LINKS OF INTEREST
Fans for Heroes Facebook Group -
http://www.facebook.com/groups/284122678283404/
Ubisoft Official H6 Site -
http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/heroes-6/en-GB/home/
Might & Magic on Facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/MightandMagic
Ubisoft H6 Forum -
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/5861060878
Heroes Community -
http://heroescommunity.com/
Celestial Heavens -
http://www.celestialheavens.com/
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Heroes VI FAQ
Anything you want to know, it should be here! If I have overlooked something let me know.
What is the final H6 release date?
The game will be released on 13th October.
Is there a Demo?
Yes, you can download it here:
http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/heroes-6 ... m:6-231-32
What will the anti-copy protection of Heroes VI be?
The game has no DRM(constant online authentication) and you will not need to be connected to Internet to play it either. It will require a one-time activation though you can get around that by contacting Ubisoft support, whether by phone or mail.
How can I join the Beta?
The beta ended on 28 September I'm afraid. But don't worry, the release is just days away!
Will it be possible to play on Mac? Is it planned for later?
There are no plans for Mac that I know of.
Will there be GNU/Linux support?
As far as I know, it is not planned.
Is my feedback read by the team? How will M&M team deal with it?
Irina: Your feedback is very valuable for us, and we would like to thank you for all your comments.
We noticed some issues remain important for you.
Important changes like the town screens and user interface were already notified by our VIP fans during the technical beta phase. These features are on our improve list, but theyre not the only priorities and they would take a lot of time of development.
The development team at Black Hole and Ubisoft are working hard to be able to offer you the best possible Heroes experience at the time of release. However, we must inform you that it will be hardly feasible to change the user interface (including the town screens) for the release.
That being said, we'd like you to keep in mind that we wont stop improving the game beyond September 8th. We'll continue to update and improve Heroes VI after the release date.
How does the racial gauge fill up for each faction?
Haven: When an ally unit has positive morale or receives damage.
Inferno: When an ally unit has good luck or opponent bad luck.
Necropolis: When an ally unit or enemy has casualties.
Stronghold: When an ally unit attacks / gets attacked or the Hero uses Heroic Strike.
Sanctuary: Each time you attack a different stack. Attacking the same enemy stack more than once will not fill the gauge.
What is the Conflux?
While playing the game you will come across new Might & Magic Heroes VI online features. These bonuses are only available when playing online are all part of what we call the Conflux. The Conflux will extend your experience and allow the whole community to be part of the game:
- Create your online profile, share and compare your achievements and progress
- Check out the latest M&M news and chat directly within the game
- Build up your own Dynasty of heroes and customize it with special Dynasty Weapons and Traits
- Get access to the Altar of Wishes to unlock exclusive bonuses
M&M Heroes VI will be fully accessible offline but Conflux will only be available when connected to the internet (High
speed). To access full game features and play online you will need to register at
www.ubisoft.com.
What are the Dynasty Traits and Dynasty Weapons?
Dynasty Traits can be picked at beginning of a map; they grant your hero various passive bonuses. The Traits are part of your Dynasty, meaning that any hero of your Dynasty will be able to choose from your pool of unlocked Dynasty Traits.
Dynasty Weapons are powerful artifacts that earn experience and gain new abilities when leveling-up. They are part of your Dynasty, so any hero of your Dynasty can equip any of the unlocked Dynasty Weapons.
Is there a fan manual around?
Of course,
here.
Why was the game delayed?
Irina: All our play-tests show the game has a huge potential, but needs extra-time to correct a few flaws. So there had been discussions between the Heroes production team at Ubisoft and the development team at Black Hole and we all agreed we want H6 to be great and to be the flagship for all that’s to come in the Might & Magic brand. We felt it was better to be transparent with you and announce the delay as soon as it was confirmed.
Will there be town screens?
Currently towns screen are windowed. The town visuals will be animated and are what could be described as "2.5D", each with its own musical theme. The town visuals change when you build stuff (although in the current design, not all buildings appear). Building and recruiting is done through the window interface, rather than clicking on the buildings directly.
