Warlock Released

[son_of_montfort]

I went against my better judgement and shelled out 5$ for it (I already had ~15$ worth of BC on Gamersgate).
Seems really underwhelming so far.

*Still really hard to get any awesome spells or summons, not to mention units.
*Monsters just keep coming and coming and coming endlessly being a huge nuisance.
*Only 3 races to choose from (Humans, Orcs, Undead) and little in the way of "Wizard" customization.
*No Multiplayer at all and no Hotseat mode.
*No Teaming-Up with A.I.
*In theory there are supposed to be Gods to interact with, so far I have yet to see any such interaction.
*"Quests" you are given are idiotic, make little sense most of the time (such as build a 5th harbor in a city :P ) and give petty rewards.
*Research is mostly pointless as rushing up spells really isn't that useful.
*Mana is way too important, especially since a lot of stuff has mana upkeep (all summons, all troops for the Undead at least, etc...).

I love it when praise for a game is practically unanimous pre-release and then the truth starts to seep out within hours of the retail hitting the streets.  This happened with Elemental and many other recent releases.  Annoying.

The big difference was that I paid ~$17 for Warlock and around ~$70 for Elemental. And I can tell you, I think Warlock is far more solid than Elemental.

I agree with Bison and LB, the game is fairly fun. It is certainly more bare bones than some games - you get three races and not a whole lot of extras (although the number of units, spells, and buildings is pretty nice), but you also only shelled out the cost of a night at the movies. I suspect that there will be some DLC that will add new races and new wizards to the mix. I don't mind that, as the game is playable without extras and more would be gravy.

Regarding the Gods, you have to find "Holy Ground" to build temples on. These temples unlock some UBER units that are expensive but also super powerful. You also occasionally get quests from the gods that alter your disposition. I think you could get more quests, so this may need tweaking. Holy Ground tends to be well defended by nasty monsters, but it provides amazing benefits.

Also, in terms of mana, some races need mana more than others. The Undead rely upon mana but don't need food. On the flip side, the beast race gobbles food up by the barrel, but I always had a huge surplus of mana. So mana's role depends on the type of empire you are. There are also lots of buildings that generate or increase mana flow.

The AI seems relatively competent. It isn't going to win huge rewards, but it defended its cities against my overwhelming onslaught of crack Noble Werewolves (that regenerated faster than they could be damaged) and Krom Blademasters (look like Conan, and they are a high-end Temple troop).

[Bison]

The one area that needs to be added to is the diplomacy.  Right now it's either give me money/mana or war!  It's a little to shallow options wise.

The monster attacks can be pretty intense, but I've not gotten the same from the AI wizards.   Still early in my first game 60 turns in, but it shows real promise.

[Tpek]

How do I clear out the monsters? they just keep spawning again and again.

[Barthheart]

You need to find and take their "nests". Each type of monster has hexes that they spawn from. March one of your units into the hex and the spawn point will dissapper and you get some coins for it as well.

[Tpek]

You need to find and take their "nests". Each type of monster has hexes that they spawn from. March one of your units into the hex and the spawn point will dissapper and you get some coins for it as well.

Thanks, I'll try that.

[Marty Ward]

What are the system requirements? I couldn't find them on the website.

They just posted a FAQ that has the reqs

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?606758-**-Warlock-Master-of-the-Arcane-FAQ-and-System-Requirements-**

Runs great on my rig, but its closer to the recommended specs....

Thanks. It look like my computer meets the recommended specs. I may have to give this a whirl.

[Barthheart]

You need to find and take their "nests". Each type of monster has hexes that they spawn from. March one of your units into the hex and the spawn point will dissapper and you get some coins for it as well.

Thanks, I'll try that.

Two others ways monsters show up are:

1. From Other World portals. Not sure how to stop that yet.... maybe youhave to enter the other world and completely clear it of nests too..?

2. Quests sometime just plop down a monster on the map.... had them show up out of nowhere in my territory.

[LongBlade]

You need to find and take their "nests". Each type of monster has hexes that they spawn from. March one of your units into the hex and the spawn point will dissapper and you get some coins for it as well.

Thanks, I'll try that.

Two others ways monsters show up are:

1. From Other World portals. Not sure how to stop that yet.... maybe youhave to enter the other world and completely clear it of nests too..?

2. Quests sometime just plop down a monster on the map.... had them show up out of nowhere in my territory.

Sometimes camping on top (but not entering) a portal seems to discourage arrivals from other worlds. However, I'm not sure that's 100% effective, and if it's on rough terrain, you'll need two units to babysit it since you'll spend all your movement getting off the hex (every unit must do something each turn - a minor gripe).

[Barthheart]

...
and if it's on rough terrain, you'll need two units to babysit it since you'll spend all your movement getting off the hex (every unit must do something each turn - a minor gripe).

There is a sleep command. The 3 arrows under the Guard command opens more commands one of which is sleep (shield with 3 Z's on it)

[LongBlade]

...
and if it's on rough terrain, you'll need two units to babysit it since you'll spend all your movement getting off the hex (every unit must do something each turn - a minor gripe).

There is a sleep command. The 3 arrows under the Guard command opens more commands one of which is sleep (shield with 3 Z's on it)

Ah, I should have known that. Thanks!

[Bison]

Three things that have frustrated me about the game.  1.  The incredibly long load times with just a black screen when firing up the game and 2.  I have to start the game twice every single time, because the first load I get the mouse does nothing issue and need the second one apparently to have my mouse work, which of course leads to 3. see number 1.

[LongBlade]

Three things that have frustrated me about the game.  1.  The incredibly long load times with just a black screen when firing up the game and 2.  I have to start the game twice every single time, because the first load I get the mouse does nothing issue and need the second one apparently to have my mouse work, which of course leads to 3. see number 1.

Well that stinks. I've not had a mouse problem.

[Bison]

I do like the game however.  I hope that they continue to work on some of the game mechanics and don't get all DLC for new wizards happy, if you know what I mean.

[Tpek]

Well, taking out creep-lairs and minor cities has really forced me to expand A LOT, and now I am fighting huge amounts of ever spawning monsters :P
Also, met my first victim...errr... fellow mage, Rjakh the faceless idiot. He was wise enough to automatically sign a non-aggression pact with me so I could focus on him later.
Still "2" more AI mages remaining (early on though I received a message that rat looking mage got himself thrashed, probably by creeps).

[LongBlade]

Well, taking out creep-lairs and minor cities has really forced me to expand A LOT, and now I am fighting huge amounts of ever spawning monsters :P
Also, met my first victim...errr... fellow mage, Rjakh the faceless idiot. He was wise enough to automatically sign a non-aggression pact with me so I could focus on him later.
Still "2" more AI mages remaining (early on though I received a message that rat looking mage got himself thrashed, probably by creeps).

What difficulty level are you playing?