Posts from Power Buildings

Should I level up the Hypnotize skill?
On large maps, against Haven, and then the entire army will run around under hypnosis. Or, I'll teach my Barbarian the Hypnotize skill, and then victory will be ours!

Should I level up the Hypnotize skill?
On large maps, against Haven, and then my entire army will run around under hypnosis. No, it's better if I teach my Barbarian the Hypnotize skill too, and then victory will be ours!

Well, firstly, your entire army definitely won't be under hypnosis :D because Barbarians have magic resistance, and there's also that wonderful spell called "Dispel Magic" that hasn't been canceled yet... and secondly, making a Barbarian a Grand Mage of Haven... well, it's not exactly easy... and you still need to find the spell... hypnotizing isn't really a Barbarian thing to do :smile19:

I'm for Cyclops... and I agree with the rest...
I understand that Cyclops don't have a very high growth rate... but it's unpleasant to be completely without archers...

I agree. Besides, without Cyclops archers, it's very difficult to clear the map at the beginning of the game and level up the hero. It's impossible to use Ogres without significant losses when fighting any neutral creatures of level three. Therefore, when playing against a human, I believe that choosing Cyclops is essential.

Added after 3 minutes
I agree. Besides, without Cyclops archers, it's very difficult to clear the map at the beginning of the game and level up the hero. It's impossible to use Ogres without significant losses when fighting any neutral creatures of level three. Therefore, when playing against a human, I believe that choosing Cyclops is essential.

Should I invest in Tactics?
On large maps, against Order, and then the entire army will be running around under hypnosis. No, it's better if I teach my Barbarian hypnosis too, and then victory will be ours!

If the game is on Whirlwinds, then one round of Order or Life magic solves this problem.

If it's on Equilibrium, then everything is even more fantastic. We take Ogres and cast the strongest spell on our strongest unit (birds or monsters), and with 60% resistance, casting Hypnosis or Berserk on them (and considering that we will still take Life or Order magic) is a very bad prospect. :)

2Larson, dispelling spells won't help you:D

I agree. Besides, without ranged Cyclops, it's very difficult to clear the map at the beginning of the game and level up the hero. It's impossible to use Ogres without significant losses when fighting any neutral creatures of the third level. Therefore, when playing against a human, I believe that choosing Cyclops is a must.

With the number of Ogres you can accumulate, the loss of 1-2 creatures will be negligible + an Ogre can perfectly support the hero with magic.

By the way, what are the early stages of the game? At the very beginning, a weak Barbarian will clear the first level with, well, and Harpies (I think about Harpies). And then, when he reaches level 3 in the "middle" castle, he will be able to clear it himself.

P.S. I just compared the stats of a Cyclops and an Ogre on both versions (Whirlwinds and Equilibrium), and I even felt sorry for the Ogres in Whirlwinds, because, in essence, everyone took Cyclops not because of their strength (this is highly debatable), but because of the weakness of the Ogres: 16 attack and 18 defense, movement range of 19 - these are not Ogres, but some kind of Goblins. It's good that they raised them to a higher level in Equilibrium, and now it's definitely a big question whether it's worth taking Cyclops with their 7 shots, speed of 4, movement range of 21, and a growth rate of 3. In my opinion, without a Sniper's Crossbow, they have no place in a Barbarian army

supporting a hero when the ogres themselves have 6 mana... is, um, not very useful) because good spells are expensive) 5 mana or so... I don't remember exactly which ones, but they seem better than spells costing 2 mana, etc.)) ... therefore, ogres can only lure enemies with their growth rate (unfortunately, I don't remember the exact numbers for the growth rate)...

if I'm playing for strength, I prefer cyclops... and if I'm playing with another faction and find a barbarian camp, I might build ogres as a supporting unit or as cannon fodder).

supporting a hero when the ogres themselves have 6 mana... is, um, not very useful) because good spells are expensive) 5 mana or so... I don't remember exactly which ones, but they seem better than spells costing 2 mana, etc.)) ... therefore, ogres can only lure enemies with their growth rate (unfortunately, I don't remember the exact numbers)...

You don't need to cast buffs constantly, so 5 mana is enough, just enough for two casts of different useful spells, and you can also cast something against enemy mages. Therefore, you can quite easily carry 1-2 ogres with you for some time.

But in general, it's better to run with birds)))

By the way, birds taking the first hit is a very scary thing, because their strength lies in their attack power:)

Should I level up Tactics?
On large maps against Haven, and then the entire army will run around under hypnosis. No, it's better if I teach my Barbarian hypnosis too, and then victory will be ours!

Allowing yourself to be hypnotized is already half the battle lost. And without Tactics, all troops are useless. Simulate the situation in the editor, and finally take a look. On large and rich maps, Tactics is a skill that all races level up by default, just like Pathfinding.

I don't understand, what makes the Ogre so strong? Is it those three cheap Bloodclaws?

The conversation was about Ogres in Equilibris; in Whirlwinds, they are practically useless.

By the way, when there are many Ogres, do they have a mass Bloodlust ability or not?

In the Vortex, and in Equilibris, when there will be a 6-fold (or 5-fold) increase in the number of Ogres in a unit, spells will become more widespread.

What a lively discussion.

