Heroes III

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STARTING A GAME
Every race is designed to excell on a particular map type. Map size, amount of loose resources,
number of mines and towns, and terrain layout are some of the major features constituting a map
type. I will look at three categories, which will be based on map size, but will discuss other variables
as well.
Small-sized maps
On such kinds of maps, it is important to have strong and versatile basic units, because you can
expect early encounters with the enemy. Basic unit strength is also useful in gaining an immediate
advantage through casualty-efficient battles with neutral camps guarding map sites and items.
Another advantage some towns may have over others is the ability to mount successful rushes in the
first week of the game. The infamous Master Gremlin rush is an example of such an offensive
strategy. Hence, the Tower would be a good choice for smaller maps, if you like concentrating on an
early attack plan. Another town type which can have similar success on small boards is the Castle,
because of its strong basic melee units (Pikemen) and excellent basic range units (Marksmen). Castle
heroes tend to concentrate on unit specialties, so there is an immediate bonus in that regard as well.
The Necropolis has a chance to amass a skeleton horde with the aid of the skeleton transformer, but
Skeletons tend to be of limited use due to their inadequate mobility and the lack of early ranged units
for them to protect. For the Rampart, Elves and Centaurs can be a very good starting combo,
especially with Ivor (the elf specialist).
Since small maps have a tendency to contain less resources, it is important to look at town's resource
requirements as well. For example, if the map is very rich on resources, towns such as the Fortress
and the Stronghold can start producing powerful units very fast and quickly gain the upper hand.
Medium-sized maps
The mid unit tree plays a huge role in maps where all sides have a chance to upgrade a little bit before
engaging in serious combat. Necromancers are an obvious choice, since their armies are very strong
at this stage. If they get a chance to upgrade, this advantage will double. Skeletons will also have
time to become a serious threat by the mid game. In addition, most undead heroes do not require too
much development to start utilizing their specialties well. Rampart armies are equipped to deal with
mid game conflicts pretty well, too. Their low cost, excellent stats, and versatility make them perfect
for quick invasion campaigns. Dungeon and Inferno armies are strong in the mid game as well, with
the Inferno having an advantage on low resource maps because most of its units are reliable even
without their upgrades. The Castle is good throughout, but its mid tree units really need their
upgrades, which could prove costly on a short notice.
Might heroes tend to do better in the short to mid run, so it is advisable to pick towns with strong
might heroes (like the Rampart and the Castle).
Large-sized maps
Towns that gain the most from their unit upgrades will do best on larger boards. Strong 7th level units
also come into serious consideration during long games. Titans, Arch Angels, and Black Dragons, to
name a few, are all worth climbing the unit tree. However, they require lots of time and resources to
get to.
Towns such as the Tower, the Stronghold, and the Fortress, which excel on the strengths of their
upgrades, may require bigger maps to build up. Also, the Tower relies heavily on its magic so a high-
story Mage Guild is a must, while both the Fortress and the Stronghold need to find and upgrade Mage
Guilds of alternate town types. The Necropolis also thrives on unit upgrades and if the map is low on
resources, it'd better be bigger so the undead have the time to gather the necessary building material.
BEGINNING A MAP
Basics
Generally, the map is the all-important factor in deciding how the game will play out. Map size,
amount of loose resources, number of mines and towns should all be considered when planning
ahead. As a general rule, small, resource-scarce maps favor might-oriented strategies, since there is
little time (and resources) to upgrade your Mage Guild before the fighting begins. On larger boards,
magic is the key to a successful campaign. On such maps, especially in the late stages of the game,
mobility is paramount. Spells such as Town Portal, Dimension Door, Fly, and even Water Walk will let
you get around the map more efficiently.
The same principle applies to the economy vs. creature generators issue, where smaller maps are
more condusive to battle readiness, while larger ones tend to be territorial races with superior
economies being able to field more fearsome armies.
It's a good idea to choose maps which suit your style of play (this is particularly true when facing
human opponents). For example, micromanagement wizards will like smaller maps, where building
orders are crucial. Larger scenarios tend to bring out a player's skill better, because long-term
planning and careful character development require considerable gaming insight.
The following sections will attempt to guide you through the three major stages of the game.
Early Game
Depending on the scenario settings, you should start by hiring several heroes right away. Select a
hero who you'd like to develop over the course of the game and transfer all the available troops from
the other heroes to him/her. Try not to mix too many town types, though. This will be your wandering
hero. Before you send him/her off, make sure to either build a creature dwelling to boost your army
even further or, if he/she is a might hero, get a Mage Guild to purchase a magic book. When you're all
set, pick a direction and start exploring. Fight any neutral army camp you think you can beat without
many casualties and take the experience from any treasure chest you encounter (unless you really
REALLY need the money). Go as far as you can in any given direction and then pick a new one. Don't
be afraid to stray far, you can always run away if things get hairy. If you're lucky, you can keep at it
for a good month or so without feeling the need to go back for reinforcements.
As soon as you send your exploration hero out, send everyone else to explore your immediate
surroundings. Collect resources, get money out of treasure chests, visit map sites, etc.. Start building
your town up. Select a second hero you'd like to advance in levels and put him in charge of your town.
Arm him with the town's populace and send him/her out to clear out mines, invade nearby towns, and
battle neutral camps. Don't stray too far from your base with this one, though, he/she may be needed
to defend against enemy incursions.
Mid Game
At this point you have set up a dynamic game flow, with your wandering hero out exploring the map
and getting stronger, your base hero taming your surroundings, and your other heroes gathering
resources and creatures from external map locations. On a medium or larger sized map with hard
difficulty settings the mid game starts approximately by the end of month one. By this time your town
should be upgraded up to at least a city hall with a castle and a basic level 7 creature generator.
You can start thinking about bringing your wandering hero back to the main base, unless you
established a new one along the way. The mid game is all about assessing the map as a whole. By this
I mean finding important sites such as a heavily-guarded super artifact, an important map location
(Dragon Utopias, Pyramids, Banks and Caches, etc.), an accessible enemy town, and other things
which may potentially play a major role later on. You should really concentrate on
exploring/conquering territory at this point. Be as aggressive as you can afford to be. Don't turtle with
hopes of amassing a huge army from what you currently have, because your enemies are surely doing
the same. Seize the advantage by having more than what they have.
Late Game
This part deals with finding your enemies and deciding on the best course of action in handling them.
In order to learn more about what you're about to face, send numerous (and expendable) scouts deep
into enemy territory to remove every inch of shroud they can before expiring. Reconnaissance is very
important in making the right strategical decisions at any given point of the game. It really depends
on the particular game, but it usually comes down to who's the most prepared at the point of conflict.
For example, a seemingly weak enemy could field a huge army in a matter of days, if his/her economy
can allow it. It is a good idea to learn as much as you possibly can about your opponent before
making a move. Checking your thieves guild for clues on a regular basis is a good way of keeping
track of enemy strength or even his intentions.
As far as engaging the enemy goes, you can experiment with a number of things like hit and runs to
weaken your opponents resistance capabilities. Offensive magic specialists such as Solmyr and
Deemer, armed with a few fast and sturdy creature stacks, can execute quick raids without too much
trouble. Another long time favorite strategy is sacking lighty-defended towns late in the week. When
preparing an all-out assault, try sending more than one strong hero into battle. In case the first hero
fails, that will enable you to finish off your opponent before he/she has a chance to recover.
A little word of advise: never attack an opponent of comparative strength while he/she is behind
castle walls, unless the situation really calls for it. Town defenses can play a huge role in determining
the outcome of a battle. If you ever find yourself in a situation where the enemy turtles inside his
town, it is better to exercise a containment police rather than charging the town right away. By
containment I mean keeping a strong hero near the enemy town, while others steal mines and other
locations flagged by the enemy. This will, in time, weaken you enemy and you can maintain your own
army's strength by bringing reinforcements to your main hero.
ADVENTURING
The main purpose of adventuring is exploration and resource gathering. It can also improve your
heroes in a variety of ways. There are two ways to go about adventuring: scouting, which constitutes
mostly aimless roaming for removing the shroud and taking advantage of anything that is not
guarded, and aggressive expansion, which involves the conquest of territory. Scouts are expendable
heroes with light and relatively mobile troops. They are usually unsuited for any sort of combat, but
can avoid trouble because of their good movement. There are several criteria that determine the
amount of success any exploration mission will have. For clarity's sake, I will cover each one of these
criteria individually.
Choosing the right hero

As far as your main heroes go (the ones you'll use to aggressively expand), they can be anyone you
like. And although some are better than others, it all depends on personal preference and playing
style. When picking a scout, however, it is important to look for several key characteristics. One,
heroes who start with fast troops - hell hounds and serpent flies, for example. Two, heroes who start
with Logistics, Scouting, Pathfinding, and Navigation secondary skills. Three, heroes with creature
specialties (because they increase their troops' mobility and, in turn, their own). Four, heroes of your
native town who were hired only for the troops they were leading and are now otherwise useless.
Later in the game, when faster troops are readily available, multiple heroes with a single mobile troop
type (dragon flies, silver pegasi, etc.) can be dispatched to uncover the map even faster.
There are a few things to keep in mind when exploring with scouts. First of all, never equip them with
only a single stack of creatures. An enemy hero can easily dispatch them that way before they have a
chance to retreat. The reason for this is that they can be carrying an artifact or a spell that you wish
to pass on to your main forces. Second, never pick experience from treasure chests, unless you
actually plan on developing the scout. On that same note, only visit free map locations with scouts.
The skill of adventuring

As mentioned above, there are a few secondary skills that are specifically designed to aid adventurers.
Among those are Logistics (a skill EVERY hero should try to learn), Scouting (a useful skill for any
aspiring scout), Pathfinding (useful if the map features lots of hard terrain), Navigation (a must for
exploring the seas). There are other non-combat skills that work in more subtle ways. Scholar allows a
more effective distribution of spells among your hero pool (just make sure the scout possessing that
skill has a spell book before you send him/her out :). Diplomacy is a sure tiebreaker in close games (it
also requires you to pay neutral creatures which might have otherwise joined you for free). Learning
speeds up your level advancement (not particularly impressive when picking up experience from
treasure chests or visiting learning stones). Estates is more of an economical skill, but it never hurts
having it on one or more of your scouts :)
Spells that go the distance

