H3: Are certain heroes too good?

[Banedon]

Yes, sometimes you must lose units - but not the important ones. If you lose 2 or 3 Dragon Flies, will you be seriously handicapped in the final battle? I think not. Think it this way. The purpose of Chaos Hydras is to deal damage. The purpose of Dragon Flies are to cast Weakness, absorb retaliation and maybe deal some minor damage. You absolutely should not lose Chaos Hydras in a fight, but losing a few Dragon Flies don't really matter.

HodgePodge - Odd. Aside from castle attacks or against powerful Ranged stacks, I find it quite easy to avoid losing anything in a battle.

[HodgePodge]

HodgePodge - Odd. Aside from castle attacks or against powerful Ranged stacks, I find it quite easy to avoid losing anything in a battle.

I use the "Wait" & "Defend" commands quite a lot to avoid unnecessary losses.

[Nucleon]

Not really. For the cities, it's (or should be) a tradeoff. Here it isn't. Kyrre is faster than Daremyth, while she doesn't have anything that can be used to compensate. Again, you're not countering it, you're overcoming it, which is another thing.

The range of a Gunnar can be quite easily countered if he reaches the edge of a map/bag end or if he wanders too far from his bases in the early stages of the game, a common occurence with such heroes. He can also be outrunned on chosen terrain if its persuers has a good hunting army.

Korbac w. Dragonflies on marshy lands versus Gunnar w. Harpy hags, Evil Eyes and Trogs? Nucleon's money's on the Lizard.

He can also be locked by garrisons, or even trapped by troops left at mines! Logistic heroes are good as transports but in actual battle, they have no distinct edge.

[Nucleon]

Well some do have better specials but if you dont know how to use them,they are worth nothing to you.If you always concentrate on raw strenght,starting with solmyr will be your doom.

The Solmyr Antidote; One single stack. That way, he damages his own army more each time he casts that spell of his.

[DaemianLucifer]

Unles he finds the pendant of negativity.Besides,solmyr is a natural mage,so his knowledge and spellpower are extrimely high,so even one stack cannot help you.

[Nucleon]

So what heroes do people ban if they do play in tournaments(other than Mullich)? I'm sure there must have been a list made for this quite a while ago...

Well, as a rule of thumb, all extension Heroes, including Sir Mullich (excluding the Conflux bunch).

Then, depending on the map; Most often, all those who master a 4th lvl spell as starting heroes, meaning Nucleon wouldn't mind if they were hired in the course of a game.

"Diplomacy"? It is more a Secondary Skill problem than a Hero problem per se.

[Nucleon]

Unles he finds the pendant of negativity.Besides,solmyr is a natural mage,so his knowledge and spellpower are extrimely high,so even one stack cannot help you.

Yes, but that's quite a few "ifs"; by the time this particular item is gained (by either parties), maybe many guilds will feature the CL spell.

Or "Protection from Air", for that matter.

CL is also quite tiring to cast in the early stages on the game, so on a small map with no wealth of magical wells, chances are that an ennemy springs out of the shroud and attacks a spell-spent Solmyr. When I play Tower, I usually prefer Aine on small maps (for the money boost and "Scholar"), Cyra on larger ones (for diplomacy) or Neela on either (for her resilience).

[wimfrits]

The range of a Gunnar can be quite easily countered if he reaches the edge of a map/bag end or if he wanders too far from his bases in the early stages of the game, a common occurence with such heroes. He can also be outrunned on chosen terrain if its persuers has a good hunting army.

He can also be locked by garrisons, or even trapped by troops left at mines! Logistic heroes are good as transports but in actual battle, they have no distinct edge.

I disagree.

Heroes getting trapped or wandering off too far or being outrunned is a result of bad play and has nothing to do with the hero.

Logistic heroes can greatly increase speed of expansion. In most games, speed is everything, hence logistics heroes give an edge that other heroes do not. I’ll take Gunnar over any other hero anytime.

Korbac w. Dragonflies on marshy lands versus Gunnar w. Harpy hags, Evil Eyes and Trogs? Nucleon's money's on the Lizard.

Agreed. But that's one highly specific situation. Means little.

