Posts from Your strategy for playing as Necropolis.

Liches should be saved for later, as they consume a huge amount of resources, and without the protection of four-tile units, they won't survive. Besides, in the early stages, they are raised through necromancy. You can place a Bone Pillar, but only after digging up graves, or if the map is rich in corpses.

But without archers, it's bad, and having only archers is slow:smile45:

Archers deal decent damage, but they struggle against demons.

Archers deal decent damage, but they struggle against demons.

Are you referring to mana drain, which is already scarce? If the opponent is Inferno, maximizing the hero's initiative helps, so they can move before their demons and cast a powerful spell on them. This involves finding artifacts that increase initiative and leveling up spellcasting, along with investing in Sharp Mind through Education/Logistics. However, this doesn't always work.

Patch 3.1, first week: Skeleton Archers and Skeleton Warriors – building up to the Bone Pillar (if I named it correctly, 150 Dark Energy). Second week: Vampire Lords and Archliches (splitting them into stacks so they can be resurrected) and economy. Third week: dedicating it to the Guild of Mages to find out what spells they have. First, level up heroes to Necromancy. Then, choose one of two options: take a Mentor (this provides a bonus, similar to the Bone Pillar, and also boosts the number of leveled-up Necromancer heroes; alternatively, you can take a hero with leadership and level them up to become a Treasurer, converting all troops into undead). Or, focus on leveling up magic. We don't build or raise Zombies, Ghosts, or Death Knights. We only raise Archers and their upgraded version, all types of Vampires, and all types of Liches. You can visit the castle once to learn more magic and upgrade your army (this will be the second or third week). If the map is large or has many players, add Death Knights to the squad – they are just cannon fodder and I never upgrade them. I don't build Dragons, but if I do, I only build Astral Dragons. This results in squads arranged on the map like this: 1st stack: Archers in the corner of the map with a supply cart. 2nd stack: Skeleton Warriors, positioned in front of the Archers, making up 10% of the Archers' size or at least 1 unit. 3rd and 4th stacks: Archliches and Liches. The first stack (Archliches) is protected by a buff from skeletons – protection against ranged attacks. 5th stack: Vampires, positioned two squares away from the Liches (we don't want Cerberi to attack the Vampires and Liches). Closer to the hero, meaning further from the enemy – they need two turns to move across the map anyway. So, that's roughly how it works. Another well-known strategy is to use stacks of Archers with one Zombie each in the early game – I call this a "combat Zombie." Otherwise, they are useless. This way, they at least do something – they take damage. After that, assess the situation: is there a lot of gold on the map (treasure chests), or none at all? If there isn't, head towards races like Dungeon (if you know this, visit them by the end of the second week) because their army is expensive, they probably haven't gotten many good spells yet, and they have low mana. In this case, Vlad with the Sign of the Necromancer will be useful – [CENSORED] his resurrection. He will be in a situation like this: he uses Fury, deals damage, and shoots Assassins (poison doesn't affect you). (He will also lose some Assassins to the Archers). He will see you, try to buy whatever he can, but it won't save him. At this point, consider his morale: an army from one castle has 1 morale, an army from two evil castles has 0 morale. Add some good races, and you get a 20% chance of reducing his morale. He has a Tavern and a Fort (the appearance will tell you). If he's feeling confident, know that he has wasted a lot of gold, and this won't allow him to buy good units or build a Capitol next week. The nail is already in the coffin, just because you appeared on the horizon. Oh yes, and always choose the artifact as the starting bonus and pray to the Devil/Ashu for boots with 50% resistance to plague or a Tarot card (10 mana and 2 mana regeneration per day, 10% luck is useless). That's roughly how it works. I always choose Vlad as my first hero because I don't know what I'll get, but I want to advance without losses... (he will have Resurrection in his spellbook at the start). Don't listen to Lucretia; he never stormed castles with the Sign of the Necromancer without a chance of winning. He suggests taking Intelligence (leveling up Logistics... a 25% movement bonus for the hero at the start, instead of the Necromancer Sign)

I usually play as Lucretia when playing as the Necropolis. It's probably the easiest faction to start with. I play on a hero, patch 3.1, and immediately buy a second hero, any Necropolis hero except Orson, because he has useless zombies. I send the second hero to scout and explore the map.

In the first two days, I quickly build and upgrade skeletons to Bone Warriors, so with two heroes and buying about 70 of them, I have a decent force right away. I capture mines for ore and wood, clear out low-level neutral creatures. With the quick Bone Warriors, their initiative, and stunning attack, there are no problems, plus I have the "Raise Dead" spell. In the first two weeks, I only raise units that turn into skeletons.

