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Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars

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Heroes of Might and Magic II (often shortened to Heroes II or HoMM2) is the second installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic strategy computer game series. It was developed by New World Computing and released in 1996 by The 3DO Company. Heroes II was voted the sixth best PC game of all time by PC Gamer in its May 1997 Edition.

Heroes of Might and Magic II was released into a very competitive environment, competing with the release of to two more established sequels into the strategy market (Master of Orion II and Lords of the Realm II). Nevertheless, the game sold extremely well over time, picking up critical awards and posting excellent sales. It was deemed successful enough to release an expansion pack for; in 1997, Cyberlore Studios developed and published Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty. The Price of Loyalty includes four additional campaigns, new standalone scenarios, several new artifacts, a substantially improved map editor, and new map objects. Later, 3DO released the original game and the expansion pack in one box labeled Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold.

Major changes from the original

Although Heroes of Might and Magic II is visually quite similar to the first installment of the series, it contains several important changes in the gameplay.

Secondary skills

Heroes II allowed heroes to customize their abilities with newly introduced secondary skills. While the first installment of the series only featured four characteristics of a hero (Attack, Defense, Spell Power and Knowledge), Heroes II adds a number of secondary characteristics. A hero can possess up to 8 different secondary skills (out of 14 total), with each skill developed to one of three levels: Basic, Advanced, and Expert. Secondary skills serve for various purposes: for example, the Wisdom secondary skill allows a hero to learn spells of level 3 and higher, and the Logistics skill increases the hero's movement ability over land. Some of the secondary skills resemble the special abilities of hero classes in the first part of the game (Scouting for Warlocks, Navigation for Sorceresses, etc.) When a hero gains a level-up (by collecting experience and visiting special map locations), he or she receives a bonus to one of their primary skills, and a choice of 2 secondary skills to acquire or advance. There are also many locations throughout campaign maps that can be visited that allow the learning of secondary skills and the upgrade of secondary skills for a price.

New magic system

A new system for casting magic spells has been added in Heroes II. In the first installment of Heroes of Might and Magic, the knowledge primary skill of each hero indicated how many times a hero could cast each spell. For example, a hero with the knowledge of 3 could gain the ability to cast any spell no more than 3 times. The quota of castings for a spell would be refilled when a hero visited a town with that spell in its mage guild. In Heroes II, this system was replaced with a spell points system: the hero memorizes the spell once and forever, but each spell requires a certain amount of spell points to be cast. The maximum amount of spell points a hero can have is usually determined by multiplying that hero's knowledge skill by 10. So, for example, a hero with the knowledge of 3 initially gets 30 spell points; and after casting a spell which requires 8 spell points, is left with 22. Normally, each hero recovers 1 spell point every day, although wells and castles restore a hero's spell points to full.

In addition, the number of levels of the mage guild building was increased from four to five.

New Hero Types

The Wizard and Necromancer were added to the original cast of Knight, Sorceress, Barbarian, and Warlock from the original Heroes of Might and Magic.

Upgraded troops

Heroes II features upgraded variants of some of the units each castle can rally. Many dwellings can be upgraded to provide advanced breeds of the corresponding monsters or otherwise improved fighters. Usually, the upgrade increases one or several of the unit's characteristics (such as Attack, Defense, Hit Points or Speed), and in some cases, the upgraded units receive additional special abilities. For example, upgrading Vampires to Vampire Lords enable them to restore their health and fallen units by attacking. Regular types of monsters can be upgraded for double the difference in price at any town which has a corresponding upgraded dwelling built in it, and any new troops recruited would automatically be of the upgraded type.However, there are some special buildings on the main map that, when visited, can upgrade certain selected types of units for free.

Story

Heroes of Might and Magic II assumes that Lord Morglin Ironfist won the war in Heroes of Might and Magic I and unified the continent Enroth. After the death of King Morglin, a special seer is appointed to decide on the matter of succession. The main claimants for the throne are the King's two sons, the evil Archibald and the good Roland. Unfortunately, a series of freak mishaps (clearly instigated by Archibald) claim the life of the royal seer and each new advisor appointed to the role. Roland flees the palace while a sufficiently pliable seer is found by Archibald, and Archibald is declared king. Archibald accuses Roland of having murdered the other seers, and a civil war for who will reign in Enroth begins.

