Date: 16 Dec 96 18:35:52 EST
From: Wade <76153.2466@CompuServe.COM>
To: Daniel DuBois <dan@rafiki.spyglass.com>
Subject: Re: Final Revision of Necromancer  papers.

SO YA REALLY WANNA BE A VAMPIRE - THE WAY OF THE NECROMANCER 

12/12/96

This approach emphasizes the use of  Skeletons, Vampire Lords, &
Bone Dragons, and when needed, Royal Liches. The essence of it is:

Lots of Vampire Lords + huge throngs of Skeletons + Bone Dragons (and 
some Royal Liches) + Mass Haste spell + Animate Undead spell = Victory

How you do this (and why) is explained in the following pages.

GENERAL TOPICS IN THE ORDER THEY APPEAR:

1)	Necromancer Castle Building
2)	Discussion of Level of Difficulty Differences
3)	Important Spells for the Necromancer Hero to acquire ASAP
4)	Secondary Skills for your Necromancer Hero.
5)	Some Basic Strategies & Early Game Getting Started Ideas 
6)	Necromancer Drawbacks
7)	Some Other Points : (large and small as they occurred to me)

Please take note that the following thoughts on the Necromancer are 
after playing only a few scenarios with them. All good strategy
games (Homm 2 definitely qualifies) have a number of viable 
strategies. The strategy outlined below is only one of them. The level
of difficulty you play the game at can greatly alter strategies. The
game I've based the following strategy on was played at HARD difficulty
level in the Broken Alliance scenario. Since Homm 2 is newly released all
strategies are subject to improvements. I'm sure this one can be improved 
also. I have previously played all but one of the Homm 1 scenarios in both 
the Dos and Win95 versions at the Expert \ 3 Genius level (comparable to
Expert \ Impossible in Homm 2)thus you are getting this information from 
a source that is very familiar with Heroes of Might & Magic. Perhaps not
the best source, but certainly an experienced one. This is NOT a FAQ
filled with mountains of minutiae. It is a relatively simple getting 
started guide for using a Necromancer Hero. It also contains a few 
strategy concepts, some of which may prove useful. The reader may in fact
have a much better strategy (at least for them). If so, great. If not, 
this one, in whole or in part, may help. This particular strategy is
primarily designed for those who want play at higher levels of difficulty
AND get a high score. Even if these particular goals are not for you, it
is hoped that some of the information contained herein will still be
useful.

It's virtually impossible to include all the variables that can come into
play without producing a huge document. So forgive all errors of omission.
And errors. Since I don't get paid for doing this, I just don't have the
time or energy necessary to make it the "perfect" guide. If you find 
errors or fail to find anything of worth herein, please remember that in
the game of life you usually receive value in direct proportion to what
you paid for it. Since you got this for free, you were simply 
expecting more than you should have. Enjoy.


1)NECROMANCER CASTLE BUILDING

Suggested Completion Order (If Possible) - Based on Hard Level of difficulty
game play in the Broken Alliance scenario. This is a Vampire Lords priority 
based approach. A 2nd Hero on day # 1 or # 2 is  highly recommended.

Excavation   > Skeletons          Already built when game begins

Statue       > 250 gold per day   Cost: 1,250 gold                  Day # 1

Thieves Guild> Info on Enemy      Cost:   750 gold + 5 Wood         Day # 2

Pyramid      > Mummies            Cost: 1,500 gold + 10 Ore         Day # 3

Mansion      > Vampires           Cost: 3,000 gold +10 Wood         Day # 4
                                  requires Thieves Guild & Pyramid 

Skull Pile   > 8 extra Skel.      Cost: 1,000 gold                  Day # 5
               per wk.
Well         > inc. growth rate   Cost:    500 gold                 Day # 6

Upg.Graveyard> Mutant Zombies     Cost: 1,000 gold                  Day # 7

Mage Guild   > Learn Spells       Cost :2,000 gold + 5 Wood, 5 Ore  Day # 8
Level 1		& replenishes Sp. Pts.
	needed for Mausoleum

At this point  (after Day # 8) you have qualified for Mausoleum (Lich)
which leads to the Laboratory which allows Bone Dragons. Thus the road
is paved to all creatures. What you do from here is up to you and the
availability of resources. Obviously a lack of gold or some resources
will alter the first 8 days suggested progression cited above.
13,500 gold (includes a 2nd Hero) has been expended. The major priority is
to acquire Vampire Lords which necessitates wood, crystal, & jewels
(and gold). Accumulating Skeletons and a powerful Hero is equally as
important in the long run as VL's. You need all three to succeed.

Creature Dwellings to Acquire After Day # 8. (not in order of priority)

Upgraded Pyramid    > Royal Mummies  Cost:  1,500 gold + 5 Ore

Upgraded Mansion    >Vampire Lords   Cost:  4,000 gold + 5 wood, 10 crystal,
                                                       10 Jewels

Mausoleum           >Liches          Cost:  4,000 gold  + 10 wood, 10 sulfur

Upgrade Mausoleum   >Power Liches    Cost:  3,000 gold +  5 Ore + 5 sulfur 

Laboratory          >Bone Dragons    Cost:  10,000 gold + 10 wood, 10 ore,
                                                       5 mercury, 5 sulfur,
  (requires Mausoleum)                                 5 crystal, 5 jewels

Summary of Creatures: 	Skeletons, Zombies, Mutant Zombies, Mummies,
Royal Mummies, Vampires, Vampire Lords, Lich, Power Lich, Bone Dragons	

		
Other Things To Build or Acquire : (not in order of priority)

Captain's Quarters  >Castle Defense         Cost:    500 gold

Moat                >Castle Fortifications  Cost:    750 gold

Left Turret         >Castle Fortifications  Cost:  1,500 gold + 5 Ore

Right Turret        >Castle Fortifications  Cost:  1,500 gold + 5 Ore 

Mages Guild Levels 2,3, 4, & 5              Cost: varies from level to level.
                                           Requires gold , wood and minerals.

Storm               >Castle Defense         Cost:  1,000 gold + 10 Mercury,
                                                                10 Sulfur
  adds +2 to sp. Power
  of defending sp. Caster

Marketplace         >Convert Resources      Cost:     500 gold + 5 Wood

Shipyard            >Allows Boats           Cost:  2,000 gold  + 20 Wood


2) DISCUSSION OF LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY DIFFERENCES 

The level of difficulty you are playing can make a tremendous 
difference when deciding which castle categories you decide to build and
when. At higher levels of difficulty gold & to a lesser degree resources 
are ALWAYS a problem. Lower Levels of difficulty with it's greatly enhanced
early game gold and resources is a different beast and many categories can
come into play much sooner. Lower level play also has the advantage of 
not having to deal with resource richer AI opponents who are "smarter".

Higher Levels require greater early emphasis (1st 2-3 weeks) on creature 
acquisition. Castle defense and fortification is best deferred in favor of 
doing whatever is necessary to acquire manpower to go afield and gather
resources.

Lower levels of difficulty may favor a "build and buy" approach, but higher
levels of difficulty often favor a "run and gun" strategy. AI Heroes get 
"resource bonuses" at the higher levels of play and will quite quickly 
overrun your starting castle early in the game if you don't have a strong
army to either defend it or move on to a better 2nd castle, or both. Moats
and Turrets are wonderful for defending your castle, but a large army is
better. A large early game army has options, fortifications are inanimate
and have no options. Your army can choose to defend the castle, move on
to a 2nd castle, or both. 

