Heroes of Might and Magic IV General
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
by HarukabaHeroes of Might & Magic IV was released on March 28, 2002 and had many major changes from Heroes of Might & Magic III. Heroes of Might & Magic IV is organized around the six types of towns; nature, chaos, death, might, life, and order. Each town is connected to two others and has a unique magic school aside from the might town. Each town has a might and magic hero but unlike Heroes of Might & Magic III, they don't have a specialty which makes each of them unique but instead every hero starts out with the same starting skill. When a hero gets two or more skills they will become an advanced class that provide a bonus. The logic behind this was to have the heroes start out the same but become vastly different as they gain in skills unlike the heroes in Heroes of Might & Magic III which start out different but end up with similar skills.
There is a total of nine skill classes the heroes can learn which has four skills; combat (archery, resistance, melee), nobility (diplomacy, estates, mining), scouting (pathfinding, seamanship, stealth), tactics (defense, offense, leadership), chaos magic (conjuration, sorcery, pyromancy), death magic (demonology, occultism, necromancy), life magic (healing, spirtuality, resurrection), nature magic (herbalism, meditation, summoning), and order magic (wizardry, enchantment, charm). Each hero can learn five skills each of which has five levels (Basic, Advanced, Expert, Master, Grandmaster).
The six campaigns introduce each of the towns and have nothing to do with each other and so there is no bonus level.
- The True Blade consists of five maps and is the Life campaign as Lord Lysander proves that Sir Worton isn't the last remaining Gryphonheart.
- The Price of Peace consists of eight maps and is the Order campaign as Emilia Nighthaven creates the kingdom of Great Arcan and defends it from being taken over by the Immortal King.
- Elwin and Shaera consists of five maps and is the Nature campaign as Elwin wins Shaera's heart and prevents the Elven kingdom from collapsing.
- Half-Dead consists of five maps and is the Death campaign as Gauldoth creates a new kind of Necromancer kingdom.
- A Pirate's Daughter consists of five maps and is the Chaos campaign as Tawni Balfour becomes Pirate Queen of the Gold Sea.
- Glory of Days Past consists of four maps and is the Might campaign as Waerjak unites the warring Barbarian tribes into one united kingdom.
- by Applebrown
Ability Name | Creatures With Ability | Ability Description |
3-headed Attack | Cerberus | All enemies standing to the left, front and right of the creature are attacked simultaneously |
Aging | Ghost | Chance of Aging during an attack. An Aged creature does less damage and has less defense. |
Area Attack | Cyclops | The range attack strikes all targets, friendly or hostile, in a small area. |
Berserk | Berserker | The creature must attack or move to attack every turn. They cannot wait. |
Binding | Mantis | Creature Binds the last creature attacked. Bound enemies cannot move, but can attack, retaliate and cast spells. Bound creatures do half damage when they attack. |
Blinding | Unicorn | Chance of Blinding an enemy during an attack. |
Block | Minotaur | Chance of Blocking any attack, melee or ranged, every time. |
Bloodlust | Ogre Magi | Can cast the Chaos Magic spell Bloodlust. |
Bonuses at Sea | Pirate | Creature is faster and does more damage when fighting on a ship. Defense also increases. |
Breath Attack | Black Dragon, Phoenix | Breathes fire which counts as a Fire Attack, and may harm creatures directly behind the enemy. |
Chaos Ward | Titan | Creature is immune to Chaos Magic and takes less damage from Chaos creatures. |
Charge | Champion | Creature does more damage if it charges for a long distance before attacking. |
Cold Attack | Ice Demon, Water Elemental | Creature has a cold-based attack; Creatures with Cold Resistance take half damage from their attacks. |
Cold Resistance | Ice Demon, Water Elemental | Creature is immune to cold-based spells and takes half damage from enemies with cold-based attacks. |
Curse | Mummy | Creature's normal attack also acts as the Death Magic spell Curse. |
Death Ward | Crusader, Monk | Creature is immune to Death Magic spells and takes less damage from Death creatures. |
Devouring | Sea Monster | Chance of devouring an enemy whole with each attack. |
Elemental | Air, Earth, Fire & Water Elementals, Gargoyle | Immunity to certain spells (such as Poison) that only work on normal, living creatures. |
Fear | Bone Dragon | No retaliation & the creature struck runs away a short distance after the attack. |
Fire Attack | Efreet, Fire Elemental, Black Dragon, Phoenix | Creature has a fire-based attack; Creatures with Fire Resistance take half damage from their attacks. |