Everyone knows the power of the awesome Dimension Door, Fly, Waterwalk, and Town Portal spells.
However, the little spells are often the ones that make the big difference. Here's a list of the spells
which are commonly overlooked:
1. View Earth (earth) - good for scouts on the prowl for more resources. At expert it lets you see the
layout of the map and the location of all mines.
2. View Air (air) - useful for artifact hunting. At expert it allows you to pinpoint all heroes and towns
on the map.
3. Visions (all) - a natural compliment of Diplomacy. Very useful early on when clearing out mines and
other important locations. At expert it gives information about enemy heroes and towns as well.
4. Disguise (air) - a very tricky spell that lets you escape some hairy situations unscathed.
5. Summon Boat (water) - as the name suggests, it's useful when you have no other means of making
a boat at a specific location. It can also be used to deprive the enemy of one of your stranded boats.
At expert it creates a boat if none is available.
6. Scuttle Boat (water) - this is a dirty spell that can seriously cripple your opponent's expansion
capabilities, not to mention it is extremely annoying to the person on receiving end :)
Coveted prizes
To say that artifacts are an important part of the game would be an understatement. Artifacts are of
extreme importance, so having the right assortment of those can spell victory or defeat in most
situations. Since we are on the topic of adventuring, here are some items that may make yours a
successful one:
1. Land mobility artifacts - rings, gloves, and boots that increase your movement points. All I can say
about these is you can never travel far enough. If you can't learn Logistics, these artifacts are a good
substitute.
2. Sea mobility artifacts - necklaces and caps that increase your movement on sea. The ultimate
seafaring artifact is the Sea Captain's Hat, which also allows you to summon/destroy boats and
protects you from whirlpools.
3. Sight range artifacts - those work similarly to the Scouting skill.
4. The Boots of Levitation - puts you in auto Waterwalk. Top of the line mobility artifact.
5. The Angel Wings - puts you in auto Fly. The best mobility artifact.
6. The Spellbinder's Hat - arguably the most powerful artifact in the game is not an adventure artifact
per se, but it allows you to cast adventure spells like Fly and Dimension Door.
On a concluding note, it is a good idea to memorize what individual artifacts look like, because they
appear the same on the world map, but without a description. It can save you tons of frustration
during an actual game. Also, it is a bad idea to equip an expendable scout with any artifacts other
heroes may need. In fact, it is a bad idea period, because they are EXPENDABLE. Make a habit of
transferring artifacts from scouts to regular heroes as often as possible.
Important locations
Naturally, some map locations are more critical than others, mines and towns being the most
important of all. Below is a list of sites you should never pass by.
1. Sites that give you extra movement. These include Stables, Rally Flags, Fountains of Youth,
Watering Holes, and Oases. They will also provide a variety of other bonuses. The only exception
(which should not apply to Stables) is going out of your way to visit them, effectively slowing your
progress.
2. Sites that remove the shroud. These include Magi Huts, Redwood Observatories, and Cartographers
(for land, underworld, and sea).
3. Keymaster's Tents. Not all are essential or even important, but some are. So unless you know what
it's guarding, I suggest visiting each and every color tent you encounter.
4. Seers. Again, you never know what they may give you as a reward and it might be big.
5. Prisons. This is a no-brainer, just make sure your hero ranks are not already full before going after
an imprisoned hero.
6. External creature dwellings. This is another no-brainer, but only if it helps you in some way. For
example, you wouldn't go out of your way to flag a Cursed Temple if you are a Knight, but you might
consider flagging a Dragon Cave in most situations. This also presents an intriguing alternative if you
are playing as the Dungeon. Since that town can build a Portal of Summoning, you may be well-
advised to be careful of what you flag. If you flag only high-end dwellings, you will be able to recruit
powerful creatures on a regular basis. Keep in mind that in order to get the most out of your external
dwellings you'll need to visit them each week. Be prepared to set aside "collector" heroes for this
purpose.
7. Sites that contain considerable rewards. Dwarven Treasuries, Naga Banks, Cyclops Stockpiles, Imp
Caches, Medusa Stores, and Griffin Conservatories all reward you handsomely for the effort. The best
fight-for-reward site is the Dragon Utopia. DO NOT pass it by if you have the chance to beat it.
8. Trees of Knowledge. The only downside to these is the occasional resource prerequisite. But even
then they are worth the price, especially for high-level heroes who would not find an easier way to
grow.
9. Libraries. These are a must for every level 10+ hero.
10. Magic Springs. Mimics the effects of the Dungeon's Mana Vortex building and the Expert
Intelligence skill, although the Intelligence bonus is permanent.
11. Covers of Darkness. These are very very important in multiplayer games since they set back the
adventuring efforts of others. They are also good for staging ambushes as well as escapes.
Take a swim
The seas, while often disregarded on predominantly land-based maps, can be the source of
considerable riches. Hence, it is advisable to take advantage of them whenever possible. Aside from
wood and gold, many useful artifacts can be fished out from the waves. The map may also contain
remote islands unreachable by any other means. The sea Cartographer will reveal every area covered
with water. You can also scout the seashores, which can give you valuable information of enemy
outposts and movement. Just make sure you don't end your turn near the beach, where you can be
boarded. Lighthouses and Shipyards, therefore, are locations you should be keeping an eye out for.
There are three towns which can build shipyards of their own, if they are close enough to the shore -
Castle (the best on island maps), Fortress, and Necropolis.
When sailing the seas of Heroes3 beware the Whirlpools. Never enter one unless you're running for
your life or there is no other way to get from one section of the map to another. Never EVER enter a
whirlpool with a full compliment of troops. Only the Sea Captain's Hat artifact makes it safe for sailors
to cross these treacherous vortexes. Note: if you have only one troop left, your boat will not sink
when passing through a whirlpool. It is, in fact, the best way to cross multiple whirlpools with scouting
heroes.
BUILDING STRATEGY
Building sequence can determine the outcome of the game. This plan works quite well on Easy and
Normal difficulties, otherways it may take longer to complete.
(Day 1) Town Hall (gives 500 extra gold per day)

Capture wood and ore mines as soon as you can, wood is the first priority for this building strategy.
(Day 2) Mage Guild (spellbooks to heroes; required for City Hall)
(Day 3) Blacksmith (First Aid Tent is useful in the beginning, but don't buy Ammo Carts; required for
City Hall)
(Day 4) Marketplace (has no use in the beginning; required for City Hall)
(Day 5) City Hall (gives 1000 extra gold per day)
(Day 6) Citadel (extra town defense; +50% population; required for Capitol)
(Day 7) You'll have to decide here: either build a Castle (extra town defense; +50% population;
required for Capitol)
or build another Creature Dwelling (to have something to recruit next week)
(Week 2) Build Castle if you haven't, then save money and build Capitol as soon as you can.
Now you have an income of 4000 gold per day, 200% population growth and castle walls with 3 arrow
towers! Once you have the Capitol, have your town well defended, you don't want to face your walls
nor spend 10000g on Capitol again! (Capitol is destroyed if the town has been captured by an enemy
who already has a capitol).
Next thing to do is to build all Creature Dwellings as soon as possible. Build the most important ones
first and don't upgrade until you've got all 7 creature dwellings! The reason is to have the highest
number of creatures possible.
Another important building on Week 3 is the resource silo, the sooner you build it, the more resources
you'll get. If your town is rampart, think about Mystic Pond and Treasury around Week 3. Before
upgrading Creature Dwellings, build all the special structures which increase population of particular
dwellings (ex. Cages or Griffin Bastion or Mess Hall).
Okay, now you're ready to kick some butt! Build/upgrade the rest of structures as you please.
Exceptions: If the enemy is near, or big army early on is crucial to winning the game, build creature
dwellings and recruit your army instead of building a Capitol, this way you will have an army
advantage, but don't forget to build Capitol on Week 3 or 4, otherways you won't have enough money
to buy the troops.
HINTS AND TIPS

When your castle is about to be attacked and you have only about 1000 gold, spend it all on lvl1 units,
then divide those units into 7 stacks. You will still lose, but arrow towers will have more turns and will
hurt your enemy a bit more. Same applies to heroes, you will have more time to harm your enemy
with offensive spells before running away and your one or two stacks will not be killed before you can
run away.
If one of your cities or towns is going to be captured, buy up all your remaining armies and either
leave them (in this case recruit a hero to get those little spell and attack/defense advantages) or run
away with them to give to a stronger hero. NEVER leave armies for the enemy to recruit. Often it is
better to take a city over a hero. A hero needs armies in order to survive a city can always hire a new
hero.
If an enemy hero is nearby jump into the nearest castle. This will defend your armies better giving
you the ultimate advantage.
Always capture mines even if you have heaps of resources: few Marketplaces will give you about 150
gold for one unit of resource - every mine is a gold mine! Also, you will prevent enemy from building
some expensive troops and structures. Try to build as many market places is possible before trading.
If you have less than 3 marketplaces in towns, it's a good idea to visit marketplace map location.
When you pass by cover of darkness, be sure to visit it - large area around will be shrouded on
enemy's adventure map. Believe me, cover of darkness on the map or in Necropolis town is one of the
most annoying things that can happen.
Necropolis towns have a great strength / weakness when using the "cover of darkness". It is
mentioned on other tips that the cover of darkness is very beneficial to the user to "hide from others."
However, it unfortunately gives away the location of the Castle. By looking at the circle it creates,
even if you can only see a small portion of it, is all you need to b-line it to your enemy's location. Also,
if a non-castle cover of darkness is used, you at least know of the position of the enemy, a very
powerful bit of knowledge.
Gold mines should be taken as soon as possible. If you need sulfur for dragons or crystal or whatever
for the highest level creature, do everything in your power to get IT. Sometimes it is well worth
trading a lot of wood for a few resources.
If you are playing with an ally, DO NOT BE GREEDY if you have a resource you don't need give it to
your partner this strengthens both of you especially if you have different cities. You may not even
need any sulfur at all where as she/he may need a lot.
Know what the artifacts are by sight, some artifacts are worth losing many armies over and others are
just useless nice-looking pieces of jewelry. Age of Heroes has complete illustrated list of artifacts for
you to learn.
EVERY week check your tavern to see the new heroes to buy. There may be higher ranking heroes
that have died in combat. They may even have some artifacts in their backpack. Also look for heroes
that have estates or 350 gold per day or any ANY resources buy them as soon as possible, its like a
walking mine.
Always always take an enemy city or town even if it means losing a lot of armies ESPECIALLY right
before the beginning of a new week. This takes gold and armies away from the enemy.
Chest decision is more complicated than it seems! There are 3 possibilities: 1) 2000g or 1500e. 2)
1500g or 1000e. 3) 1000g or 500e. In number 1 you pay 1.3 gold per 1 experience point. In number
2 you pay 1.5 gold per 1 experience. In number 3 you pay 2 gold per 1 experience. Always take gold
from 3rd option. If you want experience, take it from 1st and maybe 2nd option, depending on
situation.
Always have autosave enabled (it is by default) it saves your game every turn. When the game
crashes, autosave saves the day. When loading, look for autosave.gmX files. X represents the number
of human players. Be sure to give players correct spots before loading that game.
In multiplayer games always put spell book animation off and combat speed to fastest to save the
time.
While it's not your turn in multiplayer, take time to check the thieves guild, look for the grail and think
your plans.
When deciding between flagging a mine or taking a resource, you will always want to flag the mine
because the resource will remain there in the same quantity, while a mine will bring you an extra day
worth or resources.
Sanctuaries are places where no hero can attack you. What you do is land a good hero on one that is
near a busy place, crossroads for example, and wait for an enemy. If the enemy is too strong you
don't have to worry about attacking, but if it is a sure win, go!
Credits: Jeffrey Hilton (8 tips), Ryguy273 (1 tip), Nemo (1 tip) and Todd (1 tip).
HEROES AND SKILLS
Scout Heroes are needed to explore and collect undefended resources. They are especially important
in the beginning of the game. Recruit a hero (gold/resource producing speciality is best for scout
heroes to make them even more useful to your kingdom), take all troops off him and give him 3 of
your fastest units (speed 11 or higher is the best). Put each unit in a different slot: ex. Slot1 -
Dragonfly, Slot2 - Dragonfly, Slot3 - Dragonfly. Buy a SpellBook for this hero if he hasn't got one. Fast
units are making hero move further each turn. Dividing units in 3 stacks gives your scout hero 90%
chance to be able to retreat. 3 fast units and some spells give your scout hero an advantage over
other scout heroes.
Artillery skill is useful for one more reason: when you have control over your Ballista, you can run
away on Ballista's turn!
Always learn at least one magic school secondary skill to any good hero, even if he/she is a might
hero, expert Shield or Curse or Haste or Bless would help a lot.
Knowing your enemy is very important in multiplayer. Here's how you can identify enemy hero's
secondary skills: If Ballista takes time before it shoots, if it does double damage or if it does two shots
per turn, he's got Artillery skill. If Catapult takes time before it shoots or if it does two shots per turn,
he's got Ballistics. If First Aid Tent takes time before it heals, he's got First Aid skill. If an offensive
spell does some extra damage (it says that in the bottom of the screen), he's got Sorcery. Identify at
which level he casts his spells. Casting a weakening/stats-improving spell on all troops means expert
level for sure. You cannot determine magic school secondary skills on magic plains where all spells are
cast at expert level. If his maximum spell points almount is higher than his Knowledge X 10, he's got
Intellegence. If he can position his troops or you can't position your troops while you got tactics
means he's got Tactics. Well, that's all the secondary skills you can determine for sure.
Sometimes it's a good idea to have a smaller reserve army behind your main hero. It carries all the
fresh troops to rebuild the main army after a big battle.
Put a hero in the water as fast as possible. There is always lots of flotsum, survivors and chests to be
had. Not to mention Magellan's Maps can uncover much of the Map on some maps.
Always buy a spell book ASAP just a few weak spells can save you in combat.
Build build build your heroes! One really good hero can win the game even with weak creatures. This
means sometimes get experience over gold and always visit the skill raising structures.
Credits: Jeffrey Hilton (3 tips), Wyvern (1 tip).
COMBAT AND ARMY

