Heroes of Might and Magic Community
visiting hero! Register | Today's Posts | Games | Search! | FAQ/Rules | AvatarList | MemberList | Profile


Age of Heroes Headlines:  
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
6 Aug 2016: Troubled Heroes VII Expansion Release - read more
26 Apr 2016: Heroes VII XPack - Trial by Fire - Coming out in June! - read more
17 Apr 2016: Global Alternative Creatures MOD for H7 after 1.8 Patch! - read more
7 Mar 2016: Romero launches a Piano Sonata Album Kickstarter! - read more
19 Feb 2016: Heroes 5.5 RC6, Heroes VII patch 1.7 are out! - read more
13 Jan 2016: Horn of the Abyss 1.4 Available for Download! - read more
17 Dec 2015: Heroes 5.5 update, 1.6 out for H7 - read more
23 Nov 2015: H7 1.4 & 1.5 patches Released - read more
31 Oct 2015: First H7 patches are out, End of DoC development - read more
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
[X] Remove Ads
LOGIN:     Username:     Password:         [ Register ]
HOMM1: info forum | HOMM2: info forum | HOMM3: info mods forum | HOMM4: info CTG forum | HOMM5: info mods forum | MMH6: wiki forum | MMH7: wiki forum
Heroes Community > Heroes 5 - Temple of Ashan > Thread: [Work in Progress] Strategy Guide for HOMM V
Thread: [Work in Progress] Strategy Guide for HOMM V This thread is 3 pages long: 1 2 3 · NEXT»
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 04, 2008 04:21 PM bonus applied.
Edited by InfernoX880 at 01:38, 06 Jan 2008.

Strategy Guide for HOMM V

I'm somewhat certain that this has come up before and that strategies for the factions have already been written at some point. However, for those of you new to Hard and Heroic difficulties (mostly Heroic), I've written up a series of things that ought to help out with each faction.

By the way, this guide is written based on standard multiplayer maps, not scenarios and campaigns. Also make a note as this applies for all factions, if you get a treasure chest and you have to choose between 1000 Gold and 500 EXP, always take 1000 Gold. Same goes for 1500 and 1000 respectively. Only when the EXP offered is 1500 should you go with the EXP but only if you know it will result in a Level Up. Though it will put you 4-5 levels behind your enemy in the late game, at least you'll have units to fight with.

Section 1: The Eight Factions

Haven
Early Game
Haven's early game begins rather late, going up to Day 4 if you are unlucky with the nearby guardians of the Ore Pit and Sawmill. If you are fortunate, and the guardian is something not intimidating like a Peasant or a Goblin in which case simply build Peasant Huts and recruit the Peasants, then attack. The sooner you get those two resource generators, the better.
Fighting Strategy
If the above situation is the case, your fights are going to be based on evasion. If you are facing someone with lower speed than your units, you must avoid their area of reach by a mere 1 square and wait for them to get closer so you get the first attack. If you have archers (likely), obviously pelt the enemy with arrows. If you are facing multiple stacks, they are probably numbered at 20-30 per stack for a total of 60-90 enemies. Use Peasants to bring down one stack, and use attacks from Archers and hero to bring down the other. In the first few fights, it is likely you will win, but suffer casualties.


Now we look at what happens if you see some more difficult guards. The solution is simple, but it'll cost you a few days. Begin by building Peasant Huts then take Tavern then Archers Tower and then upgrade it, that is four turns worth of buying stuff. While you are purchasing buildings, send your main hero to scout the nearby land and collect loose resources. On Day 4, hire an extra hero, buy all the Crossbowmen you can, upgrade all your Archers to Crossbowmen and give them to your main hero. You will find Crossbowmen are devastating in the Early, Middle and even the Late Game.

Now that you have the wood and ore generators, progress by finding the next weakest guardian of a mine. If you can't find any weak ones, then during Days 5 and 6 purchase the Blacksmith and the Garrison respectively. This gives you a free day on day 7 during which you should probably upgrade your Village Hall. And if you still can't find anything you can take, wait one more day. On Day 1 week 2, recruit everything. By then you should be ready to take at least one extra mine.

Middle Game
So you've followed the general pattern. Here is a hint for all early games, try keep your wood and ore above 3. If you simply must build something, do so, but if you have 3 wood and ore after building something, you have the joy of knowing that you'll have 5 wood and ore on the next turn, enough to buy most buildings.

The Middle Game is going to lead all the way up to the Capitol. I assume here you have captured your third and maybe even fourth reasource generators. Two more to go. If you still have an army, great. If not, you should probably wait out the week. On Day 8 or 9, whenever resources permit, build a Mage Guild and hope for Divine Strength. If your Knight has been offered the Light Magic skill, take it by all means. Knights aren't good with magic but Expert Divine Strength will make your Crossbowmen and eventually your Seraphs VERY powerful.

If you have Divine Strength and above 20 Crossbowmen, 5-10 Footmen, and a bunch of Peasants or even Conscripts (if you brought those), you should be able to take almost every resource mine in your vicinity.

Here comes the rough part, the Griffins. They are powerful but expensive. Try to keep away form purchasing buildings that consume the resources you need for the Griffin Tower. So if you have 5 ore, don't spend it on a Resource Silo, in fact don't spend it at all, wait for the Griffin Tower. You should have it by the end of Week 2 and as Week 3 begins, you should be able to have 10 Griffins and a lot of other units with respectable numbers. The focal point of your army is still the Crossbowmen though.

Here you can get creative. By now, your hero should be a decent level, and you should be able to cumulate loose resources with ease and easily overpower most neutral units. Here, I can't really recommened the build order. On Heroic mode, it depends what loose recources you find. Build things that take resources that you have plenty of.

Get the City Hall as soon as possible as well. This will boost income, but not enough. Plenty of Peasants help with the money, but even that's not enough. I can't aid you too much here because I don't know how your resources stand, and it will be likewise for every faction but if you took Gold from most treasure chests as was recommended in the beginning, it should be fine.

The Cathedral is a relatively cheap building, but the upgrade is not. It's okay though, for now you just need to be able to wipe out neutral creatures. Consider building up Fortifications if you have plenty of wood and ore and if you have only plenty of wood, go for the Order of Paladins.

