The Age Of Shadow Descends & Iratus Finds A New Friend! | Age Of Wonders 4

[@Fableheim]

Hello everyone and welcome back to Age of Wonders 4! Today, Iratus finally steps on to the surface to claim his rightful kingdom juuuuust in time for the Magical Victory countdown to begin at 37:12. I knew they were getting close, but turn 65 still feels rather quick. The good news is that we are allied with Tugrum and will win with her; the bad news, of course, is that it feels like I haven't done anything. My plan is to neither hinder nor help her endeavor, and we'll just see how it all pans out. More importantly, I acquired a new "fiery" friend after clearing the dread Infestation at 43:50. Thanks for watching!

[@tain1797]

Perfect back story for the founding of the guild of necromancers. Iratus will have to strike out on his own eventually!

[@Fableheim]

This is now my lore for Iratus' return, thanks! :D

[@Kammereer]

I would say that the victory of the Ermorian League does not count as an Iratus victory. Though I wouldn't mind seeing a different culture/affinity before returning to Iratus.

[@Fableheim]

I agree with both of those sentiments, but if Iratus ascends to the Pantheon then he could technically come back as any Culture. (:

[@HistorianOfVaelris]

Ermorian League... is that a Dominions reference? To the Ashen Empire of Ermor?

[@Kammereer]

@@HistorianOfVaelris Yes

[@tracescarlet6365]

Uh-huh... turn 65 unopposed victory condition. Oof. *Iratus, coming out onto the surface at last* -Ah, freedom! The age of shadow can finally begin under my... wait, what the fuck? So... I don't know how to feel about this game. It feels far less... alive than Planetfall, despite the focus on customizations they pushed front and center? The rulers just spam "They crossed me!" with the same quote, while previously they would shit-talk each other about their shortcomings and misdeeds, fabricate funny casus belli (They eat children!) and perform secret operations that could get them caught. Races themselves just feel like different colored slurpies, while back then we had undead cyborg abominations and literal reptiloids. Like, what is the difference between Tugrum and Iratus at the end? Their height? Now it just looks like we don't have races at all, just a secret tech. You, Necrom and dawi took Psynumbra and reached the same conclusion, despite all 3 being different "races". (I also noticed that the Living Fog unit is the same model as Balor, animation and all). Neutral cities are just randomly generated player dudes now, instead of unique beings with their own lore. I miss my space horror jelly friends. But at least the writing of quests is far better now, so that's a plus? Your charisma is really carrying this shit on atlantian shoulders.

[@Fableheim]

I'm glad that I'm charismatic enough to carry, because I think you are largely correct. I honestly think -- and hope -- that a lot of that will be expanded upon in time, just like it was in Planetfall. This is a much better release state than Planetfall was, but I do miss a lot of what that game had become. Races are definitely not a thing anymore, and I have mixed feelings about it. That said, there is a bit of a difference between us due to her being Industrial Culture. I'm not sure why she committed to Shadow and not Materia, but her baseline units are quite different than mine, even though they look similar thanks to Wightborne. Pretty sure Nekron and I were almost exactly the same though. All-in-all, it's a shame that I didn't really get a chance to fight people due to a myriad of choices and coincidences, but I'll do my utmost to make sure that's not the case in the next campaign. Hopefully, we can see the true endgame and judge it for what it's worth then.

[@clownofwar]

Thunder in the back ground such amazing ambience :)

[@Fableheim]

When it cooperates, it sure is. :D

[@Ericshadowblade]

Sadly this doesnt count as an Iratus victory he can ascend to the pantheon as a mighty hero but the power of godhood sadly alludeds him for he has failed to bend a realm to his rule. I hope you contniue with these im looking forward to another semi roleplay campaign i would reccomend going with standard map size next time and a notch down in difficulty

[@Fableheim]

I'm not sure if the AI will let Thugrum win so easily but I do agree that this doesn't count as Iratus' true victory. If the campaign does end in this Magic Victory, there'll be a poll about what comes next. (: I have a number changes that I would make but I'm still interested in challenging Brutal AI. We'll see.

[@Zathurious]

My suggestion is that if you feel Iratus must win alone, then next time disable the allied victory condition. Since it's enabled this time, a victory is still a victory even if you're sharing the pedestal.

