Best Units in AoW III
This is final list. I mean it is possible that I will do minor changes, but the listing is fact.
- Glutton
- Golden Dragon
- Elder Eldritch
- Eldritch Horror
- Kraken
- Fire Dragon
- Archon Titan
- Any updates will be added here.
I wanna also note MattStriker opinion:
"Tier 0.5" (militia): Tigran Cheetah. Sprint and Pounce combined with incredible base speed means nobody's safe. For bonus points pick Explorer and watch them one-turn-murder enemy support or archers...all that for 50 gold, buildable without barracks. Amazing early on, still useful later.
Tier 1: High Elf Hunter. An upgrade over the basic Longbowman in just about every way (survivability, mobility, utility) for just 5 gold more a pop? Where do I sign up?
Tier 2: Apprentice (but only when controlled by a…
Wasteland Expansion
- 1 Wasteland Expansion Content
- 2 Features of the mod
- 2.1 Changes to the base game
- 2.1.1 Destruction
- 2.1.2 Arch Druid
- 2.1.3 Necromancer
- 2.1.4 Sorcerer
- 2.2 Race
- 2.3 Nomad Inherent Traits
- 2.4 Units
- 2.5 Class Units
- 2.6 Racial Governance
- 2.1 Changes to the base game
Link to Steam Workshop content
Main content:
- Nomad as race
- Campaign featuring the story of Nomads
- 42 new leaders (All races & Nomads)
- 14 Nomad heroes
Other content included:
- Storm Wyvern & Storm Dragon featured in the Dragon Dwelling
- 2 new items Storm Wyvern mount and its corresponding egg
- 1 new Outlaw Dwelling (Royal Tent featuring Nomadic Outlaws)
- 1 new Lizardmen Dwelling (Lizard Nest)
Future content:
- Single & Multiplayer scenarios
Other mods connected:
- Compatibility Patch between Shadow Realm & Wasteland Expansion (A secondary mod)
Link to Steam W…
Living Archon
For more information, please check the Archon section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Legend claims that in ancient times, the Archons liberated Athla from the grip of evil, paving the way for its transformation into the lush world it is today. Said to have ascended from human stock, the Archons are blessed with longevity and wisdom beyond their mortal kin, and holy power with which to heal the injured and smite the living dead. While they once sought to claim Athla for humankind in accordance with a bargain struck with the Elves in times immemorial, the Archons relinquished this claim after the Shadow Wars and departed through the Shadow Gate. While the graveyards they left behind have since been infected by evil and given birt…
Videos
For all the videos, please hover over the link to get the caption indicating the highlight of the video.
In each table, videos are organized from the most recent (on top) to the oldest (at the bottom).
Check out the markers in the description of the video:
Good example: as the name suggests
To watch: perfect examples with explanations of the tactics or strategies used, highly recommended to watch
- 1 Intermediate level tutorials
- 1.1 Site clearing
- 2 Advanced tutorials
- 2.1 Site clearing
- 2.2 Strategies
- 2.2.1 Rush to Exalted Martyrs
- 2.2.2 Rush to Shadow Stalker
- 2.2.3 Rush to Eldritch Horror
- 2.2.4 Rush to Monoculture & Heptatopia
- 3 Full matches
- 3.1 Commented full matches
- 3.2 Full matches without comments
- 4 Browse videos
- 4.1 By class
- 4.2 By race
- 4.3 By site
- 4.4 Quests and roamers
A gat…
Shadow Realm Community Expansion Content
- 1 Summary of the expansion
