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Vote for the Lich design!

Update [2015/03/29]: Even if current vote results seems to be legit, we will operate a quick recount of vote ballots on Monday. We will confirm the winner of both votes with a dedicated article as soon as possible.
Hello Councillors,

A few weeks ago, we announced the complete visual rework of 2 creatures from Necropolis line-up: The Lich and the Vampire.

Taking your comments into account and picking from the best of our universe, we started to work with our artists to propose 3 meaningful options.

Since this rework decision was initiated from community feedback, we also decided that this council will be the one, which makes the final choice through a new vote for the game.

Cast your vote today and decide the next design of the Lich and the Vampire in MMH7!

Those votes will take place in a single round, results will be hidden until the end of the vote and we will monitor duplicates accounts, as always. Choose wisely, following only your own opinion. This is your voice that matters today.

In the meantime, please keep in mind that the following pictures only are rough sketches that do not represent the final quality of the design. They will help us to define the general art direction of the unit. The winning option will be reiterated and customized in order to comply with the game art direction.


Vampire vote available here: https://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/vote-for-the-vampire-design

Vote now for the Lich design!

Select between the following 3 options:

1. The Priest of Death 
Reading unholy scripture from the pages of some ancient Book of the Dead or Libram of Last Rites, this priest of Asha invokes the darkest aspect of his Goddess.

2. The Undead Sorcerer 
Having transcended the rules of Life and Death, this dark Wizard has forsaken flesh to the point of becoming a cadaver himself, in exchange of tremendous powers.

3. The Ancient Mummy 
This Undead priest has been around since the early days of the Spider Cult. Only bandages and rituals keep his rotten body in one piece, and he hides his desiccated face under a mask.

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Vote_Lich

End of the vote: March 29th, 23:59 CET

Vote for the Vampire design!

Update [2015/03/29]: Even if current vote results seems to be legit, we will operate a quick recount of vote ballots on Monday. We will confirm the winner of both votes with a dedicated article as soon as possible.
Hello Councillors,

A few weeks ago, we announced the complete visual rework of 2 creatures from Necropolis line-up: The Lich and the Vampire.

Taking your comments into account and picking from the best of our universe, we started to work with our artists to propose 3 meaningful options.

Since this rework decision was initiated from community feedback, we also decided that this council will be the one, which makes the final choice through a new vote for the game.

Cast your vote today and decide the next design of the Lich and the Vampire in MMH7!

Those votes will take place in a single round, results will be hidden until the end of the vote and we will monitor duplicates accounts, as always. Choose wisely, following only your own opinion. This is your voice that matters today.

In the meantime, please keep in mind that the following pictures only are rough sketches that do not represent the final quality of the design. They will help us to define the general art direction of the unit. The winning option will be reiterated and customized in order to comply with the game art direction.


Lich vote available here: https://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/vote-for-the-lich-design

Vote now for the Vampire design!

Select between the following 3 options:

1. - The Vampire Knight 
Timeless and heartless, this aristocratic warrior has adopted a dark and twisted code of chivalry. But beneath his noble appearance lies the undying thirst for fresh blood.

2. - The Night Lady 
Pale and gaunt, yet eerily beautiful, she uses her otherworldly charms to obtain the blood she craves. But when war comes, she proves a deadly foe on the battlefield.

3. - The Blood Monster 
This vampire has abandoned the pretense of aristocracy and embraced his bloodlust with feral abandon. Who needs a sword when you can rip your enemy’s throat with your bare hands?

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Vote_Lich

End of the vote: March 29th, 23:59 CET

Upcoming website features

Hello Councillors,

A website update is currently in the pipeline. Along with several improvements that will grant moderators better tools, we decided to add two new features to the user interface.

With the next update, you will be able to report content that you identify as inappropriate. This will help us to ensure a pleasant place for all exchanges about MMH7. You will be able to report a comment once only.

In addition to this, we added the possibility to create a link from any comment in order to help you make references.

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Finally, we decided to add the possibility for our moderators to temporarily suspend accounts that do not respect the community or Uplay terms of service https://www.ubisoft.com/en-US/terms-of-service.html. If the persons continue to share inappropriate content after warnings or previous deletion, the account will be suspended for a given time period.

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We will continue to work on website features and are already adding your requests to our project backlog.

Best,
The M&M Team.

In the meantime, do not forget to vote for your favorite Lich & Vampire design!

The Return of the Beast

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Discover Stronghold

Hello Councillors,

You have been eagerly waiting for it but now the time has come!

The Stronghold update is now live! https://mmh7.ubi.com/en/factions/stronghold

“Tribes of nomadic barbarians, Orcs are the scattered but proud survivors of a long history of persecution. They boast ranks of fierce warriors supported by powerful Shamans. Orcs prefer open skies and the freedom to move on when the urge takes them: many chose to lead a nomadic life in the dunes of the Sahaar desert.”

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Stronghold

New website features also are available, if you have any issues with them, please try to empty your browser cache (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+R)

Necropolis Vote Results

Hello Councillors,

Even if today is the big day for the Stronghold faction, many of you were waiting for a confirmation of last week vote results!

After recount of the ballots, we are really pleased to announce that those votes were almost 100% genuine! Thank you very much for your commitment :)

Thus, the results remain the same and we can confirm our two winners:
The Priest of Death and the Blood Monster!

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Vote for the Lich design!
  • The Priest of Death => 36 %
  • The Undead Sorcerer => 29 %
  • The Ancient Mummy => 35 %
Vote for the Vampire design!
  • The Vampire Knight => 25 %
  • The Night Lady => 37 %
  • The Blood Monster => 38 %
As previously announced, those votes will only take place in one round in order to ensure the start of the production of the two units as soon as possible. This is necessary to respect production planning: we will reiterate in order to create standard/upgrade versions, prepare 2D arts, 3D models, animations etc.  

Stay tuned for more information on our progress!

Congratulations & big thank to all of you,
The M&M team.

Stronghold Screenshots

Two weeks ago, the press and some members of the community had the opportunity to play the first 2 maps of the Stronghold Campaign in exclusivity.

