Duel is a template designed for 1 Hero gameplay. The addition of 3 guaranteed control scrolls gives players more freedom of movement and negates some aspects of randomness in the game, like bad roads and obstacles.
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Template author: MKC.
Special thanks to CsArOs (Pumpkin Patch creator) and DontCallMeChris (Revolt creator) without them, this version would not be possible.
Feedback channel #mkc-templates: https://discord.gg/new2ATQ
Version 3.0+ is made exclusively for Pumpkin Patch (developed by Csaros). Pumpkin Patch is an alternative to HotA's balance and I'm very excited to work on this project. I feel like I've hit the ceiling with the current Template Editor, so being able to make greater changes definitely brought back that passion I've had for Heroes 3. While writing changes, I was trying to preserve the original game as much as I can. Like for example when I worked on Heroes re-balance I read their lore to make sure they are not mismatching. However some changes were made purely for gameplay balance on 1 Hero templates. Version 3.0 also represents the original vision of Duel, the one where you have control scrolls added to your inventory from the start and Bunkers are no longer required. It was not possible before, due to Template Editor's limited functionality, but thanks to DontCallMeChris there's now a way to do it.
HOTA VERSION INFO.
I will still keep making Duel for Hota. Depending if there will be any commissions / donations for it, or for free - synchronized with Hota's updates. However the version number will always stay below 3.0.
Check your HOTA version (must be 1.7.3), if it's not the latest one then go to: HOTA downloads
Download Pumpkin Patch: https://heroes.thelazy.net//index.php/User:Csaros/Pumpkin_Patch / Installer / Manual installation.
Duplicate your HOTA folder and rename the copy into HOTA Pumpkin Patch.
Click on install_PP.exe and select this folder for installation.
Select these options in the Hex Swapper menu: 5 Luck and Morale limit, New Creature Banks, MKC's gameplay rebalance and MKC's Duel overhaul. Other options for Duel 3.0 are enabled by default.
If you aren't using the installer: copy Pumpkin Patch files directly into the new folder. Launch HexSwapper.exe (if your PC thinks it's a virus then you will need to authorize it manually). Enable the options listed above. After that locate h3hota HD.exe inside your new game folder and create desktop shortcut for it, then rename it into: HOTA Pumpkin Patch.
Recommended settings. Chill timer: 2 / 1:30 / 0:30. Competitive timer: 2 / 1:10 / 0:20.
> Fast roads only (rightmost option), water content - none, monster strength - strong, difficulty - 160%.
> Simultaneous turns 127, tournament rules - enabled, protected saves - enabled.
Restart 1x111. The Red player must be the first to say whether he keeps (+) or restarts (111). The Blue player can end the turn and wait until Red makes his decision. Road block restarts are not allowed.
If you have no restart and you're missing control scrolls, or you have less than 2 Schools of Magic in the Home Bunker - you can ask for technical restart. If your opponent asks for a proof, then you must present it.
In order to gain access to all external zones on the map, one of Border Guards (the ones that guard entrance to the middle zone) must be defeated or joined. It is not permitted to use Dimension Door (or Fly) to jump over the Border Guard, unless it is aimed in a way that instantly initiates the fight with it. If you see that your biome is missing one of Border Guards, due to another player's actions, in that case you also gain full access to the map.
Retreating or surrendering during the battle with your opponent is against the rules. Doing so, means you lost the game and must admit defeat.
"Poorman's TP" is allowed. You can retreat from a fight with neutral guards and buy back your Hero in a tavern.
FF242 (Final Fight on month 2 week 4 day 2). Whoever controls the central desert town by the end of this turn - wins the game. Winning the fight with only the summoned units left on the battlefield also counts as a victory.
No Draws. The player who deals the finishing blow in a final fight wins the game (reflected damage from the spells like Fire Shield and Magic Mirror also counts as a last hit dealt by the player who casted these spells).
T+ specific rules.
Players are allowed to hire one additional Hero at the start of the game and take his army. However at the end of turn 111, one of the two Heroes must be removed. Buying more than 1 Hero is strictly forbidden.
Players can choose any of the three available Heroes (1 they started with and 2 in the tavern) as their main Hero that they want to keep.
Competitive timer: 3 / 1:10 / 0:20.
Restarts 2x111.
Complete 1 Hero gaming ruleset is available on this page: Hota Online Rules (1 Hero edition).
Short version of Pumpkin Overhaul changes. Full description can be found here: Pumpkin Overhaul.
❖ Luck and Morale now range from -5 to +5. (Enabled by Luck and Morale limit option in the Hex Swapper). Luck, in addition to its standard effect, now affects the chance of random on-hit attacks (such as Stone Gaze, Aging, etc.).