Their revision plans have been confirmed, however they will not change in time for the release.
How does the AI-run compared to Heroes 5?
The AI turns are way faster this time around. Also, in H6, the AI will cheat much less and less obviously than in H5. It doesn't cheat at all in Easy difficulty, and not too much in Normal either. In Hard, the AI will lose less troops and will receive some extra resources. Currently it is not very strong but that will change soon
Are more factions planned?
We’d really like to add more factions to the game, how many and which ones are still in discussion.
Will different spells and abilities affect each other?
Some abilities are more effective when used together. For example some water spells cause "Soak" which gives lightning vulnerability. Other effects are chill, freeze, stun, immolation.
Will the town building plan be unique to every faction like in H5? Are town levels still in the game?
In H6 the town building plans are more similar to each other compared to H5. We’re using an idea similar to the town levels: you have to upgrade your town to a certain Tier before you can build certain buildings. There are Tier 1 buildings, Tier 2 buildings, and so on. So you cannot build the Champion dwelling in a mere Village, you need a Tier 3 town(City Hall). Classic buildings such as castle, capitol and marketplace are back. Each town will have 4 unique buildings out of which you will be able to select 2.
Are "weeks of" still in the game? Any improvements?
The week system is still in, but this time there’s a pre-determined calendar. For instance the Week of Festival always happens at the same time of the year so you can adapt your strategy accordingly. The only random weeks are those that affect production (like the Week of Plague). The week on which the game begins is random. The strong week effects have been nerfed during the beta.
Can you mention any well-known and loved buildings we'll be able to visit on the global map and describe some of the new ones?
There’s the Arena - you still can get a bonus to your Attack or Defense by visiting it but you have to fight an army first. The fight is non-lethal, so creatures lost return to the hero’s army after the combat. The Shrine of the Seventh Dragon replaces Sylanna’s Ancient/Tree of Knowledge, it’s the building where you have to spend resources to gain a free level. And there are several kinds of "battle sites", for instance the Pyramid haunted by Necropolis creatures. The Crematorium/Cover of Darkness is also back.
For the new ones, there’s the Runestone that increases your Might and Magic powers until the end of the week, or the Mother Earth Shrine that gives 10% more Health to your creatures for the next combat. You may want to check the manual, it contains all the locations.
Will the tear of Asha return?
Yes. This time you have to collect several pieces of an artifact to find the Tear. Another way to find the Tear of Asha is by defeating some of the Bosses or completing a quest. As usual you can bring the Tear to your town and build a monument that gives you a huge bonus and enhances your faction abilities.
Are heroes' primary stats still given out randomly, considering that the skills are now being chosen by player?
Stats are chance-based but if one of them is below its chance percentage, it will have a priority over those you have in excess.
Will the player have the opportunity to customize the game mechanics (e.g. activate/deactivate the area of control, enable/disable town conversion)?
Irina: We're still working on the actual options that will be available to customize the game experience outside of the campaign. What is possible today is to create maps without Areas of Control in the editor. If there is no control point in an area, then mines work the same way they did in the previous Heroes. You can also block the ability to convert towns, so it's possible to create "old school" maps. The only things that won't work without Areas of Control are the neutral dwellings.
Do you plan for a strategic mode view? Like "2D" view from above or lowly skewed angle in the battles and alternatives to "View Air&Earth" in the overall map?
Irina: In H6 we brought back the "kingdom overview" screen, where you can see a larger, more detailed minimap. You have different layers that can be activated or deactivated if you want to only see the mines, towns, areas or quest locations, or all at once. It also summarizes the towns you own, your heroes, the creatures available for recruitment and the resources produced each turn.
As for the in-game view, you can zoom out more than in H5. It's not a 2D view, but you have a better sense of your surroundings.
What are the general principles of the revised RPG system?
