Rank IV - Units | Units and Strategy Eador: MotBW Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Paladin

Recruitment Cost	600 gold, 30 crystals, 1 horse, 1 mithril, 1 dionium
Upkeep	120 gold and 6 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Sacred Order 6000 gold, 150 crystals, 1 horse, 2 mithril, 3 dionium Requires Military Academy, Castle and Cathedral of the Immortals
Alignment	Good
Skills	Healing - heals around 7 Health Points of an allied unit, as long as the unit is in range. Using the ability lowers the amount of Ammo. The presence of a Paladin in the army increases the healing rate after battle Charge - Attack raises with each tile the units travels prior to dealing damage Smite Evil - deals additional damage to evil units

The best thing about Paladins is that it's very hard to make them die. They may not have an impressive amount of Health Points, but make up for it with high Resistance and Ranged Defense. Archers and spellcasters practically don't stand a chance against them, while melee units will have to try really hard to defeat them. Due to their high Speed and the useful Charge ability, Paladins are the best way to start the battle: they can ride right in between the enemy's weakest forces and ram them right then and there (which usually ends in the target's death). They're also pretty good at being a moving shield (when fighting in the first line of battle) or for flanking the enemy.

War Elephant

Recruitment Cost	700 gold, 2 mithril, 1 iron
Upkeep	140 gold per round
Location/Recruitment	Elephant Pen 7000 gold, 2 wood, 3 mithril, 1 marble Requires Castle and Monstrologists Guild
Alignment	Neutral
Skills	Trample - if the Elephant kills the target on attack, it takes its place on the battlefield. Doesn't apply to flying units

Elephants are moderately useful rank IV units. Theoretically, they have a staggering amount of Health Points and a crushing Attack, but these advantages pale in comparison with their weak defensive capabilities and a fairly low amount of Stamina. All this means that the Elephant quickly loses its momentum and becomes weaker with each passing round: damage dealt decreases at an alarming rate, along with the loss of health and Stamina.

You shouldn't however, write the Elephants off completely - most rank I and II units will fall under their first strike. The War Elephant is therefore the perfect choice to quickly attack and eliminate the weakest of the enemy's units in as high numbers as possible. It doesn't perform that well in one-on-one battle, though, especially if the opponent has a heavy armor and high Attack.

Warlock

Recruitment Cost	450 gold, 100 crystals, 2 arcanites, 1 black lotuses
Upkeep	90 gold and 15 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Castle of Darkness 4200 gold, 300 crystals, 2 arcanites, 4 black lotuses Requires Castle and Artifact Market
Alignment	Evil
Skills	Magic Shot - deals magic damage to selected target Master of the Undead - targets killed by the unit are resurrected as skeletons Raise Zombie Spell - creates a Zombie out of any killed unit (but not machines or the undead). Consumes 2 Stamina points Energy Control - ignores the target's 2 Resistance points

Warlock is the most powerful spellcasting unit (apart from heroes, naturally). Thanks to an extensive Range and an impressive Ranged Attack, they're capable of killing virtually any rank I unit, and some of rank II. This is, in fact, the best thing about Warlocks, because killed enemies are instantly resurrected as Skeletons, which are additionally given a bonus round. This is something that becomes extremely useful against enemies with lots of ranged and magic units - the defeated enemies can be easily turned against their masters (the best to shoot are Healers, Monks and Clerics!). The rest of the Warlock's abilities have their uses as well, and the unit can acquire further useful spells as they level up (including Massive Curse). The only problem involves keeping them alive, as they're very fragile. Protect them with good defensive units and healing spells.

Dragon

Recruitment Cost	None
Upkeep	None
Location/Recruitment	Can't be hired, but any allied unit can be turned into it using the Dragon Form spell
Alignment	Neutral
Skills	Flying - can move over other units and impassable terrain losing only the usual amount of movement points and not using Stamina. A flying unit cannot be trampled and is not affected by terrain modifiers Magic Shot - deals magic damage to selected target Spell Immunity - can't be targeted by any type of spell. Regular magic attacks have the usual effect, same as magic abilities

Dragons are legendary creatures that can be found only in the deepest caves where they guard their treasures. They're perfect predators, virtually without a fault - they are completely immune to magic, can fly over any type of terrain, breathe fire over two tiles and kill most units with a single strike. Their scales are thick enough to protect them against almost any kind of attack (and especially magic), so there's practically nothing that can challenge them. One Dragon is capable of defeating an entire army, as long as it's not led by a powerful hero (Warrior or Scout) or several rank III and IV units.

