Factions and Units Comparison [Wall of text]

[Mahat]

Here is something I was working on around january or february of this year. I then slowly lost interest in this mod, and that work ended up burried in some forgotten folder of my computer. I stumbled uppon it recently and, when I realized what it was, thought that, well, it would be a waste for so much work to just get scrapped. So here it is. I saw the game had seen some new releases since, so I don’t know if everything I noted and commented on will still be usefull. If it is though, I hope it’ll help Undying Nephalim in balancing his game if he ever gets to reading the whole thing, as from what I remember, overall balance was the part at which the mod seemed to fail the hardest last time I played it. Either way. Even if it ends up serving no purpose at all, posting it here will at least help me not feeling too bad about the entire weeks I spent fanatically working on it.



(There was also a file with ideas about new, lore and balance-friendly units and buildings in the same folder, with a bit of background suggestions towards the end... I’ll probably post that one too while I’m at it.)

(-)

Factions and units comparison

Intro

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This post is the result of a long and not all that fun game-testing process I started almost two months ago, and continued whenever I had some spare time and motivation. My main objective was to get a clear view of the state of balance in this mod, both between factions and inside single rosters. And, when something didn’t seem to work properly, to think about some ways to improve it. Of course, there is a good deal of personal impressions here: while the tests and results were made with the same game we all have, what I concluded from said results can obviously be subject to debate. I’m not trying to force my single viewpoint, claming “this doesn’t work and that’s the only way you can fix it”… I’m just giving a complete, but personal, review of every single unit and faction in the game after testing everything thoroughly while taking notes. And I hope it will help in a way or another whenever someone actually gets to balancing the game, as I simply do not have the knowledge needed to do so myself.


I ranked the factions rosters in three category depending of their overall effectivness (“good” for the best ones, “ok” for the perfectly playable ones, and “meh” for those that really seemed to be lacking in too much departments to be fully enjoyable) and also anoted every single unit within said rosters with some comments on it’s capabilities and how it seemed to fair in relation to it’s supposed role in the army (was it intended to be cannon fodder? An elite infantry unit? Basic shooters? Etc. I mainly based myself on the units and faction descriptions, along with basic common sense.).

When something seemed not to add up properly, I added a suggestion of modifictions [like that]. Those are mainly stats or headcounts boosts for not quite good (or outright useless in some sad cases) units, or nerfs for units too good when compared to what they were intended to be. So there can very well be suggestions to boost a weak unit inside a “good” roster or to weaken another one inside a “meh” army (because I don’t think broad statements amounting to “x army is too good, nerf now” will get us anywhere: almost every army has some scrappy unit alongside some overpowered ones, and it's the scrappy/overpowered ratio that ends up making an army good or meh). In some rare cases, I also made more lore-oriented suggestions.

I’m effraid the whole thing is quite long and indigest, so those who will take the time to read it already have my thanks.

Some last notes before I begin:
- I’m using the 25/12/2012 game version.
- I’m using the “standard” unit size. That’s the one where a unit of kokiri minutemen is 101 men strong.
- I’m only talking about armies and units here. The campaign is a whole different matter, and I choose to make abstraction of it for now because 1: it’s clearly not finished and 2: I believe the right order to do things is to first balance the armies with each others until we get something satisfying, and then only get to balancing the campaign. The worst possible approach being, in my opinion, to try and balance the two at the same time, or in correlation with each other (like boosting the stats of the units of faction x because it starts in a bad campaign position and fairs badly when controlled by the AI… that would just be stupid.)
- I also didn’t comment on the rupees costs of units, as they feel more like placeholders than anything for now. I’m only taking into account units intended roles and stats here. (But I did use rupees costs as a guideline to determine said intended roles for a few units when it wasn’t awfully clear. For example, a unit being very cheap will tend to comfort me in the impression that it was intended to be canon fodder.)
- You’ll notice that quite a few of the units I deemed “useless” or “barely good at anything” are small, infiltration/commando like combat groups. Because, while I do understand the background reasons behind their small numbers, it shouldn’t prevail against game balance. And with our total war game mechanics, drastically small units, especially if they are shooters or 1 hit-point contact fighters, tend to perform baddly no matter how good the stats of the individual soldiers are, while their ability to hide isn't nearly compensating for it. And I know what could be argued: “if a single unit of gerudo scouts/zora infiltrators isn’t worth a damn, you can just take four or five of them and make them work together! They are cheap!”… Except, that game just doesn’t work like that. My armies have a limited number of unit slots, so if I take those five units of gerudo scouts to actually have some firepower, I use five slots I could have filled with desert archers, and thus cripple my army baddly. Also, those small units of soldiers mean more micromanagment for the same result. All in all, I have no reason to choose them. To try and put my point across in a single sentence: “If you are going to force me to take six times the same 100 rupees 10 men unit in order for them to make any real difference on the battle outcome, you should just let me recruit a single 60 men unit for 600 rupees and be done with it.”
- Aside from that problem, the thing that jeopardized balance the most inside rosters was a strange tendency on Neph’s part. Basically, when he tries to make an unit feel “elite” inside a roster, he gives it better stats than the standard footsoldiers (which is normal), but also a much lower headcount (which isn’t really a good idea in this game most of the time, as I will demonstrate at lenghts later). As a result, there are a lot of supposedly elite units out there that performed much worse than their lesser counterparts in my tests, simply because their low numbers rendered their better stats completely moot. The Zora Shock Troopers? Not up to par with standard Zora Infantry. The most powerfull sheikah contact unit? The monks. And so on: almost every army in the game has at least one or two of those elite units that falls short due to being impaired by way too low numbers. It can really get to some absurd levels at times, like the power order for the sheikah contact units actually being monks > assassins > truthbearers > devoured! So, yeah. You’ll also ear me a lot about that. Because when I pay an elite unit twice the price of standard footsoldiers, it should logically be stronger than said footsoldiers.
- Lastly, please note that the factions are NOT ranked inside their own category. So, for example, the Gorons being at the very beginning of the best category does not mean they are the most OP in the game (though this is a rather bad example, as that’s actually my opinion on them but, well, you get the idea).

[Mahat]

Good factions:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Gorons]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Gorons guardians]

They do incredibly well, considering they are supposed to be your lower-tier infantry! Even though the gorons are intended to be strong contact fighters, I think we should nerf their stats a bit, especially when you consider they also have that uncanny rolling speed as a huge advantage (contrast that with the Darknuts, who pay a tangible price for their martial abilities).
[I would bring down their defensive stats quite a bit: that way they would roll fast, hit hard, but once in melee their ennemies could at last surround them and bring them down. As far as background goes, while the 6 armor points are justified by that whole stone-skin thingie, I wouldn't hesitate to remove 3-4 defense skill points. I mean, that stat represents the agility of the soldiers, his ability to avoid strikes alltogether... Goron were never all that nimble, and are usually fighting smaller and more numerous opponents that shouldn't have any trouble to hit those big targets.]

[Goron miners]

Basically guardians on steroids. [Like every other "rolling" goron unit, I think we should leave their armor points as they are, but remove 3-4 points to their defense skill to make them a bit easier to kill. Also, their superiors numbers (38) do not seem to have any justification to them and are a factor of unbalance inside the roster, so I would probably bring them down to a more standard 32.]

[Goron berzerkers]

[Same thing. Remove 3-4 points in defense skill.]

[Tribal monks]

[And again. Bring down that defense skill.]

[Goron rams]

[Defense skill feal even more strange on those.]

[Ruby Guard]

8 armor, 8 defense skill; 10 shield (!), 3 hit points... yep. They are almost invincible. But considering they can't roll, and are supposed to be the most powerfull unit of a contact oriented army, I think they are allright as they stand.

[Fire warriors]

Feel like a slightly downgraded, actually somewhat vulnerable to missiles Ruby Guard. And like them, their elite status and innability to roll more or less balance things out in my opînion.

[Bomb throwers]

Despite the killer missiles, the short range and small numbers mean that ranged unit isn't all that great. In almost any other army, I would have suggested to up their numbers a bit, but considering the gorons are supposed to be contact fighters and already kick way too much asses to my liking, I think those are just fine as they are. They do fill a unique role in the army, if poorly so.

[Dodongos]

I guess they are allright. Neither too powerfull nor too weak. Their utility is dubious though, as with their rolling speed, the gorons don't even need cavalry to begin with.

[Mounted fire warriors]

Fire Warriors with cavalry speed and impact... Yeah, right. Think we should also have given them tactical nuke launchers while we were at it. [Would either bring down their numbers to 9-10 riders, or lower their stats all around.]

[Bomb Platform]

Quite good when compared to the bomb throwers, as you can leave them in second line if you want to play your battle defensively (though I don't exactly see why you would want to do that with gorons, but that's another matter entirely). [The platforms remaining after getting destroyed and blocking the path is very annoying, and potentially game breaking at times. Unit should be removed from the fiel uppon death.]

[Powder Kegs Launchers]

Can bring down citadel walls in a matter of seconds and do impressive damages against huge infantry formations, all that at very long range. Would call it OP, but it's actually stated in the goron faction description that they field the best artillery in hyrule, so I guess it's allright. [What I will suggest though is to reduce the crew numbers from that humongus 45 to something more along the lines of 25-30, because those soldiers are actually Goron Guardians, making any attempt to take out the engine with light cavalry or infiltrators... suicidal.]

[Overview]

I've yet to find anything able to survive a full army of gorons rolling cavalry speed in its direction. Their lack of ranged units isn't even a real weakness, as they won't stay at range more than a few seconds thanks to their rolling speed (and have those bomb platforms, throwers, and keg launchers, too). Again, I'll contrast them with the other close combat masters, the Darknuts: those have some clear flaws for the ennemy to exploit. The goron, being both powerfull in melee, competent at range, and able to outmanoeuver any ennemy army to boot, do not. And I'm effraid even that generic defensive skill nerf on rolling units won't be quite enough to bring them down to reasonnable levels: they are just that OP.)

