Recommended turn order based on play times:

Hi Hiliadan,

how about naming it "Oil veins" or "Oil blood" something like that? It symbolizes well that the hero is human but embraces machinery.
Or call it "Deus Ex Machina"?

Mechanised Warfare

---

how about "Suit Up!", or Battle Armour?

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Reminder: next round starts at the earliest on 25 August (even if the last match of current round ends before) and will use v1.22 on the beta branch.

== PBEM 2vs2 Tournament ==
All matches started or about to start!
The round may be extended a bit as it started in August during summer holidays, to be confirmed later.

== Balance ==
IMPORTANT - these changes are considered as replacements for changes that could not be implemented with v1.22 due to technical reasons, they will be confirmed next week end: PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK QUICKLY if you think we overlooked something

Dr21a
Dreadnought heroes can choose Mechanised Warfare (in search of a better name) at level 11 for 5 points, a self-buff active ability costing 0 AP which gives them Machine, Wall Crushing, Demolisher, Tireless, Reinforced, 40% shock weakness and add some particle effects to make it more “machine-like”

Wa05a
Researching Death March allows to cast Death March for 60 CP and Scout Death March for 20 CP, which has a similar effect. Scout Death March affect only T1 Irregulars in target stack (and units can only be targetted once by Death March or Scout Death March).

Th10a (that's a temporary fix while we wait for a better one)
When Exalted Martyrs is researched, Martyrs evolve into Awaken Martyrs at Elite. Awaken Martyrs have the stats of an Elite Martyr and have Evolve into Exalted at Elite. They don’t get any bonus on medals (not even HP or defense, damage).

== PBEM 2vs2 Tournament ==
Round 5 started yesterday, @the 12 players involved, please send the class/race of your team. For the hosts (on top on the Roster), please post screenshots of the settings on the game blog.
Rule 4 has been updated to clarify that "The player who crashed must not re-enter the game after the crash, he must wait for feedback from the judges allowing the game to continue. The turn timer must be turned off by the host while waiting for judges' feedback (see rule 8)."

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
As for the 2vs2 Tournament, rule 4 has been updated, see above.
After discussion among judges, we agreed that even if the match between Ezekiel and Olop finishes soon, the next round would start only on 25 August at the earliest, and possibly 1 September as currently planned. That is because round 4 will use v1.22 of the balance mod and we need sufficient time to let people test it and report potential issues. Another reason is that we are in the middle of Summer holidays and several players are not available (which was the reason for a round extension in the first place). The extra time allows to use v1.22 which improve XP counters, correct some remaining issues with Necro (Ghouled units did not suffer the +25% upkeep, the Necromancy I-VII economic boost was misplaced, Whispers of the Fallen is nerfed), boost Dreadnought and AD, nerf Divine Justicar and Lesser Mighty Meek, fix 1 exploit and bring a few other improvements. It also allows to look for and implement solutions for several changes which proved to be technically feasible (especially 2 new Dread abilities) and give more time to find solution to the nerf to Exalted Martyrs for future rounds.
Round 4 will use v1.22 on the beta branch of the balance mod.

== Balance ==
Confirmed for v1.23:
Ne06h
Ghouling Strike has strength 8 (was 9)

De05
Storm Magic is T5 (was T6).

GC42
Dirty Half Dozen costs 3 upgrade points (UP) (was 4)
Infiltration Squad gives Improved Wall Climbing (was Wall Climbing)
Chaplain costs 4 UP (was 3)
Pest Control Squad costs 4 UP (was 5)
Charge Command costs 4 UP (was 5)
Fleet Command gives Fast Embark and Mariner (was Mariner)
Holy Champion costs 4 UP (was 5)
Nature’s Resistance costs 4 UP (was 3)


Ne09a
Energy Drain has a physical strength 10 (was spirit strength 10)


These changes will be confirmed for v1.23 if there is no more feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's batte enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)


These changes need more feedback:
GC40a
Spell upgrades for heroes cost 4 (was 5), except:
– Chaos Rift (stay at 5)
– Chain Lightning (stay at 5)
– Last Stand (stay at 5)
– Slayer’s Doubt (stay at 5)
– Stiffen Limbs (stay at 5)
– Repair Fortification: costs 3

GC40b
CP upgrade costs for heroes are reduced to 5+5+5+5+6+7+7 = 40 in total to get to 85 CP (was 5+5+7+7+7+9+9 = 49)
Destabilized Mana Core costs 60 CP (was 50 CP)

Dr20
Bomb Squad gives Self Destruct (was Explosive Death) to Draconian, Dwarf, Frostling, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Goblin, Orc, and Tigran units in the stack led by this hero: units with Self Destruct can sacrifice themselves to cause 10 physical damage and 10 fire damage to units adjacent to them. Bomb Squad costs 8 points (was 5).
The AI cannot use this ability.

