Final Vortex Battle (Defence): Win to stop losing the campaign, then what?

[harleyquinrazer]

I've read how the final battle against an AI faction that has completed all the rituals is an all-or-nothing battle to stop losing the campaign, but what happens if I win? Does that mean the AI faction has to start from scratch from ritual 1 onwards or are they out of the race for good?

[Elitewrecker PT]

They're out of the race.

[harleyquinrazer]

Thanks for the quick reply. Tyrion's army looks scary, so I'm hoping it's a winnable battle with the army I have.

[HoganTon]

But if you destroy the factions before anyone has completed the ritual, they will spawn in the final Battle nontheless

[harleyquinrazer]

Originally posted by HoganTon:

But if you destroy the factions before anyone has completed the ritual, they will spawn in the final Battle nontheless

Thanks for the note, although that's not going to happen in my current campaign. Tyrion has united Ulthuan and is bunkered down there while Malekith is no. 1 in the power stakes despite having the refugee rogue army in his heartland, Har Ganeth still independent and my newly minted Slann lord rampaging across the southern border.

I don't have time to play the big battle today, so it should be an experience once I get going.

[AkumulatoR]

His army might look big but you'll get help from the other races so you can use them as cannon fodder and then finish what's left.

[harleyquinrazer]

Originally posted by AkumulatoR:

His army might look big but you'll get help from the other races so you can use them as cannon fodder and then finish what's left.

Good to know. I expect the AI will control the allied forces so I'll use them to bear the brunt of the initial assault.

The preview screen displayed Tyrion's 20-unit army lineup and "reinforcements expected". Doesn't that mean he gets help during the battle?

[AkumulatoR]

Yeah, he'll get some minor army with second LL (which would be Teclis for HE). Not sure if dlc lords appear, probably not.

[Wh♂♂par]

Originally posted by AkumulatoR:

Yeah, he'll get some minor army with second LL (which would be Teclis for HE). Not sure if dlc lords appear, probably not.

Would be a nice overhaul, when all starting factions got their stuff added. To have all LLs with armies come in to support, but with heavier AI support for the player aswell.

[harleyquinrazer]

The cannon fodder doesn't even do its job properly. Tried the battle twice now and I keep getting bogged down by attrition. By the looks of things, Lord hunting is probably the only way forward since Teclis has good spells and Tyrion repeatedly rallies his troops.

[XXXThe69God]

Originally posted by harleyquinrazer:

The cannon fodder doesn't even do its job properly. Tried the battle twice now and I keep getting bogged down by attrition. By the looks of things, Lord hunting is probably the only way forward since Teclis has good spells and Tyrion repeatedly rallies his troops.

Who are you playing?

[harleyquinrazer]

Mazdamundi. Army layout is decent, but I can't stop the combination of big monsters, impossible to rout infantry, ludicrously strong enemy melee lord, chain lightning in the middle of my army plus unimpeded artillery fire even with generous use of pause and attempts at outflanking.

I'm starting to think Lord assassination is the only way to survive since attrition is not the way forward. The "allied" forces are basically trash so I'm effectively doing most of the heavy lifting.

[harleyquinrazer]

Finally beat this battle on the third try. As stated, winning the battle knocks Lothern off the race permanently. Unfortunately players remain in a permanent state of war with Lothern so it doesn't make a domination victory any easier.

Probably the first and last time I see a unit with 100+ to attack and defence, effectively making Tyrion invincible short of bombarding him with arcane unforging at every opportunity. Teclis on the other hand can be killed if he's out of position.

Only way to survive the battle is to knock out the ballistas quickly and let the allied armies get some of their ranged units into a decent position to help out the player's main infantry line from being squashed by overwhelming numbers. After that it's a toss up trying to force isolated HE units to run with superior local forces and keeping the main body alive for as long as possible with whatever means available.