Posts from Ideas and suggestions.

A fresh idea (maybe not so fresh, but I haven't encountered anything like it). Another attempt to make Eagle Eye a viable skill. So...

Basic Eagle Eye: allows the hero to use 2 spells at once every 10th round of battle. Advanced - every 5th round. Expert - every 3rd.
Of course, the numbers are just for example and need to be tested.

This is the main class skill for the Mage in the Kings Bounty series of games. From which the Heroes 3 series originated.
In Kings Bounty:
"Basic - 2 spells twice per battle.
Advanced - 2 spells twice per battle.
Expert - 2 spells three times per battle."
Quite the skill.

In my opinion, the biggest weakness right now is the imbalance of magic schools, which is what worries most players.
In TES, a good solution was proposed: move Direct Damage and Town Portal to other schools of magic, so both water and fire elements became in demand even for the main hero.

It's unclear why they don't want to change it; it seems obvious to everyone that there's a constant "earth-hunting" and then "air-hunting," with fire being used situationally, and water rarely used. Moving Town Portal to water and Direct Damage to fire would really balance the magic schools. In return, any unpopular spells of levels 3-5 could be moved.

Added 12 minutes later

I agree. Also, increase learning to 20/50/100%, etc.

I would enhance it not just with additional experience, but by giving the hero additional Primary Skills at levels. The specific numbers need to be tested and balanced, but something like +1 skill point for every 4 levels at basic, for every 3 levels at advanced, and for every 2 levels at expert. (Giving a point for every level might be too strong, but overall, it needs to be considered).

Alternatively, additional experience + the ability to choose from 3 skills instead of two at levels (from 4 at expert?? debatable...). As a result, it would become a real learning system, allowing for more precise and correct hero development.

This is the main class skill for the Mage in the Kings Bounty series of games.
From which the Heroes 3 series originated.
In Kings Bounty:
"Basic - 1 time, 2 spells per battle.
Advanced - 2 times, 2 spells per battle.
Expert - 3 times, 2 spells per battle."
Quite powerful.

Exactly. I suggested a classic version, but in a reduced, non-overpowered form.

It would be great to have a constantly running turn timer (come up with a system to rewind a turn, or a system to switch colors – the first turn is played by the first red player, the second turn is played by the first blue player). Matches take a long time.

Honestly, I'm tired of playing against opponents with predictable build-ups.
Is it possible for me to manually move 2 spells to other schools of magic for multiplayer? Is there a guide for this?
Dimension Door and Town Portal were WATER magic in Might&Magic 8! (see image)



Therefore, it would be perfectly normal to move at least Dimension Door to water magic, and even better as a bonus — make Town Portal fire magic!
Fans of the series will only be grateful.
Hold a vote to see the public sentiment.

Idea for the online lobby. Implement coefficients for the player rating based on the game duration. For example: win in the 1st week – 0.5; in the 2nd week – 1; in the 3rd week – 1.5, and so on. This will provide an extra incentive not to prolong excessively long games, and I think it will also be an additional point of interest for viewers.

I often play maps of size M. Before that, I played in GameRanger. I have 3 wishes: 1) Bring back the "City Portal" spell. 2) Bring back obelisks (or make it possible to play with and without them). 3) It would be nice if maps of size M could also be played on size L, especially in Skirmish mode.

I didn't find these points in this thread, so I'll venture to suggest:

- It would be balanced if the slow effect scaled with any element, like an arrow.
- Fire/water/earth/air resistance would prevent summoning the corresponding elementals.

Based on watching several tournaments from MSstudio, I'd like to share some personal ideas and suggestions.

Earth Magic Overpowered
In my opinion, for several years now, it has been obvious that Earth Magic is excessively powerful. The Book of Earth wins game after game. Of course, there are exceptions, but all players strive to acquire it first. Earth Magic provides easy breakthroughs in the early game through slowing effects. In the mid-game, it allows capturing objects (especially Dragon Utopias) without losses due to resurrection. In the late game, it offers control through City Portal. The Resurrection spell could be moved to Water Magic. This would undoubtedly weaken Earth Magic while significantly strengthening Water Magic. The ability to capture objects without losses opens up possibilities for playing with a small army. Also, Resurrection in Water Magic would logically fit alongside healing and dispel magic. If this change is not possible because it would break the original game, a new spell called "Return To Life" could be added to Water Magic. On popular maps, Resurrection could be banned, and only "Return To Life" could be used.

Interference
Change the Interference skill so that in battle, it affects both opposing heroes and influences the Spell Power of both heroes. If someone chooses to play without magic, they will also be without magic. This seems to better reflect the spirit of this skill. On the other hand, even with 1 SP, you can still fight in a varied way.

Eagle Eye -> Sharp Sight
Change the currently useless Eagle Eye skill. Alternatively, to avoid breaking the campaign mechanics, do what was done with the Resistance skill: remove it completely and replace it with a new skill called "Sharp Sight." This skill will only affect the adventure map. Basic:

• exact amount of resources on the adventure map
• approximate size of the guard for objects
• type of resources in Lean To, Windmill, Wagon, Mystical Garden

Advanced:

• exact size of the guard for objects
• type and exact amount of resources in Lean To, Windmill, Wagon, Mystical Garden
• presence of Guardians for neutrals

Expert:

• exact number of neutrals
• exact number of enemy units
• spells in Shrines
• spells in Scrolls
• skills in University, Witch Hut
• heroes in prisons
• units in Refugee Camp
• effect of Scholars
• contents of Black Market

That is, at the Expert level, all objects revealed by the hero are shown as visited/explored. In a sense, this becomes an analogue of the Visions spell, but as a hero skill that does not require spending mana. It might even be worth combining it with the Diplomacy skill to create a complete analogue of Visions.

Summon elemental
Limit summons by the number of rounds depending on SP (e.g., 3 + SP). This change should not affect the clearing of neutral creatures, but in PvP, it will increase the importance of a strong army.

Elemental Resistance
Elemental Resistance reduces damage from enemy elementals of that element.

Black/Red Tower
Visiting the Dragon Tower or Phoenix Tower should reveal the map within a 12-15 cell radius. Visually, the towers are quite tall; it seems logical that you should be able to see further from them.