It's desirable to quickly find about 10 sulfur to build a Dark Energy Amplifier. Then, as quickly as possible, I build structures to generate income and Vampires, upgrading them to higher tiers. Starting from the third week, I already have at least a stack of 13 higher-tier Vampires, and if the starting level of the city allows me to build Vampires on the last day of the first week, then I have 18. From this point on, I convert Bone Warriors into Archers, leaving a small stack of Bone Warriors to provide a shield against ranged attacks, and I easily and methodically clear the surrounding areas and capture mines. Now, I only raise Vampires. It's better if Dark Riders, Succubi, and Bone Throwers appear, as they raise into more cheap Vampires, which I upgrade to higher tiers in the Castle.

As soon as I have enough ore and sulfur, I build Liches and a Castle. Then, I build the Mage Guild, leaving the Necromancer's Hut for later. I don't even mention Dragons; they are useless creatures, and building them requires a huge amount of resources, especially wood and mercury.

The main striking force is Vampires, supported by artillery in the form of Liches and Archers, with Ghosts as support, and Zombies are useless meat.

In terms of skills, I immediately try to raise Necromancy to Expert, as well as Logistics, Darkness, and Mind Control. If the Mage Guild offers Dispel and Slow, that's even better. Then comes Defense and Attack.

If the map is very large and I happen to find Leadership early on, I take it and level up Diplomacy and Herald of Death. Then, I sacrifice the Defense slot, as it grows well for the Necropolis anyway. I can almost always find a Leadership Crown, a simple artifact, and later, considering Lucretia's specialization in Vampires, they will rush into the army in large numbers.

I don't like rushing to attack someone; instead, I prefer to wait for guests, raising hordes of undead near the Castle. In general, I play Necropolis defensively. By the time the stars are awarded, I need to gather as many Vampires as possible. As Lucretia levels up, they will be able to defeat almost all neutral creatures without losses, while the rest of the units are simply removed from the battlefield.

In battle, I usually cast mass Slow and mass Dispel right away, depending on who I'm fighting. If it's Elves, it's desirable to cast mass Dispel immediately. Then, depending on the situation, I use various debuffs like Berserk, etc. There's also a trick to cast Vampirism on Vampires, as they are often targeted as the most dangerous, so then Vampires will restore not 50% of the damage dealt, but over a hundred.

Well, that's all true, but relying on the Crown of Leadership and dedicating a slot to leadership (at the very least, you lose a level, plus there's the random element of troop recruitment) – I don't know. In my opinion, Zoltan is better – any hero who has taken magic can buff themselves or focus specifically on magic (hello, Dungeon, the most useless race), and learn Plague from the Liches without having to build a Guild of Mages.

But that's just my opinion... Yesterday, I was playing the "School" map with a hero... and my favorite... each player for themselves. There's only a lumber mill, a mine, 2 gold mines, and 1 random mine. The neutral creatures are levels 1-3 in each of the "home" zones; there's no sign of Vampires there. So, yes, it depends on the map, but it's nice to find Vampires on the battlefield and activate auto-battle... it's a good strategy.

Regarding vampirism, I guess I'm just unlucky, but I've never encountered it outside of the campaign. As for ranged artillery, in my opinion, they're as useless as the Dungeon's. I prefer the 3rd-tier units to run and provide cover; that's good for the early game, and only then... Also, it's worth noting how stupid the AI is – when I'm already starting to conquer Rhanos, it still has a fort, but all the dwellings are built.

I agree about the fighters; they're the most useless 7th-level creatures, and they consume a lot of resources.

Well, that's how it is, but hoping for the leadership crown and dedicating a slot to leadership (at the very least, losing at least 1 level plus relying on the god of randomness... with your troop recruitment) – I don't know. In my opinion, Zoltan is better – any hero who has taken magic can buff himself or focus specifically on magic (hello to the most useless race, Dungeon), learn Plague from the Liches, at least without building a Guild of Mages.

But this isn't necessary; it's only worth taking him in the case of a large map, and the probability that leadership will drop for the Necropolis is practically negligible – 2%.

And Zoltan doesn't have a particularly appealing specialization; even that useless Warlock, who has gone into Chaos, can cause trouble with dead undead even with just one Meteor Shower around level 15, plus Arcane Wave, which gives аж two types of the same spell.
And in general, it seems to me that in the late game, on large maps and with large armies, Dungeon sucks against everyone anyway, unless you come across a clever Warlock who focuses on purely combat skills (definitely with defense) and support with Darkness or Summoning.

Well, this is just my opinion... yesterday I was playing the "School" map with a hero... and my favorite... everyone is on their own, so there's only a lumber mill, ore, 2 gold mines, and 1 random mine, neutral creatures of levels 1-3 in each of the "home" zones, there's no chance of Vampires. So, it depends on the map, but it's nice to get Vampires on the field and turn on auto-battle... it's a good idea.

