Gamers Month - Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East

Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East



Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Nival Interactive
Release date: 2007

Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East is a PC game that runs under windows (though a mac cider build is floating around which works quite well from what I've been able to tell from a few hours of play). It is considered an expansion of the original HOMM V game since the storyline is the continuation of the original game and the first expansion, Hammers of Fate, though it can also be played as a stand-alone game. It is a turn-based strategy RPG set in a medieval fantasy world. It can be played as a single player game and it can also be played online. I'll be talking mostly about the TOE expansion as far as gameplay goes, though I'll inevitably have to run through the basics of the original game since this game was built off of it, and the storyline is a direct continuation of it.

My knowledge of the Might and Magic franchise as a whole is rather limited, though there is a specific reason that I decided to try this game out. One day, I was sitting at home, bored out of my mind, and I was trying to think of a game that I had played in the past which I had really liked and that I could play to pass the time. I was watching Ivanhoe on TV, and I suddenly got a passing glimpse of a game demo I had played with my brother when I was really young, and that I had played over and over, even though the difficulty and time limit made it so that I got crushed to hell every time I tried to get to the end of the level. I remembered that it was set in a world full of mystical creatures that I fought most of the time, and sometimes got to add to my army. The name of this game eluded me completely however, so I didn't know where to begin looking for it. The images though, were quite clear, and I knew that if I found this game again it would be a glorious day.

Shrugging it off, I set off to the store to buy myself a game. As soon as I entered the PC games section, a box art caught my eye and I just stared at it:



“Huh” I thought, “this looks interesting”. So I went and picked up the box, and turned it around. The creatures looked like the ones I recalled, and the setting was just about the same, though everything was rendered in 3D and looked much fancier than the game I had played. Looking at the 20$ price tag, I knew this game wasn't as new as some of the other ones there, and I should be able to get it to run on my comp. No one had ever spoken to me about it, so I wasn't sure if it was any good, but the eerie resemblance to the images in my mind made me go to the cash register right away and buy it.

Arriving home, I didn't waste a second installing the game, anxious to see if it was anything like the one I had played. The minute the game interface came up, I knew this was it. Sure, it was rendered in 3D, and the creatures weren't exactly the same as I remembered them, but the feel of the game was there. I finished the game within the first month I had bought it, and got the expansion packs as fast as I could find them. The game just kept getting better with each one. The game was so much fun that my girlfriend (who's last two extensive gaming experiences were Mario 64 and Kingdom Hearts, which I bought just to get her to game with me a little [it worked ]) actually got hooked enough to play through the entirety of the storyline campaigns and even all the stand alone scenarios included in the game!


Game review

Now on to the actual game itself. The main interface of HOMM V is one of an angled bird's eye view of the main game map, which you can rotate, zoom, and tilt. A classic HOMM view option is available, where the camera remains static as in prior iterations of the game, but which can still be zoomed in or out. On the main map, you'll see your own and your enemies Heroes, neutral groups of creatures, artifacts, treasures, creature dwellings, and a number of other elements. At first, you can only see the areas of the map which are close to your towns or your heroes, and a good part of the game consists of exploring the map to find what you are looking for. Certain maps also have underground areas that are accessed through stairs on the overworld map, and certain missions don't even have an overground area. On the main map view, you can also see which heroes are active on the map, your resources, a minimap, certain action buttons, as well as the day of the week. A day in-game is the equivalent of every player taking his turn. Each hero has a certain number of movement points per day which are depleted faster depending on the crossed terrain.



There are two different situations in which the view will change. The first is when you access a town or a dwelling. When you access a town, you will see the heroes which are present in the town, if any, as well as their troops. You also can observe the buildings which you have built in the town, and which buildings are available to be built. Certain special buildings, like the tavern or the artifact merchant, are accessed from the city screen. You can also access the creature recruitment screen, which allows you to bolster your forces with a certain number of troops each week, with the types of creatures that are native to the type of town you are in. The dwelling screen consists of the creature screen uniquely.

The other time the view changes is when you enter into battle with a group of neutral creature or an enemy hero. Here, you get an angled view of the battlefield, with the attacking hero and his troops on one side, and the defending hero (if any) and his troops or the neutral creatures on the other. The battlefield is a square grid on which creatures can move, and which sometimes contains obstacles that restrict movement. You have a creature/hero turn bar on the bottom of the screen telling you the order in which combat will take place, which is essential in planning out your strategy for the battle.



