Tactics for Necromancers

Life is change, chaos, debauchery, and suffering. Death is peace, order, and eternal beauty.

Since the very first releases of the series to this day, the necromancer's castle has undergone various upgrades. Even within the framework of the fifth heroes, the changes have taken on a global and irreversible character, forcing the followers of Necropolis to develop new tactics and strategies for the development of their heroes and cities. One innovation, the Dark Energy, is worth mentioning! In the current version, such radical changes have not occurred, but we still need to respond promptly to innovations. But let's take it step by step.

Our recommendations are aimed at fairly experienced hero enthusiasts, but they will also, I think, be interesting and useful for beginners exploring the intricacies of the Heroes game.

Let's start, perhaps, with the most important and difficult question – defining the supreme commander. It is important not only to learn how to choose the hero correctly but also to develop them in the most effective way. On the first day of the first week, we have a starting hero available, and there is another one in the tavern (we will not count on luck when we can hire two necromancers there). Let's take a closer look at the eight candidates:

Vlad, "The Resurrector." Once one of the strongest, now experiencing a decline in former popularity. Is it deserved? Certainly, the time of "Habitable Mines" has already passed (although in the passage tournaments, he still firmly holds the leadership bar), and his specialty provides not too tangible a bonus (at level 21 - an additional +5 to sorcery when calculating the spell "Raising the Dead"), but it is still too early to write him off. The matter lies in his starting skills – having the basics of Summoning magic, he quite quickly learns the skill "Fire Warriors."

Deidra, "Banshee." The potential of this heroine is enormous, but, unfortunately, it has not been fully realized. It so happened that from the moment of Heroes V (v1.0) and up to the current version 3.1, a sinister fate hovers over her. The problem is that her specialty does not work as it should – with the growth of the hero's levels, the "Banshee's Cry" does not increase, and there is no cumulative effect with the combined artifact "Embrace of Death." Despite all this, she is quite popular on the duel server and has a worthy application on the global map.

Zoltan, "Blacklist." One of my favorite heroes – because of his versatility, he can be used against all races (including barbarians, although he cannot block their battle cries).

Kaspar, "Embalmer." For novice necromancers, we specifically recommend him – his first-aid tent will significantly reduce losses and thus maintain the army's combat effectiveness. Experienced players are also not indifferent to him – in their skilled hands, he remains an unparalleled sprinter for leveling up.

Lucretia, "Princess of Vampires." She is quite suitable for resisting magical races – after all, she has a direct path to "Counter Spell."

Nadir, "Soul Catcher." I must admit – I also have significant sympathy for him, not only because of his unique specialty but also because of his starting skills: the basics of Summoning and Darkness magic. He quickly, like Vlad, acquires the "Fire Warriors".

Orson, "Master of Zombies." Rightly enters the magnificent five sprinters and, like Zoltan, is quite versatile.

Ravenna, "Soul Eater." The name sounds ominous, but in reality, she does not eat anyone; thanks to her specialty, she simultaneously reduces the target's defense along with "Weakening." The effect is comparable to that of "Destructive Beam" and exceeds it at high levels in both qualitative and quantitative measures. The fact that she has the basics of Chaos magic in her starting skills does not ruin anything – in our deep conviction, with calm and competent development, the necromancer's destructive spells deal quite comparable damage. It should be noted that a very interesting single scenario titled "Island for One" was specially created for Ravenna, however, most players still underestimate the true potential of this heroine.

