Tips Heroes III HD Edition Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Games from the Heroes of Might & Magic series, as well as the like, were always characterized by high difficulty level, as well as a long process of "getting into the game", so that the player can be fully aware what is happening around him / her. This chapter was made for this very reason - to explain difficult, poorly explained gameplay mechanics.

1. Plan your city development in accordance to the mission / scenario you are playing. If there are numerous powerful units around your city, preventing you from exploring the area around it, you should focus on creature dwellings during the first couple of rounds, so that at the beginning of the second week you can recruit some stronger units. If there are no such creatures, and you are sure that enemy players aren't close either, you should aim to build the Capitol as soon as possible.

2. While battling a large amount of shooters, fighting from a distance, restrain from moving before they make their shot. The reason for that is simple - shooters are given a damage penalty, if their target is located more than half a screen away from them. If the enemy gets closer, however, they no longer have that penalty, meaning that they will deal full damage. Therefore it's a good idea to use the "wait" order before you make your own move - this way enemy shooters will have to shoot at your units faster, with a penalty, and afterwards you will still be able to make you move.

3. In each city you managed to conquer, you should recruit a new hero - he/she can be used to flag all the mines in the area, or to collect treasures, while the "main" hero can just simply move on to the next enemy city.

4. In each city you conquered, you should leave a small group of units (it can even be a freshly hired hero) and build (if it isn't already there) both the Citadel, and the Castle. This way you will be able to protect the city from weaker enemy forces, and their scouts won't be able to retake it.

5. At the beginning of each mission and / or scenario, start off by flagging an Ore Mine and a Lumber Mill - wood and ore are, next to gold, the most important resources in the game and most buildings require them, so it's crucial to begin their extraction as soon as possible.

6. Trading on a Marketplace is expensive, but sometimes it can save your skin, allowing you to, for instance, construct a building before the end of the week. Don't hesitate to use it if you have a need, or if you have a lot of other resources to trade.

7. Remember, that every Marketplace build decreases the costs of trading resources.

8. Remember to buy a spellbook for each and every hero you have! Even the simplest, harmless at the first glance spells can turn the tides of a skirmish. 500 gold pieces for a spellbook is almost nothing, especially given the fact how much it can offer to you.

9. Resource Silo is an expensive, especially at the beginning of the game, investment, but its costs will pay back quickly - both in cities in which it gives you a piece of wood and ore, or in those producing a piece of the remaining resources. Construct it early on, and you will surely notice how useful this building is.

10. Remember to buy the siege machine offered by your Blacksmith. Ballista deals low damage, but with the proper amount of Attack and / or abilities coming from the hero, which increase its effectiveness, it can dish out some serious damage. The same goes for Healer's Tent and the Ammunition Cart - their costs are minimal, while they increase the effectiveness of your army.

11. If you have the opportunity, try to get the Tactics ability each time - it allows you to move your units before the actual combat starts, which can help you secure your key units, like shooters, or allow you to get to the enemy units quicker.

12. Remember that each and every hero has his/her own "favorite" type of terrain (you can read about it in the "Movement" chapter) - while travelling along different terrain types, they will have various movement penalties, ranging from slight, almost unnoticeable, to massive, decreasing the range they can travel by half! Whenever you conquer the enemy city, try to choose your heroes accordingly, so that they match the terrain around the city.

13. If the enemy besieged your city, don't leave the castle walls (provided that you've built Citadel, or especially, Castle) - if the enemy does not have a lot of flying units, he won't be able to get past your walls unless there's a whole in there, which can take up to several rounds to happen. It can sometimes lead to a situation, in which a small, powerless army defeats an army several times stronger.

14. Additionally, if the enemy has besieged your city, and the whole scenario is going on for a couple of months and you both have access to powerful, numerous units, it's worth to destroy the enemy Catapult first, using your shooters and / or spells. Without it the enemy won't be able to destroy your walls, and if he doesn't have enough flying units, or shooters, he can just surrender, as no matter what he does, you will still emerge victorious!

15. Regardless of whether you're using a might, or magic hero, always try to gain access to at least one (or preferably more) school of magic. Mastery over a certain school of magic will allow you to target all the units on the battleground with a single spell, be it a beneficial, or a negative one - spells affecting the monster behavior, or their stats, are several times stronger than those which deal flat damage.

16. If you see an enemy hero army consists essentially of units immune (Black and Gold Dragons, Efreets) or extremely resistant (Golems, Dwarves) to fire magic, you must immediately cast the Protection from Fire spell on your units, as there's a big chance that the battlefield will be struck with the Armageddon spell - it deals huge damage to every unit on the battlefield, so it's worth to be prepared for that.

17. Use support spells all the time - Bless is extremely effective on units with huge "spread" in their minimum / maximum damage (2-7, or 10-20). Prayer is one of the best spells in the game, and the Haste spell will allow you to disrupt the order of enemy units' movement. Spells like Stone Skin, Shield, Bloodlust can increase the effectiveness of your units, and those spells are mainly from the 1st level, meaning that your hero does not have to have Wisdom ability at all.

18. Don't forget about the negative spells as well, which can be cast on the enemy units - Slow can decrease the movement of enemy units by up to 50% (!), Curse will cause them to deal minimum damage (which is extremely effective against units with huge "spread" in their damages).

19. If a single enemy unit poses lethal threat, use the Blind spell to eliminate it from combat for a couple of rounds - it will give you a huge edge against the enemy, especially if he lacks the means of neutralizing the spell.