Posts from Playing Heroes 2 offline. The basics, by Qwerty.

Playing in offline Heroes II tournaments. The beginning. So, you have the second installment of Heroes installed on your computer. And you've already played many games with the "mighty" AI. Moreover, you've already found a number of websites dedicated to this wonderful strategy game. Naturally, you are confident in your strength – so confidently have you defeated the legions led by powerful computer heroes. And now you will show everyone HOW to play Heroes II, HOW the MASTERS play. And here it is – the first tournament. For some reason, the map gives you a whole two (three, four) weeks. However, what can you do – it's just that it's so difficult for everyone else, but you, of course, are a true Master. The map, of course, is completed on the very first evening – and completed very well (as usual). And the day of summing up the results arrives. Now everyone will find out… And suddenly: you are in the middle of the table. A little closer to the end. What is this? It can't be! They probably all used cheat codes; we'll figure it out now. But it turns out that the first two or three participants showed a result one and a half to two times better, and they did it completely fairly. And then the first thoughts come… I will try to give some recommendations to novice tournament players in "Heroes of Might and Magic 2." I emphasize that these tips are aimed specifically at beginners, because my level of play is very far from the level of the top ten players… So, where do we start? or Scouting the save So, you have received the starting save. Now you need to explore it a little. What will be of primary interest to us? 1. Which troops on the map are ready to join our army for free, that is, as a gift. 2. Which troops on the map are ready to join our army for a fee (if diplomacy is available). 3. What magic is contained in the various Castles. 4. Creature deposits and the possibility of upgrading creatures for free. After exploring the save, we move on to the next stage. Do you have a plan, Mr. Fix? Or How to play The save is known; it's time to create an action plan. The plan should be based, of course, on the goal. Most likely, the goal will be quite clear: either the fastest completion of the map (completion of a specific task) or, conversely, to achieve the best results in something within a fixed time (level up a hero, gather an army, or both, gather skeletons, accumulate resources, etc.). The first thing to remember when creating a plan is that it should depend on the SPECIFIC goal on the SPECIFIC map. Do not try to play all maps according to the same template (building troops, leveling up a hero, etc.) – you need to approach the map INDIVIDUALLY. I am sure that with this approach, your results will be quite decent. Briefly about the main types of plans. 1. A frequently used plan involving changing Castles. The essence is quite simple: capture the Castle(s) of computer opponents and then build in them. The advantage of the plan is obvious – resources are spent on heroes and high-level troops (or high-level magic), while part of the opponent's resources are used (he has already built something in the city!). Usually, beginners are a little shocked when the winner of the tournament has no buildings in the starting Castle… 2. Rush and its varieties. A brute-force attack, a rapid capture of Castles (it is usually not too difficult to hold out in the Castle). 3. Playing with high-level movement magic – primarily teleport ("Spatial Gates") and a portal to the city. After learning this magic, everything becomes much easier… To be continued... Qwerty, 12/26/2006

The Art of Small-Scale Tactics
or
a few tips for aspiring tournament players.

Today, we will try to examine some typical situations in tournament play, focusing on "short-range" engagements, and also discuss the role of a single unit within "strike stacks" (i.e., powerful armies).