- 2 Layer - the Shadow Realm
- 2.1 Inhabitants of the Shadow Realm
- 2.2 Shadow Sickness and Shadow Walker
- 3 Races
- 3.1 Shadow Elves
- 3.1.1 The story of the Shadow Elves (by Draxynnic)
- 3.1.2 Specific gameplay of the Shadow Elves
- 3.1.3 Racial Governance
- 3.1.4 Class racial units
- 3.1.4.1 Warlord
- 3.1.4.2 Theocrat
- 3.1.4.3 Rogue
- 3.1.4.4 Necromancer
- 3.1.4.5 Arch Druid
- 3.1.4.6 Sorcerer
- 3.1.4.7 Dreadnought
- 3.1.5 Heroes / leaders
- 3.1.5.1 Arch Druid
- 3.1.5.2 Dreadnought
- 3.1.5.3 Necromancer
- 3.1.5.4 Rogue
- 3.1.5.5 Sorcerer
- 3.1.5.6 Theocrat
- 3.1.5.7 Warlord
- 3.1.6 Racial buildings
- 3.1 Shadow Elves
- 4 Dwellings
- 4.1 Archons as a Dwelling
- 5 Non-race non-dwelling units
- 5.1 Shadow Demons
- 6 Structures
- 6.1 Link between layers
- 6.2 Spawn sites
- 6.3 Treasure sites
- 6.4 Visit structures
- 6.5 Recruitment structures
- 6.6 Hearts
- 7 Items
- 8 Changes to…
Shadow Elf Dreadnought units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Sorcerer units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Arch Druid units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Rogue units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Necromancer units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Theocrat units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Warlord units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
Shadow Elf Racial Units
For more information, please check the Shadow Elf section in the Shadow Realm expansion summary page.
AoW3 Strategy and Tactical Guide from Academy Games on the Battlefield.com
The initial version of this guide drew entirely from posts by cbower ( on the Academy game he launched to teach new PBEM players how to master AoW3, before he left AoW3). It has since been updated to include strategy tutorials from Hiliadan and Marcuspers.
- 1 Tactical combat
- 1.1 Definitions
- 1.2 Site Matchup
- 1.3 Combat Spells
- 1.4 Battles Approach
- 1.5 Training for tactical combat
- 1.6 Siege battle as attacker
- 2 Strategy (strategic map)
- 2.1 General advice
- 2.2 Necromancer
- 2.3 Rogue
- 2.3.1 Fighting Rogue
- 2.3.2 Shadow Stalker Rush
- 2.4 Fast expansion
- 3 Working in teams
- 3.1 Getting Pure Good alignement quickly (tip by marcuspers)
Split - taking one your unit(s) away from your main force to draw aggression from the AI and split AI forces in two (or more) groups.
Blocking - position a u…
Living Archon Dwelling
- 1 Archon Ability
- 2 Archon Archer
- 3 Archon Footsoldier
- 4 Archon Paladin
- 5 Archon Saint
- 6 Archon Avenger
- 7 Archon Titan
Archon
- Dislike Volcanic
- Dislike Blighted
- Like Plains
Unit: Archon Archer
Tier I: 40 28 9 9 Cost: 50 5 Upkeep: 4 /
Abilities:
Experience Ranks:
- +1 Ranged +2
- +1 Ranged +2 +1 ,
- +1 Ranged +2 +1
- +1 Ranged +4 +1 ,
Unit: Archon Footsoldier
Tier I: 46 28 11 10 Cost: 45 5 Upkeep: 4 /
Abilities:
Experience Ranks:
- +1 Melee +2
- +1 Melee +2 +1 ,
- +1 Melee +2 +1
- +1 Melee +4 +1 ,
Unit: Archon Paladin
Tier II: 60 36 13 11 Cost: 115 30 Upkeep: 8 /
Abilities:
Experience Ranks:
- +1 Melee +4
- +1 Melee +4 +1 ,
- +1 Melee +4 +1 ,
- +1 Melee +8 +1 ,
Unit: Archon Saint
Tier II: 40 28 9 12 Cost: 90 30 Upkeep: 10 /
Abilities:
Experience Ranks:
- +1 Ranged +4
- +1 …
Shadow Realm Community Expansion
- 1 Summary of the expansion
- 2 Layer - the Shadow Realm
- 2.1 Inhabitants of the Shadow Realm
