Decline I suck at HoMM 3!

[Malakal]

OP on larger maps: Necro
Farm nine billion skeletons and go to town. That's on large maps, but on smaller maps they're still really solid because upgraded Vamps, Dread Knights and Liches are all really good units..

Actually necro is strongest on small maps if you dont implement custom rules as you can expect over 100 skeletons rush in the first week. They somehow patched it by removing extra troops from heroes you can buy but its still a very potent threat.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

So, Guys....how the motherfuck is it even remotely possible to beat that one expansion campaign with the literally hundreds of azure dragons that need to be killed, each particular dragon being a one-unit army and having a thousand hitpoints? Gratuitous abuse of the berserk spell?

It's a campaign where your main hero is supermage, you learn all magic skills on the first map and have basically every spell availible. It's not really that challenging to beat mob that have 0% resist against magic, mass slow, then blind and then do whatever you want. Blind is another spell that = win, if your enemy can't cast dispel or cure (even then it's great, cause it forces him to waste a turn or basically lose a stack), if you know fire magic it also prevents retaliation for added overkill.

Zboj Lamignat probably did it with his eyes closed, though.

I actually didn't finish any sp campaign bar the first one in AB expansion afair, I like playing with other people too much.

If you want a decent sp challenge then play South of Hell on the highest difficulty level. That scenario has a pretty high chance of the rapetrain coming to you for a change.

Myeah, kinda agree with Heroes 2 > Heroes 3. Not on all accounts, but it has a charm that seems to have been lost in 3.

Graphic and atmosphere wise II wins for me too, but III is definitely a better game.

Many campaigns are dickish enough to have TP banned from mage guilds. It's impossible to get it through normal means.

I don't remember anything like that, I do remember campaigns giving earth tomes as a starting bonus or TP scrolls being a set drop. But I won't argue, since I didn't play campaigns that much. None of them prevent your main hero from quickly becoming a "20-30 in every stat" beast that rolls over everything though, it's even easier in the theoretically harder ones.

1. Fuck shit like implosion

Implosion is potentially a game winning spell. You can build a hero dealing over 4-5k dmg with it on bigger maps.

There ARE strategies where you do stuff like get Mr Chain Lightning Wizard Genie whose name I forgot and then basically just do "Chain Lightning -> Flee on First turn with fast unit" to annoy your enemies.

Yeah, and lose 2500 gold every turn...

Yes, it's a cheap, but extremely effective tactic, though not necessarily in the form described above. But 1 phoenix armageddon suicide nuke is something that can force anyone to surrender.

stuff

I mostly agree with your ranking, that's more or less the order I'd put the factions in, of course disregarding the rules that are usually enforced when playing against human players. The one thing to add is that Stronghold sucks because it's not cheap at all, the amount of crystals it takes on impossible is crazy, especially considering that its resource silo gives ore/wood.

 

[Storyfag]

OP on larger maps: Necro
Farm nine billion skeletons and go to town. That's on large maps, but on smaller maps they're still really solid because upgraded Vamps, Dread Knights and Liches are all really good units..

Actually necro is strongest on small maps if you dont implement custom rules as you can expect over 100 skeletons rush in the first week. They somehow patched it by removing extra troops from heroes you can buy but its still a very potent threat.

I know, right?

Thing is, you run out of undead heroes in the tavern pretty quickly, and there are other things to build than the skeleton transformer. Only harvesting neutral creatures is the way to go. But man, it's satisfying to find that stack of 10 million peasants!

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Btw me and my pal recently had the time and started playing again and I just now noticed how game breaking the random recruitment camps can be. He always seems to be getting upgraded tier 7 unit in them, promptly gaining a huge upper hand

 

[Johannes]

So what are the common rules/practices for picking factions, heroes and maps online? I've only played the game in LAN, with mostly a "No Conflux" agreement.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Common that I used/was forced to use:

- no conflux
- no necro or necro allowed, but with custom rules (no transformer, necromancy used only to replenish losses)
- no logistics
- lots of heroes banned (for example those that have armorer as special)
- no town portal

Many games are played on random map generator and restart is forced when the result is uneven (for example ore pit or saw mill are further than 1 turn away).

