Talk:Fortress

Heroes' Ranking (FULLY MY OPINION)

1. Bron. 5-6 Basilisks at the start of the game is a thing! They are good fourth levels - just in the middle, between Vampire Lords, Crusaders, Arch Magi, and Ogre Magi above them (while basic Vampires, Swordsmen and Ogres are mediocre units, and Arch Magi are weaker warriors than Basilisks), and Silver Pegasi, Horned Demons, and Energy Elementals below them (possibly Medusas match Basilisks). Early rush is a big advantage of Fortress, and when Basilisks are upgraded, with Bron they have brilliant speed 8 (and imbalanced 9 at home soil). Bron's Resistance secondary skill is possibly his only downside, but in HotA he gets Interference instead - and becomes a king of defense like José Mourinho!
2. Tazar. I must admit I never used him as a protagonist, as I rarely play single scenarios, and in Adrienne's campaign her team consisted of Korbac and Wystan, not to mention Sir Michael. However, I decided to make one of my heroes, namely Wystan, a pure bus parker, with 62 Defense, - which combined with expert Armorer made his units truly immortal. Thus, I just cannot imagine, HOW resilient would they have been under Tazar, - possibly he will kill an Archangel with a Hydra. He starts with Advanced Armorer, which helps rushing and saves a skill slot, - and Bron can give him the Basilisks thus becoming a "number two". Lack of speed bonuses is Tazar's severe disadvantage, as in general Fortress is horribly slow.
3. Verdish. While in general First Aid is considered a useless skill and the one never to learn if you don't have it from the start, Fortress is the town it fits the best. Wyverns are extremely fast, but neither strong nor resilient, and Verdish can win a battle against dozens of weak wanderers with a single unupgraded Wyvern, healing it every turn and using proper tactics. She is a great "number two" when main hero is far from home and you pick resources near your town, and can even serve a support hero to one playing for a town without First Aid Tent (Castle, Inferno, Dungeon etc.), using their fast 6th-level units for rushing. However, Verdish's starting spell is just very bad.
4. Korbac. Dragon Flies have imbalanced speed? Korbac makes them an imbalanced unit! On swamp Korbac's Dragonflies are as fast as Black Dragons, and the unupgraded ones' speed matches Red Dragons. Is it imaginable that Fortress gets as fast as Dungeon? In the end-game, learn Resurrection and forget all other units. With hundreds of these tiny monsters you'll be unstoppable. Korbac's Pathfinding is a double-edged sword, useless when playing against Castle or Necropolis, but becoming the final nail in the Tower's coffin.
5. Andra. Like any other hero with Intelligence, Andra is good. Perhaps her specialty is not as useful in Fortress as it is in Rampart or Inferno, who have high-level and therefore expensive spells, but it makes essential spells like Slow or Bless almost free of charge. A good Tavern hero, after all.
6. Alkin. A cool one, regarding his specialty units' strength and unique ability. Alkin doesn't give Gorgons' death stare any additional buff, but makes them a bit stronger and faster (on speed 8, Mighty Gorgons become an enormous problem). He's lucky to have both Armorer and Offense - which, on the other side, isn't an optimal choice for a support hero, and Attack primary skill isn't usually high among Beastmasters, so Alkin is probably not the most evident military leader in the game.
7. Mirlanda. She is an intermediate hero, with a specialty which would have worked better somewhere else, but Advanced Wisdom places her relatively high in this list. Seven secondary skill slots allow to develop her as you want (what a great heroine for Conflux with its Magic University), and she will ideally fit a wholly magical gameplay with strong spells without any upgrading. Weakness is a good 2nd level spell, however, it's possibly not as necessary in Fortress, because Dragonflies cast it on their own, and Fortress creatures themselves have good defense. Nevertheless, Mirlanda is a very decent neutral magic hero.
8. Wystan. Many people consider Fortress a weaker town, and for myself, it's bottom three together with Rampart and Inferno (and I love playing for all of them). All these cities have problem with shooters, and Wystan is the one who can fix this downside of the swamp town. First of all, Lizard Warriors are no more that horribly slow under Wystan, and with Archery, they become very useful. If the map is big and you have a town with better shooters than Fortress, like Castle, Tower, or Stronghold, Wystan will buff everyone who attacks on distance.
9. Styg. To place the middle-of-the-road contestants is always the hardest task. As with Andra and Mirlanda, Styg has a specialty which works way better in a magical town - Armageddon or Chain Lightning are not available in Fortress, and spells like Magic Arrow are truly useful only in the beginning (not to mention pathetic 3 level damage spells). Sorcery works on its best with spells dealing enormous damage. However, if you play for something more magical and see Styg in the Tavern - hire her, she'll be a good town defender and neutral monsters killer.
10. Voy. If your map has many separate islands, Voy will rise to the first place, but even if there is no water, Voy won't be on dead last since her starting spells is possibly the best in the game. The whole gameplay will be significantly harder without Slow, and if you want to secure it - hire the 'Wind Witch', even at the cost of a secondary skill, widely considered useless.
11. Drakon. Heroes specializing on 1st level units are usually good for only one aim: providing cannon fodder (and there are no specialists in really useful first-levels, like Master Gremlins or Sprites). Many users just don't hire Gnolls, who are in fact efficient only when defending a town. With Drakon, they will have decent speed, making him a fully defensive hero. For obvious reasons, Drakon is also a good hero to be hired in a Tavern when playing for Necropolis.
12. Broghild. Wyvern buff is decent, allowing the Monarchs to become faster than Master Genies and Scorpicores, but skills are upgraded too rarely, and Scouting is not the best secondary skill at all. With or without him, Wyverns remain on their place - among the fastest ones not regarding imbalanced Archangels or Dragons, efficient when sieging towns, but purely supportive being the weakest on the 6th level.
13. Merist. If she didn't have Learning! Stone Skin is alongside Weakness a spell which doesn't make much difference when using Fortress, but anywhere else Merist would be a cool defender. Learning is sometimes useful, but only for a hero who would never rise to the highest levels, as Merist will reach 4-5 levels quite faster.
14. Gerwulf. Ballista in a town unable to produce it is in my opinion not the best idea. If it's broken, it's hard to find, and without speed buffs Gerwulf wouldn't be the biggest threat to the enemy. For small maps it's decent, but in long missions Ballista is often nearly useless.
15. Rosic. There are no towns you should avoid under any circumstances (see Wystan), but there are of course some secondary skills people avoid under any circumstances, and that's fair. Mysticism and Eagle Eye are not bad on their own, but they're helpful on very limited occasions, and take the slots you can use instead for Wisdom, Earth Magic, or Logistics, which work always with no exceptions. Rosic can be a "number two" in the final mission of Dragon Slayer, as towns don't have Mage Guilds, and it's not a good idea to give Mysticism to the main hero, Dracon (not to be confused with Drakon). First missions are extremely hard as well, so you shouldn't waste slots of the one who goes further and further, but instead find a supporting hero who fits each scenario best. In the mission against Azure Dragons, Rosic isn't the worst.

(TO BE CONTINUED)