Heroes

6:17 Heroes of Might and Magic 3 has 16 hero classes with 8 heroes in each, 128 heroes in The Restoration of Erathia (the official strategy guide, p.11): each of the eight towns of 1999 has one class that leans to might and one to magic, and Armageddon's Blade adds the Planeswalker and the Elementalist of the Conflux. Every hero has a specialty, four primary skills (Attack, Defense, Power and Knowledge) and room for up to eight Secondary Skills, and the guide makes the point that heroes are "the only components in the game that make anything happen": they are the only pieces that move on the Adventure Map, and they lead every army into Combat. This page uses the 1999 numbers from Prima's official guide for The Restoration of Erathia, and the expansion manuals for what Armageddon's Blade and The Shadow of Death changed. The clip is from Ubisoft's gameplay overview of the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake, where heroes "gain experience and level up, equip increasingly powerful items, and unlock skills that sharpen their identity", as they do in the 1999 game.

Quick facts

Hiring heroes

Heroes are hired in a town's Tavern. At the start of every week the Tavern offers two heroes: one is always of one of the two classes native to your starting town, the other a random hero from everyone not yet hired, and when you hire one another random hero takes the place. A hero costs 2,500 gold, and each player can have at most eight heroes on the map at once (guide pp.8-10). Right-click a portrait in the Tavern to see a hero's statistics before you pay: two heroes of the same class share primary skills, but each has their own secondary skills, starting troops, specialty and first spell, and the guide points out that heroes who are already above level 1 or carry artifacts cost the same, "so their extra abilities make them a bargain" (p.11).

A hero who retreats or surrenders from a battle reappears in your Taverns until the end of the week, with their level and artifacts, and can be hired again; after that the hero returns to the general pool and may turn up in an enemy's service (guide pp.10, 189). Heroes can also be freed for nothing from a Prison on the map (guide p.351).

3:00 The guide sorts heroes by job rather than by class. A general carries the main army, takes combat skills and the best artifacts, and levels fastest because combat gives the most experience. A scout travels with only fast creatures, since a hero moves at the pace of their slowest creature, to uncover the map and grab loose resources. A garrison commander guards a town, ideally a class with good combat skills such as an Overlord, Beastmaster, Knight or Barbarian, and a troop transport ferries new recruits to the generals (pp.8-10). The Remake's gameplay overview shows the same jobs becoming orders you can automate: heroes can be assigned roles to "collect resources, squire your main hero, or even transport freshly recruited troops to the front line". The Beginner's Guide shows how that works in a first game.

Primary skills

Each hero has four primary skills. Attack and Defense are added to the Attack and Defense of every creature in the hero's army, which is why the guide says even Imps become "completely viable troops" under a hero with high ratings (pp.14-15). Power sets how strong spells are: how much a spell damages or heals and how long it lasts. Knowledge sets the hero's spell points, 10 for each point of Knowledge (p.16). How spells use them is on Spells and Magic.

Starting primary skills depend only on the class, as the guide's class tables give them (pp.28-58) and the Armageddon's Blade manual for the Conflux (pp.21-22):

The guide is not consistent about Inferno: its text once calls the Heretic "the might-oriented Hero of the inferno town", but its own tables give the Demoniac the fighter's 2/2/1/1 and combat skills and give every Heretic Wisdom, so the table above follows the tables.

Each new level adds one point to one primary skill. You do not choose which: the odds depend on the class and level, favoring a class's strengths at levels 2 to 9 and evening out from level 10. A Barbarian from level 2 to 9 gains Attack 60% of the time, Defense 30%, Power and Knowledge 5% each; from level 10 the odds are 30%, 30%, 20% and 20%. A Knight at levels 2 to 9 gains Attack 45% of the time and Defense 35% (guide p.14, Table 2-3).

Experience and levels

A hero gains experience for winning battles, equal to the total hit points of all the creatures defeated; the Learning skill adds up to 15% more, and treasure chests on the map can be taken as experience (guide pp.11, 24, 188). At each new level the hero gains a primary skill point and is offered two secondary skill advances to choose from: a new skill at Basic, or the next level of one the hero already has. Might classes are offered combat skills more often and magic classes magic skills, out of 112 chances per skill and class (pp.12, 16, 26).

