Strategy and tactics principles for Heroes of Might and Magic IV.

If you look at the popularity rating of games, you'll notice that the newer the game version (Heroes of Might and Magic), the more popular it is. However, the fourth installment is an exception to this trend – its popularity is undeservedly low. And that's a shame – because it's an excellent game. Moreover, opinions about this game are diametrically opposed – from the belief that it's a revolution in the series (the opinion of those who have figured it out) to the belief that it's an unsuccessful experiment (the latter is often motivated by the fact that the game differs from familiar stereotypes, making it difficult to play). To be fair, I'll say that compared to the previous version of the game, the fourth installment is more complex, and it also has some individual flaws (although, like all games, nothing is perfect). To those who are unhappy with the game because it doesn't fit into the familiar stereotypes, I want to say that the problem is not in the game, but in their inability to use their brains to move away from accepted stereotypes and look at the game differently. However, there are also those who would like to figure out the game, but cannot do so without outside help, and since relatively few people play the fourth installment, it is often difficult to find help. Therefore, in addition to the "Guide," I decided to post "Principles of Strategy and Tactics," in which I combined my own developments and various other tips on completing scenarios and campaigns in HoMM 4.
Sincerely,
Dnaop-wr
:confused: :( :mad: :eek: :) :D

I read a little))
And I also don't approve of military affairs when developing mages.

Yes, that's right. However, there is one castle in Heroes 4 that is an exception. Not even a castle, but a type of hero. These are the heroes of the Chaos castle, who have Scouting and Stealth. When starting with these heroes, there is an opportunity to complete the game without an army at all (considering that you will encounter powerful artifacts such as Armor of Regeneration, Stunning Arrow, etc.). I'll give you an example – I once played using this tactic for the Nature castle (although the difficulty level was "Master," not "Champion"). I chose a hero not from my native castle, but a Thief from Chaos. By leveling up Stealth to level 4 (collecting all the chests for experience and encountering stones), I could already safely capture all the mines and collect all the artifacts on the map, among which were Stunning Arrow, Stunning Mace, and Armor of Regeneration. At level 10 (having Warfare 3 and Archery 2), I could easily defeat monsters of level 3 with one hero, no matter how many of them there were. At level 20, having learned Magic of Life to level 1 and having the "Healing" spell in my arsenal, there were no longer any invincible monsters on the map for me. I defeated even those on whom Scouting reacted as if "You will be crushed by this army" :) The only obstacle was the garrison of 50-60 Black Dragons, which was provided by the map creator (the map is "Prison of Dragons" in the "Alexander" expansion), and overcoming it was already an impossible task for me, even with the decent army that had accumulated in the castle by that time.
Now I'm trying a tactic with the "Dark Priest" (Magic of Life + Magic of Death) – this is vampirism in melee attacks of the hero + if the "Regeneration" spell appears in the Life castle, then you won't have to rely on the Armor of Regeneration anymore. :) In general, the tactic of leveling up a hero for the "Dark Priest" is very promising – the arsenal of Magic of Life will make you invulnerable + Magic of Death will add a few tricks. And, of course, you should not forget about Warfare. However, there is a big drawback to this tactic – the hero must naturally be taken only from the Life, Nature, or Death castles. And while you encounter Magic of Life or Magic of Death (they are opposite to each other) on the path of leveling up, it may take a very long time. You'll be lucky if there is a magic university with the school you need nearby. But here is another problem – universities are guarded by достаточно strong monsters of level 4, and you won't have Stealth, since the hero is different. You will have to gather a strong army, leveling up on other monsters, and here there is a probability that you will not be able to combine Magic of Life + Magic of Death, since one of the schools will already be at the maximum level, and the second will not appear.
Tell me how to get a "Dark Priest" with minimal losses?