Think very well before attacking well-built Fortress town. If your army is not twice as powerful as
defender's, you are risking! Fortress has 2-hex wide moat, garrison's attack and defence is increased
by 2 and the most important - creatures have some great special abbilities to slow and weaken the
enemy. While your units are stuck in the moat, Dragonflies make it across the field in a blink of an eye
and do a bit of biting on your shooters and war machines. Basilisks can barricade the holes in the
town walls by turning your troops to stone. Mighty Gorgon's gaze is deadly even to the most powerful
Archangels. Wyren's poison will weaken your units and you don't want Chaos Hydras to suddenly
appear in the middle of your crowd of units. Fortress heroes are weak in seige attack though.
Your Ballista can be really annoying: enemy has the last troop and you blinded it so that it can't run
away. Then Ballista does a shot and doesn't kill it of course, but the enemy is un-blinded and can run
away. Anyway, as you can see on secondary skills page, Ballista is almost useless to heroes with low
attack ratings.
Don't forget Arch Angels' abbility to Resurrect once per combat - you can often have a battle with no
causualities if you divide Arch Angels into few stacks.
When you're about to attack a castle, divide Cyclops into as many equal stacks as possible - you will
be able to bring the walls and towers down in a matter of few turns!
Ammo Cart seems so harmless on the battlefield... But if you know that battle will take long, destroy it
first because some shooters can only shoot for 8 or 12 turns without it.
It's very important to use Wait and Defend commands properly in combat. Defend command skips the
current action but gives troop 20% bonus to their total defence until the next action. Wait command
makes the troop wait until all the rest of the troops finished their actions. If more than one creature
stack waits, slowest will have to act first. The fastest wating stack will get to move last in a comat
turn. If one of your troops is the fastest on the battlefield and you give them the wait comand, that
troop will virtually have 2 actions in a row: it will be the last to go on the first turn and it will also be
the first to go on the second turn. Wait comand is useful to be able to attack before attacked. When
opposing forces are equal, there often is a wating contest. Eventually, the fastest units outwait the
rest and attack before attacked. Haste spell can be useful also for that matter, specially at expert
level.
Your army should have one stack of level one creatures at all times. These weak units are cheap but
plentiful. Using defending commands grants them a 20% bonus to defense. Now they are harder to kill
off for your attacker. If possible use the wait command for level 2 units and above, then use your level
one stack to attack an enemy. Once the enemy has retaliated your stronger units can attack freely on
them! (Griffins and Counterstrike spell are exceptions to this strategy).
A few creatures MUST be upgraded (Archers, Elves, Genies, Giants, Swordsmen, Vampires, etc) while
upgrading others is a waste of resources. See monster pages for detailed comparison.
Your main hero's army will consist of level 3-7 creatures. (Mainly level 5-7). They can take more
beating and cause more damage. I think it's useful to build their dwellings (especially level 7
creatures) as early as possible. By the end of the 2nd month you should have a formidable army.
When the "strong" armies are gone, it's time for level 1-3 creatures to step up... there'll be hundreds
of them by that time.
If you're playing with Tower start collecting Giants early, and when you have lots of gold and gems,
upgrade them to Titans. Titans are probably the best creatures: the only lev7 shooters with 300
health! A smaller group of Nagas can defend a town in the early stages of the game. Master genies
are great spellcasters, although their activity is very random. However, they know powerful spells like
Fire Shield, Frenzy or Slayer... great.
Attacker: try to kill an enemy while they are on the draw bridge to keep it open; If they have a castle
and you dont have ballistics then be VERY careful. Defender: try to take out the flyers and ranged
attackers first, also try to take out the catapult and other siege weapons.
Master Genies are useful if split into groups. Good tactic is to have a medium group of naga queens
and 6 groups of Master genies. Very effective. Same strategy works with Mighty Gorgons. Need to
fight 4-6 dragons? Just split a group of 7 Mightly gorgons into 7 separate units, and attack. Each
gorgon will get at least one chance to kill 1-2 dragons per hit. You have a good chance to win and a
relatively cheap way to kill off some powerful creatures.
Never underestimate the power of ranged attackers. When you run into a non-ranged creature stack
on the board, you can often halve their numbers before they even reach you in hand-to-hand combat!
Also, if you start with two towns, get the best ranged attackers from both towns and put them into
one arny. It's worth the decrease in morale. With expert archery and precision spell cast, you can fell
the mightiest of armies. Use a few stacks of Mighty Gorgons to take out the enemy BIG STUFF with
their awesome death stare. Good luck, mortal.
An oftern good tactic is to have a hero with one large stack of range attackers and 3 stacks of those
'slow but mean' troops such as golems or ogres, before combat arrange troops so that the range stack
is at the top, followed by the slowest to the fastest of the other stacks. At the start of the battle
surround your range troops with the other troops to create a 'living wall' that only other range
attackers and v.fast creatures can penetrate!
When attacking a enemy town it's always important to attack on the 7th day or earlier for many
reasons including that your enemy will have not received his new creatures yet, if you win the town
you'll get the creatures the next day.
Credits: Wyvern (3 tips), Sir Benjamin (1 tip), Tim Fiscus (1 tip), David Foster (1 tip), Ryguy273 (1
tip), Todd (1 tip).
SPELLS AND ARTIFACTS

Creatures with wide range of damage (ex. 3-6 or 25-45) are strongly affected by Bless and Curse
spells. Creatures with constant damage like Angles or Naga Queens are barely affected by Bless and
Curse spells.
Berzerk spell is really devastating, especially on expert level. Cast it to affect stronger creatures, also
cast it on creatures with good specials like Wyren Monarchs can poison their own allies when
Berzerked or Mighty Gorgons can stare at some Hydras or Wyrens.
Old wicked strategy is to buy some Black or Gold Dragons, give them to a hero with high spell power
rating and an Armageddon spell. Attack anyone you want! For every 10 spell power Armageddon will
do 500 damage to all creatures on the battlefield, except for Black or Gold Dragons. There are,
however some issues: 1. Enemy might have the same Black or Gold Dragons which are unaffected. 2.
Make sure your Dragons are strong enough to last for a few attacks - enemy might have some really
fast units. 2. Dead terrain prevents all spellcasting, remember that! 3. Beware! Enemy might have
some artifacts which prevent spellcasting, they are: Orb of Inhibition, Recanter's Cloak and Orb of
Vunerability which Negates all natural magic resistance of all creatures in combat. Advanced or Expert
Anti-Magic spell will protect a single unit from armageddon. Protection From Fire spell can decrease
the damage.
Lightnings and Implosions are cool, but if you do it against a real strong army, you're just wasting
your mana. Try Blind, Berserk, Slow instead. You should also cast spells on your own troops like Clone
(any creature with Exp. Water Magic), Fire and Air Shield. (That's why I like Master Genies... :)
Town Portal with good Earth Magic is the most useful non-combat spell. You'll only need one hero to
build up huge armies and defend all your towns.
Shackles of War... have you ever been annoyed by a strong enemy that escaped with only a few
creatures left? This artifact is the solution :) Unfortunately it's rare, and can backfire when the enemy
is stronger.
Some artifacts are good to keep and put on right before combat. Example: wear boots for movement,
but just before combat put on the boots of polatiry. If you get creature producing, money producing,
resource producing artifacts give them to a weak city defending hero. This will save artifact room for
your combat heros, and does not put the artifacts in jeopardy in case of a combat heroes failure.
Credits: Wyvern (3 tips), Jeffrey Hilton (1 tip).

Strategy for/against the Necropolis by Jason Pierce.
The advantages of a necromancer.

