Posts from Start on "Hero".

Hello everyone, I've encountered a problem on the "Hero" difficulty level while playing as the Academy. I first tried playing on a random map as the Orcs, but I dominated Haven for weeks because I only got a lumber mill and a mine (and some gems, but people had already cleared that area, and I just took it; they basically gave it to me). Now I'm trying again as the Orcs, but on the maps built into the game, and it's a bit easier. I'm using magic, distracting neutral creatures with gargoyles, and spamming magic under the Sign of the Elements, but I have to spend the night in the city because I run out of mana. As a result, the start feels a bit slow. Maybe you can give me some advice?

Well, mages are one of those factions that aren't too difficult to start with. Mana doesn't run out as quickly as it does for Warlocks. It's best to build mage guilds as quickly as possible, because the strength of mages lies more in the hero than in the troops. You can improve the summoning skill there, and you can definitely win. You can also choose a second school. Footmen work well with mines if they appear. Eliminate archers using the Sign of the Magician, and before that, quickly block them with some level 1 gargoyles. If you have a Crystal of Secrecy or a Wall of Swords, it's even easier.
In general, you have to look at the situation. It depends on who you're playing as and against, and what spells you have. Heroes depend heavily on random events.

If you're having trouble, I would just suggest that the author of the topic start with a simpler option. Even with Hafiz. Orks are often chosen because of their specialty, but people have noted more than once that the developers gave her too small values in the specialization, so it almost doesn't work in practice. Hafiz's specialty does work. + a bunch of gremlins and a ballista at the start. A strong hero, can even play in the late game, the main thing is to start quickly without any problems. Another option is Razaz. I wouldn't choose the others at the beginning, although you can later, if the game is going well for you.

The one who uses fireballs is very good for a quick start on small maps. Especially if the Phoenix Feather Cloak is somewhere nearby. And a well is definitely not superfluous. And ideally, Hafiz should be bought in the tavern in the first few weeks and used as a secondary hero.

And what makes Hafiz so strong? Gremlins are just cannon fodder, or if you have 70 gremlins (and if you buy another 20 in the town right away), that's almost a hundred, and they can deal good damage early on?

1) In the settings for random maps, you can reduce the strength of monsters while still getting the same amount of experience for defeating them.

2) He starts with a lot of archers + starting siege weapons (mages deal good damage with ballistae). You don't need to be afraid to take siege weapons against the AI.

Regarding Razaz, I've always been surprised. 15 weak, dilapidated golems – how can anyone even play with them?

I wouldn't recommend taking Razzak against the AI. He's much more interesting against a human opponent.

Defense for mages is difficult to acquire, but essential against most factions, and it's available from the start here.
With Razzak, the Golemageddon tactic (yellow golems + Armageddon) is interesting. As a last resort - Fireball. This allows you to deploy only golems against the opponent's army and cast Armageddon: we heal, the opponent dies.
Under Razzak, the golems are more durable (higher HP, defense, and damage reduction).

Besides, Razzak has an easy way to gain bonus daily power, which is almost cheating for a mage.

So, should he level up Chaos, walk around with that artifact, and damage his own units? What about mana? And will it even affect the hero? Should he immediately go for Alt Golems? And how does BDP make a mage overpowered?

Why use your own units? Only yellow golems are deployed on the battlefield.
Academics have the highest knowledge stat; do they really have mana problems? If they do, there's nothing stopping you from taking artifacts and skills that boost mana and knowledge. And on random maps, I often have a mana well.
You can search online (and there are even videos) on how to achieve Utopia in 1-2 weeks using the Build, Deploy, Power strategy. And it's easier for mages to do this – they can deal more damage in a shorter time thanks to their powerful spells.

Yes, I was referring to the yellow golems. The problem is that the Academy has a CATASTROPHIC shortage of gold on the hero, and the computer, to make matters worse, doesn't place any gold piles or chests when generating maps, a stupid random map creator, to be honest.

Gold sometimes doesn't appear in the native zone (location), but nearby.
Also, nothing prevents you from breaking into treasure vaults to obtain it.
And most importantly, the hero always receives gold from chests, and there are usually plenty of chests.

Sometimes there were problems with building the capital, but at most for 2-3 days, which is not that important against the AI.

The map generated for me is so bad that I'm just stuck on a small island, and besides overpowered level 4-5 units, there's almost nothing else there.