I was just wondering which skills people consider the 'best' for a given class. Are there any that you'll normally get whenever they come up? Or get to a certain level? Or do you pick different ones from game to game.

Actually yes there are quite a few skills that I will always prioritize for certain classes.

Warrior - I will 99% of the time prioritize Weapon Mastery and Armor. If I have my First Strike weapon already then I go for Weapon Mastery max first usually but if not I will get Armor first, although I will make sure to have at least 1 point in Weapon if it comes up so that I have more chance to boost it ounce I have Armor finished.

Wizard - Spell Power, This lets you take down those annoying Archer types pdq and also boosts both Fear and Fatigue spells. After that I usually get Therma to make sure my spells do max damage and Wisdom to get more spells and exp.

Scout - the 2 Archery skills ofc with the piercing/ammo one 2nd. However if I have a good bow already and Elves nearby I will prob take Diplomacy maxed first so that I can grab that alliance.

Don't play Commander but the one or two times I did I liked to get Army upkeep maxed if I could along and also the one that gives army resists and HP bonus.

Warrior - round attack
Scout - pathfinding, Exploration(for diversions)
Mage - exp
Commander - exp.

There is some variation based on what I'm doing with the hero, what kind of gear is available for him, and what the strategic situation looks like. There are two certainties, though:

With the Scout, 3 levels of pathfinding (so that you have forest, hill, and swamp knowledge, and a mobility boost, for your entire army) is pretty much guaranteed. It's just too valuable to pass up.

I'll always go for the siege/cost reduction option on the commander unless I get him at a point where I've got more money than I know what to do with (which is rare) because the cost reduction keeps maintenance manageable, although I admit that this is mostly a style preference.

Yup, many of my heroes multiclass into scout for this skill alone. Having a quick response force with 3 mobility on any terrain is pretty sweet when you're getting attacked by an enemy player (and really necessary when you're at war with 2 of them at once, and must juggle 4-5 enemy probes)

For the same reason, the commander skill that gives a mobility bonus is also a favorite of mine

Those skills augment tremendously the strategic usefulness of these heroes

For the mage and warrior, I will rather get something that improves their tactical power. So attack / defense for the warrior, and the skill that gives xp bonus and high level spell slots for the mage are my first choices.

Most important skills (in order):

Scout:
1) Pathfinding, always, always, always pathfinding....
2) Accuracy? (ranged attack and range)
3) Diplomacy

Warrior:
1) Weapon Mastery/Armor/Regeneration one - which is most important depends on circumstances.

Mage:
1) Wisdom (exp and more spells)
2) Spell Power

Commander:
1) The one that gives mobility
2) the one that gives exp.

Hmm....I seem to be in the minority opinion for a scout, but I prioritize as such:

1. Either of the archery skills

2. Initiative

3. Scouting or Pathfinding

4. Looting or Diplomacy.

I typically play 'pure' classes, so eventually I'm going to get these skills to level five. I worry more about surviving early combats than anything else. Ambush! :-)

Actually for your first priority I am with you, I prefer to focus on the Archery skill that gives ranged atk + xtra range at lvl 3 and 5. Depending what is in my 2nd circle (Elves, perhaps dwarfs if theres lots) I will get Dip over the armor piercing. Sadly for elves you really need Dip lvl 3 in a single scenario if you want to get with them quickly.

Again I also like PURE classes for all classes as well. Abilities are just to good ounce you can get them to levels 4&5 because as a rule lvls 4+5 give the same bonus as lvls 1-3.

The main reason I go for PURE over mixed classes is because it is just to random which skills you get from that 2nd class. I do not like to waste picks at all.

I get prioritizing the ranged attack/range skill. It can certainly depend on circumstances, whether pathfinding is better (lots of swamps/hills/forests - or is it plains - as well as what enemies are around. But the armorpiercing one is just not that good in most cases. It's highly situational whether you can use the precise shot and the extra ammo are rarely needed (although if it is, you really miss it), but it just never does much for me.

Whereas pathfinding is important both for the mobility on the worldmap, and very important for the tactical battles as well by letting your troops move in any terrain at 1 move and no stamina (particularly no stamina!), if you don't have a ton of plains all around....

I really dislike the initiative skill - first of all initiative is a double edged sword - you might move first, but you'll also place first, making you place your troops blind, which can be a serious disadvantage. And the (ranged) defense it gives just don't seem that good to me. My scout shouldn't be in any serious risk of getting hit, or I'm already in deep trouble.

