This or Age of Wonders 3?

[=CrimsoN=]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I need an opinion from those who own both.

I'm trying to decide between buying this or Age of Wonders 3.

This really sparks my interest because of the emphasis on hero characters and how much you can customize them and stuff. Looks really cool and throw in the ability to control a faction? How coukd anyone give it a negative review. DLC is a lot cheaper too.

But enter Age of Wonders 3 and I'm reading reviews about how it's better but it seems closer to Endless Legend, which I already have. Endless Legend is great but I don't want to get something that is basically the same thing. DLC is also more expensive for what seems like little content. $19.99 compared to 2.99?

Could I get some opinions on the pros and cons of both from people who own both and especially those who own both and Endless Legend? Thanks!

[Bolt-action Jack]

This game has lots of troop customization, and interesting magics that really effect the world.
Age of Wonders has far more interesting battles, and the "classes" and units are more personable and unique.

Personally, I would recommend Age of Wonders 3, because the battles are just that much more enjoyable than fallen enchantress's stale combat, but you may have different values as to what makes a good game.

[The Doctor]

You are correct that this game is more comparable to Endless Legend than to AoW3. AoW3 is a very good game too but it has a much stronger focus on war than these other two and I don't really think EL is a fair comparison. You can win different types of victories in all three. AoW3 has a beacon victory and a Seal victory which don't directly involve slaughtering your AI opponents but pursuing both will still result in a bit of conflict (understatement - especially the beacon victory.

There are lots of playthroughs on Youtube of both these games so grab a coffee or beer and sit down and watch a few and make your mind up which one appeals to you the most. If you enjoy the tactical battles, AoW3 is the KING!

[Lazarus]

i have all three games and while Age of wonders is similar to endless legend in ways i personally would prefer it to fallen enchantress which still is not a bad game.the main reason being the combat in age of wonders is away more interesting.however fallen enchantress is the game for you if your more into researching technologies,upgrading troops and so on

[=CrimsoN=]

Originally posted by Lazarus:

however fallen enchantress is the game for you if your more into researching technologies,upgrading troops and so on

I am, but not to the point of how you need to micro-manage your upgrades like in Galactic Civilizations, upgrading every turn because you research a new weapon for each starship...although I could just be playing it wrong, but these 2 games are from the same company.

Originally posted by Grey Stranger:

There are lots of playthroughs on Youtube of both these games so grab a coffee or beer and sit down and watch a few and make your mind up which one appeals to you the most. If you enjoy the tactical battles, AoW3 is the KING!

I'm going to have to do that for sure. I've been reading the wikias for each to get a grasp on both games, but some videos would probably be best

[=CrimsoN=]

Originally posted by Primal:

It's not like they aren't all fantasy 4X TBS, but here's a pair of words for each:

AoW3: Tactical/Conquest
EL: Innovative/UI
FELH: Strategic/Customization

_________________________

XtraDeconstruct[www.nexusmods.com] an LH Mod by Primal

I was jut reading some more threads that make the same comparison. The above words sum it up perfectly. Probably going to go with Fallen Enchantress then for the depth.

[Athos42]

Right now I would prefer FELH with Demons & Wizards mod over Age of Wonders 3. I like the much deeper city development. Sure, the battles in Age of Wonders 3 are more tacitcal, but:

1) It can get really crowded and confusing on the screen with several armies colliding.
2) Melee units are serverly underpowered compared to ranged ones.
3) I like FELH's initiative-based movement sequence of units better.
4) The hero in Age of Wonders has not that uge an impact on the battle. You can cast only one big spell per battle, and the rest of the time you go for ranged attack.

[=CrimsoN=]

Yeah I ended up buying FELH and so far I love it. I could probably chalk this up to how I don't have next to any games with the genre (with the exception of Endless Legend and Civ if it counts), so I don't exactly know what I'm missing from the other games.

I mostly like it for the integrated RPG mechanics and somewhat easy to understand interface.

Only thing I don't really like is (as others have mentioned) the factions. I see what people mean when they say they all feel the same, because they do and most of the races are all some human varient. That was a real plus for Endless Legend.

Also the Ai seems to spam cities like a mother....I mean it was the early game, but by turn 20 or so the Ai already had 4 cities next to my 1...

[Ronnie]

Play Dota 2 = Real Time Fighting game 5v5 tower game and is free and is better then Ages of Wonders 3 & Fallen. There are to many turned based games out there lately, we need a 4x game with real time strategy like Warlords Battlecry 3 was a top notch game.

[=CrimsoN=]

I made the factions a bit more unique by changing the XML files for faction names. Best thing about Stardock games is that the core structure is super easy to change.

Its located in the data folder of Fallen Enchantress under CoreRaceConfigs.xml if anyone wants to change it around too.

[Astral and Arcane]

As much as I like Fallen Enchantress, Age of Wonders 3 is MUCH MUCH better.

[Athos42]

For increased race variety I can only recommend the Children of Storm mod. A bit high fantasy, but every race has a unique feel to it.

[murometz]

Two very different games, despite both being TBS. Overall, AoW3 is much harder, and requires a lot more study to master. FE isn't a casual game by any means, but it's easier to grasp the positives and negatives of each unit. I'd suggest watching some of the better Youtube "let's play" sessions, the ones that don't make your brain dribble out of your ears from bad jokes and egotistical kiddies showing off, and getting a sense of how each plays before making an informed decision.

[HarryBuddhaPalm]

Originally posted by ronniebranch.com:

Play Dota 2 = Real Time Fighting game 5v5 tower game and is free and is better then Ages of Wonders 3 & Fallen. There are to many turned based games out there lately, we need a 4x game with real time strategy like Warlords Battlecry 3 was a top notch game.

What a dumbass comment. Why go into a thread about turn-based games and tell people to play a real-time game? Can you not grasp the concept that people like a type of game that you don't? I'm sure your mommy told you you were special your whole life, but she was wrong. You're not. You don't get to tell everyone else in the world what to play. And, yes, it's Turn-based game, not "turned based". You also spelled 'too' incorrectly.

[BlackSmokeDMax]

Originally posted by ronniebranch.com:

Play Dota 2 = Real Time Fighting game 5v5 tower game and is free and is better then Ages of Wonders 3 & Fallen. There are to many turned based games out there lately, we need a 4x game with real time strategy like Warlords Battlecry 3 was a top notch game.

Just keep in mind that is what *you* need. I wouldn't tuch a real time strategy game with a 10 foot pole.

[BlackSmokeDMax]

Originally posted by murometz:

Two very different games, despite both being TBS. Overall, AoW3 is much harder, and requires a lot more study to master. FE isn't a casual game by any means, but it's easier to grasp the positives and negatives of each unit. I'd suggest watching some of the better Youtube "let's play" sessions, the ones that don't make your brain dribble out of your ears from bad jokes and egotistical kiddies showing off, and getting a sense of how each plays before making an informed decision.

Watching youtube Let's Play's (or Twitch livestreams is even better in some cases, although very rare in this games case) of games is almost always the best advice these days. As murometz pointed out though, you do have to find a person who you enjoy watching. For me, Das24680 does a great job of fleshing out a game that he knows well or also letting you know that he is just early in trying out a game himself so that you have the proper perspective on what is going on.

As much as I like Let's Plays these days, there is nothing worse than seeing someone spouting things about a game that are completely inaccurate.