My playtime is very short, but it did not take long to realize how similar this sequel is to its predecessor.
I was quite excited to see the Plane problem addressed, on the first game, going to another Plane was not worth the time and efforts : too many rough monsters to fight for too small a reward.
While nothing exceptional, I had fun with it, even if the AI was not competent at all.
The problem is that Warlock II doesn't bring enough new content. The AI is still atrocious , the diplomacy could be non-existent, city management is easy... But too simple. As far as fantasy 4X gp, Endless Legend is a much superior product.
The biggest disappointment, as far as I am concerned, is the Plane system.
As first it was nice exploring new pocket worlds, with their unique biome, monsters and ressources, expanding, getting closer to the Unified One and smahsing a rival Great Mage...
But before long, it felt tedious. Once you gather a sufficiently experienced army, conquering Plane after Plane doesn't pose any challenge, you massacre monsters, capture towns (converting some of them into free cities to avoid penalties), get some new quests, encounter unexciting quests etc.
The most problematic aspect is managing your units' movements : the pathfinding is bad, movement is slow, and you must hop across different portals, which quickly becomes tedious.

My playtime is very short, but it did not take long to realize how similar this sequel is to its predecessor. I was quite excited to see the Plane problem addressed, on the first game, going to another Plane was not worth the time and efforts : too many rough monsters to fight for too small a reward. While nothing exceptional, I had fun with it, even if the AI was not competent at all. The problem is that Warlock II doesn't bring enough new content. The AI is still atrocious , the diplomacy could be non-existent, city management is easy... But too simple. As far as fantasy 4X gp, Endless Legend is a much superior product. The biggest disappointment, as far as I am concerned, is the Plane system. As first it was nice exploring new pocket worlds, with their unique biome, monsters and ressources, expanding, getting closer to the Unified One and smahsing a rival Great Mage... But before long, it felt tedious. Once you gather a sufficiently experienced army, conquering Plane after Plane doesn't pose any challenge, you massacre monsters, capture towns (converting some of them into free cities to avoid penalties), get some new quests, encounter unexciting quests etc. The most problematic aspect is managing your units' movements : the pathfinding is bad, movement is slow, and you must hop across different portals, which quickly becomes tedious.