[Gohma]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Gohma Larvas]

Those are way too good for a cheap, low tier infantry unit. 1v1, they beat every single hyrulean infantry unit I pitted them against, from Town Guards to goddamned Ironclad Elites! They also ate alive kokiris Minutemen and Mudmen of Faron, to finally be stopped by Grove Watchers. All that with a single attack point and 4 defense. My theory here is simple: an uncanny combination of huge numbers with rock hard moral. They swarm the ennemy, and keep on attacking despite their horrible losses until the opponent flee due to his lower moral. And while that's certainly very background friendly, that's also completely overpowered. [As we can't reduce their numbers without hurting the background going with them and their stats are already dirt low and couldn't be lowered all that more, all we can do is attack their moral. I would get rid of that "excellent moral" alltogether, and actually give them a very poor one. That way, they would be routed easily... So long as there isn't a general or a pack of queens nearby. That would actually feel quite in accord with their "hive mind" background I think (if my experience with the Tyranids is anything to go by): they need "synapses" nearby to fight as an extension of Gohma's will rather than like simple minded animals. That would also add a layer of complexity when fighting/playing as Gohma: the troops have a huge potential, but those "master units" must be placed carrefully and protected well to prevent the battleline from crumbling away.]

[Gohma Juveniles]

They are pretty much the exact same unit as Gohma Larvas. That one more attack point doesn't seem to make any difference in actual combat. [Like the larvas, I would modify their moral to make it rather poor, but still a bit better than the gohma larvas. That way, the juveniles would still feel like an improvement from the larvas not much due to their stats, but rather thanks to their ability to keep fighting a bit longer whithout master units to motivate them neerby.]

[Pack of Queens]

Not much to say here. They are supposed to stay out of the fighting and to motivate nearby troops, and they seem to do that just fine.

[Royal Larvas]

Those are not only a good infiltration unit, but also a pretty hard nut to crack in close combat. As they have "their own brains" and were probably intended to work alone, away from the swarm, the excellent morale makes sense and I won't suggest to change anything about it. What bugs me to no ends are their impressive combat capabilities. [So if they were intended to be infiltrators, archer hunters and flankers, you'll want to bring down their numbers to at least 60. But if they were also intended to be an elite contact unit able to destroy any other race heavy infantry in a fair fight while sustaining only minimal casualties, well... They are allright, I guess.]

[Trap Doors Gohmas]

Certainly a very good contact unit. The whole "hide where the ennemy will have to walk and jump them" concept is nicely done, too. And their good capacities and stopping power are balanced by their incapacity to move, so they don't feel overpowered either. (On a side note, despite what I remember reading on the forum, I didn't note any graphical problem with that unit.]

[Gohma Adolescents]

Good short range shooters without being too good. But again, the high numbers + excellent moral combo just makes them OP in close combat. [So, like the other two basic contact unit, I would give them very poor moral, larva gohma level.]

[Pincergohmas]

While they do some quite acceptable charge damages, they die way too fast and are way too few to be anything more than a kamikaze unit. Plus, despite their "light cavalry" status, they are incapable of pursuing routing ennemies properly (they throw them to the ground rather than kilinfg them most of the time). [To make them a bit more appealing of a choice, I would up their numbers to 20-25, or up their armor drastically to actually make them worth of that "thick exoskeletton" description.]

[Gohmas Long Legs]

Their description states they are more than a psychological weapon than anything, but they don't actually have any trait to frighten the ennemy ("frighten ennemy infantry" and the likes), so I kinda don't get it. That being said, they fair like ubber-lame war elephants in actual combat. Don't do anything except throwing soldiers in the air when charging without killing them, and them get swarmed and downed in a matter of seconds. [Even if they are not supposed to be good at anything else, I would at least give them some frigtening power so they can be used as the psychological weapons their description claims they are.]

[Tank Gohma]

Nice to disorganize the ennemy, hard to kill, but don't do all that much damage in the end. Pretty balanced unit as far as I'm concerned.

[Armogohma]

Very powerfull second line shooters, nice to destroy walls and move fast. If they weren't that easy to kill with the appropriate counter (balists and the likes), I would call them OP. As they stand now, they are just a very good unit that needs to be handled with care (or destroyed as fast as possible if you are playing against them)

[Overview]

Good specialized units, nice armogohmas, and way too powerfull basic infantry with huge numbers and almost unbreakable morale. As you read, I suggest to get rid of the latter to bring the army's strenght to more reasonnable levels. Should also be a bit more fun to play with or against them with that change.

[Ordona]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Ordonian Farmers]

As far as canon fodder go, they are one of the best unit in the game, yet without being so good I would call them OP, mainly thanks to theirs numbers. [Only thing I would do is get rid of that "effective against armour" trait, as I really don't see what it's doing there, background speaking. It gives them an uncanny advantage against heavily armored, often elite troops, that should logically hack those untrained farmers to pieces, and they would be good enough without it.]

[Ordonian Militiamen]

Decent stapple infantry without being anything extraordinary. Their relatively bad stats are balanced by their higher than normal numbers. [Still don't see what that "effective against armour" is doing there. They are but mere humans with one handed swords, for goddesses' sake!]

[Shepheard Flock]

Those will get hacked to pieces by pretty much anything they try to fight in close combat. Just plain lame, really. Also, no matter what their description claims, there isn't anything "powerfull" in their charge (maybe because they count as light infantry rather than cavalry.): they just throw soldiers away without killing a single one of them. [Would up their numbers to 40-50 so they can at least disorganize an ennemy line and act as a distraction for some time.]

[Lumberjacks]

I find them to be somewhere in between hylian infantry and hyrulean knights in terms of power. So they fit quite nicely in the role of the best infantry for an ordonian army, as that's certainly not supposed to be the roster's speciality. The bonus to fight and hide in woods is nice, and the effectivness against armored troops makes sense, for a change.

[Farmer Archers]

Pretty good archer unit despite their short range, mainly due to their large numbers. What kills me though is that those untrained peasants are actually better in close combat than gerudo dune archers (which are, from what I recall, professionnal soldiers). Even if that's only by a tiny attack point, that just feels wrong. [So, more than a small detail than anything, but I would lower their contact abilities a little bit for background's sake.]

[Rangers]

An archer unit with long range, a movement speed bonus, and quite capable to fend for themselves in close combat if needs be... A very good unit all around without being outright overpowered thanks to their reasonnable numbers and somewhat elite status. They suffer from a graphical problem though: when engaged in close combat, they keep their bows in their left handd, their swords to the hip, and fight the ennemy by punching them with their unarmed right hand! [Might want to look into that model problem.]

[Hawkmen]

Not much to say here. Quite a good unit with it's ability to scare nearby ennemies, and that can even fair well in close combat without any support.

[Ordona Horsemen]

Ridiculously overpowered “light” cavalry. Not only have they got very good individual stats (just compare that 7 attack, 8 defense, 10 charge with a gerudo mounted marauder at 7/5/7, or a moblin boar rider at 6/4/6!), they are also the most numerous cavalry unit in the game with a whooping 94 riders! Seriously, there is nothing “light” about them: you line them up on your side of the field, you charge, you win. Simple as that. Even some of the best anticavalry units in the game (hyrulean castle guards and labrynnan palace watch) just get trampled to death in a single frontal charge. [Two solutions here: either we keep their stats but lower their numbers to a more reasonnable 50-60 riders, or we keep their numbers but lower their stats to 6/5/6. They’ll still be the best light cavalry in the game, but they’ll at least be somewhat stoppable.]

[Goat Lords]

Similar problem to the previous entry: too damn numerous for their stats. I destroyed an hyrulean knights unit in a single charge. And by that, I trully mean “every ennemy was trampled by the charge and the actual close combat phase never started due to all of them being too dead to raise their swords”. [Would keep the stats, but drastically lower their numbers. For a heavy cavalry as sturdy and powerfull as that, 25 should be the extreme maximum.]

[Elder Goats]

While the things are a terror when they actually get to charge and kill scores of soldiers in the process, they actually fair rather badly in prolonged fighting and don’t like missiles at all. A very dangerous unit, but with weaknesses to exploint, just like I love them.

[Mounted Farmer Archers]

A rather ordinary mounted archer unit. The short range and low numbers put them way behind the Gerudos in that field (but that’s logical as far as background goes). Still, as far as harrassing ennemy infantry goes, they do the job. [Would maybe up their numbers to 50 for added incentive to use them, still.]

[Ordonna Catapult]

This is a catapult. And pretty much all has been said.

[Overview]

While most of the army is merely good, the fact that none of their units is irremediably flawed (contrast pretty much any other faction: most of them have at least one or two scrappy decorative thingies in their roster) and two of them ar OP as hell makes them TOO good as things stand now. On the bright side, that shouldn’t be too hard to get right (contrarily to, say, Gohma or, especially, the Gorons, where you’d need widespread nerfs and modifications to get them down to beatable levels)

[Kokiris]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Kokiri Detachment]

I think I know what was intended here. Despite their pathetic stats and low numbers, those kokiris move fast, so the idea was probably to create flankers and ranged units hunters. Except, that just doesn't work: no point in reaching the target fast if it's only to be shred to pieces by it. In all my tests, the only time they got remotly close to winning was when they managed to down 32 gerudo marauders before running away... Their problem is, they are just not numerous enough to do anything with that moving speed, and will get beaten by pretty much anything in close combat, even ranged units. [Would up their numbers to at least 50-60.]

[Kokiri Minutemen]

Effective despite their stats thanks to theuir huge numbers and reserves of stamina, but still easy to break when away from a command figure. Definitely on the powerfull end of the scale as far as cannon fodders and basic infantry goes.

[Mudmen of Faron]

They feel more or less like an upgraded version of the minutemen, which makes them a good unit. They hold the line alright, and the anti-cavalry is always a nice bonus, especially on numerous units like this one, as they'll usually have quite a number of soldiers left to strike back even after taking a charge in the face.

[Grove Watchers]

Despite what I read here and there, they are good. They will send an unit of hyrulean knights to hell anyday, and I find that almost overpowered allready for kokiris. [Just one thing that didn't quite seem to add up: why are they vulnerable to missile? The models have shields, right?]

[Korok Warriors]

They are allright. Like the grove watchers, they'll take on other factions' heavy infantry without much problem.

