Posts from Tactics for the Swamp (Fortress).

The Swamp faction is strong in the early game, but it's not that cheap in terms of resources (you need a huge amount of wood for just the upgrades).

But wood is a huge advantage!... I have a very positive attitude towards this faction, and if I have to play on a map with a lot of "sea areas," I almost always choose the Swamp, put a moderately armed hero in a boat, and after a week, I have a whole warehouse of wood... I think many people do the same. :smile30:

and if I have to play on a map with a large number of "sea areas," I almost always choose the Swamp, put a moderately armed hero in a boat, and after a week, I have a whole warehouse full of wood...

especially since the Fortress has an excellent hero specifically for such tasks... ;)

This is a typical opinion from someone who doesn't know how to play Heroes at all!!!

There are different situations and different maps, in which one or another faction gains an advantage, that's all! For example, if a map consists of 90% swamp, then of course only Fortress will dominate there, and there can be no talk of equality!

Added after 4 minutes
You, of course, easily defeat any Necromancers and Elementals with any faction!

What's the point of just ranting on the forum like that? Play a few games, say 3 or 5 (so that randomness doesn't matter), and then determine who doesn't know how to play.

SWAMP

Many say that the swamp is a bad and useless faction in Heroes. Supposedly, the swamp-dwellers have no advantages over others. I disagree with this and want to convince such people that the swamp is a great castle.

- didn't convince me - listing unit features is not the same as superiority, and as for the two mentioned heroes, I won't even go there - their development is a nightmare - you might start with the swamp and run around for a couple of weeks clearing mines, but develop it fully? No thank you (well, there are a couple of magnificent spellcasters there indeed). You should play this castle either on small to mid-sized maps where a pure rush is possible, or develop quickly and capture secondary castles - considering the swamp seven as the main striking force in the second or third month of a decent map - I think that's unrealistic.

Added after 16 minutes
to be honest, I love this castle and enjoy playing it - but only if the opponent is clearly weaker than me or it's the computer (then you set it to one against seven and off you go)))
I'll list the only serious pros (my opinion)
+ 1st - the troops are splendidly divided into two or three target armies without losses in quality (gnolls+archers go out on the first day to clear the small fry - then you can add the basilisks to them and clear all more serious stationary troops - flies and buffed wyverns clear out archers quickly - and then bulls with hydras and basilisks depending on the situation - the tank core - breaking through the unbreakable) i.e., before it comes to a battle with the opponent, you can promptly work over your own territory and grab a couple of neighboring ones.
+ 2nd - bulls - in the fourth-fifth week they take Utopia splendidly, which no other castle can afford (except perhaps vampires with raising undead).
+ 3rd - all fighters except bulls can, with some luck, be built in 8 days
and that's all (only infernals have fewer advantages)

Added after 28 minutes
serious "Cons" - my opinion
1st - a single army does not form for me from them - in a large-scale wall-to-wall fight, the following happens - gnolls (mowed down in small territorial skirmishes, and even if not, they present no serious threat to anyone since they are slow and weak), archers are nothing - a stack of 300 is a slight threat only to the first level and only with a direct shot, the dragonflies' striking power is small - you need to bless them, i.e., lose a spell, and even dispel doesn't pay off such that only the attack of enemy archers and secondary strikers is stopped, Wyverns - they are inferior in such fights to everyone of the same level and their poison is nonsense; the only thing is they can be increased in number thanks to "trees", but they aren't found that often and it doesn't make up for their 70 HP - bulls, basilisks and hydras - these are very serious, but very slow; the opponent has plenty of options for cutting out the bulls and ignoring everything else - all such fights against sensible opponents are lost by me with a 100% result, and I don't think it's due to lack of skill. Only a serious, order-of-magnitude superior spellcaster can save it, or maybe someone developed fundamentally in the style of Crag Hack, but a specialized one.
2nd - territory - swamp - if you are unlucky - I have the impression that even "your own" troops barely move on it.
3rd - bulls - very expensive building, God grant that you build them by the end of the second week - I often fail, and they are very necessary; without them, the swamp army is ignored entirely.
4th - level 3 magic tower - reduces the possibility of swimming out of a bad start to zero; there is nothing tricky until the fourth level (again, not counting necromancers - there you can go wild)))
Conclusion: if the opponent is not a fool, you're toast (I probably forgot a lot now, but this is time-tested - if I remember more, I'll write it)
I'll note that the pros, except for the bulls, are only distinctive and in no way fundamentally surpass other races, and quite the opposite - and by a lot

Added 25 minutes later
[/U]and why does everyone call them "swamp dwellers" – it's stupid.
No one calls people "castle dwellers" or the inhabitants of the Rampart "rampart dwellers." So on and so forth.
They should be called the inhabitants of the Totality or the Tatalians (or something like that).

