What is Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era?

Olden Era is the official prequel to the classic turn-based strategy series, set on Jadame in the world of Enroth. Players explore maps, capture mines, build towns, recruit and upgrade units, level heroes, cast spells, fight tactical battles, and make campaign choices.

What should beginners focus on first in Olden Era?

Beginners should focus on purposeful movement, early mines, useful town builds, low-loss battles, and hero choices that support one clear plan.

What affects adventure map movement in Olden Era?

Olden Era movement is limited each day, but practical distance depends on route cost. Roads reduce travel cost, harsh terrain can add penalties, native terrain can remove penalties when the hero or carried army matches that terrain, and artifacts, skills, or spells can reduce or eliminate penalties.

Are Olden Era maps static or randomly generated?

Both exist. Campaign missions, premade scenarios, and editor-made maps can be hand-crafted, while Classic and random-template play use a template-based Random Map Generator, so exact layouts can change from game to game.

Which factions are available in Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era Early Access?

As of May 2026 Early Access, Olden Era includes Temple, Dungeon, Schism, Grove, Necropolis, and Hive.

Which mode should beginners start with in Olden Era?

Beginners should start with the tutorial, then play Act 1 or a simple Classic or scenario map. That teaches movement, mines, town building, army preservation, and map economy. Arena is useful later for combat practice, while Single Hero is stricter because hero survival is central.

Why can Olden Era feel hard on Easy or Normal?

Early patches adjusted difficulty, but custom games can still depend on multiple settings such as economy, enemy strength, and AI behavior. Beginners should check the full map setup before assuming their faction or build is weak.

What resources should beginners watch besides gold in Olden Era?

Beginners should watch Alchemical Dust for upgrades, Astrology Points for magical development, and Law Points for faction-level Laws. Gold is important, but it is not the only bottleneck.

What are Laws in Olden Era?

Laws are faction-level passive upgrades powered by Law Points. They can improve economy, armies, heroes, or faction identity and should support the strategy the player is already using.

Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era

Beginner FAQ The Basics That Matter

Q: What is included in Olden Era Early Access?

Olden Era Early Access includes six factions, an in-game tutorial, Act 1 of the campaign, premade scenarios, Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes, single-player and multiplayer support, matchmaking, ranked play, leaderboards, hotseat, puzzle challenges, Random Map Generator templates, and a pre-release map editor.

Q: What is still missing or planned for Olden Era Early Access?

The full campaign is not complete yet. The Early Access plan includes more campaign acts for the full release, additional scenarios and random map templates, map editor improvements, the Underground map layer, and ongoing balance, technical, and usability patches. Timing can shift based on player feedback.

A practical guide for new players who want to understand turns, towns, stacks, heroes, spells, Laws, upgrades, and campaign choices without needing old-series knowledge.

May 2026Updated for Early Access launch content and the first post-launch patches.

6 factionsTemple, Dungeon, Schism, Grove, Necropolis, and Hive are live in Early Access.

1 ruleMake every day turn into more power.

Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era official key art

Beginner Foundation

Learn the Loop, Then Compound

The title explains the game. Heroes are commanders: they lead creature armies, explore the map, carry artifacts, level up, and decide when to fight or cast spells. Might is the practical power of armies, stats, movement, morale, positioning, town growth, and clean tactical decisions. Magic is spell power: mana, buffs, debuffs, control, damage, protection, and timing. Most heroes use both, but beginners usually do best with a Might-leaning hero and a few useful spells.

Olden Era in Brief

Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era is the official prequel to the classic turn-based strategy series, set on Jadame in the world of Enroth. You explore an adventure map, gather resources, capture mines, build towns, recruit and upgrade armies, level heroes, cast spells, fight hex battles, and make campaign choices.

As of May 2026, Olden Era is in Early Access with a tutorial, the first campaign act, premade scenarios, Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes, multiplayer matchmaking, ranked play, leaderboards, hotseat, puzzle challenges, random map templates, and a pre-release map editor. Balance and exact wording can change, so tooltips still matter.

Story So Far

Olden Era takes place on Jadame, a dangerous continent in Enroth where peace was never the default. The current Early Access campaign begins as a new disaster spreads across the land: the Hive, a demonic insectoid swarm, is corrupting territory and forcing old rivals to face a threat none of them can ignore.

Your goal is not simply to win random battles. You are trying to build enough power, alliances, towns, armies, and hero momentum to survive the Hive crisis and push Jadame back from collapse. That is why the game keeps asking you to choose routes, preserve troops, capture resources, and decide which factions or campaign choices are worth trusting.

