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| Thread: [Official Thread] HoMM 3: Horn of the Abyss - Announcements, Questions, Features |  This Super Thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 110 220 330 440 550 ... 565 566 567 568 569 · «PREV |
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Tevye
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 08, 2025 10:40 PM |
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Edited by Tevye at 23:00, 08 Jun 2025.
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Friends,
We present to you version 1.7.3. This update is compact in scope; however, in addition to correcting various bugs, it also features a handful of notable changes.
- A significant development that coincides with this patch's completion is the release of Horn of the Abyss on GOG.com. Those who have a copy of Heroes of Might & Magic III in their GOG collection can now also install HotA from there.
- The Default Random Map (Legacy) template pack has been introduced. In these templates, otherwise similar to the default standard pack, Galthran and Sir Mullich, Resistance, Cloak of the Undead King assembly, joining monsters for free, and some other things in the same vein are allowed.
- Some changes have been introduced, continuing the refinement of secondary skills started in the previous release. In particular, Learning was slightly limited; according to the players, its initial altered version turned out to be too powerful.
- A number of minor hero-related balance fixes have been implemented.
- Four new single-player maps have been added, mainly aimed at fans of fast, intense gameplay: Just Win, Or Else; Key To Victory: The Second Key; Sails and Propellers; Treasures Of The Pyramid.
- Many edits and additions have been made to campaign maps and texts.
- The map and campaign editors now offer the opportunity to force a specific version of HotA; in case of a discrepancy with the version the player uses, such a map or campaign will not start, and a message with the recommended version will be displayed.
- Also, in response to frequent questions from players, we decided to offer instructions on how to install HotA on devices running macOS and Android. The solutions have been tested by team members and are considered to be workable at the time of this announcement. Please note: HotA Crew still does not declare official support for these systems, cannot guarantee the universal performance and long-term viability of the suggested solutions, and does not accept any claims related to them. The instructions below should thus be considered nothing more than friendly advice.
Instructions for macOS
Instructions for Android
The full changelog can be found here.
Download the new version of HotA here.
We wish you a pleasant time, and do keep following the news!
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Phoenix4ever
Legendary Hero
Heroes is love, Heroes is life
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posted June 08, 2025 11:20 PM |
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Okay, nice little update. Some bugfixes, a slight nerf to Learning, nerf AND buff for Eagle Eye and thank god for the less self destructive automatons, they were SO annoying to fight, especially when split into several stacks.
Thank you and keep up the good work. 
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Thallasmourne
Tavern Dweller
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posted June 09, 2025 12:46 AM |
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[-] Learning experience bonus: 25/50/75% -> 20/40/60%. At the level-up that happens after gaining/advancing Learning, upgrading the skill again will not be offered if the hero has other skills that can be upgraded
[-] Chance to learn spells prior to a combat with Eagle Eye: 40/50/60% -> 10/20/30%. Learning spells cast by the opponent in combat is 100% guaranteed if the spell is of an appropriate level
Awful decisions.
Learning is powerful at the beginning, yes, but becomes a dead slot at the end, which balances itself out.
Eagleeye was already a niche skill. It's only useful if offered in very good timing. Nerfing its base chance is unwise since being able to learn a spell ONLY after an enemy casts it is crucial in TURN-BASED game.
Learning an implosion/armaggeddon only after an enemy casts it can be too late in so many cases.
Basically we go back into "why should i choose Eagleeye when i can choose something else" kind of situation. I suggest adding some sort of interaction with neutral monsters for Eagle eye to make it viable skill at least.
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MurlocAggroB
Known Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 04:40 AM |
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Quote:
[-] Kalid banned on the 2sm2c(2), Nine-day Wonder, and Skirmish(M) templates
...Who?
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LordCameron
Famous Hero
Veteran of the Succession Wars
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posted June 09, 2025 04:53 AM |
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I think I'm with Thallasmourne. As neat as it is for there to be far more frequent updates, I think big changes like Eagle Eye and Learning need more time to shake out and see how people feel. Losing an entire slot is no small thing for Learning, and the XP bonus wasn't exactly making a world of difference anyway.