Fire Resistance | Efreet, Fire Elemental, Phoenix | Creature is immune to fire-based spells and takes half damage from enemies with fire-based attacks. |
Fire Shield | Efreet | Has a fire shield that damages any enemy when they attack. |
First Strike | Champion, Dgn. Golem, Nomad, Mantis, W. Tiger | In melee combat, the creature strikes first before an opponent can retaliate. Works while retaliating too. |
Flying | Air Elemental, Angel, Beholder, Black Dragon, Bone Dragon, Efreet, Faerie Dragon, Gargoyle, Genie, Ghost, Griffin, Harpy, Imp, Mantis, Phoenix, Sprite, Thunderbird, Vampire | Creature can fly over obstacles, creatures, heroes, and castle walls. |
Fortune | Leprechaun | Creature can cast the Nature Magic spell Fortune. |
Giantslayer | Halfling | Creature does extra damage against 4th level creatures. |
Hypnotize | Mermaid | Chance of taking control of an enemy opponent for 1 turn during an attack. |
Immune to Magic | Black Dragon | Complete immunity to all forms of magic, friendly or hostile. |
Immune to Visual Atks | Troglodyte | All abilities and spells that influence vision (like Blind and Stone Gaze) have no effect on creature. |
Insubstantial | Air Elemental, Ghost | Creature's Melee & Ranged Defense are increased by 100%. |
Life Draining | Vampire | Every attack steals life from the enemy and will heal & even resurrect dead Vampires. |
Life Ward | Devil | Creature is immune to Life Magic spells and takes less damage from Life creatures. |
Lightning Attack | Thunderbird | Every attack also summons a bolt of lightning to strike the opponent. |
Long Range | Ballista, Crossbowman | Creature ignores all ranged attack penalties for distance. |
Long Weapon | Pikeman | Creature can attack enemies that are a short distance away, double the normal range. |
Magic Mirror | Faerie Dragon | Creature reflects hostile spells back at the enemy, the same as the Magic Mirror spell. |
Magic Resistance | Dwarf, Earth Elemental, Gold Golem | Creature has a chance of resisting most hostile spells; takes less damage from direct damage spells. |
Mana Leech | Imp | Creature drains 2 spell points from the enemy each turn and transfers it to a nearby friend. |
Mechanical | Ballista, Dragon Golem, Gold Golem | Creature is not affected by morale, or by spells or abilities that only work on living creatures. |
Mirth | Satyr | Creature can cast the Life Magic spell Mirth. |
Multiple Attack | Hydra | Creature attacks all nearby enemies simultaneously. |
Negate First Strike | Dragon Golem, Pikeman | In melee combat, the creature never strikes after an opponent, even if they have First Strike. |
No Obstacle Penalty | Ballista | Creature does full damage to targets behind castle walls. |
No Retaliation | Cerberus, Harpy, Hydra, Naga, Sprite, Vampire | When the creature attacks, the opponent cannot retaliate. |
Normal Melee | Centaur, Medusa, Orc, Titan | This ranged creature does not suffer a damage penalty when attacking enemies in melee combat. |
Poison | Venom Spawn | Living creatures struck by the attack are Poisoned and take additional damage every turn. |
Random Harmful Spells | Beholder | When this creature attacks, it casts a random Chaos Magic or Death Magic spell on the enemy. |
Ranged | Ballista, Beholder, Centaur, Crossbowman, Cyclops, Elf, Halfling, Medusa, Monk, Orc, Titan, Venom Spawn, Waspwort | Creature can attack at a distance; Does half damage in melee combat unless they have Normal Melee. |
Ranged First Strike | Elf | Creature strikes first in ranged combat before a ranged opponent can retaliate. |
Rebirth | Phoenix | Creature can return to life if killed; If all are killed and haven't used the ability, a portion will be reborn. |
Regeneration | Troll | Creature completely heals all wounds at the beginning of each of its turns. |
Resurrection | Angel | Creature can bring dead friendly targets back to life. |
Shoots Twice | Elf | This ranged creature fires twice each time it attacks. |
Short Range | Orc, Centaur | Creature's ranged attack decreases dramatically at long range. |
Skeletal | Skeleton, Bone Dragon | Creature's ranged defense is increased by 100%. |
Spellcaster | Faerie Dragon, Genie, Magi, Water Elemental | Creature knows a variety of spells that can be cast in combat (dependent on the target). |
Stealth | Bandit | Creature is invisible at a distance on the Adventure Map to 2nd level creatures and heroes with Basic Scouting. Creature is invisible to adjacent 1st level creatures and heroes with no scouting. |
Stone Gaze | Medusa | Creature has a chance of killing enemies instantly each attack; no effect vs. Undead, Mech., Elemental. |
Stone Skin | Gargoyle | Creature's Melee & Ranged Defense by 25% in combat. Stoneskin spell has no additional effect. |
Strength | Behemoth | Increases the creature's combat damage. |
