"Press the spacebar to activate a map object that your hero is on without needing to move off of it."
"Nearly everything in the game will provide more information if you right-click on it. This is a great way to learn things - especially if you're new to the game."
"Click on the button at the bottom left of this window to access your Thieves' Guild. The more taverns you own, the more information it will provide."
"Shift-click on a unit stack in your army to split it into two equal stacks. Alt-click will combine stacks, while Ctrl-click will move one unit into a new stack."
"Any manual spacing of a hero's units (including the "Tight" and "Loose" formation settings in the menu) will have no effect unless all seven slots are full."
"Allied heroes can exchange units, war machines, and artifacts when they meet on the map. Having "supply runner" heroes helps keep others on the front lines."
"The heroes available for hire each week will be the same in any tavern you visit. Which classes can appear is determined by which faction you begin the game as."
"Heroes who surrender or retreat from battle can be re-hired at your tavern until the week rolls over. If the hero surrendered, they will still have all of their troops."
"For each level attained, heroes will increase one of: Attack, Defense, Magic, or Knowledge. The odds of which stat goes up vary depending on the hero's class."
"Heroes from "good" factions tend to have higher Defense and/or Knowledge stats whereas evil heroes generally have more Attack and Magic."
"Tower, Dungeon, and Conflux are the most magic-focused factions while Stronghold and Fortress are by far the most might-oriented."
"The three "neutral" factions are the most heavily specialized in a single area: Offense (Stronghold), Defense (Fortress), and Magic (Conflux)."
"The odds of which skills heroes are able to learn when they level up vary depending on their class. Some skills may not be learned by certain classes at all."
"Regardless of class, all heroes will periodically be given the opportunity when gaining a level to learn Wisdom as well as at least one elemental magic skill."
"Every class has a different skill that all of its heroes always start with, such as Leadership for Knights or Earth Magic for Druids."
"Every hero has a unique specialty, providing a bonus to a specific type of unit, skill, or spell. This is the main individualizing trait amongst heroes of the same class."
"Heroes with a unit specialty convey a bonus of Attack, Defense, and Speed to that unit and will have it in their army when hired (excepting 7th-level unit specialists)."
"Heroes who specialize in most spells receive a flat bonus to them, but the bonus of several support spells is dependent on the target unit's level."
"Skill-based hero specialties become stronger with each level. Initially weaker than unit or spell specialties, they will become much more powerful over time."
"Heroes can restore their spell points by ending their turn in a town with a mage guild, drinking from a magic well or spring, or naturally with the Mysticism skill."
"The Tactics skill can help you reach enemy troops in fewer turns, but its benefit will be reduced or eliminated when facing an enemy hero who also possesses it."
"A hero's movement points are determined by the speed of the slowest unit in their army. The Logistics skill acts as a reduction to the penalty for having slow units."
"Moving through rough terrain requires more movement points than on flat land unless on a road. This penalty can be reduced or eliminated by the Pathfinding skill."
"Armies consisting entirely of units native to rough terrain (wasteland, sand, snow, swamp, or volcano) will ignore their additional movement point costs."
"Objects on the map which increase movement such as Watering Holes and Bouys may be visited once per day or at any time after winning a battle."
"Units fighting on their faction's native terrain will have boosted attack, defense, and speed. Siege battles will always occur on the defending town's native terrain."
"Unlike on land, water travel is not affected by the speed of a hero's troops. The Navigation skill is a flat - and substantial - bonus to movement points on a boat."
"Random units are very unlikely to join a hero without the Diplomacy skill, and even then will not do so if they are much stronger than the hero's army is."
"Random units who offer to join you are less likely to charge if your army already contains units of their type or if they are from the same faction as your hero."
"Random units on the map will group together in fewer stacks the stronger your army is than they are. If too outmatched, they will attempt to flee rather than fight."
"Each point of luck and morale grants a 6.25% chance of their respective effects, up to a maximum bonus of 8 (50%). For negative morale, these odds are doubled."
