Secondary Skills

6:28 A Heroes of Might and Magic 3 hero can learn up to eight of 28 secondary skills (the official strategy guide, pp.8, 16-26), each at three levels, Basic, Advanced and Expert: combat skills such as Offense and Archery, magic skills such as Wisdom and the four schools of magic, and "other" skills such as Logistics and Estates. At every new level the game offers two advances and you pick one, either a new skill at Basic or the next level of a skill the hero already has; map buildings such as the Witch Hut and the University teach skills too. With only eight slots and 28 skills, choosing what to leave out is most of the game's hero building. The numbers below are those of the 1999 Restoration of Erathia, from Prima's official guide; how skills fit each class is on Heroes. The clip shows the same idea in Ubisoft's gameplay overview of the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake, where heroes "unlock skills that sharpen their identity, turning a wandering upstart into a feared specialist".

Quick facts

All 28 secondary skills

Every effect below is from the guide's skill descriptions (pp.17-26).

Combat skills

Magic skills

Other skills

The guide's Tactics rule (p.164) compares the two heroes' Tactics: one level higher than the enemy lets you place troops up to 2 rows from your edge, two levels higher up to 4 rows, and with equal levels neither side can rearrange. Pathfinding's numbers are the guide's movement table: normally rough ground costs 125% of movement, sand and snow 150% and swamp 175% (p.98). A magic school skill lowers the cost of that school's spells by 1 to 5 points for spell levels 1 to 5 (p.63), and how much stronger each spell gets at Advanced and Expert is listed spell by spell on Spells and Magic.

How skills are offered

When a hero gains a level, you get two secondary skill advances to choose from. Which ones appear is random, weighted by class: each class has its own chance, out of 112, for every skill (the guide's Table 2-4, p.26). The guide sums it up: heroes of might "are most often offered skills that augment their combat abilities, while Heroes of magic will most likely be offered ones that increase their spellcasting ability" (p.16). A Barbarian is offered Offense most often, then Ballistics, Artillery, Scouting and Pathfinding, and has "little or no chance" of spellcasting skills (p.30); a Necromancer is most often offered Necromancy, then Wisdom, Eagle Eye, Intelligence, Sorcery, Mysticism and Scholar (p.48).

Some skills are closed to some classes: "Necromancers and Death Knights can't learn" Leadership (p.18). Several skills need something else to work. Artillery needs a Ballista, First Aid a First Aid Tent and Ballistics a siege, and the guide warns, "You get no benefit from a Hero who has this skill but never attacks a town" (pp.17-18).

Where to learn skills on the map

2:55 Besides levels, the adventure map teaches skills (guide p.350):

• Witch Hut: teaches one random secondary skill, never Leadership or Necromancy.
• University: pay 2,000 gold to learn a new secondary skill.
• Scholar: teaches one primary skill, secondary skill or spell, then vanishes.

Norovo's video on map objects (Nov 15, 2021) shows the Witch Hut rule in this clip, and adds a warning: in the original game you cannot turn down the hut's skill, so he suggests sending a spare hero first to see what it offers, while the fan-made, unofficial Horn of the Abyss lets you refuse it.

2:01 In the Remake's gameplay overview, the narrator lists the same rewards for exploring: locations that grant "your hero experience, spells and new skills".

The Conflux of Armageddon's Blade has a Magic University "that enables visiting heroes to learn any/all of the four schools of magic" (AB manual p.13).

Skills the official guide recommends

The guide has no ranking of skills, but it gives clear advice:

• Wisdom and a school of magic for spellcasters. A great spellcaster needs "The Wisdom secondary skill (to learn high level spells)" and "Earth, Air, Water, and/or Fire Magic secondary skills" along with high Power and Knowledge (p.16). Without Wisdom a hero learns only level 1 and 2 spells, and "Heroes without the Wisdom secondary skill gain no benefits from Mage Guild III or above" (p.107).
• Mysticism for casters far from home. Mysticism keeps a spellcaster useful when they cannot get back to a town to refill; for a long campaign into enemy land "this skill is a must" (pp.8, 22).
• Logistics for generals and scouts. It suits generals "burdened with a slow but powerful troop stack" and scouts alike (p.25).
• Few economy skills on a general. Generals should take combat and movement skills first; "Using two of a Hero's eight secondary skill slots" for skills like Estates "will suffice" (p.8).
• No magic for Barbarians. Make the most of their Attack with Offense, Artillery, Archery and Tactics, add Resistance and Armorer, and "Naturally avoid advancing their spellcasting ability" (p.30).
• Ballistics on one hero. Have at least one might hero specialize in it so someone can break town walls (p.18).

Skills that depend on the map, such as Navigation on a map with no water, are only worth a slot where they apply (p.12). The Beginner's Guide puts these choices in the context of a first game.

