What's the advantage of leveling up your leader?

[Xanous]

I read in the forum about strategies to level up your leader in campaigns. But shouldn't you leave your leader in his keep in almost all scenarios? And leveling him up seems dangerous, difficult and with little benefit.

What's the big advantage of leveling up the leader as opposed to other units?

Edited to fix spelling errors

[Elvish_Pillager]

But shouldn't you leave your leader in his keep in almost all senarios?

No, you shouldn't. It's better to use him than to leave him his keep, where he might get killed by enemy scouts, and might waste your gold.

What's the big advantage of leveling up the leader as opposed to other units?

In HttT, at least, he's a particularly powerful unit for less XP; and also, in all campaigns, because the leader is recalled for free, meaning that if he's levelled up all the way you get a free high-level unit.

[Invisible Philosopher]

And leveling him up seems dangerous, difficult

Being good at levelling up units is an important skill in Wesnoth campaigns. Practice and consider tactical consequences of your actions and you will improve at it (hopefully). Use other units to protect those units that you must protect and those that are near levelling up (i.e. the ones you want to protect ). Ways to do that are: Zone of Control, physically blocking, killing enemy units that could reach the unit you're trying to protect. The best way to get a unit experience is killing an enemy unit, especially a higher level one. You can use other of your units to try to weaken it first. Once you kill it you may be able to fill the place where it was with one of your units to help protect the unit that you're trying to level up.

Konrad and many other leaders of sides get the Leadership ability when they level up, which gives lower level units of yours adjacent to him a damage bonus, which is often quite helpful. Also once your leader has levelled up he will have more HP, so it is less dangerous if you are reasonably careful with him.

[martenzo]

I'm good at leveling up, I made a debug training unit for easening campaings when playing them for first time (the unit is level 5, no attacks 1hp)

[UltimaX]

Another reason is that lvled leaders are less vulnerable than unlevled, although lvling up could be hazardous, u shopuld be able to do so in small and/or low exp req maps. You just have to be carefull and wise.

[Xanous]

Thanks for your informative replies.

[kungfupigeon]

in HttT... any suggestions as to when and what lvl to up konrad? i find that he's just too easy to be killed and u have to redo the lvl...

[Elvish Leader]

Try in a Blackwater Port. This is easiest scenario in a campaign (I think so), so you should get as much as possible level two units

[ryn]

I levelled up Konrad in the Bay of Pearls - towards the end I had no gold, so I moved him up with the rest of the force. He ended up killing the enemy leader, and proved quite valuable.

[Matthias[Wlkp]]

I think one of the most important skills when playing campaigns is when to stop recruiting new units. You may want to build a huge army, but what for? most units cost under 20g, so recalling them with 0xp is pointless. When You train enough units, attack with your leader. He is also very useful, if you manage to take over enemy's keep and buy some reinfocements to help crushing rest of enemy units. It is also better to kill with units, which can lvl up, since giving xp to units which can't lvl up is pointless, unless it is necessary to kill.