Mordheim - turn-based tactics in the Warhammer universe

[Saark]

I find the first couple of missions to be the hardest. If you get a lot of injuries early on or outright lose missions, restart because catching up will be a pain in the ass. Since you have a bunch of rank 0 units you will have shitty offense/defense chances so it comes down to RNG a lot more compared to later stages of the game.

Outfit your henchmen with heavy armour early if you have the money, the armour absorption is a fixed mitigation rather than RNG based avoidance, your henchmen may not be able to move as far wearing it but they can take one or two more hits before going down which may be the deciding factor. You can let them wear lighter armour for more mobility once they have decent parry or dodge. I personally had 5 warpguards (skaven henchmen) in heavy armour with spears/maces and shields shieldwalling the frontline, while my heroes/leader dished out the damage by flanking/casting/attacking from range.
Weapons with +hit or spears/daggers that ignore a set amount of dodge/parry may also change the RNG in your favour, you can switch to stuff like greatswords, axes or hammers lateron.

 

[Lucky]

Any reason why this doesn't have an isometric viewpoint? I can only think of them wanting to release it consoles, but this doesn't seem like the kind of game that would sell all that well on those platforms. Have they simply not implemented that feature yet or does its absence serve some design purpose?

 

[rashiakas]

suggestions on early levels? i chose chaos (because the other three races look like pussies, even rats look like pussies), after three missions i'm already out of money and i'm probably not going to be able to send enough spice to the emperor.

I would advice against chaos as starting warband. They have some luck factor built in with mutations which can totally screw up your roster (like when you get a mutation that prevents using a shield on a tank with shield skills etc.). That aside, concentrate on doing as much damage as possible early on. Two handed weapons or dual wielding for henchies all the way. This changes as soon as you get 4 OP, then you should start using 1 handed and shield. Pick up anything not nailed down and sell it. Sell your first wyrdstones for maximum profit to get you a little extra starting money.

 

[zeitgeist]

Any reason why this doesn't have an isometric viewpoint? I can only think of them wanting to release it consoles, but this doesn't seem like the kind of game that would sell all that well on those platforms. Have they simply not implemented that feature yet or does its absence serve some design purpose?

Why would a possible console release lead to a terrible design choice like that? I'm not seeing a link between the two.

 

[Ulminati]

SO.... MUCH.... WARPSTONE!!!

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

suggestions on early levels? i chose chaos (because the other three races look like pussies, even rats look like pussies), after three missions i'm already out of money and i'm probably not going to be able to send enough spice to the emperor.

I would advice against chaos as starting warband. They have some luck factor built in with mutations which can totally screw up your roster (like when you get a mutation that prevents using a shield on a tank with shield skills etc.). That aside, concentrate on doing as much damage as possible early on. Two handed weapons or dual wielding for henchies all the way. This changes as soon as you get 4 OP, then you should start using 1 handed and shield. Pick up anything not nailed down and sell it. Sell your first wyrdstones for maximum profit to get you a little extra starting money.

then i should stop playing because the other three races look like fags =_= (especially the humans, even the women). i'll see how far i can get, but my guess is not very.

do archers grow to do some decent damage? vanilla they don't look like much.

 

[Ulminati]

do archers grow to do some decent damage? vanilla they don't look like much.

Can't speak for archers, but warplock pistols on skaven are awesome. Pump ballistic chance to get +hit and +damage. Pick up warp poison, fast reload and crippling shot. Karwelas can get 2 shots off atm, sapping 6 and 4 offense points respectively (warp poison + crippling strike, warp poison + regular shot). The effect doesn't stack and the poison can only be applied out of combat. So being able to target 2 different enemies is a huge boon. I like overwatching with warp poison on. It really screws up the enemies who thought they were about to get into melee and attack.

 

[Dreaad]

Finally a good warhammer game and Modheim to boot, which was always my favorite part of GW.

 

[rashiakas]

do archers grow to do some decent damage? vanilla they don't look like much.

I posted an archer build a few pages ago. Five shots / round with a high chance for at least one crit, does around 50 damage per hit and removes crit resistance. He is usually my MVP.

