Posts from Haven tactics.

What units should I develop to counter Gnomes, and what surprises might Gnomes have in store?

In this situation, I would choose Dungeon. There, you can use spells to reduce enemy armor, which is very important. And what map are you playing on?

A dwarf can be developed towards either Chaos or Light, with roughly equal chances for both magic types. If I knew the opponent was going for Chaos, I would have chosen Darkness, but if it turns out they go for Light, they will be able to counter your mass spells with opposing spells. Light looks good; it's more versatile against a dwarf. You could try taking "Seal of Light"; if the dwarf goes for Light, they will have a hard time. And runes can be a real surprise... However, there's nothing you can do about them. I sometimes also take Vengeance and Readiness for humans. This creates a kind of killing machine, the only downside is that it might not have enough levels for magic. And you'll probably have to forgo Logistics... That's why I don't develop this way very often; usually, I focus on either attack or defense perks. But I always consider Logistics essential. The dwarf probably won't have it, so by taking Logistics, you gain an advantage, and your development will be faster.

Chaos has a slightly higher advantage, around 10%, compared to Light's 8%. Regarding Darkness, with a Dwarf, you can't remove the protection from 2 units (for example, with a Destructive Ray), you can't inflict Berserk on 1 unit, and mind magic doesn't work on 1 unit at all. Regarding readiness, if the Dwarf goes against Chaos (there's a 30% chance for his magic power to activate), Dwarves generally perform better in defense with their perks like "No Retreat" and Defensive Guard. I think in this case, the Dwarf won't attack until he has weakened Chaos's army. Added after 52 seconds Consequently, the question is, if I switch to Light and attack, will I break his defense with equal troops? Added after 4 minutes The map is medium-sized; I don't know which one it is yet. Let's consider what can be used against a Dwarf with Chaos, employing a defensive tactic. And what can be done against a Dwarf with Light, using an attacking strategy? Here's another suggestion: what if the Knight focuses on Darkness (with the general slowdown and Fallen Knight), but takes an attack perk that gives a general speed boost of 30% and a defense perk with Stone Skin, providing +9 protection, in order to have Light magic? The battle would go like this: general slowdown, general Stone Skin, general speed boost. And perhaps Overseer

So, let's talk about stats. The Knight's attack is comparable to the Dwarf's defense, but Dwarves usually have education, which gives them additional defense points, and their troops are very strong, so you can expect small amounts of damage. In this situation, the spells "Divine Might" and "Wrath" would be very useful. And if you also take "Stone Skin," the Dwarves will deal quite a bit less damage. In general, focusing on the defensive properties of your troops is a reasonable strategy, in my opinion. And I think that if you're expecting a Dwarf with Chaos magic, you can take fire resistance in the Light skill tree, as Dwarves prefer fire magic the most, and the perk will be very useful.

:) what can you surprise a dwarf with? ))

Well, if your potential opponent is a Dwarf and he's registered on this forum, it's unlikely you'll be able to surprise him, as he's probably reading this thread. Personally, I would try to limit his initiative. Take a slowing spell from the Dungeon faction and a speed-boosting spell from the Haven faction, cast them one after the other, and the Dwarf will barely get a turn. Definitely use Retribution. And... I don't think there's much you can surprise humans with; it's not like the Universal creatures, such as Dwarves. They are warriors, and if they are mages, it's only to a small extent.

Humans are primarily a defensive race; you should develop their defense as much as possible, as gnomes have a weak attack. You can take "Readiness" (griffins become even stronger after that). And to surprise them... if a Knight casts Armageddon (it's funny), and you also have a Fire Lord, it will significantly reduce the gnome's defense... then the gnome will be very surprised)). But seriously, I agree with Major – there's not much to surprise them with.

I recently played with a friend – I was playing as a Dwarf, and he was playing as Humans. Our armies were practically equal; I had 10 dragons, and he had 10 Fallen Angels. He had about twice as many horses as I had Yarlo. (But in general, he specialized in archers and trained them extensively.) My stats were level 27 (11-14-30-19) with attack/luck 3/1; his were level 24 (24-21-6-8) with attack/luck 5/5. In the end, I didn't need any runes or to move around much at all. I just cast Armageddon twice with Pyromancy (1046 damage), and that was it. Since I felt that victory would be easy, I only deployed those who were not vulnerable to fire (dragons, Yarlo, Flame Priests), so my losses were minimal – 3 dragons, and that was all. This is something to consider: perhaps the Dwarf should have Slow, and he should have Haste, etc. But even so, the Dwarf can still win by simply using Chaos magic. Even though I'm more experienced than my friend and generally play better, he's also been playing Heroes for a while. He seemed to be doing everything right, and there weren't any major mistakes (I even ran into 18 Chaos Devils – I lost 8 Yarlo and a few Flame Priests). His build wasn't bad either. And I don't even know what to advise him, what major changes I would make if I were in his place. So, I'm also in deep thought about this now.