The team will organize a Twitch session to showcase this version in the upcoming weeks but for the time being, we are pleased to share with you some screenshots of the game, featuring Stronghold faction!

In the meantime, we are currently organizing interviews of the Shadow Council representatives that joined us for this great event in order to share with you all their feedback about this work in progress version of the title! The skillwheel will also be introduced and detailed in future publication. Stay tuned!

Oh and by the way, please meet the new Stronghold mount :)

Stronghold Mount

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Adventure Map

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Combat Map

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Wallpapers

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[April Fools'] Discover MMH7: AR_Experience

Since last Christmas, some members of the team have been working on a secret project, that we were finally able to reveal during the press event of Might & Magic Heroes VII! Only a limited number of attendees had the opportunity to discover this project behind closed doors, but today we want to give you a first glimpse of Heroes’ future!

As you may know, many actors in the gaming industry are developing solutions to enhance our gaming experience through virtual & augmented reality. Even if some of them appear to be a “still far from us”-future, our R&D lab studied various technologies to adapt the Heroes experience.
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Might & Magic: Heroes combats are similar to a chess game in various points. But what if the limit of the screen was broken and you were able to play as a real board game? This technology is coming closer and you will be able in only a few months to add augmented reality to your screens, especially to your tablets!

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Nowadays, many people are using their smartphones to play games or to control applications. Thanks to the MMH7 AR (*Augmented Reality) Experience application, you will be able to control the reality right in front of you!

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Without further delay, it is now time to discover the first prototype of this project live through the epic fight between two men seeking for justice.



Stay tuned for more information about this exciting project that will completely redefine your Heroes experience!

The Master of Arms: Kente

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Well met, my fellow Shadow Councilors.

There is another member of Ivan’s Council I should tell you about: Ivan’s Master of Arms, the Orc Kente.

To understand Kente’s presence among Ivan’s council, we have to go back in time, to the 544th Year of the Seventh Dragon. When the young Duke of Griffin of that era, Slava, accepted to welcome the vagrant Orcs of the Whitespear tribe on his lands, a custom was established. The Whitespear Orcs would send one of their best warriors to Eastalon, to become the Duke’s Master of Arms. Of course, no Orc would ever serve a Human if not of his own free will. The new Master of Arms would always be a volunteer – the first of which was none other than Kraal, the Whitespears’ own chieftain.

Throughout the centuries, the relationship between Orcs and Humans within the Griffin Duchy has been… uneven, to say the least. Nowadays, most Orcs are content to stay in their mountainous steppes and not interact with the “babyteeth”, as they call Humans, unless the need is dire. When Ivan became Duke, there had been no volunteer in decades, and the old custom was little more than a legend of days past.

Such was the state of things when Kente rode to Eastalon and, unexpectedly, offered his sword to the Duke of Griffin.

A direct descendant of the great chieftain Kraal, it is my understanding that Kente often communes with his Ancestors through dreams and meditations. It seems that these guardian spirits have warned him of a dark time to come, when “a Demon in the shape of a woman would paint the Empire in red, and the Orcs would be made slaves again”. When Empress Maeve was assassinated, Kente started to suspect this was the event he had foreseen. He immediately saddled his robust steppe horse, said goodbye to his mate and children, and went to Eastalon to fulfil his destiny.
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Kente is certain that Ivan has to become Emperor to prevent his vision from ever coming completely true. He also has hopes of rekindling the friendship that once united his people to the Griffin dynasty. That way, he believes, the spectre of slavery would never return to threaten his people. Sadly, not many Orcs share his views on these matters.

In many ways, Kente is the opposite of the Orc stereotype of the bloodthirsty, mindless brute. His intelligence and military acumen are not to be underestimated, yet he is a strong advocate of peaceful solutions… which won’t prevent him from cutting his enemies in two if they’re asking for it. While not sparring or hunting with the Duke, Kente spends most of his time in Eastalon’s menagerie, tending to the dogs, horses and Griffins. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is also surprisingly popular with children. The little ones love to hear him recount tales of great heroes of the past, in the lively manner of his people. I believe all children in Eastalon now know the stories of characters such as Malathua, Kunyak, Batu or even Goink the handsomest Goblin.

Kente is content to play the dumb Orc in the Humans’ presence, if that can help put them at ease. Only a few people – among them Ivan, Anastasya and of course myself – realize this is all an act. It’s something Kraal also used to do, which greatly amuses Anastasya.

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Kente’s 3D model from the CGI trailer, by Florent Renard.

Fanday Interviews!

Hello Councillors,

Three weeks ago, some members of this Council joined us for the first M&M Heroes VII Fanday.

Today, we have the great pleasure to give them the floor and share with you all their feedback about this particular event! Many of you have been asking for their feeling about the title, here are their answers!

A big thanks to all our attendees for their passion and for this amazing day again!  (& for their answers of course :))

All of those testimonies have been published "as is", representing unaltered feedback from community members. Please keep in mind that they are based on a work in progress version of the title and should not be considered as official information sources.

In this article you might also discover some Councillors that weren’t mentioned here before. Indeed, a second smaller event was also organized in the US to offer the possibility to more fans to discover the game!

Enjoy your reading!

1. Hello Councillors, could you please quickly introduce yourself to this Shadow Council and share your background with the M&M franchise?