Escape/Bribe/Cast - Equivalent Actions
Change the mechanics of escape and bribe. In a sense, equate them to casting a spell. A hero can only perform one action per turn in battle – either the hero casts a spell, or they choose to escape/bribe. This will make hit-and-run tactics, which are currently prohibited by the rules on many maps, theoretically impossible. This is undoubtedly a plus from a PvP perspective. Instead of hit-and-run against neutrals, you will have to come up with something more complex.

*Maybe it has long been time to change the spell schools in Heroes 3, huh? What do I mean, maybe? Definitely!*

*Everyone levels Earth/Air - how is a mage supposed to win through Water and Fire? Water is essentially a purely warrior school: teleport a strong stack into the thick of things, but for a mage there is nothing useful there against a warrior with winning stats; Prayer is often still too little.*

*Air has five level-5 spells - Another reason everyone levels Earth/Air is that there is a high chance that in a level-5 Mage Guild there will be something from Earth or Air, while Water has only one level-5 spell, and even that is Summon Elemental*

*Countering elements - When people play through Implosion or Chain Lightning, why must you necessarily level the very same element to counter it? This is the second reason the magic schools lack variety: the initiator takes the element that is effective for him, while the defender is forced to level the same element to counter it. Water sucks, Fire does not, but there is no need to improve it.*
*Would it not be better, in order to counter one element or another, to level a different one, so there would be variety?*
*Looking at the spells, I saw that most Fire spells are countered by Earth, Air by Fire, Water by Air, and Earth by Water. Whatever Earth puts on, Water removes everything, which others cannot do (Implosion is the exception); and Earth has Anti-Magic against Fire Armageddon, so in the end everyone suffers, both enemy and ally, but one completely healthy stack remains thanks to Anti-Magic. Earth also has many spells against Fire that reduce damage, and so on, which often makes you not care about Bloodlust*
*Conclusions:*
So why not put Protection from Fire not in the Fire school but in Earth, protection from Air in Fire, protection from Water in Air, and protection from Earth in Water.*
*Earth smothers fire, water wears away stone*
*Air has Fly and Dimension Door; why does it need so much? And why does Water teleport units, while teleporting the hero is suddenly Air? Many people say to make both teleports Water, but there is a nuance: would Water Walk not die in that case if it has a better alternative, unless Water Walk is buffed? But one thing I know for sure: two strong map-control spells in Air is definitely too much.*

*Then spell variety will appear: one player takes Solmyr, you take Fire Magic to counter him, he foresees this and takes Earth Magic (Chain Lightning + Implosion), then he also takes Water, and now all 4 schools are in the battle*

*Should it be done exactly the other way around? For example, Water counters not Earth but Air, and in the same counterclockwise sequence? What can I say about that... I have not calculated which sequence to use, I do not know! But putting protection from a given element in other elements is definitely the key to solving variety!*
PS: I wrote this article about 2 hours ago, and now I am adding this little one-line message; I could not resist))) > Only now did it dawn on me that this reminded me of the Avatar cartoon: Air mastered Water easily, struggled with the opposite, Earth, and Fire was considered extremely dangerous for him.

*[But the Earth school is opposite to Air, so why not make Air counter Earth?]* Because then there again will be no variety: it will be Earth/Air all over again. In addition, I have an argument for that case: Earth has Animate Dead for undead and Resurrection for the living; for the dead there is Death Ripple, and for killing undead, SURPRISE, now it is the Air element. Strange? A little... but that does not make those elements counters to one another; they are equal! Destroy Undead and Death Ripple perform the same function equally, so why should they counter each other? They are opposite elements: Slow and Haste, Bless and Curse; they fight each other on equal terms. The element that counters another should not be from the opposite elements.*
Fire is fanned by Wind and Lightning; Earth smothers Fire; Water wears away Stone...

Difficulties: *Or perhaps leave Water Magic movement by sea and teleport in battle, and make the map teleport a Fire spell, as a kind of opening of portals. In that case everyone would have their own map control, and Water Walk would not lose relevance because a portal would not replace it. I am worried that if the map portal is moved to Water, Water Walk will become unnecessary. This is hard, it needs thought... but for some reason my teeth itch to deprive Fire of map control while making it destructive. Still, the question remains acute: why will Water Walk be needed if Dimension Door exists, unless it is not a level-4 spell but level 5, and Water Walk is buffed?*

 

PS: Now I will also talk not about balance for everyone, but a little from myself, in dreams) It was always a little sad that Protection from Water exists but is essentially unnecessary; Water Magic has no decent damage-dealing spells in principle, only useless ones... I also always dreamed that Ice Bolt would reduce a unit's speed by one, worse than Slow but still, you deal damage and slightly slow at the same time) And I never understood why two dispel-type spells are needed, namely Cure and Dispel. It is too easy to pull dispel when there are two variations. I do not deny that Cure does not remove everything and only works on allies, but somehow it still has painfully many functions in what it removes. Often Cure is enough to remove everything harmful from yourself, and when playing through Water Magic you essentially do not need Dispel against curses.

*It also really annoys me on small maps when someone takes Solmyr and you are forced to level the same element as he does in order to level Protection from Air, if you are lucky enough to pull that very Protection from Air and also level it to 3 in order to counter him, while he, knowing his advantage, will try to reach you faster before you get lucky and learn it.*
*Sometimes it seems to me, especially on small maps, that protection from elements should not only be in different schools but should also give bonuses earlier. At first I thought of making mass elemental protection level 1, but that would also ruin balance... I do not yet see a solution to this situation; it is difficult... but maybe elemental protection should become mass already at level two? And at level three its effectiveness should be raised.*

I also described what could be done with the Water school - Read below; I answered the idea to some participants.
If the idea of a double turn for the Water Magic school is approved, then Water will not need a strong new damage spell. Frost Ring is cheap in mana, and if it is used twice per turn, the damage there should be decent.