Strike and Return | Harpy | Creature flies back to its starting point after attacking. |
Stun | Squire | Chance of stunning enemies for 1 turn every attack. Stunned enemies cannot take action or retaliate. |
Summon Demons | Devil | Creature can summon Ice Demons |
Taxpayer | Peasant | Creature generates 1 gold per day per creature in the stack in taxes. |
Teleport | Devil | Creature can move to almost any point on the battlefield instantly. |
Terror | Nightmare | Creature can cast Terror on an opponent; Enemies with Terror cannot take any action for 1 turn. |
Toughness | Zombie | Increases the creature's hit points. |
Two Attacks | Berserker, Crusader, Wolf | Creature attacks twice in melee combat. Second attack occurs after enemie's retaliation. |
Undead | Bne. Drgn, Ghost, Mummy, Skel., Vamp., Zmbie | Creature is not affected by morale, or by spells or abilities that only work on living creatures. |
Unlimited Retaliation | Griffin | Creature can retaliate against any number of attacks in one turn. |
Weakness | Waspwort | Creature inflicts Weakness on its target each attack. Weakened creatures do less damage. |
Comments (5) | Add comment |
- by mguba
Might
They aren’t too skilled with magic… and I have no clue how to provide magic strategy for a town that has no magic… other than the fact that Might is very powerful with a nature caster in the army, boosting already powerful units statistics.
Nature
Nature magic is primarily a stat beneficial magic, which is why it helps might so much. With spells such as Dragon Strength and Mass Speed, Nature units can become extremely devastating. In the early stages of the game, the summon spells are prevalent in the mage guilds, and can be helpful in fighting the crucial battles for mines. Keeping as many creatures as possible is crucial because of the limited number that you have and summoned units do not remain after battle regardless of their quantity at its conclusion, therefore they are expendable units that can be used up. This makes them good cannon fodder, for using up strong unit retaliations, and can greatly reduce battle casualties. As you get late in the game, 3rd to 4th level guilds, I prefer to not get summons however, because Spells such as mass speed, especially with a fast caster, are very deadly, as you can reach enemies from afar, and eliminate shooters quickly. However, summon spells can also be useful, especially if you do not have a fourth level dwelling by the time you have high magics. Nature has perhaps the third best 4th level spells, behind death and order. Mass Snake Strike is probably the second best 4th level spell in the game and although chaos has access to the spell as well, Mass Fortune puts Nature ahead so far as 4th level spells go. A nasty combination with a quick hero caster is to boost everyone stats, I prefer Mass Fortune, followed by Mass Snake Strike, because generally, you will not engage the enemy, other than your ranged units before the second or third round. However, when you gain access to 5th level spells, the casting scheme becomes completely different. Dragon Strength is a massive spell, which doubles a creatures HP and Damage. I prefer to save this for the units you would not want to lose, for example if you are fighting 3rd level units, casting this on Fairy Dragons is not the best idea, because you will doubtfully accumulate enough damage to lose one of the creatures, however if you have a group of Griffins that will be engaging often, you want to have a plethora of HP. While on the subject of Griffins, they can become the best 3rd level units with nature spells…kind of odd, because so can very other unit…but anyway, with unlimited retaliations, they are already very destructive, but if you add in Snake Strike, they are attacking their enemies before they can get attacked…. Then with dragon strength, you lose almost none and they become a solid 4th level unit with unlimited retaliations and first strike. Nature magic takes a long time to develop because the low levels can be frustrating, because most are summons. However Wasp Swarm can be helpful especially if you choose the route of elves. Run a hero around with the elves, limiting the enemy to just two stacks, and thus being able to wasp swarm one while dominating the other with your elf’s. Despite the lack of any form of direct damage spells, nature does have one of the best guilds. Nature magic is quite possibly the most underrated magic in the game (even through I never have room in my army for the creatures that are raised through their 3rd secondary skill - summoning). The biggest advice I can give when using nature is to have only one hero in the army, because natures last few levels of guilds are incredible, but the summoner will likely not be the best in your army until then, and the low level creatures can generally hold their own, especially with a few summons.
