Losing XP when upgrading... when?

[Strudo]

What's this loss of XP that people keep discussing at various stages? I have upgraded several units and having read these reports, kept an eye on the XP of my unit. I never noticed it reset to zero or anything? To check I just upgraded a XP 4/5 swordsman to a berserker and still had XP 4/5. Then I went off and got atacked by a barb and it went to 5/5 and I got to select a promotion. It all seems to work fine unless I'm missing something. I just don't know what people are talking about and don't want to be wasting cash upgrading a unit if it's not cost effective. This is with Warlords 2.08

[Metaliturtle]

I believe it's for levels requiring more than 10 exp

so if you had a swordsman who was 20/50 (I made these #s up) and upgraded it would go to 10/50 or 0/50 I think

he would retain all the level up bonuses but would need to pick up a lot of exp to level up again.

[Jaybe]

A unit that is upgraded will have at most 10 XP. All previous promotions are kept, but to get another promotion the unit will have to reach the XP it needed for it before the upgrade (so a unit might have XP of 10/37).

If the unit is a warlord (in Warlords expansion) then you do not lose any XP.

[Willem]

Yes, upgrades will revert back 10 each time.

[Will9]

The rule does not apply to units with Warlords attached to them.

[Strudo]

Can any testers say if this is the same in BtS?

[Will9]

Originally posted by Strudo
Can any testers say if this is the same in BtS?

I'm sure they can't.

[Strudo]

I guess I'm just not sure if it's a bug or a feature. To me it seems like a bug, and in that case it would probably be fixed. However I could see that upgrading a unit would require the new unit to start from a lower XP since being a new unit would require learning new tactics. Under those conditions it's a feature and may or may not be the same.

If it's the same as current then there is no harm in saying so, and hopefully saying a specific bug is fixed would not be against the NDA. Therefore the only thing they couldn't say is that a specific feature has changed, and by not saying that we will know that it has.

Well that's my take on the issue anyway. I'm sure the reality of the situation is far more complex.

[clarkcd]

It's a feature. I believe it's even mentioned in the original manual as a decision that you will have to make whether to upgrade a unit now or try and squeeze one more promotion out of it before you do even though it's an outdated unit.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

The key is that even though xp resets to 10 on a unit upgrade, the unit's level does NOT reset to 4th (i.e. 10-16 xp) if it was higher.

For example, if you manage to get a War Ellie up to 26 xp (level 6) and then upgrade it to a Cavalry, it's still level 6. But to get to level 7, you need a whack of XP, because level 7 is still 30 or 40-something xp (can't remember ) and your xp is back to 10.

Whatever you do, don't be like me and upgrade a unit without taking the available promotions

[Strudo]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
Whatever you do, don't be like me and upgrade a unit without taking the available promotions

Ouch... That must have been painfull

[Nacht]

Originally posted by Strudo
I guess I'm just not sure if it's a bug or a feature. To me it seems like a bug, and in that case it would probably be fixed.

Considering there is a MAX_EXPERIENCE_AFTER_UPGRADE constant defined in XML you can safely assume that it is a feature.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Strudo


Ouch... That must have been painfull

Only 7 xp lost, luckily. But still.

"Hey, I'll upgrade this Cossack to Gunship and then promote it to Blitz. Blitz choppers kick ass!"

....

[Strudo]

Originally posted by Nacht

Considering there is a MAX_EXPERIENCE_AFTER_UPGRADE constant defined in XML you can safely assume that it is a feature.

Yep ok, I'm convinced. It's a feature and will not change in the EXPAC. Just need to make sure I consider that when upgrading from now on.