Grove

0:05 The Grove is the nature faction of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era: fey folk and elemental beasts defending the forest of Murmurwoods, a faction "focused on utility" in which every unit has its own abilities (Unfrozen). Its faction skill, Murmuring, gives its Warden and Druid heroes up to 3 extra Focus Charges at the start of every battle to spend on abilities (Devlog #9), its elemental creatures "awaken" into stronger forms, and its Phoenix can come back from death. Unfrozen announced it as "Sylvan" in 2024 and renamed it Grove with its teaser on Apr 11, 2025 (FAQ); the full reveal video of Apr 30, 2025 still opens on a "Meet Sylvan" title card before showing the town. It has been playable since Early Access began on Apr 30, 2026, one of six Factions.

Quick facts

Lore

Unfrozen built the Grove by fusing the two sides of the Sorceress town of Heroes 1 and 2, the fairy-tale and the elemental, which Heroes 3 had split into Rampart and Conflux (Devlog #9). To give the four elements new forms it drew on less-known mythologies, which is where the iriyads and the first water creature, the aqualotl, came from.

The faction's home is Murmurwoods, a forest on Jadame laced by the Mycelium, a root network that links every tree, mushroom and blade of grass and acts as "a conduit for the mingling of all minds" above it. Miss Vatawna's letter in Devlog #9 traces it to the Time of Wonders before the Silence, perhaps made by the Forefathers or the Four Scholars, and says raw mana colors the glades scarlet. Its peoples are the fey (sprites, fauns, satyrs, leprechauns, "the sídhe or the seelie"), druids of many lineages who raised henges to focus the forest's energy, wisps, phoenixes, and unicorns "under their king's guidance" (Devlog #9). Elves aid the faction as heroes (Unfrozen).

The town

The Grove town grows around a giant red-leafed tree. Its creature dwellings, as the patch notes name them, are Faun Huts (tier 1), Hop Patch (tier 2), Menhir Circle (tier 3), Blooming Pond (tier 4), Shroomwood Shack (tier 5), Thunder Lair (tier 6) and Pyre (tier 7) (Patch #11). In the Oct 15, 2026 beta the Blooming Pond no longer needs a Mage Guild (beta notes).

16:19 The creator Turin's tour of the town in his Grove Beginners Guide (May 2, 2026) shows its special buildings: Mother Nature gives +2 Spell Power to any visiting hero, an artifact merchant, the Mycelium Roots, which let a hero travel to any of your towns (worth building only in longer games, he says), and the Grail building, the Spring of Life, which adds 1 to all creature growth and doubles the town dwellings' output.

Creatures

1:27 Each tier has a base creature and two alternative upgrades, as the Oct 15, 2026 patch notes list them (beta notes); the faction reveal video walks through each line on its stat card, starting with the Faun, Faun Archer, Faun Warrior and the three Hoplets. See Creatures for every faction.

Abilities named here come from Patch #8 and the beta notes.

2:08 The reveal video of Apr 30, 2025 still shows the tier 4 line as Aqualotl and Polar Aqualotl. The Aqualotls, from Mexican mythology, proved hard to recognize in combat, so before launch Unfrozen replaced them with Naiads, Greek water nymphs who keep "a bit of the aqualotl" in their design (Devlog #15).

Faction skill and abilities

Focus Charges are a shared combat resource in Olden Era, spent by unit and hero abilities and earned by attacking, taking damage, casting some spells and at the start of each round (Devlog #9). Murmuring, the Grove's faction skill, is exclusive to the Warden and Druid hero classes, who always start with it. It generates up to 3 Focus Charges at the start of each combat depending on its level, and its subskills add ways to spend charges and can raise the limit. Its expert subskills (Just One More Time, Burst of Energy and Strong Connection) were reworked in Patch #8 and since Patch #11 trigger once for each Focus Charge spent.

3:33 The reveal shows how an awakening works: "Awaken Water I" lets the creature fully embrace its elemental nature, raising its Speed, Initiative and health and letting it shoot adjacent enemies until the end of battle, once per battle and without ending its turn. Grove's elemental units have awakenings that "heavily boost their stats and unlock their special, very powerful abilities": an awakened Thunder Qilin can trade all its defense for attack for one lethal blow, or use Ball Lightning to teleport and deal area damage. The Phoenix's Rebirth depends on its upgrade: one version turns into a pile of ashes that must be destroyed to stop it coming back, the other regenerates over time (Devlog #9). In Patch #11 Unfrozen lowered the "balance weight" of all Awakening traits as "quite situational in practice", which let it strengthen the creatures around them.

Faction Laws

The Grove's Faction Laws lean on Focus. One raises the Focus Charge limit ("Focus"), another makes all unit abilities cost fewer charges, and "Live roots" stops enemy heroes from fleeing or surrendering (Devlog #14). Laws named in the patch notes include Child of Woods (sight and movement for Grove heroes), Fertile Ground (growth in external dwellings, doubled to 100/200% in Patch #11), Force of Nature (Heroic Strike damage), Elite Qilins (Patch #11), Forest Magic, Elite Fauns and Elite Mancers (beta notes).

