Most powerful towns?

[Deadguy118]

Hey all. I actually finally rebought Heroes V ToTE during that crazy steam sale and was wondering what the most powerful towns are (and, thus which ones are the weakest as well).

It's not quite as clear cut as Heroes III's "Conflux is broken. Castle is good too," so I was wondering if any of you could give me a hand. Right now, I'm guessing that Sylvan is top while Stronghold is at the bottom. Anyone want to elaborate on this?

[Mirez]

in my opinion the dwarfs (fortress) are still overpowered with their runes, though haven is quite strong as well
sylvan can be awesome in the hands of a good player as well though

I wouldn't know about weakest, stronghold gets decimated by dark magic and inferno just isn't that good after the first 2 months are over

[Corlagon]

Surprisingly enough, Heroes V is, for the most part, quite well-balanced. You're out of luck.

[Kalah]

Am I right in saying that no H5 town is considerably weaker than the others? I mean, for once, the game seems relatively well balanced, as each faction has proper strengths and weaknesses.

[Mirez]

well it's not so that some towns are auto-win our auto-loss, but when you start getting massive tier 7 wars inferno really bites the dust

[Deadguy118]

Surprisingly enough, Heroes V is, for the most part, quite well-balanced. You're out of luck.

Wha..? Balanced? Tis Madness! Madness I tell you!

In any case, I would make the argument that Inferno and Stronghold aren't as good as some of the other towns. Stronghold because it has no magic and Blood Rage is unreliable at best. Inferno because it has serious defensive issues and because devils aren't super great. Then again, I haven't played the game a ton, so maybe I'm wrong.

[Mirez]

lack of magic isn't strongholds' problem, they are too vulnerable too dark magic

[Deadguy118]

lack of magic isn't strongholds' problem, they are too vulnerable too dark magic

What dark magic spells specifically? Puppet master?

[parcaleste]

Everybody forgets the most crippled town - Necropolis. The bastards don't stand a chance against every other race...

[Corelanis]

lack of magic isn't strongholds' problem, they are too vulnerable too dark magic

What dark magic spells specifically? Puppet master?

Pretty much weakness, slow, confusion, frenzy, or puppet master cripples them so pick a dark spell not named curse of the netherworld and your set. They don't have anyway to counter them quickly one of the daughters line has haste to deal with slow but it only targets one unit and Im not sure but i dont think she has cleanse.

Everybody forgets the most crippled town - Necropolis. The bastards don't stand a chance against every other race...

Are you serious? They may not be as strong as haven or fortress but they hold their own very well if you know what your doing. They can go through most of a map with no losses thanks to raise dead which iirc they all start with all the while gaining more troops along the way. Sure its not in the same quantity as before dark energy but if you know what to target you can get a nice stack of ghosts or better yet vampires fairly early. I am by no means a necro expert but imo they do very well.

[Mirez]

yeah necropolis is pretty strong, like said they aren't uber anymore as the times before dark energy but they sure are more fun to play now

[parcaleste]

I meant in Player versus Player battle - if someone against you (Necros) is knowing what he is doing you don't stand much chance. Those units are dying like flies.

[Mirez]

so what? necro isn't about quality it's about quantity

[cjlee]

I think these concepts of 'most powerful' must depend on the maps you are playing. Different towns are stronger in different environments.


On a small map with poor resources, wizards are going to suck. Dwarves only need wood (rune of charge) to get overpowered, but wizards need all the resources you can get for artificer and mage guilds.


Stronghold and Inferno are weak in sieges. In a map filled with castles, they will suffer heavy losses.

Knights need lots of money to train. If you're a normal human player on a normal map and not playing a high level Isabel, you won't have the cash to gain an unfair edge over your opponent. But if you're on a map filled with gold mines, the Haven player will be able to get too many paladins.

Necropolis troops are weak and rely on quantity. Necromancers are lousy when necromancy and undead conversion is restricted. If you're on a map with few or weak neutral stacks plus not many opportunities to recruit (and therefore convert using your undead converter), the necromancer is going to be at a huge disadvantage.

I don't think it is bad that Stronghold is so vulnerable to dark magic. It balances the whole thing in a way that fits the storyline. Mindless orcs versus weaker but cunning magic practitioners.

Dark magic is usually used by Inferno and Necropolis. Necro is very weak against those charging, angry orcish hordes so it can only use magic and use orcs' might against themselves. Inferno is also attack focused, but has more fragile troops than Orcs plus orcs have blood rage to absorb damage. In a battle versus charging orcs, Inferno may not be able to gate in time and needs dark magic to even the odds.

I personally find Dungeon most versatile. They can do well regardless of map type. I find Sylvan's Avenger most luck-dependent since you don't always predict your most dangerous foes right.

[Mirez]

yes avenger can be soo annoying, at the time I actually defeated enough neutrals I'm not visiting my town anymore because I have other heroes to bring around units