Best Class for Halfling

[Lanim]

Some idea? I try warlord for fun but of course is not the best role for this little race

[hiliadan]

There is no "best class" for a race, only nice synergies and different strategies. :P

That said, you can check the most used class/race among the PBEM (and live MP to a lesser extent) community in the metastatisics here: https://www.the-battlefield.com/aow3/index.php?page=ladderstats

[sandman25dcsss]

Well, if you really want a fun halfling, I recommend Sorcerer with Chivalrious Intentions mod, such halflings can build a support unit with lightning AoE there. After getting School of Enhantments it becomes hilarious.

[Iguana-on-a-stick]

Originally posted by Lanim:

Some idea? I try warlord for fun but of course is not the best role for this little race

I personally like Halfling Warlord. Very frustrating to fight, with Fireworks toting monster hunters, accurate Mounted Archers, and Very Lucky Eagle Rider. Not the strongest combo, but fun.

I also like Halfling Dreadnought, with the dreaded Party Robot Prototype. Plus, who cares if you're physically weak when you have a cannon?

And of course, there's the charming and cheerful Halfling Necromancer. They must be the happiest undead horrors in the world.

Chivalrous Intentions is a great mod, but I don't recommend it for your first game with any race or class. It just adds too much stuff to keep track of. :-)

[Ashwind]

Pardon the ignorance, but what's so scary about the Party Robot Prototype? I see it mentioned once or twice before but I don't see what's the fuss. The Nourishing Meal doesn't even work on robots?

[Cruduxy Pegg]

Necromancer is really nasty with the easy maxed morale for entire army. And your special units don't have the physical weakness so enemy going all in physical damage will get them killed by summons.

[Staythecourse]

There's always room for debate, but with Halflings, Dreadnaught is the standout.

1) Halflings are bad at melee and weak against all physical unless happy. They also hate almost all climates, restricting both their units and their cities. Dreadnaughts get Suppress Nature very early to solve that problem. Warlords have to wait much longer to get their happiness boost, which doesn't apply to cities, and Halfling Necromancers have to spend a ridiculously long time unhappy until racial governance which Necros are also weak at, tick up. Frankly, Halfling Necros are terrible. Sucking for 50 turns before getting good is functionally identical to just sucking.

2) Dreadnaughts have problems healing both biological and machine units. Engineers in particular are difficult to keep alive. The Party Robot + Engineer combo is the best solution of any Dreadnaught. 15 extra hp and a happiness boost + healing between turns really makes the difference in keeping Engineers alive and reaching Gold, which in turn keeps the Robots healthy. Spamming the food ability every battle also makes Robots the fastest leveling machines, so they get to fireworks much more reliably than other Golems get defender. Fireworks are amazing on something that doesn't die in one hit. It's why Halfling Monster Hunters are so good.

3) Dreadnaughts are weak against Sorcerers until Cannon. Well, Halfling Ponies are dirt cheap and laugh at elemental damage when happy, stacking their high resistance with Luck, allowing for a direct counter. And while pistolier eagles are nowhere near as good as Warlord eagles, they are still good enough at dealing with Dreadnaught issues with mobility.

[Iguana-on-a-stick]

Originally posted by Ashwind:

Pardon the ignorance, but what's so scary about the Party Robot Prototype? I see it mentioned once or twice before but I don't see what's the fuss. The Nourishing Meal doesn't even work on robots?

Scary?

You're missing the point. It's FUN. (Yes, I know I said "dreaded." But that was a joke. It's a robot with an apron on. Come on.)

It's a useful unit, don't get me wrong. Much more versatile than a normal golem, with a nice ranged attack (at gold medal) and healing abilities that Dreadnoughts otherwise sorely lack. They obviously work best when paired with living racial units rather than machines. Typically, Musketeers, Pony Riders and Eagle Riders. (Though you'll still need something to repair the golems themselves.)

But normal golems are much better at tanking, as it gets the Defender ability. I prefer the greater versatility, but only by a razor margin.

But when playing halflings, I don't really see the point in carefully min-maxing their abilities. They're too silly (graphics- and story-wise) and too random (gameplay-wise) to really reward that kind of thing. So I figure you're best off just accepting and embracing that.

Don't get me wrong, the classes I recommended work because they have some nice synergies with the Halfling race. But none of them are true powerhouses, they're just fun combinations that work pretty well in general. That's as good as it gets for Halflings.

[leon feargus]

Halfling Rogue can be good. Build lots of scoundrels who level up faster and deal more damage on average than any other race. And/or build lots of bards to keep your armies happy, which is more important for halflings than for any other race.

[Ashwind]

Cool, thanks for the explanation staythecourse and iguana

[Nabeghlavi]

Since no one has mentioned it yet, I'll throw out halfling theocrat. With all of the theocrat morale bonuses, you're able to keep your halflings pretty happy in almost any terrain. Spamming lots of lucky martyrs can be pretty annoying. You also get tankier units to make up for your rather weak lineup with the crusader and exalted. With all of the defensive theocrat spells, combined with lucky, the enemy is going to have a really tough time killing your units once they rank up a bit. If you mix in some specializations to add even more healing, your army can be almost unkillable and super annoying.

[sandman25dcsss]

Also halfling martyrs are the best martyrs, they have triple attack so are actually good archers.

[Rude$t]

I really enjoy Warlord. Explorer + Creation Master spec. (Or Keeper of the Peace.)

Your early game is cheap, mobile, clears sites and gains you economic momentum really fast, while also being able to react to threats quickly.

Synergies:

Adventurers and Monster Hunters both have animal and monster slayer, and Adventurer's really behave more like archers than irregulars. Monster Hunters get fire works. So set up a defense line with Adventurer's in back and Monster Hunters in front and bombard the enemy till they close in. Monster hunters hold the line, Adventurers keep pelting! Adventurers you'll even get for free from the Raise Militia spell. Together? These units can clear monsters, shrines, and what have you really efficiently. Especially with explorer's movement buffs.

Adventurer and Monster Hunters are both irregulars, hence they will both benefit from Explorer's many irregular buffs. Creation gives you bless (+morale), heals and resurrections on top of the lucky mechanic. Halflings are real picky about where they live and Creation also allows you to cleanse land.

Later on get very lucky eagle riders and mounted archers and you're set!

Keeper of the Peace is good too because of Bolster (ignore morale penalty spell), easier time dealing with independents. A couple of really nice shield spells. Ways to manipulate morale. Warlord likes to pump out units and it offers global buffs that synergize with that goal as long as you can maintain good alignment. If you get your Monster Hunters off the ground asap and start clearing sites like crazy you'll be drowning in cash for buy outs. Creation though, in my opinion, offers a smoother experience with this particular build.

Alternatively, dropping Explorer and going Creation Adept + Keeper Mastery can offer you the best of both at the cost of early-mid game mobility and momentum.