Posts from Tactics for playing as the Dwarves.

The game's tactics are a rather broad concept, so I'll list specifically what discussions I'd like to see in this thread.
1. City development and the most effective starting strategy. Efficiently dealing with neutral creatures.
2. Magic selection. I think that in a shorter game, a Dwarf can only focus on one type of magic (I also consider Rune Magic as a school). It's quite difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to max out both Rune Magic and another regular school.
3. Tactics for conducting battles. Discussion of various combinations, the skillful use of runes and magic when fighting different races.
4. Hero development. Which skills are essential, which are not crucial, and what shouldn't be upgraded at all. Skill combinations.

These are the main points, but, of course, the discussion doesn't have to be limited to them. There are no strict boundaries :)

I would really like experienced players (which, unfortunately, I don't consider myself to be yet) to share their experiences, and I also really want to see intelligent discussions. Everyone can say what their favorite unit in the Dwarf city is, but playing as this race, developing an effective strategy, and discussing that strategy on the forum is much more difficult, and that's exactly the kind of discussion that's lacking on the forum, IMHO.

PS Please, no one-sentence posts like "yes, I agree" or "the main tactic for Dwarves is to defend." Honestly, it's annoying. I will ask the moderators to delete such messages. And most importantly, don't make unsubstantiated claims, but provide arguments. Or at least try to ;)

Excellent topic! I created a similar one for the Elves, and it seemed to be well-received, so I hope this one will also develop.

Everyone can say what their favorite unit is in the Dwarf city, but playing as this race, developing an effective strategy, and discussing that strategy on the forum is much more difficult, and that's exactly what's missing in forum discussions, in my opinion.

Yes, yes, the same problem((( It's very difficult to find interesting or simply well-reasoned opinions(((

I myself am not an experienced player in Heroes 5, especially when it comes to Dwarves, but they are one of my favorite races, so I will share my thoughts.

Dwarves, in my opinion, are the easiest race to start with, only Elves are easier. The best starting option, in my opinion, is a combination of Ingvar and Mountain Guards. In the very first turn, upgrade them to Mountain Guardians (if possible) and don't recruit anyone else, because when they are in their initial position, they receive a significant bonus to their stats. I've managed to get their attack and defense up to 20 by level 5 for Ingvar!! And the growth of 18 is quite good. Losses in one battle are about 3 units with the first levels and 3-7 with the second levels, totaling about 120 at the beginning. With just the Guardians, you can clear the map up to some level 3 monsters (Lancers and Minotaurs are cleared without any problems). Battles with archers are more difficult, but here the chosen magic plays an important role.

I rarely develop Rune magic; it's expensive, slows down the development of the castle, and isn't very effective. As for which magic to develop, I haven't decided yet, and I would be interested to hear the opinions of other players. Well, first of all, it depends a lot on the situation. A good option for Dwarves would be summoning magic, but there are very few summoning spells in the guild, so depending on the situation, I choose either light or chaos, but chaos is still preferable, especially for Ingvar.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to describe it in more detail; I need to prepare a report, and to answer the third point, I need to seriously strain my memory and analyze, which I unfortunately don't have time or energy for right now)))) I would be very interested to hear your ideas.
Just don't be too harsh))))

Sincerely, Alucard.

Hmm, did attack and defense reach 20? How is that possible? At the early stages of the game? Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning it, I'm just curious where you can get that much at the beginning... Especially attack. Could you explain?

Sure, the level might not be exact, maybe a bit higher, but the stats are correct; it was around 22 defense and 17 attack, but that's if the Mountain Guards haven't moved. Otherwise, it's definitely lower, and you should also add the artifacts to get the final stats. I'll play on "Former Friends" today to confirm.

I think it's actually difficult to start with Dwarves; before the gray-skinned bears appear, it's a real pain. A lot depends on whether you get the energy rune. And Karl is the best option here – he has ranged attacks, a cart, and Soldier's Luck at the start... we shoot, cripple, and the Mountain Guards cover us... I only upgrade the Rune School when all the vital buildings are already constructed, closer to the endgame. Of the magic schools, Light is best for Dwarves, but Chaos is easier to manage at the start.
I've also heard about starting with Ingvar, but I didn't like it... In general, for Dwarves to have a successful start, they need either Chaos, or Karl, or Machine Management and money to buy all these machines (fortunately, the forge is a mandatory building in the Dwarven castle).

