Your DK1 Strategies, less Exploits

[Zyraen]

Just wondering, what is/are your favourite DK1 Strategies?
Less Cheese and Exploits (eg. Conceal Imp claiming stuff).

You use a lot of overpowered units. That's pretty much why you're winning with brute force, because you have an overpowered army.

Since the above remark directed at me by a rather more experienced DK1 Player, I'm rather curious what other Players actually do, apart from using OP / Abusable Creatures / Rooms / Spells / Traps. Please also detail how you micro-manage fights, what Spells you use, and position / reposition your creatures, if you feel its notable and makes a big difference in the outcome.

Notwithstanding the fact that I usually avoid using Brute Force (not because I can't win with it, just that its boring till then).

From an earlier discussion, here is a list what is considered OP / Abusable. You don't have to go through the list, you can just post what you usually do and if you want, post your favourite strategies / creatures.
Alternatively, you can also go through the List, and if you see nothing that you don't do, just post that what you do is on the List.

OP/Abusable List

Spoiler

The following Creatures are classified as OP hence no need to mention
- Mistress
- Horned Reaper
- Dragons (semi-OP)
- Bile Demons (semi-OP)
There might be more, but here's what I have for now.

Starting with the DK1 room list and building up... we get.
- Guardpost (with Water & Lava)
- Bridge (with Lava)
- Prison (with Imp never-dying in room as well as the usual)
- Torture Chamber
- Temple (with Water & Lava & Boulder Trap & Create Imp)
- Graveyard (with various imp killing means)
- Scavenger Room (enemy keeper with same creatures as you)

Spells
- Possession (use a creature to lure an enemy into area that he cannot get out of)
- Create Imp (with Temple) - spawn as many Imps as possible to prevent spawns and new reinforcements from occurring
- Sight of Evil - used with Cave In and Lightning
- Haste - double attacks of your whole army
- Cave-In - used Sight of Evil. kill resting units after a battle, or just about anything...
- Lightning - self-explanatory. even without Sight of Evil
- Conceal - use best with Level 3 Imps to claim the enemy Keeper's territory out from under them.
- Chicken - apart from the usual, pick a fight near an enemy Hatchery and Lair, Chicken full blast the 1-2 creatures you want dead, damage some beasties (especially Bile Demons). retreat and watch them kill themselves!
- Vampire Sacrifice - variation of Graveyard and Disease. IF you can't research this spell / can't cast it on your own creatures, put all your Creatures in the Temple except 1-2 you want as "Messengers", Disease them and send them in.
- Call-To-Arms - use with Teleport to constantly "set" the enemy call to arms. sometimes your creatures will even teleport to the dungeon heart

Workshop
- Boulder Trap
- Lava Trap
- Lightning Trap (if placed fill a room and kiting enemies around)
- Trap build order - you can keep building one trap forever if you set up right

Terrain
- long winding, winding corridors. best used with make safe if you're expecting tunneller invasion.
- reinforced walls

[Metal Gear Rex]

- Dragons (semi-OP)
- Bile Demons (semi-OP)

I have to ask you, what makes you consider the Dragon even semi-overpowered? I feel the Dragon is fine the way he is. In the original, he might be considered a bit underpowered due to the fact that Word of Power dealt no damage, and because the Player has the Bile Demon.

The Bile Demon is much more powerful compared to the Dragon, because he has so much more Health. While the Dragon has more Armor, it isn't a fair enough exchange. The Bile Demon also can deal good damage, and has the power of Poison Gas obtained early on which makes him deadly in groups.

Out of the things you mentioned, I find that some of them are only overpowered if used excessively. The Torture Chamber is a good example. There's nothing wrong with converting a few units to your side, but if you're converting every unit you come across, then it becomes broken. (The only time I actually convert every Creature is when I'm looking to build a "Master Dungeon") So perhaps you should put "When Spammed" in parentheses at the end to make it more accurate as to when it is abusable.