The main trend in tournament play recently has been the formation of "strike stacks." By "strike stack," we mean a powerful army capable of deciding the outcome of a battle with proper support. We will definitely return to the issue of this very support later; for now, let's try to understand where these "strike stacks" come from in the early stages of the game.
1. "Outposts" on the map.
Experienced players call resource locations outside of castles "outposts." I don't think any further comments are needed on this point. We see a dwarf outpost; the goal is to defeat the gargoyles. We take the dwarves and move forward. Or we see an orc outpost; the goal is to defeat the hydras. We take them and move forward. By the way, if there is a fort on a hill, the dwarves and/or orcs will become faster and stronger!
2. Recruitment.
While scouting the map, we determine which units could join us. Then, we calculate the army we need to have in order to recruit the desired unit. The ideal option is to recruit those who are already in our ranks: this way, morale will not suffer, and the strike stack will become even stronger.
3. Buying genies. By the way, when attacking with 1 unit, the genie's special ability "halve the troops" (i.e., after the attack, the unit will be reduced by half!, and the genies will also deal damage) works! So, when attacking a group consisting of several units, a genie can immediately kill someone (taking Draco-grad using Catch's method).
4. Taking Draco-grad and buying red dragons there.
5. "The hero-buying method."
The goal is to form a strike stack.
The method: buying several identical heroes and combining their troops under one hero.
How it's done: save the game/buy a hero/see who is with him: if it's the one you need, save again. If not, return to the previous save and repeat until you achieve the desired result.
"Pitfalls": the probability of two heroes of the same type appearing in a castle is so low that you shouldn't rely on it; remember that different heroes of the same type may have different starting armies; one or more heroes may be bought by the computer or become available for purchase (in the "his" castle window).
The most common options: undoubtedly, a barbarian and a warlock (a hero with centaurs and gargoyles from the black dragon castle). The reason is obvious – excellent starting troops.
The option with female sorceresses (with fairies and dwarves, from the phoenix castle) is used much less frequently. Occasionally, there are mass purchases of wizard heroes (with halflings and borows, from the titan castle) or necromancers.
I don't remember any cases of buying knights, although you can probably come up with a map where this would be very effective.

To be continued...

Continuing the discussion on the "strike stack," it is necessary to touch upon the following simple aspects.
1. Remember that when playing for speed, the goal of the game is to win the map as quickly as possible, not to preserve the strike stack. The strike stack is a means to an end, not the end itself.
2. Actively use purchased heroes by combining troops before battles. For example, in many battles, from an army of 26 orcs and 128 goblins, it makes sense to take 3 orcs and all the goblins; in others, conversely, all the orcs and 3-4 goblins.
3. Remember that you can often turn one army into two by splitting them—for instance, putting all centaurs and 4 gargoyles in one, and all remaining gargoyles in another.
4. On small maps (or on large maps during the first week), a hero can be the strike stack. For example, a warlock (a hero from the black dragon castle) or a sorceress (a heroine from the phoenix castle) can already have stats of 0-0-3-3 at level 2, which allows them to deal 30 damage 10 times using Magic Arrow (the simplest first-level spell)—meaning a total of 300 damage!
5. A well-known strike stack that practically every player has used is the castle. Capturing a castle at the very end of a turn and subsequently holding it against opponent raids is one of the standard tactics. However, I want to note the following factor. If victory is achieved during the turn transition (i.e., the computer attacked our castle (hero) with its last hero and lost the battle), the victory in the high score table is recorded on the FOLLOWING day (in campaigns—the preceding day). In most "second hero" tournaments, the result is recorded similarly to the high score table. Thus, if the last hero(es) remain on the map, it makes sense to try and "reach" them immediately after capturing the castle to finish the job without waiting for nightfall.
6. A strike stack can work more effectively if it gets luck/morale. Generating luck/morale/other abilities (creature special abilities such as the unicorns' blindness) is an element of the game used by the strongest tournament fighters. It is not always achievable, but you can try experimenting with the positioning before the battle, swapping units and their numbers, as well as changing moves in the battle, including the use of magic. By the way, you can often influence the morale/luck/abilities of enemy troops in the same way.
7. If you have two strike stacks in your army (for example, gargoyles and centaurs), consider during the battle: how much will the slower troops be needed later. Perhaps it would be stronger to lose them but reach the opponent faster.

Now a few words on supporting the strike stack.
Typical support cases:
1. Magic. Bless, Haste, Stone Skin/Shield are very good (or Curse, Slow, Weaken on the opponent).
2. Units that distract enemy attacks. Primarily shooters and flyers.
3. Removing retaliation. First, hit with a single unit, take the retaliatory strike, then smash in without retaliation using the "strike stack."
4. Using the opponent's continued attack. Works against colored dragons, phoenixes, cyclops (partially against liches, but that is a slightly different variant).
5. Luring, distracting, blocking.
6. Hero power stats.
7. Mechanical protection of the "strike stack." There are two types: using troops and using terrain. The simplest version of mechanical troop protection is pigs surrounding a squad of halflings. More complex versions involve preventing two attacks (the second being non-retaliating) on the strike stack in the 1st round of battle. Using the two-cell size of units to limit mobility. The simplest way to use terrain is if there is a mountainous area one cell wide on the battlefield. There, we can "receive guests one by one," preventing the strike stack from being surrounded and destroyed by mass non-retaliating attacks.

