High Elf Buildings

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High Elf Buildings

White Tower
White Towers are a typical keep - large, produces the race's builder and (as of 1.03.1) also their general. As with the other Elven keeps, it also researches runes needed to allow production of units from other buildings. Although this can impair tiring times, it only really makes an impact when aiming to hit tier 2 and sometimes tier 3. Although a large building, it's not as large as some other races keeps (such as the other Elven races), this is highly praised by the high Elves, who would actually want to build multiple keeps for the purpose of faster Wisp production and Moonguards

Tower (High Elf)
Almost identical to the Dark Elves' Towers, but yet inferior. This is due to the requirement of gold for construction and the electrical attack type which, although gives the High Elves access to an electric attack, has the inherited flaw of scattered attacks dealing no damage. Considering that the Dark Elve's Towers aren't that good to begin with, to take that and make it worse only means the High Elven Towers are among the weakest in the game.

Like with all Elven towers, they have a high cost, long build time and are disappointingly frail for a defensive structure. Although their crystal cost can be negated with Ancient Wisp farms late game, the tower's frailty means it'll be needing repair far more often than the average tower and this cost soon racks up in frantic games.

Despite all these short comings, there are ways to circumvent them. The High Elves have naturally good units for keeping enemies away, these and a few walls can increase the tower's longevity as well as reducing the need for large amounts of towers. With access to four missiles units, conferring two other missile types, the tower's projectile can be changed to something more reliable at a moments notice (frost from a Mystic / Ice Maiden is usually the best way to go). And finally the cost, as mentioned before, can be helped made affordable through Ancient Wisps, but in addition to that, the High Elves get access to the Income and Trade skills.

Tree of Gold
The Tree of Gold is the core production build for the High Elves, producing almost all their Elven units. This alone is what encourages players to build a forest of them, and fortunately for the High Elves, these buildings are actually very small and among the smallest of all production buildings in the game. Not much planning is needed as to where to put them, as they can fit almost anywhere. With a 45 second base build time and access to decent builders, they can also be built reasonably fast, especially late game where the High Elves have crystal coming at them from all sides that makes their cost something that can be ignored.

Prior to 1.031, Moonguards used to be produced from the Tree of Gold but were relocated to the White Tower level 5 to help prevent spamming of them.

Healer
The High Elves don't make much use of their Healer due to so many units having low hit points and access to Unicorns for crystal-less immediate healing and curing. The only benefits that come from the Healer are for their Hero, Dragon Knights and their advanced fliers / Dragons. If it weren't for the Dragon Knights being so common, some Hero classes would simply leave out the Healer till tier 4-5 and only invest in its healing researches when advanced fliers and Dragons are on the menu.

It can be built early game and have the Healing skills researched in preparation for Dragon Knights and to help aid battle-thirsty Heroes. But Elcor's Balm is pretty much un-necesery for the High Elves in nearly all cases. It also costs a fortune to research and even to use. This makes it even less practical and something that only true master Ancient Wisp farmers would ever consider.

Shooting Range
By tier 2, the high Elves have already got their archers on the field, but it's tier 2 where they can be upgraded. The three upgrades available to them are the typical archer ones, but Longbows (and especially Moonguards) are decent units to begin with. These upgrades makes those units amazingly powerful and capable of razing unprepared enemy bases alone. This would normally make the Shooting Range top priority in regards to what next to be built if it weren't for the Merchant that also becomes available to the High Elves in this very same tier.

The Shooting Range itself is just a typical, standard building with nothing note worthy about it, but it's those upgrades that it researches that makes its name known. It also produces Manticores at tier 4, but there never really is much of a need for them so multiple Shooting Ranges are also not needed.

