How do you use Handmaidens in battle?

[Lampros]

You seem to have two separate combat trees - the one that boosts ranged skills and the other that is more beneficial for melee. I personally do not find ranged characters as useful as melee characters or caster characters, so I always use her as a melee - kind of a Captain with more tricks. For this purpose I always way to recruit only Handmaidens with the Incendiary trait.

How about you guys?

[Уединение]

Heck

[Loomi]

If you are going incendiary she'll probably be in the vanguard or hunting heroes and lords. So I'd recommend the melee-line with hp, physical res and that supercool and useful snare. I sometimes take honed handmaidens for heavy LSG armies, and just use her as a statstick with a mediocre ranged attack. Then the ranged path is probably a better pick. I never go for the eco-path, because I don't use handmaidens on the campaign map.

[zefyris]

normal (non incendiary) handmaiden for me are used as bodyguards for non melee hero/lord/costly unit early on.
They will fire at enemy hero or lord (something without missile resistance/shield if possible) or some big threatening monster.
Handmaiden have antilarge and are pretty good at tanking (even a low level handmaiden can tank a black dragon no problem in campaign) and have anti large, and most enemy stuff threatening your precious backline are large units (flying or not). HE bnackline can have quite a bit of antilarge with LSG but those are better firing than being meleed by a big bad monster. Then the backline can fire at whatever large unit is being tanked by the handmaiden, supporting the handmaiden and freeing her for another task.
if there's no direct threat roaming around (anymore) for whatever the handmaiden was guarding, I'll then switch to melee and assist whatever need it. If possible something not too much armoured because they don't have melee armour piercing.

[Lampros]

İlk olarak Loomi tarafından gönderildi:

If you are going incendiary she'll probably be in the vanguard or hunting heroes and lords. So I'd recommend the melee-line with hp, physical res and that supercool and useful snare. I sometimes take honed handmaidens for heavy LSG armies, and just use her as a statstick with a mediocre ranged attack. Then the ranged path is probably a better pick. I never go for the eco-path, because I don't use handmaidens on the campaign map.

Yeah, I decided to only recruit Incendiary Handmaidens after seeing your screenshot! ;) (I'd love to look at what your end-game stacks look like, too, though.)

[Ashantai]

Even non Incendiary ones can hunt monsters and cavalry due to their bonus vs large, and the fact they can shoot as well as melee.

[Aenarion]

Always melee. Also the amazing factionwide buffs.

[Cacomistle]

Only a few of the heros really felt useful as ranged to me, cause most of them get more significant melee buffs than ranged. The only one I really keep as ranged is witch hunters, although I'll skirmish with like waystalkers for example.

Also I didn't know they could get incindiary before that thread, but I don't see why you would go anything else if you have that option. It gives pretty insane buffs, and I feel like theres only possibly a decision on mages because their melee is weak.

[Aenarion]

İlk olarak Boneripper tarafından gönderildi:

Only a few of the heros really felt useful as ranged to me, cause most of them get more significant melee buffs than ranged. The only one I really keep as ranged is witch hunters, although I'll skirmish with like waystalkers for example.

Low level skink chiefs are pretty squishy in melee so I have them shooting until they gain some levels.

[Lampros]

İlk olarak rymeintrinseca tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Boneripper tarafından gönderildi:

Only a few of the heros really felt useful as ranged to me, cause most of them get more significant melee buffs than ranged. The only one I really keep as ranged is witch hunters, although I'll skirmish with like waystalkers for example.

Low level skink chiefs are pretty squishy in melee so I have them shooting until they gain some levels.

Speaking of Lizzies, how the heck do they deal with fliers? All I had in terms of my own fliers was those weakling dino fliers who aren't even melee units, and I don't really have standard ranged units either.

[Lampros]

İlk olarak rymeintrinseca tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Boneripper tarafından gönderildi:

Only a few of the heros really felt useful as ranged to me, cause most of them get more significant melee buffs than ranged. The only one I really keep as ranged is witch hunters, although I'll skirmish with like waystalkers for example.

Low level skink chiefs are pretty squishy in melee so I have them shooting until they gain some levels.

Also, are you saying they are useful in melee when they do gain levels? ;) What's your set-up with them?

[Cacomistle]

İlk olarak Lampros tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak rymeintrinseca tarafından gönderildi:

Low level skink chiefs are pretty squishy in melee so I have them shooting until they gain some levels.

Also, are you saying they are useful in melee when they do gain levels? ;) What's your set-up with them?

Well once they get higher level they get stegadon mounts. And the melee buffs they get are larger than a stegadon would get from levels, plus they can use items. So at that point they are just superior stegadons.

[Lampros]

İlk olarak Boneripper tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Lampros tarafından gönderildi:

Also, are you saying they are useful in melee when they do gain levels? ;) What's your set-up with them?

Well once they get higher level they get stegadon mounts. And the melee buffs they get are larger than a stegadon would get from levels, plus they can use items. So at that point they are just superior stegadons.

Oh, of course. That's the Stegadon that provides the primary power. I was wondering if the Skink Chief is combat-worthy on his own through some means I do not know! ;)

What about the flying Skink option? Does anyone use that over the Stegadon option?

[Wyvern]

The skink chief on a terradon is awesome in MP, and decent vs AI, he's really good at sniping out artillery pieces and enemy lords, especially smaller infantry lords. You can often get rid of annoying skaven casters pretty efficiently that way for example.

[Lampros]

İlk olarak Wyvern tarafından gönderildi:

The skink chief on a terradon is awesome in MP, and decent vs AI, he's really good at sniping out artillery pieces and enemy lords, especially smaller infantry lords. You can often get rid of annoying skaven casters pretty efficiently that way for example.

Hmm, I should try that then. I've only used him on Stegadons, but I always feel I need more air capabilities, as the normal terradon riders are pretty poor - at least as melees.

Do you put every Skink Hero on a terradon - or do you mix it up with Stegadons and terradons?

[Aenarion]

Yes, a skink chief is just a way to field a better stegadon, with magic items and army replenishment :)

As for fliers, you don't really need to deal with them. I don't use skinks (aside from the characters, which are on dinos) so there's not really anything vulnerable for them to charge.