I just wrapped up a Normal/Normal Vortex campaign with Naggarond (Dark Elves led by Malekith) and had an absolute blast. The Dark Elf economic mechanic is really powerful, but I could see it being a headache on harder difficulties since it can create a lot of public order problems. I probably should’ve (and could’ve, since it was only on normal) mitigated the problem with heroes just hanging around provinces but I’m not used to that style of play quite yet (thought didn’t occur till the campaign was essentially over).
I also had an easier time than I’ve ever had of confederating other Dark Elves and having tons of allies/trading partners all thanks to the Envoy, a follower who you can give to any Lord and a couple heroes (Death Hag and Master). My minimal internet research informed me of the following:
By looking in the game files, it seems to be a super specific trigger: you need a character who has won at least 4 offensive battles so far. Then, if you your faction entered a war on the current turn, when that character levels up he has an 8% chance to get an envoy!
I’m not entirely sure how much sense that makes (does the character need to level up on the same turn war is declared?) but I found myself with 8 of them after 130 turns, which gave me a +80 relations with everyone. I have never played a faction that was so well liked while doing the opposite to deserve it.
The Envoy wasn’t the only thing that helped diplomatically, since even with great relations I find it hard (impossible maybe?) to confederate when you are weaker than the other faction. That’s where Black Arks came in and they were absolutely amazing. They became my unit recruitment centers, freeing my cities to focus on agents and economy. The army/garrison they have on-board is extremely cheap thanks to the main settlement building: at Lvl 5 its -60% upkeep for ALL UNITS! Couple this with the Admiral’s own blue line skills, and you can get -83% upkeep without any other bonuses. I was king of the oceans. Also, they can sail anywhere without attrition, so just plow right into that reef or go take Galleon’s Graveyard easy, since they can also occupy any coastal settlement (those that have harbors). The abilities they provide in battles were fun, but only the Soul Rain/Torrent/Storm was really special. On Normal, Black Arks do not add to supply lines, so having as many as you can get (1 every 25 turns) is absolutely fine.
I’d say I was stronger as Taurox/Beastmen (though the strength ranking says otherwise), but I never had as many armies full of the best units as I have with the Dark Elves thanks to Black Arks. I used mainly Shades/Hydras for the devastating combo of hidden armor piercing missiles with regenerating fire-breathing monsters (so kind of like High Elves). I had armies full of one or the other too, but the full Hydra armies were kind of annoying to play since so much micro was involved. The Shade armies were fun though since all the units were hidden save the general, which led to great ambush battles. Malus’s army was especially fun, since he had Stalk too.
Now I think I’ll try Skaven. Going with Clan Mors (Vortex campaign) even though I’ve heard they are the least interesting of the bunch.
