Sanctuary, what's their playstyle?

[Devanor]

Hello people, I'm wondering how Sanctuary is supposed to be played. I got heroes 6 some time ago, and finally decided to try them. Up until now I've played every faction except them, and I'm unsure whether to make a might or magic hero, and what abilities to take, as I try to make a hero that can strenghten the army the most. (For example, I make a Might hero with Master of Warcries if I play Stronghold, since they have so little magic damage)

[Fendelphi]

I would say that they are extremely tactical, more so than the other factions.

They rely a lot on different synergies and setups, and depending on what hero/skills you have chosen, you can achieve different synergies.

I will try to show my thoughts by defining(in my own words) the potential and synegies with each unit. This might be a long post, so I will probably break it into several posts for easier reading.


First off, I will start with the Faction ability, Honor. It is a very powerful defensive ability, boosting the entire army with might and magic defense, extra health and even a frost shield when fully developed.
It is filled by hitting enemy creatures that have not been hit yet in the current turn.
This makes it a priority to strike as many enemy creatures as possible, and as such, AoE spells can be very effective to quickly gather points(chain lightning or Radiant light for mages can give you a turn 1 full boost).
The Faction building "Pagoda of the Great challenger" allows you to gain extra points, if you do battle outside the city's influence. So having multiple cities with this building allow for easier usage of this ability.
Otherwise, you would want to attack as many enemies per turn as possible, to keep your army constantly buffed.

On to hero passives(the first one), since it has some synergy with the faction ability.
For mages, if a unit chooses to not attack for a turn, it benefits from increased magic defense and Magic power the next turn.
Similarly for Might heroes, it increases Might damage and initiative the following turn.
This, combined with the faction ability means that Sanctuary plays a "retaliate and annihilate" style of gameplay, where they buff their defenses, retaliate hard(due to the hero passive), and then go from that momentum.

On to Core units:
- Shark guards(Wanizame): Good basic infantry. It's passive ability(Ferocious Wound) slow the enemies it hits and applies a DoT effect(10% of damage dealt per turn for 2 turns). The upgraded version ha Blood Frenzy which makes it deal 30% more damage to a target already suffering from Ferocious Wound.
In case of "Retaliate and Annihilate", this means that you first retaliate the enemy, then in your own turn, hit the enemy who is suffering from Ferocious Would, increasing the damage dealt by 30%.
Alternately, you can try to spread the Ferocious Wounds on as many enemies as possible.
They benefit from damage absorbtion and regen/healing effects(so that they can keep hitting stuff without thinking about taking to much damage).

- Coral Priestess(Pearl Priestess): Ranged magic caster, decrease initiative of enemy hit, can apply a healing over time effect(2 casts per battle) which also removes 1 debuff, when upgraded.
Because it is the only healer unit in the faction, the enemy often target it first, especially during sieges.
Can be combined with the Magic trait that gives a chance for all Air attacks(including those from units) to inflict the "Dazed" effect, making the unit very good at getting your key units to strike before the enemy key units when needed, allowing you to dictate the flow of the battle.

- Kappa(Kappa Shoya): This is a great assassination/AoE fighter unit. It's greatest strength, it's leap, is however also dangerous to use, since it often leaves the unit stranded/surrounded behind enemy lines. Which is why, again, it is better to move up a bit(to get more viable target options) and strike on turn 2 instead(can take out enemy ranged units very well due to this).
The leap itself deals might damage(normal attack damage to target, increased by 5% for each square moved), but the splash deals magical damage.

Combined, this allows the Sanctuary core units to help dictate the flow of battle, hindering enemies and forcing them with 2 "ranged" attacks on turn 2(when the Kappa leaps). There is further synergy down the line though.

[Fendelphi]

Elite Units:
- Spring Spirit(Mizukami). Here is where it begins to get really interesting. This spirit is a deceptive strong fighter(especially if using a magic hero). It has 2 passives which makes it a dangerous prospect in melee; "Lifeguard Membrane" and "Pain Mirror".
Lifeguard makes it more durable than it's health suggest. Combined with it's high defenses, this unit can absorb a decent amount of damage and, with it's second passive "Pain Mirror, is generally not a favored melee target. They are also quite numerous(especially with a second hero who has the "Devotee of the Spring" trait).
It's active ability, "Spirit Bond" shares it's passives, along with any other possive effects, to an allied unit. This means you can buff/heal 2 units at the same time(buffing either one would also buff the other).
You can use this unit either as a "ranged defender", or let it assist the other aggressive melee units.

