NO H4 Ultimate V3 - Bugfix 3 (First full release) file

To get Verok's HD resolution addon without any mod, go here: Verokster.blogspot.com
Though it is to be noted an H4 ULTIMATE installation doesn't preclude you from playing the original, unmodified versions of H4 from their respective executable files.

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ULTIMATE hero ability expansion:
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Each starting class of heroes except Barbarians (that already have three) starts with an extra skill and/or may have skills swapped.

- KNIGHT:
* Basic Tactics retained.
** Starts with Basic Offense instead of Basic Defense.
+ Additionally starts with Leadership.

- PRIEST:
* Basic Life Magic Retained.
** Starts with Spirituality +20% instead of mana regen.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Resurrection.

- LORD:
* Basic Nobility retained.
* Basic Estates retained.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Diplomacy.

- MAGE:
* Basic Order Magic retained.
* Basic mana skill retained.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Charm.

- DEATH KNIGHT:
* Basic Tactics retained.
** Starts with Basic Defense instead of Basic Offense.
* Aditionally starts with Basic Melee.

- NECROMANCER:
* Basic Death Magic retained.
* Occultism switched with Demonology +20%.
+ Aditionally starts with Basic Necromancy (it's in the name!).

- THIEF:
* Basic Stealth retained.
* Basic Scouting retained.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Melee.

- WARLOCK:
* Basic Chaos Magic retained.
** Mana skill switched for mining.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Sorcery.

- "ARCHER" (now Traveler):
* Basic Combat retained.
** Basic Archery switched for Basic Pathfinding.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Scouting.

- DRUID:
* Basic Nature Magic retained.
** Mana skill switched for Meditation +20%.
+ Additionally starts with Basic Summoning.

- BARBARIAN:
* Basic Combat retained.
* Basic Magic Resistance retained.
** Basic Melee switched for Basic Archery.

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Building changes for Ultimate Mod:
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- Basic creature dwellings cost 1250 from 1500
- However they also cost either 2 wood or 2 ore

- Shipyard costs 5 less wood, but 500 more gold (15 from 20 wood)
(Take into account ships also cost 10 wood more!)

- Several dwelling costs rebalanced across all towns (new creature roles and stats).

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Fortress changes for Ultimate Mod:
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- All citadels now have a single archer tower.
- Part of the cost from Castle moved to Citadel to compensate for this.

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ULTIMATE mechanical spell changes:
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Higher level spells have been made more expensive in SP to cast for balance reasons, since there are more spells and the utility of magic is stronger in general.

Level 1 spells:
Still cost 2 spell points. No change. Level 1 spells in many cases become quickly obsolete, and while I tried to remedy that a little, their usability certainly diminishes with game progression.

Level 2 spells:
- Now cost 4 spell points (from 3). 33% increase. Scroll-casting cost remains same.

Level 3 spells:
- Now cost 6 spell points (from 5). 20% increase. Scroll-casting cost remains same.
This wasn't made 7 now to keep all spell tier costs in even numbers, but this decision may be revised later.

Level 4 spells:
- Cost 10 spell points (from 8). 25% increase.
Similarly to level 3, these could cost 11 points too, to be closer to the 33% increase, but besides being an odd number, it's not a very aesthetically pleasing one.

Level 5 spells:
- Cost 16 spell points (from 12). 33% increase.
Level 5 spells are really powerful in general, and not only that, but require grandmaster in a mana skill too (which means their heroes will have lots of SP already), so their cost is well justified.

The even numbers have a justification and it is that scroll cost will be exactly half as normal cost, which means it isn't rounded up for some spell levels and not others (as it happens in vanilla h4).

This will make the upgrade SP artifacts a bit more useful, as well as add a little more tactical management to spell point resources from heroes. Creatures that had a spell point nerf before will get some points restored, as this change is aimed to curb the power of magic specialist heroes foremost, not creatures.

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- Nerfed demonology summons to now NOT be two level higher power than the rest of the spells. These are not only free spells, but also Demonologist class and Demonary artifact upgrades them specifically.
* Made demonology summons learnable normally in Death magic (not Nature like they actually were before).

- Quickness (Life):
* Enabled as learnable. (from Potion)
* Effect is the same as potionof quickness.

- All individual wards (Life):
* Are now level 1 (from 2).

- All mass Wards (Life):
* Are now level 3 (from 4).

- Mass Healing (Life)
* Is now level 4 (from 3).
* Power slightly increased.

- Bind Wound (Life):
* Can't be cast on adventure map.

- Retribution (Life):
* Now correctly counts as damaging spell.
* Can no longer be cast on enemies (caused AI bug).

- Guardian Angel (Life):
* Can no longer guard the Undead. The angels would probably refuse, too. They can still guard elementals and machines. Immortal Coil can generate the same effect for Death/undeads now, though, but it grants less lives.

- BLIND (Life):
* Changed from Order, since order has Freeze now.
* No longer affects elementals, they "see" with their element.
* No longer affects mechanicals, they aren't really organic.
* Now affects undead (most have eyes, and were once living, and/or would be sensitive to light).