[Gaidal Cain]

The range of a Gunnar can be quite easily countered if he reaches the edge of a map/bag end or if he wanders too far from his bases in the early stages of the game, a common occurence with such heroes. He can also be outrunned on chosen terrain if its persuers has a good hunting army.

No, that's not countering- that's taking advantage of an opponent mistake. Countering would mean that you'd do something that nullifies his advantage- but how are you going that? Trying to split up your army to corner him? Then he could simply defeat your armies one by one...

And the speciality of a certain hero is for the most part not due to any particular bonus he gives in the final combat- most of the specialities are either too weak or not applicable. If Chain Lightning is the best spell for Solmyr, the game can't have progressed very far, as a simple bless quickly becomes better than most damage spells. Logistics heroes gets their power from the fact that they can do more things each round, meaning more XP, more artifacts, more towns, more creatures, plus the fact that they have a much easier time choosing when to fight- if they don't like the odds, they can always try outrunning the enemy.

[Banedon]

The range of a Gunnar can be quite easily countered if he reaches the edge of a map/bag end or if he wanders too far from his bases in the early stages of the game, a common occurence with such heroes. He can also be outrunned on chosen terrain if its persuers has a good hunting army. He can also be locked by garrisons, or even trapped by troops left at mines! Logistic heroes are good as transports but in actual battle, they have no distinct edge.

I agree completely with wimfrits and Gaidal Cane on this one. Though you'd generally prefer to completely use up all movement a turn, sometimes it's better not to - and this is one such situation. Other memorable times it worked out was when I trapped my opponent because my hero was just under the Cover of Darkness but within range of his castle. Another time, my opponent trapped me by placing his hero within range of mine (but not so near that it was an obvious bait) and fooling me to attack it - I lost my capitol because of that. Gunnar's extra mobility is extremely powerful, but you don't have to use it all.

The point with Logistics specialists is that even though their specialities are worthless in the actual battle, they lead to a huge cascade of advantages before the battle. The side with the Logistics specialist will almost certainly bring a superior army to the battlefield, which more than evens things.

The Solmyr Antidote; One single stack. That way, he damages his own army more each time he casts that spell of his.

One stack is suicide. You have one stack. He refuses to cast Chain Lightning, instead using Mass Haste. One round later he casts Blind. You have no moves to dispel it with. He moves all his units next to yours while you can't move. He pounds on you and then re-Blinds you. Whoops.

[Nucleon]

Nucleon's posts mysteriously merge into one

Heroes getting trapped or wandering off too far or being outrunned is a result of bad play and has nothing to do with the hero.

Logistic heroes can greatly increase speed of expansion. In most games, speed is everything, hence logistics heroes give an edge that other heroes do not. I’ll take Gunnar over any other hero anytime.

Nucleon disagrees in return.

When talking about these things, Nucleon supposes an early stage of the game, because with experience and items, things get mixep-up, and too many variables are present to extrapolate effectively.

And in the early stages on the game, there is the Shroud. It is no bad play to scout various directions in the hope of finding something useful to attack. Exemple; you planned to attack your ennemy's town on the 6th or 7th week day, but you didn't find it soon enough, so you get back on your tracks to finally find said town on day 2 on the next week, when your ennemy benefited from fresh troops and only has a couple of moves to do to hit you. This is no "bad play"; is it the risky game M&M3 is in its early stages.

Garrisons and special terrain are also no player's fault neither.

Nucleon will not deny the great utility Logistic heroes brings, but it is not enough to ban them off a map IHO.

Countering would mean that you'd do something that nullifies his advantage- but how are you going that? Trying to split up your army to corner him? Then he could simply defeat your armies one by one...

The map itself can counter this advantage; Chokepoints, boat boardings, Swan ponds and the such can be used to counter Logistics. Sanctuary can also protect you if you are chased... But special terrain is my favorite defense against that.

Logistics heroes gets their power from the fact that they can do more things each round, meaning more XP, more artifacts, more towns, more creatures, plus the fact that they have a much easier time choosing when to fight- if they don't like the odds, they can always try outrunning the enemy.

