Posts from A guide to Heroes of Might and Magic I!

Peasant the cheapest and most prolific unit in the game. Peasants are good for only one thing — to die. Since damage is constant, neither blessing nor curse affects peasants. Their low price of 20 gold is not as advantageous as it may seem. Because one goblin costing 40 gold can kill 4 or 5 peasants. Never attack ghosts while having peasants in your army; it is suicide. Out of 6 types of troops, only 5 units can be in the army simultaneously, so there is no place for peasants in your army. Due to their low speed, they will most likely be attacked (and perhaps killed) before they can attack themselves, so it is much better to save money for higher-level troops. For example, one archer or pikeman will bring more benefit than 20 peasants.
However, by having a very large number of peasants in your army (more than 500), you can deal a crushing blow to the opponent (see the description of the
Walkthrough for the 6th stage of the 4th offline tournament by Fireball).

Goblin an ordinary first-level monster without special abilities, best used as meat. 3 hit points and average speed make the goblin an excellent unit for the start of the game, good for protecting orcs and attacking anyone who approaches them. A clear lack of defense makes goblins vulnerable to attack. Ideally, goblins should attack before they are attacked (or you can gather a whole bunch of them, and then it won't matter as much who strikes first). High growth and low cost make goblins quite effective. Nevertheless, one wolf is better than 5 goblins, despite the same price of 200 gold, thanks to its high speed and double attack. Blessing and curse have a great impact on goblins.

Centaur the only shooter at level 1, occupies 2 cells, like most Warlock monsters. Warlock monsters are very expensive and powerful, and therefore you will lose them less often and collect them in larger quantities. Their large size allows them to be used excellently for defending a castle; no flyer can squeeze between a centaur and the wall. When defending your city, place centaurs on top and another two-cell monster beneath them (hydras are best), and they will be well protected from attacks by flyers. The centaur is the best monster at its level — 5 hit points, good attack and shooting. Their price is inexpensive. Centaurs have average speed, so you don't need to fear slowing down your hero and can use centaurs until the end of the game.

Fairy an attack-oriented monster that can deal an unopposed strike from any point on the field. 2 hit points make them difficult to use in melee, so try not to leave fairies where they can be attacked. It is best to use fairies to finish off wounded enemies or attack unguarded shooters. When fairies are not participating in battle, it is better to keep them further away; they can attack an enemy at any moment thanks to flight anyway. In a later stage, use fairies to attack the strongest enemies without fear of retaliation.

Brigand has a very high attack, high speed and no retaliation, all of which make the brigand an excellent attacker. The brigand's defense is very low. Try to ensure that brigands are not subjected to attack; it is best to use them to finish off the enemy or deal the first strong blow to be finished off by others. When you have brigands in your army, try to make sure they attack before they are attacked. Blessing and curse have a great effect on brigands. This is an excellent unit for tournament play since, upon encountering their dwellings, you can immediately hire a considerable number of them and distribute them among all heroes, thereby boosting the heroes to the maximum.

ArcherArcher the only shooter in the Knight castle; however, their low speed hinders using them in fast gameplay: other Knight units (except peasants) have average and high speed, while archers will slow down the hero, so it is better to save them for the final battle. Archers have an advantage over orcs of 2 attack points and 4 extra shots, but have 1 less defense point. They have good growth, but they are still weak, yet you will have to buy them since they are the only shooters.

Orc roughly the same as an archer, attack is 2 lower, 4 fewer shots, but defense is 1 higher and it costs 10 less than an archer. An orc is a good shooter until trolls appear. One troll is better than 5 orcs thanks to its regeneration and stronger attack. If you have ogres in your army, then you can take orcs too; they are both slow.

Gargoyle the most useful monster in the game. High speed and flight allow gargoyles to be the first to reach enemy shooters. High defense for level 2 and a decent number of hit points make them difficult to destroy. However, the attack is not as good. It is best to place them in front of shooters so that they cannot shoot. Gargoyles with their high speed are magnificent for scouting.

Dwarf has the best hit points, defense and attack stats at level 2. Only speed is lacking, which limits their use. Dwarves are the only Sorceress units that have low speed. Magic resistance — a unique ability; with a 25% probability, they can "deflect" any magic directed against them, including combat magic cast by the hero under whose command they stand. The best application is protecting druids and elves. One of the common tactics with dwarves is wiping out a large number of enemy monsters while having the combat spells "Storm" or "Armageddon" in your arsenal.

Pikeman the first point of the "knight's rule". The rule states: first buy higher-level creatures, as it is more profitable in terms of price/quality. For example, a swordsman is practically twice as strong as a pikeman for only a quarter of the price, a rider is much better than a swordsman for only 50 gold, and a paladin deals damage like 3 riders but costs as much as two. Conclusion: with the exception of archers, whom we leave for later, always buy high-level creatures first. Returning to pikemen, this is the worst level 3 monster; unlike other level 3 monsters, it has no abilities. At the same time, its defense is 9, and only 6 monsters have higher defense. Defense is not accompanied by a large number of hit points. Low attack and damage stats are compensated by outstanding (for level 3) defense. During battle with a knight army, leave pikemen for last: they are hard to kill, but they do not pose a great danger due to their weak strike. The pikeman can be considered the opposite of the attack-oriented level 3 monster — the wolf.

Wolf is the opposite of the pikeman: weak defense and high attack. Double attack, but the opponent will manage to retaliate, so to use wolves to the maximum, try to remove retaliation with another stack, as wolf defense is quite weak. Speed is excellent, so keep wolves far away and attack suddenly, trying to attack before receiving a blow. When fighting a Barbarian, try to deal with wolves quickly because they do not have such strong defense, but their attack poses a threat. The wolf is the only Barbarian monster with high speed, so it is good to use for scouting, especially in combination with the Barbarians' special ability — no terrain penalty. If you are buying attacking warriors, then it is better to take wolves, but if you need defenders for your shooters, then it is more profitable to take ogres.

Griffin the best level 3 monster. Defense, attack, damage, hit points and the ability to fly are all very good. Infinite retaliation allows you to throw griffins into the very heart of battle (it will respond to attacks from everyone, except monsters that do not receive retaliation). Throw griffins at enemy shooters, and while the opponent is busy with them, your minotaurs and hydras will have time to approach. A size of two cells means it will be more subject to attack and will retaliate more! Minotaurs will be tougher for an additional 100 gold, so if you are not very wealthy, it is better to take them for castle defense.

Elf rather low attack and damage, but two shots per turn compensate for this. In close combat, the elf uses his dagger, but only once per turn. Druids are better than elves, so buy elves only if there are no druids. Always remember that 24 elf shots are enough for only 12 rounds. To protect elves, use dwarves in the early stage of the game, and unicorns with their ability to blind the enemy will appear at the end.

Nomad an average level 3 monster, standing out for its high speed. Blessing and curse have a great effect on nomads.