Stronghold | Units Heroes III HD Edition Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Goblin / Hobgoblin

Attack: 4 Defense: 2 Ammo: - Damage: 1-2 Health: 5 Speed: 5 Cost: 40 Growth: 15

Attack: 5 Defense: 3 Ammo: - Damage: 1-2 Health: 5 Speed: 7 Cost: 50 Growth: 15

Goblins, just like Troglodytes, are at most average, and they don't stand out in comparison to other 1st level unit. They are quite fast, but the rest of their stats are mediocre, placing them behind Pikemen and Centaurs.

The Hobgoblin upgrade gives them increased attack and defense, as well as a boost to speed - thanks to that, they become the second fastest 1st level unit in the game, bested only by the Centaur Captains.

You should invest in the Hut, which increases their weekly growth.

Wolf Rider / Wolf Raider

Attack: 7 Defense: 5 Ammo: - Damage: 2-4 Health: 10 Speed: 6 Cost: 100 Growth: 9

Attack: 8 Defense: 5 Ammo: - Damage: 3-4 Health: 10 Speed: 8 Cost: 140 Growth: 9

Wolf Riders are basically an upgraded version of Goblins - their stats are practically doubled, with half of the 1st level units' weekly growth. Wolf Riders are highly offensive units, where they can dish out some unexpectedly high damage - their speed definitely helps them to achieve that. Their biggest flaw is low health pool.

The upgrade, aside from leaving the health pool intact, increases every single aspect of the unit, even the damage gain a boost, which is very rare. Additionally, they gain the Double Strike ability, the same that Crusaders gain when they are upgraded - it makes them extremely deadly in melee combat. Given their low health pool, it's a good idea to "eat" the retaliation of the enemy unit with a different creature, so that Wolf Raiders can deliver two full strikes to the enemy.

Orc / Orc Chieftain

Attack: 8 Defense: 4 Ammo: 12 Damage: 2-5 Health: 15 Speed: 4 Cost: 150 Growth: 7

Attack: 8 Defense: 4 Ammo: 24 Damage: 2-5 Health: 20 Speed: 5 Cost: 165 Growth: 7

One of the two ranged units in Stronghold, Orc, is a weak unit - although it is able to deal some serious damage, it has the lowest defense rating from all 3rd level units, which together with a rather low health pool makes them extremely vulnerable to attacks. A very low speed does not help either, as this unit is among the slowest in the game.

Orc Chieftain upgrade does not give much, but improves slightly two of the biggest flaws of this unit - speed and health pool. The upgrade itself is cheap, and the recruitment costs are only slightly higher, which makes this somehow profitable upgrade.

Ogre / Ogre Mage

Attack: 13 Defense: 7 Ammo: - Damage: 6-12 Health: 40 Speed: 4 Cost: 300 Growth: 4

Attack: 13 Defense: 7 Ammo: - Damage: 6-12 Health: 60 Speed: 5 Cost: 400 Growth: 4

Ogre is almost perfect - it has immense amount of attack, damage and health, but the price for those stats are quite low defense and extremely low speed, which makes the Ogre a defensive unit.

Ogre Mage, besides getting a huge boost to health (50% increase!) and a slight increase to speed, receives a very useful (especially in this city) ability of Bloodlust, Just as the spell, it increases the attack of a selected unit - the strength is the same as with a hero casting it with advanced fire magic mastery. It negates the problem of low mobility of this unit - you can now just simply use it to buff your units, while at the same time guard your shooters.

Roc / Thunderbird

Attack: 13 Defense: 11 Ammo: - Damage: 11-15 Health: 60 Speed: 7 Cost: 600 Growth: 3

Attack: 13 Defense: 11 Ammo: - Damage: 11-15 Health: 60 Speed: 11 Cost: 700 Growth: 3

Another very good unit from Stronghold. Rocs are the only units in this city with the ability to fly, which, coupled with their above average stats allows them to wreck havoc on the battlefield. Together with the fact, that the building allowing you to recruit them can be constructed even during the first day of the first week! That adds even more value to this unit.

Thunderbirds, on the first glance, are given a huge boost to speed, and nothing more, making them useless? Nothing like that! Together with the speed improvement, Thunderbirds gained an ability activated during their attacks - they have a 20% chance with each strike to struck their enemy with lightning (aside from their normal attack). The damage is equal to Number of Thunderbirds * 10 (10 Thunderbirds is 100 damage, 50 is 500 damage, and so on). They are perfectly fit to eliminate enemy shooters, to whom they can easily get during the first round.

Cyclops / Cyclops King

Attack: 15 Defense: 12 Ammo: 16 Damage: 16-20 Health: 70 Speed: 6 Cost: 750 Growth: 2

Attack: 17 Defense: 12 Ammo: 24 Damage: 16-20 Health: 70 Speed: 8 Cost: 1100 Growth: 2

Cyclops is the only 6th level unit in the game, which at the same time is a shooter. They have high damage, as well as attack, but their small, as for a 6th level unit, health pool makes them quite vulnerable, especially against fast units. Their slow speed and the lack of "no melee penalty" makes them struggle against melee attacks, so they should be protected at all costs.

Upgraded version, Cyclops King is over 50% more expensive to recruit, but it is more than understandable - increased attack, defense, as well as a large boost to speed makes this unit a lot more effective than it was before.

Both Cyclops and Cyclops King have a rather unique ability, which is Ballistics - it allows them to throw their huge rocks at the enemy walls, just like catapults do. Both of those units do it equally effective as a catapult with an Advanced Level Ballistics (increased damage to walls), and with the case of Cyclops King, he can throw the rock twice during a single round. Even when they aren't extremely deadly as shooters, they are effective during sieges - with a little bit of luck, you will be able to take out 1-2 archers in the enemy walls, or make a breakthrough during the first round.

Behemoth / Ancient Behemoth

Attack: 17 Defense: 17 Ammo: - Damage: 30-50 Health: 160 Speed: 6 Cost: 1500 Growth: 1

Attack: 19 Defense: 19 Ammo: - Damage: 30-50 Health: 300 Speed: 9 Cost: 3000 + 1 crystal Growth: 1

Behemoths have rather average stats for a 7th level unit - despite having good damage, their low health pool, defense and speed makes them extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks, especially shooters and casters. They, however, have a rather interesting ability called Defense Reduction - each time a Behemoth attacks, it decreases (but only during the attack itself) the defense of the attacked unit by 40%, which immensely increases the damage it deals. Also, it's the cheapest 7th level unit in the game.

Ancient Behemoths receive upgrades in those fields in which they lacked the most - almost doubled health pool and speed! Another good thing is an increase in attack and defense. What makes those units extremely lethal is their upgraded Defense Reduction ability - now their attack decreases the defense of an enemy by 80%! This makes them the conquerors of all 7th level units in the game - none of them can go 1 on 1 with Ancient Behemoths, as their defense will be reduced to the level of a 1st level unit.

Casting Bless and / or Haste on them increases the effectiveness of the unit, so they should be used as often as possible. Additionally, don't forget to cast Bloodlust from the Ogre Mage to increase their damage.