Analytical articles on Heroes II Gold by Qwerty.

Today we will try to figure out the peculiarities of shooting units in HOMM2 and consider some tactical aspects of the game in this regard.

Shooters are present in all six castles. We will examine them by levels rather than by castles.

First level.
Halflings. This is the weakest shooting unit in HOMM2. Belongs to the titan castle, health 3, attack 2, defense 1, damage 1-3; in melee combat (as with most other shooting units), it is half as much. Speed slow (3), occupies one cell on the battlefield (later we will see why this aspect is important), shots 12, cost 50. The unit is encountered quite often in the game. This is due to the presence of a special object "burrow" on the terrain; upon visiting it, the halflings living there leave their home and go to war with the hero. Moreover, free of charge, that is, for free.
Centaurs. Belongs to the black dragon castle, being the only shooter there. A good unit for its level; according to the computer, it is the third strongest at its level (after skeletons and thieves). However, there are other opinions, in particular, that this unit is not only the strongest at its level but also more useful than some second-level units. Health 5 (the best indicator at its level, which is surprising for a shooter), attack 3, defense 1, damage 1-2; in melee combat half as much. Speed medium (4), only 8 shots, cost 60 (a good indicator for a shooter), however, the unit occupies two cells. And in most cases, this is not good for it.

Second level.
Properly speaking, shooters. An unupgraded unit from the Knight castle. There are no other levels of shooters in the Knight castle. Health 10, attack 5, defense 3, damage 2-3; in melee combat half as much. Speed very slow (2) - and this is a disaster, occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 12, cost 150. The unit is encountered quite often in the game – it is found in structures on the terrain, where it joins the army free of charge, that is, for free.
Archers (upgraded shooters). The previous unit, only upgraded. The only shooting unit in the Knight castle. Health 10, attack 5, defense 3, damage 2-3, shoots twice. However, it specifically *shoots*! In melee combat, it strikes once, and twice as weakly. Thus, the same damage from shooting is 4 times greater than from melee combat! Speed medium (4), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 24 (excellent, it doesn't get higher), cost 200. Not a small amount, of course...
Orcs. Unupgraded second-level shooters from the Barbarian castle. Health 10, attack 3, defense 4, damage 2-3; in melee combat half as much. Speed very slow (2), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 8, cost 140. The unit is encountered quite often in the game – it is found in structures on the terrain, where it joins the army free of charge, that is, for free. It should be specially noted that a "fort on a hill" structure is sometimes found on the terrain, where orcs can be upgraded free of charge, that is, for free – as a result, both speed and health will increase by one and a half times!
Upgraded Orcs (such as "Orc Chiefs"). Health 15, attack 3, defense 4, damage 3-4 (not bad, by the way), in melee combat half as much. Speed slow (3), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 16, cost 175.

Third level.
Elves. Unupgraded shooters from the phoenix castle. Health 15, attack 4, defense 3, damage 2-3, shoots twice. Only shoots; in melee combat it deals only one strike, and that is half as weak. Speed medium (4), occupies one cell on the battlefield, ammunition is fine – 24 shots. Cost 250 (however...).
Grand Elves. Health 15, attack 5, defense 5, damage 2-3, shoots twice. In melee combat it attacks once with half damage. Thus, for grand elves (as well as for elves and archers from the Knight castle), shooting attack damage is 4 times higher than melee damage. Speed very fast (6) and this is one of the main trump cards of this unit, occupies one cell on the battlefield, plenty of shots – 24, but cost 300...

Fourth level.
Druids. The second shooting unit from the phoenix castle and beautiful Sorceress. Health 25, attack 7, defense 5, damage 5-8; in melee combat half as much. Speed fast (5), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 8, cost 350.
Upgraded Druid (such as Great). Health 25, attack 7, defense 7, damage 5-8; in melee combat half as much. Speed very fast (6), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 16, cost 400. Expensive.