  • BeYo_OnD= Hi, I'm BeYo_OnD, but I'm better known as Stevie, especially on the Heroes Community boards. My first contact with the M&M universe was probably with Heroes 2, but I was so young back then I can't remember much. However, I really enjoyed Heroes 3 and got to play all the other Heroes games that followed. My favorite one is Heroes 5 only because of gameplay, not because of Ashan. My least favorite one is Heroes 6. Unfortunately, I didn't knew about the RPGs so I never got to play any of the old ones, but I gave a try to the newer M&M X - Legacy and I liked it very much. I also played Duel of Champions and Heroes Online for a while.
  • Roch= I'm Roch, 27 years old, from France. I'm an old player of Heroes of Might and Magic series, since the first. But I was very young… The oldest game of this series which I remember the most is H3, of course! It marked profoundly my personal heroic-fantasy universe and I spent many years on this game. It's my favorite. I have a true love for the H4 too, its fairy-like graphics and its AMAZING OPERA-SONGS soundtrack! The best Heroes of Might and Magic OST! Do you agree with me? I really like H5, and I'm disgusting by H6 for all reasons you know. I love especially beasts or beastmen creatures: Wolves, Gryphon, Gnolls, Cabir, Rakshasas, Dragons, Wyvern..
  • Socketboy= I am a longtime fan of the series, starting back with Heroes of Might and Magic 2. I had been a fan and re-playing the older games for years, so when I heard that Ubisoft planned to revive the series with Heroes 5, I was ecstatic. I was invited to join the VIP group and have been very humbled and excited to be included in the development processes for Heroes 6 and now Heroes 7 as well.
  • SlumbrousShip5= My shadow council name is SlumbrousShip5 (randomly generated name) and I have been playing Heroes of might and magic since I was in the first grade, about 15 years ago. I am a huge fan of the old games. My first purchase was the Millennium edition which let me discover Heroes one, two, and three! The series defined the genre of turn based strategy games for me and has given countless hours of fun throughout the years.
  • Micutz= Hello there, I’m known as Micutz on Shadow Council and I played Heroes of Might and Magic from 3 to 6 including and Might and Magic X Legacy. My favourite one is Heroes of M&M V Tribes of The East.
  • EmeraldPhoenix= Hello everyone! I`m EmeraldPhoenix – a Heroes fan from Slovenia :) I was introduced to the Heroes of might and magic series by my uncle when I was very small by watching him play HOMM 3 and 4. Slowly he thought me how to play… And that`s how my love for the series began!
  • JotunLogi= Hello Everyone, I am 'JotunLogi', a 24 years old student living in Poland. My adventure with M&M universe has begun around 1999 with Heroes of Might and Magic 2. I have immediately fallen in love with this series and since then I regularly play games set in this great universe. My favourite faction is knight/castle/Haven. 
  • Galaad= I am Galaad and I think all you infidels should get out of here and praise Baa until he forgives you!

2. What was your reaction when you received your invitation to this event? What were you expecting from this day?

  • BeYo_OnD= To be honest, I kinda had an idea that I might get invited, but you can imagine I was pretty excited when I actually received the e-mail. I called my family and friends to let them know I was going to participate and they encouraged me. As for what I expected, I imagined that the atmosphere was going to be more formal and that we would play a bit with all the factions revealed up until then, Haven, Academy and Necropolis, plus Stronghold, but things turned out quite differently.
  • Roch= At first, I was skeptical. I was sure I wouldn't win. "WTF? Me? Chosen? What a joke. Impossible." One hour later, I finally realized that I won. “Wow, it can actually happen to anybody!"
  • Socket= It was very unexpected to be invited to this fan day event, but it was very exciting. I think it is every fan's dream to get invited to the Ubisoft offices to play test the latest Heroes game!
  • SlumbrousShip5=  I was very thrilled to have received an invitation to talk with the team about the game I love and was very excited to get a first look at my favorite faction in Ashan.
  • Micutz= My situation is a bit different. I was so lucky to be invited to this event and when I found out that I will receive an invitation my reaction was “WHAT THE F**K??! This can’t be true!”. I expected that day to be special and it was!
  • EmeraldPhoenix= I must say I never expected to win the invitation… But I still wrote why the series was important to me on the comment section, because I felt like telling it. And then, on the day the contest results were revealed, I casually went to see who won to congratulate them… And I was so shocked to see my name on the list! Needless to say I couldn`t do any real work that day… I was just so happy! :D What I expected from the day was to get a glimpse of how the game will look like and to be able to ask the team some questions about it. And I also expected it to be an adventure of course :)
  • JotunLogi= Both joy and suprise that I have been chosen.
  • Galaad= I started to think Ubisoft and Limbic were suicidal.

3. The main focus of this build was the Stronghold faction, what is your thought about this line-up?

  • BeYo_OnD= One of the best factions in the game so far, if not the best. The line-up is amazing. Gnolls and Wyverns are back, and we get a new Basilisk creature too. Top that with one of the most requested units from Heroes 3 Stronghold - the Behemoth! I expect players to enjoy the line-up as much as I did.
  • Roch= I love beast-creatures, especially Beastmen, and my favorite faction was Academy, with badass Rakshasas and cute little Cabirs. But now, I prefer Stronghold. Stronghold had always nice line-up and orcs look great. I really like the return of Gnolls and their charismatic leader, Drâkon, from H3. Stronghold screentown soundtrack please me a lot. It's an epic and instrumental music, without chant.
  • Socket= My impressions of the Stronghold faction are very positive. I think it is my favorite lineup and unit design for this faction since the barbarians in Heroes 2. I was initially worried that the necessity of re-using some assets from H6 would make the game feel like H6.5, however I believe Limbic has done a fantastic job with this, using the existing assets in a clever way or tweaking them so that it feels like a whole new game.
  • SlumbrousShip5= Stronghold's line up is definitely my favorite in the game. It brought some familiar faces with a new look and interesting abilities. All the units and heroes simply looked amazing. And of course the stronghold track sounds as good as they look :)
  • Micutz= I’m glad that I had the opportunity to take part in this event, the line-up is AWESOME!! I really enjoyed playing the Stronghold faction. New cool creatures like basilisks, wyvern make this faction be more interesting but the comeback of the Behemoth with its jumping skills made my day! Guys, you are going to love this game, trust me!
  • EmeraldPhoenix= I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the Stronghold line-up. Adding creatures from H3 Fortress to it? Great idea in my opinion! And they were so well redesigned to fit with the Orcs, I could never have imagined it! It`s also nice to see the Behemoths again! :)
  • JotunLogi=  I have never been a fan of this faction and, as a result, I have barely ever played it. To my own surprise, I have had a lot of fun playing it!  The line-up is well balanced, with decent number of flyers and shooters. All the units are really cool and just fun to use due to their abilities. All in all, it is, without a doubt, one of the better Stronghold in M&M: Heroes franchise history and one of the best factions in M&M: Heroes 7 so far.
  • Galaad= I think Stronghold is going to be the best faction of the game.

