Posts from Tactics for the Stronghold.

So, generally, in most cases, I usually prioritize growth and income first, but if I'm going to play against a Castle or a Mage, and the map has all the necessary resources, especially crystals, I try to build creatures within a week, as they are the main offensive force. It works even better if the second unit is already built, because Behemoths require Wolf and Bird dwellings, which takes a total of 3 days. I build Cyclops last because they are expensive; they are mainly for destroying walls. The Mage Guild up to level 2: Lightning, Haste, Slow, Blind, Heal, and then go. Of course, before that, I increase the hero's attack.

Added 4 minutes later
The hero (Kreg Hag) should have: Attack, Defense, Ballistics, Tactics, Resistance, Leadership, Luck, and Wisdom.

Yeah... in other words, it turns out that the best tactic for the Stronghold is to develop a captured castle of another faction. :)
I just don't understand what the point is in playing as the Stronghold against strong players or at least those who are at your level. In my opinion, you might not be lucky here – a neutral castle might not have a Fort, or there might not be one at all; there might be too few resources, etc.
What then? Should you humbly wait for the enemy army to arrive and die with a sword in your hand? :)

Where did you get this nonsense from?

Did I write this in my previous post? Please read carefully what I write; it's already very difficult for me to type (because I do it very slowly, and it's very hard for me; yesterday I spent the ENTIRE night writing posts here – and this is the result...)

Only very weak players build money structures at the beginning, and by doing so, you will constantly lose even to average players. Even at 200% difficulty, you shouldn't build more than a Town Hall, and if this building hinders your gameplay (resulting in not being able to buy a hero for a quest or an army to break through), then you can do without it. It's worth building finances in a captured neutral town or village in the first week (and even then, there are many nuances; sometimes it's better to abandon building your main Castle and switch to building units in the neutral town if, for example, this Castle is much stronger than yours, if it has external creature spawns, etc.). If you have a lot of money and have managed to accumulate it, then you can immediately build troops in both Castles, or sometimes it makes sense to build magic immediately in a newly captured secondary Castle.
Why do only weak players build money structures at the beginning? Because good players immediately build an army, buy it, and use it to take money and resources from various monsters (including destroying (capturing) such money-generating structures in the early days of the game, like Necropolises, Imps, and sometimes even Dwarven Mines). They also buy many heroes (sometimes up to 8 in the first days of the game), and they rush in different directions to scout and collect free money and resources, and some of them are used for efficient quest chains. As a result, in this way, you may have even more money by the end of the week than a player who focused on finances and bought only two heroes, but at the same time, you will have already significantly leveled up your main hero, conducted extensive reconnaissance of the territory, which will allow you to know exactly where to go at the beginning of the second week, and at the beginning of the next week, you will be able to buy reinforcements and either go to kill the opponent or increase your combat power, while your opponent will only start building an army in the second week (and you will still get more money in the second week by destroying structures like Naga Banks, Medusa Lairs with your leveled-up hero and purchased army, and managing to collect some free resources much earlier than your opponent due to the larger number of heroes).

Why do only weak players build money structures at the beginning? Because good players immediately build an army, buy it.

I understand everything, but you don't need to tell me what and how to build first. I know that myself – money isn't everything. I've been playing Heroes for six years, starting with Heroes II, and I can figure out what's best for me. My tactics are well-honed and work 100% and even 200% of the time, even on the highest difficulty. Please choose your words more carefully, okay? Otherwise, are you saying my tactics are weak, or did you participate in the game's development so you can throw around words like that? If you had read further, you would have understood everything. The topic here was about one's own game tactics, not mine or anyone else's!

I'm curious, with what money are you going to buy an army if you built it without having a financial foundation? If you're talking about a fast game, then it's not interesting to me. I like it when the AI can respond to you in some way, rather than sitting in its castle for two weeks with a handful of weak units, waiting for you to conquer its city. And you won't have enough money to buy anything, but you will have built an ARMY in your city, which waits for a week for the plague!

Good players immediately build an army, buy it, and use it to take money and resources from various monsters (including destroying (capturing) such financial structures in the early days of the game as crypts, temples, and sometimes even dwarven mines). They also buy many heroes (sometimes up to 8 in the first few days) and send them in different directions to scout and collect free money and resources, and some of them are used for efficient hero chains. As a result, you may have even more money by the end of the week than a player who focused on finances and bought only two heroes, but at the same time, you will have significantly leveled up your main hero, conducted extensive reconnaissance of the territory, which will allow you to know exactly where to go at the beginning of the second week, and at the beginning of the next week, you will be able to buy reinforcements and either go to kill the opponent or increase your combat power, while your opponent will only start building an army in the second week (and you will still get more money in the second week by destroying structures like nagabanks and medusa lairs with your leveled-up hero and bought army, and by collecting some free resources much earlier than your opponent due to the larger number of heroes).

2Source
If the game takes place on L and XL random, then Gynnar is definitely right. It is absolutely critical to have starting breakthrough capability and an army by day 8 in order to go on a campaign far beyond the lands adjacent to the Castle. Moreover, if you built the money building, you actually lost money, because the Prefecture costs 2500 and will only pay off in 5 days, i.e., by day 8 you have gained only 1000, while being down an army, tempo, and everything that an additional hero, who was never bought or was bought late, could have gathered. And in the second week, there will be a secondary (if it's a computer one, then already with gold) and a lot of money from new respawns, dwarves, nagas, medusas. Let me give you this exaggerated example: at stage 8 of the Lord's Castle on a not-so-rich map, up to 90000 was collected in 7 days and the computer was killed. Of course, this is off and with diplomacy, but almost all joinings were paid, and the sum itself exceeds the Castle's income many times over.

The Citadel simply has no other option but to invest as much as possible in its army.

The Prefecture costs 2500 and will only pay for itself after 5 days, i.e., by day 8, you will have only gained 1000, while being at a loss in terms of army, tempo, and everything else that an additional hero could have gathered, which was either not purchased or purchased too late.

Dear Fireball, I just had to clarify. Either your words are a typo, or I misunderstood something (in that case, please comment.