Editing Giant and Titan (section)

== Official Renders ==
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Giant render.gif
Titan render.gif
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{{user commentary|
Together with the [[Black Dragon]], the Titan has become a symbol of the Heroes series since it first appeared in Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars.
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Titans are one of the two upgraded tier 7 units that occupy one hex, the other being [[Arch Devil]]. They are also living constructs, being able to be resurrected, unlike [[Stone Golem and Iron Golem|golems]] and [[Stone Gargoyle and Obsidian Gargoyle|gargoyles]], but similar to the [[Crystal Dragon]].
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The ability to [[Hate|"burn with anger" and do extra damage]] to Black Dragons is likely a reference to 3DO's previous title Heroes of Might and Magic II. In that game, the Wizard and Warlock were widely considered to be the strongest heroes and there was some debate among players as to the single strongest 6th level creature. It is also probably because they are supposed to be the opposite of "chaos", the Black Dragon, being created by the wizards with the scope of slaying them.
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In one-on-one combat with no stats bonus or defend, a Black Dragon barely defeats a single Titan. However, a difference of 1 more attack or defense for the Titan makes them win instead. Spells like [[Shield]], [[Bless]] and [[Slayer]] have even more drastic effect.
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While an [[Archangel]] will normally defeat a Titan one-on-one, the Titan can reliably win by defending 4 times and then attacking. Defending reduces the damage done by the [[Archangel]] and the additional 50 HP enables the Titan to land the killing blow on round 5. This defense technique also allows the Titan to defeat a [[Black Dragon]] purely by counterattacks.
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Titans are the only town-aligned unit in {{sod}} that can reliably take an equal number of [[Behemoth and Ancient Behemoth|Ancient Behemoths]] head-on and win. This is because of their unique combination of ranged attack, superior speed, 300 HP, decent Attack and tremendous damage. Ranged attack and being slightly faster allows them to score ranged hits before Ancient Behemoths even reach melee, high Attack and Damage mean Ancient Behemoths take a lot of damage, possibly even more than they themselves dish out, and high Health is the best defense as Ancient Behemoths ignore most of opponent's Defense stat anyway. Slight speed advantage also lets Titans kite Ancient Behemoths to some extent, allowing more hits free of retaliation.

=== Toughness ===
With a health value of 150 and 16 defense, Giants have the lowest health for a level 7 creature (along with the [[Bone Dragon]] and [[Firebird]]), and are also boasting the second lowest defense value of a level 7 unit, the [[Bone Dragon|Bone Dragon's]] being lower by 1. On the other hand, Titans have the highest health for a level 7 unit that is not neutral, its value being 300, only matched by the [[Black Dragon|Black Dragon's]] and the [[Ancient Behemoth|Ancient Behemoth's]] (and [[Haspid|Haspid's]] in {{hota}}). However, Titans have 1 less defense than the [[Black Dragon]], but 5 more than the [[Ancient Behemoth]] (also 4 more than the [[Haspid]] in {{hota}}). Their upgrade's health and defense bonuses are also respectively the highest and the third highest in the game, being a bonus of +8 defense from the base creature and double the health.

=== Offense ===
Giants and Titans have the highest max and overall (together with the [[Angel and Archangel|Angels and Archangels]]) damage of a town affiliated creature, even higher than a [[Black Dragon|Black Dragon's]] or [[Gold Dragon|Gold Dragon's]]. However, they have 1 less attack than the [[Black Dragon]] and 6 less than the most powerful town creature, the [[Archangel]]. Still, the difference between the [[Black Dragon|Black Dragon's]] and the Titan's attack stat is minimal, and the later won't always be retaliated against when attacking, since they primarily use a ranged attack. And even then, the Titans have no-melee penalty. Titans also deal 150% damage against Black Dragons (but not against Red Dragons, and Giants don't hate anyone).

=== Efficiency and cost ===
Giants are very unimpressive 7th level creatures, and may not be worth the gold until your Cloud Temple sees an upgrade, especially due to their low health, defense and likelihood of being targeted by the AI. Titans, on the other hand, stand strong as one of the most powerful creatures in the game, boasting the highest health and max damage for an unit that is not neutral. However, here comes their only weakness: their creature and dwelling upgrade cost. The Titans are 1000 {{g}} more expensive than a [[Black Dragon]] with similar stats and 1 {{gem}} less than an [[Archangel]]. The dwelling upgrade is also expensive in itself, but unlike other level 7 dwellings, you only pay a little price for the base dwelling (allowing you to accumulate more units earlier), and pay the rest of the resources with the upgrade.

=== Tactics ===
Giants are subpar T7 unit, but (in [[HotA]]) they have some major vantages. First, their dwelling is relatively easy to build on the 5th-7th day of the first week. Second, they can be obtained by beating an [[Experimental Shop]]. Finally, they are among the strongest hard-hitters in the game, and 1 Giant is arguably a much better choice than 2 [[Naga]]s. Giants are vulnerable to direct damage spells as they have only 150 [[Health|HP]]. Their [[Defense]] isn't good either, being just 16. [[Cure]] or [[First Aid Tent]] is highly advised to keep them alive for the further upgrading. As always, [[Resurrection]] is one of the best possible spells for both Giant and Titan.

