Classes

In Age of Wonder 3 there are a number of classes that leaders or heroes can be that all hold their own on the battlefield and in empire managment but go about their buisness with their own strengths and weaknesses.

While no single class can easily defeat another in single combat there is a more complex egagement web to consider when attempting to overcome an enemy leader or hero. No battle is the same as another over the course of a game as many different stiuations can arise from a simple scenario with the large number of spells, enchantments, abilities, troops, equipment, upgrades and all of this before considering the battle terrain itself and the readiness of both of the combatents. It's the mark of a true tactician to consider all the facets of a battle before meeting on the battlefield.

This is to say nothing of the wide array of empire upgrades availible to each class, these are powerful passive elements that either augment troops, upgrade territory or make your cities more efficient. Some upgrades even influence the game outside of the leaders control such as improving diplomacy with neutral parties.

Dreadnought

"Dreadnoughts work in a world of pulleys, boilers, engines and gears. They are inventors and engineers. The Commonwealth esteems their machines because they can automate everyday chores. Their tanks and battleships allow the common man to safely slay monstrous creatures. However, the power of steam doesn't come without its price, so Dreadnought lords have pioneered new ways of stripping resources from the earth. I once heard one proclaim that when they ran out of fertile lands, they'd invent an alternative fuel. From what I've observed, he is probably right." -- "Gifted Lords of the Third Age" by Ralinstone Pedant, Chronicler

Dreadnoughts are the most resiliant class in the game with good defensive options and upgrades focused on becoming even more resiliant. Outside of the leader or hero themselves dreadnought units are mostly machines and firearms so it's important to learn the various strengths and weaknesses of your armies because the reload time of your units can leave your army vulnerable at inoppotune times.

The various abilities and spells of a dreadnought are mostly area of effect abilities focused on disabling or damaging your foes with the strongest being the distabilised mana core, a massive explosion that affects the entire battlefield dealing high fire damage to all units both enemy and freind alike. This focus on area of effect fire damage and physical damage spells means that dreadnoughts do benefit from high fire resistance units and summons as they can then use their most powerful abilities without worrying about freindly fire.

The end-game units that the dreadnought can roll out like the ironclad warship and juggernaught are some of the most unstoppable units in the game with a variety of abilities and immunities. The mechanised nature of the troops does mean that they require active maintenence during combat in order to regain hitpoints but the reassemble ability makes them functionally immortal as long as a dreadnought is on the field.

Class Bonus:

+1 Defence

Armoured

Class Units

Spy Drone
Engineer
Musketeer
Flame Tank
Cannon
Ironclad Warship
Golem
Juggernaught

Theocrat

"Because theocrats tend not to wield many offensive powers, it is tempting to believe that territories ruled by theocrats are easy to conquer. History has proven this to be foolishness. Theocrats lead the masses by the heart. They heal, persuade, minister and convert. Their zealots are fiercely loyal, convinced to the core that any action they perform will earn them a greater reward in the afterlife. Theocrats bestow power upon their most faithful from two theological sources: the Mandate of Heaven or the terror of the Underworld." -- "Gifted Lords of the Third Age" by Ralinstone Pedant, Chronicler

The theocrat is a class that revolves around careful buff and debuff placement that relies more on strategy and cunning than most other classes. They do benefit for their strong and very synergising unit compositions but their weakness is their mana use as they rely on it to accomplish their most important victories. This means that a theocrat can have their wings clipped early by denying in them important mana sites.

Although there are many strengths and weaknesses among the races when it comes to class choices the most benefit can be found in the goblin race when selecting to play a theocrat as their cheap cost units and fast expansion does fill in the gaps in the theocrat early game very well.

The end-game unit: Shrine of Smiting is perhaps one of the best city defence units in the game and as such is often to be found in cities before anywhere else as it does suffer a little on an open battlefield from calvalry charges and other quick approaches. Fortuately the exalted troop has a mechanic called resergance which ressurects the unit if it fell during the last combat as long as it's army went on to win, this makes it an amazing expediatry force as they don't need to fall back to replenish troops. This bonus is extended to all of a theocrat's troops at the end of the research tree but this is so far off that it would only see major use in a very long game.

Class Bonus

+2 Resistance
Devout

Class Units

Cherub
Martyr
Crusader
Evangelist
Exalted
Shrine of Smiting

Rogue

"Rogue Lords are masters of propaganda. Any foolish citizen who refuses to accept their lies disappears without a whisper of protest in the middle of the night. Rogues employ political scandal, poison, assassinations, theft, blackmail, and bribery to appease their subjects and manipulate rival lords. Rogues often have two faces: one they show the public, the other is a ruthless schemer directing their secret police force to brutalize his enemies. Rogue troops rely on stealth and speed, patiently waiting in shadow for the perfect moment to strike." -- "Gifted Lords of the Third Age" by Ralinstone Pedant, Chronicler

Rogues are the most careful of the leader and hero classes as they can have the highest pay off but also the greatest risk due to their mechanics. They rely on flanking and wide troop movements and ambushes in order to fully benefit during combat and on the strategic map, this kind of gameplay means that they can be difficult to deal with without an overwhelming force moving in and crushing them. This also inconveniantly leads to the rogue's units moving in as your force moves out and capturing your own city in revenge.

A careful commander is wary of fielding their leader on the forefront of battle as the jouney back from the void can be a real vulnerability but with the rogue this is less of an issue as a rogue can more than hold their own even at the start of the game, they start with good statistics and their backstab ability makes them very dangerous.

Rogue upgrades make them powerful expanders but leave their cities vulnerable to prolonged sieges from other classes so it is usually wise to recruit dwelling units for base defence. Their shadow stalker summon is a pretty strong seige unit but should be used en-masse if possible as they are not as tough as other elementals.

Rogue Bonus

+1 Defence

+1 Melee Physical Damage

+1 Range Physical Damage

Backstab

Rogue Units

Grimbeak Crows
Scoundrel
Bard
Assassin
Succubus
Shadow Stalker

Archdruid

Sorcerer

Warlord