* * *

As for strategies, I usually try to adapt my strategy to my situation, while of course not really using abusable tactics/overpowered units. So because of that, I can't really say I have a solid strategy. I am very careful with my units though, rarely do I let a single one die. (And no, I do not reload saves if a unit dies, I live with it)

I also use whatever Creatures are given to me, even if I'm given Beetles, I'll use them. Train them up to Level 7 and take advantage of their Freeze. This makes the game more interesting as even on the same map, I'll be put in a different situation right off the start because my army is different. It also provides good training for adapting to different situations.

The only time I start sacking them is if I reach a certain "limit". For the average unit, the limit is 4-6. For the more powerful units, like the Dark Mistress, 1-2. This is so I can get a well balanced army without a lot of overpowered units. I think that having 1 or 2 strong units (as long as they're not a Horned Reaper, those things are the kings of overpoweredness) is perfectly fine.

[Zyraen]

I have to ask you, what makes you consider the Dragon even semi-overpowered? I feel the Dragon is fine the way he is. In the original, he might be considered a bit underpowered due to the fact that Word of Power dealt no damage, and because the Player has the Bile Demon.

The Bile Demon is much more powerful compared to the Dragon, because he has so much more Health. While the Dragon has more Armor, it isn't a fair enough exchange. The Bile Demon also can deal good damage, and has the power of Poison Gas obtained early on which makes him deadly in groups.

Firstly, from your "You use a lot of overpowered units. That's pretty much why you're winning with brute force, because you have an overpowered army."
when I described an army consisting of Dragons, Bile Demons and later Mistresses, it would imply that either Dragons or Bile Demons or Both were overpowered, especially since Mistresses arrive generally later.

I've used Dragons and Bile Demons in multiple fights, and I can assure you that in general the Dragons outperform Bile Demons simply because of Heal and their better Armor. Its true they deal less damage, but they can fight forever and a day and the Bile Demons can't. The HP gap isn't much too, only about 33% more Health (900 vs 1200).

At low levels, Bile Demons are a liability because they damage your own units, and Dragons don't. Their Poison Gas only deals decent damage to low level units (ie 5 and below), units above 5 generally take fairly little damage proportional to their Health from Poison Gas. I've used levels 5-7 Bile Demons and Dragons in multiple hero "invasion" scenarios (like Korros Tor the dwarf + archer lake, Benetzaron's dwarf + archer caverns, Batezek's thief, dwarf, archer caverns) and can assure you that while Bile Demons can hit more often (especially Archers which Dragons almost cannot touch), they lack the staying power of Dragons. I'm not sure, but this is generally before Dragons have Word of Power (which I know, it does damage in KeeperFX).

Not least, Dragons train faster and can be obtained about the same time, if not earlier than Bile Demons. So if you consider Bile Demons OP, then Dragons are even more OP.

In the Final level of Skybird Trill, when the Avatar is killed (or converted) and revives, there are 2 rooms in the Southeast of the map, previously a Hero Keep, both of which spawn an identical party (I think its Wizard, Witch, Fairy, Samurai, Knight something like that). If you lock both rooms with a Magic Door and place 6 Bile Demons in one room and 6 Dragons in another room, assuming all are level 10, you can see which one does better.

To be fair, though, in an enclosed space the Dragons' drawback is reduced, which is that they move like a Snail, but they are still incapacitated for a short while by Wind which Bile Demons are not affected by.

===========

Out of the things you mentioned, I find that some of them are only overpowered if used excessively.

Apart from dropping / picking my Creatures, weeding units from the Portal and using spells like Speed, Protect, Heal (I usually don't use Lightning), I don't generally use any strategy excessively. My typical force has usually about 2-3 Dark Mistresses, max, not because I don't want them but because they don't often come in through the portal and I don't generally throw away my starter forces (that and a creature cap of about 15-20 for most Deeper Dungeons levels).

As for strategies, I usually try to adapt my strategy to my situation, while of course not really using abusable tactics/overpowered units.

I am very careful with my units though, rarely do I let a single one die. (And no, I do not reload saves if a unit dies, I live with it)

I also use whatever Creatures are given to me, even if I'm given Beetles, I'll use them.

I probably should try to do what you do, basically a No-Reloads game on Deeper Dungeon of course I'll reload for really stupid things like digging out some stuff wrongly (that really gets on my nerves, and sadly no Fly can ever scout that out for me... ).