Don't go for the Angels yet. Get inexpensive buildings like the Marketplace, the upgraded Peasant Huts, the Farms, maybe an upgrade for Mages Guild until Town Level is 15. Then, save up for Capitol. From there on, you can buy units way more easily and soon enough, you should be able to get Angels. If you have plenty of resources that are not required for Angels (I think wood is an example), begin upgrading units slowly. Its actually better to start with high tier upgrades, even though they're more expensive.

Late Game
Here comes the hard part. If it hasn't happened already, your closest enemy will come for you. If you are playing a 1v1 against Heroic AI, its going to be a VERY difficult battle. If you're playing a 4 player free-for-all, its a little bit easier as you get more time and enemy is a bit weaker after having some run ins with other AI. Either way, if you overcome the enemy hero that comes at you now, you've pretty much won. Easiest way to do this is via the Crossbowmen + Divine Strength maneuver which practically kills all enemies. If you have some higher powered light magic, especially Divine Vengeance, the fight shouldn't be too bad. However, you obviously will have needed a few artifacts and boosters for your magic capabilities.

With the main enemy (possibly) gone, stay at your base and replenish a little. When you get a nice new week's worth of units, you can probably finish the game, but to be certain, make sure your town level is maxed out.

Training
Training is an amazing ability that comes in handy in the late game. When your town is fully built, the upgraded Training Grounds will allow for the Training of up to 20 units a week. If you have much gold, there are two routes I'd recommened. The first route is to take 20 Footmen and upgrade them to Priests then upgrade once again into Cavaliers. The alternate is to take 20 Priests and upgrade them to Cavaliers. Either way, your hero ought to have ridiculous amounts of the Tier 6 unit in his army.


Small Glitch
There is an error in version 3.0 in which the new upgrades cannot be trained. Only the non-upgraded unit or the original upgrades can be trained in the training grounds.


Summary
Don't expect an easy game with Haven. Crossbowmen help out a lot, but the damage range makes their abilities questionable. However, if you manage to get some nice spells and expert light magic, you should be able to pull through. If you don't get Divine Strength, no worries. Clerics get to cast the Spell at either Basic or Advanced mastery (I'm sorry, I don't recall which). Archangels and Seraphs are perhaps the second best Tier 7 statistically (right after Lava/Magma Dragons). They are fast, powerful, and have nice abilities. Also the Seraphs get Divine Vengeance, but I fear that will change soon (patch 3.1 will probably make a few changes to that mega super awesome spell).

Inferno
Early Game
The Inferno early game looks much like the Haven. You'll want the upgraded Tier 2 Horned Leapers. Though they are somewhat ineffective against ranged units, if you have Tactics, the Horned Leapers will make many of your early game problems go away. Here comes the difference though. The beginning is essentially the same, starting with Imp Crucible followed by Tavern followed by both versions of the Demon Bastion. This makes your Town Level 5. Now get either Mage Guild or Town Hall, based on your resources and needs. Before the week ends, get the Raging Kennels.

Now comes a short era of building cheap buildings. You'll need a lot of gold and plenty of other resources when you get to Town Level 9. There will be three buildings for you to build; The City Hall, the Succubi Dwelling, and its upgrade. With the Temptresses at your side, you should be able to easily dominate (literally) most neutral unit.

Middle Game
Like Haven there isn't much to say. Build as resources allow and once again, make sure you get the Capitol as soon as Town Level hits 15. Blazing Stables help, but the Pit Fiends are great while you're still facing low numbers where spells like Fireball are effctive. Remember that in Middle Game, it is more impoartant to have up to tier 6 unupgraded than up to tier 5 fully upgraded. Reason being that if you get Pit Fiends early, the growth will rise even if you can't afford it, but you'll have some might strong units to recruit once you get upgrades. Inferno also has a nice bonus of having no prequisites for Devils except high Town Level.

Late Game
A Demon Lord's strategies are somewhat unique. The late game for a Demon Lord should be fairly easy if you have high Spellpower (around 10) and some magic expertise. Either Dark Magic or Destructoin will be fine, though Dark Magic is a favorable route. If you manage to get Puppet Master, fights will be easy with double Puppets (Temptresses ability=#2). Gating will make an opponent's life miserable in any situation so it's always a safe bet.

If you haven't done so, it is recommended to build up on your gating skill. If you are able to summon half the stack in the late game, you'll find you are summoning stacks that are actually effective.

Summary
Unlike Haven, Demon Lords focus more on a quick attack and then gated reinforcements rather than a good defense. You will find that as a Demon Lord, many of your units will have the privelage of making the first moves. And units like Firebreathers are an easy way to destroy ranged units. Likewise, the Archdevil's ability to summon extra Pit Lords is absolutely incredible, since Archdevil himself has slightly lower initiative and will likely not make a move until one of your units already lies dead.

Sylvan
Early Game
Sylvan is one of two factions (the other being Dungeon) that has a notably easier early game. The reason for this being that Sylvan  requires only two days to be able to destroy almost any Tier 1 guardian on the map. How? It's quite simple. On Day 1 get Pixies, on Day 2 upgrade to Sprites. Now you should have between 15-25 Sprites and a few Blade Dancers. Split the Sprites into 6 stacks. Now when you enter combat, all you need do is cast Wasp Swarm. Very easy, very effective. I'm certain many of you are familiar with this strategy but for those of you who are not, it basically pays off to have several stacks of casters instead of one.

Now buildings are extremely difficult to decide upon. However, I find that going with Town Hall on Day 3, a Marketplace on Day 4 and then a Mystic Pond (I'll explain why in a second) is a good way to enter the middle game. Now I understand that two of the three buildings I mentioned are absolutley uselss but you'll find that if you want to get all those great units, you'll need wood. A lot of wood. So by Day 6 or so you should be able to get Hunter's Cabins just in time for the new week to begin. Which means that by the beginning of week 2, you should have 14 Hunters! With the weaker guardians gone, you'll find the Wasp Swarm bit useless but...

Middle Game
...but now you get something greater to replace the Sprites. As the middle game begins, you'll have a hard time finding enough wood to keep up. Don't worry though, once you enter the late game its no longer a problem. Build a Mages Guild for the sake of the Imbue Arrow you want to use but mostly for the Druids you'll get in a few turns. When you get Druids, combine the Sprites into one stack and split the Druids. You'll find Thunderbolts are more effective than Wasps. The rest is improvising. Usually it pays off to get Dragons before Treants so you have a strong unit to meet the enemies stronger units.

