Posts from How many factions are there?

Major – we play the game, but didn’t we create it? The developers decide how we play, there’s nothing we can do about it. Regarding the creatures – according to that logic, there’s almost no difference between a knight and a minotaur, or between a black and an emerald dragon. Indeed, they both fly far, deal high damage, and their HP isn’t significantly different, so what’s the difference? It turns out that all creatures are the same, just in different forms. And neither the Nighon nor the Swamp will help here.

I didn't quite understand your point of view. These are already different creatures in terms of style. What exactly in the previous posts led you to this argument?

I didn't quite understand either. How can you tell by the style? I mean, the parameters of the creatures. A knight and a minotaur turn out to be the same, just in a different form. And Major wrote something about upgrades, that there's no difference. I mean, the difference between a swordsman and a knight (one creature) is the same as the difference between a minotaur and a swordsman (different, supposedly). If it's all about new, visually distinct creatures, just download mods and don't bother with new races.

The combination of appearance and stats is so important. Here are a Paladin and a Death Knight. They are completely different in both appearance and stats. This is what adds beauty to the game. Would it be beautiful if the creatures had no abilities? Sorry, I expressed myself poorly in the previous post; I meant the visual appearance.

In terms of parameters, these are quite similar creatures. They have the same HP, similar damage, and attack and defense stats... But what distinguishes them, besides their appearance, is the presence of specific abilities. All creatures have their own, including upgraded versions. You can't just say that stalkers and aces are the same. They differ in appearance and abilities, just like the other upgrades in the game. This is what I mean: there are so many new creatures, but gamers still want more. The same goes for the factions. Once you play, the 42 new creatures (if there are two factions) will become old creatures. Currently, there are 168 creatures in the game, not counting neutral ones. Do you think these 42 will change anything?

Well, I wouldn't say that... Do those Minotaurs really resemble the Legionnaires? The increase is almost twice as much, there's a significant difference in stats and HP... The speed is different. Only the initiative is the same, and even with the new upgrade, the initiative is already 9. Besides, the Chaos Druids are very, very different from the Emerald Dragons. I'm too lazy to go into detail, but they really have less in common than they do similarities. The fact that 70 new creatures have been added, yes, that's true. Of course. But personally, for me, nothing has fundamentally changed. Imagine, 70 creatures is like 5 races, not counting alternate upgrades. In my opinion, the conscious perception of 70 completely new creatures is more significant than the perception of 70 remakes, even with new abilities. And yet, alternate upgrades were not created to simply increase the number of creatures. It was necessary to diversify the tactical possibilities, to give players even more alternatives, but for this, of course, they had to be recolored. Um... And besides, who said that he was tired of 8 races? At least I didn't say that; at this stage, I'm quite happy with what we have. Of course, I wouldn't be against new races, but I don't feel any lack of these new races yet. And Nighon, the Swamp, the Preserved Thicket – these are primarily the result of collective creative work. So far, no one except the creator of the Swamp has seriously thought about implementing them.

I believe that the most important thing is the atmosphere of the game. The stories of each creature, the alliances between races, the legends of heroes, and many other things that allow you to immerse yourself in the world of heroes. And with each new race, this world is expanded and becomes even more interesting. I especially enjoy thinking about the global coexistence of races! Of course, there needs to be a limit, and I agree with the idea of 10-12 races.
You're wasting your time discussing parameters; Heroes is not just a set of numbers assigned to creature names. It's about fantasy, and without it, it's better not to play the game at all. By the way, similar parameters are the main part of the game's balance, and the difference between units lies in their abilities and legends!

In terms of parameters, these are quite similar creatures. They have the same HP, similar damage, attack and defense stats... But what distinguishes them, besides their appearance, is the presence of specific abilities. All creatures have their own. This includes upgraded versions. You can't just say that Stalkers and Aces are the same. In terms of appearance and abilities, they are different, just like with other upgrades in the Tribes of the East. This is what I mean – there are so many new creatures, but gamers still want more. The same goes for races. If there are two races, these 42 new creatures will eventually become old creatures. Currently, there are 168 creatures in the game, not counting neutral ones. Do you think these 42 will change anything?

By parameters, I mean ALL characteristics, especially abilities. I understand your point of view and agree with you to some extent, but you are generalizing too much.

You are absolutely right. But quantity means diversity. And their coexistence is like a story. After all, in the real world, not everything is smooth either. So, in principle, each race is for itself, has a tendency towards some of the races, and fights with others. The essence of Heroes is battle. This is not some kind of game like Caesar 4, where the emphasis is on the economy. Here, the economy is simple - develop your castle to the capital and go ahead! And the more races there are, the more decisions there will be, the more clearly the individuality of each player can be revealed. In principle, with 16-17 races (although I know for sure that this is not realistic), each game will be a discovery because it is difficult to remember so many combinations and variations. And, of course, all this means new hours spent with your favorite heroes. Therefore, I will repeat once again - the more, the better!

The problem is also that it’s not only difficult for gamers to remember so many combinations, but it’s probably even more difficult for the developers to balance all of this. More factions mean more bugs, shortcomings, and so on. And there’s no need to say now that if we make three factions, the balance will be perfect. There should be a limit on both sides, not just on increasing the number. And I think that these limits have now been found – eight factions.

The more factions there are, the better, and you can add an eighth unit.

The eighth unit is superfluous; traditionally, there are seven. Besides, the eighth level features a summoned phoenix or an avatar for Arantir.

If the brilliant developers can balance a large number of factions, then of course, they can add 10 more, and I think gamers will only benefit from having more factions, more variety, and more tactical options...
But unfortunately, this is unrealistic, as we know, perfect balance only exists in Starcraft; there are no other truly balanced games, and even fewer strategy games. The developers can't balance 8 factions, so it's scary to imagine what would happen if they added even more... Although, they don't need to rush; there are no plans for a sixth installment yet, so they can continue to focus on balance with add-ons, but this time with a greater emphasis on it.

Some people can’t grasp that more races mean a better game; they confuse alt-upgrades, wondering why they need even more races. Others have lost interest in the game – they’ve had enough. Some lack the imagination – they wear the same outfit for half their lives and struggle to come up with something new. But I’d be happy with 100 or even 200 races, as long as each one has completely new units, skills, unique heroes, and a backstory. Why are races from other worlds present in Warcraft 3 and WoW, but it’s considered too difficult to come up with them for Heroes 5?

I trust the developers. Let it be as they made it.