comanche
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You don't need a template at all to capture objects; you need armies of different races and the objects themselves. You can draw them yourself in the editor, or use ready-made ones to practice.
There's absolutely no point in playing until the end (killing the AI). Don't pay any attention to its existence. If you start SMC, try to get a secondary skill on the first week, capture available crypts, and scout the territory. On the second week, assemble an army—take the most useful creatures from respawns (consoles, hives)—and go to the treasure zone (rattle the hydras). By the third week, break into Utopia, then crack the GO. Watch your losses to make sure they're acceptable (not like you killed them but ended up with nothing left).
Mass Slow will help a lot in battles against neutrals, so Earth is mandatory.
Logistics allows the hero to move further (especially when speed-boosted, meaning the speed of the slowest creature in the hero's army should ideally be no less than 11). A mandatory skill.
Remember: capturing the first Hive is hard, but after two, it gets much easier.
I'm aware of the optimal set of secondary skills—I'm not new to Heroes—but I've never tried playing better than "against AI on 200%". I've never set myself goals like capturing a Hive in the first week; I'd just take it when convenient, etc.
As for the AI, I had the same thoughts. There's no real point in finishing the game, because after 2–3 weeks, playing against AI and playing against a human have nothing in common, and continuing is simply a waste of time.
