Let's Play Age of Wonders III: User Input Required

Ok, so after race, the next option is Class. This actually affects gameplay much more heavily, as it determines what our specialty units are and what spells we can cast.

Class units are capable of being built in any of our cities, and are slightly modified based on the race of the city. They tend to be stronger than the basic units of each race, but also require additional research and buildings to produce. Spells range from summoning units and casting combat spells to increasing the production of cities and changing the terrain on the map. There are two resources in the game - gold and mana. These are produced in cities and from sites found throughout the map. Classes that rely more heavily on their units tend to require more gold, whereas classes that rely on their spells tend to require more mana.

The first class is the Archdruid. This is a predominantly summon oriented class, which also have spells that affect animals. They have limited direct damage and their class units are unimpressive. Because their summons are primarily melee, they rely on basic ranged units to provide their backline. They can expand decently well and summon units to their heroes, making them reliant on getting momentum going early. Their most powerful units are giant melee summons.


The next class is the Dreadnought. Dreadnoughts represent technology and progress and are therefore obviously the good guys of the game. They can build very powerful machines and have spells that deal area of effect fire damage. Their summons don't provide anything other than support, and their machines require supporting units to unlock their full potential. That said, with support their machines are the best units in the game. As they are very production oriented and since their armies scale well with size, they tend to become relatively stronger as the game progresses. Their most powerful unit is a tank that literally rolls over forests and turns them into gold.


Next up is the Rogue. Rogues specialize in fast moving and stealthy units. The hero itself and several of their class units benefit strongly from flanking, meaning that they can win with little damage taken when they significantly outnumber their opponent. They don't do nearly as well in even fights. Their most powerful unit is a shadow elemental whose incorporeal nature lets them pass through walls, making them good at taking cities when used en masse, but they are individually less impressive than the end game units of other classes.


The next class is the Sorcerer. Sorcerers are similar to the Archdruid in that they rely on summoned units rather than produced units in the late game. Unlike the Archdruid, instead of summoning lame animals and nature allies, they summon abominations from the aether. They also have bonuses to mana production and spellcasting, so they can both pay for their summons and spam combat spells.


Next up is the Theocrat. This class specializes in buffing friends, debuffing enemies, and building units that deal Spirit damage. While they are similar to the Dreadnought in that they rely on produced units rather than summons, their units operate best in mixed armies since they provide unique effects and do not rely on specific support. Theocrats are also capable of converting enemy units, both with a hero ability and by building Evangelists.


Finally, we have the Warlords. Warlords are a whole class designed around trying to make melee units not suck. They produce unique melee units which suck less than default melee units and cast spells to enhance the strength of melee units. Most importantly, they have global enchantments that make all of their units better and require less upkeep, so they're able to use their units effectively once produced.