Heroes in army or not?

[Bermag]

Is it better to include a hero than a tier 4/5 unit in army? I am playing Ctahay and I usually use my heroes on the campaing map using hero actions. I was not that impressed with tghem in battle however have not used them since early game.

[Fendelphi]

Depends on what you intend for the hero/unit to do.
Heroes usually have various abilities and sometimes spells, which can have a major impact on a battle. With level ups and items, they can become as strong as most lords.

That said, heroes on campaign can also be valuable.

I usually have a mix. 1-2 Heroes in an army plus 1 hero to support it on the campaign map.

Edit: For their upkeep cost, they usually ends up being very efficient compared to most tier 4/5 units.

[Tisiphone Edge]

I would keep them out of the army unless you really like the lores they offer. If you keep them spread out over Cathay it will be easier to close excess portals. Cathay's mage lords are more than enough for your magic needs.

[Zaepheo]

I generally keep heroes in my army no matter the tier. For example, for my Nurgle armies i normally go 2 plaguebringers and 2 cultists for all armies.

[Bermag]

Originally posted by Tisiphone Edge:

I would keep them out of the army unless you really like the lores they offer. If you keep them spread out over Cathay it will be easier to close excess portals. Cathay's mage lords are more than enough for your magic needs.

Yeah that is how I use them (and to take out enmy heroes etc)

[Nylan]

It's not just battle prowess or spell casting that they offer. Some perks, like increasing movement or more magic items also factor into their usefulness. You can also equip them with some nice items that give bound spells or buffs to all units around them. Then as Cathay heroes inside an army (as well as the war compass units) boost spell potency by 15% each, up to 200% total damage. My Cathay armies i built for one hero each plus a pair of war compasses, gave 60% spell power without sacrificing too many unit slots.

[Panfilo]

Cathay heroes are probably best on Caravans. Recruit a hero in your capital, then send out a Caravan the next turn. You'll have a chance to embed the hero in the Caravan where it will give you a leg up in fights.

[Tyrendian89]

Originally posted by Panfilo:

Cathay heroes are probably best on Caravans. Recruit a hero in your capital, then send out a Caravan the next turn. You'll have a chance to embed the hero in the Caravan where it will give you a leg up in fights.

...how did I never think of trying that... lol

[drakobn]

If your faction has a hero that boosts mobility, you absolutely want one of them in every army you can. Alchemists for Cathay are kinda meh in battle in my opinion but they're worth adding for the movement boost alone. Heroes that raise replenishment are also ones I like.

Aside from that though it really depends on whether you like them in battle or not. Cathay heroes in general are kinda lacking in my opinion, but I tend to stick one of each hero in my army anyway unless I really need rift closers around.

[Who trains thy hands for war?]

For Cathay only the movement range hero, and only one of them

[Central]

cathay has more reasons to use heros in armies than most because of their harmonic amplification. basically your units that are in harmony get stronger if a hero or general is near.
To maximize the potential of your troops as cathay you should use harmonic amplification.
sources are generals ,heros, sky lanterns, sky junks and wu xing war compas.

besides that there is also a passive effect which makes magic more powerfull the more mages you bring, so if you are going for heavy magic dmg than having multiple mages helps. this passive effect is called mastery of elemental winds. so the same single spell deals more dmg if you bring more wizards which have that effect. this effect stacks so bringing multiple wizards can really boost it.

add to that he increase mobility of the alchemist gives and i have reason enough to take at least an alchemist in my armies, unless i have war compasses/sky junks/sky lanterns.
im less of a fan of the astromancer but that is just personal tastes.

so, with cathay hero's are very usefull in your army, both to increase magical spell power as well as unlocking the potential of all your troops by using harmonic amplification.

[Belazur]

For Cathay, the one that boosts movement is pretty useful just for that. Astromancer is a bit better combat wise though. Personally, I generaly put one of each in every armies. But they're also useful outside, the alchemist can boost the money gain of a region by a good amount, and can become ok at assassinations. For the astromancer, his capacity to boost searching rate is also handy. But overall, both are not awesome heroes, maybe we will see more and better to come with dlcs.

[Holy Fool Sehrael]

May be an unpopular opinion but I never use heroes outside of armies and always try to have one of each kind in each army ^^

[Who trains thy hands for war?]

Originally posted by Tyrendian89:

Originally posted by Panfilo:

Cathay heroes are probably best on Caravans. Recruit a hero in your capital, then send out a Caravan the next turn. You'll have a chance to embed the hero in the Caravan where it will give you a leg up in fights.

...how did I never think of trying that... lol

Same

You can also recruit an ogre mercenary ("an") when passing through ogre lands

And disband units that you no longer need as you pickup more elite troops and approach capacity

[Panfilo]

The bummer thing about Cathay heroes:

-Alchemist doesn't get a cool mount. Cmon, give her a balloon at level 20 and she would ROCK in armies. Astromancer at least gets the compass, which is actually more useful overall than the dedicated compass (because its carrying a hero that can take gear/ancillaries).

-Pretty much all the Cathay hero/lord traits feel really mediocre. Generally, taking multiple heroes with really ideal traits is worthwhile because the passive effects will stack. Kostaltyn+lots of Patriarchs is pretty meme worthy, particularly if they all have +5MD in friendly territory. Ice Maidens can get 3 custom traits which can also stack nicely like having nearly free war sleds.

[Central]

Originally posted by Panfilo:

The bummer thing about Cathay heroes:

-Alchemist doesn't get a cool mount. Cmon, give her a balloon at level 20 and she would ROCK in armies. Astromancer at least gets the compass, which is actually more useful overall than the dedicated compass (because its carrying a hero that can take gear/ancillaries).

the normal compas provides yang though, which the hero's dont provide. which means that in order to amplify the harmony, you need both a yang unit to triger harmony and a hero to boost it. the normal compas alone is enough to both trigger and boost harmony. even if the astromancer gets the war compas mount, he does not get the "battle harmony: Yang"

i do agree with you that in most cases the astromancer is more useful, there are some situations where i would rather have a war compas though.