Death
I mentioned that Death was probably the best Competitor for tops in 4th level spells with order, because of Mass Weakness, Mass Sorrow and Vampiric Touch. The only problem with Death magic is that what I listed is about all they get. They have the potentially weakest 5th level spells (raise vampires, hand of death, sacrifice). Hand of Death can be unbelievable, because it kills a certain amount of any stack, but if you are fighting imps, where there are a million of them, its not the most useful spell ever…and is probably the only 5th level spell that is not good to cast in most situations. Sacrifice is worthless, especially late, when your army is comprised of good units, its more beneficial to cast Vampiric Touch, and thus gain back the health, without sacrificing your own dudes. Raise Vampires sort of stinks because they don’t stay after battles…so in essense, the Death spells are not very powerful…but as we all know grandmaster necromancy gains you vampires after killing living units. In my mind, that is the best secondary skill in the game. Free third levels, and good third levels at that. However, back to the spell combos in battle. I always start with mass sorrow, because the enemy will all go last in the next round, and have stat drops. Thereafter I will go for Mass Weakness, and just continue bashing their stats, thus making each attack of theirs do less and less to me, while mine do more and more to them. Death magic, as you would expect is the opposite of life, but in practice it is the opposite of nature, in that while nature provides self-help skills, death provides enemy-degrading spells, but of the same nature (no pun intended…), not in the form of direct damage, as chaos would.
Vampiric Touch is always a good spell, because it will give a unit (devils and bone dragons included) life drain. This is probably my favorite of the death spells, because it will work even fighting black dragons, which is very helpful, you can gain your health as you destroy them. I think that death magic is probably the second best overall considering the sub spells, in necromancy, but as for battle spells, it can be a disappointment other than the 4th levels (unless you grab demonology, summon devil is quite the spell…I will talk about this later…in magic/magic combos for you demonologists and arch mages.) Death magic is decent, and compliments their units well, but in terms of in battle usefulness, I vote it is not the greatest. (I will regret saying that the next time I get out of a battle with no casualties solely because of Vampiric touch though).
Chaos
Chaos is the only actual direct damage dealing magic (although many do have single spells such as ice bolt). The straight forward magic leaves little room for strategy, however there are some things that would leave questions, as every spell is not direct damage. Confusion is an example. However I feel that confusion is not the greatest spell because it takes your casters turn, and usually (especially once you develop an army) there are more than a couple stacks. However, Cloud of Confusion can take away the attacks of three units, which can be beneficial, and can work almost as tactics in Heroes 3, allowing you to place your units. If I get Mass Misfortune, it is always the spell that I will cast first, causing all enemies to be affected by bad luck will increase the damage of all your creatures, and the Medusas are already a powerful shooter, but with the enemy having bad luck it is even better. I tend to follow mass misfortune with either Bloodfrenzy or mass first strike (usually first strike, unless the enemy stacks are very slow and will not be engaged immediately). But an army with these three is already very powerful. Then comes the simple task of just taking out enemies with spells. Many of the high tier spells, such as implosion and disintegrate usually will eliminate a stack in a couple of turns, which can be very helpful, also the addition of magic mirror against fairy dragons is helpful. The only time I use magic mirror is against the fairy dragons, because of the quickness of dragons and nightmares, I can usually terrorize or kill the enemy hero before he can utilize his magic. Many prefer chaos magic, because it is one of the few that can take out multiple fourth level units in a turn...
... while still being able to demolish bigger, weaker creature stacks-which is the drawback of Hand of Death.)