Once again you'll have to go on your own, base your judgement on the resources you have and as soon as you can, get the Capitol. I believe that the Unicorn Dwelling is also quite cheap but I recall 15 wood for the Treant Dwellings. Not a good choice to get...yet. You'll need Treants later and you'll find that by the time you reach the late game, you'll have near 30 Treants and only around 5 Dragons even though ou got them first. Why? Because Treants are very hard to kill but they're too slow for you to send to the other side of the field. In other words they never get the chance to die. Still, they are great for defending your Archers.

Late Game
You may have noticed the Avenger's Guild. If you selected your enemmy's faction or know what it is, make use of it. So if you're playing against Necropolis, you're bound to have killed a bunch of Ghosts or Zombies or maybe even Shadow Dragons by now. Select them in the Avenger's Guild and watch how much easier the fight becomes when your Arcane Archers kill a stack in one hit. Ouch. It's a good thing the AI has no idea what the Avenger's Guild is.

Once you beat the main enemy hero, which should not be too difficult, the rest is easy.

Final Hints
Utilize your stats. If you have a decent amount of Spell Power and accidentally got Destruction Magic, Imbue Implosion or Meteor Shower can cause serious damage. If instead you have high defensive capabilities, it pays off to shield your archers from the enemy with Treants and even Pixies! Also, the Pixies and their upgrades get spray attack, similar to the Cerberis ability to attack nultiple enemies. Try to attack 2-3 enemies with single hits. If you have high Luck, Crystal Dragon are recommended for their ability to wipe out up to half the enemy alignmenet with a single blow.

With all the bonuses a Ranger gets, its difficult to lose...


Summary
Sylvan is an excellent "mixed" faction. The lower tiers are generally the quick obliterators while the higher Tiers serve more for survival. A common strategy involves the Tactics skill and placing Treants in front of both Druids and Hunters. If you have picked up Magic Resistance skill from Luck, you have a Unicorn with Aura of Magic Resistance, and maybe an Artifact that gives even more resistance, you will pretty much force your opponent to fight the Treants before they attack your powerful Archers.

Dungeon
Early Game
For those of you who are new to the series, there is a good reason everyone likes Dungeon. That reason is because you get a sense of overwhelming power. The beginning plays like Sylvan. Get upgraded Tier 1. Now buy the Stalkers (the ones with Invisibility). You should have around 14, so make two Stacks of 7. During the next turns, get and upgrade the Furies, but don't give them to your hero yet, wait till he comes home. When Wood and Ore Pits are yours, return and claim the Blood Furies, having not enough power to claim the other resource generators...yet. Then get Town Hall. Finally, get Tavern, recruit a Hero with some extra units and share.

Those were a busy few days  but now you're set for a while. Get cheap buildings and make sure you get Mages Guild! Destruciton Spells are what make Warlocks semi-invincible. You should be able to destroy most neutral guardians with around 20 Stalkers and 10-15 Blood Furies when week 1 hasn't even ended! Pick up all loose resources, you'll need them soon.

When Town Level hits 9, things go wild again. But we'll talk about that...

Middle Game
...right here. Once again you have many things to buy. Start with City Hall since you'll need some financial aid. Then get the Rattling Cavern followed by the Hall of Intrigure. Now you have the most powerful Tier 1, 2 and 5 units in the game, and the Hall of Intrigue compensates for your poor Knowledge! One more building to go...the Palace of Shadows...but that's if you can buy it. In any case, it's you next building. You don't need to give the Mistresses to your hero right away, they're better of not dieing anyway.

After everything mentioned above is done, lay low with buildings and buy cheap stuff. If you have plenty of precious resources, up the Mage Guild to get powerful spells. Then get the Capitol. Job well done.

Late Game
When your enemy arrives, you may notice the threat level is Challenging or Hard. Not to worry, the game doesn't take into account your powerful spells. If you're around Level 20, you should have Expert Destructive Magic even if you don't have Mage Guild Level 5. Your Ice Bolt spell will be unusually powerful and with Empowered Spells, you do even more.

If you have Deep Freeze, cast it on any unit you want dead and attack it with all your forces. Damage done after a unit is "Frozen" is practically doubled. And, if you have Warlock's Luck, then it gets even better.

Even if your opponent has Magic Resistance, not to worry, because your racial skill is...Irresistable Magic!

Final Hints
Note that I asked that you skip Tier 3 and 4 Dwellings. That's only a suggestion, and its honest because frankly its better to skip to the powerful Hydras and Mistresses.


Summary
Dungeon is power. The Warlocks can obliterate more than 50(wow)Tier 7s with a single spell in certain circumstances. Black Dragons are also powerful. Shadow Matriarchs can cast Confusion. Black Dragons are also immune to any spells cast by the opponent. So how do you lose?  Its possible, but Dungeon definetly has an easy game all the way through. The buildings aren't too expensive yet the units are somewhat pricey. In the late game, switch the Stalkers with Assassins so as to have  a fine ranged unit poisoning everyone on the other side of the field.

Necropolis
Early Game
The Necropolis faction has a unique fighting style. There are actually many things that make this faction unique in general, though I'm guessing most of you know what those are. For those of you that don't, here is the briefing:
1) Necropolis does not rely so heavily on their town. Because they can raise units that were slain in combat, Necromancers can assemble cheap, effective armies at no cost.
2)Though these armies are notably weak, Necromancers also specialize in Spellpower. Though they aren't as effective as Warlocks, they can cast devastating spells. However, it is more common for a Necromancer to take Dark Magic instead of Destructive Magic.
3) The main early game concern for most factions is how not to lose units against neutral ranged enemies. With Eternal Servitude and Necromancy, not only do Necromancers regain lost units, they can actually make their armies bigger. Add to that the fact that Necromancers have "Raise Dead" from the start which is like Resurrection for them.

So what exactly does one do? It is recommended to go with the Skeleton Archers first, which means two days of Building. Try finding the weakest possible unit nearby and vanquish it for some extra Skeletons which you can then upgrade. If you can't find any, just go for the Wood and Ore Pits. If you still have a small army and are about to face ranged units, get some Skeleton Warriors, who are particularly resilient against arrows.

Here comes the more difficult part: what comes next? You'll need the Mage Guild. The Crypt is a prequisite for the Town Hall so get that. Then there are the Ghosts, perhaps the most unique early game unit in the game. They are a game of chance against archers, maybe they'll get hit, maybe no. Its not recommended to get them yet, but then again you have nothing better to do. Except get the Tavern. When resources permit, Ghosts are a fair investment, but don't get too overexcited about them.