- 2.2 Shadow Sickness and Shadow Walker
- 2.2.1 Technical considerations about Shadow Walker
- 2.2.2 Technical considerations about Shadow Weed
- 2.2.3 Technical considerations about Shadow Artifact
- 2.3 RMG - Technical considerations
- 3 Races
- 3.1 Shadow Elves
- 3.1.1 The story of the Shadow Elves (by Draxynnic)
- 3.1.2 Specific gameplay of the Shadow Elves
- 3.1.3 Racial Governance
- 3.1.4 Class racial units
- 3.1.4.1 Warlord
- 3.1.4.2 Theocrat
- 3.1.4.3 Rogue
- 3.1.4.4 Necromancer
- 3.1.4.5 Arch Druid
- 3.1.4.6 Sorcerer
- 3.1.4.7 Dreadnought
- 3.1.5 Heroes / leaders
- 3.1.5.1 Arch Druid
- 3.1.5.2 Dreadnought
- 3.1.5.3 Necromancer
- 3.1.5.4 Rogue
- 3.1.5.5 Sorcerer
- 3.1.5.6 Theocrat
- 3.1.5.7 Warlord
- 3.1.6 Racial buildings
- 3.1.7 City visual
- 3.1 Shadow Elves
- 4 Dwellings
- 4.1 Arc…
Return of the Wizard Kings
This post is primarily going to be the documentation for the Wizard class mod that I have designed. It can be acquired from either the Steam Workshop or Nexus Mods.
The entire point is to add a new player class based on the Spheres of Magic from the older Age of Wonders games. So far the mod includes the following:
- Wizard Class (skills and hero upgrades)
- Death Sphere (specialization and hero upgrades)
- Fire Sphere (specialization and hero upgrades)
- Air Sphere (specialization and hero upgrades)
- Life Sphere (specialization and hero upgrades)
- Water Sphere (specialization and hero upgrades)
- Earth Sphere (specialization and hero upgrades)
In the works:
- Cosmos
- 1 How to Use the Mod
- 1.1 DLC Requirements
- 1.2 Choosing the Class
- 1.3 Leader Upgrades
- 1.4 Feedback, Bugs, an…
Specializations
So, you've picked your race. You've picked your class. You're all excited for the character and empire you're set on playing when all of a sudden you're smacked with the choice of three spheres. "Oh, who even cares," you might think. "I'll just pick the ones that sound cool and have at it. I never end up researching that crap anyway" Right. And that's okay. Nothing wrong with that. But your spheres, or specializations, can actually have a pretty big impact on how you play the game.
That's why I'm writing this: To hopefully give an overview of what specializations are good at what, and when. Whether you're someone who's mostly ignored specializations (specs from here on out) up to this point, or if you're an experienced player looking for so…
Golden Realms Campaign - Family Feuds
Welcome to my guide for the Campaigns!
This is the first level of the Golden Realms Campaign.
- 1 Intro
- 2 Strategy
- 2.1 Opening
- 2.2 The Betrayal
- 2.3 Offensive
- 3 Information
Day 3 of the Thicket Moon, the 57th year since the Heartwood Massacre. My name is Ernest, and I am a Thistlewood of Ampost, one of the last refuges of the Halflings on Athla. I start this journal on the day that war has found us again. Refugees have washed up on our shores; our village is flooded with scared, war-battered people. Among them is Ham Binger, the legendary Halfling Hero, and the news he has brought will change everything.
- --Ernest
Players on map:
- Ernest Thistlewood (Halfling Warlord) (Player)
- Camille Moonflower (Halfling Rogue)
- Roger Peacock (Halfling Theocrat)
- Malzua of Shyndra…
Necromancer Campaign - Resurrection
Welcome to my guide for the Campaigns!
This is the first level of the Necromancer Campaign, included in Eternal Lords.
