Heroes 3: 20 Tips and Secrets of Adventure Map Objects

Lesser-known tips for navigating the various adventure map objects / locations in Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (HoMM3).
⭐ Recommended: Buy Heroes 3 Complete Edition at GOG.com*: af.gog.com/game/heroes_of_mig...
*Note: As a GOG affiliate, purchases through this link support the channel via commission at no added cost to you.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro / Stables Cavalier Upgrade Trick
01:00 Temple / Idol of Fortune vs Fountain of Fortune
01:43 Tree of Knowledge
02:28 Trading Post vs Marketplace
02:41 Library of Enlightenment & Diplomacy Skill
03:03 Witch Hut
03:27 Windmill / Water Wheel
03:47 Magic Spring
04:11 Refugee Camp
04:35 Warrior's Tomb, Shipwreck Survivor & Relic Artifacts
06:21 Whirlpool
06:48 Monolith (One Way)
07:08 Lighthouse
07:29 Trailblazer Movement Penalty*
07:53 Subterranean Terrain in Mines & Crystal Caverns
08:37 Movement from Oasis, Rally Flag, Fountain of Youth Etc
09:06 External Creature Dwellings
*Mod features can change as new versions are released - this tip is accurate as of HotA version 1.6.1.
More tips:
14 Beginner Tips & Tricks to Instantly Improve Your Play: • Heroes 3: 14 Beginner ...
Playthrough clips featured in this video:
Gold Rush: • Heroes 3: GOLD RUSH Ma...
The Great Wasteland: • Heroes 3: THE GREAT WA...
Dungeon Keeper (standalone): • DUNGEON KEEPER (Imposs...
Forge Mod Showcase: • Heroes 3: FORGE TOWN M...
Goblins in the Pantry (standalone): • Heroes 3: Goblins in t...
Rediscovery: • The Perfect HoMM3 Map ...
The Castle Crusade (1v7): • Heroes 3: The CASTLE C...
Recommended mods (Complete Edition only - not HD Edition):
Horn of the Abyss (HotA): h3hota.com/en/documentation
Heroes 3 HD Mod: sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/
My HD mod settings:
Mode: 32-bit OpenGL by Verok
Source size: 1180x664
Stretch filter: xBRZx2 + Lanczos
Music:
"The Pyre", "Floating Cities", "Wizardtorium"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
#heroes3 #homm3 #mightandmagic

[@Norovo]

Info on mods, map playthroughs clipped here, etc. can be found in the description. 🐉 My previous tips video, 14 Beginner Tips & Tricks to Instantly Improve Your Play: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGrHoZqdgrmqrbs

[@tyfyh622]

hey, is there a trick to Castles towers? Someone said they start killing archers from bottom to top. Is this true?

[@trezenx]

Maybe it's obvious for most people but only recently I found out that external dwellings up your creature production by +1, so even just having those can make a huge difference on your weekly army growth

[@Norovo]

Yep, it makes tier 7 dwellings super important (if you can afford the extra units)

[@2D_SVD]

@@Norovo especially if you're playing dungeon

[@shoe7525]

I didn't know this for the longest time, such a huge thing to know

[@livedandletdie]

@@Norovo who cares about the tier 7, it's the tier 4 dwellings you want a lot of. -Average Necropolis Player... Now where's my Amulet of the Undertaker, Dead Man's Boots, and Vampire's Cowl? I'm gonna Rush everyone with Power Liches.

[@hasanhaskovic4307]

@@livedandletdie ok

[@Nonii-92]

I have played this game for 20years, and there still was something I didnt know. Good work

[@louis-etiennebelangergagno5514]

Great comment

[@jpdwebb]

Great tips, the whirlpool one blew my mind! I have always avoided them when carrying any significant army, assuming the lost troop stack was random.

[@drazen1972cro]

I have played heroes 3 for 20 years and I didn't know any of these things. The cavalier upgrading at the stables on the map was a shock lol. Thank you for these tips!

