Factions

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has six factions: Temple, Necropolis and Dungeon, which return from earlier Heroes games, and three new ones, Hive, Grove and Schism. Each has seven tiers of creatures, each tier with a base unit and two upgrades, its own faction skill, its own Faction Laws and 18 heroes.

1:54 Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has six factions in Early Access: Temple, Necropolis, Dungeon, Hive, Grove and Schism (Unfrozen, Apr 1, 2026). Unfrozen counts three as familiar, Temple, Dungeon and Necropolis, and three as new, Hive, Grove (announced as Sylvan) and Schism (Devlog #13, Aug 29, 2025). Every faction has a town, seven tiers of Creatures with a base unit and two alternative upgrades per tier, a faction skill every one of its heroes starts with, a tree of Faction Laws and 18 skirmish Heroes (FAQ: Part 2, Dec 6, 2024). The faction you start with keeps mattering "until the end", Unfrozen wrote, "even if you conquer more castles, change the main hero and hire neutral troops" (Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2024).

Six ornate emblems on a black background in two rows of three. The top row holds a gray stone face with snake hair, a golden-leaved tree in a wooden ring and a silver winged star. The bottom row holds dark blue tentacles around a glowing disk with icicles and chains, a red and silver insect mask with orange wings, and a white skull with green eyes above a green hourglass. — Six faction emblems: a woman's face framed by snakes, a tree with colored leaves, a winged silver star with a blade, blue tentacles with chains and ice, a horned red insect face and a skull over a green hourglass, in an image from Unfrozen's Steam announcement "Devlog #13: On Schism and Their Eldritch Powers" (Aug 29, 2025). Unfrozen

Quick facts

Factions	6 (Unfrozen)
Returning	Temple, Necropolis, Dungeon
New	Hive, Grove, Schism
Creatures per faction	7 tiers, each a base unit and 2 upgrades (21); the Hive adds the Fire Larva
Faction creatures in all	127 (Devlog #15 table)
Heroes per faction	18 in skirmish
In the free demo	Temple, Dungeon, Necropolis, Schism (Oct 9, 2025)
More factions	"Considering" DLC (Devlog #13); none announced as of Oct 21, 2026

The six factions compared

Faction	Theme	Faction skill	Tier 7 and its upgrades
Temple	Knights and clerics of the Sun	Righteousness	Angel, Archangel, Apotheosis
Necropolis	Undead and vampires	Necromancy	Vampire, Vampire Lord, Vampire Scholar
Dungeon	The Alvar Pact: dark elves, minotaurs, dragons	Triumvirate's Strength	Cave Dragon, Black Dragon, Ashen Dragon
Hive	Demon-worshipping insects	Summon Swarm	Hive Queen, Hive Mother, Hive Huntress
Grove	Fey folk and elementals	Murmuring	Phoenix, Flaming Phoenix, Energy Phoenix
Schism	Altered elves and creatures of the Abyss	Abyssal Communion	Abyssal Envoy, Abyssal Overseer, Abyssal Executor

Sources: the rosters in the beta patch notes of Oct 15, 2026 and Patch #9; the skills in Devlogs #8, #9 and #13, FAQ: Part 2 and Patch #11. A skill chart in Devlog #11 (Jul 25, 2025) still called Temple's skill Ascension and Grove "Sylvan".

A tall parchment scroll on a starry background divided into six bands, each headed by a faction name and showing a faded round emblem beside a skill name, a short description and three icons with values for Basic, Advanced and Expert. The last band, under a tentacle and chain emblem, is written in strange runes. — A chart of each faction's own skill at Basic, Advanced and Expert: Ascension for Temple, Necromancy for Necropolis, Summon Swarm for Hive, Murmuring for Sylvan and Triumvirate's Strength for Dungeon, with a sixth entry written in an unreadable script, in an image from Unfrozen's Steam announcement "Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses" (Jul 25, 2025). Unfrozen

Temple

13:19 The Temple is the "Classic Knights" faction (FAQ, Aug 30, 2024): swordsmen, crossbowmen, griffins, cavalry and angels, devoted to the Sun as a chalice of souls. Its laws let it build twice a day in its towns, make its creatures immune to negative effects in Grasslands and let its heroes learn spells of any tier (Devlog #14, Dec 5, 2025). Its faction skill is being rebuilt in the public beta around three prayers, "Song of Wrath", "Plea for Healing" and "Hymn of Power" (beta, Oct 15, 2026); that version is on the beta branch only, with a release date to be announced. More on Temple. Turin, in his Temple guide of May 14, 2026, rates its early game so highly, thanks to its archers and Lightweavers, that a player "can get away with" a weaker early hero.

Necropolis

0:09 The Necropolis, "Undead and Vampires", was the first faction revealed, on Halloween 2024 (Unfrozen, Oct 31, 2024). Its heroes raise the dead with Necromancy, reworked before launch so that the strongest enemy stack becomes a "sacrifice" and undead of the same tier grow (Unfrozen, Feb 2, 2026). Its laws remove the morale penalty for mixing factions and let its heroes always fight on native terrain. More on Necropolis.

Dungeon

2:04 The Dungeon is the Alvar Pact, an alliance of the dark elves of Alvar, the Stygianscale dragons of Garrote Gorge and the minotaurs of the Ravage Roaming herd (Devlog #8, Mar 13, 2025). Its faction skill, Triumvirate's Strength, lets the hero take one of three Expert Stances each round, and its units have "fighting styles" that change their basic attack at a cost. There are no Beholders: the warlock who creates them "hasn't been born yet", so the Infiltrators take their role. More on Dungeon. Its reveal of Dec 13, 2024 shows the fighting styles unit by unit, starting with the Troglodyte's "Viscous Spit".