Middle Game
Now you have to do a lot of low level building...
The Mage Guild isn't effective yet. You'll need higher levels first. The Crypt isn't worth upgrading. The next great thing comes at Town Level 9 and it's so great, that I will spend a paragraph talking about it.

The Vampie Mansion. And Vampires. True, not the greatest Tier 4 unit but with the Drain Life, Raise Dead, and Eternal Servitude perks backing them up, neutral creatures will end up dead. Which is good. Because then they (the neutrals) will be alive. Serving you. When the Vampires come in, almost all of your worries go away. Then soon after you will get the Liches. Then like 2% more of your worries go away so now you really have one worry and that's the enemy's main hero. Get the City Hall, and travel around your neighborhood. Try saving the creatures that will give you better undead equivalents for when you have maximum Dark Energy.

By the time your enemy arrives, you might be around Level 20. Consider getting Level 5 Mage Guild and hope for Frenzy and Puppet Master. With those two spells, your life gets even easier.

Late Game
The late game is where all the goodies about Necropolis begin going to waste. To get those cool undead dragons you need the Castle, and to get the Wights and Wraiths, you need the pricey Shrine of the Netherworld. Still, its not unlikely that you already have Wights, Wraiths, Banshees, and Undead Dragons. When your enemy arrives, use your hero's Dark Spells to make his units about as strong as yours (which are weak) and then use your obviously overwhelming numbers to destroy him. Usually not too difficult, unless your enemy manages to get rid of your Skeleton Archers early.

Which brings me to the Skeleton Archers themselves. They do poor damage, but com in great numbers and die quickly. Its important to defend them so that they can occasionally kill one Tier 7 creature. Anythings helps.

Final Hints
I previously mentioned the Puppet Master and Frenzy spells. If you are unfamiliar with these, what they basically do is make your enemy's units fight each other while you attack them. Therefore, although Necropolis has weak units, they can easily even the odds.


Summary
There isn't much to it. Necromancers themselves are great with Dark Magic combined with the Banshee Howl ability. At Expert Level, and such high Spellpower, a Necromancer can make enemy units pathetic in comparison to his own weak units.

Academy
Early Game
There are many ways to go about the Wizarding town, though the strategies mostly vary with the hero you choose. While heroes like Havez give you a nice early game, you'll find that stronger Gremlins aren't as useful as being able to regenerate mana in combat in the late game. The main strategy of the early game with Academy is based on large numbers of Gremlins though. You'll probably want to upgrade them for the boost and to waste a turn building something cheap.

So on turn 1, Gremlin Workshop. On turn 2 Tavern. Now combine the Gremlins and you'll have...up to 100 Gremlins. This happens if one of your heroes is Havez, who comes with an extreme number of Gremlins. There have been complaints about this on other forums though so don't expect his army to be like this forever...

Lets assume you have around 50-60 Gremlins. That is way more than enough to be able to crush non-ranged units but if you're facing other Gremlins that are defending the Sawmill, you may have to retreat to your town for a week. Which is a problem. You have to really try to minimize casualties here. Face infantry first (if any) then attack the ranged guardians.

Now from here there are plenty of things to do. You should probably get the Blacksmith which is followed up by Golems. Golems aren't to impressive now, being a standard tier 3 unit, but they are a huge help when you face your rival in the late game. Their magic resistance can make any situation easier by allowing them to just walk into the enemy area. Add to that their Unlimited Retaliation (for the upgrade) and you have a fine unit. Obsidian Golems are nice too, but even AI isn't stupid enough to use area of effect spells on them. However, a nice hint is that you can send Obsidian Golem towards the enemy units then cast Meteor Shower. The result will be you Golem will heal while your enemy suffers.

Okay, moving on. Get the Mages Guild and learn a few spells. Don't rely too heavily on Destructive Magic because Wizards have low spellpower.

Now,you brought the Golems and you began scouting for weaker guardians. Assuming you haven't found any weak guardians, we move on to the Middle Game strategies.

Middle Game
Here is where the game becomes a little easier. This is because at Town Level 6 you finally get access to the Artifact Merchant! Just kidding. It's the Mages you want. Follow it up with the inexpensive Town Hall. Great, one more town level to go and you can finally get the City Hall, which will aid your increasingly poorer economy.

The Mages work on the same principle as the Druids, seperate them into several stacks and cast away. You won't want to upgrade them yet, that is a little expensive. Consider getting the Gargoyles now. Now that you've considered, get the Gargoyles. If you don't have enough resources, just build something cheap, or not at all until you can afford the Gargoyle building. So you have Tiers 1-4. That should be enough to do good against most neutral guardians. Especially if you still have those Gremlins.

When you reach Town Level 9, get the City Hall and the Pinnacle of Wishes. Djinns are quick strikers, just don't expect them to return. They are decent in offense and speed but health and defense leave something to be desired...

With a Town Level of 11 (I believe), select and upgrade either the Golems or Gargoyles. Both are pretty cheap, and its whatever you think will aid you. If you have managed to get a nice amount of spellpower, then I suggest the Marble Gargoyle for their...assistance in the art of destruction.

When Town Level 15 is reached, get the Capitol. Combined with the cheap Treasure Cave, your income should be relatively high.

Late Game
The late game for Academy is annoying. You'll find that you need the Rakshasa, but it costs too much to get either their building or the Library that you need to get their building. Shame. If you are almost at the amount of resources necesary for Giants, then buy them instead.

If you have surplus wood and ore, start building up the fort. The next most important thing is...the Mage Guild. Yes, you'll need it to be a high level. As a Wizard, you should have taken either Summoning, Dark, or Light magic, not so much Destrcutive. As soon as resources allow, you should get the Library and try to avoid spending what you'll need for those Rakshasa.

In any case, the Wizard's true strength comes not so much from his army, but from the excellent arcane possibilities. Below are a few:
1) Try getting two of the pieces of the Sar Issus Regalia. This makes your Archmages (when you get them) much more potent. Combinging their Fireball with the Marble Gargoyle or using it to heal Obsidian Golems are two safe strategies.
2) In the case of summoning magic, Summon Phoenix is doubtless the best spell. If you can manage to get a Pheonix and use Arcane Armor on it, you'll have a powerful unit that takes long to kill.
3) In the case of Light Magic, Deflect Missle is an amazing spell. It renders almost all enemy ranged attacks useless. Likewise, Mass Divine Strength is very nice.
4) Dark Magic should focus first on weakening enemy units and occasionaly casting the fun spells. Vampirism is great with the Rakshasa Raja.

