I am not sure how long ago this was implemented (I think it's actually something new in 1.1), perhaps someone who encountered this before has better information, but for now I'll bring this up for a discussion. In short, Battle Command cry can give in effect +2 to certain minions (instead of the usual +1; although the additional benefit may vary); which is a way to squeeze out the most from your minions with just a little extra effort, as it doesn't seem to be a bug, just a method of implementation.
In essence, certain minions (such as Oak Sage and Spirit of Barb) have skills that they use. Oak Sage has, for the lack of a better term, "Life Boosting Aura" skill, which it uses all the time. Battle Command can be cast on Oak Sage, and it gives Oak Sage +1 all skills, which boosts the aura's level by 1.
For example, a Druid has Oak Sage minion at level 28 without Battle Command, and this minion provides the party with a level 28 "Life Boosting Aura". A nearby friendly Barbarian uses Battle Command, boosting Druid's skill "Oak Sage" to level 29. Happy Druid recasts improved Oak Sage, which is now created with a level 29 skill "Life Boosting Aura", to match Oak Sage's higher level. Happy Barbarian uses Battle Command again, giving this new Oak Sage +1 All Skills, which boost Oak Sage's own skill, the "Life Boosting Aura" by 1 to level 30. So now the Oak Sage is giving everyone a level 30 "Life Boosting Aura" instead of level 28, a 2 point (and 10% more life) difference.
It might sound complicated, but it's not. All you really need to do is cast Battle Command on your minion to boost its skill.
It seems that this works only for minions who have some type of "sumskill" listed in skills.txt, a list of which I tried to gather below, along with what skills do they get benefit to (With my second computer broken, I can't test this extensively, perhaps someone can verify this?). One notable exception is Iron Golem, whose Thorns aura seems to be his attribute rather then his skill. Conversely, Fire Golem does have a skill "Holy Fire". (Of course, if someone has a better knowledge of what minions have skills and which don't, it would be great to see this information)
Druid
Plague Poppy (Poison Vine) - Vine Attack
Oak Sage - Oak Sage Aura
Cycle of Life (Carrion Vine) - Vine Attack, CorpseCycler (life returned)
Heart of Wolverine - Wolverine Aura
Vines (Solar Creeper) - Vine Attack, VineCycler (mana returned)
Spirit of Barbs - Barbs Aura
Necromancer
Fire Golem - Holy Fire
Skeletal Mage - NecromageMissile
Revives - Whatever skills they may have naturally
Paladin
Converted Monsters - Whatever skills they may have naturally
Amazon
Valkyrie - Dodge, Avoid, Evade, Critical Strike
Assassin
Converted Monsters - Whatever skills they may have naturally
Shadow Master*
Shadow Warrior*
*Even though they have nothing listed in sumskill column, their skills should benefit from +1 all skills.
One example of how this can be useful goes back to Crystallion's post about Shadow Master and Warrior skill levels.
http://www.lurkerlounge.com/forums/index.p...T&f=7&t=2776&s=
While naturally 3 points into Shadow Master skill will only give +1 to the level of spells that Shadow Master/Warrior uses, Battle Command will boost their skills directly, giving +1 to all their skills (at least I believe that it works like that - it would be nice to get some confirmation from testing).
Thanks to plethora of new items introduced in 1.1, this extra +1 skill can be benefited by almost anyone. A Call or Arms runeword can provide Battle Command if no friendly Barbarian is available. And charges of various Druid's spirits, which are available on many new items and usually are fixed at some level, can be improved with Battle Command. It might not seem much, but for so little effort (provided you have the right items), a level 6 Oak Sage is better then level 5.
Questions? Comments? Perhaps someone willing to provide addition information?
In essence, certain minions (such as Oak Sage and Spirit of Barb) have skills that they use. Oak Sage has, for the lack of a better term, "Life Boosting Aura" skill, which it uses all the time. Battle Command can be cast on Oak Sage, and it gives Oak Sage +1 all skills, which boosts the aura's level by 1.
For example, a Druid has Oak Sage minion at level 28 without Battle Command, and this minion provides the party with a level 28 "Life Boosting Aura". A nearby friendly Barbarian uses Battle Command, boosting Druid's skill "Oak Sage" to level 29. Happy Druid recasts improved Oak Sage, which is now created with a level 29 skill "Life Boosting Aura", to match Oak Sage's higher level. Happy Barbarian uses Battle Command again, giving this new Oak Sage +1 All Skills, which boost Oak Sage's own skill, the "Life Boosting Aura" by 1 to level 30. So now the Oak Sage is giving everyone a level 30 "Life Boosting Aura" instead of level 28, a 2 point (and 10% more life) difference.
It might sound complicated, but it's not. All you really need to do is cast Battle Command on your minion to boost its skill.
It seems that this works only for minions who have some type of "sumskill" listed in skills.txt, a list of which I tried to gather below, along with what skills do they get benefit to (With my second computer broken, I can't test this extensively, perhaps someone can verify this?). One notable exception is Iron Golem, whose Thorns aura seems to be his attribute rather then his skill. Conversely, Fire Golem does have a skill "Holy Fire". (Of course, if someone has a better knowledge of what minions have skills and which don't, it would be great to see this information)
Druid
Plague Poppy (Poison Vine) - Vine Attack
Oak Sage - Oak Sage Aura
Cycle of Life (Carrion Vine) - Vine Attack, CorpseCycler (life returned)
Heart of Wolverine - Wolverine Aura
Vines (Solar Creeper) - Vine Attack, VineCycler (mana returned)
Spirit of Barbs - Barbs Aura
Necromancer
Fire Golem - Holy Fire
Skeletal Mage - NecromageMissile
Revives - Whatever skills they may have naturally
Paladin
Converted Monsters - Whatever skills they may have naturally
Amazon
Valkyrie - Dodge, Avoid, Evade, Critical Strike
Assassin
Converted Monsters - Whatever skills they may have naturally
Shadow Master*
Shadow Warrior*
*Even though they have nothing listed in sumskill column, their skills should benefit from +1 all skills.
One example of how this can be useful goes back to Crystallion's post about Shadow Master and Warrior skill levels.
http://www.lurkerlounge.com/forums/index.p...T&f=7&t=2776&s=
While naturally 3 points into Shadow Master skill will only give +1 to the level of spells that Shadow Master/Warrior uses, Battle Command will boost their skills directly, giving +1 to all their skills (at least I believe that it works like that - it would be nice to get some confirmation from testing).
Thanks to plethora of new items introduced in 1.1, this extra +1 skill can be benefited by almost anyone. A Call or Arms runeword can provide Battle Command if no friendly Barbarian is available. And charges of various Druid's spirits, which are available on many new items and usually are fixed at some level, can be improved with Battle Command. It might not seem much, but for so little effort (provided you have the right items), a level 6 Oak Sage is better then level 5.
Questions? Comments? Perhaps someone willing to provide addition information?