Posts from Start behind the LE.

yes, if there are no mages or decent archers on guard, there is a possibility to build a chain of three heroes; I try to do it this way.

Added 8 minutes later
if possible, I try to do it quickly.

yes, if there are no mages or decent archers guarding, there's a chance to build a chain of three heroes; I'm trying to do that.

Added 8 minutes later
if possible, I try to do it quickly.

What is this "chain of three heroes" you're talking about? What's the purpose? And where is your Wing in this chain?

And how are you going to take down the mages in the beginning of the second week? Well, I have fire warriors and an archer with a wasp swarm. What does Wing have for the battle in the second week: tactics, increased starting turn speed, attack? I understand that you know how to play Wing better, but something doesn't quite add up; what can Wing do in the second week?

Although, I'm much more interested in who Wing can defeat without losses in the first week. Without buffs... Add to the list: peasants of all types, any zombies, unupgraded skeletons, unupgraded level 1 gnomes, unupgraded and blue golems, unupgraded goblins, unupgraded imps. I think that's it. Did I forget anyone?

1. A "chain" is when the main hero (in this case, it doesn't necessarily have to be a Winged creature, as its ability doesn't play a significant role at those levels) heads towards the enemy castle, and the other heroes line up in a chain from their own castle, with a distance of one turn between them, so that at a key moment in the game, they can transfer all possible troops to the main hero.
2. Regarding Mages/Druids, I said it before – if they are guarding a location, I personally (I'm not an expert in this game, so I won't claim to know what others do) won't attack them until I have a significant advantage.
3. You're right, it's very difficult to attack high-level creatures without losses on the first week. The Hive and Dire Elf, combined with swarms of Grays, are a good option. Winged creatures are usually used to prolong the game into the late game, so you don't necessarily need to attack dangerous neutral creatures; they won't go anywhere (they might even increase in number, which is actually a good thing, right?). If you're lucky and Ilfina is available in the tavern, you can take her too. Yesterday, just for fun, I tested it: my wife, who usually plays with only one Unicorn and Grays, easily cleared almost all of her territory (except for the various Mages) on the first week on a random map with patch 3.1 and strong creatures, which proves that it's possible to have a good start with other heroes besides Dire Elf.

Starting with LE

Elves, perhaps? o_O Among the pines and firs, the elves feast on the foresters!
The fastest start is still with the Fortress (or if the Fortress comes in second). Late game is best with Wing (he is banned in significant tournaments of the regular version and nerfed in tournament mods), although his early game is very weak. The most interesting hero is Dyra, in my opinion.

The fastest start is still for the Hive (or if the Hive player goes second).

I wonder, can the Hive clear 20 Imps without losses in the first two weeks, or 25 Demons?

Added 18 hours 10 minutes ago

2. Regarding Mages/Druids, I said it before - if they are guarding, I personally (I'm not a guru of this game, so I won't claim anything for others) won't attack them until I have Battle of the Elements.

1. Okay, you got Battle of the Elements, how will you deal with Druids? I don't see any way to defeat Druids without significant losses, even with Battle of the Elements, using Wing or Ossir. I just don't get it, I'm stupid. :) Will you explain?
2. There is a unique tactic for Dire, against any Mages and Archers, that is not available to other factions. The minimum level to get it is 7. You need to take Defense and Battle of the Elements, as well as Fire Elementals. Then, buy almost any random hero, take their troops, and split them into 7 stacks of 2 units each. While the Mages or Archers are shooting at them, the Fire Elementals and the hero will destroy them. The mana cost is only for the Elementals, the losses of the forest units are 0, and the gold cost for the random hero is offset by the fact that the Archers or Mages are guarding. Besides, the random hero's units may be enough for several such battles.
In general, from the point of view of clearing neutrals, all Dire needs is Fire Warriors, Battle of the Elements, and Magic Attraction. Theoretically, everything can be gathered by level 9. With these skills, you can defeat everyone, sacrificing random hero units if necessary. For example, if Druids are guarding at least one pile of gold and one chest, we can confidently attack them with the random hero's troops, and we will have already recouped everything.
3. There is a more accessible version of this tactic against weak Archers. For it, you only need the random hero's troops and Fire Elementals (you can get them at level 3): just defend with the random troops, and the Elementals and the hero will kill them.
Thus, Dire can defeat Archers from level 3. And further on, her abilities to clear neutrals only grow. Next, you need to take either Defense with Dodge or Learning with Magic Attraction. The probability of getting one of these skills is 20%! If they are not given immediately, you can confidently pump up Summoning to Expert - the number of Elementals increases by a factor of 2 compared to Strong. Or take Logistics, and the chance that you will get Logistics, Learning, or Defense is 35%. No luck is needed here. Dire will easily get the necessary skills for a rush.

If you're lucky and Ilfina is in the tavern, you can take her too - yesterday, just for fun, I checked, my wife, who may play 15 times with one Unicorn and gray-skinned Imps, easily cleared almost all of her territory (except, again, all sorts of Mages) in the first week on a random map, patch 3.1 with strong creatures, which proves the possibility of a good start with other heroes besides Dire.

