How animated tool works?

[Nabil]

I can only do one animated tool per tile? Even if it has x gold and iron?

[Chameon]

You can do exactly as many as the tile has gold and iron production, or just gold production. So if you have 2 gold and 2 iron, you can do 2 animated tools. It can't change 2 gold, 2 iron into 5 gold, 5 iron though, so only do two tops in that instance.

[Nogi Everfree]

Basically, animated tools can increase production up to double the base tile income.
So... 1 tool per gold/iron, as anything beyond that won't increase production.
1 tool for farms
2 tools for hamlets
1 tool for coal mines (as one tool will boost both iron and gold by 1)
2 tools for iron mines (I think, do they yield 2 iron or 3?)
And so on.

[zgrssd]

Each tool gives +1 Gold / +1 Gold and +1 Iron
However it can not more then double a tiles yield.

So if you get 1 Gold and 3 Iron, 3 Mining Tools could buff that to 2 Gold and 6 Iron.

[Nabil]

Thanks guys, that helped alot!!

[Eriktion]

Is it ever worth it to use the animated tools in non-iron locations?

[Gilmoy]

Originally posted by Chameon:

You can do exactly as many as the tile has gold and iron production, or just gold production.

To be precise, your bonus production is capped by max(gold, iron).
But the number you can build isn't capped by anything.

So you can build "excess" Animated Tools above your resource benefits cap.
You just earn +0 bonus resources from them. In that sense, they're wasted work.

But they'll fight for you normally.
And they're spares, to cover a future -1 loss from any fighting.

Sometimes you fat-finger and build +1 "excess" by mistake.
Wince and shrug, and don't disband it. It's a spare

Originally posted by Eriktion:

Is it ever worth it to use the animated tools in non-iron locations?

Briefly, yes. That's the basis of the Enchanter Guardian Creep arch-strategy.

+ build max Animated Tools on every gold-site, including gold-only sites
+ stack Guardians on forts and resources

- small resource sites (1 gold) get maybe 1-2 Guardian, just enough to beat Deer or Bandits
- Iron Mines (2 gold 2 iron) get 12 Guardians
- fortified sites you want to keep get 12 Guardians
- citadels in your Portal Network get 18-24 Guardians, plus L1 Apprentices making Bows

+ use your doubled Gold to buy up every L1 Apprentice Enchanter
+ promote several to L2 and shop until they get L2 Create Guardian
+ promote 1-2 to L3 and shop until they get L3 Create Portal
+ build your portal network across the map

+ pave every Ancient Forest using L3 Create Oak Golem
+ rely on Flesh Golem, Ice/Clay Golem, Animated Ballista, and Living Bow/Dancing all

It's a slow and relentless style.
The doubled +gold income from Dancing Tools funds your economy.
The rest of it puts that +gold to best use.

[zgrssd]

Yeah, never disband in Conquest of Elysium - unless it has a actual downside.
You already spend all the work and all the resources for each unit in the field. There is (usually) no upkeep cost.
So disbanding is reserved in case a unit spawns hostiles creatures or has some similar downside for your side.