So, major differences from Dominions 4?

[$VIKING$]

Dom 4 was a great game, but from what I have seen on Youtube, the games look basically identical. At a $45 pricetag, I need to know what I'm getting with this game that I can't in D4.

So, what is different? Would you guys say it's worth?

[amuys]

Probably the combat having simultaneous turns, making it almost realtime.

[Jiven]

More spells, new movement mechanics, simultaneous battle turns, more units, more nations...

[DasaKamov]

The Developer's Official Website Lists Some of the Major Changes from Domionions 4 to Dominions 5[www.illwinter.com].

There are tons of quality-of-life smaller changes, too; new traits and abilities for units ("True" Invisibility, Spirit-Sight, Magical Tattoos, Combat-Caster, and so on) and smaller features that would take too much time to list (but one I WILL mention are actual soldiers manning the ramparts in Siege battles. :D )

And of course, there is the exceptional post-launch support (Three New Nations added in patches since release) and excellent modding support that we've come to expect from Illwinter.

In my opinion, Dominions 5 was a Day One purchase, no question. :)

[$VIKING$]

Thanks, guys...I didn't play an insane amount of D4, but it was still by far one of my all-time favourites.

I think I will pick this up. You have all been a great help and I hope you have a good day.

[Muddy33]

Nobody mentioned the bless overhaul. I think its almost as large of a change as the simultaneous resolution. Pretender design options have been increased exponentially.

[sausages]

Originally posted by MuddyBonkers:

Nobody mentioned the bless overhaul. I think its almost as large of a change as the simultaneous resolution. Pretender design options have been increased exponentially.

Absolutely about the bless.

I also love the new command point and recruitment point system. Back in Dom4, I can almost churn army every other turn that I don't have any means to sacrifice the opportunity cost for making scouts; but now, I love the fact that I am making scout to make a difference in my strategic attack planning.

[✏pencils✏]

Most of the systems were reworked in major ways. Building in provinces works quite a bit differently now with direct fort upgrades (palisade -> fortress -> castle) and you can't build roads, but you can designate connections as roads in the map editor.

Also there are now recruitment / commander points that are needed to recruit units in provinces in addition to all the old gold and supply cost.

There has been a massive amount of development that isn't very visible if you look at only a few screenshots or short videos.

[jojeck]

The new command point system means you can make much more effective use of assassins, they only cost 1 commander point while most mages cost 2 and slow to recruits cost 4 points. Now it can be worth using more assassins with more nations since you can effectively recruit twice ans many as in Dom 4.

[BoboYagga]

Basically it looks the same because they changed only the stuff that needed to be changed and kept all the good stuff!

[Zonk]

The website actually has a list of majors since Dominions 4
http://www.illwinter.com/dom5/changes.html

[wilson.max]

Originally posted by Jiven:

More spells, new movement mechanics, simultaneous battle turns, more units, more nations...

...changes to existing spells...

For example, the fact that Twiceborn now works in any dominion AND you can get better wight mages if the original chassis was better is a huge buff to, say, Shinuyama, and to a lesser degree Agartha, Ermor, and C'tis. Being able to take a mage with good paths but poor stats due to old age and turn it into a mage with 40+ HP (in Shinuyama's case), good stats, good size (for potential repel), and enc 0 (so you can Quicken Self without killing yourself)--that's huge. Shinuyama is now worth taking a thug bless on. For Agartha and C'tis this can be key to fighting effectively in Cold dominion despite cold-bloodedness.

There are dozens of small but significant changes like that to the game, and while the game is still recognizable as a Dominions game, the way games actually play out is significantly different.

Two more examples of small but significant changes are that Wraith Swords are now 10 gems instead of 20 (meaning, they actually are worth forging and using, especially for e.g. Niefelheim's Skrattir with their large size and excellent repel), and the cost reductions to cavalry making them competitive with infantry in many scenarios.

There are naturally also a ton of large changes, like the slow casting time (generally 200%+) on battlefield-wide spells and the changes to the movement system which again help cavalry.