07-14-2004, 06:06 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-14-2004, 06:10 AM by Swiss Mercenary.)
True, although in a team game against 2 or more orcs, thorns is quite useful.
About the hero usage - you are forgetting the posibillity that Holy Light can heal 200/400/600 health - the reason that I mentioned nuking capabilities, is for finishing off weakened units that woud otherwise get away. And, even with the Storm Bolt's stun, 600 health healed on your unit would often do more then 350 dealt to an enemy - not to mention that the healing is multiplied, due to the Paladin's Devotion Aura. And, while Avatar makes the MK a killing machine, Resurrect often has a great effect in battle. Although, Storm Bolt is an obvious spell for use against fleeing units - which is why I would pick the MK as my second hero against an UD opponent, and a Banish-capable Bloodmage as my third. The undead army comes from the altar - and crippling the heroes cripples the army. For other matchups, the MK clearly leads, but I'm just saying that the Paladin is an equal choice against Undead.
As for the UD hero choice, note that the Dread Lord's Carrion Swarm + Sleep use a GREAT amounts of mana, while his mana supply... Isn't. The Death Knight, however, gets many castings of Death Coil per mana pool, and there is no way that you can call a 400 HP heal weak. Additionally, regenerating on blight/burrowing is not always feasible - what if you have 10 units at 90% hp, but 1 at 10%? The reason that Death Coil is so effective, is because it allows your units to stay in the battle longer, and deal out (and absorb) more damage - if you were to run your crypt fiends away whenever someone focused fire on them, because they would have less then 30% life, your numbers would quickly dwindle (And the uneven distribution of damage would add difficulty to healing). If, on the other hand, you would pull the fiend back, and at the same time coil it, it would either break focus fire on it, or cause the enemy units to chase after it, while you get free hits in. While coil is not very effective with Ghouls, they won't win you the game (Unless you rush early, and keep the pressure on, in which case, you are right, the Dread Lord is useful); alternatively, it is essential if you use Crypt Fiends/Abominations/Destroyers/Frost Wyrms. If I could pick one hero that I would be stuck with, for the UD, I would pick the Death Knight.
For the Orc, I can see where you are going, and I would have to agree - a high level Tauren Chieftain wins games. However, on level 1, he (And most other line AOE nukers) are little more then fat grunts. Unlike the Dread Lord, however, the TC has excellent hit points, an aura that's useful for any army, and an amazing ultimate - those factors make him a solid first hero choice - if you can creep to at least level 4 before major engagements. Alternatively, you can not bother for any of that, and win the game, right there, at Tier 2, through fast teching to Wind Riders + Far Seer/Blademaster harass.
I value my units - not only for the gold costs, but also for the experience they give my opponent - hence I prefer to keep them alive, and try to take cheap shots at him, when he is vulnerable.
About the hero usage - you are forgetting the posibillity that Holy Light can heal 200/400/600 health - the reason that I mentioned nuking capabilities, is for finishing off weakened units that woud otherwise get away. And, even with the Storm Bolt's stun, 600 health healed on your unit would often do more then 350 dealt to an enemy - not to mention that the healing is multiplied, due to the Paladin's Devotion Aura. And, while Avatar makes the MK a killing machine, Resurrect often has a great effect in battle. Although, Storm Bolt is an obvious spell for use against fleeing units - which is why I would pick the MK as my second hero against an UD opponent, and a Banish-capable Bloodmage as my third. The undead army comes from the altar - and crippling the heroes cripples the army. For other matchups, the MK clearly leads, but I'm just saying that the Paladin is an equal choice against Undead.
As for the UD hero choice, note that the Dread Lord's Carrion Swarm + Sleep use a GREAT amounts of mana, while his mana supply... Isn't. The Death Knight, however, gets many castings of Death Coil per mana pool, and there is no way that you can call a 400 HP heal weak. Additionally, regenerating on blight/burrowing is not always feasible - what if you have 10 units at 90% hp, but 1 at 10%? The reason that Death Coil is so effective, is because it allows your units to stay in the battle longer, and deal out (and absorb) more damage - if you were to run your crypt fiends away whenever someone focused fire on them, because they would have less then 30% life, your numbers would quickly dwindle (And the uneven distribution of damage would add difficulty to healing). If, on the other hand, you would pull the fiend back, and at the same time coil it, it would either break focus fire on it, or cause the enemy units to chase after it, while you get free hits in. While coil is not very effective with Ghouls, they won't win you the game (Unless you rush early, and keep the pressure on, in which case, you are right, the Dread Lord is useful); alternatively, it is essential if you use Crypt Fiends/Abominations/Destroyers/Frost Wyrms. If I could pick one hero that I would be stuck with, for the UD, I would pick the Death Knight.
For the Orc, I can see where you are going, and I would have to agree - a high level Tauren Chieftain wins games. However, on level 1, he (And most other line AOE nukers) are little more then fat grunts. Unlike the Dread Lord, however, the TC has excellent hit points, an aura that's useful for any army, and an amazing ultimate - those factors make him a solid first hero choice - if you can creep to at least level 4 before major engagements. Alternatively, you can not bother for any of that, and win the game, right there, at Tier 2, through fast teching to Wind Riders + Far Seer/Blademaster harass.
I value my units - not only for the gold costs, but also for the experience they give my opponent - hence I prefer to keep them alive, and try to take cheap shots at him, when he is vulnerable.