Posts from What tactics should I use with Dungeon against Stronghold in online play?

I personally play as the Dungeon faction, and I would crush everyone if it weren't for one thing: Dragons... In my opinion, if you take an artifact that allows you to resurrect Black Dragons (as far as I've read on the forum, such an artifact exists), then these are the strongest level 7 units in the game. In the case of Archangels, magic will help, Armageddon or regular magic, but the problem is in the online game via TCP/IP against Stronghold... there are other factions, but specifically Stronghold... The problem is this: as far as I remember, on turn 4-5 (sorry for the inaccuracy), you can build Ogres (if you're playing as a footman), and to build Dragons, you need all the buildings + level 2 magic... That is, by the time I have my first Dragon, he already has 6-8 Ogres, and more Rocs, because they are built faster than Minotaurs. The only salvation is Manticores, because there are not enough crystals left for Cyclops... BUT STILL, will 12 Manticores be effective against 6 Ogres and 3-4 extra Rocs, and in such a short time, the hero (I always take Alamar or Jeddite) doesn't have magic that well developed yet, regeneration helps, 6-8 Manticores can still be restored... Comment, suggest a tactic for playing online on a Medium (or Large) map against Stronghold... P.S. If Stronghold lets me develop and build Black Dragons and develop magic, then resistance is possible... but if he immediately takes 6 Behemoths and starts attacking...

That's not what barbarians are known for – they're famous for their quick and powerful start...
On map L, I would generally advise against choosing Alamar or Jedite, and instead opt for Gunnar (a logistics specialist) – and he often gets the Fire enchantment. Underdeveloped monsters are less dangerous, especially if you defend in the castle, and fully developed ones are a strong argument... in general, it's a matter of luck; if he arrives quickly and levels up well along the way, he might not have much to counter (in an open field), but defending the first attack in the castle and then waging an open war is an option!
P.S. In general, there are many ideas.

What difficulty level are you planning to play on?

destroying his catapult and staying in the Castle during a siege... this is if he comes without Cyclops... and without Earthquake... of course, such a tactic doesn't require playing as Jedi... but if it's on Medium difficulty and with a Pawn - the chances are slim.

Is there an artifact that would allow you to resurrect creatures as a Champion?

Study the material:
http://homm3world.narod.ru/index.html
:D

Of course, it happens... the best feeling is when you can defeat a dragon with a simple arrow. I remember playing a tournament game against Lopetos, and he had such powerful artifacts that he could defeat my Black Dragon with an arrow, but at the same time (even though I had Resurrection), I couldn't revive it – what a miracle! It was a tough battle...

Please comment and suggest tactics for online gameplay on a Medium (M/L) map against the Stronghold...

Are you playing as "Pawn"? :) In that case, I would suggest taking Swamp instead of Dungeon – in my opinion, they complement each other quite well...
-Gnolls produce Goblins;
-Fast Rukh are balanced by fast Wyverns;
-With Wyverns and Monarchs (-50% health of the enemy after their attack) and Hydras, you can defend against Ogres...
-Dragonflies can take out Orcs, etc.

This is just based on my observations...

As for the Dungeon, it would be better to take the "cheating" hero Dimera – a specialist in Starfall. If you manage to level him up and build a mana vortex, he will have time to cast his mega-spell several times during the battle, which will deal a lot of damage...

In my opinion, it is generally better to focus on magic in this confrontation, as Barbarians are not that strong in it.

You take Shahti, Gunnarr, and Almar, or Jeddite. Unload all of Shahti's troglodytes; it's better to upgrade them. Before capturing the outer dwellings, it makes sense to think about it first – the city's unique feature is the portal. Shahti with troglodytes tears through everything that moves against three heroes. Two more of these heroes are developed as support. And also: red dragons CAN be resurrected. Black ones cannot. Conclusions can be drawn, having Almar and/or Jeddite... And also – minotaurs in the hands of a good hero (especially upgraded ones) are not much weaker than level 6 units.

Comment, please, and suggest a tactic for playing online on a Medium (M) map against the Citadel...

Are you playing as the "Pawn"? :) In that case, I would take Swamp instead of Dungeon – in my opinion, they complement each other quite well...
-Gnolls produce Goblins;
-Fast Rukh are balanced by fast Wyverns;
-With Wyverns and Hydras, you can defend against even Cyclops...
-Dragonflies can take down Orcs, etc.

This is just based on my observations...

As for Dungeon, it would be better to take the "cheating" hero, Dimera – a specialist in Starfall. If you manage to level him up and build a mana vortex, he will cast his mega-spell several times during the battle, which will deal huge damage...

In my opinion, in this matchup, it's generally better to focus on magic, in which the Barbarian faction is not so strong.

And what does "Barbarians are not so strong in magic" have to do with it? Can't you hire Dimera when playing as Barbarians?:confused:
(or is it not allowed in online games? I'm not sure...)

Firstly, we are talking about the confrontation between Stronghold and Dungeon. If the opponent has already started with these heroes, how will you recruit them? Besides, it's unlikely anyone would argue that Stronghold doesn't contribute to the development of magic: the Grand Mage is limited to level 3, Valhalla only gives +1 Strength, etc. Dungeon, on the other hand, has a focus on using magic - the Whirlpool, for example, even without upgrades, allows Dimer or Zhedditt to cast their spells twice, which gives them a huge advantage at the very beginning. There's also the Military University, +1000 Experience, leveling up the hero, and for a mage, this almost always means +1 either to Knowledge or Magic Power. Secondly, in my opinion, the mages of Dungeon have better stats compared to the barbarian mages.

Firstly, we're talking about the Stronghold versus the Dungeon. If the opponent has already started with these heroes, how will you hire them?

Besides, I doubt anyone would argue that the Stronghold doesn't hinder magic development: Grand Magister is limited to level 3, Valhalla only gives +1 Strength, etc.

Secondly, in my opinion, the Dungeon's mages have better stats compared to the barbarian mages.

As for me, I doubt that the level 3 Grand Magister restriction on Might is often critical. But I understand your point.
We can argue about the heroes (I rarely see a start with both Jedidiah and Alamar at the same time, for the reason of "just so the opponent doesn't get them"; if the opponent hires Dimar on Might and spends money on whirlpools, universities, and other goodies instead of building troops, then the barbarians might be perfectly fine with a beautiful mage from a combination, for example, with the "Magic Arrow" specialization, the main thing is to arrive early; besides, you can't start with all mages - there are also Necropolis mages with the same Starfall, and towers with Chain Lightning)...
But this probably won't be a very constructive discussion... It's easier to just take a different city on Might...

I would STRONGLY recommend that you stop playing as a Pawn. And don't play as a Knight either. Ever. Moving on. If you do play as a Pawn, get rid of the habit of building a guild, market, and forge, as well as a town hall with a prefecture, in the first week. Instead, you should build as many troop levels and a castle as possible. Buy heroes, equip them with fast units, and send them out for scouting and resource gathering. Destroy necropolises. And also other resource storage locations (within reason, of course). In the second week, don't forget to build dragons and a castle (if you don't have one yet for some reason). And one more thing: capture external dwellings after thinking it through! Remember - if you have an external dragon dwelling on your territory and you haven't captured anything else, building dragons in your castle, even in the third week, will most likely guarantee victory.

Why do you even need dragons? You take Shakter, upgrade troglodytes and go smash everything in your path, gather troops from them in cans and hives, smash the Dragon Utopia on the second turn and go kill the opponent, that's it (I honestly can't remember when any of the good players built dragons early while playing Dungeon, unless they had an absolute mountain of money and nowhere else to spend it)