❖ Refuse unwanted Secondary Skills. If you receive a level-up, and don't want to take either of the offered skills, simply accept the hero level-up window (by clicking the Accept button, Escape, Space or Enter) without choosing any of the options.
❖ Extensive re-balance of Heroes, Units, Skills and Spells. Changes are focused on making underwhelming things more viable, more interesting, while at the same time nerfing the stuff that was banned before in order to bring it back into the game. Highly valued bonuses that are provided by Logistics and Scouting were partially transferred to all Heroes, thus making these skills less oppressive. So you don't feel like you have to get them every time or you will lose the game.
❖ Control spells are no longer dependent on Air and Earth Magic. Any Magic School will give you Expert TP, DD and Fly.
❖ Mana cost of certain battle spells were re-designed in order to better reflect the actual value and impact of these spells. For example single target Slow costs 5 mana, while its mass cast - 12 mana.
❖ Duration of powerful spells like Blind, Berserk, Anti-Magic and Forgetfulness were hard-capped to last only a few turns. While Slow and Haste are now capped at 1 round duration.
❖ Resurrection no longer restores creatures permanently on any level (doesn't apply to Archangel's Resurrection ability or Animate Dead). So now it basically acts as an alternative to Summon spells.
❖ Armageddon's Blade is now a new combination Artifact. Its components are: Shield of the Damned, Sword of Hellfire, Breastplate of Brimstone and the Hellstorm Helmet.
❖ Titan's Thunder: Titan's Lightning Bolt now deals 600 + 60 * Spell Power damage. On top of that, equipping the set removes the negative effects of its components. (Pendant of Negativity now also protects from the Titan's Lightning Bolt).
❖ Cloak of the Undead King resurrects Skeletons, Walking Dead and Wraiths instead of Walking Dead, Wights and Liches.
❖ Armor of the Damned set now also casts Expert Sorrow and adds +7 all stats when combined.
❖ Ironfist of the Ogre now casts the Basic levels of Fire Shield and Counterstrike.
❖ Cape of Conjuring gives +10 spell duration (instead of +3).
❖ Recanter's Cloak now bans only LVL4 spells on the battlefield.
❖ Cape of Velocity is now a Minor Artifact and it gives +1 speed.
❖ Necklace of Swiftness is now a Major Artifact and it gives +2 speed.
❖ Elixir of Life: living creatures now gain +12.5% Health (instead of 25%).
❖ Zealots can now cast Bless, up to 3 times per combat, with 6 spell power.
❖ Champions. Jousting bonus damage is doubled.
❖ Archangel's speed reduced to 17 (by 1). Angels and Archangels: Damage is reduced from 50 to 45.
❖ Obsidian Gargoyle's Damage increased to 2–4.
❖ Pit Lord's Demon farming effectiveness is reduced in half.
❖ Walking Dead and Zombies. New ability: Reanimate, upon death units have a chance to reanimate (works like Phoenix's Rebirth). Disease ability reduces both Attack and Defense by 4 (instead of 2 each).
❖ Medusa's and Basilisk's Stone Gaze. Petrified creatures take 200% damage instead of original 50%. Meaning that targets will be more vulnerable. Petrification ignores magic immunities, but does not affect blind creatures (such as Troglodytes or Sandworms), as well as Stone Gargoyles, Stone Golems, and their respective upgrades.
❖ Hydras and Chaos Hydras cost reduced by 600 gold (original cost: 2200 and 3500). Additionally Chaos Hydras get Regeneration ability.
❖ Air, Water, Fire and Earth Elementals: Cost is set to 350 Gold, upgrade cost is 50 gold and their growth is set to 5.
❖ Earth Elementals and Magma Elementals are now susceptible to Implosion.
❖ Automatons and Sentinel Automatons: Cost is reduced by 100 gold (original cost: 350 and 450). Moreover, their value is reduced by 40%, so there's more of them in a box.
❖ Juggernaut: Attack and Defense Skill increased to 28, Speed is increased to 8. Cost remains the same: 3500 gold, 2 crystals.
❖ Ballista: damage increased to 4–5. Cannon: damage increased to 4–8.
❖ Buildings re-balance includes nerfs to some popular go-to builds and buffs to the ones that are often seen as nonoptimal or too slow. Build paths have been changed in some cases too. For example Hydras now only require Serpent Fly Hive and the building's cost has been reduced too. I tried to preserve the Unit / Town identity whenever I can and in this case: Hydras are meant to be these slow, bulky units, not really T7 but somewhere in between T6 and T7. So now that they have become much cheaper, it should properly reflect that identity.
This version must be played with Pumpkin Patch.