- Euphoria (Chaos):
* Enabled as learnable (from Potion).
* Level 3.
* Gives target maximum morale.
* Can be cast on heroes from adventure map.

- Summon Ship (Chaos):
* Changed from life.
* Renamed.
* Is now level 2.

- Invoke Goblin Knights (Chaos):
* Enabled as learnable. (from Devil)
* Now devils cast this.
* Is level 3.

- Fortune (Chaos):
* Level 1.
* Moved from Nature.

- Confusion (Chaos):
* Now works on Elementals, since they have a mind.

- Sacrifice (Chaos):
* Moved from Death.
* Reviving may now count as Summoning (for bonus purposes).

- Grand Theft Spells (Chaos):
* Used to be called Steal All Enchantments.
* Moved from Order.
* Is now level 4.

- Luck (Nature):
* Enabled as learnable. (from Potion)
* Level 2.
* Gives target maximum luck.
* Can be cast on heroes from adventure map.

- Wasp Swarm (Nature):
* Now works on Undead. Insects could consume the dead anyways.
* Now doesn't work on Elementals. They woudn't care about wasps.

- Summon Leprechaun (Nature)
* Is now level 2.
* HP of leprechauns summoned increased to match.

- Sacred Spring (Nature):
* Level 3.
* Enabled as learnable. (from Vial)
* Renamed from Holy Water.
* Now correctly counts as damaging spell when used on enemies. Power slightly increased.

- LIGHTNING (Nature):
* Alignement changed (from Chaos).
* Increased level to 4.
* Increased damage.
* Cannot be used on Elementals.

- Regeneration (Nature):
* Moved from Life.
* Can be used to heal from adventure, but is inferior to dedicated spells for this purpose.

- Acid (Nature):
* Enabled as learnable (from potion).
* Level 2.

- Endurance (Nature):
* Enabled as learnable. (from Potion)
* Level 3.
* Adds 3 to adventure movement (only once a day).

- Summon Gargantuan (Nature):
* Changed from Summon Mantis
* Level 5.
Reasoning:
The combat role of Mantis is quite similar to the one of the other nature Summon/Lvl4 creature, the Phoenix. By changing this to Summon Gargantuan, we have roles for both the Mantis and the Gargantuan, since Mantises are in the Creature Portal and Gargantuans are summoned. This way, also, each max level Nature summon has a different rock-paper-scissors role: Anti-Might Spellcaster (Fading Dragon), Anti-Magic Brawler (Phoenix), and Anti-Masses Shooter (Gargantuan). Mantises could be considered as anti-might might (specially anti-archers).

- Immortal Coil (Death):
* Level 5.
* Enabled as learnable. (from Potion)
* Gives hero or creature a single extra life.
* Can be cast on heroes in army from the adventure map.
* Effects carry to adventure for heroes, if used in combat.
* Unlike the life spell Guardian Angel, it can be used on Undead.
* Unlike Guardian Angel, it cannot be used on elementals.
* Identical to Potion of Immortality.

- Raise Skeletons (Death):
* Is now level 2 (from 1).
* Increased Skeleton HP raised.

- Animate Dead (Death):
* Is now level 1 (from 2)
* Can only revive from your own stacks.

- Death Call (Death):
* Is now level 4 (from 3).
* Increased raised HP by 55%.
* Cannot target dead-undead.

- Raise Vampires (Death):
* Is now level 4.
* Raises 300+30 Vampire HP.

- Plague (Death):
* Is now level 4 (from 3).
* Damage near doubled.

- Dead Fire (Death):
* Spell enabled.
* Acts similarly to a death-aligned fireball, but slightly weaker.
* Deals NO damage to the Undead.

- Implosion (Death):
* Changed from Chaos.
* Made level 3 from 4.
Reasoning:
There is already another level 4 direct single target damage (Lightning)
But there is no other level 3 direct single target damage.
Also, Death needed more level 3 spells and it had no direct damage there. In level 1, it has Poison. In level 2, it has Dead Fire. In level 4, it has Plague. In level 5, it has Hand of Death.

- Life Ward (Death):
* Is now level 1 (from 2).
Reasoning:
Same as the "Good" wards, this is only useful against 1/6th of the creatures and heroes in the game, and even then it's not that amazing.

- Bind Flyer (Order):
* Is now level 1 (from 2).
Reasoning:
Actually two creatures lost the ability to fly so far (Vampires and Ghosts) while only one gained it (Unicorn).
The ability is very circumstantial since it presuposses a special kind of enemy.

- Steal Enchantment (Order):
* Is now level 2 (from 3).
Reasoning:
This requires your enemies to use blessings. Even if they do this only steals one of them and your own target is random. Not exactly the most versatile or reliable spell, but can be useful (imagine stealing Dragon Strenght).

- TOWN GATE (Order):
* Is now level 5.
* Can be cast in combat (unlike Equilibris).

- Frost Ring (Order):
* Used to be Fire Ring.
* Made a cold spell instead of fire.
* Can be used by Fading Dragons.

