Teach me to love HOMM4

[Friend_of_Gunnar]

I put off getting it for such a long time because of what everybody said about it (also I dislike RPG so that was strike 2). So now I have it and I just can't get into it. I'm not going to list reasons because this is not a "bitch about HOMM4 thread". I am only going to ask your opinion about how I can learn to love it. One suggestion only per person please. I will follow all the suggestions and if I can't like it by the end of the duration then it will find a new home on Ebay.

-thanks

[wimfrits]

I'm going to start with breaking the rule

- Seperate the words army and hero. They have a different meaning in H4

- Instead of 1 hero per army, try bringing 2. And try to build them in different ways so that they can complement each other.

[kitcat0]

My suggestion is "Give it some time". I hated it too in beginning. I dont love it now the way I love heroes III, but from time to time I really feel like playing Heroes IV instead. Definitely choose a map or a campaign, where you have a chance to develop your hero(es) to high level. They become more and more fun after they get some high level spells.

[DaemianLucifer]

Try playing it with equilibris.Youll get not just more balance,but will have a little more chalanging AI(just a little though).And play it against humans.Also,try finishing some of the campaigns(death and order campaign in the original HIV are best for me,but life campaign may show you just how awesome all hero army can get).Maybe some of the custom maps will help you.Draconic(although it is quite large),dancing crusader,or a campaign like the wind of thorns,or the saga of depieleres.

[Orfinn]

Some tips.....

-Give the game some time, be patient. Its completely different from the previous versions.

-Get addicted to fantasy stuff makes you more welcome to the game.

-Listen to the music, calm down. Read the manual and other help tips with a cup of tea or coffee

-Try out the different towns and find one that suits you the best.

-What is your playing style? Cunning, Offensive, Defensive, Creative?
If you like to be offensive, chaos magic, asylum and the might town is perfect!
If you like to be defensive, life magic and the haven town would suit you
Cunning? Then Necropolis death magic and their units is a good option also the academy and their order magic may also fit for you.
Creative? Then Preserve and its summoning nature magic may be something.

[Corribus]

I put off getting it for such a long time because of what everybody said about it (also I dislike RPG so that was strike 2). So now I have it and I just can't get into it. I'm not going to list reasons because this is not a "***** about HOMM4 thread". I am only going to ask your opinion about how I can learn to love it. One suggestion only per person please. I will follow all the suggestions and if I can't like it by the end of the duration then it will find a new home on Ebay.

The only enjoyable things about H4 IMO is (1) exploration and (2) hero development. I usually enjoy the game for a few days until the novelty of this wears off.

You might want to try some of the user made maps, because at least some of them have cool scripting.

[Crusard]

Yeah, the maps and campaigns that come with the game don't have that great scripts.
Also, you should start with a medium or low difficulty until you get the hang of everything. It can be very frustrating to lose in a game you haven't even started to enjoy

[Corribus]

Yeah, the maps and campaigns that come with the game don't have that great scripts.
Also, you should start with a medium or low difficulty until you get the hang of everything. It can be very frustrating to lose in a game you haven't even started to enjoy

Lose, in H4?

[wimfrits]

Lose, in H4?

Lol. So.... you're implying you just started the game on champion and won with ease?

[Corribus]

Lol. So.... you're implying you just started the game on champion and won with ease?

Dude, I'm so good that the game just crashes on day one because the AI is so terrified of me. The game actually freezes in fear.

[wimfrits]

You're brilliant!

[gravyluvr]

Dude, I'm so good that the game just crashes on day one because the AI is so terrified of me. The game actually freezes in fear.

Funny.

Seriously though, this was a big change from Heroes III, but I also think that Heroes III was a big change from Heroes II. I had a very hard time getting into Heroes III so Heroes IV was not so hard a jump for me. If Heroes III was your favorite game then it may be more difficult to accept the sequal.

Friend_of_Gunnar,

If I could give one thing you could do to enjoy the game, it would be to find a town type that you enjoy the most out of all of them.

Heroes I had Knight, Warlock, Sorceress, and Barbarian Heroes and Armies.

Heroes II kept the four originals plus added Necromancer and Wizard towns plus added upgrade for some but not all creatures and changed the way magic was remembered.

Heroes III reorganized a lot of the towns and creatures and had eight (plus Conflux).

Heroes IV has six town types and 11 starting hero classes.

Life - If you liked Haven and Knight towns this is your home - Some Tower (HOMM3) and Sorceress (HOMM1-2) spill over also.