[Slingshots]

Very good low tier ranged unit, mainly thanks to their huge numbers. Not much more to say here: I almost wanted to suggest a nerf, but eventually reconsidered as their short range is probably enough of a weakness for the ennemy to exploit. That, and the fact that I'll obviously suggest to give a good nerf to the other ranged unit in the roster.

[Emerald Archers]

Long range missiles, effective against armor, can use flamming missiles, 8 missiles attack, 11 (!) contact attack, 3 armor + 6 defense skill... And all that on 94 soldiers! Whoever was saying the Gerudo were the best archers in all hyrule didn't do his researchs properly: those are the guys. Not only will they beat any other archer unit in the game in a shooting contest thanks to their huge numbers, long range and good skill, they'll also beat back most of the standard contact infantry of other races in close combat. [So, despite them being supposed to be elite, I would at least bring down their numbers to a more reasonnable 60. And even then, they'll remain pretty damn good.]

[Wolfos Riders]

Were those supposed to be able to exterminate a whole unit of hyrulean knights in a single frontal charge? Doesn't feel very "light cavalry" to me, especially as it's not statted anywhere that kokiris are supposed to be good riders (if anything, the unit's description suggest they only recently got to riding things, so they shouldn't be all that great at it). I think it might have something to do with the trample damages, as their stats are nothing extraordinary. [Still, something needs to be done, so I would probably reduce their numbers drastically, from 63 to 30-40, or something like that.]

[Deku Trees]

That's an elephant unit or I don't know my stuff. They do huge damages and disorganize the ennemy, but they die fast if you leave them in a sea of soldiers. Neither too powerfull nor underpowered in my opinion.

[Kokiri Barricades]

While their battle capabilities are good (mainly the stopping power), the fact that they still block the path after dying can be borderline game-breaking at times. [Should really be removed from the field upon death.]

[Bouldershots]

Nothing extraordinary here. A rather standard artillery unit.

[Overview:]

A very good roster. Very nice infantry, very competent shooters, powerfull cavalry, and those nasty barricades... Being both versatile and very good in a number of fields makes them a bit OP in my opinion, but a few nerfs here and there should do the trick.

[Labrynna Regime]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Homeguards]

5 attack, 10 defense, 4 charge, 76 soldiers, good morale, all that on a basic infantry unit you can get for a mere 200 rupees? That’s just crazzy! With those stats, the guys are hyrulean palace guards level! So while the wopping 10 defense points are somewhat justified by their “expert crowd controllers” trait (both the unit and the faction as a whole); the attacking power really need to be toned down. [Would lower their attack from 5 to 2 and charge from 4 to 1. There spears have wooden tips after all.]


[Pathfinders]

Well, there it is: a light infantry/scout unit done well. They move fast, they have some ranged attack to harass the ennemy from a distance as well as some pretty decent contact capabilities and, more importantly, enough soldiers to actually have an effect on the course of the battle. [Only problem I have wityh them is model related: they never use their crossbows, and fire bolts knife in hand, which just looks silly.]

[Pioneers]

You use them to set up stacks in a tactical location, then withdraw them to be used as reserves. A nice addition to the army. Still got 2 minor problems with them. [First: gunners can’t fire from behind stacks, which kinda restrains the use of Pioneers as they can only be combined with Borderguards. Second: I don’t see what that bonus against cavalry is doing here: those shovels aren’t THAT long!]

[Knights of Anbi]

Basically hyrulean knights with slightly less soldiers. They make a correct heavy infantry unit without being anything particularly fancy. They are outshinned badly by Homeguards, but the problem lies with the latters.

[Palace Watch]

Another correct unit, but not much more. While theit stats are nice, their numbers kinda penalize them. Still, as Labrynnan aren’t supposed to be all that fond of close combat, I guess it’s allright. What’s more problematic is that they get outshinned by the Homeguards as they stand now, but again, that should be fixed if said Homeguards are properly nerfed like I suggested.

[Mechs]

Those things are badass. Not that fast at killing ennemies, but the amount of beating they can take is ludicrous. [I think I would probably bring down their HPs from 4 to 3.]

[Borderguards]

A nice little unit of crossbowmen. Nowhere near the polyvalence and brutality of hylian crossbowmen, but those are completly powered either way and should be nerfed to heel and back.

[Gunners]

Considering they are supposed to be Labrynna’s tradermark unit, those were really dissapointing. They have a short range, they shoot slowly, they don’t kill all that much ennemies from a distance, and they are just plain lame in close quarters. No reedeeming quality whatsover. [I would first start by upping their numbers from that ridiculouss 44 to 75. Shooters in Total War need numbers to make a real difference, and that holds even more true when only 1/3 of the soldiers in the unit actually fire (or 1/2 if you work wit a two lines formation). I would also give them some “frighten nearby ennemies” trait to represent the novelty of firearms, along with all that noise and smoke they produce. And with those two changes, they should make a much more appealing unit.]

[Gunner Posts]

Those are deadly. They kill lots of ennemies and are hard to remove. But they can’t move and have a rather short range, which kinda balances things out. And, like gunners, they are supposed to be an emblematic unit for the army, so it’s allright. [Still, the fact that they keep on blocking the path after being destroyed is really annoying.]

[Labrynna Cannon]

Very nice against buildings, less so against infantry. Only thing bugging me is that they make a strange sound effect, javelin-thrower like, just before firing. [Sound issue need fixing.]

[Cannon fodder]

They were designed as arrow catchers, but they actually make a very good light contact infantry, and I don’t think that was intended. The fault to that “good morale” + hight numbers combination: they just swarm other low to medium tier infantries unit and kill them over time. [Would either educe their numbers to 76, or get rid of that “good morale”. Also, the models have a serious skin problem.]

[Tokay slaves]

Those are alright. Quite pathetic against pretty much anything, but I can guess they were intended to be that way. [They share the same skin-problem as the Cannon Fodders though.]

[Overview]

While the gunners were a slight dissapointment, everything else ranges from neat to borderline OP. A very good defensive army.

[Stalfos]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Fallen Skull Kids]

Most likely intended to be flankers and ranged units hunters with their high running speed but, not unlike their living kokiri detachment counterparts, they are just not numerous enough to really accomplish anything. [Would up their numbers to at least 50, maybe even 60.]

[Stalfos Eurdi]

Considering they never tire, and never run away, even with those individual stats, they are just toonumerous, and were able to beat 1v1 ennemies that should logically have won in my opinion (hyrulean knights, moblins grunts, even lizalfos Dams Grachts! The only thing that managed to crush them was an unit of Darknut Masters.). [The no tiring, no fleeing, armor-breaking combo is a huge advantage already without needing to also add numbers to the mix. Would lower the number of soldiers to a more reasonnable 70.]

[Stalfos Gerudos]

Could pretty much copy and paste the previous entry. Too much advantages, no drawbacks. [Again, would lower their numbers to 70.]

[Stalhounds]

Those are... surprisingly weak. Maybe due to the lack of formation. But with their speed, they do the trick as far as hunting down archers and flanking the ennemy goes.

[Re Deads]

A rather standard support unit, but with enough numbers to be used as reserves if necessary. Very good, but not overpowered-good.

[Stalfos Lizal]

Despite the good stats + decent numbers + no fear + never tired combo, they perform worse than Stalfos Eurdi and Stalfos Gerudos, which feels strange as they were obviously intended to be shock infantry. But, like I already pointed, the ones that need to be fixed are the other two, not those. [I’m only wondering why they do not have that armor-piercing trait like the rest of the army’s human-sized infantry.]

[Stalkins]

The fact they wear spears makes them slightly less powerfull than the Eurdis or Gerudos. That aside, they fill the anti-cavalry role perfectly. [Would still lower their numbers to at least 80. Also, considering their description and how disturbing the idea of undead childs can be, maybe a trait to frighten nearby ennemies is in order?]

[Parutamu]

Pretty much the same thing as the Lizals: they are just fine, but overshadowed by their more numerous brethen. Should be fixed once said brethen get a taste of the nerf bat.

[Stalfos Zonko]

Kinda underwhelming when compared to Eurdi, Gerudos and Stalkins. [Would up their numbers to 70.]

[Scythe Lords]

They are decent at medium range, and pretty nice up close too as long as they get some kind of support. That versatility makes them just great in my opinion.

[Overview]

Somehow, they remind me of the Gorons: lots of bonusses for little to no weaknesses at all. That makes for an all around very powerfull army. Not goron-good, as they do lack ranged attack or cavalry, but still too good for my liking.

[Mahat]

Ok factions:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Kingdom of Hyrule]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Town Guards:]

Typical canon-fodder. They are quite numerous (76) and sport reasonable defenses… As far as doing the dying goes, they are allright.

[Swordmen Recruits:]

I’m a bit dubious on that one. While their stats and vulnerability to missiles scream “canon-fodder”, we already have the Town Guards in that role, and their numbers make them better at it. But I do recognizes that they fare better when you actually need someone to kill the ennemy, so I guess they were intended to fill some kind of “cheapest damage dealer” role.

[Hylian Infantry:]

Some kind of main battle line. They do the job without being overly lame or overpowered in open battle and, being two-handers, they truly shine in siege battles. Not much more to say here.

[Castle Guards:]

Now that’s a competent anti-cavalry unit! In my tests, they managed to win 1v1 against Gerudo Mounted Marauders, Kokiri Wolfos Riders, Bigocto Riders and some others. Ordonian horsement just ate them alive though. Still, they can hold their ground against most light cavalry units out there and even some of the heavier ones, and also fare well against infantry. A very good unit all around.

[Hyrulean Knights:]

Good infantry there. They have nice defensive and offensive skills, and hacked their way through most of the reasonable ennemies I pitted them against. Solid choice.

[Iron Clad Elites:]

The good armor, 2 hit points and high attack means pain for the ennemy despite the relatively low number of soldiers in the unit. The anti-cavalry skill is but a nice bonus.

