Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Gets Major Balance Beta with Smarter AI, New Creatures and Reworked Combat

A major balance update for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has entered public beta testing. Patch 0.82.02 introduces extensive changes to combat mechanics, hero skills, creatures, map generation and multiplayer.

The damage calculation system has been completely reworked. Damage now depends on the difference between Attack and Defense rather than their total values. High-tier creatures should remain powerful throughout a match, while bonuses from attributes and artifacts should become more consistent and meaningful.

AI opponents have received major improvements. Computer-controlled heroes can now retreat from unfavorable battles, use adventure map spells, manage resources more efficiently, and make smarter decisions when selecting skills and artifacts.

Other major changes include:

• Two new neutral creatures have been introduced, alongside extensive creature rebalancing and redesigned alternative upgrades across all six factions.

• Temple's Righteousness skill has been rebuilt around three combat prayers, providing damage, healing or buff-duration bonuses.

• First Aid, a new skill available to all factions, restores up to 40% of creatures lost after victorious battles. Battle Magic and Recruitment have also been reworked, while Sorcery has been weakened.

• New artifacts and equipment combinations have been added. Equipping identical artifacts is no longer allowed, and several spells have received balance adjustments.

• Combat improvements include three favorite spell shortcuts, a clearer interface and protection against excessively long lucky or unlucky streaks of Morale and Luck effects.

• Random maps and competitive play have been updated. Pandora's Boxes now offer reward choices, the new Jebus Arena template has been introduced, and Jebus Cross, Infinity and other templates have been rebalanced. Ranked matchmaking, rating rewards and restart limits have also changed.

• Numerous bugs have been fixed, including multiplayer desynchronization issues, combat errors, save-loading problems and progression blockers in several campaign missions.

The update is currently available only through Steam's public-test-branch. Beta saves are kept separate from regular saves, Steam Cloud is disabled, and multiplayer requires matching game versions. Testing is expected to last several weeks, and all changes remain subject to adjustment before the full release.