"Extra actions from positive morale can help you reach your enemies faster, but the extra damage from good luck helps you take less damage from retaliations."
"Certain locations on the map will temporarily boost your army's morale or luck. This bonus will last until the end of your hero's next battle."
"Armies consisting entirely of units from the same faction will gain a morale bonus while those mixing three or more will suffer increasing penalties."
"Unliving units are not affected by morale, positive or negative. Undead units will also negatively impact the morale of any living units in the same army."
"Unliving units are not able to be revived with the Resurrection or Sacrifice spells, nor are they affected by the First Aid skill or health-boosting artifacts."
"Undead units, in addition to having the immunities of unliving units, are also unaffected by Curse and Bless."
"The special abilities of most undead units are ineffective against unliving units, as is the Necropolis-exclusive Toxic Cloud spell."
"The "Wait" command will delay a unit's action until the end of the combat round, thus allowing your foes to move into a position more advantageous for you."
"The "Defend" command will consume a unit's action to boost its defense for that round and is often a better course of action than attacking a stronger opponent."
"Always protect your ranged troops in combat! They can't shoot if there are any enemy units adjacent to them and their melee damage is significantly reduced."
"Ranged units are most effective against slow-moving units. Fast-moving units are good for blocking enemy shooters, but tend to be weaker than slower units."
"Ranged attacks do less damage (indicated by a broken arrow cursor) if the target is at least 10 hexes away or behind a wall. Some units ignore one or both penalties."
"Ammo carts provide unlimited shots for ranged units which shoot physical projectiles; those which shoot things like magical beams don't have limited shots."
"Ranged units who throw projectiles only have one shot without an ammo cart, but they're also more effective at melee combat than traditional ranged attackers are."
"Any melee unit which becomes a ranged attacker when upgraded will retain its ability to fight effectively at close quarters."
"Flying units are able to bypass defensive barricades and walls, the effects of the Fire Wall and Quicksand spells, and any other obstruction on the battlefield."
"Most units are only able to retaliate against one melee strike per round. It's best to keep track of which enemy units are still able to do so and attack them accordingly."
"Some units are able to strike multiple opponents at once. In this case, only the "focused" target (the one that was clicked on) will be able to retaliate."
"The attacks of Gogs and all elemental units will deal half damage to any unit resistant or immune to their element and double damage on a weakness to it."
""O-Magic" reduces the damage from directly offensive magic while spell resistance is a chance to completely evade the effects of ANY hostile spell."
"Status effects set by units are mostly physical (resisted by "O-Body") whereas most negative spell effects are mental ("O-Mind"). Unliving units are immune to both."
"Fear, paralyze, and petrify all prevent units from acting temporarily. Of these, only fear will be broken if the unit is damaged in any way (it will retaliate if able)."
"Units which have been paralyzed or petrified can be attacked without breaking the effect. However, physical attacks will only deal half damage to petrified units."
"Non-immobilizing physical statuses like poison and disease take a very long time to wear off naturally and are best removed with a medical tent or the Cure spell."
"Statuses with opposing effects like Haste and Slow or Strength and Weakness will replace their counterpart status when applied to a unit stack."
"Which spells may appear in a mage guild depends on the town type. Inferno towns, for example, are very likely to have fire spells and will never have water spells."
"Visiting heroes will automatically add every spell from a town's Mage Guild to their spellbook. If they do not have a spellbook, one must first be purchased."
"Air is the most common school of magic and has spells that focus mostly on offense and speed. This includes the "Fly" spell, which greatly eases travel on the map."
"Earth is the most defensive school of magic and also the least common, with only Rampart, Necropolis, and Fortress towns having a strong preference for it."
"Fire is the school of magic most closely affiliated with "evil" towns. It is the most offensive element by far, focused mostly on damaging and disabling enemy units."
"Water is the school of magic most closely affiliated with "good" towns. It focuses on support, healing, and has several spells to assist with travel on the map."
"Possessing an elemental magic skill isn't necessary in order to cast spells from its school, but most will be drastically less effective from an unskilled caster."
