Posts from Gameplay tactics on the large map.

I agree, with Furies and Megeras, there's a better chance of breaking through such creatures.

Furies are better; they have 2 more initiative points, and their initiative is more than twice as high as that of zombies and steel golems, twice as high as that of demons and swordsmen with upgrades, and almost twice as high as that of some other infantry units. Zombies and golems don't have morale, so it's still tolerable, but it's better to have an initiative at least twice as high against living units, otherwise they might get a positive morale boost, and there's a chance that the Megera won't be able to escape. The chance of this happening is much lower with furies.

Perhaps I should try using only Furies to kite enemies. In principle, this is feasible against zombies, but I need to see how it works against demons and others.

The easiest ones to deal with are zombies and golems; they mostly have an initiative of 7 and a speed of 4, except for obsidian golems, which have an initiative of 9 but no morale, so they are also easily defeated. Swordsmen and zealots have an initiative of 8 and a speed of 4, which is okay, but they do have morale. However, since furies have twice the initiative, even with morale, they won't stand a chance against them. The first units of dwarves have an initiative of 8 and 9, and a speed of 4, which is also good, although an initiative of 9 with morale can be dangerous. Demons have an initiative of 8 and a speed of 5, which is more difficult, but still manageable; of course, this won't work with elder demons. Minotaurs have an initiative of 8 and 9, and a speed of 5; the second tier of minotaurs will be the most problematic if they manage to get into a fight, and they always have positive morale.

Which heroes do you prefer to level up/start with, and why? What is your building strategy?

I don't even know which hero would be best. Waishan is an option. Buffing the scouts and the fastest path to a lucky wizard. Leto with his plague is also good in the early game. Sinithar saves mana well.
First, it's desirable to upgrade the scouts and beasts, as well as reach at least level 1 in the Mage Guild. Then, hydras become a priority, although minotaurs are also good. And the trading guild, as it provides free resources.

Hmm... Usually, I don't focus on upgrading units right away in my tactics, prioritizing building all dwellings as quickly as possible, but it seems that with a Dark faction hero, it's better to build two full upgrades first, then Hydras, and only then, after securing resources, build the rest.
By the way, I also started with Vaishan, but the lucky wizard only appeared at the end of the game =D

I used to do the same thing – I would build all the growth structures first, and then upgrade, but I realized that it’s not efficient. Let the growth accumulate, but you’ll lose even more by fighting with un-upgraded units in the meantime.
The randomness in Heroes 5 is just crazy. In a scenario for the Demon faction, I got a very rare light skill early on, but in a scenario for the Warlock faction, I only got Chaos, which is one of the most frequently offered skills, on the eighteenth level.

Yeah, I was also surprised by this, it's the first time I've seen such nonsense with skills. As for not upgrading, I usually always build up the basic units, but I build the most important upgrades right away, like archers for Humans or centaurs for Orcs.

It is advisable to upgrade Griffins, Beasts, and Hydras as quickly as possible; you can wait with the others.

Yes, I already realized that, unfortunately, harpies die like flies, and there are rarely more than 100 of them. The same goes for the riders.

Why let them die? Against archers, deploy only Stalkers; against slow infantry, deploy only Furies; against others, deploy all small units and protect the Furies with single Minotaurs, without blocking the passage. It's best to find boots that give +1 to speed. If the hero finds a Crystal of Secrecy or a Wall of Shields, there will be no problems at all.

That's right, you can't really run away from vampires or those dancing with blades. And if you don't use Furies, you won't be able to break through, for example. So they are expendable, and it's more about strategy than tactics here. Either wait a week to gather Hydras and break through with minimal losses, or use Furies and get through earlier.

That's right, you can't really run away from vampires or blade dancers. And if you don't use Furies, you won't be able to break through, for example. So, they are expendable; it's more about strategy than tactics here. Either wait a week to gather Hydras and break through with minimal losses, or use Furies and pass through earlier.