And in this same article, we will stop at a slightly different aspect of the game, which is, however, linked in a certain way to the previous material.

The role of a single unit among "strike stacks."
You have 1-2 strike stacks. Who can you take with you to optimize losses?
1. Single-unit shooters to absorb attacks.
2. Single-unit flyers to absorb attacks.
3. Gargoyle. A multifunctional unit: first move (if we attack and the opponent has no phoenixes and/or champions), "plugging" shooters (i.e., flying up to a shooter and standing next to them so they cannot shoot), absorbing attacks; shielding the "strike stack" from attack; luring—sacrificing a unit so that ground units do not move forward but return backward; removing retaliation; "blowing through"—attacking colored dragons/phoenixes/cyclops to hit the unit standing behind the attacker with their retaliatory strike.
4. Mummy/upgraded mummy, unicorn, medusa, cyclops—because of their magic.
5. Djinn—because of the ability to "halve" the attacked unit.
6. Bone Dragon—because of reducing the opponent's morale by one.
7. Troll/upgraded troll—in the event the enemy is unable to deal more than 39 damage to it, the troll will absorb hits (e.g., from towers), while the strike stack deals with the rest.

Until next time,
Qwerty

"Playing without building up the castle in Heroes of Might and Magic 2".

Today I am addressing beginning tournament fighters. You have probably already noticed that the results of tournament winners are, frankly speaking, fantastic. And while only the fifth level of troops has been built, they are already finishing the game. How is this possible?

1. Who is to blame?
or
Where stereotypes come from.

Who ruined the playstyle for most beginning tournament fighters in both Heroes II and III?
The transfer of positive feelings from completing campaigns to the entire game of Heroes. The beauty of the campaigns, victories over almost unreal hordes of neutral troops and powerful computer opponents gave a sense of joy and confidence in one's own strength. In these difficult battles came an understanding of the power of high-level troops and their survivability. A true realization of the "invincibility" of a squad of vampire lords (preferably no fewer than 100) arrived, and the slogan "Titans are cool!" was suffered into existence.
All this is true, but every specific map requires its own plan and every tournament task requires its own means. Experience in fast building, accumulating large armies, and leveling up a super-hero will be useful for arena tournaments (which were and are held on the largest same-game forums of the Runet), but not always suitable for the fastest completion of a map — so-called "speed" tournaments.

2. How THEY do it
or
Is it possible to play without building up the castle.

To start, a simple example. On the first day of the second week, we reach the enemy castle and take it. We buy up the growth and attack the computer hero. He dies; the game is finished in 8 days. But if you reach the castle on the second day of the second week, everything may turn out differently ...
Another example. You reached the computer's castle on day 4 and entered an undefended castle. There you studied, for instance, magic, bought a Warlock hero (Sorceress), left, and defeated the computer hero. But if you had reached the castle on day 5 — there would have been 3 druids and our gargoyle (pig) would have quickly disappeared ...
Such cases happen quite often. The longer the game drags on, the more troops (magic) are needed to achieve victory. And considering that the task in speed tournaments is the fastest achievement of victory — it becomes clear that there are certain "strange" methods that allow for quick and efficient winning.

3. Why do I need all this?
or
Healthy expediency.

A radical example of inexpediency is placing a statue 3 days before the end of the game (a statue costs 1250 gold + 5 stone, brings 250 gold per day, so it pays for itself only after five days without considering the stone). However, with other buildings in certain cases, the situation is similar.
Before building anything, it makes sense to think: is there a better use for the gold? Very often situations arise where buying another hero looks much more interesting. This provides both an army and the possibility of further transferring the army to a lead hero from the location of purchasing new heroes.