I also dislike scouting a lot. I know that gremlion likes it, and he is a far better player than, me so I must be missing something, but the few percent extra I get in exploring (when I don't find a site, because then it's always 1%) just seems inconsequential. I got it often early on, but never felt like it gave me anything back... Pathfinding certainly saves me more turns in moving around to do said exploring... One level in it is nice for being able to see the levels and distribution of opposing forces, but that's it...

And looting seems weak to me as well - sure better loot is always nice, but compared to the more important skills of staying alive (ranged attack), and being useful (pathfinding) it seems a waste until late game.

Well it also depends on play style. You see I do not often use Barb or other fast units at all. I always use Swordies, Healers, Guardsmen, Monk and Gryphon so they rarely benefit from the Pathfinding skills that much as I have them as a defensive formation for greatest survivability.

As for the Accurate Shot skill, A few levels in this is really good for when one of the guys ducks into a forest OR has say around 4 Ranged Defense it helps you do max damage so you don't have to waste 2 shots on the guy.

Scouting skill is good for 2 reasons. The obvious being the % cleared if you don't find a site. The second and actually more useful skill is the Sabotage it lets you do either with poisoning or false alarm to lower enemy stamina which is quite good.

The Initiative Scout skill is good for a few reasons. For one thing it increases your Ranged Defense, RESISTANCE and Initiative all at same time. Also in regards to having to place first well you should be placing for best benefit for you not so much against or in regards to how the comp places, and getting the first shot off before enemy spell casters or ranged units get their shots off is just to good to pass up.

When you compare the Initiative skills of the Scout to the Wizard you see how good it really is. I mean Wiz only ups that stupid wand firing really which is not that useful until your out of spells and then you have to rest up your stamina to make sure your doing better damage because of Stamina loss.

I take exploring for diversions.
Most of guards - living units. Usual unit have 10-12 stamina, diversion removes up to 5. When enemy units reach my frontline they are tired from moving through all these hills/forests/swamps and have stamina penalty on damage.

Poison diversion highly situational, but if you attack site with a lot of healers this will disable them forever - they will heal this 1 point of damage each turn.

Morale diversion, coupled with Deadly terror ritual opens so many possibilities for expanding that I can't describe.
With pathfinding 3 and slow units(swordsmen) you will be able to move for 2 provinces per turn. Without - only 1/turn.
Also, this saves stamina from moving on hill/into forest, and even adds additional defense on high levels.

Yes I agree playstyle matters a lot, however even with 1-move units like swords and guardsmen, the stamina difference is still important if you move at all. Of course if you just stay put and wait for him to come to you I see your point, however, it's not been my experience that this is the optimal way to do battle... I like to use the same troops, but moving them onto hills or forests for defensive bonuses (especially swordsmen on hills as it also increases their counterstrike) seems superior in my experience. Expecially after I was alerted to how the AI works, and that it will never abandon a target to go past unless it can both move and attack in one turn. One slightly leveled swordsman with a defense medal can hold a lot on a hill...

Whereas bunching them up in a defensive formation allowed area spells to do more damage, and allows ranged units to easily hit your back row.

But obviously to each his own style and if it works for you that's great :)

I've never had much luck with Sabotage, but perhaps I should give it another try. Results just never really impressed me. I have learned how important lowering stamina is, since I stopped prioritizing the skill, so maybe it'll be obvious to me now.

I agree scout initiative skills is superior to eg Wizard, but it's still not that good. Ok resistance is nice, but it's not that often I get hit by enemy spells until late game, and by then I will have gotten it. Early on it fails to help me...


Edit: Ok Gremlion's post sold me on scouting/sabotage. I clearly haven't given the skill the chance it needs since getting better at the game :)

Stamina diversion somewhat loses effectiveness when you start to win initiative - opponent units will get bonus stamina from rest (ammos too, if you use Burn ammo spell on enemy with meditation). This is especially annoying on halflings and slingers, they have high recuperation bonus.
Basically, this is bug, but it was leaved as feature - small bonus for second turn side.

That's good to know - and I guess another reason not to prioritize the initiative skill. It seems winning initiative has a number of not so nice sideeffects

I find that the Resistance really helps take out Battle Mage sites if I have my Scout do them.

I place him in the lead with my swordies as far back as possible. Just behind the scout Is the Healer ready to move up and heal him. This lets me take out Shaman and Sorc with little trouble as long as I can 1 shot the Shaman.