If your hero happens to be an expert in [[Earth Magic]] with [[slow]] you will be able to dismantle a majority of neutral creatures (not necessarily with the help of [[mages]]) before they can land a blow. Additionally - with their [[Mind Spells|mind spell immunity]], Titans will not fall prey to the [[Forgetfulness]], [[Blind]] and [[Berserk]] spells. Even in melee combat, your Titans should lead you to victory in a wide range of combat match-ups.

Titans, being tough and fast, are an ideal front-line combatant. As they are able to walk further than they can accurately shoot, you're often well served by ignoring their ranged attack in order to strike enemies in melee, especially if you have Offense.

Both Giants and Titans are strongly affected by [[Bless]] and [[Curse]], as these spells change their average damage by 20% to 60 or 40 respectively.

[[Precision]] is a decent buff to cast on Titans. [[Bloodlust]] works on both Giants and Titans, but only in melee.

[[Stone Skin]] and [[Shield]] bring their defenses up to the level of [[Archangel]]s.

[[Air Shield]] might see some use, but it's rare for Titans to be really threatened in ranged combat, as they are the strongest ranged unit in game.

[[Prayer]] is of limited use, as Titans don't really need more speed being ranged troops, unless this increase grants you first turn or lets you act before the opponent, but Attack and Defense buff is good as Titans have only 24 in both stats.

[[Mirth]] and [[Fortune]] are a gamble, because the chance of good [[morale]] and [[luck]] occurring is relatively low, but when Titans do get another turn or deal double damage it's usually devastating because they hit very hard already. Prioritize more reliable spells over these, but if [[Master Genie]]s cast them on Titans, they're good too. 

Against Titans, it's recommended to attack them with all you've got before they start destroying your army, especially shooters. They should be targeted by offensive spells in the early game, like [[Implosion]]. However, keep in mind that they aren't affected by [[Blind]] nor [[Berserk]]. You can also target them with [[Black Dragon|Black Dragons]] for 150% damage, if you are sure to lower their numbers a lot, but this is riskier than having your Titans attack Black Dragons, since you probably won't be able to resurrect your dragons unless you have the [[Orb of Vulnerability]] equipped. If Titans are behind someone else, attack that unit with Black Dragons, and [[breath attack]] will do 150% damage against Titans due to Black Dragons' [[hate]] against them. It works even if Black Dragons targeted another stack, and Titans won't retaliate - thus, when playing with Titans against their main enemies, be very careful to avoid these situations. 150% damage is dealt by Black Dragons' breath attack even if they by mistake attacked Titans which are in their army, so if you have both Titans and Black Dragons, avoid it.

Titans have relatively low [[Attack]] and [[Defense]] values, but more than make up for it in [[health]] and [[damage]]. Spells like [[Weakness]] and [[Disrupting Ray]] are very effective on them. [[Curse]] works well too, as it takes away 1/3rd of their great damage potential. [[Slow]] doesn't make much difference, as they can shoot.

[[Air Shield]] is good protection for your troops against Titans' ranged attack if you cannot stop them from shooting and cannot reach them with your own melee troops, especially with Advanced or Expert [[Air Magic]]. [[Stone Skin]] is more universal protection as [[Defense]] increase, but if you can force enemy Titans into melee, [[Shield]] is better.

If strong melee troop is attacking your Titans, consider using [[Fire Shield]] as its damage is not mitigated by Defense and does not depend on Titans being able to retaliate. Otherwise spells that improve their output might be better, as Titans are ranged troops with sizable number of shots.

[[Slayer]] is of very limited use against Giants and Titans, as the spell requires Expert [[Fire Magic]] to have an effect against them. Titans themselves can reliably kill any other level 7th unit in straight-out combat except [[Haspid]]s (in {{hota}}) and [[Arch Devil]]s, but +8 Attack is nothing to sneeze at, as it can mean +40% damage bonus.

[[Clone]] requires Expert [[Water Magic]] to work on Giants and Titans.

If you also have [[Genie and Master Genie|Master Genies]] in army, Titans should be top priority target to cast spells on, as buffs like [[Bless]] or [[Prayer]] greatly increase their power while letting your hero cast other spells. Consider splitting Master Genies into several stacks, as their spells' power and duration are not dependent on number of Master Genies in stack, and in case of emergency you can sacrifice Master Genies to take counterattacks for Titans or block enemy ranged stacks from shooting back. Most of the spells mentioned above are in Master Genies spell list, so your Titans should have at least some useful spells active.

===Skill bonuses ===
A hero with [[Archery]] as a skill would be very efficient, increasing the Titans' damage output more than [[Offense]] would to other level 7 creatures ([[Archery]] also has damage bonus artifacts, unlike [[Offense]]), making them deal 150% damage in ranged attacks with [[Archery|Expert Archery]]. With [[Bow of the Sharpshooter]], all of their melee attacks will be ranged attacks, without chance of being retaliated against, except for their own retaliations which will be regular melee attacks. The artifact also adds a 30% bonus to ranged damage, which will make Titans inflict 180% damage with it and [[Archery|Expert Archery]], almost double than the base damage. [[Orrin]] is probably the best hero to use with Titans, as his specialty increases [[Archery]] damage bonus even more.
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{{creature 'see also'}}
* [[Comparison of Level 7 Creatures]]
* [[Comparison of Ranged Creatures]]

[[Category: Creatures]]