Updated Matchmaking, Smarter AI & New Creatures
29.10.2026Greetings, Heroes!
The biggest balance update since the game has entered Early Access is now available in the main version of the game! We have changed the formula for calculating damage from Attack and Defense, reworked skills, artifacts, and alternative upgrades of creatures across all factions, made the AI on the Global Map noticeably stronger, and added two new neutral creatures to the game.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the beta test and shared their feedback with us! Based on its results, we have made a number of additional changes to the update β they are marked with the β icon in the list below.
????οΈ What about PvE? In case you missed our previous patch, here's a quick reminder: we recently added Alliances, so you can team up with friends against both the AI and other players, and a fully random map generator built primarily with PvE in mind. Before that, we added the "Broken Alliance" map and the "Prisoners" scenario. We're now hard at work on new story maps and single-player adventures, and more news are coming soon. And we hope the much smarter AI opponent in this update will especially please PvE fans β games against the computer are about to get a lot more interesting!
Steam Reviews: Every Voice Matters!
Before we get into it, we'd like to ask you for one small favour. Leave us a Steam review! We read them regularly β they're one of the most important ways for us to understand how you feel about the game. Reviews also help other players discover Olden Era. If you haven't left one yet, we'd greatly appreciate it!
Changelog
v. 0.82.??
Updated AI Behavior on the Global Map
New AI capabilities:
AI main heroes can now flee from battle if they realize that winning would be extremely difficult, and for some time after fleeing they follow a special strategy to get back into the game as effectively as possible.
The AI now learns spells of high Global Map Magic in the Magic Observatory.
AI heroes have learned to use the most popular and useful Global Map Spells to move around the map.
The AI now distributes resources better to effectively develop towns, hire armies, etc.
AI heroes have learned to equip artifacts more effectively, taking into account set items, skills, their army composition, etc.
AI heroes have learned to pick only skills that suit their current role.
In addition to these new features, we have extensively tuned the AI's general behavior so that it makes better strategic and local decisions. We will tell you more about this in one of our future news posts.
New Neutral Creatures
Two new neutral creatures have joined the world of Olden Era: the Kitsune (Tier 7) and the Mummy (Tier 5).
β Matchmaking
The current matchmaking system sometimes forces you to start a match on templates you don't have a preference for. Because of this, some players enjoy the game less, and some simply leave the match early. In this update, we are introducing a pre-selection system: it lets you choose your preferred match conditions to make multiplayer games more comfortable.
βοΈ Additionally, you can now search for a match in two or three modes at the same time. As soon as an opponent is found in one of them, the queue for the remaining modes will be stopped.
Added preferred template settings to matchmaking:
A player can keep only the templates they want and start searching for an opponent.
If players have templates in common, the match takes place on a random one of them. For example, player A selected Exodus, Mix, and Sprint, and player B selected Mix, Sprint, and Outcast Tournament. The match will take place on either Mix or Sprint.
Classic mode template rotation is the following: Jebus Cross, Jebus Tournament, Jebus Arena, Universe, Infinity, Sand Clover, and Arcade.
Single Hero Mode template rotation is the following: Exodus, Mix, Sprint, Outcast Tournament, Harmony, Blitz, and Vendetta.
- Rotation changes:
New templates in Classic mode: Jebus Arena and Sand Clover.
New templates in Single Hero Mode: Mix and Harmony.
Removed from rotation: Last Fortress and Helltide.
In addition to templates, a player can choose a preferred game timer:
The "Extended Timers" option adds time to the starting reserve, time bonuses, and battle time.
Classic mode: starting reserve +120 sec, daily bonus +60 sec, weekly bonus +120 sec, maximum reserve +120 sec, time for battles with neutral armies +30 sec, additional time in battles against players +10 sec.
Single Hero Mode: starting reserve +60 sec, daily bonus +30 sec, weekly bonus +30 sec, maximum reserve +60 sec, time for battles with neutral armies +15 sec, additional time in battles against players +10 sec.
β οΈ You must keep at least one option selected in each setting (templates and timer). Remember: the stricter the matchmaking conditions, the longer it will take to find an opponent. β οΈ
In addition to these changes, the base timer values have undergone various adjustments depending on the league in which the match takes place.
Other Changes
β Sped up black-screen transitions when entering a town or battle from the Global Map, as well as when returning to it.
Adjusted the base number of points awarded for a win and deducted for a loss:
Players now lose 40 points for a loss in any division.
Players now receive 40 points for a win in the Iron, Bronze, and Silver divisions.
Players now receive 35 points for a win in the Gold division.
Players now receive 30 points for a win in the Platinum division.
Players now receive 25 points for a win in the Diamond division.
Players now receive 20 points for a win in the Master division.
Changed the number of restarts available to players:
There are no restarts in the Iron and Bronze divisions.
Two restart points are available in the Master division.
One restart point is available in all other divisions.
Reduced the maximum rating spread depending on the player's division.
Balance
This update brings a number of major changes that will significantly affect gameplay. With these changes, we pursued two goals: to reduce the creature stats that grew too much in the late game, which hurt the gameplay experience, and to bring more variety to the upgraded versions of creatures, making them more distinct from each other. These are fairly complex tasks: some of them were solved with targeted adjustments, others with a series of diverse changes.
In addition, we have worked on the formula for creatures' Attack and Defense, namely how they affect the damage dealt. You can read about the reasons and goals of these changes below.
We will continue to monitor the balance and make adjustments as needed, based on your feedback and the data we collect.
Adjusting the General Damage Formula Based on Creature Attack and Defense
The former damage multiplier formula based on creature stats was:
Multiplier = (20 + ATK) / (20 + DEF), where ATK was the attacker's Attack and DEF was the defender's Defense.
It was originally introduced for two reasons: to keep low-tier creatures relevant in the late game and to cover multiple cases with a single formula β both when ATK is higher than DEF and vice versa.