Heroes can be male, female, Might or Magic which also reflects on their model. They have faction and class specific abilities and gain one skill point per level up. They can spend skill points on general abilities which are organized in skill categories. They have total control over their development, no more probability-based skill choices like in H5. Heroes can unlock advanced classes that will change their appearance and grant them an ultimate ability.
There have been mentions of hero customization. We still get "tavern heroes" with their unique bios, skills and specialties, right?
Your starting Hero can be made from scratch but there are still unique tavern heroes. You can unlock new heroes by completing a campaign.
What do we know of the hero skill trees?
There are three main tabs, might, magic and hero. Might Abilities are divided into 5 families: Paragon, Realm, Tactics, War Cries and Warfare while Magic Abilities are divided into 7 families: Prime, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Darkness, and Light. The hero tree shows the unique abilities linked to his faction and class, they are automatically gained when you reach a certain level or gain an Advanced Class.
What do we know about the magic system?
There will be 7 magic schools: The 6 elementary schools (Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, Darkness) plus the Primordial one or Prime. Spells and magical abilities will be learnt via level ups, as a result there won't be any mage guilds in H6. Spells are tied to reputation and gain bonuses from your tears or blood points - you can choose to have an offensive or protective focus but it is also possible to mix them up. Like might skills they come in 3 tiers. Five schools will be accessible per faction, a different combination for each.
What is known of the reputation system?
In H6 the player will be faced with a very important Reputation choice between two different "moral paths": the path of Dragon Tears and the path of Dragon Blood. Blood Heroes will be active and offensive, Tears Heroes will be more reactive and defensive. In terms of storytelling, it will unlock special quests on each campaign map, different companion heroes, and a unique "epilogue" map linked to your path.
Gameplaywise, it will grant you access to specific advanced classes, 4 per faction, each with their unique visuals and sets of abilities. The more Reputation you gain, the more powerful your Reputation-related abilities become. For instance, Healing will be influenced by your Tears rating, whereas Fireball will be influenced by your Blood rating.
Your Blood and Tears ratings are not co-dependant and you never lose the Reputation points you've gained.
Are there different xp rates?
There are three experience multipliers to choose from. The default is normal(X1), then comes fast(X1.5) and fastest(X2).
So how does the reputation system work?
Quests or locations offer a reputation choice but you can also increase your tears/blood points by using tears/blood spells or abilities. Pursuing or letting go fleeing units awards blood and tears points respectively. There are two reputation levels, each time you gain one your corresponding abilities become stronger. Reputation gain is tied to the xp rate, on fastest it increases twice as fast.
What can we expect from the advanced classes? Will they work like in H4?
They are not based on ability requirements but rather on your Reputation choices. Advanced classes will ultimately be defined by their faction, their affinity (Might or Magic) and their Reputation choice. They will become available when you reach a certain Blood or Tears threshold.
Will there be simultaneous turns in the game release?
Unfortunately not, they will be added in a patch or addon.
What are the Minimum & Recommended Specifications for Heroes VI?
OPERATING SYSTEM:
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (all 32/64 bit)
PROCESSOR: minimal (recommended)
Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E4400 @ 2.0 Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6 Ghz (Intel Pentium Core 2 @ Duo E6400 @ 2.00 Ghz, AMD Athlon II X2 240 @ 2.8 Ghz)
RAM: minimal (recommended)
1 GB for Windows XP and 1.5GB for Vista / Windows 7 (2 GB)
VIDEO CARD: minimal memory/directX version
(optimal memory/directX version)
512 MB, DirectX 9.0c (1 GB, DirectX 9.0c)
DIRECT X�:
DirectX� version DirectX 9.0c 2008 November (included on disc)
DVD-ROM DRIVE:
DVD 8x (DVD 24x), needed only for installation
SOUND CARD:
DirectX 9.0c compatible (recommended)
HARD DISK:
8 GB
MULTIPLAY:
128 kBit/s upstream
========================================
"SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS AT THE TIME OF RELEASE"
First list to be completed :
- Minimal: NVidia GeForce 8600GTS, ATI Radeon HD 2600XT, both with 512MB of VRAM
- Recommended: NVidia GeForce 8800GTX, ATI Radeon HD 3870 both with 1 GB of VRAM
The video card has to have/support:
- Minimum 512 MB of Video RAM
- Vertex Shader 3.0
- Pixel Shader 3.0
- Vertex Texture support with R32F or R16F format
- Render Target support with R32F and G16R16F format
Will the game ship with a Random Map Generator?