4. You discovered the first two maps of the Stronghold campaign; can you share your opinion about them?

Note for our readers: while the first map is more quest-oriented, the second one brings a more traditional approach. Moreover, please keep in mind that this is a still work-in-progress version with remaining bugs and balancing issues.
  • BeYo_OnD= Personally, I liked the first map better. I got a taste of the possibilities of the adventure map, terrains, objects and events. Even though it was a bit more RPG oriented, I didn't mind it at all. The one thing I didn't like was the time limit and the way the quest objectives were displayed. Also something bothered me about the camera angles but I can't recall what exactly. The second map was more classical in its approach, having a town and being able to build an army. The tech tree was something I really liked, it reminded me of Heroes 3 with the buildings being displayed in brackets, and the prerequisite paths were interesting. I also appreciated the fact that there are more buildings where players can make a choice and not only for the Champion dwelling. 
  • Roch= The first map didn't convince me, too linear and difficult. The second map with the traditional approach was much, much better! A true Heroes of Might and Magic map with cities, buildings, mines and exploration. Exactly what I (we?) want. This map allowed to me to explore the gameplay in detail. Now I'm reassured, it's better than H6.
  • Socket= The beginning map was a good intro, more focused but not a typically frustrating hand held tutorial. The second was fun, and gives you some of that classic Heroes gameplay. 
  • SlumbrousShip5= The campaigns were quite fun. The first one gave a nice introduction of characters and story. It gave the player a few options on how to tackle the enemy depending on the preferred strategy. The second map was a great way to discover all about stronghold and its units. There was lots to do and many monsters to recruit. The story was also very good and leaves you wanting to play more.
  • Micutz= My opinion, hmm… INCREF*CKINDIBLE! I just loved every single inch of those maps, the difficulty level is pretty high on the first one, thank God! This way no one will get bored playing... The story was really interesting too!
  • EmeraldPhoenix= The first map was a bit short, but that`s why the difficulty was higher (you start with a low level hero without a town to strengthen your army). As you said it was more quest-oriented, but I think it`s good to change game objectives from time to time to make it more diverse. As for the second map I couldn`t get a real feeling about it since we didn`t play against the AI opponent, and it was pretty easy once you got a bigger army… But the map was nicely planned out from what I saw and I guess it will pose a nice challenge to the players after the game release. I`m certainly waiting to play it again with some real difficulty.
  • JotunLogi= The first one was too scripted and too short to enjoy it as much as I would have had. Fortunately, the second one was quite nice and provided me a lot of fun!
  • Galaad= Alright, was expecting more challenge though. I liked being the only one who got the first mission crashing haha!

5. What is your global feeling about the current state of the game?

  • BeYo_OnD= I have a positive feeling overall. For a first impression, Heroes 7 seems to be a game I will enjoy. But there are still areas that need more work. Skillwheel, UI, Townscreens, Necropolis, creature abilities, just to name a few of the important ones. That said, I can't take away the progress that has been already made. I can only hope for it to get even better, if not in the release version, then maybe with expansions.
  • Roch= I have a very good feeling about the current state of the game. The gameplay is already much better than H6. In the final version, the game will be probably better than H5! It's a melting-pot of others Heroes of Might and Magic games, especially 3 and 4, the return of seven resources, the choice between two buildings... with some new but good mechanics! I'm not totally convinced by the new skilltree-system but I'll give it a chance. Animations in battle are great and creatures are very well designed. However, the ground and its elements need many improvements as I said to the team.
  • Socket= Overall I am excited about the state of the game I can't wait to play more! 
  • SlumbrousShip5= I feel the game is definitely headed in the right direction. To me, it felt like a nice mix of classic creatures with an updated style of fighting. The flanking system was a nice addition that added different options in terms of battle tactics. The unit stats have drastically improved from Heroes six, which helped differentiate the armies. The adventure map is much more 'alive' now with more things to collect and places to go. Overall, it looks great and I am really looking forward spending lots of time with this game.
  • Micutz= This game has, in my opinion, a big future! The foundation is solid, and with Map Editor, RMG, Duel Mode and Simultaneous Turns the replayability would be endless! I think the game will be good and the players will enjoy it.
  • EmeraldPhoenix= I have a good feeling about it since things are returning back to the roots of the series (no town conversion, mage guilds are back...) There sure are changes but I think they are oriented in a good way. The only thing that worries me is the skill system… I like the new aestethic look of it but I didn`t see any randomness in it (which I consider crucial for the series), so that might be a problem. // Note from M&M team: The Random Skills feature wasn’t implemented in this version :)
  • JotunLogi= First and foremost, the game is really great and I have had a lot of fun playing it it even it was just an alpha version. There have been some glitches and bugs, some of game features were not working as they should have (or were not working at all), but considering the current state of the game- everything was fine. None of these problems was really relevant or spoilt the gameplay in any way. There were some issues that bother me and that I did not like. Fortunately, the team is aware that some of them need improvement and is open to all the suggestions in order to make it as good as possible.
  • Galaad= I didn’t like what I’ve seen from the skillwheel.