Hero choices also influence the equation. Warlocks almost have to "build"
to succeed. Barbarians are the classic "run & gun" hero. Necromancers &
Wizards fall somewhere in the middle. (The Necromancer does have one major
"run and gun" asset to offset it's slow start, the 3rd Level Animate Dead
and Mass Haste spells discussed later on). Level of difficulty played
influences every strategy variation in the game, including Hero choices.

The Marketplace may be great to have early on at lower levels of difficulty,
as you have quite a few resources to trade with and can therefore acquire 
those that are missing. At higher levels of difficulty the Marketplace is 
a very low priority acquisition in the early going with a few major 
exceptions. You seldom have enough of one thing to be able to afford a 
trade. You will simply be robbing Peter to pay Paul, and what you just 
traded away will be needed shortly and you will be in the exact same 
dilemma as before. Once you get more castles they become a more necessary 
thing to have. One expection to the above thinking is using a Marketplace
very early in the game to trade for a critically needed something or 
other before the end of the week. This can be VERY expensive to do, but
there are some occasion when it can be considered a potential game saver.

Gold and Resources is what makes the world of Heroes of Might and Magic
go round. Gold is first and foremost. I've always thought of Heroes as two
very different games. Lower levels of difficulty being one, and the top end
levels being another . Gold comes into play in both. One simple example of
the difference is this: 

Should you keep the Gold early in the game or should you take the experience
points ? 

At higher levels of difficulty I always take the Gold. It's already 
scarce as Hen's Teeth, I can get experience in combat later & use the gold now.
I've never taken the experience yet in a game played at Hard, Expert, or 
Impossible. Despite this my Hero is almost always maxed out (expert in all
of his secondary skills) and approaching level 20.

At lower levels if gold is plentiful, one might be well served to take the 
Experience points. The choice is up to you and the situation at hand.

The point of all this discussion about difficulty levels is simply this:
This particular approach to playing Homm 2 via a Necromancer is geared
to play at higher levels of difficulty. Therefore, the reader has to factor
this in and make adjustments where needed if the game is to be played at
lower levels. There are continual references to this factor throughout the
text. In Homm 2 what's good for the goose is not always good for the
gander. At least not at different difficulty play levels. An absolute
"best" way to play at one level may be the worst way to do it at another.
So, keep all this in mind when evaluating the information contained herein
and what you decide to do with it.

What level of difficulty should you play ? 

Obviously if you are a novice gamer or a newcomer to Homm lower levels are
best to start with. Learn the game first and then decide what level provides
you the most enjoyment.

If you are an experienced Homm player, the decision becomes more difficult.
Lower levels are more "fun" and allow you to enjoy almost every aspect of
Homm in a single game. The challenge is less, but the "fun" is more.

Higher levels provide a much greater challenge requiring great attention to
each and every early game move to succeed. Gold and resources are scarcer and
the AI is richer and smarter. Gameplay can take on a fantasy chess type 
experience. All of this is nice if you like a strong challenge. On the other
hand, each game can become much more time consuming and tedious to play.

Expert and Impossible levels can get very bogged down with much consideration
needed between moves. The tedium and time consumption factors can become
rather enormous. Great satisfaction if you succeed, but oh, the getting there
part can become more work than "fun".

HARD level may be the best choice for the experienced gamer who wants a strong
challenge and still desires to have a lot of "fun". 

This of course will also vary from scenario to scenario. Expert level in 
the Broken Alliance scenario is a tough time consuming one. Impossible 
level in Beltway was a personal delight. Map ratings in HOMM 2 seem 
somewhat unreliable as both Broken Alliance and Beltway are "Normal" 
and Beltway seemed like a walk in the park compared to Broken Alliance. 
Who Am I ? is an "Expert" map, yet it also seemed much simpler than Broken
Alliance to this player. I have yet to get a very good score in Broken 
Alliance and yet Beltway and Who Am I ? both yielded 248 Black Dragon 
scores. One played at Impossible and the other at Hard. So go figure when
it comes to the map ratings. I guess you just have to figure out what 
difficulty level works best for you, most of the time, and start from there.

The final decision on what difficulty level to play is of course up to the 
individual. Decide how much challenge and how much "fun" you desire and make
your choice accordingly. Just remember that the polar extremes provide almost 
entirely different gameplay. Somewhere in the middle will probably provide
a mix of the two. Your enjoyment is the real issue, so make your choice on
that basis. 



3) IMPORTANT SPELLS FOR THE NECROMANCER HERO TO ACQUIRE ASAP:


Note: The Necro is "immune to mind spells".

Level 1 Spells:

Haste:	Necromancer Hero always starts with this one. Level 1 spell.
		Very important Necromancer spell in the early game until 
		you acquire the 3rd level Mass Haste spell.

Slow:		See Blind below. Not nearly as good as Blind, but cheaper
                for the very early game.
		The poor man's Blind substitute. Level 1 spell.

	Summary of Level 1 spells:  Haste is king followed by Slow if you
					    can't use or afford Blind (Level 2)

Level 2 Spells:

Blind:	    Restarting the game a few times may allow you to get this one
                in your "home" turf area.  Level 2 spell. Very important
                spell to have. Use on enemy Missile and Flyer types.
                And anything else when needed). Note: restarting may be 
		    considered by some as a minor cheat, however the game itself
	          can often "cheat" the player unintentionally in the random-
		    izing process. One recent game, both of my nearby spell shrines
		    and my 1st level Mage guild had the exact same spell. To
                top it all off it was a spell of no use to a Necromancer.
		    So consider restarts, if not to better a mediocre situation,
                certainly to remove a totally unfair, and unlucky one.	

Disrupting Ray: Reduces defense of target by 3. Level 2 spell. Good bang
                for the buck.

Lightning Bolt: Inflicts 25x power in damage to a single creature. This is
		    only an ok spell early in the game. However, once your Hero
		    acquires decent spell power it can become a quite good one.
		    Spell Power X 25 can add up if your hero has high spell 
		    power. Cost: 7 spell points. Level 2 spell.

	Summary of Level 2 spells:  Blind is the Level 2 spell of choice for 
					    early game Necros. Despite being a lower
					    level spell it is one of the best in the
					    game.



Level 3 Spells:

Mass Haste:	Adds +2 to ALL allies speed. Level 3 spell. This is a very
                important one many times. I often cast it first.
                Gives "legs" to Skeletons and makes the Vampire Lords
                "Ultra fast". Only the Phoenix & Champions are capable of 
		    Ultra Fast speed without the Haste or Mass Haste Spells.
                Bone Dragons are much more competitive going from Average
                to Very Fast.
                "First Strike" capability is a very big plus in HOMM 2.
                Particularly with Vampire Lords. Enemy cannot retaliate.
                Mass Haste is "THE" first strike spell.Cost: 10 spell points.

Animate Dead:   The most important spell a Necromancer can possibly have.
                At level 3 you can have what the non Undead have to wait
		    for until Level 5 when they can acquire Resurrection True.
		    Regrows 50 X the spell power of your Hero in hit points of
                killed Undead.
		    VL's have 40 hit points per. A level 6 spell power Hero can
                revive 7 Vampire Lords. Talk about saving gold,
                7 X 650 =  4,550 gold with one cast. Cost: 10 spell points.

