Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes Review

Finally enchanted.

→ May 28, 2013 One of the problems with last October's Fallen Enchantress is that its hero characters (Sovereigns and Champions, as they're properly known) start out so powerful they render everything else almost irrelevant. It doesn't understand that having a godlike super-warrior on the field removes tension from battle, but Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes does. In this stand-alone expansion heroes are superior enough to stand out and make me confident in battle, but not so much that I can neglect the soldiers and archers they lead. Everything feels more important and more tactical. Along with improved battle systems, bigger maps, and a host of new spells and monsters, they make Legendary Heroes the best version of this fantasy 4X strategy game to date.

Defeats hurt less when the map is prettier.

One of the joys of Legendary Heroes is that it allows more freedom in the creation of its significantly larger, more detailed worlds, allowing for playthroughs that can last anywhere from two to seven hours. The randomly generated maps themselves feel dynamic and alive thanks to a graphical overhaul since Fallen Enchantress, though they retain a decidedly dated look and feel. New options, such as a slider for monster difficulty, allow you to reduce the threat from roaming mythological beasts and focus on enemy empires if you wish. Random events, including eclipses which temporarily boost monsters' power, add a needed element of dynamism. New enemies, too, add a welcome dose of variety, such as melee-immune banshees that can wipe out an entire army if you haven't brought along spellcasters to combat them.
Sovereigns and Champions remain at the heart of the action as you scour the world for resources to build your empire, and the relatively small band of trainable combat units
you can bring with them grants Legendary Heroes' so-called armies an air more akin to a Tolkien fellowship – perfect for this theme. Even better, the diverse lot of 10 Sovereigns (up by two since Fallen Enchantress) spread out among multiple factions each has widely varying and strategically significant racial abilities that reward repeat playthroughs and experimentation. I do wish the deep background lore played a bigger role after I begin a game, though – as in most 4X games, the interesting tale is shoved aside and mostly ignored. Without such fluff, the endgame on the new huge maps often bogs down under the strain of tedious repetition – again, as with most game of this type. Counterintuitively, what makes Legendary Heroes' heroes more exciting is that their strength is initially scaled back, and most hero units debut as barely better than their nameless, disposable comrades. The result, intriguingly enough, is a much better balance of empire building and hero development, complemented by a new RPG-like talent tree system that now allows you to assign Sovereigns to specialized roles such as Assassins and Defenders. It's an intuitive and accessible move, even if some balance issues linger. Assassins, for instance, seem paper-weak until you've spent many hours gearing them, and Defenders suffer from a few redundant skills that seem to hamper their overall performance. Mages, meanwhile, are still a bit godlike, particularly when you've leveled far enough to put points into their better summoning spells.
An excellent new fame-based recruitment system takes the busywork out of hunting around the map for new recruits. Instead, Legendary Heroes' characters seek you out based on how effective you've been at clearing monsters, completing quests, or building monuments in your capital city, which I found pushed me to attempt feats I'd have otherwise passed up. You always have the choice of two champions, too, which relieves Fallen Enchantress' pain of finally discovering a new champion only to discover that you really had no use for him in your playstyle.

Assassins aren't as cool as they sound, sadly.

Battles themselves are vastly improved, too, to the point where I now find myself actually enjoying their turn-based tactical challenges instead of auto-resolving every time. Weapons now come with specialized abilities such as the spear's "impale" that strikes opponents in front of and behind you, and a multiplying "swarm" damage bonus encourages surrounding enemies instead of just charging in. Unfortunately, the AI doesn’t have a firm grasp of these new tactics. Even though I've noticed improvements in the way it conducts its war effort, as I learned to effectively use swarming it became too easy to use. As in Fallen Enchantress, the AI still tends to turn away from targets with a smidgen of health to focus on foes with full health bars farther away, which makes enemy units easy to finish off.
It’s definitely smarter off the battlefield, but even though it makes some good improvements – like how enemy units will often demand tribute once they enter your borders instead of simply loitering in the countryside – you'll still see it trip up as it does in vanilla Fallen Enchantress. Vulnerable enemy Sovereigns love to take strolls out in the field unescorted, and rival empires that are only slightly more advanced than I am will balk at any sort of negotiation in the diplomatic interface.
No expansion has ever fixed every problem, of course, and Legendary Heroes addresses enough of Fallen Enchantress' issues (including some stability problems) that it's certainly the superior version. Each playthrough yielding some new depth or complexity I'd missed before. It's both the best place for newcomers to jump into the series and an enticing upgrade for returning fans, thanks to Stardock's half-price offer for owners of Fallen Enchantress. It took a few tries, but this is finally the great game we've waited for.