However, several gameplay issues have emerged that, we believe, needed to be addressed:
As heroes had so many stats, creatures' base stats became insignificant in the later stages β the outcome of a battle was determined by stack size and damage rather than by Attack and Defense.
As a consequence of the first point, high-tier creatures lost their power as the game progressed and no longer looked like a formidable force compared to their "smaller" brethren.
Artifacts that increase combat stats had little impact on gameplay.
Most importantly: as the total sum of stats grew, their effective power decreased. This confused players and made it harder for them to understand what was happening in battle and assess the situation.
Let's look at the last problem with an example. Consider a Troglodyte (Attack 2, Defense 3) fighting a Waurms (Attack 20, Defense 20). Let's see how much +1 Attack matters at different stages of the game.
Early stage, heroes' Attack and Defense = 0:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: (20 + 2) / (20 + 20) = 0.550, then with +1 Attack: (20 + 3) / (20 + 20) = 0.575. Increase: +4.5%.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: (20 + 20) / (20 + 3) = 1.739, then with +1 Attack: (20 + 21) / (20 + 3) = 1.783. Increase: +2.5%.
Late stage, heroes' Attack and Defense = 80:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: (80 + 20 + 2) / (80 + 20 + 20) = 0.8500, then with +1 Attack: (80 + 20 + 3) / (80 + 20 + 20) = 0.8583. Increase: +0.98%.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: (80 + 20 + 20) / (80 + 20 + 3) = 1.1650, then with +1 Attack: (80 + 20 + 21) / (80 + 20 + 3) = 1.1748. Increase: +0.83%.
The same +1 Attack increased damage by 4.5% and 2.5% at the start of the game, yet later on it granted less than one percent of a bonus. The value of stats decreased as the game progressed.
Let's look at the second point with an example. 1000 Troglodytes against 75 Waurmos (roughly equivalent to one week's growth for each). A Troglodyte deals an average of 2 damage, while a Waurms deals 22.5.
Early stage, heroes' Attack and Defense = 0:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: Coefficient: (20 + 2) / (20 + 20) = 0.550 β 0.550 Γ 1000 Γ 2 = 1100 damage.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: Coefficient: (20 + 20) / (20 + 3) = 1.739 β 1.739 Γ 75 Γ 22.5 = 2935 damage.
Waurmos deal 2.67 times more damage.
Middle stage, heroes' Attack and Defense = 20:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: Coefficient: (20 + 20 + 2) / (20 + 20 + 20) = 0.700 β 0.700 Γ 1000 Γ 2 = 1400 damage.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: Coefficient: (20 + 20 + 20) / (20 + 20 + 3) = 1.395 β 1.395 Γ 75 Γ 22.5 = 2355 damage.
Waurmos deal 1.68 times more damage.
Late stage, heroes' Attack and Defense = 60:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: Coefficient: (60 + 20 + 2) / (60 + 20 + 20) = 0.820 β 0.820 Γ 1000 Γ 2 = 1640 damage.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: Coefficient: (60 + 20 + 20) / (60 + 20 + 3) = 1.205 β 1.205 Γ 75 Γ 22.5 = 2033 damage.
Waurmos deal 1.24 times more damage.
The further the game went, the weaker high-tier creatures became relative to low-tier ones. Building around strong stacks was unprofitable, and with small changes to base values (for example, +1 damage for both creatures from the "Drum of War" artifact), a high-tier stack could have even started dealing less damage than a low-tier one in the late game, despite dealing more in the early game.
What we are changing: The new formula is based on the difference between the attacker's Attack and the defender's Defense, rather than their absolute values. Let's call it Delta = ATK β DEF.
The multiplier used in the new formula increases with the difference between the two stats, but each subsequent point gives slightly less than the previous one: the first point of difference gives +4.00%, the second +3.96%, the third +3.92%, and so on, decreasing by 0.04% per point down to zero. Once the difference reaches 100, further increases in stats no longer affect damage.
Essentially, the formula calculates the sum of an arithmetic progression. We'll leave it behind the scenes, though, so we don't scare you off with overly complex calculations.
If ATK > DEF, damage is multiplied by (1 + Coefficient).
If DEF > ATK, damage is divided by (1 + Coefficient).
Let's recalculate both examples using the new formula.
Key property: the result depends only on the Delta difference, not on the heroes' stats.
Troglodyte attacks Waurms: Delta = 2 β 20 = β18 (Defense is higher, so we divide).
Waurms attacks Troglodyte: Delta = 20 β 3 = 17 (Attack is higher, so we multiply).
These differences do not change as the hero levels up, since the hero's bonus is added equally to both creatures.
Coefficient for Delta = 17: 62.56%. Coefficient for Delta = 18: 65.88%.
First example:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: 1.00 / 1.6588 = 0.6028.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: 1.00 Γ 1.6256 = 1.6256.
The value of +1 Attack is now the same at any stage of the game:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: Was 0.6028, with +1 Attack β 0.6152. Increase: +2.06%.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: Was 1.6256, with +1 Attack β 1.6588. Increase: +2.04%.
Neither the heroes' stats nor the stage of the game affect this anymore.
Second example:
Troglodyte hits Waurms: 0.6028 Γ 1000 Γ 2 = 1206 damage.
Waurms hits Troglodyte: 1.6256 Γ 75 Γ 22.5 = 2743 damage.
Waurmos deal 2.28 times more damage β and this ratio now stays constant throughout the game.
Summary of changes:
One stat point gives the same effect regardless of the total number of stats.
The damage ratio between stacks does not change over the course of the game, so high-tier creatures remain effective at any stage.
Artifacts and stat bonuses feel equally strong from the beginning to the end of a match.
Low-tier creatures have become slightly stronger in the early game, but will no longer grow as much in power by the late game.