If the player chooses to act as a commander siding with Archibald Ironfist, after rallying nearby forces to his cause, the player is given the choice between acquiring the aid of the Necromancers' Guild or the gratitude of the ogres for helping to conquer the dwarf homelands of Carator. Later on, General Corlagon comes under the player's command to crush a peasant revolt while gaining a vast army of skeletons, and the player is then given the opportunity to solicit the aid of the dragons should he or she desire. The player also has the option to hunt for the Ultimate Crown to aid Archibald's cause, or else simply build up an army. Once these forces are assembled, the player must strike out at the country lords around Roland's base of power before finally defeating Roland himself in battle. The victory scene features Archibald imprisoning his brother in the western tower of Castle Ironfist, then proceeding with his indominatable conquest of the world.

If the player chooses to be a commander aiding Roland Ironfist, after defeating nearby rebellious lords formerly loyal to King Morglin, the player has the option of helping Rocklin, the King of the Dwarves, to bail out the dwarven homeland of Carator, which is under attack from Archibald's ogres. Should this be done, Roland's forces gain the gratitude of the dwarves in an alliance. Later on, the player aids Lord Halton in a simple conquest scenario and forges an alliance with the Sorceress Guild of Noraston, and is given the same choice as in Archibald's campaign when preparing for the end — to either build forces, or search for the Ultimate Artifact. In the penultimate scenario, Lord Haart and Roland himself mount an attack against General Corlagon, Archibald's advisor. After defeating Corlagon, the player commits to a final strike at Archibald himself. In this canonical ending, Archibald is turned to stone by the Wizard Tanir (under Roland's command) and locked away in the library of Castle Ironfist, to remain inanimate until future generations should choose to release him (an event which occurs ten years afterward in Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven).

The fifth mission in the middle is the same for both sides, called "Turning Point." In it, the player is offered a chance to turn to the other side, which will make that mission extremely easy- but the cost is that any alliances or awards acquired earlier are lost. Upon either campaign's conclusion, the player is "scored" by how fast the campaign was completed and the war ended.

Castle Types

Much of the gameplay in Heroes II revolves around the different castle types, as they act as the player's bases of operation to earn money, hire heroes, and recruit armies.

All castles share the following improvements:

  • Castle: The castle itself increases income by 1,000 gold per day and allows heroes to be recruited. If a town does not have a castle, it only earns 250 gold a day, cannot build new improvements, and will defend in an open field if attacked with no defensive installations whatsoever.
  • Well: The well increases all creature growth by 2 per week.
  • Statue: The statue increases town income by 250 gold.
  • Tavern: The tavern increases morale for defending troops in event of a siege, and allows the player to hear rumors on events in the world. (The Necromancer castle does not need and cannot build a tavern.)
  • Marketplace: The Marketplace allows the controller to trade away excesses of one resource for other resources. The more Marketplaces controlled by a player, the better the exchange rate for them.
  • Thieves' Guild: The thieves' guild provides a spying window on how opponents are doing. The more guilds controlled by a player, the more information that the guild gives.
  • Mage Guild: Each level added gives another level of spells that are automatically learnt by any hero that stops in the castle (assuming that hero has a spellbook, which can be bought at a Guild if they do not). Higher levels require large quantities of all rare resources.
  • Shipyard: If a castle is by the sea, it can build a shipyard, which will allow boats to be built.
  • Captain's Quarters: If there is no hero at the castle and it is attacked, a captain will appear to command the troops and perform few spells from the mage guild.
  • Left Turret, Right Turret, and Moat: These are fortifications that aid the castle in the event of a siege. The moat impedes entry to the castle and reduces the defense value of creatures in the moat. The turrets fire on invading troops every round. The more buildings built in the castle, the stronger the turrets' attack becomes; this also applies to the main turret, which comes automatically with the castle.

Additionally, each castle has an improvement that increases the growth rate of its level 1 unit by 8 a week.

Of the 6 castles, Knight, Sorceress, and Wizard are "good," while Barbarian, Necromancer, and Warlock are "evil." This has comparatively little effect on gameplay, though, as most troops are equally incompatible with any troop from a different castle alignment (except the Undead).

Knight Castle

The Knight castle features the combined armies of humans. They have cheap, high-defense walker units that can be obtained very quickly, making the Knight an ideal "rush" faction. The special buildings allowed for a Knight castle are

  • Farm: The Farm increases the growth rate of Peasants by 8 a week.
  • Fortifications: The castle's walls become twice as hard to breach in the event of a siege.