Perhaps not every spell should grant the right to a repeated Water Magic action, but only some of them, those that cost, say, less than 10 mana (that is, 9 or lower). This would give Arch Magi, or conversely Pegasi, a way to counter part of the Water Magic school by making its spells more expensive, so the opponent would not have access to the variety of Water Magic. For example, make Forgetfulness at least 12-10 mana rather than 9, so after using it you could not use another spell; and conversely, after a cheap spell you could no longer choose an expensive one.

FINALLY:

I also want to talk about the specialties of some heroes, such as

Stone Skin: Stone Skin adds another +3 Defense for level 1-2 creatures, +2 Defense for levels 3-4, +1 Defense for levels 5-6, and +0 for level 7.

It always surprised me: why does the spell give everyone +6 Defense, while with the specialty the higher the level, the less it gives? Would they really become imbalanced from that? I understand, of course, that level-1 creatures need stats more than level-7 creatures, but it still looks strange somehow... or maybe the creators approached it lazily?

But what outrages me most is this, a blunt copy, despite going in the opposite direction

Hero specialty - Weakness: Weakness additionally reduces by -3 for levels 1-2, -2 for levels 3-4, -1 for levels 5-6, and -0 for level 7

How does that make any sense?! For level-1 creatures, even -1 Attack is already significant for low-level creatures, and here it is a whole -3! Whereas for level 5-7 creatures, -1 Attack is not significant, and even -3 hardly makes a terribly strong difference for creatures of that level. How did the creators do their calculations?

Added after 2 minutes

About Eagle Eye: the only normal solution is to allow a hero with the skill to see and use in battle the spells that are in the opponent's book (without percentage chances).
Artifacts should give + level of Eagle Eye instead of percentages.
For example, having Expert Eagle Eye lets you see and use all opponent spells from levels 1 to 4 in battle, and if the hero also has one of the artifacts that adds to the skill, level 5 as well.
Without the Eagle Eye skill but with three artifacts, you can likewise see level 1-4 spells
This counters starting mages with level-4 spells, but Eagle Eye will not be imba; it will at least sometimes let you use the skill and artifacts and will add variety to the game.

I think Eagle Eye's percentage chance should be kept, not turned into an imba skill and not overstuffed with lots of bonuses. Leave it as it is, but I fully agree that spells should be learned not after battle but during it; after battle there can already be a chance to learn spells unrelated to the battlefield.

The artifact idea is interesting too.

There are simply heroes such as "Tiva" from Fortress, whose specialty is Eagle Eye, increasing the chance to learn spells per level. Because of that I think the percentage should be kept, and perhaps such heroes should be given the ability to copy fifth-level spells.

Added after 2 minutes

There is an idea for making Earth less of an imba must-have without which it is impossible to win the game: change the Town Portal mechanics. A hero without Earth would teleport to the nearest town, but if that town is occupied, he would teleport to the next nearest free town, and so on. Naturally, when you have 10+ towns and need to get to the farthest one, it will be harder and take longer, but in this way it will be possible to play more or less normally even without Earth, and there will be room for maneuver

I already described above how to make it less of a strong imba and add variety, and explained what others have and what they do not, especially concerning where and how many level-5 school spells there are. My option balances better, because protection from an element should not be in that same element; otherwise everyone will play one element for attack and counter at the same time.

Added after 7 minutes

There is another idea (and a very old one) that has a direct relation to the Might and Magic universe: on maps without water, replace the Water Walk spell with Lloyd's Beacon.

Lloyd's Beacon is a control spell from the Might and Magic RPGs that allows a hero to teleport from any point on the map to the place where a beacon was previously placed (if another hero is not standing there). The beacon naturally should be visible to the enemy, and to counter it in Heroes you would need to stand your own hero on it.

I think introducing this spell would fix the balance of magic schools and at the same time would not be something absurd or taken from nowhere.

No!

Or then it would be simpler just to give Dimension Door to the Water Magic school.

Well, if the perfectionists now object here, saying that Fire would supposedly be useless then, since all schools would have map control except Fire, I can suggest this idea too, though I am still very doubtful whether it is right; still, I will voice it: Water gets Water Walk (increased distance so it can compete with Air, or even boarding a ship without penalty at level 5, I have no idea), Air gets Fly, Earth gets Town Portal, and Fire, as demon portals, gets all teleports.

Then each school would have its own style of map control.

But Water worries me a lot in that case. If its in-battle teleport is taken away, then what exactly will it be needed for in battle? It is still hard for me to make the right decision here...

Although it always seemed to me that Fire could be given something uber-annoying, so that you pay for having no map control by carrying a strong assortment of spells, sacrificing mobility.

Added after 40 minutes

Good day, respected developers and forum visitors!
Phew... I read all the comments across 60+ pages to understand the public mood.

HotA leaves the most favorable impressions in terms of balance work.
In my view, the weakest point now is the imbalance of magic, which worries most players.
TE proposed a good solution: move DD and TP to other magic schools, which made both Water and Fire elements desirable even for the main hero.
Wicc says the developers are unlikely to do that, that players disliked many changes in TE, but this particular correction solved the main problem.
One must learn from other people's victories.

Effect:
- all magic schools will be useful, and when choosing one thing you will have to sacrifice other possibilities, because 3-in-1 will no longer work;
- some players complained that mages became stronger than warriors, especially after the ban on Cloak of the Undead King and Angel Wings. If DD and/or TP move to other magic schools, warriors will be chosen more often, because developing "that one" good mage will become harder;
- the set of starting heroes will become more varied; for example, instead of Grindan, people will more often choose Monere or Luna;
- a Water tome will become a worthy acquisition in a Utopia;
- a player who first chooses Water Magic for double DD runs the risk, as slots fill up, of being left without the Earth element. Result: more varied final battles, where there may be no Mass Slow;
- it can be said that moving 2 spells to other magic schools has already been successfully tested in practice, in my view; tournaments were held;
- the opponent hero's build will stop being trivial and will become unpredictable;
- the nuances need to be thought through slowly and everything weighed so the rework is correct right away;
- let us start by having everyone express their opinion; experienced and knowledgeable players are especially welcome!

State your opinion. We are looking for ideas. Balance the magic schools by any means:
- either moving DD and/or TP;
- or reworking Water and Fire Magic until they are desirable for the main hero.