- Infinite Mana (Order):
* Enabled as learnable. (from Potion)
* Level 5 spell that restores your own mana.
* Can be cast as many times as necessary from adventure map, giving effectively unlimited mana.

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Massified spell changes
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- Arachnid Venom:
* Nature spell, level 4.
* All of your creatures and heroes gain a Poison Attack.
** --Replaces Bloodlust and Bloodfrenzy.
Notes:
This was made mainly for Ogre Magi, which now have the spell as their signature move.)

- Mass Giant Strenght:
* Nature spell, level 4.
* All valid friendly targets get blessed with Giant Strenght.
* -Replaces Mass Snake Strike.
Notes:
Striking with more power and toughness is more nature-like than striking fast.)

- Mass Aging:
* Death Spell, Level 5.
* -Replaces Mass Sorrow.
Notes:
There was already several morale debuffs including the new cloud of bad morale. This brings an interesting "ultimate curse" effect to the mass table.)

- Experimental Shock:
* Order Spell, Level 4.
* All targets in LOS, including your own hero, are attacked with bouncing electricity.
* -Replaces Mass Precision.
Notes:
This is essentially the "weak" Order combination of Armageddon and Chain Lightning, but creature layout will matter in the long run due to sight and bouncing. Deals 25% the Armageddon base damage, but this is actually closer to 50% due to the bounces.

- Mass Exile:
* Order Spell, Level 4.
* Banishes all appliable enemies, dealing damage to every enemy summon.
* -Replaces Mass Forgetfulness.
Notes:
Banish was weak as long as it was single target, this increases efficiency.)

- Mirror Gallery
* Order spell, Level 4.
* Mass Magic Mirror.
* -Replaces Mass First Strike.
(Fun with spells. Enemy spells to be more precise.)

- Day of Judgement
* Life spell, Level 5.
* Attacks with disintegration against all enemies.
* -Replaces Mass Mirth.
Notes:
This is a one-sided life Armageddon. It only deals half as much damage as Armageddon, but isn't considered Fire, and prevents enemy resurrection and raising of troops.

- Massive Retribution
* Life spell, Level 4.
* -Replaces mass celestial armor.
Notes:
Rather than making life ever more tanky, this punishes enemies for attacking you.

- Foundry Feast:
* Chaos spell, Level 3.
* Is a massive Fire Aura that adds fire attack to all your units in melee.
* -Replaces Mass Bless.
Notes:
There was a lack of level 3 Chaos spells, and an abundance of Life ones, which is why this is shifted.
Plus there are already other three ways to get bless: Bless itself, Potion, and the Holy Water spell.

- Fury of Nature
* Nature spell, level 5.
* Attacks all non-elementals units with Lightning.
* Damage varies with luck.
* Counts also as a summon for % upgrade purposes.
* -Replaces Mass Fortune.
Notes:
Nature now has access to Luck, which can be cast before combat to buff your heroes, this makes Mass Fortune less necessary. Plus they already have leprechauns, summon leprechaun, and rainbow.
Affecting your own units, but not your elementals, is meant to give tactical pondering and strategy. This is also the only damage spell which counts as summoning, for example, for the Scarab of Summoning.
Base damage is 3/4 as Armageddon.

- From the Ashes
* Chaos spell, level 5.
* Revives dead hit points from all of your stacks.
* Resurrects dead heroes.
* Even resurrects summons.
* Gets upgraded with both Summon and Damage bonuses.
* -Replaces Mass Weakness.
Notes:
This is the Chaos version of Divine Intervention. It acts as a Mass Rebirth.
Unlike raised/animated-dead troops, the creatures are legitimately still your own and will stay alive after combat (like the ones revived with Life spells).

- Ghastly Fate
* Order spell, level 5.
* Animates Poltergeists from all stacks at once, friendly and enemy.
* As usual, animated creatures cannot be then revived, raised, or resurrected again later.
* -Replaces Mass Slow.

- Mob Psychosis
* Chaos spell, level 5.
* Acts as Mass Berserk
* Also affects your own units and heroes (if they arent' immune)
* -Replaces Mass Slayer.

- Army of the Damned
* Death spell, level 5.
* Raises dead from all stacks you owned.
* -Replaces Mass Curse.

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Anim spell changes
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NY- Fireball can look like Devil disintegrating effect (original is ugly)
NY- EXPLOSIONS: USE FROM TS/RA2 !!!

- Fire bolt projectile replaced (real one was present but unused).

- May use the other style for the "Big" icons inside the spells. Nature is already done for example. And this is full.

- Luck/Fortune looks like a rainbow rather than a clover. Done for the "Chaos" flavor of Fortune now.

- Aging was changed to a more order-like anim (daily hourglass).

- Rebirth modified to a previously unused fire door anim.

- Guardian Angel modified to fiery revive anim, since now Death also has an equivalent.

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Potion changes
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Some potions have been made cheaper to buy. Other items have had their costs rebalanced. This is relevant for blacksmiths, both in towns and in the adventure map.

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Artifact stat changes

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- Ring of Health:
* Now named Rig of Health.
* Is Misc slot.
* This allows up to +200% HP (+300% with certain tricks by changing map editors/game versions).