Free skeletons, when a necromancer gets up there in levels he starts accumilating huge numbers of
skeletons, this is so powerful since you could end up having hundreds of skeletons (not many stacks
are far too well after taking a whack from 200 or so skeletons). This has numerous advantages, one
being: you're killing creatures that your enemy PAID for with troops you got for FREE. Ex: 300
skeletons wack on to a stack of black dragons and kills 2, that's 8000 gold your enemy looses vs 0
gold for you. And the kick is so you loose those skeletons but at the end of the battle you get back
possibly more than you lost back! Once you get to the point where you've got an expert necromancy,
the tactics secondary skill becomes a huge advantage for the begining of the battle: you can group all
of your expensive troops into one corner of the battle feild (the corner opposite of your enemies
fastest flyers) and position your skeletons forward. This way his fastest fliers have no choice but to
waste their first attack on level 1 troops that are costing you no money, and on the next move you
can blind them or jump on them with your better units. Blinding fast flyers has two major advantages,
one being his best flyers are imobilized, and second is that your enemy no longer gets to go first for
the rest of the battle.
ALL undead are immune to BLIND.

Most good battles often become a BLIND spell contest and an army of necropolis troups takes that
option away from your enemy. Any good heroes player will tell you 'blind' is the best spell to have. All
good strategies have a decent counter but the only one that could be successful is if your enemy has a
lot of titans who are also immune to blind and also the best shooters in the game. But this counter is
also an advantage for the necromancer since the opponent is having to counter with the most
expensive units in the game and if your necromancer moves quickly enough there won't be a whole lot
of titans to be had. And the worst that could happen is you loosing a few bone dragons. (If the guy
has too many titans then it's over anyway you probably took way too long). So the priority is to focus
attacks on titan castles quickly, above all other castles. Rule of thumb for aspiring necromancers:
don't put your power liches with your main assault army, instead put them with your main defending
army the key is to accumilate large numbers of liches. Any time you have liches thats what an
opposing army is going to focus on. Liches are the disadvantage of necropolis castles because they are
expensive shooters and not very sturdy. Never attack a castle with liches, the towers will just do
nothing but soot at THEM. When attacking castles, the rule is no liches because castle towers will most
likely shoot at your huge skeleton stacks which were free anyway, remember? A good way to build up
massive skeleton attacks is to attack any wandering units (not for the faint of heart, ruthless is the
key word) that want to flee, this works better with lower level units (ex: attacking say 400 troglodytes
that try to flee, you lose nothing and gain about 150-200 skeletons).
The rule in opposing necromancers is "always attack a high level necromancer with huge numbers of
low level troops": necromancers "hate" armies with say 500 master gremilins, o god he would have to
"waste" 1 whole blind spell, then your castle towers would use the practice of shooting at those extra
300 skeletons he "showed up with" at your castle gate). The only thing a good necromancer should
fear (except titans but hey every player should fear titans anyway) is high level spell casters with high
power ratings. They can oppose you with relatively small armies, whittle you down and retreat. 15
power + armageddon or expert destroy undead is a particular pain in the butt even if all he has is 3
black dragons. The biggest key to any necromancy campaign is to loose as few of high level troops as
possible for expert necromancers can go for longer periods with out having to get fresh troops from
his castle (thus allowing you to build up another necromancer or anthor army without wasting alot of
effort by retooling your main hero with runners). Another thing to watch out for is your morale if you
add troops from other castles. Adding just 1 or 2 other stacks of troops from the one different castle
won't be too bad usually, but anything more and you're asking for trouble.
UNFAIR RUSH STRATEGIES
Master Gremlin Rush:
Start a game and choose Tower as your starting town. Tower heroes start with around 60
Gremlins, around 4 Stone Gargoyles and sometimes around 2 Stone Golems. Leave all troops but 1
Gremlin in your town. Attack the nearest wandering creature stack with your 1 Gremlin hero and
retreat. Go to your Tavern straight away and recruit the same hero you just retreated with. He will
have a whole fresh and juicy army. Leave all troops but 1 Gremlin in your town. And again attack the
nearest wandering creature stack with your 1 Gremlin hero and retreat. Recruit him again... etc...
Repeat this for as long as you have gold to do so. On Easy difficulty you can re-recruit your hero 12
times, 8 on Normal, 6 on Hard and 4 times on Expert difficulty using just your starting gold. It costs
only 1000 gold to upgrade Workshop, original Workshop is the only requirement. Then it costs only 10
gold to upgrade each Gremlin to Master Gremlin. Don't attack shooters or creatures with high speed
because they will kill you before you can retreat! When you re-recruit your hero, he will have as much
movement left as he had when he retreated, this will slow down the process. One of two heroes
available for recruitment will be Alchemist or Wizard, so recruit him/her too to speed up the process.
Piquedram starts with around 8 Stone Gargoyles only, so don't start with him nor recruit him. There is
no Tower hero which has Gremlins as his specialty.
Ok, let's put it to the test! You have chosen Normal difficulty and nearest slow wandering monster
stack is half a day's movement away. All creature quantities are average.
(Day1) 20.000 Gold. With your starting hero1 you get 60 Gremlins and 4 Stone Gargoyles, you move
him to garrison. You recruit another Tower hero2 and he has 60 Gremlins, 4 Stone Gargoyles and 2
Stone Golems. Leaving hero1 in town with 120 Grem, 8 SGar and 2 SGol, you waste hero2 and re-
recruit him. Hero1 in garrison now has 180 Grem, 12 Sgar and 2 SGol, you waste hero2 again and re-
recruit him. Hero2 has no more movement, so you move him to garrison with all the army of 240
Grem, 16 SGar and 4 SGol. Waste and re-recruit hero1 two times. You now have 360 Grem, 24 SGar,
6 SGol, 7.500 Gold and 2 heroes with no movement. Upgrade Workshop = 1000 Gold. Upgrade 360
Gremlins = 3600 Gold. 2.900 Gold left. End your turn.
(Day2) 3.400 Gold. Build Town Hall = 2500 Gold. Recruit 16 master gremlins = 640 Gold. Give your
preffered hero 376 Master Gremlins and 13 Stone Gargoyles. He/she will be the warrior hero. I
suggest that you leave Stone Golems because they will slow down your hero and castle will be
defended against quick explorer heroes. Give 3 Stone Gargoyles to another hero, put each one in
different army slot, so that he/she will have time to retreat for sure if attacked. Second hero will be
the explorer hero. You now have 260 Gold left, but what an unstoppable army! You are simply
undefeatable!
(Note) Numbers of Monsters, Gold, Distance, Time to Complete this 2-Day plan depend on Chance,
Difficulty and Map.
Well, the most terrible thing is that you haven't cheated! If you calculate the price of creatures that
Tower heroes start with, it will be about 2500 Gold which is the price of the hero! So you are basically
getting the hero for free while buying army which has endless population - with no price penalty
whatsoever! Isn't this the biggest bug HOMM3 has? Allright, the computer isn't using it, but it's so
tempting for human players... I suggest that you never ever use this, fight with honour!
Skeleton Transformer Gremlin Rush:
Skeleton Transformer costs only 1000 Gold, requires only Cursed Temple - Skeleton dwelling -
and converts any creature to skeleton for free instantly. What you do is recruit some tower heroes and
convert their Gremlins to Skeletons. There is 1/8 chance of having tower hero to recruit in your tavern
once the game starts. If there isn't a tower hero to recruit, recruit other hero with most troops and he
might make space for a tower hero. So, this is pretty much a Master Gremlin rush except that you
conver them to Skeletons. It costs 400 Gold, 5 Wood and 5 Ore to Upgrade Cursed Temple. Pay 10
gold to upgrade each skeleton and you've got an unstopable army! And if you strted the game using
Thant (speciality: Animate Dead), you're undefeatable, Skeletons will rise when killed. If you are lucky
to get some Stone Golems, don't transform them, they are perfect for Necropolis army in the
beginning: they have same speed as Walking Dead (they won't slow down a hero who has Walking
Dead), they are quite tough and they are always a neutral morale just like undead! If you have a
faster army, Stone Golems are still excellent to defend your castle from fast scout attacks. If you want
your necropolis hero to resurrect Skeleton Warriors instead of Skeletons after the battle, make sure
your army has no non-upgraded Skeletons and that all 7 stacks are occupied throughout all the battle
(you can split creatures by holding shift in hero or town screens). Note: necromancy skill will resurrect
2/3 of normal number of Skeletons as Skeleton Warriors. That's about as evil as evil necro can get!
Bron's Basilisk Rush:
When you start a game a fortress, choose Bron as your starting hero. He comes with
about 5-7 Basilisks usually. Basilisks are solid level 4 creatures with 35 hit points. By re-recruiting
Bron you can accumulate quite a number of Basilisks which are pretty unstopable remembering that
it's a first week. Even if player doesn't choose Bron as his starting hero, player still has 6.25% (1 out
of 16) chance of having Bron available for recruitment in the tavern at the start of the game. When
you're about to rush, buy a first aid tent and a spellbook, they will really help. If we assume that Brok
comes with 7 Basilisks, they would cost 325 X 7 = 2275 gold, this way again you are paying virtually
nothing for Bron himself. Bron's Basilisk Rush is easy to put up with compared to Master Gremlin Rush
or Skeleton Transformer Gremlin Rush... Best prevention is not to allow players to start with Bron.
Morale Effect Luck Chance
3 12.5% to act again 1 4.2%
2 8.3% to act again 2 8.3%
1 4.2% to act again 3 12.5%
0 nothing
-1 4.2% to freeze
Undead don't
-2 8.3% to freeze have Morale!
-3 12.5% to freeze
Army Morale Modifiers:

+1 if all creatures are of the same town type
-1 for each town type mixed beyond two town types
-1 if undead are mixed with living creatures
Pikeman Health: 10 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground
60 gold (14) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 5 Dmg: 1-3 Spd: 4 (extra slow)
Toughest lvl1 unit, but a bit slow.
Halberdier Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground

75 gold (14) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 5 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 5 (slow)
Now they are faster and do more damage. Will make a good defence for shooters.
Archer Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

100 gold (9) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 3 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 4 (extra slow)
Archer's upgrade is literally 2 times better. Upgrade them quickly.
Marksman Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

150 gold (9) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 3 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 6 (swift)
Special: Fires 2 shots per ranged attack.
Awesome upgrade, but they still lack defence...
Griffin Health: 25 Attack: 8 Shots: none Movement: flying

200 gold (7) Hex Size: 2 Defence: 8 Dmg: 3-6 Spd: 6 (very swift)
Special: can retaliate against 2 attacks per turn.
High in population, griffins become castle's main unit for the midgame.
Royal Griffin Health: 25 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: flying

