MMH5.5: In-Game Skillwheel (RC8) news - Might & Magic: Heroes 5.5 mod for Heroes of Might & Magic V

Finally with great thanks to the efforts of community member ThGryphn, MMH5.5 will now include a fully-functional skillwheel with mouse-over descriptions. This was a monumental task to be completed requiring thousands of xml files and txt and icon links. The skillwheel will be similar in functionality to the TOE skillwheel made by Xazardous, but the graphics quality will be better because the engine loads the individual icons instead of having them embedded in the background textures. Skill descriptions are also greatly improved (literally hundreds of fixes), many skills have descriptions seperated in basic and advanced info for better readability. Note for example the master of ice description in the following screenshot:

Deflaktor has also been busy again lately in the hex-editor:

- Fixed issue with simultaneous turns stop when player buys ship.
- Balanced initiative mini-artifacts for academy, 0.75 per K.
- Balanced magic protection mini-artifact, max 55% magic proof.
- Balanced luck & morale artifacts, knowledge/12

Skill System

Along with the new skillwheel will be many improvements to the skill system, we have decided the game is much better without any ultimate skills or other skills that need extra requirements. In RC8 the last ultimate skills are removed and replaced with better balanced skills that offer more tactical variety. The system is now perfectly symmetrical and much easier to use since it has no difficult to memorize requirements.

- 8 new skills: dwarven treasures, hold the line, suppress light, emissary of darkness, runic knowledge, cursed ground, demonic ancestry, agonizing strike
- removed haunted mines (was exploitable and failed its purpose anyway).
- removed arcane omniscience, absolute protection & dwarven resistance
- preparation has no extra requirements but hero gets an attack penalty of -2 to balance it.

- Occultism, SP boost was OP on warlocks, now gives +1,+2,+3 and double of that if the hero has no destructive magic, instead more power can be gained from exorcism perk
- Exorcism gives +2 SP and +4 if the hero has summoning magic, all in all you can make many different SP boost combos
- Cultmaster: improved growth and based on knowledge not hero level.
- Guardian angel renamed to divine guardians: allows to boost T7 growth by 1 for one hero max.
- Elemental balance: summons elementals like shatter skill.
- the amount of summoned elementals from shatter skills is not capped per hero, but capped per player (30 max per town)
- Forest guardian: gives war dancers on daily basis above lvl 10
- imp scavengers: easier formula.
- March of golems: gives extra golems on daily basis above lvl 10
- Master of life: gives resurrection spell if hero has expert light magic.
- tremors: dmg increased to 120+12*SP.
- defense skill shows true balanced ratings.
- forge master adds 20% magic proof
- Offensive/defensive formations max boost lowered to 6
- Tap runes: knowledge/3
- Fine rune 40% chance.
- Graduate: gives more experience per hero level.
- Academy award: gives more gold per hero level.
- Intelligence boosts mana by 40%
- Prayer doesn't give +2 Defense to necro (doesn't make sense), instead they get mass divine strength. Tip: this spell is very effective on vampire princes and skeleton warriors.
- back to the void also gives +2 attack
- goblin support: gives 0.5 gold per goblin and only 1 goblin per day (was too weak, but still exploitable)
- Mentoring no longer gives +2 Knowledge, but now refined mana does.
- chieftains get a penalty if they take empathy (just don't take it, won't affect AI)
- witch hut no longer teach learning to stronghold heroes.
- Hero combat is adjusted to do less damage against t1-3 and slightly less dmg to t4-5, but Critical hit improved to 50% and no restrictions on unstoppable charge.
- Word of the chief is much more useful, gives more rage points and does less dmg to t1-5 (because of hero combat rebalance)

Rune Magic

The balance of Fortress with rune magic was still heavily problematic from a compettitive multiplayer perspective. In order to fix this issue the rune magic skill has completely revised perks and branches. The greater rune skill is removed to prevent excessive rune spamming in the final battle. Runes themselves are more expensive each one costs 1 ore (to make the stone) and an amount of a special resource equal to the level of the rune (to make the effect). For example the extremely powerful battle rage rune costs 1 ore & 5 gems. Rune of Charge will be moved to level 5 because it is actually extremely powerful and otherwise converts the whole faction into something it isn't (an offensive rusher faction). Rune of Resurrection is lowered to 30% and Dragonform doesn't give any magic proof.

Take in mind while playing fortress rune magic is really a late game skill. For runemages it will include 3 new perks that help bridge the early stages of the game. For other classes it is recommended not to develop the skill too early.

- The IMBAness of Dark Magic and the Tome of Dark Magic will be gone completely in this version.
- Frenzy will become a much weaker lvl 3 spell that can only be cast on friendly units to give them a huge damage boost.
- puppet master has a shorter duration modifier (0.033 per SP)
- Cost of blind increased to 18.

Various

-Vilma & Inga swap classes & specs
-Nebiros has melee specialty, his previous specialty icon is moved to barbarian skillwheel
-Leadership for necro follows +2,+4,+6 pattern to match occultism
-Fixed governor in garrison not adding extra creatures from artifacts.
-Fixed walking speed of Duncan & Death Knights
-Improved Sunlight to be more H6 like
-Fixed color temperature issues with snow textures
-made snow textures less hurting to eyes
-all basic level buff/nerf spells have a minimum duration of 2 instead of 1
-all none level buff/nerf spells have a minimum duration of 1.5 instead of 1
-artifacts that can summon elementals are now knowledge dependant.
-Angel wings are balanced vs other ultimate items and also give +2 Luck & morale.
-nerfed armor of dragon gods gives +5, not +6 in every stat.
-Horned leaper 10% +5% dmg per leaped cell (retaliation also adjusted accordingly)
-Fortress T3 upgrades -2 defense (exceeded power rating)
-Fixed critical issue with matewa spec
-Fixed bad morale lower ATB too much
-Fixed AI supply network messages in hot pursuit & in search for power

Shot of Improved Sunlight