Tactics for the Stronghold.

to KOR
I only realized later that the Barbarian's weakness is that the average speed of their units is still not fast enough. With their imbalance in attack and defense, they absolutely must move first. And I had a speed cloak at the time.

I agree 100%. The army is too weak to confidently take the brunt of the attack, and it lacks the speed to strike first. The same problem exists for the Swamp, but their defense is better, especially when paired with a Tazar, so it's not fatal for them, but it is fatal for the Barbarians.

I'm saying that the ability to strike first is one of the most important aspects for the Barbarians.

Tactics + Expert Speed. This is already a big plus, but the army is still too weak. It is essential to capture another Castle and recruit more specific units there. By the way, I usually don't build captured Castles because it drains resources. But the Barbarians are a special case. Their own Castle is cheap, so there are excess resources that must be used to develop a second Castle!

From here
- maybe it's better to upgrade Goblins and Wolves right away?

I used to do that. Upgraded Goblins are great :) And they're not a waste either :) I always upgrade Birds for their speed and only buy them later.

Let me summarize:
1. Aim to deploy creatures in the first week.
2. Build upgraded Birds and use them to break through archers.
3. Move quickly and capture all resource locations (Orcs - go home!), collecting resources for the second Castle.
4. Quickly capture the second city and quickly develop it.
5. A hero with Tactics and Expert Air becomes twice as scary! :)
6. If you don't hide, Crag Hack is not to blame! :))