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Wargamer brings us an interview with with Heroes of Might & Magic IV designer Gus Smedstad, going into some detail about this upcoming game. Two interesting bits for you here:
TW: With the new focus on individual heroes, please give us a quick taste of how building heroes up has changed?
GS: You must pay more attention to skills than you used to when building a hero. Skills, far more than level, determine the hero's ability. A 5th level Barbarian with Expert Combat Defense will stand up to as much damage as a 30th level hero with no Combat Defense skill. There's also a strong incentive to specialize, since 2 heroes with Grandmaster skill in different areas is much better than 2 heroes with Expert in both areas.
As the hero gains levels, the choices you make may cause him to change class - which in turn will affect which skills you're offered in the future. Instead of your initial choice of class locking your hero into a particular playing style, your choices during the game determine that style.
TW: What are the major changes in the magic system? Has it been difficult to balance its effects within the new game structure?
GS: The magic system is now highly structured and specialized, into 5 schools of magic. The schools don't have much overlap, so if you want damage-dealing spells, you need to study Chaos magic, since there are only a handful in the other schools, and that's counting specialized spells like Holy Word.
Balancing the magic system hasn't actually been that difficult, though it has taken actual playtesting to reveal the strengths of each school. Order Magic, for example, has proven to be surprisingly strong, despite the rather specialized and indirect nature of the school. |
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Heroes of Might & Magic 4 Interview
