Upgrade or alternative upgrade? Auto-translated

Moreover, dragons have 5 less arcana defense than lava golems; a slightly increased damage output won't compensate for that... Lava golems are still preferable.

Exactly, they could give him an ability, for example, to place a fire mark with each attack + pyrokinesis; that would be much more useful and wouldn't be overpowered.))) Tail strike: D - when a creature, without using a rune, can attack the main target with battle rage and berserk, and at the same time strike the target behind it with its tail, dealing 75% damage!)))) And that's not bad; there's no battle rage rune, but now there's demand for the Arcat dragon!

I completely agree with you, esteemed user:smile20: :smile13:

It’s pointless to speculate now because there probably won’t be any more mods or patches for Heroes 5, which is a shame. The game is just too old. Although, there are fans who still create mods for Heroes 1. If Nival had provided the game’s source code with the ability to convert units from, say, 3dsmax, then there would have been countless mods, and any idea could have been implemented.

1. Definitely, warriors are great as a shield wall, and more initiative is always a plus! 2. They are roughly equal – the older ones have a devastating ability that triggers rarely, but if it does, it provides a significant advantage. The newer ones have more damage and more tactical options, for example: - Move a stack one tile closer to reach it on the first turn. - Move a stack and expose an enemy ranged unit. - Move a ranged unit and block it. - Pull an enemy into a fire wall, mine, or castle moat. - And much more. 3. Both bear upgrades are quite decent, but the first one is undoubtedly better against undead. 4. I build them last, but berserkers are, in my opinion, better due to their rage ability. 5. The newer ones are more useful at the beginning, while the older ones are better in final battles with many stacks. 6. Early on, the ones with more health and chain lightning will be better, but in difficult battles, especially if you use battle rage, they become incredibly powerful. 7. Definitely the older upgrade! What can fire goo, excuse me, fire walls with negligible damage offer compared to lava shield, dragon's breath, more health, and defense? The new dragons are :smile18:

The activation of abilities is easily resolved by leveling up the soldier...

By the way, I recently realized that if a late-game Gnome fails to find decent artifacts with initiative, taking Earls might be questionable, as the initiative difference, though small, could cost him his life! (The problem is that this is one of our attacking units that needs to be used to its full potential.)
But in the late game, there are usually artifacts with initiative, so then you should think about whether to get runes if there are no battles. If not, the upgrades are equal!

Hello everyone. I recently started playing Heroes 5 on the anniversary edition and, out of curiosity, I sometimes browse this forum. I have a question about building a Fortress for the Dwarves. Respected Lordesat mentioned above that it's possible to build Dragons by the end of the 2nd week. However, no matter how I try, I never manage to do it; the fastest I can achieve it is on the 1st day of the 3rd week. Let's set aside the issue of resources and money and consider a typical build order. If I understand correctly, to build Dragons, you need a city level of 15, and 2 weeks of 14 days each. If you build something every day, that's 14 levels! How can you possibly fit 15 buildings into 14 days?

This question falls into the category of "trying to do too much at once" :)
It's simple: the town has a level higher than the base level, meaning some buildings are already present, which is why this construction is possible. Otherwise, it wouldn't work.

So, it turns out that this type of build is only possible on maps where it's possible to start a town with a tavern already built from the beginning?
Then, such a start, supposedly allowing for a quick transition to dragons, becomes irrelevant and merely a privilege for a specific set of maps. Okay, I understand. Thank you for the explanation. I've read about this development not only on this forum but also on AG, and it's quite popular there, so I thought it was possible on all maps.

There's no point in arguing here; it all depends on the situation.

1) Warriors are almost always better.
The Shield Wall is a very useful ability. Especially when capturing mines and against neutral creatures in general. And if the hero is Ingvar, they become not just cannon fodder, but the best tier 1 unit, which can easily compete with tier 2 units of other factions.

2) Spear Masters are almost always better.
Crippling Strike, which pushes back on the initiative scale, is always better than Harpoon.

3) They are more or less equivalent. But I vote for the Northern Riders.
The Claw Attack is a less predictable ability and more difficult to use. The Frightful Howl looks better and the opponent is guaranteed not to retaliate.

4) They are equivalent. I like the Arcata Warriors more.
In general, I build Berserkers at the very end and only if all the others are bought out. Otherwise, they just sit in the castle. That's why I prefer the more robust Arcata Warriors. Because the Berserker's ability is quite difficult to apply against an opponent, as there may always be our own units nearby, and the Berserker attacks a random adjacent unit.

5) Against neutral creatures, it is definitely better to take Flame Priests. Fireball (especially with Light Magic) is more useful.
But against enemy heroes, there are many options to choose from. I like the Arcata Priests more because of the cross attack, which can almost always hit two creatures.
But you can also make good combinations with Flame Priests. After all, they and the Lords can cast the Fire Brand, and in combination with Fireball, this can be more advantageous than the cross attack.

6) I'm always in doubt. Both are very good.
If there are Flame Priests, then Lords are better - thanks to the Fire Brand, you can reliably get rid of one stack of the enemy, thanks to the Fireballs.
But I like Erls more. After all, with Berserk Runes and War Cry, they are often more useful. It's especially nice when the opponent stands shoulder to shoulder. You hit the weakest one, and all of them receive the same damage, and the retaliation is the least damaging to us.

7) Lava Dragons are much better. Dragon's Breath is better than a small Fire Wall in 99% of cases. And they are also better protected, especially if the hero has a defense skill.

3) The Claw attack is a less predictable ability and more difficult to use. The Roar ability looks better and guarantees that the opponent won't retaliate.

Quite the opposite. The Claw attack always works if you move a certain number of squares (I don't remember exactly how many). So, I choose the Black Bears.

Since the Berserker's ability is quite difficult to use against an opponent, as your own units may be nearby at any time, and the Berserker attacks a random nearby unit.

That's also incorrect. They don't attack your own units if they reach at least one enemy. I prefer Berserkers because both units are cannon fodder, but Berserkers at least have a chance of an unreturned attack. Although, it also depends on how many large creatures the enemy has.

But I prefer Erls. With the Berserker Rune and War Frenzy, they are often more useful. It's especially nice when the opponent stands shoulder to shoulder. You hit the weakest one, but all of them receive the same amount of damage, and we receive the least damaging retaliation.

For this reason, I always choose Erls. And also because they deal almost twice as much damage as Yarls, and because their ability is guaranteed to activate on attack, rather than randomly.
I basically agree with everything else.

2) Spear masters are almost always better.
A crippling strike that pushes back on the initiative scale is always better than a harpoon.

Of course not. Without luck, the wound is rare, but the harpooner has normal damage, unlike the DROW with his crappy 2-3 damage.

Of course not. Without luck, a critical hit is rare, but the harpooner deals normal damage, unlike the DROW with his crappy 2-3.

What dwarf doesn't pump luck???!
Soldier's luck is always there.
And the harpooner's damage is only slightly higher: 2-5 versus 2-3.