In most RTS games, the job of hero units is to cut through throngs of regular units like a hot knife through butter. Mark of Chaos' heroes will be able to do this, too, but there is another system in place that puts the spotlight on them and allows them to prove their mettle against their peers -- the dueling system. Simply put, whenever you encounter a rival unit on the field, you can choose to initiate a duel. Doing this will partially isolate both hero units on the battlefield; a small force field will appear around them, which effectively prevents the rank and file from interfering with the battle. When in duel mode, hero units will have access to abilities that they can only use in these one-on-one battles, and depending on how you've specced your hero characters, they can be very effective duelists.
Just as in the tabletop game, the particular makeup of your army will be limited by a fixed number of points. You can use these points to purchase new units, upgrade existing ones, or to buff your heroes. Heroes will have three areas in which they can develop: you can make them more effective commanders, which improves the performance of all units fighting alongside them in battle; you can focus on their battlefield capabilities, which gives them more and higher-powered abilities to use in combat with enemy armies; or you can spec them as powerful duelists, which makes them more effective when directly fighting the enemy's heroes.
Note too that it is possible to have multiple hero units in your force. It's up to you how you spend your points, and if the tabletop game is any indication, armies comprised of multiple heroes and fewer rank-and-file units are perfectly viable. The army that we were shown in the demo, actually, had both a wicked Chaos Sorcerer and frightful Bloodthirster in its ranks. You know the Bloodthirster -- he's the twenty-foot-tall demon that wields the man-sized axe, with a wingspan that could cover the space between two field goal posts.
Our demo ended with a brief flythrough of the game's four fully-playable armies, and if what we saw was any indication of what the final product will be like, fans of the tabletop game will have much to be excited about. Among the ratlike Skaven, we saw many of the most popular units in the army, including the dreaded Gray Seers and Assassins, the brutish Rat Ogres, the deadly Cistern Bearers, and even a Warp Cannon team. Amongst the Hordes of Chaos, we were able to make out various demons, including Plague Bearers, Bloodletters and Flesh Hounds, alongside the more-or-less humanlike Marauders and Chaos Warriors. Representing the High Elves were the regal, mounted Dragon Princes; a High Mage hero unit; the army's shock units, the Shadow Warriors; and the Ellyrian Reavers. Comprising the Empire force, finally, we were able to make out a gryphon-mounted Elector Count, a fearsome Warrior Priest, and a unit of demented, yet unshakable Flagellants.
Unfortunately, as much of the demo focused on the game's real-time battles, precious few details were given about the game's tactical elements. We were told that players would be able to fortify territories that they've captured with units that were friendly to them, and that capturing certain areas will confer them special privileges -- such as the ability to hire mounted cavalry units.
In any event, if the game's tactical elements can stack up to how the RTS portion is shaping up, then Mark of Chaos looks like it will certainly be something special. We'll be seeing it again at E3, so keep your eyes on this space for an update come then.