Your objectives change according to the mission or scenario you are playing, and usually involve defeating all enemy factions, capturing a certain town, or finding one or more artifacts. Certain missions also have a limited number of turns in which you must complete your objective.

There are a certain number of factors which make this game as addictive and fun as it is. The graphics, though a bit dated by today standards, are quite pleasing to the eye, and don't require an insane amount of memory for the game to run. The soundtrack is also quite good, consisting mostly of orchestral music, with a few of the tracks containing vocals.

However, the real reason the game is so much fun to play boils down to two things: variety and flexibility.

As of TOE, the player has a choice of eight factions he can play, and each one is very distinct and unique. Each faction has seven tiers of creatures that it can recruit, and each of these tiers can be upgraded two different ways, as opposed to the one upgrade which was available in the original HOMM V and the HOF expansion.


Troop tiers

The seven troop tiers are usually organised in the following order, from weakest to strongest, and with small variations in the troop types of neighboring tiers for certain factions:

Tier 1: Your basic weakling unit, with limited strength and abilities. Their numbers rise quickly, however, so they can become useful even against the strongest of creatures once their numbers comprise a legion.

Tier 2: Basic archery/ distance attack units. Like the first tier creatures, their strength is in numbers. Usually an early target of the enemy army, as their distance attacks can be quite devastating if they are left unchecked.

Tier 3: Stronger foot soldiers type units, these will normally serve as your first line of defense early on, and as a good assist unit for higher tier troops once you have them.

Tier 4: High mobility and attack speed units. These will usually have high initiative, allowing them to inflict early damage on the enemy. Their low resilience, however, makes them quite an easy target.

Tier 5: Spellcaster/ higher powered distance attackers. These units will usually be quite hard to take out, as their ability to stay out of combat and inflict damage, coupled with their rather high defensive capabilities, makes them a tricky target.

Tier 6: Stronger melee attacker type units with a high level special ability usually comprise this tier. They serve as a better line of defense for your back row units, with the tier 3 units serving as their lieutenants.

Tier 7: This tier is usually comprised of some manner of dragon, celestial being, giant, or evil overlord. They usually have a very high movement speed and can take down pretty much anything very quickly.

There are also creatures which are not part of any faction, such as elementals and death knights, which can only be recruited in special dwellings to be found on the overworld map.


The heroes themselves have to choose their upgrade paths from twelve different different base skills, from which they can choose only five, in addition to their racial skill, and each of these skills has a number of unique abilities associated to it. Sometimes, a particular ability will require that the hero choose more than one skill and ability to be available, and each race has an ultimate ability which can only be obtained through careful planning. These ultimate abilities themselves range from bordering on game-breaking (the Academy's Arcane Omniscience) to barely worth the trouble (the Haven's Unstoppable Charge). The heroes also have four different statistics (strength, defense, spellpower, knowledge) which affect the usefulness of their spells and the strength of their army. Mana is also essential to the hero, as using special combat abilities and spells (as well as a few world map ones) requires it. Hence, a high level hero will be a lot more effective, as will his army.



The eight factions included in TOE are as follows:

Good factions

Haven: This is your run of the mill human faction. The hero is the Knight, and his main skills are attack and defense. The Haven hero' leveling up will mostly serve to make his warriors tougher and stronger, and white magic is quite effective since the ability to further buff up and revive his troops will make his army even more invincible.

Sylvan: This is the Wood Elf faction. The hero is the ranger, and his main skills are defense and knowledge. The hero's avenger ability serves to give his arrows great strength, as well as those of his archery units. The Sylvan hero benefits from being able to attack his enemies swiftly and with great luck.

Academy: The Academy faction's hero is the Wizard, and his main abilities are spellpower and knowledge. His creatures are mages themselves, or all types of constructs and summoned creatures. The Wizard's main abilities are quite obviously magical, and his army will serve more as cannon fodder than anything else by the time he is fully leveled. (see Arcane Oniscience)

Fortress: This faction is comprised of dwarven warriors. The Dwarven Runemage's main skills are defense and spellpower, and his faction's unique ability to use runes is useful in confering advantages to his troops in combat.

Evil Factions

Necropolis: The Undead faction. The Necromancer's main skills are defense and spellpower. Though this faction's troops are the weakest of all the factions, the ability of the Necromancer to raise his own and even enemy troops during and after battle means that their numbers are always greater than that of the opposing army's.

