It is, I think, widely agreed that Magic is the weakest faction in Megapack. Of course, some may think otherwise: In an earlier post
(
https://forum.megaglest.org/index.php?topic=8118.msg80879#msg80879) Omega made a brilliant analysis to help clumsy players like myself get some more juice from the faction. However, try as I might, my results kept being pitiful.
I am among those who think that not all factions must be exactly balanced, --differences are the salt and pepper of the game--, but in the case of Magic the disadvantage is much too marked. The ideal situation would be one in which Magic had a fifty-fifty chance against such enemies as Tech or Indian. And it surprises me a little that nothing is done, because it is not difficult to achieve a near-enough result. I have been experimenting a lot with this faction, and a few changes, wisely applied, make a big difference.
You see, the main problem with Magic is that too much depends on the Initiate: not only must he harvest and build, but also produce battlemages and archmages by morphing, look after the energy, and even defend the site when attacked.
The other caveat is Archmages: they are a key fighting unit in the faction—-I would say “the” key unit-- but to produce them is costly and time-consuming, and are very vulnerable, with a ridiculous initial HP of 450. Shortcomings that reduce their effectiveness and let difficulties mount up when playing against determined foes.
Now look at the following changes:
-Initiate cost lowered from 75 gold to 40.
-Battlemage morph costs lowered: time from 75 to 40.
gold from 75 to 40.
-Archmage initial HP increased from 450 to 900.
-Archmage Ice-Nova attack cost in EP lowered from 300 to 150.
With these modifications in place, and in spite of my clumsiness managing battles, I have obtained consistent wins against other Megapack factions controlled by CPU-ultra AI. (The strategy: take advantage of the cheapness of Initiates to keep mass-producing them all the time, and eventually build up a substantial bunch of archmages.)
When left to itself, the AI goes near to what I was aiming for: Magic wins about half the matches.
Other modifications I have been experimenting with include easing the production of Summoners, drake-riders and dragons, or giving more speed to ghost-armors, but they were discarded because of the unfair advantage they provided. But one good idea is to double both the output and the building cost of the energy source. This does away with the clutter of buildings about the site with little effect on the performance of the faction. Yet another: when letting the control to the AI, I have found it best to disable the attack command of the Initiate. Their attack is good for nothing, and it takes them away from their duties only to be uselessly slaughtered.
Final note: I am making no actual request to Megapack creators to apply changes. This experimenting was just for fun, and I thought I would share it with other curiosity-driven players.
