Zhon - Gryphons

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this but it's the best place I could think of. Now that I've started playing TA:K again, I'm enjoying it thouroughly but also I find that certain units don't realy seem to work very well but maybe I'm just using them wrongly. One of these units is the Gryphon.

I usually play using the Crusades balance which is, I think, better than the original. I like the Gryphon a lot on paper. Very mobile, attacks in all directions while moving and it seems like a great harrass unit agains anything that doesn't fire tracking arrows or fireballs. However the problem is that the Gryphon itself also misses pretty much every shot. I used a group of Gryphons to guard a lodestone but as enemy Swordsmen approach, the Gryphons miss (pretty much) everything.

Do you people use this unit and if so. For what purpose?

You can constantly click on the unit you want your Gryphon to attack. This will make them hover over it and not miss so much. But if I don't use them like that i find them pretty worthless.

get 10 or more and see how quikly they can kill a barakes or a keep. targeting small targets is a waist of time thow.

You should try the wisp.

Talk about worthless.

Well, I do agree on that one. I don't remember me ever having used that unit as the Drake can do the same but better. I think it is too bad that some units in TA:K just don't seem to work because they have never been properly balanced.

Guys, Zhonian Gryphons are very usefull units, if you use them for the right thing. Their purposes are 1) exploration, 2) act as decoy, 3) attack buildings, 4) attack big/slow siege units, 5) block the movement of other flying units, and 6) attack ships. Everything above is done much better if you have a lot of Gryphons [groups of 50 or more wreak true havoc to the enemy base!].

In a Zhon Vs Zhon online game, I used a dozen of Gryphons to wipe out some Stone Giants. Stone Giants are big, slow in movement, slow in turning and they were in total confusion when my Gryphon fleet attacked them from everywhere. In the end I had lost the match, but not because of those Stone Giants, but because of my inexperience and a massive land & air army made by almost every Zhonian unit... As for Wisps, what about creating a new topic just for them?

IMP_ARTHAN wrote:

Guys, Zhonian Gryphons are very usefull units, if you use them for the right thing. Their purposes are 1) exploration, 2) act as decoy, 3) attack buildings, 4) attack big/slow siege units, 5) block the movement of other flying units, and 6) attack ships. Everything above is done much better if you have a lot of Gryphons [groups of 50 or more wreak true havoc to the enemy base!].

Nailed it, But I think there might be one aspect there that deserves more explanation. Their tactical value as a flying meat screen. They are one of the cheapest flying units, making them an excellent tag along to the drakes whom don't miss often and perform excellently at taking out those annoying anti-air units that the gryphons can't hit. You can kinda see it in their default attack pattern. They fly in and right past the target, traveling an unnecessary distance before coming back for the second run. Why the hell would they do this? it almost ensures that the gryphon will encounter as many defenses as possible bringing their survivability down considerably. They only answer I can think of is they're trying to divide the enemy anti air to create cover (possibly for rocs or drakes or somthing), travel past said anti air and out of its range trying to force them to target another unit.

Also of note, against small bipedal humanoid targets, yes the gryphon will miss like 95% of the time (Unless they're flying directly away from it for some reason). But against anything larger, such as a fire-wagon or even a horseman they're accuracy goes up considerably. And also they're damage is excellent.

Godless wrote:

They fly in and right past the target, traveling an unnecessary distance before coming back for the second run. Why the hell would they do this? it almost ensures that the gryphon will encounter as many defenses as possible bringing their survivability down considerably.

You can select a group of Gryphons and by repeatingly clicking on a hostile unit/building you make them to attack again and again and again without going far away. Try it.

nice wave of smurfs and 2yr old topics ressurection btw ill answer later to the other topic "why...", just cba right now as i disagree with almost everything there and theres too much crap to cover

godless wrote:

they're damage

ok

player1 wrote:

blabla

godless wrote:

random quote which don't show anything

I like cake

Gryphons as other flying units have some +/-
{obvious}
+fly
+fast{/obv}
+same radar as roc,watch tower many buildings etc (1000 so its something big)
+tier2 not tier3 as drake

-quite slower than other flying units (bat, roc, drake)
-quite expensive (but still better than drake in health/price comparing)
-shitty accuracy


In my gameplay gryphons are in use only in some circumstances
-early time to hunt thirsha (so only vs zhon)
-maybe sometimes in cd/dc for hunting builders/mana (but i prefer drops)
-no use for long time
-on end time on high mana cd/dc with drakes (1,5-3drakes for 1 gryphon) for massive air atacks (but only vs zhon/veruna due to lack of AoE units in this races)(ok veruna might have bastions)
-and on some other really weird circumstances (but still more usefull than wisps*)

*btw i get idea, why wisps are tier3 units? they {IMO}should be tier2(tamer) or tier1**(handler), {come one you have choose, wisps or drakes on 95% times drakes are more usefull}
**you can see even lack of early flying units, (zhon is air race ) (even flying builder is in Aramon LOL )


Edit
to better control massive group of drakes/gryphons spam atack key on enemy/ground (those air units gonna "pack" in small area (but watch out for any Area of effect damage)
also if some air unit gonna have "avoid air traffic" spam atack key, to repair situation (that's why rocs sux, they don't have atack key )

well omw if your playen against taros the lich is a great unt for dealing against those gyrhopys and your aerial fleet