Briefly, we have acquainted ourselves with our contenders for the role of the commander. Now let's repeat the procedure, but in more depth and considering their development against a probable opponent. Vlad (as mentioned above) has the basic skills of Summoning magic and the ability "Master of Life" (+4 to the hero's sorcery when calculating the effect of the spells "Magic Fist" and "Raising the Dead." The latter also accumulates with his specialization, which is quite noticeable at high levels). Four free slots for other skills allow to quickly elevate the Summoning skill to an expert level, and at this stage, it's crucial to decide whether we will strive for "Fire Warriors" or "Mist Veil"? There is no definite solution to this choice problem yet – decisive importance is the availability or possibility of obtaining the spell "Fire Trap" (another common name – "Mines") and our opponent. If he focuses on a ranged army (elves with woodland archers, knights with snipers, wizards with gremlins, barbarians with centaurs), then perhaps it is preferable to choose the second option: significant reduction of initiative and damage of the main striking power will allow our troops to withstand the first strike without critical losses, and then the hero will join the battle with his magic. At the early stage of developing your hero (1st week, levels 6-8), it is extremely important to obtain the racial skill "Spiritual Bond" (for this we are even ready to leave the basics of necromancy at the initial development). Nothing terrible will happen – a significant addition of Dark Energy through skilled necromancy only starts after level 7, and before that, it is symbolic in nature. Moreover, often in short games (with a finish in 4-5 weeks) it remains underdeveloped. In any case, I have often successfully defended this approach to racial skills in my practice – it should also be considered that a large reserve of DE itself does not yield anything – it still needs to be spent smartly, which is not always possible (there can be problems with monsters – how many times did unsuitable gargoyles, golems, and undead come up in our ranks!). Therefore, at each level up, we await the occurrence of "Spiritual Bond" and immediately take it – otherwise, we may never get it! %This is important: "Eternal Slavery" saves Mana and time in the early stages of the game and can be successfully used in online multiplayer games – but for this, we need to develop necromancy, as we are not going to abandon "Spiritual Bond" just for it. Additionally, this skill is linked to an unresolved bug – if in battle you used the spell "Raising the Dead," then at the end of the fight, creatures resurrected by "Eternal Slavery" will not restore in the army, although information that the skill worked will flow on screen. "Banshee's Cry," on the contrary, makes sense to take in the later stages of the game when its duration will significantly increase and the hero is likely equipped with some artifacts from the "Embrace of Death" set, especially since this curse cannot be removed by "Antimagic" and the exorcism rune. Next, our priority skills include "Education." It is also advisable to take it as early as possible – after all, there will be an increase in experience, and the skills within it are quite useful. Usually, necromancers face certain difficulties with knowledge (and this parameter directly influences the amount of mana), so we typically choose "Magic Attraction" (increasing the maximum possible mana by 50%) and then look at the growth of parameters. After all, in addition to the experience gain, we also get additional bonuses to the hero's main characteristics – attack, defense, sorcery, and knowledge. For instance, at level 16, a hero with basic education receives an additional +4 to the main parameters, while the same hero with higher education receives +8! And this does not even take into account the usual bonus at each increase! Of course, these +8 will unevenly distribute across parameters – standard probability is 10/30/45/15 percent for attack/defense/sorcery/knowledge, respectively (by the way, the same probability proportions apply for regular level increases), but one can often observe fluctuations in favor of attack or knowledge. That’s why in the process of developing a hero we check which characteristics need "pulling up," and which grow normally (they can still be "pulled up" to desired firmness by artifacts, but we will talk about that later). If a lack of mana is constantly felt, it would not hurt to improve knowledge – therefore, after "Magic Attraction," we take "Graduate" (+2 to knowledge and 1000 experience instantly). We should definitely mention "Dark Revelation," but it's best taken as late as possible (not earlier than level 20, although there are exceptions when an expert skill in some magic is urgently needed). This is connected to the different amount of experience required for each level – for example, transitioning from level 25 to 26 requires 43,815 experience points; that amount is enough to get from level 12 up to 18 (still having a reserve for 19), so initially, when development is relatively even, we gain levels in battles. After level 20, the pace of development significantly slows, which is not surprising – for each further transition, more and more battles and credited points are required. This is precisely the time to turn our attention to "Dark Revelation" and the Sylanna Trees – they also provide a sufficient number of credited points to translate from the current level to the next. Now, let's look at the skill "Deciphering the Secret." Once in the third heroes there was such a skill as "Vigilance," which at expert level gave its owner a 60% chance to learn the spell used in battle. There were artifacts that increased this percentage (up to 80%). And now we have a 100% guarantee for just one level and no trinkets! Moreover, with "Deciphering the Secret," we can directly in battle see the contents of the opponent's backpack, scroll through their spell book and learn which spells they have managed to study; and simply see their development – skills, abilities, and artifacts they currently possess. There is also the "Scholar" skill, which leads to one of the four paths to the super skill "Scream of Terror." In any case, neither "Keeper of the Secrets" nor "Master of the Dead" diminishes anything: +2 to sorcery and +1 to knowledge with a 5% boost to necromancy will never be unnecessary. But it is essential to note the connection between "Scholar" + "Magic Attraction," as after this there is a high probability of getting "Mentoring" – a skill giving our level 20 hero the chance to breed a bunch of level 12 auxiliary heroes. This allows us to employ a tactic of local battles with secondary heroes, which can help to drain the opponent's army before decisive battles involving main forces (relevant for large maps with final battles in late terms).