- Spyglass:
* Now requires a hand (no longer stack 4, only one at a time).
* Made cheaper.

- Amulet of the Undertaker:
* Will necromant Gargoyles by default in heroes with no Necromancy.

- Magic Books:
* All but Life Magic/Grandmaster's Spellbook use your Misc slot (instead of your left hand slot)

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Ultimate Skill Changes

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NY- Speed primary skill is renamed Drive (ex-Initiative or Priority)

- NECROMANCY:
* Basic Necromancy resurrects Zombies (used to be Skeletons).
* Advanced Necromancy resurrects Skeletons.
* Expert Necromancy resurrects Ghosts.
* Master Necromancy resurrects Mummies (used to be Ghosts).
* Grandmaster Necromancy resurrects Vampires.

* No necromancy (pendant) resurrects Gargoyles

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Ultimate Treasure Changes

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Creature bank rewards were often somewhat underwhelming at best.

At the same time, banks having only one type of creature was boring, and no different from fighting stacks (due to lack of a fortress or different grid position)

Now, banks fulfill their potential as all have up to three different creature types.

They also grant more artifact and artifact types as compared to before, making them a valuable asset.

Be warned, though, as with time many of them will acquire level 4 creatures, which may prove a tough nut to crack.

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Ultimate Creature Graphic and Name Changes

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Ultimate Creature Graphic and Name Changes

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Order:
- Mage made Blue to go with Order color scheme. Also lighter. This reflects that it can now attack ranged.
(Magi's feet have a slight graphic bug as of yet; that affects 4/5 pixel flicker. Iliveinabox conversion wasnt 100% perfect, waiting for fixes to tool.)

Life:
- All main units had their graphic altered to look closer to NWC's color vision for Heroes 5. Priest heroes both male and female had their graphic replaced to fit in better with this vision.

Nature:
- Made sprites into Nymphs. They have Emerald wings. This shows they have completely different abilities, other than No Retaliation.

Chaos:
- ...

Death:
- Ghosts are now Poltergeists. They drain the life of their enemies and cause Panic, but they don't Age opponents (Mummies and Magi do that).

Might:
- Berserkers are now Warriors. They have a graphic based on the dogwoggle fighter one, to show they won't suicide charge the enemy.

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Ultimate Creature Stat Changes

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In addition to the altered abilities, some creature stats have been changed.

The changes here have been kept as minimal, subtle and straight as possible.

- ANGELS (Archangels):
[Can now blind and negate mind immunity when doing so. Have Death Ward.]
* Renamed Archangels.
* Costs Gems instead of Crystals.
Reasoning:
The resource change is to make them consisistent with H3; it is also necessary to balance resource requirements with other factions and creatures. Death Ward was taken from both Monks and Crusaders to give it to Angels, since they are logically the anti-death specialist unit (considering they resurrect, and all). Note that angels can blind undead, machine, and elemental units.

- BALLISTAE:
[Now has ranged giant slayer.]
* Attack slightly increased.
* Damage range widened.
* Drive (Initiative) increased to 2 from 0.
* Movement 10 from 8.
Reasoning:
Ballistae are now better against Lvl4 units, and will not be 100% the last to act. They were still good units overall, though, so not much has changed.

- BEHEMOTH
[Is now a Giantslayer. Has Cold Resistance.]
* +10 HP
Reasoning:
There was little reason to have Behemoths before as your main unit, since they were surpassed by Thunderbirds in nearly every important metric.
Now, with Behemoths being Giantslayers, this is the ultimate anti-lvl4 lvl4 unit. This guarantees that an appropiate use of the Behemoths can guarantee victory in late game engagements.

- BERSERKERS (Warriors):
[Have life guard, charge and unlimited retaliation, no longer attack twice.
No longer berserk.]
* Renamed Warriors.
* Graphics changed.
* +1 movement, -1 hp, +1 defense, +1 gold cost.
Reasoning:
Berserkers used to be suicidal lvl1, their losses being basically unacceptable, existing only to die in great droves. Now their attack is more moderate, but you can actually control and preseserve them for important engamenents. They are also better suited to defend themselves.

- BONE DRAGONS:
[Casts random curses with melee attacks, instead of Panic.]
Reasoning:
Bone Dragons were underwhelming. Also this creature lacks the quality booster of other undead, namely, the ability to be gotten for free with Necromancy. They also lack a Raise spell, sadly. Your best bet is get them with Undead Transformer, but that is not very efficient (you are turning level 4 into a worse level 4). The ability change now makes Bone Dragons actually really strong in long fights, and a worthy contender to be your max level death pick - although Devils put in a fierce competition.

- CATAPULT:
* XP value decreased.
Reasoning:
Expansion-type neutral level 4 creatures had an excessive XP value.
Other than that, the Catapult is mostly fine. Good for town defense or attack, but not so good in the open.