[@TheDanK88]

Dude. Holy cow. You and I both. I am literally the meme of that cat seeing the universe right now. 36 years of age. Started playing around 12 so yeah. This is a game that I still find new things and experiences. Can’t wait to share with my son when he’s old enough to play games

[@Abelhawk]

I remember once I was playing Heroes 2 and a shipwreck survivor gave me the Battle Garb of Anduran. :D For those not familiar with Heroes 2, that's the most powerful artifact in the game, and a combination artifact at that-basically like a shipwreck survivor giving you the Angelic Alliance or the Armor of the Damned.

[@ivanmatic4229]

After seeing your 14 tips video, I was certain I'd find something new here, even after having played the game since 1999 and... yep! Double-sided magic springs, who would have thought? I also had no idea about the mines all having the underground terrain, thought that only applied to the Trog-guarded "abandoned" mines. And those whirlpools: yet another great use for the fabled one-stacks.

[@blabla-rg7ky]

I knew about magic springs... I actually knew about this for over a decade if I'm not wrong. But I literally had no idea about the LoE + diplomacy trick. And I also didn't know that you can get relics from the dudes in the water, but I have an excuse for my lack of knowledge: I never play maps with water, so.... But yeah, some of the explanations in this clip have genuinely left me with dropped jaws lol

[@JirkaMichalik]

I play HoMaM 3 for like 10 years and I did not know about the most of the mentioned tips. Thanks!

[@Marc-gj9vx]

From a game design perspective this shows how much thought the designers put into heroes 3 compared to all sequels. This game was made with so much passion.

[@artyomarty391]

there were dozens of bugs/imbalances. Still to this day, vast majority of spells are useless. Many skills serve no purpose. AI is still bad. etc. Game was good but not perfect, and the only reason its still being played today is because of the modding community

@@artyomarty391 ... and nostalgy

[@genrikmuradyan9967]

@Artyom Arty Modding is definitely NOT the only reason. I regularly get back to playing homm3 and I've never touched (or been interested in) any mods - I'm pretty sure there are millions of other players like me. I wouldn't be surprised if mod-oriented playerbase turned out to be way smaller than "simple nostalgic" one.

[@artyomarty391]

@@genrikmuradyan9967 I dont know... every youtube game of HMO3 has mods involved. Even all the tournaments use mods (HOTA is a mod)

[@genrikmuradyan9967]

@Artyom Arty you're judging by public games known to you (with very few views, btw), but that is never representative of actual players out there. Early homm-s were always very private games, so to make any statements about the reasons, you need to also gather stats from steam, gog, torrents, and reach out to tens/hundreds of millions players and ask them which version they play.

[@ugleland]

I knew you could enter magic springs on 2 spots, but not that you could use both in the same week! :D nice tip, ty! :)

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

I didn't know you could use the Magic Spring twice! I've been playing since the game was brand new. I think it's the second game I ever bought.

[@rafachrzaszcz6997]

24 years of playing and this game still amazes me!

[@dustinburlet7249]

Great video - your tips about the blocking the one way portal if it has multiple entrances and the underground terrain of fighting on a mine are especially notable

[@fireflies775]

I remember playing this game with my cousins when I was 7 or 8 years old. Didn't remember the name, but had been looking for it for years. Recently discovered it again and man this game is even more awesome than I remember.

[@dscpln9]

Same i play it so much nowadays

[@Raziel_J]

Wow, great tips! I was waiting for the next part of this series after watching your 14 tips video. I'm surprised how much I didn't know about most of these hidden mechanics. Even though I've been playing this game since I was a kid. For instance, the tip about the cavaliers and the stables took me completely off-guard. Hope to see more HOMM 3 content in the future!

[@blabla-rg7ky]

been playing this game since '99 and I had no idea that you can visit LoE when you're less than level 10 if you have diplomacy. Mind = BLOWN! Oh, I also didn't know that the shipwrecked dudes can give relics, but that's probably because I never liked water-y maps, so I never play them. Still, mind = blown again. I wonder which one of these objects have been deliberately kept secret by the devs. I am really curious to find this out and to find out the reasoning behind their secrecy...

[@tyfyh622]

it says that you need to be a higher (doesn't say exactly) level or a diplomat to get the knowlegde

[@user-qd8pb2xq7j]

It may seem stupid but I never actually got to visit stables with non upgraded cavalerists. Decades of playing!

