Dungeon Guide

Dungeon in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era wins with early tempo and a rich economy: its heroes' Triumvirate's Strength stances "pack a punch in the early game" in Unfrozen's words, its laws give better town growth, perfect market rates and higher spell levels, and its late army ends in Hydras and Dragons. This guide sets Unfrozen's notes beside Turin's Dungeon Beginners Guide of May 7, 2026, and says where later patches changed his advice. The faction's lore, full lineup and history are on Dungeon; the basics are on Beginner's Guide.

Quick facts

Strengths and weaknesses

Unfrozen designed Dungeon so its players "will always have an ace up their sleeve": the hero's stances boost the army while the units' fighting styles change their attacks for the situation (Devlog #8, Mar 13, 2025). Its weak spots, in Unfrozen's later notes, were Arena (where it was "underperforming", Patch #9, Jun 2, 2026), what Unfrozen called "Hive's and Dungeon's bleeding problems" ( Patch #14, Sep 3, 2026) and, before the beta, stacks that played alike and had "few ways to spend Focus" (beta notes, Oct 15, 2026).

Opening and first week

38:43 Turin's beginner opening uses Motley, the Onyx Dancer specialist. First he builds the upgraded Amphitheater (the tier 3 dwelling) and upgrades the Dancers to Aureate Dancers, leaves the Troglodytes at home, and creeps camps without shooters, splitting the Dancers into single stacks so every hit lowers the target's Defense. Patch #11 made "Amphitheater I" 250 gold dearer and gave all three Dancers 20 health instead of 18.

44:12 With Motley he always takes Nightshade Magic, for the upgraded Twilight that stops enemy shooting, and adds Primal Magic as a second school. His week 1 build is Fortifications 1 and 2 and perhaps a Labyrinth (tier 4), with a bank early if the economy allows.

Stances and fighting styles

Once per round the Dungeon hero activates one of three stances, which boosts the chosen stat for that round and can be swapped at the start of the next (Devlog #8).

0:24 Turin's rule of thumb: the Minotaur stance when you need a little more damage to finish a stack, the elven stance for survivability, and the Spell Power stance to finish something with a nuke; in his opening he picks the Attack stance and swaps it round by round.

2:20 Fighting styles trade something for a different attack, and Unfrozen's reveal video names one for each tier on screen, from the Infiltrators' "Hit and Run" to the Minotaurs' "Grand Slam" and the Medusae's "Arrow Barrage". In Devlog #8 Troglodytes can make a Long Reach attack at a 50% damage penalty, and Medusae can turn their shot into an area attack against bunched-up stacks. The Oct 15, 2026 beta gives every Dancer "Blade Dance" (attack twice until the end of the round) and every Minotaur "Minotaur's Onslaught" (push the target back), plus "Hail of Arrows" for the Medusa Queen and "Ambush" for the Bleak Infiltrator (beta notes); those are beta-only as of Oct 21, 2026.

22:07 Turin calls the Onyx Dancer "the best unit on the roster": each hit lowers the target's Defense by 1 until the end of the battle, and its "Bouncing Glaives" style hits two targets for less damage but debuffs both, so single-model stacks can strip a camp's Defense to zero. He prefers the Aureate Dancer, which lowers Defense by 2, to the Jasper Dancer.

Faction Laws to take

Unfrozen's laws devlog makes Dungeon "masters of trade and diplomacy" with much better town growth and perfect market rates, and offers an offensive law that raises Dungeon heroes' spell levels by 1 (Devlog #14, Dec 5, 2025). Patch #13 (Aug 20, 2026) reworked them to "strengthen their early-game capabilities": "Triumvirate's Agents" now gives all heroes Attack, Defense and Spell Power and costs 4/4 Seals, and a new "Arcane Knowledge" adds 15 maximum mana to all heroes. The beta rewrites the "Elite" creature laws: "Elite Minotaurs" adds Attack and Defense, "Elite Hydras" Defense and "Elite Dancers" Luck and Morale. How laws work is on Faction Laws.

32:07 Turin's first laws were the old "Arcane Knowledge" (free Astrology points) together with "Leaders of the Nation" (20% more Law points), so towns can build gold and Law buildings instead of Astrology ones. Both have changed: Patch #11 raised "Leaders of the Nation" to 3/3 Seals, and Patch #13 renamed that Astrology law "Celestial Maps" and gave the name "Arcane Knowledge" to a +15 maximum mana law. He also liked "Triumvirate's Agents" (+1 to every attribute of Dungeon heroes), which Patch #13 changed to Attack, Defense and Spell Power for all heroes.

34:37 Unlike other factions, Dungeon's elite creature laws do not raise growth, so Turin takes the "Dungeon Masters" growth laws first, Fortifications 2 in week 1 and Fortifications 3 by the end of week 2, using the law that cuts Ore costs to afford it. Patch #11 cut every "Dungeon Masters" law from 3 to 2 Seals.

36:33 For the late game he says "initiative is king": "Elite Cave Dragons" and a Black Dragon give the army a fast leader, and "Tactical Advantage" lowers enemy Initiative, so a magic hero casts first. Patch #11 raised "Tactical Advantage" from 5 to 6 Seals.

Heroes and elite classes

• Tellaris the Betrayed and Sister Deira are spell specialists, buffed in Patch #8; Tellaris's spell affects all friendly creatures since Patch #11 (Unfrozen).
• Zakron the Great is a magic damage specialist, buffed in Patch #8 to 1% more magic damage per hero level (Unfrozen).
• Ylwari is a diplomat, and Rhea a Lucky Strike specialist buffed in Patch #11.
• All Dungeon Might heroes start with 1 Spell Power and 2 Knowledge since Patch #11.