- 1 Intro
- 2 Strategy
- 2.1 Opening
- 2.2 The Theocrat
- 2.3 The Warlord
- 2.4 The Rogue
- 3 Information
The Frostling clans are gathering. A new High Queen has taken the throne of Midwinter and is ready to choose her consort and reforge the alliance of the clans. Clan Varnheim has a proud history, but my ancestor's dedication to protecting the realm has left our halls in ruins. I am the last lord of our house, I must win the Queen's favour, and secure repayment for our sacrifices.
- --Arvik
Players on map:
- Arvik the Dark (Frostling Necromancer) (Player)
- Firic of Clan Eldur (Frostling Theocrat)
- Fjarnor of Clan Kaldur (Frostling Warlord)
- Zoki of Clan Brago (F…
Suggestion - Dark Elf Dwelling
This is my suggestion for a Dark Elf Dwelling. I feel a dwelling would be a better implementation than a race, since they are few in numbers after the Mending, and the population growth is slow. I tried to stay as true as possible to the original lore, and I believe that lore isn't a problem. Anyway, I'm curious to hear all your thoughts on this!
I've decided to make it in the shape of what we consider a normal dwelling page here on the Wiki, for the ease of overview.
I've published an Alpha Version of the mod: Steam
Feel free to give it a try and let me know what you think. It should be bugfree, but i'm primarily interested in balance judgement of people actually playing it. The models aren't implemented yet, so it sometimes looks a bit awkw…
Council of Origins 101
- 1 Introduction
- 1.1 About Elves
- 1.2 About Rogues
- 1.3 About Your Enemy
Welcome to the Elven Court! Here you're playing as Sundren, a High Elf Rogue, and you'll be facing off against Gamblag, an Orc Theocrat. This mission throws a lot of bones your way, but that doesn't mean it's going to be all wine and roses. I'm starting each mission by familiarizing you with the race and class you'll be playing. If this doesn't interest you, go ahead and skip on down to the mission itself.
High Elves are arguably one of the most powerful races in the game, so they're a good place for beginners to start. The main strength of High Elves lies in ranged combat in general, and in particular. Longbows are incredibly powerful ranged weapons that don't suffer any range p…
Campaign 101
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Basic Campaign Info
- 3 Basic Campaign Strategy
- 4 Walkthroughs
- 4.1 Elven Court
- 4.2 Commonwealth
- 4.3 Golden Realms
- 4.4 Eternal Lords
So, you're relatively new to Age of Wonders 3 and, like many new players, you decide to tackle the campaign... and proceed to get your butt kicked. Not to worry! I'm here for you. In fact, I've created this handy set of guides specifically for you, the beginner. I'll be walking you through each campaign mission with a special emphasis on things you need to know that will help you with both the mission, and learning the game in general.
First things first: I've never played a TBS game where the campaign was the best place to learn the basics, and AoW 3 is no exception. Play a random map or two so that you've und…
Evergreen Harborage
- 1 Evergreen Harborage
- 1.1 Evergreen Harborage Details
- 2 Buildings
- 3 Inherent Traits
- 4 Producible Units
Dwelling description needed.
- Base Domain Radius: 3
- 20
- 20
- 10
- 50
Sapling Nursery
Satyr Hovel
Dryad Thicket
Great Garden
Deep-Rooted Guardians
Ancient Grove
Rainbow's End
All Fey have:
- , implying:
- Hates
- Dislikes
- Likes
Sapling
Satyr
Dryad
Centaur
Treant
Leprechaun
Naalu Race
Through rituals in the Circle of Communion (T3 Building) the greatest fighters can become permanently enabled. The Unleashed looks like a bulky version of the other infantry unit, with vines growing out of his head like the racial support unit.
Shrine to the Ancients: once per battle round, an enemy units must resist a check of 7 resistance or it becomes dazed, if it resists it receives 5 spirit and 5 blight damage instead.
The Sage Class
The class buildings of the Sage are, in order:
Class Units
All of the Sage´s unique units must be produced at cities with the correct class building. The following is the order in which the empire upgrades must be researched as well as the necessary buildings.