3 Variants: 1x Starting Town, 2x Starting Towns and No Bunker (Double Build).
All variants start on the surface level. No Bunker variant has Old Fort (400% cost for T7 upgrade) guaranteed in the Side Bunkers.
❖ All Heroes receive bonus: +4 Knowledge, +200 Movement Points and 3 Control Scrolls in their inventory (works only with Pumpkin Patch installed).
❖ All Heroes are enabled (except: Sanya, Malcom, Uland, Daremyth, Rissa, Calid, Nimbus, Geon, Saurug, Boragus, Tiva, Andal, Melchior, Bertram, Tavin).
❖ All spells are enabled (except Protection from Water).
❖ All skills are enabled (except: Eagle Eye, Scholar and Resistance).
❖ Combination Artifacts: Cloak of the Undead King is enabled, Pendant of Reflection is disabled.
❖ Enabled Artifacts: Statue of Legion (as combined Relic), Helm of Heavenly Enlightenment, Amulet of the Undertaker, Cape of Conjuring, Orb of the Firmament, Cape of Velocity, Pendant of Negativity, Surcoat of Counterpoise, Boots of Polarity, Recanter's Cloak.
❖ Various changes to Dwellings and Pandora's boxes.
❖ Ruins object is enabled on all zones.
❖ Added H size (Equestrian's Gloves and Boots of Speed are unbanned on this size).
❖ Added updated 4p XL size version and 3 - 8p H size version. Bunkers have All Spells box, and Triple Build town, they are guarded by 60k value guards (Native faction).
Home Bunker.
❖ Removed in the No Bunker version.
❖ Pandora's Box with all LVL3 spells is replaced with LVL1 Air Spells (View Air and Haste).
❖ Removed objects that are no longer necessary.
Biome.
❖ Max value reduced to 22000. Treasure density of high value (14000 - 22000) is reduced from 5 to 3.
❖ Hermit's Shack is now limited to 1 max.
❖ Watering Place is now guaranteed and its number increased from 1 to 3 (Stronghold biomes only).
❖ 3 Ivory Towers (Tower biomes only).
❖ 2 new Creature Banks that give Manticores (Subterranean and Dirt terrain only).
❖ 1 Pirate Cavern (Swamp terrain only).
❖ Increased the value of Griffin Conservatory (to 21500), Experimental Shop (to 15000), Dragon Fly Hive (to 15000) and their frequency is reduced to 5.
❖ Minor Artifacts - 1000 frequency, 5 max.
❖ Major Artifacts - 2000 frequency, 5 max.
Side Zones.
❖ Watering Place is removed.
Neutral Side Bunker.
❖ Size is increased, only Azure Dragon box can spawn.
❖ Underground Gate guards were increased from 50k to 70k value.
Regular Side Bunker.
❖ Copy of Mid Town now has a Fort building.
❖ Underground Gate guards were decreased from 50k to 42k value.
Biome.
Castle: Archer 5 / Griffin 10 / Swordsman 6 / Monk 9 / Cavalier 7 / Angel 2
Rampart: Leprechaun 2 / Wood Elf 5 / Pegasus 8 / Dendroid 10 / Unicorn 8 / Green Dragon 5
Tower: Golem 6 / Mage 8 / Genie 6 / Naga 7 / Giant 3
Inferno: Gog 5 / Hell Hound 10 / Demon 6 / Pit Fiend 12 / Efreeti 5 / Devil 4
Necropolis: Vampire 3 / Lich 8 / Black Knight 6 / Bone Dragon 4
Dungeon: Beholder 7 / Medusa 8 / Minotaur 10 / Manticore 7 / Red Dragon 2
Stronghold: Orc 10 / Ogre 9 / Roc 4 / Cyclops 7 / Behemoth 2
Fortress: Lizardman 5 / Serpent Fly 8 / Basilisk 8 / Gorgon 7 / Wyvern 4 / Hydra 7
Conflux: Fire Elemental 4 / Earth Elemental 8 / Elemental Conflux 2 / Psychic Elemental 9 / Firebird 4
Cove: Pirate 6 / Stormbird 4 / Sea Witch 9 / Nix 5 / Sea Serpent 4
Factory: Armadillo 8 / Automaton 8 / Sandworm 4 / Gunslinger 7 / Couatl 4 / Dreadnought 7
Treasure Zones (for side zones the number is halved, with exceptions*).