Knight units include:

Knight heroes tend to have the highest defensive values in the game and start with 2 Attack, 2 Defense, 1 Power, 1 Knowledge, Basic Leadership, and Basic Ballistics.

Barbarian Castle

The Barbarian castle is a stronghold of savage raiding armies. Their units tend to be slow, cheap, and strong. Its unique buildings are

  • Garbage Heap: The Garbage Heap increases the growth rate of Goblins by 8 a week.
  • Coliseum: The Coliseum increases the morale of defending armies by 2.

The recruitable Barbarian armies are:

Barbarian heroes tend to achieve the highest attack skills in the game and start with 3 Attack, 1 Defense, 1 Power, 1 Knowledge, and Advanced Pathfinding.

Wizard Castle

The Wizard castle is a haven for wizards' magical allies and creations. The unique buildings are

  • Orchard: The Orchard increases the growth rate of Halflings by 8 a week.
  • Library: The Library adds an additional spell to each level of the Mage Guild (so, for instance, rather than there being 4 level 2 spells and 3 level 3 spells, there would be 5 level 2 spells and 4 level 3 spells).

Creatures recruitable at a Wizard castle include:

Wizard heroes are inclined towards magic and start with 0 Attack, 1 Defense, 2 Power, 2 Knowledge, Advanced Wisdom, and the spell Stoneskin. The Wizard troops' strength compensates for the hero's lack of attack and defense skills, with the Titan's power comparable to that of the Warlock's Black Dragon.

Necromancer Castle

The Necromancer castle is a haunted city of the dead. Its unique buildings are

  • Skull Pile: The Skull Pile increases the growth rate of Skeletons by 8 a week.
  • Storm: The Storm increases the Spell Power of defending Heroes by 2.
  • Shrine: The Shrine, added in the Price of Loyalty expansion, increases the Necromancy skill of all your heroes (to a maximum of 60% recovery of dead bodies into Skeletons). More Shrines are cumulative. It replaces the Tavern slot.

All creatures available at a Necromancer castle are undead. This means that they themselves always have neutral morale, never being disheartened nor inspired. They are also unaffected by a few spells such as curse, as they are undead. Undead in mixed armies have a bad effect on morale for the other units, therefore; they assess an additional -1 morale penalty (in addition to the standard penalty for mixing creature types across castles). These undead creatures include:

Necromancer heroes are inclined towards magic and start with 1 Attack, 0 Defense, 2 Power, 2 Knowledge, Basic Necromancy, Basic Wisdom, and the spell Haste.

Sorceress Castle

The Sorceress Castle is a peaceful abode for the denizens of the forest. Its buildings include

  • Crystal Garden: The Crystal Garden increases the growth rate of Sprites by 8 a week.
  • Rainbow: The Rainbow increases the Luck of defending armies by +2.

Allies of Sorceress castles are:

Sorceress Heroes are dedicated to magic and start with 0 Attack, 0 Defense, 2 Power, 3 Knowledge, Basic Wisdom, Advanced Navigation, and the spell Bless. Sorceress heroes are always female.

Warlock Castle

The Warlock Castle is a home to wild, arcane monsters and mysterious sorcerers. Its unique buildings are

  • Waterfall: The Waterfall increases the growth rate of Centaurs by 8 a week.
  • Dungeon: The Dungeon increases your Gold income by 500 a week.

The Warlock castle has the only unit in the game which may be upgraded twice; Green Dragons can be first upgraded to Red Dragons, and then Black Dragons afterward. Warlock affiliated creatures include:

Warlock heroes are dedicated to magic and start with 0 Attack, 0 Defense, 3 Power, 2 Knowledge, Basic Wisdom, Advanced Scouting, and the spell Curse. Warlock heroes are always male, and have the highest spell power growth rate of all heroes.

Among players, the Warlock troops are sometimes regarded as overpowered because of their very high hit points and attack damage. The dragons' immunity to magic also allows Warlocks to cast devastating universal damage spells with impunity.

Development

Much of the core programming of Heroes II was carried over from the original Heroes, and the game actually took less time to develop than the original Heroes. Notable holdovers include the "entering battle" music. Nevertheless, the improvements to gameplay were dramatic enough to make Heroes II a substantially better seller than the first Heroes.

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Last updated on Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 10:49:19 PST (GMT -0800)
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