I haven't played Heroes 4 against another person, but against the computer, any tactic works... and it doesn't matter what you choose, although I prefer a defensive style, so harpies with retaliation and cyclops with ranged attack. Birds are cheaper to build... that's how it is.

P.S.: I didn't think that Heroes 4 is still so popular, maybe I'll dig up the disc and remember how these little figures move around:)

The fourth game was always popular.)))
I usually take harpies, cyclops, and birds (they fly far, attack with lightning, but unfortunately, they also die quite often, but I think it's still better than slow monsters).
I don't think it's worth teaching magic to a Barbarian hero; if necessary, there are secondary heroes for that.

My choice: harpies, cyclops, and behemoths.
I spent a very long time deciding on the barbarians. I played with them exclusively for four years, but for some reason, I didn't use harpies. Maybe I just didn't feel like building a Stronghold (although a caravan isn't cheap either), or maybe I was more attracted to the higher number of hit points, powerful attack, first strike, and the ability to reach the enemy on the first turn (a tactical advantage). I still don't understand why I preferred them.
I only started appreciating harpies recently and completely switched to them. Retaliation is much better than first strike, even if it deals slightly less damage to the enemy; this unit is incredibly effective in defense (sometimes it's even more useful than archers). Plus, they have a solid movement range on the battlefield, not inferior to barbarians at all. The only downside is that harpies are not very effective against "hard-hitting" enemies, for example, Life with "pikemen-crusaders-angels," Death with "ghosts-vampires-dragons," or, in short, against anyone who prefers brutal melee combat on the first turn.
Let's move on to the third level. I never got around to trying ogres in Equilibris, but from what I know about them, their advantage is obvious. The problem of a lack of mana in the early game is solved by placing single-cell ogres in available slots; in the late game, it's solved with an artifact or the "Mana Surge" spell.
And since I mainly play in Whirpools, I don't think anyone here will be surprised by my preference for cyclops. Because ogre mages in this version are definitely weak – just a slow piece of meat with monstrous growth.
Next, the fourth level. I choose behemoths because of their large number of hit points, powerful attack, and defense. And they are also cheaper to build than harpies (I'm not sure about this; if I'm wrong, please correct me). With tactical gameplay, they will easily defeat the enemy, and as for the final battle, yes, they are slow and will simply crawl towards the enemy's positions on the first turn, but they can deal significant damage to Chaos/devils/phoenixes, which will move first and (most likely) expose themselves to attack. Another disadvantage of my choice is a slight slowdown of the army.
However, my choice of behemoths is not definitive. Sometimes I take harpies if I need huge speed and a lightning strike (but I never take harpies against Order (mechanics), Chaos (devils), and Might (magic resistance)).

Regarding leveling up a barbarian with "Hypnosis" or any other school of magic to the 5th level – I think there's no point in even discussing such a thing. Only in Campaigns, for personal enjoyment, against thousands of intelligent AI opponents :) :) :) :) :)

I also didn't quite understand something in the discussion – why are you guys talking about the barbarian as the only hero in the army? :confused: ?
I mean, like, "level up Combat and Tactics, and there's no room left for anything else." Does anyone here play with Might, using only one hero + an army of weaklings from the first two levels?
I don't see any problem in leveling up one General, one Warlord, one Ranger, and some other warrior-mage. Although I agree that relying on a lucky find of a particular school of magic is not a good idea. You might not even find the necessary spells! It's a different story when you capture an enemy Castle (e.g., Order or Life with a built-in training ground), and they offer you everything on a silver platter. But there are also two objections here: if you are already so fast that you reached the enemy castle and took it, then you have most likely already reached the maximum number of necessary heroes, and it is impractical to remove one member of the team for a weak novice mage; and secondly, not all maps will allow you to acquire two castles.

My choice: harpies, cyclops, and monstrosities.
I recently started using harpies and completely switched to them. Counterattack is many times better than the first strike, even if it deals less damage to the enemy; this unit is incredibly effective in defense (sometimes it's even more useful than archers). Plus, it has a solid movement range on the battlefield, not inferior to nomads.

You also forgot to mention the return strike – it's just as important;)

Let's move on to the third level. I still haven't tried ogres in Equilibris, but from what I know about them, their advantage is obvious. The problem of a lack of mana in the early game is solved by placing single-cell ogres in available slots; in the late game, it's solved by an artifact or the "Mana Burst" spell.

A single ogre from an outer dwelling or from a diplomat somehow alleviates the acute shortage of magic.

Since I mainly play in Vortex, I don't think anyone here will be surprised by my preference for cyclops. Because ogre mages in this version are definitely weak – just a slow piece of meat with monstrous growth.

But you're wrong about Vortex – switch to Equilibris, trust me, you'll like it;)

I didn't quite understand something in the discussion – why are you guys talking about the Barbarian as the only hero in the army? :confused: ?
Like, "upgrade Battle and Tactics, and there's no room for anything else." Does anyone here play with Might as their only hero + an army of outcasts from the first two levels?

No, here, as a rule, they go to the final with six heroes + level 4 monsters. Sometimes with five + level 3 and 4 – probably this happens most often with Barbarians, because it would be a sin not to take cyclops to the final, maybe it can only be justified by the absence of a fast unit.