These advantages are un-deniable. However, they depend on the map; If swamps, snow and deserts are common, Nucleon would rather start with a Hero that packs Pathfinding instead.

Don't forget the army's composition, neither. Even with a Logistic specialist, if he carries your main army and this army include sturdy, slow troops, you won't get further than a hero a regular, logistic-skilled hero with Dragonflies or Silver Pegasi. These Logistic heroes really shine as messengers and transports with fast troops, up until a mage with Town Portal comes along (TP is another logistic advantage nullifier).

Plus, both the Boots of Speed and the Equistrian Gloves are common enough items.

Well that's was Nucleon's two coppers.

Though you'd generally prefer to completely use up all movement a turn, sometimes it's better not to - and this is one such situation.

There is no much point taking a Logistic specialist if you do not intend to actually use it IHO.

Other memorable times it worked out was when I trapped my opponent because my hero was just under the Cover of Darkness but within range of his castle. Another time, my opponent trapped me by placing his hero within range of mine (but not so near that it was an obvious bait) and fooling me to attack it - I lost my capitol because of that.

Excellent! You re-inforced Nucleon's point. Clever use of the terrain can counter Logistic specialists.

The point with Logistics specialists is that even though their specialities are worthless in the actual battle, they lead to a huge cascade of advantages before the battle. The side with the Logistics specialist will almost certainly bring a superior army to the battlefield, which more than evens things.

Hard to deny. However, of the three tasks assigned to heroes (Invasion, Homekeeping and courrier), two of them are at least as well possible with strong warriors or crafty mages. Logistic specialists excel at the tird undisputed.

One stack is suicide. You have one stack. He refuses to cast Chain Lightning, instead using Mass Haste. One round later he casts Blind. You have no moves to dispel it with. He moves all his units next to yours while you can't move. He pounds on you and then re-Blinds you. Whoops.

That's quite assuming. Solmyr's got to have both Expert Air Magic, Haste, and Blind whil his ennemy is assumed to have no spells of his own. Furthermore, a blinded stack automatically dispels the sortilege each time it is attacked, making this manoeuvre tiring spell-point-wise.

Anyway, the point here was to know if Solmyr's special hability make him invincible. A single stack effectively counters Solmyr's special hability rather well IHO.

[Gaidal Cain]

Exemple; you planned to attack your ennemy's town on the 6th or 7th week day, but you didn't find it soon enough, so you get back on your tracks to finally find said town on day 2 on the next week, when your ennemy benefited from fresh troops and only has a couple of moves to do to hit you. This is no "bad play"; is it the risky game M&M3 is in its early stages.

But the Logistics specialists could be there at the end of day 7 were ordinary heroes could be there at day 2 next week.

The map itself can counter this advantage; Chokepoints, boat boardings, Swan ponds and the such can be used to counter Logistics. Sanctuary can also protect you if you are chased... But special terrain is my favorite defense against that.

Of course maps can counterit- but that should just serve to prove how powerful they are if there's such a need. Besides, I doubt that any mapmaker will place swan ponds at choke points, and thus they're useless.

These advantages are un-deniable. However, they depend on the map; If swamps, snow and deserts are common, Nucleon would rather start with a Hero that packs Pathfinding instead.

I'd rather have both- a Logistics hero with pathfinding would be unstoppable.

Don't forget the army's composition, neither. Even with a Logistic specialist, if he carries your main army and this army include sturdy, slow troops, you won't get further than a hero a regular, logistic-skilled hero with Dragonflies or Silver Pegasi.

Plus, both the Boots of Speed and the Equistrian Gloves are common enough items.

Irrelevant. The same is true for all heroes.

Though you'd generally prefer to completely use up all movement a turn, sometimes it's better not to - and this is one such situation.

There is no much point taking a Logistic specialist if you do not intend to actually use it IHO.

Note the use of the words "sometimes" and "generally"...

Hard to deny. However, of the three tasks assigned to heroes (Invasion, Homekeeping and courrier), two of them are at least as well possible with strong warriors or crafty mages. Logistic specialists excel at the tird undisputed.

Compared to the sometimes trifling bonuses of other heroes, the extra XP, artifacts etc, the Logistics hero can more than compensate.

