War Machine: Difference between revisions

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All war machines are immobile and unaffected by [[luck]] and [[morale]] with the exception of the [[Ballista]] and [[Cannon]]{{-wh}}, which can have a lucky strike. Additionally, war machines do not affect the hero's [[movement]]. On the battlefield AI considers [[Catapult]], [[Ballista]] and [[Cannon]]{{-wh}} as ranged units, ignoring the moment they can not be blocked.
All war machines are immobile and unaffected by [[luck]] and [[morale]] with the exception of the [[Ballista]] and [[Cannon]]{{-wh}}, which can have a lucky strike. Additionally, war machines do not affect the hero's [[movement]]. On the battlefield AI considers [[Catapult]], [[Ballista]] and [[Cannon]]{{-wh}} as ranged units, ignoring the moment they can not be blocked.


War machines are immune to:
'''War machines are immune to:'''
{|
{|
! style="text-align:left;"|Spells !! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;"|Abilities
! style="text-align:left;"|Spells !! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;"|Abilities

Revision as of 19:29, 18 May 2021

War machine is common term used for when referring either to The Ammo Cart, Ballista, First Aid Tent or Catapult. Basically they are all special combat units which are available in most of the battles. The only exceptions are creature banks and shipwrecks, where none of the war machines are used. Furthermore, Catapults are only used in siege combats. All war machines have a special slot reserved just for that particular war machine.

Typically, war machines except the Catapult are bought from Blacksmiths, which sell different war machine depending on the town. Additionally, war machines can be bought from an Adventure Map location called the War Machine Factory, which sell all war machines (except Catapults). Stronghold has the special building Ballista Yard, where a visiting hero can buy a Ballista. All heroes have the Catapult with them, and if one is destroyed in the combat, a new one is automatically added to hero's catapult slot.

All war machines are immobile and unaffected by luck and morale with the exception of the Ballista and Cannon Horn of the Abyss, which can have a lucky strike. Additionally, war machines do not affect the hero's movement. On the battlefield AI considers Catapult, Ballista and Cannon Horn of the Abyss as ranged units, ignoring the moment they can not be blocked.

War machines are immune to:

Spells Abilities
Template:Sn1 Aging Ghost Dragon Ghost Dragon
Template:Sn1 Death cloud Lich Power Lich Liches
Template:Sn1 Death stare Mighty Gorgon Mighty Gorgon
Mind spells - (Berserk, Blind, Forgetfulness, Frenzy, Hypnotize, Mirth, Sorrow) Disease Zombie Zombie
Template:Sn1 can be cast without any effect. Fear Azure Dragon Azure Dragon
Template:Sn1 can be cast by the Orb of VulnerabilityOrb of Vulnerability owner. Life drain Vampire Lord Vampire Lord
Template:Sn1 and Template:Sn1 Paralyze Scorpicore Scorpicore
Template:Sn1 and Template:Sn1 Petrify Medusa Medusa Queen Medusas Basilisk Greater Basilisk Basilisks
Template:Sn1 Poison Wyvern Monarch Wyvern Monarch Sea Serpent Haspid Sea Serpent and Haspid
Template:Sn1 and Template:Sn1 Summon demons Pit Lord Pit Lord
Template:Sn1 Accurate shot Horn of the Abyss Sea Dog Sea Dog

Some spells are effective for Ballista and Cannon Horn of the Abyss only:

Template:Sn1 and Template:Sn1
Template:Sn1 and Template:Sn1
Template:Sn1
Template:Sn1 (can be cast on Catapult Catapult)

Ammo Cart

File:Mini Portrait Ammo cart.png   Ammo cart
   Attack
   Defense 5
   Damage
   Health 100
   Cost 1000 Gold
   Shots

Ammo Сart provides unlimited shots for creatures with ranged attacks. The shots start to decrease right after the Ammo Cart is destroyed. Despite the fact that The Ammo Cart is not used during a creature bank or shipwreck battle, it still provides unlimited ammo. In damage calculations Ammo Cart goes as level 1 unit, its AI Value is 400.

Sold by the blacksmith of

Ballista

   Ballista
   Attack 10
   Defense 10
   Damage 2–3
   Health 250
   Cost 2500 Gold
   Shots 24

A ballista is a missile weapon that, like ranged units, shoots projectiles toward enemy troops, but is unable to retaliate against attacks. It has a basic damage range (of 2–3) like creatures, but the damage calculation is different. The formula for the calculation of damage is (2–3)*(hero's attack + 1). The Artillery and Archery secondary skills increase this damage. The ballista acts at the end of every combat round, followed only by the first aid tent, and can be controlled when a hero has learned any level of Artillery. Contrary to what its in-game statistics indicate, a ballista has unlimited shots (fixed in Horn of the AbyssHorn of the Abyss.

Ballistas can be bought from Blacksmiths in Castle, Dungeon and Conflux towns, and from Ballista Yards in Stronghold towns. They can also be purchased from war machine factories on the adventure map. Heroes who specialize in ballistas do typically bring one with them when hired (always in Horn of the AbyssHorn of the Abyss. In damage calculations Ballista goes as level 5 unit, its AI Value is 600.

Heroes with Ballista specialty:

First Aid Tent

File:Mini Portrait First aid tent.png   First aid tent
   Attack
   Defense
   Damage
   Health 75
   Cost 750 Gold
   Shots

First Aid Tent heals 1-25 hit points of the top creature in target allied stack. The amount of health restored is affected by First Aid secondary skill, which also gives the player control over the tent rather than being chosen by computer. First Aid Tents act last at the combat round. Tents can be bought from blacksmiths of Rampart, Fortress and Necropolis towns, or from a War Machine Factory adventure map location. Typically, heroes with First Aid specialty start with a First Aid Tent (always in Horn of the AbyssHorn of the Abyss. Oddly enough, Necropolis' heroes cannot learn First Aid, even though their blacksmith produces first aid tents. In damage calculations First Aid Tent goes as level 1 unit, its AI Value is 300.