Order - Tower and Wizard fans should like this one - also some sorcerer fans from Heroes II.

Death - Hmm... Tough one since they merged Necro and Demon into this town, but I'd say if you were a Necro fan, this would be the easiest transition. Demon/Devil fans never appreciated the merge.

Chaos - Dungeon fans and some Warlock fans, as well as people who enjoy exploration and Direct Damage spells.

Nature - HOMM3 Rampart and Conflux fans plus HOMM2 sorceress and Warlock fans should enjoy Nature.

Might - For the Barbarian fans (plus Knight fans from the HOMM1-2)

So that leaves Fortress fans (try Chaos or Order)

All in all, I think the game play is much more like Heroes II than Heroes III since youcan draw a much better parallel to the HOMM2 towns than you can the HOMM3 towns.

Life - Knight
Order - Wizard
Death - Necromancer
Chaos - Warlock
Nature - Sorceress
Might - Barbarian

In HOMM3 you have...

Conflux - Close to Nature
Rampart - Close to Nature
Fortress - Closest is Chaos (not that close though)
Dungeon - Very close to Chaos
Castle - Very close to Life Town
Stronghold - Very Close to Might
Necropolis - Very close to Death
Inferno - Closest is Death (not as close as others)
Tower - Very close to Order

Find your town and start playing with multiple heroes as part of your entire armed force.

[DaemianLucifer]

Lol. So.... you're implying you just started the game on champion and won with ease?

Dude, I'm so good that the game just crashes on day one because the AI is so terrified of me. The game actually freezes in fear.

So chemists do rule

[Friend_of_Gunnar]

Dude, I'm so good that the game just crashes on day one because the AI is so terrified of me. The game actually freezes in fear.

Ahh, maybe this is why Microsoft Windows crashes so often, because it's afraid of me. Maybe I should learn some gentle words and play some soft music and stop threatening to switch to Linux.

[Mutare Drake]

Hmm, overall I'd have to say...try everything and give it some time. Since there are several towns and you can never build all the creatures in one town, try each town a few times (or get a scenario with multiple towns of one type) so you can sample all the creatures. As well with heroes: try different building styles to see what you like, one problem I had was that I got stuck on only making one type of hero.
Good luck!

[csarmi]

- patch up your game as much as you can
- install equilibris if possible
- DOWNLOAD user made maps; a TON of very good maps/campaigns are available and in different styles
- DOWNLOAD user made maps; a TON of very good maps are available in almost any style you prefer
- the campaigns are kind of cool and you can learn a lot in them BUT

NEVER play any of the single player maps that come with the game
don't even try!

you'd best off deleting them all on sight, then download some good maps from various sites and arrange them into subdirectories

[gravyluvr]

Although there are two maps from the original that offer a chance to "practice."

Land of our Forefathers has all six factions so you can try all sorts of creature and hero combinations. I actually edited that map so the computer got some great hero and creature additions to try to "help" them out.

Also, Zanfa's Challenge is good to work on hero development.

[Psychobabble]

play good maps . Check out the highest rated maps on my map picks page (perhaps the top 10) as well as the top 5 lists from other map-makers which are linked from there. It really is a great game if you can get over the fact that the way heroes are treated is completely different from the other titles in the series. I'm amazed that I can come back to the game after a couple of months hiatus time and time again and still have a blast playing it. I've been playing the game for almost 3 years and have played about 200 maps in total (including CD and custom maps) and when I started playing Charles Watkins' map the other day (Lost Crusade) I still got sucked right in and am having a blast.

There's a good game in there. The poor challenge from the poor AI obscured it, but it's my firm opinion that the superb campaign editor and the great community of map-maker's has brought the game's true colours to life. I love it!

[HodgePodge]

play good maps … I've been playing the game for almost 3 years and have played about 200 maps in total (including CD and custom maps) and when I started playing Charles Watkins' map the other day (Lost Crusade) I still got sucked right in and am having a blast.

There's a good game in there. The poor challenge from the poor AI obscured it, but it's my firm opinion that the superb campaign editor and the great community of map-maker's has brought the game's true colours to life. I love it!

Me too! It took me about a week to get used to the changes, but now I love Heroes IV as much as Heroes III. The Lost Crusade by Charles Watkins is a fantastic map. In fact it won my vote in the "Gloria" contest.

There are many other great fan-made maps too. Click on the Map Reviews image in Psychobabble's signature … some of the best fan-made maps are listed there.

Anyhow, have lots of fun!