Opinions previously expressed in this topic:
-142-
Wicc
Balancing the magic schools is quite a worthy goal, by the way. Right now there is must-have Earth and useful Air; the rest is not taken voluntarily. This situation does not seem right to me.
-231-
Wicc
Decisions are made collectively, after prolonged discussions, even if not always quickly.
And nothing prevents holding such discussions publicly: comments from the forums are carefully read and analyzed. You can also always ask team members what they think about a particular idea, whether they want to implement it, and if not, why not.
-212-
Derbent
The simplest magic balancing is to swap some spells around, without reinventing the wheel with some nonsense about movement points. For example, make TP Water Magic. Then in late game Water will be necessary, and Earth will not suffer, because it is still imba because of Slow. (As an option, swap Prayer and TP)
-245-
Wicc
I have some thoughts about DD and TP too...
KobRa_RR
I hope those thoughts are about moving them to the correct magic schools?
Wicc
Nope. The team considers moving magic between schools and levels ideologically wrong. What is acceptable is weakening the effect of an imba spell or making it harder to use. The optimal path is adding competitors in the same niche.
-286-
Wicc
HotA Team policy is that changes to standard functionality should be made rarely but precisely. Ideally, change it once and never touch it again. Therefore, before implementing anything, the consequences must be modeled mentally.
-387-
Grando
move TP out of Earth school, DD out of Air school.
-395-
Al Feyn
Move TP/Resurrect (or both) out of Earth school, DD out of Air school (with magic one can think about other absurdities too)
Ivor
I will let you in on a secret: TE and WT have not gone anywhere, and no one prevents you from playing them. As for HotA, the development vision for this version voiced by the development team from the very beginning did not allow one to count on its changing in the indicated direction, unlike what some naive comrades hoped.
-397-
Ivor
But playing the game of "whoever grabbed Earth first wins" is the peak of professionalism.
-719-
ilmanelamaa
On the question of Water Magic, which loses badly to other schools.
In the first and second Heroes games there was a spell called Storm. Mechanically it was the same Armageddon, only weaker. It is unknown why it was removed.
If this spell is brought back, as a weak Armageddon on level 2, then the combination Storm + Protection from Water (+ mass Cure, especially on fat one-stacks) may prove quite workable.
This will encourage players to play through Water in some cases, increasing variety in games.
I consider it important to emphasize that the spell is canonical to the game series, not invented by a no-name.
I hope making the animation will not be too difficult.
-900-
Sav
A rebalance of spells is planned one way or another (and has been for a long time).
-953-
caliban
There is an idea for making Earth not such an imba must-have without which it is impossible to win the game.

I enjoyed reading you; reread my first post at the very top.

I also read about [the "Storm" spell, which is weaker than Armageddon but still], and I have mixed feelings. Why is Storm needed if Armageddon exists? Spells should instead be made different from each other, not similar. This is worth working on so there is a difference between Ice Bolt and Inferno versus Frost Ring and Meteor Shower, because essentially they are the same, but Meteor wins on damage... They should bring different advantages, not do the same thing with another simply better in damage.

I also explained above that protection from elements should not be in the element itself, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY OPINION IS:

*Water school*
Water definitely needs some damage spell, whether a reworked Frost Ring, or perhaps Frost Ring could get some effect unlike its analogues and its damage not be raised much while adding some other damaging option, but still it should not exceed competitors.

Why? Because I see this picture: if Water is given Protection from Earth, as I suggested earlier above, then Implosion will no longer be such a dangerous spell, and Dispel also belongs to the Water school, removing all kinds of Shields and Slow; Prayer is not countered by Slow unlike Haste. In the end Water beats Earth, but Water is not that strong in damage, and I think leaving that as it is would be right, because this will no longer be its flaw but its trump card:

Water will counter Earth 
Water will still be weaker than other schools in power, but because of that, Water will have all the cheap spells in terms of mana.. (Maybe even add a spell that restores mana to the hero), and that is how Water will win!
= It will remain a weak school, but a profitable one, and it will counter the strongest school!

Advantages of Water
You level Fire, Earth, Wind: mana goes away, damage and control are substantial!
You level Water: damage is decent but not lethal; however, it is convenient for travel, counters shooters, lowers speed by one with Ice Bolt, costs little, and there is enough mana for the next battle and travel.
And in late game Earth is not a threat, and Frost Ring (or a new Water spell) will deal stable, good damage for its cost, perhaps with effects.
Blind, Slow? Again, Dispel is more profitable in mana; the enemy spends more mana on control. (Perhaps in the future the developers should think about the base cost of all spells; after all, mass spells should cost a little more mana than single-target ones.
Read below; further down I also suggested to one user that the Water Magic school could cast twice, another reason for its economy and advantage.

Conclusions:
So, Frost Ring deals average damage, but with Protection from Earth it will still hit more impressively than Implosion itself, and not to a single target, while being more efficient in mana!
Or if the idea of double use for the Water Magic school is approved, then do not change or increase Frost Ring's damage and do not add a new combat Water spell, because the damage from Frost Ring will already be decent if it can be used twice per turn.

If the idea of a double turn for the Water Magic school is approved, then in that case Water will not need a strong new damage-dealing spell. Frost Ring is cheap in mana, and if it is used twice per turn, the damage there should be enough.

Perhaps not every spell should grant the right to a repeated Water Magic action, but only some of them, those that cost, say, less than 10 mana (that is, 9 and below). This would give Arch Magi, or conversely Pegasi, the possibility to counter part of the Water Magic school by making its spells more expensive, so the opponent would not have the option of Water Magic variety. For example, make Forgetfulness at least 12-10 mana rather than 9, so after using it another spell could not be used; and conversely, after a cheap spell you could no longer choose an expensive one.

Added after 3 minutes

We played on 8xm12a.
On the starting zone there were Boots of Speed behind ordinary zombies, and the Utopia gave a 1000-gold bag as a "relic."
Make the boots a relic and lower the value of bags.
Imbalance, comrades.

I see no point; the boots have already been nerfed, as has Logistics.