Treant

Recruitment Cost	350 gold, 30 crystals
Upkeep	70 gold and 6 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Can be grown from a special nut usually found while conquering neutral locations. Requires Stonehenge in the capital
Alignment	Neutral
Skills	Forest Knowledge - the unit doesn't lose Stamina while crossing a forest and can move over them as over plains. Receives a bonus to Defense when standing in a forest terrain First Aid - regenerates 6 Health Points during rest. Regeneration also accelerates outside of battle Siege - accelerates the destruction of enemy fortifications by 2 Roots - immobilizes a hit target for 3 rounds

Treants are powerful defensive units, with an impressive Counterattack, good defensive statistics and quite a lot of Health Points. It's best to put them directly on the enemy's route and they will take of the rest (Roots are useful here). A small range practically eliminates them from raids on enemy forces, but that's not their purpose anyway. In case of danger, heal them and put them back into the fight.

To acquire a Treant, you first nee to acquire its nut while exploring the world map, and then bring it to the city in which you have Stonehenge. Open its recruitment screen and drag the artifact into the slot reserved for rank IV units.

Hydra

Recruitment Cost	800 gold, 40 crystals
Upkeep	160 gold and 8 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Can be hatched from a special egg usually found while conquering neutral locations. Requires Monstrologists Guild
Alignment	Neutral
Skills	Swamp Knowledge - the unit doesn't lose Stamina while crossing a swamp and can move over them as over plains. Receives a bonus to Defense when standing on a swampy terrain Poison Attack - deal 2 poison damage each turn for 3 rounds Regeneration - regains 3 health points each round. Accelerates healing rate outside of battle Attack All Enemies - deals damage to all opponents on adjacent tiles

Hydra - right next to a Dragon - is the most powerful unit in the game. While they move a little sluggishly and their defensive statistics aren't that excellent, they don't have their match against groups of enemies. They not only attack all units within adjacent tiles, but also poison enemies and heal themselves every round. What's especially important, only one hit opponent can perform a counterattack, so target foes with the lowest Counterattack or ones that would die from a single strike.

To acquire a Hydra, you first nee to acquire its egg while exploring the world map, and then bring it to the city in which you have Monstrologists Guild. Open its recruitment screen and drag the artifact into the slot reserved for rank IV units.

Cyclops

Recruitment Cost	400 gold
Upkeep	80 gold per round
Location/Recruitment	Sometimes appear in Palace as mercenaries
Alignment	Evil
Skills	Hills Knowledge - the unit doesn't lose Stamina while crossing hills and can move over them as over plains. Receives a bonus to Defense when standing on a hilly terrain Trample - if the Cyclops kills the target on attack, it takes its place on the battlefield. Doesn't apply to flying units Desert Knowledge - the unit doesn't lose Stamina while crossing hills and can move over them as over plains. Receives a bonus to Defense and Counterattack when standing on a desert terrain

Cyclops is simply an improved version of the War Elephant. They fulfill exactly the same role, but have better statistics. More Stamina allows them to act more frequently, deal more damage and have better armor. They're therefore perfect to eliminate basic and moderately advanced enemy units, but rather fail against stronger types of troops.

You can acquire Cyclopes as mercenaries in Palace, but the chances of them appearing in one are small.