	Note:	The best way to lose your Undead troops is to wait too long to
		cast Animate Dead in the late phases of combat. An enemy Hero
		who suddenly chooses to flee, not only flees but leaves your
		dead Undead permanently dead.

Anti Magic      This can be a very important one to have . Not so much early
		    on, but can sometimes be vital mid to late game for some enemy 
		    magic.
                Cost 7 spell points. Level 3 spell

Teleport        This is a great spell to have even though 2 of the 3 armies
                of this particular Necromancer strategy can fly. (VL's & BD's)
                Teleport allows your Throngs of Skeletons to enter the castle
                or cross the battlefield to the location of their choosing
                immediately. This can in some instances turn the tide of
                battle in your favor.  Cost 9 spell points. Level 3 spell.

Paralyze	    This is in essence an enhanced Blind spell. Costs more but
	    	    the enemy cannot retaliate when attacked.  Cost 9 spell
		    points. Level 3 spell.

	Summary of Level 3 spells: Mass Haste & Animate dead are to Necromancers
					   like what hair was to Samson. Without them you
					   are Samson after Delilah cut his hair.These 
					   are the two killer spells for Necros. 
					   They make large stacks of VL's & Skels hard
					   to beat. Having played Necros but twice, I
					   can't say what the odds are of obtaining
					   these spells. In my two games I got both
				         of them each time fairly early.

Note: Stack all your Skeletons in one group, same for VL's and Bone Dragons.
This allows one Animate Dead spell casting to resurrect all of your respective
Skels, Vl's, and BD's at once. "Animating" VL's is your first priority as most
can conceivably last the entire game if taken care of properly.

You can always split up your Liches, Royal Liches, or whatever else might 
be along for the ride. Splitting Royal Liches in some instances can be good
in that even if the enemy immediately takes out one group, you can retain 
first strike via the other one, and use it to take out some of the less 
important enemies. If the enemy gets both Royal Lich groups on the first turn,
they probably would have gotten them all anyway.

Note: The Necromancer Hero starts with the basic Wisdom Skill allowing
3rd Level spells.

Special Note: As the game (scenario) winds on into the mid\late game phase I 
have found myself almost exclusively using Mass Haste on the 1st turn and
then Animate Dead on all of the ensuing ones. The enemy gets tougher and
"reviving the VL's & Skeletons takes on a major significance. Necromancers 
are on the whole not all that fast and speed is the name of the game. 
The Skeletons in particular need help in this department.

Speed more or less = first strike, which is one of the single most important
things in the game. The only Very Fast creature the Necro has is the
Power Lich and this is about all they are good for (that and drawing fire).
Use Power Liches sparingly until your big guns are built up. Attack enemies 
that are not adjacent to your own, or you risk "Friendly Fire" casualties.
 
The Attacker gets the first strike and I always try to be the Attacker if 
possible. Once you cast Mass Haste, you usually have the edge in this 
vital dept. 
 

PS --- Dragon Slayer is always a good one to have for those pesky Dragons.
Level 2 spell. Though not what I consider to be an essential one, it can
be quite handy. You can cast it on any of your Necro big guns. It does 
seem to even out the odds when cast on your Bone Dragons and makes them
much more effective against better dragons.

Steelskin (Level 2) and some other spells are nice, but not 
essential when playing a Necro. Berserk, Chain Lightning, and Meteor Shower
are good 4th level spells, but are not nearly as essential to a Necro
as the 3rd level Mass Haste and Animate Dead spells are. The same line
of thinking also applies to some of the really great 5th level spells.

I don't discuss other spells herein. There are obviously other good ones
in the game to use. The ones mentioned here are the ones I've found most
essential to the early to mid game Necromancer. Since a Necromancer starts
the game with 3rd level spell capability all of the above (Level 1 - Level 3)
can be acquired and used very early in the game. If you learn to play 
a Necromancer well (and quickly),  you will seldom need any others. 

A note of caution: If you play at lower levels of difficulty where gold and
resources are more plentiful, you AND the AI players may have 4th and 5th
level Mage Guilds much earlier in the game than at HARD level where I played
the Necromancers this strategy is based on. This in turn may require some 
further spell acquisition strategy. It has been ages since I've played below 
HARD, so I plead partial ignorance on what all that may entail in Homm 2.
The above listed spells will suffice very nicely at HARD and above until 
quite late in the game. By then you should have the game already in hand.






4)SECONDARY SKILLS FOR YOUR NECROMANCER HERO

Wisdom (basic) and Necromancy (basic) come to begin with.

Logistics, Pathfinding, Luck, Mysticism, & Ballistics make up 5 good next
choices.

WISDOM: Allows the hero to acquire higer than 2nd level spells. This is the
most important secondary skill in the game for spellcaster Heroes. It allows
the Necromancer to have the ability to cast his 2 most important spells the
moment he acquires them.

NECROMANCY: Animates a portion of the units killed in battle into skeletons
when you win. This skill allows the creation of huge throngs of Skeletons 
which is one of the major tenets of the strategy espoused herein.

LOGISTICS: Gives the Hero extra land movement. Logistics and Pathfinding 
skills is akin to having extra heroes. Consider the number of turns in a 
game and factor in the extra movement that these two skills give you.
A necessity for any Hero. A vital necessity for your explorer, "run & gun"
Super Hero Necromancer.

PATHFINDING: Reduces the movement penalty of the hero over rough terrain.
This is a biggie & is almost always a good one, but is best when Desert, Snow,
or Swamp exist in a significant amount. Occasionally there will be a 
scenario where ther terrain does not grant Pathfinding any great advantages.
Most of the time it's a great one to have.

LUCK: Grants the Hero's army a bonus to luck in combat. Since Homm 2 is 
all about conquest, luck in combat is another biggie. 

MYSTICISM: Increases the rate per turn a Hero regains spell points. This
is a must for any spellcaster, but is more important in the early game
when his spell casting capacity is low than later when the points regained
are a much smaller percentage of the whole.

BALLISTICS: In a siege, the catapult's shots, damage, and accuracy are
increased. This is a good one that becomes less vital the more Flyers
and Missile troops you have. In this particular Necromancer strategy
you have Vampire Lords and Bone Dragons so 
Ballistics is not quite as important as it might be otherwise. However,
there is one very good reason for your Necro to have it. It allows your
massive army of Skeletons to get inside the castle and wipe out any
troublesome foes that are still fighting. It also allows them to aid
and defend the VL's and Bone Dragons inside the castle.

The last skill is a bit of a who knows:

LEADERSHIP: Grants the Hero a bonus to morale. This is one of the most
important in the game, but is not allowed for use by Necromancers.
If your secondary Super Hero is not a Necromancer get this one for sure.

ARCHERY: Increases the damage done by the Hero's strike units.
In almost all cases this is also one of the best in the game.
However, with your main Necromancer Hero it's only value is if you use
Liches which I'm not not that fond of. For your normal non Undead carrying
heroes it's a great choice. It may still be the best bet for your last
choice for your Necromancer Undead carrier.

DIPLOMACY: Allows the Hero to bribe army camps. This can be a good one for
recruiting purpose, but with Necros I would rather kill large groups of 
creatures and thus acquire even more skeletons.In fact mid to late game,
killing off groups of "guardian" monsters is the best way of increasing 
your hordes of Skeletons.  

