- A reference guide and manual in Russian for Heroes 3.

Dear AmberSoler, I have a few thoughts on how to improve this most useful reference guide.

Thank you for that. You're doing a useful thing, indeed :)

- the brief descriptions of specializations are slightly unclear

Hero specializations are a topic worthy of a dissertation, nothing less. :) I'll be honest—I simply haven't had the time to dig in and verify this math, because 20% is ideas, and 80% is verifying statistics in practice and adjusting the idea... although it is interesting, there isn't always time.

for example, you could specify that "Offense" increases the percentage value of the "Offense" skill by 5% per level, rather than the attack itself.

By the "Offense" skill, you mean damage, do I understand you correctly? That is exactly how it works; you are right.

- the "Wizardry" skill - it's interesting that the percentage resurrected is not from the number of killed creatures, but perhaps from the amount of HP of the killed creatures, I don't know for sure.

If the victim's health is less than the health of the unit being raised, the calculation is based on the total HP of the victim's stack. Otherwise—on the number of units in the stack. Each stack is calculated separately (rounding down to the nearest whole number) and then the results are summed.

It's also unclear how many undead are resurrected when having the "Cloak of the Undead King" artifact, because fewer ghosts are resurrected than zombies, and fewer liches than ghosts.

The calculation is simple: we take the total HP in the victim's stack and divide it by the HP of the unit we are raising. This gives us the maximum number that can actually be raised in this case. (Or we simply take the number of units in the victim's stack—the difference between these options was written above). Then we multiply this number by a coefficient (which depends on the level of the Wizardry skill, the Wizardry specialization, and the presence of Necromancy Boosters). The result is the number of skeletons/guardians/liches... The difference lies in the fact that they have different HP values.

A chapter has already been written on this topic and will be published with the release of the new version—v.1.11

- a specialization for a certain type of creature adds +1 to speed (this is obvious) and also "Increases Defense and Offense skills of any creatures of this type for each level reached after level X"—how should this be understood—does an increase of +1 to attack and defense occur every X levels, i.e., at level X +1, at level 2X +2, etc.?

Roughly so... Attack and defense grow every X levels, where X is a variable number. I think there's a non-linear function here, and the determining factor is not only the hero's level but also the unit's level, or maybe something else... But it hasn't been possible to identify a strict dependency. In the "Discussions" section of my site, you can find a polemic on this topic; there is a lot of information there, but it still hasn't been consolidated into one piece. That's why I haven't touched upon this issue yet.

- specialization for a spell: "Strengthens the spell by comparing the hero's level with the target's level (the bonus is higher when used on weak units)." By how much does it strengthen? Clearly not by the difference between the hero's level and the target's level (checked through experience).

In theory, most hero specializations develop as the hero's level increases. But it's not a fact that this applies to spell specialists. It is quite possible that a spell specialist has a standard fixed bonus given initially which remains unchanged thereafter. I don't know for sure—it needs testing.

- I wonder where one can see these mysterious MP (movement points) for heroes?

Technically, of course this can be done, but only at the software level by creating a utility that returns these coefficients from the program's own core. Obviously, variables exist that account for the MP reserve during movement, but why do you need them? The initial movement allowance is determined based on the speed of the slowest unit. MP consumption during movement follows strict laws and depends on the terrain type, the presence of roads, and MP boosters along the way. The presence of artifacts, secondary skills Logistics and Pathfinding, as well as a Logistics specialization also matter. That's it—there are no other modifiers, and the calculation is not very complex if you know the basic principles.

Information on the correspondence between MP and the fill level of the "green bar" would also be useful. How much MP does each plus sign beyond a full bar symbolize? Can the amount of MP be greater than with 3 plus signs?

This is all just tinkering :) The indicator is quite rough and is intended to help those who don't understand the basics of logistics. Otherwise, there isn't much sense in relying on it. Two heroes starting the day with "three pluses on a green background" will be able to travel completely different distances. And this will depend on many factors.

- on page 26 (Determining army size for neutrals in different versions of HMM III), the column for 'The Shadow of Death' lists 1-4 as "few", whereas in my version of SoD, it is "several"; perhaps a patch to version 3.2 changes the name of the quantity? (I have 3.00)

I have SoD 3.2. And in my version, for a unit count of 1-4 it says "couple", and for 5-9 it says "few".

- on page 46 (Analysis of unit efficiency for each castle and general impression), in my opinion, a more detailed description of city development features, tactics, and strategies when playing them could be made. I want more :)

The format of the reference guide (please note—not a textbook) does not allow for long text expositions, and Excel is not suited for this either. There are an infinite number of tactics and strategies, while the reference guide is created only to present information that has a strictly fixed value set by the developers and is not disputed.

Do you know even one tactic regulated by the game manufacturer? :) Here—as many people as there are opinions, agree?

With all due respect to you AmberSoler, on p. 21 (Calculation of damage dealt in battle), the damage calculation is not entirely correct.

Well, let's assume the calculation is actually correct! :)\
It's just that, in my view, you presented it incorrectly:

Your version:

b) according to the reference guide
U1=U
U2=U1-U1*(D-A)*2.5%=623 considering the AD difference
U2=U2+U1*46.5%=1037 considering the "Offense" skill
U3=U2-U2*15%=881 considering the "Armorer" skill
U3=U3-U3*30%=616 considering the "Shield" spell

Below is how you should have presented it:

b) according to the reference guide
U1=U
U2=U1-U1*(D-A)*2.5%=623 considering the AD difference
U2=U2*(1+46.5%)=913 considering "Offense", or like this: U2=U2+U1*46.5%*(1-[D-A]*2.5%)=913
U3=U2-U2*15%=776 considering the "Armorer" skill
U3=U3-U3*30%=543 considering the "Shield" spell

Because the text says literally the following: "If the attacker has the Offense skill, then damage U2 is increased by... 30%" (or 46.5%, as in our case). In other words, you added a portion of base damage without reducing it by the corresponding coefficient considering the AD difference. After all, in cases where offense is less than defense, the victim's "defense bonus" reduces all attacker parameters... Review carefully once more what is written in the reference guide and compare it with your interpretation.

And another thing—you consider the spells "Shield" and "Air Shield", but you don't touch upon ones like "Stone Skin", "Precision", "Bloodlust", etc. In my view, they shouldn't be included in the formula at all. Spells modify initial conditions and each acts in its own way. For the same reason, the effect of Offense specializations is not mentioned there, as they simply modify the secondary skill Offense...

But damage calculation depends on the attack and defense of units, as well as the secondary skills Offense and Armor for heroes... The topic was dedicated specifically to this fundamental question. And I wouldn't want to complicate it, because in that case, many more things would need to be added.

Now, as for the form of presenting the calculation itself—it is not entirely strict, not mathematical... :) And here I agree with you.

Initially, I had the thought of modifying it by linking it to formulas. However, over time, I decided that a step-by-step description of the mechanism is still more visual and acceptable for understanding. And this is more important than the strictness of formulas. But I like your way of presenting the material. Let's just have me provide your calculations and unified formulas as a system of equations below :) Those who need it will figure it out!

- I haven't been into heroes long enough to make discoveries in the "physics of the world", but as a Новичок, I can appreciate the accessibility and functionality of this reference guide

Thank you and good luck in your battles!

P.s. I will be glad for any questions or comments...

Respectfully,
AmberSoler