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The Necropolis faction in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is suited for players who prefer patience and strategic planning. These players win by building up advantages over time, rather than by rushing into fights. Led by the Necromancers’ Guild in Shadowspire, the focus of Necropolis armies is on the dead—raising and growing them to dominate battles.
The main mechanic is Necromancy: after each battle, a certain percentage of enemy health points (HP) is converted into undead reinforcements. This means every fight makes your army stronger, regardless of whether you win easily or struggle. The overall goal is straightforward but difficult to master: survive the early, vulnerable phase, set up the Skeleton Archer engine, and allow your army to snowball into an unstoppable force by mid-game.
Overall Strategy Tips
Necromancy increases after each victory as fallen enemies are turned into undead units, and the amount gained depends on surviving high-HP neutral stacks, not just numbers. Larger, high-health enemy units give more reanimation value than numerous fragile units. Keep this in mind when choosing which battles to take.
Native terrain is rare for Necropolis. On some maps, terrain bonuses and initiative can boost Necromancy growth, but these maps are exceptions. Most maps have limited native land, so planning around the Terra Mortis law is essential to maximize terrain benefits.
Necromancy relies on resources, especially Gems and Crystals, needed for top-tier undead structures. While the Necromancy process reduces unit losses over time, expect to need resource control, especially on the Lich and Vampire structures, if you lack active mines during the mid-game.
The Undead Transformer is a crucial tool. It converts neutral creatures or those recruited through Diplomacy into Necropolis units, turning creature hut visits and neutral recruits directly into army assets. Consider it a core growth engine for your strategy.
On maps with low neutral army density, Necromancy builds slowly. Without regular large encounters, your ability to scale the undead army can be delayed.
Best Necropolis Laws
Laws are a passive progression system funded by Law Points gained through battles, mine captures, and town features. Necropolis has some strong options:
- Laws of the Immortals: Increase Law Point generation from your cities by 20%. The earlier you choose this, the more total points you’ll earn across the game, giving you more options later.
- Terra Mortis: Boosts your heroes’ native terrain bonuses, even when fighting off native land. Since map native land is often limited, this law ensures terrain advantages are always active, making it a valuable mid-game choice.
Other laws include:
- Moon’s Grace: Raises the level of Nightshade spells your heroes cast by one, which benefits Death Knight builds with Nightshade Magic.
- Bloodthirst: Boosts vampirism by 50%, enhancing Vampire durability late in the game. Best when Vampires are already in your army and you’ve established a stable economy.
Best First Week Strategy
The first week is critical and risky for Necropolis. Your starting army is melee-focused with no ranged units until Skeleton Archers are built—making early fights dangerous. The main priority is to reach Skeleton Archer upgrades as soon as possible.
Days 1–2: Focus on building toward Skeleton Archer upgrades. Avoid recruiting aggressively before the upgrade is available, as losing Skeletons in melee fights reduces Necromancy potential and can be costly.
Days 3–4: Once Skeleton Archers are available, upgrade your Skeleton stacks. The upgrade costs about ten gold per unit, so be cautious if resources are tight—upgrading ten Skeletons costs 100 gold. If upgrading helps you win upcoming fights with fewer losses, it’s worth the investment. Delay if gold is needed for essential structures.
Days 5–7: Only build the Marketplace if it immediately resolves resource shortages for upcoming structures. Start working toward Mage Guild for spell support. If your Skeleton army is stable, plan to build Lich or Vampire structures, but don’t rush them at the expense of your current army.
Resource priorities: Focus on Skeleton Archer buildings first, then upgrade Skeletons, followed by resource-generating structures, and finally creature buildings. Play conservatively—avoiding fights that cost too much of your Skeletons, as heavy losses slow Necromancy growth.
Army Composition Tips
- Skeletons are the foundation, cheap and high in number. Upgrading them to Skeleton Archers transforms them from melee fighters into powerful ranged units.
- Wraiths provide a partial life drain and can serve as frontline damage sponges, absorbing hits that Skeleton Archers should avoid.
- Dread Knights lead the front lines before Vampires become available, especially if your hero starts with this unit. They boost early game viability and help clear maps.
- Vampires are the late-game reward. Their life drain makes them extremely tough in prolonged fights, but build toward them only after your Skeleton engine and resource economy are stable, not as an early panic move.
Liches are valuable for area damage and debuffing, and their skill Rewind Death restores HP and revives units. Save Focus Charges for this ability as preventing unit losses is always worth more than marginal spell uses.
Hero Strategies
Necropolis heroes have differing magic focuses: Necromancers lean toward Arcane Magic, while Death Knights prefer Nightshade Magic. Prioritize building a Mage Guild early, as spells like Slow and Blind are crucial against armored factions and to control the battlefield.
In most cases, developing a magic hero is best since spells and Necromancy are key to scaling your army. A Might hero can certainly work but doesn’t capitalize on Necropolis’s strengths.
Recommended heroes: Funerella (if favoring Magic), who starts with Advanced Necromancy, accelerating your scaling; and Artorius (for Might), with Masterful Berserk, a powerful control spell that can neutralize threats early on.
Single Hero Mode Tips
Necropolis performs well under single hero conditions because its Necromancy snowball doesn’t require a second hero to operate. The main challenge is army feeding: without a secondary hero gathering resources and creatures, you must rely more on the Undead Transformer, making careful fight choices vital.
Diplomatic recruitment via King-of-Kings is especially valuable here. It compensates for the lack of a second hero by converting neutral creatures into army units, strengthening your force directly. If playing single hero, choosing a hero like King-of-Kings can help offset the reduced input and keep your army growing steadily.
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