[Triforce Vanguard:]

While their stats are very nice, the combination of low numbers and only 1 hit point soldiers really harms them. They should be the last line of defense, the best fighters in all hyrule! But due to their 2 hit points, the Iron Clad Elites actually surpass them. So I think they currently are quite disappointing. [I would either give them a second hitpoint or drastically up their numbers to 60 in order to really make them feel elite.]

[Hylian Crossbowmen:]

After playtesting them for a while, I’ve got but one thing to say: those need a good nerf. Not only are they a pretty decent armor-piercing, long range unit, they also sport near hyrulean knights close combat capabilities! They can take an impressive amount of punishment, and hit pretty hard themselves. And as if that wasn’t enough, they can use sharpened stacks to bolster their resilience even more! So, yeah… Too powerfull in too many different fields, especially when you consider that absolutely nothing in their description is hinting at them being “elite” in any way. [I would get rid of some contact attack, armour, defense and shield skill, and maybe even of those sharpened stacks.]

[Mounted Recruits:]

Even for light cavalry, I find them quite lame. While their stats are alright, their numbers are a bit low. But their does seems to be one thing helping them: they seem to move faster than any other cavalry unit in the game. A nice touch when you consider their mounts come frim Lon Lon. I thought about suggesting to up their numbers a little but, actually, considering they are supposed to be low tier cavalry and the army also has access to the damn good Mounted Hyrulean Knights, that’s probably not really necessary.

[Mounted Hyrulean Knights:]

Very good heavy cavalry. As long as they get to charge, they can wreck pretty much any infantry unit. If their numbers were any higher, I would call them OP. But as things stands now, they are just a very good, elite unit.

[Repeater Crossbow:]

Laughted hard on that one. Not because of its capabilities (it’s a rather good anti-infantry unit), but because the things actually kill some of their crew each time they shoot! [That whole kill-your-own-crew needs a fix, but I’m guessing that’s allready known.]

[Hylian Trebuchets:]

Especially good against fortifications. But the lack of precision means they are not all that efficient against moving targets, event with the flamming missiles (though it does hurt when they hit ^^’). Nothing much to say: they are fine.

[Overview:]

A solid line of infantry backed up by a nice, if small cavalry, and some competent shooters and siege engines. Really no reason to complain here.

[The Darknuts]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Initiates:]

Very good stats for basic infantry, counterbalanced by low numbers. Not as frail as Fkka Knights but not as slow as the other Darknuts, they fill a nice middle ground in the army.

[Fokka Knights:]

Their movment speed renders them pretty much vital to any Darknut army not intending to be slowly picked up from afar by archers and siege engines. [Would probably up their numbers slightly, to something like 30-35, as they tend to fall a bit too quick even for archer hunters.]

[Adepts:]

Despite being the most basic line infantry of the faction, that unit will beat pretty much any other contact unit in the game one on one. From lowly Marauders and Town guards to powerfull ironclad elites and dams grachts, they’ll beat pretty much anything they manage to engage in close combat. That comes at the price of that reduced speed of course, but they are still the most amazing heavy infantry in the game, and would feel overpowered in any other army.

[Masters:]

Like Adepts, but better. Very resilient.

[Mighties:]

Same thing, but even better.Despite the even smaller numbers, the better stats, the bonus against cavalry and the frightening aura makes them an excellent unit.

[Legendaries:]

Like the mighties, even better.

[Deities:]

Att 28, Def 34, 3 hit points. Best contact fighters in all hyrule, no question asked.

[Concerning the whole army: it’s more a minor annoyance than anything, but in slow-moving units, there are often one or two soldiers that decide to start going slightly faster than everyone else and end up ahead of everyone when the unit is moving a long distance, breaking the formation. That’s nowhere near game breaking, but can be slightly annoying at times. Also, those same slow moving units tend to get tired quickly, which penalizes them in the long run and do not really feel “unstoppable wall of darknut death” to me. Maybe a slight overall boost in endurance is in order.]


[Overview:]

Almost every unit in the army being so slow and so vulnerable to one-hit-kill attacks makes it hard to master, but the Initiates and Fokka Knights do make the whole thing perfectly playable. While the army clearly lacks variety, I guess that couldn’t really be avoided. Fun roster to play all around.

[Zoras]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Zora Healers]

Actually influence the outcome of the fight more than I initially imagined. While motivating nearby allies is kinda redundant in that army, frigthening ennemies does come in handy. An units of zora infantry will almost always loose against an unit of hylian infantry in 1v1 combat, but if you add an unit of zoras healers being your infantry, the hylians suddenly don't stand a chance.

[Infiltrators]

Stats, hiding and movement speed are nice, but the guys only have 1 hitpoint and the unit of 10 miserable soldiers falls ridiculously fast, even against the archers and siege engine they were probably designed to hunt down. That unit really need a boost to be of any real use. [Would either up their numbers to at least 25-30, or give the individual soldiers 2 hitpoints and up their numbers slightly to 15.]

[Zora Infantry]

While their stats aren't all that good, they do make a nice line infantry thanks to their morale. The anti cavalry is also a nice little bonus. As far as basic infantry go, those are allright.

[Shock troopers]

And those have a serious design problem. There isn't much of a point in giving them better stats if you then nullify that advantage completely with a poor number of soldiers. As a result, in my 1v1 tests, they never faired better than standard Zora Infantry. Wich, when you consider their price and their "elite" status, just doesn't make sense. [Would up their numbers to 65 so they actually feel like an upgrade from standard zora infantry.]

[Zora Mages]

Those guys really aren't anything extraordinary. Fairly poor shooters, with low numbers and no possibility to fire in an arc above friendly infantry. While not outright useless, I certainly think they could use a bit of love. [Would probably up their numbers a little. 40-45 maybe. That, or give their ranged attack a bit more punch.]

[Sapphire Wardens]

They actually performed worse than zora mages in my test as far as ranged damage goes, so I think we have a serious problem on our hands. I mean, those are supposed to be the zora equivalent of the ruby guard and emerald archers, right? Because they just feel incredibly weak. That's probably tied to that low numbers + single target projectiles combo. [So I would either let their projectiles kill several enemies wind witches style, or up both their numbers and ranged attack damages drastically.]

[Bigocto Riders]

Pretty correct heavy cavalry here. Not much more to say, as they have the usual behavior for that kind of units.

[Mage Spire]

Those things are some frightening weapons of war, really. The damages against approaching infantry are something to witness. Won't call OP n them though, as the rather short range and immobility are weaknesses and their description does present them as being very powerfull. [But the things can't be killed in close combat for some collision reason I think, and that really should be fixed.]

[Bigocto battle platforms]

While the ranged attack is rather inneficient (same as the Sapphire Wardens), the elephants do make one hell of a mess in the ennemy ranks before dying. Fine by me.

[Mage Cannon]

Can down citadel-sized walls in a single shot, and also fairs well as an anti-infantry unit. Still, the low quantity of ammo prevents it from being OP.

[Overview]

While the infantry as a whole isn't anything special, the bigoctos and the machines of war are neat. They certainly need some tweaks here and there, but remain perfectly playable as things stand.

[Lanayru Province]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Conscripts]

Basic cannon fodder unit. They fair reasonnably well against other basic units and their numbers let them hold quite some time in the proximity of a proper general. All good to me.

[Shore Maidens]

While they have the same efficiency problem as most of the would-be-spy units in the game, they do better than most thanks to their almost reasonnable numbers and high speed (they will utterly destroy an unit of Zora Infiltrators any day of the week). [Would still up their numbers a little to something like 30, maybe 35]

[Arudoras]

They do reasonnable damages and hold quite well themselves. That capacity to burrow is fun, but kinda useless as it does not really make the unit “dissappear”. Still a good contact unit as far as I’m concerned. [Would probably make them resistant to projectiles for background reasons though: they spend half their time underground, and make very low targets even when they are on the surface.]

[Guardian Maidens]

Wait, were those supposed to be an elite unit ? Because they die way too quickly to be worthy of that title. And they do not even have the excuse to be intended “infiltrators” as so many others out there. So, yeah: lot of work needed there. [Would either simply up their numbers to the standard 60-ish to help them shine when compared to other infantry units, OR up their numbers to only 25-30, but also give them a second HP.]

[Coral Lancers]

They do the job as far as holding the line goes.

[Ocean Guard]

They feel like an upgraded version of the Coral Lancers. They hold the line, they kill cavalry reasonnably well.

[Coral Archers]

Pretty good ranged skill with nice numbers. Their obvious weekness is their lack of range, but once the ennemy gets close enough, they really shine. Not the best archers in Hyrule, but nnot the worst either.

[Coast Riders]

Almost too good as far as light cavalry goes. Almost.

[Battle Crabs]

Goddesses, that those things are overpowered! Not only do they do huge damages, they are also borderline impossible to kill. I’ve beaten 5 units of Ironclad Elites with a single unit of Battle Crabs while only loosing a quarter of said crabs. So even if they are intended to be the best unit in the roster, they are just too good. [Would bring down their hitpoints to 3, maybe even 2 per unit. That way they would be a bit easier to kill once locked by a swarn of anti-cavalry infantry.]

[Archer Battle Crabs]

The “archer” part of this unit seems to be purely decorative. As we’ll see latter with the Gerudos Scouts, in a Total War game, ten arrows are just that: ten arrows. The crabs on another hand make for very nice and powerfull chargers for hit and run tactics. Nowhere near as OP as the Battle Crabs thanks to having honly one HP per unit, but still pretty effective. [Still, their current pricing (900) seems to indicate that they are supposed to be an upgrade from the Battle Crabs (800). But realistically speaking, archer battle crabs are WAY weaker than battlecrabs, so that will need to be corrected one way or another.]

[Coralmold Ballista]

Ballistas are ballistae. They do OK against infantry and are excellent at taking down big monsters thanks to their accurate, one-hit kill flamming missiles. But they are quite lame against buildings. All in all, things balance themselves out.

[Overview:]

A nice, balanced roster. Basic strategies seems to be to hold the line with all that defensive and numerous infantry, and then to rout the ennemy by flanking him with the faster, stronger units. Easily makes it to the “OK” category in my books, though like almost everyone else, they do have a few complety OP and UP units that will need serious tweaking.