They are called that not because that's what the castle is called, but because they live in a swamp, and there isn't a better general term to describe them. Or would you prefer to say not elves, but AvLi, not demons but EoFol? Swamp dwellers live in a swamp, that's why they are called that. Krylud are barbarians, so they are called barbarians, everything is fine.

Personally, I really like this castle. And indeed, it's a SWAMP... with all the unpleasant consequences. For the enemies of the swamp, of course.

The Swamp is good in the early stages of the game – you develop quickly and get ahead of everyone, except maybe the Barbarians. But by the end of the month, the other castles catch up, and then they “pull ahead” :-)
What I dislike most is the weakness of the castle's magic.
An upgraded Mage, even with a not-so-strong army, will easily defeat the Swamp creatures.
Since I like large maps and long scenarios, I don't play as the Swamp, but I admit that in online games, on smaller maps, they can be very good.

P.S. I've been playing Heroes for 7 years (although only against the computer :-), maybe now I'll finally sign up for some tournament). And only ONCE did the Swamp creatures cause me major problems, but in the end, I defeated them :-).

What's the difference in calling them one way or another? I just think it's much easier to use slang (IMHO) because not many people played the campaign as thoroughly as you did (I, for example). The main thing for me is the essence, not the form... P.S. As for the topic, I'll say that I've tried many castles, but I really liked the Swamp Castle.

Fortress is certainly a rather ambiguous faction, and playing as it should require a certain level of skill. Beginners may find it difficult, as they don't always have the skills to utilize the faction's unique features and creatures. To my own dismay, I notice that despite having considerable experience, I don't particularly enjoy playing as Fortress (although I don't consider them weak). Perhaps it's just my personal preference for playing as humans.

[QUOTE=pavleague;P.S. I've been playing Heroes for 7 years (although only against the computer :-), maybe now I'll finally gather the courage to enter some tournament) and only ONCE did the Swamp faction cause me major trouble, but in the end, I crushed them :-).[/QUOTE]

Well, I also play Heroes a lot and mostly against bots) So, any online player will beat me with any faction, including the Swamp faction)) And that's despite the fact that I don't consider the Swamp faction to be weak at all) So, it's better to play online first, see how strong opponents play, and make sure that the Swamp faction is in no way worse than other factions.;)

Well, I also play Heroes a lot, and mostly against bots. So, any online player will beat me with any Castle, including the Swamp. And that's despite the fact that I don't consider the Swamp to be weak. So, it's better to play online first, see how strong opponents play, and make sure that the Swamp is no worse than other Castles. ;)

I definitely believe that an online player could beat me. :-)

But I still think that the Swamp is generally weaker than the other Castles.
Of course, if the map has nothing but wood, then the Fortress is unbeatable. But that's just a specific case.

For example, I recently played on an island map (XL).
I placed a Castle - random.
I got the Swamp. The only advantage was that I immediately recruited a Voyager with Navigation.
Yes, I built up quickly, but by the time I sailed to the enemy, they had a quite defensible army. Since the opponent was a dumb AI, I, of course, defeated him, but the point is that after I took two Castles, I started recruiting units only there (well, I sailed home a couple of times for Hydras and Gorgons :-)) and I can definitely say that, for example, a 2-week army of a Castle and a Swamp is "two completely different things." If the Swamp units were heavily decimated by the opponents, then the Castle, after a battle with approximately the same forces, came out practically without losses.

In general, my conclusion: The Swamp is great in fast games on small maps, and the Great Gorgons are awesome; in skilled hands, they can do wonders. :-)
I almost fell off my chair when I saw how my 90 Gorgons attacked 15 Black Dragons, and I thought - now the enemy's dragons will retaliate and my Gorgons will be left with just horns and legs. The Gorgons attacked - 2 dragons and 9 units died from their gaze! It's a pity that there are no other worthy warriors in the army besides them.