Fifth level.
Lich. A shooter from the Necromancer castle; there are no shooters at other levels. Health 25 (and this is the fifth level – simply ridiculous), attack 7, defense 12 (colossal!), damage 8-10; in melee combat half as much. Liches shoot fireballs – balls of fire, and in doing so, adjacent cells are also hit besides the target (regardless of whether they are your own troops or enemy). Speed fast (5), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 12, but cost 750. Very expensive.
Upgraded Lich (such as "Strong"). Health 35, attack 7, defense 13 (super, though it doesn't help against magicJ), damage 8-10; in melee combat half as much. They shoot fireballs just like their "younger brothers," dealing damage to everyone regardless of whether they are friend or foe. In some cases, this is not very good. Speed very fast (6), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 24, but cost 900!!! According to the computer, this unit is the second strongest shooter in the game. There are other opinions.
Troll. Another shooter from the Barbarian castle. Health 40, attack 10, defense 5 (a bit sad), damage 5-7 (low for a fifth level), half as much in hand-to-hand combat. However, this unit has a special property: after each round of battle it regenerates, meaning the number of lives of a wounded unit is full again (40)! Speed medium (4), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 8, cost 600.
War Troll. Health 40, attack 10, defense 5, damage 7-9; in melee combat half as much. Regeneration, occupies one cell on the battlefield, speed fast (5), shots 16, cost 750. Not cheap.
Mage. One of the shooters of the titan castle. Health 30, attack 11, defense 7, damage 7-9; does not depend on the type of attack! Speed fast (5), occupies one cell on the battlefield. Shots 12, cost 600.
Archmage. Health 35, attack 12 (excellent!), defense 8, damage 7-9; does not depend on the type of attack! Speed very fast (6) and this is pleasing, occupies one cell on the battlefield. Shots 24, cost 700. Additionally, there is a chance (one in five) to remove a spell from the attacked unit! An interesting unit, though not easy to build up (the problem is that to upgrade mages it is necessary to build the special structure "library," and for that you need gems, just as for building the main pride of the castle – titans).

Sixth level.
Well, here only one reigns...
Titan! The best shooter in the titan castle and the best shooter in the game "Heroes of Might and Magic. Part 2". Health 300 (only black dragons can boast such an indicator), attack-defense 15 (the highest indicators in the game), damage 20-30 (a bit low, less than even bone dragons, not to mention their colored brethren) does not depend on the type of attack. Speed very fast (6), occupies one cell on the battlefield, shots 24. Mind magic does not work (paralysis, blindness, berserk, hypnosis). An excellent unit, but extremely difficult to build up, and moreover, the cost is the maximum in the game: 5000 and 2 gems!

Let's try to summarize some points.
1) Shooters are generally more expensive than non-shooting units.
2) Shooters generally have fewer health points than non-shooting units of the same level.
3) Shooters (with the exception of mages/archmages and titans) deal half as much damage in melee combat as they do when shooting (for archers and elves/grand elves, it is even 4 times less).
4) Almost all shooters occupy one cell on the battlefield (except centaurs).
5) Shooters are a priority target when the computer chooses a target for destruction; that is, they hit shooters first.

From this follow the conclusions:
1) Shooters should be protected in every way from direct contact with enemy units;
2) When storming castles, one must understand that you will likely have to part with some shooters (towers);
3) If there is an "anti-magic" spell in the magic book, consider whether to cast it on the shooters;
4) The "slow" spell (and especially "mass slow") can seriously help when playing with shooters;
5) Blocking enemy shooters is one of the typical techniques in the game, which can significantly affect the outcome of the battle and losses.

In addition, the following factors must be taken into account:
1) the number of shots for shooters is limited (from 8 to 24);
2) if the hero has the "ammunition wagon/infinite supply" artifact, the number of shots for shooters is unlimited.

Soon we will consider issues of tactical struggle for and against shooters.