Unless I am really bored or desperate, I don't use Lightning or Cave-In or the Scavenger Room (usually its not available in Deeper Dungeons anyway)

While I do use Strong units, I generally aim for a Rush Game where I will use tactics to try and get rid of the enemy. This may involve taking on a much stronger enemy if I have (set up) a backdoor to his dungeon heart, or using careful Wall Reinforcements followed by 2-3 Lava Traps and Guardposts to cut the enemy from his Gems where possible.

Again, if desperate or my army is just seriously outclassed by the enemy (ie weak units compared to the Enemy's 4+ level 10 Dark Mistress), I may resort to raising a few Vampires, usually just 2-3, for purpose of tanking the enemies.

Other Rush Games involve using as weak units as possible to release the Heroes while keeping my own heart safe, then releasing them on the enemy Keeper.

Would this be considered abuse? Its not excessive but its certainly used, and usually it does win the game.

[Metal Gear Rex]

Firstly, from your "You use a lot of overpowered units. That's pretty much why you're winning with brute force, because you have an overpowered army."
when I described an army consisting of Dragons, Bile Demons and later Mistresses, it would imply that either Dragons or Bile Demons or Both were overpowered, especially since Mistresses arrive generally later.

Maybe as a DK1 player, I hardly ever get the Library unless I use Brute Force, then again I would have won if I were able to get the Library. My most typical "urgent" win (usually when running low on gold and outnumbered) is to get a "backdoor" set up, but not yet opened, CtA and start fighting on one front with a fast moving hard-hitter on spare (eg. Dark Mistress, Horny), then tear down that last wall / Gold Tile and rush the Heart.

This is your example when speaking about Brute Force. I was referring to your Dark Mistress and Horned Reaper abuse.

I've used Dragons and Bile Demons in multiple fights, and I can assure you that in general the Dragons outperform Bile Demons simply because of Heal and their better Armor. Its true they deal less damage, but they can fight forever and a day and the Bile Demons can't. The HP gap isn't much too, only about 33% more Health (900 vs 1200).

Later on, the Bile Demon starts to really outdue the Dragon. The Health differences becomes wider, but the Armor difference stays the same. The Bile Demon has 60 Armor, and the Dragon has 90. It seems like a fair trade at first, but the damage absorbed by the Dragon is 35%, while the Bile Demon absorbs 24%. It is a difference of 11% only.

I've seen Dragons forced to retreat back to the Lair long before a Bile Demon must retreat, and then the Dragon rests up and rejoins the battle with the Bile Demon still standing due to his monsterous health. Combine this with the better damage output, and I'd still have to say the Bile Demon is more effective.

At low levels, Bile Demons are a liability because they damage your own units, and Dragons don't. Their Poison Gas only deals decent damage to low level units (ie 5 and below), units above 5 generally take fairly little damage proportional to their Health from Poison Gas. I've used levels 5-7 Bile Demons and Dragons in multiple hero "invasion" scenarios (like Korros Tor the dwarf + archer lake, Benetzaron's dwarf + archer caverns, Batezek's thief, dwarf, archer caverns) and can assure you that while Bile Demons can hit more often (especially Archers which Dragons almost cannot touch), they lack the staying power of Dragons. I'm not sure, but this is generally before Dragons have Word of Power (which I know, it does damage in KeeperFX).

Poison Gas deals more damage if there's more of it. I've noticed that multiple Gas Traps lower a Creature's Health faster compared to a solo Gas Traps. I witnessed it in possession. That being said, if you get a large group of Bile Demons to fight, then they become significantly more effective.

Not least, Dragons train faster and can be obtained about the same time, if not earlier than Bile Demons. So if you consider Bile Demons OP, then Dragons are even more OP.

Depends on whether a Lair or a Hatchery is built first, and whether or not a Portal is claimed before they're both built. The difference is so small that it really isn't worth mentioning, they're both obtained usually before the Training Room is built.

In the Final level of Skybird Trill, when the Avatar is killed (or converted) and revives, there are 2 rooms in the Southeast of the map, previously a Hero Keep, both of which spawn an identical party (I think its Wizard, Witch, Fairy, Samurai, Knight something like that). If you lock both rooms with a Magic Door and place 6 Bile Demons in one room and 6 Dragons in another room, assuming all are level 10, you can see which one does better.

