased Corpses with Guardsman and upgrade them to Eidolons.

Valin Phanuel and Rosier the Fallen: free Horselords Hippus
With Hippus Stables, you can create Valine Phaneul or Rosier the Fallen with Horselords (+1 +10% Withdrawal Chance).

Arthendain: free Dextrous Ljosalfar
With Ljosalfar Archery Range, you can create Arthendain with Dextrous (+1/+0).

Marksman: free Sinister Svartalfar
With Svartalfar Hunting Lodge, you can create Assassins with Sinister (+1/+0) that upgrade to Marksmen.

Ranger: free Medic I and Mobility Spiritual Leader
A Disciple of Leaves can upgrade to a Ranger for a free Medic I promotion. If you are a Spiritual leader, you also get a free Mobility promotion. In addition, if you have the Altar of Luonnotar, you may be able to create Rangers with lots of XP this way.

Mage: free Medic I and Mobility Spiritual Leader
A Savant can upgrade to a Mage for a free Medic I promotion. If you are a Spiritual leader, you can also get a free Mobility promption. In addition, if you have the Altar of Lunnotar, you may be able to create Mages with lots of XP this way.

Shieldwall and Sparitoi: free Boarding Lanun
A Boarding Party (Lanun: replaces Pikeman) can upgrade to a Shieldwall of Sparitoi for a free Boarding promotion (allows units to attack and capture ships). It may be advisable for the Lanun to follow this upgrade path when creating Shieldwall and Sparitoi.

Berserker and Immortal: free Dragonslaying and Courage Grigori
A Dragonslayer (Grigori: replaces Maceman) can upgrade to a Berserker or Immortal for a free Dragonslaying and Courage promotion. Courage is particularly helpful for dealing with the Four Horsemen. It may be advisable for the Grigori to follow this upgrade path when creating Berserkers and Immortals.

Eidolon: Water Walking or Medic I or Diseased
Eidolon can have Water Walking, Medic I, or Diseased depending on whether they upgrade from Drown, Zealots, or Diseased Corpses.

 

[R0GERSHRUBBER]

With regards to the Amurite Scout->Druid->Lich upgrade path, it might be worthwhile to kill some units while a Druid for the relatively easy XP, since the Druid has a slightly higher strength than the Lich. Just hang on to the promotions until you convert, then use them for spell spheres.

 

[Chip56]

Very nice is following with basium:
You could promote an angel with combat 3 then march, cover 2,shock 2 and formation 2.
Then upgrade to an angel of death.
Beat every AI- army to death on their way to you.

 

[Loderunner]

In a recent game I was OO and built the Altar to, I think, level 4. I'd build a Zealot (+12 XP for disciple units from Altar, medic I, etc...), but held off on giving them any promos. I'd immediately upgrade them to Stygian Guards so next turn they'd be Str 6, +2 Unholy, +1 Holy, 12 XP, medic I, march, demon, etc...). If I'd build the Stygian Guard straight up, I wouldn't get the + 1 holy. Seems kinda contradictory to get +2 Unholy & +1 Holy on the same unit.