Hulda Review – Empires and Puzzles (Underwild)
While Empires and Puzzles is closer to the WWE than the UFC, it’s fair to say, injuries are commonplace. And when it comes to recovery, Hulda has quickly become the popular choice, with 7 out of 10 Heroes preferring her bedside manner*.
[*According to our independent survey, carried out in April 2022, sampling a pool of at least 50 participants.]
This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
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Hulda’s Stats and Special Skills (Empires and Puzzles)
Element: Dark (Purple)
Class: Cleric
Mana Speed: Average
Family Bonus (for 1/2/3/4/5 Underwild Heroes): Between 25% to 45% chance to spawn an Underwild Gem on the board when this Hero casts Special Skill. The Underwild Gem deals 50 damage to a random enemy each turn.
Special Skills (Pet Larva): 1. Summons a Larva Minion for each ally with 31% HP inherited from Caster. 2. The Minion recovers 11% health for its owner at the end of each turn. 3. The Minion gives its owner +24% mana generation and +54% defense, as long as the owner has the minion. These effects can not be dispelled.
Passive: Duration of first 3 buffs received from Special is increased by 1 turn.
Talent: MANASHIELD ~ +35% chance to resist any negative mana status effects or effects that prevent the use of Special Skills.
Is Hulda worth Levelling? (Empires and Puzzles)
Yes!
[Please consult your alliance before engaging in the levelling of heroes.]
Hulda’s the physician we all wish we had; A health professional capable of delivering quick diagnosis and a sensible treatment plan.
Plus, she’s got that homely smile and compassionate approach.
Meanwhile, my Doctor’s pushing me out the door just as I arrived.
But Hulda’s not like that. -She takes her time, making sure that every Hero under her watch gets a big, plump minion, tending to them.
And these oversized, hovering, caregivers offer 11% healing, +54% Defense (which can’t be dispelled), and +24% mana generation (which can’t be dispelled).
Of course, we gotta acknowledge the doubters…
Hulda’s Unconventional Methods… (Old Cynic Review)
There’s been a lot of talk within the medical community about Hudla’s unconventional methods.
One Professor (who asked not to be named), directly refuted Hulda’s results, stating:
“It’s simply not possible to treat a patient with a pail of blood and unsterilized Larva secretion. I’ve never seen anything quite like it! She should be barred from practice, is how I see it. Else, someone could be seriously hurt.”
Anonymous Professor of medicine
Hulda’s certainly a polarising figure, as evidenced by her staunch supporters, none more prominent than the renowned Director Zuri, of the World Gaming Health Institute (WGHI) in Zurich.
“I have dedicated my life to medicine, and what I see in Hulda’s approach is nothing new. Hirudo [a leech] has long been used in medicine, as far back as 200 BC! Hulda is clearly a learned individual and should be respected for the scholar she is.”
“And, let me add this. It strikes me, that Hulda is a breath of fresh air, and I’d be more than happy to work alongside somebody as knowledgeable as her.”
Director Zuri – Head of the World Gaming Health Institute… in Zurich
Hulda has chosen to remain silent on the matter, turning down my request for an interview.
How Good is Hulda? (Empires and Puzzles)
I suppose we oughta get a table out?
Let’s go Healing first. This is incredible stuff, right here.
How much is the 11% healing these minions manage to squeeze out every turn, worth?
Answer: About 240 HP for an average 5-Star, Emblemed, Hero.
And, you can multiply that by 3, if they’re loaded up with 3 minions.
That’s 720 HP… per turn!
Check out the column on the right (Healing in HP):
| Hero | Mana Speed | Healing | Healing in HP* |
| Hulda | Average (10 tiles) | Minions recover 11% health for owner (x2) | 480 per turn |
| Hulda | Average (10 tiles) | Minions recover 11% health for owner (x3) | 720 per turn |
| Diaochan | Fast (8 tiles) | Recovers 35% health for all allies | 670 per Special |
| Ratatoskr | Average (10 tiles) | Recovers 44% health for all allies | 800 per Special |
| Xnolphod | Average (10 tiles) | Recovers 32% health for all allies | 630 per Special |
That’s a lot of healing going on, and all the while, your Heroes get +54% Defense and +24% mana gen.