 

[Lucky]

Why would a possible console release lead to a terrible design choice like that? I'm not seeing a link between the two.

Because isometric strategy games tend to not go well with consoles and so they'd have a hard time porting it if the game was built around an isometric viewpoint - mouse versus control-stick. That's why it looks like they're taking console-friendly camera angles as their starting point for the gameplay, because those don't lead to control issues in regards to controllers, something that doesn't seem too too far-fetched to me since the game already has controller support. A game like this probably won't sell very well on consoles, though, which is why I'm curious if not having an isometric perspective somehow benefits the gameplay. Otherwise it comes across as if they're needlessly crippling their own game and limiting their potential sales on their primary platform.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

suggestions on early levels? i chose chaos (because the other three races look like pussies, even rats look like pussies), after three missions i'm already out of money and i'm probably not going to be able to send enough spice to the emperor.

Chaos are the faction you play for lulz rather than min/maxing. Mutations will screw over any attempt at long term character building. Take the faction's basic hero type the mutant for example. His base stats obviously lean towards an agile ranged type, but there are several mutations that prevent the use of ranged weapons on that character, making investment in ballistic skill a huge risk. There's a least one mutation that prevents the use of a shield, a mutation that prevents the wearing of body armor, a couple of mutations that exclude helmets, and so forth. It's actually best to play the other factions for a while which will raise your score in the veteran system enabling higher level heroes to appear in the hired swords rotation. Recruiting high level heroes allows you to build their stats around their existing mutations rather than having the RNG screw over your existing builds.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

so no more mordheim for me. not until some dlc adds a decent race.
what a shame, it could have turned out interesting.

 

[Saark]

Whats with the Skaven hate, if I may ask?

Chaos are also the only faction that can stack damage bonuses like this:

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i'm one of those "larp over matter", i don't like rats very much.
where are my lizards? my bloodletters? my undeads? even elves would have been less faggy than the feathered-hatted humans.

 

[Caim]

i'm one of those "larp over matter", i don't like rats very much.
where are my lizards? my bloodletters? my undeads? even elves would have been less faggy than the feathered-hatted humans.

Carnival of Chaos or bust.

 

[Saark]

Bloodletters and all the other lesser demons are in the game, they are not playable though which is kind of sad.

Skaven are awesome, so you clearly have shit taste.

 

[zeitgeist]

Because isometric strategy games tend to not go well with consoles and so they'd have a hard time porting it if the game was built around an isometric viewpoint - mouse versus control-stick.

There is absolutely nothing preventing an isometric (or at least some kind of a highly positioned camera) view on consoles, and gamepads are suited for this control scheme just fine. Just look at the new XCOM for a recent example, or pretty much every Japanese sRPG.

because those don't lead to control issues in regards to controllers

Can you please specify which control issues you're talking about? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here. Mordheim UI is already obviously designed for a gamepad, and everything works just fine except the very part you claim was designed for a gamepad in the first place.

 

[Lucky]

There is absolutely nothing preventing an isometric (or at least some kind of a highly positioned camera) view on consoles, and gamepads are suited for this control scheme just fine. Just look at the new XCOM for a recent example, or pretty much every Japanese sRPG.

Can you please specify which control issues you're talking about? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here. Mordheim UI is already obviously designed for a gamepad, and everything works just fine except the very part you claim was designed for a gamepad in the first place.

I think we're probably misunderstanding each other somehow, though I don't have the game yet so I can't check to see exactly how. Hopefully there'll be a GOG release so that I can get a better look.

 

[Jimmious]

I got savagely raped in Act I-IV of Scaven. Fuck that Ogre. Fuuuuuuuck.

 

[PhantasmaNL]

Tried this game, mostly based on information itt. It looks pretty in depth, sofar i like it.

But. These loading times of a scenario, they are joking right? Nearing 2 minutes??

My first try with chaos ended pretty quickly, the skaven however seem much easier to get started with.

 

[Saark]

Fuck this RNG sometimes... My rank 10 black skaven who I previously spent like 2k gold on just for skills just got crit 3 times in a row by some stupid motherfucker who only had 15 hp left to begin with. He then loots the corpse, takes all the equipment, runs into an ambush right away, dies, and the enemy routs immediately after. My warrior lost an arm and is now pretty much useless, the equipment is gone and I have to retrain one from level 2.