Merchant
Aesthetically similar to the Shooting Range, but yet 50% tougher. The Merchant's oddities don't stop there, for it is also quite expensive but yet fast to assemble. One element seems to contradict the other - I know the Elves are meant to be a magical race, but still. Regardless, besides the cost, the merchant is a tough reliable building that massively improves the high Elves economy via the Income and Trade skills. Because of the lack of natural mine-fillers, the High Elven player would be foolish in not building the Merchant as soon as possible and obtaining those surprisingly cheap Income skills. Trade is also very useful and even more so late game with trading away all that free crystal from Ancient Wisps and Celestial Dragons.

The building may only research skills, but it is still needed around to use the Trade ability. As it's quite expensive, try building it somewhere out of the and and well guarded, as it is likely to get targeted by disgruntled enemy units, displeased at the sight of an Elven race with an income building.

Nest level 1
The basic Nest can only produce Phoenixes, but the ability they possess makes building an Nest this early on in the game worth while - and that's in - "an" Nest. Phoenixes aren't designed for combat and only for map conversion. Although you'll probably produce a few of them, you wont ever be producing enough to warrant a second production building and thus a single Nest in tier 2 is fine. But keep in mind that late game they will be upgraded to produce more time consuming units, making multiples of Nests necessary at some point. Further more, their cost to upgrade is immense and the fear a Nest level 3 causes will put these building high on your enemies to-smash list, so the building needs to be placed somewhere safe and easy to protect.

Dragon Shrine
An upgrade building that makes tackling Dragons easy, the Dragon Shrine bestows the expected Dragon slaying skills to the Dragon Knights, as well as improving their combat. Dragon Knights have always been a great unit and the Dragon slaying upgrades ensures that not even the most powerful none-Titan units in the game can easily brush them aside. The Dragon Shrine also improves the damage output of Iceguards via the Dragon Warriors research. But typically you'll be producing Dragon Knights as your melee units, so the skill may not actually be used to any effect.

As the Dragon Shrine only researches skills, the building will be no longer needed once all have been obtained from it, thus allowing you to remove it to make room for other buildings.

Tower of the Moon
The Tower of the Moon is one of the most expensive buildings around, and one of the most durable, too. The high hitpoints allow it to withstand an enemy onslaught while striking them back with the Holy Word ability. This also helps in keeping King Lunarion safe during production. But the high cost on the other hand is less than desirable, which when combined with the high cost of the researches can leave the High Elves feeling broke. However, the building and the researches are incredibly useful, so one should not be put off by the expense or the awkward shape of the building, that make it eat up more room than it should.

Note: Even though the building can attack and even produce units (even if it's just their Titan), it doesn't prevent defeat.

Dragonstone
Excluding building upgrades, the Dragonstone is the final building that the High Elves can build, and one that may not even be needed to be built. This smallish building only improves the Hero's spellcasting chance and produces Wyverns. Although Wyverns are decent units by nature, they offer very little to the High Elven race and their removal will have very little consequence to the the High Elves, if any at all. If your Hero has no spellcasting capabilities, or already has a 100% chance to cast spells, then the Meditations skills are completely useless and need not be researched, which then should prompt the question as to whether you need to build the Dragonstone.

Nest level 2
Come tier 4 and the High Elves can start to build multiple Nests (and upgrading them) for Pegasus production. However, considering how late level 2 Nests come and the desperate need for Pegasi in some match ups, building multiple Nests towards the end of tier 3 would be ideal - ready for quick upgrading and multi-production. But one should be weary of the high gold and stone cost of upgrading them, and then the further gold cost of producing Pegasi.

Nest level 3
Upon reaching tier 5, and spending a mammoth amount of resources, the High Elves can produce one of the most powerful and useful units in the game - the Celestial Dragon. Although Frost Dragons are also available at this time, Celestial Dragons should take priority due to their economical and offensive traits. Such is the usefulness of these traits, one should aim to pull a Celestial Dragon out as soon as they can. Just remember to upgrade a Nest that's easy to defend - the loss of all that gold and stone, as well as the time and cost lost from an uncompleted Dragon stings worse than a Giant Wasps's death-blow!