Summary
The mages have a difficult encounter with the main enemy hero. Unless you've managed to get all the resources you'll need, he'll probably back you up against your Castle walls. Its always a safe bet to go back to your Castle for defense. In the case of Heroic mode, it should not be a surprise that your opponent has armies that are sometimes twice grater than yours! In Heroic mode, it's no longer about managing an empire, you really have to use your head in planning every move out. Think of it like a game of chess. Only more fun.

Fortress (Dwarves)
Early Game
The Dwarves have a rather difficult start. This is because there is no real strategy to fighting off ranged neutral units. Upgrading the Defenders, who will then have the Large Shield ability, is certainly helpful, but you'll sufffer casualties for a good deal of the game. So, apart from getting the Shield Halls, also make sure you get the Tavern and recruit someone with some extra Defenders.

With around 40 or more Defenders, and a little bit of strategy, you should be able to gain both the Wood and Ore Pits. Still, expect plenty of casualties. And the game gets still worse in the next stage...Town Level 3. You can't get a Town Hall, Runes are way too expensive for now, and Spearmen aren't exactly the greatest Tier 2...still, you can work something out.

If Wood favored you, get the Blade Halls and then the Blacksmith. If not, get the Mage Guild which costs a mere 5 Wood. Not too much for now, and a few spells can help the situation. If you amange to get lucky with the mine guardians, you should be able to take maybe one more mine by the end of week 1. If not, then keep exploring, pick up what's offered, and hope your opponent is having a tough time.

Middle Game
Things do not look up for the Dwarves yet. Thie Middle Game is just as aggravating as the early game though there is one upside, you get the Bear Riders. When upgraded at a not so high cost, two White Bear Riders worth of growth (one for week 1, and one at the start of week 2) will aid you greatly for some time. They are buff, will suffer damage, but are generally more powerful Defenders.

The Berserkers and their equivalents aren't powerful at all...however, the Berserkers are extremely useful kamikaze type units when you are fighting in the late game. Combined with Runes, the Berserkers unlock a large amount of possibilties. Their abilitiy is particularly devastating when paired when the Rune of Berserking (I wonder if the common name has something to do with that).

Anyway, you will find yourself at a stopgap. If you haven't already, get the Runic Shrine now. Bear Riders paired with the Rune of Charge are a worthwhile strategy at this point. The good news, the next buildings you'll be buying will be the Capitol and the rather inexpensive Lava Rift. The bad news, you'll find yourself short of resources if you buy anything else, because to get the Runic Shrine, the Clan Halls, and the Lava Rift, you will need a lot of crystals.

Late Game
You should have gotten Lava Dragons before Warlords and Thanes. Reason is that the Thanes dwelling consumes an amazing amount of resources. Not a good thing. Lava Dragons are powerful and the beauty is that they replaced Black Dragons as...no not the lead Tier 7, rather as the unit that can be paired with Armageddon for easy wins. And since Dwarves are particularly fond of Destructive Magic...the Late Game is fun.

With Skills such as Runic Attunement and Tap Runes, the Dwarves can deal high damage in record times. Magma Dragons are the most powerful tank-type unit in the game. Send them into the midst of enemy units with the Rune of Charge and they'll still survive (which isn't what can be said for the Berserkers).

Summary
The beginning is rough, but when all is evened out, the Dwarves have a very decent game. They are great at defense and the Heroes are wannabe Warlocks. Win-win eh?

Stronghold
Early Game
The Stronghold faction will have a troubling early-game but not entirely bad. The Goblins are a unit you may want to upgrade early so that they lose their nasty ability to betray you (damn Goblins). So first turn you'll want the Goblin Dwelling, second turn a Tavern, third turn Centaur Dwelling and fourth turn upgrade the Goblins. After that you'll want the Town Hall and from then on, things will become a little more...diverse.

The Goblins are weak, pathetic, and run away from combat. However, they come in huge numbers and if they can manage to score a few solid hits, they are extremely difficult to take down after acquiring around 200 BP. This makes them way more powerful under the command of on Orc than that of a neutral stack.

Centaurs are great, they come in large numbers and have high intitiative and have a lot of great qualities. However, their upgrades don't really see too much improvement so you might want ot leave those off until later.

Middle Game
Now before I continue on the development of the kingdom, I will explain the suggested development of the Orc. The first thing that I think is most important is that unless there is a Memory Mentor on the map, you should forget about the Ultaimte Skill, in this case Absolute Rage. Orcs have high attack and lack magic so in order to compensate for their magical loss, we have something called the Triple Flaming Ballista.

Triple Flaming Ballista
For those of you unfamiliar with this, there will be a few requirements to get this awesome destroyer. First you will need Advanced Attack and the skills Archery followed by Flaming Arrows. Then, you will need War Machines (at least Advanced but preferably Expert) and the skills Ballista followed by Triple Ballista. Now the Ballista becomes stronger as your hero's attack and knowledge stats increase. Since the Orcs are set on attack, you will find that the Triple Flaming Ballista is capable of dealing enough damage to kill 3, maybe 4 Tier 7 units. Oh, and of course you need a Ballista.


The other side note is that of the Shatter Magic skills. You can assume roughly what magic route your opponent is taking based on the faction. Most of the time, AI likes to take Dark Magic. I don't know why, but it seems to favor Dark Magic above all others. I'm quite certain that AI chooses the first Magic Specialization it is offered which will for the most part be Dark Magic. When you can make an intelligent guess as to what magic skill your opponent has, get the corresponding Shatter Magic Skill.

If you've managed to get the Triple Flaming Ballista, neutral units should be at your mercy. If not, get the Orcs Warriors, which are powerful units that are difficult to kill after they get just a little Blood Rage. It would be wise to have accumulated Advanced or even Expert Blood Rage by now, because similarly to Gating, it is a very useful racial skill at all times of the game.

Its a shame to have to say this but you'll have to let the Wyverns go for now. Since you shouldn't yet need the Adventure Talismans (unless you're going for an early strike in which case go for it), build up the recommended route, that is the Warriors then Shamans then Slayers. Slayers are an excellent Orc unit because of their cleave ability so they can easily gain up to 200 blood rage with one attack.