Life
Life magic is the spell group that is most beneficial to its own units. Spells such as prayer only affect the life units, and can hurt you more than help you in some situations…(if the enemy is all life and you only have archers or something). However, the same can be said about Plague from Death magic and thus it cannot be weighed to heavily against Life magic. The 5th level spells for Life can be some of the best in the game, making potions of immortality obsolete, and allowing for you to organize your units in whichever way you see fit before battle and did I mention that they can add extra lives to creatures as well as heroes? The path in obtaining the spells is not bad either, because the first levels are very powerful especially early in the game, as healing units can prevent losses, or at least significantly reduce them, because the spells can usually refill the top stack to all that is left. This is not the wisest spell to cast on squires, who have very low HP, but can save crusaders and champions well. In the second level guild, Life magic has a lot of choices, and it would take a few towns to own gain access to all of them. However they can be very useful…Song of Peace is similar to wasp swarm, but it not as effective, as it allows the enemy to move, just not attack…this can be used in a similar method to wasp swarm though, walk around with just 2 stacks, so enemies will be limited to two stacks, and use a shooter to barrage them while they cant attack you. Defender can be a great spell, as can heavenly shield. The wards are always helpful. The individual are not nearly worth casting (in my mind) because you are going to use more than one unit, and spells such as bind wound, heal, and defender, and mirth (another good 2nd level) are much more valuable to cast. This does not hold true when you reach the good old 4th level mass ward spells. I will always begin battles with a mass ward (well in most cases at least…read on and ill explain), but lets continue to level 3 spells. After an abundance of level 2s, life has just 5 level 3s. Mass Bless may be the best 3rd level spell in the game, causing all friendly creatures to reach their maximum potential on each attack. Regeneration can also be useful, especially on a unit that will not take much damage and could regain most of what they accumulate. Mass Healing is another quality spell because it will heal all of you units, (Mass spells are great huh). This is not advisable however if only one of your units is being picked on (say you went Crossbowman, Ballista, Monk…for some reason…) and your 4th level is just being picked on…then it would be more beneficial since your shooters aren’t being touched to cast regeneration or save the spell points and cast bind would or heal. One of the few direct damage spell in the Life lineup is Holy Shout, which will damage all undead units, obviously this is worthless in 5/6 of the battles, but in that 1/6 it is a good spell to use. When I have all third level spells, and nothing above, I will start a fight with celestial armor, and that is something I may use later in the game, because it is a good defensive spell, even in late stages. Now we get to the level 4 spells. I said earlier that I begin all my battles with wards, that is assuming I have the ward of the creatures I am about to fight, and I will not engage them for 1 turn, which is about 75 % of the time. I have to add those stipulations because if prayer is in my arsenal as well, that is possibly the best life spell (considering your army is mainly life units and you are fighting a non-life army). If I will not engage them, then prayer is something that can wait a turn.
The other spell which I somtimes use first is mass fervor. If you have mass fervor, begin every battle with it regardless of the other spells in my book, because all of your units will act first in every round, and after having it for a game, you will be impressed with how much it helps when its taken away from you. Now after that…the 5th levels. All of these are healing spells … in a sense. The borderline on that is sanctuary, which makes your units invulnerable until they attack someone. I still begin with mass fervor however, because units under sanctuary cannot be affected by spells, and that is unfortunate when you have sanctuary casted. Sanctuary is a great spell, because you are able to position your units anywhere…Hero assassination anyone? You can gang up on one unit, or line up and take them down in a line. I find that Guardian Angel is an underrated spell, it gives extra lives to stuff, and although it takes a while to build, it is helpful in bigger battles, because you will not lose as many troops and thus damage will stay high as you keep the original stack numbers (it doesn’t add units, it just gives them extra lives). Divine Intervention does away with the expensive immortality potions (except the one to have on the caster so he wont die) because it can resurrect fallen heroes…so you can spread the experience. Life magic’s spells, in conjunction with resurrection, can be very daunting, (who needs to raise 3 vamps when you can resurrect 3 angels?) The only problem with life is that perhaps their best spell (prayer) is developed strictly for life and other towns will not benefit from it so you have to base your army on life units.
Notice that the Guardian Angel grants 6 extra lives…and that Divine intervention will heal 340 HP…and raise dead heroes…wow…not a bad spell book…
Order
My mother always told me to save the best for last, and so I will have to conclude the magic overviews with Order magic. Superiority in the spell section is not questioned because Order magic is so powerful. Based on mind spells, Order magic can do everything from push opponents around to making one “switch teams.” The first time I used hypnotize, my friend couldn’t believe that his hydras “switched teams…” Order has incredible fifth level spells, and even when you are cursing for not getting hypnotize, steal all enchantments is a great spell, and pain mirror is very powerful, despite the fact that it seems rather useless, it can be one of the more powerful spells against a large enemy, especially because it is something that people usually tend to forget, and not use in their attack strategy.