240 gold (7) Hex Size: 2 Defence: 9 Dmg: 3-6 Spd: 9 (ultra swift)
Special: unlimited retaliations.
Send them right in the middle of the battlefield. Everyone who comes will get some ;)
Swordsman Health: 35 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Not too good unit the upgrade and also too slow.
Crusader Health: 35 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: ground

400 gold (4) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 12 Dmg: 7-10 Spd: 6 (swift)
Special: attacks twice.
Good upgrade, but still lacks speed. Seem undefeatable in large numbers.
Monk Health: 30 Attack: 12 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Good shooter, nice damage.
Zealot Health: 30 Attack: 12 Shots: 24 Movement: ground
450 gold (3) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 10 Dmg: 10-12 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: no penalty for hand-to-hand attacks.
Zealots are skilled enough to use the same magic powers at very close range. Better defence
too.
Cavalier Health: 100 Attack: 15 Shots: none Movement: ground

1000 gold (2) Hex Size: 2 Defence: 15 Dmg: 15-25 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: +5% damage for each hex traveled to creature attacked.
Make sure that the path is as long as possible - they need some speed!
Champion Health: 100 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

1200 gold (2) Hex Size: 2 Defence: 16 Dmg: 20-25 Spd: 9 (ultra swift)
Special: +5% damage for each hex traveled to creature attacked.
That's up to 45% extra damage possible! Champions also have better aiming skills.
Angel Health: 200 Attack: 20 Shots: none Movement: flying

3000g+1ge (1) Hex Size: 1 Defence: 20 Dmg: 50 Spd: 12 (extra quick)
Special: 150% damage to devils
Nice combat ratings and great constant damage - no need to bless them. Note that before
the update patches Angels and Archangels didn't cost any gems, just gold. This has been
added to try to balance the castle a little. I think it's still too powerful.
Archangel Health: 250 Attack: 30 Shots: none Movement: flying
5000g+3ge (1) Hex Size: 2 Defence: 30 Dmg: 50 Spd: 18 (very fast)
Special: 150% damage to devils ; Resurrect dead allied troops once per combat.
Best attack, defence and speed in a whole game! Resurrection is a very convenient abbility.
Those fast wings take up a whole extra hex! :] Possibly the best creature in the game.
Gremlin Health: 4 Attack: 3 Shots: none Movement: ground
30 gold (16) Hex size: 1 Defence: 3 Dmg: 1-2 Spd: 4 (extra slow)
Gremlins are only better than imps... cheap and plentiful too, but slow and weak in all aspects. If you have quite a lot of
them, enemy may be very surprised how much damage gremlins can do. Upgrade is awesome.
Master Gremlin Health: 4 Attack: 4 Shots: 8 Movement: ground

40 gold (16) Hex size: 1 Defence: 4 Dmg: 1-2 Spd: 5 (slow)
Master gremlins are the only level one shooters (except for halflings in AB) and provide a great advantage in early
stages of the game, thank god the gremlin rush desn't work anymore, it was unstoppable. Otherways, awesome
upgrade, but keep the ammo cart handy, these guys have only 8 shots. They do have a hand-to-hand penalty, so try to
block them.
Stone Gargoyle Health: 16 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: flying

130 gold (9) Hex size: 1 Defence: 6 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 6 (swift)
Special: non-living.
Not a very good fighter, but quite useful for preventing enemy shooters from using their range attacks.
Obsidian Gargoyle Health: 16 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: flying

160 gold (9) Hex size: 1 Defence: 7 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 9 (ultra swift)
Special: non-living.
30 Gold for 3 extra speed and 1 attack and defence... not a good upgrade, but makes them better shooter-blockers. I
would prefer to save money for golems who will last a whole lot longer. Recruit gargoyles only when you are quite
desperate for army.
Stone Golem Health: 30 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: ground

150 gold (6) Hex size: 1 Defence: 10 Dmg: 4-5 Spd: 3 (very slow)
Special: non-living, take 50% damage from spells.
Great town defenders because spells just don't take them that easy! Too slow for heroes though, that's what upgrade is
for.
Iron Golem Health: 35 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: non-living, take 25% damage from spells.
Great upgrade! Speed is usable for hero armies while extra hit points and magic resistance make them even tougher.
Only a foolish player will cast offensive spells on iron golems, only a quarter damage will get through. Iron golems are
great to defend shooters.
Mage Health: 25 Attack: 11 Shots: 24 Movement: ground
Special: no hand-to hand penalty, hero spells cost -2 mana.
Good offensive shooters, but even though they suffer no hand-to-hand penalty, keep them defended because their hit
points and defence are low. Spell bonus is great! Magic arrows cost 2 mana! Note that when all magi on the battlefield
are dead, spell bonus disappears.
Arch Mage Health: 30 Attack: 12 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

450 gold (4) Hex size: 1 Defence: 9 Dmg: 7-9 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: no hand-to hand penalty, hero spells cost -2 mana, no penalty for shooting
through seige walls.
Reasonable upgrade adds speed, improves defensive ratings and wall penetration will decrease the range penalty in
seige attacks.
Genie Health: 40 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: 150% damage to efreet.
Offensive unit with big lack of hit points, do not attack unless it will destroy the target. I would prefer 1 naga instead of
2 genies.
Master Genie Health: 40 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: flying

600 gold (3) Hex size: 1 Defence: 12 Dmg: 13-16 Spd: 11 (quick)
Special: 150% damage to efreet, can cast random beneficial spells on allied stacks
with spell power of 6 at advanced spell level (spells are not totally ridiculously
chosen though, ex: will not cast prot. from water when fighting wandering
creatures).
Master genies are a totally different story with their spellcasting abbilities. If you have room in your army, split master
genies in many stacks to be able to cast more beneficial spells on your units per turn. Remember that most of their
spells last for 6 turns and that a single unit stack can have a maximum of 3 spells affecting it. Great upgrade for 50
extra gold.
Naga Health: 110 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

1100 gold (2) Hex size: 2 Defence: 13 Dmg: 20 Spd: 5 (slow)
Special: no enemy retaliation.
Nagas and naga queens are necromancer's black and dread knights' toughest competitors for the first place amongst
the level 6 units. Nothing to comment really, this unit is great all around, just don't bother blessing or cursing that great
constant damage.
Naga Queen Health: 110 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground
1600 gold (2) Hex size: 2 Defence: 13 Dmg: 30 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Extra speed and extra 50% of that constant damage are worth the extra 500 gold that make naga queen the most
expensive in level 6.
Giant Health: 150 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: ground

2000g+1ge (1) Hex size: 1 Defence: 16 Dmg: 40-60 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: immune to mind-affecting spells.
Their damage is great, especially if blessed. Their dwelling is really cheap compared to other level 7 dwellings. The only
drawback is the gem cost. Anyway, a good unit to recruit and upgrade later in the game. Nagas and giants make a
hardly beatable ground attack force.
Titan Health: 300 Attack: 24 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Spd: 11 (ultra
5000g+2ge (1) Hex size: 1 Defence: 24 Dmg: 40-60
quick)
Special: immune to mind-affecting spells, no hand-to-hand penalty, do 150% damage to
black dragons.
The best shooter in the game and the most expensive level 7 unit. Shooting abbility is great, as well as twice the hit
points and major increases in speed/attack/defence, but the price is more than doubled... This is really an endgame
creature because the dwelling costs 25000 gold and 30 gems to upgrade and the titans are so expensive too. Still useful
to bless them. If you see some black dragons on a distance, shoot them for that extra damage with no retaliation.
Imp Health: 4 Attack: 2 Shots: none Movement: ground
Weakest level 1 unit in Heroes 3 which is also quite expensive. Useless all around :)
Familiar Health: 4 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 20% of mana spent by enemy hero on spells will be chanelled into your
hero's mana pool.
Upgrade is well worth doing: attack and defence become closer to medium for level 1, good speed and the mana
chanelling abbility which makes it somewhat worthy having familiars present at the long battles. Think about it: he
spends 20 mana and you'll get 4! Damage range does not reach 3 which is a big disadvantage. If you get the grail, you
can get hordes of these guys :)
Gog Health: 13 Attack: 6 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Very good shooter, nice damage range and hit points are a meaningful number to them. Speed is too slow before
upgraded though.
Magog Health: 13 Attack: 7 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Special: ranged attack also affects adjacent hexes with fire damage.
Magog cannot beat marksman's two shots, but if enemies are standing close together, the advantage can be even
grater. Note that fireproof units do not suffer magog's adjacent damage.
Hell Hound Health: 25 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Good offensive unit, low on defence. Strongly affected by bless and curse spells.
Cerberus Health: 25 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

250 gold (5) Hex size: 2 Defence: 8 Dmg: 2-7 Spd: 8 (very swift)
Special: can attack 3 adjacent enemies at once, no enemy retaliation.
Great upgrade. This is the only case in the game where stats get downgraded, damage in this case because this
damage can be done to 3 enemies at once. Better defence and with no retaliation it's a good idea to charge and attack
the crowd.
Demon Health: 35 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground
Average unit for level 4, but the price is very reasonable.
Horned Demon Health: 40 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

One of the smallest upgrades in the game: 5 hit points and 1 speed for 20 gold... reasonable, but horned demons are
now below-average among level 4 upgrades, but their price still remains low.
Pit Fiend Health: 45 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground

Not a very good level 5 creature, but costly. Demons and pit fiends kinda balance each outher out. Note how often
number 13 is used :)
Pit Lord Health: 45 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: Can resurrect dead allied stack as demons once per combat. Number of
raised demons cannot be larger than the number of pit lords performing the
resurrection. Max number of demons is determined by the total hit points of the
target stack.
1 speed and demon resurrection abbility for 200 gold! Sounds darn expensive. Think this way: if you have lost 90 imps
on a battle, 10 pit lords can resurrect them into about 10 demons... or if you lost 14 hell hounds, 10 pit lords can also
turn them into about 10 demons. To raise 50 demons you will need 50 pit lords and a dead stack of about 70 hell
hounds or 20 efreet or 440 imps. 50 Pit lords will cost 10000 gold to upgrade. 50 Demons cost 12500. Think for
yourself... By the way, due to special-only upgrade, pit lords are weak among level 5. If you're low on money, pit lord
costs almost like 3 demons who will make a stronger force.
Efreeti Health: 90 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: Immune to fire, 150% damage vs genies.
Reasonable creature, can be purchased early due to inferno's specific building plan. Good troop for armageddon
spellcaster.
Efreet Sultan Health: 90 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: flying
1100 gold (2) Hex size: 1 Defence: 14 Dmg: 16-24 Spd: 13 (very quick)
Special: Immune to fire, 150% damage vs genies, have fire shield spell on.
Excellent upgrade. Their speed is only matched by some level 7 upgrades and... dragon flies. Enemy will think well
before attacking efreet sultans: portion of the damage returns back to the attacker plus the retaliation. Good to use
them against high level creatures because fire shield damage will surpass their mighty defence without being decreased.
Devil Health: 160 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: teleport