Protection Against Excessively Lucky or Unlucky Streaks of Morale and Luck Effects
A mechanism has been added to the game that protects players from excessively long streaks of lucky or unlucky random events related to Morale and Luck. The probability of these effects triggering will now better match players' expectations.
Situations where your stacks with 5 Morale do not perform a single bonus action, while an enemy with 1 Morale triggers this effect almost every turn, will become practically impossible.
Combat Interface Update
We have updated the combat interface and implemented the following features:
Updated visuals: game elements have become more convenient to use.
Improved indication on the initiative bar β stack features are now easier to read.
Heroes' faction active skills have been moved to separate skill panels, which frees up space on the regular hero ability panel.
Added the "Favorite Spells" feature: you can mark up to 3 favorite combat spells in the spellbook to cast them quickly.
β General Changes
Starting resources have been adjusted depending on the game difficulty.
Single Hero Mode: removed the 20% reduction to the amount of Astrology Points and Law Points required to level up. As a result, unlocking Global Map Spells and Laws in this mode will now be slightly slower.
Slightly reduced the amount of Law Points gained for capturing objects.
Skills
In this section, you will find changes to hero skills: the long-awaited rework of the Temple faction skill, an entirely new skill, and adjustments to other abilities. As part of these changes, we have moved some subskills to new positions to open up new gameplay opportunities for players.
"Righteousness"
The original concept of the Temple faction focused on two aspects: positive effects and the hero's base stats. In this update, we are pursuing a policy of reducing creature stats in battle, so when reworking the faction skill, we decided to move away from a strong focus on one of these aspects β the hero's stats. The new version of the faction skill is no longer tied to creatures dying in battle or to a significant increase in the hero's stats, instead it gives players new tactical opportunities.
The skill has been completely reworked:
The new skill allows the hero to use one of three active abilities in battle β the prayers "Song of Wrath", "Plea for Healing", or "Hymn of Power". After activating a prayer, the hero maintains its effect until the end of the battle or until they use any other prayer.
The active prayer empowers stacks whose turn comes while it is being maintained. β The effect of prayers is single-use, and a stack can accumulate up to 3 different prayers. The effect can be stored on multiple stacks at once until each of them triggers it.
"Song of Wrath": attacks of a stack under the prayer's effect deal additional Pure Damage.
"Plea for Healing": when a stack under the prayer's effect takes damage, it restores a certain amount of health. It can resurrect fallen creatures.
"Hymn of Power": when a stack under the prayer's effect uses abilities, the duration of all positive effects applied to it is extended.
The effectiveness of all prayers depends on the hero's level.
In addition to the main skill, all of its subskills have been reworked and adjusted:
"Fields of Serenity": friendly Temple creatures deal +10% and take β10% damage on their native terrain.
"Secret of Mana": after using any prayer, until the end of the round, friendly stacks restore 1 temporary mana to the hero when their turn comes.
"Piety": the hero gains +10% experience.
"Requiem": each time a stack dies, all of the hero's stats increase by 1 until the end of the round.
"Care for Others": the effect of the prayer in use immediately triggers on the current friendly creature.
"Contemplation": using prayers does not require Focus Charges.
"Summon Swarm"
"Hive Power" subskill: β the cost and cooldown of the "Premature Emergence" ability are reduced by 1. Moved to Tier 2.
The "Ravage" subskill has been moved to Tier 3.
β "Offense"
"Battle Frenzy" subskill: the Attack bonus per point of Morale has been reduced: 2 β 1.
"Unstoppable Force" subskill: the reduction of enemy creatures' Defense has been reduced: 15% β 10%.
β "Defense"
"As Luck Would Have It" subskill: the Defense bonus per point of Luck has been reduced: 2 β 1.
"Firmness" subskill: the reduction of enemy creatures' Attack has been reduced: 15% β 10%.
"Luck"
"Always Heads" subskill: the bonus to gold found on the Global Map has been reduced: 25% β 10%.
β "Logistics"
The "Leaps and Bounds" subskill has been replaced with the new "Strong Mounts" subskill: the hero gains another +5% Movement Points.
"Careful Planning" subskill: the maximum number of Movement Points saved for the next day has been reduced: 50 β 30.
β "Scouting"
The "Familiar Paths" subskill has been replaced with the new "Leaps and Bounds" subskill: the hero restores 5 Movement Points after each battle won. Moved to Tier 3.
The "Counterespionage" subskill has been moved to Tier 2.
"Insight"
The "Enlightenment" subskill has been replaced with the new "Understanding the Ephemeral" subskill: the hero and friendly creatures deal +50% damage to summoned creatures.
"Sorcery"
Magic damage bonus has been reduced: 20/30/40% β 20/25/30%.
β The "Piercing Spells" subskill has been replaced with the new "Magical Influence" subskill: increases the mana cost of the enemy's spells by 4. Moved to Tier 2.
The "Summoning Sorcery" subskill has been moved to Tier 3.
β "Nightshade Magic"
The "Hour of the Wolf" subskill has been replaced with the new "Hindrance Aura" subskill: at the start of each round except the first, the enemy loses 1 Focus Charge.
"Battle Magic"
As part of our general policy of reducing creatures' base stats in the late game, we are significantly reworking "Battle Magic". Until now, this skill simply gave the army additional power regardless of any other factors. It was actively used by both might and magic heroes, which contradicted the original design, according to which the skill should strengthen the combat potential of magic heroes. We understand that this change effectively weakens the skill, so we will closely monitor its performance; for now, we are carrying out a major revision of all subskills available to players when upgrading "Battle Magic".
Major rework of the skill:
The skill now not only increases creatures' Attack and Defense based on the hero's Spell Power and Knowledge, but also reduces the influence of the hero's Attack and Defense on the corresponding creature stats. Under normal conditions, creatures receive an Attack bonus equal to 100% of the hero's Attack and 0% of their Spell Power. With the max level of "Battle Magic", creatures will receive Attack equal to 60% of the hero's Attack and 40% of their Spell Power.
