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Hi everyone! I'm a new registered user. I love Heroes of Might and Magic IV the most because I've played it the most. I started playing IV, and then I found out that there was also III. Now I play V as well. But still, IV is my favorite. I play it very well, equally well with any faction, but my favorite is Nature. I'm a master at playing with Nature. So, Drakosha, hello! Let's chat, share experiences, and get to know each other. And in general, I think that IV is much more complex and not as primitive as III. There are more opportunities for combinations in IV than in III. I can't say anything definitive about V because I haven't played it much.
This is just an introduction. Regarding this topic, I can say that the question was initially not quite correctly formulated. The choice of units will depend on who you are specifically "gearing up" against, that is, who you will have to deal with. But in any case, if you are playing against a human and not the AI, the second level is definitely tigers. It's all about resources. The third level is unicorns. Again, because of resources and the goal of rapid development. It should be noted that neither the second nor the third level will make a difference in a game against a strong opponent, as they are quite mediocre. As was correctly noted, creatures from the portal will be present in any case. The main question is who to build – the choice is between dragons and phoenixes.
It all depends on the specific opponent. If it's against Chaos, then you need to take (in addition to tigers and unicorns, which will be present in any case) mantises and phoenixes, as creatures that are fast and capable of destroying the Castle and the hero. The same applies to playing against Stronghold and Castle. Against Necropolis, the same applies, but I prefer to take valkyries instead of mantises from the portal, and dragons instead of phoenixes, and destroy vampires from a distance. Unicorns finish them off up close. I've won like this many times. There remains Fortress, a complex faction, but the strategy against Necropolis also works here. Considering the ability of dragons to attack in an area (to eliminate the enemy hero and individual units), as well as the immunity of valkyries to ice bolts, this scheme works well. In general, Nature has a wide arsenal for defeating any faction, if you know how to use it.