2700g+1m (1) Hex size: 1 Defence: 21 Dmg: 30-40 Spd: 11 (quick)
Special: no enemy retaliation, 150% damage to angels, -1 enemy luck while present on the
battlefield.
Makes a tough opponent because of speed and no enemy retaliation. Devil can beat an angel in one on one combat.
Arch Devil Health: 200 Attack: 26 Shots: none Movement: teleport

4500g+2m (1) Hex size: 1 Defence: 28 Dmg: 30-40 Spd: 17 (extra fast)
Special: no enemy retaliation, 150% damage to angels, -1 enemy luck while present on the
battlefield.
Arch devil is no match for an arch angel. Otherways, a really powerful creature for non-retaliated attacks with
outwaiting the opponent.
Gnoll Health: 6 Attack: 3 Shots: none Movement: ground
Above-average level 1 creature with good defence ratings and damage.
Gnoll Maradeur Health: 6 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground

1 speed, 1 attack and 1 defence for 20 gold extra? Bad upgrade looking at the value, also costs 10 wood to upgrade the
dwelling, so it's not worth doing unless you're really wealthy.
Lizardman Health: 14 Attack: 5 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

This table shows lizardman stats with the latest game patch applied. Originally they've had 12 hit points, 1-3 damage
and population of 8. A much-needed balancing for Fortress.
Lizard Warrior Health: 15 Attack: 6 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

With the latest game patch, lizard warrior cost went up from 130 to 140, attack from 5 to 6, defence from 7 to 8, health
from 12 to 15 and damage from 2-3 to 2-5! So what you are getting now is quite a decent shooter with excellent health
and defence. This creature upgrade is excellent value for money, so you must do it. I'm glad the balancing took place,
even though fortress is still unfairly weak in the mage guild department, this goes some of the way to make it average.
Bless/curse will make a lot of difference to lizard warriors.
Serpent Fly Health: 20 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: dispels all beneficial spells on the target.
Costly and weakish. Damage range is big, strongly affected by bless or curse. Attack enemies that have many beneficial
spells on them, enemy will be really frustrated if he spent few rounds casting bless, haste, shiled or something like that
on one creature and it all goes off in an instant. Useful for blocking enemy shooters, especially with their reasonable
defence ratings and speed. Also good to give to scouts for lots of movement. Before the patch their attack and defence
was lower by 1 point each.
Dragon Fly Health: 20 Attack: 8 Shots: none Movement: flying

240 gold (8) Hex size: 1 Defence: 10 Dmg: 2-5 Spd: 13 (very quick)
Special: dispels all beneficial spells on the target. Attack casts weakness on enemies.
Before the patch dragon flies had no weakness special and att/def of 6/8, so the upgrade became much more
reasonable. Dragon fly's speed can only be beaten by efreet sultan (he has the same speed) and some of level 7
upgrades! That means you will often be the first to cast the spell in combat (haste would be nice to keep it that way).
Now the fly use is really strategic - remove beneficial spells and add weakness! Flies are very annoying to spellcasters.
If you have spare slots in your army, split the flies so that you can dispel and weaken more enemies.
Basilisk Health: 35 Attack: 11 Shots: none Movement: ground
Special: 20% to turn target to stone, stone lasts for 3 turns, stoned enemies take 50%
damage, unstoned if attacked.
Finally a better creature, normal for level 4. Useful for both offence and defence. Stoning abbility can be especially nice
to block the holes in your seige walls for a while with... stoned enemies!
Greater Basilisk Health: 40 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 20% to turn target to stone, stone lasts for 3 turns, stoned enemies take 50%
damage, unstoned if attacked.
Good upgrade, improves basilisks all-around.
Gorgon Health: 70 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

To compensate for the previous creatures, fortress rules in level 5. Gorgons are very tough, but try to save them until
the upgrade, that's where they become extremely valuable.
Mighty Gorgon Health: 70 Attack: 11 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 10% chance of killing 1 top creature of enemy stack per 10 mighty gorgons
attacking.
One of the best upgrades in the game, we can forget the minor stats upgrades, the special abbility is awesome! Yes,
even if it's an archangel commanded by a hero with 30 defence, he can die instantly from mighty gorgon's gaze. The
more mighty gordons you have, the more enemy creatures will die straight away from the death stare. Group of 50
mighty gorgons will usually kill between 2-7 creatures outright just with their stare. Attack high level enemies, so that
the special will be more effective. Take note that it only works on living creatures, sadly. If you have less than 10
mighty gorgons, splitting them into little stacks can increase the chance of their gaze working.
Wyvern Health: 70 Attack: 14 Shots: none Movement: flying

Below-average level 6 creature. Damage is ok, but wyverns die quickly because they are the only strong flies in
fortress...
Wyvern Monarch Health: 70 Attack: 14 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: chance to poison living enemies (stack's maximum health will be reduced
every turn, can be removed by cure spell).
Costly upgrade raises the damage by 4 and adds a poison abbility which can be very useful to weaken a strong stack.
Hit points are very low for level 6 upgrade, so use wyvern monarchs as an offensive unit to finish off the weaklings and
to try to poison really strong stacks (better do that after they used their retaliation). Remember that only living
creatures can be poisoned, therefore an undead army should be considered a serious threat (as well as conflux
elemental army in AB expansion).
Hydra Health: 175 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: attacks all adjacent hexes, no enemy retaliation.
Costs no special resources and the special abbility is one of the greatest: hydras attack all 8 hexes around them without
fear of retaliation! Speed is appaling for a level 7 creature, but if you use hydras strategically, they can cause more
damage than even angels: always position hydras to touch as much enemies as possible at once. When hydras retaliate,
they do the same 8-hex attack, this way enemy troop can cause damage to a whole group of his by attacking hydras.
Use spells like bless, haste, teleport and counterstrike.
Chaos Hydra Health: 250 Attack: 18 Shots: none Movement: ground

3500g+1s (1) Hex size: 2 Defence: 20 Dmg: 25-45 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: attacks all adjacent hexes, no enemy retaliation.
Extra 75 hit points, 2 attack and defence, but most importantly extra speed. Well, speed still remains the slowest
among level 7 upgrades, but the strategic use is at it's best. If you manage to get close to enemy shooters, enemy will
have no painless way of getting rid of your hydras: if he attacks them with all he's got, all he's got will get the damage
and if he tries to wait, hassle his shooters to death. Still, without the expert teleport/haste spell, chaos hydras are not
very dangerous when stand against the castle walls.
Centaur Health: 8 Attack: 5 Shots: none Movement: ground
Centaurs and Centaur Captains are the best and the most expensive lvl 1 units.
Centaur Captain Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground

Haliberdier kills Centaur Captain in 1 on 1 combat, but speed makes Centaur Captains better.
Centaur Captains are better attackers than defenders, so attack before attacked. Good
upgrade.
Dwarf Health: 20 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 20% magic resistance.
Real slowdown for your hero. Good defenders. Good for garrison shooter defence. Toughest
lvl 2 units.
Battle Dwarf Health: 20 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 40% magic resistance.
Now your hero can take them, speed will do until the endgame. Resists about 2 out of 5
spells!
Wood Elf Health: 15 Attack: 9 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

The only shooter for Rampart. Elves are offensive units and need a good defence.
Grand Elf Health: 15 Attack: 9 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Special: fires two shots per attack.
Awesome upgrade - doubles the attack and costs only 25 gold extra!
Pegasus Health: 30 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: flying
Special: enemy spellcasters must pay 2 extra spell points per spell when Pegasi are present.
If you're short on money, 1 Pegasus is better than 3 Centaurs and more useful than 2
Dwarves.
Silver Pegasus Health: 30 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: flying

275 gold (5) Hex size: 2 Defence: 10 Dmg: 5-9 Spd: 12 (extra quick)
Special: enemy spellcasters must pay 2 extra spell points per spell when Silver Pegasi are
present.
Weakest non-shooting lvl 4 unit, but really fast and annoying to enemy spellcasters. Highest
pop among lvl 4.
Dendroid Guard Health: 55 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: creatures attacked by Dendroids are held in place by their roots until Dendroids
move or are killed.
Way too slow for hero's army, but excellent for garrison - Dendroid's roots will hold flies in
place while Elves do their job from a very nice close-up. Worst lvl 5 unit but maximum
population is the highest among lvl 5.
Dendroid Soldier Health: 65 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: creatures attacked by Dendroids are held in place by their roots until Dendroids
move or are killed.
Really hard to identify the upgrade by picture, but if you look closer, Dendroid Soldiers have
a few extra branches and bigger feet :) Bad upgrade: 1sp and 10hp for 75 gold! Too slow for
hero, excellent for garrison.
Unicorn Health: 90 Attack: 15 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 20% chance to blind enemy. Aura increases magic resistace of all adjacent creatures
by 20%.
Note that Unicorn's aura does not affect the Unicorn itself. Unit surrounded by few stacks of
Unicorns cold be almost invinsible to magic! Unicorns are good for any combat situations.
War Unicorn Health: 110 Attack: 15 Shots: none Movement: ground
Special: 20% chance to blind enemy. Aura increases magic resistace of all adjacent creatures
by 20%.
Good upgrade makes unicorn an excellent lvl 6 unit with a very small price!
Green Dragon Health: 180 Attack: 18 Shots: none Movement: flying

2400g + 1c (1) Hex size: 2 Defence: 18 Dmg: 40-50 Spd: 10 (super swift)
Special: attack affects 2 hexes. Immune to spells levels 1-3.
A little weaker, cheaper and slower than Red Dragon, otherways indentical.
Gold Dragon Health: 250 Attack: 27 Shots: none Movement: flying