- Snowmaiden(Yuki Onna). Simply put, it allows for more area denial and reduction to initiative. It's "Ice Shards" ability is great at denying/damaging large ground moving creatures(actually not sure if it also hurts airborne units).

- Kenshi(Kensei). Awesome melee unit. With the "Challenge" passive ability, you can "force" the hand of the enemy, by reducing the target's damage to all others but Kensei.
It also has "Battle Ready" which grants Unlimited Retaliation, and "Four Waves" which allows Kensei to attack multiple times on the same unit.
This allows Kensei to either hit a high damaging enemy, and then move on to other targets(the first attacked target is marked with Challenge, so it deals little damage to anyone but Kensei), or focus down 1 target at a time with it's multiple attacks.
This unit is a priority target for both the health regen of the Pearl Priestess and the "Spirit Bond" of the Mizukami. If you the hero also have the "Paragon of Vigour" trait(+25 health to Kenshis/Kenseis), you have a very strong, very tough melee unit, who is very hard to focus down.
Stuff that synergizes well with Kensei: Taunt(might hero ability), forces all surrounding enemies to attack the unit at reduced damage, consuming their turn.
As Kensei has Unlimited Retaliation, this works especially well. The only "problem" is getting surrounded by 2 or more enemies for the ability to have a good effect(this is where area denial and decreased initiative comes into play).
Another great ability is the spell Retribution(magic). This allows you to reflect a % of melee damage done back to the attacker(or the entire enemy army, if you are a magic hero and upgrade it fully). This becomes very powerful if you use "Spirit Bond", as you then have 2 units with this powerful melee buff.
And if you combine the 2 abilities(Taunt+Retribution, only available to Might heroes, and can no longer reflect to the entire enemy army), you can quickly engage and brutalize 2-3 enemy stacks on turn 2 or 3.

So lets sum up:
We have the core units who can engage from afar(2 out of 3 units on turn 2), who can reduce movement, have burst damage on turn 2, and can decrease initative and heal.
You then have more area denial and initiative decrease, melee combat support and a pivotal heavy melee unit.

[Fendelphi]

Champion:
Kirin(Sacred Kirin). The playmaker. The ultimate support unit. It is fast(speed 6, initiative 60), it hits hard(58-62) and has multiple synergies with the rest of your army.
First off, it's "Hailstorm Aura" can be used to deal high damage and Freeze an enemy(more control). This in itself is pretty darn good, as you can stop a unit from using an important ability for the turn(like a healing effect or damaging spell).
But the best part is it's "Trail of Clouds". The Sacred Kirin leaves behind a trail which stops movement of enemies and basically gives a free morale boost to allies who walks into it. Yes, not just additional movement, but an entire extra action that turn!!
This means that you want to cover as much ground as possible and to get close to as many enemies as possible each turn, which further emphasizes the faction ability of attacking each enemy unit each turn to gain points faster.
This cuts off enemy movement, but also set it up so that your melee units can move/attack multiple times in a single turn.

Example:
On turn 2, have the Sacred Kirin attack a stack first, then followed by 3 attacks from the Kensei(1 from it's normal attack, followed by an extra from the "Trail of Cloud" effect, enhanced by "Four Ways" to grant an extra attack for attacking the same enemy).
You can then add in the Might passive ability "Cleave"(requires a Might Hero), which allows an extra action(movement+ attack and increased damage) for the unit who kill off the first enemy stack.
From the Cleave action, you can then move across the "Trail of Clouds" again, and attack somewhere else, or get into a good position to use Taunt.


And now, for a bit of Hero skills/abilities.
I usually take a custom hero with the "Paragon of Vigour" trait, because +25 health to Kenshi/Kensei is awesome.
The Shark trait is ok(makes them a lot more dangerous), but not a gamemaker in my book.