And getting such a bag of gold at the start can help a lot with winning; maybe its value should be lowered, but if so, only by one step, especially on king 200% difficulty. Getting such a bag is key to victory through fast development.

Added after 4 minutes

Fresh idea (maybe not fresh, but I have not seen anything like it). Eternal attempts to make Eagle Eye a playable skill. So.

Basic Eagle Eye: every 10th round of combat, lets the hero use 2 spells in one round at once. Advanced: every 5th round. Expert: every 3rd.
Naturally the numbers are pulled out of nowhere; they need testing.

This is already some King's Bounty))) Though I have repeatedly thought that sometimes it would be cool to see the ability to cast twice in one turn, but imagine Eagle Eye combined with the Earth book and double spells? That would be imba!
If something like this is introduced... for some reason it seems more correct to attach it not exactly to a specialty, but closer to the Water book, as a weak but economical school. 
PS: By the way, thanks for the idea; I will now redo the upper posts and suggest this idea for Water Magic.

Imagine Water school level 3: using Water? Then take a repeated magic turn, but the repeat can use only Water Magic and only cheap spells. There is your solution for how weak Frost Ring deals decent damage: because it is used twice.

Added after 3 minutes

This is the main class skill of the Mage in the Kings Bounty game series.   
From which the Heroes 3 series was born.
in Kings Bounty:
"Basic - once per battle, 2 spells.
Advanced - twice per battle, 2 spells.
Expert - three times per battle, 2 spells."
A huge imba.

Oh, nice to see someone knowledgeable)

Well, imba or not imba, in Armored Princess it was nerfed hard. I suggested above how a repeated turn could be introduced: give the weak Water school the possibility of only a double turn for cheap spells, nothing more - reread it.

Added after 6 minutes

It is unclear why they do not want to change it. In my opinion it is obvious to everyone that Earth-hunting happens constantly, then Air-hunting, Fire is taken situationally, and Water is rare overall. Moving TP to Water and DD to Fire would really balance magic well; in exchange, any unwanted level 3-5 spells can be moved.

Added after 12 minutes

I would strengthen it not just with additional experience, but by giving the hero additional Primary Skills on levels. The exact numbers need testing and balancing, but something like +1 skill point for every 4 levels at basic, every 3 levels at advanced, every 2 levels at expert. (Every level would probably be too strong, but overall it needs thought)

Or, as an option, additional experience + the ability to choose from 3 skills instead of two when leveling (from 4 at expert?? debatable...). In the end it would become true Learning, allowing the hero to be developed more subtly and correctly.

DD to Fire? Same as portals....

I understand, of course, that Fire is demons, they have summons and portals there, perhaps this can somehow be added for atmosphere and balanced among all schools, but each school should have its own map control for balance. If DD is taken from Earth, Earth will simply become the new useless school like Water Magic is now.

If teleport is moved to Fire, then which of the three... and what should be left to Earth? As far as I know, Air has two map-control spells at once; that is not right.

Or another scenario: simply make Fire a more destructive spell school in exchange for losing mobility.

Eagle Eye always bothered me because it could not copy map-control spells and could not learn fifth-level spells. No, that would be too much... but there are heroes specifically specialized in this skill, so why not let artifacts and the skill allow learning spells not used on the battlefield from the opponent you fought, and also fifth-level magic-school spells if your hero is built for it?

Again, the hero Tiva from Fortress: their town has at most level-3 Mage Guild, and Eagle Eye could help balance mages by letting them learn somewhat higher school spells through this skill than what they have in town, like witches of a sort (although that is what they are). But this requires a battle, and true witchers with this specialty could villainously learn others' spells up to level 5.

Added after 13 minutes

Exactly. I suggested the classic in a reduced, non-imba form.

It is simpler to make this part of the Water book's style.

As the most useless school, that is how it will become useful. Adding this function to the other elemental schools would be too imba. 

Added after 4 minutes

Honestly, I am already sick of playing against predictable opponent builds.
Can I independently move 2 spells to other magic schools for online play? Is there an instruction for that?
Dimension Door and Town Portal were WATER magic in Might&Magic 8! (see picture)


Therefore it would be quite normal to move at least Dimension Door to Water Magic, and even better in addition to make Town Portal Fire Magic!
Fans of the series will only thank you.
Hold a vote to see the public mood.

What was normal for Heroes 8 does not mean it will be normal for Heroes 3.

Town Portal will remain Earth Magic! Otherwise the school will die.

But reread above what other changes I tossed in. After all, I have been involved in game development and balance for many decades; at present Air has 2 map-control spells (which is a lot, it does not need that many!), Earth has 1 control spell, Fire has 0, and Water has mediocre Water Walk...

Added after 2 minutes

I did not find such theses in this topic, so I dare to write a proposal:

- It would be balanced if Slow scaled from any element, like Magic Arrow
- Protection from Fire/Water/Earth/Air would forbid summoning the corresponding elementals

2) Maybe, maybe not; in any case, for now this does not solve the problem that in order to counter one element, you yourself must study the same element as the opponent, hence the lack of variety among schools.

Added after 22 minutes

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Added after 1 hour 36 minutes

Addressing the rebalance developers

I am very glad about what you are doing. I myself have worked on balance all my life. Perhaps you already have your own ideas, and you are unlikely to consider anyone else's ideas, or my ideas and wishes, when you are already firmly focused on your own. But like any artist, and balance is a delicate matter akin to creativity, you should understand that a chance for consideration must be given. Like any artist, even when making an almost finished drawing, one must change one's mind many times, crumple the drawing without pity, and draw it again and again, many times from scratch, until a work of art emerges.

If you do listen to the ideas of people here, then know that there is one nuance! If you do everything, including my ideas, with reworking elemental protections into other magic schools and giving Water Magic repeated turns, then I predict the following: three magic schools will become popular, and Air Magic may become weaker and require an upgrade, but we shall see.  

I hope you have heard me, and I myself wish you luck in this difficult task. We are all waiting for your long-awaited accepted balance changes.