Now with everything up to Tier 5, and at least being close to Triple Flaming Ballista, you should be able to easily dominate the map. So your first thought might be "Well this is easy." Not necesarily so. Because the real problem comes up when you try to get the Capitol. There is an expensive Slave Market in the way. This is a one time only scenario where it might actually be a lot better to go for the Tier 7s first instead.

Late Game
This will begin when you have the Capitol. Begin filling in the empty slots, and upgrading your units. The Warcries are increasingly necessary so you may get these weaker counterparts to spells. Some of the bonuses are actually really great though. "Fear my Roar" is an amazing Warcry to behold.

When your enemy comes, do not play the defensive. Orcs need battle and even if its a suicide, you might be surprised how long they can hold out with their Blood Rage. The Triple Flaming Ballista a huge help.

Final Hint
For those of you who love the Triple Flaming Ballista, the Skill Wheel has been reworked so that it can be used by all factions! Don't expect it to be nearly as effective as it is for the Orcs though. And one final note. There is an artifact that will allow a fourth shot for the Ballista. If you can get it, you've pretty much won the map.


All other strategies follow as they normally would.

Summary
Orcs are meant to be deranged units fed on battle. This is not so true in the early game though. While in the early game, it sometimes pays off to go a little into the negative blood rage for a while. However, because of their obvious lacks, the Triple Flaming Ballista is a huge advantage. Other strategies include being totally anti-spell, going for Leadership and Luck, or being a semi-Mage that knows Warcries rather than Spells. The Triple Flaming Ballista, is howeverm tested and proven as of patch version 3.0 to be the most effective method of using Orcs.

Section 2: Treasure Chests and Resources

Treasure Chests
At the beginning of this guide, I mentioned the need to get gold from Treasure Chests. This is not always so. When you are playing a map crammed with players, its only a matter of time before the AI gets to you. Therefore, if you know that you have an enemy that is close, it is better to go for a series of level-ups. Choose your skills wisely though, as the one advantage you have against your opponent is that the AI seems incapable of choosing good skills.

When there is an obvious amount of time before the first assault (1 or more months) it pays off to get the gold instead. This will allow for rapid building of the city, which will lead to destroying neutrals which will lead to lesser experience. Bear in mind, however, that since the AI begins with a lot of resources, it's more likely to go for the experience than you. Still, what good is experience when you don't know what skills to pick?

Resources
Loose resources are very important. You probably noticed that I can't tell you what to do in the middle game. This is because it all depends on what resources you have. Resource generators generate one resource a day, not enough to provide for your empire. Therefore, make sure you pick your buildings wisely.

Marketplace
If you have many of a resource, do not hesitate to trade it in! The sooner you get those Tier 7 creatures the better.

The Marketplace is also a worthy investment because as of version 3.0, you can sell unneeded artifacts there. at 2000-3000 gold for minor artifacts, you can easily accumulate the wealth needed to survive.

Section 3: With Many Enemies

Neighbors
In 6-8 player maps, it's likely you'll have a neighbor, that is an enemy that will get to you quickly. Between you and your neighbor, you will often find a weak guardian (not really weak, but usually a Tier 5-6 creature). Now on Heroic it is madness to attack that guardian and hope to defeat your enemy. Instead, follow the advice given in the beginning of this guide regarding getting 1500 EXP from treasure chests. This way, the other chests will keep your empire going for a little while and you'll be able to meet your opponent with more confidence. While you're still in the early game, Heroic AI is easy enough to take down. When you take down the enemy hero, make for their city before the week ends. If you can defeat one enemy in the early game, you can use the city as a supply of resources by building some low level buildings, then getting a City Hall, which will provide a useful extra 2000 gold each day!

Distant Enemies
The opposite goes for distant enemies. You'll want to avoid conflict with them until you're a higher level. Generally, you should be able to level up faster than the AI when you're in the late game. It pays off to be a higher level with some decent skills, then to attack.

Section 4: Map Objects

Travel Structures
Everything helps. There isn't really a building that's meant to impede your progress, save for one which alters your luck (altering could be negative). Therefore, if you're about to face your opponent, visiting the Idol of Fortuen and similar buildings for Luck and Morale boosts is helpful.

Likewise, it goes without saying that you should visit every map location that boosts your primary stats.

Artifacts
Artifacts have been seriously strengthened with the introduction of sets. If you don't know this, be aware also that there are faction specific sets. For example, the Sar Issus Regalia gives an additional bonus to Wizards. Bearing this in mind, you should assemble artifacts that suit your needs.

It should be obvious to most that the Power ot the Dragons artifact set is the most powerful in the game. While you'll rarely assemble it, the bonuses given at 1/4, 2/4, and 3/4 of completion all make your hero and his army significantly more powerful. And since it is easy enough to find 4 of the 8 pieces, you should equip them when you can.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Anakrom
Anakrom


Known Hero
(Scroll) Out of the blue
posted January 04, 2008 04:35 PM

Great work, keep it up

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
magnomagus
magnomagus


Admirable
Legendary Hero
modding wizard
posted January 04, 2008 05:14 PM

Very nice work! only one thing:

Quote:
Though it will put you 4-5 levels behind your enemy in the late game


Isn't the difference much smaller, in late game you need much more experience for a level then a few chests right?

____________
MMH5.5 Downloads | MMH5.5 Translations | MMH5.5 FAQ

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 04, 2008 05:26 PM
Edited by InfernoX880 at 18:25, 04 Jan 2008.

Unfortunately no. On Heroic mode, you'll often find that when your opponent's main hero attacks you he is quite a bit stronger than you, mainly because there are usually some high-powered guards between you and your opponent and he is the one to go through them since he more quickly assembles better armies. Still, it pays off more to have a few Tier 7s than to have a few extra level ups. And if you manage to get through the guards before your opponent, which is rare with Haven but quite common with other factions like Dungeon, then you'll end up being a higher level.

Of course on certain maps where there are no guards, you will be roughly the same level, but those kind of maps are the blitz maps that end in less than two months.

As for the chests, they provide quick level ups in the early game, but you don't really need them too much when facing high-powered neutral stacks can easily level you up as well.

EDIT: Sylvan has been added to the list.

EDIT2: And Dungeon.