Bonus to creature stats (and the added penalty) has been increased: 15/20/25% β 20/30/40%.
The "Aura of Destruction" subskill has been replaced with the new "Piercing Spells" subskill: spells ignore 25% of the target's magic resistance.
The "Aura of Protection" subskill has been replaced with the new "Mana Return" subskill: after each spell cast in battle, the hero gains +2 temporary mana.
The "Aura of Wizardry" subskill has been reworked: after each spell cast in battle, the hero gains +1 Spell Power and Knowledge until the end of the battle. Moved to Tier 3.
The "Battle Mage's Authority" and "Mage Protector's Authority" subskills remain unchanged and do not reduce the Attack and Defense gained from the hero's stats.
The "Magic Time" subskill has been moved to Tier 2.
"Resistance"
β The "Hindrance Aura" subskill has been replaced with the new "Protective Sorcery" subskill: reduces damage dealt by Heroic Strike to friendly creatures by 20%. The bonus is doubled if the hero has "First Aid".
The "Fast Metabolism" subskill: β Reduction of negative effects' duration: 1 β 2. Moved to Tier 3.
The "Time Shift" subskill has been moved to Tier 2.
"Battlecraft"
Stat bonus granted when waiting or skipping a turn in battle has been reduced: 20/30/40% β 10/15/20%.
The "Melee Mastery" subskill has been replaced with the new "At the ready" subskill: when waiting in battle, a friendly stack gains +1 Speed until the end of the round. Placed in Tier 3.
The "Long Reach Mastery" subskill has been replaced with the new "Fortifying" subskill: when skipping a turn, a friendly stack additionally gains +20% Defense.
The "Manacraft" subskill has been moved to Tier 2.
"Summon Avatar"
The "Summon Destruction" subskill has been replaced with the new "Parasitic Summon" subskill: the summoned avatar restores 3 temporary mana to the hero when dealing or taking damage.
"First Aid"
A new skill available to all heroes and factions.
Base effect: after winning a battle, surviving stacks in the hero's army restore 20/30/40% of the creatures lost during the battle.
Subskills:
"Return to Service": additionally restores 10% of the creatures lost during the battle. The bonus is doubled if the hero has "Recruitment".
"Healthy Decoctions": friendly creatures gain +2 Health.
"Antidotes": new ability β removes all negative effects from the target.
"Thrill of Battle": each time a friendly stack kills an enemy, it fully restores its health. Does not resurrect fallen creatures.
"Adrenaline": whenever a stack takes damage but survives, it deals +10% and takes β10% damage until the end of the next round.
"Ammonia": new ability β once per battle, allows resurrecting a fallen friendly stack, partially restoring its size relative to its size at the start of the battle.
"Recruitment"
The "Strenuous Training" subskill has been reworked: the cooldown of friendly creatures' abilities is reduced by 1 round.
The "Elite Guards" subskill has been reworked: allows retraining friendly creatures into their alternative versions without restrictions.
The "Mentors" subskill has been replaced with the new "Militia" subskill: at the start of battle, friendly stacks of Tiers 1β3 receive 5% temporary creatures. The bonus is doubled if the hero has "Tactics".
β "Thaumaturgy"
The "Antimage" subskill has been replaced with the new "Vast Soul" subskill: reduces the cooldown of all of the hero's spells by 1 round. Moved to Tier 3.
The "Vast Soul" subskill has been renamed to "Fields of Mana" and moved to Tier 2.
β Heroes
The starting skills of some heroes have been changed:
Julius: now starts the game with the "First Aid" skill instead of "Resistance".
Leira: now starts the game with the "First Aid" skill instead of "Nightshade Magic".
The Iron Master: now starts the game with the "First Aid" skill instead of "Resistance".
Old Pilgrim: now starts the game with the "Tactics" skill instead of "Battle Magic".
Zam: now starts the game with the "Resistance" skill instead of "Recruitment".
The Minstrel: now starts the game with the "Battle Magic" skill instead of "Sorcery".
Lord Edgar: increases creatures' Attack and Defense by 10% + 5% for every 6 levels (instead of 5).
Creature specialists increase the Attack and Defense of their creatures by 1 for every 5 hero levels (instead of 3).
Experience specialists gain 1 stat point for every 3 hero levels (instead of 2).
Artifacts
Multiple copies of the same artifact can no longer be equipped at the same time.
New artifacts added:
Common main weapon "Soldier's Sword": +1 to the hero's Attack and Spell Power.
Rare ring "Alchemist's Signet-Ring": +2 to the hero's Attack and Spell Power.
Epic belt "Kergar buckle": +3 to the hero's Attack and Spell Power.
Common ring "Commoner's Ward": +1 to the hero's Attack and Knowledge.
Rare belt "Battle Mage's Belt": +2 to the hero's Attack and Spell Power.
Epic off-hand weapon "Greater Djinn's Bracers": +3 to the hero's Attack and Spell Power.
Common cloak "Satchel": +1 to the hero's Defense and Spell Power.
Rare off-hand weapon "Ritual Shield": +2 to the hero's Defense and Spell Power.
Epic boots "Boots of Dreams": +3 to the hero's Defense and Spell Power.
Common armor "Leather Armor": +1 to the hero's Defense and Knowledge.
Rare boots "Enchanted Jackboots": +2 to the hero's Defense and Knowledge.
Epic helmet "Archmage's Hood": +3 to the hero's Defense and Knowledge.
β Legendary item "Orb of Poison": during the first round of combat, both heroes cannot use hero abilities.
Two new items have been added to the "Living Arrows" set:
Epic off-hand weapon "Elven Blade": removes the melee penalty for friendly shooters.