The elite classes follow the three rulers: "Balthazar's Bodyguard" for Attack, "Silvertongue's Envoy" for Defense and "Amelchia's Heir" for Spell Power, each cut from 100% to 40% in the beta. More picks are on Best Heroes.

12:38 Turin calls Motley "the best character on this faction": she strengthens Onyx Dancers, and her upgraded Twilight takes away all enemy ranged attacks, which makes it easy to break through a shooter-heavy guard such as 200 Medusae. He played her starting with Luck; Patch #8 changed that starting skill to Recruitment.

10:33 His late-game caster is Zakron the Great, the magic damage specialist: take Primal Magic, Armageddon and a lot of Spell Power, and field Black Dragons, which take no damage from it. Patch #8 doubled Zakron's scaling to 1% more spell damage every hero level and raised Armageddon's base damage.

1:41 He finds Tellaris the Betrayed, whose Masterful Early Start raises one stack's Initiative, only "all right"; Patch #11 made his spell affect all friendly creatures, a much stronger version than the one he reviewed.

15:09 For tournament formats he grew to like Typhona, the Hydra specialist: Hydras rarely lose models in early fights, and with Arcane Magic he blinks them into the enemy and casts Taunt so every enemy has to attack them.

7:35 Creta, Daughter of Navarr, earns Gems every day, so Turin uses her to rush upgraded Dragons. "Gleard the Grey", he says, creeps well early with Shackles, but Patch #8 replaced that starting spell with Temporal Spheres, and Glastor's Thick Hide, which he found weak, became Clear Fog.

17:53 Turin rates the Dungeon's "gymnasium", which instantly gives a hero a level, among the best unique buildings in the game: wait until the hero is level 16 or higher, then build it for a level that would otherwise take a long time.

Creature upgrades and combos

31:50 Turin's favorite upgrades are the Infernal Troglodyte (its wound makes the target take more damage), the Guile Infiltrator (no counterattack), the Aureate Dancer, the Minotaur Lord ("Parry" strikes first), the Medusa Queen (shoots back at shooters), the Chthonic Hydra and the Black Dragon for its Initiative. Patch #11 cut the Chthonic Hydra's Initiative from 8 to 6 and Defense from 34 to 30, and Patch #8 dropped the Minotaur Lord's Initiative from 7 to 6.

37:12 His combos: a Minotaur Lord with upgraded Riposte from Daylight Magic counterattacks first and twice, "almost unkillable in melee"; a Hydra moved by upgraded Blink lands in the enemy lines; and Black Dragons with Armageddon win long games even from behind.

Matchups

16:01 Dungeon's Daylight specialist adds a level to Daylight spells and stops enemy heroes casting Daylight Magic, so Turin calls him "a huge meme counter pick" against a Temple player who spams Daylight buffs. Inner Light, he adds, is the answer when an opponent uses Twilight on you.

What changed in patches and the beta

• Patch #9 (Jun 2, 2026): bigger Dungeon armies in Arena, for example basic Troglodytes offered from 285 to 295.
• Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026): stance interface improved and shown in the right order; dragons' alternative attack damage fixed.
• Patch #13 (Aug 20, 2026): the law rework and "Arcane Knowledge".
• Oct 15, 2026 (beta only): new unit abilities, Cave Dragon health from 275 to 300, and the new skill First Aid for all heroes, which restores part of the losses after a victory.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Dungeon in Olden Era? In Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Dungeon uses its Triumvirate's Strength stances for early tempo, its fighting styles to adapt each stack's attack, and its laws for growth, trade and higher spell levels, ending with Hydras and Dragons.

What are the best Dungeon laws in Olden Era? Unfrozen's headline Dungeon laws in Olden Era are much better town growth, perfect market rates and +1 to Dungeon heroes' spell levels; Patch #13 added "Arcane Knowledge" (+15 maximum mana for all heroes).

Who is the best Dungeon hero in Olden Era? Olden Era's Dungeon spell specialists Tellaris the Betrayed and Sister Deira and the magic damage specialist Zakron the Great were all buffed in Patch #8, and Tellaris's spell hits all friendly creatures since Patch #11.

What is the best Dungeon opening in Olden Era? Turin's Olden Era opening of May 7, 2026 plays Motley, builds the upgraded Amphitheater for Aureate Dancers, splits them into single stacks to strip enemy Defense, and takes Nightshade Magic for Twilight.

How does Triumvirate's Strength work? In Olden Era, Triumvirate's Strength lets a Dungeon hero activate one of three stances once per round, boosting the chosen stat for that round by +2, +4 or +6 by skill level in Unfrozen's 2025 chart.

Sources

• Devlog #8: On Triumvirate's Strength and the Alvar Pact, Unfrozen, Mar 13, 2025
• Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses, Unfrozen, Jul 25, 2025
• Devlog #14: Gameplay Mechanics pt. 3: Faction Laws, Unfrozen, Dec 5, 2025
• Patch #8: Skills Rework, Balance Pass & Exploit Fixes, Unfrozen, Jun 1, 2026
• Patch #9: Hotfix & Balance Adjustments, Unfrozen, Jun 2, 2026
• Patch #11: Necromancy Update, UI Tweaks and Balance Changes, Unfrozen, Jul 6, 2026
• Patch #13: The Mysterious Island, Unfrozen, Aug 20, 2026
• Patch #14: More PvE Content and Plans for the Future!, Unfrozen, Sep 3, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Dungeon Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 7, 2026 (video)
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Dungeon Faction full reveal (Happy Holidays!), Unfrozen Official, Dec 13, 2024 (video)