Posts from Question about hidden heroes.

Hello everyone. I have "Armageddon's Blade," "The Shadow of Death," and "The Restoration of Erathia" for Heroes 3 all in one image. When playing through the campaigns, there are heroes like Dragon (who transforms mages into some guys in blue robes) and some guy named Gelo from the dwarf race. I only play against the computer and don't play through the campaigns, and for some reason, I've never encountered these heroes. Do you guys know why they aren't there, but they are in the campaigns?

P.S. And is it possible to play Heroes 3 online with someone? I'll probably lose, but I still want to try:smile43:. If anyone wants to, here's my ICQ: 382-234-363. Best regards, Sanya:smile02:.

It's very simple: heroes like Jelu, Dragon, etc., create an imbalance in the game. If you want to play on a specific map with a particular hero, just open the map with the editor, press Alt+Enter, and in the hero menu, check the box next to the portrait of the desired hero. Then, save the changes, launch the hero, choose the map, and play.

Yes, these heroes are specific to certain campaigns and do not participate in general adventures. By the way, I think all the heroes are included in The Shadow of Death. I checked in the editor, and it seems like all of them are there, except for Tarnum.

It's very simple:
Heroes like Jelu, Dragon, etc., create an imbalance in the game. If you want to play on a specific map with a specific hero, just open the map in the editor, press Alt+Enter, and in the hero menu, check the box next to the portrait of the desired hero. Then, save the changes, launch the hero, choose the map, and play. :)

I think you need to press Ctrl+Enter.

But there's an even simpler way - drag the desired hero to your castle in the editor, save the map, and then play on it... Otherwise, even if the editor allows you to obtain the desired hero on the map, there's a low probability that he will appear in the tavern... :)

It's very simple:
Heroes like Jelu, Dragon, etc., create an imbalance in the game. If you want to play on a specific map with a specific hero, just open the map in the editor, press Alt+Enter, and in the hero menu, check the box next to the portrait of the desired hero, then save the changes, launch the hero, choose the map, and play.

I did everything as described, but now this map has disappeared from the general list of scenarios... :(

What are you talking about? :D
If you find it interesting to play with such a "swarm," then I don't understand you.
They create an imbalance! I defeated seven computer opponents in the Sylvan map, allied with the Dungeon faction.

There’s a map of Oceania – it’s decent, but on it, you can choose Jela and the Dragon. What’s the point of that? If you know you’ve already created hundreds of Wizards or Snipers, and you’re just going to crush everyone in your path, what’s the point? It’s a game where you’re confident in your victory, but not sure if you’ll actually win.

Perhaps on custom maps where hidden heroes (Jelu, Dragon, etc.) are allowed, under equal conditions, these heroes have a clear advantage over others. However, on several of my maps where it was possible to hire them (or they were already hired), I did not notice any particular strength. Why? Let me explain.

Here are two maps; try playing them and determine if Jelu or Dragon, for example, plays a DOMINANT role:
1) [all allowed]
[M] "River Barrier"
http://corksink.narod.ru/all/02game/rargame/corksink00001.rar
2) [all allowed except Lord Haart – hero Jelu is already on the map]
[M] "No Light Without Shadow"
http://corksink.narod.ru/all/02game/rargame/corksink00003.rar

Let's analyze the hidden Ranger hero Jelu (Gelo): his talent to upgrade marksmen, archers, wood elves, and high elves into snipers is a mega-talent if, at a certain stage, he has access to Castle and (or) Rampart towns, the map is littered with Manors and Guard Towers, and gold is plentiful (upgrading to snipers is a costly procedure: for example, wood elves turn into snipers for 200 gold).

As events unfold on any map, buildings for level 1–7 units usually appear in cities, both yours and the enemy's, which have speed close to or higher than that of snipers (9 MP). And since snipers are susceptible to the effects of magic like forgetfulness, blindness, berserk, slow, etc., the effectiveness of using them drops to zero over time. Obviously, you can cast haste if you move first, place blocks around mega-shooters, blind or slow the enemy's fastest units, and so on.

Let's look at specific gameplay examples.
I chose the Rampart town and restarted the game several times on the aforementioned map [M] "River Barrier" until Jelu appeared in the tavern. I made him the "father." He was initially granted 9 snipers. Here is his heroic path on "Impossible" difficulty:
1) 133 – the second neutral town of the province surrendered (army: 9 snipers);
2) 136 – the last 8th mine of the province was subdued (army: 9 snipers);
3) 214 – Green Dragons were built (army: 26 snipers);
4) 327 – forces were gathered for the first invasion of neighboring provinces, level 3 Mage Guilds were built in towns, and a boat was summoned (army: 97 snipers);
5) 415 – 5 Azure Dragons were killed and the first utopia was captured (army: 0 snipers);
6) 417 – 5 Azure Dragons were killed and the second utopia was captured (army: 0 snipers);
7) 511_01 – 10 out of 16 utopias captured (more than enough), 6 out of 7 neighboring governors defeated, a huge number of level 7 monsters surrendered (army: 0 snipers);
8) 511_02 – fall of the last governor (army: 0 snipers);
9) 511_03 – victory (a minor glitch – two towns remained neutral, no time was spent capturing them).

It is clear that for the first 3 months, snipers were in demand in Jelu's army. But with every subsequent town capture, Guard Towers "wiped out" a significant number of snipers specifically. In battles with Azure Dragons and when taking utopias, snipers were not needed at all, as they would die immediately (tested). Therefore, it soon became clear that snipers, with their frail health of 15 HP, were no longer equipped for campaigns.

I agree that in network games, a period of 2-3 months usually brings all battles to an end, and Jelu with his snipers would undoubtedly be successful (but he is hidden, otherwise he would be banned). However, it seems more useful to me if your main hero improves their skills with each new experience level through constantly demanded specializations (talents), and these will surely be Defense, Logistics, Intelligence, Archery, Spellcasting, Attack, etc.

For comparison, on the same map, I chose the Stronghold town and the Battle Mage hero Dessa (Logistics specialty). On "Impossible" difficulty, Dessa's main stages are as follows:
1) 331 – 5 Azure Dragons killed and the first utopia captured;
2) 342 – second utopia captured;
3) 443_01 – 9 out of 16 utopias captured, 6 out of 7 neighboring governors defeated, a huge number of level 7 monsters surrendered;
4) 443_02 – victory.

Overall result.
I think it is not a coincidence that Dessa achieved full victory 5 days earlier (and 6 days earlier if the glitch in the game with Jelu is ignored): Dessa's Logistics specialization by the end of the game (level 29) already provided about 73% (145% of the 30% Logistics skill) increase in land movement points.

There is a certain advantage to Jelu with his snipers in the first 2-3 months of the game compared to other heroes. But in subsequent months, this advantage disappears: the Sniper specialization becomes an unnecessary appendix.

This analysis is quite conditional, as there are other maps with different goals. Nevertheless, it is clear that most often we use heroes with "long-term" specializations—those in demand throughout the entire game. And if Jelu were not a hidden hero, we could hire him as a second, non-primary hero (a sniper supplier) on large maps, and as a primary one on small maps. Personally, I believe that in NoM M3 there are many non-hidden and allowed heroes with whom any task can be successfully solved (no worse than hidden heroes).

If you're losing a hundred snipers on five Azure Dragons, considering you already have a large army and a well-developed hero, then we shouldn't be talking about the advantages or disadvantages of the Jellu, but rather about your skill level.