Epic item "Ripe Apple": friendly creatures deal +10% ranged damage.
Set bonuses are now activated when collecting 3 and 5 items instead of 2 and 3.
A new item has been added to the "Ambassador's Word" set:
Legendary cloak "Diplomat's Robe": +10% to the hero's Persuasion Power.
Set bonuses are now activated when collecting 3 items instead of 2.
"Ambassador's Sash" is now a belt instead of a cloak.
The rarity of "Orb of Destruction" has been increased from rare to epic. The item is now part of the "Hero of Tales" set. This set's bonuses are now activated when collecting 3 items instead of 2.
β "Tactical Guide" now blocks pre-battle army placement for both heroes in the battle, not only for the enemy.
The rarity of "Orb of Inhibition" has been increased from epic to legendary. β This artifact now only blocks the use of the heroes' spellbooks.
The rarity of "Monster Head" has been increased from rare to epic.
The rarity of "Ring of Neutrality" has been increased from rare to epic.
The penalty to the enemy hero's Spell Power from the "Crimson Resonance Controller" artifact has been reduced: 20/30% β 10/15%.
The "Vortex Robe" artifact now restores temporary mana to the hero instead of permanent mana.
β The "Seven-League Boots" artifact can once again be generated on random templates.
Spells
β Daylight Magic
"Shorten Shadow": reduction of the target's Attack and Defense: 3 β 2.
β Nightshade Magic
"Enlarge Shadow": increase of the target's Attack and Defense: 3 β 2.
β Arcane Magic
"Optical Illusion": ranged damage reduction: 30/60/60/60% β 30/45/45/45%.
High Neutral Magic
"Second Wind": mana cost reduced: 17/13/13/13 β 15/11/11/11. Movement Points restoration adjusted: 40/40/60/60 β 35/35/50/80. Number of uses adjusted: 1/1/1/2 β 1/1/1/1.
β "Shadowflight": Penalty for flying over obstacles increased: 30% β 40%. Can now be learned at hero level 4.
"Pocket Dimension": mana cost increased: 14/10/10/10 β 22/18/18/18. β Can now be learned at hero level 12.
"Gate of Light": mana cost reduced: 28/20/20/20 β 18/10/10/10. β Can now be learned at hero level 8.
"Dimension Door": teleport range when upgraded to level 3 increased: 11 β 12 squares.
Factions
As part of the faction creature changes, we have also revisited the balance value of Speed, alongside adjustments related to the reworked base damage formula. As a result, some stacks may have received minor stat adjustments β primarily high-speed creatures. However, most of the changes are related to the rework of alternative upgrades: in all such cases, creatures have undergone major changes.
Our goal is to make sure that every creature in the game can find its place and differs from its alternative upgrades. This does not mean that we are aiming for a perfectly even split in creature popularity: the main goal is for every stack to have its own use and offer new, unique gameplay.
Please note: due to these updates, some units may seem to look weaker. This is due to the need to balance the changes. For example, if a stack gains a new passive ability, it becomes stronger relative to other units than it was before. To maintain balance in such cases, we need to reduce its stats or take away some of its other gameplay options.
Also, as part of this update, we have addressed the balance of some laws that affect creatures, making them more balanced and better suited to the role each stack plays.
β Reduced the cost of Tier 1β3 creatures in all towns.
1. Temple
Tier 1: Swordsman, Guard Captain, and Sun's Aegis gained new active ability "Shields Up", which grants an effect that reduces the ranged damage they take. Stat adjustments across all three.
Tier 2: Crossbowman Attack: 5 β 4. Austringer Attack: 5 β 6, Speed: 4 β 3.
Tier 3: Griffin and its upgrades received adjusted Damage values; Temple Griffin and Guardian Griffin received redistributed Attack/Defense stats.
Tier 4: Lightweaver, Hierophant, and Sun Herald β stat adjustments.
Tier 5: Noble Cavalry gained new passive "Inspiring", which increases the chance of positive Morale triggering for nearby friendly creatures. Sunspear Cavalry gained new active "Strike and Return".
Tier 6: Mother Superior gained new passive "Malleus Maleficarum", which reduces magic damage taken by nearby friendly creatures. Initiative: 9 β 7. Excommunicator Attack: 26 β 20.
Tier 7: Angel Speed: 4 β 5.
Given the major update to the Temple faction skill, the number of levels of laws that improve faction creatures has once again been reduced to two. Multiple laws adjusted or reworked.
2. Necropolis
Tier 1: Skeleton and Skeleton Archer Defense: 1 β 2. Skeleton Warrior Defense: 3 β 2, Initiative: 5 β 6.
Tier 2: Base growth reduced: 19 β 18. Wight Health: 8 β 9. Wraith lost "Howl of the Banshee", gained new active "Gates of Afterlife". Phantasm gained "Howl of the Banshee" and stat improvements.
Tier 3: Base growth reduced: 14 β 13. Barghest lost "Call the Pack", gained "Double Strike". Armored Hound gained "Call the Pack".
Tier 4: Base growth reduced: 10 β 9. Graverobber branch significantly rebalanced. Merchant of Death gained new passive "Throwing a Bone" (increases Speed and Initiative of all friendly Skeletons). Kennelmaster gained new passive "Pack Leader" (increases Speed and Initiative of all friendly Undead Pets).
Tier 5: Lich branch β stat adjustments. Pestilent Lich gained new passive "Plague Aura". Sanguine Lich gained new active "Last Spark".
Tier 6: Dread Knight, Avatar of War, Hollow Reaper β Health and stat improvements. Hollow Reaper gained new passive "Paralyzing Dread".
Tier 7: Vampire, Vampire Lord, Vampire Scholar β "Vampirism" passive strength increased: 50% β 66.6%. Stat improvements across all three.
Multiple laws adjusted.