Unfortunately not. Ubi is focusing on the Map Editor, which is much more powerful and flexible than in Heroes V and they want it ready for the game release. The RMG will be available at some point - Maybe not at release, but it will either be in a patch or as a free gift to the community.
How will Luck and Moral work?
Morale can be seen right before a unit acts, the second action comes at 50% reduced damage/speed. Luck's effect has been decreased to 50%. Luck and morale are now gained as hero stats and units have their own luck/morale values ranging from 2 to 12. Naturally locations and artifacts add to them. The scale has also changed, now 1 luck/morale means 1% chance to trigger.
Why has the primary skill system(Attack, Defense, Spellpower, Knowledge)been changed into magic attack/defense, might attack/defense?
The stat names echo the Might & Magic dichotomy. Every hero will have magic/might attack and magic/might defense and the same goes for creatures. A might creature's attack will be increased by the hero's might attack value while a caster unit's attack(and spells) will be increased by the hero's magic attack stat.
What Do we know about Sieges?
Creature stacks can now damage the fortifications but are less efficient than catapults. Catapults will be different for each faction. There will be moats with different effects, for instance inferno's will deal continuous fire damage to units walking in it.
Will warmachines return?
Sieges in Heroes VI involve only one siege engine, the catapult. Ballistae, ammo carts, and first-aid tent effects have been replaced by your hero's powers.
How many artifacts can we expect? What about artifact sets?
There are about 150+ artifacts and eight artifact sets that will give set bonuses like in H5.
How about the Initiative system?
We are back to H3 mechanics but with a H5-like initiative bar interface. Speed will determine movement reach, initiative decides who acts first.
What do we know about bosses?
There will be 8 bosses, all linked to a faction except stronghold. They can be placed on a map like any neutral and each comes with various abilities as summoning reinforcements, slowing down your army etc. They are normally fought on campaigns, once per two missions.
What about the neutrals?
They will be 10: Phoenix, the 6 elementals, mermaid, timber and dire wolf. They may seem few but bosses can be used like neutrals as well.
Will we have dragons in the factions?
In the original H6 no, only as a boss. However that doesn't mean that there won't be factions with a dragon champion in the future, like Marzhin remarked some factions just cannot exist without a dragon in their lineup
To which elements from previous HoMM games does H6 stay true and which are going to be removed or heavily overhauled?
Ubi stays true to:
The turn-based system, play at your own pace experience,
The unique mix of Strategy, RPG and Management,
The Epic and Enchanted Universe,
The world split into warring factions.
What was reviewed:
The player has more control over the development of his Heroes and Kingdom. Choices used to be heavily based on random propositions, now the player can forge his own path. Micro-management was reduced so as to focus on high level strategic decisions.
Are there any plans for expanding past the traditional magic point system for the base factions?
Not really, the magic system is unified, based on the lore of the world of Ashan and organized into elemental schools. The focus went to creating unique faction abilities and expanding the Might/Magic dichotomy.
What type of race-unique buildings can we expect in Heroes VI?
Youll be able to build 2 out of a choice of 4. Buildings are linked to faction strategy, each with a different ability (economy booster, creature production booster, gives a special ability on the adventure map or the combat maps). Having several similar unique buildings in different towns improves their efficiency.
What is the estimated planned map total (campaigns, single scenarios and multiplayer maps inclusive) for the initial release of Heroes VI?
We have 24 campaigns and 10 multiplayer maps. While there will be only 10 MP maps in the retail game, the goal is to have more maps available for download on the official website of the game right from day 1.