4. The time of victories
or
Once again about scouting.

So, there is a starting save. Scouting has been performed. Now the following should be done. Clear the entire path from the starting castle to the computer's castle. Buy a Warlock hero with gargoyles. Dismiss the centaurs. Try to reach the computer's castle with this hero. In case of "difficult" terrain along the way, perform this procedure with a Barbarian hero (we buy a barbarian possibly without orcs, give him a gargoyle and send him on his way). The number of days it takes for him to arrive will be the goal we strive for. It is also desirable to try and evaluate the expediency of leveling up this hero on the way to the opponent, as logistics obtained at early levels can significantly shorten the completion.

5. First steps
or
Playing at the start.

So, there is a save, scouting has been performed, we know the approximate result we are striving for (it happens that in the process of games it can be improved). There is a starting hero, an unbuilt city.
One of the typical play techniques is collecting/beating gold with the starting hero so that subsequent heroes can already go into battle. Accordingly, there are cases where the starting hero collects gold, then another is bought, he collects, then a third is bought — and he already goes as the lead to the opponent. Consequently, the more heroes, the larger the army ...
However, gold does not always lie for free in large quantities right next to the castle. Often, on the very first day, it is NECESSARY to break through some neutral troops. And this is where the difference between a Master and a beginning player manifests. A beginner, seeing, for example, formidable dwarves and having tried to break them once — makes no more attempts. But a Master, if he feels that victory is still possible, uses various options, and as a result achieves a deserved victory in the tournament. Moreover, practice shows that if a beginning tournament player is told that the battle can be won — the path to it is most often found. Just a little optimism is needed!
So, battles with the starting hero and starting army.
-) Barbarian.
On our side: attack 3, defense 1 (many heroes achieve such parameters by level 12), goblins (attack 3, defense 1, damage 1-2, health 3, speed medium: 4) and orcs (attack 3, defense 4, damage 2-3, health 10, speed very low: 2). The key point for determining the theoretical possibility of victory: the number of shots for orcs. Not too many: 8.
We immediately understand that goblins are not created to absorb enemy hits. However, they can strike quite seriously themselves (considering the hero, 20 goblins will deal up to 40 damage to a creature with defense 6 — i.e., an average second- or third-level creature). It is also obvious that orcs will not be able to use the "hit-and-run" technique due to their very low speed.
Therefore, for most battles, 3 tactical options are chosen:
1 goblin - 1 goblin - 1 goblin - 20 goblins - 5 orcs (idea — cover the orcs with units, and use 20 goblins to engage one enemy squad);
1 orc - 1 goblin - 1 goblin - 21 goblins - 4 orcs (idea — sacrifice the top orc and maximize the use of lower stacks during the freed time)
1 orc - 1 goblin - 22 goblins - 1 orc - 1 orc (as an option: 4 squads of orcs) — placement against ranged or flying squads with orc sacrifices.
-) Knight.
Hero with attack and defense 2-2, leadership, troops peasants (1-1, damage 1, health 1, speed very low: 2), archers (attack 5, defense 3, damage 2-3, health 10, speed very low). Number of shots for archers — 12.
I have often noticed the sadness in the eyes of a commander managing such a warrior. However, in reality, the breakthrough capability of the knight is not so small. Of course, against ranged blocks it will be very difficult, but others can be fought.
Main arguments: 5 archers can deal up to 216 damage (!!!) over 12 rounds of battle to creatures with defense 5. Another argument is a sufficiently large number of peasants, which allows for tactical maneuvering and effective sacrifices. In this case, we mean the possibility of splitting off either single units or TWO peasants in order to force neutral troops to strike exactly where we need them at the moment. It should also be understood that considering the hero's attack and the number of peasants, they hit WITHOUT retaliation not so weakly; for example, 40 peasants will deal 48 damage to goblins (killing 16) ... Also a very serious help is that the knight with native troops will have morale +2!
-) Sorceress.
Hero with a magic book (magic power 2, knowledge 3) and the "Bless" spell (the squad deals maximum damage). Troops: fairies (attack 4, defense 2, damage 1-2, health 2, speed medium: 4, flight, non-retaliatory strike), dwarves (attack 6, defense 5, damage 2-4, health 20, speed very slow: 2).
26 fairies with Bless magic deal 49 damage to an enemy with defense 5. Moreover, without retaliation. Dwarves are also very good; they take hits from entire enemy squads and can hold out for quite a long time. The breakthrough power of the sorceress with her army is sufficiently large; one only needs to apply magic clearly (since magic power is not so great) and arrange troops according to this specific battle (unlike playing ranged troops with 2-3 typical placements). One should remember the uselessness and impossibility of removing retaliation. Some tactical techniques will be further highlighted at the end of the article.
-) Wizard.
Hero with defense 1, a magic book (magic power and knowledge 2) and the "Stone Skin" spell (increases defense by 3). Troops: halflings (attack 2, defense 1, damage 1-3, health 3, speed slow: 3), boars (attack 5, defense 4, damage 2-3, health 15, speed very fast: 6).
Here it is necessary to stop at the following factors. Halflings have 12 shots. However, they have very modest defense. Boars have excellent speed, and they are two-cell units.
The breakthrough power of the hero is quite serious. Here it must be understood that when using "Stone Skin" on pigs, their defense will be 8 (!!!), which allows them to hold out for a long time, while hobbits meanwhile shoot the enemies.
Typical placement options:
1 pig - 1 pig - 1 pig - 2 pigs - 14 hobbits
1 hobbit - 1 pig - 1 pig - 3 pigs - 13 hobbits
The speed of pigs in most cases allows them to cover the hobbits before direct contact with the opponent. Moreover, two-cell size allows for another 1-2 squads of pigs either to take the place of those killed or for tactical maneuvers. Theoretically, it is possible to use "hit-and-run" against very slow troops, but practically it is not easy to implement.
With clever use of magic, there are some very interesting results ...
-) Necromancer.
Hero with attack 1, a magic book (magic power and knowledge 2-2) with the "Haste" spell (+ 2 to speed). Troops: skeletons (attack 4!, defense 3!, damage 2-3!!, health 4, speed medium: 4), zombies (attack 5, defense 2, damage 2-3, health 15, speed very slow: 2).
The main strength is the combination of unusually high power parameters for first-level troops and the presence of haste.
There are no universal schemes, but neutral troops like goblins are broken through very easily. A clear calculation of the battle with correct application of magic is necessary.
-) Warlock.
Hero with a magic book (magic power 3, knowledge 2) with the "Curse" spell (the squad deals minimum damage). Troops: centaurs (attack 3, defense 1, damage 1-2, health 5!!, speed medium: 4), gargoyles (attack 4, defense 7, damage 2-3, health 15, speed very fast: 6, flight).
Due to the obvious power of the starting army, the warlock is the most frequently purchased hero in speed completion tournaments. Centaurs shoot and are first-level record holders for health, while gargoyles are very fast, fly, and are second-level record holders for defense.
Two nuances present difficulties: centaurs have only 8 shots and they are two-cell units, meaning they are not easy to cover. Nevertheless, considering the application of magic, the warlock is perhaps the best hero for breaking through ranged blocks. I have repeatedly described the battle technology of the warlock against centaurs; the same algorithm works against halflings, as well as a small number of orcs or archers and even a small number of elves:
1 gargoyle - 1 gargoyle - 1 gargoyle - 1 gargoyle - 10 centaurs.
Gargoyles fly and block the archers (without attacking), while curse is cast on one of their stacks. Centaurs shoot. After each round, the number of lives for gargoyles is checked and they switch places.
The speed and defense parameters of gargoyles also provide wide possibilities for tactical maneuvers, which we will talk about later.

