Olden Era
6 situations · 18 steps
Hexes, shared Focus
Build 25672315; beta 0.82.04 stays separate
Small troops, Focus, Long Reach, Wait, Fireball and Sleep. Large footprints and complete siege coverage remain.
Open battlefield →Image sourceHEROES I–VII · OLDEN ERA
Visual tactics for every Heroes game: battlefields and walkthroughs
Choose a game and a concrete problem. Every link opens original illustrations, battlefield steps, assumptions and related profiles. A spell or button with the same name can behave differently in another game.
8 games · 57 situations · 171 steps
Compare eight games, reference versions and coverage
Heroes VII
6 situations · 18 steps
Squares and target facing
Base game and labelled Trial by Fire
Front, flank and rear, Black Guard, Stasis, Fog Shroud and Shielding. Current examples use small units.
Open battlefield →Image source
Heroes VI
6 situations · 18 steps
Squares and status effects
Labelled abilities and source scope
Shielding, Harpy/Fury, Spirit Form, Stasis, Ice Wall and Purifying Light. Large creatures and sieges need more examples.
Open battlefield →Image source
Heroes V
6 situations · 18 steps
Squares, four-cell bodies and ATB
Tribes of the East 3.1
Six situations include ATB and hero-recovery models. These assume constant Initiative and do not resolve every tie or the complete live battle.
Open battlefield →Image source
Heroes IV
10 situations · 30 steps
Free placement, heroes on the field
Original spatial diagrams; also in German
Ten situations include simultaneous retaliation, cover, two heroes, summoning and healing. Coordinates are editorial orientation rather than the game’s exact movement map.
Open battlefield →Image source
Heroes III
6 situations · 18 steps
Hexes and two-hex creatures
Complete/SoD; pinned VCMI reference
Retaliation, contact, dragon breath, Wait, Blind ranks and exact Force Field placement. This does not simulate every Heroes III modification.
Open battlefield →Image source
Heroes II
8 situations · 24 steps
Hexes, two-hex bodies and copies
Pinned fheroes2 revision e397b1f
Eight situations include Lich clouds, 7/19-cell areas, Blind and Mirror Image. Reference-engine behavior does not promise identical results in every historical DOS version.
Open battlefield →Image source
Heroes I
9 situations · 27 steps
Hex diagrams, individual spell supplies
Original PC manual, second edition 1995
Nine situations cover Knowledge, Skip, Blind/Paralyze and walls. Haste retains a source disagreement; large bodies and full siege geometry remain.
Open battlefield →Image sourceAll situations
57 situations
No situation matches these filters. Change your query or selected game.
Olden Era · 3 steps
Long Reach needs a gap →
Herbomancer has Long Reach. One empty cell between it and the target enables a different attack from direct adjacent contact.
Olden Era · 3 steps
Initiative, Speed, Wait and Skip →
Initiative determines order and Speed determines movement reach. Wait defers an action to the later part of the round, while Skip ends it.
Olden Era · 3 steps
Four points, one strike and a shared charge →
Focus belongs to the army. This sequence counts one particular baseline strike and a later spending opportunity, rather than the number of creatures in the attacking stack.
Olden Era · 3 steps
Two charges: hero and shooter compete for one resource →
Two available charges do not mean two charges for every user. Heroic Strike and Fine Bolts draw from the same pool.
Olden Era · 3 steps
Fireball: 7 hexes, Masterful 19 and friendly troops →
Increasing radius can add valuable targets and friendly casualties. The colored area marks actual hex cells rather than Heroes V’s square area.
Olden Era · 3 steps
Sleep: damage, level four and the repeat restriction →
A later hit may end control, but level four has a different rule in the cited revision. Awakening also removes the chance to sleep that target again in the same battle.
Heroes VII · 3 steps
Front, flank and rear of the same target →
Three pictures compare alternative melee attacks against a target facing left. The pale-blue arrow on its portrait marks the assumed front. These are not three consecutive attacks with unchanged facing.
Heroes VII · 3 steps
Black Guard must actually use Defend →
Trial by Fire’s Black Guard has Defensive: defending grants unlimited retaliation and prevents flanking until its next turn. Owning the trait alone does not mean the defensive state is always active.
Heroes VII · 3 steps
Time Stasis also prevents targeting the stack →
In Heroes VII Time Stasis is not a damage window against the target as in VI: until round end it prevents actions and attacking or targeting that stack. Other enemies remain separate threats.
Heroes VII · 3 steps
Fog Shroud protects a shooter while restricting its own shooting →
Shroud restricts ranged targeting as well as the target’s own shooting and activated abilities. It is not universal invulnerability: a melee threat remains relevant.
Heroes VII · 3 steps
Lightning Reflexes: retaliation between strikes →
Ordinary Lightning Reflexes adds a melee strike with its own adjusted Attack. The base order permits retaliation before that extra strike; Master of Air III changes the ordering.