Dr22
Dreadnought heroes can choose Force Field Generator Gear for 7 points at level 13: Units led by this hero get Force Field Generator: self-buff ability that can be used Once per battle for no action point and gives 40% fire, 40% frost and 40% shock protection for 5 turns.

Ha28
Farmers cost 45 gold (was 50)

gladis quitted!

I fail to see reason why level 13 was picked instead of 14 or not 12 or 11? the lower level like 11 or 12 would clearly limit the high-end skills.

are there any real examples as to why lvl 13 fits better?

this is not a critique, but rather I am trying to understand the reason behind the "13 lvl".

Happy to further discuss that on the chat if needed: https://www.the-battlefield.c... />
Level 13 was chosen because:

1. It unlocks all skills


2. We wanted to limit the strength of heroes (and Leaders) as much as possible because they get clearly overpowered in the later stages of games

Level 14 does not fulfill condition 2. Level 12 does not fulfill condition 1. So that's why it's 13.

Tasslehoff quitted!

Shouldn't the cap lvl be lvl14 then?

If I'm not mistaken exactly that was the reason of max. 13 lvl for Duel Tourney - to avoid that one of the players reached 15-th level and got addition skills from the Empire Quest 

Hi all, 

just wanted to confirm with the judges - was there any particular reason why the lvl 13 was selected as hero/leader cap?
I am asking because it excludes the EQ - heroic skill

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Still 3 matches ongoing, round 4 is likely to start at the end of round 3's deadline (which you can see with the countdown on the page of the tournament: https://www.the-battlefield.c... i.e. in 41 days.
Please start thinking about your class/race! You can send it to the judges you don't play against: Fistandantilus, Marcuspers and me.
Zaskow told me v1.22 should be ready for the beta branch of the balance mod this week end. If it is the case, we should use it for round 4. To be confirmed tomorrow...

== PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
About 23 days left before the end of round.

== Misc ==
Check out the latest news article on the Battlefield: The AoW3 community more active than ever! Tournaments, AoW3 Veterans, polls

== Balance ==
These changes will be confirmed for v1.23 if there is no more feedback:
Ne06h
Ghouling Strike has strength 8 (was 9)

De05
Storm Magic is T5 (was T6).

GC42
Dirty Half Dozen costs 3 upgrade points (UP) (was 4)
Infiltration Squad gives Improved Wall Climbing (was Wall Climbing)
Chaplain costs 4 UP (was 3)
Pest Control Squad costs 4 UP (was 5)
Charge Command costs 4 UP (was 5)
Fleet Command gives Fast Embark and Mariner (was Mariner)
Holy Champion costs 4 UP (was 5)
Nature’s Resistance costs 4 UP (was 3)


Ne09a
Energy Drain has a physical strength 10 (was spirit strength 10)


These changes need more feedback:
Fi04a
Tropical Empire gives Inflict Scorched Heat to allied units in your domain (was Inflict Immolation)

GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's batte enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)

Hiho, 

so when does the next round of the 1v1 tournament starts?

== PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
We confirm that v1.22 will NOT be used for round 5 as it will not be ready in time.

One of the two match ended so only 1 match left, but it will probably need the full 28 days to end.
We discussed between judges for the 2vs2 Tournament and concluded that for this round and for this tournament, if the game is not finished by the deadline, then the winner would be decided by comparing in this order: 1/ the combined total (general) score of living players of each team, 2/ the combined military scores of living players of each team, 3/ the combined domain scores of living players of each team. If no team has a clear superiority (not just 1 point more; clear superiority is assessed by the judges) in any of these, then the team with the highest combined total (general) score of living players win (same as 1/ but without need for "clear superiority"). No system is perfect but we need to choose one and we considered this one to be best to indicate which team has the highest chances to win the match if it were to continue.
 
== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
We are still hoping to use v1.22 for round 4. To be confirmed in about 2 weeks (I think we need at least 30 days to test v1.22 on the beta branch).

I did a rapid analysis of the results of the 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament up to last week and AlX provided good additional comments, check it out: 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament – stats and results. Discussions of the analysis more than welcome on that topic on the official forum!

Saunatonttu joined !!

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
6 games are still ongoing and about 54 days are left until the end of the round. I expect the round to finish sooner than that but I am not really clear about the turn reached in all games so the full 54 days may be necessary.
Please note that: 1/ the winner bracket will not play in round 4, but only in round 5, so they will have to wait about 2 months for their next match, and 2/ round 4 should be played with v1.22 of the balance mod, but if we can't get it at least 30 days before the next round, it will be played with v1.21 because we won't have enough time to test it.

== PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
The 2 games are still ongoing and at least one is progressing very slowly so it is almost sure the round will last for its full 36 more days. It now seems unlikely that we will be able to use v1.22 for round 5 (see above), to be confirmed in about a week.