Olden Era is about momentum: useful movement, clean fights, focused builds, and choices that compound.

What is the loop?

Explore, collect, capture mines, build the town, recruit units, fight cleanly, gain experience, choose upgrades, and clear stronger rewards.

What matters most?

Every day should help you become stronger faster than the map can punish you.

Is Might or Magic easier?

Might is easier to read early. Magic is strong, but it asks for spell timing, mana management, and spell cooldown awareness.

Is this friendly for PvE?

Yes. PvE means you can play against the game rather than human opponents. The tutorial, campaign, scenarios, Classic maps, random templates, puzzles, and Arena practice can all be played without competitive PvP. Solo players can quick save, test risky fights, reload bad losses, and learn at their own pace.

Is PvP mandatory?

No. PvP is optional and lives in online Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes, plus ranked play, matchmaking, leaderboards, and hotseat for local turns. It exists for players who want human routing, drafting, and combat pressure, not because the campaign requires it.

What changed from older Heroes?

Olden Era keeps the classic map-town-battle loop, but adds faction Laws, active creature abilities powered by Focus, modern multiplayer, and Early Access balance changes.

Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era adventure map screenshot

Setup, Campaign, Roadmap

First Run & Early Access

Early Access is playable now, but it is not the final shape of Olden Era. Treat the current version as Act 1 plus the core sandbox: enough to learn the genre loop, try every launch faction, play solo or multiplayer maps, and see the campaign's opening crisis, while the full story, map tools, balance, and technical polish continue to evolve.

What should I play first?

Do the tutorial, then play Act 1 or a simple Classic/scenario map. That path teaches the three things Arena cannot teach by itself: how daily movement works, why mines and towns matter, and how losses in one battle affect the next week.

What is included now?

Launch Early Access includes six factions, an in-game tutorial, Act 1 of the campaign, premade scenarios, Classic, Single Hero, and Arena modes, single-player and multiplayer support, matchmaking, ranked play, leaderboards, hotseat, puzzle challenges, Random Map Generator templates, and a pre-release map editor.

Why only Act 1?

The campaign is being released in stages because Early Access is meant to test the foundation first: faction balance, hero growth, combat pacing, map economy, multiplayer, difficulty, and editor feedback. The full version is planned to carry the story across all acts.

What are the limits?

The story is incomplete, the Underground map layer is not in yet, the map editor is explicitly pre-release, more scenarios and templates are planned, and balance can move under your feet. If exact unit stats, spell numbers, AI behavior, or multiplayer timing feel different after a patch, that is normal for EA.

What is the roadmap?

The broad roadmap is more campaign acts, additional scenarios and random map templates, map editor improvements, the Underground layer, and ongoing technical, balance, and usability patches. The developers also said a more detailed roadmap would follow after early player feedback, so dates and order can shift.

What should I do after Act 1?

Use scenarios or Classic maps to practice the full map-town-combat loop, random templates for replayability, Arena for pure battle reps, puzzle challenges for tactics, and hotseat or online modes once you understand why a bad Day 3 fight can ruin Day 12.

Why does Easy feel hard?

Heroes-style strategy punishes hidden inefficiency: wasted movement, late mines, overbuying units, bad fights, and unfocused hero choices. Early patches also targeted difficulty, but custom games still depend on economy, enemy strength, AI, map size, and mode settings.

Should I pick the best story option?

Not on a first run. Choose the option you understand, make a manual save before major campaign choices, and accept that the first pass is for learning. Use guides later if you want every achievement, branch, or optimized reward.

Where should detail players look?

Use the in-game tooltip first because it reflects your installed patch. For exact unit, spell, tier, and faction data, the official community wiki is a better reference than a beginner FAQ.

First-run mindset for complete newcomers

Do not measure success only by whether you won a fight. In this genre, a victory can still be bad if it costs too many troops, mana, days, or resources. Your real job is to turn each day into more income, movement, army strength, hero levels, map information, and safe future options.

Because Olden Era is in Early Access, keep expectations flexible: learn the systems, report bugs if you hit them, and assume that balance advice written today may need checking against tomorrow's tooltip.

Campaign Branches

Act 1

Act 1 starts with linear teaching missions, then opens into faction choices and a major route split. Save before finishing Mission 4 if you want to see both branches without replaying the full act.

New player route: play straight through Missions 1 and 2, pick the Mission 3 side you understand best, then make a Hub Save before ending Mission 4. Take For the Chalice first for the cleaner rescue path, then reload Mission 4 later for Dusk Treaty if you want the alternate branch and achievements.