ESTATES: The Hero generates per turn gold. Money is never a bad thing, but
I still think this skill is not so hot. If you get it early in the game,
when money is not that abundant at higher levels of play, I guess it's good,
but as the game goes on the amount of money you are generating is rather
inconsequential. Some players love this one. So, to each his own.

NAVIGATION: Increases the Hero's movement on water. Unless water is a major
factor in the scenario or the Hero in question is going yachting a lot, 
this is a wasted choice. Great for water laden scenarios. Not worth much
otherwise.

SCOUTING: Increases the visibility rating of the Hero in the Adventure 
Window. Find a watch tower to make more of the surrounding area visible
and save your slot for a better choice.

EAGLE EYE: Gives the Hero a chance to learn a spell cast by an enemy 
spellcaster. Bad odds and other factors to consider make this one my 
least favorite.


5)SOME BASIC STRATEGIES & EARLY GAME GETTING STARTED IDEAS 

The basic game plan of this particular Necromancer strategy is to primarily
use Vampire Lords, Skeletons, and Bone Dragons with your super hero to
conquer the world. And fast. Your goal is 60 game days in the average 
scenario. 45 days is possible in some small maps. 

Liches  are OK, but I don't like the "Friendly Fire"
aspects and their cost at 100 gold more than a Vampire Lord is ludicrous. I
do sometimes use them as Cannon Fodder for the AI enemy Missile and Flyer
troops to deflect opening attacks from my Vampire Lords to the Lich. This is
the highest and best use of Liches IMO. 

Royal Liches are Very Fast, which is very nice to have. They are very 
expensive in relation to their overall worth. They do assure you first
strike when you are the attacker, which can be very important in many
cases. (This is not the case when challenging enemies with Phoenix or 
Champions who are the only Ultra Fast creatures in the game.)

They also assure you first strike when you attack a Warlock group who 
have Gargoyles and Minotaur Kings. The Warlocks would get first strike in 
this example if you did not have Royal Liches. Their are of course other 
groups that may have the opportunity to get first strike if they attack you,
but I mention Warlocks in particular since they are more likely to have 
Dragons. Wizards with their great Titans (also Archmages) fall in this same 
category.

The thing to remember about first strike is that not only
does the fastest troop strike first, but the Hero can cast spells first
if so desired. This can be a considerable advantage if you have a very
high power spell caster who can cast Lightning or Chain Lightning to
soften or take out enemy troops who might otherwise inflict great damage
on your troops. And of course the biggest advantage when playing a Necro
is that it allows you to cast Mass Haste on the first turn.

All other things being equal (which they seldom are) First Strike determines
the victor.

You do need the Mausoleum (Lich) to get to Laboratory (Bone Dragons) but I do
not actively recruit Liches except as noted above, particularly in the early
game when I am trying to save gold for purchasing Vampire Lords. 

Furthermore, Liches and Power Liches while having a powerful attack can 
be a liability in many instances. Their ability to hit adjacent hexes
leads to one of the game's most irritating elements - "Friendly Fire".
Have 4 of your Bone Dragons wiped out by your own Liches and you will get
the drift. Late in a battle when the remaining powerful enemies are 
surrounded by your troops, Liches & Power Liches are useless, unless you 
want your own guys killed.

Skeletons, puny and slow as they are can become quite a terrific  force as
you accumulate them in numbers. Haste and Mass haste make them among the
finest ground warrior attackers in the game once they get  to 100 + in
numbers. The HARD level scenario I've used as a building block for this
document ended with my having 848 skeletons in ONE army. Believe me, 
those puny little skeletons are not the 99 lb. weakling at the beach 
any longer. More like the 848 lb. strong man. Nobody is kicking sand in 
their face. Give the Necro Army first strike, some nasty VL's,cast 
Mass Haste, and even large groups of Dragons may start looking for a 
Kevlar vest or a quick ticket out of town.

Early in the game I place my Skeletons next to or near my Vampire Lords. This
allows them despite their innate lack of speed to whack any Flyers or
Ground troops that have attacked the Vampire Lords and are still nearby.
Great Vampire Lord protection. This placement is best in the early game
when the enemy often has first strike and thus your VL's don't get out
of their starting position immediately. Later on, it is of little importance.
Even more important than guarding VL's is using Haste which means the
Skeleton can aid the VL in battle far removed from their starting position. 

This not only helps kill the opponents but serves to further guard the VL.
This is because an isolated VL can be the subject of numerous enemy
attacks which may seriously deplete his lives beyond total repair, or
in some cases eliminate him before reanimation can do its magic. 
VL's can become isolated after they cross the battleground to attack
enemy troops. Haste allows the skeletons to join the fray near the VL's 
sooner rather than later or too late.

Skeletons and Bone Dragons also need "reviving", so you can't let 
your VL's fight alone against overwhelming forces or you may lose
one of the 3 altogether.

150 + Skeletons is on the road to awesome and Dragons have been known 
to quiver with fear when you get close to 200 of them. (My last Necromancer 
game had their numbers at 200 around week 10, so this is not just some late
game ploy, but instead is a viable strategy to use starting out). 
Get that Necromancy Skill up and "new" Skeletons will constantly be helping
your army grow. 

Attacking easy prey guardian monsters with "hordes" and "throngs" will add
to your Skeleton army like nothing else will. And fast.
It will also rapidly level your Hero via experience points gained.

Bone Dragons are the weakest of all the Dragons and are not as good as a
Phoenix. They seem quite fragile, but they are Undead and they are quite
good. As flyers they nicely complement Vampire Lords and Skeletons.

It seems best to have 4 or 5 in a group, as they do seem to have a high rate
of attrition. Nevertheless, they fit in nicely with the Vampire Lords and a
huge Skeleton army. They are hard to keep alive and the temptation to use
the Animate Dead spell on them too often is always present.
This can negatively affect your Vampire Lord population if you are not
careful. Bone Dragons are slow to come by early in the game if you pursue
Vampire Lord's first.  Vampire Lords are definitely the first priority, and
Bone Dragons will just have to wait in my opinion. 

Some will disagree with this as they prefer to pursue a quick Bone Dragon 
approach which is very nice in the early game, but can falter in the late game
when better enemy forces may be abundant. Again this choice is affected
by the difficulty level played. High levels tend to make one make an either
or choice. Low levels may allow for both quite early due to greater 
availability of gold and resources. I haven't really tried to pursue a quick
strike race to Bone Dragons approach for a whole game so it might be a better
idea than I currently perceive it to be.

Vampire Lords are the third member of your Super Hero's army. They are the
ultimate Undead until you have huge Throngs of Skeletons. Upgrade from
Vampires to these guys immediately. Both Vamps and Vl's cannot be retaliated 
against by creatures they attack. However Vl's "gain back some of the damage 
they do as hit points" according to the manual.

"A Vampire Lord gets back hit points equal to the # of hit
points killed (not damaged). These hit points first go to restore damage to
the last VL, then, if enough are left for a full resurrection, resurrect the
apporopriate number of VLs, up to their starting #." 
- quote from Phil Steinmeyer, Lead Programmer of Heroes 1 & 2.

This is one awe inspiring trait.They're dead --- no, they're alive. 
What a deal, regeneration on the spot.