- CERBERI:
[Allows retaliation, but attacks THRICE. Fire resistance.]
* Damage per attack reduced.
* ATK -1, DEF -1.
* -1 growth.
Reasoning:
Since Ghosts are a very defensive and strategic unit, Cerberi are absolute destroyers. They may be fragile but this creature has the highest damage potential of all level 2 creatures, hands down. Not only can it attack three enemies, but it attacks them *three times* each. They also have Fire Resistance because well, they are on fire in their fidget anim, so obviously they don't get so much hurt from it.

- CROSSBOWMEN:
[Now shoots twice instead of no range penalty.]
* XP slightly increased.
Reasoning:
Crossbows, in real life, have lower ranges than Longbows. When making Heroes 4, people didn't know this basic medieval weaponry fact. Crossbows can shoot faster than longbows, though, which is the reason for this change. This also goes in line with buffing level 1 creatures for the late game.

- CYCLOPS:
[Are now berserkers and ignore obstacle penalties.]
* Initiative decreased.
* Movement decreased.
* AT/DEF 26/28 from 30/25.
Reasoning:
Cyclops used to be the obvious picks always and everywhere for Might towns. Now that they are berserkers, there will be a moment of pause before picking these powerful but unpredictable units. In a callback to Heroes 3, they were made better in sieges however, so these huge creatures are still key to victory when assaulting towns - while also permitting the buffed Ogre Magi to have a chance in your army for other types of engagements.

- CRUSADERS:
[Now has first strike and Chaos Ward instead of Death Ward.]
* Drive (Initiative) increased.
* -5 HP and -1 attack, +1 defense.
Reasoning:
Crusaders are meant to be a sort of unstoppable force of "good", so these changes round up the defense while not making them anti-death specialists. Rather, they are good against chaos who have a more "oriental bandit" flavor. The First Strike diminishes the enemy ability to respond, so their HP had to be slightly nerfed. Still, they need to be powerful in melee to compete against the ranged prowess of Monks, who reign supreme in castle defense.

- DARK CHAMPIONS:
[Abilities changed, is now cursing, is not undead, and has mana leech.]
* Can only cast Terror once with its starting spell points (however, mana leeching can lead to further casts)
Reasoning:
The original Dark Champion didn't feel much like the one we know and love from H3, and it had abilities which didn't seem very death-like. On the other hand its color scheme didn't clearly seem "undead", so now this champion is living, if not less evil. The binding goes with the same theme of the Goblin Knight, which intends to show these units as slaver riders, and goes with the Death theme of applying debuffs to enemies - same as thew Mana Leech.

- DEVILS (Archdevils):
[Has now Long Weapon, Fear, and Negate Mind Immunity. Goblin Knights have their own useful abilities.]
* Renamed Archdevils.
* Reduced damage.
* Gave less spell points so it can call Goblin Knight. (5 spell points)
* Notice Goblin Knights and Devil itself now have much more utility due to upgraded abilities.
* Adjusted spell power so each devil always calls one Goblin Knight per casting.
* Damage and movement reduced (movement is still more than the map).
Reasoning:
The Devil was strong, but thematically, it suffered. Why would devils invoke Ice Demons? Did hell freeze over? They have fire anims! Yes, Devils are actually aliens from another world, but we never knew them for their "chilly" allies.
Now, they invoke Goblin Knights, which look much closer to their armored aesthetic. They also got to provoke Fear, and since they ignore mind immunity, they can cause fear in normally immune creatures, guaranteeing no retaliation.

- EARTH ELEMENTAL:
[Fire elementals are no longer ranged, so it's the only ranged elemental. They have no melee penalty and Stone Skin.]
* Given a single ranged attack. Use wisely.
* Occupies less space.
Reasoning:
Being extremely slow, Earth Elementals struggled to get a piece of battle. Now they should provide utility in every engagament. Even if they canonly ranged attack once, their power is considerable. This can also be depleted as a ranged shot defense, though.

- EVIL SORCERESS:
[Now poisons on attack, and also strikes and returns. Banish spell has been much upgraded. Mass Slow is substitued with a Mass ghost raise.]
* Renamed to Toxic Sorceress
* Reskinned
* +15 hp (115 from 100)
* -1 ATK, +1 DEF, +1 initiative +2 average damage, -3 spell points.
Reasoning:
Evil Sorceress was a bit too brittle, it also lacked melee utility. Now it has something besides its spells.
The new spell allows the Toxic Sorceress to raise ghosts from all stacks of both enemy and allied creatures. But do take into account this means they cannot be revived in other ways.
(Though this is the only way for pure Order, besides using the same spell from a hero.)

- GARGOYLE:
[Now has Stealth. Is Mechanical instead of Elemental.]
* HP +2 (24 from 22)
* Drive (Initiative) decreased from 7 to 2.
Reasoning:
The Gargoyle was mostly an OK unit, but lacked uniqueness.
Now Gargoyles can ambush in the adventure map, but since they are statues, are a bit slower to act. Their Movement is still very high, though.