6. How was the interaction with the team?

  • BeYo_OnD= Great! People were friendly and there was a good atmosphere. Whenever we had questions about certain things, there was always someone there to explain it to us. I also got to meet some interesting members like Marzhin and Oakwarrior who were long time fans of the franchise that eventually got involved, but also other ones like Arnaud (who's been of tremendous help to us), Alexis, Francois and even Erwan le Breton. I only wish Xavier was there too.
  • Roch= Great. The team was really attentive to my opinion. It was great to speak with them during the fanday and sharing our passion and culture about Heroes of Might and Magic universe. A strong knowledge about the series was necessary. Now, I hope they'll take our opinions into account. I appreciate the afternoon too, eating, playing, and drinking soda in the same time. So cool. So Geek.
  • Socket= It was fantastic to be able to talk directly with the team as I progressed through the maps to give feedback and discuss all of the details of the game. 
  • SlumbrousShip5= The team was very generous and easy to talk to. We discussed our favorite factions, creatures, and our preferred styles of playing. It was a joy to spend the day with them and discuss the game. I hope to do it again one day :)
  • Micutz= The team was cool, they were open to anything we had to say… They helped us, answered to any questions we had; they were friendly and I hope we’ll have another opportunity to see them and work together.
  • EmeraldPhoenix= The team is great! They listened to our questions, (good or bad) critics, suggestions… and then answered and explained us what we wanted to know. They even discussed about fan ideas for the game with us! So I really must compliment those guys, they`re great! :D
  • JotunLogi= It was absolutely fantastic, I have had a really nice conversation with very nice people that were both patient and open enough to talk not only about the game and all the M&M universe but also just about daily life. I really cannot say any bad word about any team member and each person deserves many warm words.
  • Galaad= I didn’t kill anyone so there’s that.

7. Finally, what are your thoughts about this day?

  • BeYo_OnD= I'm happy that such an event was organized and I'm really grateful I could participate. I'm convinced that communication between the developers and the community is essential to any game really, but more so in the case of Heroes and the M&M games. So I hope events like this where the community can interact with the devs will get bigger and be more frequent!
  • Socket= It was a fantastic day, I am very grateful to Ubisoft for the opportunity, I would definitely attend again given the chance.
  • SlumbrousShip5= It was an exciting experience for me to get a close up look on what goes on in the making of this awesome game. I really enjoyed meeting and finding common ground with the people that help make my favorite series live on. My dedication as a fan has certainly grown from this trip thanks to Ubisoft.
  • Micutz= This day will definitely be one that I cannot forget… Everything was great, the game was great, team was great, Paris was great! I met Erwan le Breton, Arnaud Fremont, Julien Pirou and the rest of the M&M team and I had the chance to talk with them about the game which was great!
  • EmeraldPhoenix= It was fantastic: just the right amount of gaming and talking with the team! I`m really happy about having taken place to such an event and having had the chance to meet the team – it will surely remain in my memory for a very long time! :)
  • JotunLogi= It was just amazing, no other word comes to my mind. I has been one of the best days I have had in recent years. I have enjoyed every moment of it and I want to sincerely thank Ubisoft and all the people that have been involved in this event- not only those from  Ubi or Limbic but also all the fans that were present- for the great time I have spent with them.
  • Galaad= Good organization, and friendly environment.

8. Any last word to share with the community?

  • BeYo_OnD= As I once said to a dear friend of mine, "sticking your head up your a** accomplishes nothing". There is nothing worse you can do than feigning ignorance or pretending that everything's fine when it actually isn't. So I encourage the community to express itself, even if that just means approving or complaining about something. Those are important vectors that the developers very much need.
  • Roch= Gnolls. Lizarmen. Cabirs. Rakshasas. Gryphon. Wolves. Dragons, other beasts and beastmen. I love them, and you?
  • SlumbrousShip5= We all want a great Heroes game and from what I have seen, that is exactly what they plan to deliver.
  • Micutz= You are going to enjoy this game guys! Can’t wait to play MIGHT AND MAGIC HEROES VII ! Let us all contribute to this game! Peace!
  • EmeraldPhoenix= I just wish for more fans to be able to meet the team and play the game early as I was able to :) And I also wish for H7 to be a great game that all of us will enjoy playing for a very long time!
  • JotunLogi= Just one word?!  I want to share more than just that! Stay tuned ‘cause the game is worth it! Best wishes- JotunLogi
  • Galaad= I am sad to see so many people at the Shadow Council bashing on NWC games. Let me remind you loud and clear, if they hadn't created this series and made such a great success out of it in the first place, there wouldn't even be a Hello Heroes world of Ashan® to even defend! Heretics!!
 
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Ivan's Figurine

Hello Councillors,
 
A few months ago, this council had been summoned to decide the posing of Ivan for the Might & Magic Heroes VII collector’s edition figurine.
 
Today we have the great pleasure to share with you all the progress of this Council decision through insider photographs!
Discover the upcoming figurine of MMH7 main character!
 
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The fist clenched and the sword in hand, Ivan the Strategist is standing proud. To crush its enemies from the Stag Duchy, he will reunite its powerful allies and lead the armies of the Griffin Empire!
 
Stay tuned for more information about this figurine and it’s availably…
 
Best,
The M&M team.

The Skillwheel in MMH7

Hello Councilors,

Today we’ll explain the skill system in Heroes VII. We use the term skillwheel because of the shape of the interface and as a reference to its inspiration, the Heroes V skillwheel, but as you’ll see, it’s different in many ways.

Hero development philosophy

The default skill system in Heroes VII aims at giving the player the control of his hero’s development, so he can shape his abilities to serve his chosen strategy.
 
Each hero belongs to a class, and a class already defines a general style, but the skillwheel lets you specialize your hero or balance him. Some will think specialization is the way to go, and it might be true if you have a dedicated playstyle, but balance can also be a weapon in a long game. Also, Grandmaster abilities must not be mistaken with Heroes V’s ultimates, they are great abilities, but not game-winning must haves.

The Hero class

As you already know, each hero belongs to a faction and is either a Might or Magic hero. This has the strongest influence on the skillwheel. Amongst these, three classes can be found. One is generally more offensive, one is more defensive, one is more balanced.
 
You can find examples of such classes in our previous articles about heroes:  https://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/necropolis-magic-heroes

The skillwheel

The skillwheel structure allows you to see all the potential of your hero on one screen. You can immediately identify his strengths. We provide the possibility to show all content or only what you have immediately access to, for a clearer view.

Right panel allows you to have a direct access to all details about selected item.

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Stronghold Chieftain skillwheel (Show All option: enabled).
Bursting Rage selected, ability from Novice Rank.