At least I got to try stacking Frenzy, Daredevil and Black Hunger on him before he kicked it, and oh boy it is ridiculous. 195% damage multiplier and thanks to Black Hungers 40% dodge/parry bypass, the drawback of Daredevil really is negligible. I may even try Swift Charge to up the dodge/parry bypass to 70% and increase the damage even further. Each attack already hits for 150+ damage, using Order twice gets him 4 attacks per turn. It's a good time to be a rat.

 

[Rellin]

Tried this game, mostly based on information itt. It looks pretty in depth, sofar i like it.

But. These loading times of a scenario, they are joking right? Nearing 2 minutes??

My first try with chaos ended pretty quickly, the skaven however seem much easier to get started with.

Yes, load times suck even on uber gaming rigs. I failed with Chaos many times before trying Skaven because fuck the other 2 available races. Skaven have grown on me since I started using them and they are way easier to use than Chaos was for me.

 

[Saark]

Had some time to try out the rat-ogre. Enemies are quite adapt at not triggering his ambush range, and they generally do not attack him unless he is in kill-range. Most enemies rather stay out of the fight completely instead of running into this juggernaut. His damage potential is enormous, at rank 7 he has 4 attacks per turn at 2 OP each. I only have rank 1 Frenzy and Black Hunger on him but he already dishes out 150+ damage per turn on heavy armoured opponents, 200+ on light/cloth and that is with white weapons. Speaking of which I have yet to find a single non-white bracer, the market rotation doesn't seem to care much about it and the only opponent you may be able to loot it from is other rat-ogres. Stupidity isn't that big of a deal as long as you have a high-initiative leader/hero that has enough leadership to buff guidance in round 1. You usually have a target to attack by turn 3 and with some planning you can jump from enemy to enemy once he finished a target. He has 6 inventory slot but cannot loot anything and he cannot jump/leap/climb either.

All in all I would say that having a rat-ogre is quite useful since he can take out most enemies in 2 turns by himself, I am looking forward to finding blue or purple weapons. Dealing with enemy impressives usually isn't that big of a deal thanks to warp poison/crippling shot and shitty pathfinding AI. About 50% of the time the enemy impressive gets stuck on some wall/house and doesn't take part in the fight at all. He can also block off major shortcuts between houses, giving you more time to single out enemy units that are already engaged with yours. His initiative is really high (around 80) so take that into account. My leader lost 1 alertness to an injury and now he has the same initiative as my ogre, oftentimes costing me the first turn on him.

 

[Severian Silk]

So, does this game have a campaign/story or is it just random or repeated missions?

Also, can I switch to isometric view and click with the mouse?

 

[Saark]

There's 2 acts with 4 missions per act that are somewhat of a "story" for the respective warbands, I would guess that they will add more later on. At least for the skaven act 1 is basically one mission against each warband, whereas act 2 is mostly fighting actual chaos, lesser daemons, sorcerers etc. Haven't gotten to the last mission of act 2 yet unfortunately so I cannot tell you whether there is some sort of conclusion to it. Generally speaking the story missions are about helping the benefactor to your warband (Fylch for Skaven, Merga for Cult, don't know the ones for mercs/sisters) rise in power until shit hits the fan (the cult fucking up Mordheim). I'd be interested in knowing what act 2 looks like for the cult, I was going to give the cult a try once I reach Act II-IV with the Skaven anyway.

Each warband has one dramatis personae (thats what they're called ingame) that narrates the story/missions. They are controllable units during the story missions, and all of them are extremely strong and have unique skills and spells in their arsenal. A story mission is immediately lost if they fall, but there are very little repercussions since you only lose one day and you can restart the mission immediately. In addition to these "benefactors" you have higher ups that are only named in text, for the skaven that would be a Murderlord (non-canon one) whereas Merga and her cult are working to bring the Shadowlord back to power. Whether that is actually Be'Lakor or some other non-canon entity I cannot tell you since I haven't played much with the cult yet.

edit: Sisters dramatis personae is Bertha Bestraufrung