Now, let’s talk about the second school of magic. Typically, necromancers use their native traditional pairing of Summoning + Darkness. There are also cases of developing only one direction and filling the freed space with "combat" skills. Despite the popularity of this approach, we consider it too risky – the opponent can significantly more easily prepare counter-magic against us, and we need a more complete arsenal of spells and skills during the game.

Dark Magic. Among the primary skills, "Master of Mind" is undeniably in first place in popularity, allowing the use of mass variants of the spells "Slow" and "Dispersal." Furthermore, it opens up opportunities to obtain "Seal of Darkness" and "Weakness of Darkness" (a helpful set against heroes who wouldn't mind adopting dark magic themselves). However, the usefulness of "Master of Curses" and "Master of Pain" is hard to overestimate, especially since the latter skill increases our hero's sorcery parameter by 4 when casting the spell "Unholy Word." It's worth mentioning that through them there is also another thread leading to the super-skill – "Dark Restoration," which returns us wasted mana upon reflecting our spells. "Cursed Lands," despite the relatively minor damage (3 units per hero level), is quite unpleasant for an enemy betting on using phantoms of melee fighters, and it would not be a bad help against the barbarians’ fury. Likewise, against the rush of sorcerers with handfuls of scouts, this will also serve as a decent support.

Chaos Magic. Thanks to high sorcery parameters, spells from this school are exceptionally effective in our heroes' execution – sometimes even sorcerers click their tongues in respect at the damage from necromancers' chaos. Of course, there are also disadvantages – specific issues with obtaining the necessary spells. Therefore, we have to keep a keen eye not only on the spells available in the guild (because of this, sometimes we have to break the cycle of building residences and build the 3rd level of the magic guild, to know for sure what assortment is being offered there), and if there is nothing suitable there, we conduct reconnaissance of territories in search of sorcerers armed with offensive magic. Naturally, besides "Deciphering the Secret," we must possess the basics of Chaos magic, otherwise, we won't be able to learn the third-level spells after the battle. There are also several sources helping to replenish our arsenal – these include shrines, libraries, treasure chambers of wizards, pyramids, utopias, and neutral or enemy castles. In general, if one sets a goal, in most cases, this problem can be resolved successfully. Among the skills, I like "Master of Fire" because it has branching to "Pyrokinesis" and "Fire Wrath" (through the intermediate "Secrets of Chaos" – another source to obtain the missing destructive spells, and importantly – an additional 2 points to knowledge – because, as it is known, necromancers can never have too much mana [especially in the early stage of the game ], and any excess will always find a worthy application), as well as "Mana Explosion" – a skill that's very effective against archmages. The "Master of Cold" pairing with "Deadly Chill" also garners significant popularity – it’s practically a mandatory choice against races developing rapid-fire ballistae reinforced by "Fire Arrows." The "Ring of Cold" or, at worst, the "Ice Block" will swiftly bury the opponent's hopes of employing their powerful weapon (and along with that, 5-7 of their levels will be spent almost in vain). Additionally, from "Master of Cold," there is a thread leading to "Cold Steel" – a skill analogous to "Fire Wrath" (but to obtain "Cold Steel," you must first take the skill "Attack"). Let’s also note "Master of Storms" in pairing with "Magic Drain," which grants a 20% reduction in damage from enemy spells. If combining this with "Undead Defense against Magic" (also 20%; taken in "Spellcraft" after "Secret Knowledge") and "Reflection" (15% damage reduction; taken in "Defense"), our skeleton warriors will receive slightly more than 40% damage from enemy magic and become an extremely difficult-to-kill unit! (Of course, sorcerers with their Irresistible magic will partially breach our magical protection, but even they will have to sweat to destroy hordes of low-level creatures).