Will mixed neutrals be returning?
Yes.
Are the beloved dialogue and text boxes from Heroes I-IV returning in Heroes VI? Will the campaigns contain a lot of juicy narrative as in H3 and H4, or just cutscenes like in H5?
In the campaign mode, you'll have some cut scenes, dialogue boxes. You wont have big texts like in H IV, but for curious players, there'll be plenty of very detailed text to read in the bios of heroes, creatures, cities, etc. Also map makers will be able to put all the boxes they want in their maps.
The press release claimed "Might & Magic Heroes VI will include all the characters and features that have made this brand a worldwide success". Is it possible that any classic heroes from the Might and Magic franchise will return in some form for Heroes VI?
This is a request that has been strongly expressed by the VIP fans. As you know, 2011 will be the 25th anniversary of M&M, so surprises are to be expected.
We are worried that the storyline will ultimately just rehash the Everyone VS Demons plot yet again. Will the Demons be the main antagonists of Heroes VI?
There is a Demon invasion in Heroes VI but it is not the most important plot element in the storyline. Even though most factions have the Demon invasion in mind, the political face of Ashan is evolving way beyond this threat.
What is the new Creature Tier System?
Core, Elite and Champion. First category has 3 units, 3 for the second and 1 for the last one. Units under the same category will have similar stats/strength but different roles on the battlefield.
What do we know about the factions?
H6 starts with 5 factions: Haven, inferno, necro, stronghold(orcs) and sanctuary(nagas).
What will bring more variety in the combat arenas?
- Specific topography (various sizes and shapes for the battle arenas)
- Different combat objectives (hold your ground for X turns, defend this sacred shrine at the center of the arena, kill a specific enemy stack, etc.)
- Boss fights!
Will there be any camera rotation?
H6 will come with a fixed camera angle so that you don't have to rotate to see hidden objects but rotation is still possible. As soon as you release the button though, it returns to its default angle. It is possible to zoom in and out, when at maximum zoom the camera angle gets more horizontal.
What are the new mechanics for creature production?
Creature dwellings will work as resource production buildings. When you first capture a creature dwelling some creatures will join you. The dwelling will then add creatures to your creature pool every week as a gold mine would add gold to your resources. These creatures will be instantly hirable in the cities and forts you control. That way there is no need for caravans.
Will there be map editor?
Yes. It will be more user-friendly than before and pretty moddable.
What tilesets will the game feature?
Jungle, Plains (Summer and Autumn), Lava, Wasteland (Necropolis), Underground (Natural subterranean and dungeon tileset). Black Hole has also added snow.
Has the storyline improved?
Of course! With Marzhin the creator of LotA in the team we are in good hands. Also stories will be more complex and more personal for the protagonists. There will be 5 campaigns of 4 maps, 1 per faction, playable in any order, with an optional tutorial map and a mandatory prologue map.
When is H6 set?
About 400 years before the events of H5. For timelinereference look around 564 YSD, 2nd Eclipse - Rise of the Demon Sovereign.
What is the area of control?
A town of a fort can be a point of control which affects its immediate area, an area whose size can vary. Taking control of the point will automatically flag all player controlled dwellings or mines in the area of control. That will not work on neutral mines, they must be flagged first. Once you own the fort/city of an area, the only way for someone to take the mines from you is to capture the city/fort. It is possible to disable this feature.
Why were the resources reduced?
Various reasons including lore, balance and mapmaking. It makes factions easier to balance on any kind of map and also promotes expansion as you will need every pile of crystal you can get.
What about alternative upgrades?
Sorry, maybe in the future.
Yes factions are not as numerous as before but if you try the duel mode you will see that each offers numerous tactical possibilities and a variety of playstyles. Not to mention that more factions, skills and spells will later be added. The core game is solid, it can only get better.
You guys still around? 
Perhaps I'll bear playing it by finding things I will like. After this week, I remembered something I was taught: "not only see the bad side". Well, it's a bit tough! 
But it's not impossible.