Better yet, when you get a big stack of Vampire Lords and Skeletons
together with a good spell power Hero who has the  Animate Dead spell, 
you are about to become the scourge of the land. Hated and feared ,
far and wide. Enough of these guys with the Animate Undead spell available 
can take out Dragons with ease. And do.  (In my first true Vampire Lords
specific game, 24 VLs and 200 Skeletons, and 5 Bone Dragons took out 
17 Red and Black Dragons in one battle  (3 blk. 14 Red) When the smoke
had cleared only 1 Bone Dragon was left, 123 Skeletons had survived the 
carnage, and yes Matilda , those wimpy looking Vampire Lords had only 
lost 2 of their original 24 in a pitched battle of hand to hand bloodlust
with all those Dragons.

Need I say more about Vampire Lords when combined with hordes of Skeletons
and a few Bone Dragons ?

The only thing I can think of is the need for a high spell power Hero to 
make this entire strategy viable. This is a MUST, so get that one Super
Hero Necromancer going ASAP. Build his levels and Spell Power will ensue.
Get him some Spell Power Artifacts and his animation of the Undead will
make your army invincible.

It may take 6 or 7 Vampire Lords to equal 1 Black Dragon, but they are worth
it if you are playing Necromancers.

They are easily the best bang for the buck in the game the moment Animate
Dead comes into play. This is sooner rather than later in the vast
majority of cases. (Skeletons could also be entitled to a "best bang for the
buck" medal due to their Necromancy talents that "grow" their army.)

Animate Dead is only a 3rd Level spell and your Necro hero starts the game
with this capability (3rd Level spell casting) via his basic Wisdom skill.
The other major "hidden" stat (not a stat but should be) is that the
ability of your Undead VL to avoid becoming dead is a huge money saver
over the course of a game. You seldom have to replace them, and at
$650 a pop, this adds up to big money (gold) over time. Some have argued
with this thinking, but in the words of Ben Franklin "a penny saved is
a penny earned", or to paraphrase "a Vampire Lord saved is gold earned". Not
to mention the Hero you will have to repurchase if you lose or flee the
battle.  Or your worsened overall status in the game.

The race to quickly acquire Vampire Lords is the linchpin of this particular
Necromancer strategy.  Get as many of them as you can as quick as you can
and give them all to your main Super Hero. Group them all together so the
Animate Dead spell affects the entire VL contingent.  The rampage begins.

The other Necromancer army types are OK, but I don't use them other than
a few Liches \ Royal Liches and some Royal Mummies unless necessary. 
Royal Mummies do seem to be a very early game need. Later on they can guard
the castle as far as I'm concerned.

At HARD level, I was not able to acquire VL's  until the end of week three
due to difficulty in getting the necessary Crystal. This will vary from
scenario to scenario. In the interim, you are stuck with ordinary old
Vampires. Those that survive the early going will be eligible to be
upgraded to VL's once you get them. Thus, it's in your best interests to
protect all the early game vampires you can for later conversion. 

To do this you must fight your early battles with this in mind. Get a bunch
of Skeletons and Royal Mummies for cannon fodder and Vampire protection.
Use the Blind and \ or Slow spells to further help keep your Vamps out of harms
way until they can be converted to VL's. Obviously getting Blind and \ or
Slow early on is no cinch, but with a few early game restarts your
chances improve considerably.

In the first week of play it's best from HARD level on down to get your
2nd Hero ASAP and get him to work along with the first securing nearby
"home" turf resources. (EXPERT & up is iffy in this respect.)

By day # 7 your main future "Super Hero" should be back at the castle to
spend the night and recharge any spell points he has expended procuring
resources. He then builds the Mage Guild Level 1 on Day # 8 . He then has
new spells for his spell book and can restock with more troops to go
adventuring  in search of resources needed to quickly build Vampire Lords.
The 2nd Hero should probably stay closer to the home castle in the event
he needs to defend it or by his presence scare away any early AI enemy
dangers. You want your designated  Super Hero to be doing most of the
traveling and fighting early on anyway. This gives him the chance to
level more quickly and build strength for his eventual status as the
leader of your Vampire Lords, Skels, etc.

Another good habit to start off with is to SAVE YOUR GAME AT THE
BEGINNING OF EACH TURN. This allows you to restart early in the game
when searching for the most economical time saving method  of quickly
obtaining resources is most important. You need the necessary whatever
on the 7th day  of the week, not the first day of the following week when
it's too late to get any of the troops you would have had if you had
completed building your whatever one day sooner. You need Crystal and Jewels
for Vampire Lords production. Don't lose a week in doing so. How well you
start the game at the very first and the decisions you make have far
reaching implications later on. Figure out the quickest way to get to
Vampire Lords now, not later. Saving to allow early game restarts is in
the eyes of some a minor cheat. So this is up to you. However, having the
saves available is great insurance against crashes and for that one reason
is worth the effort. If you choose to restart in the early game to get
an edge, don't let this get you in the habit of continually doing it
throughout the course of the game, as that would be cheating to such a
degree as to perhaps spoil the game. You might set some rules up for
yourself that only allow you to restart during the first week. This
would help in early planning but would not evolve into a grandiose fudging
scheme. Using saves to avoid replaying crashes is a very legitimate
purpose and can save a great deal of frustration and needless replay.

In addition to saving wisely at the first, find those towers that remove
the black cloud from that sector of the map. This allows you to see nearby
creatures and goodies. You will not only know where the goodies are
sooner and save time finding them, but you will see the type of guardian
enemy protecting them, thus allowing you to plan your army makeup further
in advance.

CAPTURING TOWNS: IN A WORD, DON'T. This is IMO one of the biggest traps in
HOMM 1 or 2. The capture of a town (unless it's a virtual walk in) is not
worth the trouble.  Bad return on investment IMO.Let the AI spend their 
money and manpower to do this. Let them build it into a castle. 
Then you can go capture it.

Note: Not capturing towns is not nearly so important if you play at lower
levels of difficulty where gold and resources are much more abundant.
Still it's not something I would personally do. At lower levels the choice
is up to you. Please also note that not capturing towns is an early game
strategy. Later on when it's not going to cost you any troops to speak of
it's fine, although I would still rather let the AI capture them, build
me a nice castle that I can then capture before it's got many troops and
\ or fortifications. Of course if you are obsessed with having early game
Marketplaces proceed as you please. This and a better gold income are
about the only two all that great reasons to capture towns that are not
a virtual walk in IMO.

Capturing towns eats up money (gold), manpower, resources, and TIME that will
serve you better if saved for capturing a 2nd castle later on, and when
you do you can upgrade it and defend it immediately using the funds you would
have spent on a town that would be light years behind in development and
is a liability needing men to guard it. Newly captured towns also have a
way of attracting enemy Heroes like flies to honey. Who needs another
problem early in the game ?

Note: There are a few scenarios where you have no choice re: town capture.
You are forced to in the "Who Am I" scenario for example. In this one you
have no castle to start the game and you have to throw all the normal
and best ways of playing the game out the window as you have been force
fed into a unique but, in this case, necessary way of playing through the pre
built situation.

BUILD A SUPER HERO. This is the single most important thing you can do in
the entire game.  He should receive the best of everything. One Super Hero 
is worth 10 mediocre ones. For major battles other Heroes should be used
as "feeders"  to supply the Super Hero with a superior force. All other 
Heroes are secondary to your Main Super Hero or Heroes. Throughout the 
game think of your minor Heroes as suppliers for the Super Hero or Heroes
you have. At times, particularly later in the game, you can place them where
they can supply a Super Hero who is a great distance away in only one move.