"Most spells can only be cast during combat, but there are several "adventure map" spells that provide you with information or facilitate easier travel."
"Lower-level spells tend to benefit mostly from the caster's magic power whereas higher-level ones gain more strength from expertise in its school of magic."
"Some spells, such as Frenzy and Dispel, do not consider the caster's Magic power and are thus useful for any hero. Notably, this includes all adventure map spells."
"Because the effect of most status spells is static and magic power affects only their duration, they are more useful to might heroes than those which deal damage."
"Magic heroes with sufficient skill and mana to destroy their enemies with spells alone don't need their units to fight - just to survive!"
"High speed doesn't just help your units reach their enemies faster - it can also help them stay away!"
"In combat, the team with the fastest unit will act first. This is especially important for magic heroes, as this gives them the first opportunity to cast a spell."
"Because ballistas/turrets and the catapult act before anything else, the Ballistics skill is useful for granting spellcasting iniative via manual control over them."
"Some artifacts will provide a bonus to certain skills such as Learning or Resistance, but only if the user possesses that skill to begin with."
"Artifacts which increase unit growth are best left with secondary/defender heroes since they only work if equipped by a hero in a town at the start of the week."
"Certain artifacts, when combined, will create a more powerful artifact which will possess a new effect in addition to all those of its components."
"War machines will be disabled for the remainder of the battle if they are destroyed in combat, but can never be permanently lost in this manner."
"Even if you aren't in need of their primary effects, war machines like ammo carts and medical tents also give your enemies something to attack other than your units."
"A ballista is a good investment for any hero since it's still free damage even without the Ballistics skill to maximize its effectiveness."
"Medical tents will restore health to a damaged unit of your choosing at the end of each round of combat. They are most effective used with durable/high-level units."
"The First Aid skill directly boosts the health of your troops and allows the medical tent to remove negative statuses in addition to restoring health."
"Every hero has a catapult, which is used in siege battles to destroy fortifications and turrets. The Ballistics skill will significantly increase its effectiveness."
"The damage dealt by turrets varies depending on the type of town, but it's generally best to destroy them first if you can do so before focusing on the walls."
"The durability of defensive walls varies depending on town type, but most are more vulnerable at the outer edges than they are in the center."
"Defensive barricades end the turn of any crossing unit and most also deal damage. Further, any unit standing in a barricade will take more damage from physical attacks."
"In most cases, it's best when building up towns to prioritize income and then unit growth. Build a City Hall/Capitol first and then focus on dwellings."
"The exchange rates of all trade buildings are based on the number of marketplaces you control in your towns, capping at a maximum of four marketplaces."
"Trading Posts, Black Markets, and Mercenary Guilds on the map will always offer exchange rates one step higher (i.e. +1 Marketplace) than your towns will."
"Resources are obtained primarily as loot on the map and from mines flagged by your heroes. If desired, you may leave units behind to guard them from enemy heroes."
"Wood and Ore are common resources often found in abundance. Gems, Crystals, Sulfur, and Mercury are rarer and worth twice as much when trading."
"Every type of town requires both Wood and Ore to construct buildings. Needs for rare resources vary, but each town has one that they require in large quantities."
"Once your towns have been fully built, it's wise to sell off your excess resources (preferably at a Trading Post) for gold to recruit as many units as possible."
"Windmills and Water Wheels provide resources every week. Be sure to keep a hero available to check them!"
"Look out for locations on the adventure map - as well as special buildings in certain towns - which permanently boost the stats of any hero to visit them."
"Buildings which provide permanent stat increases to any visiting hero can be found in Tower, Inferno, Dungeon, Stronghold, and Fortress towns."
"Buildings which grant stat bonuses to defenders during siege battles only work if a defending hero is present; those which boost luck and/or morale work regardless."
"Dwellings on the map that you control will also provide a growth bonus to dwellings of the same type in any of your towns."
"Press the spacebar to activate a map object that your hero is on without needing to move off of it."