- GENIE:
[Freezing Attack ability. Their attack is also a Cold attack. They are immune to visual attacks like blinding due to their glowy eyes.]
** That is why now you only get "three wishes" - each Genie spell costs 4 mana, and they have 12 mana in total.
** Spell power increased near 30% (for damage and create illusions).
Reasoning:
Genie powers normally dominated the battlefield... well, they can still do that, but only for a very limited time.
However, Genies are generally better in melee now, since the freezing attack lets them disable opponents.

- GHOSTS (Poltergeists):
[Loses flying and Aging; now has Drain Life and Panic.]
* Renamed to Poltergeist.
* Recolored blue.
* -1 ATK and -1 DEF.
Reasoning:
Ghosts are an anti-living unit specialist, since they can drain life without fear of retaliation. They are however weak against elemental, mechanical and undead creatures.
Insubstantial makes this a high defense unit, which means it is hard to kill, so the drained HP is put to a good use.
Despite not really flying, ghosts are still pretty mobile.
Considering necromancers now start with Basic Necromancy, ghosts at Expert will also be easier to get to raise.

- GRIFFIN:
[Now has Negate First Strike.]
* -5 HP
* +5 defense
* -15 movement
Reasoning:
The Griffin has been enhanced in its role as a defensive platform, and is now contrasted with the glass cannon Unicorn. Griffins are now slower, but much tougher to crack.

- GOBLIN KNIGHT:
[Binding, Negate First Strike, Magic Resistance.]
* Reduced defense stat. However, now that it has Binding, bound enemies only deal 50% damage when attacking.
* Reduced movement by 38% (it's now same as Titan, from being one of the highest in the game).
* Reduced XP.
* Reduced cost by 20%.
* Increased growth by +1 (+25%). This is now needed for campaign reasons too.
** Now there is Summon spell that can be learned in Chaos Magic. This is the only Chaos Summoning spell.
Reasoning:
The movement of Goblin Knights was insanely high for a foot armored unit. Now while not slow they are closer to the rest.
This is also necessary to make them more balanced for summoning. This unit will be seen in more games instead of sitting them out entirely.

- GOLD GOLEM:
[Now has Stone Skin and Magic Mirror.]
* +1 growth, more expensive
* -4 HP to compensate for new defensive abilities
Reasoning:
Gold Golems were solid, but did they have what it takes to compete with the utility of Magi, which can act like an extra hero? Probably not.
But with Magic Mirror and a very high defense, now they do.

- FAERIE DRAGONS (Fading Dragons):
[It has Insubstantial instead of Magic Mirror.]
* Renamed to Fading Dragons.
* Radically reduced base defense to account for the 100% increase from Insubstantial (still higher in total).
* Decreased speed and movement as well as damage.
* Increased attack and HP slightly.
* Costs crystals instead of gems (so it's not the same as Mantis). Plus this is a throwback to Gold Dragons from Rampart.
Reasoning:
The change so that Fading Dragons have more of a physical than magical defense stems from the rebalancing of the Colisseums of Might and of Magic.
Previously, both had you pit against magic-resistant/reflective opponents, meaning magical heroes had little to no chance while Might heroes were better in both.
Now, since Fading Dragons are good against physical and bad against magic (opposite as before), Magic heroes can for the first time shine in Colisseums of Magic.

- FIRE ELEMENTAL:
[They are now melee, have a breath attack, a Fire Shield, and Fire Immunity.]
* Made faster and with more initiative, to compensate they are a melee unit now.
* Health lowered to 43 from 50.
* Damage increased slightly.
Reasoning:
While the Fire Elementals do not actually have a "fire attack" per se now, Fire Resistance will protect you from being a secondary target to their breath attack, and also from their permanent fire shield.
With how utterly threatening these elementals and their animations look, it actually makes more sense for them to be melee units and not ranged.

- HARPIES:
[They lose no retaliation and gain casting Weakness.]
* Since enemies can now retaliate, attack slightly increased.
* Max damage increased +1.
* Defense slightly decreased.
Reasoning:
Harpies gain a bit of usability being combat casters, but the no retaliation made them basically melee-ranged units. Now, they actually need to think where and when to attack, since the one that doesn't need to is the Nomad.

- ICE DEMONS:
[No longer summonable by Devils, but learnable summon in Death.]
* +1 Movement
* -1 ATK, -2 DEF
Reasoning:
Ice Demons were mostly fine. This will still be a support unit used by Necromancers who get the chance. Their stats are the highest for a level 3 summon.

- IMPS:
[Now have Long Weapon.]
* -1 HP, -4 movement (compensates the long range).
* Attack anim changed.
Reasoning:
Let's face it, Imps aren't the best combat units, and many a player will turn them into skeletons without a second thought. However, the change to having Long Weapon gives Imps something to redeem themselves in combat, since it allows them to strike without fear of retaliation.
The enabled spell to invoke Imps in Death will also be a favourite of many players, since it can actually replenish your spell points, besides taking the ones of the enemy.
Imp stats are still one of the lowest amongst all creatures, though, so they can still be destroyed by little effort.

- LEPRECHAUNS:
[They gain a Block ability.]
* XP slightly increased.
* MP decreased by 1 (to be in line with the new Fortune cost)
Reasoning:
The block ability goes with their Lucky motif; if they are lucky, they block. If they aren't... they will probably all die. The XP increase means due to this powerful defense you get less from the portal.