Heroes VII · 3 steps
Shielding belongs to Legionnaire rather than base Sentinel →
In Heroes VII the upgraded Legionnaire has adjacent protection. The base Sentinel in this inventory lacks that trait. Matching names from VI do not justify importing its percentage calculation.
Heroes VI · 3 steps
The protector must stay beside the protected stack →
Sentinel absorbs some damage aimed at an adjacent ally. Its own ranged-damage shield is a separate trait rather than equal protection for every distant shooter.
Heroes VI · 3 steps
Returning after a hit does not prevent retaliation →
Harpy and Fury have Strike and Return. Fury additionally has Blur of Feathers, preventing ordinary retaliation. The comparison uses two separate alternatives for the same situation.
Heroes VI · 3 steps
Wait preserves Spirit Form; moving ends it →
Ghost has starting Spirit Form and a separate Incorporeal trait. Fifty-percent opening protection and the separate Might-damage reduction are different abilities.
Heroes VI · 3 steps
Time Stasis survives damage to the target →
Heroes VI Time Stasis allows focused damage against a disabled target because damage itself does not break the effect. The Heroes VII namesake has different interactions.
Heroes VI · 3 steps
Ice Wall blocks a route rather than the entire map →
Ice Wall forms a three-by-one obstacle with two structure points. This excerpt shows three horizontal cells and an open detour. The game determines actual cast validity.
Heroes VI · 3 steps
Landing position determines Purifying Light recipients →
When Blazing Glory uses its own teleportation, it removes one random harmful effect from an adjacent ally and one beneficial effect from an adjacent enemy. Post-move positioning determines recipients.
Heroes V · 3 steps
Reaching a target and acting again soon are different advantages →
Blood Fury has base Speed eight and Initiative sixteen; Black Dragon has Speed nine and Initiative ten. This example assumes the displayed ATB order puts the Blood Fury first. The two stats alone do not determine the current queue.
Heroes V · 3 steps
Wait need not let the slower opponent act first →
A mid-battle teaching example: Blood Fury can act now and the Minotaur has an assumed ATB of 0.6. Their Initiative values are sixteen and eight. These gauge values are chosen assumptions rather than an observed battle.
Heroes V · 3 steps
A large creature needs four tiles rather than one free square →
Hydra is a Large Creature with a two-by-two footprint. Footman occupies one tile. The marked obstacles leave a gap only one tile wide; any other route outside this excerpt needs a separate check.
Heroes V · 3 steps
Strike and Return alone does not prevent retaliation →
Base Blood Maiden has Strike and Return. Its Blood Fury upgrade additionally has No Enemy Retaliation. This example uses the Maiden and an eligible Minotaur with ordinary retaliation available.
Heroes V · 3 steps
Sorcery and qualifying mass spells recover ATB differently →
Zehir is the illustrative commander outside the field. This example assumes Haste is actually learned and Master of Wrath is present for its mass variant. It does not assign those conditions to Zehir’s starting profile.
Heroes V · 3 steps
Fireball can include allies in its three-by-three area →
The commander knows Fireball and has enough mana in this example. The enemy Hydra’s whole body lies inside the marked area, and a friendly Archer starts in the same zone.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Protect the caster, not only the front line →
Adelaide represents a vulnerable support hero. Positioning determines whether she survives to take the next needed action.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Open the shooter’s line of fire →
Line of sight matters in Heroes IV. Your own screening stack can stand directly in the intended firing line.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Both sides can hit simultaneously →
An illustrative Peasant–Skeleton contact explains resolution order. It is not a recommendation to commit weak peasants to a losing trade.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
A flyer can bypass the front screen →
A front line protects differently against walkers and flyers. This example uses an opposing Griffin and the support hero Adelaide.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Two heroes, two distinct jobs →
Araja supports troops through Tactics and Defense; Adelaide starts with Life Magic and Healing. Both are targetable combat participants.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Spacing against an area attack →
Protecting a caster and shooters can create a tightly packed target. Balance screening against the risk of one effect hitting several key units.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
A summoned Wolf is not permanent recruitment →
Elwin represents a developed caster with Summon Wolf available and sufficient mana. The spell icon marks the considered action without claiming every starting profile knows it.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
An illusion helps, but Dispel can remove it →
Emilia represents a caster who knows Create Illusion. The copied subject is an eligible creature rather than a hero; the opposing caster has Dispel available in this example.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Damaging a blinded target can end your control →
This example assumes Blind is available and the living Orc is an eligible target. The Undead Skeleton is a second threat rather than a Blind target.
Heroes IV · 3 steps
Heal restores HP rather than dead stack members →
Adelaide represents a caster with Heal available. The Crossbowman is an eligible living wounded target; the diagrams deliberately invent neither counts nor specific casualties.