I also don't see a reason to play on a difficulty other than impossible, bar small map "deathmatch" games.

 

[Black]

.

I should've specified that many EXPANSION campaigns had TP and other spells bent. In return, sometimes they would put TP scrolls is some corner of the map guarded by some high tier stuff.

 

[Johannes]

Common that I used/was forced to use:

- no conflux
- no necro or necro allowed, but with custom rules (no transformer, necromancy used only to replenish losses)
- no logistics
- lots of heroes banned (for example those that have armorer as special)
- no town portal

Many games are played on random map generator and restart is forced when the result is uneven (for example ore pit or saw mill are further than 1 turn away).

I also don't see a reason to play on a difficulty other than impossible, bar small map "deathmatch" games.

Hmm. Didn't played the impossible difficulty much, mostly the one below that. Just seems to get the game starting faster, when you've got some money right off the bat, you clear indies a tad faster and therefore get to fight the actual human enemy with less downtime. Or does it affect other things too than starting wealth?


And can you ban the heroes/logistics/tp easily from the game by making a mod (iirc never used one), or you're just not allowed to pick them when the game offers the option? I remember playing a map where there were some heroes banned by putting them in prisons guarded by 100s of black dragons, but that wouldn't work with random map I guess.
Though there is a charm too to playing a fixed map, whch you know before hand, I actually prefer that - but only if my opponent's specifically prepared for it also, otherwise it makes it uneven.

 

[exe]

My first time playing Homm3. Which of the skill are good, bad, or never take? I am playing the first Campaign and the main heroe got ballistics skill, that is probably the most useless thing ever (at leats in homm5 all warmiches got put together in one skill instead of 3, was still shit though).
What spells you can learn relies only on picking wisdom, right? What are the X magic skills useful then, do they get something more than less mana cost on advanced/expert? Mass spells?

 

[laclongquan]

Use one or two heroes as main army commanders. This is obvious. Skills should be aimed at combat
Use several others as troop collectors, resource taxman, and postman (transfer stuffs to main army). They can and should have estate, creature growth skills, and support skills to ensure jewprofit. AND, this is important, they should have fastest troop as you can manage. For example, your taxman has a single gryphon. Heh.

 

[TigerKnee]

Ballistic is the best one out of all the war machines skills, actually, especially if your faction can't siege worth shit (hello Fortress).

???: Diplomacy - Sometimes broken as hell because you get a huge stack of good unit for free, sometimes you get jack, sometimes the map designer made all the neutrals hostile and thus not affected by this skill

High Priority: Offence, Armourer, Logistics, Wisdom, Magic schools, Leadership, Tactics, Necromancy,

Situational: Ballistics, Navigation, Artillery, Resistance, Luck, Pathfinding, Intelligence, Sorcery

Secondary Heroes only: Scholar, Scouting, Estates
Shit: Eagle Eye, First Aid, Learning, Mysticism

 

[SCO]

I always went for diplomacy, logistics, pathfinding, armorer, leadership, luck and offense if i could more or less in that order. Thus i tended to like might heroes. High level spells suck anyway.

 

[hoverdog]

My first time playing Homm3. Which of the skill are good, bad, or never take? I am playing the first Campaign and the main heroe got ballistics skill, that is probably the most useless thing ever (at leats in homm5 all warmiches got put together in one skill instead of 3, was still shit though).
What spells you can learn relies only on picking wisdom, right? What are the X magic skills useful then, do they get something more than less mana cost on advanced/expert? Mass spells?