4000g + 2c (1) Hex size: 2 Defence: 27 Dmg: 40-50 Spd: 16 (fast)
Special: attack affects 2 hexes. Immune to spells levels 1-4.
While equal in price to Black Dragon, Gold Dragon has less immunity and hit points, but has
more attack, defence and speed. Has a little weak spot for powerful enemy earth spellcasters
- lvl 5 implosion.
Troglodyte Health: 5 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground
Special: immune to blind spell.
Average level 1 creature. Strongly affected by bless and curse.
Infernal Troglodyte Health: 6 Attack: 5 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: immune to blind spell.
Upgrade is expensive but quite reasonable. Damage range is still huge.
Harpy Health: 14 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: return to the hex they started from after an attack.
Quite a weak creature with huge damage range (bless and curse do well), but the abbility is very unique, not very
useful before the upgrade though. Once enemy stack has used up their retaliation, it's harpy time! ;)
Harpy Hag Health: 14 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: return to the hex they started from after an attack, no enemy retaliation.
Great upgrade. Now you can annoy your enemies from 9 hexes away, like from the other side of castle walls without
loosing any harpy hags. Take note that both harpies and harpy hags retreat back when attacking shooters, so
sometimes it's better to move close without attacking to prevent the more powerful range attacks.
Beholder Health: 22 Attack: 9 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Special: no hand-to-hand penalty.
Good shooter, plenty of hit points and no fear of close combat.
Evil Eye Health: 22 Attack: 10 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Special: no hand-to-hand penalty.
Little all-around upgrade. Evil eyes make a good shooter unit and they don't die as quick as most low level shooters.
Medusa Health: 25 Attack: 9 Shots: 4 Movement: ground
Special: no hand-to-hand penalty, hand-to-hand attacks have 20% chance to turn enemies
to stone: 3 rounds, take 50% damage, unstoned when attacked.
Very good creature, would be a better deal than beholder if had more than 4 shots... Keep an ammo cart handy and if
your enemy has medusas, make sure it's the first machine you destroy. But when their shots run out, they still make
great fighters with the stoning abbility, no match for basilisks though.
Medusa Queen Health: 30 Attack: 10 Shots: 8 Movement: ground

Special: no hand-to-hand penalty, hand-to-hand attacks have 20% chance to turn enemies
to stone: 3 rounds, take 50% damage, unstoned when attacked.
Definitely worth upgrading: double shots, extra health and other minor upgrades for only 30 gold. Medusa queens and
evil eyes make a good shooting combo together, especially at such early levels.
Minotaur Health: 50 Attack: 14 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: minotaur's morale is never below 1.
Good level 5 fighter with a reasonable price. Minotaur's strategy is pretty simple: just go and smash, although a little
blessing would be very useful. With the moral bonus, there's always a hope for a second turn.
Minotaur King Health: 50 Attack: 15 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: minotaur's morale is never below 1.
Good upgrade: 2 extra speed and much better defence rating. Smash strategy remains.
Manticore Health: 80 Attack: 15 Shots: none Movement: flying

The only dungeon creature without a special abbility, manticores are below-average for level 6 and lack hit points.
Scorpicore Health: 80 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: 20% chance to paralyze: take 50% damage, unparalyzed after 3 rounds or
when attacked.
Is there any actual difference between stoning and paralyzing? Hmmm... 200 gold for paralyzing, speed and 2 combat
points... Scorpicores are a bit too expensive and 80 hit points is not enough - that's what happens when you breed a
lion-bat-scorpion.
Red Dragon Health: 180 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: flying
2500g+1s (1) Hex size: 2 Defence: 19 Dmg: 40-50 Spd: 11 (quick)
Special: immune to spells level 1-3.
Stronger than green dragon, but otherways a dragon like any other.
Black Dragon Health: 300 Attack: 25 Shots: none Movement: flying

Spd: 15 (super
4000g+2s (1) Hex size: 2 Defence: 25 Dmg: 40-50
quick)
Special: immune to all spells, 150% damage to giants and titans.
Little trick: titans do 150% damage to black dragons, but giants don't, so if you attack some giants, there's a definite
bonus! Stronger than gold dragon, but not than archangel. Great for armageddon casters. Black dragons are terror of
those heroes who have chosen magic over might, although there is one artifact that can break black dragon's spell
immunity.
Goblin Health: 5 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground
Slightly weaker than average for level 1, but better than imp for a smaller price. Highly populated, goblin is a good
offensive unit to start with. Nice speed for level 1, especially after the upgrade. Defence is lower than attack, so be sure
to attack before attacked.
Hobgoblin Health: 5 Attack: 5 Shots: none Movement: ground

The speed is worth 10 gold, combined attack and defence increase. Hobgoblins are more able to attack before failing to
defend themselves. However, the damage is lacking: 1-2 is lower than 1-3 or 2-3 that many other units of this level
have. Since this upgrade is required for wolf raiders, you will probably end up doing it, but 5 wood and 5 ore are better
saved for a castle.
Wolf Rider Health: 10 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: ground

Basically you're getting the same goblin, slightly better stats and larger size. Weak for level 2, wolf rider is only slightly
better than level 1 centaur captain. Wolves should attack before attacked, applies to wolf raiders especially.
Wolf Raider Health: 10 Attack: 8 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: Attacks twice.
Awesome upgrade that makes wolves do about 2.5 times more damage. Defence and hit points remain the same, so
use the sudden charge tactics. Try to get your target to waste their retaliation before raiders make their double move.
Ahhh, HOMM1 memories... same two attacks, but those wolves were white and self-sufficient :) As for getting the
upgrade - it is very expensive in terms of wood and ore because you are required to upgrade goblins first. If you're
poor, you might even forget about using goblins and wolves in your main army, just let them stock up for a bad day.
Orc Health: 15 Attack: 8 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Weaker than beholders and elves, orcs are the weakest level 3 shooters, but that is also reflected in their low price.
Reasonable stats, wide damage easily affected by bless and curse, slow speed which will be reflected on your hero
movement, but if you plan using ogres in your army, they are just as slow, so feel free to take some orcs. Cyclops will
replace orcs later on.
Orc Chieftain Health: 20 Attack: 8 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

A small and cheap upgrade that makes orcs slightly faster (same as ogre magi) and tougher. Do it if you want orcs to
last longer or if all your ogres are upgraded already, so that the lowest army speed will be 5 instead of 4. Comparing
the pictures, orc chieftain has one extra axe - this is to be interpreted as double amount of shots :)
Ogre Health: 40 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground
A great level 4 unit if it wasn't for the superlow speed. Nice damage, great attack, low price, while the low defence is
backed up by plenty hit points. Orcs and ogres are a speed pair, so either have both or none for your main hero. Ogres
make great defenders, bashing the enemy from close range as they approach your juicy shooters. For all ogres - watch
out for curse and apply bless as required.
Ogre Magi Health: 60 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: Can cast bloodlust spell on one ally per round at spell power 6, advanced
level.
Great upgrade, 50% tougher for 33% extra price plus the spell bonus. Ogre magi are the toughest among their level,
their supperiority undermined perhaps only by vampires' life drain. Stock up on these guys because they can dellay
your enemy's victory by few thousand hit points. Ogre magi are still slow, but they don't just stand there anymore -
bloodlust spell will assist the advancing armies while magi defend the shooters. Bloodlust increases attack skill for the
time of 6 rounds.
Roc Health: 60 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: flying

Let's roc! A nice level 5 unit with higher hit points than most. Roc is also very balanced, having no weak sides such as
damage range or low defence. Use them for whatever purpose, but being the only stronghold flyers they often die alone
in the enemy crowd.
Thunderbird Health: 60 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: 20% chance for thunderbolt spell which does 10 damage per each
thunderbird to target.
Thunderbolt strike is a useful damage since it is not affected by defence. The only flying unit for stronghold, they are
still not good enough to fly over the castle walls alone. This upgrade is good to get the earlier spellcasting turn: speed
11 is the highest in stronghold, followed by 9 of ancient behemoth. And hey, the looks are good, they actually look
more powerful to your human opponent.
Cyclops Health: 70 Attack: 15 Shots: 16 Movement: ground

Special: can attack seige walls at basic ballistics level.
Now we're shooting! Only titan's lightning can hit stronger than cyclops' rocks, and that abbility to attack seige walls is
completely exlusive to cyclops. Want 3 extra catapults? Split cyclops into multiple stacks, seige walls take same damage
from 1 cyclops as from 100. Cyclops is also a well-balanced unit with no weakneses except for the hand-to-hand
penalty. Keep that ammo cart handy for long ones.
Cyclops King Health: 70 Attack: 17 Shots: 24 Movement: ground
Special: can attack seige walls at advanced ballistics level.
They aren't kings for nothing, packing two seige shots in one turn and leveling walls to the ground in no time. You'll
notice that the lack of flyers is compensated by the cyclops' special abbilities. Kings however are quite pricey - look at
that golden skirt armor that you are buying them for 350 gold! Attack, defence and speed improvements are too small
to be worth 350 gold, so upgrade only if you are filthy rich and are heading for a long seige. Think about it, 2 kings cost
almost as much as 3 normal cyclops!
Behemoth Health: 160 Attack: 17 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: target is able to use only 60% of its defence when attacked by behemoth.
That smile scares the hell out of whoever behemoth is attacking, reducing their abbility to defend themselves. Slow and
quite vunerable, behemoth is also a cheap level 7 unit, definitely attack-oriented and able to deal huge damage by
reducing enemy defence during the attack. Try to use charge tactics whenever possible, do not leave behemoth exposed
to enemy attacks, too easy to lose them.
Ancient Behemoth Health: 300 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: ground

3000g+1c (1) Hex size: 2 Defence: 19 Dmg: 30-50 Spd: 9 (ultra swift)
Special: target is able to use only 20% of its defence when attacked by ancient behemoth.
Quite low on attack, defence and speed for the best creature, but hit points are at the top and the special abbility is
amazing: the target is virtually defenceless however high it's skill is, even if it is commanded by a good hero, nothing
helps, only 1/5th of defence will be useful to the scared enemy. Ancient behemoth is able to deal the highest damage
amongst all level 7 units, but it's use is more strategic than that: always attack the unit with the highest defence skill
since only behemoths can bypass it. If you are ever to face the ancient behemoth, command all your units to attack at
once - its attack is great, but its defence is nothing special, making it a strategic target.
ALL NECROPOLIS UNITS ARE UNDEAD
Undead are immune to bless, curse and blind spells, mind affecting spells and are always at neutral
morale.
Living creatures dislike undead, therefore their morale decreases by 1 if there are some undead in
your army.
Skeleton Health: 6 Attack: 5 Shots: none Movement: ground

60 gold (12) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 4 Dmg: 1-3 Spd: 4 (extra slow)
Average lvl1 foot soldier, but always in huge numbers thanks to necromancy skill and
skeleton transformer.
Skeleton Warrior Health: 6 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground

70 gold (12) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 6 Dmg: 1-3 Spd: 5 (slow)
Numerous skeletons become even better, but running back to town and upgrading is a
problem... If there is no room in your army for ordinary skeletons, necromancy skill will
resurrect skeleton warriors, but there will be less of them than normal skeletons, so it might
be a good idea not to upgrade cursed temple at all.
Walking Dead Health: 15 Attack: 5 Shots: none Movement: ground

100 gold (8) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 5 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 3 (very slow)
Basically its the same skeleton with more hit points. I prefer buying 2 skeletons instead.
Zombie Health: 20 Attack: 5 Shots: none Movement: ground