For a Might Hero, I probably prefer Tear, due to the higher health passives and increased retaliation damage(and stronger Taunt) and the ability to hit the enemy with my retaliation before they even strike me on the first 3 turns.
I can still have cleave even if it is a blood passive(since the extra action is the important part), and I get a small bonus to tear based magic spells(like Retribution, regeneration etc).
Also, the ability to avoid 3 attacks(Eye of the Storm) on a stack can be very good in a tight spot, while "Eightfold Lotus" is good on either Kirin, Mizukami or Wanizame.


For Magic, it is the opposite. I take Blood and try to get as much damage out of my spells as possible(especially Monsoon, Radiant light and Chain Lightning for hitting multiple stacks, letting me get the faction power maxed each turn). Due to high spellpower, my healing spells/damage absorbtion will still be fairly decent.
A maxed Retribution is easily capped even as Blood-focused mage(30%) and a magic hero has the benefit of it affecting the entire enemy army, instead of only surrounding targets.

I suggest taking Mass Divine Armor, as it can help mitigate damage for troops who are not even injured yet, and mass regen for patching up the army as a whole. Heal should stay single target and only used for emergencies. Your priority for magic is AoE damage, and using your troops to isolate and focus priority enemies instead.
As magic, you still want some of the Might stuff, though they are less important. 1 ability that can be fairly effective for single target focus, is the lead attack ability(cant remember the name, but it is the one where the hero attacks the same target as the unit). This synergizes well with the Kensei+Kirin combo.


I hope this has given you some ideas on how to play Sanctuary. Definately not the easiest faction to play, but maybe 1 of the most potent, if you set up your combos. I dont claim to be an expert either. There are possibly better ways to play them, though I havent found it yet. :D

[Fendelphi]

Additional stuff:
- It is beneficial to have high morale, as it allows you to hit more targets with your ranged characters(debuffs and faction points), or benefit more from the Kirin mist. So getting those skills/items that grants extra morale can be nice.
- If you have the Dynasti weapon that grants passive lifesteal to your troops(it needs to be level 4, is gained from the Necropolis campaign), you can increase your troops survivability(Might heroes only).
- for a Tears/Might hero, it can be beneficial to take the "Reinforcements" ability to replenish your Wanizame or other troops, due to the lack of powerful healing abilities, and further establish "battleflow" by reinforcing a duel.

[Devanor]

Holy wall of text!

Jokes aside, this has given me great insight of the Sanctuary faction. I've also googled it where it stated Kensei, despite "only" being an elite creature, where the most important unit, but not WHY. Thanks to you, Fendelphi, I now understand the reasoning.

[Fendelphi]

Well, I was a bit over-zealous because most posts on this forum is "why does this not work" or "Uplay is broken".

Here was finally a question about the actual game. :D
+ It helps for my own understanding of the faction as well, to put it into actual words and not just thoughts, if you know what I mean.

[Devanor]

Originally posted by Fendelphi:

Well, I was a bit over-zealous because most posts on this forum is "why does this not work" or "Uplay is broken".

Well, Uplay IS alot of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, having so many issues and whatnot, but instead of complaining I googled it and found a solution.

Originally posted by Fendelphi:

+ It helps for my own understanding of the faction as well, to put it into actual words and not just thoughts, if you know what I mean.

I think I do, actually.

[Fendelphi]

Btw, how do you play Stronghold as a Might Hero? Are the Warcries any good?

Because I usually stick to a magic hero when playing stronghold to get a lot of buffs/debuffs going, and I dont think I have ever picked a hero with the Warcry mastery.

[Devanor]

Originally posted by Fendelphi:

Btw, how do you play Stronghold as a Might Hero? Are the Warcries any good?

Because I usually stick to a magic hero when playing stronghold to get a lot of buffs/debuffs going, and I dont think I have ever picked a hero with the Warcry mastery.

Well, that's just my personal preference, magic is hella strong but I don't like it since once you run out of mana, you're in trouble.

In the Paragon school, i grab all Assailant (+Might Power) Charismatic Leader (+Leadership) aswell as Defender (+Might Defense). Why Defender? Because I have SoD dlc, which gave me Edge of Balance, making tear abilities stronger despite going blood.

In Tactics, I grab Tactics I and II, aswell as Ambush. I take those even when going Magic the few times I do, They're simply too amazing to pass up.