Of course, that all sounds great! But I'm starting with the Fortress faction, and I don't have many problems in the early stages! I haven't decided which magic to focus on yet. And runes are a really cool thing! You just need to get them quickly, but make sure you don't run into a resource crisis! I haven't figured out all the runes yet, but it's really interesting to play as the Dwarves. I move away from the castle when I have the first three types of units and at least one upgraded priest. And before that, I hang around on my own territory. I don't know how machines work for the Dwarves; I've never taken them. And as for the defenders, they're tough guys. They're hard to kill, but they don't do much damage either. I don't understand how they have so much attack power, Alucard! There aren't many artifacts in the early stages (almost none).

I don't know how useful machines are for Gnomes; I've never used them.

You should try them. Machines are a real help for Gnomes, even without the skill. With high unit defense at the beginning of the game, even 10 hit points of regeneration is noticeable. The ballista is even more noticeable because each battle is prolonged due to the low damage of the warriors, and the cart is beyond comment... Besides, it's very easy to acquire machines (15% chance), and Gnomes, in addition to the triple ballista that has become standard for everyone, also have rune machines (+3 to machine initiative). Gnomes also need attack, so taking fire arrows is not a problem. As a result, we have a ballista that is only slightly weaker than those of Demons or Orcs.
However, there are more interesting perks for Gnomes instead of machinery, such as defense, leadership, luck, some kind of magic... that's why they are not taken so often...

A ballista for a dwarf is certainly good... but it's a bit of a hassle to use, the damage isn't that great compared to demons and orcs, and it costs 4500 gold in the forge. In some ways, education helps, as it's not too difficult for a dwarf to level up. A cart is a must-have, definitely.

Education, in my opinion, is also an important perk. Firstly, it provides mana regeneration, as dwarves don't have much mana. Secondly, it allows you to unlock secrets, which is a great way to get evasion, wall of fire, and fireball for priests. Also, you almost always need to level up magic for a dwarf, as 50% of his stats are magical, and if he doesn't have magic, they go to waste. I really enjoyed playing with Chaos; the dwarf deals noticeable damage, but lacks spellcasting for complete satisfaction, so you could choose Erling in that case. I haven't tried playing with Light yet, but the dwarf's lack of attack is very noticeable, so a mass punishing strike would be just the thing, especially against "shooting" races, as I already mentioned, along with mass evasion.

After that, you almost always need to develop magic for the dwarf, because 50% of his stats are magical, and if he doesn't have magic, they go to waste. I really enjoyed playing with Chaos; the dwarf deals noticeable damage, but lacks spellcasting for complete satisfaction, in which case you can choose Erling. I haven't tried playing with Light yet, but the dwarf's lack of attack is very noticeable, so a mass punishing strike would be just the thing, against "shooting" races, as I already said, mass evasion.

Light is also good for the dwarf because, in addition to mass acceleration, evasion, stone skin, and punishing strike (and each of these takes half a turn for the hero), there is the "Secrets of Light" skill, which allows spellcasters in the hero's army to spend only half the mana on spells, meaning priests can cast 5! fireballs or 2 fire walls - and that's already useful!
Dwarves have strong warriors, so enhancing them is often more beneficial than simply using destructive spells. Also, don't forget about runes. Mass acceleration is not only 40% more frequent turns, but also 40% more frequent use of runes; mass punishing strike is not just +12 to attack, but when using runes of berserker, dragon form, or battle rage, it's much more...

And how should I level up then! I'm completely confused.
But I think like this:
Logistics
Education
Chaos
Defense and
Sorcery – these are for Erling.
But I would also like some luck and attack skills. How do I choose the right ones?