Recently, I played with a friend – I was playing as a Dwarf, and he was playing as Humans. Our armies were practically equal; I had 10 dragons, and he had 10 Fallen Angels. He had about three times more cavalry than I had Jarls, etc. My stats were level 27 (11-14-30-19) with attack/luck 3/1; his were level 24 (24-21-6-8) with attack/luck 5/5. In the end, I didn't need any runes or to move around at all. I just cast Armageddon twice with Pyromancy (1056 damage), and that was it... Since I felt that victory would be easy, I only deployed those who were not vulnerable to fire (dragons, Jarl, Flame Priests), so my losses were minimal – 1 dragon, a couple of Jarls, and a few Flame Priests...

Humans have almost no defense against Chaos. Except for fire resistance, which might have influenced the battle... Still, I think 30 points in spell power is a bit much for a Dwarf; it's usually less. Although, he was level 27 and probably had a good education... What artifacts did you have? On what map? And did you save the replay? I'd like to see such a mess :)

:) we'll resolve everything before level 20 at the latest. It's not a given that the Dwarf will choose Chaos. I agree, the Dwarf has enough troops with resistance and fire immunity, so the goal is to eliminate the troops before the Dwarf's hero does the same to yours, and for that, speed and slowing are needed. Regarding magic resistance... will resistance +15% in the overall defense help at all? Or should we still focus on Light, fire resistance, and attack with defense?

Don't forget that there are also artifacts that provide resistance. A Dwarf is not a Dark Elf; he won't overcome protection, and the reflected spell won't deal damage, so it's easier to deal with him. Finding boots with 10% resistance isn't difficult; add to that the 15% from luck, and you already have a decent amount. I'm not even talking about the possibility of finding the armor of a forgotten hero... Plus, simple artifacts that provide protection against certain elements, such as Silanna's cloak, a ring of lightning resistance, an ice shield, etc.

Humans have almost no defense against Chaos. Except for fire resistance, which could have influenced the outcome of the battle... Besides, I think 30 spell power is a bit much for a dwarf; it's usually less. Although, he was level 27 and probably had some education... What artifacts did you have? On what map? And did you save the replay? I want to see this mess :)

Yes, I specifically chose a heroine with education; she can also get a rune for leveling up, and I also found an artifact that gives +20% to experience gained (see the difference in levels: mine is 27, and the opponent's is 24, although both cleared their entire territory on the Battle for Honor map), so that's probably why he had 30 spell power (I had +5 to spellcasting from artifacts), + I also had an artifact that gives +50% to fire magic!!! And the opponent had a Kuzii Hammer, which reduces enemy fire damage by -25%. Indeed, fire resistance would probably have changed the situation; the opponent didn't have time to get it (he got light magic very late; they kept giving him dark magic...).
P.S. Replay:

Humans are primarily a defensive race; you need to develop their defense in every way possible, as gnomes have a weak attack.

It's unlikely to succeed; while gnomes have a weak attack, they have chaos magic and two types of priests. It will be especially difficult if they harass your rear with archers; then you will definitely have to attack. I really don't know how Haven can defeat a gnome; you need units that will force him to attack, such as true chaos units or necromancers with dark magic. It's difficult for a power-based race to defeat a gnome.

I finished a game playing as the Dwarf faction.
Honestly, I don't know which is better against the Dwarf: Darkness or Light.
On one hand, let them fight amongst themselves (and they can't use a rune and skip a turn with a unit that could have attacked you) + mass dispel, slow, and weaken.
And it's not a big deal if the defenders have the "armor" effect (remember, their armor cannot be reduced in any way); even a ballista with armor-piercing can't break it. :) And berserkers are immune to mass dispel magic (well, maybe others too); melee units with vampirism can quickly deal with them. :)

On the other hand, mass haste, mass smite, and mass divine shield, and the Dwarf's troops melt before your eyes. :)

And also, teleporting swordsmen to mages or archers, and I really liked the regeneration on level 7.

And the fire resistance perk; it doesn't matter if the Dwarf uses cold or earth magic; at least there's protection against mages and the Dwarf's lava dragons.

The only problem is that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can't get the upgrade you want, even after waiting 10 levels. :)

Added 7 minutes later
By the way, if anyone needs it, I can share replays of Heaven versus Dwarves.
In particular, several assaults on his fortress (and the final triple assault).

I'd like to discuss the problems of Heaven versus Dwarves. :)

Added 12 minutes later
In this battle, I relied on mass haste and mass smite or mass divine shield.

Unfortunately, haste wasn't available anywhere.

I had to play without it; it's fine in the field, but it turned out to be difficult during the siege. :)