Posts from Secondary skills in Heroes 3.

My skill preferences are as follows (in general, without additional factors such as the absence of good spells of this school in the guild of mages or constant attacks when ballistics is needed, etc.):
1. Logistics (definitely the best skill)
2. Wisdom (if the map is large)
2 or 3. Earth Magic (if the map is small - second in priority)
3 or 4. Air Magic and Water Magic
4 or 5. Defense or Wisdom (if the map is small)
5 or 6. Attack or Archery (depending on the number of archers in the army and for this faction)
6 or 7. Archery or Attack (no typo, just the second skill is also needed:))
7 or 8. Intelligence
8. Ballistics (as you can see, I only choose this when playing on a small map, and there ballistics is a powerful asset)

And of course, all this is very situational (for example, if there is a swamp around, I value Pathfinding as much as Logistics), for secondary heroes the skills are completely different, etc.

Guys, explain to this dumb elf why diplomacy is so great. Usually, you end up recruiting useless units, your own army is enough, and it's a pity to waste a skill slot. There are too many "ifs" in this diplomacy, in my opinion; that is, "if" you are playing as Barbarians and "if" it is the month of Ruukh and "if" Ruukh are on the path of your hero and "if" there is a slot in the army for them or there is a unit that you don't mind disbanding and "if" they encounter the hero along the way, and not huddled together at the opposite end of the map, and "if" you have a large enough army so that they don't scatter... then - yes. But there are too many of these "ifs"...

That’s exactly why I don’t take Diplomacy… What if 60 manticores want to join the Warlock, for example? And I already have 40 scorpions of my own. What am I supposed to do then? I can’t bring myself to discard my own, hard-earned creatures… no, I’d rather gain experience on neutral creatures. :mad:

Hey guys, explain to this clueless elf why diplomacy is so great. Usually, you end up recruiting useless weaklings. You already have a sufficient army, and it feels like a waste to use a skill slot for it. There are too many "ifs" in this diplomacy, in my opinion; like "if" you're playing as Barbarians and "if" it's the month of Ruukh and "if" Ruukh creatures are in the way of your hero and "if" there's a slot in the army for them or if there's a unit you don't mind disbanding and "if" they encounter your hero along the way, and not clustered at the opposite end of the map, and "if" you have a large enough army so they don't scatter... then, yes. But there are too many "ifs"...

Diplomacy is a useful skill because it allows you to quickly assemble a decent, albeit diverse, army. Regarding empty slots: I don't have the habit of carrying slow units with my hero, so an empty slot is almost always available. However, I never take diplomacy for ideological reasons :D :D :D.

I actually like her for ideological reasons... Otherwise, what would I be doing in the psychology department?:D:D
But I don't like her from a tactical point of view, although I don't carry slow units with me either.

Actually, I like her precisely for ideological reasons... Otherwise, what would I be doing in the psychology department?:D:D

Hmm, I can imagine you convincing Cerberuses to serve Bracada or Avli... :D You can't do without NLP here. :cool:

By the way, our NLP department doesn't really appreciate... So, you just have to talk them into it:)
And Cerberuses are the easiest – you just need to feed them... But the main thing is – don't feed them yourself:D

The cost of upgrading a manticore to a scorpius, in my opinion, is 100 or 300 gold. It's not a big deal. And there's no need to criticize diplomacy. Whether or not to take the skill depends on the situation, i.e., how many and what kind of neutral creatures are scattered on the map, their quantity, etc. Only after considering all this, you have the right to choose whether to take the skill or not. No matter how you look at it, I think intelligence is rarely a useful skill. If you're focusing on magic, take a mage; their knowledge and spellcasting skills are immediately improved. If you're focusing on a warrior, take attack.

Whether to take a skill or not depends on the situation, i.e., how many and what kind of neutral creatures are placed on the map, their quantity, etc.

Usually, you have to choose the main skills when the map is not yet known; unless, of course, you use cheats.

People, be smarter!!! Take Logistics/Pathfinding, Air Magic, or Water Magic, and Magic skills!!! Although, when playing constantly as Christian (see avatar), I take Artillery, because after level 22, the ballista destroys a decent number of different monsters (best achievement: 3 Hydras!!!!).

Logistics – as quickly as possible. Attack – also preferably at the beginning. Ranged attack – when playing as a Castle, Tower, Stronghold, on small maps with a Conflux. Then, for larger maps: Earth magic – an Earth magic expert is, in my opinion, better than an expert in any other magic. Wisdom – without it, leveling up any magic is useless. The rest depends on the map.

Logistics - as quickly as possible.
Attack - also preferably at the beginning.
Ranged attack - when playing as Castle, Tower, Stronghold, on small maps with Conflux.
Then for larger maps:
Earth magic - Earth magic expert is IMHO better than any other magic expert.
Wisdom - without it, any magic is useless to level up.
The rest depends on the map.

You forgot something:
Ballistics on large maps and artillery + ranged attack on small maps...

Roughly, what I was writing... Only, in my case, Earth magic comes right after Logistics:)
By the way, it makes sense to level up Earth magic even without Wisdom. Mass slow is, in my opinion, the strongest spell in the game...

My preferred skills for large and complex maps:
1. Wisdom.
2. Logistics.
3. Pathfinding (especially where there is a swamp).
4. Earth magic.
5. Air magic.
6. Fire magic.
7. Water magic.
8. Diplomacy.
I don't play on small maps, but I think there you should develop skills that provide additional damage instead of points 4-7 (ballista, attack, archer, etc.).

I have a similar approach, with a few exceptions:
instead of fire, I choose intelligence;
if diplomacy isn't particularly important, I go for archery.
I also don't play on small maps.

Of course, the choice of skills depends on the map size, the hero (warrior, mage), and several other factors. In general, for an average hero, the following are most optimal:
For everyone without exception: wisdom, logistics, earth magic, air magic.
archery (for Castles with good ranged monsters)
For a warrior, additionally attack and defense.
For a secondary hero, tactics, literacy, scholarship, own property, navigation (if there is water), intelligence, ballistics, reconnaissance, resistance—basically all those skills that you would never give to the main hero.
If there is a lot of diverse terrain (swamp, sand, snow, lava etc.), then pathfinding can be taken.
Depending on the game, leadership, luck, water magic, and of course diplomacy can be very useful.