By Biske at the Paradox forums, Source
Behold, my preliminary guide to Resources in Warlock!
I figure this should be really helpful to a lot of people so here it is. Forgive the awkward formatting, its because I plan on submitting this to GameFAQs eventually. For now though I'd like to hear what everyone thinks of what I have. Feel free to offer insight and suggestions. Corrections and comments on the Halberdhall stuff are welcome too as I have yet to play around much with them.
IRON
- This is probably the most common resource, and it is seemingly guaranteed there will be one, sometimes several, in each player's starting vicinity.
Foundry - 1 Gold Production
Perk: Masterwork Armor - 25 Melee/25 Missile Resistance (50 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Creature, Ranged, Caster, Healer, Construct
Not to be underestimated by any means. Everything can get this perk, and it goes a long way to improving survivability. For most units, that first 25 resistance equals 30% damage reduction!
SILVER
- This resource tends to be fairly common, and can even appear within your capital's eventual borders.
Silver Mine - 6 Gold Production
Decent, and Silver is common enough that you'll happily plop these down once you have the perks for Humans and Monsters.
Silverwork Brewery [Monster] - 1 Gold Upkeep
Perk: Silver Brewery - 35 Death/Elemental Resistance (50 Gold)
Units: Creature, Healer
Super awesome! This affects fewer units, but the reality is that the best Monster units are Creatures so this is actually a cheap, common perk that lets your Werewolves and Trolls go toe to toe with exotic damage types much more easily. Eventually this stacks with Protection Amulets and other perks, making your Werewolves and such extremely resilient.
Silver Forge [Human] - 1 Gold Upkeep
Perk: Silver Weapons - 20% Life/20% Spirit Damage (75 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Ranged
Excellent upgrade for those that can benefit. The Life portion is heavily resisted by almost everything except Undead, who take significant extra damage. The Spirit portion, however, is very very rarely resisted by anything before perks, contributing great damage against pretty much everything.
Laboratorium [Undead] - 7 Mana Production, 2 Gold Upkeep
Meh. Honestly Undead get screwed here, not that this is an awful building. 7 mana is pretty decent after the Undead multipliers, but compared to the Human and Monster perks this is underwhelming.
GOLD
- Still a relatively common resource
Gold Mine - 12 Gold Production
Only one option here, but you won't complain. 12 Gold is a very respectable amount, and a great basis for a Gold focused city.
GEMS - A lot rarer than one would hope, which is a bit unfortunate. Sometimes there may only be one or two outside of the alternate dimensions, and you may not be the ones lucky enough to get them.
Jewelry Shop - 4 Gold and 1 Mana Upkeep
Perk: Protection Amulets - 35 Death/35 Elemental Resistance (100 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Creature, Ranged, Caster, Healer
This is a great perk that will patch up those big Death and Elemental Resistance holes your units may otherwise struggle to deal with. Fighter and Ranged types in particular may find this being the only thing between them and getting blasted to bits by Firestorm and other spells or vampires, at least until you find the time and mana to bless them.
Gem mine - 20 Gold Production
Its very rare you'll have extra gems, but when you do this is obviously welcome. Do resist the temptation to build this over the Jewelry Shop for your first gems however, as you'll likely regret it.
NEVRIL
- Primarily Nevril is found in alternate dimensions, where you'll see at least one most of time. Occasionally however you'll find one in Ardania, usually in out of the way areas. You should of course try to seize these whenever possible, as you'll be at a significant disadvantage if the enemy gets this way before you do. Or at least keep it out of the enemy's hands if you plan on using many missile or elemental damage units.
Nevril Smelter - 8 Gold and 2 Mana Upkeep
Perk: Nevril Armor - 40 Missile/50 Elemental Resistance (175 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Creature, Ranged, Caster, Healer
Huge Missile and especially Elemental resistances are excellent, and this is, very rarely, possible to have relatively early on. Most of the time though this is available later on to help round out your defenses, or in many cases
enable obscenely high (200+) resistances that border on immunity. (Additionally, Nevril can be used to get a perk for Light Armor which enables +1 move for all units (save creatures). Structure name is Design Department, and it is built by Arethi Elves.)
ADAMANTIUM - Possibly the rarest resource in the game, you'll usually find 1-2 per alternate dimension, but even that is not guaranteed.
Adamantium Smelter - 10 Gold and 3 Mana Upkeep
Perk: Adamantium Armor - 45 Melee/45 Death/20 Spirit Resistance (250 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Ranged, Creature, Caster, Healer, Construct
Obviously this offers a huge amount of resistances and goes a long way to making your elite units that much hardier. The 250 Gold price tag is no joke however, and your entire coffers may empty before you know it if you try
to buy this for your whole army. The rare Spirit resistance helps cover up that otherwise omnipresent defense gap too. All units can use this perk, so it in particular helps shore up Melee and Death resistances for unit types
that normally find it difficult to get these types of resistances.
Transmutation Facility (Elves) - 15 Gold, 15 Mana, 15 Research
If you are so lucky as to get a second adamantium node this is a huge win for the city that has this building as it covers everything but food as a resource.