As for Eagle Eye, how many hero fights are there in an average game? It isn't high. With Eagle Eye nerfed to 10% it might never trigger now. The 100% is interesting, but maybe too reliable, as now you'll want to avoiding giving your opponent spells. I wonder if this is the same design philosophy which removed Resistance.
First impression is Eagle Eye and Learning have reverted back to "Do not take" after having very briefly had a time as "Niche but useable". Will have to eventually see in practice to find out.
Quote:
if there are 65,534, Holes will no longer appear upon digging
Nooooo! My shoreline defense strat 
The GOG news is cool. I hope this will have way more people enjoying HOTA.
And Kalid is clearly Jihera's cowardly husband.
____________
What are Homm Songs based on?
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Phoenix4ever
Legendary Hero
Heroes is love, Heroes is life
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posted June 09, 2025 05:59 AM |
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MurlocAggroB
Known Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 04:02 PM |
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That makes sense. I don't know anything about those templates, so I wonder why sulfur is a problem (or pointless?) and not the other resources.
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Hourglass
Supreme Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 04:16 PM |
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Thallasmourne said:
Learning is powerful at the beginning, yes, but becomes a dead slot at the end, which balances itself out.
LordCameron said:
First impression is Eagle Eye and Learning have reverted back to "Do not take" after having very briefly had a time as "Niche but useable". Will have to eventually see in practice to find out.
I don't personally know how the state of the Eagle Eye has truly been, but as the post indicates, the new Learning turned out to be way too powerful. You could build surprisingly powerful heroes even during just couple of turns in a way that simply was not possible before. All Learning heroes did become extremely powerful to the point that players could nearly always go for them if they were given during the early game. And towns that could ensure Learning heroes started to perform much better.
It just turns out that the early game factors much more than the late game - having good early game means you scale well even for the late game. Somewhat "losing" a secondary slot is a very small price to pay from that. The sooner the hero can tackle hard fights, the sooner he can contest the map. If you have more control over the map sooner, it means you simply drain the best resources out faster. Whereas you're driving smoothly, and spending your turns efficiently, your opponents have hard time making their heroes stronger.
At least on paper the change for Learning seems good, and could mean the Learning can still be utilized, but it's not a mandatory build.
Oh, and congrats to team for reaching even another update, and huge shoutout for the GOG cooperation. Great to see your work being recognized and appreciated!
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FdgK
Known Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 05:02 PM |
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This is probably a stupid question but I just "bought" HotA on GOG and wanted to install the update from 1.7.2 to 1.7.3 from there but it seems to always install a new instance of the game and I can’t find a way to install it directly in my HoMM3-Complete folder. That means that I now have two different HD Mod launchers in two different folders starting two different versions of HotA (the old one starting 1.7.2 or classic HoMM3 Complete and the new one starting 1.7.3 with no option to launch the classic HoMM3 Complete since this game is not installed in the same folder). Does anyone else encounter the same situation and is there something I am missing? Thanks!
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Brevan
Tavern Dweller
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posted June 09, 2025 05:32 PM |
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Edited by Brevan at 19:12, 09 Jun 2025.
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MurlocAggroB said:
That makes sense. I don't know anything about those templates, so I wonder why sulfur is a problem (or pointless?) and not the other resources.
I looked up one of those templates, and it had Learning as a banned skill (so all heroes with Learning had been banned). Maybe Calid had been overlooked initially, but not now.
Hourglass said:
...I don't personally know how the state of the Eagle Eye has truly been...
I just finished up a game vs AI opponents using Oris in v1.7.2, and trying to rely on Eagle Eye for magic. A few things that struck me (TL;DR: EEye was a waste of a skill slot, and will continue to be after the nerf):
1) After playing on-and-off for over 20 years, I'd never before seen Eagle Eye actually happen in battle (a little icon pops up beside your hero with a hawk-cry sound). I suppose the v1.7.3 changes make this way more likely to happen.
