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    Your Elvenar Team

Why use Dryads?

ekarat

Well-Known Member
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?
 

DeletedUser594

Guest
Mine are showing as almost on par for damage with my elite archers and the dryad is only level 1 so I'm not sure how much she'll improve but with two upgrades to go she should surpass the regular archers, my guess is she'll be a Heavy Melee killer while archers kill mages
89515ff6f6a4655d47e301cd39faae93.png
 

DeletedUser4366

Guest
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?

Dunno, why would you use another unit that they just created: orc warrior ? Just like your archer, the paladin is far superior.
 

ekarat

Well-Known Member
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.
 

DeletedUser3696

Guest
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.
You aren't wrong. I have 3rd tier crossbowmen and even if they were 1:1 the crossbowmen slightly edge the dryads out.

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.
 

Mykan

Oh Wise One
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.

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.
 

DeletedUser3696

Guest
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.
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.

We shall see :)
 

DeletedUser594

Guest
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.
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.
If you want to look ahead at the Dryad II and III here's a quick chart with damage, hitpoints and bonuses for each unit Archer I-III and Dryad I-III using the info from elven architect showing Dryad and elven archers compared at the same level so it's a bit more apples to apples
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.
87ef5bde6032cb07000e7e2db85654fa.png
Dryad III looks like a Hm crusher with a big defensive bonus which will help in situations where getting hit is unavoidable bcs of terrain.
 

DeletedUser3696

Guest
That chart looks good, hopefully we get to Dryad III before they give us Archer/Crossbow IV or V.

edit. But this is exactly what I was hoping for. A use for both units depending on the situation. Archers here are better vs. mages and Dryads are better vs. heavy melee. You may even be able to use both based on initiative - unless the AI has changed.
 

Mykan

Oh Wise One
But this is exactly what I was hoping for. A use for both units depending on the situation.

At the bottom of the my combat guide is a quote from a beta player who looked at the different units and identified the uses for each. I am assuming he has also used Elven architect but this is an experienced combat player and I thought the analysis was pretty decent. If you haven't seen it you might be interested in what he has identified as the uses for each unit.
 

DeletedUser5825

Guest
Hello, I am still trying to win these 5 battles I have for my quest. I keep training sword dancers and archers and they are still dying. I don't know what to do. I am on Chapter 2 I think. Should I cancel this quest and move on? Thank you. I am still looking for a fellowship.
 

DeletedUser4778

Guest
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.

Speculative up to a certain point, yes, but I've found a pattern for unit promotions (e.g. attack increase often results in hp decrease and there's a pattern to the # of attack increase resulting in hp decrease and vice versa) and other upgrades. Elven Architect is even better at it than I am because I don't have the time to do a more detailed spreadsheet for that. The speculative part is when the devs increase a special ability by an unexpected percentage which results in a decrease somewhere.
 

ekarat

Well-Known Member
Aha. I figured out my mistake.

If you compare stats in the game, they compare a full stack of one versus a full stack of the other -- not one unit of one versus one unit of the other.

That is, I was dividing the dryad stats by two before comparing.

Still, Archer II (which you will have before you unlock Dryads) has a better attack bonus versus Heavy Melee, though Dryads have a better defensive bonus.
 

Thistleknot

Well-Known Member
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.
 

ekarat

Well-Known Member
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.

Ignore mages for now, since archers are far and away better at dealing with mages.

Both have the same attack bonus of 70%. Both do about the same damage. If all damage comes from heavy melee, then enough damage to kill a stack of druids is enough to kill 1 and 2/3 stacks of archers (if I understand the numbers right -- I previously thought that it would only kill off 5/6 of a stack of archers, in which case the dryads would be clearly inferior). However, dryads are much more vulnerable than archers to anything that isn't heavy melee -- a light ranged unit that can kill off one stack of dryads can only kill off 2/3 of a stack of archers instead.

Is that about right?
 

Thistleknot

Well-Known Member
Pretty much. If you are using dryads in combination with other troops, you will have to protect them to make them effective. If it comes down to making a choice of getting hit by heavy melee troops or something else, choose the heavy melee. As stated above, Dryads will take 30% less damage from heavy melee.

I've been in fights where I didn't move my dryads far enough from light melee and got chewed up. Sometimes you don't have a choice, but if you do, it will be worthwhile to protect them even if you are out of position for a round. Occasionally I will use the Archers to do a quick kill on a mage unit even though they will be completely destroyed right after. The sacrifice is usually worth not have to deal with their mages.

Personally I like troops with special abilities so I do tend to take my Archers a bit more than my Dryads, but I am exploring possibilities more often.
 

NightshadeCS

Well-Known Member
You can open up your research tree and scroll forward to see when those upgrades occur. I know there is a dryad promotion in Woodelves and a banshee upgrade in Sorcerers & Dragons chapter.
 
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