Well, if you're not betting on Vampires, the other Necropolis heroes are kind of weak, except for Naadir, with his Specters... Or Deidre with enhanced Banshees. They're still weak specializations; Markel is much better:)

I'm probably unlucky when it comes to vampirism, but it hasn't dropped for me except in co-op. Regarding artillery from archers, in my opinion, they are as useless as those of Dungeon; I prefer to run and cover with the 3rd tier, just for the beginning... here, you also need to note the stupidity of the computer; when I'm already going to Rachnos, it still has a fort, but all the dwellings are built.

That's strange; it drops often, even, perhaps, too often, when you want more Subordination, and you get either Vampirism or a curse...

And the archers are weak, of course, but I fix this with Battle Fury and the Amulet of Bloodfang; their damage is tripled from 1-2 to 3-4.

Try the mega_AI mod so that the computer doesn't act stupidly.

And isn't Marckel useless? :smile52: No, if you manually remove all creatures except those belonging to the native faction from the generation pool, then there's no argument, but otherwise, it just makes the game laughable.

Isn't Markel weak? :smile52: No, if you manually remove all creatures except those of the native faction from the generation, then there's no argument, but otherwise, it's just funny.

It will be funny when this old geezer shows up at the end of the first month with a hundred liches:smile01:

Necropolis is the strongest race for prolonged games on large maps.

The strength of Necropolis lies in the number of troops and the player's ability to skillfully accumulate them. And there are many opportunities provided for this. Let us start in order.

As in previous parts of the game, the primary skill of necromancers is to resurrect enemy creatures as skeletons after a victory, thereby replenishing their own ranks. Heroes V was no exception. Now, when upgraded, skeletons possess the ability to attack from a distance, making them an invaluable unit. A bit about why the size of the Necropolis army grows like wildfire. The operating principle of the "Necromancy" skill has been significantly adjusted. In previous versions, it resurrected skeletons based on the number of killed monsters. That is, the total number of all units in the defeated army was taken, a percentage of resurrectable skeletons was calculated from it, and then an adjustment was made based on health points. It was impossible to resurrect so many skeletons that their total health would exceed the health of all killed monsters. Previously, skeletons were "thick," having 10 hit points, and were poorly resurrected from fragile creatures like gremlins, fairies, and peasants. Now everything has changed. Skeletons have "slimmed down," but the limitation principle has also changed, turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

Now, without any artifacts, a hero with a leveled-up skill and at least one necromancy booster resurrects exactly as many skeletons as enemy creatures that perished on the battlefield (if we are talking about monsters of the third level and above), and slightly fewer if the opponent was of an overly fragile level. Add to this the transformation of skeleton warriors into archers, the ability to resurrect already upgraded skeletons without loss in quantity, and that's it – the army is ready.

But necromancers do not fight with skeletons alone. The building for transforming creatures from other castles into the undead army has been changed. Previously, it cut everyone and everything into skeletons. Whether a black dragon, a peasant, or even a higher-level creature of the Necropolis castle fell under the knife – it didn't matter. Everyone became a bag of bones, of which wild numbers accumulated. Looking at this meat grinder, the developers decided that there would be plenty of skeletons anyway, and that was wrong. The concept of the building changed, which greatly pleased fans of this race. Now creatures from other castles are transformed into analogous creatures of Necropolis. Moreover, completely for free. Did I mention necromancers at the very beginning? The most effective race on large maps in a prolonged game. Now it can be explained why. Any captured castle will increase the growth of your creatures. It is enough to simply buy them and bring them to the Necropolis castle via a chain of heroes and turn them into undead. A high difficulty level allows you to collect skeletons from a large number of neutral detachments (their quantity depends on the difficulty). The external growth building of any castle is potential undead. No other castle possesses such wide opportunities. The most magnificent combination is Necropolis as the main castle, and a couple of Haven castles. It is enough to buy knights for each castle using their native hero and start upgrading the army there up to swordsmen. And then take this crowd of swordsmen to the slaughter in Necropolis and turn them into vampires. The effect will exceed all expectations. The main thing for implementing this plan is to find Haven heroes and accumulate a huge pile of money. Then victory will be in your pocket solely thanks to the number of creatures in the army.
Let's talk a bit about the monsters themselves. Necromancer units have the lowest stats among all castles; however, this disadvantage is fully minimized by the native abilities of the creatures and their quantity. Shooting skeletons are the lesser evil that will be at your disposal. The next unit that can be used very effectively during battles is ghosts. The ability to dodge physical attacks from both creatures and heroes with a 50 percent chance allows these incorporeal comrades not only to maintain their numbers in most battles but also to actively participate in combat operations. Ghosts, additionally, gain the ability to drain mana from the target, killing any possibility of the creature casting spells at the root. Their number can be increased through the unique "Ghost Mines" ability of necromancers in the "Summoning Magic" skill. It allows populating all mines with ghosts after their capture. However, if you return to a captured mine, you can take the creatures that appeared there and strengthen your army with them. Vampires, as always, are above politics and beyond competition. The only creature in the game capable of resurrecting its own unit by dealing damage. In addition to this very strong ability, vampires do not receive a counter-attack and, when upgraded, move using teleportation, ignoring obstacles on the battlefield. Liches are the strongest shooting unit of the undead army. Their shots deal damage not only to the target but also to all surrounding units that are not undead. Effective in battles with any castle except Necropolis. And, of course, dragons. The flying unit of the last level of the castle. The strength of this unit is that you can build a structure in the castle that increases dragon growth by one more unit, allowing them to breed in a quantity 1.5 times greater than any other last-level creature. Zombies and Undead are cannon fodder, capable of nothing.
Skills and unique abilities