[Moblins]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Bokoblin Footmen]

Like most other low stats + high numbers canon fodders out there (kokiri minutemen, gohma larvas, dekus scrubs...), they fair better than most of their low numbers counterparts. They beat town guards, marauders, glaive grunts and the likes without any difficulty and can hold of superior ennemies for some time so long as they have a general nearby to boost their moral. Nothing to see here: it’s a good unit for it’s intended role.

[Miniblins Swarm]

Those are... impressive. They are cheap, they are numerous, and their endless stamina lets them kill the ennemy non stop so long as their moral holds. They kinda outshine the bokoblins footmen as far as cheap throwaway infantry goes, but they are not really OP either. [Would just make them cost more rupees than bokoblins rather than the other way around.]

[Mob of Moblins]

Those guys are neat. While they die easily, they also hit hard, and can be sent against heavy infantry without afterthough (mainly thanks to that “effective against armor” + “good stamina” combo.]

[Moblin Grunts]

Considering their description clearly states those are supposed to be elite, shocj infantry, they are currently lacking. Don’t get me wrong: they would make a correct line heavy infantry. But they are simply not elite material, especially when you compare them with the Mob of Moblins (the Mob will win against hyrulean knights, albeit at the price of many lives. The Grunt will lose in the same setup). So I will suggest some slight boosts for them. [Would start by upping their numbers to 57 to put them on an equal footing with the Mob. Yes, we are once again in my “don’t give them elite stats to then nullify it with low numbers!” rant. Then I’d up their Attack from 7 to 9, and maybe give the same treatment to their defense, as they are supposed to be wearing plate armor. And there you go: elite unit.]

[Bigblins]

Those are good. But maybe not quite good enough to be worthy of their badass description. [Only a personal feeling, but I would probably up their stats slightly, to something like 14 attack, 10 defense.]

[Bublin Troopers]

Very good line infantry. While their combat and ranged stats are nothing formidable, their nice numbers and excellent moral make up for it. Those are the guys you bring when you need to hold the line.

[Forest Blins]

Not all that good, not all that bad. Their ranged attack is just meh, their close combat capabilities are barely alright, but their stamina is nice. [Would up their numbers to 57, and maybe give them one more point to close combat attack to bring it to 7. Also, the guys have a combat bonus in... deserts. Considering their name and description, that should probably be replaced with “woods”.]

[Boar Riders]

Devastating charge as long as they are fighting on open field. Drop like flies if they stay in close combat for too long. While that’s perfectly balanced to me, that just doesn’t feel right from a background and logic perspective. In real life, boars are stubbornly hard to kill and pretty damn dangerous. Boars the size of a horse should be monsters! So, purely background, and rather drastic suggestion here. [I would bring down their numbers to 20, and bring up their stats to 10 attack, 8 charge, 10 armour, 3 defense skill, 2 hitpoints. Basically make them a, smaller, super-heavy cavalry unit.]

[Moblin Catapult]

This is a catapult. Not much more to say, really.

[Overview:]

A pretty reasonable infantry-based army. Some units are very good while others could use a boost, but all in all, it already feels rather balanced and enjoyable.

[Lizalfos]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Ukslaks]

Correct stats, good moral, good stamina. As far as low numbers, basic contact nfantry goes, they are amongst the best. Honestly, I find them almost too good for their role, but I won’t call OP on them, as light, fast infantry is supposed to be the lizalfos’ strong point after all.

[Agis Kado]

I think those are somewhere in-between canon-fodder and light infantry. While they are not as fast as the Ukslaks, they make up for it with numbers and slightly better contact stats. Another good unit.

[Akis Sakos]

A support unit. Like the zoras healers, they can actually make a suprisingly large difference in the outcome of the fight. Also have a running speed bonus and correct stats, so they can hunt siege engines crews and the likes or serve as reinforcements in a pinch.

[Aerolfos]

Ah. Another one of those low numbers, 1 hit-point would-be-assassins units that gets their asses handled by siege engines crews... Yay! Those will really need a boost to be of any use. [Would either up their numbers to at least 40, OR give them a second hitpoint and a few more points in both attack and defense skills. Considering they are supposed to be a rare species, second option is probably the best from a background standpoint.]

[Dinalfos Footmen]

Correct heavy infantry, but nothing more than that, really. [Would actually give them 1 or 2 points in shield defense as they are, you know... wearing shields. That would also help them with that “kinda lacking” feeling they have right now.]

[Res Sakis]

Fast, numerous, can do shiltron and anti-cavalry bonus... Like the Uksloks, they would feel borderline OP if they weren’t the embodiement of what that army is supposed to be about.

[Dams Grachs]

Attack 14, defense 13, 2 hitpoints, 32 soldiers (!), and they can even run! To give you a comparison with other heavy contenders from other armies, Darknut Masters are A10 D25 2HPs 21soldiers, but can’t run, while ironclad elites have the same 32 soldiers and 2 HPs, but with only A 11 D9, and the gerudo Bronze Knukkles combine the slow speed, the 19 soldiers, and an A9 D9 HP2 in one awsome, heavily armored bundle of lose (more about them latter). Long thing short: Dams Grachs are very, very good heavy infantry, only bested by gorons and darknuts, both factions intended to be specialists in that field. So, do these guys need a nerf? Yes they do, but not a huge one. They are supposed to be elite afterall, and the Lizalfos really need something heavy like that in situations where their speed can’t be used (sieges, typically). [I’d say the first step would simply be to remove these guys’ ability to run.]

[Fakut Kalaso]

Reminded me a bit of the Bokoblins Troopers, minus the steel morale. Short range for bowmen, but ability to fight off the ennemy in close quarters if needed. They make for good wall holders, and can keep the lines standing in open field. Still nothing extraordinary, but they do the job. [That’s a background consideration, but considering their roles as hunters, scouts and watchmen, shouldn’t they have some kind of hidding ability, or maybe a combat bonus in some environments?]

[Kasorsko Akos]

For “light” cavalry, they fair surprisingly well in frontal all-out charges. Another very good unit, though probably not to the point of calling them OP or anything like that.

[Lizalfos Catapult]

This is a catapult... And it doesn’t shoot rocks! Seriously? Only rotting corpses?! I can only guess this was an omission, and not an intended feature, as it’s equally stupid from a gameplay and background/logic viewpoint. [So, yeah. Rotting corpses are fun and all, but we’ll need good old rocks if we want to down these walls, guys. I’m sure that one technologicall discovery is in our reach...]

[Overview]

Borderline OK. Appart from the few traditional useless/brokken/ill deisgned/whatever units, the army is fast, versatile, and all around interesting to play both as and against.

[Sheikahs]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Sheikah Spies]

While they are not nearly as unplayable as most other intended archer hunters in the game, they still feel somewhat weak, especially when you consider that kind of unit is supposed to be that army’s speciality. [Would probably up their numbers just a little, maybe to 15-20 soldiers.]

[Sheikah Monks]

Those are nice. A good flankingand ambush unit, able to surprise the ennemy, but also to stay in a fight for quite some time if need be.

[Soldiers of Agahnim]

Standard line infantry. Nothing extraordinary, but they do the job, and add some numbers to an army that desperatly need them.

[Sheikah Assassins]

Suffer from that common “let’s give them better stats, a higher price, and then lower their numbers!” mistake that’s all over that mod. They should be superior to the monks. They actually perform worse due to their low numbers. [Just up their numbers to 18 so they actually feel like an improvement.]

[Truth Bearers]

Take Sheikah Assassins comments. Copy and paste. [Would up their numbers to at least 15, and maybe go all the way to 18 if we want to make them feel trully elite.]

[The Devoured]

“Legendary beasts” or not, they fair worse than the Monks, the Assassins, and the Truth Bearers. And, as you probably noticed by now, that means the power scale in that army is completely reversed: it goes monks>assassins>truthbearers>devoured, when both the unit’s prices and description make it obvious it was intended to be the other way around. And that’s, again, the fault of that strange habbit of giving a unit better stats, but a drastically lower headcount when ntrying to make it feels “elite”... An habbit that doesn’t work, and utterly destroys the internal balance of that particular army, and seriously scewers the balance of the rest of the game, making a lot of “basic” and low cost infantry unit perform way better than their elite, high-cost counterparts. [Again, just up the number of soldiers to reasonnable levels. I’d say 13-15 should do the trick in that unit’s case.]

[Interrogators]

Correct ranged unit. My only complaint is that their description is obviously lying to us: 18 soldiers with attack 6, defense 7 and a single hitpoint will just get butchered by anything and everything in close combat. [Would give them a second hitpoint, and maybe up their contact stats a tab bit. That, or rewrite their description.]

[Kingmakers]

Good ranged unit. Still, like the Interrogators, they must be quite close to the ennemy to fire and are supposed to be trained Sheikahs, [so I would give them a second hitpoint.]

[Shadow Cannon]

Quite good against infantry. Gets out of ammo fast, but the crew is fairly competent in close combat, so it’s alright. Still moot against buildings, but I can only gues that was intended.

[Overview]

An original, but playable roster. Also the one army that suffers the most from that eite-without-numbers misconception, up to quite absurd levels as we just demonstrated. Needs work, but still playable.

[Order of the Wizzrobe]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Acolytes]

They are plain lame, but they were clearly intended to be so according to their description and army’s philosophy. They are merely here to buy a few more volleys for their wizzrobes masters.

[Illusionnists]

While I was quite doubtfull of those at first due to their almost total lack of defense, their light attack and ability to teleport out of harm more than make up for it. A really good contact unit.

[Pyromancers]

Medium range, very high damage, lame at close combat, can’t fire from behind allied soldiers. They share theses traits with Aquamancers, Electromancers, Geomancers and Aeromancers, so I will mostly be comparing the destructive power and the pricing of each of these units from now on. At that game, the Pyromancers come second, just behind the Electromancers, which kinda contradicts their lower price. [So I would seriously diminish their numbers to lower their power a bit, to something around 40 soldiers I think.]