Light Magic. It seems absurd, but this magic has its advantages under certain circumstances. Let's start from afar. We have already mentioned the percentage distribution of parameters when increasing a hero's level. In most cases, the attack parameter of necromancers is extremely low – this is where light magic comes to the rescue. At an expert level, the spell "Punishing Strike" raises this parameter by 12 points – something that is not always possible even with good artifacts (which still need to be obtained)! However, many still underestimate another wonderful spell – "Divine Strength." This low-level spell occurs quite often in games but is mainly used by "light" races. The paradox lies in the fact that for necromancers, it yields maximum effect. Judge for yourself – at an expert level, the damage of our beings becomes maximal, and the results are comparable to the artifact "Blood Claw Necklace" and the skill "Battle Frenzy" from "Attack." Now let’s look at skills. "Righteous Rage" allows for "Haste" and "Punishing Strike" to be cast on all allied beings (if an enemy-elf has light unicorns in their army, don't be surprised if they too, “for good measure,” receive our blessing, thus caution is necessary; however, there’s a way to turn that to our advantage through subjugation or berserk); furthermore, there is a branching to "Secrets of Light" and "Storm Wind" – the latter skill has excellently proven itself against the same elves, and overall will be a nice acquisition (helping to combat dragons, lords, etc.). "Blessing Giver" grants universal "Divine Strength" and now "Dispel" acts in an area of 4x4 (if the opponent has Sandro's cloak, this is practically the only way [since there will not be a 100% chance of "Antimagic" in the native guild, and it doesn’t always turn up on the global map] to get rid of the dispersal or subjugation cast on our troops). We left "Giver of Protection" for last as this skill opens many positive possibilities. If your opponent is a dwarf (or a wizard using the fire element), then utmost attention needs to be paid to "Fire Protection." If he is assumed to focus on light magic, you may want to consider taking "Seal of Light." Well, and against dark magic, it’s practically essential to take the "Eternal Light" skill – there’s a high chance our hastes and blessings won’t be thwarted by slowing and weakening. Let’s also mention the "Twilight" skill (which grants a +3 sorcery bonus when calculating our light and dark spells) – for it, you only need the basics of Light magic and the racial skill "Banshee's Cry" (which Deidra already has from the start).

The conversation about magic would be incomplete if we don't touch on "Sorcery." On one hand, necromancers are primarily strong in magic, and consequently, the more often we cast spells – the better. However, in practice, it's not that straightforward... Let's examine both the positives and the not-so-pleasant aspects. "Secret Knowledge" reduces the cost of all spells by 20% and leads to the aforementioned "Undead Defense against Magic," "Secret Advantage" (+2 to sorcery and a one-time surge of 100 mana, very effective in a short game) and "Counterspelling" (although to take the last one, you have to give up "Undead Defense against Magic" and take "Mana Restoration," which is very effective with a high knowledge parameter, but by that time, thanks to "Spiritual Bond," the lack of mana is usually not a concern). Of course, "Counterspelling" is a strong weapon, but one must remember that enemy caster creatures can take its effects upon themselves, thus freeing their hero for spellcasting. "Wisdom" now (unlike in the third heroes) grants the ability to learn 3rd-level spells regardless of the presence of this magical school (and with the artifact "Tome of Power" – even 4th level). It seems good, but the issue is that, currently, only two utilized spells available do not depend on skill in this school: "Wall of Swords" and "Phantom Creation." Generally, with skillful handling, merely these spells can immensely simplify defeating the toughest neutrals, however, it must be noted that for the latter, the hero's level matters – the higher it is, the faster the phantom enters battle. Some attractiveness exists in the upcoming "Secret Revelation" that adds a new spell 1-3 levels to our book while simultaneously raising sorcery by 2, and in "Diversion," which pushes the enemy hero-caster down 15% on the initiative scale after casting a spell.