Here we should also discuss other possibilities.
The starting hero collected gold to buy a second hero, and now the second hero conducts the battle. Of course, in many cases, a hero of the same race as the starter is bought. However, there are cases where this is not expedient. For example, this hero will be the lead and must possess certain characteristics (presence or prospect of obtaining logistics or pathfinder skills, other necessary skills obtained quickly) or must absolutely go with troops with very fast speed (6).
In these cases, we face the problem of troop combinations.
Since the number of such combinations is quite large, let's take only the most interesting examples.
Sorceress.
As Sir Gynnar rightly pointed out, halflings in the hands of a sorceress turn into a rather formidable weapon. Under Bless they deal 3 damage, which corresponds to second level. Also, goblins and centaurs are quite interesting in this regard (damage changes from 1-2 to 2). The presence of fairies allows for fine maneuvering.
Knight.
Power parameters and starting morale. Peasants and even archers are often sacrificed, while troops from another hero remain and go further.
Barbarian.
Attack 3 is very good for non-contact combat. An army, for example, of a warlock or wizard deals good damage. And in contact combat, parameters 3-1 play a very significant role.
Wizard.
The combination of defense 1 with Stone Skin magic gives a total of 4 defense. On the first day of the game — this is a very serious argument that often allows winning contact battles difficult for other heroes. Battles against flying troops or very fast ground ones, and even against archers.
Warlock.
Here it should be noted first and foremost that any warlock starts with a movement allowance corresponding to speed 4 of the slowest unit. This can be boasted about by a sorceress without dwarves, a barbarian without orcs, and a necromancer without zombies. However, having such heroes at the start is far from always possible.
Necromancer.
Undoubtedly, haste helps very seriously. In particular for breaking through archers. Troops of the wizard, warlock, sorceress, and barbarian help very well in this. Breaking through weak 1-2 level archers without the participation of gargoyles is most comfortable specifically with a necromancer: skeletons (goblins) with haste reach the archers in two turns, meaning by the second turn 4 squads are already blocked (2 hastes, each hastened squad blocks two squads of archers).