How players rank skills today

10:44 Players who compete online rank skills differently from the 1999 guide, and their numbers are often those of the fan-made, unofficial Horn of the Abyss, which changed several skills. Alex_The_Magician's skills overview (Feb 23, 2020) is made for player-versus-player games on Horn of the Abyss's Jebus Cross template, and in this clip he calls Earth Magic the top skill for warriors and mages alike, "basically better than the other three combined", for mass Slow, Resurrection, Earth Elementals and Implosion. He ranks Air Magic (mass Haste, Chain Lightning, Fly, Dimension Door) above Fire Magic except for Luna, who needs Advanced Fire Magic early for a three-hex Fire Wall, and calls Water Magic "definitely the worst element".

7:54 Among the other skills he ranks Logistics, Offense, Tactics and Archery high, Leadership, Pathfinding, Luck, Mysticism and Intelligence in the middle depending on the hero, and calls Eagle Eye, Estates, Learning, Ballistics and First Aid "mostly useless" or close to it. In this clip he explains that Logistics "has been nerfed" and gives 20% at Expert in the version he plays, against the 30% the 1999 guide lists; his numbers for Archery and Intelligence also differ from the guide's.

21:44 Resistance shows how far Horn of the Abyss has moved from the original: Alex_The_Magician explains in this clip that the skill is now Interference, which lowers the enemy hero's spell power by 30% at Expert instead of making spells fail, and that with the matching artifacts he has cut an opponent's spell power by 75%. In the 1999 game the skill is the guide's 5%, 10% or 20% chance that a spell fails.

Necromancy

Necromancy raises 10%, 20% or 30% of the enemy creatures killed in a battle you win as Skeletons in your army (p.19), and it is the reason a Necropolis army grows as it fights. Every Death Knight starts with Basic or Advanced Necromancy and every Necromancer with Necromancy, and a Witch Hut never teaches it (pp.38-49, 350). The guide advises raising it only with a Necropolis or another source of undead, because undead mixed with living creatures cost the army morale (p.19).

Several things add to the percentage: the Necropolis's Necromancy Amplifier (+10% for allied heroes, guide p.116) and its Grail building, the Soul Prison (+20%, guide p.111), and three artifacts, the Amulet of the Undertaker (+5%), Vampire's Cowl (+10%) and Dead Man's Boots (+15%) (pp.345-346). In The Shadow of Death, those three combine into the Cloak of the Undead King, which raises 30% of the dead as Skeletons and, with the skill, Zombies at Basic, Wights at Advanced and Liches at Expert (SoD manual p.26; see Combination Artifacts).

Skills beyond the original game

The fan-made, unofficial Horn of the Abyss adds a Runes skill for the heroes of its Bulwark town, as its Steam page says (read Oct 21, 2026). Ubisoft has not detailed the skills of the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake, as of Oct 21, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How many secondary skills are there in Heroes 3? Heroes of Might and Magic 3 has 28 secondary skills, each at Basic, Advanced and Expert level, and a hero can hold up to eight of them.

What are the best secondary skills in Heroes 3? Heroes of Might and Magic 3 has no official skill ranking, but the official strategy guide calls Wisdom and a school of magic essential for spellcasters, Mysticism "a must" for casters on long campaigns, and Logistics good for generals and scouts.

What does Wisdom do in Heroes 3? In Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Wisdom lets a hero learn spells above level 2: level 3 at Basic, level 4 at Advanced and level 5 at Expert. Without it a hero gains nothing from Mage Guild levels III to V.

What does Logistics do in Heroes 3? Logistics raises a Heroes of Might and Magic 3 hero's movement on land by 10%, 20% or 30% at Basic, Advanced and Expert.

Can you forget a secondary skill in Heroes 3? The official strategy guide for Heroes of Might and Magic 3 describes no way to unlearn a secondary skill, so every pick takes one of a hero's eight slots for good.

Where can I learn secondary skills in Heroes 3? Besides choosing them at level-ups, a Heroes of Might and Magic 3 hero can learn a random skill at a Witch Hut, buy one for 2,000 gold at a University, or take one from a Scholar on the map.

Who can't learn Leadership in Heroes 3? In Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Necromancers and Death Knights cannot learn Leadership, and a Witch Hut never teaches Leadership or Necromancy.

Sources

• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Prima Publishing, 1999, pp.8, 12, 16-26, 30, 48, 63, 98, 107, 111, 116, 164, 345-346, 350
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade manual, The 3DO Company, 1999, p.13
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death User Manual, The 3DO Company, 2000, p.26
• 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 best skills || Overview || Heroes 3 skills guide, Alex_The_Magician, Feb 23, 2020 (video)
• Heroes 3: 20 Tips and Secrets of Adventure Map Objects, Norovo, Nov 15, 2021 (video)