Vampire

Recruitment Cost	None
Upkeep	15 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Can be summoned by the Raise Vampire spell
Alignment	Evil
Skills	Feels No Pain - wounds received don't affect the amount of dealt damage Flying - can move over other units and impassable terrain losing only the usual amount of movement points and not using Stamina. A flying unit cannot be trampled and is not affected by terrain modifiers Tireless - the unit won't lose Stamina while performing an action Intrepid - Morale always stays on the same level Poison Immunity - the unit is unaffected by poison Bloodsucker - sucks Health Points on attack and counterattack in the amount equal to 50% of dealt damage

For rank IV units, Vampires aren't particularly strong. Their biggest asset is the ability to suck the life out of hit targets, which greatly prolongs their survivability (on the other hand, they can't be healed the regular way on account of being undead). It's a good idea, then, to improve their Attack and Counterattack to increase these effects. In themselves, they don't stand a chance against other rank IV units, so you'd be better off using them as a flying cavalry to dispose of enemy archers and spellcasters.

You can retain Vampires in your army if your hero has the Necromancy ability at least on level V or if you have chosen the Master Necromancer specialization (see Heroes: Wizard). The cost is in crystals and depends on the level of the creature.

Devil

Recruitment Cost	None
Upkeep	20 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Can be summoned by the Summon Devil spell and the Dark Pact ritual
Alignment	Evil
Skills	Magic Shot - deals magic damage to selected target Armorpiercing Strike - ignores half of the enemy's Defense Intimidation - if hit, the target's Morale drops by 3 Soul Stealing - after killing an enemy, the units recovers 5 Health Points Summon Imp Spell - summons an Imp on an adjacent tile. The Devil loses 3 health points. Uses up 1 Ammo point Deadlands Knowledge - the unit doesn't lose Stamina while crossing deadlands. Receives a bonus to Defense and Counterattack when standing on a deadland terrain

Devils are made mostly to fight powerful and heavily armored units. With the Armorpiercing Strike, they easily defeat Paladins, Stone Golems or Treants. While they have solid defensive statistics, they aren't very mobile, so their usefulness in raids on enemy formations is limited. They are, however, great at killing single opponents one by one (with healing in between each next one) and facing off the enemy's most powerful beasts.

To retain Devils as units in the army, you need to perform the Dark Pact spell.

Giant

Recruitment Cost	450 gold
Upkeep	90 gold per round
Location/Recruitment	Sometimes appear in Palace as mercenaries
Alignment	Evil
Skills	Collect Ammo - allows collecting several units of ammo in return for one round Hills Knowledge - the unit doesn't lose Stamina while crossing hills and can move over them as over plains. Receives a bonus to Defense when standing on a hilly terrain Siege - accelerates the destruction of enemy fortifications by 3

Giants are ranged units which also perform quite well in melee combat. Their greatest flaw is a small amount of Ammo which has to be constantly replenished. In case of real danger, though, Giants can approach the enemy and deal some severe damage, often killing several units on the spot. They aren't fit for a frontal assault, though, because other rank IV units easily break through their weak armor.

Phoenix

Recruitment Cost	2000 gold, 80 crystals, 1 arcanite, 2 dionium
Upkeep	400 gold and 15 crystals per round
Location/Recruitment	Can be hatched from a special egg usually found in neutral locations. Requires Monstrologists Guild Can also be summoned by a special spell which is found only in the form of a scroll (very rare)
Alignment	Neutral
Skills	Flying - can move over other units and impassable terrain losing only the usual amount of movement points and not using Stamina. A flying unit cannot be trampled and is not affected by terrain modifiers Magic Strike - strikes have magical nature which ignores the enemy's Defense and can be reduced only by their Resistance Reincarnation - if the unit dies in battle, it's instantly resurrected with a maximum amount of health points. Available only once per battle. Doesn't work if the Phoenix is the last unit on the battlefield

Phoenixes fulfill the role of a sky cavalry which main purpose is to reach and eliminate enemy archers. They're also not bad against other rank IV creatures, all thanks to the extremely useful Reincarnation ability. Seeing as they deal magic damage, they perform well against frontal offensive and defensive units which don't usually have a high Resistance. All this makes Phoenixes skilled killers, which are very hard to kill, and even harder to keep. Their upkeep cost is incomparably higher than any other creature's.

To acquire a Phoenix, you first nee to acquire its egg while exploring the world map, and then bring it to the city in which you have a Monstrologists Guild. Open its recruitment screen and drag the artifact into the slot reserved for rank IV units.