And, Hulda makes some chunky minions, too:
| Hero | Mana Speed | Number of Minions | BMI (minion) |
| Hulda | Average (10 tiles) | 5 | 31% |
| Diaochan | Fast (8 tiles) | 3 | 16% |
| Director Zuri | Average (10 tiles) | 5 | 15% |
| Motega | Tier-1 (5.6 tiles) | 5 | 14% |
| Bera | Fast (8 tiles) | 5 | 20% |
| Freya | Fast (8 tiles) | 5 | 20% |
That’s the equivalent of 2 minions! These ones don’t skip meals…
I checked out their HP in battle and discovered it was 571. That’s not far off having a useful Morris sitting in front of all your Heroes!
Hulda Review – Empires and Puzzles
My final thoughts:
Hulda’s been with us a little while now, and we all know how super strong she is (or super annoying, depending on your viewpoint).
Once her minions get going, it can be hard stopping them.
She’s a fantastic Hero, who sits near the top of my personal Wish List.
What do you think? Is she your favourite Healer?
Hero Grade for Hulda (Empires and Puzzles)
So for my grading, the question is:
Is this Hero’s Special capable of/likely to change the outcome of a battle? Yes.
If not, do they still bring enough to the party to help defeat the deities? N/a.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Deity ⭐⭐★
What are your thoughts? Did I get it wrong or miss something? Let me know in the comments below.
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Hi Old Cynic,
Thanks for the great review. I don’t have Hulda yet but have been leveling a good array of minion destroyers such as Eiora & Fluffy, C. Gormek, and Devana to combat just such a hero in the event of an encounter with her. Correct me if I’m wrong but my understanding of her card is that the mana and defense boosts are undispellable (made-up word, I know, but it’s a handy adjective for talking about E&P heroes) only as long as the minions are present. Take out the minions, problem solved. I’d like to have a Hulda but I think she can be worked around with the right defense, C. Gormek being an especially good choice because he wipes all opposing minions and converts them into HP for everyone on your line ( I hope that if and when I do pull Hulda, everyone will have forgotten the contents of this post :-)).
Keep up the great work!
Dharion
Thanks Dharion, I have C. Gormek ready to go as well. And I may need to bring him into the main raid squad with how things are going.
…Unless I pull Hulda myself.
Thanks for the support!
She’s ridiculously overpowered. You better bring Bera and fire first, or bring a minion killer, or go mono yellow and pray. If those minions go up you are done.
I agree, she’s totally OP. Forces the issue re a solution (minion killer)!
Do healing minions work in Bloody Battle?
Not the healing part, but the mana and the Defense should.
“That’s not far off having a useful Morris sitting in front of all your heroes! ”
I laughed so hard reading this ! Thanks for this review, she looks crazy damn good
Cheers!
Hi Mate
You know already how fan i am about Hulda.
In your article, you missed the tab with the “+% mana generation”
It’s really important coz
1 – It affects all heroes and can’t be dispelles
2 – It turns Hulda in a spawning machine
3 – the point 3, it’s always good in a list 😀
Cheers 🙂
Hahahaha🤣 I was thinking that you’d like this review, but you want more! I wrote a 1000 words about how good Hulda is, and you want one more table?! 😁
I’m joking, you’re right, the mana generation is easily overlooked and I like how you put it, ‘a spawning machine’.
I’ll be using my 20 Underwild grinding nuggets soon, and I hope to get Hulda, Xnolphod, and Kara!
Too much to ask?
Thanks for visiting Yardman!
What I personally like about Hulda is that she, considering her character design, does her “in your face” roundhouse-kick special with such amazing grace and sheer nonchalance – compared to the other, more royal defense ladies like Frigg and Elizabeth.