"Nearly everything in the game will provide more information if you right-click on it. This is a great way to learn things - especially if you're new to the game."
"Click on the button at the bottom left of this window to access your Thieves' Guild. The more taverns you own, the more information it will provide."
"Shift-click on a unit stack in your army to split it into two equal stacks. Alt-click will combine stacks, while Ctrl-click will move one unit into a new stack."
"Any manual spacing of a hero's units (including the "Tight" and "Loose" formation settings in the menu) will have no effect unless all seven slots are full."
"Allied heroes can exchange units, war machines, and artifacts when they meet on the map. Having "supply runner" heroes helps keep others on the front lines."
"The heroes available for hire each week will be the same in any tavern you visit. Which classes can appear is determined by which faction you begin the game as."
"Heroes who surrender or retreat from battle can be re-hired at your tavern until the week rolls over. If the hero surrendered, they will still have all of their troops."
"For each level attained, heroes will increase one of: Attack, Defense, Magic, or Knowledge. The odds of which stat goes up vary depending on the hero's class."
"Heroes from "good" factions tend to have higher Defense and/or Knowledge stats whereas evil heroes generally have more Attack and Magic."
"Tower, Dungeon, and Conflux are the most magic-focused factions while Stronghold and Fortress are by far the most might-oriented."
"The three "neutral" factions are the most heavily specialized in a single area: Offense (Stronghold), Defense (Fortress), and Magic (Conflux)."
"The odds of which skills heroes are able to learn when they level up vary depending on their class. Some skills may not be learned by certain classes at all."
"Regardless of class, all heroes will periodically be given the opportunity when gaining a level to learn Wisdom as well as at least one elemental magic skill."
"Every class has a different skill that all of its heroes always start with, such as Leadership for Knights or Earth Magic for Druids."
"Every hero has a unique specialty, providing a bonus to a specific type of unit, skill, or spell. This is the main individualizing trait amongst heroes of the same class."
"Heroes with a unit specialty convey a bonus of Attack, Defense, and Speed to that unit and will have it in their army when hired (excepting 7th-level unit specialists)."
"Heroes who specialize in most spells receive a flat bonus to them, but the bonus of several support spells is dependent on the target unit's level."
"Skill-based hero specialties become stronger with each level. Initially weaker than unit or spell specialties, they will become much more powerful over time."
"Heroes can restore their spell points by ending their turn in a town with a mage guild, drinking from a magic well or spring, or naturally with the Mysticism skill."
"The Tactics skill can help you reach enemy troops in fewer turns, but its benefit will be reduced or eliminated when facing an enemy hero who also possesses it."
"A hero's movement points are determined by the speed of the slowest unit in their army. The Logistics skill acts as a reduction to the penalty for having slow units."
"Moving through rough terrain requires more movement points than on flat land unless on a road. This penalty can be reduced or eliminated by the Pathfinding skill."
"Armies consisting entirely of units native to rough terrain (wasteland, sand, snow, swamp, or volcano) will ignore their additional movement point costs."
"Objects on the map which increase movement such as Watering Holes and Bouys may be visited once per day or at any time after winning a battle."
"Units fighting on their faction's native terrain will have boosted attack, defense, and speed. Siege battles will always occur on the defending town's native terrain."
"Unlike on land, water travel is not affected by the speed of a hero's troops. The Navigation skill is a flat - and substantial - bonus to movement points on a boat."
"Random units are very unlikely to join a hero without the Diplomacy skill, and even then will not do so if they are much stronger than the hero's army is."
"Random units who offer to join you are less likely to charge if your army already contains units of their type or if they are from the same faction as your hero."
"Random units on the map will group together in fewer stacks the stronger your army is than they are. If too outmatched, they will attempt to flee rather than fight."
"Each point of luck and morale grants a 6.25% chance of their respective effects, up to a maximum bonus of 8 (50%). For negative morale, these odds are doubled."
"Extra actions from positive morale can help you reach your enemies faster, but the extra damage from good luck helps you take less damage from retaliations."