Avoid Eagle Eye, Artillery, First Aid, Learning, Diplomacy, Scholar. Mysticism is a tier higher, but still crap.
Logistics is a must. Archery/Offense/Armorer - very useful. Be sure to grab at least one magic school (Earth>Air>Water>Fire), and Wisdom (gives access to higher level spells) too. Sorcery if you're a mage. Intelligence can be useful if you're low on knowledge (Necromancer or Heretic, mostly).
Leadership is better than luck, both are useful. Resistance against enemy mages. Tactics can be great, but it's also amazingly annoying. Necromancy - obviously for necromancers.
Ballistics if you're out of good flying troops or magic (Fortress). Pathfinding if there's a lot of hard terrain (snow, swamps, etc.).

 

[octavius]

My first time playing Homm3. Which of the skill are good, bad, or never take? I am playing the first Campaign and the main heroe got ballistics skill, that is probably the most useless thing ever (at leats in homm5 all warmiches got put together in one skill instead of 3, was still shit though).
What spells you can learn relies only on picking wisdom, right? What are the X magic skills useful then, do they get something more than less mana cost on advanced/expert? Mass spells?

Ballistic skill is not useless. Breaching the wall ASAP can make a difference, and getting to cast a spell before the enemy even more so.

My favourite skills:
Logistics
Offense
Armourer
Air Magic
Earth Magic
Wisdom
Tactics
Ballistics/Pathfinding/Necromancy/Sorcery/Archery depending on type of hero

I tend to avoid Leadership and Luck since the skills are capped and there are so many items that give the same benefits.
I avoid Eagle Eye and First Aid like they were console games.

I'm torn about Diplomacy. At high levels it feels like cheating when you goad independents into joining you.

 

[exe]

Thanks, by ballistics I meant the one for the ballista, artillery maybe? I can't help but love archery, because I just love ranged units in HoMM games.
What do the Expert Magic skill give you though? The basic ones just give less mana cost, which sounds useless.
There is also a skill that gives you manaregen. I have barely used spells so far, so do you not recharge mana on your own without that skill?

edit: How high can Luck/Morale get? Just 3?

 

[AMG]

My first time playing Homm3. Which of the skill are good, bad, or never take? I am playing the first Campaign and the main heroe got ballistics skill, that is probably the most useless thing ever (at leats in homm5 all warmiches got put together in one skill instead of 3, was still shit though).
What spells you can learn relies only on picking wisdom, right? What are the X magic skills useful then, do they get something more than less mana cost on advanced/expert? Mass spells?

Ballistics is actually good. It gives you first turn in sieges and is excellent for walker armies. As far as ideal hero goes it would be a might hero with logistics, offense, tactics, wisdom, earth magic, usually water magic(it depends), probably armorer, archery(esp tower)/resistance(esp rampart)/necromancy(when necro obv)/leadership/another magic school.

Most skills can find some use but eagle eye, first aid and learning are universally shit.

 

[CappenVarra]

Man, stop encouraging me to reinstall homam3 :/

 

[Johannes]

And hero with the Ballistics specialty is a good pick, since he comes with a free ballista. Which is actually a huge boon, when killing independents - maneuver so that the ballista absorbs hits from the enemy without dying, and you can manage fights with much less attrition.

 

[AMG]

Thanks, by ballistics I meant the one for the ballista, artillery maybe? I can't help but love archery, because I just love ranged units in HoMM games.
What do the Expert Magic skill give you though? The basic ones just give less mana cost, which sounds useless.
There is also a skill that gives you manaregen. I have barely used spells so far, so do you not recharge mana on your own without that skill?

edit: How high can Luck/Morale get? Just 3?

It depends, basic i think always reduces cost, while expert and advanced amplifies effect. For example advanced earth magic lets you choose destination for town portal, makes your resurrection permanent and such. Expert magic makes mass versions of spells availible which are super good.

Yes morale are capped at -3/+3, you start at 0. If all your creatures are from the same town you get + 1 morale, if you mix undead an living you get -1, and if you mix more than 2 towns you get -1 for each town type above 2.