Added after 20 hours 47 minutes

Good day.
I would once again like to thank the HotA developers for an excellent New Year's gift. Wastelands are absolutely awesome, ten out of ten for atmosphere and appearance, and the music personally really worked for me. The new Mysticism frankly pleased me: tests showed that a starting mage hero with Mysticism (for example, Axsis) now develops at a much better pace and does not perceive the absence of a visible well as critically. Interference pleased me because it allowed Resistance to be returned to its classic form, and thus HotA took the final step away from WoG, which abuses "balanced" skills under old icons.

Interference led me to a certain thought, which I will present as a separate proposal. Perhaps it has already been suggested (and already rejected), but I cannot read the whole forum, sorry.

Background.
A mage can change matter, move it, and give it various properties through the power of his thought. But what happens if he allows doubt to confuse his thought? What if the distrust of those around him proves stronger than his faith in a miracle?
From this we take a skill: Confusion/Pacification/Suppression/Oppression.
At basic, advanced, and expert levels, it reduces the SP reserve (or Knowledge with a congruent reduction of the SP reserve; the mechanics are better left for specialists to think through) by 5/10/15% (values open to discussion).
Skill specialist: at the discretion of lore specialists, but even Tarnum himself fits here (as a wild barbarian who does not much like magic and once countered Bracaduun).
Artifacts: for certain reasons it is highly desirable that for their slots they compete with Interference artifacts and give not too large a bonus (so that a well, densely fed specialist hero cannot become worse for a developed mage than the Orb of Inhibition due to a complete absence of spell points, or an almost complete absence of spell points and ridiculous power with which he can spend what is available).

Alternatively, this skill can be introduced instead of the unsellable Eagle Eye. In that case its specialists could become specialists in the new skill with slightly rewritten trivia (although, in fact, not entirely, since the Eagle Eye specialists are mages). At the same time, variance will not increase by reducing the chance of finding a must-have for the main, and the new skill will be much more interesting and potentially more useful than Eagle Eye, if it appears at all.
The skill does not fall outside classic style and does not stand out from the general line of skills. The skill is not imba or a situational outsider. The skill fits well into the lore and does not violate game mechanics. The skill effectively duplicates the work of Interference (but not necessarily) and will not look like a crude contrivance.
Among the minuses: mages already had Intelligence cut. Among the pluses: in the deep late game there will be a chance to bite off a substantial chunk of elementals from an enemy mage with Expert Intelligence, 50 Knowledge, and the ability to visit a Mana Vortex (x2 mana) and a Magic Spring (x2 mana), for a total of 3k mana, before the battle even begins.

As a countermeasure, one could also introduce the Freedom of Thought skill (or rewrite Eagle Eye into it, if the first proposal is introduced separately, hm).
A magic skill that at basic/advanced/expert level reduces the effectiveness of Interference and Confusion/Suppression/Pacification/Oppression by 20/35/50% respectively (numerical coefficients at the specialists' discretion).
Artifacts: +5/10/15% respectively.
Specialist: +5% per level, allowing one to do without artifacts at high development levels (but not necessarily).
Among the pluses: not an essential skill, but an extremely useful one in the final battle, allowing a mage to live even if a fattened specialist stands against him with the goal of reducing the effectiveness and quantity of enemy spells in the final battle. It allows Eagle Eye to be changed substantially and, for once, made not a byword but a normal ability. In theory it will give specialists on large maps the chance not only to run mills, but also to fight.

I hope this turned out at least remotely logical and structured. It is night after all, and the thought is drifting a little. In any case, I will be glad to discuss it or read your assessments.
I will dump the coefficients of effect and other joys onto the shoulders of professionals and balancers. I will be glad if the idea is accepted; I will be no less glad for an explanation of why, exactly, not.
Goodness to you, creative success, and more grateful audience. Thank you for the game.

a lot of foolish stuff...

Added after 1 minute

They say keeping things bottled up is bad for you. So here is another wall of text on strengthening trash skills. Maybe someone will find it interesting.

Eagle Eye

During battle, ON YOUR TURN, gives the ability to look

Level 1: if the hero with the skill is no more than 2 levels behind the enemy hero, he can look at the opponent's equipped artifacts

Level 2: if the hero with the skill is no more than 3 levels behind the enemy hero, he can look at the opponent's equipped artifacts

Level 3: if the hero with the skill is no more than 4 levels behind the enemy hero, he can look at the opponent's equipped artifacts and skills

The skill becomes quite useful. At the same time, it excludes the possibility of exposing everything with a loser hero just bought. If the opponent's main is level 15, only a level 13-11 hero can scout him. In addition, you need to worry about first speed. A check with a prison hero in the center is possible. But with them there is always randomness and madness: sometimes they become mains and win games... ))))

Learning

Now it increases the hero's gained experience by 5%/10%/15%

It would instead increase the hero's gained experience by 10%/15%/20%. In addition, at the third skill level, during exchange it gives the hero with Learning the ability to share experience. But the donor hero's level is not counted above 15.

It is calculated as follows: lvl / 2.25 = the level to which another hero can be raised (rounded).

If a hero is level 5, then: 5 / 2.25 = 2.22 = 2. That is, he can raise a level-1 hero to 2. But he can no longer raise a level-2 hero.
A level-4 hero raises to 2
A level-6 or 7 hero raises to 3.
Level 8, 9, 10 hero: to 4
Level 11, 12: to 5
Level 13, 14: to 6
Level 15: to 7

A very situational skill, which will be used more likely in the second half or final stage of the game (depending on map size). But at least it will be used, unlike now. Because the donor hero is capped at level 15, the skill will not be unbalanced on large templates. And because of rounding, it can also be played on Jebuses.

Mechanisms (new skill)

Mechanisms include: ballista, cannon, tent, cart, catapult

Level 1: gives all mechanisms +50 HP

Level 2: gives all mechanisms +100 HP

Level 3: gives all mechanisms +150 HP, and also

cart - +5% damage for ranged units
tent - instead of healing, now works as resurrection
ballista - +1 Attack
catapult - +1 Attack
cannon - +4 shots

It buffs war machines quite strongly. But for this you need to level the skill to level 3, and it is also very desirable to have the special skills First Aid/Artillery/Ballistics; only then will it be really strong. But only specialist heroes will be able to assemble all this, and right now, Jeremy aside, they are not needed at all. This skill could change that. The HP bonus is very important. It is not only insurance so that investments in two skills are not nullified by Magic Arrow/Fireball, but also so the opponent can understand in advance from the HP amount what awaits him. For example, that it is worth paying attention to the cart.