MAGIC NODE
Enchanter's Workshop - 4 Gold and 1 Mana Upkeep
Perk: Enchanted Weapons - 25% Elemental Damage (100 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Ranged, Caster
Not too shabby. This really helps your stronger units punch through tough physical defenses and just overall adds some nice damage. However, 100 gold to buy this perk can really add up if you try to get it for all your low and mid tier units, and weak units like basic Warriors and Archers won't get much bang for your buck especially if they end up dying quickly.
Mana Pump - 10 Mana Production, 4 Gold Upkeep
Solid source of Mana that can be worth building around if you need it.
Cheese Caves [Monster] - 12 Food and 6 Mana Production, 4 Gold Upkeep
You basically trade 4 mana for 12 Food, and thats worth it to me. Even if
that food is surplus you end up with 6 Gold and thats pretty nice.
MAGIC FIELDS
Magic Testing Area - 5 Mana and Research Production, 5 Gold Upkeep
A solid little source of Mana and Research that doesn't break the bank.
Magic Garden [Human] - 10 Food and Mana Production, 4 Gold Upkeep
This looks really awesome at first glance when compared to the Magic Test Area, but Research is generally a lot harder to come by. Unless you're totally happy with your Research already then I say stick with the Testing Area in most cases.
Converter [Undead] - 5 Gold Upkeep
Perk: Magical Transformer - Unit Power +20%
Units: Caster, Healer, Construct
Pretty great if you intend on relying heavily on Elder Vampires or Magisters. The Upkeep cost is sort of outrageous, you should probably micromanage turning this thing on and off unless you're pumping out casters constantly.
PUMPKIN PATCH
- These are fairly common and can appear within your capital's eventual borders.
Pumpkin Farm - 4 Food and Mana Production
Nice, but nothing special.
Shrine of the Rotten Pumpkin [Monster] - 1 Gold Upkeep
Perk: Blessing of Hill'o'Win - Regeneration +3 (75 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Creature, Ranged, Caster, Healer
A very nice early game perk that can really turn the tides or make capturing cities casualty free. That 3 HP may not sound like much but its a decent chunk of HP for your early fighter and ranged units. Getting some HP back
constantly lets them maintain stronger attacks too. And of course the downtime spent resting is greatly reduced with this, its all pretty solid to have.
Field of Ghosts [Undead] - 1 Gold Upkeep
Perk: Ghost Armor - 25 Death/25 Spirit/25 Elemental Resistance (50 Gold)
Units: Creature, Caster
This seems to be less valuable especially to actual Undead units early on, as they're already immune to Death, Spirit is rare, and Vampries already have stupid high Elemental resistance. Its still nice however, especially later
on, but it doesn't tend to be high priority. For Monsters however, this is excellent to grab for your Werewolves and Trolls, stacking with Silver Brewery to make them much more resilient to Death and Elemental than Fighter
and Ranged type units typically are.
ANCIENT RUINS
- Very common. You can almost always find one of these close to your starting area, and you should try to secure it if you don't want to fall behind in Research.
Excavations - 10 Research, 8 Gold Upkeep
Great. Research tends to be hard to come by so these are always welcome. The 8 Gold upkeep sounds bad until you look at other Research buildings, nevermind the fact that this is a single building with no requirements other than the resource.
INFERNAL RIFT
- Generally these are pretty rare outside of alternate dimensions. If they do appear in Ardania it usually is close to a Mystic Portal and may have high tier enemies nearby.
Demonologist Workshop - 12 Research Production, 3 Gold, Food and Mana Upkeep
Same deal as Excavations. You pretty much should jump on these at every opportunity.
PIGS
-You usually see these everywhere. Too bad they're nothing special.
Pig Farm - 6 Food Production
At just a mere 6 Food, these don't tend to be high priority. Not bad for a Food focused town though.
DONKEYS
- Quite common and helpful sources of early game cash.
Trading Post - 10 Gold Production
A good enough basis to get a nice Gold focused town around, these can really help get the cash flow going even early game.
Butchery [Monster] - 8 Food Production, 2 Gold Upkeep
Mmmm, donkey meat. Actually, no thanks. This is a horrible option over the Trading Post in most cases, even when you just compare it to the Pub and Fishing Village. Sometimes you'll build this when you really need a
Food focused town and have limited space, but generally the Trading Post is much more useful.
Order of the Stubborn Knights - 2 Gold and 2 Food Upkeep
Unit: Stubborn Knights
This is an average mid tier unit that is obviously geared towards defense. Its pretty good at what you'd expect it to do, which is sit there and never move from a defensive position. Its toughness makes it a respectable early game fighter too due to its lack of building requirements and commonness. However this is is a dead end unit with surprisingly prohibitive upkeep costs, so its not something you really want to rely on in the long term.
HALBERDHALL
War University - 5 Gold Upkeep
Perk : Masters of War - +1 Exp/Turn
Units : Fighter, Creature, Ranged, Caster, Healer, Construct
Halberdier's Guild - 2 Gold and 1 Food Upkeep
Unit: Halberdier
Training Arena - 2 Gold Upkeep
Unit: Royal Guardsmen
MINOTAUR CAVES
- About average in rarity I'd say, and certainly a game-changer in my mind.
