r/HoMM

Had a recent discussion on how some games are built around single player but have multiplayer built into them (e.g HoMM3), and how some games are built on multiplayer but can be played solo (e.g Destiny 2).

For example PvP focused templates are vastly different from PvE ones, plus balancing can vary between the modes like how older games had some strats banned in multiplayer. This also means any new content etc.

What would you prefer the devs to focus on yourself and why?

View Poll

Here the thing: if not for cheats I would've dropped it within the first hour. I used Plitch to slightly increase my view radius and occasionally gave myself a few extra resources.

I know that's not the honest way to learn a game, but Id heard from friends how popular this genre is and that Heroes 3 is really interesting. When I asked about what to play I got recomended OE. Without any background in strategy games like this the experience feels very heavy

I figure it'll take at least another couple of weeks before I can confidently play without cheats.

So far Olden Era is super fun and it feels like it draws the best from every Heroes game!

There are some bugs in the game that certainly will get fixed over time. But even with all bugs gone in the future there might be things you would like to add or change.

What ideas and wishes do you have so far?

- I personally would save the start positioning of units at the beginning of a battle so that you don't have to repeat the placement step over and over again.

- Also on the world map when something takes more than the actual day to reach it would be cool to change the mouse cursor to show the number of days needed (right now you can count the 'X's on the way, but an instant indicator with the cursor look might be a small but effective QoL change)

tl;dr: if you are a fan of Heroes or layered strategy games, buy it

The game is great, and a pleasant surprise. I did not expect to have so many layers to uncover. The quality of life like the readability settings and current UI we have is honestly pretty good for early access, although I expect it to be improved going forward.

This game activates the same Heroes 3 neurons quite closely in its game flow, while also adding new experiences and systems to chew on. The law system is basically an upgrade tech tree, while the Observatory is basically a Magic tech tree.

The magic system is presented in a very confusing and convoluted way, but with time the community will make proper guides on it to onboard new players to that complexity.

The units are quite cool and flavourful. You also have dual upgrade choices like in heroes 5. Each faction is beloved, in a recent poll on "Which faction is your favorite" we had balanced results from all factions.

The graphical style updated for 2026 is actually surprisingly fitting. It was really hard to pull off but I think they did a good job. It looks like a heroes game, without pixel graphics.

Multiplayer, ladder and balance also works. The systems work. Campaign works. Tutorials work. It's a working game, they just fixed a bug related to disconnections that was an issue (but I never had that issue myself, I played custom games and a few multiplayer ladder games).

Related to complexity, I think this installment of the series is quite a bit more complex than people realize, navigating the layers of UI, the tech trees, the units, can get overwhelming fast for newer players. But if you are an avid gamer of Heroes and strategy games in general it is a good fit.

As for the competitive multiplayer scene, people are still figuring out what is good and what is not, which is a good sign.

It feels like playing Heroes to me.

Basically, buy if you are a fan of Heroes or layered strategy games.

It is good in its current state in early access.