Castle: Cavalier 26 / Angel 6 (2)*
Rampart: Unicorn 30 / Green Dragon 16
Tower: Naga 26 / Giant 8
Inferno: Efreeti 14 / Devil 8
Necropolis: Black Knight 18 / Bone Dragon 10
Dungeon: Manticore 26 / Red Dragon 14
Stronghold: Cyclops 26 / Behemoth 6 (2)*
Fortress: Wyvern 16 / Hydra 22
Conflux: Psychic Elemental 34 / Firebird 12
Cove: Nix 18 / Sea Serpent 12
Factory: Gunslinger 26 / Couatl 12 (4)* / Dreadnought 22
If you wish to play Random Heroes but still have a fair distribution of starting gold, follow this link: Random Hero Roulette and click roll to get a pair of random Heroes. After this you can proceed with trading for the combination of Hero and Town in this pair. 500 gold for a re-roll.
Castle. 2 Pikemen, 1 Archers, 3 Griffins, 1 Swordsmen, 1 Monks, 1 Zealots.
Rampart. 2 Centaurs, 1 Dwarves, 2 Grand Elves, 1 Silver Pegasi, 2 Dendroid Guards, 1 Dendroid Soldiers.
Tower. 1 Gremlins, 4 Obsidian Gargoyles, 2 Stone Golems, 1 Arch Magi, 1 Master Genies.
Inferno. 2 Imps, 1 Gogs, 2 Hellhounds, 1 Demons, 2 Pit Fiends.
Necropolis. 2 Skeletons, 2 Walking Dead, 4 Wraiths, 1 Power Liches.
Dungeon. 2 Troglodytes, 1 Beholders, 1 Medusa Queens, 1 Minotaurs, 1 Minotaur Kings.
Stronghold. 1 Goblins, 1 Wolf Riders, 5 Orcs, 3 Ogres.
Fortress. 2 Gnolls, 1 Lizardmen, 3 Serpent Flies, 3 Basilisks, 1 Gorgons.
Conflux. 1 Pixies, 1 Storm Elementals, 1 Ice Elementals, 1 Fire Elementals, 2 Magma Elementals.
Cove. 2 Oceanids, 2 Crew Mates, 1 Pirates, 1 Ayssids, 2 Sea Witches, 1 Sorceresses.
Factory. 2 Halflings, 3 Mechanics, 3 Armadillos, 1 Sandworms.
Castle. 2 Marksmen, 2 Crusaders.
Rampart. 1 Wood Elves, 2 Pegasi.
Tower. 2 Master Gremlins, 2 Iron Golems, 0 Genies.
Inferno. 1 Magogs, 2 Horned Demons, 0 Pit Lords.
Necropolis. 0 Vampires, 0 Vampire Lords, 0 Liches.
Dungeon. 1 Harpies, 1 Harpy Hags, 3 Evil Eyes.
Stronghold. 0 Rocs, 0 Thunderbirds.
Fortress. 3 Lizard Warriors, 0 Mighty Gorgons.
Conflux. 1 Sprites, 0 Air Elementals, 0 Water Elementals, 2 Energy Elementals, 0 Earth Elementals.
Cove. 2 Corsairs, 1 Sea Dogs, 0 Stormbirds.
Factory. 2 Halfling Grenadiers, 0 Ogloi-Khorkhoi.
Biome.
Castle: Swordsman 6 / Monk 16 / Cavalier 12 / Angel 1
Rampart: Elf 5 / Pegasus 5 / Dendroid 18 (red & tan biomes) / Unicorn 13 (blue & green biomes) / Green Dragon 6
Tower: Golem 6 / Genie 10 / Naga 10 / Giant 3
Inferno: Pit Fiend 14 / Efreeti 4 / Devil 4
Necropolis: Vampire 1 / Lich 8 / Black Knight 9 / Bone Dragon 8
Dungeon: Minotaur 12 / Manticore 11 / Red Dragon 2
Stronghold: Roc 3 / Cyclops 13 / Behemoth 2
Fortress: Gorgon 7 / Wyvern 3 / Hydra 9
Conflux: Elemental Conflux 2 / Psychic Elemental 14 / Firebird 5
Cove: Pirate 5 / Stormbird 3 / Sea Witch 16 / Nix 5 / Sea Serpent 5
Factory: Sandworm 4 / Gunslinger 12 / Couatl 3 / Dreadnought 7
Treasure Zones (for sides the number is halved, with exceptions*).
Castle: Cavalier 38 / Angel 5 (1)*
Rampart: Unicorn 44 / Green Dragon 20
Tower: Naga 32 / Giant 8
Inferno: Efreeti 12 / Devil 8
Necropolis: Black Knight 24 / Bone Dragon 20
Dungeon: Manticore 46 / Red Dragon 20
Stronghold: Cyclops 42 / Behemoth 6 (2)*
Fortress: Gorgon 22 / Wyvern 16 / Hydra 28
Conflux: Elemental Conflux 20 / Firebird 14
Cove: Nix 14 / Sea Serpent 12
Factory: Gunslinger 42 / Couatl 10 (3)* / Dreadnought 20
Click here to see changelogs.