Now let's move to the so-called "combat" skills. Let's start with "Defense." Its role is exceptionally significant for all races: after all, a 30% reduction in physical damage at expert level significantly impacts the army’s viability. This is aided by skills too. We already discussed "Reflection" in conjunction with other skills that reduce magical damage – from it leads the pathway to "Resistance" (which increases defense by 2 points) and "Grave Cold" (an interesting and unique skill that returns damage inflicted back to the attacking creature by 5%). We will strongly recommend its use for armies relying on large numbers of low-initiative zombies. "Sturdiness" adds a health bonus of merely 2 points, but considering the huge amounts of low-level beings in the undead army (skeletons + zombies), it looks sufficient to make these units extremely difficult to destroy. From it, there's a path leading to "Stone's Durability" (providing the spell "Stone Skin" to the necromancer's magical book and enables its casting on all allied beings at a developed level of light magic) and "Blind Defense" (which increases the defense parameter by 60% upon the "Defend" command), which in turn opens the path to "Readiness" (though for taking the last one, the skill "Tactics" in the "Attack" branch is essential). "Evasion" also assists our units in remaining on the battlefield longer (after all, a 20% reduction of damage from ranged attacks will never be unnecessary) and, moreover, protects against enemy ballista shots. "Fight to the Last" still sparks serious debates, and there is even an opinion regarding its ban. Indeed – with its help, on the map "Outcast Lands" the red player can successfully loot the dragon utopia already by the end of the first week!

In "Attack," the skill choices are much more modest: apart from the already mentioned "Tactics" linked to "Readiness," we have "Shooting" and "Battle Frenzy." "Shooting" increases the damage dealt by our shooters by 20% and opens the way for "Fire Arrows," which (in our opinion) can be successfully replaced with "Fire Wrath" (in the Chaos branch) or "Cold Steel," which, unlike "Fire Arrows," grants an increase in damage of 10% to all units (including ballistae). "Battle Frenzy" increases both maximum and minimum damage values by 1, and when paired with the artifact "Blood Claw Necklace," results in noticeable outcomes, especially evident with large armies of low-level units. Furthermore, it opens up the opportunity to obtain "Speed Magic" (analogous to "Stone's Durability"), adding "Haste" to our magical book and enabling its casting on everyone at a developed level. It’s noteworthy that when casting these spells (obtained in the "Attack" and "Defense" branches), our hero only uses half of his initiative and will have a faster next turn than usual.

In "Luck," the skill choices are even scarcer – for the chief hero, the most suitable choices are "Magical Resistance" (increasing the chance to evade enemy magic) and "Deadly Misfortune" (but for this, it is necessary to have "Banshee's Cry"). When utilizing skeleton warriors and vampire princes, "Soldier's Luck" is essential, then practically every one of our moves will stun and blind the enemy. "Luck on the Path" and along with it "Trophies" and "Ashi's Patronage" will only suit secondary heroes.