[Aquamancers]

By far the least effectives of all mancers, borderline useless. While a single pyromancer or electromancer volley will pretty much destroy a whole ennemy unit, a single aquamancer volley will... push a few soldiers five metters backward? [Seriously though: those need a huge boost in a form or another. There is no point in pushing back ennemy soldiers were other mancers would plain old kill them, is it? If boostinf their missile damage is not an option, we could maybe take a different path and make them a support unit, with a chanting ability, considering water mastery gives them healing powers or something? Aither way, they really need help.]

[Electromancers]

The deadliest of all. [Would probably bring down their numbers slightly, to 35 or 30 maybe.]

[Geomancers]

Deespite their higher pricing and rank, they only come in third place beind electromancers and pyromancers, but slightly nerfing those two like I suggested should put them back in the right place.

[Aeromancers]

Fast and deadly. Just good where they stand.

[Earth Reapers]

While the concept of a close range artillery deadly in close combat is interesting, some kind of collision bug prevents any attack from reaching them in close combat, making them brokken, and invincible. [Once that’s fixed, they should be just fine.]

[Overview]

Those, ironically, remind me of the Darknuts: completely overpowered in one field, with glaring weaknesses elsewhere to compensate. While they will shred any infantry based army to pieces, they will also get a very hard time against fast moving ennemies (like gorons... but then again, bad example, as who doesn’t, really?), so things probably balance themselves out in the end.

[Mahat]

Meh factions:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[The Gerudos:]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Marauders:]

One of the worst basic contact units I have tested. In my 1vs1 test battles, they lost against every single hylian contact unit with the exception of the town guards. They also failed spectacularly against dekku forest shrubs, kokiri minutemen, ordonian farmers, and pretty much anything I throwed at them with the exception of the kokiri detachment. The fault to their splendid 0 armor point and their small (61) numbers, of course. And things get even worse when something decides to fire at them: they drop like flies. Still, while I would have done so for pretty much any other army out there, I won’t suggest to boost their stats, because being lame at close combat is part of the gerudo spirit according to faction description (yeah, I know, it might not be formulated in those exact terms, but it pretty much amounts to that). [What I will suggest though is to make them move faster than regular infantry, because that is indeed implied by the unit description, and seems logical considering their total lack of any kind of armor and their “marauders” name.]

[Glaive Grunts:]

Not much better than the marauders. They are supposed to be an anti-cavalry unit, but they get hacked to pieces by almost every light cavalry unit in the game… Even hyrulean mounted recruits will get them eventually through successive charges, and ordonian horsemen just ride right throught them like they weren’t even here to begin with. What makes them slightly more desirable than marauders is actually their numbers (75). They can’t stop any cavalry, but they can at least be used as cannon fodder to slow down ennemy infantry or absord projectiles. They are not all that good at that either, as they have the same tendency to fall very quickly both in close combat and at range due to their lack of armor, but that’s better than nothing. Still, won’t suggest any improvement for the same reason as the marauders: loosy infantry seems to be an intended part of the gerudo playing style.

[Gerudadorfs]

31 soldiers with 10 attack, 0 armor, and 3 defense skill… Sure, they can hide anywhere, but what’s the point when, with these stats and numbers, they will get pounded into oblivion by any other unit in the game, ranged ones included, as soon as they get out of hidding ?! So, yeah, while I can very well see what they were intended to be, that just doesn’t works as things stand now. And that’s sad, because Neph has proven with the sheikahs that he knows how to create small, elite, spy-like units. Effective ones, I mean. [My suggestion would be to keep the numbers as they are, but to give each individual soldier 2 hitpoints. That way, they should be able to at least take out ranged or weakened ennemy units after leaving their hidding, but will still fall fast in prolonged combat or if taken under ennemy fire due to their lack of armor.]

[Bronze Knuckles]

If the marauder is the scrappy amongst the basic contact units out there, the bronze knukckle is the scrappy amongst the heavier contenders. Basically, the guys sacrifice their numbers and their ability to run for… 9 attack and 9 defense point per soldier. Seriously, that’s just sad. So you get 19 soldiers with 2 hitpoints, 9 attack and 9 defense. And I won’t say they are useless, because that wouldn’t be true: they actually fair reasonnably well against lower to middle tier infantries, especially when supported by a swarm of marauders or glaive grunts, and they certainly fill a niche role in the gerudo army as a heavy, shock unit. Basically, what I'm saying is that, despite them being the worst shock unit out there, the Gerudos should be glad to have a shock unit at all (if you think I’m exagerating things when I call them the worst, just compare them to the hyrulean Ironclads or the lizalfos Dams Grachs: they have better stats all around, they have more soldiers per unit, and they can even run! Seriously, the poor guys have nothing going for them.). So I don’t think I should suggest boosting those, either. Same reason as the glaive grunts and marauders. [But they should logically have the “well-armored” trait, I think. Seems like it was simply forgotten, as their big brothers the iron knuckles have it.]

[Iron Knuckles]

Their stats are a bit better than the bronze knuckles (especially those 3 hitpoints), but like I’ve already said countless times, there is no point in giving a unit better stats to make them feel “superior” if it’s only to then nullify that advantage by lowering the number of soldiers in the squad. You only get 13 soldiers in a unit of Iron Knuckles so, despite the better stats, the Bronze Knuckles actually performed better than them in most of my tests simply because they were more numerous. And that just didn’t feel right. [Would up the number of soldiers from 13 to 19, so they actually feel like an upgrade from the bronze knuckles.]

[Scouts]

Their stats are nice. They speak of an elite archer unit, able to use the terrain to it’s advantage, kill countless ennemies from afar and finish the survivors in close combats if needs be… Except, you only get 13 of those soldiers in your unit. And no matter how good the archers, in a game the scale of a total war, 13 arrows are just a joke. I tested it, making them fire side by side with Dune Archers on a single approaching unit of hyrulean infantry until it ran away. Stats of the battle: Scouts killed 6 ennemies, Dune Archers killed 47. Clear enough? While contact units can be both small and awsome thanks to their staying power (with superior armor and multiple hit points, Darknuts and Sheikah style), ranged units must have high numbers to do any serious damages (well, multiple hit projectiles aside, of course). [My suggestion is simple: keep their stats, but get rid of that extra hitpoint and up their numbers to the standard 63 archers. Also up the rupee pricing accordingly, of course. That way, we will have a reason to choose them other their lower-tiers counterparts, and the Gerudos will finally have that elite archer unit they logically deserve according to their faction description. I don’t even think that’s against the lore: even if they act as small groups when scouting ahead of the army during the march, I don’t see anything preventing them from forming larger units once the battle itself beggins. I would even go so far as to find it more logical, actually.]

[Mounted Scouts]

They suffer from the exact same design flaw as their footed counterparts. A unit of 13 shooters, no matter how good and versatile, simply don’t have much of an incidence on a total war battle. [Same suggestion: up their numbers to 63, and their price accordingly.]

[Dune Archers]

Those are nice. While perfectly useless in close combat, they do commendable damages from a distance. Not elite material, but still a very nice standard ranged unit in an army that’s supposed to rely on them to begin with. As things stand now, to me, they are amongst those few units saving the army from being utterly useless. I still have a suggestion concerning them, but it’s fluff-related. “All Gerudos that come of age are granted their first scimitar”… So, why is it that those Dune Archers always forget theirs home before going to battle? ^^’ When engaged in close combat, the poor girls try to fend of the ennemy by punching them to the face… And that just looks utterly pathetic. [Seriously. I’m not even asking to give them correct contact capabilities despite it being logicall considering the fluff, because I understand things were done that way for balance’s sake. But… Just give the models a small scimitar, or at least some kind of dagger as a side arm.]

[Mounted Dune Archers]

Same things as their footed counterparts. They are actually effective at what they do, and that’s always a pleasant thing to see in that army. [Just give the models contact weapons so they stop looking so silly when engaged in close combat… I’ve never heard of any ranged infantry going into battle without side arm.]

[Wind Witches]

Almost too good, actually, which makes them quite the exception in this roster. Despite their short range, with the horrible damages done by each individual caster, they can destroy whole regiments in a single volley. [I would bring their numbers down from 38 to something a bit more sensible, like 20-25.]

[Mounted Marauders]

They drop like flies when fighting competent infantry or when pretty much anything decides to start shooting at them, but they are good at flanking the ennemy, hunting ranged units and pursuing fleeing ennemies. A good light cavalry unit.

[Gerudo Catapult]

Good at bringing down walls, less so against infantry. Your run-off-the-mill artillery unit.

[Concerning the whole army: according to the faction description, most of the units should have a bonus when fighting in desert. They currently do not.]


[Overview:]

A good chunk of that roster ranges from lame to useless, be it by design or due to some kind of misconception. The dune archers, mounted marauders and wind witches certainly are good units, and you can actually put in action that fluid ranged style by using only them, but I can’t really praise a roster when half of its unit choices are so unappealing, now can I? So, yeah: playable roster, but quite a bit of balancing needs to be done for it to allow for more varied and enjoyable strategies.

[The Deku Tribes]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Forest Scrubs]

After reading here and there how bad that army was supposed to be, I was quite surprised with that unit. For a basic, cannon-fodder infantry, it’s actually pretty good. 1v1, it won against hyrulean townsguard and swordsmen recruits, zora infantry, gerudo marauders, and quite a few others of their “basic” counterparts. Basically, you wait for them, use your ranged attack to kill a few soldiers (or a whole third of the regiment in the case of those poor unnarmored Marauders, but that’s another problem entirely ^^’), then charge at them when they get too close for comfort and drawn them in your numbers. That little retreating movement they do also help them when they are the charged ones, as it ironically disorganizes the ennemy charge. They do tend to suffer against well-armored or equally numerous ennemies (kokiris, gohmas), but they are far from useless. Also, I didn’t make my tests in a forested area, so they have potential to perform even better within the right conditions.


[Fungi Scrubs]

Basically Forest Scrubs with an excellent stamina, slightly better combat stats, and an ability to hide anywhere to bout. What’s not to love, really?

[Lily Scrubs]

I don’t know about them being “scouts” like the description suggest (I mean, it’s Total War we are talking about... You need scouts on the campaign map; but once the tactical battle has started, your units need to be able to damage the ennemy moral and numbers, or to defend yours, else they have no real use and will simply get benched by the player... But I think I made my point on that matter plenty clear by now), but the nice movement speed and numbers certainly make for some good flankers and archers hunters. The defense skill is only a nice little bonus.

