I’ve noticed this when completing Difficulty 10 battles, it is quite difficult to fill the enemy’s spell to intentionally trigger them to cast, especially compared to lower difficulties.
Do higher difficulty enemies cost more mana to cast?
It seems unintentional, since mana isn’t more or less valuable later in the game.
No, all their spells costs same mana as normal.
To fill their spell quickly, make as many matches as possible, including their mana color if you can.
Enemy get mana from every match you made and every gem you destroyed via match. Gems with the same element just fill a bit more than other gems. I can easily fill a 50-mana spell in one turn or even twice in a row if starting board isn’t weird enough to prevent lots of moves.
Some of their spells charge slower just because they have a higher mana requirement.
Edit: After hours of testing in dungeon I know how enemy gain mana:
If no other factor exists,
They gain 2 mana from every gem/skull you matched.
If that color is their weakness, they only gain 1 mana every gem.
If that color is same as their element, they gain 3 mana every gem.
No extra effect if that’s the color they’re strong against.
BIG gem count as if that many gems are matched FOR YOU. Enemy gain mana as if it’s a normal gem.
Remove, destroy and explode won’t charge enemy mana at all, no matter who did that.
EXAMPLE
If enemy is an orc,
FIRE gem give him 3 mana,
ICE gem give him 1 mana,
Other gems and skulls give him 2 mana.
Incredibly helpful post. That’s exactly what I was looking for to know how enemies were filling up their mana bar. Thanks a ton Hagane!