== Misc ==
We have some new videos of round 3 of the Duel Tournament:

Hiliadan (Goblin AD) vs chiveicrook (Dwarf Theocrat)

• Marcuspers (Frostling Sorcerer) vs Melciar (Goblin Necromancer)

I also strongly recommend watching the video below. It's a demo of the new game mode we're trying to develop for AoW3. It will be a new way to play AoW3, different from Single Player, PBEM or classical live MP. The idea is to allow the set up of two armies of about 18 units each in a very short time and then launch the tactical battle immediately. The strategic part is thus completely skipped. This new way of playing aims to allow rich tactical battles between human players for people with limited time: a battle from set up to completion needs only about 30-60 minutes.
AbedNego (Dwarf Necromancer) vs Nemesis Zero (Shadow Elf Theocrat), commented by Marcuspers:


There is also another video but the fight is less interesting:
AbedNego (Dwarf Sorcerer) vs Nemesis Zero (Draconian Necromancer)


== Balance ==
These changes need more feedback from everyone, as they may be integrated in the balance mod, v1.23:
Ne01a
Stiffen Limb has a strength 13 Spirit check and cost 8 CP. If it fails, its target gets -12 MP for one turn (was no attack check and 7 CP).

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)

Ne06h
Ghouling Strike has strength 8 (was 9)

Ne17
Whispers of the Fallen is Tier 2 and costs 120 RP (was Tier 1 and 60 RP)

De05
Storm Magic is T5 (was T6).

New game is hosted!
Tournament practice game, dont mind keeping the game unreported to avoid disclosing information for round 4 of the tournament, but can also be reported but after turn 4 of tournament is started. 

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Only 2 matches haven't started yet but they're in good way to start soon.

== PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
We discussed between judges and agreed on a 1 month extension for round 4 because of the summer holidays period. Sorry for the teams in the winner bracket (sorry SeeR, I said the date would not change but it did...) but we estimated it was better that way to hopefully have time to finish the matches. We strongly encourage all players involved to play their tournament game in priority before all other games, to make sure we do not have to end games by score.

== Balance ==
Zaskow is still working on v1.22, which is about 10 days late now, but hopefully it will be ready soon.

== Misc ==
Only 10 people voted in the poll How best to balance all heroes and their abilities and also make them more interesting? (multiple answers possible. We need more votes to know what the community wants to Make all heroes and their abilities more interesting (e.g. boost Dreadnought’s late game abilities)" as many people wished in the previous poll on "balance directions".

A big event is planned on the Battlefield's chat soon. In order to choose the date (21, 24 or 25 June), please fill the following Doodle: https://beta.doodle.com/poll/... />I hope to slim down the number of options to 3 by tomorrow and then choose the date and time as soon as possible. The event will involve:
- a live chat with the team of volunteers developing the Shadow Realm expansion (Gloweye, Draxynic, Dr_K, Bob, lordoflinks, Bagas, Hiliadan + vfxrob, Charlatan)
- live stream of gameplay with Q&A to showcase the current status of the expansion
- PvP tactical battles on the Arena map (still looking for volunteers to play during the event + a commentator would be great, it seems SeeR won't be available)
- release of PvE training videos against high level sites, links to existing videos, guides, etc.

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
When your match starts, please update its status on the game blog (through the drop-down menu) to "Ongoing" so that we can follow the progress of each match more easily.
As far as I know, 1 match has already finished, 3 matches haven't started yet as the class/race of some players have not yet been sent/the games haven't been hosted yet and the rest of matches have started or are about to start.
So for all those who haven't hosted or sent their class/race yet, please do it ASAP!

== Misc ==
A new poll has been launched to help choose how best to "Make all heroes and their abilities more interesting (e.g. boost Dreadnought’s late game abilities)" as many people wished in the previous poll on "balance directions". Please vote if you haven't: How best to balance all heroes and their abilities and also make them more interesting? (multiple answers possible)

I finished uploading the videos of rickyroo and I's game on round 3 of the 2vs2 Team Tournament vs Jonny Thunder and rrrrrookie, you can find the playlist on YouTube (and a description of the highlights of the game on this post on the Steam forum).

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Round 3 has started today and will last 3 months (I'll update the countdown later)! You can check the roster here: https://www.the-battlefield.c... />Please send your class/race to judges (Fistandantilus, Marcuspers and me) if you haven't yet. For the opponents of Marcus and I, of course, don't send it to us!
For the hosts (on top in the roster's page and on the left in the game blog), please host the games with the main branch of the balance mod (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=661597466) and post screenshots of the settings in windowed mode on your game blogs.

Thanks to the following players who already sent their class/race:
rrrrookie
HellBrick
$eeR
Skuns453Lirik902
Gladis
Hiliadan
Melciar
marcuspers
rickyroo222