- MAGI:
[They now cast aging and may hypnotize on attack, and skeleton raising is much stronger since it's level 2.]
* Recolored to Order.
* Added 5 ranged shots.
* Spell Points diminished to 14 (from 16). Lvl2 spells cost more now.
* Stats adjusted, HP increased.
* Growth to 6 from 7.
Reasoning:
Magi are still very fragile, but now can cast spells when attacking in melee against certain enemies. Combined with their ability to shoot (prepared but not implemented in the base game), this should make them a bit more versatile in the battlefield rather than just dying to the first attack without having real impact. On the other hand, less spell points mean you will want to be more specific about what to cast and when to cast it.

- MINOTAUR:
[Now has Charge.]
Reasoning:
Minotaurs needed a buff since medusas are quite good. On the other hand, in practice this damage buff may not suffice, so in the future, Minotaurs may be revised - such as making them faster.

- MONKS (Priestesses):
[They now have no melee penalty. They cast Weakness on attack.]
* Renamed to Priestess.
* Graphics changed, now has the new reddish color scheme of the rest of Life unit lineup.
* Given 3 more shots.
* Drive (Initiative) decreased by 1, movement increased by 1.
* Attack decreased by 3, Defense increased by 1.
* -5 HP, -5 gold and XP.
* Given a nominal spell power (even though it has no spells).
Reasoning:
Monks were a mainstay of Life armies; their role as Priestesses hasn't changed too much, but No Melee Penalty will help them compete against Crusaders for a slot on armies that fight fast opponents.
The offense is nerfed a little, but it gains utility by casting Weakness on attack. This is now the only weakness ranged caster, since Waspworts got changed to Bind.
The -25% damage from enemies should more than compensate the stat debuffs.

- MUMMIES:
[They have Aging instead of Curse. Now Rebirth once to full health.]
* Added spell points for Rebirth.
* They have a ranged attack.
Reasoning:
Mummies are a mysterious Neutral creature which is only available to players via Master Necromancy. As such they have interesting new abilities instead of just Cursing.
Mummies were dumb and dull, just slow units that attack; in contrast, now they are one of the most complex units in the game.
This makes encounters with neutral Mummies more exciting and strategic. Mummies rely on their spell points to resurrect so this opens up new tactics to deny their resurrection. This includes imps, spell shackle and so forth.

- NAGAS:
[Now have Block, in addition to "Three headed attack".]
* Occupies one less space in diameter.
Reasoning:
Nagas were taking too much space and while this was useful for three headed attack, it dodn't go with them being well, snakes.
Now Nagas are less of a hurdle in army arrangement, while the Block helps to get them to the same power level as genies.

- NIGHTMARES:
* Stats significantly nerfed to compensate powerful new offensive abilities (Charge and stone gaze).
[Still have Terror casting]
Reasoning:
Nightmares were already strong. The Stone Gaze is an homage to the old Gorgons of H3, but their stats had to be decreased in order for them not to be OP. Charge is a mainstay of horse-type creatures in the mod.

- NOMADS:
[Gain No Retaliation.]
Reasoning:
The Nomads were kind of a weak choice compared to Harpies before. Now they are not only defensively good due to First Strike, but they can also strike wherever. This compensates for them not flying or applying any spells, unlike Harpies.

- OGRE MAGI:
[Now cast Curse on attacks, ignoring magic resistance. Spell changed for Arachnid Venom.]
* Initiative increased by 2.
* HP decreased by 10.
* Movement increased by 5 (18 to 23).
* ATK/DEF sensibly increased.
* Growth 5 from 6
* XP increased slightly.
Reasoning:
The Ogre Magi was underpowered in vanilla H4, acting as little more than HP balls that cast bloodlust. It is now a more versatile creature. Since Cyclops are basically immobile shooting platforms, Ogres have increased movement for offensive operations. Their new spell is also mass and boosts your whole Might army with poisoned attacks. Though their poison damage by ogre is rather slow, this will apply every turn.

- PEASANT:
[Now has giant slayer.]
* HP reduced, damage reduced.
* XP, gold cost reduced.
* Growth near doubled.
* +1 ATK -1 DEF.
Reasoning:
This makes peasants more economically useful as in other mods, but keeping to 1 gold per peasant only. Just double the peasants. This is also an "homage" to the uber weak peasants of other Heroes games.
Note that this change likely affects PEONs. A few monster placements use this system, though only the "random monster" balls. Normal placed monsters use their own weekly growth.
When "Peasant gold per day" hex adress is discovered, this may be changed again.

- PIKEMEN:
[Now has first strike, unlimited retaliations, and melee giant slayer.]
* HP decreased by 5 to 25
* +1 growth (10 from 9)
* Drive (Initiative) decreased by 1.
* Cost decreased by 10 gold (140 from 150)
Reasoning:
Pikemen are ought to be strong defensive units to compete with the powerful ranged attack of Ballistae.