To take or not to take "Machine Control"? If for Kaspar this issue is already settled beforehand, requiring only to decide further development, for others here, the choice becomes more complicated. Much will depend on the particular opponent. Against dwarves in prolonged play, we might recommend taking "Earthquake," which not only adds a new spell "Earthquake" to our book but also inflicts additional damage on all creatures within the city when casting it. Furthermore, the "Earth Master" skill provides an extra 4 points when calculating the sorcery for this additional damage. You could also enhance siege weapons by taking "Catapult" and afterward – "Sulfur Rain" (like an analogue of "Rapid-Fire Ballista"). Then dwarves will not be able to hide behind their magical barriers for long. We do not recommend taking the "Ballista" and the "Rapid-Fire Ballista," as the damage calculation used takes into account both the attack and knowledge parameters, and the lowest is with necromancers, making our ballista the weakest. Nevertheless, there are exceptions (if we can boost the lagging parameters). "First Aid" is exceptionally effective in Kaspar’s hands, as for each level he gains; the tent's strength increases by 5 points. The same goes for "Plague Tent," except it does not heal but damages the enemy's living force.

Finally, the last skill (but not least!) is "Logistics." On many maps, it can essentially pre-determine the outcome of the game. Indeed, thanks to it, our hero moves faster on the global map and thus engages in more battles. This, in turn, leads to quicker leveling up. Additionally, the factor of not only development but also actions (who hasn't experienced the disappointment when breaking into a utopia only to find it already empty, and that others have come before us?) is also significant. Therefore, the skills "Pathfinding" followed by "War Path" are popular. "Death Stride" can also prove useful when storming an enemy castle, especially if he has taken the "Storm Wind" skill. Another useful skill is "Sharp Mind" (for which you must first take "Reconnaissance" and "Deciphering the Secret" from the "Education" branch), giving almost a 100% chance that our hero will take his turn first at the battle's beginning (relevant for countering cunning raiders). "Silent Pursuer" (also learned via "Reconnaissance") comes in very handy when playing on templates and simply unfamiliar maps – an increase of the vision range by 12 squares is worth its weight in gold. On sea maps, "Raiding" (obtained through "Reconnaissance" and "Pathfinding") might help – then heroes do not lose remaining movement points when boarding and disembarking from ships. It's a pity that "Raiding" cannot be obtained together with "Navigation," which increases movement points over water.

Our discussion on skills and abilities would be incomplete without at least a brief mention of "Leadership." Due to its unpopularity, a poll even took place regarding the potential creation of an "Anti-leadership" (analogous to antimagic among barbarians). For now, connected with the loss of former attractiveness of "Habitable Mines," we can offer such a developmental scheme using "Empathy" (obtained through "Diplomacy") – the hero gains armless via artifacts that boost morale and invokes phoenixes and fire warriors. After this, shifted by the scale of initiative by the happy summoned, he does his usual work – casting dark (light or destructive) magic.

