Carl's Rise of Legends Guide
Alin Units: Circle of Glass
Alin units which come from the circle of glass in Rise of Legends come in a vast variety of uses. There's a unit for almost every situation present. Glass units can be upgraded with dark glass magic, allowing them to reduce the maximum hit points of anything they attack permenantly. Another cool feature is that several of the units can utilize the glass shock ability, which blows up the unit, hurting surrounding enemies in a fairly small radius. The unit then reforms and continue combat. Finally, the circle of glass is home to the mighty glass dragon which is the Alin master unit. All the units from the circle of glass can be upgraded via the glass citadel.
Note about Ramping unit costs: Ramping increases the cost of a unit for each unit of a same type that is built. For example, a heartseeker begins costing 45 wealth. With a ramping increase of 3 wealth, the second heartseeker would cost you 48 wealth; the third 51 and so forth. It's wise to have a diversified army because of this increase. Some units have extremely high ramping costs.
Glass Cannon
Initial Stats:
Ground/Air Attack: 5 / Siege Attack: 27 / Ground/Air Range: 18 / Siege Range: 20 / Hit Points: 250 / Speed: 22 / Line of Sight: 24 / Size: Large / Armor: Medium / Attack Type: Accurate and Skilled
Cost: 65 Timonium/65 Wealth. Ramping increase of 25 Wealth and Timonium. Population cost 3
Requires Large City
The Glass cannon is the standard Alin siege weapon. Its long range ensures it can be well behind the front lines of any battle while it engages enemy structures. It shouldn't be used to do much more than that considering its ground and air attack is abysmal. It appears that it would be doing good damage considering the huge radius of the explosion it triggers but looks can be deceiving. With patch 2.0 the unit does do some splash and knockdown damage against enemies. The high ramping cost of this unit and the fact that you only need a few to quickly take down a building makes it so that you will only ever have a few in your army. Keep these protected. Desert walkers are good low-cost units for tangling up enemy soldiers while the glass cannons do their work.
Glass Spider
Initial Stats:
Ground Attack: 11 / Siege Attack: 8 / Range: 2 / Health: 400 / Air Attack: none / Speed: 48 / Line of Sight: 9 / Size: Medium / Armor: Medium / Attack Type: Piercing and Pounding
Cost: 75 Timonium/75 Wealth. Ramping increase of 4 Timonium and 2 Wealth. Population cost 3
Requires Large City
Glass spiders are like scorpions in that they cannot attack air and feature a trample attack, although theirs is a good deal stronger than the scorpions'. Instead of poison, they gain the dark glass corruption attack and can utilize their web skill on enemy ground units. The web spell immobilizes an enemy unit for a time, taking them out of the fight. Glass spiders are great for trampling enemy infantry, although they will take minor damage in the process. The hit points and damage increase over scorpions, as well as the web, make them a better choice in my opinion, as poison isn't nearly as useful as web.
Glass Golem
Initial Stats:
Ground Attack: 14 / Air Attack: 11 / Siege Attack: 12 / Range: 12 / Hit Points: 600 / Speed: 25 / Line of Sight: 16 / Size: Large / Armor: Heavy / Attack Type: Piercing
Cost: 50 Timonium/200 Wealth. Ramping increase of 5 Timonium and 12 Wealth. Population cost 6
Requires Large City
Glass golems are extremely versatile. They can deal leathal damage to all unit types. Their piercing attack type makes this so. They deal 100% damage to lightly armored opponents and 80% damage to heavy opponents. They can really balance out an Alin army due to this versatility. Their high wealth cost is no trouble because every wealth spent on them is worth it. You'll find that they will be some of the most useful units in your army.
Against infantry, glass golems are the kings. They can walk right over them! They also do good at siege attacks and you'll find them invaluable at dealing with heroes. Try to keep at least two of these in your army at all times once they're available. Glass golems will often be the last units standing on the battlefield if you're losing and they can sure buy you some time with their massive hit points.
Glass Dragon
Initial Stats:
Ground/Air Attack: 38 / Siege Attack: 27 / Range: 17 / Health: 2400 / Speed: 60 / Line of Sight: 21 / Size: Master / Armor: Heavy / Attack Type: Universal
Cost: 500 Timonium/1600 Wealth. No ramping issue due to only one allowed. Population cost 15
Requires Great City
The mighty glass dragon is the master unit of the Alin race. As such, there can only be one present in your army at a time. They can take a load of punishment before they go down and will make a huge difference in any battle. With its powers it is able to survive fairly well on its own but it would be foolhardy to rely on this versatility because they cost so much and take so long to build. The dragon is useful against all unit types and deals a large amount of splash damage. The glass dragon comes with several abilities to aid your fight:
Glass Shock: Like the other glass units, the dragon can use this ability. Because it is a ranged fighter you'd probably have to move it into range to use this attack. It is quite effective, however, at damaging nearby enemies.
Healing: This spell allows the glass dragon to heal itself. Very useful after or even during combat. Yes, the dragon can heal and keep fighting unlike the Vinci's land leviathan. If your dragon is running low on health, use this ability quickly because it does take some time before the full healing is completed.
Corruption: If you have the upgrade from the glass citadel the dragon has the ability to corrupt, just like the other glass units.
Glass Shock: This is probably the glass dragon's best skill. He charges up a shot and fires an explosion of glass shards that covers a very wide area. Not many units can withstand a shot of this power. It has a very long cooldown period, so use it wisely. Great for starting a big battle and giving yourself the early advantage as it can hit as many units as possible in this situation.
The Glass dragon is an amazing asset. Its flight capability helps it get where it's needed. You should keep your glass dragon ready to go at all times. For a high cost the Glass dragon can be upgraded to an elder glass dragon, which is much more powerful. I'd recommend not getting the upgrade unless you have a very long fight on your hands or you have the excess resources. You'd be better off building a lot of units instead of taking the glass dragon upgrade because it is still a single unit. You could build a large army of fire elementals or other wealth-heavy units for the cost of the upgrade.