Heroes III · 3 steps
Draw ordinary retaliation, but check exceptions →
This Skeleton has neither Counterstrike nor another source of extra retaliations. The example stays within one round and assumes both involved stacks still exist after the first exchange.
Heroes III · 3 steps
An adjacent enemy can block shooting →
This Archer is an ordinary shooter without an exception allowing shots beside an enemy. The adjacent Skeleton blocks shooting even at another, more distant target.
Heroes III · 3 steps
Dragon breath can hit an ally behind the target →
The Black Dragon occupies two hexes and its breath also strikes the hex beyond the main victim. Here a friendly Archer occupies that second affected position.
Heroes III · 3 steps
Wait changes order rather than normal action count →
Cavalier has base Speed seven and Walking Dead three. This example uses no further Speed modifiers or extra morale actions. The excerpt does not show their full reach.
Heroes III · 3 steps
Retaliation when waking from Blind depends on Fire Magic →
This example assumes Blind is learned and the living Pikeman is eligible without the relevant immunity. Solmyr is only the illustrative commander; neither this spell nor Expert Fire Magic is assigned to his starting profile.
Heroes III · 3 steps
Force Field has a shape and a fixed duration →
The commander has Force Field available and Advanced Earth Magic in this example. The three displayed hexes follow the attacker-side barrier shape without replacing the actual battle’s valid-cast preview.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Ordinary retaliation is once per round →
The attacker hits first, then an eligible surviving defender retaliates. A later friendly stack can exploit spent ordinary retaliation; actual action ordering must be checked.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Ranger’s double shooting is not a double melee strike →
Ranger fires twice during a ranged action, but an adjacent enemy restricts shooting. Ordinary shooter melee penalty halves damage unless the creature has an explicit exception.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Dragon breath can hit an ally behind the target →
Green Dragon occupies two hexes and attacks two cells in a line. The second stack need not be hostile. Skip does not preserve the dragon’s action for later in the same round.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Lich: a cloud shot also checks friendly neighbors of the target →
Lich’s cloud shot adds stacks around the primary target. The pinned reference engine does not filter that branch by army color or the Undead trait.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Blind: waking does not mean zero retaliation →
Blind disables an eligible target. Against a waking attack the reference permits retaliation at half damage; these are not Heroes III’s Blind school ranks.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Fireball has seven hexes; Fireblast nineteen →
Both Fire spells have a reference base of ten times Spell Power per affected stack. Fireblast’s greater base price buys a larger area rather than automatically a larger damage coefficient.
Heroes II · 3 steps
The same fifty times P health does not mean the same persistence →
Resurrect, Resurrect True and Animate Dead differ in persistence or target eligibility. The three pictures show alternative uses rather than tripling creatures beyond original stack size.
Heroes II · 3 steps
Mirror Image needs space and cannot withstand damage →
A copy of two-hex Cavalry needs two free neighboring cells. Its offensive potential is not an ordinary health pool: taking any damage removes the image.
Heroes I · 3 steps
First hit, survival and one ordinary retaliation →
Retaliation follows the hit. First check whether the target survived and may respond, then plan another attack in the same round.
Heroes I · 3 steps
An adjacent enemy blocks shooting →
Archer can have ammunition and still be unable to shoot. In contact it uses melee at half normal damage.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Skip ends the action; Speed and sides determine order →
Faster categories act earlier, and the manual describes alternating attacker and defender. Skip does not defer a stack into a waiting phase.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Knowledge: a separate supply of every spell →
Knowledge is not a mana pool. This illustrative hero has Knowledge 2, two prepared Lightning Bolt casts and two Blind casts; casting spends the selected spell’s supply.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Blind and Paralyze: different responses to a hit →
Both spells restrict active actions and end on damage. The manual nevertheless allows retaliation under Blind and explicitly prevents it under Paralyze.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Haste and Slow change categories and opportunities →
Heroes I Speed uses named categories. Haste and Slow are shown against the original manual, without converting them into later games’ bonuses or timelines.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Teleport rescues a shooter but does not solve the queue →
Spell movement can remove adjacent contact. Distinguish the cast, the destination’s actual state and the shooter’s following action.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Bless and Curse: damage ranges before modifiers →
Powerful stacks do not all gain equally from Bless. Compare their own minimum and maximum first, then account for count, Attack, Defense and other circumstances.
Heroes I · 3 steps
Siege: intact walls and an actual breach →
A ground stack cannot pass through an intact wall. A catapult may need repeated hits on the same section; a firing animation alone does not establish an open path.
Reading the individual steps
Distinguish alternative choices from consecutive actions. A later frame may require survival, another turn, a learned spell, resources or actual movement. Colored reach applies only where explicitly stated. Selecting a portrait opens profile details; keyboard controls and complete no-JavaScript content are available.
What is actually covered
This directory lists examples developed so far. Step counts are not a count of all game rules, and an available page does not imply a complete guide to every map, siege or game version.