THE PRIMARY NECROMANCER SUPER HERO NEEDS SPELL POWER more than any 
other of the 4 primary skills. Spell Power determines the # of Undead that
can be Animated via the AU spell. (50X the Hero's sp.power)

DON'T BUILD TOO MANY HEROES AT THE START.. 2 early is fine and then 3 around 
the time you get your 2nd castle. You can use more later on.

Note: Once again, bear in mind that  at lower levels of difficulty you can 
perhaps afford more early game Heroes than this strategy calls for. Also
bear in mind that all scenarios are no longer created equal in HOMM 2.
Gimmick scenarios do or may exist that require more heroes more quickly.

At the first save gold and concentrate on strong Heroes, rather than numbers.
Ideally after you capture the 2nd castle you would have 1 Hero for each castle 
and one Gopher type who can shuttle things between the two if necessary. 
He can go on minor searches, etc. He can also help guard a castle while The
big guys are off exploring. Have your main Super Hero\ Explorer types 
gathering up goodies as quickly as possible and building strength for the 
move on the next castle. Later in the game, a really good Super Hero will 
be so strong he can simply travel the countryside with little threat from 
others. 

CAPTURE A 2ND CASTLE ASAP (best if you can before the end of week # 5 or 
thereabouts) is very important with some starting Heroes (Barbarians in 
particular). With Necromancers it seems less important because the home 
castle may be your only source of VL's and Skeletons. A Barbarian 
starting Hero is best for the quick capture strategy. Nevertheless,
sooner or later sitting around building your starting castle to the 
exclusion of capturing a 2nd one  rapidly is a big mistake in HOMM2 IMO.
Others may disagree or have an alternative way of approaching this idea.
However, in my methodology, rapid capture of a 2nd castle is VERY important.
It allows you access to more resources, it gives you the opportunity to 
increase your income and  troop production, and it often allows you to 
find a "safer" place to build a castle than your starting castle did. 
The higher the level of difficulty played the more relevant this theory
becomes IMO. 

Also worth noting is that higher levels of difficulty, the castle you 
capture (particularly early in the 2nd month)will usually be better 
developed than the one you started with. At certain higher levels of 
difficulty, the AI guys get "resource bonuses" to "help" them along.
I have found at these higher levels of difficulty that early in the 
5th week (Month 2, Week 1) you have the most opportune Risk \ Reward ratio.
Even better rewards come in the 6th week, but often the risk is even 
greater. Somewhere in this general time frame seems the best time in 
the game IMO. It will vary from scenario to scenario, and will
often just depend on some plain old fashioned luck. 

The 2nd "capture" castle should be a superior one that will supply you
with some of the best top end creatures in the game. I prefer Warlock
and Wizard castles when possible. Black Dragons and Titans are primo.
You get the best Flyer in the game and the best Missle man in the game
with these two. These will be the fighters that form your 2nd Super
Hero's army when you are playing a Necromancer. If the 2nd castle happens
to be a Necromancer one that's good too as you can add to your Undead 
Throngs. I also like Minotaur Kings from the Warlock castle as a very 
fast, powerful ground stack. A castle with Phoenix is also a very good
thing. While Phoenix may not be as strong as Titans and Black Dragons 
they do provide you with permanent first strike when attacking. Only
a Hero with Champions will get first strike when attacking. All others
must wait for the Phoenix to make his move.

When you obtain either a Wizard or Warlock castle, go straight to the 
top end creatures. With a Wizard castle, you want Titans, forget Giants,
etc. if at all possible. Giants must be built before Titans, but if you
can just let them accumulate waiting to be bought until you get Titans.
If you can pull this one off you will have a nice big stack of Titans
ready to purchase. Mages and Archmages are fine, and I do like them 
better than Liches as there is no "friendly fire" element, but saving
gold to get to Titans is the primary objective. Once you have a big 
stack of these guys the enemy will be hiding behind trees unless they 
have Dragons or no brains. (or maybe their own Necromancer Throngs).

Warlock castles have lots of nice creatures,perhaps the best overall 
ones in the game. Still get me to Black Dragons as fast as possible. 
Minotaur Kings are a good interim ground troop. But save gold when 
possible and get those Dragons. Pass on lower Dragons if possible just 
like you did with Giants. Getting to Green Dragons is expensive, but 
after that the load is not much to bear. 10,000 gold and some sulfur
and you are at Black Dragons quickly. Same as with the Giants
sitting in wait deal, you will have a nice contingent of Black Dragons
to start with assuming you've got the gold (& sulfur). If you capture
your Warlock castle around week 5 or so Green Dragons will often be already 
made up for your arrival. 

The one catch with Warlock castles is the AI often skips Minotaurs in their 
race to get Hydras & Mage Guilds. If this happens you will need to have 
hoarded some extra jewels to get the Minotaurs since you need the Minotaurs 
to get Dragons. You will neeed to hoard jewels anyway to pay for Titans. 

Phoenix of course are also quite nice to have. Just get the top end of 
whatever when possible. Throw back the little fish and wait for some lunkers.


BUILDING MAGE GUILDS . Despite the fact that HOMM2 seems much more magic
dependent than HOMM 1, and despite the fact that Necromancer play with
VL's and Skels is very magic oriented, I don't spend a lot of valuables 
early in the game building Mage Guilds. You will almost always at higher 
levels of difficulty capture better Mage Guilds than you have had a chance to
build. The AI "advantage" you could call it. Turned in your favor. 
Another reason especially with Necromancers is that their basic Wisdom
they start the game with allows them to use 3rd Level spells right from
the get go. The AI is much more likely to get a 3rd Level Mage Guild
sooner than the Human will. Capture an AI castle and you may in fact
get Animate Dead and Mass Haste much faster than you could at your own
home castle. All the spells I mention earlier are no higher than Level 3.
Or even if the AI castle only has a 2nd level MG, you can use the 
resources you have hoarded to build a 3rd level one there. Once again 
the odds are in your favor that this will happen sooner "abroad" than
it would have at home. This particular theory is much more likely to
prove correct at higher difficulty levels than lower ones where an
abundance of resources is often present.

Hoard the resources and gold you will need for the next castle you 
capture, this way you can immediately upgrade it to provide you with 
troop replacements as good or better than the ones you expended in its 
capture.

FIRST STRIKE (Speed) is a major asset in winning at HOMM1 or 2. The 
Attacker gets first strike if he has the fastest creature at the 
beginning of combat.The Haste and particularly the Mass Haste spells
can radically alter the outcome of combat AFTER the first creature has
made his opening move. Thus Mass Haste can radically change your 
chances for the better in some situations. First Strike has been
dicussed at great lengths earlier, so I will move on.

Normally (with other Hero types)you need good Flyer and \ or Missile 
troops in each Super Hero Army. Ground troops are fine, but nothing beats
good Flyer or Missile troops. Unfortunately this is not a viable approach
with Necromancers (not if you hate Liches like I do). It is a great
strategy with other Heroes. Royal Liches are very fast which is about
their only plus, but does help big time with the important first strike thing.