- +1 Ranged Damage
- +4
- +1
Note: Some upgrades cannot be accessed for a Leader, i.e. and Spells.
What´s the advantage of the Sage?
The most valuable advantage is the way he can use the strategic map, he can manipulate natural phenomena with ease, however, you cannot underestimate his units and specially, his archers and elementals.
What about his economy?
Certainly, Sage may have some troubles early game, due the high cost of his units, but late game, he can get a prosperous economy, his Alchemy T…
Elven Court - Underground Eruption
Welcome to my guide for the Campaigns!
This is the fifth level of the Elven Court Campaign, if the Torchbearer side was chosen.
- 1 Intro
- 2 Strategy
- 2.1 Opening
- 2.2 The Surface
- 3 Information
With the Isles secured, Bormac proposes that we sail for the Rockwall Mountains, to join his kindred that live in seclusion, deep underground. The Elves and Dwarves have in dire times come together. It is time to rekindle the ancient bond of earth and sun, of root and leaf. Together we shall establish a safe haven for the Torchbearers.
- --Sundren
Players on map:
- Bormac Orcbane (Dwarf Dreadnought) (Player)
- Leana the Huntress (High Elf Warlord)
- Vontor the Shocking ([Goblin]] Sorcerer)
- Brenn Grimdotter (Dwarf Dreadnought)
- Werlac of Insaldur (High Elf Sorcerer)
Your Leader and He…
Elven Court - The Sapphire Archipelago
Welcome to the my Strategy blog for the campaigns! This is the fourth level of the Elven Court Campaign, The Sapphire Archipelago.
- 1 Intro
- 2 Strategy
- 2.1 Opening
- 2.2 Taking the Second Island
- 2.3 Hopping the Islands
- 3 Information
The Commonwealth is rolling out new types of mana-powered war machines. If it wasn't for our actions in the Xablor Province, these infernal machines would already be trampling our heartlands. I head back home with all my allies. After honoring Thannis, my Father and his advisors will consult with me regarding the future of the Elven Court and the best way to utilize my newly acknowledged talents.
- --Sundren
In this scenario, you're going to play as a Rogue again. Your starting race is High Elves, while getting access to dwarves an…
Elven Bard Spam - by Garresh
Written by Garresh
Yes, I realized I already covered bard spam, but this strategy is both distinct and different enough to merit its own category. Unlike , are a complete change of strategy, as opposed to an improvement of an existing strategy. The thing about elven bards is that they kind of kick ass but, unlike other , they don't take names. Typical bardspam strategies are based around creating a chaotic mess of units which look nothing like a rogue army. Elven bardspams are highly focused, as elven bards are far more likely to kill than convert most of the time. They also lack any form of healing, which means they really really suck at typical charm-based bard tactics. So why would I even be talking about them? Well, in exchange for all th…
Elven Court - Faith Reborn
Welcome to the my Strategy blog for the campaigns!
This is the third level of the Elven Court Campaign, Faith Reborn.
- 1 Intro
- 2 Strategy
- 2.1 Opening
- 2.2 Meeting Gustav Gorsmog
- 2.3 Finding Voraditius
- 3 Information
Nomlik believes he has a divine mandate to save his enslaved followers from the Emperor's blasphemy, and is convinced I will help him. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth has retrieved a powerful weapon from the cursed land of Nirvenkiln. Regardless of heaven's wishes, it's time to help Nomlik sow seeds of discord throughout the Commonwealth. Seeing the factories where Nomlik's followers labor should yield the intelligence I seek.
- --Sundren
In this scenario, you're going to play as a Theocrat. Your starting race is Goblins, while getting access to dwarve…
Elven Court - Promised Lands
Welcome to the my Strategy blog for the campaigns!
This is the second level of the Elven Court Campaign, Promised Lands.
- 1 Strategy
- 1.1 Opening
- 1.2 Expanding
- 1.3 On the Offensive
- 2 Information
In this scenario, you're going to play as an Arch Druid. Your starting race is Draconians, of which you are provided with two at the start, though you'll get access to Goblins early, and High Elves, Humans and Orcs soon after.