Comments (11) | Add comment |
- by Psychobabble
FAQ by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Any comments or other questions are appreciated.
IntroductionHeroes of Might and Magic IV was initially released without full multiplayer support, although hot-seat multiplayer could be played on a single computer. Multiplayer support was promised to be coming "soon" in a patch. Approximately 5 months after the initial game release, this promise was made good and version 2.0 was made available.
Getting Started
What patch do I need to play multiplayer?
You need to have the same version of the game as your opponent. Most players use the latest (3.0) patch which can be found here. Note that this is automatically installed if you have the Winds of War expansion.
Most players also use the Equilibis mod so it's a good idea to install that too.
How do I find other players online?
Gamespy Arcade is the supported multiplayer matching service. The auto-game detect feature of Gamespy should detect Heroes IV on your computer and you can enter the game room by clicking on the bubble icon on the left of the screen (see picture). If GameSpy Arcade does not locate Heroes IV on your computer right away, try closing the application and opening it again.
Do I have to register to use Gamespy Arcade?
No, Gamespy can be used as a free service. Registration conferrs a number of benefits such as ad-free usage, custom player portraits and unlimited players in your "buddy" list. Registration costs US$9.95 per annum.
How do I join a game?
The four pictures on the right show all the possible icons appearing next to game rooms. The top one is an open room which you can join, assuming there are free spaces in the room. The pictures of people (shown on the right) represent how many people can enter the room, and an unshaded person represents a free space. A computer with a red cross through it represents a game which is currently in progress and you are unable to join it. A game with a key icon in the bottom right is one protected by a password.
How do I host a game?
To host a game simply click the Create Game icon at the top of the page. Note that you will not be able to host a game if you are using internet connection sharing due to the fact that your local IP adress will be different to the one you are using to connect to the internet. Many firewalls will also prevent hosting games. See technical questions for more information.
Gameplay Questions
How do I chat to other players in the game?
Press the F2 key to bring up the chat window. If the chat window is not opened and someone sends you a chat message a sound will be made to inform you of this.
What map should I play?
The multiplayer patch comes with a number of maps which are designed for multiplayer use. These appear with flags next to them in the map selection screen (see picture). Some original CD maps are suitable for multiplayer use, they are generally the ones which allow 2 or more human players, though some of these may not be evenly balanced. There are also many custom maps which are designed for multiplay. The TOH map page also has a lot of good MP maps.
How do I load custom maps?
Custom maps should be put in the "Heroes of Might and Magic IVmaps" folder (by default c:program files3DOHeroes of Might and Magic IVmaps). Simply unzip the map file (.h4c) into this folder and it will appear in the map list along with all the normal maps. It is possible to create seperate map folders for custom maps and this is a good idea to keep track of your favourite maps.
How does the turn time limit work?
The turn time limit, which is set by the host, sets the time which each player is permitted to spend on the strategic game map. A counter will appear in the top left of the screen to indicate how much time there is left in the turn. This counter is paused when players are in the tactical battle screen.
What is a reasonable time limit?
Many beginner or casual players play with 2 minute turns. 1 minute turns mean the turn is very rushed, and anything over 2 minutes allows for a fairly relaxed game. The turn limits don't affect overall game speed too much as a large portion of turn time is spent in battles or sending information between players. Players that seriously care about winning, or are high on the TOH rankings, often play at 4mins.
How long do games take?
A short game on a medium sized map will go for about 2-3 hours. Obviously games can go on for much longer, but will rarely be shorter unless one player is much better than the other.
What does the message "waiting for remote players" mean?
It simply means your opponent has been attacked by wandering monsters. It will dissapear after they finish that combat.
What does passworded saved games mean?
This is an option designed to prevent unscrupulous players dropping out of the game, opening up the saved game and examining their opponents positions. Use this option if you are host playing an important match against someone you don't trust, but it shouldn't be generally necessary.
Is there any particular etiquitte I should know about?
Generally you should try to play your turns as quickly as possible (eg. let fleeing stacks of monsters run instead of battling them, don't waste time in battles). Also using private messages to gang-up on players in a non-allied map is considered rude. If you know you will need to leave the game after an hour or less before you start the game it is polite to notify your opponent. They may not wish to resume the game at a later time.