That's quite assuming. Solmyr's got to have both Expert Air Magic, Haste, and Blind whil his ennemy is assumed to have no spells of his own. Furthermore, a blinded stack automatically dispels the sortilege each time it is attacked, making this manoeuvre tiring spell-point-wise.

Anyway, the point here was to know if Solmyr's special hability make him invincible. A single stack effectively counters Solmyr's special hability rather well IHO.

Once the stack is blinded, the spells of his hero becomes irrelevant- he can't get aturn casting them. And I doubt any stack would stand up to more than two rounds of pounding from a full army, even if they're led by a Wizard.

[Nucleon]

But the Logistics specialists could be there at the end of day 7 were ordinary heroes could be there at day 2 next week.

Still, in this situation, they've got the disavantage of their advantage, meaning that they can go too far.

Of course maps can counterit- but that should just serve to prove how powerful they are if there's such a need. Besides, I doubt that any mapmaker will place swan ponds at choke points, and thus they're useless.

Well, map features counteract what are essentially map advantages.

The Logistic specialist, as an invading general loses much of his utility; Often, taking him on a frontal assault would be easy if you are coming from the other way. Nucleon would rather have any other specialist in actual combat, no matter how trifle their specialities actually are.

I'd rather have both- a Logistics hero with pathfinding would be unstoppable.

Ain't we all? However such heroes does not exists as the game starts. Good thing, too.

Irrelevant. The same is true for all heroes.

Exept that the Logistic specialist shines a lot less in this case, whereas any other specialist will not be affected at all.

Note the use of the words "sometimes" and "generally"...

Generally, people like to expand all of their movement's alloyance.

Compared to the sometimes trifling bonuses of other heroes, the extra XP, artifacts etc, the Logistics hero can more than compensate.

Still, there are some other heroes that Nucleon would pick at the start of a game. A diplomat who turns ennemies into troops, a 1st lvl troop specialist or a ressource bringer seems much better starting heroes IHO, depending on the map.

Once the stack is blinded, the spells of his hero becomes irrelevant- he can't get aturn casting them. And I doubt any stack would stand up to more than two rounds of pounding from a full army, even if they're led by a Wizard.

As soon as the single stack is blinded, all the ennemy could do is to destroy the war machines; Any other attack on the stack dispels "Blind" (often in this case a weak Gremlin Master attack that does half damage because of range), and then you've got a turn -and a spell. This spell would actually be a better option for the single-stacked side to use.

This tactic, a favorite of the AI, can aslo by negated by having a Commander, Artillery, First Aid or Resistance skills, and is ineffective on Trogs, Undeads, Golems, Gargoyles and Elementals, and is risky on Dwarves, all of them lower level creatures, plentifull at the start of a game.

[Gaidal Cain]

The Logistic specialist, as an invading general loses much of his utility; Often, taking him on a frontal assault would be easy if you are coming from the other way. Nucleon would rather have any other specialist in actual combat, no matter how trifle their specialities actually are.

Again, the extra power gained up to that point would more than overwhelm other specialities.

Ain't we all? However such heroes does not exists as the game starts. Good thing, too.

No, but it's possible to give a Logistics specialist pathfinding, but heroes that starts with pathfinding can't be given a Logistics speciality

Exept that the Logistic specialist shines a lot less in this case, whereas any other specialist will not be affected at all.

Sure it would- just as much. 30% (or whatever) more movement is 30% more movement

Generally, people like to expand all of their movement's alloyance.

Which is what Banedon said...

Still, there are some other heroes that Nucleon would pick at the start of a game. A diplomat who turns ennemies into troops, a 1st lvl troop specialist or a ressource bringer seems much better starting heroes IHO, depending on the map.

Of those, only the level 1 specialist brings something that's not possible to acquire by other means, and that's trifling.

As soon as the single stack is blinded, all the ennemy could do is to destroy the war machines; Any other attack on the stack dispels "Blind" (often in this case a weak Gremlin Master attack that does half damage because of range), and then you've got a turn -and a spell. This spell would actually be a better option for the single-stacked side to use.