Logistics can be taken if it appears, but it shouldn't be planned for in advance, as it has a 2% chance. Education, in my opinion, is a must, as gnomes are usually turned into mages, and extra stats won't hurt. Plus, as I already mentioned, Magic Affinity and Uncover Secret will be helpful. Chaos or Light? This depends on personal preference, the enemy, the expected length of the game, etc. The advantages of Light have already been described by Player. Chaos is also not bad; it's best combined with Fireball, Pyrokinesis, using the Fire Sign with priests, and if you're lucky with Enchantment, you can develop a lucky sorcerer, and then Chaos will be truly devastating, even if your magic skills aren't very high. Enchantment is only worth developing if you're going for Chaos. And it rarely appears anyway. Defense can be taken for the Readiness skill, which is very easy to develop in a gnome. Or you can take Attack, which is also important for a gnome, because the Attack parameter is not very high, and the creatures themselves don't deal much damage. Due to the large number of troops, Battle Fury looks good. Luck or Leadership. This is up to personal preference; both are not that difficult to develop, and there are useful perks in both.

The Light Aura is also good because, in addition to mass acceleration, evasion, stone skin, and punishing strike (which take up half of the hero's turn), it has the "Secrets of Light" ability, which allows spellcasters in the hero's army to spend only half the mana on spells. This means that priests can cast 5! fireballs or 2 fire walls – and that's already a benefit!

I thought Secrets of Light only affects light magic. Has anyone checked if it affects all magic used by creatures?

I thought Secrets of Light only affect light magic, has anyone checked? Does it affect any magic used by creatures?

No, Secrets of Light actually affects any magic. This is what makes the perk so attractive, especially for priests, who have quite powerful magic.

How do you level up then! I'm completely confused!

I think that if you go through Chaos, the best build is as follows:
1) Chaos (preferably through pyromancy, then you have the opportunity to play well on Armageddon - you leave the dragons of the Jarls and the priests of flame and... cast, cast, cast...)
2) Leadership - Runic Harmony and Diplomacy - Empathy (because the morale of each squad is at least +7!!!, the hero will move almost like Oraz, and this is very important for Chaos, and it turns out that magic is not needed...)
3) Education - Magic Attraction (so that there are no problems with mana, and also Scholar - Keeper of Secrets (and +2 to witchcraft, which is nice for Chaos, and empathy cannot be opened without it)
Next, you can take attack with mass acceleration or defense with mass stone skin. Since there is no light, this will help, in my opinion, attack is still better. Or you can take both if you have enough levels...
In the end, you get a good Chaos mage, and also an excellent warrior.
And if you go through Light, then the best is the following:
1) Light - Righteous Wrath - Secrets of Light and Bestowing Protection
2) Attack - Tactics - Attacking Hirdu - Retribution
3) accordingly, Leadership through Runic Harmony and rallying troops to Enthusiasm.
Next, you can take either luck with soldier's luck (extremely useful for a dwarf - and the spear more often cripples, and the bear more often hits or scares with its paw, and some rune works more often...) if you choose an attacking option, which is preferable, or defense with readiness if you choose a defensive option...
In the end, you get an army of unprecedented strength, quite mobile, with huge defense and very good attack.

Among the heroes of the Northern Clans, I think Ibba looks very good. It seemed to me that it was easiest for her to defeat neutral creatures, even I couldn't make the Dwarf do it as effectively. I would choose the old bear upgrade at the start, because the chance of their ability triggering is much higher, and this sometimes plays a decisive role. But there is one significant drawback. As ValgallaWolf rightly pointed out, she can mess things up against ranged units... Although, as a rule, the bears manage to attack, since a frightened creature, or a creature that has received a paw strike, is moved to the end of the turn order.

Regarding the skill build. In my opinion, you can take either attack or defense, don't upgrade attack skills (unless it's Battle Balance), and upgrade defense to the maximum, which is easy to achieve. If you ignore defense, you can upgrade attack to Retribution; high morale won't hurt the dwarves due to their average initiative, and it would be good to add luck here, but considering that the dwarf also gets magic and education, luck will only be available in a very long game.