[@octapusxft]

This needs to be a Playlist series

[@siuilbais2727]

Now I don't play much of the castle but in my 20 years of playing I never knew the stables would upgrade your unit like that 😂

[@VicTheRattlehead1]

Great video. Glad to have you back.

[@johnfahey5357]

Great video. I'd love to see more faction guides for Heroes 3, especially for Tower, my favorite.

[@KingBarve]

Great video, a lot of useful information. Thank you!

[@justdracir8197]

Love it! Always great to learn a few new things about one of my favourite games ^^

[@qbj]

Excellent video! I've never considered leaving slow units at a mine to get a movement boost the next day. I'll be using that for sure! ...Time to accidentally forget half my army at a sulphur mill.

[@durere]

This game really keeps on giving... Thank ya!

[@mr.tajtas4259]

Great guide. Keep up the good work!

[@arcturus64]

Dude these are insane tips.

[@vladislavkaras491]

Was pretty informative. Thanks!

[@DJShire_ATL]

This was very helpful. Thank you.

[@nTu4Ka]

Picking up objects (e.g. resources) horizontally or vertically uses less movement points. So you can make additional step in the direction you are planning to move and pick the item instead of from position pathfinding suggests you.

[@jarunia17]

Thanks, I learned a lot!😁

[@method1313]

Great tips, many thanks!

[@slowlancer]

Wow these tips are very helpful ! ❤

[@lubu7777]

I didn`t know most of that. Thx man, that`s amazing👏😃💖

[@Conan_the_Based]

Nice! I didn't know about the Whirlpool exploit :o Still learning Heroes of Might & Magic III tricks in 2023.

[@popaadrian60]

I still can not belive a game old as this is so complex compared with the games these days. You can feel old games are made with passion.

[@AkelasanAK]

... wow, i didn't know about Magic Spring having two sides... and couple more ...

[@joeyhuddleston7072]

Thanks for the video Noro! This game is so stunningly complex.

[@2D_SVD]

In my recent playthrough of the SOD bonus campaign I got to experience the warrior's tomb crap on the receiving end. I was minding my business with my 2/2/5/4 sandro when some knight hero attacked me with 9/8/6/6. As you can imagine, this being the first map of the campaign, I stood little chance in the battle. So I reloaded the save, got some black knights through cheats to figure out what on earth happened. As you probably already guessed, the enemy had the 5/5/5/5 sword. And yes, it was most definitely from the tomb since there were zero other ways they could obtain that thing. Wonderful experience, not gonna lie 🤣

[@brianmayabella5992]

The only item thats fits thr description is Sword of Judgment - a recipe of Angelic Alliance. It can never be found in tomes bcause these item is considered a level 4 items. Usually these items are guarded by heavy stack creatures

[@2D_SVD]

@@brianmayabella5992 please go and do some basic googling yourself. Warrior's tombs in SOD have 5% chance to drop a Relic (aka tier 4) artifact.

[@2D_SVD]

@@brianmayabella5992 and if you don't believe me after that, I invite you to extract the map from the campaign (1st map of the sod bonus campaign) and check if there are any other sources of relics on it.

[@2D_SVD]

@@brianmayabella5992 also LMAO, I rewatched the video and it literally says that you can get a relic from a tomb.

[@brianmayabella5992]

@@2D_SVD yes you can get, only low level like shard of dread knight,centaur axe or any weapon that only has 1 stat. Sword of judgement however has +5 or 6 to all stats. It can only be taken from Utopia or heavily guarded minions. Since 2001, ive been playing i have never ever found an item a plus to all stats items in a tomb

[@balintvasvari7573]

"There's a lot of things about these map objects that the game does not tell you, so this video is gonna give you some tips you might not picked up just playing the game." Me: Well honestly there's not so much specifically to that, I mean most people watching this probably have quite some time in the game already and if you just play it for a while you're gonna know all abo- "So for first one of the more famous ones is when you bring Cavaliers to a stable and upgrade them to Champions for free." Me: oh-hohooo excuse me buster but _what the shit_

[@CTGrell]

I always thought the stables were useless 😭

[@nataliep6385]

Awesome!