1:39 The table is the guide's Table 2-1 (p.11); beyond level 13, each level needs 1.2 times the experience of the step before it. The guide gives no highest level. On the map, a Tree of Knowledge grants a level and a Learning Stone 1,000 experience once per hero, and Dungeon's Academy of Battle Scholars also gives 1,000 experience once per hero (guide p.350, and the Dungeon town chapter). Norovo, in his video on adventure map objects (Nov 15, 2021), adds what the game does not tell you: each Tree of Knowledge either grants its level for free or always asks the same price (2,000 gold or 10 gems), and it gives exactly the experience needed to reach the next level, so a Tree is worth more to a higher-level hero.

Specialties

6:37 Every hero has one specialty, shown on the hero screen, and the guide's class tables list all 128 (pp.29-59). In the Remake's gameplay overview, Ubisoft names three of the 1999 specialists: Solmyr, "feared for his mastery of chain lightning", Galthran, who "forges skeletons into unstoppable legions", and Luna, who "sets death traps with her Firewall spell". They come in a few kinds:

• Creatures: the hero's creatures of one type fight better, such as Edric with Griffins, Valeska with Archers, Ivor with Elves, Shiva with Rocs or Galthran with Skeletons. Most might heroes have one.
• Spells: the hero casts one spell "with increased effect, based on his level as compared to the level of the target unit", as the guide words Thant's Animate Dead (p.49), such as Solmyr's Chain Lightning, Xarfax's Fireball, Alamar's and Jeddite's Resurrection, Cyra's Haste or Adela's Bless.
• Secondary skills: one skill gets a bonus, such as Lord Haart's Estates ("a 5% per level bonus to his Estates skill"), Crag Hack's Offense, Isra's Necromancy or Kyrre's Logistics. The Shadow of Death manual gives Crag Hack, Gem and Sandro the same 5% per level for their skills (pp.13-15).
• Resources: +350 gold a day (Caitlin, Jenova, Aine, Octavia, Clavius, Nagash, Damacon), or one rare resource a day, such as Rissa's mercury, Calid's sulfur, Sephinroth's crystal and Saurug's gems.
• War machines: the Ballista, for Christian, Torosar, Pyre, Arlach, Gurnisson and Gerwulf.

The Conflux classes of Armageddon's Blade follow the same pattern: each Planeswalker boosts one pair of elementals, and the Elementalists include Brissa (Haste), Ciele (Magic Arrow +50%) and Luna, whose Fire Wall damage is doubled (AB manual pp.21-22). The same expansion added Sir Mullich, under whose command "All creatures ... receive +2 speed" (AB manual p.23); he is named after David Mullich, who led the Heroes 3 development team (Wikipedia).

Heroes by class

The heroes of The Restoration of Erathia, from the guide's tables (pp.29-59), with the Conflux from the Armageddon's Blade manual (pp.21-22):

Every Knight starts with Basic Leadership, every Cleric with Wisdom, and every Death Knight with Basic or Advanced Necromancy (guide pp.29-59).

Campaign heroes

Some heroes appear only, or in a different form, in the campaigns (Campaigns; the story is on Story). The Armageddon's Blade manual (pp.9-11) introduces:

• Queen Catherine Ironfist and King Roland Ironfist, Knights with Basic Leadership whose Swordsmen and Crusaders gain Attack and Defense for each level after the 4th, alongside Gelu, a Ranger who can upgrade Archers, Marksmen, Wood Elves and Grand Elves to Sharpshooters.
• Xeron, a Demoniac whose Devils and Arch Devils gain +4 Attack, +2 Defense and +1 Speed.
• Mutare, an Overlord: "All Dragons under Mutare's command receive +5 Attack and +5 Defense."
• Dracon, a Wizard who upgrades Monks, Zealots and Magi to Enchanters, and Kilgor, a Barbarian whose Ancient Behemoths gain +5 Attack, +5 Defense and +10 damage.
• Adrienne, a Witch who starts with Expert Fire Magic, and Lord Haart as a Death Knight, no longer the Knight of 1999.