Try this: Blind turn 1. Rest of turn 1 is spent moving all units in striking position (possible turn 2 as well, if necessary). Next turn, all units faster than the blinded one except atleasy one (depending on how many are able to) attacks it, and during the one left's turn, blind is recast. Repeat until stack is dead.

This tactic, a favorite of the AI, can aslo by negated by having a Commander, Artillery, First Aid or Resistance skills, and is ineffective on Trogs, Undeads, Golems, Gargoyles and Elementals, and is risky on Dwarves, all of them lower level creatures, plentifull at the start of a game.

Don't tell me you're going after a full army with one of your own consisting of nothing but Troglodytes... War Machines are easy to destroy (and if you bring enough of them, Chain Lightning could be utilized anyway). Resistance is something that could prevent the above, but you're still only having one stack vs an full army- about the only thing you can do is hit'n'runs, and that's only if your unit is faster than any of Solmyr's.

[Nucleon]

Again, the extra power gained up to that point would more than overwhelm other specialities.

Not necessarly. Often I was stuck for 3-4 days at the start of a game because there was a chokepoint at some point that I couldn't beat with simply being mobile; additional troops were required, period.

Of those, only the level 1 specialist brings something that's not possible to acquire by other means, and that's trifling.

Diplomacy at the early stages of the game is most precious; you can literally have two weeks' worth of troop production in advance, now that's an advantage. The chances of having Diplomacy once the game started could be good, but then it is lenghty to bring up to Expert level, whereas the born diplomat can have it at levels 3-5.

No, really, Nucleon would prefer other starting heroes. Money-bringers are good, too, even thought they become rather useless later.

Try this: Blind turn 1. Rest of turn 1 is spent moving all units in striking position (possible turn 2 as well, if necessary). Next turn, all units faster than the blinded one except atleasy one (depending on how many are able to) attacks it, and during the one left's turn, blind is recast. Repeat until stack is dead.

You assume too many things. You assume that you will have the fastest troops on the battlefield, even thought Tower units are not speed demons (as a matter of fact, they're one of the slowests army around). You also assume that your target could be blinded, and then you assume that the single stack will be of a lesser power value than your side.

In these conditions, well, chances are you will win anyway.

But for fun's sake, let's look at your exemple; Let's say that you have troops with speed of 5 and 9, while the single-stacked ennemy has 6;
First turn, you blind it, and position your troops. When ready to strike (let's say at round 3), you wait with your 9, attack with your 5, dispelling your "blind". The blinded unit defends (if attacked in melee), then attacks, the ennemy having an opportunity to cast a spell. Then it's your 9's action; surely you wouldn't dare blinding the single stack again, because your 9 is going to dispel it again.

Blind is not particularly a good idea when faced with a single stack, since you will have to attack it sometimes. "Slow", "Curse" or any such spell would be a better choice. "Blind" is also quite costly to cast, furthermore if your Hero is a Magic one who may or may not have many spell points.

War Machines are easy to destroy (and if you bring enough of them, Chain Lightning could be utilized anyway). Resistance is something that could prevent the above, but you're still only having one stack vs an full army- about the only thing you can do is hit'n'runs, and that's only if your unit is faster than any of Solmyr's.

Just one war machine in the hands of a hero who knows how to operate them should be enough for both the "Chain Lightning" and "Blind" strategies to work.

Is Solmyr efficient? Yes he is. But no more than any hero backed with an effective strategy. It's just that the one suited to Solmyr is much more obvious IHO.

[wimfrits]

Not necessarly. Often I was stuck for 3-4 days at the start of a game because there was a chokepoint at some point that I couldn't beat with simply being mobile; additional troops were required, period.

No, but being mobile could ensure you got to that gold mine a turn faster, get that lvl2 spell shrine a turn faster, etc etc etc. Eventually leading up to the point where you can pass that choke point earlier than another side.
I'll agree it doesn't have to be that way on all maps. But it is on most maps.

But for fun's sake, let's look at your exemple; Let's say that you have troops with speed of 5 and 9, while the single-stacked ennemy has 6;
First turn, you blind it, and position your troops. When ready to strike (let's say at round 3), you wait with your 9, attack with your 5, dispelling your "blind". The blinded unit defends (if attacked in melee), then attacks, the ennemy having an opportunity to cast a spell. Then it's your 9's action; surely you wouldn't dare blinding the single stack again, because your 9 is going to dispel it again.