6. First day in a new place
or
In the captured castle.

The main tasks for a hero purchased in a new place are collecting resources/gold or (which happens much more often) defeating the last enemy hero. It should be noted that in this case, although we do not build anything in the castle ourselves, we are dealing with a castle already built by the computer. It should also be noted that the financial situation at the moment of capturing the enemy castle may allow for purchasing several heroes, and possibly even erecting a first-level mages' guild (if it has not yet been erected by the computer). Although building a magic guild is beyond the scope of this article, we will conventionally assume that this guild exists (regardless of who built it).
So, there is a castle, there is an enemy hero who must be finished off. To finish him off, two conditions are necessary: enter into battle (i.e., reach the hero) and win the battle.
Reaching should be calculated in advance. Typical techniques:
-) simplest: warlocks, barbarians without orcs, sorceresses without dwarves, necromancers without zombies are already ready for purchase;
-) after a battle with the computer on the previous turn, one is bought with a pig or gargoyle;
-) a hero with logistics and/or pathfinder is leveled up in advance, escapes on the previous turn, and is now purchased. Option: with artifacts affecting movement speed;
-) top-tier: a hero is purchased in the castle, runs to the enemy hero, and the lead hero in the chain reaches the purchased one, takes the troops and then fights the enemy hero.

The last battle.
-) preliminary processing, "softening". Carried out by attacking the computer hero with one or several heroes. Goals: draining mana; reducing the number of troops via magic (less often — by dealing direct damage with troops); reducing the number of troops by using area damage from opponent's troops (cyclopes, dragons, phoenixes, liches).
-) the battle itself. Here the role of magic often increases. A Warlock starts by dealing 180 damage with archers (6 archers by 30), a Sorceress — 200 damage (10 archers by 20). In other respects, things are roughly as they always are, but there are specific features. In the first week we will most likely encounter a large group of first-level troops, some number of second-level troops and about 4 third-level units. For successful completion of the battle, one must either have superior troops or CREATE AN ADVANTAGE AT THE DECISIVE STAGE OF THE BATTLE. This topic is extremely important, and we will stop on this separately in the final section

7. Tactical techniques for conducting small-format battles
or
Bonus track from Qwerty

to be continued ...

7. Tactical techniques for small-scale battles: Energizer's method
or
Bonus track from Qwerty.

Recently I came across an interesting video regarding Heroes II. It will be analyzed in more detail in this thread: /topic/at/426965/
And there is one interesting nuance: a Wizard hero (light wizard from the titanic castle) is purchased with 6 halflings and 2 pigs and goes somewhere.
We will focus in more detail on who and how this hero could break through with such an army.

I present Energizer's Method!

So, the first point in the methodology proposed several years ago by the talented heroer Energizer states: who is your "strike stack"? That is: who will destroy the units you are attacking?

