Daemon

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Daemon Information Pages[]

Daemon Buildings Overview

Daemon Researches

Daemon Units

Overview[]

Pros[]

The Daemons' basic unit is an upgradable flying missile unit with cold damage.
Multiple Researches mean the power of the Daemons scales with game time.
Units tend to be easy to access early on in the game and be tough to beat.
Very powerful metagame hero choice - the Daemon Summoner.

Cons[]

Difficult early game economy. Needs to be built up before the expensive units can become accessible.
Units tend to be expensive, moreso than most other races.
Many units have vulnerabilities to common physical damage types.
Lacks powerful/useful hero options other than the Daemon Summoner.

Strategy[]

Units[]

Buildings[]

The Doomspire is one of the largest "keep" buildings in the game, and keeping it defended will be a higher-than-usual priority due to its' high cost. Just building it will unlock only the Pit for construction and the Imp for deployment, so it is imperative that the Daemon player upgrade it to Level 2 as soon as possible to grant access to the Portal, Gallows and Nightmares with Succubi and Reapers also being added to the Pit after Portal/Gallows construction respectively, vastly expanding the players' unit options and permitting them to start research to improve both combat power via Might of Ctharos etc. or economic power via the Hard Labor line.

Upon reaching Doomspire Level 3, the Brood,Lightning Spire and Summoning Tower all become available along with Salamanders. The Summoning Tower opens the way for quick mine-filling via the Brood research and can accelerate unit production with Summoning (1) though this may place a strain on the players' economy, so it is strongly suggested that Mines are filled beforehand. Nonetheless it is the foundation for many more Researches so the player will likely want to prioritise it.

The Lightning Spire is an interesting alternative to the Tower as it does not need or permit unit garrisonning, has a rarely-resisted damage type and the Stormcall Research, allowing it to cause rain and buff the Combat scores of all Daemons, however it cannot target air units (yet) and has below-average accuracy. By contrast, the Tower deals Fire damage and can only be upgraded by garrisonning Reapers and Summoners (which you don't have yet), meaning that its' primary advantage over the Spire is it's range and lower Keep Level Requirement. Ideally the two should be used together for a tough defence.

The Brood draws the short straw in the build order; with Imps and Succubi as air units with Reapers also available to perform anti-air defence, the Firebat unit and Doombat Research have very limited utility beyond making some cheap, very fire-resistant scouts. It will be only at Keep Level 5 that the brood becomes worth something.

At Doomspire Level 4, the Chaos Shrine becomes constructable and the Summoning Tower, Lightning Spire and Brood can all be upgraded. Building the Chaos Shrine will be a priority as it grants access to Intangibility, Summon Mana Research and Daemons at the Pit, toughening up all your units for the endgame. The Lightning Spire upon upgrade gains anti-air targeting and extra damage. The Summoning Tower meanwhile will give access to Summoning (2) and Gate (1), accelerating unit production further. The Brood once again draws a dud as it now makes Harpies and the Harpy Hag Research, but due to the abundance of air units at this point, these are only good for some niche counterplay against High Elven spellcasters.

Finally at Doomspire Level 5, upgrades arrive for the Summoning Tower and Brood with Balora now trainable at the Chaos Shrine. The Summoning Tower can do the Gate (2) research and start making Summoners. The Brood gets Storm and Fire Dragons which are good if you need much more firepower and don't mind the cost and wait.

Hero[]

(the following is concerning the fan patches):

At the core of the Daemon race's playstyle is Summoning Magic: the most powerful Daemon units are capable of summoning (permanent) allies to help them gain the edge they need not just for combat, but to improve their economy (quasits can be sent to mines), for harassing other players (imps are fast and incredibly useful for destroying enemy buildings or even mines), for scouting purposes and for summoning reinforcements.

Daemon heroes make excellent Summoners. Although this class does little to expand Daemon weaponry, some Daemon specific-research bonuses also affect summoned units and Daemon heroes may attack souls left behind by summoned Succubi to quickly and constantly replenish their mana. The Circle of Power also affects Daemon unit summoning spells, including the Daemon's Summon Imp spell and the Summoner's Daemongate spell. The ability to simply summon quasits (instead of training them) can also considerably speed up unit/building production.

A Warrior can be chosen for synergy in Ferocity and Regeneration (the latter being a very good stat spamming skill)

Otherwise, the Daemon's have very little other choices which make their race particularly effective. The race's Pyromancy sphere would be good elsewhere, but on a Daemon it is not so. It is possible to use the Pyromancy sphere effectively but it is not really that needed since the Daemons have access to fire damage from Salamanders and the other common base destroying damage type Crushing on Nightmares.

Counters[]

Most Daemon units are expensive. As such, Daemons rely on resource research from the Gallows. Depriving any Daemon player of the Gallows in the early game will stunt their growth later on.
Nightmares, while easily available at the start of the game, are vulnerable to Slashing damage.
Without any research or hero Intelligence, Imps are quite weak (often seen in early stages of the game).
Since Daemons require a lot of Crystal and Gold for research and buildings (Crystal and Stone in the unmodded game), removing such mines from the Daemon player's control could finish them.
Daemon players should be a little careful when fighting against Summoners (both Heroes and Generals), as well as Divination magic users because of the Banish spell (at least, before recieving the anti-banish upgrade..).