Posts from Hero engineers.

Well... I often play as the Iron Lady (Daleb)... Has anyone tried developing the entire series with the Rangers? They don't have a hero-engineer, but you can get up to 4 skills for the ballista: ballista, rapid-fire, enchanted, and fire arrows... I just haven't had the chance to try it... does it even make sense? I mean, if you develop Chaos magic and put Shock Earth on the ballista (and of course, you'll have to develop mana too)...
P.S. I also really like Kaspar with the plague tent... I almost always take him as an additional hero at the beginning...

I always get the siege workshop from the Dwarves, and upgrade the ballista to 3 shots (probably a typo, referring to the siege attack skill from version 2.1). The drop rate for the ballista is low, but I usually don't have any problems with it. I don't see any point in having a strong Dwarf unit without a ballista. At the start, on the second day, I build the forge and immediately buy everything. This won't have a significant impact on the city's economy if you play strategically later on. Then, if I get the chance, I take the tent, but I've never taken the catapult; I manage perfectly well without it, as Chaos is sufficient.

Besides the machines, what else do we download? There are specific features related to leveling up these heroes, considering they are machinists, or whether we level them up like other heroes – knights, demons, etc.

In the original version (3.0), machines are a real headache. Every faction can get machines with a triple ballista firing fire arrows as early as the first week. All it takes is a level 7-9 hero. Demons are slightly more challenging (levels 12-14), but that's understandable, considering that demons grow primarily in attack and knowledge, making their ballista the strongest of all. After that, it's just a matter of technique: protect the machines with a tent, and invest in defense and logistics. An Orc with 10 green wyverns can easily defeat any monster, including Utopians. Of course, taking down a ballista in the late game isn't difficult; there are plenty of options, such as Deadly Cold, Mark on mages, and enhanced spells from the Dungeon faction. However, when it comes to clearing the map, the machine-focused strategy is quite effective. Perhaps a Warlock with invisibility and hydras can also move quickly, but even that is questionable. If the map is small, the machine-focused hero can handle it on their own. If the map is large, they can control the map and the economy, and from the third or fourth week, the main hero can start leveling up. There are many options, such as Ilfina with regeneration and dragons, Nur with yellow golems and Destruct, or Mephala with archers. This is because if there's a lot of combat in the late game, the machine-focused hero won't be very useful; the ballista will simply be taken down, and the base will become dead weight. Unfortunately, it's a rather one-sided strategy. In the original 3.0, few heroes can match the machine-focused hero in terms of clearing speed. That's the sad truth.

and of course, the chance of getting a ballista is low

Why is it low? Initially, "Tremors" and "Rune Machines" are unavailable, the tent is always taken, and then advanced machines become available, with a 50% chance of getting a ballista on an adventure. Unless, of course, you choose other bases, such as logistics and defense, etc. Otherwise, the skills will naturally be affected.

Besides machines, what else do we upgrade? Are there any specific features when leveling up these heroes, considering they are machinists, or do we level them up like other heroes, such as knights, demons, etc.?

Logistics and the Path of War are simply essential for machinists, even at the expense of everything else. This is simply because leveling up a machinist doesn't depend on external factors, but only on the hero's movement speed. In this regard, Grog is very appealing, especially when he can acquire machines early on.

I rarely use siege weapons. If a hero is a good Chaos Knight, he doesn't need a catapult at all. Only a fool would hide from a Chaos Knight in a castle. And even against a specialist in dark magic, the opponent won't feel comfortable sitting in a castle. And towers and walls are destroyed by the Crystal of the Secret, which, unlike the catapult, can destroy the central tower immediately.

Siege weapons are only good at the beginning. But many factions have heroes who can easily defeat neutrals without them. In the late game, any siege weapon, including a catapult, is destroyed with a single shot.

Unfortunately, you are right.