EDIT3: And Necropolis.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Daystar
Daystar


Honorable
Legendary Hero
Back from the Dead
posted January 04, 2008 07:11 PM

Wow, +QP

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Veteranewbie
Veteranewbie


Adventuring Hero
posted January 04, 2008 07:19 PM

For the Inferno, I think upgrading the imp crucible is actually more crucial than upgrading the demon dwelling. Familiars 2~3 damages effectively mean they can deal about the same amount of damages as the upgraded demons, but Familiars come in larger numbers and have higher initiatives.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
DKnight
DKnight


Adventuring Hero
in Bloodhunting session
posted January 04, 2008 07:26 PM




Just what I needed.

QP?
____________
#666 WoG fan
I love orc pwnage.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 04, 2008 07:56 PM
Edited by InfernoX880 at 19:58, 04 Jan 2008.

@Veternewbie

Also remember that the Horned Leapers are somewhat like tanks. They are weak, but annoying to kill. However the main reason I recommened leapers is because they are effective against ranged units. They can easily withstand one blow from an archer with decent numbers and move into a leaping position for serious damage. Besides, basic growth for Imps is 16, basic growth for Demons is 15. One creature difference. One tier difference. The Imp Crucible is cheap though, so its could easily be purchased at almost any time.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 04, 2008 08:18 PM

I can't quite agree about the chests, it won't be that much of a difference unless the game is short. And games less than two months are not exactly blitz, a map ending by week 4-5 is the norm even on large. Otherwise I agree, gold is better and will only get xp in the first few chests.

Haven:

Why day 4, have you been playing lvl 1 town maps? I never upgrade conscripts(not really worth it) and go for crossbowmen asap. Recruit everything on the next week? No need, crossbowmen will usually suffice and you need more empty slots for splitting your fodder peasants. Though griffins can occasionally help. And the idea is to take as many mines as you can during week 1, you can take some lots of tier 3 with good levelling unless they are shooters/casters. At worst you must have cleared all mines during week 2 unless you are unlucky.

Considering that the hard part is repelling the first wave where the opponent will attack you week 2-3(or so it happened with me) with all 7 tiers of units I don't see how you can consider getting clerics or archangels.

Inferno

What you upgrade both demons and hellhounds. On heroic..? Congratulations your wood just got depleted. You don't need both upgrades to creep just building a blacksmith and familiars is enough for me and I will later upgrade the doggies. Better to focus on ballista than on your units. The alternative with succubi temptress is not bad at all though 5k hurts a bit.

In lategame you are far from safe, any mistake can cost you the game. Gating is good but not in all situations and you may find it better to attack right away at times.

Sylvan

Lol the idea is to kill horde of squires and such, not tier 1 units. Regardless the sprites can help a lot with some hit and run and the ranger can offer some good aid with deadeye shot, imbue arrow and luck. Mystic pond is good unless you see that you cannot get dragons week 2 which should be hell to do on heroic anyway

Avenger you can also use in creeping if you lucky. Fighting footmen for instance will make a fight with vindicators a lot easier. Ghosts and zombies favoured..? Those would be my last choices.

Dungeon

Stalkers and furies are the way to go but no need for the hero to return to town, a secondary could chain them. No need for mage guild if you have a hero that starts with destructive spell, the faster you start creeping the better.

While you can have an easier creeping dungeon is the only faction that will face problems without hit and runs. If you see sylvan killing all your units in 1-2 turns by week 4 you have seen it all. Unless you take advantage of your fast levelling you'll soon find yourslef in disadvantage. Then again AI is there to be defeated, it will never use overly smart tactics.

Necropolis

Actually it's easier to get them all in archers and have 1-2 warriors for protection. You don't need the ghosts, better to ensure that you will get wights later and mercury is very demanding. No need to even consider getting dragons, up to wights and mage guild 5 is enough.
____________
H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 04, 2008 08:37 PM

@Elvin

Regarding Haven, yes I base all the strategies on maps where Town Level is 1 in the beginning. I didn't mention upgrading Peasants, but there is one extra building that must be built before Archer's Tower can be built. Indeed, Crossbowmen are key, but they are not enough to deal with the guardians of precious resource mines in such small numbers.

Regarding Inferno, upgrading Hell Hounds way my mistake, I will fix that. I haven't really played Inferno as much, howeverm I recently played a game and based on the loose resources (and the gold I got chests) I had enough to buy both upgraded Succubi and City Hall when it camse to that. All late games are hard on smaller maps. You need time to prepare agains tan AI who begins with twice as much resources as you when the game starts. However, if you manage to develop hero properly, it is not too difficult to outsmart AI in battle with powerful spells like Frenzy, Puppet Master, Divine Vengeance, etc.

Regarding Sylvan, Ghosts and Zombies would be my last choice as well, but I'm just saying that if that's all you've got, then go for it. Its better than nothing eh? I did forget to mention that Sprites are a hit and run unit...

Regarding Dungeon, depends what map. I was thinking of Dragon Pass at the time where Ore Pit is to the left and Saw Mill is to the right. If I'm passing my town anyway, might as well drop in and take a few units. Otherwise, yes its better to get a second hero that you'll need for the xtra units anyway.

Regarding Necropolis, that's basically what I said, only in a more passive manner. Ghosts are a big risk every time, Wights are expensive but easy to get via Necromancy skill. Dragons aren't good, but they are nice to have. You need to get the Castle anyway, sooo...

And I'm guessing there will be comments against Academy. Note that the above methods so far have been tested and have worked against Heroic AI. I actually managed to win with Academy as well...but I will admit they are harder for me to play with. They have fun very late game though. As such, any additional hints or tips for Academy players are welcome. I will make edits for this faction.


 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 04, 2008 08:48 PM
Edited by Elvin at 20:53, 04 Jan 2008.

Quote:
..it is not too difficult to outsmart AI in battle with powerful spells like Frenzy, Puppet Master, Divine Vengeance, etc.

That's not exactly outsmarting but kicking its butt hard

And yep anything you can get from avengers guild is good. About academy there are some threads around as academy advanced strategies, the MMR thread and I love academy thread.
____________
H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 04, 2008 11:29 PM

Great! It looks like my idea on gameplay in Academy faction is similar to that of the Academy Experts.

I am hitting a stopgap at the last two factions, Stronghold and Fortress. I have played and beaten skirmishes with both of them before, but I don't have any realy strategies. I'll try to play a skirmish and see if there is an organized way of doing things that will help make your game with them easier.