Well, that's if you're lucky. But what if you're not? What if Dire is lucky? Dire with a horse and the Hive will be a terrible rusher.
I have no doubt that Wing can have a normal start on Veteran. But no more than normal. But with Dire, the start will be fast in any case, with any heroes in the tavern.

Besides, there is another factor in favor of Dire's speed - this is Learning, it greatly enhances the hero. But for Wing or Ossir, Learning will be completely irrelevant. Thanks to Learning, Dire not only develops faster in the first two weeks, but also maintains a speed advantage in the future. In addition, the faction has a high probability of getting Learning and Logistics. So, after quickly raising the hero's level, Logistics is quickly raised.

P.S. Development speed decides everything!

I'm clarifying the tactic of eliminating mages by using Ballista, Fire Warriors, and dividing the left-hand troops into 7 stacks.
I wrote that the troops of the left-hand hero should be divided into 7 stacks of 2, and the remaining troops should be left for a similar battle. You can slightly strengthen this: take all the troops from the left-hand hero and make 5 stacks of 2, and place 2 stacks with many units in the corners. This tactic can be further enhanced by taking luck and magic resistance into account.

I decided to copy the message to the appropriate topic – it wasn't in the right place before. I'm interested in playing as Elves on a medium-sized map at the "hero" difficulty level (either the city is at the starting level, or there is a tavern). In such a game, Elves face the following difficulties compared to other races: a) lack of wood; b) slow start. Question #1: who is the best hero for Elves on such a map at the "hero" difficulty level? Answer: Dyraell. Advantages compared to other Elven heroes when fighting neutrals: 1) Furies, hunters/assassins, improved gremlins (they can guard both the sawmill and the mine!), the wasp swarm significantly reduces losses. In addition, thanks to the swarm, you can defeat them with the troops of the secondary hero purchased in the tavern; 2) Fire demons, armored warriors, and others with +1 defense, 5 speed, and 8 initiative – fire warriors in combination with the swarm allow you to defeat them with two stacks of furies without losses – even if the enemy has 4 stacks (the hero waits and, when defense triggers, casts the swarm). With other heroes, such furies flights will already depend on luck, even with a speed aura. 3) Spear throwers, archers, centaurs – fire warriors and the swarm allow you to deploy units of the secondary hero against them (you can also add blade dancers if the hero's army on the battlefield has ranged units). That is, there is also an opportunity to defeat them almost without losses. 4) Ghosts, daughters of the earth, berserkers and bone crushers, minotaur overseers, orcish warriors with 12 initiative – in large numbers – can be defeated with 4 (against ghosts – 5) stacks of furies, one at a time, if you have skilled summoning magic, fire warriors, and cast 2 or more spells (this means 16 or more fire elementals). Some of the single units will likely die, but the battle will be won by the Elves, even if the enemy has 4 stacks. 5) Fast-moving units with low health (cerberuses, blade dancers, etc.) – the swarm helps to push them back on the ATB scale, and the troops destroy them. 6) Level 4 archers and level 5 and higher units – the swarm and fire warriors help, of course, but here you already need troops and additional skills – you can't handle it with just one summoning. Question #2: how can other heroes (such as Ossir and Vangael) defeat the specified types of units without losses: the first 3 specified groups of units in the first week and the 4th – in the second? (This concerns the issue of a quick start.) Added 1 hour 21 minutes ago. Dyraell's advantage when developing the city: 1) It is not necessary to buy archers in the first week, since even without them, Dyraell has a wide selection of units that can be defeated without losses or almost without losses (see the previous message). 2) From the first point, it follows that it is possible to build a Magic Glade on the second turn and buy dryads, after which you can capture the sawmill. Exception: If there are dryads or hunters at the sawmill, build a tavern on the first turn, and if there is a very weak hero there, then you can buy him and your own hero, take the alien troops and dancers, and capture the sawmill on the first turn. Such a strategy of destroying dryads when playing as other heroes (without the wasp swarm) may end with the furies destroying both the dancers and the enemy hero's army. Therefore, there is a chance that you will either have to lose troops or postpone the capture of the sawmill, which will slow down the development of the city. If there are indeed furies at the sawmill, then the further construction of the Magic Glade depends on the units located on the map and the resources they guard. Dyraell is less dependent on troops when defeating neutrals. This allows you to choose which buildings to build and which not. At the same time, Ossir, Gilraen, and Ilfina will be much less successful if they do not build structures where they can hire "their own" units. 3) Dyraell fights neutrals more successfully than other heroes (if you want to argue – respond to the previous message). And this means that resources are captured faster and the city is developed more easily. Added 15 minutes ago. That's it, I'm leaving the forum, because I haven't played for a long time. I just decided to share my accumulated experience so that it wouldn't go to waste. I will not answer any more questions here, because I will not be here. Those who didn't understand anything – praise Wing and Ossir. I start to feel incompetent without practice. And I don't want to give incompetent advice – there is already enough of it here. Umka-Gold, special thanks for understanding something. Now I can leave with a clear conscience. Good luck to everyone!