[@glaucioreis]

I actually used that one-way monolith trick as a feature in my map "Ralkor the Liberator". I realized that by placing one exit closer to the entrance, the game selected it most of the time. You were supposed to send an expendable hero first to block the undesirable exit.

[@lmelior]

Holy crap I only knew like half of these, and most of those are only because I've been watching your playthroughs!

[@vothanhlam7736]

nice content bro !!

[@d347hm4n]

Welcome back!

[@Norovo]

Thanks, I only had a month or so of not uploading but I'm guessing KZbin stopped recommending my non-Heroes 3 videos to people

[@Vijay-tg7hf]

Great vid thanks

[@tyfyh622]

idols - mindblowing!

[@Qwufi]

I xidnt know any of them. Thank you very much!

[@fauxtool952]

I played the shareware of this game so much as a kid. I think im going to buy it and play it again

[@d.f.7397]

Nice!

[@anthonychin8610]

I've been playing so long and never knew that whirlpool exploit! Time to send a poor gnoll for a swim 😂

[@user-no5iw4xj3h]

I am a simple person. I see homm3, I like the video.

[@MeepJeepLIVE]

nice video

[@TS-ri3rn]

You should know some of these tips after using game manual and informations from map editor (like % chance of shipwreck survivor)

[@Artanis02sk]

Can you make this video on H2's locations? And one on H2 spells as well?

[@nestor_srb]

If you stand on one way monolith, will you block opp as well or will you get attacked if he enters it?

[@Norovo]

You'll get attacked

[@jc2456]

Where did you buy the updated version? I can only find shadow of death online.

[@Norovo]

Shadow of Death / Complete edition is the final official version, which you can buy at GOG. Most active players then install HD mod + Horn of the Abyss mod on top of it, which are linked in the description

[@scarletevans4474]

You actually got the Whirlpool wrong: it's not HP, but Fight Value that matters! 🙂For example, with 1 Goblin (5hp) and 1 Sprite (3hp) it is NOT the Sprite stack that you will lose, but the Goblin! Easy to check using map editor. It doesn't matter that much for lvl 1 units, but can matter for low amount of stronger units! (like strongest dragons surviving over multiple lvl 7 units). For example, you have 2 War Unicorns (110 HP & 2030 FV) and 3 Enchanters (30 HP & 805 FV). You would think that no matter what you will lose Enchanters (90HP < 110HP), so you make a 1 stack of them... but in reality, you can just lose a War Unicorn and save the Enchanter, if you value it more! (also checked it with map editor) Even worse with the strongest Dragons, which can actually be a game changing example! Let's say that you have 3 Ancient Behemoths (FV 5397) that you want to save and 1 Faerie Dragon (FV 16317). You hit the Whirlpool expecting to sacrifice the Dragon and.. BOOM! 2 Ancient Behemoths die xD Though these cases are probably rare, but still good to know. And one have to be careful to not mistake AI Value with Fight Value, as they are different for quite many units. Nevertheless, very nice guide! Like usually, I learned something new 🙂Thank you!

[@u9vata]

Wondering where certain objects can spawn and where not! Like I know crypts never spawn on lava, but what other similar things happen in random maps?

[@TheDVDwr]

7:18 You mentioned mods, but are mods necessary or bugs are still present in the hd version ?

[@Wodpuncher001]

HD Version from Steam is just the base game without any of the updates or addons.

[@4nthr4x]

My God, I've been playing for 20 years and never knew the mechanic to drag your hero for visiting or in garrison O.O

[@CzBeno]

Which version is this of HOMM3?

[@blacklight4720]

I think I've found once a corrosive dragon in mercenary camp, I might be wrong though.

[@Adzdigitais]

How to understand the Puzzle to get itens?

[@reltsnie]

wake up babe new norovo heroes 3 video

[@markdowse3572]

I've been playing HoMM for YEARS and didn't know about quite a few of these little 'secrets'. 🤔 Thank you for sharing your knowledge, Mr Norovo ! 🙏😊 Great video. 👍 M 🦘🏏😎

[@adrielpahati185]

Can anyone know how the time market works? did anyone hacked into the code to know what the time market is for?