A SECONDARY SUPER HERO. Normally in Homm 2 it's not a bad idea to have a 2nd 
Super Hero candidate in the making also. Perhaps one of the two super heroes
should be a Barbarian and the other a powerful Spellcaster. This allows you 
the option of using the one best suited for the situation late in the game.
One great Super Hero is however much more important than having two middle of
the road ones. 

However, in the case of the Necromancer you already have a Spellcaster 
type, and you will still need a 2nd slightly less super Hero to carry other
castle types you acquire. Which one that should be is an unknown, probably
the best candidate you come across will have to do. Perhaps one you have
been nurturing at your starting castle or many times one you recruit at
the 2nd castle.





6) NECROMANCER DRAWBACKS

There are several. I will mention a few. 

Morale is not a Necromancer strong point, and Leadership which boosts
morale is not an option.

This means combining other creature types is not a good idea. 
Your Necromancers won't suffer but the other castle type ones will.
This means later on when you capture other castle types you need a 
separate  2nd Super Hero for the other creature types to travel with.
"Mix and match" does not work well with Necromancers since they can't
get higher morale from Leadership and a different type of Hero for 
"carrying" other creatures is a better plan. Barbarians are my personal
favorite for this purpose. Some others will do fine also.

If the map you are playing only has one Necromancer Castle
(the one you started with) and does not have any budding Necromancer towns ,
this can be a problem, and means that all your VL's must come from the home
castle. This can present a Logistics problem later in the game. Build
a humongous force of your Undead before traveling too far from home.
Or have a very safe supply line to use the Heroes shuttle system with.

Huge amounts of Dragons with the Armageddon spell can cause you much
grief in the late game. Particularly if the Warlord castle is at the far
end of the map and has time to build both huge amounts of  Dragons and
obtain the 5th level Armageddon spell.  Best solution, find the Warlock
Castle and take them out of the hunt early as you can. The game should
be yours when YOU  control  the Dragons. The same can also be said of
Wizard castles and those big, bad Titans.

It has also been suggested that using a Gargoyle to gain first strike then
a very powerful spell casting hero to cast Lightning bolt would wipe out 
X number of Vampire Lords and then the casting hero could flee and return 
again to eventually wipe out your Vampire Lords who never get in a strike. 
This would consume a lot of time and gold to repeatedly do this, but could 
prove quite successful if you don't wipe them out first. Gargoyles are 
cheap and quite convenient to a Warlock as they belong to their castle 
group. Other Hero types who might have a very fast creature to use this 
strategy could also do much the same. A Wizard with Titans and \ or 
Archmages could do the same. A tip on this one is to examine the enemy 
army composition before allowing a battle to ensue (if possible), if they 
have Gargoyle's or other faster creatures than you do that will give them 
first strike, assess the situation as best you can before entering combat.
If things look bad, don't do it. If being the attacker gives you first
strike, beat them to the punch.

The best solution to all of the above theorizing is to take some Royal
Liches along. The Gargoyle theory is then dead in the water unless the
enemy attacks you thus gaining first strike in the ensuing combat. With
Royal Liches only an attacking enemy with Very Fast troops or Phoenix,
Champion carrying Heroes can get first strike. You could always get 
some Phoenix or Champions of your own to eliminate more first strike 
possibilities by enemies, but some of your troops would suffer 
some morale degradation.

Frankly, most of the above is probably not worth the space devoted to it
as the AI opponents are unlikely to "think" of a lot of these more 
esoteric strategies. Humans are another matter.


This leads me to the other potentially deadly foe for Vampire Lords. 
Large groups of Phoenix with a Hero who can cast Anti Magic. This protects
them from Armageddon and other nasty magic and they have such great speed 
that their first strike ability is only equaled by Champions. 

In HOMM 1 It was even possible at times to defeat Dragons armed with Armageddon
if you stacked all your Phoenix in one group. This gave them first strike, 
and when they cast Anti Magic they were protected from Armageddon. This 
equalized things quite a bit and depending on their numbers versus the 
Dragons, they could often beat what seemed to be a superior force. I have 
no reason thus far to doubt the same is possible in HOMM 2 as their Ultra Fast
rating remains the best in the game along with Champions.
Do note that Phoenix do not seem as strong relative to other creatures in 
HOMM 2 as they were in the original game.


The speed disadvantage is the major drawback to any Necromancer strategy
IMO. It's the one thing that most difficult to overcome in certain crucial
situations. Thus all the talk about the need for speed. 

Mass Dispel is a 3rd level spell which can negate your Mass Haste spell.
                            
Mass Slow is a 4th Level spell that can cause problems particularly for
your slow moving Skeletons. Mass Haste I suppose should neutralize this one,
but then Skeletons would still be back to "too slow". Casting Anti Magic
on your Skeletons, etc. is probably the answer to this one (and all the
rest for that matter). Mass Slow is also a potential factor in all of the
previously mentioned speed issues.

The one problem with Anti Magic (and many other spells)when used with the 
Necromancer army is that it only works on one set of creatures at a time 
and each casting of it is an elimination of an opportunity to cast Animate
Dead to revive your VL's, etc. It's probably best cast as soon as possible,
thus you might get to use it before Animate Undead becomes vital. High Spell
Power of your hero will allow it to "last" for multiple rounds, which would
help considerably.

Chain Lightning is a 4th  level spell that can cause problems
in the hands of a high spell power enemy Hero. It's 40x power is enough to
waste a Vampire Lord. High spell power could enable it to waste a number of
them. Anti Magic and Animate Undead are the best solutions to this.
Lightning Bolt while only a 2nd level spell has 25X power and also represents
a threat. With AI opponents (humans are more clever), this is a good spot
for some cannon fodder Liches to draw the  attack instead of your Vampire
Lords. In this situation The VL's and \ or those you don't want whacked badly
by Chain lightning should be furtherest away from the Liches.

Opposing Heroes with good troops and very high attack and defense ratings
are also a tough nut to crack. If they also have big magic power you can
be in big trouble since this particular opponent has the best of all
worlds (except possibly a massive Necromancer army g>).

Enemy Hero spells that are specifically directed at the Undead and that can
be very damaging if the enemy has high spell power are:

Holy Word: combat spell that does 10X in holy damage to ALL undead
creatures. Casting cost: 9  Level 3 spell.

Holy Shout: combat spell that does 20X in holy damage to ALL undead
creatures. Casting cost: 12 Level 4 spell. This one can be nasty.

SPECIAL NOTE: 12/16/96 This is an add on to the original file.
It has come to my attention through further play and through posts
from other Necromancer players that there are occasions where one can
play a scenario and NOT GET the Animate Undead spell. This is not good,
as AU is vital to a Necromancer in general and the strategy herein in 
particular. So keep this possibility in mind. How often this may happen
is unkown. Probably not too often, but it is a distinct possibility.


Life is not perfect and neither is being an Undead.  On the whole
the way of the Necromancer can be a rewarding one. And is lots of fun to
boot. They are not quick to build, but they are fun to play. The Warlock
is even slower to build, but has those fire breathers, the Dragons. 
Any hero with large amounts of Phoenix and the Anti Magic spell can as
cited above also be a major problem under the right circumstances. Titans
can chew up Necromancers like candy if the stack is large enough.

The Necromancer needs to move swiftly as he can and eliminate those nasty
Warlocks and  thus eliminate dragon power as a threat. Same goes for Phoenix
and Titans. If he can do this, the remaining enemies are in deep 
trouble.

