Age of Darkness: Final Stand – The Best Heroes to Choose

In Age of Darkness: Final Stand, players will have the choice between two heroes to play with, and their choice will affect their strategy in the early game. Age of Darkness: Final Stand combines traditional RTS units with a hero unit, who is a special character unit with a background story, unique abilities, and the ability to respawn for free when they are killed. Heroes level up and gain new abilities by killing nightmares for experience and are a major part of the player’s military might.

Though the game is still in early access and more heroes have been promised, the two available heroes are Edwin Everard, Wielder of the Flame, and Aelis Syren, the Queen of Nothing. Edwin, who was the first hero available when Age of Darkness: Final Stand entered early access, is a grizzled veteran who wields a huge flaming greatsword with which he cleaves through enemies in close combat. Aelis is the daughter of a deposed monarchy who leads her exiled royal guard into battle. The pair play very differently and though later in the game heroes take the back seat, effective use of heroes is critical to early game success.

For players who play in a micro-heavy style in Age of Darkness, Aelis is the superior hero, but Edwin should be preferred by those who want their hero to act relatively independently. Aelis’ attacks have more range, deal more damage, and she can attack more often. She can also summon members of her royal guard who are powerful units in their own right, and buff soldiers near her. This ability makes Aelis look like Darth Vader killing her own people, because the buff comes at the cost of 30% of the unit’s total life and Aelis heals 10% for each unit killed under the effect. Meanwhile, Edwin has more health, cleaving attacks that target multiple enemies, an AOE damage ability, a fire buff to his sword, and a passive buff to the emboldening of units near him, increasing the rate at which they become veterans.

Age of Darkness: Final Stand – Hero Playstyles

The reason Aelis requires much more micro to use effectively is that her health is lower and her attacks target individual enemies in Age of Darkness. While Edwin can confidently be sent off to clear area in the early game while the player’s attention is elsewhere, leaving Aelis unattended is a surefire way to get her killed. To get her fighting like a boss in combat, Aelis needs to be constantly summoning her guards, buffing them, and getting them killed to replenish her health. Groups of enemies Edwin could deal with unattended will kill Aelis. Aelis’ buff ability also requires careful attention to use because it saps so much of friendly units’ health. In a tough battle, inadvertently killing a large portion of the player’s army could lead to both Aelis’ death and serious losses, possibly ending the run. Players’ attention is a limited resource too, and for those who want to focus theirs elsewhere, Aelis is not the hero of choice. Edwin is reliable, sturdy, and will generally get the job done.

Players with a higher APM will get more out of Aelis in Age of Darkness. By cycling between charging her into combat and spawning and buffing guards to heal her, Aelis will out damage Edwin. Being able to instantly summon expendable and powerful units is a potent ability throughout the game. Royal guards can be sacrificed for health, sent in to plug gaps in defenses, or used as a distraction while Aelis makes her escape. As long as she has support, Aelis can rapidly take down enemies with her spear, and important enemies, like giant nightmares, can be effectively focused down by using her buff ability in combination with a large blob of units. While at higher levels, Edwin’s flaming blade buff and AOE crack fire ability can become more micro-intensive, he retains his sturdiness and ability to be relied on uninstructed on the front lines of the fantasy medieval battlefield. How much each player will get out of the heroes of Age of Darkness: Final Stand depends highly on that player’s ability and their playstyle.

Age of Darkness: Final Stand is available on PC.