What are your favorite ___?

[Jakeford]

This is a thread about your favorite factions (or race), units, Hyrule Historia missions, and custom settlements. This thread is for discussing all of those!

I suppose I will start, you don't have to talk about all of these things if you don't want but I will.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Faction: I really like Hyrule, Zora, and the Twili. Hyrule just feels like the kind of powerful and glorious fantasy Kingdom with prosperous cities, armored knights, and big, orderly armies. There roster is well balanced, well armored, and powerful without being OP or broken anywhere. As for the Zora I love how their units look. Perfect formations of golden-blue spear wielding soldiers in a perfect line. They have a good mix of powerful ranged units and resilient melee units. I hate it when my units route and so naturally their superior moral is something I am in to. As for the Twili well, they are just awesome. There infantry is pretty good, they have plenty of fast and weak units, as well as powerful mages make for an interesting combo. As far as looks go they are by far the coolest faction in this mod.

Units: Mounted Knights of Hyrule, I know they are pretty standard to what is in vanilla, but they are really the only mounted knight unit in the mod so they are actually not very standard. Watching them charge in with their shining platemail armor, long lances, and Hylian shields on their armored horses is a good sight every time. I also really like the Masters (Darknut Masters) and Shadow Messengers they way they look and feel combined with the fact that they look like they came straight out of Twilight Princess makes them really cool, and they are very powerful. On that note I generally like any unit that looks like it came straight out of a Zelda game (especially Twilight Princess due to its similarity in graphical style) because when it comes down to it this mods true charm is widely different factions and armies from the Zelda games! Nothing achieves this charm better then having units that look like they came from the game with very little altering.

Mission: In terms of Cut scenes and story my favorite is Upsurder, but is sadly lacks in any challenge or strategy what so ever (Nephalim only lost about 150 men) so I simply can't say it is my favorite. When you combo gameplay in with the cut scenes and story I would say my favorite is Triumph of the Moblin.

Settlement: My favorites are... screw it their are to many.

[starwars90001]

the kokiri for me, their faction and all the odd faction interest me more than the normal ones, their units are balance, their reasons for war are what probably makes them the most good guy faction in the game. I like their new lore, the idea that the deku tree is playing god is a good one, it was hinted at in oot but it's out in the open here. love their wolfos riders, the idea that the wolfos and the kokiri team up to protect the forest is a nice and their destroy hyrule's armies all the time. not to mention a certain character I like is a part of this faction.

favorite missions is the ganon arc, mostly because of both gameplay and story, playing as the moblins for thefirst time to fight hyrule was awesome, and I like really love the shadow dungeon, felt like playing zelda 1. the story is the best so far, this is probably the onlt arc where it's complete grey vs grey, the more the story goes on it goes from grey vs grey to grey vs dark to light vs dark, the twili never really stuck that core with me like ganon's arc. it was more dark vs dark than anything, plus ganon was more of a character than zant was, ganon had reasons for doing evil zant just is a puppet manchild.

[Saria's Vanguard]

My favorite faction is of course the Kokiri, after all this mod spawned my new favorite username in honor of my favorite character. I like the Ganon arc the most it was strange for me to realize that I was actually cheering for Ganon to succeed, not to mention the amount of feels at the end

[Jakeford]

Yes I would agree that rise of Ganon is the best arc so far, what helps it story wise is that it is 8 missions long while the other 2 arcs that have been made are only 4 missions long.

Also starwars I disagree that Zant was just a stupid Manchild puppet. He was a man child at the beginning, but he started to grow up and take responsibility when he was cast out, he led his fathers soldiers to and attacked the prison Valran in a deceive victory. I don't think a man child can do that. Then he attacked ELeminshia, he overthrew the break fairy Una and forced her to help him by threatening to chop off her head. He has enough balls to walk into a trap and knee cap Veran to force her to kneel. The scene where Zan't father asked him "will you be a man and a king like your father" and then shows Zant standing in front of this army shows the final transformation. I don't think he is a puppet either, Veran wasn't playing on him winning and if anything she had to change her plans to make the most of the situation.

[starwars90001]

the problem with zant is he's trying to be tough but everyone uses him, I think I like the idea from the gerudo wars comic, from what I heard from apani midna takes over and begins waging war on hyrule, power goes to her head and she banish zant, so zant has to stop her.