"Certain locations on the map will temporarily boost your army's morale or luck. This bonus will last until the end of your hero's next battle."
"Armies consisting entirely of units from the same faction will gain a morale bonus while those mixing three or more will suffer increasing penalties."
"Unliving units are not affected by morale, positive or negative. Undead units will also negatively impact the morale of any living units in the same army."
"Unliving units are not able to be revived with the Resurrection or Sacrifice spells, nor are they affected by the First Aid skill or health-boosting artifacts."
"Undead units, in addition to having the immunities of unliving units, are also unaffected by Curse and Bless."
"The special abilities of most undead units are ineffective against unliving units, as is the Necropolis-exclusive Toxic Cloud spell."
"The "Wait" command will delay a unit's action until the end of the combat round, thus allowing your foes to move into a position more advantageous for you."
"The "Defend" command will consume a unit's action to boost its defense for that round and is often a better course of action than attacking a stronger opponent."
"Always protect your ranged troops in combat! They can't shoot if there are any enemy units adjacent to them and their melee damage is significantly reduced."
"Ranged units are most effective against slow-moving units. Fast-moving units are good for blocking enemy shooters, but tend to be weaker than slower units."
"Ranged attacks do less damage (indicated by a broken arrow cursor) if the target is at least 10 hexes away or behind a wall. Some units ignore one or both penalties."
"Ammo carts provide unlimited shots for ranged units which shoot physical projectiles; those which shoot things like magical beams don't have limited shots."
"Ranged units who throw projectiles only have one shot without an ammo cart, but they're also more effective at melee combat than traditional ranged attackers are."
"Any melee unit which becomes a ranged attacker when upgraded will retain its ability to fight effectively at close quarters."
"Flying units are able to bypass defensive barricades and walls, the effects of the Fire Wall and Quicksand spells, and any other obstruction on the battlefield."
"Most units are only able to retaliate against one melee strike per round. It's best to keep track of which enemy units are still able to do so and attack them accordingly."
"Some units are able to strike multiple opponents at once. In this case, only the "focused" target (the one that was clicked on) will be able to retaliate."
"The attacks of Gogs and all elemental units will deal half damage to any unit resistant or immune to their element and double damage on a weakness to it."
""O-Magic" reduces the damage from directly offensive magic while spell resistance is a chance to completely evade the effects of ANY hostile spell."
"Status effects set by units are mostly physical (resisted by "O-Body") whereas most negative spell effects are mental ("O-Mind"). Unliving units are immune to both."
"Fear, paralyze, and petrify all prevent units from acting temporarily. Of these, only fear will be broken if the unit is damaged in any way (it will retaliate if able)."
"Units which have been paralyzed or petrified can be attacked without breaking the effect. However, physical attacks will only deal half damage to petrified units."
"Non-immobilizing physical statuses like poison and disease take a very long time to wear off naturally and are best removed with a medical tent or the Cure spell."
"Statuses with opposing effects like Haste and Slow or Strength and Weakness will replace their counterpart status when applied to a unit stack."
"Which spells may appear in a mage guild depends on the town type. Inferno towns, for example, are very likely to have fire spells and will never have water spells."
"Visiting heroes will automatically add every spell from a town's Mage Guild to their spellbook. If they do not have a spellbook, one must first be purchased."
"Air is the most common school of magic and has spells that focus mostly on offense and speed. This includes the "Fly" spell, which greatly eases travel on the map."
"Earth is the most defensive school of magic and also the least common, with only Rampart, Necropolis, and Fortress towns having a strong preference for it."
"Fire is the school of magic most closely affiliated with "evil" towns. It is the most offensive element by far, focused mostly on damaging and disabling enemy units."
"Water is the school of magic most closely affiliated with "good" towns. It focuses on support, healing, and has several spells to assist with travel on the map."
"Possessing an elemental magic skill isn't necessary in order to cast spells from its school, but most will be drastically less effective from an unskilled caster."
"Most spells can only be cast during combat, but there are several "adventure map" spells that provide you with information or facilitate easier travel."