Heroes with First Aid specialty:

Catapult

   Catapult
   Attack 10
   Defense 10
   Damage
   Health 1000
   Cost N/A
   Shots 24

The Catapult only appears on the battlefield when siege attacking enemy towns with walls, which requires the town to have a fort, citadel, or castle. Its main use is to attack and destroy the walls in order to enable ground troops to attack the defenders. The Catapult can also attack and destroy the arrow towers of citadels and castles. The ballistics secondary skill enhances the performance of the Catapult. Basic ballistics gives the player control over the Catapult making it possible to aim at particular parts of the siege structures. During a siege, the Catapult shoots after the arrow towers, but before any other troop. In damage calculations Catapult goes as level 1 unit, its AI Value is 500.

Horn of the Abyss

Cannon

   Cannon
   Attack 20
   Defense 10
   Damage 4–7
   Health 250
   Cost 4000 Gold
   Shots 8

Cove War Machine. Bought in the blacksmith of Cove or in a Cannon Yard. The formula for the calculation of damage is (4–7)*(hero's attack + 1). It costs 4000 gold.

  • Is put in the Ballista slot of a hero. It cannot be put in a backpack.
  • Assault battle machine. Only attacks by shooting. Is not blocked by standing next to an enemy unit. Can attack enemy troops and fortifications. One does not need to destroy the cannon to win the battle. No experience is given for its destruction.
  • Is put in place of Ballista during battle. Does not participate in the battle on the side of the defender during the siege, as well as the battles in vaults and banks. Moves at the same time as Ballista (before the First Aid Tent). Controlled by the AI.
  • In damage calculations, Cannon goes as level 6 unit, its AI Value is 875.

Effect of Artillery skill

  • None. All features work as described above.
  • Basic. Gives you control of the cannon. Aimed shot with increased damage on the fortifications.
  • Advanced. Gives you control of the cannon. Double damage on unit, aimed shot with increased damage on the fortifications.
  • Expert. Gives you control of the cannon. Triple damage on unit, aimed shot with maximum damage on the fortifications.

Heroes with Cannon specialty:

Ballista vs. Cannon

Here a table showing the average damage of a Ballista and Cannon with and without Artillery skill. Note that the Cannon has 20 Attack and 8 shots while the Ballista has only 10 Attack but 24 shots:

Hero Attack Average damage
Ballista (10 Attack) Cannon (20 Attack!)
Base Artillery Base Artillery
Basic Advanced Expert Basic Advanced Expert
0 2.5 3.75 8.75 10 5.5 11 16.5
1 5 7.5 17.5 20 11 22 33
2 7.5 11.25 26.25 30 16.5 33 49.5
3 10 15 35 40 22 44 66
4 12.5 18.75 43.75 50 27.5 55 82.5
5 15 22.5 52.5 60 33 66 99
10 27.5 41.25 96.25 110 60.5 121 181.5
15 40 60 140 160 88 176 264
20 52.5 78.75 183.75 210 115.5 231 346.5
25 65 97.5 227.5 260 143 286 429
30 77.5 116.25 271.25 310 170.5 341 511.5
35 90 135 315 360 198 396 594
40 102.5 153.75 358.75 410 225.5 451 676.5
50 127.5 191.25 446.25 510 280.5 561 841.5
60 152.5 228.75 533.75 610 335.5 671 1006.5
70 177.5 266.25 621.25 710 390.5 781 1171.5
80 202.5 303.75 708.75 810 445.5 891 1336.5
90 227.5 341.25 796.25 910 500.5 1001 1501.5
99 250 375 875 1000 550 1100 1650

User commentary

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Some may find the information in this section subjective or irrelevant.

The Ballista is a war machine of some limited use, however it requires a high (25+) Attack skill before it starts dealing enough damage to justify its 2500 Gold cost. The Artillery skill can offset this somewhat, but comes with the high opportunity cost of omitting a potentially more useful secondary skill such as Offense or Armorer. The above restrictions generally limit the Ballista to might heroes with high Attack skill. Of the four towns that sell Ballistae, Barbarians from Stronghold are most likely to reach this skill - more defensive heroes such as those from Fortress will not be able to make use of the Ballista as efficiently.

The First Aid tent is nearly useless, even with the (also nearly useless) First Aid skill at its top level. Its main limitation is that it cannot revive creatures that are already downed, so if used on anything less than a level 5 or so creature most of its healing goes to waste (e.g. healing Centaurs with 10 hp each - the Tent can restore a maximum of 9 hp per round, IF a single centaur is hanging on with a single hp left). The only case in which a First Aid Tent is useful is when a player somehow obtains a high-level creature early in the game, such as from a Refugee Camp. Setting a hero up with 1-2 high level creatures and a first-aid tent ensures that the healing is not wasted and allows the player to clear wandering monsters from the map more easily.

The Ammo Cart's unlimited ammunition is usually unnecessary, but is EXTREMELY useful in the few situations when it is needed. Most shooters in the game have enough ammunition to attack 12 times, with many carrying more. The few exceptions are Master Gremlins (8 shots), Medusa Queens (8 shots), and Medusas (only 4 shots!). With good Morale, these creatures run the risk of quickly depleting their ammunition over the course of a battle. This can be the difference between defeat and victory, particularly in a bloody castle siege. If the enemy Catapult can be destroyed and their flying units killed, even a single shooter with an ammunition cart can eventually drive of the enemy if the walls are still intact.

As every hero gets a Catapult free of cost which is only deployed for siege warfare, there is little choice involved in catapult usage other than targeting with the Ballistics skill.