[UndyingNephalim]

Favorite Faction: Lanayru Province

Favorite Unit: Ice Archers

Favorite Mission (gameplay): Torn Asunder

Favorite Mission (storywhatnots): Ganon's Wish

Favorite Settlement: Airu

the problem with zant is he's trying to be tough but everyone uses him, I think I like the idea from the gerudo wars comic, from what I heard from apani midna takes over and begins waging war on hyrule, power goes to her head and she banish zant, so zant has to stop her.

In the original storyline the only real difference is that Midna began to lose interest in Zant and this is what pushed him away from being second fiddle to the throne rather than envy for the position because of entitlement. The original story's theme was pretty much about a guy who loved a woman that was not really interested in him, after looking through it again I thought it was too weak of a reason to really push Zant into a full on military rebellion. We don't really know if Midna lost interest in him this time around, I suppose that will have to wait for the future to find out.

I changed the theme this time around to be more about the problems of feeling entitled to something and the dangers of such a mindset rather then a love story that fell apart. I feel no one is really entitled to anything at all, and from my point of view entitlement has become a really dangerous problem with modern society. I felt it was a better theme to comment on and a more likely reason someone would betray a person they loved in armed rebellion. It's less of a love story now then it originally was and I tried to get rid of that romantic angle between them. Zant's relationship with Midna now is much more childish and playful (playing tag and giving wedgies) rather than romantic and sensual (making out and sleeping with each other).

There's a lot more going on with Zant and his father this time around too, but we'll not see more of that for some time.

[SirMark9]

Favorite Factions: Darknut, Ikana, Sheikah, Hyrule

As a fan of armored knights, honor, and chivalry, needless to say I enjoy the Darkut faction as a whole. Being unstoppable juggernauts in head on engagements and relying on elite units instead of massed armies is another reason why I like them. The problem comes is when the hard counters come in...

However, I initially started out as Ikana because of their stated abilities and traits (worshiping Majora, elite units, and the ability to come back from the dead at Termina Fissures). The only Legend of Zelda game I really had exposure and played was Majora's Mask so having that connection was helpful from my standpoint.

My reasonings for the Sheikah is again their stated unique gameplay mechanics. Being a shadow taking out potential threats to the great kingdom of Hyrule is intriguing, but the ability to also take over when the Kingdom takes a turn for the worse is also another interesting concept.

Hyrule is less based on being itself and more on being the generic "good guy human faction" for me despite HTW lore. I'm one of those boring people who generally roll Human when I am involved in roleplays or other video games even though more "fantastical" races are available.

Favorite Unit: Darknut Initiates

Initially, I disliked Initiates based on their appearance, believing all Darknuts should be equipped with the best arms and armor available. However, their effectiveness for their cost and availability is ridiculous in the Freeform campaign. They are tough Darknut units but retain the mobility to actually do important tasks such as flanking or handling ranged units (including siege equipment crews) without the fragility of the Fokka Knights.

Favorite Missions: The Rise of Ganon, Ganon's Wish

In terms of gameplay, this was actually a hard choice. Hyrule Historia missions are interesting in several aspects as they have multiple objectives or have unique mechanics (Unearthing Shadows dungeon), but despite everything I could not find a mission that stood out to me as an outstanding example. Eventually, I settled on "The Rise of Ganon" because of its two phases, transition cutscene, and the custom settlement present.

Overall, I think I play the Hyrule Historia more for the story instead of the missions themselves. Story wise, currently Ganon's Wish is still on my top list of Hyrule Historia Missions

Favorite Settlements: Zunayus and Death Mountain Crater

I enjoy both of these settlements because of their defensive nature. Zunayus because of its multiple archer positions and singular gate and lane while Death Mountain Crater because of multiple walls and gates.

[Apani]

You got it wrong. In the webcomics, it was Veran's plan to invade Hyrule, and she was going to exploit Midna as a puppet queen to accomplish it; however, Midna never even invades Hyrule, as Zant goes insane from being mistreated and overlooked by the then queen Midna, shows up at the palace, cuts off a few heads and impresses Veran, who chooses to let him overthrow Midna. Only then the invasion begins.

I think Starwars didn't enjoy the Twili arc because no character had really noble goals: Veran wants political power, Una wants magical power and Morsheen wants to be Majora's con woman; King Mizorant wants to take over the world, Zant goes nuts trying to fullfill his ambitions and Midna is a pinball. Then there are dimension-hopping squid-jellyfish-seahorse weirdos who are pals with the King; let's not even get started on that.

