Armageddon's Blade

Armageddon's Blade is the first expansion for Heroes of Might and Magic 3, released in North America on Sep 29, 1999 by New World Computing and The 3DO Company. It added a ninth town, the Conflux of elementals, six new campaigns, more than 35 stand-alone maps (38 by its manual's count), the random map generator, a campaign editor and an improved map editor, plus 23 new creatures and 27 new heroes. It needs the base game, and today it is sold only inside the Complete Edition; the 2015 HD Edition does not have it.

Quick facts

Release

3DO announced it with a press release headed "3DO Expands Heroes of Might and Magic III ... Hits Stores Today" on Sep 29, 1999, seven months after the base game. The release promised "6 new campaigns, over 35 new stand-alone scenario maps", the Elemental Conflux town and a random map generator. The expansion's own manual counts 38 new scenarios. Wikipedia dates the European release to Mar 17, 2000. The second expansion, The Shadow of Death, followed in March 2000 as a stand-alone disc, and both were later bundled with the base game as the Complete edition.

The story

The title campaign continues the base game's war. The manual opens with a letter from Lucifer Kreegan, who has taken the throne of Eeofol after "the mysterious slaying of demon King Xenofex": in a dream, Xenofex told him to gather the Breastplate of Brimstone, the Sword of Hellfire and the Shield of the Damned, which an old man forges into "the legendary Armageddon's Blade, which has the power to set the world on fire." Queen Catherine of Erathia orders her armies into Eeofol to dethrone him, though "Erathia's people are split over Catherine's action", and Elemental Confluxes "the size of cities" appear along the border (manual, pp.2-3, 9).

The player leads Catherine, her husband King Roland Ironfist and the half-elf ranger Gelu. Wikipedia tells the ending: Kreegan's general Xeron gets the Blade, Gelu defeats him and claims it, and at Catherine's behest slays Lucifer Kreegan; the Ironfists return to Enroth and the Blade stays with Gelu. The story picks up in Heroes Chronicles: The Sword of Frost and leads toward Heroes 4 (see Heroes Chronicles and Story).

7:45 The Blade's war is one of the three sagas Ubisoft's Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake weaves into one campaign. Its gameplay overview trailer, showing the Remake's new cinematics, ends its campaign tour on "the apocalyptic threat of Armageddon's Blade", after Queen Catherine and Sandro.

The six campaigns

Unlike the base game's campaigns, the first five can be played in any order without loading a saved game; the sixth, "the expert's campaign", opens after the other five (manual, pp.4, 6, 9-11).

Wikipedia notes that Foolhardy Waywardness explains why Christian is the starting hero of the base game's first campaign, Long Live the Queen, and that Kilgor and Christian return in Heroes 4. More on every campaign is on Campaigns.

The Conflux

The Conflux is the expansion's centerpiece: "A Conflux is home to the Elementalist and Planeswalker. Composed primarily of elemental creatures, the Conflux also offers home to the Sprites and the elusive Phoenix." The manual names its strength as "their emphasis on creatures of mid-range power", and "All elementals have neutral morale and immunity to poison" (manual, p.13). Its special buildings are an Artifact Merchants, a Magic University where visiting heroes can learn "any/all of the four schools of magic", a Resource Silo giving 1 mercury a day and the Garden of Life, which adds 10 Pixies or Sprites a week. Its Blacksmith sells the Ballista and, like the Castle, it can build a Shipyard.

Numbers from the Armageddon's Blade manual, pp.14-17, checked against The Shadow of Death manual, pp.18-22. Sprites take no counterstrike, Storm and Ice Elementals shoot (24 shots) and the Phoenix rises from its ashes. The Firebird's dwelling, the Pyre, costs 10,000 gold, 10 wood, 10 ore and 10 mercury. Strategy for the town is on Conflux.

New heroes, creatures and objects

Two hero classes came with the Conflux: the Planeswalker, the might class (starting skills 3/1/1/1), and the Elementalist, the magic class (0/0/3/3), with eight heroes each (manual, pp.21-22). Eleven campaign heroes were added too, among them Gelu, who can upgrade Archers, Marksmen, Wood Elves and Grand Elves to Sharpshooters, and Dracon, who turns Monks, Zealots, Magi and Arch Magi into Enchanters. A new Knight, Sir Mullich, gives every creature he leads +2 Speed (manual, p.23); he is named after David Mullich, who led the Heroes 3 team, according to Wikipedia.