[@Norovo]

From Greg Fulton, a lead designer on Heroes 3: Originally, the Market of Time was called ‘Brigadoon’. It would randomly appear after long periods of time, and for a Day, a Hero could purchase very high value artifacts and very cheap resources. It was ‘cut’ because it required new programming functionality, we were running out of development time, and I was worried players would ‘park’ a Hero at the destination and simply wait for the Market. Also, for the record, it was never a place where Heroes could unlearn Secondary Skills.

[@mr.irukandjio4194]

What version is this game?

[@destructionman1]

If you have a capital in cityA, then that city gets taken by the AI, then you build a capital in cityB, then you take back cityA .. will cityA have a capital? Also, if the AI had no other capitals and they take cityA back, will cityA have a capital in it?

[@abca14045]

What about seafaring academy?

[@Squiggypie]

What defines an "adventure" map?

[@shareeclifton2265]

How strange.. I've recently put like 40 hours into this game the last month and here's a video.. Maybe because I googled player made maps a while back

[@miks8]

Wait, so your hero movement speed/distance is impacted by your slowest troop???

[@abaddon1371]

Yes. Your hero speed is determined by the slowest unit on the hero at the start of your turn. Passing off slow creatures to either the garrison in a town or garrison map object, mine, another hero or disbanding them if desperate, before ending your turn, will gain you movement at the start of your next turn (determined by your "new" slowest unit). Taking back the creatures after turn start, will not impose any penalties until next turn (where you can repeat the above steps).

[@chrisjones8585]

Great video. Is their a way to turn off negative events in this mod? It seems every 5th or 6th turn, I get an event that takes all of my gold.

[@Norovo]

Thank you, and which mod? I've never seen a mod do that, I would have thought it's part of the map you're playing?

[@chrisjones8585]

Thank you for the reply. It is with the HD mod. I choose a random scenario and that must have been part of it. Please keep up the great work.

[@nTu4Ka]

If you remove knowledge artifacts after visiting Magic Sprint your mana won't decrease.

[@garrettcasperson3089]

I miss homm3

[@nTu4Ka]

The Temple (if I'm not mistaken) makes the hero impossible to get attacked while he stands there.

[@lachainedefire]

wtf the stables one cant believe i never done it in my thousands hours of gameplay

[@user-tg8xq2pz9h]

We need Hota 1.70! PlS!!

[@Nonii-92]

I wish there was a mod that added many of the improvements in Hota, but didn't add cove and the new creatures because I feel they are not balanced

[@Crazy-Drokon]

Cove is decently balanced. It's one of the weakest towns in the multiplayer while strong against AI maps, but not too strong.

[@hommhommhomm]

If windmill gives you wood then what doesn''t?

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Great tips. 😎 After 15 years of experience with the game, I knew about all of them, but it's nearly guaranteed that 75% or more players out there would at LEAST learn something new. And, omg... I ABUSE the heeeeyyylll out of the 'leave the slowest creatures in a castle/mine/garrision at the end of a hero's turn' thing. Not to mention, the 'visit rally flags & oasis after a battle, fight again, return, etc.' as much as a map offers. Worst thing was in HoM&M IV where they made each creature have its own energy bar. 'Hero trains' became STUPIDLY obsolete, lol. 🙄😳😔🤮🤮🤮

[@Norovo]

Tbh I actually like that Heroes 4 change... hero chaining never felt like the intended way to play the game

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

@@Norovo Everyone has their thoughts on the series. For me, it just dragged out gameplay to an ASTOUNDINGLY sluggish pace. Sort of like swamp terrain in HoM&M 3. It's like--yes--I get it: it inhibits progress, but at a certain point, it became almost silly... ...'oook, so, I'm sitting here with skellies and stone golems... about to move... [FIVE STEPS]. Well! Yes. That about does it. Next day, then, shall we?" 😂🤣😂😕🙄🤮 But don't get me wrong. I'm about to publicly release a book (12.21.21) which has a ton of homages and influences from JVC's work. 🐲✨🐲 #excited

[@ToTheNines87368]

I thought I knew this game pretty well. Guess not

[@berakfilip]

In2021?

[@alfonsinhojunior3816]

O czym ty pierdolisz

[@Klinsk]

I'm a HOMM3 modder, I'd love for you to join our Discord.