Hive

2:34 The Hive is the story's villain, a demon-worshipping insect cult built from the wasp tribes of Might and Magic 8 and designed as a "monofaction": the more different Hive unit types an army holds, the stronger they are (Devlog #7, Feb 11, 2025). Its faction skill summons larva cocoons that block paths and hatch; Locusts and Waurms devour corpses to heal. Its laws let it hire upgraded units directly, fight better on land it does not control and see far more about enemy heroes and towns. IGN's Early Access review called its "molten bugs" "an overwhelming melee force", while the Dungeon "can do a little bit of everything".

Grove

0:05 The Grove was announced as "Sylvan (Nature and Fey Folk)" and is called Grove since its teaser of Apr 11, 2025 (Unfrozen). It fuses the fairy-tale and elemental sides of Heroes 2's Sorceress town, which Heroes 3 split into Rampart and Conflux (Devlog #9, Apr 11, 2025). Its skill, Murmuring, generates up to 3 Focus Charges at the start of each battle, and its elemental units have "awakenings"; the Phoenix has Rebirth. Its Aqualotls were replaced by Naiads before launch (Devlog #15). More on Grove.

Schism

2:47 Schism, the secret sixth faction, was revealed on Aug 21, 2025 as a faction "built around unavoidable damage and ability control" (Unfrozen): renegade Alvari elves changed by their Vori ancestors' relics, who summon creatures from the Abyss. Its skill, Abyssal Communion, enlarges the army in every battle by the hero's Communion level, which drops each day and rises with each victory (Devlog #13); since Patch #11 it covers all units, not only Schism's. More on Schism. IGN's review noted that this growth "only happens through winning battles", so Schism, like the Grove with its expensive units, does not feel strong at once.

More factions?

The first FAQ said "We plan to introduce additional factions in future updates and DLCs" (FAQ); a year later Unfrozen was "considering adding more factions into the game through potential DLCs later on" (Devlog #13). The Early Access roadmap of May 28, 2026 lists new neutral creatures, heroes and a Tier 8 group but no new faction, and no DLC has been announced as of Oct 21, 2026. Classic towns such as Inferno, Stronghold, Tower and Fortress are not in the game; Unfrozen explained that the demons of Inferno reach Enroth "centuries after the events of Olden Era" (Devlog #7). Which faction suits a new player is on Best Faction.

Frequently asked questions

How many factions are in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era? Six: Temple, Necropolis, Dungeon, Hive, Grove and Schism, all playable in Early Access since Apr 30, 2026.

Which Olden Era factions are new? Hive, Grove and Schism are new to the Heroes series; Temple, Necropolis and Dungeon return in new forms (Devlog #13).

Is there an Inferno or Stronghold faction in Olden Era? No. Olden Era has no Inferno, Stronghold, Tower or Fortress town; the Hive is its demonic faction, because the Inferno demons arrive on Enroth only centuries after the game's events.

What happened to the Sylvan faction in Olden Era? Sylvan was renamed Grove in April 2025; it is the same nature and fey faction, now Olden Era's Grove.

Will Olden Era get more factions? Perhaps: Unfrozen said in August 2025 it was considering more factions "through potential DLCs later on", but no new Olden Era faction has been announced as of Oct 21, 2026.

Which Olden Era faction is best for beginners? Unfrozen does not rank them; the views of guides and creators are collected on Best Faction.

Sources

Designing a Heroes Game, Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2024
FAQ, Unfrozen, Aug 30, 2024
Necropolis Faction full reveal (Happy Halloween!), Unfrozen, Oct 31, 2024
FAQ: Part 2, Unfrozen, Dec 6, 2024
Devlog #7: Every Story Needs a Villain - Hive Overview, Unfrozen, Feb 11, 2025
Devlog #8: On Triumvirate's Strength and the Alvar Pact, Unfrozen, Mar 13, 2025
Devlog #9: The Binding Roots of Murmurwoods, Unfrozen, Apr 11, 2025
Grove Faction - Teaser trailer, Unfrozen, Apr 11, 2025
Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses, Unfrozen, Jul 25, 2025
Schism Faction - Teaser trailer, Unfrozen, Aug 21, 2025
Devlog #13: On Schism and Their Eldritch Powers, Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2025
Demo is LIVE NOW!, Unfrozen, Oct 9, 2025
Devlog #14: Gameplay Mechanics pt. 3: Faction Laws, Unfrozen, Dec 5, 2025
Necropolis Faction Update - Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen, Feb 2, 2026
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era's Early Access begins on April 30th 2026!, Unfrozen, Apr 1, 2026
Devlog #15: How and Why We Chose the Artstyle of Olden Era, Unfrozen, Apr 24, 2026
Building the Future - HoMM: Olden Era's Early Access Roadmap is here!, Unfrozen, May 28, 2026
Patch #9: Hotfix & Balance Adjustments, Unfrozen, Jun 2, 2026
Patch #11: Necromancy Update, UI Tweaks and Balance Changes, Unfrozen, Jul 6, 2026
BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Necropolis Faction full reveal (Happy Halloween!), Unfrozen Official, Oct 31, 2024 (video)
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Dungeon Faction full reveal (Happy Holidays!), Unfrozen Official, Dec 13, 2024 (video)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era - Grove Faction Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen Official, Apr 30, 2025 (video)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Early Access Review, IGN, Apr 28, 2026 (video)
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Temple Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 14, 2026 (video)

Moments

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Early Access Review

IGN

1:54 Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has six factions in Early Access: Temple, Necropolis, Dungeon, Hive, Grove and…
2:34 The Hive is the story's villain, a demon-worshipping insect cult built from the wasp tribes of Might and Magic 8 and…
2:47 Schism, the secret sixth faction, was revealed on Aug 21, 2025 as a faction "built around unavoidable damage and…