Posts from The fastest start in "Clash of Heroes" on "hard" difficulty.

People (those who play on a higher difficulty level), share your experiences: which hero do you choose, how do you level them up, what do you build, etc., during the first one or two weeks? Especially if the opponent is a Light faction mage. I've come to the conclusion that the best option is to choose a mage hero with a +40 mana specialization and immediately take the "Restoration" skill. If there's a Shrine of Knowledge nearby, which gives free experience, then first take "Education" and then "Restoration." If not, on the first level, you get a hero with 70 mana, "Restoration," 8 goblins, and 8 harpies. This is usually enough to capture the sawmill and mine without losses. On the third level, I take "Tactics" to remove goblins from the battlefield when needed and leave only harpies. This helps to deal with archers with minimal mana loss (or no loss at all). On levels 4-6, I put one skill point into "Healing" and two into "Earth Magic." I usually finish the first week at level 5-6. For my second hero, I choose a mage with a +2 scout specialization, level up their resource gathering, and replace their harpies. Now I have around 15 harpies. I always try to build scouts, a market, and a town hall up to +2000 gold during the first week. This is often a problem – it's not always possible to build scouts, but it's important for the second week. Scouts become especially strong with the mage hero, especially considering the Earth Magic enhancement. If everything I've written works out, then playing in the second week becomes easy.

Earth Idol is amazing!

I played as a mage, and it was a breeze. I took 40 Furies and attacked 7 Sacred Kirins. Normally, it would cost a lot of mana to win without losses. But with the Earth Idol, it was much easier: I positioned the Furies in a corner and then protected them with the Idol. The four-tile Kirins simply couldn't attack the Furies and just defended themselves while I defeated them all with my hero. :)

It's also possible to use four-tile melee units like Goblins to defeat, for example, Archangels!

Added 22 minutes ago

On the third level, I take Tactics to remove Goblins from the battlefield when needed and leave only Harpies. This helps to deal with archers with minimal mana loss (or no loss at all). On levels 4-6, I put one skill point into Healing and two into Earth Magic. I usually finish the first week on levels 5-6.

Now, it's a bit different. In general, I choose skills based on the situation from level three. If I need to defeat mages on the map, I go for Healing; if it's melee units, I go for Stone Skin. If I don't have an additional hero and the neutrals aren't too strong, I go for Tactics. In short, I need to choose skills based on the situation. The main thing is to know the hero's development plan.

When I play a skirmish against a Light faction mage, I take the following skills:
1. Restoration.
2. Education.
3. Stone Skin.
4. Earth Magic.
5. Protection.
6. Reinforcements.
7. Tactics.
8. Healing.
9. General Restoration.
10. General Stone Skin.
11. Earth Magic 2.
12. General Healing.
13. Logistics.
14. Dispel.
15. Earth Elemental.
16. Earth Magic 3.
17. Petrify.
I don't take any other spells. After that, I only level up passive Physical skills. In principle, I sometimes take them earlier if I don't acquire artifacts that boost mana.

In my opinion, an Orc mage specializing in Tears is very powerful. The Earth Idol and Blessing of the Motherland are significant advantages when going down the Tears path and leveling up Earth Magic. The possibilities for a quick start are simply enormous. And those who try to go down the Blood path and level up Warriors can suffer. They will never be able to start as quickly as an Orc mage specializing in Tears with a +40 mana bonus.

Here's another trick: how to defeat melee units with Harpies and Restoration without losses. The fact is that Harpies usually have a higher initiative than neutrals. Therefore, if you can't run away from a melee unit, you need to wait, let them attack once, but then the Harpies will get to move twice in a row. In these two turns, you can run away. As a result, the Harpies will attack once every two turns, and therefore you will need to restore less health.

Against mages and archers, you can effectively use Snakemen: they have high magic and physical resistance and can defend for one turn and cast spells in the next. Combined with Restoration, Stone Skin, and Healing, you can defeat quite tough neutrals for 40 mana. Therefore, you should definitely build them in the first week and take an additional hero with a +2 Snakemen specialization (total of 10 on the second week).

In short, you can confidently choose a mage and level up in Tears against any opponent in a skirmish with Orcs. The skirmish is won by the one who defeats the neutrals faster. Therefore, for a skirmish, only a mage and only Tears are the way to go. If you disagree, write! (I play on a difficult level).

And can’t idols be destroyed, just like the gates of Inferno?

Apparently, the computer with a fifth-generation processor hasn't gotten any smarter; it simply ignores them.

Yesterday, I decided to play a duel between Sanctuary and Stronghold against a medium AI, and right away, panthers rushed in, dealing significant damage to two units. Then, harpies took someone out, followed by centaurs dealing a lot of damage. And only then did the units from Sanctuary start moving. What's going on? After all, Kirin have the highest initiative; they should be the first to move.

You probably played against a mage – orcs-mages have a passive ability that increases the initiative of their units by 5% and reduces the initiative of enemy units by 5%. So, that's the reason.