To be fair, though, in an enclosed space the Dragons' drawback is reduced, which is that they move like a Snail, but they are still incapacitated for a short while by Wind which Bile Demons are not affected by.

Actually, in that situation, it'd be more of a disadvantage to the Bile Demons. If the Bile Demons are farther apart from the Melee Units due to the Whirlwind, they won't attack them for a while longer. Meaning they'll have to use time getting closer to them and meanwhile get hit by a bunch of attacks from the support Units.

Also note that the Wizard and Fairy are immune to Poison Gas, which puts the Bile Demon at a further disadvantage. The Dragons have Word of Power, which is rather overpowered in KeeperFX. (Yes DL, if you're reading this, I think increasing the damage even further is a bad move!) It can take out about half of a Level 1 Vampire's health, meaning it does ~400 damage.

In such a small room, everyone is going to get hit by that blast. And there are 6 Dragons so that's six separate blasts. (~2400 Damage!) It is the first thing they use too, meaning they'll take out most of the support before the battle even begins. Quite a bad example I must say. (The damage, according to the DK1 Guide, is supposed to be 200-220 damage, meaning it really needs to be toned down a lot)

I probably should try to do what you do, basically a No-Reloads game on Deeper Dungeon of course I'll reload for really stupid things like digging out some stuff wrongly (that really gets on my nerves, and sadly no Fly can ever scout that out for me... ).

I don't even reload saves for that. I wouldn't allow myself to get in such a bad spot to begin with. Usually before mining out, I use Sight of Evil to scout the land. If I don't have that, then I start moving over separate parts of the land and listening. If I hear water or lava, I know not to mine there unless I'm prepared to open up.

I also know to look carefully at how a certain part of the map is shaped. I know very well that gold can be used to lure people over, but also the placement of Impentrable Rock and Gold can give me a good hint of what could possibly be there.

Unless I am really bored or desperate, I don't use Lightning or Cave-In or the Scavenger Room (usually its not available in Deeper Dungeons anyway)

I only use Lightning sparingly. I don't use the fully charged blast either, I like to stick with the uncharged blast. I think it is almost completely safe to spam an uncharged blast due to the fact that it does so little damage and only to a single unit.

I don't use Cave-In at all because of the problem with the AI in that they'll flee to their Lair if hit by it. I also don't use the Scavenger Room (though I oddly may still build one) because you can gain an additional unit far too easily. It is a question of how much gold you have.

While I do use Strong units, I generally aim for a Rush Game where I will use tactics to try and get rid of the enemy. This may involve taking on a much stronger enemy if I have (set up) a backdoor to his dungeon heart, or using careful Wall Reinforcements followed by 2-3 Lava Traps and Guardposts to cut the enemy from his Gems where possible.

Would this be considered abuse? Its not excessive but its certainly used.

Out of the things you mentioned, I find that some of them are only overpowered if used excessively.

Using Guard Posts combined with Water/Lava is clearly an exploit that probably wasn't even intended. That is an abusable tactic as it is, using it even once can be considered abuse.

[Zyraen]

Not least, Dragons train faster and can be obtained about the same time, if not earlier than Bile Demons. So if you consider Bile Demons OP, then Dragons are even more OP.

Depends on whether a Lair or a Hatchery is built first, and whether or not a Portal is claimed before they're both built. The difference is so small that it really isn't worth mentioning, they're both obtained usually before the Training Room is built.

Hmm I think you miss the point. I am saying indeed that they are both generally obtained at the same time.
My Point is that, if they all start Training at exactly the same time, and all the creatures NEVER leave the Training Room (except for short Treasure Room sprinkles), my Dragons turn level 7 while the Bile Demons are still at level 5.

Poison Gas deals more damage if there's more of it. I've noticed that multiple Gas Traps lower a Creature's Health faster compared to a solo Gas Traps. I witnessed it in possession. That being said, if you get a large group of Bile Demons to fight, then they become significantly more effective.

Ooh that's nice. I usually use 4-6 Bile Demons and they usually end up getting spread out, so I might not have noticed.