Heroes

Grove heroes belong to two classes, Wardens and Druids, with 18 playable heroes like every faction (FAQ Part 2). The patch notes name Old Pilgrim, Faleor, Aeliniel, Glacia, Vim, Halon, Echolily and Sullie, all spell specialists, the diplomat Alluring Sh'a, the physical damage specialist Gorel Spearhead, Eith, Mreowa and Elder Tss'kish (Patch #8), and Gingertail, Octavia and Vatawna (Patch #11). Vatawna returns redesigned from Heroes 2 (Devlog #15). See Heroes and Best Heroes.

0:45 The faction reveal of Apr 30, 2025 introduced eight of them on hero cards: Gorel Spearhead, Old Pilgrim and Alluring Sh'a as Wardens, and Vatawna, Vim, Elder Tss'kish, Aeliniel and Halon as Druids.

Changes since the reveal and in patches

• Before launch: Sylvan renamed Grove (Apr 2025); Aqualotls replaced by Naiads (Devlog #15, Apr 24, 2026).
• Patch #8, Jun 1, 2026: weekly growth up (tier 1 from 12 to 13, tier 2 from 8 to 9), Iriyads, Naiads and Phoenixes strengthened, Murmuring's expert subskills reworked (Patch #8).
• Patch #11, Jul 6, 2026: "Following the last patch, Grove fell significantly in power": Hoplets and Phoenixes buffed, dwelling costs rebalanced, Awakenings weighted lower, laws strengthened (Patch #11).
• Patch #13, Aug 20, 2026: Qilins lost 5 health and 2 Defense, and Burst of Energy's Heroic Strike bonus per charge fell from 15% to 10% (Patch #13).
• Beta, Oct 15, 2026: "the biggest adjustments compared to other factions", because many upgraded stacks played the same and an early loss hurt too much: growth up again (tier 1 from 13 to 15, tier 2 from 9 to 11), new abilities on every line (Whirlpool, Hypothermia, Bees Invasion, Scintillating Scales, Forest Haze, Flaming Agony) and cheaper laws (beta notes). These changes are on the public beta branch only; see Balance Update Beta.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Grove in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era? The Grove is Olden Era's nature faction of fey folk and elemental creatures from the forest of Murmurwoods on Jadame. It plays around abilities and Focus Charges, with the faction skill Murmuring.

Is the Grove the Sylvan faction in Olden Era? Yes. Unfrozen announced the faction as Sylvan in its Aug 30, 2024 FAQ and has called it Grove since the teaser of Apr 11, 2025.

What does Murmuring do in Olden Era? Murmuring generates up to 3 Focus Charges at the start of each combat, depending on its level, for the Grove's Warden and Druid heroes. Its subskills add ways to spend those charges and can raise the limit.

What are the Grove's tier 7 units in Olden Era? The tier 7 Grove creature is the Phoenix, with the Flaming Phoenix and Energy Phoenix as its two upgrades. Its Rebirth either leaves ashes that must be destroyed or regenerates it over time, depending on the upgrade.

Why were the Aqualotls replaced in Olden Era? Players found the Aqualotls hard to recognize in combat and wanted more humanoid Grove creatures, so Unfrozen replaced them with Naiads before Early Access. The Naiads keep a little of the aqualotl in their design.

Is the Grove strong in Olden Era? Unfrozen said the Grove "fell significantly in power" after Patch #8 and buffed it in Patch #11, then gave it the largest rework of any faction in the Oct 15, 2026 beta. See Best Faction for how the factions compare.

Sources

• FAQ, Unfrozen, Aug 30, 2024
• FAQ: Part 2, Unfrozen, Dec 6, 2024
• Devlog #9: The Binding Roots of Murmurwoods, Unfrozen, Apr 11, 2025
• Grove Faction - Teaser trailer, Unfrozen, Apr 11, 2025
• Grove Faction - Official Reveal Video, Unfrozen, Apr 30, 2025
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era - Grove Faction Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen Official, Apr 30, 2025 (video)
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Grove Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 2, 2026 (video)
• Devlog #14: Gameplay Mechanics pt. 3: Faction Laws, Unfrozen, Dec 5, 2025
• Devlog #15: How and Why We Chose the Artstyle of Olden Era, Unfrozen, Apr 24, 2026
• Patch #8: Skills Rework, Balance Pass & Exploit Fixes, Unfrozen, Jun 1, 2026
• Patch #11: Necromancy Update, UI Tweaks and Balance Changes, Unfrozen, Jul 6, 2026
• Patch #13: The Mysterious Island, Unfrozen, Aug 20, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026