Balance Update Beta

On Oct 15, 2026 Unfrozen opened a public beta of what it calls "the biggest balance update since the game entered Early Access" for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era: version v0.82.02 on Steam's "public-test-branch", updated to v0.82.03 on Oct 21 (Unfrozen, Unfrozen). It changes how Attack and Defense turn into damage, makes the AI on the adventure map much smarter, adds two neutral creatures (the tier 5 Mummy and the tier 7 Kitsune), rebuilds the Temple faction skill around prayers, adds a First Aid skill for every hero, reworks the alternative creature upgrades of all six factions and adds 16 artifacts. None of it is in the main game yet: the test is expected to last "several weeks", and Unfrozen will "announce the exact release date later". Nothing in the beta is final, and Unfrozen warns that changes "may" be adjusted or reverted.

Quick facts

6:07 Unfrozen announced this patch on Sep 3, 2026, and again in its Roadmap Patch video of Sep 30, as "a major balance patch" on "a special beta branch" that would tackle "the abundance of %-based damage & defense modifiers", Battle Magic and Battlecraft, the Temple skill and Hive and Dungeon "bleeding" (Unfrozen). It also carries the roadmap's Stage 2 item "Alternative Creature Upgrades rebalance" (Early Access Roadmap).

How to join the beta

Unfrozen's steps (Unfrozen): in the Steam library, right-click Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, choose Properties, then "Game Versions & Betas", and select public-test-branch; Steam downloads the update and the game starts as usual. Sometimes Steam has to be restarted before the branch appears. To go back, pick "Default Public Version" in the same tab.

• Beta saves go to the saves_beta and campSaving_beta folders, so the save list looks empty on the beta; the normal saves come back on the main version.
• Cloud saves are off in the beta, and beta saves do not show in the main game.
• Online, beta players play on a separate server, only with other beta players.

The new damage formula

The live game multiplies damage by (20 + ATK) / (20 + DEF), the attacker's Attack against the defender's Defense (Unfrozen). Unfrozen's complaint is that heroes add so much Attack and Defense over a game that creatures' own stats stop mattering: by its numbers, +1 Attack lifts a Troglodyte's damage against Waurms by 4.5% at the start but by 0.98% when both heroes have 80 Attack and Defense, and 75 Waurms out-damage 1,000 Troglodytes 2.67 times early but only 1.24 times late. High-tier creatures fade, and artifacts that add stats do little.

The beta formula uses only the difference, Delta = ATK - DEF. The first point of difference is worth +4.00%, the second +3.96%, the third +3.92%, each 0.04% less than the one before, and once the difference reaches 100 more Attack or Defense changes nothing (by Vi.ki's sum of Unfrozen's progression, that cap is +202%). When Attack is higher, damage is multiplied by (1 + the sum); when Defense is higher, it is divided by it. A difference of 17 gives 62.56% and 18 gives 65.88%, so in Unfrozen's example a Troglodyte (Attack 2) hitting Waurms (Defense 20) deals 0.6028 times its damage and Waurms (Attack 20) hitting a Troglodyte (Defense 3) deal 1.6256 times theirs, at every stage of the game, because heroes add the same bonus to both sides. The 75 Waurms now out-damage 1,000 Troglodytes 2.28 times from start to finish (Combat).

A smarter adventure map AI

5:50 The beta's AI main heroes flee a battle they judge too hard to win and then follow a plan to get back into the game, learn high Global Map spells in the Magic Observatory and use the most useful ones to move, share resources better between towns and armies, equip artifacts with sets, skills and their army in mind, and take only skills that suit their role, besides "extensively" tuned general decisions (Unfrozen). Unfrozen pitches it at PvE players: games against the computer "are about to get a lot more interesting" (Difficulty and AI).

Mummy and Kitsune

0:05 Two new neutral stacks join the adventure map: the Mummy at tier 5 and the Kitsune at tier 7 (Unfrozen). Unfrozen had teased them on Sep 30, 2026 as "a majestic classic creature that fans of the series have known for a long time" and "a brand-new, nimble and mysterious arrival to the world of Enroth" (Unfrozen). The notes give no stats for either in text. Other neutrals change too: the Pixie, Ghoul, Animated Armor, Starchild and Giant Toad lose stats and the Couatl gains Health (Neutral Creatures).

3:56 Heroes 3.5: WoG Portal's look at the beta, two days after it opened, shows each creature's card on the adventure map and then a battle against several stacks of Kitsune.