2) The pre-battle learning was way more effective (100% by level 12), since the AI tends to use the same spells over and over (Lightning/Blind was great for round 1, and will continue to be great in later rounds).
3) Eagle Eye is still pretty pointless since my first battles vs Heroes are when taking their castle, so you'll have their mage guild anyways. I tend to take the castle first in an effort to get their roach-like heroes to scuttle back to it when I leave it "undefended", but maybe EEye would be better in other strategies.
4) AI tends to research their mage guilds for the same spells (Haste, Slow, Bless), so if you want something like View Air/Earth then your best bet is your own guild or spell shrines (I'm not sure the AI tries for these). Once you've captured one AI castle, you'll know 90% of all the AI's spells.
My guess for the v1.7.3 Eagle Eye change was that it's for PvP, where maybe you'd encounter the same hero multiple times and that 30% (~50% by level 12) chance to learn their spells pre-battle might be worthwhile.
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Tevye
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 07:37 PM |
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Edited by Tevye at 19:40, 09 Jun 2025.
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FdgK said:
This is probably a stupid question but I just "bought" HotA on GOG and wanted to install the update from 1.7.2 to 1.7.3 from there but it seems to always install a new instance of the game and I can’t find a way to install it directly in my HoMM3-Complete folder. That means that I now have two different HD Mod launchers in two different folders starting two different versions of HotA (the old one starting 1.7.2 or classic HoMM3 Complete and the new one starting 1.7.3 with no option to launch the classic HoMM3 Complete since this game is not installed in the same folder). Does anyone else encounter the same situation and is there something I am missing? Thanks!
This is unlikely to work and not recommended. The GOG installer is not an updater; it creates all the files needed for the game to work, and it doesn't know what to update or leave alone. I would suggest that you just move your savegames/maps/templates to the new GOG folder and proceed launching HotA from there. It will be updating automatically from then on, as further HotA patches arrive. You can then wipe the old installation and install Complete anew, then add just the HD mod there, and create a separate shortcut to launch the base game as needed.
Alternatively, you can simply keep updating HotA the old-fashioned way.
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Tevye
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 07:45 PM |
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Brevan said:
1) After playing on-and-off for over 20 years, I'd never before seen Eagle Eye actually happen in battle (a little icon pops up beside your hero with a hawk-cry sound). I suppose the v1.7.3 changes make this way more likely to happen.
That's because this visual/sound effect never existed until HotA 1.7.2. The player would just be displayed a text pop-up when EE learning happened.
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FdgK
Known Hero
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posted June 09, 2025 10:12 PM |
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@Tevye: Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my message. I’ll do as you suggested and emigrate the files to the newly installed folder and keep the old installation just for the classic Complete with its own HD-Launcher.
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pellish
Famous Hero
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posted June 10, 2025 10:38 AM |
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So cool to see you guys on GOG! Thanks for another release, guys
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Syth1984
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 10, 2025 12:02 PM |
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Thallasmourne said:
[-] Learning experience bonus: 25/50/75% -> 20/40/60%. At the level-up that happens after gaining/advancing Learning, upgrading the skill again will not be offered if the hero has other skills that can be upgraded
[-] Chance to learn spells prior to a combat with Eagle Eye: 40/50/60% -> 10/20/30%. Learning spells cast by the opponent in combat is 100% guaranteed if the spell is of an appropriate level
Awful decisions.
Learning is powerful at the beginning, yes, but becomes a dead slot at the end, which balances itself out.
Eagleeye was already a niche skill. It's only useful if offered in very good timing. Nerfing its base chance is unwise since being able to learn a spell ONLY after an enemy casts it is crucial in TURN-BASED game.
L
Agreed. They should focus on the War machine skills actually. They are still a bit subpar.
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Galaad
Hero of Order
Li mort as morz, li vif as vis
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posted June 10, 2025 12:56 PM |
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Edited by Galaad at 12:57, 10 Jun 2025.
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Thallasmourne said:
(double posted due to a lag, delete this one please)
I can't do it since I'm not assigned to this board, but you can actually delete it yourself. Edit=>Delete.
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