A more realistic example would be where tower has units with speed 5 9 7 7 11. That means at least 3 units can safely attack your single stack before blind is recasted, rendering you unable to act.
Not even taking effects of tower hasting units into account.
Not even taking effects of split units into account.
Single stack guarantees loss in most cases.

[Psychobabble]

In Heroes III there are a great numbers of heroes to choose from at the start of every map, this is a given. However, in competitive play are there heroes that ruin gameplay due to their advantages. Thant/Gunnar/Kyre/Sir Mullich all have great abilities at their disposal, but does this make them unusable in tournament play?

This is why I think that unique heroes is silly. If you actually make them different they can never really be balanced and so players will choose from the same small handful of heroes every game. It looks like more choice at first but it really isn't.

[Nucleon]

A more realistic example would be where tower has units with speed 5 9 7 7 11. That means at least 3 units can safely attack your single stack before blind is recasted, rendering you unable to act.
Not even taking effects of tower hasting units into account.
Not even taking effects of split units into account.
Single stack guarantees loss in most cases.

If we suppose equal forces, the single stack has a lot of hitting power when compared to the myriad stacks facing him; even a single counterattack could put of of these tiny stacks in serious trouble. Plus, four turns of "blind" cost 40 pts (rarely does Wizards specialize in Fire Magic; most of them aim for Air instead). For the same amount of points, Nucleon can easily think of better things to cast.

And if each of your stacks equal in power that of the single one, well, there is no need for fancy strategies anyway.

Like everything, single stacking is a tradeoff, having both good and bad points, I'm sure you will agree. Among the good, hitting power and simpler friendly spellcasting. Among the bad ones, simpler adversary spellcasting and loss of retaliative power. It also depends on the unit; Nucleon likes to divide His Dwarves, Dragonflies, Ogre mages and Angels, but He tends to regroup His Royal Griffins, Vampire Lords and Mighty Gorgons, for instance.

[Banedon]

And in the early stages on the game, there is the Shroud. It is no bad play to scout various directions in the hope of finding something useful to attack. Exemple; you planned to attack your ennemy's town on the 6th or 7th week day, but you didn't find it soon enough, so you get back on your tracks to finally find said town on day 2 on the next week, when your ennemy benefited from fresh troops and only has a couple of moves to do to hit you. This is no "bad play"; is it the risky game M&M3 is in its early stages.

In general I look around anyway, with transporter heroes. If the end of the week arrives and I haven't found my opponent, I retreat - too risky to get pounded upon by his extra week's worth of units. With Logistics, I can hope to outrun him; without it, you'd be much more in risk.

If you get caught, I'd be inclined to say it is bad play more than not. After all, you should absolutely attempt to avoid getting caught like this.

The map itself can counter this advantage; Chokepoints, boat boardings, Swan ponds and the such can be used to counter Logistics. Sanctuary can also protect you if you are chased... But special terrain is my favorite defense against that.

Special terrain is a reprieve, but that's all. The Logistics hero maintains supremacy over most of the map (odds are not the entire map will be covered by special terrain), and will eventually build up an overwhelming advantage. I don't see how chokepoints stop Logistics; boats bring Navigation as the primary skill. Swan Ponds don't help at all - the hero with Logistics should not take it. Also, Sanctuary is worthless (not the Heroes 4 spell of course). While your main army is trapped, I reinforce mine and dominate the map.

Don't forget the army's composition, neither. Even with a Logistic specialist, if he carries your main army and this army include sturdy, slow troops, you won't get further than a hero a regular, logistic-skilled hero with Dragonflies or Silver Pegasi. These Logistic heroes really shine as messengers and transports with fast troops, up until a mage with Town Portal comes along (TP is another logistic advantage nullifier).

Plus, both the Boots of Speed and the Equistrian Gloves are common enough items.

