How Good is Lughaidh? Underwild Review (Empires and Puzzles)
Lughaidh is a new 5-Star hero from Underwild, Season 4 of Empires and Puzzles. His card looks amazing, but do his skills match up? Here are my thoughts…
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This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
Lughaidh’s Special Skills & Core Data
Element: Nature (Green)
Class: Paladin
Mana Speed: Slow
Family Bonus (for 1/2/3/4/5 Underwild Heroes): 25% / 30% / 35% / 40% / 45% chance to spawn an Underwild Gem on board when this hero casts Special Skill. The Underwild Gem deals 50 damage to a random enemy each turn.
Passive: Received damage is reduced by -20% for the first 3 times (from Special Skills).
Special Skills (Stalling Transcendental Frame): 1. Removes all status ailments and stacks from the caster. Removes even status effects and stacks that are otherwise undispellable or uncleasable. 2. The caster shifts into Ghost form for 4 turns. 3. While in Ghost form the caster can’t gain mana and can’t be healed by Special Skills, but it is immune to normal attacks, Special Skill attacks, status effects and stacks. 4. While in Ghost form, all allies except the caster have +64% defense (undispellable). 5. While in Ghost form, all allies except the caster’s HP is boosted by 180 HP every turn (undispellable).
Talent: PROTECT ~ +25% chance to get +25% defense for 2 turns after receiving and damage. The effect is applied at the end of the turn.
Is Lughaidh Worth Levelling? (Empires and Puzzles)
Overall, Lughaidh’s a mixed bag. But with the right team around him, could find a synergy to create a bigger problem, than he poses by himself.
Lughaidh is basically a wall of trouble, a defensive hero designed to cause ultimate frustration. And from the looks of things, he will -for 4 turns.
But that comes with three major flaws, which we’ll get to later.
One point to clear up though, which might not be immediately clear, is that his buffs are Undispellable. -That makes a whole lot of difference to his value.
So, what does Lughaigh do?
First, he cleanses himself. Only himself, a real pity.
Still, it does mean that Malosi can’t stop him.
Next, Ludhaidh becomes a Ghost for 4 turns. This is a powerful protective measure (which is also one of his weaknesses).
While a ghost, he can’t take damage, gain mana, or receive healing.
Also, while a ghost, he’ll leave a big black-hole type space in the lineup, perfect for Ghosting tiles.
Moving on, Ludhaidh will now buff the entire squad for +64% Defense and 180 HP, every turn for 4 turns.
But these buffs won’t affect him, so he’ll miss out on the healing. However, they are Undispellable for the rest of the squad.
Lughaidh Comparisons (Empires and Puzzles)
First, I wanna take a quick look at that healing.
Since release, I’ve discovered that Lughaidh does in fact Over Heal, which is incredibly awesome. That means, if your hero is already at 100%, Ludgaidh’s healing will be added as extra.
But what’s 180 HP over 4 turns worth, anyway?
The math = 720 HP.
Vivica who heals for 44%, (on my tests) provided between 700-720 healing. So 720 HP from Lughaidh, albeit staggered, looks good.
Garnet, on a x3-Ninja Mana charge, will provide 720 HP, which can also Over Heal if Max HP is exceeded. Again, Lughaidh is on-par for actual healing, with the top-tier Slow healers.
That said, there are many Average speed healers who will heal in the 40% range. But they don’t normally go on to do what Lughaidh does.
He takes Vivica’s +64% Defense (for 4 turns), and makes it undispellable, a big difference. Meaning, the enemy is gonna have to wait this one out.
Related: How Good is Elizabeth?
Lughaidh’s Weaknesses (Empires and Puzzles)
While reviewing these heroes, I tend to keep in mind the player who doesn’t have many other 5-Star heroes, like myself.
It was only last month that I pulled my very first 5-Star healer (Alexandrine), and wouldn’t you know it, I also pulled Esme, shortly after.
Now, those two won’t replace Costumed Rigard in my squads. Esme, certainly not, while Alexandrine may get a run-out trial at some point.
So when a hero like Lughaidh comes along, I immediately look for what impact he could have, on that sort of player. But I fear, he’s a help and a hindrance.
See, he has these three significant flaws, which I think will hold him back:
- He will leave a big gaping hole when he’s a Ghost, for all the tiles go through,
- He doesn’t generate mana while in Ghost mode, and
- He’s Slow
That means, after he fires off for the first time, he has to wait a further 4 turns before he even begins to charge his Slow-ass up again.
Based on that, and without any outside mana assistance, Lughaidh may only fire once in a battle.
And when he does, everyone and their mother will be trying to thread tiles through the gap he leaves, charging their heroes, and waiting for the Defense-Up to wear off. And when it does, hope to end the battle once-and-for-all.