Skills: prayers, First Aid, Battle Magic

• Righteousness (Temple): the faction skill is rebuilt around three prayers, "Song of Wrath" (extra Pure Damage), "Plea for Healing" (healing that can revive fallen creatures) and "Hymn of Power" (longer positive effects), whose strength grows with hero level, and all six subskills are new or changed (Unfrozen). On Oct 21 a prayer became single-use but can be stored on several stacks at once until each triggers it (Unfrozen, Temple).
• First Aid (new, every faction): after a won battle, surviving stacks recover 20/30/40% of the creatures lost. Subskills add 10% more, +2 Health, a cleanse, a once-per-battle revival and more; Julius, Leira, The Iron Master and Typhona start with it.
• Battle Magic: creatures now take part of their Attack and Defense from the hero's Spell Power and Knowledge instead of from the hero's Attack and Defense; at the top level a creature gets 60% of the hero's Attack and 40% of the Spell Power. The shift is 20/30/40%.
• Battlecraft: the bonus for waiting or skipping a turn falls from 20/30/40% to 10/15/20%. Sorcery: magic damage falls to 20/25/30%. Recruitment and Insight get new subskills (Skills).

Creatures, artifacts and the rest

• Alternative upgrades: every faction's upgrades are reworked so the two versions of a creature play differently, with new abilities such as the Wraith's "Gates of Afterlife", the Bleak Infiltrator's "Ambush" and the Sunspear Cavalry's "Strike and Return"; Grove changed most. Some stacks lose stats in return (Unfrozen, Creatures).
• Artifacts: 12 new artifacts that each add two hero stats, "Elven Blade" and "Ripe Apple" for the Living Arrows set, and "Diplomat's Robe"; identical artifacts can no longer be worn together, and several set bonuses now need more pieces. "Orb of Poison" followed on Oct 21 (Artifacts).
• Morale and Luck: a protection against very long lucky or unlucky streaks.
• Combat screen: a new look, a clearer initiative bar, faction skills on their own panel and 3 "Favorite Spells".
• Pandora's Boxes: every box now offers a choice (experience, Law Points or Astrology Points; gold, resources or Alchemical Dust; Attack, Defense or Movement Points, and so on), and spell boxes teach a chosen school even without the magic skills.
• Maps and ranked play: Jebus Cross grows from 160 by 160 to 176 by 176, a new Jebus Arena template (160 by 160) arrives, and the "Hell Light Spire" object registers a hero for tournament duels. Ranked losses cost 40 points in every division, while wins are worth 40 in Iron to Silver down to 20 in Master (Multiplayer, Random Map Generator).

What changed on Oct 21

The second build, v0.82.03, set starting resources by difficulty; removed Single Hero mode's 20% discount on the Astrology Points and Law Points needed to level up; changed starting skills of Typhona, Old Pilgrim, Zam and The Minstrel; weakened Lord Edgar and every creature and experience specialist; made "Tactical Guide" affect both sides; moved Shadowflight, Gate of Light and Pocket Dimension to tiers 1, 2 and 3 of High Neutral Magic (hero levels 4, 8 and 12); stopped choice Pandora's Boxes being postponed; and fixed a bug granting huge Law Points (Unfrozen, Patch Notes).

Frequently asked questions

How do I join the Olden Era beta? Right-click Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era in your Steam library, open Properties, then Game Versions & Betas, and select "public-test-branch". Choose "Default Public Version" there to go back.

When does the Olden Era balance update go live? Unfrozen has not dated it as of Oct 21, 2026: the beta that opened on Oct 15 is expected to run "several weeks", and the release date will be announced after testing.

What is the new damage formula in Olden Era? In the beta, damage depends only on Attack minus Defense: each point of difference is worth 4.00% at first and 0.04% less for each further point, up to a difference of 100, multiplying damage when Attack is higher and dividing it when Defense is higher. The live game still uses (20 + Attack) / (20 + Defense).

What are the Mummy and Kitsune in Olden Era? They are new neutral creatures in the balance update beta, the Mummy at tier 5 and the Kitsune at tier 7. They are on the beta branch only until the update is released.

What does First Aid do in Olden Era? First Aid is a new skill in the beta for every hero: after winning a battle, surviving stacks recover 20%, 30% or 40% of the creatures they lost, depending on skill level.

Do Olden Era beta saves work in the main game? No: beta saves are stored separately and do not show in the main version, cloud saves are off in the beta, and beta players only meet other beta players online.

Sources

• BETA Patch: Balance Tweaks - Spells, Heroes & a New Artifact, Unfrozen, Oct 21, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
• Hotfix: Missing Emojis, Lobby & Stability, Unfrozen, Oct 2, 2026
• Alliances & Updated Random Map Generator, Unfrozen, Sep 30, 2026
• Patch #14: More PvE Content and Plans for the Future!, Unfrozen, Sep 3, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era | Q3 Roadmap Patch: Introducing Alliances!, Unfrozen Official, Sep 30, 2026 (video)
• HoMM: Olden Era - Kitsune & Mummy - new neutral creatures, Heroes 3.5: WoG Portal, Oct 17, 2026 (video)