The fact that it takes the E&P minstrel c. Gormek to bewitch her (among others, of course, but the most fitting considering that ambivalence) only adds fragrance to this awesome newcomer.
Glad to call her a teammate!
Hey Privatphilosoph, she’s top drawer stuff! I wish I could call her Teammate, too.
Congrats!
I doubt she lives to see the this summer unnerfed.
They effectively killed off the christmas familys reign of terror by nerfing their minions.. and now they released a hero that does all their former minionwork better singlehandedly at average speed?.. Mr.Pengi has an unbreachable wall off minions/firepower that heals the group?.. There is no countering this shitstorm unless you get 4x 3combos yourself at start.. wich is pretty much <1/8 matches..
And she has an ugly picture.
This aside, its fun when they introduce new heroes, eventhough they seems to have fallen off the drawing table before being balanced with the current content.
I don’t like nerfing, but who does? Problem is, as you said, she can be used to create unbreakable teams. It’s a difficult call… Maybe be more gentle with the nerf stick when it comes out? Azmia was proper chopped down (the lower counterattack hurt more than the reduced healing). Hulda would be more balanced summoning for only 3 allies, but what a nerf that would be… It’s tough, so I give SG some grace here, because there’s a lot of moving parts trying to keep the train on the tracks!
Yea, the nerfing of released material is not fun for anybody, but i think the gamedesigners needs to be more in line with each other.
The old saying: -jack of all trades/king of none should be the work description of the developers.
If you (example) design weapons RL and thru some divine inspiration create a vehicle for the Army, but as it pans out its also far better than any Navy ship at sea, and its far better than any Air force vessel in the skies you would be a designlegend and dubbed an engineering genious.
But this here is a game and all parameters and laws are man made wich makes it crucial that all components are in tune with each other, otherwise the key element of the game is lost,
Weave seen many of game worlds crumble and fall due to this.
Telluria came out swinging being pretty much queen at defense-healing-support and damage, wich lead to her being choked into submission, it wasnt fun, but necessary.
Hulda is pretty much Empress at minions, support, healing, something that usually requires 3 different heroes…
I dont really endorse nerfs, but what would set things back to decent balance is to make her slow and give her a picture that doesnt look like a Disney character.
slow hulda would be unusable she would never get more than one minion release. Average is where she belongs.
Always a great review, and very entertaining!!
I was lucky enough to pull Hulda on my second account and will be maxing her soon. She is pretty awesome even at 3.70 and I can’t wait to take her all the way. Was wondering if you were going to review Xenda, too, as she is the latest pull I got on my main account and looks to have a pretty good skill set. We are calling her Hell Babe (since she looks like a female version of Hell Boy) and am wondering if Sumitomo was her child. Thanks for all the awesome work here and the humor!
Hey Dave, congrats! 🎉🎊🥳 I do have a couple of posts planned for before Christmas. The first is gonna be a review of whatever Monster comes out of that Mustketeers portal (on the 14h I think) and the second was gonna be my Christmas Post (15th/16th).
I might do another Mustketeer/or other new Hero but I’m not sure yet. Great heroes tho coming outa the portal… I need to get some! 😄
I’d also love to get a grade for lots of heroes and that may be a plan for 2023 (to re-evaluate and catch some of the missing).
Anyway, congrats again and thanks for the support as always!
As far as I have seen the Musketeer portal will only have D’Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, Porthos, Queen Anne and Villiers from the event for summons (these were the only heroes mentioned in V53 release notes that were ready for production). The other 7 will probably trickle out later. FYI!
Going to make some decisions for the soul exchange. I was just getting ready to start hulda and then saw Diaochan on the SE list. I know most people like her a little bit better because of the buff steal but Hulda and Ludwig is still Amazing. Leaning toward Kemeny instead of yet another purple healer as I already have four who are legitimately solid. Always come to your page first to get your opinion.