The problem is that the Logistics specialist should do the same - in fact, maybe more so, since he derives his advantage from fast movements. If you have Boots of Speed and Equestrian Gloves, he should too, giving him really godlike move speeds. Town Portal and Dimension Door are even more broken than Logistics specialists, but if you have them and he does too, you'd still be on the receiving end.

There is no much point taking a Logistic specialist if you do not intend to actually use it IHO.

You use it - most of the time. Occasionally, as in the situations I quoted, you do not.

Still, in this situation, they've got the disavantage of their advantage, meaning that they can go too far.

If they go too far, it's bad play. It's like saying, having 200 Knowledge is a disadvantage, because you can get caught in thinking you have too much spell points and waste them all. Or saying that being able to cast 10 spells in a round is bad, because you'd use up your spell points and be unable to dispel your opponent's spells. Logistics manifests itself as an advantage that does not have to be used - you use it only when it helps (which is most of the time), but you don't in the other situations.

The Logistic specialist, as an invading general loses much of his utility; Often, taking him on a frontal assault would be easy if you are coming from the other way. Nucleon would rather have any other specialist in actual combat, no matter how trifle their specialities actually are.

You're right - any other specialist would be better than a Logistics specialist in battle. But the key point is that the Logistics specialist will bring larger armies to the battle, which compensates.

Exept that the Logistic specialist shines a lot less in this case, whereas any other specialist will not be affected at all.

How? He'd move even further than normal, and thus have an even larger advantage.

Generally, people like to expand all of their movement's alloyance.

Generally, people like to cast spells every round. But they won't if they need to conserve spell points, or if they're already winning.

As for the battle itself, you must consider that this is Heroes 3. Level 7 Units reproduce at 2 per week (except Phoenixes). Therefore, if you have 20 Ancient Behemoths, you can reasonably suppose that Solmyr will also have 20 Titans. He, however, will have other units on the battlefield. You can, too, but you elected not to bring them.

When you only have one stack, the Blind strategy will be the death of you. Solmyr is unlikely to specialize in Fire Magic, but, as a Wizard, he's likely to have an enormous number of spell points. He will, therefore, annihilate you - he can happily take the retaliation even, since he can recast Blind and then Expert Resurrection to bring all his creatures back.

The basic strategy with the Blind strategy, as I wrote, is to first cast Mass Haste, which should allow very fast speeds in comparison, and then only Blind. Taking the retaliation is possible and maybe even welcomed; Ancient Behemoths retaliating against Obsidian Gargoyles is definitely better than having them attacking Titans. The basic order could be as follows:

Solmyr casts Mass Haste
Ancient Behemoths wait (I'd guess you'd rather not advance within range of Tower's mighty ranged force)
Tower units shamble forwards but out of range of Ancient Behemoths; those that have to fire shoot
Enemy hero casts a spell (can't see any saving spells here though - any disabling spell can be dispelled in the third round)
Ancient Behemoths move forward

Next round
Solmyr casts Blind
All units move next to Ancient Behemoths; destory any War Machines present
Ancient Behemoths do not get a move (they're Blinded)

Next round
Naga Queens attack Ancient Behemoths (no retaliation)
Titans shoot Ancient Behemoths
Archmagi shoot Ancient Behemoths
Obsidian Gargoyle's turn - Solmyr casts Blind
Rest of units defend
Ancient Behemoths do not get a move (they're either Blinded or move slower than Tower's units)

You see? The Ancient Behemoths deal no damage while Solmyr's army pounds on it. Even if you don't have Ancient Behemoths but Black Dragons, Solmyr would still be able to use his weaker units (like the Gargoyles) to absorb your retaliation while the rest of his army pounds on them. You will necessarily lose, because you will be unable to retaliate properly.

Oh, and I'd think it doesn't really matter if you have War Machines - few people bother learning Artillery or First Aid, and without them you can't cast spells.

[Nucleon]

In general I look around anyway, with transporter heroes. If the end of the week arrives and I haven't found my opponent, I retreat - too risky to get pounded upon by his extra week's worth of units. With Logistics, I can hope to outrun him; without it, you'd be much more in risk.

If you get caught, I'd be inclined to say it is bad play more than not. After all, you should absolutely attempt to avoid getting caught like this.