Do watch out for a Barbarian with a powerful supporting cast, they can be
hard to handle late in the game if they have good troops and  a very high
Defense Rating in addition to their usual high Attack. A Barbarian Hero
(not their castle and troops)is still my very favorite, but oh, those
Necromancers are so much fun to play with if you have enough Vampire Lords
and the "right stuff". (Skeletons in lg. nos., Mass haste, & Animate Undead
are the "biggies" IMO)


7)SOME OTHER POINTS : (large and small as they occurred to me)

Other Hero choices to consider when not playing a Necromancer:

BARBARIANS are my favorite even though I don't like their creatures that
much except perhaps large stacks of War Trolls to use in a quick strike,
quick capture the 2nd castle strategy. Ogre Lords are quite good as a 
ground force or defender, but are only average in speed. Cyclopes are
very good and fast to boot. However, they can't fly and take too long
to develop to use in an early game strike force unless you are playing
at a low enough level of difficulty to enhance their early acquisition.

Barbarians are severely handicapped in HOMM 2 from a magic standpoint,
but their high Attack and to a lesser degree defense is great for 
starting a quick capture of the world game.Later on these same traits 
will still make them tough to beat despite the lack of magic power and 
knowledge. Get them some spell power, and spell knowledge artifacts, toss
in some Leadership to make mix & match monster groups morale proof.
Get Logistics, Luck, Mysticism, Archery, & Ballistics to blend in with 
their starting Pathfinding skill and they are hell on hoofs. 
(Getting real lucky and getting Mysticism is a wonderful final skill choice).

Add in some Dragons, Titans, & Minotaur Kings ( 3 troop types, only 
2 castle types) and you've got Godzilla as your pet pony. (A Barbarian
Hero "getting started" guide could be my next Homm2 project). This
does not mean to imply that Minotaur Kings are better than all other
ground troops, simply that you don't need another castle type when
you acquire Warlock dragons, Minotaur Kings are there too for the taking.
No morale hits for mixing in a third castle type if you have MK 
accompany your Warlock castle dragons.

I love the Warlock creatures but hate to sit around building Warlock 
castles as they are so slow to develop. Much better to capture their
pre built castle and use their wonderful Dragons and Minotaur Kings.
Warlock Heroes without a strong troop force are just okay as solo
heroes until late in the game when their spell power is high.

Wizards are great spellcasters and have those wonderful but somewhat
overpriced Titans. A good solo Hero.

Necromancers are not bad as a Hero only choice.

A Sorceress without lots of water in the game no longer seems as good as in
Homm 1. However, a Hero who has the Ultra Fast Phoenix can't be all bad.
Sorceress castles do have some other good creatures.The Sorceress solo hero
seems no great shakes in Homm 2. 

Knights leave me cold. Period.  A Barbarian Hero wanna be without the 
advantages. If you have to be a Knight, pretend you're a Barbarian and
play "run and gun". You will need better high end creatures obtained 
elsewhere to do as well with a Knight in Homm 2 as you would with some
of the other Hero types. The Knight's lack of Flyers, top notch missile
type, and top notch high end troop makes them the least desirable Hero
castle in the game IMO. Others may not agree with this, but that's the
view from here. The one Knight troop that I do really like is the Ultra
Fast Champion. You need quite a few of them in a stack to do much 
damage, but at 375 gold they are very cheap. Their Ultra Fast status
makes them stand alone with the Phoenix in the first strike arena. 
Good to have in your stack to give you first strike in all battles with
the exception of enemy Hero's with the Phoenix, and even then if you
are the attacker you still get first strike.

Large Maps where the Warlocks, Wizards  and Necromancers get a chance to 
build give them a good opportunity to become very powerful.

Small & Medium Maps, just give me a Barbarian Hero who can go knock them out
before they are strong enough to take over the game.
 

Graveyards (a minor topic) should probably be avoided since they are best 
entered with strong low population creatures. Skeletons with their big 
numbers represent a risk of "feeding" the ghost numbers unless you have
such superior forces that a quick victory is assured. One other thing, 
always save before entering Graveyards, especially late in the game. 
If the graveyard has already been plundered your Hero's morale will be
LOWERED. This is not a good thing to have happen to a Necromancer.

Recharging Spell Points is a very slow natural process. Mysticism helps 
the process along. Magic Wells will provide an instant recharge. Keep an
eye out for them while roaming the countryside. Returning to a friendly
castle which has a Mage Guild also accomplishes this, but with an irritating
catch. You MUST "spend the night" or you will not be recharged. Simply 
returning and leaving again the same day will not do the trick. (This 
requirement irritates me to no end.)

BLOCKING TRAVEL GATES as a minor, but possibly vital strategy within the 
overall whole is a very useful thing to do on certain occasions. Most 
frequently used as a way of escaping a pursuing enemy. In Certain 
scenarios such as Broken Alliance they can be used very effectively 
to deny the AI guys access to your turf and the irritating "back door" 
strategy they seem to follow with a vengeance in HOMM 2. Those mine 
stealers will be very "upset" when you do this, but all's fair in love
and particularly war. Especially with a computer.

Simply enter the travel gate, emerge at the other end of the "pipeline" and 
STOP. The enemy cannot follow you or use the gate. In the Broken Alliance
scenario the AI uses three travel gates located very close to each other to
travel the world and disrupt your existence with "back door" raids, etc.
In this particular scenario I hired three gopher Heroes and had them block 
all three entrances  by just sitting there for as long as needed. My
heroes could travel via them when so desired by simply having my gophers move
aside to allow passage and then exit through the gate and then immediately
return to block it again. Very effective and it ended the enemy AI "subway
system" for the remainder of the game. Of course this was a special situation
since all three of these Grand Central Station travel gates were on an island
with no boat access, which made it impossible (sans Dimension Door) for the
enemy to ever recapture it. My guys were the only ones with "tickets" from
that point hence. Quite amusing and effective.

One does not need such a cushy situation to use the gate blocking scam to 
their advantage. Simply blocking one "back door" entrance to your home castle
turf can make a huge difference in the outcome of the scenario's end result.
I was able to use gate blocking to great advantage in both Beltway and Who Am I.

GENIES are the best creature on the planet in the early game. They are the
early game Dragon, Phoenix, etc. Anytime one sees a lamp, get that sucker
ASAP. When I see a desert I dream of Genies. Unfortunately they seem to be
less prominent in the scenarios I have played so far in Homm 2 than they 
were in Homm 1. Hopefully this is just bad luck and not a sign that they
have been rendered less important in most Homm 2 scenarios.

Well that's all folks, there's a zillion other things that could be discussed
as many of you well know, but I've tried to include some of what I consider
to be the best ideas as well as some that are not so well known. Some that are
discussed herein are original concepts (as far as I know). Others are tried
and true. Strategies for gaming can be a very personal thing, so much 
of this may not fit in with your personal way of doing things. Hopefully some 
will. If not, no problem, you're in good shape. 

This strategy is for everyone to peruse, but probably best suited for those 
who don't yet have a good one to use. 

Strategies aside, practice makes perfect. How to best move around your little
horses and their heroes is at least as important as any strategy you use. 
If you are having a hard time in a scenario consider starting over, especially
early in the game. The early game is where it's at, this is where the game is 
usually won or lost assuming you know what to do later on.


Good luck.
