Overview – The combat system in Heroes 5. — Manuals

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The Battle System in Heroes 5

The battle system in Heroes 5 will be different compared to previous installments: these will be changes or simply a revival of old traditions.

The Battlefield

A noticeable difference from previous Heroes games will be the introduction of a square grid for the battlefield. Yes, now the field will consist of a certain number of square cells. In the videos provided by the developers, it was shown that small creatures occupy one cell, while large ones, such as elephants or dragons, occupy 4 cells. The shadow of movement has also returned. However, creatures now have fewer options in choosing the direction of movement, as the field now consists of squares. Below is a small screenshot of the battlefield and the shadow of movement:

In the early stages of development, Nival decided to choose a system where the size of the field would vary depending on the number of creatures participating in the battle. But after many tests and closed beta testing, they concluded that the field should be 8x10 squares. It may seem small to many, but I think the tests were not done in vain. Of course, in previous series, the field was larger, for example, in Heroes 3, according to my calculations, it was 11x15, and in Heroes 4 - 9x17. A full army in Heroes 5 occupies 10 cells.

Here are the conclusions from what has been said:

The field consists of square cells.
Small creatures occupy 1 cell, and large ones occupy 4.
The battle field is 8x10.
The battlefield for the siege mode is also 8x10.

Heroes in Battles

The innovation introduced in Heroes 4 regarding the participation of Heroes in battles is now partially canceled. Some types of Heroes will still participate in battles to some extent, but the main task of the heroes is to use magic and increase the parameters of their army (damage, defense, attack, etc.).
Only certain types of heroes will be able to participate in battles, and this will depend on special hero skills. For example, Holy Charge, a skill of Haven heroes, allows them to enter the battle and attack all enemy units around the hero. Heroes, so to speak, will be able to enter the battlefield in a certain place to perform certain actions that depend on the specific faction, and their abilities will increase as their power grows. But still, Heroes will be as important as in the first three games. Also, heroes will no longer be able to fight without troops, and troops without a hero.

Here are the conclusions from what has been said:

Heroes will mainly perform functions as in Heroes 3.
Some types of Heroes will be able to take some part in the battle, depending on their power and the specialization of the faction.
Heroes cannot be "killed" as in Heroes 4.
Heroes cannot fight without creatures, and creatures cannot be without heroes.

Battle Mechanism

The counterattack will be implemented as in Heroes 3 - all the innovations regarding instant attack immediately after the opponent's attack, as in Heroes 4, are canceled. In Heroes 3, it looked like this: the attacker strikes, and after it's the damaged unit's turn to respond. Also, the terrain on which the battle takes place will influence the course of the battle - for example, for Inferno, the best battlefield will be the hellish land, and for Necropolis, the cursed land, etc. And accordingly, this will give the faction for which this land is native some bonuses, the specifics of which are not yet known. Now, all Heroes, even without the "Tactical Skill," will be able to arrange their creatures on the battlefield in the first two rows of their side before the battle begins.

Conclusions from what has been said:

Counterattack as in Heroes 3.
The terrain affects the state of creatures and their power, and accordingly gives or takes away certain parameters.
Each hero, even without the "Tactics" skill, can arrange creatures before the start of the battle in the first two rows.

Complete Innovations

I would also like to emphasize those features that will be specifically new in Heroes 5. As I wrote above, a new feature will be that some types of heroes will be able to take some part in the battle, performing various actions depending on the faction. The next very controversial and quite interesting innovation is the "Dynamic Battle System": this new method is based on "Activity Points." The opponent's army slowly accumulates activity points, and if you don't do anything for a long time, it will be able to attack you. This will give you the opportunity to think faster and attack so as not to be attacked by the enemy :). Each player is given approximately 10-15 seconds to take action. This is not real-time, as Nival says, but it is something that brings Heroes closer to it. Although, in my opinion, Heroes is a turn-based strategy. This mode is designed for fast battles and is a gift for those players who do not like to wait. But don't worry, this option is not mandatory; it can be turned off, so those who want to play in the old way can continue to do so.
The system of creature turns from Heroes 1-4 will now be replaced by the so-called "initiative system." Each creature will be endowed with a certain value of the initiative parameter, and this will allow low-initiative creatures to even be attacked twice by more initiative creatures. This will add even more opportunities for tactical thinking to the gameplay. The initiative bar will be at the bottom of the screen, and users can build certain plans by evaluating it.