Meanwhile, instead of getting +2 Shadow affinity and 10 alignment points towards Evil, they get +2 Order affinity and 10 points towards Good. Instead of negating City Stability penalties, factions with the High culture passively increase it. The High culture is almost the complete opposite of the Dark one. +3 damage isn’t terrible, but it’s nowhere near as impressive as some of the other combat bonuses you can get in Age of Wonders 4. The fact that you don’t have any control over the damage type isn’t a major drawback, however, the real downside is that the damage only stacks up to three times. The damage type is selected at random and can be either Fire, Frost, or Lightning. The trait gives Mystic units +1 bonus damage whenever a spell is cast during combat, regardless of which side casts it. The Mystic culture’s final bonus gives units Attunement: Astral Blades and can be somewhat difficult to plan around. Related: Age Of Wonders 4: How To Ascend Rulers To The Pantheon After constructing the Altar of the All-Seers, players will also get extra income based on the number of Astral Echoes they have collected. Astral Echoes are special pickups that grant Mana and Knowledge when collected. The culture allows players to build unique structures centered around the acquisition of Mana while also allowing them to see Astral Echoes on the world map. But even this bonus won’t do anything unless you first apply the Weakened status effect on enemy units.Īny faction can become proficient at spellcasting, but choosing the Mystic culture will enable you to gain Mana at a much faster rate. The only saving grace here is the combat bonus that grants units 20% damage and Regeneration when attacking Weakened targets. Generally speaking, you’re better off reanimating enemy heroes or executing them and selling their remains than keeping them around for a bit of extra income. However, you won’t see any benefits from this until after you’ve defeated a bunch of enemy heroes. For instance, Dark factions can negate income penalties from low City Stability, but low Stability is something you can easily avoid by simply keeping the population happy.Īnother defining aspect of the Dark culture is that it grants extra income and Knowledge from Prisons and Crypts.

Furthermore, players will find it difficult to take advantage of the culture’s bonuses since they are all very situational. Dark starts you off with +2 Shadow affinity, which is one of the worst affinities in the game, and is the only culture that doesn’t come with a unique gameplay mechanic. The Dark culture is in a bad spot at the moment.

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