Minotaur Labyrinth - 2 Gold Upkeep
Perk: Tried By Labyrinth - +30% Melee (100 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Creature
30% Melee damage is huge if you plan on using melee units much, and can really add up especially on elite units. I always try to get this if I can, and recommend it over the Palace unless you have a speific hole you want the minotaurs to fill.
Minotaur Palace - 2 Gold Upkeep
Unit: Minotaurs
Compared to most similar tier units this is clearly a very offensive unit, as it lacks the resistances that Veterans, Halberdiers, and Stubborn Knights have. If you can get their resistances up with perks and blessings then you
may have something quite powerful, especially when you eventually upgrade them...
Corrida Pen (Extension) - 4 Gold Upkeep
Units: Black Minotaurs
This is an Extension structure, which means it requires the previous Minotaur Palace to already be built. In addition, the town must also have a population size of at least ?. These guys are seriously destructive with their Cleave ability, but like the regular minotaurs they really need some defensive help to not get murdered. If you can get these guys and buff them all up though, the game is probably in the bag.
ELVEN VILLAGE
- This is a pretty rare resource, and its value heavily depends on how early you find it...
Elven Bungalow - 2 Gold Production
Unit: Elven Archers
This is a decent mid tier ranged unit, but the upkeep on them is quite harsh. They have no resistances so they're fragile as hell, unlike the Monster and Undead ranged units. They're very mobile in comparison however, especially
in forests, much like Hunters/Rangers.
Elven Shooting Grounds (Extension) - 4 Gold Upkeep
Unit: Elven Sharpshooters
This is an Extension structure, which means it requires the previous Elven Bungalow to already be built. In addition, the town must also have a population size of at least 10. While Elven Archers are nothing special, the upgraded Sharpshooters are highly destructive. They are barely any more durable however, so care must
be taken when using them. Because of the population requirement this unit can take a very long time to come online, too late oftentimes, so carefully consider how late the game is and how long it may go before aiming to build these. Blessing of Life and Prosperity will help.
Casino - Gold Production +50%
This is nothing amazing unless you can get it alongside of something like a Gold Mine or Trading Post. Otherwise this is just a consolation prize if you find an Elven Village late game, as the Sharpshooters may come in too
late to have an impact.
DWARVEN SETTLEMENT - This is a pretty rare resource, and one I'm always hoping to find.
Dwarven Forge - 10 Gold Production
Perk: Dwarven Steel - Unit Power +20% (100 Gold)
Units: Fighter, Creature, Construct
This is a great perk, and the building is sexy too! If you're going to be using melee units heavily then this is something you really want.
Dwarven Settlement - 2 Gold Upkeep
Unit: Dwarves
Dwarves are tough little dudes, and the unit you get largely reflects that. What you might not expect however is that this is actually a siege unit, and very comparable to the Monster troll unit. Considering what you have to give up and the rarity of the resource, however, its difficult for me to recommend this building over the Forge. Also, this is actually a defensive structure too. With 75 HP and a 12 missile attack its a little better than normal towers, but this is a bad thing as well. Like all towers this building can be destroyed, and when that happens the town loses population. Normally this isn't a huge deal, but when you have a Dwarven Settlement you probably want to plan for the Extension structure and it's unit, so losing population pushes you back from that quite noticeably. Keep this building well protected!
Training Course (Extension) - 4 Gold Upkeep
Units: Dwarven Overcomers
This is an Extension structure, which means it requires the previous Dwarven Settlement to already be built. In addition, the town must also have a population size of at least 10.
DRAGONS EGGS - You can only find these in the alternate dimensions, there can be anywhere from 1-4 of them.
Dragon Farm [Human] - 40 Gold Production
Whats not to love? 40 Gold is ridiculous, especially once you get all the Gold modifiers up.
Dragon Farm [Monster] - 40 Food Production, 10 Gold Upkeep
Personally I'd have my Food issues under control by the time these are possible, so this is pretty inferior to the Human version. If you throw up all the Food multiplier structures though then the amount you get is quite obscene, and certainly it at least pays for itself through the 50% surplus conversion.
Dragon Conservatory [Undead] - 40 Mana Production, 10 Gold Upkeep
Similarly, I always end up with enormous gobs of unspendable mana from clearing out the pocket dimensions so this is difficult to justify over the Human version. Unless you're aiming to cast the Spell of Unity, I'd go for the Human Dragon Farm.
Red Dragons Nest - 10 gold Upkeep
Unit: Red Dragon
This is not a bad unit by any means, but in my experience the problem is that by the time you can get these you could just get a Gold Dragon instead, so this resource is better served by the Gold/Food buildings.
GOLD DRAGONS EGGS
- There will be exactly 1 of these per pocket dimension, always guarded by a Gold Dragon.
Gold Dragons Nest - 20 Gold Upkeep
Unit: Gold Dragon
This is the most powerful and expensive unit in the game you can get. Not much more to be said, is there?