Players:
- Reskar Scapeshaper (Draconian Arch Druid)
- Shnaga the Pretty (Goblin Rogue)
- Urlagh the Unchained (Orc Warlord)
- Lucian van Kesburgh (Human Dreadnought)
You'll find yourself in the north-east corner of the map, with your leader Reskar and hero Sundren. They will have their experience and items carryover from the last scenario, but their …
Elven Court - Council of Origins
Welcome to the my Strategy blog for the campaigns!
The start is with the first mission of the Elven Court Campaign, Council of Origins.
- 1 Strategy
- 1.1 Opening Turns
- 1.2 Exploring your surroundings
- 1.3 On the Offensive
- 2 Information
This scenario, you're going to play a Rogue. Mainly, your race will be High Elves, though you will get a single stack of Draconians, and you will get access to Humans and Orcs once you start going on the offensive.
For research, it's always a good idea to get a scout, so it can be beneficial to research if you don't have it yet. However, any opening should work fine.
Players:
- Sundren of House Inioch (High Elf Rogue)(Player)
- Thannis of House Inioch (High Elf Warlord)
- Gamblag Master of Orgins (Orc Theocrat)
You start in the woods…
Scoundrel Strike - by Garresh
Written by Garresh
This is a fairly recent strategy. I've yet to see a single player apply it in multiplayer, which makes me sad because on paper this is pretty terrifying. Elves, Dwarves, and Goblin scoundrels have all recently acquired new forms of concealment. have , have , and have . If you simply pick one of these three races and attack immediately, you should be able to pull off something functionally similar to an assassin rush, except like 10-15 turns earlier. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Goblins are the hardest to sneak with, due to the lack of available wetlands. They compensate for this with excellent damage. Elves are better at stealth, but not great in combat abilities. Dwarves are the gold standard. Not grea…
Corrupted Killers - by Garresh
Written by Garresh
Ever since the changes, this has been my personal favorite opening strategy. It is extremely difficult to get started, but once it gets going the strategy will quite rapidly pay for itself in dungeon rewards, and scales well into mid and even towards endgame. It requires a great deal of micromanagement, but it's so good once you get that first batch of s. They clear ruins more efficiently than any other strategy, and are far faster even than deep bard spam. That being said, the economic growth isn't quite as good as bard spam, because you still need to produce other units. It walks a fine line between bard spam and assassin rush, in that it can both clear supremely effectively, has better economy than s, and can be used…
Bard Spam - by Garresh
- 1 Bard Spam
- 1.1 Disadvantages
- 1.2 Synergies
- 1.3 Anti-Synergies
- 1.4 Variants
By Garresh
This one never really gained popularity, and is both highly situational and extremely high risk. That said, it's a fun strategy and a decent choice in free for all games, or games with high amounts of roamers. Generally, the best way to apply it is to build enough s to go around recruiting T3 monsters while you dedicate all your gold producing cities and forts. I don't recommend doing this unless you know the game is going to be fairly low pressure, and you'll likely still want to mix in some combat units with your bards just in case they fail all their charms. That being said, the strategy did get a decent boost with the release of Wild Magic, as wild adept gives…
Assassin Rush - by Garresh
Written by Garresh
The first major rogue strategy. First became popular on the game's release, and probably during beta. Basically entails rushing out an Observatory, and clearing what nodes you can while you erect forts and build up a surplus of gold. Basically involves a lot of rushing when you first get access to the . After that, you pump passives until you get and the other relevant techs.
- 1 Advantages
- 2 Disadvantages
- 3 Synergies
- 4 Anti-Synerges
- 5 Author Rating
Compared to other covert attack strategies, it is one of the most stable, and comes out fastest. No other concealed attack strategy is as safe or stable as this. It's pretty much the gold standard. Additionally, with explorer upgrades this opening stays viable throughout midgame. It's ext…