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Game Mechanics
How combat stats, luck, morale, and other systems work in Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era.
Hero Stats
Attack
The hero increases the Attack of all creatures in their army by the value of their own Attack attribute. This bonus directly affects the Damage those creatures deal in battle.
Defense
The hero increases the Defense of all creatures in their army by the value of their own Defense attribute. This reduces the Damage those creatures take in battle.
Spell Power
Enhances the strength of the hero's spells, increasing both their Damage and the duration of applied effects.
Knowledge
Increases the hero's maximum mana by 10 for each point of Knowledge (formerly called Intelligence in earlier HoMM titles).
Unit Stats
Health
Total hit points for each creature in the stack. When a creature's HP reaches 0, it dies. Only the top creature in a stack can be partially damaged.
Attack & Defense
The damage modifier is (20 + attacker's Attack) / (20 + target's Defense). Higher Attack vs. Defense multiplies the dealt damage; higher Defense divides it. Defense can never make a unit invulnerable.
Damage
The range of base damage each creature deals per attack (e.g. 50–75). Final damage is multiplied by the Attack/Defense formula above.
Initiative
Determines the turn order in battle. The higher it is, the earlier the stack acts.
Speed
Determines the stack's movement range in battle. The higher it is, the farther they can move. It is also a secondary parameter affecting turn order.
Value
The AI value of each creature, used for army strength calculations and balancing encounters on the adventure map.
Battle Mechanics
🍀Luck
By default, every point of Luck above zero grants a 6% chance to deal 150% Damage (Lucky Strike). Every point below zero grants a 6% chance to deal 50% Damage (Unlucky Strike). The default hero range is –5 to +5; each creature has its own minimum and maximum Luck based on its type and traits.
⚡Morale
By default, every point of Morale above zero grants a 4% chance to take an extra turn. Every point below zero grants a 4% chance to skip a turn. The default hero range is –5 to +5; each creature has its own minimum and maximum Morale. Armies with creatures from many factions take morale penalties (1 faction: +1, 2: +0, 3: −1, 4: −2, 5: −3, 6: −4, 7: −5).
🔄Retaliation
Standard Melee Attacks provoke counterattacks. Some units have a 'no counterattack' melee attack so enemies do not counterattack. Ranged units, when attacked in melee, switch to a weaker melee attack — and their retaliation also uses that weaker attack.
🏹Ranged Attacks
Ranged units can attack at any range, but suffer two penalties. Melee penalty: when forced to attack in melee (adjacent), they deal 50% less Damage (–50%), and their retaliation uses that weaker attack too. Distance penalty: targets more than 4 hexes away take –10% Damage for each additional hex, capped at 5 hexes (–50% maximum). The two penalties don't stack — melee range uses the flat –50%. Some ranged units (e.g. 'no_close' or 'no_range' variants) avoid one or both penalties.
✦Magic Schools
Spells belong to schools (Day, Night, Primal, Space, and Neutral). Heroes learn spells from Magic Guilds or through skills. Spell effectiveness scales with Spell Power. The Magic Guild in each town offers spells based on the town type.
Damage Formula
Base damage is rolled between the unit's min and max damage values, then multiplied by the number of creatures in the stack and by an Attack/Defense ratio modifier.
The ratio scales smoothly: equal Attack and Defense leaves damage unchanged, more Attack than Defense multiplies it, more Defense than Attack divides it. Defense can never reduce the modifier to zero, so no unit is fully invulnerable.
- ◆ Lucky Strike: +50% damage
- ◆ Unlucky Strike: –50% damage
- ◆ Native Terrain bonus applies when fighting on matching terrain
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