3. Grove
The Grove faction has undergone the biggest adjustments compared to other factions. There were quite a few problems in the design of its upgraded creatures: the gameplay of many upgraded creatures was practically the same, their role was unclear, and their abilities did not fit the image and narrative of the creatures very well. In addition, due to the risky gameplay in the early stages, we are slightly strengthening the faction's starting potential.
Tier 1: Base growth increased: 13 β 14. Faun, Faun Archer, and Faun Warrior gained new active "Outsider Eradication". Faun and Faun Archer Defense: 3 β 4.
Tier 2: Base growth increased: 9 β 10. Dawn Hoplet gained new passive "Whirlwind Strike". Multiple stat adjustments.
Tier 3: All three Iriyad variants β Health reduced: 45 β 40, stat adjustments.
Tier 4: Naiad Health increased: 40 β 50. Vernal Naiad gained new active "Whirlpool". Brumal Naiad gained new active "Hypothermia".
Tier 5: Sporemancer β "Swarm of Bees" replaced with stronger "Bees Invasion", lost "Protective Roots". Murmurmancer gained "Protective Roots". Mushroom Magic now reduces mana cost by 3 instead of 2.
Tier 6: Qilin β Luck: 2 β 0 across all variants, stat adjustments. Thunder Qilin lost "Cloud Nine", gained "Scintillating Scales". Mist Qilin gained "Cloud Nine", "Opportunity Attack", and "Forest Haze"; "Mist Form" reworked.
Tier 7: Flaming Phoenix gained new passive "Flaming Agony" (deals damage to all nearby stacks upon death). Energy Phoenix Defense: 39 β 34.
Multiple laws adjusted.
4. Hive
We continue to work on Hive creatures to make playing this faction more engaging while preserving its key feature β an aggressive and risky playstyle. The faction's gameplay was too dependent on randomness, and by adjusting creature stats and laws, we want to make it more predictable for the player.
Fire Larva: Health: 16 β 20. Gained new passive "Castes": with might heroes, deal 50% more damage; with magic heroes, explosion deals 50% more damage.
Tier 1: Parasite Health: 7 β 10. Warden Parasite gained "Strike and Return". Ravager Parasite β "Topple the Strong!" now deals +6% (instead of +3%) per tier of difference.
Tier 2: All Locusts received Health increases.
Tier 3: Hornet, Chanter, Stinger β Damage range widened: 4-9 β 2-12.
Tier 4: Scorpion branch β Volcanic Scorpion "Adaptation" abilities now affect all friendly stacks with half effectiveness. Spelaean Scorpion Speed: 4 β 5.
Tier 5: Menacing Reaver lost "Rapid Assault", gained "Swift Strike". Damage range widened: 20-30 β 20-40.
Tier 6: Pyroboros lost "Corpse Eater", gained new passive "Mana Eater". Devourer "Devour" kill threshold reduced: 40% β 30%.
Tier 7: Hive Queen, Hive Mother, Hive Huntress β Attack and Defense: 25 β 30. Faction bonus reduced: 25% β 20%.
Multiple laws adjusted, including "Hive Offsprings II": Larvae now provoke enemies only during the first round after hatching.
5. Schism
Tier 1: Stinging Ra'Shoth Attack and Defense: 5 β 6.
Tier 2: Cultist and Binder Attack: 5 β 4. Votary gained new passive "Rift Conductor" (increases Initiative of friendly Ra'Shoth, Grand Shoth, and Abyssal Envoys).
Tier 3: Aga'Shoth Mat'ha gained new passive "Raid" (increases Speed of friendly Ra'Shoth, Grand Shoth, and Abyssal Envoys). Aga'Shoth Rider and Tamer β stat adjustments.
Tier 4: Grand Shoth and upgrades β Damage and Speed adjustments.
Tier 5: Concubus, Mistress of Chains, and Bewitcher gained new passive "Seduction" (always take minimum damage). Bewitcher gained new passive "Flog Idle Mind". Mistress of Chains "Earn Your Magic, Dear" increased: 2 β 3 mana.
Tier 6: Arbitrator, Rift Arbitrator, Bloated Arbitrator β stat adjustments.
Multiple laws adjusted. "Unstoppable" elite hero class: bonus to hero stats: 10 β 8.
6. Dungeon
As with the Grove faction, Dungeon creatures were very similar to each other. Unlike the Grove, the Dungeon faced another problem β few ways to spend Focus Charges. The changes below are designed to solve these problems and bring alternative upgrades more in line with their narrative and image.
Tier 1: All Troglodyte variants Health: 8 β 9.
Tier 2: Guile Infiltrator and Bleak Infiltrator have swapped roles. Guile Infiltrator lost "Shadowstrike" and "Staggering Hits", gained "Sharper Blade", "Liquidation", and "Swift Strike". Bleak Infiltrator gained "Shadowstrike" (β damage halved), "Staggering Hits", and "Ambush".
Tier 3: Onyx Dancer, Jasper Dancer, and Aureate Dancer all gained new active "Blade Dance" (attack twice until end of round). Stat adjustments.
Tier 4: Minotaur, Minotaur Lord, and Minotaur Vanguard all gained new active "Minotaur's Onslaught". Minotaur Vanguard also gained "Balthazar's Tramp".
Tier 5: Medusa Sculptor gained new passive "Marble Arrows". Medusa Queen lost "Marble Arrows", gained new active "Hail of Arrows".
Tier 6: Hydra Defense: 22 β 27. Chthonic Hydra Defense: 30 β 33.
Tier 7: Cave Dragon, Black Dragon, Ashen Dragon β Health and Attack increases.
Multiple laws adjusted. Elite hero class bonuses reduced: 100% β 40%.
7. Neutral Creatures
Tier 1: Pixie Health: 6 β 4, Attack and Defense: 3 β 2.