Now, after a brief introductory chapter, it’s time to discuss the economic component of our game, as even the strongest and most skilled magician is utterly helpless without an army. Most often, you have to start with a city that has a first-level development, so let’s look at several sample construction schemes when playing on "veteran." On the first day, the Tavern is built and another necromancer hero is bought, along with a third hero, often not related to Necropolis, but we need his troops (sometimes both native heroes are found there – but we will consider it in the context of the variant with a third non-native hero, as their functions are identical), and in addition, he conducts reconnaissance and resource gathering. We redistribute troops such that one goes to capture the lumberjack with all available zombies – while the other heads for the mine with skeletons. On the second and third days, we build a Camp and a Cemetery, and then upgrade skeletons to warriors (or archers) with which we can already start to attack stronger neutrals. The primary target for capture in the first week is external dwellings, so we should aim to solve this task successfully. On days 4 and 5, we build the 1st level Mage Guild and a Tomb. On Saturday, our constructions add a Town Hall, and on Sunday – a Bone Tower, as next week it will add 150 Dark Energy to our stock. In the second week, there may be some divergence: we must decide where to aim next – either to have the Capitol at the beginning of the third week and thereby resolve financial issues or to build a Castle. Much depends on the map – if it has many chests, gold, bonfires, unnecessary artifacts, then the question is clearly resolved in favor of increasing creature increments, and then we build a Fort, Ruined Tower, Vampire Mansion, Tomb, Citadel, Castle, and for constructing an Abandoned Castle, we lack just one day. But if we are confident in our financial opportunities, then on the sixth day of the first week instead of the Town Hall, we can build a Fort and then, on the second week on Saturday, day comes to build the Temple of the Underworld, and on Sunday – the Abandoned Castle. It is important to note that, beyond financial pitfalls, there are resource ones: all these residences require a large amount of wood and especially – ore. Of course, without sulfur and mercury, too, you won't get far, but by capturing the corresponding resource-gathering enterprises as soon as possible, this problem is partially solvable, while dealing with common stones and firewood may prove difficult. To facilitate the calculations, it is worth keeping the following in mind: to build according to the aforementioned scheme (Castle + 1-6 level residences with a temporary refusal of the Town Hall), we will need 65 measures of wood, 80 measures of ore, 20 measures of mercury, 12 measures of sulfur, and 2 measures of crystals and gems, as well as 30,000 gold coins. Subtract this from the starting resources and what we gain over 13 game days (46 measures of wood and ore and 26,000 gold). Consider also the purchase of two heroes and the upgrade of skeletons (about another 5,000 gold). Thus, we must acquire 9,000 gold, 19 measures of wood, 34 measures of ore, 10 measures of mercury, and 2 measures of sulfur. And this without considering possible purchases early in the second week of troops and a new hero. To cover such a massive resource deficit, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of the map's potentials – in some instances, that amount of resources can't be gathered in even three weeks. Therefore, another capital-building scheme is popular – constructing only one high-level dwelling (vampires or liches or undead). In this case, there remains money for troop purchases and further construction. There also exists the classic scheme – first off, buildings that generate cash flow are constructed: Town Hall, Magistrate, and Capitol, but the yield from the funds invested in them does not occur immediately; if decisive battles are anticipated at comparably early stages, this scheme leads to a sure defeat. I cannot fail to mention another strategy that can be quite risky from a strategic standpoint – constructing a 5th-level Mage Guild in the second week. This is, of course, done when the hero swiftly attains expert skills in Darkness, Summoning, and perhaps Chaos magic. The strategy is based on blitzkrieg tactics with final battles on the third week; otherwise (if the game drags on), breaking normal construction cycles can have dire consequences. The question of the Dragon Cemetery is crucial. Here again, there is a stark connection to the map and its possibilities: for instance, on "Master of Discussions" building this establishment (along with the Dragon Tomb) makes a lot of sense since there, aside from the second native castle, there’s also an external dwelling of the 7th level. Meanwhile, on "Grab and Run" (part of the standard map set), we have yet to encounter this structure in any of our games...