Board luck will definitely be more relevant when facing Lughaidh, and he could look like a real rock star under the right circumstances. -Because a bad board will see his team charge up around him.
But adversely, a good board will feel like facing a Tankless team.
For that reason, I like him more on attack (in Raid squads), where you have more scope to manipulate the battle.
I also think he could be a solid healer for those hard-hitting Titans, and great for auto-playing Stages. On top of that, he’s clearly an asset for Fast Tournaments.
Lughaidh – Empires and Puzzles Grade
My final thoughts:
I would rather Lughaidh over a few of the recent healers we’ve seen. He has some tangible qualities which could help across the board.
Do his skills translate into Top-100 Defenses? It’s too early to say, but I suspect the big gap he leaves, and the one-shot nature of his special, will hold him back.
While everything about Lughaidh screams Tank, from his Special, to his Passive (reduced damage -20% for the first 3 Specials), to his Talent (+25% chance to get +25% defense), he really shouldn’t be. Because it makes sense to place him where it’s harder to Ghost tiles.
I can see him on the Flank or Wing, patiently waiting to fire off. And when he does, that will be the nod for the rest of the team to try and finish the battle.
At the end of the day, Vivica’s healing and Defense-up aren’t a massive cause for concern, and I see nothing from Lughaidh’s Special which significantly changes that. If anything, he presents a nice focus for my tiles -a welcomed opportunity.
As for grading, I’m placing him on the lower end of Archangel. He has some good qualities which will make him useful (undispellable Defense-up & healing/Over-healing), but he needs to have the right balanced team around him, who can take advantage of his skill set, and also help him reach his full potential.
While it’s easy to dismiss Lugdaidh, it’s conceivable that he might actually be more useful to players who have Ludwig and Xnolphod, and heroes of that ilk. Because in the right team, Lugdaidh could be a real pain in the ass.
Lugdaidh has less value in isolation, less value in the ‘old’ E&P -pre-Mana Distorters, and less value to normal players (like me) who don’t possess elite rosters.
Question for me was, what are Frigg/Odin/Quenell gonna do over 4 turns with undispellable +64% defense, and 180 HP healing?
Finally, I like Lugdaidh. I like the fact that he’s a little different. He creates another type of issue to deal with and a new angle to consider. And it all adds to the texture of the game.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Warrior
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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I am not very excited about this hero. I don’t think I would level him if I got him.
My first impression was that he’s terrible. Fair enough! Thanks for stopping by tho!
Meh. For a 5*, this guy is the definition of Meek. He slowly charges to do absolutely nothing (which is even worse than nothing because of ghosted tiles and lack of charging while doing nothing). Look where vanilla Vivica is being used and that’s where he would be, except that Green 5* heroes have a HOST of better choices. I’d rather play Elradir than this guy… because at least Elradir does damage.
Not knocking your review, you see the problems. Just your rating is WAY too high. Like, I’ll laugh if I see him on defense on any team in the 2600+ cups area.
Hey Weston, thanks for the honest feedback. Here’s the thing, I was bouncing between Warrior and Archangel for this guy. The problem is, I think he has more potential value to the higher end players who have Ludwig and Xnolphod, and heroes of that ilk. In the right team, Lugdaidh could be a real pain in the ass. And I kept imagining that team:
Frigg | Odin/Elizabeth | Quenell | Xnolphod/Ludwig | Lugdaidh
Lugdaidh has less value in isolation, less value in the ‘old’ E&P -pre the Mana distorters, and less value to normal players who don’t possess the roster above.
But if you gave Lugdaidh one job, and one job only. And you had the team to field heroes who could speed him up and to take advantage of his protection, then he could be a real problem.
What are Frigg/Odin/Quenell gonna do over 4 turns with undispellable +64% defense, and 180 HP healing? Fire off. And that goes for the rest of the best heroes out there.
I’m not saying I’m right, because time will tell if Lughaidh’s irritating enough to do a job in the upper echelons, but I had to give merit to the possibly with heroes like Ludwig out there. If this theory doesn’t hold… He’s a top-end Warrior (Even Vivica would be a low-end Warrior in my book), if it does hold, he’s an Archangel.
Anyway, this review was longer than most because Lughaidh can be seen in varying ways. It was fun trying to figure it out. Thanks for reading this stuff and for sharing your opinion, I appreciate it.
(I updated the review to explain this thought process, because I didn’t provide enough of my reasoning before.)
Vivica is great Costume or Non-Costume.
I agree with you, old cynic. He’s a bit of a challenge, but that’s the interesting part.
I’ve this Guy, don’t feel so excited about. I have 121 different 5* but cannot figure out any combo that can be better than, for instance, Octros Wolfgang Ludwig Quenell and Ariel. I own them all and they are awesome.