Tier 2: Ghoul Attack: 9 β 7, Defense: 7 β 5, Damage: 4-8 β 4-6.
Tier 3: Animated Armor Defense: 8 β 7.
Tier 4: Starchild Attack: 13 β 12.
Tier 5: Added new neutral creature β Mummy. Giant Toad Attack: 19 β 16.
Tier 6: Couatl Health: 95 β 100.
Tier 7: Added new neutral creature β Kitsune.
Map Generator and Objects
General Changes
Pandora's Boxes have been substantially reworked: all of them now let the player choose a reward.
Pandora's Boxes that previously gave hero experience now let you choose between hero experience, Law Points, or Astrology Points. Value increased by 25%.
Pandora's Boxes that previously gave gold now let you choose between gold, resources, or Alchemical Dust. Value increased by 20%.
Pandora's Boxes that previously gave creatures remain unchanged: the player can still choose any upgrade version.
Pandora's Boxes that previously gave stats have been reworked into "combat" and "magic" groups. Combat boxes: choose between +4/6 Attack, +4/6 Defense, or β +2/3 to both. Magic boxes: choose between +4/6 Spell Power, +4/6 Knowledge, or β +2/3 to both. Value significantly lowered.
Pandora's Boxes that previously gave spells have been merged into five boxes β one per spell tier β each letting you choose the magic school. β Alternatively, each can be used to restore 20/40/60/80/100% of the hero's mana.
Guards in "creature bank" objects have been significantly adjusted: Point of Balance, Colosseum, Ritual Pyre, Tomb of Vigilance, Boreal Call, Carrion Pile, Petrified Memorial.
"Chimerologist": creature conversion penalty reduced: 15% β 10%.
β Minor adjustments to inner guards of some "resource bank" objects.
"Mearea's Altar": guardians are now always split into three stacks on the battlefield.
"Trophy Hunter's Den": inner guards are split into stacks of 2 Dragonslayers each, positioned around the player's army in the corners.
"Overgrown Vori Ruins": Alchemical Dust reward halved; inner guard strengthened and always split into three stacks.
Added new object "Hell Light Spire" for templates with a tournament system or decisive battle.
Slightly reduced the chance that groups of 3 or more objects are generated under the protection of a single guard.
β The strength of the external guards of artifacts has been reduced by 40% for all artifact rarities.
Templates
β On multiple templates (Blitz, Chosen One, Exodus Classic, Exodus, Galaxy, Helltide, Infinity, Jebus Arena, Jebus Tournament, Massacre, Mix, Outcast Tournament, Symmetry), "Siegecraft" can no longer be offered to a hero when leveling up. On Sprint, "Siegecraft", "Logistics", and "Scouting" are also excluded.
The "Diplomatic Gifts", "Ambassador's Sash", and "Diplomat's Robe" artifacts can no longer be generated on random templates and maps. These artifacts will return with the rework of the "Diplomacy" skill.
Many templates have received minor adjustments improving object generation.
Added the new Jebus Arena template β a variation of the old-style Jebus Cross without a central town and with the "Hell Light Arena".
Jebus Cross
Template size increased: 160Γ160 β 176Γ176.
β The number of days you need to hold the central town to win has been reduced from 6 to 5. If the enemy recaptures the town, this timer is reset.
The central area has been significantly reworked: secondary central towns are no longer tied to main exits; "Remote Footholds" now located at the main exits; base creature growth in dwellings reduced from double to single.
β The central area can now randomly be smaller or larger.
The side areas are now connected by a portal for quick travel between them.
Creature growth in dwellings in the side areas reduced from triple to double.
Jebus Tournament
Final battles on the template now take place one day earlier.
Slightly adjusted the balance value of areas on the map.
The central town has been removed from each player's treasure area.
Objects in a treasure area are now guaranteed not to match the faction of the player who owns that area.
Pandora's Boxes with creatures have been returned to treasure areas in small numbers.
Increased the number of artifacts in treasure areas.
Infinity
Changed the template format: now a best-of-three tournament with continuous simultaneous turns.
The central area has been split into two isolated parts.
Final battles take place on: Day 2 of Week 2; Day 6 of Week 2; Day 3 of Week 3.
β Sand Clover
Reduced the starting and maximum number of heroes: a player now starts with no more than 3 heroes, maximum reduced to 6.
Corner neutral areas: slightly reduced object value; towns always share a single faction differing from players' starting factions.
Increased the strength of guards of portals leading to corner neutral areas.
Reduced the strength of guards blocking the way to intermediate areas.
Significantly improved passability of the central desert area and the value of its contents.
Reduced the number of mandatory external creature dwellings.
β Sprint
Template size increased: 112Γ112 β 128Γ128.
The contents of the areas have been extensively tuned.
Adjusted the strength of guards along the way.
Increased the strength of guards in the final areas.
Mandatory Pandora's Boxes are now placed at a distance from each other.
Exodus
Stat-boosting Pandora's Box limits and spawn chances adjusted.
The guard strength of the "Mountain Monastery" object has been tripled.
β External guard strength of creature dwellings and the Mercenary Guild increased by 1.5 times.
β Slightly increased guard strength at entrances to desert areas.
Pandora's Boxes with stats or spells can now appear in small numbers in the first desert area.
The second desert area now always contains at least one "Dragon Utopia", one "Research Laboratory", and one "Overgrown Vori Ruins".
β "Boots of Travel", "Backpack", and "Seven-League Boots" can no longer appear on the template.
Arena Mode
At the stack selection stage, players can now be offered stacks they have already picked in previous stages.
The size of creature stacks offered for selection has been increased by 15β20%.
Adjustments to heroes' starting stat bonuses: several heroes received +1 or +2 bonuses; stat bonuses reduced for Nadir, Adahn, Blackhorn, Curson, Mila, Oriax, Tavi, and Enatee.