 

[octavius]

What do the Expert Magic skill give you though? The basic ones just give less mana cost, which sounds useless.

Mass Slow and Mass Haste is extremely useful. Mass Bless, Mass Curse, Mass Shield, Mass Stone Skin etc are also very nice.

 

[TigerKnee]

Ballistas (which use the Artillery skill) is actually pretty good for creeping and can deal kind of high damage on certain heroes that specialize or start with the skill. It's just kind of useless late-game cuz its hit points never scale up and thus it will be destroyed in one hit.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Logistics - makes a huge difference, probably the most useful skill

Armorer - great for everyone, can become pretty op with heroes that have it as a special

Offense - good for everyone, another must take

Wisdom - if you want to cast spells higher then level2, protip: you do

Nacromancy - op, you will start with it

Earth magic - this is the magic skill that you should always take, irregardles of who you are, best magic skill by far

Leadership - I don't like skills that are based on pure luck, but it's not half bad, can win you a battle if it triggers, many "good" heroes start with it, is a wise choice if you plan on taking mixed armies

Diplomacy - some think it's op, personally I don't like it, but you can easily bumrush your opponents on smaller maps if you have it, good combo with leadership

Luck - same as leadership, but there are no penalties for negative luck so it's less worth taking

Artillery - good for creeping and defending a castle against weak wandering heroes, useless in bigger battles

Ballistics - you will miss anyway

First Aid - probably the most pointless skill in the game, avoid

Eagle Eye - battles First Aid for the "holy shit do I suck" title

Pathfinding - can be a godsend on maps with lots of shitty terrain, especially for naturally slow armies like necro, very situational skill

Navigation - the bonuses it gives are freaking huge, but I still fell it's kinda of a wasted skill slot

Archer - good skill for Tower, shit for Inferno and Fortress, so so for the others

Estates - the only time it's useful is when you play on impossible and get a secondary hero with it early on, otherwise the amount it gives is way too low, funny because this skill was a real godsend in II

Scouting - pretty pointless, even for secondary heroes

Learning - um, if you want to bumrush someone then it has some potential to help, on second thought - no, it's shit

Intelligence - good skill if you're basing your build on casting lots of high level spells like ressurection or implosion, avoid otherwise

Misticism - this would be a decent skill if you doubled or trippled the amount, rather pointless in its actual state

Sorcery - for dedicated nukers

Water magic - gives mass cure/dispell, also has best buffs

Fire magic - best debuffs, many of its best spells are pretty difficult to get, contrary to what you might think it has absolutely shit offense bar the infamous armageddon spell

Air magic - least useful school, but still not the worst skill you can take all things considered

Scholar - good on a support hero on huge maps

Resistance - can become decent when supported by certain artifacts, still a bit meh

Tactics - has its uses, but holy shit is it irritating or what

 

[General Maxson]

Are you guys talking about multiplayer or single? I can't live in single without Earth and Air magic, i.e. Town Portal and Dimension Door. Otherwise it becomes to irritating catching all the AI heroes which roam and escape like crazy, even when it's practically game over...

 

[FeelTheRads]

Common that I used/was forced to use:

- no conflux
- no necro or necro allowed, but with custom rules (no transformer, necromancy used only to replenish losses)
- no logistics
- lots of heroes banned (for example those that have armorer as special)
- no town portal

Le fuck... some people take shit too seriously. No logistics? What the fuck. I can maybe understand things unique to a faction that are too powerful but logistics? Well, how about everybody plays the same faction with a premade hero then and gets the exact same amount of resources.
Didn't you also have no diplomacy? That was a big one when I tried to play online.

My favorite way of playing was always hotseat, everything random, no house rules. House rules are for faggots.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Yep, no diplomacy is a common one as well. I dislike most of it also, they only ones I agree with is no conflux (mostly because of 4x tier7 that can also be built ridiculously quickly) and no town portal.