Mission 1 - Linear

Garner Hills

Opening Gunnar mission. Learn the campaign's dialogue and fight pacing, avoid unnecessary losses, and keep at least one Minotaur alive if you care about Ariadne's Mercy.

Mission 2 - Linear

Into the Woods

Grove-region setup mission. Recruit Infernal Hydras before fire blocks earlier areas, feed Kittenhorn groups if you want completion credit, and finish to add Lafiur to the story.

Mission 3 - Soft Choice

Burning Hearts

Choose Temple for Blessed by the Sun or Grove for Bound by the Roots. This choice matters, but the main route split still comes next. If fighting Old Pilgrim, do it before resolving the Temple/Grove conflict.

Mission 4 - Major Save Point

Neverending Conflict

This is where the act splits. Save here before committing, because the choice sends you into either the Temple branch or the Necropolis branch for the next two missions.

Recommended first: For the Chalice

Temple Branch

Why pick it first: the objectives are easier to read for a new player, the rescue target is clear, and Valentina joins directly.

Mission 5A - Saving the Knight: rescue Valentina, refuse the Dragonfly King's herald if you want the branch achievement, and watch the Troglodyte promise quest if you are achievement hunting.

Mission 6A - Renegade: continue the Temple route. If you have not done the Necropolis branch yet, Lord Galthran joins here after the main objective.

Second run: Dusk Treaty

Necropolis Branch

Why save it for later: it is the alternate route for branch coverage, earlier Galthran recruitment, and remaining Act 1 achievements.

Mission 5B - Deal with a Vampire: rescue Lord Galthran directly and refuse the Dragonfly King's herald if you want the matching branch achievement.

Mission 6B - Corruption: continue the Necropolis route. If you have not done the Temple branch yet, Valentina joins here after the main objective.

Mission 7 - Branches Rejoin

Alvar Diruil

The act converges with Gunnar, Lafiur, Valentina, and Galthran available by this point. Use the branch you completed first to continue the story, or reload the Mission 4 save before moving on if you want both paths recorded.

Adventure Map Discipline

Map Tempo

Map tempo is the art of turning limited daily movement into permanent advantage. Do not think of a hero as having a fixed number of useful steps. Think of movement as a budget that the map, army, and hero build can make cheaper or more expensive.

Read every route in this order: road first, then terrain cost, then native-terrain match, then movement tools. Roads reduce wild travel cost, harsh terrain can punish detours, matching faction terrain can remove penalties, and artifacts, skills, or spells can change the whole calculation.

Adventure map with mountain passes, rivers, resources, guards, and branching roads — First read the road network, then decide which branch deserves a full day.

Adventure map with a castle, nearby mines, forests, lava border, and visible resource routes — Town-side routing is about mines, safe fights, and reinforcement timing.

Dark adventure map coastline with winding roads, mountains, treasures, and guarded structures — Chokepoints and side rewards decide what the main hero should skip.

1. Start With The Route

Ask where the road already wants you to go. Roads reduce the cost of crossing the wilds, so a slightly longer road can be faster than a direct line through rough terrain.

2. Price The Terrain

Not all ground costs the same. Harsh terrain such as desert can burn movement quickly, while native terrain can remove penalties when your hero or carried army matches that faction's homeland.

3. Check The Army

Army composition is part of routing. A matching faction unit can help with native-terrain movement, but mixed-faction armies can create morale problems. Take the routing gain only when it is worth the combat risk.

4. Use Movement Tools

Artifacts, skills, and spells can turn a slow route into a good route. Artifacts apply when equipped; Wanderer's Way is the clean example because its set effect eliminates terrain penalties.

5. Know The Map Type

Both static and generated maps exist. Campaign missions, premade scenarios, and editor-made maps can be hand-crafted. Classic and random-template play use a template-based generator, so exact layouts can change each game.

6. Spend The Day

Urgent objectives and threats.
Mines and income.
Road-efficient permanent bonuses.
Clean reward fights.
Nearby resources and support-hero cleanup.

Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era factions confronting each other in battle

Faction Roster & Modes

Factions & Modes

Olden Era launched into Early Access with six factions and several ways to play. Beginners should not try to master all of it at once. Pick a faction whose core plan is easy to understand, learn the map loop in the tutorial, campaign, or Classic, then use Arena and puzzle challenges to practice combat details. These labels are learning-curve notes, not power rankings.

Temple

Learning Curve - Beginner Friendly

A balanced human faction built around familiar melee, ranged, flying, and support units. It is one of the easiest factions to read first because its plan is straightforward: protect key stacks, buff well, and win clean army fights.