I've seen Dragons forced to retreat back to the Lair long before a Bile Demon must retreat, and then the Dragon rests up and rejoins the battle with the Bile Demon still standing due to his monsterous health. Combine this with the better damage output, and I'd still have to say the Bile Demon is more effective.

I've seen the opposite, BUT my Bile Demons were generally 1-2 levels lower than my Dragons.

Also note that the Wizard and Fairy are immune to Poison Gas, which puts the Bile Demon at a further disadvantage.

Oh yes, I totally forgot about this bit, especially the Fairy immunity. I have to note that a Samurai will tear up a Bile Demon faster than a Dragon though, at just about any level (unless of course, the Dragon dies while Frozen and has no chance to Heal).

The Dragons have Word of Power, which is rather overpowered in KeeperFX. (Yes DL, if you're reading this, I think increasing the damage even further is a bad move!) It can take out about half of a Level 1 Vampire's health, meaning it does ~400 damage.

And at full level 10, probably the Word of Power plays quite a significant role to the Dragon's Advantage, like you said. I would also add that Meteor is very useful as well, combined with Pick and Drop, I can use 4-6 Dragons to launch a string of Meteors at a target (usually a squishy Fairy that has Rebound just end). The Dragon in KeeperFX generally only fires the Meteor when Dropped, or when the enemy is retreating from them.

Same Availability + Increased Training Rate + Meteor + Word of Power, I still think the Dragon is noticeably superior to the Bile Demon.

Further, if you look at the Hero / Creature Value thread, you will notice that Dragon generally ranks above a Bile Demon. Well, of course not on your own list.

But anyway, this is just a discussion

Edit : if it is a close call between the Bile Demon and the Dragon, even then it might not be right to classify one as OP and the other as not. They're either both OP or both not OP, or both semi-OP.

Using Guard Posts combined with Water/Lava is clearly an exploit that probably wasn't even intended. That is an abusable tactic as it is, using it even once can be considered abuse.

So would it be abuse if I simply used Lava Traps WITHOUT Guardpost / Temple ? Its all becoming very subjective to your views, you know...

Then again, that tends to happen if there's mainly just 2 pple on a thread lol.

[Searingflame2]

Only a couple things I do are worth mentioning, I'd say.

-Trap-based economies. That is, in maps with relatively little gold, chuck everyone in the workshop and build/sell magic doors (or the highest selling alternative) to have sufficient gold to train and for pay days, but at the same time not exploiting the instant-win of boulder traps.

-Dragon training. That is, possessing a dragon and breathing fire on my own units (highest xp gain per possession, Avatar is preferred, Knights are good, so are other dragons) Works with hell hounds too, obviously, and some others with faster attack rates, but pretty much everyone against an avatar.

I'd like to raise that in a very large amount of player-made content, things listed as 'exploits' are very deliberately implemented as nothing less than 'use this exploit or you can't finish the map'.
In addition, getting infinite imps (or just enough to hit the 255 unit cap, whatever) is awful, but getting 40 odd is perfectly legit. Its a financial investment! Can't say that's cheating.

[Zyraen]

Wow that's great, I never thought of dragon training. Makes great sense though, high XP per hit, rapid hit per Flame...

I'd like to raise that in a very large amount of player-made content, things listed as 'exploits' are very deliberately implemented as nothing less than 'use this exploit or you can't finish the map'.

I'm actually trying to avoid use of Exploits in my Campaign, by deliberately stopping it, and some by making some changes to rules.cfg (which will require a separate copying operation). The full list is here... if interested, since its off-topic.

Spoiler

Basically all the following are affected...
- Mistress : Haste removed, Life decreased
- Horned Reaper : Life decreased to match Bile Demon. (previous nerf was STR and DEX reduced to Samurai level)
- Dragons : now come in with Barracks, effectively swapping with Orcs, (Orcs come in with a 5x5 Training Room)
- Vampires : resurrect only on two levels, levels 9 and 10. I am still reviewing how to adjust the XP required for level up, since it was very high starting from level 4, I guess that's due to Immortality.

