I am not quite sure how to play this game, it's kinda confusing. I find it hard to control my units in combat, because of the camera. Am I doing something wrong?

Thank you mate, that makes a lot more sense than how I was playing it XD

I'm sorry, I did not know I was supposed to make this a question :( I'm gonna +1 you, that I know how to do. Thanks again.

That's alright, don't worry :)

Do you think it's possible to "master" the game, that is, to develop playing abilities to win the "missions"? I've played quite some hours, and have won some difficult battles, but it's always like, say, a complete mess. I just find out which kind of creatures can win in that situation so I try to send enough of them. And survive. That's my strategy.

So, is it possible to develop Sacrifice "expertise"? Is it worth? The game gets more enjoyable (it already is!) if you master it?

I finished the game dozens of times, with all the gods, so I can assure you it's doable. Just do what I wrote in my post above, and you'll be fine. Also, try playing the Twirl and Team Twirl maps in various combinations (diferent gods, diferent starting levels, etc.) that's the best training you can get.

I'll throw out how I like to organize my army:

Manahoars in phalanx formation.
Ranged units in line formation.
Melee units in skirmish formation.

Each group is their own control group so when I'm getting set up, I hear:

"You are group 1, skirmish formation, guard me"
"You are group 2, line formation, guard me"
"You are group 9, phalanx formation, guard me"

Flyers tend to be group 3 if I use them and either skirmish or line formation depending on whether they are ranged or melee.

During battle, it's good to select the groups in turn to see how they're doing on the panel on the left side of the screen. You can heal your creatures by targeting them in that panel as well, which is way easier than finding them on the map.

I will sometimes send my army away from me so I can go cast a spell or run ahead, but I rarely split the army apart itself. Guardian is quite useful though I never use it on my alter itself for campaign missions, that's just not close enough to the battle to be useful.

Speaking of the map, you can middle click drag to zoom it, I like it all the way zoomed out so I can see as much of the map as possible. The reason you don't need to split up your army is that you can always teleport to your structures, just make sure your army is gathered around you so that they all come with you.

In battle it's also usually best to focus on the enemy wizard since once killed he can't pick up his own souls so you can then convert them. If his manahoars are alive, he can use them to regenerate, so watch out for that as well. You've got to be careful though since if the enemy kills of a bunch of your units, your wizard becomes more exposed. Always keep an eye on your health and try to keep the armor spell in use whenever in battle.

Greatd advice, Apeman, wizards reaping their souls are really annoying, because they nullify any battle's "profit"; I'll try your strategy.

I've played through the game about 50 to 100 times and it's actually not that difficult. There are a few beginners tips:

- Use the hotkeys. Honastly, Spells to level 7 should all be in reach. Ignore this advice and you'l have a really hard time. You can neglect summons, though Manahoars should be hotkeyed.

- Use Speed a lot. Especially on your creatures.

- Use the Minimap.

- "Microing" your army is the way to go. Set all everything to follow you and hope for the best is a recipie for failure.

- Time is the most essential resource in the game. If you kill the mage first, kill his creatures, then advance to the next manalith and destroy it. Do not leave him time to recover. If you kill the creatures first and the mage last, you can convert some of the souls. Trying to convert everything usually takes too much time and is a defence strategy. You don't need to convert a single soul up until campaign level 7 or 8. Manage your time and you win the game. The moment you mage stands still and waits is the moment you lose.

- There are some creatures who are especially good at hunting the enemy mage. (Shrike, Locust, Braniac, Vortick, Tickferno, Deadeyes, Bombards, Dragons, ... ) Use them for that purpose!

- There are spells which can disrupt the enemy mage, do not underestimate that.

- If you want it really simple. Play the second mission of James' in which Sirocco joins you, then stick to Persephone and she will accompany you till the end of the game. Send her via minimap to destroy manaliths or the enemy mage. Jepp, you get the better "hero" version of the best creature in level 2...