Bug Fixes
Combat and Creature Mechanics
Abilities that kill +1 creature no longer trigger on obstacles.
Creatures summoned onto cells with a "Firewall" or traps no longer die immediately.
Creature corpses now properly disappear if another stack, killed with a knockback effect, dies on top of them.
Abilities marked "only the strongest active effect applies" (for example, on Cavalry) no longer take enemies into account.
Wait can no longer be activated during a stack's action animation.
Initiative bonuses (for example, "Early Start") now properly apply to waiting stacks.
Additional damage from spells and creature abilities no longer causes the enemy to accumulate additional Focus Points.
Creatures
The minimum and maximum Morale and Luck values of some creatures are now within the correct ranges.
Added the missing description of the Kittenhorns' passive ability.
The effect of the Minotaurs' passive ability "Adrenaline Surge" now has the correct duration.
The effect of the Medusae's passive ability "Marble Arrows" now stacks correctly.
The effect of the Reavers' active ability "Beelzebub's Blessing" now has the correct duration.
Bonuses of the "increases the duration of applied effects" type no longer increase the duration of Scorpions' adaptations.
Fixed the description of the "Ranged Attack" passive ability of Worldwatchers and Halflings.
The Grolls' ability "Rrr, Jump!" no longer deals damage to friendly creatures.
The Sentinels of Glory's ability "Doreath's Way" no longer shows that it will deal damage to friendly creatures.
The Mist Qilins' ability "Cloud Nine" no longer grants bonuses after the stack dies.
Spells and Skills
β A creature woken up by damage whilst affected by the "Sleep" spell will correctly receive the "Insomnia" effect.
β The "Lucky Day" subskill of the "Luck" skill now takes effect when its conditions are met.
β The "All for One" subskill of the "Tactics" skill no longer grants a Defense bonus when there are no friendly creatures nearby.
β The "As Luck Would Have It" subskill of the "Defense" skill no longer grants a bonus above the Luck limit.
The bonus to an additional counterattack from the "Riposte" spell now starts working at spell level 3 instead of level 2.
The "Doreath's Tide" spell now dispels the petrification effect.
The damage in the description of the "Umbral Grip" spell is now calculated correctly.
When using the "Reality Distortion" spell, damage is no longer multiplied by the number of hits twice.
The "Recruitment" skill can now appear in Global Map objects that teach heroes new skills.
Faction Laws
β Once the Hive law "Natural Selection" is enacted, you can now choose the upgraded version of creatures when recruiting them in towns.
The descriptions of the "Hive Integration" and "Hive Reception" laws now properly specify that they only affect Hive creatures.
Artifacts
The "Two-faced Mask" artifact can no longer be bought at the Marketplace.
Interface
β The hotkey for opening the Marketplace now works if at least one of your towns has a Marketplace.
β The creature details window can now be opened during the opponent's turn.
β Fonts no longer break when changing the language after finishing a Classic or Single Hero game.
Player names in the game results notification are now displayed correctly.
The interface can no longer be hidden while the game is loading.
The cursor in the main menu no longer changes to the system cursor while the interface is hidden.
Automatically closing the battle results no longer closes dialogues in some missions and scenarios.
Hiding the interface no longer triggers in text fields.
The list of available screen resolutions now updates when changing monitors.
Battle and map animation speed settings are no longer reset on match restart.
The damage tooltip under the effect of the "Taunt" spell is now displayed correctly.
The tooltip for potential damage to friendly creatures is now displayed when using the Lich Dragons' "Bone Armageddon" and the Starchildren's "Starfall" abilities.
The victory/defeat window is no longer partially displayed in the settings window.
Hero stat tooltips in battle are no longer displayed during the Tactics Phase.
Multiplayer
Restarts can now be used after desynchronization.
Players who have just joined the lobby are now displayed in the active slot settings drop-down list.
In a multiplayer game, one player can no longer close another player's pause menu by pressing Esc.
In a multiplayer game, one player can no longer close another player's restart confirmation window.
Stability and Saves
β Saves in the lobby now properly show the correct difficulty.
Fixed a rare freeze when clicking the "Custom Game" button in the main menu.
Reloading a save now works correctly if some of the opponents were defeated before the save was made.
Arena Mode
The subskills of the "Summon Avatar" skill now work correctly in Arena mode.
The hotkey for opening the Battle Log no longer works during the draft stage.
The mana value can no longer be negative.
Campaign and Scenarios
Fixed some character portraits in campaign dialogue windows.
"Garner Hills". In old saves, the dialogue with the rider beyond the bridge no longer repeats endlessly if the player bribed him or showed him the "Last Coin" artifact.
"Never-ending Conflict". The "Capture the escaped priestesses" quest can no longer be taken if the player is already doing the escaped priestesses' quest.
"Burning Hearts". The Stargazer now gives a reward for correctly answering all 4 of his riddles.
"Gorges of Discord". In old saves, the final dialogue is no longer cut short by the victory screen.
"Deal with a Vampire". After completing the dead knight's quest, the game no longer gets stuck if you place a second hero at his new spawn point. β οΈ This fix does not apply to old saves made inside the mission.
"Saving the Knight". The rightmost "Twilight Bloom" object now grants an artifact as a reward. β οΈ This fix does not apply to old saves made inside the mission.
"Saving the Knight". Fixed numerous bugs in the troglodyte's quest. β οΈ This fix does not apply to old saves made inside the mission.
"Renegade" / "Corruption". The reward behind the hydras in the sand biome can no longer be collected without fighting them. β οΈ This fix does not apply to old saves made inside the mission.
"Alvar Diruil". Fixed a bug that allowed attacking the town with one of the remaining heroes and breaking all further scripted logic. β οΈ This fix does not apply to old saves made inside the mission.
Thanks for helping us make Olden Era better. See you on the battlefield!