[Jakeford]

I think Starwars didn't enjoy the Twili arc because no character had really noble goals: Veran wants political power, Una wants magical power and Morsheen wants to be Majora's con woman; King Mizorant wants to take over the world, Zant goes nuts trying to fullfill his ambitions and Midna is a pinball. Then there are dimension-hopping squid-jellyfish-seahorse weirdos who are pals with the King; let's not even get started on that.

You are probably right about why starwars didn't like the Twili arc.

Starwars everybody isn't just using Zant. Veran was planning on him on him loosing, she had to change her plan when he defeated her army and surrounded her. Una is the same way. Veran is making the best of zant's rise to power. The Parella are using Zant to get to Hyrule, but not in a pawn kind of way. Zant wants to invade Hyrule and take it over in his fathers footsteps, the Parella want to go to Hyrule to find Bellum. The Parella know how to build gates but don't have the resources. Zant has the resources but doesn't know how to build gates. They need each other to get to Hyrule.

Anyway though I don't want this thread to be hijacked and turned into a discussion about Zant. It is suppose to be about your favorite faction, units, missions, and settlements.

[Apani]

My favourite mission, gameplay-wise, is Torn Asunder: It was very frantic and challenging. Unhearthing Shadows was very cool as well, but the idea of whole armies dropping to the ground at the death of their commander didn't exactly win me over. Some missions were too straightforward and easy (the two things easily coincide), like The Fallen Sage (A curb stomp battle), Wind Breaker (There was much potential for strategical maneuvers, but all enemies choose to rout at your sight instead), Demise of a Goddess (Killing Demise with your sorceresses is a joke).
TA's storyline was weak, thought, since the motivations of the war and its fighters weren't given much depth: all we have is an "evil looking stranger" suddenly coming and throwing everybody in paranoia. I guess I like the Hylians vs Moblins (but not the one of ancient era) conflict because it was given the due depth.

[VictorAYorke]

Avoiding the emerging discussion in favour of Jake's original idea:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Favourite faction would be Labrynna. The immediate choice of notably OP (in context) melee / respectable ranged infantry with the first barracks, the cruel and unusual tactical choices afforded by Tokay auxiliaries, and the intensely satisfying sight of a feared melee-centric army floundering under the weight of shot Gunner Posts afford, all combine to make an interesting, and surprisingly flexible, army.

Favourite units, there are a few.
-Fakut Kalaso: With current bugs, the Lizalfos' only ranged unit can pluck a lone soldier from his parapet, nail Keese even when they're moving laterally at pace, and rain wire-guided arrows on out-of-sight hostiles. They never miss. Also, their unit description claims they can hold their own in melee, and to some extent it's right; when arrows no longer seem useful you can use them to flank-charge some poor unsuspecting light infantry unit.
-Homeguards: Again an unintentional one, but the extreme staying power of Labrynnian riot cops has saved many a battle. Also the mere idea of a militia-grade melee unit taking what appears to be non-lethal crowd control equipment to a battlefield appeals to my inner Englishman. "Come on lads, we'll give those Ikanians a few bruises and I'm sure they'll be on their way!"
-Zora Infantry: Not every unit can take 93% losses, be under intense friendly fire and heavily outnumbered, and still read 'Steady'. The total inability of these basic spearmen to Just Give Up is actually the thing that turns Zora from 'that faction with the Mage Spires' to an sort of Stalfos / Wizzrobe crossover.

Mission would have to be Ganon's Wish for the story (making a Grey vs Grey scenario by both sides being grimdark is common, and leaves me apathetic tbh. Making that scenario work by makign both sides relatable and justifiable, that takes skill). For gameplay, possibly either Power Play or Interlopers.

Favourite settlement would actually be Deku Prime; there's always a tactical element to play with, right up until the battle hits the square...

[tedster1995]

My favourite faction has to be the Zora simply because, they look awsome, even there basic infantry is incredibly ornate. Plus there ranged units are possibly some of the most powerful in game, seeing as a Mage cannon can take down a stone wall in a single round of shots, pretty strong.

My favourite units are:
The great fairies, since they can hit a target from the other side of the battle field, with burning results, they are basically a smaller Tarm, which is awsome
Mechs, since they have this sort of cyborg, steam punk, bio shock kinda vibe to them, plus they could walk up to an entire wall of top quality infantry, and just plough through like they are marauders. Now that's OP.

My favourite story arc (so far) is the Twili arc, since I really like how the relationship between zant and midna is explored, plus I just like how Veran is just such a . My favourite mission is Interloopers, since I just love chaotic battles, that's all

My favourite settlement is ontheon, since it just has a completely epic minds tirith feel to it, and it feels like an actual achievement when you reach the top.