The manual counts 23 new creatures, including the Conflux's ten. The rest are neutrals that wander the map, some returning from earlier Heroes games, such as Peasants, Boars and Halflings (Wikipedia), and some new, topped by the dragons: Faerie, Rust, Crystal and Azure, the last with 1,000 health and a fear attack (Creatures). Wikipedia lists two new artifacts, Armageddon's Blade and the Vial of Dragon Blood, and new map objects such as quest towers that only let a hero through who meets the map maker's conditions. Heroes with the Artillery skill can now control Arrow Towers in sieges (manual, p.4).

The random map generator and editors

Armageddon's Blade brought the random map generator. From the main menu, New Game, Single Scenario and Random Map let the player set the size, number of players, water content and other options, with one or two levels; the result is saved to the Random_Maps folder and can be refined in the map editor (manual, p.8). A campaign editor lets players string their own maps into campaigns with a story and carried-over heroes. The random map generator is sometimes credited to The Shadow of Death, but the 1999 manual and 3DO's release both list it here. More on maps is on Maps.

8:01 The generator outlived its expansion: Ubisoft's gameplay overview trailer for the Remake, over the Remake's own footage, promises that after the campaigns "dozens of standalone maps and a random map generator ensures endless replayability", and Ubisoft's dev blog of Aug 27, 2026 says the Random Map Generator will "return in full".

The town that was dropped: Forge

Wikipedia says Armageddon's Blade was first built around a futuristic "Forge" town, a science-fantasy faction that would have followed the "evil" ending of Might and Magic 7. It was almost finished when fans objected that technology did not belong in Heroes, and New World Computing dropped it midway through development, bringing forward the elemental Conflux that had been meant for a later expansion. Wikipedia adds that the rush shows in the Conflux's four elemental dwellings, which use the same art as on the world map.

Reception

Wikipedia reports favorable reviews on GameRankings, two points short of universal acclaim, with praise for the map editor, the amount of content and the campaigns, and some disappointment that the Conflux reused neutral creatures from the base game. Computer Games Strategy Plus named it 1999's Add-on of the Year: "Armageddon's Blade serves as a template for add-ons. It takes one of the better games of the year and makes it even better." GameSpot made it runner-up for Best Expansion Pack of 1999.

Frequently asked questions

What does Armageddon's Blade add to Heroes 3? Armageddon's Blade, the first expansion for Heroes of Might and Magic 3, adds the Conflux town of elementals, six campaigns, 38 new maps, the random map generator, a campaign editor, 23 new creatures and 27 new heroes.

When did Armageddon's Blade come out? Armageddon's Blade came out in North America on Sep 29, 1999, seven months after Heroes of Might and Magic 3, and in Europe on Mar 17, 2000 according to Wikipedia.

Is Armageddon's Blade in the Heroes 3 HD Edition? No: the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 HD Edition has only the base game, so it has no Conflux, no Armageddon's Blade campaigns and no random map generator. Armageddon's Blade is in the Complete Edition on Steam and GOG.

Which expansion added the random map generator in Heroes 3? The random map generator came with Armageddon's Blade in 1999, per its manual and 3DO's press release, not with The Shadow of Death, which improved the map editor's tools for refining random maps.

What is the Armageddon's Blade campaign order? In Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Armageddon's Blade, the first five campaigns (Armageddon's Blade, Dragon's Blood, Dragon Slayer, Festival of Life, Playing with Fire) can be played in any order, and Foolhardy Waywardness unlocks after all five.

Can I buy Armageddon's Blade on its own? Armageddon's Blade is not sold on its own today; it is part of Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Complete, $9.99 on Steam and GOG (Oct 21, 2026).

Sources

• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade manual, The 3DO Company, 1999, pp.2-4, 6, 8-23 (archive.org)
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death User Manual, The 3DO Company, 2000, pp.13, 18-22 (archive.org)
• 3DO Expands Heroes of Might and Magic III ... Hits Stores Today, The 3DO Company via PR Newswire, Sep 29, 1999
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade, Wikipedia (ending, Forge, reception, awards, European date), revision of Oct 4, 2026
• David Mullich, Wikipedia, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes Of Might And Magic III, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic® 3: Complete, GOG, archived copy of Oct 12, 2026
• Welcome Back to Erathia, Ubisoft on Steam, Aug 27, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake - Gameplay Overview Trailer, Ubisoft, Aug 26, 2026 (video)