Let's continue examining the topic
We remember that the distribution of shooters among castles is as follows:
-) Knight – 1 (second level, shooters/archers);
-) Barbarian – 2 (second level orcs/orc chiefs, fifth level trolls/war trolls);
-) Phoenix – 2 (third level elves/grand elves, fourth level druids/great druids);
-) Necromancer – 1 (fifth level liches/strong liches);
-) Titan – 3 (first level halflings, fifth level mages/archmages, sixth upgraded level titans);
-) Black Dragon – 1 (first level centaurs).

We also remember that all shooters except the centaur occupy one cell on the battlefield, as well as that all except mages/archmages and titans deal half damage in melee combat.

Now we will move to an extremely important part: how, actually, to play with shooters and how to play against shooters.

Taking into account all the above factors, we understand that the opponent's shooters must be forced into hand-to-hand combat. In this regard, let's stop in more detail on combat tactics in the game "Heroes of Might and Magic. Part II."

The field in the game is a rectangular grid consisting of regular hexagons ("hexagons"). When you load the game next time, set "show battle grid" in the settings, and everything will become clear. There are 9 of these hexagons in width and 11 in length. That is, when placing five units, one free cell remains between them. And between two opposite units occupying ONE cell, the distance is 9 cells; between units with a width of one and two cells – 8 cells; between two two-cell units – the distance is 7 cells.
What does this mean in practice? That a unit with medium speed (4) needs 3 turns to reach an opposite unit occupying one cell, and 2 turns to reach an opposite unit occupying 2 cells. For example, skeletons will take three turns to get to halflings, but 2 turns to get to centaurs! Or (a less typical example), despite the same medium speed (4), ogre lords will reach titans in 3 turns, and medusas – in 2 turns! And in the case where champions stand opposite centaurs (or dragons, or other two-cell units), they arrive in just one turn!!
Turns are made depending on the "speed" parameter. Within a group with the same speed indicator, the first turn is for the top unit of the side that hasn't moved yet (if no one has moved – for the attacker), then the top unit of the second side, then the second from the top unit of the first side and so on; that is, turns are made as if in a "snake-ladder" pattern. The presence of morale can play a pleasant or unpleasant trick: the higher the morale (maximum +3), the higher the chance that a unit will move again during its turn; the lower it is (minimum –3), the higher the probability that it won't move at all.
In the case of playing with shooters, you need to think about how to avoid melee combat. Usually, this is done by surrounding the shooters with your own units.
Example of a battle with halflings and golems against goblins (without taking morale into account).
1) initial setup: first unit – almost all hobbits except 1, second unit – 1 golem, third unit – 1 golem, fourth unit – all other golems (another option is to divide the golems into three equal parts), fifth unit – 1 halfling (he will die).
2) Started. First turn – all goblins moved. Halflings shoot, golems move up without exposing themselves to a hit.
3) All goblins moved. Halflings shoot. Golems surround the top unit of halflings. They attack the first unit of goblins only if they can wipe out that unit. At the same time, the halfling unit must be completely surrounded.
4) Goblins hit golems and kill the bottom halfling. Halflings shoot. Golems hit only if they can wipe out a unit. Meanwhile, the halflings must remain completely surrounded.
5) And so on until complete final victory. Losses – 1 halfling and a few golems (or maybe the golems survive).

It goes without saying that morale, which might fall to the goblins on the second turn, can very significantly affect the results of the battle, even to the opposite.
Battles with undead are very convenient to calculate (for example, skeletons, upgraded zombies, unupgraded mummies) – they have no morale.

And one more very well-known algorithm. If you have a shooting unit with high speed against non-flying slow troops, you can try to "run around." The essence is simple: a unit approaches – we don't shoot, but run away from it; it follows us – we still run; it follows us – we (calculating that it won't catch up this turn) shoot, then it approaches – we run away and so on. You only need to remember three factors – the number of shots (if there is an artifact providing ammunition – you can forget about this), where to run so as not to be caught, and suddenly appearing morale for the pedestrian.

In addition, it is important to master the "let them surround me" technique. If there are any obstacles on the battlefield, there is a possibility that among several units some will go around the obstacle from one side and some from another. And we will pick them off one by one. This technique, by the way, is very often used in "Heroes of Might & Magic. Part 3".