The Shadow of Death manual (pp.13-15) gives the prequel's heroes: Crag Hack (Barbarian, 4/0/1/1, Advanced Offense, +5% Offense per level), Gelu again, Yog (a genie's son who chose his father's Barbarian path, 4/0/1/1 with Basic Offense and Basic Ballistics), Gem (Druid, Basic Wisdom and Basic First Aid, +5% First Aid per level), and the necromancers Sandro (Basic Necromancy and Basic Sorcery, +5% Sorcery per level) and Finneas (specialty Animate Dead). The manual heads Yog's card "Wizard" but prints Barbarian skills, and the guide lists him as a Barbarian.

Which hero is best

There is no official ranking of single heroes. The official guide answers by class and says the best hero "depends on each scenario's starting conditions": small open maps favor might heroes, the Barbarian above all; longer games favor the Knight, Ranger and Overlord, then strong spellcasters such as the Warlock and Wizard; the longest favor balanced classes such as the Battle Mage. Its picks (p.60):

12:09 Players' rankings today agree with the guide at least on Dungeon: in his Dungeon guide (Mar 21, 2021), Norovo calls the Overlord "generally considered to be one of the best hero classes in the game" for its Attack gains and its odds of Tactics, Offense and Logistics, and the Warlock "generally not advisable as a main", for its low odds of Attack, Defense and combat skills; he names the Logistics specialist Gunnar the town's best hero overall. These are his opinions.

The guide adds that Necromancers and Death Knights lose much of their edge without Necropolis towns to back them, and that Tower and Dungeon towns help spellcasters because Castle, Stronghold and Fortress cannot build a Mage Guild of level 5 (p.60).

Heroes beyond the original game

The fan-made, unofficial Horn of the Abyss adds 54 new playable characters across its three new towns plus campaign figures, and Bulwark's heroes use a new Runes skill, as its Steam page says (read Oct 21, 2026). Ubisoft has not published the hero list of the Remake, due in 2027, as of Oct 21, 2026.

6:54 The Remake keeps the heroes but redraws how they look and are managed: in its gameplay overview, Ubisoft says "heroes shine with updated portraits and a completely revamped hero character page", and a new inventory system handles their stats, equipment and army.

Frequently asked questions

How many heroes are in Heroes 3? Heroes of Might and Magic 3: The Restoration of Erathia has 128 heroes, 8 in each of 16 classes, according to the official strategy guide. Armageddon's Blade adds two Conflux classes with 16 heroes and several campaign heroes.

What is the best hero in Heroes 3? Heroes of Might and Magic 3 has no official ranking of individual heroes. The official strategy guide names the Barbarian the best low-level general, the Overlord the best high-level general, the Warlock the best spellcaster and the Battle Mage the most balanced class.

How much does a hero cost in Heroes 3? A hero costs 2,500 gold in a Tavern in Heroes of Might and Magic 3, whatever their level. The Tavern offers two heroes a week, and a player can have up to eight on the map.

What is the max level in Heroes 3? The official Heroes of Might and Magic 3 strategy guide gives no highest level: its table runs to level 15 at 31,604 experience, and after level 13 each level needs 1.2 times the step before.

What are the primary skills in Heroes 3? Heroes of Might and Magic 3 heroes have four primary skills: Attack and Defense, which are added to their creatures' ratings, Power, which sets spell strength, and Knowledge, which gives 10 spell points per point.

What is the difference between might and magic heroes in Heroes 3? In Heroes of Might and Magic 3, every town has a might class, which starts with higher Attack and Defense and is offered combat skills more often, and a magic class, which starts with more Power and Knowledge and is offered magic skills more often.

Sources

• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Prima Publishing, 1999, pp.8-60, 188-189, 350-351
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade manual, The 3DO Company, 1999, pp.4, 9-11, 21-23
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death User Manual, The 3DO Company, 2000, pp.13-15
• David Mullich, Wikipedia, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake - Gameplay Overview Trailer, Ubisoft, Aug 26, 2026 (video)
• Heroes 3: 20 Tips and Secrets of Adventure Map Objects, Norovo, Nov 15, 2021 (video)
• Heroes 3: DUNGEON Town Overview / Strategy Guide, Norovo, Mar 21, 2021 (video)