"Lower-level spells tend to benefit mostly from the caster's magic power whereas higher-level ones gain more strength from expertise in its school of magic."
"Some spells, such as Frenzy and Dispel, do not consider the caster's Magic power and are thus useful for any hero. Notably, this includes all adventure map spells."
"Because the effect of most status spells is static and magic power affects only their duration, they are more useful to might heroes than those which deal damage."
"Magic heroes with sufficient skill and mana to destroy their enemies with spells alone don't need their units to fight - just to survive!"
"High speed doesn't just help your units reach their enemies faster - it can also help them stay away!"
"In combat, the team with the fastest unit will act first. This is especially important for magic heroes, as this gives them the first opportunity to cast a spell."
"Because ballistas/turrets and the catapult act before anything else, the Ballistics skill is useful for granting spellcasting iniative via manual control over them."
"Some artifacts will provide a bonus to certain skills such as Learning or Resistance, but only if the user possesses that skill to begin with."
"Artifacts which increase unit growth are best left with secondary/defender heroes since they only work if equipped by a hero in a town at the start of the week."
"Certain artifacts, when combined, will create a more powerful artifact which will possess a new effect in addition to all those of its components."
"War machines will be disabled for the remainder of the battle if they are destroyed in combat, but can never be permanently lost in this manner."
"Even if you aren't in need of their primary effects, war machines like ammo carts and medical tents also give your enemies something to attack other than your units."
"A ballista is a good investment for any hero since it's still free damage even without the Ballistics skill to maximize its effectiveness."
"Medical tents will restore health to a damaged unit of your choosing at the end of each round of combat. They are most effective used with durable/high-level units."
"The First Aid skill directly boosts the health of your troops and allows the medical tent to remove negative statuses in addition to restoring health."
"Every hero has a catapult, which is used in siege battles to destroy fortifications and turrets. The Ballistics skill will significantly increase its effectiveness."
"The damage dealt by turrets varies depending on the type of town, but it's generally best to destroy them first if you can do so before focusing on the walls."
"The durability of defensive walls varies depending on town type, but most are more vulnerable at the outer edges than they are in the center."
"Defensive barricades end the turn of any crossing unit and most also deal damage. Further, any unit standing in a barricade will take more damage from physical attacks."
"In most cases, it's best when building up towns to prioritize income and then unit growth. Build a City Hall/Capitol first and then focus on dwellings."
"The exchange rates of all trade buildings are based on the number of marketplaces you control in your towns, capping at a maximum of four marketplaces."
"Trading Posts, Black Markets, and Mercenary Guilds on the map will always offer exchange rates one step higher (i.e. +1 Marketplace) than your towns will."
"Resources are obtained primarily as loot on the map and from mines flagged by your heroes. If desired, you may leave units behind to guard them from enemy heroes."
"Wood and Ore are common resources often found in abundance. Gems, Crystals, Sulfur, and Mercury are rarer and worth twice as much when trading."
"Every type of town requires both Wood and Ore to construct buildings. Needs for rare resources vary, but each town has one that they require in large quantities."
"Once your towns have been fully built, it's wise to sell off your excess resources (preferably at a Trading Post) for gold to recruit as many units as possible."
"Windmills and Water Wheels provide resources every week. Be sure to keep a hero available to check them!"
"Look out for locations on the adventure map - as well as special buildings in certain towns - which permanently boost the stats of any hero to visit them."
"Buildings which provide permanent stat increases to any visiting hero can be found in Tower, Inferno, Dungeon, Stronghold, and Fortress towns."
"Buildings which grant stat bonuses to defenders during siege battles only work if a defending hero is present; those which boost luck and/or morale work regardless."
"Dwellings on the map that you control will also provide a growth bonus to dwellings of the same type in any of your towns."
"Elemental resistance spells will protect your troops from any spell from it's school of magic, but not from physical elemental damage dealt by other units."
"Offensive spells with an area of effect need not center on a unit to be cast; any target hex will do so long as at least one unit stack falls within its range."