On random maps, the Swamp is one of the strongest factions, alongside Rampart and Conflux. Only overpowered Necropolis is stronger, but you can still fight them by playing as the Swamp.
Yes, I agree that starting as the Swamp is a bit difficult, but if you get the hang of it, Tazar with Gnolls and Lizards + recruiting troops from the second native faction + recruiting a second non-native hero from the tavern = you can easily take even the most difficult Dungeon on the first day, even without Wyverns (if you get a good start with Gnolls and Lizards). Non-ranged guards are easily defeated, and if there are many ranged units, upgrade the Flies and go for it. The Swamp has the highest speed for secondary heroes on Flies, and if you upgrade them, they all fly at maximum speed. If you scout many Hive factions in the first week, you need to find Sulfur at all costs to get Hydras in the first week, so that from the beginning of the second week, with 2-3 Hydras (Tazar with 2-3 Hydras can take even the most difficult Hive), you can clear the Hives to form the so-called "strike force" of a stack of Wyverns. If you can't get Hydras in the first week, then try to get Cows + Wyverns in the Citadel/Castle. Playing as the Swamp, taking Utopias with Tazar and Cows is a pleasure in the 3rd-4th week, and if you get lucky with Hives and Provisions, you can try it in the 2nd week. Someone above wrote that Wyverns are weak?! And what makes the Skeletons of the Necropolis strong?! That's right, their numbers. In one online game (not mine, though), a Necropolis player and a Swamp player were playing, and by the beginning of the second month, the Necropolis player had just over 1000 Skeletons, while the Swamp player had 140 Wyvern Monarchs. I don't think anyone would call Wyverns weak in that quantity.
My personal opinion, as I wrote at the beginning, is that the priority of factions by strength on a random map at 160% difficulty is as follows:
1 - undoubtedly Necropolis
2 - Conflux, Rampart, Dungeon, and Swamp. The priority of these factions depends entirely on the map layout.

invisible, your level of understanding regarding heroes inspires sincere respect.

Swamp is an excellent castle. There is the starting hero Bron. There are plenty of interesting heroes, first and foremost a candidate for "daddy" status — Tazar, as well as Dragon. The fact that one of the heroes has a tent can also play its part.
Besides the "Bron factor," another very good factor is that some heroes start with snakes. This speeds up processes quite nicely :)))
Upgraded Gorgons in Dragon Utopia are death under sail.
Hydras in cans rule incredibly; try it — you will see own miracles. Naturally, this also applies to hives, but it's even easier there.
Snakes are almost as good as genies.
A weak army? I find that hard to believe — small losses due to high defense. The ability to upgrade free wyverns makes them a total heavyweight stack.
Magic? Why not like the book from Dragon Utopia? For example, Earth or Air... Pandora's can be dug up again.
As for the lack of shooters — you need to learn how to play without shooters. Haven't learned yet? Take the titans' castle and build it up. When Archmagi and Titans are protected by Hydras and Basilisks — ooh...
By the way, don't forget to learn 3rd level teleport magic. Your Hydras and Gorgons are specifically asking you for this...

to invisible
Generally speaking, that's all correct, but there are too many ifs in your post.

If there are lots of beehives, if you find sulfur (by the way, + if there's plenty of wood, you can forget about development without it).

All of this is unfortunately not so easy to pull off.
And what if Rampart finds crystal deposits and manages to build golden dragons by the end of week 2?
There won't be a trace left of the Swamp.

By the way, taking a Dragon Utopia in week 2 is a utopia :-)
Even if it's the simplest one. (Well, in theory anything is possible, but in practice it's hardly feasible.)
If you get lucky by week 4, you might be able to manage it — earlier is unlikely.

Defending a castle against the Swamp is a pleasure — 1 weak shooter + 2 flying units, the Serpents are too weak even though they're fast.
You wipe out all the wyverns with your entire horde, and then cold-bloodedly shoot down the beasts behind the walls.

Of course, everything changes if the opponent has expert Water Magic with Teleport (as Qwerty said), but swamp dwellers are precisely known for their weak magic.

My personal opinion, as I wrote earlier, is that the priority of towns by strength on a random map at 160% difficulty is as follows:
1 - undoubtedly Necropolis
2 - Conflux, Rampart, Dungeon, and Swamp. The priority of these towns depends entirely on the layout.

Well, I don't know, I rarely play on random maps and I don't play at 160, only at 200.
And only on L and XL maps. There, the Swamp absolutely does NOT DOMINATE, and Necropolis, by the way, isn't exactly the strongest either (unless, of course, they found the Cloak of the Undead King).

Well, third-level magic can be managed somehow in general—wisdom will eventually be granted at level 6...
Rampart is a good castle, no one disputes that, but I haven't seen many gold dragons on the second week, and the green fighters are mediocre, you have to agree...
Moreover, colored dragons aren't actually that scary for the swamp—gorgons feel an unnatural attraction to them, almost indecently so...
In my opinion, the swamp has a different problem—too few high-tier units.
And as for the Dragon Utopia, by the way, it might even be possible on the third. The thing is, the AI is very afraid of hydras, which makes it very easy to break through both hives and "cans"! Well, you understand the rest—hydras, angels, vives, and gorgons; everything else is just fodder (not really needed anyway). The hero is probably Tazar, so our guys will be able to hold the blow normally. Gorgons stayed there, while vives, angels, and hydras flew further on wings, picking up more vives and angels along the way...