By the way, I know this sounds very wierd, but I actually found Heroic games easier than Hard games. I have no idea why, I just looked into the Tavern one day, spent a few grand and saw that in the beginning of month 2, I was doing the best! I think it has something to do with the AI hesitating to attack the considerably stronger guardians of the mines. Still, this is a one time occurrence so I'm guessing it could be just a coincidence.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 05, 2008 12:20 AM

There is an organized way for fast play with stronghold, you can check this thread. Apparently the most effective way so far is flaming arrows with triple ballista and tent or excruciating strike and warmachines(mostly for Kragh).

About the wazards not good with destructive I have proof to the contrary I did not believe it initially but they can be great destructive casters with some luck and focus. Vampirism affects steel golems?

Nice insight into academy Also your effort in starting a strategy guide about all factions from scratch has been noted and is worthy of reward. Hope that won't prevent you from finishing it
____________
H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 05, 2008 12:23 AM

My mistake on the Vampirism bit, I was in the zone

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
magnomagus
magnomagus


Admirable
Legendary Hero
modding wizard
posted January 05, 2008 12:36 AM

Quote:
but I actually found Heroic games easier than Hard games.


I know of one reason why this may happen sometimes, according to the gamefiles the CowardiceVersusHuman level is set to 0.3 on heroic, 0,2 on hard and 0,1 on normal. This means it is actually most coward on heroic to prevent it from attacking the human player when it is not powerful enough to beat it. On a map with a lot of ai-players this can have a negative impact on the difficulty, because it may happen that all players are slightly less powerful then the human player and none of them attacks. I have experimented with this and set the cowardice to 0 on all levels. This made the game significantly more difficult on a large map with a lot of players, because the ai-players came in a wave, the first attacker was easily beaten, the second one made me almost bankrupt and after the third it was game over!
____________
MMH5.5 Downloads | MMH5.5 Translations | MMH5.5 FAQ

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
pinkspear
pinkspear


Known Hero
Crazy like a fool
posted January 05, 2008 12:40 AM

Wow! I've just read through this excellent guide, impressive work! Qp well earned!

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Elvin
Elvin


Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
posted January 05, 2008 12:44 AM

Interesting. About the dwarves I prefer to skip priests and instead go for thanes so first target is the crystal mine. They are just more useful in a game though this does not mean I have to delay the dragons. And yes many noticed that the magma dragon was created for dragogeddon when the blackie lost the role.

The main difference in TotE is that destructive is more reliable with 2 fire spells in level 3 and secrets of destruction available. But not armageddon is harder to get with the inclusion or deep freeze. Pretty good balance I say
____________
H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 05, 2008 03:09 AM
Edited by InfernoX880 at 03:14, 05 Jan 2008.

I'm going to finish up this page some time tomorrow and include Stronghold strategies as well as several other fun things one can do including formations, spell strategies, marketplace usage, and making the best of luck and morale. Also, I will make all edits and corrections tomorrow.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

@Elvin
The Thanes dwelling was expensive for a long time. I'm sorry to say I didn't pay attention to the cost during the campaign but if the cost has barely changed, requiring a large portion of your precious resources, then its not really a safe thing to go with it. The same amount of resources only with the addition of wood and ore and a little extra gold are better spent on the way more formidable Fire Dragons. I'll experimenet and edit accordingly.

@magnomagus
Thanks for the info. I figured it was something to do with the courage but I had thought it involved neutrals. Guess not. Anyway, though the fact is Hard is easier than Heroic in the long run, I feel more threatened if my enemy attacks me rather than waits it out at his base. Still, I'd rather leave it as it is, because if I changed the cowardice, I'm guessing Heroic would become literally impossible. Not good for my winning streak.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Jukeboxhero
Jukeboxhero


Adventuring Hero
posted January 05, 2008 04:34 AM

Great Work so far, Inferno.

I can't wait to see what you say about Stronghold, but I will tell you what I've learned so far.

Basically, you want to upgrade Goblins to Trappers day 1 (if the goblin building is built..otherwise it needs to be upgraded asap). For most heroes, you will use a combination of Trappers/Centaurs and Warmachines to creep for the first week or two. Ironically, the vanilla Centaurs do really well for creeping because of their High Initiative, and when you get First Aid tent, they're easier to heal.

For the most part, Attack, Rage, and Warmachines are the primary creeping skills to focus on for the first few levels (at least it's been effective for me and several others)

For Attack skill, you can go one of two routes, Archery/Frenzy>Flaming Arrows or Frenzy>Stunning Blow>Excrutiating Strke.

Once you get Warmachines, you want to get Ballista, Tent and Triple Ballista to turn your Warmachine into a killing machine..and of course recover any losses with your Tent ability (which is the only way Stronghold can recover lost units, aside from Wyvern's regeneration).

That's basically what I use to get started, but as Elvin said, there is tons of info in the Stronghold Strategy thread.


 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
InfernoX880
InfernoX880


Promising
Famous Hero
posted January 05, 2008 04:58 AM
Edited by InfernoX880 at 06:11, 05 Jan 2008.

@Jukeboxhero
I've impressed myself. That is the exact strategy I wrote down and I swear on my life I didn't look at your post before writing it.

Other:
Regarding the Heroic and Hard difficulties, I just beat a map a second time, switching to Heroic from Hard. It was a lot easier. I was honeslty suprised. I prolonged my game experience so I began attacking my enemies with large armies around month 4 and found that my opponent's main hero, the one he had for four months, was Level 17! Maybe I accidentally flicked something in the settings, but I still found it more difficult on Hard mode.

Here is my opinion of the matter. If think that the creators failed to overlook the flip side to everything that makes Heroic mode difficult. For example, on Heroic, the AI hires more heroes. That's great, but now you find yourself facing many weaker (low level) heroes instead of a few strong ones! Another example is the courage. My enemy fled from almost every battle (not unrightly so ). And the funny thing is, if he combined all of his armies together, he would stand a chance.

I really don't believe this, and will probably reinstall the game just in case one of the MODs I'm using did something. I can't live in a world where the hardest difficulty is easier than an easier one!

EDIT: If you see them, please point out any misspelled words and/or grammatic mistakes that you think make the guide unclear.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Jump To: « Prev Thread . . . Next Thread » This thread is 3 pages long: 1 2 3 · NEXT»
Post New Poll    Post New Topic    Post New Reply

Page compiled in 0.1516 seconds