Now let's try to draw some conclusions:
1. Put a grid on the battlefield;
2. Before attacking, you should think about how to arrange your troops;3. When going on a campaign, remember that battle can break out unexpectedly, so your formation should always be as combat-ready as possible;
4. When fighting large armies, you can sacrifice one shooter by placing them fifth (they will end up at the bottom of the battlefield) – some enemy detachments will be distracted by them, giving your shooters more time to fire;
5. During battle, calculate where the opponent will move on their next turn (you can try to calculate several turns ahead);
6. Use the nuances of the battlefield – this can not only reduce losses but may change the outcome of the battle!


To begin, I will remind you that in HOMM2, the income brought by a castle is 1250 gold per day (CD castle – 1750). For comparison: in HOMM3, with similar unit prices, the income of one castle is 4000 gold per day. Furthermore. The cost of weekly creature growth in HOMM2 ranges from 11 685 (knights) to 25 500 (titans) (the cost of special resources – sulfur, gems, mercury, crystal – is conventionally taken as 250 gold). Thus, it becomes clear that the cost of weekly growth exceeds the weekly income of the castle. Certain problems follow from this; in particular, one must think about what to build, when and why, as well as whom to buy out and why.
Attempts to introduce certain coefficients that would reflect the true utility of troops have been made repeatedly. It is clear that with an equal number of health points, vampire lords are stronger than ogres, and grand elves are stronger than zombies. It is clear that despite the computer rating, an elf is stronger than a pikeman, while a skeleton is weaker than both a centaur and a thief. It is obvious that shooting increases the value of troops (the absence of direct collisions with the enemy reduces losses), while low speed decreases it (helplessness against arrow fire and magic). An unretaliated strike, magical abilities of creatures or immunity to magic, mass attack, double attack, special abilities like regeneration for trolls, restoration for vampire lords, or the probability of removing half the troops for djinns – all of this increases troop efficiency. They become more durable or "biting."
I tried to derive a certain formula that would take into account all the main parameters of a unit, which I include:
-) number of health points;
-) attack-defense parameters;
-) damage;
-) speed;
-) ability to shoot or fly;
-) immunity to magic (necromancer troops, dwarves, golems, giants/titans, phoenixes, colored dragons, etc.);
-) magical abilities (mummies, unicorns, medusas, cyclops, archmagi);
-) double attack, unretaliated strike, extended attack, mass attack, counterattack (griffon), absence of melee penalty for shooters (mages, titans);
-) special abilities (vampire lords, trolls, djinns, witches, bone dragons);
-) unit cost;
-) unit building cost.

As a result of independent calculations and analysis of a number of materials on this problem, I came to the following conclusion: a universal formula that would correctly account for all the above factors according to their "weight" is extremely difficult to derive; moreover, its appearance seems highly unlikely. For example, how do you account for the fact that the strength of vampire lords increases non-linearly with their number—that is, 30 vampire lords are not three times stronger than 10 vampire lords, but at least four?!
It should also be noted here that numerous studies have been conducted to determine the comparative strength of creatures. This is mainly done through "sparring" in one quantitative ratio or another. The results of these studies are quite curious, but nothing more. It is clear that a troll wins almost every "one-on-one" duel, but this by no means means that in practical gameplay he is better than, for example, a phoenix. Also understandable is the mighty power of 100 vampire lords, and the much smaller relative strength of one vampire lord. It is equally obvious that units like dwarves, iron golems, and ogres defeat most flying units of similar levels and at the same time lose without a fight to shooters of lower levels. However, all these inquiries are quite far from practical gameplay. Most results are obvious even before testing, and the fact that "slow-movers" can be used against flying troops, while conversely, flying, shooting, and fast detachments are needed against shooters—and it may not even be the slow-movers' turn—is something any practitioner would say, or even someone who has simply carefully read my previous materials.