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Now it is time to take a close look at the most crucial aspect – the creatures that form the core of our immortality. Let’s begin with the main striking units, which play a vital role at all stages of the game – skeletons and zombies. Players face complicated tasks regarding the optimal use of these beings. One of these is the choice of upgrades. Increasingly, there are more fans of warriors – their path to great popularity has not been strewn with roses, and many still underestimate their capabilities. Indeed – many unpleasant neutrals (supreme druids, archmages, flame priests, woodland archers, snipers, etc.) are easily overcome by these unpretentious close-combat fighters and very often without any losses at all. However, I would not rush to write off the bone archers – against phoenixes and black knights, they accomplish their tasks more readily without significant risk of incurring unrecoverable losses. So as it typically goes, the choice of alternative upgrades largely depends on the map (neutrals, opponent’s race, army composition) and on the artifacts at our disposal. For example, obtaining "Dragon Boots" grants a 10% initiative boost to all melee creatures, while with "Dragon Eye Ring" or "Unicorn Bow" one may seriously contemplate the formation of ranged units. With zombies, the choice of improvement at the moment does not present any difficulty – rotting zombies surpass plague zombies in terms of health parameters (a difference of 2 units is significant with large numbers of creatures) and are more cost-effective in terms of Dark Energy when raised from slain enemies – costing 1 point less than plague zombies, ultimately allowing for an additional 10-15 fighters. The choice regarding phantoms presents the greatest complexity: personally, in my experience, I successfully manage with the non-upgraded version. Spirits are justified against ranged races (elves, knights), while phantoms excel against armies using many sorcerers (archmages, inquisitors, etc.), albeit they have 1 less health point (but initiative is higher), than spirits do, yet their ability to recover from enemy sorcerers while simultaneously stealing mana from them merits consideration. With the high-initiative elves, the vampire princes have proven themselves well. Alongside "Soldier's Luck," they quickly dismantle even powerful armies – beings that fall into a stupor lose their attack responses and additionally get stunned by the skeletons, delaying the timing of the next turn. High vampires, despite having lower health, remain incredibly popular – paired with them, the passage through many neutrals becomes an uncomplicated task. In battles against necromancers, higher liches are usually employed (as the death cloud of archlich does not affect the undead), however against other races they have also proven themselves well: their attack and damage parameters exceed those of others. Yet, archliches can inflict decay on living foes, and frequently, it is precisely from them that a hero learns the missing spells. It is vital to remember one nuance (often missed in the heat of battle) – for more effective use of the death cloud, the primary strike when shooting should be inflicted on a target with the lowest defense parameters. The harbingers of death continue to hold their leading position, despite the obvious strengthening in patch 3.1; the banshees still have not matched the overall effectiveness of their colleagues. However, when employing Dark Energy, they are more profitable to take due to affordability (97 points for a banshee against 103 for a harbinger). Later, they can also be retrained into harbingers, which are valued for their "Devastating Grasp" skill (very effective against high-level beings). Very importantly: "Devastating Grasp" not only kills one creature in the squad but also removes all positive effects from it and (most importantly!) it is the only way to remove "Antimagic." Dragons cannot be built on every map, but if funds are found for their construction, the choice (generally) happens in favor of the phantoms, despite the fact that asterial ones, just like banshees, received a slight buff in patch 3.1. When utilizing Dark Energy, astrals are cheaper than phantoms by 2 units (154 and 156 respectively). Now, a few general recommendations for the more optimal usage of Dark Energy: it is most beneficial to raise non-upgraded versions of creatures while the upgrades should be made directly in the town or fort. It is very important: the "Necromancer's Amulet" reduces Dark Energy consumption by 10%, but when raising simple skeletons, their cost effectively drops by half (instead of two points – one for each resurrected skeleton). This isn’t a bug but a nuance in the calculations of energy expenditure, linked to rounding down the final digits.

And in conclusion of our narrative, let’s briefly discuss the most commonly used artifacts. Items from the "Embrace of Death" set are extraordinarily effective: "Staff of the Underworld" and "Cloak of Mort deadly Shadow." Do remember that even a partial set yields additional bonuses – reducing the speed of hostile creatures by 1, and with the use of the "Banshee's Cry" skill, it lowers their initiative by 20% and luck and morale by 2 units each. Additionally, in this scenario, our hero only shifts by 50% on the initiative scale. Any two items from the set, including the "Ring of Sinners" and the previously mentioned "Necromancer's Amulet," are entirely suitable for this purpose. "Markel's Skull" is also quite popular, but it decreases our morale by 2. If we happen to also have the "Tunic of Flesh," which further lowers this parameter by 1, considerable caution should be exercised when invoking phoenixes and elementals (if the opponent also has means to diminish our morale, there is a high probability that we’ll waste mana and turns). Regarding other artifacts, nothing extraordinary has been conceived yet: to enhance "Plague" (and any other spells causing earth elemental damage), "Emerald Shoes" are worn, to boost "Ice Block" and "Ring of Cold" – "Pendant of Icy Embraces." Important to mention are the "Ring of Life Force" and "Blood Claw Necklace" – strengthening the backbone of the army of undead – skeletons and zombies – seems entirely logical. Usually, artifacts aim to boost lagging parameters, yet there are also cases where heroes are equipped with everything they manage to find.

Thus our journey into the economy of the Necronomicon comes to an end, and the author sincerely hopes that the number of fans of the world of order and eternal beauty will increase.