Grove Guide

The Grove wins in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era through its abilities: its heroes start each battle with extra Focus Charges from the faction skill Murmuring, its laws raise the Focus limit and make abilities cheaper, and every creature line has a tool to spend them on, from Herbomancers' magic to awakened Qilins and Phoenixes that come back from the dead. Unfrozen calls it a faction "focused on utility" (Unfrozen). Its risk is the opening, where "losing even a single unit could lead to extremely negative consequences" (beta notes). This guide follows Unfrozen's notes up to the Oct 21, 2026 beta. For the faction itself see Grove; for the basics, the Beginner's Guide.

Quick facts

Strengths and weaknesses

Focus Charges are a shared combat resource, earned by attacking, taking damage, casting some spells and at the start of each round, and spent by unit and hero abilities (Devlog #9). The Grove gets more of them than anyone and more ways to use them, which makes it flexible: its units can empower each other or boost the hero's magic, as the teaser put it. Its laws can also trap an enemy hero: "Live roots" stops enemy heroes from fleeing or surrendering (Devlog #14), so a hero you catch is a hero you remove.

Its weaknesses, by Unfrozen's own account, were a risky early game and upgrades that played too alike. After Patch #8 "Grove fell significantly in power", so Patch #11 buffed it and lowered the balance weight of the Awakening traits as "quite situational in practice". The Oct 15, 2026 beta gives the Grove "the biggest adjustments compared to other factions" for the same two reasons (beta notes).

Murmuring and Focus

Murmuring is exclusive to Wardens and Druids, 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 (Devlog #9). Its expert subskills are worth knowing by name:

• Just One More Time: spending Focus cuts the cooldown of the spells in the spellbook (2 rounds in Patch #8, 1 round since Patch #11).
• Burst of Energy: extra Heroic Strike damage for the round, 10% per charge spent since Patch #13.
• Strong Connection: +2 hero attributes for the round.

Since Patch #11 all three trigger once for each Focus Charge spent, so a costly ability pays off more than a cheap one.

First week and the town

Unfrozen's own advice for Grove towns is about the Mage Guild: Grove towns are most likely to offer Primal spells, so "it is wise to focus on upgrading primal spells" (Devlog #9). For the army, Patch #8 raised weekly growth to 13 Fauns and 9 Hoplets, and the beta raises it to 15 and 11 with larger starting armies, to soften the risky opening. Patch #11 rebalanced every dwelling: the Menhir Circle I (tier 3) and Thunder Lair I (tier 6) became cheaper, the Hop Patch (tier 2) dearer, and Pyre I (tier 7) cost 2,500 more gold and 5 more Wood but 5 fewer Crystals. In the beta the Blooming Pond (tier 4) no longer needs a Mage Guild.

35:43 Turin, a strategy creator, opens with Elder Tss'kish in his Grove Beginners Guide of May 2, 2026, made two days after the Early Access launch and before the balance passes of June. On day one he builds the upgraded Hop Patch, hires the Hoplets and the Fauns, and splits them into stacks of one, so the single stacks box in the Faun archers and soak the enemy's attacks.

43:52 His goal for the first week is the second tier of fortifications with the Shroomwood Shack (the tier 5 dwelling, built on day two) and the upgraded Hop Patch; in week two he buys more Hoplets, Fauns and Herbomancers and leaves the other dwellings for later, since they are "tertiary" to this build. The prices have moved since: the Hop Patch became 250 gold dearer in Patch #8 and 500 more in Patch #11, and the Shroomwood Shack I was 500 gold cheaper in Patch #9, then dearer in Crystals in Patch #11 and 3 Crystals cheaper but 500 gold dearer in Patch #13.

Two laws help an expanding Grove: Child of Woods gives Grove heroes 2/4 more sight and 15/30 more movement, and Fertile Ground raises growth in all external dwellings by 100/200% (both since Patch #11).

Which upgrades

Each tier has a base unit and two alternative upgrades. What the official notes say about each line:

Sources: Devlog #9, Patch #8, beta notes. The beta's reason for the changes was that "the gameplay of many upgraded stacks was practically the same", so on the beta branch the two upgrades of each tier now do different jobs; Unfrozen recommends neither.

18:13 Turin's picks are firmer. At tier 1 he says you always take the Faun Archer, whose "Sharpshooter" deals full damage at any range while keeping the Faun's Parry, over the Faun Warrior. The beta gives both upgrades "Outsider Eradication" and the same Attack (beta notes).

19:29 At tier 2 he favors the Dawn Hoplet: activating it generates a Focus Charge for free, so several single Dawn Hoplets, with the Murmuring subskill that raises hero stats for each charge spent, make the hero much stronger. He keeps the Dusk Hoplet, which adds Spell Power, for long fights. Since Patch #11 Murmuring's expert subskills trigger once per charge spent.

25:43 At tier 5 he rates the Murmurmancer above the Sporemancer: it makes the hero's spells cheaper, restores mana for each Focus Charge spent, and its "Echoes in the Murmurwood" lets the hero use the spellbook again in the round, so with Thaumaturgy he casts three spells a round. In the beta the Murmurmancer takes "Protective Roots" and the Sporemancer "Bees Invasion".