StrengthsBeginner-friendly army roles, sturdy tempo, strong mixed melee and ranged pressure, and clear buff targets.

WeaknessesLess surprising than trickier factions and can feel predictable if you fall behind on unit growth or positioning.

Dungeon

Learning Curve - Intermediate, High Ceiling

A magic-oriented faction of dark elves and underground creatures. Dungeon is strong and flexible, but it asks you to prioritize the elite units that carry fights and use stances or spells with purpose instead of buying everything evenly.

StrengthsFlexible combat stances, strong spell access, powerful ranged and elite units, and excellent payoff once you know which stacks deserve investment.

WeaknessesMore decision-heavy than Grove or Temple, and easier to misplay if you spread gold across filler units or waste spells, stances, and fragile key stacks.

Schism

Learning Curve - Expert

An abyssal cult faction that wants momentum. Schism can snowball through unusual faction mechanics and expanding pressure, so it suits players who like chaining victories and turning early success into a larger army advantage.

StrengthsStrong snowball potential, magic pressure, summon-style scaling, and excellent value when you keep winning fights in sequence.

WeaknessesEarly mistakes hurt because the faction wants momentum, and its unusual mechanics can be harder to judge on a first run.

Grove

Learning Curve - Best First Pick

A nature faction of rangers, druids, spirits, and beasts. Grove leans into ranged pressure, tempo, and Focus-driven creature abilities, making positioning and protection of fragile damage dealers especially important.

StrengthsGood ranged pressure, strong ability tempo, Focus synergy, and clean fights when you protect damage dealers well.

WeaknessesCan punish sloppy positioning, and fragile ranged or ability-focused stacks may collapse if enemies reach them.

Necropolis

Learning Curve - Intermediate

An undead army faction built around attrition, Necromancy, and growing numbers after battles. It often wins by preserving value, converting losses into more undead, and letting quantity overwhelm cleaner but smaller armies.

StrengthsExcellent long-map scaling, undead attrition, army growth after victories, and strong value from repeated low-loss clearing.

WeaknessesLower-quality bodies can need critical mass, and poor early fights delay the snowball that makes Necropolis scary.

Hive

Learning Curve - Advanced

A fast, aggressive insect faction that plays like a swarm. Hive wants to pressure the board, multiply threats, and use summons or expendable bodies to make fights messy for slower opponents.

StrengthsFast pressure, swarm tactics, expendable bodies, and strong board disruption against opponents that need time to set up.

WeaknessesRequires proactive play; if the swarm stalls or key bodies die inefficiently, fights can become expensive quickly.

Which mode should I start with?Start with the tutorial, campaign act, or a simple Classic scenario. Single Hero is stricter because hero survival is central. Arena is useful for combat practice without the full map economy.
What else exists in Early Access?Premade scenarios, random map templates, hotseat, puzzle-style challenges, multiplayer matchmaking, ranked play, leaderboards, and a pre-release map editor.
Why do some pages say Sylvan?Some older preview pages used earlier naming. For the Early Access launch, the public faction list is Temple, Dungeon, Schism, Grove, Necropolis, and Hive.
Should I chase tier lists?Not first. Pick the faction whose units and mechanics you understand. A simple plan executed cleanly beats a “best faction” you play randomly.

Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era tactical battle screenshot

Fast Decisions

Cheat Sheet

If you are unsure, choose the option that keeps the campaign moving. A few imperfect decisions are fine; repeated unfocused choices are what make the game feel harder. These are the small rules that quietly save days, troops, and resources.

Use ALTHold ALT when scanning the adventure map. It highlights visitable objects, pickups, and missed interactables that cost new players whole days.

Route CostMovement range is not just the blue bar. Roads cut travel cost, deserts are punishing, and native terrain can make the same route much cheaper.

Army TerrainA hero can avoid terrain penalties if the army includes a unit whose faction is native to that terrain. A single matching stack can save more time than a bigger army.

Road DisciplineDo not wander in straight lines if a nearby road reaches the same area. The road detour is often faster than cutting across rough ground.

Scout RolesCheck hero specializations before leveling blindly. Some heroes are better as scouts, resource collectors, or delivery runners than main fighters.

Chest ChoiceEarly on, gold from treasure chests is often stronger than experience because it turns into buildings, weekly growth, and recruits.

Build GrowthWeek-one creature buildings matter more than fancy upgrades. A new dwelling gives an immediate growth stack and keeps producing every week.

Upgrade LaterBase stacks first, upgrades after you have bodies. Upgrading five units is rarely better than recruiting enough troops to clear one more guard.