- Guardpost : removed
- Bridge : less Lava on levels
- Prison : generally not available. this makes Torture Chamber less OP
- Temple : every level has one, you have to find it. you can't build it even after you get it. this also makes it harder to get Horned Reapers
- Graveyard : bodies no longer decompose in it. it is a trophy case, and even then you need 100 corpses to raise a vampire.
- Scavenger Room : generally not available

Spells
- Create Imp : you can no longer sacrifice an imp for cheaper imps
- Cave-In, Lightning, Haste, Conceal, Chicken, Disease : generally removed from the Player
- Creature Teleport : removed. no longer abusable with Call-to-Arms.
- Destroy Walls : generally, you will not be able to research this, and your enemies will START with it. So reinforced walls will still keep Heroes out, but less effective against Enemy Keepers.

Workshop
- Boulder Trap, Lava Trap : generally removed
- Magic Door : generally removed, but if gold is not an issue, it may be buildable as well
- All Traps have price reduced to 10 gold

Heroes
- most of the enemy "Keepers" will now be using Hero Units
- some hero units have been tweaked (ie, powered up) to be more effective counterparts against the Keepers troops
- the Hero Keeper generally has a stronger troop selection as compared to the Dungeon Keeper. so letting him build up through Turtle tactics is generally a BAD move
- He will also be allied with Player_Good (of course)
- He may have a Scavenger Room and start to Scavenge the (powerful) Player_Good creatures

Other Notes
- Insects generally removed / not in the Creature Pool
- Powerful creatures like Dragons, Mistresses, Vampires generally have only 1-2 in the Creature Pool
- "Regular" creatures like Demonspawn, Orcs, Warlocks, Bile Demons are generally limited to 8 in the pool.
- Apart from taking up your precious Portal Max, Trolls can now be used to upgrade some weaker units at the Temple (which you usually have to fight to reach) through sacrifice. To curb their effectiveness, there are generally only 4 in the pool, and they are capped at level 4.
- Dead Creatures no longer return to the Creature Pool. they DIE.

Under Consideration : upgrading Bile Demons to the "Powerful" Creature section. thanks to discussion with MGR in this thread.

There might be more, but here's what I have for now.

BTW, do you feel that the Guardpost / Temple blockages are generally required to complete Deeper Dungeons?

[Metal Gear Rex]

Hmm I think you miss the point. I am saying indeed that they are both generally obtained at the same time.
My Point is that, if they all start Training at exactly the same time, and all the creatures NEVER leave the Training Room (except for short Treasure Room sprinkles), my Dragons turn level 7 while the Bile Demons are still at level 5.

I've seen the opposite, BUT my Bile Demons were generally 1-2 levels lower than my Dragons.

Bile Demons train slow probably because they're stronger tanks and it is to balance them. If your Bile Demons were the same level as your Dragons, then I think they'd prove themselves better. I personally think that Dragons shouldn't have a Training Rate of 3 because of the fact that they're tanks with WoP. Of course, this only applies to FX where I find WoP a bit overpowered.

Oh yes, I totally forgot about this bit, especially the Fairy immunity. I have to note that a Samurai will tear up a Bile Demon faster than a Dragon though, at just about any level (unless of course, the Dragon dies while Frozen and has no chance to Heal).

And at full level 10, probably the Word of Power plays quite a significant role to the Dragon's Advantage, like you said. I would also add that Meteor is very useful as well, combined with Pick and Drop, I can use 4-6 Dragons to launch a string of Meteors at a target (usually a squishy Fairy that has Rebound just end). The Dragon in KeeperFX generally only fires the Meteor when Dropped, or when the enemy is retreating from them.

Same Availability + Increased Training Rate + Meteor + Word of Power, I still think the Dragon is noticeably superior to the Bile Demon.

I don't consider the "Pick and Drop" strategy to be part of a Unit's balance. That abuse more so relates to the spells themselves. More specifically, the ones that have a lot of attack power but a long recharge time. Word of Power or Meteor are both good examples of that.

Further, if you look at the Hero / Creature Value thread, you will notice that Dragon generally ranks above a Bile Demon. Well, of course not on your own list.