First Aid

Gives control over the First Aid Tent, and also heals from 1 to 50 plus

Level 1: Knowledge*3

Level 2: Knowledge*4

Level 3: Knowledge*5

A hero with 3 Knowledge will heal for 10-59/13-62/16-65
A hero with 30 Knowledge will heal for 91-140/121-170/151-200

Even without the "Mechanisms" skill, a hero with this skill can be a decent secondary clearing the starting zone (with one Phoenix in the army, for example). A very good support whom you will not want to dismiss just like that!

Total

Overall, the skills become stronger but do not reach main-hero level. However, if Eagle Eye or First Aid is offered, you can already think about it. And in some situations you can also take them with the main in mind. Secondary heroes will immediately play in new colors and with new usefulness. You will no longer look at 80% of heroes as fetch-and-carry, go to hell, do not get in the way. It will be possible to spin all sorts of setups with all sorts of heroes that arrive.

Also a lot of foolish ideas.
And I will remind you that Eagle Eye is primarily a mage ability, while you want to turn it into artifact peeking. I think Eagle Eye should not be changed that way, but simply made more useful and effective.

 

Added after 2 minutes

Tavern: show the strongest hero (calculate by stats, for example).
Skill remake: strengthen Learning to 25%.
Mage Guild: destroyed down to level 3 when captured by the opponent.
Timer: teach people to play on a fast timer, for example 10:5:2 on h3dm1. No need to say that Earth immediately comes to the hero and you need a lot of time.

A decent small change, but I liked another participant's idea better: give the ability to choose 1 of two stats, which will let a mage more often manage to choose Attack or Defense instead of Spell Power and Knowledge
In general, I sometimes think Knowledge is a weak parameter; often people do not take much of it. Everyone leans into Spell Power. I previously thought that Knowledge specifically should be able to extend debuffs and buffs, though I also do not know...

 

Added after 1 minute

Good morning, everyone.

Many thanks to the HotA developers.
Cove is drawn and voiced magnificently,
I would very much like to ask for the original hero portraits to be redrawn.

I will add my two cents...

Proposal No. 1: [..Frost Ring..],

Move "Frost Ring" from Mage Guild 3 to Mage Guild 4, change the modifiers from x10 to x25, and increase the cost (that is, make it an analogue of "Meteor Shower")

- Water will get a normal damage skill.
- Development effort for the developers is minimal: change the modifiers and move it to Mage Guild 4.
- Castle will get a good hero: Adelaide (an analogue of Deemer)

Proposal No. 2: [..Loynis..]

Change Loynis's "Learning" to "Water Magic"

Proposal No. 3: [...Learning...]

After all skills are learned (~level 20+), allows replacing "Expert Learning" with a NEW "basic" skill upon gaining a new level.

why?
why again
and why again?
Why make Frost Ring a copy of Meteor Shower? By the way, a couple of ideas about Water Magic were suggested above.

Added after 3 minutes

I agree, both proposals have merit.
The first will raise Water without introducing new spells.
The second: why not, it can even be with minus luck.
The same Ogre's Fist is not assembled that often, and it will not have a strong impact on the game, but it will add some optionality.

I am against making Water Magic something expensive and very sturdy; that is a lazy solution. I want to preserve its idea: a cheap, simple spell, like a soft stream of water flowing down the hand

though the fact that I am against it concerns no one; I cannot forbid it.

It would be interesting to join the developers' community...
But I will add this as well:

Pirates, Corsairs:

They turned out a bit too strong for their cost; I did calculations between shooters—even though they only have 4 shots, that's usually enough, and it can be solved with an ammunition wagon.
Their damage and attack are too high; essentially, they are leaders and even surpass shooters like Medusas and Archmagi. Those are fourth-level, of course, but their cost is higher and quantity lower, while Pirates stand close to them in terms of damage and perks—they turned out way too OP.

If someone argues that they aren't that OP compared to Crossbowmen and Elf Rangers, I will explain why Elves and Crossbows aren't as strong as Pirates, but for comparison, I'll also add Lizardman Warriors from the Fortress.
Crossbows and Elves do not get increases in attack or defense, unlike Lizardmen. Lizardmen essentially lead; they deal approximately the same damage as Crossbows and Elves, and a slight disadvantage is compensated by a large amount of health and defense, plus blessing, which makes them wonderful shooters, but... THERE IS ONE BUT!
Crossbows and Elves have nothing added except for double shot, while blessing gives an additional +1 to damage, which buffs Crossbows and Elves by as much as 33-50%, whereas it only strengthens Lizardmen by 15%—all because of the double shot. In essence, blessing was supposed to solve the problem of the large spread for Lizardmen; I always felt that Lizardmen needed one more point of damage to fully compete with the blessing effect against other shooters, so it would be a good change: keep the strong spread for Lizardmen but raise the final damage, for example 2-6 (previously 2-5).
Now let's talk about why Crossbows and Elves don't even come close to Pirates. Personally, I remember how painful it is to hit Archmagi or Beholders in some dungeons, and it's not just about "no penalty in melee"
No penalty in melee: If this skill is missing, shooters deal only half damage; that's the beauty of Lizardman Warriors—they can actually do something up close with their own defense, although I would still raise their damage by one point.
But in the case of Elves and Crossbows, neither attack nor damage increases; they only get double shot, which doesn't work in melee combat! That is, for these shooters specifically, given their cost with the upgrade, they receive a 75% penalty in melee instead of 50%! Yes, they are strong shooters, but they are strong because of an ability that only works on ranged attacks. If other shooters get increases in damage, attack, etc., making the penalty half for their cost, then Elves and Crossbows, attacking in melee, receive both a melee penalty and lose their upgraded ability, becoming non-upgraded warriors—this is especially critical for them! 75%!
What we have with Pirates and Corsairs - I understand that someone probably tried to balance them against other shooters, but they have wild damage like Elves and Crossbows, which cannot be countered in any way! On top of all this, there's the "no retaliation" perk!
If they become melee warriors, here too they surpass most level 3 creatures in attack, damage, and defense; and if they don't surpass them, they stand close with the no-retaliation ability—they simply have too many perks or stats!
Their only downside is that they have low health for melee combat, but who cares—for shooters, they have a decent amount of health, and melee combat only happens if there's no wagon or when many are already wounded.
Solution to the problems: I haven't played this faction, but I clearly see that their strength is overkill. I don't think we should take away one of their features—fine, let them be such dangerous shooters who aren't countered in melee; Beholders are the same—but their stats definitely need to be trimmed a bit. They are somewhat similar to Beholders, only Pirates have higher damage and slightly lower health, but they beat Beholders thanks to the additional no-retaliation function, and they beat Elves and Crossbows because of the 75% penalty. Therefore, these shooters (PIRATES) are too versatile in battle, cannot be countered by anything, and have huge characteristics; they are strong compared to level 3 shooters and melee warriors and even some level 4 ones. Four shots are often enough for them; they definitely need to be nerfed.