"The Bless and Curse spells are most effective on low-level units. Higher-level units benefit more from higher-level spells such as Strength and Weakness."
"The Fire Wall spell is most useful against the computer. (Most) human players are smart enough to avoid it, but it can still help keep their units from advancing."
"The Anti-Magic spell blocks all incoming magic, both hostile and friendly, but will ignore any existing statuses. Anti-Magic can only be removed by Dispel."
"In addition to allowing your hero to ignore any obstacle on the map, the Fly spell also reduces the movement penalty for rough terrain as the Pathfinding skill does."
"The Town Portal and Fly spells will not work if your hero is on a boat, but the Dimension Door spell will."
"Pikemen and Halberdiers receive twice the usual bonus when defending. Defending also allows Halberdiers to strike first when retaliating."
"Horsemen and Crusaders receive a damage bonus for every hex they traveled that turn to reach their targets. Crusaders receive twice the bonus of regular Horsemen."
"Because their inherent morale boost will offset the penalty for mixing units from different factions, Angels can be added to any army with no negative effects."
"Archangels, Pit Lords, and Ogre Magi all have special abilities that allow them to cast spells on their allies. To use them, simply target the ally with your cursor."
"Use caution when attacking large groups of Battle Dwarves: they deal considerably more damage in retaliation than they do with regular attacks."
"Grand Elves are able to fire two shots per turn. They do not, however, have any more arrows than regular elves do and risk running out unless you have an ammo cart."
"Great Dendroids will use their roots to entagle their victims when attacking, binding them to their current location until the Dendroid stack is destroyed."
"Heroes with Master Genies in their army will receive a small discount to the casting costs of their spells."
"Every attack from a Djinni will decrease the target's defense until the end of battle. As with the Sunray spell, this cannot be cured or otherwise dispelled."
"Spells cost substantially more mana to cast when facing Archdevils. This pairs well with the ability of Familiars to absorb the costs of spells cast by enemy heroes."
"Magogs throw fireballs which explode on impact and damage all units surrounding the target except those which are immune to fire."
"Necromancy raises Zombies from your enemy's dead after combat. You'll raise Living Dead instead if you have no room for regular Zombies, but you'll get less."
"When a stack of Phoenixes or upgraded Skeletons is killed completely, they will regenerate back up to roughly 20% of their original numbers."
"Wraiths will raise Specters from the souls of everything that they kill. Because of this, they are especially dangerous against large numbers of weaker units."
"Vampire Lords absorb health from their targets and can even use it to revive their own dead. Because of this, they are extremely difficult to kill in large numbers."
"The shot of a Power Lich will explode into a noxious cloud of gas that will also damage any living units in the vicinity of its initial target."
"The attack of a Ghost Dragon can age its victim, cutting its health in half. This is a great help for taking down high-level units, but you must act before it wears off."
"Minotaur Kings become enraged and their strength increases until the end of battle whenever one of their attacks doesn't completely kill an enemy stack."
"Troglodytes can smell fear, and if upgraded will deal additional damage when they do. They pair well with Evil Eyes, whose attacks often terrify their victims."
"The ability of Evil Eyes and Mummies to inflict fear can be resisted or nullified just as the Fear spell."
"The special ability of Thunderbirds can deal a significant amount of additional damage, but can be resisted or nullified just as a regular lightning spell."
"Cyclops Brutes are able to damage defensive walls and turrets with their shots just as a Catapult would."
"Mighty Gorgons possess a devastating physical attack that allows them to instantly kill one or more units in a target stack, regardless of their total health."
"Hydras are able to attack in all directions at once and, when upgraded, can regenerate health each turn. They are slow, however, and best fought from a distance."
"Flies and Zombies are relatively weak units, but can be useful in multiple stacks due to their ability to spread disease, which will weaken your opponents."
"Beware engaging Empress Medusas or Emperor Basilisks at melee: both have a much higher chance to petrify their victims than their regular versions."
