Heroes of Might and Magic V (‘HOMM’ going forward) is the fifth game of the series, which was developed for the first time by another studio, Nival Interactive.
It was released in May 2006 and featured two expansions: Hammers of Fate and Tribes of East. There were multiple updates by the official Heroes Community, which keep the game fresh, balanced, and entertaining.
HOMM 5 kept the hero system from HOMM 4 but updated it mainly to stop heroes from being able to die in battle. The heroes would no longer be on the battlefield, like in HOMM 4. Instead, they would stay behind like HOMM 3 and be able to join the battle by casting spells or attacking creatures without retaliation.
The racial skill that a hero learns is dependent on their native faction. All heroes from a faction learn the same racial skill and racial abilities. Each racial skill culminates in an ‘ultimate ability’ that can only be gained by learning a particular set of regular skills and abilities. In addition to the three levels of skills that apply to regular skills, the racial skill can reach an ultimate level when the hero wears a certain artifact.
Positive Aspects:
– Heroes have an active role and have deep customization options;
– Troops can be upgraded just like in the HOMM 3; units can be improved and swapped between two different types, which allows for exciting setups;
– Every town feels unique and interesting;
– Multiple difficulties in choosing from;
– Active multiplayer.
Negative Aspects:
– The first 3D game, loyal fanbase from isometric 2D games might not adapt to it;
– Some racial skills are broken, but this can be easily fixed by applying the HOMM 5.5 patch;
– AL loading times, but can be improved by using the community HOMM 5.5 patch.
The first game of the series made by another developer was a commercial success. It kept core aspects fo the game, which made it entertaining and improved other aspects. First, the hero system from HOMM 4 was imbued with the HOMM 3 to create an excellent Heroes system, where the player feels the impact of the hero in the battle.
The upgraded creatures feel unique and different and the ability to swap between upgrade creates a higher skill ceiling.
The multiplayer from Heroes Community is alive and active, and the constant patch updates keep the game balanced and fresh. If you wish to play multiplayer, you can do play after applying the patch with other players, the Ubisoft servers are long dead, and there is no other way to play multiplayer for now.
The game is a reliable HOMM loyalist and kept the traditions, which made the series so appealable to many players. It is recommended to everyone who might not get turned off by the new 3D models.