Now for Warcries. Rush! is great when you need to deal with rangers early on, and Pressed Attack is great combined with all those Assailant abilities from Paragon. Heroism and Heroism[Mass] Is, in my opinion, a beastly warcry as ALL your units in Stronghold are effected by the increased Might damage. Lastly, I have Heroic Charge, in case I need to move a unit somewhere, but it's too far away and Rush! is on cooldown. Then I have Taunt for the lulz, if I somehow ended up having a unit surrounded. Teach them to mess with X unit that they tried to gank!

In Warfare, I take all Toughness (+max hp), Archery I II and III, Giant Slayer, and mosty importantly Rampage. Rampage, just like Heroism[Mass] is great on Stronghold since no one ISN'T affected by it. Not anything to have early on, true, but in late game it will hurt once your unts have attacked thrice.

In Magic, I do grab Regeneration and Regeneration[Mass] alongside Earth Magic I and II to help prevent some early casualties, but I don't depend on it if I can avoid it. Warcries truly shine in late game sieges where you can keep using them even when enemy is out of mana.

Holy wall of text O.o

[Fendelphi]

Hmm. I guess you do get a whole lot of "Oomph!" for your might units(which is most of them). I just dont like the Stronghold Mighthero abilities. I mean, the first 1 which gives extra movement etc on the first turn is nice, but the rest(both blood and tear side) are a bit 'meh', compared to your warcries.

But is the Warcry mastery(hero trait) worth it, as in, does it have a noticable impact.
Or should I stick with the trait that increases the health of my Orc Warriors?

Also, Wall of text is not bad when having an indepth discussion, as long as it is readable. ;)

[Devanor]

Originally posted by Fendelphi:

Hmm. I guess you do get a whole lot of "Oomph!" for your might units(which is most of them). I just dont like the Stronghold Mighthero abilities. I mean, the first 1 which gives extra movement etc on the first turn is nice, but the rest(both blood and tear side) are a bit 'meh', compared to your warcries.

But is the Warcry mastery(hero trait) worth it, as in, does it have a noticable impact.
Or should I stick with the trait that increases the health of my Orc Warriors?

Also, Wall of text is not bad when having an indepth discussion, as long as it is readable. ;)

The Blood Might ability is pretty useful if you ask me once you have a sizeable army, but Pressed Attack and Heroism[Mass] is better in the long run.

Regarding Warcry specialization, the bonus IS pretty miniscule, but I think it's good since it helps most warcries. The trait that increases Mauler/Crusher health only affects them, and I really don't like specializations like that. It's up to you.

[Fendelphi]

Originally posted by Devanor:

The Blood Might ability is pretty useful if you ask me once you have a sizeable army, but Pressed Attack and Heroism[Mass] is better in the long run.

Regarding Warcry specialization, the bonus IS pretty miniscule, but I think it's good since it helps most warcries. The trait that increases Mauler/Crusher health only affects them, and I really don't like specializations like that. It's up to you.

Very true.

The reason I like the Mauler/Crusher trait is that it makes any health buffs on them even stronger. And early in the game, you dont have a whole lot of them, compared to other factions start melee units(small spawn rate If I remember), so they can soak up a fair bit of damage without losing any/with fewer loses.

Also, Stronghold is, IMO, mostly a range-oriented combat team(Goblins, Harpies like to have a range advantage to avoid retaliation, Centaurs, Shamans are mostly just casting their spells and Enraged Cyclops have their Evil Eye), so that leaves the Crushers and Panther Warriors as the only dedicated melee fighters, which sometimes puts your Crushers in fights that you would normally avoid.
That 7 extra health(about 20% increase) makes them stay in fighting condition a bit longer in my experience.

Anyway, I think I will try the warcry trait next time I play Stronghold, on a Might based hero. If I hit them hard enough early on, less enemies will be hitting back, so that is another way to ensure that they stay alive. :)
Now the question remains if I should go for blood or tears...

[Devanor]

Depends on, really. It's kinda hilarious that Might over Magic (Tear Might stronghold ability) grants more Magic Defense the more Might Power you have, but the primary way of getting alot of Might Power, aside from buildins that grant it, which varies greatly depending the map, requires you to be Blood Might. Having Edge of Balance from SoD dungeon campaign evens that out, luckily. So, if you don't have Edge of Balance, I'd recommend Blood Might. If you do have it, you can do either. (Or both, with Edge of Balance)