[@Fableheim]

I don't mind an Allied victory but I would have liked to have been the one to trigger it. Still, I think you're right. I did it to incentivize the AI to be friends through and in to the endgame, but it kind of backfired on what I had envisioned for this run.

[@KodeeDentares]

That is neither (or at least not just,) Balrog nor balor, that is SHART! (aka ) (Mayor of Noobtown reference)

[@enderponydragon6317]

A very handsome fellow indeed! Happy that Iratus was able to retain his gorgeous hair!

[@Fableheim]

I didn't spend 20 minutes staring at character creation just to have him lose his hair like that!

[@enderponydragon6317]

@@Fableheim Of course! We must keep our Supreme Necromancer beautiful!

[@ivanelias3916]

the power of undead Friendship wins? what?😐

[@Fableheim]

Anime was right all along! :D

[@romulofriederichs5467]

4:53 Correction: ALL of them died horrible and painfull deaths at the hands of their master by "accident". I sense a foreshadowing.

[@romulofriederichs5467]

Also, while this might not be an individual Iratus victory, think of this as a Prequel when the necromancers guild was formed and feared across the land before that DAMN order came and started crusading time. A future campaing could tecnichally be a Sequel to this one after your alies got hunted down by the Knights, so in my book i still call this cannon.

[@Fableheim]

To be fair, some of them survived Iratus' experiments, became proper Necromancers, and then died horribly when they attempted to usurp death to survive the frozen wastes of the North. Good news, they created the Unfrozen Curse for Iratus to later utilize! :D

[@Fableheim]

@@romulofriederichs5467 I like this idea a lot, and it actually plays in to another roleplay campaign I thought to do directly after this one.

[@onisprite]

Iratus does not win through allies! Iratus rules all.

[@Fableheim]

If anything, Iratus has only ever lost with allies, but this whole series was a strange development, lol.

[@blackdragonxtra]

59:41 Paradox would like to disagree, as to not incur the wrath of the Tolkien Estate

[@blackblade99009]

you could have played into the whole necromancy thing and just said 'he became such a master of life and death he became a lich, one meant to walk the line between the two.'

[@Fableheim]

That could have worked, but canonically Iratus is more than a Lich.

[@bernardmancay8275]

Woo it's up! This will be lit for sure! 😄 Thank you for the upload

[@jimjake26]

Hiya, I am new to the channel, and I love your story telling and presentation. I do not know the channel history with Iratus but I would like to buy him a beer sometime. Cheers!!

[@Fableheim]

Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the channel! Iratus would happily accept, as long as the beer is an alchemical concoction best suited for Undead Archmages. :D

[@Kammereer]

Imo, Mana Channelers race trait was a mistake. Shadow is just bad at summoning, because Shadow summons cost souls, and Mana Channelers doesn't discount them. Undead builds are better around Wightborn than skellingtons. For summon builds, I would recommend Mystic culture (you need great mana economy), and the Adaptable mental trait for faster xp - most tier 1 summons evolve when they reach a certain level, so you can get beefy tier 3 units very early. Materium's golems are amazing in that regard. Maybe even double dipping into Prolific Swarmers for even more XP.

[@Fableheim]

I definitely agree that Mana Channelers was a mistake and I felt that early one. 'Twas just one of many first run mistakes that I made. XD

[@HistorianOfVaelris]

So funny that one player starting magic victory is basically AOW4's version of realm divide from Total War Shogun 2 or the Emperor mechanic from TW: Three Kingdoms🤣

[@Fableheim]

Both Magical Victory and Unity victory is basically Doomsday Victory from Age of Wonders: Planetfall and Seals Victory from Age of Wonders 3, but good ideas should be shared by all in the genre! :D

[@HomelessNoob34]

iratus don't share, all creation is his to claim

[@Nekoyashiki-san]

So it is going to be a victory in the Age of Shadows through alliances? If you can't beat them join them as they say? Thanks for the storytelling. ^^

[@m.c.darwin1897]

I feel like an ally victory would cheapen the experience and fantasy of playing as Iratus, I could understand allying to defeat a threat or for safety but for there to be any other true victor outside Iratus does not feel right

[@Fableheim]

This is true, but it's also kind of just how the cookie crumbled with the map generation. Iratus will return one day to claim his true, absolute victory!