In this case, it is quite obvious that the strike stack consists of 6 halflings.

The second point in the methodology: how much can the "strike stack" kill? Energizer suggests the following calculation method and we will follow him: 6 (number of units in the strike stack) * average damage (in our case 2) * number of shots (in our case 12). Thus, we get a maximum damage of 144 against creatures with defense 2 (we remember that halflings have attack 1) provided that we can make all 12 shots without entering direct contact. Right here we can calculate the damage against creatures with defense 1 (144 + 10%=158), as well as against creatures with defense 3 (144 - 5%=136), 4 (144 - 10% = 129), 5 (144 - 15% = 122), 6 (144 - 20% =115), 7 (144 - 25% =108), 8 (144 - 30%=101), 9 (144 - 35%=94). The calculation can stop here.
Perhaps you do not remember the creature characteristics exactly; in that case, you should download the Heroes2info reference from Qwerty (it is located in thread /topic/7058/.
It should be clearly understood here that we calculated the damage on the condition that we are allowed to make all 12 shots.

Now let's try to evaluate who we can break through with an army of 6 halflings and 2 pigs with a Wizard hero (0-1-2-2, mana 20, stone skin spell costing 3 mana increases the unit's defense by 3 units for 2 rounds).
Peasants. 50-99. Formation 0-0-1 pig - 1 pig - 6 halflings. Method: shoot the nearest unit. We don't expose ourselves to morale. If necessary to hold the defense, stone skin can be cast on the pigs.
Goblins. Here we must consider their speed (4). It is clear that we can attack 10-19 goblins. However, it's probably not worth attacking 20-49: we take out 4-5 goblins with one shot, but by the third turn they will already be attacking our pigs. That is, there will be 11-40 of them against 2 pigs. Yes, we will cast stone skin on both pig units, but even then a unit of 6 goblins will deal 7 damage to the pigs, and three such units will take down a pig, after which we have no chance left. (If the hero had been given more starting troops, for example 8 halflings and 3 pigs - one could discuss the specifics of this difficult battle).
Skeletons. Speed 4, we can only attack 10-19. Here one should consider the unusually high damage of skeletons (the highest among first-level troops): 2-3 with attack 4! Pigs must be handled carefully; it might even be necessary to protect them with stone skin (without stone skin, 6 skeletons can take down 1 pig).
Halflings. The hardest fight. Of course, the easiest thing to say is: don't attack them, in a few days Rocs will appear and the halflings will fall without losses (or maybe even join?). However, there are situations where you must break through. It should be understood that attacking 10-19 halflings (attacking more than this with this army is impossible, fewer can be broken) is a serious risk. 10-19 halflings are, for example, 3-3-3-3-3. Due to the large damage spread (1-3), finding the right formation is not so simple. 2 halflings almost certainly take out 1, and three halflings have a high probability of killing two (damage 3.3-9.9, average over 6). It is also extremely unpleasant that the first unit of halflings moves before ours. Just 3 birds would make this battle lossless, but we don't have them yet and we will try the following formation:
2 halflings - pig - 2 halflings - pig - 2 halflings.
Battle:
Stone skin on the bottom pig.
Pig forward. Pig forward.
3 halfs shoot, kill our top unit. 2 of our middle halfs shoot, kill 1 half in the second unit. The second unit shoots at our middle one, kills 1 half. Bottom halfs shoot at the third unit, kill one half. The third unit shoots at the bottom unit of halfs, kills one. The fourth unit shoots into the center, kills. The fifth unit shoots down, kills.
Results of the first round.
Us: two pigs (bottom one with stone skin) with full health.
Opponent: 3-2 (1 health)-2(1 health)-3-3.
Second round.
Stone skin on the top pig.
Kill the second half.
The other pig hits the bottom unit.
After this, a clash begins; by the end of the round it could look like this:
Us: top pig blocks the first and second units of halfs. He has 7 health. Bottom pig blocks the fourth and fifth units, he has 8 health.
Opponent:
2 halfs - 1 half - 2 halfs - 2 halfs - 2 halfs.
Third round.
Stone skin on the bottom pig.
Top pig kills the third stack. Bottom pig attacks the fifth stack.
After the round it could look like this:
Us: top pig blocks the second and third stacks, he has 1 health. Bottom pig blocks the fourth-fifth stacks, he has 4 health.
Opponent:
2 halfs - 0 - 1 half - 1 half - 1 half
Fourth round.
Top pig kills the middle half. Bottom pig kills the bottom half.
After the round the following picture may emerge:
We have 1 pig with 3 health. The opponent has 2 halfs.
Our turn. Pig attacks 2 halfs, kills one. The remaining half attacks the pig, and he wins with 1 health!!!

