Finding secondary skills for your hero is one of the most fun aspects of playing Heroes of Might and Magic III. It is up to you to make a mage, a warrior or try to combine the best qualities of both styles, but it is always very important to understand how useful certain skills will be in a particular game.
->
->
In this article, I have compiled an average rating of secondary skills, from most useless to vital. There are a lot of similar guides on the net, and most of them are similar (except for a few details). I must say right away that the usefulness of skills depends on many factors. For example, depending on the chosen strategy, the user’s play style, or even the landscape of the map, there is no universal recipe for success. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
Skills in HoMM3:
|
“Artillery” – gives the hero control over the ballista, significantly increases its damage, and also allows the player to control the arrows on the towers during the siege of his city. As for me, this is a rather weak skill that can only be useful to heroes with the appropriate specialization (Arlash, Gurnisson, Christian, etc.). It is also not bad at the beginning of the game, when every unit in the army counts and you need additional combat power. In other cases, it can be safely neglected.
|
|
“Ballistics” – increases the number of shots, damage and accuracy of the catapult during the siege of castles. Gives control over the catapult. Perhaps the only real benefit of the skill is the ability to be the first to cast spells. Otherwise, this is a mostly useless skill that can occasionally come in handy only in matches against the computer. In a game with real people, he is unlikely to be a key factor in victory, since sieges are rare and you will spend most of the battles in an open field.
|
|
“Magic” – increases damage from spells depending on the level of pumping. Only strong combat mages who specialize in powerful impact spells will benefit from this skill. For the rest of the heroes, especially for the warriors, it will be of little use. It is good to take “Sorcery” when you have opened the necessary school of elemental magic, and also received “Wisdom” or “Mysticism”. Then this skill will come in handy.
|
|
“Literacy” – allows heroes to exchange learned spells directly on campaigns. This is a good skill for supporting heroes who specialize in specific spells and can transfer them to your main character. For example, Solmir will share “Chain Lightning”, Deamer will share “Meteor Shower”, etc. The main character is usually not taken “Literacy”, but if you have several heroes without a pronounced leader, then why not?
|
|
“Diplomacy” – allows you to attach neutral units to the army. The higher the level of pumping, the more creatures can come under your command. Not a bad skill for playing against the computer, but in PvP with real players it is practically not used, as it is usually prohibited by the rules. If there are no such restrictions, then “Diplomacy” can be taken by auxiliary heroes in the late game. Just make sure that you have a good economy first, because you will have to pay for defectors – and a lot.
|
|
“Armor” – Reduces damage done by enemies in melee by 5/10/15%, depending on the level of pumping. Importantly, unlike the “Attack” skill, the “Armor” skill has the same effect on melee and ranged units. Overall, this is a good utility skill that any character can use. It will be most effective for heroes with the appropriate specialization (for example, Tazar).
|
|
“Vigilance” – allows the hero to learn a spell pronounced by the enemy in battle. This is one of the most useless skills in the game, and it also has a relatively low probability of triggering (only 60% at the expert level). The chances of successfully implementing it are even less, because often the enemy casts the same basic spells that are already in your arsenal. I would not recommend taking Vigilance even for supporting heroes.
|
|
“Property” – gives the hero + 125 / + 250 / + 500 gold per turn, depending on the level of pumping. This is a low priority skill and is only good for supporting heroes. It is undesirable to take “Property” for the main character, since the income received is too low to occupy a slot for skills. Try to provide your economy with other, more profitable sources of income.
|
|
“Intelligence” – increases the number of mana points of the hero by + 25 / + 50 / + 100% of the maximum value. A useful skill for heroes who need mana to spare. It is most useful for mages, although warriors can also benefit from it, especially if they do not have enough mana for basic spells like Stoneskin, Slowness, or Haste. Note that Intelligence will be especially beneficial for characters with Mysticism learned.
|
|
“Leadership” – increases the morale of your units by 1/2/3 units, depending on the level of pumping. Not bad, but very situational skill. It can be useful if your hero has a lot of units from conflicting factions, which causes morale problems in the army. It is worth remembering here that not all units in the game are covered by the concept of morale (for example, it does not apply to the troops of the Necropolis, as well as golems, elementals, etc.). In addition, morale can be dispersed with artifacts, so is it worth taking up a skill slot?
|
|
“Logistics” – increases the range of movement of heroes on land by + 10 / + 20 / + 30% to the stock of the daily turn. A very useful skill that will come in handy for both the main and auxiliary heroes. It will allow you to move a greater distance, which means you can overtake your opponent, better scout the map and pick up more resources. Walking far in Heroes 3 is literally a guarantee of survival.
|
|
“Magic of the Earth” – allows the hero to cast earth spells at a reduced cost and with greater efficiency. Many players find this to be the most useful secondary skill that really brings a lot of impact. The main advantage of expert leveling is the massive Stoneskin and Slowness spells, which significantly expand the tactical capabilities of players on the battlefield, especially in the early stage of the match. Even more useful effects are for Resurrection, City Portal, Anti-Magic and Explosion, but here you need the expert knowledge of the skill.
|
|
“Magic of the air” – allows the hero to cast air spells at a reduced cost and with greater efficiency. In my opinion, this is the second most useful elemental skill. He is loved for his massive Expert haste and good combat spells like Chain of Lightning (especially if playing as Solmir). Situationally, the high-level spells “Dimensional Gate” and “Flight” can be very useful.
