The Trend of Snow Elves
The original game left many creatures mentioned in the lore behind the scenes. The Horn of the Abyss modification corrects this omission.
The Cove faction is associated in the plot with the pirates of Regna (they are dedicated to the campaign in M&M IV and played a significant role in M&M VIII). The technological Factory, which initially repelled fans devoted to traditional fantasy, also fit in well. The official, but canceled Forge, did not succeed in this at one time.
Snow elves (vori) long remained only in texts. In the "Ice Blade" campaign in "Heroes Chronicles," they were implied, but ordinary elves of Avli took to the battlefield. The Unfrozen studio in the upcoming HOMM: Olden Era also remembered the vori. Their Schism faction consists of apostates and chthonic creatures, specializing in dark magic.
Icy Beauty
The Cronwerk perfectly conveys the beauty of traditional Scandinavian buildings and folklore elements. I especially want to praise the design of the Ancestral Spirits, which are one of the most beautiful grails. And the music conveys the atmosphere of external cold and internal warmth.
But there are problems with the design of the army — the tambourine is lost in the general background for both versions of the Shamans. I had to strain my eyes to see this element. It lacks bright colors or glow!
Building and Units
As in other towns, newcomers have many buildings available for construction. Several of them stand out against the background of analogues:
- Mage Guild. It can be developed to the fourth level — this is a solid middle ground, but it does not reach the level of the same Tower;
- The Fair improves the exchange rate on the Market, which is useful on maps with a small number of towns;
- The Rune Seid gives the skill "Rune Knowledge", which only heroes from Cronwerk can learn. Squads accumulate runes for actions such as: attack, taking damage, or activating a defensive stance. For the accumulated runes, they receive bonuses to characteristics.
- If you bring the Grail, then the Spirits of the Forefathers will be erected in Cronwerk. They not only increase gold income and creature growth, but also the defense of the defending hero during the siege by 20. This is a huge bonus!
There are few elves in Cronwerk, the basis of the army is northern monsters. By analogy with the Fortress, Cronwerk plays from defense, and without flyers, the army is slow at the start:
- Kobolds and Kobold Elders: like peasants in HOMM V, they are able to bring gold to the treasury. Kobolds have a low speed, which is corrected by their improved version;
- Mountain Rams and Arkhars: Mountain rams are fast beasts. But Arkhars are immune to ice, and increase vulnerability to spells for nearby enemies by 20%.
- Snow Elves and Steel Elves: the main ranged squad. They have little ammunition, but have no penalty in close combat. Steel Elves can shoot while next to a cell with an enemy creature;
- Yeti and Yeti-Runemakers: medium melee fighters and have a useful skill to remove negative effects. Yeti-Runemakers are able to accumulate runes in battle, the bonuses from which are added to the runes of the Cronwerk hero;
- Shamans and Great Shamans: cast "Air Shield" on allies, which reduces damage from ranged attacks. Great Shamans have a chance to freeze an enemy squad with a shot — this is an analogue of petrification or blinding, when the enemy will be inactive until damage is received or the spell is removed. The plus is that frozen enemies take 25% more damage;
- Mammoths and War Mammoths: large fluffy tanks. In a defensive stance, War Mammoths receive a 100% bonus to defense, instead of the standard 20%;
- Jotuns and Jotun Warlords: strong melee fighters who reduce the speed of enemy flyers. Jotuns are able to teleport an ally once, and the improved version — any number of times.
Tactics for Playing as Cronwerk
Runes for Everyone
Players need to focus on surviving and accumulating runes. After accumulating them, you can go on the attack with an already strengthened army — this is a lengthy process, but the defense bonuses of the faction contribute to it.
You can focus on collecting creatures from other towns and imposing runes on them. The hero named Oydana, who specializes in diplomacy, will do a good job with this.
Rampocalypse
Under the control of a mage, divide the Arkhars into small squads and send them to attack. Reaching the target, they will increase the magical damage on it, and at the same time block the shooters. The tactic works well with an army with Jotuns, who can simply teleport the Arkhars.
Is it worth playing as the Cronverk?
In terms of balance, Cronverk feels broken — in a good way. Not only does the army have a huge number of useful skills, but the heroes are also able to enhance it with runes. The developers tried to compensate for this with weakness in the early stages, the slow speed of units, and the need to improve most fighters in order for the faction to work.
The only downside of the update is that the new city doesn't have its own campaign. Cronverk is simply made for a story where heroes must use the mechanics of fighters to gain advantages over the enemy. And how cool it would be to end it with a siege, where the bonus from the Grail allows you to fight off numerically superior enemies. An epic level of the battle at Helm's Deep would be guaranteed!