Skills & Ranks

You can see right away that each skillwheel provides 6 Major Skills and 4 Minor Skills, each divided in 3 ranks : Novice, Expert and Master. A minor skill is limited to Expert rank, though.
 
Skill ranks provide rough, simple benefits like hero stat improvements, and give access to abilities.
  • Novice rank gives access to 3 abilities. 
  • Expert rank gives access to 2 abilities. 
  • Master rank gives access to 1 ability.
You can also see that 3 of the Major Skills have a fourth “Grandmaster” ability.
 
To unlock a new skill rank, you must first unlock the previous rank (except for Novice) and unlock at least one ability of the previous rank.

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Ready to unlock Blood Rage rank 2! (Show All option: disabled)

Abilities

Abilities are more specialized than skills, they provide the hero with a variety of rule modifiers.

Grandmaster abilities are really great, especially since they stack with previous ones. To unlock a Grandmaster ability, one must simply have already unlock the master ability.

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Ability selected: Native Terrain (Explorer: Rank 1)

Skill points

To unlock either a Skill Rank or an Ability, you need to spend a skill point. Each hero level grants you one point to spend. You can stack those points but there is no advantage in doing so in Heroes VII.

Notice that your hero might gain Skill ranks or Abilities freely thanks to certain adventure map buildings, though it doesn’t happen so often.

Magic skills

Magic skills are critical for heroes since they give access to spells of the same magic school. All basic spells are available to all heroes, but the most powerful ones require to unlock Magic Skills ranks.

The abilities within a Magic Skill improve the power of spells in many different ways.

The Magic Skills accessible to a hero depend mostly on its faction, as you can imagine Haven heroes are Light Magic specialist and forbid the use of Dark Magic, for instance.

Might skills

Might skills are available to all heroes, except for Warcries, which is accessible to Might Heroes only.
They are mostly aimed at making heroes and armies more powerful in battle.

Neutral skills

Those are aimed at making heroes more efficient on the adventure map, for exploration, town development, economy, etc. 

Autoskilling

For beginner players, an option to let the game chose skill points spending automatically is provided. Using this system, you ensure the building of a solid, effective hero, at the cost of customization.

Random skills

As you may know, we also provide an optional random skill system. It is close to Heroes V’s system, and provides the player with a small number of choices each time his hero levels up, but still within the structure of the Heroes VII skillwheel.

Hero specialization

In addition to the skillwheel, the same screen lets you check your hero’s specialization (on the left panel).



This skillwheel has been an important topic of discussions since the fanday and we are aware that some elements aren’t as clear as they could be (for instance the fact that you need to unlock ranks and then abilities). We are currently working on an improved visual design of this skillwheel to offer a better understanding of it thanks to the precious feedback we received :)

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Work in progress concept (shields everywhere!)
  
Tomorrow we will come back and illustrate this article with a first Skill as example: the Warcries!

Warcries Presentation

Hello Councilors,

Today we will introduce you the Warcries system in Heroes VII! It seems that many of you had questions about it so we hope this article will help you better understand this mechanic.

General mechanic

Warcries are the counterpart to spells for Might Heroes (and they have the exclusivity for using them). Each skill rank (novice, expert, master) unlocks new Warcries, and abilities improve their efficiency.

Warcries appear in the “spell book” during combats, for practical reasons, but using them does not require any mana.

The objective of Warcries is to provide bonuses to the army of the user during the current turn. Of course, they are consuming the Hero’s action of the turn. That’s why they’re better used early in the turn, to support the player’s strategy.

Only one Warcry can be activate at the same time, if a new one is used, it will directly replace former one.  

List of warcries

Might Heroes will be able to use 5 types of Warcries to develop the strength of their armies. Each of them focusing on a particular aspect of your army strategy.

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Skillwheel progression:

As for magic skills, you will need to improve your warcries skill in the Skillwheel to be able use more of them and to grant them additional bonus effects. Skill effects are cumulative.

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Having powerful spells only is one strategy to access to the victory but Might Heroes do know that their true strength is in the battlefield. A good use of Warcries will allow you to boost required characteristics in any adequate situation.

Stronghold Might Heroes

Hello Councillors,

Proud survivors of a long history of persecution, Stronghold Might Heroes are fierce warriors who will fight until the very end for their freedom.

Discover today the Might Heroes from Stronghold:
  • Warmonger,
  • Barbarian,
  • Chieftain.
Faction Skill:
  • Bloodrage: with or without Demon blood, all Stronghold troops seem to share the Orcs’ fighting spirit. Their eagerness for battle makes them incredibly fast and powerful at the start of a battle. 
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Warmonger

Warmongers crave only for battle and blood. Their training, their daily thoughts are turned towards the battlefield. They lead their troops with speed and strength, and are probably the deadliest heroes on Ashan when leading a scarce group of badly equipped warriors.

Main skills: Bloodrage, Warcries, Offense

Barbarian

Barbarians are typical orc heroes, even if some of them are of other races. Their skills are well balanced, although they are mostly battle leaders, relying maybe more on luck that their fellow warmongers and chieftains.

Main skills: Bloodrage, Warcries, Warfare

Chieftain

Chieftains are spirited leaders, often chosen as generals during travels and as rulers when building a new settlement. Their ability to negotiate rather than kill is a rare quality amongst their people, and even if often underestimated, one that has revealed to be critical in their History.

Main skills: Bloodrage, Warfare, Defense

Stronghold Townscreen in Details

Hello Councillors,

Two weeks ago you discovered the townscreen of the Stronghold faction, dangerous lair hidden in the desert inhabited by tribes of fierce warriors and beasts.

It is now time to explore it in details and explore their nest…

Please keep in mind that all visuals and elements are work in progress and this until the end of the development! This article only focus on main buildings of the townscreen but the game will offer more variety and options in final version so stay tuned!