125 gold (8) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 5 Dmg: 2-3 Spd: 4 (extra slow)
Special: 20% chance to disease enemies (-2Att -2Def for 3 rounds)
Attack ratings are way too low... In my opinion, necropolis has the worst lvl2 creature.
Wight Health: 18 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: flying

200 gold (7) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 7 Dmg: 3-5 Spd: 5 (slow)
Special: top wight of the stack regenerates all lost damage in the beginning of each round
Regenerating ability is really good when fighting weak enemies, especially shooters.
Wraith Health: 18 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: flying

230 gold (7) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 7 Dmg: 3-5 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: regenerates ; drains 2 points of mana from enemy hero every turn
Will get to those shooters even faster and will really annoy spellcasting heroes by slowly
draining their mana!
Vampire Health: 30 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: flying
360 gold (4) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 9 Dmg: 5-8 Spd: 6 (swift)
NOTHING compared to their upgraded brothers. Keep the population growing and recruit
after the upgrade.
Vampire Lord Health: 40 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: flying

500 gold (4) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 10 Dmg: 5-8 Spd: 9 (ultra swift)
Special: no enemy retaliation ; resurrects members of their own stack by restoring
health equal to the amount of damage they do to living enemies.
My favorite necropolis unit. Use them as main striking unit and you might end up with no
losses!
Lich Health: 30 Attack: 13 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

550 gold (3) Hex Size: 1 Defense: 10 Dmg: 11-13 Spd: 6 (swift)
Special: death cloud range attack - damages living creatures on adjacent hexes to target.
Cloud won't damage your undead units, so aim right in that crowd!
Power Lich Health: 40 Attack: 13 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Special: death cloud range attack - damages living creatures on adjacent hexes to target.
Now they last longer and are able to do more damage! A must for good necropolis army.
Black Knight Health: 120 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: 20% chance to curse enemy.
Awesome ground unit. As any undead it cannot be blinded, so your enemies will have to look
out.
Dread Knight Health: 120 Attack: 18 Shots: none Movement: ground
Special: 20% chance to curse enemy ; 20% chance to do double damage.
I think it's the best lvl6 unit in the game! Double damage ability puts Dread Knights above
Naga Queens.
Bone Dragon Health: 150 Attack: 17 Shots: none Movement: flying

Special: -1 to enemy morale.
They are truly fearsome for enemies with low morale. Simply keeping them on battlefield
scares enemies.
Ghost Dragon Health: 200 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: flying

3000g + 1m (1) Hex Size: 2 Defense: 17 Dmg: 25-50 Spd: 14 (ultra quick)
Special: -1 to enemy morale ; 20% chance to age enemy (halve hit points of all stack
members).
When situation seems hopeless, take a chance on the best enemy stack! If you'll get lucky,
half their hit points will be gone instantly!! Ageing ability makes ghost dragons as dangerous
as other lvl7 creatures.
Air Elemental Health: 25 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: ground
250 gold (6) Hex size: 1 Defence: 9 Damage: 2-8 Spd: 7 (extra swift)
Special: immune to mind and meteor shower spells, takes double damage from lightning bolt
and chain lightning.
You may notice that price of elementals is their hit points multiplied by 10. All elementals have roughly the same attack
and defence and average damage, except for earth elementals. Air elementals are fast, durable and cheap. Curse and
bless affect their damage very strongly. Great creature for early game army if you manage to hire some.
Water Elemental Health: 30 Attack: 8 Shots: none Movement: ground

300 gold (6) Hex size: 2 Defence: 10 Damage: 3-7 Spd: 5 (slow)
Special: immune to mind, ice bolt and frost ring spells, take double damage from fire wall,
inferno, fireball and fire shield.
Water elementals can slow down some heroes and are more of a defensive creature. Could be used for blocking
shooters, but also good for early game army.
Fire Elemental Health: 35 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

350 gold (5) Hex size: 1 Defence: 8 Damage: 4-6 Spd: 6 (swift)
Special: immune to all mind and fire school spells, take double damage from ice ray and frost
ring.
Quite a durable creature, fire immunity can be a very strategic bonus. Speed and hit points are also reasonable.
Earth Elemental Health: 40 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

400 gold (4) Hex size: 1 Defence: 10 Damage: 4-8 Spd: 4 (extra slow)
Special: immune to mind, lightning bolt and chain lightning spells, take double damage from
meteor shower.
The toughest of elementals (without AB expansion), has good stats, hit points and higher damage, but extra slow
speed, making them unpractical for anything other than castle defence.
Gold Golem Health: 50 Attack: 11 Shots: none Movement: ground

Special: non-living; damage from spells reduced by 85%.
Gold and diamond golems can only be recruited from tower's golem factory map dwelling where you get a choice of four
types of golems. These guys take only 15% of damage from spells and therefore it is unwise for spellcasters to
challenge them without sufficient might. They are not much on attack and pretty slow, but hit points, defence and
magic resistance makes them extremely durable.
Diamond Health: 60 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground
Special: non-living; damage from spells reduced by 95%.
Slow-moving defeat for any spellcaster who relies on magic and forgets that these golems are tough and take only 5%
damage from spells! If you find a golem factory or two, have a hero buy 2 diamond golems every week from each
factory. If it's a long game, you will have a nice surprise for your spellcasting opponent.
Ammo Cart Health: 100 Attack: 0 Shots: none Movement: none
1000 gold Hex size: 1 Defence: 5 Dmg: 0 Speed: 0
Special: gives friendly ranged units unlimited ammunition.
Useful to have for long battles if you are using range attackers who run out of ammunition. Another subtle use for the
ammo cart is that it can take one extra hit away from a powerful chain lightning - it will be destroyed of course.
Ballista Health: 250 Attack: 10 Shots: 24 Movement: none

2500 gold Hex size: 2 Defence: 10 Dmg: 8-12 Speed: 0
Special: affected by Artillery secondary skill.
Ballista is affected by hero's attack still, and unless your hero has a strong attack AND Artillery secondary skill, ballista
will not do much damage, buy 2500 gold worth of creatures instead. If you are going for Artillery secondary skill, keep
in mind that ballista only has 250 hit points, and once destroyed, the skill will remain useless for the rest of the battle.
That is why heroes should choose Offense, Armourer, etc over Artillery. Note: without Artillery secondary skill, ballista
will shoot without your control.
First Aid Tent Health: 75 Attack: 0 Shots: none Movement: none

750 gold Hex size: 2 Defence: 0 Dmg: 0 Speed: 0
Special: heals allies, affected by First Aid secondary skill.
Heals a small amount of hit points to a top creature in one of your stacks every round. The effect is very weak. First Aid
skill gives you control over the tent and makes it heal more hit points, but the tent is extremely easy to destroy,
rendering your First Aid skill useless for the rest of the battle - see note on Artillery above. The tent, however, can save
you losing a few high-level creatures by topping up their hit points every round.
Catapult Health: 1000 Attack: 10 Shots: 24 Movement: none

N/A Hex size: 2 Defence: 10 Dmg: 0 Speed: 0
Special: attacks seige walls, affected by Balistics secondary skill.
Every hero has one all the time. Catapult is affected by Balistics skill, which unlike other war machine skills is very
important to learn. Catapult is durable and comes under your control as you deveop Ballistics. If you are under seige
and have powerful spells, destroy the enemy catapult so you can keep your walls and archer towers, turning the tides of
battle in your favour. Ballistics secondary skills is essential for towns like Fortress who lack strong flyers and shooters,
they must break through the drawbridge before enemy shooters have a good go at them.

Heroes III

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Choosing the right hero

The skill of adventuring

Spells that go the distance

3. Sight range artifacts - those work similarly to the Scouting skill.

9. Libraries. These are a must for every level 10+ hero.

(Day 1) Town Hall (gives 500 extra gold per day)

HINTS AND TIPS

Credits: Jeffrey Hilton (3 tips), Wyvern (1 tip).

COMBAT AND ARMY

SPELLS AND ARTIFACTS

Credits: Wyvern (3 tips), Jeffrey Hilton (1 tip).

The advantages of a necromancer.

ALL undead are immune to BLIND.

Bron's Basilisk Rush:

Army Morale Modifiers:

Halberdier Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground

Archer Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Marksman Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Griffin Health: 25 Attack: 8 Shots: none Movement: flying

Royal Griffin Health: 25 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: flying

Swordsman Health: 35 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Crusader Health: 35 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: ground

Monk Health: 30 Attack: 12 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Cavalier Health: 100 Attack: 15 Shots: none Movement: ground

Champion Health: 100 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

Angel Health: 200 Attack: 20 Shots: none Movement: flying

Master Gremlin Health: 4 Attack: 4 Shots: 8 Movement: ground

Stone Gargoyle Health: 16 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: flying

Obsidian Gargoyle Health: 16 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: flying

Stone Golem Health: 30 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: ground

Iron Golem Health: 35 Attack: 9 Shots: none Movement: ground

Arch Mage Health: 30 Attack: 12 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Genie Health: 40 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: flying

Master Genie Health: 40 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: flying

Naga Health: 110 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

Giant Health: 150 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: ground

Titan Health: 300 Attack: 24 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Familiar Health: 4 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground

Gog Health: 13 Attack: 6 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Magog Health: 13 Attack: 7 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Hell Hound Health: 25 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Cerberus Health: 25 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Horned Demon Health: 40 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Pit Fiend Health: 45 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground

Pit Lord Health: 45 Attack: 13 Shots: none Movement: ground

Efreeti Health: 90 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: flying

Devil Health: 160 Attack: 19 Shots: none Movement: teleport

Arch Devil Health: 200 Attack: 26 Shots: none Movement: teleport

Gnoll Maradeur Health: 6 Attack: 4 Shots: none Movement: ground

Lizardman Health: 14 Attack: 5 Shots: 12 Movement: ground

Lizard Warrior Health: 15 Attack: 6 Shots: 24 Movement: ground

Serpent Fly Health: 20 Attack: 7 Shots: none Movement: flying

Dragon Fly Health: 20 Attack: 8 Shots: none Movement: flying

Greater Basilisk Health: 40 Attack: 12 Shots: none Movement: ground

Gorgon Health: 70 Attack: 10 Shots: none Movement: ground

Mighty Gorgon Health: 70 Attack: 11 Shots: none Movement: ground

Wyvern Health: 70 Attack: 14 Shots: none Movement: flying

Wyvern Monarch Health: 70 Attack: 14 Shots: none Movement: flying

Hydra Health: 175 Attack: 16 Shots: none Movement: ground

Chaos Hydra Health: 250 Attack: 18 Shots: none Movement: ground

Centaur Captain Health: 10 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground

Dwarf Health: 20 Attack: 6 Shots: none Movement: ground