Not everyone puts the Horned Reaper on the top and yet he's clearly the most overpowered unit in the game. Do note that personal favorites may also influence their thoughts. They could put the Warlock up first because they personally like him based on what he is. Could even put the Dark Mistress up first, not because she's overpowered, but because she's successfully seduced them... I doubt it but it could happen XD

Mentioning what I put is a bit pointless as it was quite a while back, and I don't even remember what I put there. Now, I couldn't decide as I don't really hold favorites anymore. Of course, if forced to make said list, I wouldn't include the overpowered nor underpowered units.

Edit : if it is a close call between the Bile Demon and the Dragon, even then it might not be right to classify one as OP and the other as not. They're either both OP or both not OP, or both semi-OP.

I find that the Bile Demon is more powerful than the Dragon in general, but there are situations where one may prove to be more useful. I think the above example you provided is very unfair to the Bile Demon because he was at a disadvantage and the Dragon was at an advantage.

So would it be abuse if I simply used Lava Traps WITHOUT Guardpost / Temple ? Its all becoming very subjective to your views, you know...

How abusable Lava Traps are I think depend on how you use them. If you used them to block off your Dungeon Heart in a Hero Map and thus preventing any non-flying Hero from reaching your Dungeon Heart, then I'd consider it abuse. If you're using it to not really cutting off anyone from reaching your Dungeon Heart but rather making it so they have to walk along more Traps like below...

(E = Entrance to Room, O = Player's Land, L = Lava Trap, T = Gas/Lightning/etc Trap)
OE OO
OT TO
L L TO
L L TO
OTOO
OE OO

...then I think it is alright.

Then again, that tends to happen if there's mainly just 2 pple on a thread lol.

Once we get into these debates, nobody ever dares getting involved in them, or so I noticed. XD
(I see you Searing, and damns you for contradicting me! D:<)

EDIT:
Stupid ninjas...

[Zyraen]

So MGR / Searing Flame, any tips on how I might slot the Bile Demon into the current build order?
The idea is that the stronger units show up later (just like most other RTSs), so Dragons have been assigned to Barracks and Orcs have been brought forward to a large Training Room.

Alternatively, maybe Workshop and Hatchery now attracts Bile Demon? Its not much of a delay, but there's still some lag.
Although personally, I think my Dragons still catch up in training with the Bile Demons pretty much faster, and most of the games I intend to design both Time & Gold will be factors.

Edit : Knight with WOP and DEF 50 is definitely worth a good fight
I was testing a remake of level 15 Woodly Rhyme, where the Knight 10 with DEF:50, Heal and WOP turned out to be even more of a challenge to my level 4-7 minions than the 2 level 10 Samurai that rushed in before him... Not least because my warlocks couldn't do much against his Rebound. Fortunately though the trio was spawned as a party they split up, else I would be surely dead.
( Why did I break out without Training up my Creatures? well simply because the gems are now outside in the water, that's why > )
That said, yes I did notice that a single WOP takes about 2.5 "leaves" off my level 6 Dragon's Lifebar...

[Metal Gear Rex]

So MGR, any tips on how I might slot the Bile Demon into the current build order?
The idea is that the stronger units show up later (just like most other RTSs), so Dragons have been assigned to Barracks and Orcs have been brought forward to a large Training Room.

Alternatively, maybe Workshop and Hatchery now attracts Bile Demon? Its not much of a delay, but there's still some lag.
Although personally, I think my Dragons still catch up in training with the Bile Demons pretty much faster, and most of the games I intend to design both Time & Gold will be factors.

Bile Demons and Dragons both have other jobs to do, which is to Manufacture and Research respectfully. Therefore, I think it is okay that they're around early on as they need to both do their jobs.

Bile Demons train slow enough as it is, so if they're obtained any later, they're going to have a hard time keeping up. As I said previously, I think a Dragon's training rate is too high. What you should do is drop a Dragon's Training Rate to 2 instead of 3.

Something else you could try would to lower the Bile Demon's Armor so that he doesn't have so much. I began testing this to see if it can balance the two out. I also gave the Dragon Protect at Level 5 and lowered the Bile Demon's Strength from 80 to 70. And I also lowered Word of Power's Base Damage from 85 to 40. (It increases every level, I forgot what the percentage increase was though)

I'm not sure if this would quite work with you though because your units are only going to be as balanced as your campaign lets them be. You're already changing a lot of other things as well which are outside of what I'm trying to test.