Skill: Mysticism - I really liked the update to Mysticism, however, I think changing 1\2\3 to 5\10\15 was overkill. Considering that if you plan to rework artifacts in the future, it's definitely too much; even without artifacts, I was quite content with 10 mana, and here it's as many as 15. I'm glad for this update, but I think they overdid it and it should be cut back to 4\8\12

Second-level Melee Creatures: Let's talk about Zombies, but first a bit of comparison:
I was somewhat annoyed by the strength of Storm Elementals and Corsairs because of their wild potential damage and attack, but oh well—we all know that Air Elementals were often said to be able to compete well with many even level 3 creatures, but they have the smallest growth, while Corsairs have too much growth for their characteristics!
But I won't talk about them now; I'll talk about the most useless ones: Dwarves attack 7-7, growth only 8, hp 20, damage 2-4, they have reflection.
Harpies are weaker, but they are no-retaliation flyers.
Gargoyles are weaker, but growth could be increased...
PS: In childhood, maybe 20 years ago? I don't remember anymore... there was a dream and an idea: Give Gargoyles a new ability—when attacking to avoid a counter-strike, they turn to stone for a fraction of a second, as a feature -50/70% damage from retaliation attacks (does not work against those who hit twice).
Now Zombies! In terms of characteristics, their attack and defense are 5-5, lower than any other creature; they lack 2 units even compared to Dwarves. Damage is also lower 2-3, although growth is the same 8—indeed, the weakest second-level units! They can only compete with flyers, but that's the thing about flyers: they are flexible and therefore still beat Zombies.
So why did the Official developers do this to Zombies? Because these creatures, compared to Dwarves and others where they lack 2 attack and defense, have the Disease skill, which equalizes the strength of Zombies with the rest! Disease removes 2 attack and defense from the target, but there's only a 20% chance! Because of this, Zombies are the weakest second-level units; Disease doesn't equalize them. Maybe give Zombies a 100% chance for Disease since they had 2 stat points removed for this reason? Or increase the parameter reduction from Disease so that there is a point to taking Zombies—so that whoever they poison, all squads hit the infected one; otherwise, they are... well, nothing... simply put, the weakest level 2 creatures.

When specialization in these units gives +5% for every two levels, then a Dwarf having attack 7 and defense 7, while a Zombie has 5 \5, the difference at level 20 will not be 2 units, but 4 units; specialization in Zombies with such parameters works extremely poorly.

 

Artifacts:
I'm wondering, maybe artifacts should be nerfed too? Sometimes, and often, when getting super artifacts or similar relics, it's hard to fight against such an opponent when various buffs, stats per level, and arsenals provide these parameters more slowly than artifacts. It has become a rule that the simplest artifact gives +1 mana, while those giving parameters give at least +2—wouldn't it be better to do the opposite? The simplest artifact gives 1 attack instead of 2, or gives 2 attack but reduces magic power by 1 or defense by 1; and the strongest artifacts, instead of a +7 value and +12-3, should have a maximum +5 value and +8(9)-3? Then they wouldn't depend so heavily on stat stacking, but at the same time it would still have an effect.

In some games, or rather in many, many artifacts gave different parameters, not just helmets always giving knowledge or strength; this was balanced by the fact that they didn't give many stats.
Actually, it would be cool to see more variety in artifacts, like +1 damage to creatures or the enemy losing 4 mana every round, or an artifact: your Fire Shield and minefield with a 20% chance can also blind the target / Ice Bolt gains the property of slowing enemies' speed by 1 unit / Joy heals the owner when a repeat turn triggers.

 

Crypts: I suggest nerfing various crypts further; otherwise, it doesn't matter which faction you play, your striking force will often be Wyverns, Cyclopes, and Angels obtained from crypts. There is no variety—what is the point of playing a faction (unless for upgrades to these same creatures) if the main striking force in large numbers is provided by neutral loot from three or four units, and in every game everyone has the same creatures, almost ignoring their own? (We don't touch buildings for hiring such creatures, only crypts—reduce the distribution of such units as prizes). You come to hit crypts against PC-AI, three crypts, get 2-3-4 Angels = 9, and immediately go with them not against AI-PC, but against a player who lives without crypts and is trying to build up and accumulate an army—and what do you think he will do against 9 Angels?

Regarding water...
There were some interesting suggestions above to add a slowing effect to "Ring of Cold" and "Ice Bolt."
Also, add the "Thunderstorm" spell from Heroes II as a weak Armageddon.

There is a suggestion to change the skill of the hero Adalaid:

Ring of Cold hits 8 hexes without affecting the central one.
If cast on a single-hex unit (ally), the effect remains as default.
If cast on a two-hex unit (ally), the ring hits around it in 10 hexes (like Hydra), without damaging the unit.

Regarding Eagle Eye...
Make "Eagle Eye" a counter-skill to "Obscure."
Also, artifacts that counter Obscure would be useful for Eagle Eye.

Hello everyone. I have a question: does anyone know how to change the parameters or add something of your own to the unique building that you get for an Ash tear?