Two UpgradesFaction units can have two upgrade branches. Visit a town with the upgrade building to switch, and keep both versions when their abilities solve different fights.

Rare ResourceKnow your faction's key rare resource before spending. Tier 7 units and top buildings can bottleneck on gems, crystals, or mercury long before gold runs out.

Dust MattersDust has no mine and comes from piles, exchanges, storages, and artifact disenchanting. Save it for upgrades that change fights, not tiny conveniences.

MarketplaceBuild or use a marketplace to unblock a critical build, but do not rely on bad trades as your economy plan. Secure mines and pickups first.

Crystal OffersIf a neutral group asks for crystals or another resource instead of attacking, treat it as a recruitment clue. In campaign play, Kittenhorn squads are a classic example.

Mixed ArmiesCross-faction armies can lose morale. If you mix troops for utility or terrain movement, offset it with Leadership, artifacts, or Laws.

Home GroundUnits gain an initiative edge on their native terrain. A fight on the right ground can decide who acts first, shoots first, or uses an ability first.

Split StacksMost enemies counterattack once. Split cheap units into tiny stacks to absorb retaliation, block shooters, or force awkward enemy movement.

Wait, Then HitUse Wait with fast units instead of rushing forward. Let enemies spend their turns, then strike late and act early next round.

Skip SafelySkip or defend with fragile stacks when attacking only feeds counterattacks. Saving one stack can matter more than a tiny damage roll.

Long ReachLong Reach attacks hit from one hex away without provoking counterattacks. Use them to punish melee units while staying out of their normal response.

Ranged RangeRanged units lose damage at longer distances and become weak in melee. Move close enough to avoid harsh falloff, but protect them from being tied up.

Focus TimingSpend Focus when an active ability prevents losses, secures a kill, or changes positioning. Use number hotkeys 1-0 to fire abilities quickly.

Spell ValueThe best spell is the one that prevents the most losses now. Open the spellbook with B and check the mage guild with O before blaming the army.

Hero StatsAttack and Defense scale army trades, Spell Power scales magic, and Knowledge keeps casting going. Artifacts can make even a low-level hero suddenly useful.

Laws FirstLaws are faction progression, not flavor. Pick economy Laws when starved and combat Laws when fights are costing troops.

Mode OrderCampaign or Classic teaches the full loop, Arena teaches fighting, and Single Hero teaches risk once you know the basics.

Daily RuleEnd every day with more power: a mine taken, a stack recruited, an object cleared, a road position gained, or a future fight made cheaper.

How To Use This FAQ

Keep this page open while playing your first maps. Use Map Tempo when you feel lost on the adventure map, Economy & Towns before spending resources, Combat & Focus after a costly battle, and Laws & Resources before committing faction progression.

Because Olden Era is still in Early Access, treat exact numbers as tooltip-first. This FAQ is for decision quality: where to move, what to build, when to fight, and how to avoid unfocused choices.

Beginner FAQ The Basics That Matter

Learn the Loop, Then Compound

What is the loop?

What matters most?

Is Might or Magic easier?

Is this friendly for PvE?

Is PvP mandatory?

What changed from older Heroes?

First Run & Early Access

What should I play first?

What is included now?

Why only Act 1?

What are the limits?

What is the roadmap?

What should I do after Act 1?

Why does Easy feel hard?

Should I pick the best story option?

Where should detail players look?

First-run mindset for complete newcomers

Act 1

Garner Hills

Into the Woods

Burning Hearts

Neverending Conflict

Temple Branch

Necropolis Branch

Alvar Diruil

Map Tempo

1. Start With The Route

2. Price The Terrain

3. Check The Army

4. Use Movement Tools

5. Know The Map Type

6. Spend The Day

Spells & Skills

Gameplay Upgrade Choices

Factions & Modes

Temple

Dungeon

Schism

Grove

Necropolis

Hive

Economy & Towns Work in progress

Economy or units?

Recruit everything?

What resources are easy to miss?

Why can I not upgrade?

Combat & Focus Work in progress

Should I auto battle?

How should I fight?

What is Focus?

Was the fight good?

Why terrain and morale?

Why positioning?

Hero Builds Work in progress

Spell Power or Knowledge?

Attack, Damage, Defense?

What should I avoid?

Is my build working?

Do all heroes need to fight?

Immediate power or scaling?

Laws & Resources Work in progress

Best Law?

Economy or army Laws?

How do Law tiers work?

Where do Law Points come from?

What about Alchemical Dust?

What about Astrology Points?

Cheat Sheet

How To Use This FAQ