So, let us formulate the problem of this study in detail: when playing on "impossible" level (chess king piece, no starting resources or gold), due to the deficit of gold and resources, building up the castle (specifically, creature dwellings) is difficult; moreover, there is not enough gold to buy out all troops. In connection with this, two questions arise: whether to build a certain building, and which troops to buy out.
First, some examples.
In an elf castle, full development can be carried out by bypassing the construction of dwarves. The question of the expediency of building dwarves (requiring a tavern for 500 gold and 5 wood, a cottage for 1000 gold and 5 wood, and in case of upgrading the dwarves another 1500 gold and 5 wood) should be decided depending on the availability of free gold, resources, as well as the potential utility of dwarves in the upcoming struggle. And personally, one of the main arguments for me is the presence of a "fort on the hill" building within sight, which allows upgrading dwarves without charge—that is, for free. Thus, we get normal troops without building an upgrade for them and at a lower price.
In a knight castle, paladins (sixth level) can be placed without building cavalrymen (5th level). As a rule, when the choice arises: build paladins or cavalrymen, the higher level is chosen. This is understandable and in most cases justified. But after some time, the question arises: whether to place cavalrymen. Let's say right away: if a player thinks about this question, it already speaks to their certain strength. Now about the essence of the choice: one can either upgrade other troops or (on separate maps) build a shipyard or place cavalrymen. Here too, many things must be considered: look around for the "foundry" special building (allows upgrading pikemen and swordsmen without charge—meaning money and resources are freed up), evaluate the need for cavalrymen in further struggle, look around for promising villages: maybe it's better to capture one and use those 20 wood to build a castle there... And of course, playing the POL ("The Price of Loyalty") version on so-called "new" or "extended" maps, you must check if there is a "stable" special building nearby, where cavalrymen will turn into swift champions completely free of charge. This is a serious argument in favor of building cavalrymen ...
So, it has become clear that the topic is relevant, but without universal recipes. Nevertheless, I would like to list a number of units whose purchase would be quite interesting.
Witches (Ghost). In 99% of cases, purchasing this unit is justified. Moreover, almost always after buying this unit, building other units is no longer necessary.
Djinns. At an early stage of the game, fast flying troops are a very serious argument. And at a late stage of the game, the probability of removing half a detachment is a huge threat!
Red Dragons. Yes, their construction is not easy. But at a price of 3500 gold and 1 (just one!) sulfur, you get the 2nd or 3rd strongest unit in the game, moreover, immune to magical attacks.
Bone Dragons. Development does not require a huge amount of a specific resource (as in other castles); everything is quite balanced. At a price of 1500 gold and nothing else (no resources), getting a flying unit with 150 health and damage 25-45, moreover immune to mind magic and reducing the opponent's morale by one—that is good! And if you also have "raise dead" magic ...
Champions. A significant nuance here is the amount of wood required for construction. Otherwise—with very high speed (7) and a cost of 375, we get a unit with 40 health! If there are stables nearby—buy cavalrymen and upgrade them in the stable!
Ogre Lords (ogres will also do against flyers). Lots of health and inexpensive. In the presence of a fort on the hill, buy ogres and upgrade them without charge (that is, for free)—and that's almost victory!
In the presence of a foundry, purchasing golems and swordsmen also deserves attention (pikemen look slightly less interesting—here the main and almost only plus is the defense rating of 9).
In the presence of a fort on the hill, buying dwarves and orcs seems quite interesting.
Besides the above units, practically all level 6 units seem quite interesting, as well as rocs (they fly!), wolves (good speed), vampire lords (provided there are at least 23!), griffons (unlimited number of counterattacks), gargoyles (good speed combined with flight and decent defense), specifically against flying units—hydras (mass unretaliated attack allows reducing losses), when playing for the Necropolis—king mummies (speed, ability).
Naturally, these assumptions are far from indisputable; they are not based on fundamental calculations, although they take into account parameters such as unit price per HP (one health point), unit price per computer rating point, as well as intuition and experience—the most important parameters for the magnificent strategy "Heroes of Might and Magic 2".


A continuation may follow ...
Best wishes, Qwerty