|
|
“Magic of fire” – allows the hero to cast fire spells at a reduced cost and with greater efficiency. Quite a useful skill, but not as effective as Earth Magic or Air Magic. It is situationally paramount (!) For some strategies. For example, to play through tactics with “Wall of Fire” or “Armageddon”. This school also has a number of useful buffs and debuffs, but mostly fire magic is prized because of the above two spells. In other cases, it is better to contact other schools.
|
|
“Magic of water” – allows the hero to use water spells at a reduced cost and with greater efficiency. This is perhaps the weakest of the elemental skills. The school of water has practically no effective spells, except for the massive “Prayer” at the expert level. Situationally, “Remove Spells”, “Forgetfulness”, “Teleport” and “Clone” can come in handy, but in very rare cases or only in certain army setups.
|
|
“Mysticism” – allows the hero to recover 5/10/15 mana points per day. In general, this is a good skill, but not suitable for all heroes. He’s good if you’re playing a powerful battle mage who casts spells a lot. It will also come in handy if there are few wells on the maps or if your hero has gone far from the castle and has no opportunity to sit out there to replenish energy. Accordingly, the hero-warriors “Mysticism” will not bring much benefit.
|
|
“Wisdom” – allows the hero to learn spells of 3/4/5 level depending on the skill level. “Wisdom” by default is received by almost all heroes-magicians, and for warriors it is mostly useless. Often the reason for taking “Wisdom” can be a previously chosen elemental magic (for example, magic of earth or fire). It is better to pump the skill in the middle of the game or closer to the late stage, when you have access to the study of high-level spells and have enough mana for their regular use.
|
|
“Navigation” – increases the stock of points of movement of the hero on the water by + 50 / + 100 / + 150%, depending on the level of pumping. In theory, this skill might seem useful, but the fact is that there is very little water on most tournament and custom maps, so the skill is practically useless. In very rare cases, if the game is played on an island map, “Navigation” can be taken for the auxiliary hero-scout.
|
|
“Attack” – increases the attacking abilities of units and increases their melee damage by + 10 / + 20 / + 30% depending on the level of pumping. This is a great skill and should be given high priority. It works well for warrior heroes, but it can also be useful for mages who play by summoning elementals. If you play as a battle mage, then the “Assault” pumping can be slowed down. In any case, remember that offense is the best defense (although the Defense skill is also very useful).
|
|
“Necromancy” – allows you to turn some of the killed creatures into skeletons after the battle. Depending on the level of pumping, the skill turns 5/10/15% of killed units into bone monsters. This is a very effective and obligatory skill for leveling, which is available to all the heroes of “Necropolis” (and only to them). There is nothing special to explain here. I have yet to meet an undead player who is upset about the emergence of this largely imbibed skill.
|
|
“Training” – increases the experience gained by the hero by 5/10/15%, depending on the level of pumping. A practically useless skill that will not give you any tangible boost in the game and will only take the place of a more useful skill. At best, you will be able to get one or two levels ahead of your opponent by the end of the match, but will that be the key to winning? Hardly.
|
|
“Finding the way” – Reduces the hero’s penalty when moving over rough terrain. Quite a useful skill that is nice to have in the arsenal of the protagonist. It is especially good if you are playing on a map with many different landscapes – snow, sand, stones or swamps. Accordingly, if there are no such landscapes on the selected map or there are very few of them, then the benefit from the skill will be less.
|
|
“First aid” – gives the player control over the first aid tent and greatly increases its effectiveness. A useless skill that doesn’t help much in the game. It makes no sense to heal one unit, when tens or even hundreds can die in one turn of the enemy. In some exceptional cases, the first aid tent can affect the course of the battle, but history does not yet know such examples (only legends).
|
|
“Intelligence service” – increases the radius of the hero’s view by 1/3/5 cells of the map. This is a low-priority situational skill and is better suited to your secondary scout hero. The main character does not need him, because such a hero almost never does exploration on his own. However, sometimes, choosing between two evils, you will be glad to “Intelligence”.
|
|
“Resistance” – gives the hero’s units an increase in magic resistance in the amount of + 5 / + 10 / + 20%, depending on the level of pumping. Not a bad skill, but also very situational. It can come in handy if you know for sure that the opponent is playing a battle mage and will focus on powerful shock spells. Resistance is most effective when used on heroes with this specialization (like Thorgrim) or with units like gnomes / unicorns. Do not forget that protection from magic can also be “overclocked” with the help of artifacts.
|
|
“Shooting” – Increases the damage done by rifle units by + 10 / + 25 / + 50%. This is a medium priority skill that can be very useful in certain situations. It must be taken if, when forming an army, you focus on ranged units – archers, cyclops, etc. This skill also works well with artifacts like the Golden Bow, Bow of the Sharpshooter and the like, which allow you to shoot without a distance penalty to the target or in close combat. Of course, if your army does not have strong shooters, the skill will be useless.
|
|
“Tactics” – allows the hero to change the formation of troops before the battle within 3/5/7 cells from the border of the field. One of my favorite skills to get in the most advantageous position using the terrain. For example, you can disperse troops across the field to prevent your units from being hit by a splash from Mighty Lichs, Magogs, or spells. You can bring long-range units closer in advance so that they shoot at enemies without a penalty, or, conversely, move forward fast troops so that they can reach the enemy’s shooters in one move, etc. The benefits of “Tactics” are enormous, especially in the hands of inventive players.
|
Secondary skill list:
While writing this article, I used some tips from the Alex_The_Magician and Sir Troglodyte YouTube channels.