I realize that I'm new and just reached chapter 4, but I'm looking at the dryad stats and they seem to be completely inferior to my regular archers (after the 1st upgrade). Why would I use these?
You aren't wrong. I have 3rd tier crossbowmen and even if they were 1:1 the crossbowmen slightly edge the dryads out.But you can only use half as many dryads, so why bother with level 1 dryads? Aren't they completely inferior in every way?
I'm happy to be wrong, but please tell me *why* it is wrong.
However, if like Varron suggests that these non native units get promotions then they 'could' be better in the future. That's assuming our native units do not get any promotions either. One would think with all the effort put into these new units that they will eventually add in tech to promote them otherwise it would be a complete waste of time on the devs part.
It would be nice if they were comparable in general, but against specific types of enemies one would be better than another. This would require their special abilities to be very different.Yep promotions are on their way, next year. Will be interesting to see if they can balance them or if they just make our current troops redundant.
You use half as many because they weigh twice as much. The increased weight makes it harder to kill a unit. Right now they're hard to compare unless using Archer I which would be their counterpart.But you can only use half as many dryads, so why bother with level 1 dryads? Aren't they completely inferior in every way?
I'm happy to be wrong, but please tell me *why* it is wrong.
But this is exactly what I was hoping for. A use for both units depending on the situation.
I can't speak to the accuracy of unreleased units attributes and haven't gone through their numbers thoroughly. elvenarchitect seems pretty spot on but I consider these #'s speculative.
I have Elite Elven Archers and Dryads II. Squad size is 1401 and 700 units respectively. Both are Light Ranged. Here's my analysis:
The Elite Archers and Dryads II do about the same damage with the Dryads having a slightly higher range. (21K to 26K vs. 20.8K to 28K)
Hit Points are in favor of the Archers, being able to receive about 50% more damage than the Dryads. (97.7K vs. 66K)
Range and movement are the same. Archers are slightly faster on initiative. (18 vs. 17)
Archers have the Bull's Eye special ability. (-20% defense for 2 rounds) Dryads have no special ability
Versus Heavy Melee: Archers are +70% dam/-50% taken. Dryads are +70% dam/-80% taken.
Versus Mages: Archers are +90% dam. Dryads are -40% taken
Elite Archers can take more punishment than Dryads II and have a special ability. Otherwise they are fairly even. Due to the bonuses, I would use the Archers against Mages and the Dryads against Heavy Melee.
I consider the Dryad II a viable unit.