Sometimes, the temptation can be too great. For exemple, you are venturing far enough from your base as the week comes to an end, but then you see that gold mine a little further away; as it brings much per day, you make a dash for it... and then you get caught.

Also, Sanctuary is worthless (not the Heroes 4 spell of course). While your main army is trapped, I reinforce mine and dominate the map.

If Nucleon can stall a mighter army for some times by staying in a sanctuary, He will not hesitate.

If they go too far, it's bad play. It's like saying, having 200 Knowledge is a disadvantage, because you can get caught in thinking you have too much spell points and waste them all. Or saying that being able to cast 10 spells in a round is bad, because you'd use up your spell points and be unable to dispel your opponent's spells. Logistics manifests itself as an advantage that does not have to be used - you use it only when it helps (which is most of the time), but you don't in the other situations.

The logistic specialist works best on known terrain. In the shrouded stages of the game, his range is effectively a disavantage the further he is from his bases. Supply trains also are much complicated when the Logistician is so far in advance on larger maps. Remember that game-starting gains are worth next to nothing if they are not easily defendable. Nucleon prefers to let the ennemy take a median town and build up its infrastructures a bit before taking it.

You're right - any other specialist would be better than a Logistics specialist in battle. But the key point is that the Logistics specialist will bring larger armies to the battle, which compensates.

Once again, not necessarly.

How? He'd move even further than normal, and thus have an even larger advantage.

Well, with slow forces, he can now hardly catch wandering heroes who are well-equipped to go fast themselves one way or another, thus the loss of a facet of their speciality.

As another argument for taking another kind of Hero as the starting one; At the start of the game, the Logistician's speciality is marginally better than another hero with Logistic (but no specialist), and is even sometime inferior the the one with Pathfinding.

The whole point of this, finally, is to persuade you that Logistic specialists are not not necessarly broken as starting heroes, and Nucleon wouldn't ban them as such in His maps.

As for the battle itself, you must consider that this is Heroes 3. Level 7 Units reproduce at 2 per week (except Phoenixes). Therefore, if you have 20 Ancient Behemoths, you can reasonably suppose that Solmyr will also have 20 Titans. He, however, will have other units on the battlefield. You can, too, but you elected not to bring them.

When you only have one stack, the Blind strategy will be the death of you. Solmyr is unlikely to specialize in Fire Magic, but, as a Wizard, he's likely to have an enormous number of spell points. He will, therefore, annihilate you - he can happily take the retaliation even, since he can recast Blind and then Expert Resurrection to bring all his creatures back.

The basic strategy with the Blind strategy, as I wrote, is to first cast Mass Haste, which should allow very fast speeds in comparison, and then only Blind. Taking the retaliation is possible and maybe even welcomed; Ancient Behemoths retaliating against Obsidian Gargoyles is definitely better than having them attacking Titans. The basic order could be as follows:

Please pardon Nucleon for not taking into account this battle, for several reasons:

a) It is irrelevant with the pertinence of deciding if Solmyr is an acceptable starting hero, becoming a course on how using "blind" on a single stack if you are a Tower Wizard. It not whitout interest, however.

b) The setting of the said battle likely takes place in the tird month of play, in a period with far too many assumptions. After 2 months, "Chain Lightning" may not be Solmyr's exclusivity, and ennemies get stronger too (well, usually). Nucleon likes virtual battle with palpable data, such as the Hero at lvl 1, or close to that. That means Solmyr, a bunch of Gremlin Masters (because Tower player usually upgrade the Grems' dwelling first day), Sorcery, Wisdom, 30 spell points and Chain lightning.

c) Finally, give the oppo a chance; You conveniently chose Stronghold because that's the only town which is as slow as Tower (when Shiva or Thane are not in charge). Against any other army, Tower plays second, throwing your strategy down at its very base.

Try that with the Necropolis, for instance. Whoops! Won't work. Well try Rampart.... not so good. Castle? with all this Water Magic around? You will also need all your own Water magic to alevate the nasty effects of the Forteress' resilient critters; Conlux? Won't work neither. Inferno and Dungeon? It might work, but they do have first hand.