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Click for full size

Dwellings:

Core Creatures
  • (13) War Pavillon: Allows to recruit Crushers
  • (23) Fury Roost: Allows to recruit Furies
  • (20) Gnoll Hunting Shack: Allows to recruit Gnoll Hunters

Elite Creatures
  • (1) Centaur Outpost: Allows to recruit Centaur Marauders
  • (2) Wyver Nest: Allows to recruit Venomous Wyverns
  • (12) Basilisk's No Man's Land: Allows to recruit Basilisk Lancers

Champion Creatures
  • (16) Pillar of Rage: Allows to recruit Enraged Cyclops
  • (4) Behemoth Rift: Allows to recruit Ancient Behemoths

Warfare Units
  • (5) Dream Lodge: Allows to recruit some Warfare Units
  • ??

Buildings:

(non official segmentation :))

Heroes Buildings

  • (3) Hall of Heroes: Allows to recruit Heroes 
  • (21) Magic Guild: Allows Heroes to learn spells (4 levels) 
  • (7) House of Smalltalks: +X% chance for negotiations with neutral armies inside the town's Area of Control for the player's heroes
  • (15) Father Sky Totem: Increases the initial Battlerage charges by +X in the Area of Control of the town
  • (18) Altar of Broken Blades: Visiting heroes get +X Movement Point and +X Might until their next battle
  • (17) Idol of Fertility: Once a week you can select one town dwelling to instantly add its weekly growth rate as production
  • (8) Thieves Guild: Provides the town screen window to spy enemies and give overview of the game status 
  • (19) Town Portal: Allows Heroes to be teleported to this town (only if it is the closet town and with dedicated spell

Resources Buildings
  • (6) Marketplace: Provides the town screen window to trade resources 
  • (14) Deep Mine: Provides one unit of shadowsteel per day.
  • (9) Hall of Raiders: Produces X gold each time a battle is won.

Fortifications:
  • Castle: Equips the town with walls and gates in siege combats. Equips the town with level 3 local guards
  • (11) Sky & Earth Totem: Provides the town with 3 towers in siege combats

Town Hall Upgrades
  • (10) Capitol: Raises the daily income to 4000 gold / day. There can be only one Capitol per player and per map
  • (22) Father Sky’s Furor: Provides 5000 gold / day and additional great bonuses

Stronghold Magic Heroes

Hello Councillors,

Even if most of the legends tells the stories of bloodthirsty warriors, Orcs can also learn from the essence of Magic. Their connection with nature and magic can be strong, allowing some of them to become powerful bounds between Father Sky or Mother Earth.

Faction Skill:
  • Bloodrage: with or without Demon blood, all Stronghold troops seem to share the Orcs’ fighting spirit. Their eagerness for battle makes them incredibly fast and powerful at the start of a battle.
Discover today the Magic Heroes from Stronghold:
  • Stormcaller,
  • Shaman,
  • Earth Shaper.
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Stormcaller

Stormcallers are the worshippers of Father Sky, not only able to propagate the rage of battle in the heart of their troops, they can summon the wrath of their god and strike with the power of lightning, causing devastating damage on the battlefield.

Main skills: Bloodrage, Warfare, Air Magic

Shaman

Shamans are the wisemen of their people, able to reason above the wrath that is their gift and curse, they are educated and one of the best speakers of foreign languages. In battle, though, they can be quite efficient with the magic of Sky and Earth.

Main skills: Bloodrage, Exploration, Paragon

Earth Shaper

Earth Shapers are the children, followers of Mother Earth, protectors of their people. Surprisingly smart, they are the educators and the caretakers of a wandering tribe, but don't be mistaken, when their children is threatened, these heroes can claw and bite as any desert lioness and you won't forget the smiting power of Earth magic once you've met one on the field.

Main skills: Bloodrage, Defense, Earth Magic

Imani the Warchief

Hello Councillors,

Discover today a new art from Might & Magic Heroes VII, featuring Stronghold Faction and their leader of the campaign mode: Imani.

Like many Orcs, Imani is an orphan of war, her parents having been slain by the Wizards. She chose to stay with warchief Jengo instead of sailing to the Pao Islands with the rest of their people. After losing an eye in a poorly-planned attack, Imani is slowly beginning to realize she made this choice for honour while Jengo is only driven by vengeance... whatever the cost.

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Skills: Air Magic

Hello Councillors,

Last week we introduced Skillwheel and Warcries mechanisms in the Shadow Council. In the coming weeks we will give you a rendez-vous every week to discover together a new skillwheel path and associated skills or spells.

Today let's start with the Magic School of Air!

Air Magic Spells

Air Magic comes from Ylath and is linked to the winds, clouds and lightning, but also to intelligence and reason as it is the element of Air that governs the rational mind. This Magic School is favoured by the Humans of the Free Cities, and very popular with the Orcs.

Please note that in the following graphic X might not represent a single number and can be in various cases results of different bonuses or calculations (for instance it can be: X=Damages of the spell from Hero expertise level * Magic value)

Balancing will be handled until the very end of the development.

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SKILLWHEEL PROGRESSION:

In order to be able to use the spells from your Magic Guild, your Hero will need to unlock the different levels of progression in the skillwheel. Skills will allow you to improve your mastery and add great bonuses to your spells.

Unfortunately it seems that we made a graphic error on previous article about Warcries: Artillery support is supposed to be a Master rank Skill and Warlord a GrandMaster one (aka Ultimate).

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TALES OF THE TEN YEARS WAR, Final Part

Previous episodes
  1. 843 YSD – Falcon’s Last Flight
  2. 844 YSD – The Conclave of the New Dawn
  3. 845 YSD – Omens of War
  4. 846 YSD – The Maiden's Tears
  5. 847 YSD – Dead of Winter
  6. 848 YSD - The Blood-Drenched Horns
  7. 849 YSD – The Hour Of Truth
  8. 850 YSD – The Stag Emperor
  9. 851 YSD – Scars of War
Suddenly ice and lightning were raining on the Stag and Greyhound soldiers, causing great confusion across their ranks. As the mysterious blue bird guided Kente and Ivan to safety, it became apparent the delegation from the Silver Cities – or at least part of it – had decided to turn against Seamus.