- PIRATES:
[Now cause Panic.]
* +1 Movement, +2 drive.
* Growth decreased.
* XP and gold cost increased.
Reasoning:
Pirates are fearsome. They cause fear. This goes with their historical reputation. Plus the animation for panic is a turning skull - a common motif of pirate flags.
This spares them the retaliation of their enemies in most cases. However, the ability doesn't work against undead, mechanical or elemental creatures.
Pirates are also wanted men, that is why their bounty has increased.
When they will be recolored, they will be known as Dread Pirates.

- SKELETONS:
[Now have Life Guard and Cold Resistance.]
Reasoning:
It sort of makes sense that Skeletons are better against life, since they are extra dead, even for undead. Furthermore, Imps are now much more useful, and while increasing Skeletons universally would just make them OP, giving something hard to counter by Life is important, since actually Death doesn't have access to Dark Champions at all normally as a faction; while Life has lots of Anti-Death stuff, like several spells, buying Sacred Water at the blacksmith, and the Priestesses units.

- SPRITES:
* Renamed to Nymphs.
* Recolored.
* XP value slightly increased.
[Lose No Retaliation, gain Magic Mirror, Skeletal and cast Weakness on attack.]
Reasoning:
Sprites were useless in the late game. Defensive buffs at a distance and the ability to cast on attack are usability features aimed to make them last into the late stages of the game and be useful there. However, you should only attack enemies which have already retaliated, or risk severe losses. Summoning sprites now also makes sense under certain circumstances, and can be used as casting Weakness with limited range, and to spend enemy retaliations.

- UNICORN:
* -2 growth (3 from 5), XP and Gold cost adjusted.
* -1 HP (but -161 weekly HP due to reduced growth).
* +6 attack, -1 defense.
* -1 damage.
* Has 35 movement, +1 drive.
* Occupies 1 less tile of diameter (5 vs 6).
[Now has (1) Charge, (2) Flying, (3) Blinding and (4) and Strike and Return.]
Reasoning:
The Unicorn is now defined as a mobile attacker, as such, is has been made less tanky, with more emphasis in a glass-cannon like configuration.
They are rarer as they are suppossed to be in myth. This makes them generate a lot less weekly HP, and to be considered precious.
Though the Unicorn damage has been nerfed somewhat, do not believe what you see: The Charge ability and extra offense makes it extremely dangerous.
This balances it against the Griffin which is a more HP-and-DEF heavy unit.

- VAMPIRE:
* -1 ATK, -3 DEF.
* +3 damage.
* -4 Drive, -6 Movement.
[Now teleports instead of flying, and has Cold Attack instead of No Retaliation.]
Reasoning:
Vampires were fast, had insanely high stats and were widely known as simply OP in the base Heroes 4, not to mention you can get them for free with grandmaster necromancy. By making vampires a bit less mobile and letting enemies retaliate against them, we have a unit that is still quite strong, but that can be defeated. The new teleportation effect is useful for infiltrating fortifications, though. Take into account also that because your necromancers start with Basic Necromancy, getting to Grandmaster where you raise Vampires is actually 1 level easier.

- VENOM SPAWN:
* Growth increased to 4 from 3 (+1/+33%).
* Shots reduced.
* +DEF, -ATK, -2 DMG, -1 move.
* Cheaper, less XP.
[Abilities unchanged.]
Reasoning:
The Venom Spawn had the same growth as the Vampire, which made it struggle going toe to toe with its amazing stats. Now the Venom Spawn can produce significantly more weekly HP, since they have +1 growth and still 100 HP each. This also compensates not being able to be gotten through Necromancy. Also, the spell to summon Venom Spawns in Death is enabled, giving them even more uses. Now that Vampires are significantly slower, Venom Spawns can compete better to be a viable army alternative, since they are 5 closer in movement range compared with before. To be fair, the reduced shots don't really matter that much in most cases, since Venom Spawns will keep damaging with poison.

- ZOMBIE:
* Health reduced slightly (22 from 24), movement +1 (15 from 14), growth +1.
* Zombies are now resurrected with Basic Necromancy, instead of Skeletons.
[Toughness still doesn't do anything.]
Reasoning:
Zombies got just a slight usability boost, and they have a place in death since them is what you will be resurrecting with Basic Necromancy. They are still very slow though, and won't get natural growth from your town, so it's more like a stepping stone towards getting to necromant Skeletons if anything.

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Ultimate Graphical Enhancements and changes

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- Included H4 HD wrapper. See "ULTIMATE CREDITS.txt" for link and author (Verokster), as well as other acknowledgements like to Iliveinabox and Karmakeld.

- Fixed Nature Creature Portal animation (which doesn't display in vanilla game).

ñNY- Changed heroes anims for some actions so they look better.

ñNY- Added blocking and other animations to creatures so they are "full".

- Added "Hero Species" system. Unique looks for heroes.

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Enjoy. This mod is free and provided for entertainment purposes only. If you wish to support the creator, donate here: PayPal (new window). Or, if you are a programmer, software engineer or 3D animator, you may contact for ways in which you can contribute to the modding project. Cheers!