However, it must be admitted that any morale for the opponent's halflings, above-average damage, or the pig dealing only 2 damage to the halflings immediately turns victory into defeat.
Not to mention that there might be 16 (or 18) halflings instead of 15. In this regard, such an attack cannot be recommended except in case of extreme necessity.

Centaurs. We only beat 5-9 centaurs, and even then we have to try hard. The algorithm is roughly the same, only the top pig should not move maximum forward in the first round.

Thieves. Extremely inconvenient opponents. A surprise attack combined with 6 attack, high speed (5)... Contact between thieves and pigs will occur as early as the second round. And this is very bad, as 4 units of thieves with 3 each take down one pig with fairly high probability. 3 thieves in melee can slaughter 6 halflings. In this regard, we can only attack 5-9 thieves.

Fairies. Surprise attack combined with flight and speed 4 (against 3 for halfs) are decisive. If there were more pigs, one could struggle with a formation of 4 halfs - pig - pig - 1 half - 1 half with stone skin on the top pigs in the first round, but breaking through 10-19 fairies is still very problematic. In the first round, the top pig will be hit by 3 units of fairies; in the second round, another 3 units and he won't hold out. At the beginning of the third round, depending on the formation, we will have something like 4 halfs and 1 pig with partial health against 3*3 fairies. By the end of the round, this will turn into 1 half and a barely alive pig against 1-2-3 fairies, which is hopeless. Therefore, only 5-9 fairies can be broken.

Non-upgraded Zombies. A very convenient unit to break through; no morale, speed is very slow (2), low defense (2). Combined with relatively small damage (2-3) and our stone skin, we can break through quite large gatherings of these creatures for our army. 5-9 zombies are broken without any risk. But with 10-19 it's unlikely to work: the strike stack is too small...

Upgraded Zombies. We cast stone skin in time and break through with a standard formation of 5-9. Zombies enter the fight in the third round, but thanks to stone skin we will successfully hold out, and the halflings will do the rest.

Non-upgraded Dwarves. Very tough but slow fighters. Their defense is 5, which allows halflings to deal a total damage of 122. Maybe we'll be lucky and the damage will be slightly higher, but we can't kill more than 7 dwarves with arrows alone. Let's see in melee: our pigs, considering stone skin, will have 5 attack against 5 defense of dwarves, 7 defense against 6 attack of dwarves. But our damage is 2-3, theirs is 2-4; moreover, pigs have 15 health, and dwarves have 20... A pig will hold out against a dwarf for 5 rounds, but a dwarf against a pig - 8... Halflings in melee will deal extremely little damage... Conclusion: better not to attack; if you decide to - be prepared to lose your hero.

Pigs. Caution is needed here. If the opponent's first unit does not have morale on the first turn - we break through 5-9 pigs. Formation: 6 halfs-pig-pig-0-0. Battle. First round: stone skin on the bottom pig. Our pig blocks a half not from the front, but from the side. And after the move of the opponent's first pig, the bottom pig already takes a blocking position in front of the halfs. Pigs are two-cell units, meaning only 2 units can attack our pig simultaneously. With careful play, the battle can be conducted without losses.

Thus, with a starting hero from the titanic castle and an army of 6 halflings and 2 pigs, we can attack: up to 99 peasants, up to 19 goblins and skeletons, up to 9 halflings, thieves, centaurs, fairies, pigs, non-upgraded and upgraded zombies. A fight with 5-9 non-upgraded dwarves is quite risky.

It would be very interesting to consider what could be broken by the same army but with other starting heroes, but you can probably easily do that yourself.

Qwerty, 19.11.2010.