It is also important (especially in TOH games) that the host of the game allow the other player/s to choose which colour they go on to prevent any suspicion of cheating.
I see many game names which mention TOH, what is it?
TOH stands for Tournament of Honour which is a fan-created multiplayer ranking and competition system. It is very popular and free to join. See the site for more information.
Why do all the games have passwords?
Sometimes players will protect their games because they are waiting for other players. If the game name does not seem to indicate that (ie. it doesn't have a player's name in the title) then the host is probably waiting for players to private message him/her so they can assess your skill before allowing you to play. To private message the player right-click on their name in the gamespy players list and select "open private message tab".
I can't host or join games!!
One possible solution to this problem is goto the control panel, click on network settings and there is a button about midway down that says "file and printer sharing". Click on this and checkmark the option "allow others to use my files".
I still can't host games!
If your computer does not have a direct connection to the internet, or you are using a firewall or proxy server then you will receive the message shown below when you first start Gamespy (with your IP addresses in the blank bits). This message is not lying and unless you disable your firewall, use a computer with a direct connection to the internet or disable connection sharing you will not be able to host a game. Note that Windows XP service pack 2 automatically installs a firewall on your computer, so you might have an active firewall even if you haven't installed one yourself.
How do I disable internet connection sharing? (From the windows help file):
To install Internet Connection Sharing:
- 1. Open Add/Remove Programs properties in Control Panel.
- 2. Click the Windows Setup tab, click Communications, and then click Details.
- 3. Select the Internet Connection Sharing check box, and then click OK.
To remove Internet Connection Sharing, clear the Internet Connection Sharing check box, and then click OK. If you uninstall ICS, computers running Windows 95 will also lose connectivity to the home network unless manually configured with IP and gateway address information.
Can I host games on a network computer or one going through a proxy?
This is now possible, though slightly complicated. Here are the steps:
How do I host a game from a computer connected to the internet via a Router?
I have been informed that setting the internal IP address of your computer so it is the same as the external IP of your router will allow you to do this. Check your router manual to see how to find the router's IP address and you can change your computer's IP address through network properties (right click on the network connection/properties/click tcp-ip/properties and change the top address there. Leave the sub-net mask as the default value placed there when you press "ok").
When loading the game from GameSpy I got the error message "Failed to open a secure connection".
This is a relatively frequent occurrence. Hopefully the other player/s in the map
will realise what has happened and meet you back in the game room. Try launching the
game again, it will often work on subsequent attempts. If it does not (and if you are
not the host) then try letting the introduction movie play and when the game loads you
will automatically go into it.
Do I have to use Gamespy to play over the internet?
No, it is possible to play over a direct tcp/ip or IPX connection. The host simply creates
a game from the in-game menu (below) and the other player/s enter the host's IP adress in
the appropriate area. The host's IP adress is displayed after they have created
the map.
Can I play multiplayer with a 56.6kb modem?
It is possible to play with a modem, though some players are reporting that turns
are transmitted very slowly.
The network connection has been dropped, what do I do?
Meet the player/s back at the Gamespy room (if you are using Gamespy) and simply
re-launch the game. The host will have the option to load a saved game file to play
from. If you are playing over direct IP the procedure is the same, except other players will not know when/if the host has re-launched the game. If you are the host,
or are able to host the game if it drops, it is a good idea to specifically save
the game after a long or important turn in case the game drops out after that turn.
The game can be continued from this saved game so the turn doesn't have to be
re-played.
What Autosave should I load if the game has dropped?
If the game dropped during any other player than the host's turn and then the host
began a new turn the AI will have finished off the other player's turn. To be fair
in such a situation "autosave last turn" should be loaded. Otherwise "autosave this
turn" should be used.
Are there any known multiplayer bugs?
The 2.2 patch has fixed most of the major MP bugs.
It is taking a very long time for "host to transmit map data" when first loading the game,
has the game crashed?
No, this is normal, a large amount of data is transferred at this time. The two maps
with "pseudo-random technology" (Unkown Lands and Chameleon) may take especially
long to transmit as there are a number of random variables which are calculated at
this time on those maps.
The map is in another languange to my game version!
All players play the map on the host's version of the map, so if they are using
another language to what you are text which is associated with the map will be
displayed in their language. This includes all quest huts and pre-placed artifacts.
Random artifacts and other right-click display text will be in your language.
When I host a map I get the option to change the game port, what should I do?