Logistics:
Death's Tread (requires Pathfinder) – increases the movement radius of creatures by 4 units when storming an enemy castle.
Silent Hunter (requires Death's Tread) – the enemy sees only the strongest creatures in the army, but does not see their quantity.
Death's Tread is mandatory for the main hero to obtain; otherwise, the assault on the castle will turn into a catastrophe. Silent Hunter is necessary to obtain Banshee's Wail.

Military Education:
Lord of the Dead (requires Scholar) - adds 1 unit to the Knowledge parameter and 5% to the Necromancy skill.
Dark Revelation (requires Lord of the Dead, Raise Archers) – increases the hero's level.
Lord of the Dead, besides necromancy, provides such a scarce parameter as Knowledge, without which the hero's mana is almost always at zero.

Engine Management:
Plague Tent (requires First Aid) - allows the tent to deal damage to enemy units.

Light Magic:
Burden of Evil (requires Blessing Magic Master) – when casting light or darkness spells, the Spellpower parameter increases by 3 units.
Given that necromancers already have off-the-charts Spellpower, and in light and dark magic this only affects duration, there is no point in this ability.

Dark Magic:
Spiritual Link (requires Curse Master) – allows the hero to link their spirit with the spirit of an enemy unit. When the unit takes damage, the hero will replenish mana through its suffering.
Cursed Land (requires Spiritual Link, Dark Revelation) – enemy creatures take damage when moving on the battlefield.
A very useful skill for mage heroes. You will suffer from a lack of mana most often; spiritual link can fix this.

Destructive Magic:
Deadly Cold (requires Lord of Cold) – when casting cold spells, kills at least one creature in the unit.
Secrets of Chaos (requires Deadly Cold, Secret Superiority) – the hero receives 2 units to the Knowledge parameter and a random spell from the chaos school of the first, second, or third circle that is not yet in the book.

Summoning Magic:
Ghost Mines (requires Lord of Life) – by occupying an enemy mine, the hero populates it with ghosts. The number of ghosts depends on how long the game has been running.
Banishment (requires Banshee's Wail, Secrets of Chaos) – allows the hero to destroy a certain number of summoned creatures.
Ghost Mines allow for a good increase in the army at the initial stage by capturing neutral resources, as the appeared spirits can be taken from the mine. Banishment is a good aid in battle with Inferno.

Sorcery:
Undead Magic Protection (requires Wisdom) – gives the undead army 20% resistance to chaos magic.
Secret Superiority (requires Undead Magic Protection, Eternal Service) – adds +2 to the Spellpower parameter and temporarily adds 100 units of mana.

Offense:
Cold Steel (requires Battle Frenzy) – gives 10% additional cold damage for all physical attacks of the army.
Haste (requires Cold Steel, Eternal Service) – provides the ability to cast the Haste spell without mana.

Defense:
Grave Cold (requires Reflection) – endows undead units with the ability to return part of the damage dealt in close combat.
Resistance (requires Grave Cold, Raise Archers) – adds 2 units to the defense parameter.

Luck:
Deadly Misfortune (requires Banshee's Wail) – lowers the luck parameter of the opponent hero by one unit.
The "Deadly Misfortune" ability is used excellently with "Banshee's Wail," lowering the opponent's luck by 2 units, and the "Battle Luck" ability will make ghosts an insanely difficult target.

Leadership:
Herald of Death (requires Troop Gathering) – all neutral creatures that join the hero will be transformed into undead of the corresponding level.
This action can be performed in the castle without monetary cost or loss in quantity. So why spend a whole skill on this?