Tales of the Ten Years War

852 YSD – The Griffin’s Resolve


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The Long Road Home

Following the bird allowed Kente and Ivan to regroup with the dissident Wizard forces, which, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise, were led by lady Tanis. The unity of the Silver League had fractured on the question of an alliance with Seamus, and Tanis had managed to convince several of her Wizard colleagues to side with Ivan instead.

Yet she had not sent the bird to Ivan – the bird had actually come to her. The creature was ancient and powerful, a Spirit more than an animal, and it had delivered a message to Tanis. Bluebeak, as it called itself, had urged the Wizards to come to Ivan’s aid, as without their intervention he would meet his doom at Meadowfair.

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Bluebeak

Who could have sent this bird to Tanis? This answer was obvious to me, of course, as I had already encountered Bluebeak in the past, and had fond memories of its mistress. I had heard she had disappeared during the Purge of the Necromancers, but she had always been smart and resourceful. I had no problem imagining her finding ways to cover her tracks, even from the likes of me.

I shared my suspicions with the Duke on our way back to Talonguard. He nodded absently, his mind aggravated by something else. Around us, it was all burnt villages and devastated fields; mass graves, famine, plagues, decimated families. Ivan’s defeat at Meadowfair had scarred his face but opened his eyes. He had been focusing on winning the war for so long, it had all become abstract to him. Now he was seeing the toll the war had been taking, and who had paid it in full.

Strange Bedfellows

As I had surmised, Anastasya Griffin was waiting for us at Talonguard. I had not seen her in three centuries, but she had not changed at all – although her eyes were colder that I remembered them.

Of course, I had to explain to Ivan some chapters from the secret history of his family, and of the incredible fates of his ancestors, Duke Slava’s children. If you wish, I can recount their stories for you as well, my fellow Shadow Councillors, you only have to ask. Although that would be a tale for another time. 

Throughout history, a few members of the Griffin line had left the Empire to walk… different paths. Like her great-aunt Sveltana, Anastasya had become a member of the Spider Cult, a Necromancer. But she was still loyal to her name, and had come out of exile to help its current bearer. She had sent Bluebeak, her familiar, to Tanis, knowing she was her best bet to save Ivan at Meadowfair.

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But it rapidly became obvious there while there was some begrudging respect between the Wizard and the Necromancer, there would never be neither friendship nor trust. The horrors of the Purge and of the War of the Broken Staff were still too young. As for Kente, well, he was wary of all Wizards, regardless of the colour of their robe. Needless to say, the halls of Talonguard soon became a rather… lively place.

Ivan however was oblivious of their constant quarrels and incessant bickering. His defeat at Meadowfair, the destruction of Iron Feather and the devastation he had witnessed – and often caused – had all but neutered his fighting spirit. The war was still raging on beyond Talonguard’s walls, and Ivan was still leading the Griffin-Wolf alliance, but his heart was not into it anymore. The daring commander he had been a few months before was planning his next moves with a sense of fatality, not purpose.

Later that year, the Angel Murazel returned to Talonguard with a man named Bleddyn. He was a Bloodsmith of Hammer Fall, a crafter of enchanted objects. Murazel had asked him to forge a new sword for Ivan, in the hopes of lifting the Duke’s spirits. Bleddyn left a few days later, promising he would be back before the year was done.

Gathering of the Council

As the first snowflakes began to fall on Talonguard, Bleddyn returned. Hearing the news, Anastasya, Kente, Tanis and Murazel all gathered to Ivan’s war room, to see the sword he had forged for the Griffin Lord.

“The secret of Bloodsmithing”, Bleddyn explained, “is to understand that weapons are not just metal, they are living things. They become part of their master’s very being. Iron Feather has accompanied the Griffin family though centuries of war and countless hardships, Duke Ivan. It was a symbol of the Griffins’ indomitable spirit and when it was destroyed, a part of you, of what makes you a Griffin, died with it. Simply giving you a new sword would not help you.”

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To get a sense of who Ivan was, and what would make him whole, Bleddyn had used his last visit to talk to everyone that was currently in the room.
From me, he had learnt of Ivan’s tragic past, of what had happened to his father and brother when he was but a child. 
From Anastasya, he had learnt the complex tale of the Griffin family. 
From Kente, he knew Ivan’s courage and sense of honour. 
From Murazel, he knew Ivan’s sense of duty. 
And from Tanis, he learnt of Ivan’s… fickle heart. 
And so he had given the sword a name, symbolizing what Ivan had lost. He had called it the Griffin’s Resolve.

After Bleddyn the Bloodsmith had left the room, Ivan spent long moments admiring his new blade, but his gaze also drifted to all the people – Angel, Necromancer, Wizard, Orc and Faceless – gathered around the table, around himself. And finally, he spoke:
War is ravaging our lands. Brothers fighting against brothers… I need to stop this madness. But I cannot do it alone.

He took a deep breath.

This sword made me understand what I was failing to see before now: that I need you, all of you. You are what I’ve been missing all along. Harsh times require an extraordinary council... like none the world has ever seen. United in purpose, we shall win this war!”

Ivan’s Council was born that day. And it is now up to us, to all of us, to write the final chapter of the Tales of Ten Years War.

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Stained Glass

Skills: Destiny

Hello Councillors,

As previously mentioned in this platform, Heroes in MMH7 will be characterized by 7 stats:
  • Might (adds to creature attack)
  • Defense (adds to creature defense)
  • Magic (increases the power of spells)
  • Spirit (increases the mana pool)
  • Leadership (adds to creature morale)
  • Destiny (adds to creature luck)
  • Damage
Every time a new level is reached, your Hero stats will evolve but in the case of Destiny, you will also be able to influence your luck thanks to the skillwheel progression.

Indeed, with each skill rank you unlock, you will be granted X Destiny points but also have access to specific bonuses with the different Skills.

Destiny being a neutral skill, all Heroes (Might & Magic) can reach the Master rank.

As always, the skill effects are cumulative!
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