The default port is 4377 and this should be used unless you have a firewall active
which blocks access to specific ports.
Are the Mac and PC versions of the game network compatible?
Unfortunately they are not. This is because the Windows version of the game uses
Microsoft's DirectPlay for multiplayer which is only Windows compatible, instead
of using standard TCP/IP sockets which are compatible with everything.
Comments (1) | Add comment |
- by Celestial Heavens
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Time Score |
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Map Size Factor |
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Map Complexity |
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Creature Type |
Creature Type |
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Bandit |
20 |
6 |
Berserker |
20 |
8 |
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Orc |
34 |
10 |
Centaur |
40 |
18 |
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Pirate |
22 |
7 |
Harpy |
110 |
39 |
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Troglodyte |
28 |
8 |
Mermaid |
110 |
39 |
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Evil Eye |
220 |
51 |
Nomad |
150 |
52 |
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Medusa |
220 |
52 |
Cyclops |
750 |
203 |
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Minotaur |
230 |
53 |
Ogre Mage |
350 |
101 |
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Troll |
230 |
54 |
Behemoth |
3000 |
630 |
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Efreet |
850 |
161 |
Frenzied Gnasher |
4250 |
800 |
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Goblin Knight |
1000 |
157 |
Sea Monster |
2750 |
624 |
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Heroes of Might and Magic IVHeroes of Might & Magic IV was released on March 28, 2002 and had many major changes from Heroes of Might & Magic III. Heroes of Might & Magic IV is organized around the six types of towns; nature, chaos, death, might, life, and order. Each town is connected to two others and has a unique magic school aside from the might town. Each town has a might and magic hero but unlike Heroes of Might & Magic III, they don't have a specialty which makes each of them unique but instead every hero starts out with the same starting skill. When a hero gets two or more skills they will become an advanced class that provide a bonus. The logic behind this was to have the heroes start out the same but become vastly different as they gain in skills unlike the heroes in Heroes of Might & Magic III which start out different but end up with similar skills. There is a total of nine skill classes the heroes can learn which has four skills; combat (archery, resistance, melee), nobility (diplomacy, estates, mining), scouting (pathfinding, seamanship, stealth), tactics (defense, offense, leadership), chaos magic (conjuration, sorcery, pyromancy), death magic (demonology, occultism, necromancy), life magic (healing, spirtuality, resurrection), nature magic (herbalism, meditation, summoning), and order magic (wizardry, enchantment, charm). Each hero can learn five skills each of which has five levels (Basic, Advanced, Expert, Master, Grandmaster). The six campaigns introduce each of the towns and have nothing to do with each other and so there is no bonus level.
Hero Classes
1. Basic Hero Classes:Knight (Life, Might Hero) – Basic Tactics; Basic DefensePriest (Life, Magic Hero) – Basic Life; Basic Healing Archer (Nature, Might Hero) – Basic Combat; Basic Archery Druid (Nature, Magic Hero) – Basic Nature; Basic Herbalism Thief (Chaos, Might Hero) – Basic Scouting; Basic Stealth Sorceror (Chaos, Magic Hero) – Basic Chaos; Basic Conjuration Death Knight (Death, Might Hero) – Basic Tactics; Basic Offense Necromancer (Death, Magic Hero) – Basic Death; Basic Occultism Lord (Order, Might Hero) – Basic Nobility; Basic Estates Mage (Order, Magic Hero) – Basic Order; Basic Enchantment Barbarian (Might, Might Hero) – Basic Combat; Basic Melee; Basic Resistance 2. Advanced hero classes – based on the main primary skill:
3. Advanced hero classes and bonuses – listing by Might & MagicMight heroes: Tactics/Combat: GENERAL - All units gain +1 Morale Tactics/Nobility: LORD COMMANDER - Combat/Nobility: WARLORD - Nobility/Scouting: GUILDMASTER - Magic heroes: Any 3 magic schools: ARCHMAGE - Order/Life: MONK - Order/Nature: ENCHANTER - Order/Chaos: WIZARD - Order/Death: SHADOW MAGE -Life/Nature: SUMMONER - Nature/Chaos: WARLOCK - Chaos/Death: LICH - Life/Tactics: CRUSADER - Nature/Tactics: WARDEN - Chaos/Tactics: PYROMANCER - Death/Tactics: REAVER - 4. Town starting classes:
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