Hey there Richard, that’s a lot of 5-Stars. For my part, I’m not saying he would be better. I’m thinking aloud concerning his possibilities. I’ve generally highlighted all of his weaknesses, but I caveat that with the flip side opinion too.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
I have more than 121 5 stars and I can think of plenty of better teams. Mother North, Cobalt/Milena, Ludwig, White Rabbit, any group hitting red/hard hitting single hit red.
Personally I think Ludwig lends himself better to color stacking teams. Ludwig is most likely the biggest threat. Why not bring Alfrike and three yellows? Ludwig means your healers will fire at least twice. Most likely a reviver will revive someone, and if you have 2 healers you’ll have a nearly healthy team (I like a reviver and health booster personally.). While if you also have two hard hitting group hitters Cobalt/Milena(though you don’t control them on defense)/Alfrike/Ursena/etc…the opponent will have a crippled mostly dead team. I mean your team is good, but I don’t think it’s one I would consider a reroll over much less make a bold claim like can’t think of a better.
I’m going to be honest with you trying to thread that hole is going to be very difficult. I pulled both him and Balbar. I had really high hopes for Balbar but just using him against the cpu on missions it’s hard not to hit at least one player. But putting him in a W or and M formation what hole is there even to thread? Pair him with Ariel, Ludwig, or any other mana enhancers he’s going to be a headache to go against. But with you only having 2 5stars I don’t think you probably have access yet to formations?
Hi JC, I think Lughaidh is viewed differently by different players! I agree, he could be a headache to deal with.
Re my team: No, it’s 5-Star healers I’ve not had luck with. Well, until to the 2 blues came my way last month. I’ve been playing for about 2 years and have a lvl 10 HA.
Thanks for stopping by!
Oh only 2, 5 star healers. Honestly Rigard and the pig are both practically 5 star healers anyway. I was wondering why you stuck with it so long with only 2 5’s. That would be bad luck for even a F2P
😂 … I got Rigard early on (with the Costume) and he’s been my main healer since then. I have some decent 5-Stars (Devana | Malosi | Master Lepus), but no real monsters!
I’ve been playing with him today and got him to 3rd ascension 8 special. I really am enjoying him. If you’re wondering what level player I am. I sit at around 2600 cups and usually make a run into the top 10 globally twice a week for fun.
Admittedly I do have plenty of supporting cast to use him to his full advantage.
After quite a bit of gameplay the no gaining mana in ghost form is far too much of a pitfall to level him. Situationally he’s great with the +64 defense. But him being slow and then adding the no mana gain. He needs buffed to be a fast hero to be any good. The no mana gain will make it so he’s ot firing all the time.
Hey JC, thanks for coming back and providing that feedback, it’s useful and appreciated.
You say your Malosi has this guys number all day long; However, he dispels himself first before slipping into ghost form. So he effectively will remove malosi’s ability before he shifts and gets the buffs on everyone. As I see it, there’s no way to stop him from going to ghost form unless you kill him before doing so.
That’s a good catch and a good point. Thank you!
I actually just pulled this hero today, and I’m kinda excited for him because I think I have heroes that can compliment him. I think he’s definitely worth leveling for fast tourneys and wars, where his ability will be very disrupting. I agree his best spot is flank and probably more so wing where it’s harder to ghost tiles.
I know a lot of others are poopooing on him, but a lot of heroes in this game function better when they synergies with others. He’s definitely a great healer for any of the taunt tanks at the very least, especially Ludwig.
I have Ludwig and Emilio, and so I think with this guy and Emilio flanking Ludwig it’s going to be damn near impossible to kill unless you just get the lucky board at the start.
Congrats NE, I think they’re a great match but time will tell. Thanks for commenting & helping me out earlier!
Is there a limit to his overboost? They typically specify where the cap is on the hp boosters but noticed it’s missing on his card.
Last time I saw this wording it meant, over-healing. But I couldn’t verify it for Lughaidh. I’ve watched YouTube vids and believe he over-heals, but I can’t see it properly. Is anybody able to confirm or deny this?
Thanks for asking and reading!
Hello Lawrence, it is Over-healing, which is very cool. The post is updated. Thanks.
Lugdaidh is not for the Allaince War, but for the Super Titans
Lugdaidh is not as powerful as you say, the hole he made will bring trouble for his team , in addition, his mana speed is also slow.
Lugdaidh’s value depends on your formation (W/verse V) and the luck of your opponent tiles
Think about it, he’s an average hero like Noor and will rarely appear in the eyes of the world.
Hey Kai-Hsiang, thanks for commenting. I do plan on returning to old reviews and re-evaluating, but I like to leave it for a bit and return with fresh eyes. But your view is appreciated, and other readers can take from it too!
Overheal is always limited to 200 %. I tried them all: Heimdall Lidenbrock Lughaidh … and much more. All limited to 200%.
Also tested with Gullinbursti Arco Zircon Baldur.
200% max HP. Full stop.