[Pine Scrubs]

Like the Forest Scrubs, but harder, better, stronger. While their stats don’t look like much of an improvement, they actually do let them take on stronger ennemies (especially on the armor department) than their smaller brethen, and win. Still not all that elite, but still able to take one hyrulean knights level infantry.

[Royal Scrubs]

And here we go again with the good old elites-with-small-numbers problem. I’m starting to feel like a brokken record, but there is no point in giving an unit better stats to make them feel “elite” if it’s only to then nullify that advantage by reducing the number of fighters in the group. In most of my tests, Royal Scrubs simply performed worst than Pine Scrubs, and that simply isn’t right. [Would up their numbers to 101 like every other infantry unit in the army. If their background text tells me they are to be elite and they cost me an harm to recruit, I’ll EXPECT that they fight better than the rest.]

[Deku Baba Patch]

I can see those were supposed to work in the same way as the trap-door gohmas: an immovable, invisible unit hidden in front of your lines to throw the ennemy charge in a tantrum. Except, contrarily to the trap-doors, the Baba don’t work. Like, at all. Basically, their innability to move coupled with their low individual stats means the ennemy will simply hack them one by one without the poor plants being able to make use of their numericall advantage (as they can’t move to swarm the attackers). So they end up feeling rather useless, be it against infantry or cavalry. [Would probably go the trap-door road with those: much less numbers, but better individual stats and two hitpoints/soldier. Maybe also make the models bigger to represent that. It’s the only way I see this working without giving them the ability to move.]

[Peahats]

Well, when you consider the “OMG look those are sooo BADASS! description they were given, those guys are one huge disappointment. Not only are they not numerous enough to do any signifiant damage, they also drop like flies in close combat. It feels even sadder when you consider they could have been the highlight of an otherwise correct, but quite bland and repetitive army. So I will suggest to apply rather drastic changes to that unit.
[I would keep their stats as they are, but up their numbers to 30 and their hitpoints to 2. That way, they will really feel like “that one badass unit you use against whatever well-armored or mounted unit your scrubs wouldn’t be abble to take on”.]

[Yucca Scrubs]

As far as stats are going, they should have been a pretty nice long-range unit. Except, when tested, they didn’t live up to my expectations. The main cause being that something like 80% or so of the soldiers simply didn’t want to shoot! I suspect this has something to do with that slow-retreat animation, but can’t say much more. [Whatever the reason, that bug need to be fixed for that unit to be of any use.]

[Magnolia Scrubs]

Those left me kinda puzzled, as they just aren’t good at anything. They are poor in close combat, don’t do much at range as they suffer from that generic problem of “half the unit not firing”, their projectiles fail to kill the ennemy soldiers most of the time (just throw them to the ground), and they can’t even be used as siege engines. Those will really need some drastic changes to be of any use. [They shouldn’t have that slowly-retreating animation. The “half-the-unit-not-firing” should really be solved. They need at least a second hitpoint to show how big they are. And, last but not least, rocks the size of a goron should be able to damage buildings.]

[Orhats]

Not that great against infantry and their range is slightly limited for siege engines, but they do move fast and carry a good ammount of amunitions, so they will down the wall eventually. Correct.

[Overview:]

While they have good basic infantry, they really lack of anything able to fight off cavalry or heavy infantry, as the few units intended to fill that gap are currently brokken. That makes them a lower-tier army... for now.

[Fairies of Tarm]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Sprytes]

The combination of huge numbers and excellent morale actually makes for a fairly good canon-fodder unit, able to down a number of ennemies despite their ridiculouss stats. On another hand, their slow movement speed makes them easy to outmaneuver, and the lack of stamina really kills them on the long run. All in all, not so great a unit, but I wasn’t expecting anything else from a swarm of insects.

[Wisps]

Pretty much the same as Sprytes, except they have some weak short range missile attack to boot. Still, nothing to write songs about. [Main problem is that, as they cost the same as the sprytes, you’ve got absolutly no reason to choose the spryte over them. So they should cost you a bit more rupees.]


[Phantoms of Tarm]
That teleporting ability really doesn’t seem to work as intended. Things just end up in a mess when I try using it. Also, infiltration unit or not, those are not nearly strong/numerous enough to be of any use, even against weak targets such as siege engines crews and shooters. [That teleport-thingie really doesn’t work all that great. For now, I would prefer it if they just moved really fast. Would also up their numbers to 40.]

[Korigans]

Those are just ridiculously lame, especially when you consider the 700 rupee/unit you have to pay for them in custom battle. Not only aren’t the individual soldiers all that good despite the 2 HPs, you only get 7 of them! Seriously, what am I supposed to do with 7 half-good fighters in a Total War game?! Those really need a huge boost. [Would either up their numbers to at least 30, OR change the stats of the individual soldiers to 12 attack, 5 charge bonus, 7 armor, 10 defense skill, 10 shield, 4 hitpoints.]

[Pixies]

Despite the badass description, those are barely better than Whisps: I simply didn’t feel any difference in my tests. [So either their description needs to be tonned down a notch, or their stats need a boost. I can’t help much in regard to the former, but for the latter, it could come in the form of long-range missiles with 4 missile attack, which should be quite something with 126 shooters in the unit. Also, they have the same pricing problem as the Wisps: if they cost the same price as the Sprytes but are better in every regard, the player has no reason to choose the Sprytes over them.]

[Humanoid Manifest]

Relatively deadly from a distance, but quite lame at close combat. All in all, that feels balanced. My only remark is fluff and logic related: [considering they are humanoid-sized beings with wings, shouldn’t they move faster? I mean, the slow-motion kinda makes sens for smaller fairies due to thei sizes, but on these ones? Look kinda silly, and prevents them from using hit-and-run tactics.]

[Golems]

Their projectile attack is weak, with an irregular firing rate and strange interruptions in the animation. In close combat, the unit gets utterly destroyed in a matter of seconds by pretty much anything thanks to the combination of an extremely low soldier count and a pathetic defense stat. [That unit is brokken on so many levels it pretty much needs to be reworked from scratchs. To be worthy of their description, those golems will first need a proper ranged attack ( I suggest a multiple-kill prjectile armogohma style) and fixed firing animations. Then something will also need to be done to make them actually worth using in melee, either by drastically upping the number of soldiers or by giving them some huge armor stat (20+). Second option has my preference, as a huge group of those things would look a bit silly.]

[Great Fairies]

Very good anti-infantry, long ranged unit. Basically acts like a siege engine, minus the ability to break walls. [Still, same concern than with the humanoid manifests: human-sized, winged beings, should be fast, not meakly floating snail-speed a few centimeters above the ground.]


[Beam Golems]

Those pretty much act like Armogohmas and, as such, are just fine.

[Perception Ward]

While they work just fine as the intended “Surprise! In your face!” long-range anti-infantry sneaky thingie, we’ve got one huge problem in that they also are perfectly invincible in close quarters. Considering their stats, it’s pretty obvious this wasn’t intended. [Close combat invincibility should be fixed.]

[Overview]

One of the worst, maybe even THE worst army as far as I’m concerned. While a few units are working and awsome, a lot more are ill-balanced or even downright brokken, and unplayable. That’s one roster that will need a lot of work.

[Kingdom of Ikana]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[The Drafted]

Those guys really are a pathetic unit. They’ll lose against hylian town guards and even gerudo marauders, every time. They also don’t have any kind of special ability, and they are too few to even be used as cannon-fodder. [ Would at least up their numbers to 63. Even if they are supposed to be pathetic by design, you have to give the player a reason to use them, else it’s the same thing as if you didn’t included them in the roster at all.]

[Footmen]

While their stats are quite good for line infantry, their numbers drag them into the lower tiers. They will lose against hylian infantry, every time, and anything stronger will make short work of them. [I would probably up their numbers to 63 too.]

[Garo ninja]

Thosemake for pretty good flankers and ranged units hunters. All good to me.

[Gatekeepers]

Pretty neat line infantry and anti-cavalry unit.

[Noblemen]

If those were intended to be an elite infantry unit, well, I’m effraid things didn’t work out quite as planned. They could be a nice unit with these stats but, like so much other “elite” units in this mod, they weren’t given the numbers to back it up, and end up performing worse than standard line infantry (gate keepers). [Just up their numbers to 63 so they feel truly “elite”.]

[Hollow Knights]

Despite the two HPs and the nice stats, they are just not quite numerous enough to fill their role as shock infantry. [Would up their numbers from 12 to 16, maybe even 20.]

[Boltmen]

Correct shooters. Still, that 10 ranged attack doesn’t quite make up for their lack of numbers. [Would probably up their numbers to 63, even if that means lowering their ranged attack from 10 to 8.]

[Battle Chariots]

Correct unit as far as harrassing the ennemy goes, though it kinda lacks in power both at range and close up to be more than an annoyance. Still, they make a nice psuchological weapon for braking zn ennemy line with a flanking attack, so I gues it’s alright. [Two technical issues though: the wheels seem to be turning too fast when the charriots are speeding up or simply moving in slow mode, and the crossbowmen make a gun sound when they shoot.]

[Ikanian Trebuchet]

Pretty much the same as the Hylian one. No problem here.

[Overview]

Kinda felt like a weakened Hyrule army to me. While they are perfectly playable, almost all their units are weaker than what other factions can line up in the same role (mainly due to the lack of numbers), and as a result, the army as a whole feels really low-tier.

[Forces of the Twilight]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Shadow Insects]

Those are quite OP, for a weak throw-away unit. They can, and will destroy an unit of hyrulean knights any day of the week, and kinda overshadow the Karkoroks (which are themselves a very good unit.) [Would lower their numbers to something along the lines of 80, and probably get rid of that “good moral” too.]

[Shadow Karkoroks]

Another very, very good unit. Even if they are to be a tradermark unit of the Twili, [I would lower their numbers to 70 and, once again, get rid of that “good moral” so they can be shakken off by a determined defender.]