[@eoftar3192]

Just as I thought, the only way to get yourself a true dragon(not bone one) is through clearing an infestation with the first chaos affinity trait. Or... is it just a reward? I miss my dragon dwellings from AoW3 :(

[@Fableheim]

I believe it's only with the Chaos affinity trait. I also miss dragon dwellings, expensive though they were. I can't help but feel that Dragons were kind of purposefully held back for the first DLC Dragon Dawn which is releasing this summer/early fall, which is adding Lizardfolk, some new Tomes, and Dragon Lords (new ruler type).

[@eoftar3192]

@@Fableheim yeah, I've looked up the dlc info. Don't know how they will balance the dragon rulers though 🤔 I also hope that the preview of lizard race they have is just a placeholder, because they look exactly the same as lizards from Planetfall - head especially. Which makes me worry... I mean, sometimes I feel that they didn't even try with this game. Diplomacy is very weird, sea and sea units are very shallow. Let's hope they will have some more updates, aside from DLCs.

[@BlahBlah28126]

Sorry, it's not a Balrog. No Flaming Whip or Flaming Sword, just a fat deamon

[@Fableheim]

Hah, true. I shouldn't disrespect the Valaraukar in such a way. The Balor is a Walmart Balrog. :D

[@scholt3197]

good morn!! in one of your vids you mentioned lowering the neutral enemies(bandits or somethign) because they get to Tier IV too fast. how do i do that? thanks

[@Fableheim]

Good evening! When you are creating a custom realm, if you go in to advance settings you can modify the "World Threat" option. I believe that will slow down (or increase) the evolution of neutral enemies. I haven't tried it myself yet but I hope that helps!

[@scholt3197]

Ok so only for custom? Thank you and keep up the vids! Love the content!

[@Fableheim]

@@scholt3197 I believe so. You might be able to edit a pre-existing realm (as long as it's not a story realm) and get in to the advanced settings, but I always make my own.

[@elix901]

I hate when my bone daddy betrays me.

[@Fableheim]

Worst feeling, tbh

[@KingLevayn]

How do you get the dragon

[@Fableheim]

I got the Frost Dragon by destroying a Large Infestation that had Frost Dragons in it while I had the tier 1 Chaos Empire upgrade that gives you a unit based on the type of Infestation you destroy.

[@TimoRutanen]

Looks like digging hardly gives any benefits, if you don't count xp for killing dragons and reapers.

[@Fableheim]

Yeahhh, I certainly do not recommend an underground start. I could have played it better, but the optimal strat seems to be leaving the underground as fast as possible. XD

[@TimoRutanen]

@@Fableheim Or perhaps you can make use of special buildings that like farms and quarries.

[@Fableheim]

@@TimoRutanen Both the Dark Forge and Carnival of Flesh are plopped down in my capital. Special Improvements help in any location, but there's definitely more forethought required for an underground start, since there are more/different limitations.

[@TimoRutanen]

@@Fableheim The thing is, you need lots of gold somehow. If you could get gold from farms or quarries, it'd be.. golden. I think maybe some of the other colors could have suitable things, like materium sounds like a prime candidate for that, being it's the earthen magic style.

[@Fableheim]

@@TimoRutanen Ba dun tss~ I don't know about the province improvements but I do know that there is a society trait that makes all Quarries generate +2 gold as well. Might be worth for an underground start.

[@TheMrYadrian]

I think that you lost this game. Dwarf lady has more units and cities than you and she is in the process of Magic Victory Ritual.

[@Fableheim]

I lost the game but I won the campaign, because Allied Victory is turned on. XD I turned on Allied Victory to incentivize the AI not to betray each other but I panicked up an Alliance with the two Necromancers when they very swiftly began plopping down Magical Victory conditions.

[@cowboydan3663]

I love waking up to this shit

[@cowboydan3663]

Need more zombie summons

[@Fableheim]

You can never have enough zombies! Once enemies start falling, I get too focused on continuing the slaughter and forget to raise them with the Necro, lol. You will be proud next episode though, when the Heroes start flexing their Zombie signature skill. (: