Editing Breath attack

'''Breath attack''' is a [[special ability]] typical for living [[dragon]]s, but also for {{Cnu|Firebird|Phoenix|name=Firebirds and Phoenixs}}{{-wa}} (and {{Cnu|Mechanic|Engineer|name=Mechanics and Engineers}}{{-wh}}). It enables them to attack two consecutive hexes at once, making individual damage to both hexes. However, creatures that are two hexes wide do not suffer double damage from the breath attack. Although creatures with breath attack specialty cannot directly attack allied creatures, they can - similar to {{Cnu|Lich|Power Lich|name=Liches and Power Liches}}' [[Death Cloud]] and {{Cn|Magog}}s' [[Fireball Attack]] - cause damage to allied creatures located on the second hex. In other words, breath attack will also damage the hero's own troops if they are standing directly behind the attacked hex.

Damage for each attacked stack is calculated separately. {{Cn|Black Dragon}}s' [[hate]] against {{Cn|Titan}}s works even if the latter were not attacked directly and suffered from breath attack. If your Black Dragons by mistake attacked Titans who are part of your army, they will still deal 150% damage.

'''Creatures with breath attack:'''
* {{Cnu|Green Dragon|Gold Dragon|name=Green and Gold Dragons}}
* {{Cnu|Red Dragon|Black Dragon|name=Red and Black Dragons}}
* {{Cnu|Firebird|Phoenix|name=Firebirds and Phoenixes}}{{-wa}}
* {{Cn|Rust Dragon}}s{{-wa}}
* {{Cn|Azure Dragon}}s{{-wa}}
* {{Cnu|Mechanic|Engineer|name=Mechanics and Engineers}}{{-wh}}
'''Dragons without breath attack:'''
* {{Cnu|Bone Dragon|Ghost Dragon|name=Bone and Ghost Dragons}}
* {{Cn|Crystal Dragon}}s{{-wa}}
* {{Cn|Faerie Dragon}}s{{-wa}}

== In-Depth Explanation ==
The following diagram shows majority of the relevant cases of using Fire-breath. The small red arrows show the direction of attack (i.e. the way that the in-game sword cursor is pointing). 

[[File: Breath Attack.gif]]

To summarize the diagram: 
* When attacking horizontally or diagonally, breath attack works by simply attacking the next hex behind the one attacked (in the direction of the attack).
* When attacking vertically, the breath attack '''only works''' if the enemy is '''on the left side''' of the point where three hexes meet. See [[Breath attack#Dragon Breath Exploit |Dragon Breath Exploit]] for more details on how to use this to your advantage. 
* Dragons cannot use the burn attack in the direction of their hero (for neutral units, in the direction opposite to the defender). In other words, a breath attack cannot attack backwards. 

=== Notes ===
* These general rules do not apply in all cases. If there is not a red arrow on the chart, the attack will not work from that direction.
* This diagram is only accurate for the attacking hero (whose creatures line up on the left at the beginning of the battle). It is not accurate for the defending hero (whose creatures line up on the right at the beginning of the battle).
* {{wh}} [[Mechanics and Engineers]] cannot attack vertically, as they are 1-hex creatures.

== Dragon Breath Exploit ==

This exploit is a result of:
# AI will always attempt to minimize the retaliation received.
# AI will always use the Breath Attack to maximize damage, if possible.
# Fire breath does not work when attacking vertically on the creatures on the right side of the attacked unit. 

[[File: Dragon Breath Exploit.png]]

If a stack of units strong enough to survive a Dragon's single attack stands at the <span style="color:red">red hex</span>, and another, weaker stack of units (that can die to a single attack by the Dragon) stands at either of the <span style="color:orange">orange hexes</span>, the Dragon will attack from either of the sets of <span style="color:green">green hexes</span>, but ''will not burn the unit on the <span style="color:red">red hex</span>''. AI believes this attack will trigger the Breath attack reaction, but it does not. 

Note, that either (but not both) of the <span style="color:orange">orange</span> and <span style="color:red">red</span> hexes can have 2-hex units, as long as '''the back of''' the first unit is on one of the '''<span style="color:orange">orange hexes</span>''' or '''the front of''' the second unit is on the '''<span style="color:red">red hex</span>'''.

== [[Mechanic and Engineer]]'s breath attack direction {{wh}} ==

Mechanic's and Engineer's Breath attack, when attacking a 2-hex creature from the middle hex directly above or below them, does not follow the direction of the sword-arrow, but rather the direction of Mechanic's or Engineer's movement. The following image shows the problem in detail:

[[File: EngineerBreathDiagram.png]]

If the Engineer (or a Mechanic) approaches the 2-hex enemy standing on the <span style="color:orange">orange hexes</span> and attacks it from the <span style="color:green">green hex</span>, starting her movement from the left side (<span style="color:gold">yellow path</span>), she will burn whomever is occupying the <span style="color:gold">yellow hex</span>. If she approaches said 2-hex enemy from the right instead(<span style="color:teal">teal path</span>), she will burn whomever is standing on the <span style="color:teal">teal hex</span>. If she starts her movement from a hex on the exact same file as the <span style="color:green">green hex</span>, the direction of the sword-arrow will determine whether she burns the <span style="color:gold">yellow</span> or the <span style="color:teal">teal</span> hex. 

In the setup above, the Mechanic (or Engineer) ''cannot'' burn enemies located on the <span style="color:black">'''black hex'''</span>. 

{{User commentary|
HotA is most likely aware of the [[Breath attack#Dragon Breath Exploit|Dragon breath exploit]], but decided not to fix it as a result of it being rather niche and mostly used for tactical advantage. 

The AI can play rather well around breath attack, so do not expect to bait enemy dragons into retaliation onto their own stack.
}}{{end of user commentary}}

[[Category: Creature specialties]]
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