[Bonemold Monks]

Good unit all around, more than abble to hold the line and do it’s share of the killing. The hiding capacity extra nice. [Would maybe make them vulnerable to missiles to give them some kind of weakness.]

[Twili Infantry]

Good line infantry. Not much more to say, really.

[Shadow Messengers]

Those are quite lame, considering how impressive they look (and what a pain they can be in the original game). They simply die too fast, and arn’t numerous enough to do any sizeable damages before that. [What I would do is lower their numbers to 20 or so, but up their attack to 12 and give them a second hitpoint.]

[Twili Sorceress]

Very impressive short range unit. They do a lot of damages, but their description does hint at that, and they are weak in close combat to compensate.

[Twili Spider Swarm]

Both fast and powerfull, but really easy to kill once engaged in close combat. Not all that good in the end, but not useless either. [Also, they make an elephant sound when fighting. That at least gave me a good laugh. ^^’]

[Shadow Bloat]

That thing left me puzzled on so many levels... First: it’s impossible to kill in close combat for some reason. Second: two volleys of arrows will kill it, so the close combat invincibility is probably just a model problem, and that means the thing will become useless once it’s fixed. Third: the damages it does in close combat are laughable, and I didn’t see that electric attack it’s description talks about. [ So, yeah. That one really needs to be redone correctly. As things stand now, it’s just... Wrong? Strange? Either way: not impressive.]

[Avatar of Majora]

Pretty much a Shadow Bloat with a different skin. It suffers from the exact same problems, and all around “what the hell was that supposed to be?” feel. [The thing needs a serious fix, followed by serious playtests.]

[Sol Canon]

While it does impressive damages against huge armies, it’s really lacking against fortifications and small groups of ennemies. [Being able to switch to a more precise, concentrated fire mode to down walls and actually hit where you are aiming would be awsome.]

[Overview]

That army suffers from a problem not unlike the Gerudos: a bunch of crappy units well hidden by competent (and, in some cases, OP) ones. That does not make it balanced or enjoyable in any way, though it does get off better than the previously mentionned Gerudos, as its scrappy/OP ratio points more towards the OP of the scale.

[River Zoras]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Raiders]

Pretty correct as far as basic contact infantry goes. [Still, would up their numbers to 75, as they are currently completly outshinned by Manhunters.]


[Canibals]

Correct support troops that can also be used as reserves. No problem here.

[Swampmen]

While they do fair better than most of the others light infiltration units out there, they could still use some help [Maybe up their numbers to 40 or something.]


[Manhunters]

Pretty good infantry unit. The anti-cavalry skill is just a nice little bonus.

[Geozards]

Here we go again with the good old number VS stats problem. According to their description and pricing, they should be better than Raiders and Marauders. But due to their much lower headcount, they faired much worse in my tests. [Would up their numbers to 60. Hell, maybe even 75.]


[Cyclops Ku]

Their ranged attack doesn’t do much, and they suffer from the same problem as the Geozards in close combat. [Considering their appearance and description, I’d probably give them a second hitpoint rather than up their numbers. Either way, something really needs to be done.]


[River Knights]

Same old problem: no matter how good their stats, with only 25 soldiers with a single hitpoint each, they are much weaker than the bigger Raiders and Manhunters unit despite what the pricing and descriptions suggest. [Either give them a second hitpoint or up their numbers to 60 men or so so they actually perform like the elite unit they are supposed to be.]


[Outrunners]

Considering they are that army’s only ranged unit, they are kinda bad. Short range, average damages, can’t defend themselves in close quarters... [I would either give them some kind of close combat proficiency, or a better running speed. Thought the latter would be fitting considering their name, and would make them much better at skirmishing. Also, what the hell is that combat bonus in deserts even doing here?]

[Cueball Dragons]

Those actually make pretty impressive trampling damages, so we might have a problem, [but I don’t really know where it steams from.]

[Zola Catapult]

This is a catapult. Deal with it.

[Overview]

A rather classic infantry-based army. Appart from the raiders and manhunters, most of it’s unit suffer heavily from that elite-stats-but-no-numbers problem and, as a result, the whole army feels really weak.

Mercenaries:


[Dishonored]
Have a strange spearmen status. They kinda pale in comparison to the “real” Darknuts, but that’s ok since they are mercenaries to be hired by other factions that don’t have to put up with all their army moving at snail speed.


[Keaton Highwaymen]
Those would really need more numbers to actually be of some use. [Would probably up them to 40-50 men.]


[Daira Marauders]
Pretty good line infantry. Not much more to say.


[Wind Tribe Armos]
Darknut level close combat proficiency, but with even lower numbers. Still a good way to bring some punch in a battle line.


[Yook Smashers]
Few in numbers, but strong and sturdy. Feel alright from both a balance and lore point of view.


[Geru Macemen]
Correct heavy infantry without being anything special.


[Deku Monkeys]
Those are way too good for a bunch of monkeys with sticks! Seriously, it just breaks my suspension of disbielief when I see them utterly destroying professional heavy infantry in chainmail or plate armor... [I would bring down their attack to 5, and get rid of those 3 armor and 2 shield points alltogether, as they have absolutely nothing to do here.]

[Jakeford]

There have been some units added in version 3.1 Zora-blade masters Gerudo-(elite) Ice archers Lanayru Province-Aqua marines (elite) (they wear the Zora armor link had in twilight princess) Ikana-shadow keese Stalfos-much more units such as dark Stalfos and rotten scrubs, there are much more factions to choose from for your need for corpse.

[Gongsunzan]

This is very well done. Though i think some factions analysis should be altereed regarding campaign play. Like id call darknuts a meh faction on campaign. Darknuts can be useless against some factions. Those with alot of range or cavalry seem to decimate them and the lack of seige weapons hurts them alot

[Emrys]

I find that the Darknut's Fokka knights are a natural counter to siege weapons. Their insane speed and ability to spread out makes them hard to take out and gives them the ability to engage with the weapons. All this while the main battle line engages and destroys the rest of the enemy.

[Encablossa]

Not only that they'll absolutely wreck most factions higher tier melee units. You should really have fokka knight units in every stack to catch routing units anyways. And there's always the zuna to take out cavalry pretty reliably.

[Sir Aroun]

the only proplem I see with this is it does not take the campaign into account.

[Aleatorio]

Great jod, after reading it all I have to say that I agree with most of your opinions and suggestions. I don´t think that not covering the campaing is a problem, the only thing to really have in mind about it is recruitment. When it comes from pools or buildings, if fixing one of the many units with low numbers make then too good is always possible to assing then to a higher tier barrack or making their unit pool refill slower. I personally prefer the second option, since it reduces not the numbers IN the unit but OF units, which is the best way to go because how the hame is and will keep the feel of an uncommon elite force withouth making then less useful (When that is the case of course). I can see why Neph would make units like those but most of the time it just doesn´t work.

On the other hand, some factions with special gameplay like Ikana or the stalfos may be in the need of special consideration. Their special way of "recruitmrnt" when fully funtional (I haven't played with then yet but as far as I have read it seems to be still a WIP) may decline the balance for best or worse.
Getting troops from dead enemies sounds cool and all but most of the time it seems less reliable than the regular way of recruitment, making the stalfos less "to good" at least in the campaing. And how the Ikana recorer troops from the fisures may make then less "meh".

[Cameron Shutters]

You're wrong about the Deku Babas; the point of them is to behave as a distraction and obstacle blocking the enemy's charge into the main scrub lines and slow them down; thus given the scrubs more of a chance to fire upon the enemy.

Everything else I agree with fully and I hope Neph takes your advice. Neph claims he made many balance changes in the new release (since you're using the old one) but who knows what balance changes those were so your analysis may or may not be completely void.

[Apani]

Note that this review dates back to not one, but two releases ago.

Anyways, right now I'm working on a personal project to meticulously rebalance every unit, applying the Real Combat system with some liberties. I don't think everyone is going to like it, but it should get rid of nonsenses such as Ordonian Archers being superior to Gerudo ones.

[Sir Aroun]

Note that this review dates back to not one, but two releases ago.

Anyways, right now I'm working on a personal project to meticulously rebalance every unit, applying the Real Combat system with some liberties. I don't think everyone is going to like it, but it should get rid of nonsenses such as Ordonian Archers being superior to Gerudo ones.

What is the Real Combat system? Will it keep the units to there internal lore logic? And when is the Labrynna Regime going to get a better banner?

[Apani]

It is a system that determinates traits of each units basing on their appearance and background. You can have a glance at it here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Update/page46

Also, Labrynna isn't going to get a better banner until a land of Prosperity! is realized.

[Sir Aroun]

It is a system that determinates traits of each units basing on their appearance and background. You can have a glance at it here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Update/page46

Also, Labrynna isn't going to get a better banner until a land of Prosperity! is realized.

Wait, you are going to keep the higher scale of the units, as well as the nature of their recruitment (like the stalfos) and lore of the mod in mind right?

[The Holy Pilgrim]

It is a system that determinates traits of each units basing on their appearance and background. You can have a glance at it here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Update/page46

Also, Labrynna isn't going to get a better banner until a land of Prosperity! is realized.

I've been using this tool for my sub-mod, but there are some issues with it as it does not handle "elephant" units such as Goron Rams and the Bosses very well.

I'm still working on it, though

[Apani]

Yes.

[Sir Aroun]

good, please do make a video about the changes when your done, I like to see what you did.

[Apani]

I'm not a youtuber, I don't think I will make a video about it. But I can still make AARs, like this: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...1#post13496325.

[Cameron Shutters]

Editing the game files to make Peahats around 30 in a unit had... horrifying results. Ironclad after Ironclad fell to their unstoppable blades. Seriously, they're launching ability combined with the high attack rate results in enemy infantry getting eaten alive. I dropped the numbers to around 14, raised their morale a bit, and dropped their armor from 5 to 1 and still ate any other infantry that Peahats could launch alive. Darknuts and other giant infantry that couldn't be launcher destroyed Peahats in seconds though and so did bowmen. I found these changes resulted in a unit that was incredibly powerful in the right situations and almost useless in others; something that I found quite exciting.