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Place single units in all free army slots

This is the first tip any good HoMM3 player will give you. The point here is to correctly distribute troops into slots and then use them to gain a tactical advantage in battle.

Typically, such single stacks are formed from troglodytes, goblins, spearmen and other low-level units, which are not a pity to lose during the battle. Actually, one of their main roles is to become a “human shield” for shooters or more valuable fighters, inflicting the main damage on the enemy.

Single-stack units can perform other useful functions as well. They are often used to knock out retaliatory strikes, so that later, during the course, the enemies do not respond to the attack of the main strike forces. Even fast or flying units can effectively lure enemy stacks to the corner of the map farthest from the shooter. This works especially well against slow enemies that cannot fly over obstacles. The main thing is not to make a mistake in calculating the range.

Some units in HoMM3 have personal abilities. For example, ghosts from “Necropolis” once per turn reduce the enemy hero’s mana by 2 units. If you make several such stacks with ghosts, then each of them will steal mana. A similar mechanic can be applied with targeted buffs. By dividing the lords of the djinn from the “Tower” into several slots, each of them can conjure up some kind of enhancement to your battle stack.

There are a lot of such tactical tricks in the game, and the landscape of the battlefield can make the use of single-stack units even more effective. But do not forget that these techniques work best against computer enemies that operate according to a certain algorithm. In a fight against humans, some techniques may be ineffective.

Do not take slow units for reconnaissance

Inexperienced players often forget that the hero’s range is directly dependent on the units in his army. If you take with you gnomes, dendroids, golems and other slow creatures at a speed of 3, then your hero will be able to walk only 75% of the maximum distance available to him (and this does not include other penalties). If you take fast-moving units like the Silver Pegasus, you will go 100% of the way. All units with a speed of 11 and above will allow the hero to move to the maximum distance.

There is one tricky nuance in this rule that allows you to deceive the system. The fact is that the range of the hero (green arrows) is calculated in advance, immediately before the start of the movement. That is, you can give the neighboring hero all the slow units and pick up the fastest ones to get the maximum range, and then, without moving the hero, make a reverse exchange. Then your slower units will be able to cover the same distance as the fastest ones. This method is quite tedious and very situational, but in some critical moments it can come to the rescue. For example, if you are missing just a couple of steps to hide in a castle or catch up with an enemy hero. Sometimes, while fleeing, players even expel slow-moving units from the army in order to increase the range.

Based on the above, it is easy to conclude that the heroes-scouts need to be sent to explore the map with fast units. So they will run further and collect more resources. But slow creatures can be given to heroes who will systematically clear the map and break through the barriers between biomes.

Choose your battle area carefully

There are several types of land in HoMM3 – grass, mud, swamp, snow and others, but inexperienced players often forget what the fundamental difference between such territories is. The fact is that each landscape is assigned to one or another castle / faction, and fighting on the “native” land, units receive +1 unit. to protection and speed.

When attacking an enemy hero, pay attention to which landscape he is standing on – it is on it that the battle will take place. That is, if your hero and the enemy’s hero stand close to each other, but at the junction of different landscapes, then the game will generate a battlefield with the landscape of the defending side. Certain types of territory can affect the level of morale and luck of the units or, for example, prevent players from using spells. There are lands that enhance elemental magic to the level of “Expert”, which can also be used wisely in battle.

Some territories also give a movement penalty, that is, they increase the consumption of the hero’s turn points. Rocky terrain reduces travel range by 25%, snow and sand by 50%, and swamp is penalized by 75%. However, heroes will not receive penalties if their armies consist only of troops associated with that terrain. For example, for “Fortress” units, the native land is a swamp, so when moving around it, they will not receive a penalty. If in such an army there is at least one unit from a foreign faction, then the penalty will remain in full. For better movement in different territories, the ability “Pathfinder” will help a lot – at the maximum level of pumping, it completely removes movement penalties from landscapes.

Move around the map quickly and efficiently

As you can see, economy and proper distribution of hero’s turn points is one of the key things in HoMM3. Whoever is the first to seize free resources, mines, mercenary camps and neutral castles will receive a starting advantage, which will be very difficult for an opponent to win back. To move more efficiently and collect resources, you should remember a couple of simple tips.

First, pay attention to the roads. They not only connect your castle to key resource mines, but they also significantly reduce the cost of movement points. Different road types have different efficiency. The hero moves best of all along paved roads (+ 50% to the move), a little slower – along gravel (+ 35%) and earthen paths (+ 25%). It is also easier to navigate along the roads in which side the castle is located – take this into account when exploring.

Secondly, do not forget about the correct collection of resources from the ground, because here you can also save on movement. For example, the hero spends fewer action points if he picks up resources from above, below, or on the sides of him. If he takes them diagonally, then the consumption of points will be higher. The difference may seem small, but if you apply this method throughout the game, the benefits are enormous.

Another good way to save movement points is to use the Space button to interact with the previously selected object. For example, you stepped into the teleport, and it turned out that a strong monster blocked the exit from it. In such cases, you often cannot bypass it and even select the teleport itself with the mouse in order to step back. This is where the Space key comes in handy. In a similar way, you can interact with obelisks, watchtowers, mercenary camps and other objects on the map without spending any turn points if you are close to them.

Place your troops correctly in battle

On the map, you can often find treasuries, banks, crypts and other buildings in which creatures guard such valuable resources and gold. When you attack these objects, the formation of your army changes: you are not fighting face to face with the enemy, but as if you find yourself surrounded by him. Here it is important to understand how you need to place units before the battle, so that the arrows remain safe, and slow units can quickly reach the enemy.

The layout of the troops during the siege of buildings (not castles) is quite simple: the first two slots in the hero’s army will be on top. The units in the third, fourth and fifth slots will be in the center, and the units in the sixth and seventh slots will occupy the bottom two positions. That is, before the attack, place your shooters in the fourth slot – then they will be in the very center of the battlefield and will be protected by allied troops. Place the slowest units in the fifth position so that they are as close to the enemy as possible.

During any battle, it is important to use a ranged attack correctly, so you need to remember right away that the shooters will receive a penalty if the distance to the target exceeds 10 cells. Take this into account in order to choose the most advantageous position for them in battle, especially if you have a trained “Tactics” skill. It is often better for shooters to wait until the end of the opponent’s turn in order to attack him without penalty when he comes closer. If there are large obstacles on the battlefield (rocks, faults and other relief), then the shooters can be covered right behind them.

Shooters are often taken into a corner – it is easier to defend them with a human shield, but in some situations it is better for them to take a position in the middle of the formation, a little closer to the center of the map. In this case, the shooters will be able to hit the entire field without penalty. Another little trick will come in handy when sieging castles. Sometimes, when knocking out weak garrisons, you can lose dozens of shooters from attacks alone from towers, which have a turn priority. The situation can be slightly improved by dividing the shooters into single-unit slots. Then you will lose one creature per shot instead of two or three.

The material used some screenshots and tips from the YouTube channels Norovo and Antikvar-Gaming.