Inferno: This faction is comprised of all manner of devils and demons. The Demon Lord's special skill is that he can create gates to summon extra troops for the duration of the battle, and his main abilities are knowledge and attack. His troops are also trained in the art of gating, and all means of hellfires can be used against their opponents.

Dungeon: Dark elves and their lizard allies are the members of the Dungeon faction. The Warlocks, their great leaders, make use of high attack and spellpower ratings to decimate their opponents. The Warlock also learns to render his magic unstoppable by breaking the enemies magic defense barriers. The knowledge of the powers of the elements permits the member of the Dungeon faction to inflict extra damage on their foes.

Stronghold: This faction is led by the orcs, and their allies include goblins and the great cyclops. Attack and defense are the Orcish Barbarian's strengths, and his ability to send his troops into a great blood rage by any means necessary can change the tide of a battle from hopeless to effortless.


The game's storyline is your standard fantasy world fare (demons trying to control the realms! Oh noes!), and the dialogue and voice acting are laughable at the best of times (Zehir's cheese filled one-liners being my favorite source of ridicule) and horribly cliched and inexcusably lame at the worst of time. All this, however, is only a pretense for the actual game itself, so the experience isn't ruined in any remarkable way by it.

The battles can demand a great deal of planning and luck, and sometimes the tide can be turned by one well placed attack by a group of units, or the correct spell being used at the opportune moment. Hence, knowledge of the different troop types' strengths and weaknesses (accessible during combat by right-clicking the unit in question) becomes indispensable during the later stages of the game. The Heroes themselves cannot be attacked, though they take turns themselves during battle like regular units, attacking an enemy stack or using a special ability/ casting a spell. Once either side is out of troops, the battle is over and the surviving hero gets some well-deserved experience, in addition to his foe's collected artifacts. It is also possible for a hero to retreat from battle or surrender, though this will be quite costly to the hero's owner, as he will have to be recruited again at a steep price from the town tavern.

Planning your towns' development is also an essential part of the game, as gaining a certain troop type one game day before the week's end may allow you to get an extra batch of troops, or having the tavern built might allow you to send your main hero exploring a bit further without having to worry as much about a hostile takeover by hiring an extra hero. There are seven types of resources in the game, and each can be gained by holding certain mines until the end of the day, or by finding a lump of resources on the world map. Each faction also has a preferred resource type, so choosing which mine to get first and defend can save you from stalling your town development later on.

Learning to gauge the enemies strength is also quite useful with regards to being able to retain a strong army throughout the game. Neutral stacks defending a particularly good treasure will usually be more powerful, and hence rushing in to get it too early might cost you a substantial part of your army. Right clicking on a neutral stack or enemy hero will give you an idea of the challenge rating but knowledge of strategies to be used against specific unit types will help the player defeat them in the optimal way, without wasting troops or mana.

The biggest difference between TOE and HOMM V and HOF, apart from the alternate upgrades and new Stronghold faction, is to be found in the game's balance. Certain overpowered units have been scaled down, and the hero skill upgrades trees have been modified to better balance the factions.

Another significant change from the first two iterations of HOMM V that comes in TOE is the ability to use caravans to bring troops from your dwellings to your towns, or from one town to another. It may not seem like much, but it removes the tedium of having to have certain heroes dedicated to visiting all dwellings every week, which can slow the pace of the game down significantly if the map is a big one with a large number of dwellings.


Game community

Another great part of HOMM V is the community that surrounds the game. A great number of fan sites exist, were different mods are being worked on and high-quality campaigns can be downloaded. New creatures, heroes, and artifacts are also standard fare. A consortium of fan communities even collaborated on making a game manual which lists every imaginable tidbit of info on the games many different aspects, and even goes as far as calculating the percentage chance of certain events happening in game. Though I myself have not yet played the game online, I know that tournaments and guilds are also organized through the different sites dedicated to the game, and it is possible to play duels online, which are basically one shot battles with a set number of troops and hero abilities.

A map editor is packaged with the game, so creating your own maps and scenarios is possible, though certainly time-consuming, seeing as to how there are a great number of things to put in place.


Who should play this game

I would recommend this game to anyone who likes strategy or RPG games, or anyone looking to get into the genre. The difficulty can be scaled down to suit beginners, or increased to the point of demanding knowledge of the games inner workings to stand a chance. I would also recommend this game to anyone who has the patience to spend a few days learning to play the game and likes a challenge. Playing HOMM, in any of its iterations, is an experience that is quite likely to remain with you for a while, and it has never been easier to get into the series than with this particular episode.

Jam it back in, in the dark.