Laws to take

3:35 The Grove's defining laws, in Unfrozen's examples: raise the Focus Charge limit, make all unit abilities cost fewer Focus Charges, and stop enemy heroes from fleeing or surrendering (Devlog #14). The beta makes three of them cheaper: Forest Magic from 4/4 to 3/3 Seals, Focus from 3 to 2 and Live roots from 6 to 5 (beta notes). Other laws in the notes:

• Child of Woods and Fertile Ground: scouting and external growth, above.
• Force of Nature: Heroic Strike damage, raised from 10 to 20 in Patch #11.
• Elite Qilins: +3/+6/+9 damage since Patch #11; +3/+6 Attack and Defense in the beta.
• Elite Fauns (beta): Fauns counterattack twice, before and after the enemy's attack.
• Elite Mancers (beta): Herbomancers use abilities without ending their turn.
• Resource Riches I to III: 2/3/4 Seals in the beta, as for every faction.

34:26 Turin calls Elite Mancers "god tier" for a Herbomancer build: in his version it cut their ability cost by one charge, so their bees and extra spells were free, and with Elder Tss'kish he goes for it right after the economy laws. He also rates Elite Fauns worth rushing and Fertile Ground "borderline broken" on maps with many external dwellings. The laws have changed since his video: in the beta Elite Mancers lets Herbomancers use abilities without ending their turn and Elite Fauns gives two counterattacks (beta notes), and Patch #11 doubled Fertile Ground.

How Seals and law tiers work is on Faction Laws.

Heroes to pick

Sources: Patch #8, Patch #11, Oct 21 beta. Patch #8's list of spell specialists names more Grove heroes (eight) than any other faction's, which matches Unfrozen's advice to build around Primal Magic. See Best Heroes.

9:40 Turin's favorite Grove hero is Elder Tss'kish, who strengthens Herbomancers and starts with them, so he can bully guarded stacks early with few losses, and who has Thaumaturgy for a second spell each round. Turin cast the Herbomancers' bees and then Song of Power to reset them. Since Patch #8 Elder Tss'kish starts with Energize instead of Song of Power, and since Patch #11 with 3 to 4 Herbomancers instead of 2 to 3.

1:53 For a beginner he recommends Gingertail, who adds Faun growth and makes Fauns stronger: upgrade them on day one, hire another batch, and you have close to 50 upgraded Fauns to clear the nearby guards. He valued Gingertail's Battlecraft for waiting with the Fauns; since Patch #11 Gingertail starts with Leadership instead.

3:57 He also "highly" recommends Octavia, whose Luck and Lucky Strike bonus suit the Grove's luck laws, Nature's Wildness and the law that ties Lucky Strike chance to each point of Luck. Patch #11 raised her Lucky Strike chance from 2% to 3%, plus 1% per four levels (Patch #11).

Spells and late game

Grove heroes "are more likely to learn Primal Magic and many of them will specialise in spells from that school" (Devlog #9), and Aeliniel's Firewall specialty is a Primal spell whose damage Patch #8 raised to 80/80/120/120. The Grove's spellcasting creatures support that plan: the Sporemancer cheapens the hero's spells and the Murmurmancer restores mana. In the late game the tier 6 and 7 lines carry the army: the Qilin's awakening and Ball Lightning, and the Phoenix's Rebirth, which the enemy must answer by destroying its ashes (Devlog #9). See Magic and Spells and Skills.

What changed in patches and the beta

• Patch #8 (Jun 1, 2026): growth up, Iriyads, Naiads and Phoenixes stronger, Murmuring's expert subskills reworked.
• Patch #9 (Jun 2, 2026): Faun damage up; Shroomwood Shack I 500 gold cheaper (Patch #9).
• Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026): buffs after the Grove "fell significantly in power": Hoplets, Phoenixes, laws.
• Patch #13 (Aug 20, 2026): Qilins and Burst of Energy trimmed.
• Beta (Oct 15 and Oct 21, 2026): more growth and new abilities on every line; cheaper key laws. Not on the main branch; see Balance Update Beta.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play the Grove in Olden Era? Build around Focus Charges: Murmuring gives Grove heroes extra charges every battle, laws raise the limit and cut ability costs, and the creatures spend them. Protect your early army, which Unfrozen says is the faction's riskiest phase.

Who is the best Grove hero in Olden Era? Unfrozen publishes no ranking; its notes list many Grove spell specialists, among them Aeliniel (Firewall), Old Pilgrim and Glacia, all buffed in Patch #8. Vatawna gets a large mana bonus.

What are the best Grove laws in Olden Era? Unfrozen highlights Focus (a higher Focus Charge limit), the law that makes all abilities cheaper in Focus, and Live roots, which stops enemy heroes from fleeing. The beta makes Focus, Forest Magic and Live roots cheaper.

What magic should the Grove use? Primal Magic: Unfrozen says Grove heroes are more likely to learn it and Grove Mage Guilds are most likely to offer it.

Is the Grove good in Olden Era? Unfrozen said it "fell significantly in power" after Patch #8 and buffed it in Patch #11, then trimmed the Qilins in Patch #13. The Oct 15, 2026 beta gives it the largest rework of any faction.

Sources

• Devlog #9: The Binding Roots of Murmurwoods, Unfrozen, Apr 11, 2025
• Grove Faction - Teaser trailer, Unfrozen, Apr 11, 2025
• Devlog #14: Gameplay Mechanics pt. 3: Faction Laws, Unfrozen, Dec 5, 2025
• Devlog #5 : Faction Laws in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era!, Unfrozen Official, Dec 5, 2025 (video)
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Grove Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 2, 2026 (video)
• 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
• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Tweaks - Spells, Heroes & a New Artifact, Unfrozen, Oct 21, 2026