Ssrathi

Ssrathi Information pages[]

Overview[]

The Ssrathi are one of the most effective races in Warlords Battlecry 3, particularly so given the changes in the unofficial patch 1.03.24, which improved their previously undesirable hero class combinations and the Triceratops. Ssrathi units (and building) are quite upgradable, and offer a flexibility and win condition that is easier to reach than most others.

Pros[]

Incredibly effective spellcasters that are available and upgraded very early on.
Builders are the best in the game after upgrades, effectively reaching a build skill of 22, as well as being able to shrug off missiles and cast invisibility, all on top of their default traits.
Late game Dinosaur units can be powered up to incredible levels.
Titan possesses an impressive ranged attack that out-ranges and decimates base defenses.
Small buildings.

Cons[]

Very limited variation of damage types.
Expensive units.
Lack of multi-hitting attacks and fast produced units make it difficult for them to handle swarm-style tactics.
They effectively only have a single Dragon choice.

Strategy[]

Units[]

Chameleons are both decent scouts (as improved with building skills) and minefillers. Snakemen do an acceptable job of providing early defense and exploration, though they suffer against units not susceptible to poison such as machines and undead.

The real strength of the Ssrathi lies in their Snakepriests and Lizard Riders. The importance of combining these two units cannot be overstated. Both are available relatively early in the battle (keep level 2 and 3, respectively), and benefit from offset resource requirements (Snakepriests require Gold and Crystal, Lizard Riders require Metal and Stone). This allows a flood of both to be produced simultaneously. Once the Snakepriests have their range improved by research, they essentially become a writhing mass of self-healing siege engines capable of engaging enemy towers from a safe distance. This is important as the Ssrathi have no siege engine unit such as catapults or battering rams. They would still be vulnerable to horde attacks, however, if not supported by Lizard Riders. Lizard Riders (the fastest unit in the game) are excellent for chasing down fleeing enemy heroes (getting poisoned in the process), protecting a line of Snakepriests, and dismantling a base stripped of its tower defenses. There are few obstacles in the game that effectively counter a mass of Snakepriests and Lizard Riders.

This is fortunate for the Ssrathi, because beyond Snakepriests and Lizard Riders, their units may be underwhelming. Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex are both powerful, but their high solid Stone cost and long build times limit their usefulness. Ssrathi flying units are equally unuseful, as Pterodactyls cannot engage ground targets. However, it should be noted that Pterodactyls provide extremely powerful anti-air capabilities and can very effectively counter Dragons. Alternatively Pterodactyls are easily powerful enough to raze large portions of enemy bases by themselves. Nagas are amongst the worst of generals in the game, though their waterwalking ability and Shield spell redeems them somewhat by improving the survivability of a group of Snakepriests and Lizard Riders.

Once Dinosaur units have been upgraded at the Saurus Pen, the game can quickly go out of hand for the enemy of the Ssrathi player. T Rexes strolling about with around 16 speed and 80 damage should be enough to scare anyone, let alone the fact the Triceratops and Pterodactyls are vastly improved as well (Triceratops sporting around 50 damage in 1.03.24, Pterodactyls going on 65).

Buildings[]

Ssrathi buildings are some of the best in the game. By having dedicated buildings for support, melee, and ranged units, players can sustain a continuous flow of all three (Chameleons, Lizard Riders, and Snakepriests). The Couatl's Wrath spell is an effective panic button for defending your keep, should your base be overrun by an opponent.

Ssrathi Towers are almost undebatably the best towers in the game thanks to high hits, high damage and the ability to fire powerful poison arrows. Their only shortfall being any units resistant to piercing, particularly Skeletons, Husks and Dragonliches (but you could say the shortfall of a fire tower is units with resistance to fire).

Heroes[]

The recommended hero/class combination for the Ssrathi is Dragonslayer (for unofficial patch 1.03.24). The ability to raise the starting XP of your dinosaur units has a dramatic effect, particularly at 10XP or higher. Also, the ability to strike down Dragons quickly and effectively may come in handy should the Ssrathi player not have access to Pterodactyls yet, or for whatever reason they are proving to be ineffective.

For those playing the last official patch (1.03) consider a Lichelord or Thief to take advantage of synergies in Poison Magic and Running. Neither is particularly great, as the Poison Sphere is one of the less effective schools of magic, but a high Running score is very effective for both chasing down enemy heroes and escaping unexpected attacks.

A Healer can be used (in either patch) if you wish to increase the amount of healing done to Ssrathi units even further than the Snakepriest's Cauterize spells. This can work even better with the Summon Mana upgrades.

Counters[]

The majority of Ssrathi's early units (Chameleon, Snakeman and Snakepriest) are vulnerable to cold damage.

The Tier 2 Nest unit (the Pterodactyl) cannot attack ground units.
Most dinosaur units take a long time to build.
The Dwarves can give the Ssrathi a run for their money - a great deal of their units (Dwarf Infantry, Crossbowmen, Lord, Runner, Smith, Khazrimi Guard, Runelord and even King Khalid) are resistant to the fire attacks of the Snakepriest and resistant to the physical attacks of the other units (Berserker).
The Dark Dwarves can outrange the Snakepriests greatly with many siege weapons, nearly all units are immune to the poison affliction and many of the units are resistant to the piercing damage of the cavalry (Stone Golem, Bronze Golem, all the siege weapons but the Hellbore). Additionally, the weakness of the lower tier units are easily exploited by the Dark Dwarves' access to Wraiths and Shadows, which are resistant to the Snakepriest's fire damage and can deal cold damage.

Lore[]

'The Ssrathi are group of reptilian humanoid creatures from the southern jungles of Keshan. Keshan is a tropical land - warm and wet - where gold is almost as plentiful as water. They live in small tribes, each ruled by a Shaman and guarded by a protective snake-spirit called a Naga. Ssrathi are cold-blooded and so they worship Couatl the Sun God, who provides the warmth that they need to move around. The largest Ssrathi tribe lives in a huge citadel called Kalpaxotl, which translates to "Jewel of the Sun". At the center of this citadel rises a magnificent temple to Couatl. Lord Iriki, an ancient and powerful Ssrathi Shaman whom even the gods rightly fear, rules this temple.' - http://www.enlight.com/wbc3/gameinfo_races.htm#3