Pillars
Pillars, also called Points of Power, are ancient stone obelisks that rise out of the ground during a match. Whoever channels enough magic into a Pillar unleashes its power: a barrage of fire or lightning on the enemy, or a protective blessing on their own side.
A Pillar does not belong to anyone. It answers the side whose mages channel it the longest.
Overview
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Pillars on the map | One at a time |
| First Pillar | 10 minutes into the match |
| Next Pillar | 10 minutes after the previous one is gone |
| Elements | Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water (chosen at random) |
| Lifetime if nobody charges it | 15 minutes, then it sinks and moves |
| Extra time once charging starts | +5 minutes (once per location) |
| Charge needed | 150 mage-minutes |
| Charging range | 12 metres around the stone |
| Effect duration | 5 minutes |
Finding a Pillar
- When a Pillar appears, every player is told: the chat's System tab shows "A Point of Power has appeared: Fire." (or the element in question), and an alert sounds.
- The message names the element but not the location. The Pillar is hidden by the fog of war like anything else, so it has to be found by scouting.
- The stone rises out of the ground over a few seconds.
- A Pillar is placed well away from players' starting positions and from buildings. It never appears on water, and the game checks that it can be reached on foot from the starting positions. If the map is crowded, the spacing rules are relaxed step by step.
- You can click a Pillar to select it. Its panel shows its name, such as Pillar of Fire, and its state.
Charging
Only mage units charge a Pillar. Every living mage within 12 metres of the stone adds to the charge.
- The charge is measured in mage-minutes. A Pillar needs 150 mage-minutes: for example, 30 mages for 5 minutes, or 15 mages for 10 minutes.
- Allies share one charge. The mages of every player on a team count together.
- A charge bar above the stone shows its progress and whose charge it is.
Contesting a Pillar
Charging is a tug of war.
- The side with the most mages in range leads. Its net power is its mage count minus the second-largest side's mage count.
- If the leading side already holds the charge, the bar fills.
- If a different side leads, it pushes the bar back down. When the bar reaches zero, the charge changes hands and the new side starts filling it.
- If two sides have the same number of mages, the bar freezes. It does not drain while both sides fight over it.
Leaving a Pillar alone
- If no mage of any side is in range, the charge drains at 10 mage-minutes per minute. Leaving briefly costs some progress; it does not reset the bar.
- The panel then reads "Draining N% - nobody is channelling".
Panel states
| Panel text | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rising / Sinking | The stone is coming out of, or going back into, the ground. |
| Uncharged - bring mages nearby | Nobody has charged it yet. |
| Charging N% | A side is filling the charge. |
| Draining N% - nobody is channelling | No mages are in range; the charge is bleeding away. |
| Spent | The Pillar's power has been used. |
| Dormant - cold until woken | Story missions only: a Pillar that cannot be charged yet. |
Lifetime and relocation
- A Pillar that nobody charges lasts 15 minutes.
- The moment charging begins, it gains 5 extra minutes, once.
- If its time runs out before it is fully charged, it sinks into the ground and rises somewhere else with a new random element. The charge is lost.
- The relocated Pillar gets a fresh 15 minutes and can again gain the 5-minute extension.
Unleashing a Pillar
When the charge is full, the Pillar is taken:
- Every player sees "A Point of Power has been taken: Fire." (or the element in question) and hears a sound for that element, so even players who never found the stone know what is coming.
- The stone vanishes, and its effect runs for 5 minutes on the side that charged it.
- The next Pillar appears 10 minutes after the effect ends.
Fire
- Every 6 seconds for 5 minutes, a strike falls on the densest cluster of enemy buildings within 500 metres of the Pillar, which covers most of a map. The first strike falls at once.
- Each strike hits every enemy unit and building within about 9 metres for 60 damage and sets them Burning (see status effects).
Lightning
- The same barrage as Fire, but aimed at the densest cluster of enemy units.
- Everything hit is Paralysed: it deals 30% less damage and takes 25% more damage.
Earth
- Once, when the Pillar is taken, every allied unit and building receives the Earthen Ward for 5 minutes: 15% less damage taken.
- Enemies who stand close (about 2.5 metres) to a warded unit or building are hurt by the ground itself (Stonebitten).
Water
- Once, when the Pillar is taken, every allied unit receives the Blessing of Water for 5 minutes: it regains 1.5 health per second.
- Each blessed unit also heals allies standing close to it (Renewed).
- Buildings and walls are not healed. Repairing them is the villagers' job.
Notices
- The player who charged a Fire or Lightning Pillar is told when the barrage begins, for example "Pillar of Fire unleashed - striking (player names)."
- A player whose base is struck is warned, at most every 8 seconds, for example "Pillar of Fire strike! 3 building(s) and 5 unit(s) hit."
- Each strike shows a ping on the minimap and a visual effect at the impact point.
Damage rules
- Pillar damage counts as the charging player's: kills are credited to them.
- The victims' armour, Disciplines and other defences reduce Pillar damage as usual.
- Pillar damage is not increased by the charging player's Combat Offense points or by the Mystic Calling.
- Because a strike damages everything in its area, it is one of the few sources of area damage in the game. Normal unit attacks hit one target.
Computer opponents
AI opponents look for, charge and contest Pillars. How hard they try depends on their difficulty: Very Easy AI ignores Pillars, Easy and Normal look near their own base, and Hard and above find a Pillar anywhere on the map and start training mages before it rises. See AI difficulty#Pillars.
Story missions
Story missions can change the rules: some missions have no Pillars, some keep a Pillar dormant (it can be found but not charged until the story wakes it), and some need a smaller charge than normal.
Planned or unconfirmed
- The owner's description of the Pillar cycle (first spawn about 10 minutes in, 15 minutes active, an uncharged Pillar sinks and moves, element fully random) matches what the game does today. The exact first-spawn time (10 or 15 minutes) is listed as an open question.
- The storm (lightning bolts from the sky that hit every side) exists in story missions only. No Pillar starts a storm in a skirmish.