"Poison slowly reduces the health of a unit stack over time. Try to keep your distance while it works and then move in once your target has been worn down."
"Pegasi, Harpies, Nagas, and Gnolls gain the ability to attack without retaliation when upgraded. The only "base" units which can do so are Pixies and Rogues."
"Neutral units (those which are not affiliated with any town) don't have native terrain except for Nomads, who receieve 3x the normal bonus when fighting on sand."
"Enchanters are special units which can cast support spells on their allies. Because of this, they are most effective when split into multiple stacks."
"Peasants are the weakest of all units, but they can be added to any army without incurring a morale penalty for mixed factions."
"The breath of a dragon is so powerful that it will pierce through its target and damage any unit behind it."
"Castle, Necropolis, Fortress, and Conflux towns can build shipyards if there is a coastline to the north. These will act just like shipyards on the map."
"Castle towns have buildings which boost movement both by land (Stables) and by sea (Lighthouse). Both can also exist as standalone locations on the map."
"Rampart towns can construct a treasury which will generate interest on stored funds. The more gold you save early on, the more it will pay off later."
"Rather than a traditional moat, Tower towns instead have land mines. Any Tower-native units - including those of the attacker - will not trigger them."
"Tower towns are excellent places to learn spells due in part to a special building which expands the availability of spells in their Mage Guilds by one per level."
"Inferno towns can build a portal which will teleport heroes to any other town you control. The trip is one-way, however, unless it's to another Inferno town."
"Necropolis towns can build a special structure which converts any living unit into an undead one. Most units will become Zombies, but some have different results."
"Necropolis towns have a building which extends a permanent fog of war around them. This has no effect on the AI, but can be annoying for human opponents."
"Dungeon towns can build a portal which can recruit units from an external dwelling (selected at random at the beginning of each week) under your control."
"Defending heroes cannot retreat from siege battles unless they are defending a Stronghold town with an Escape Tunnel constructed."
"Conflux towns can construct a Magic University, which will teach any magic skill to any hero... for a price. (Class restrictions apply, see the Printme for details)"
"Taverns on the adventure map work just like the ones in town and will have the same heroes available for hire. The only difference is where your new recruit appears."
"A Den of Thieves on the map will provide complete information on your opponents as well as additional right-click information on enemy units for the turn."
"A hero inside a Sanctuary may remain there indefinitely without being attacked. This can make it easy for a player to maintain control of nearby mines or dwellings."
"Since the movement bonus from Stables lasts until the end of the week, they are most beneficial when visited as early on in the week as possible."
"Basic units can be upgraded at a Hill Fort, but it will cost more to do so there than it would in a town. The higher-level the unit, the more of a premium you'll pay."
"War Machine Factories sell all three of ballistas, ammo carts, and medical tents. However, you will pay more for them there than from a town blacksmith."
"During your travels, you may find teachers willing to train your hero in a skill free of charge. A University will offer more variety, but you'll pay for it."
"An Arena or Library of Enlightenment will provide a substantial boost of might or magic, respectively, to any hero strong or wise enough to be permitted entry."
"For a price, a Wise Tree will increase your hero's level. Because higher levels require more experience, you'll get more value the longer you wait to use them."
"Altars of Sacrifice allow good-aligned heroes to sacrifice artifacts in exchange for experience while evil heroes can sacrifice units. Neutral heroes may sacrifice either."
"Beware the song of Sirens, for they will lure your army to a watery grave. The more units you lose, the more you'll learn from the experience."
"Whirlpools at sea function just like teleporters do. They're completely safe to use, and they may even send you somewhere that you couldn't otherwise get to."
"Garrisons on the map behave like a town with a fort, with siege walls to defend units within. Some garrisons are also enchanted to block the use of all magic."
"Certain types of special terrain will cause spells of a specific element to always be cast at master level, regardless of the user's skill."
"Battles taking place on cursed ground will negate all effects of luck and morale."
"Finding every obelisk will lead you to a powerful object which will boost a town's growth and income along with a special second effect depending on the town's type."