Necromancy

Necromancy is the Necropolis faction skill of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era: after a victory it raises fallen enemies as undead of the same tier in the hero's army, paid for from a reserve of necromantic energy that is 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 at Basic, Advanced and Expert. It has had three designs: the plan of Nov 2024, the rework Unfrozen explained on Feb 2, 2026, and Patch #11 of Jul 6, 2026, which let it raise units of any tier even with none of that tier in the army. Every Necropolis hero starts with it (FAQ Part 2); the faction is described on Necropolis and played on Necropolis Guide.

Quick facts

How it works now (Patch #11)

Patch #11 (v0.80.31, Jul 6, 2026) called the earlier version "powerful enough, but overly complex to grasp" and removed the rule that tied raising to the army's own units (Unfrozen):

• After a victory, fallen enemies are raised as undead even if the army has no creatures of that tier. By default they come back as the base version: tier 1 enemies become Skeletons, tier 2 Wights, and so on up the Necropolis lineup.
• If the army already holds undead of that tier, the base version is raised when the base creature is present; if only an upgraded version is present, that upgrade is raised at a higher energy cost; with several upgrades present, the larger stack's type is raised.
• Map tooltips on guards show which creature will be raised, and in the battle results window you can cancel the raising and turn the fallen into necromantic energy instead.
• To balance raising any tier, Unfrozen raised the energy reserve and the costs so that "the total number of raised units has been noticeably decreased". Energy recovered instead of raising did not change.

Energy cost per creature since Patch #11 (Unfrozen):

40:40 The same patch made the Necromancers' elite class, Chronomancer, refill the hero's energy pool every day; raised the "Death Herald" subskill's energy bonus from 500 to 1,000; cut "Eternal Service" from 80 to 50 health restored; and split the five "Animate Dead" laws, so that I, III and V add 500 energy and II and IV add 2.5% Necromancy power. It also fixed Necropolis heroes appearing in the Tavern with no energy. Unfrozen's Sep 30, 2026 summary lists the rework and a "much clearer" interface among its delivered goals (Unfrozen).

The first design (2024 and 2025)

In Devlog #4 (Nov 15, 2024) Unfrozen wanted to keep "the feeling of power and grandeur" of raising the dead without letting it get "too crazy too quickly": Necromancy would affect all of your units but raise only types already in the army ("no farming peasants to get vampires during the first week"), in amounts based on the total health of the enemies slain (Devlog #4). The skills chart of Jul 25, 2025 put numbers on it: 4%, 6% or 8% of defeated enemies' health converted into allied undead health after each victory, added to existing undead stacks without creating new ones (Devlog #11, in an image).

The Feb 2026 rework

On Feb 2, 2026, with the Necropolis update reveal, Lead Game Designer Leonid explained "New Necromancy" (Unfrozen). Tweaking numbers could not stop it "becoming a broken, unstoppable late-game powerhouse (as seen in the demo)" without making it "the weakest starting option". In the new rules the enemy's strongest stack is the sacrifice, its model visible on the map; your undead of the same tier grow after the battle depending on that stack's size, your Necromancy power and your reserve of necro energy, which keeps undead from growing without limit; and with no undead of that tier you restore energy for later. Raising now depended "on the enemy's numbers, not their total health", any tier could be raised ("including tier8, why not"), and planning routes became part of it, for example visiting two guards to restore energy before a third to spend it. A spell let a hero bank energy instead of raising; Leonid also promised a toggle beside the hero portraits after feedback, rather than a Heroes 5 style selection window after every battle, which he said would hurt the game's flow.

40:06 The creator Turin's Necropolis guide of May 5, 2026 shows this version in play: a bar beside the hero's mana and movement holds the necromantic energy, every model raised spends some of it, and it rebuilds over time; later in his opening a first small fight takes Kel'Ghul's energy from 1,000 to 965.

41:11 He judged the cap fair: before it, clearing several elite camps raised the maximum every time; with it, a hero raises until the energy runs out and then raises little for the next few camps. "They basically nerfed the necropolis. It was needed," he said, and he still rated the faction very strong.

Turning it on and off

Patch #7 (v0.80.16, May 21, 2026) turned Necromancy on by default for Necromancer heroes, a line in its campaign fixes (Unfrozen). Since Patch #11 the choice is made after each battle: the results window switches between raising undead and turning the fallen into necromantic energy (Unfrozen).

Heroes, laws and creatures that touch it

3:54 Other Necropolis creatures add undead in battle: the Graverobber's "Dig Up Bones" summons Skeletons, as the 2024 reveal video shows, and in the Oct 15, 2026 public beta the Wraith gains "Gates of Afterlife" to summon Wights and the Sanguine Lich's "Last Spark" destroys a corpse to restore the hero's mana (beta notes); those beta changes are not on the main branch as of Oct 21, 2026. Among heroes, Tarius and Funerella gain Necromancy power with level, 2% every 5 hero levels since Patch #8 (Jun 1, 2026), and the law "Elite Liches" adds to resurrection. Every patch is listed on Patch Notes.

9:31 Turin's guide calls Tarius, who starts with Advanced Necromancy and more Necromancy power as he levels, "not as good as he once was" after the energy cap but still viable if you take the laws that add Necromancy power and energy. His power gain doubled after the video, to 2% every 5 hero levels in Patch #8.

Lore

In Unfrozen's lore interview the necromancer Khel calls necromancy "the applied science of death", rooted in alchemy, practiced to perfect resurrection and reach immortality; it began when a mage first came back as a lich in Enroth (Devlog #4). Restoring life requires life energy from somewhere, and Khel says many necromancers now "draw life from the land" rather than use ritual sacrifice.

Frequently asked questions

How does Necromancy work in Olden Era? In Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Necromancy raises defeated enemies as undead of the same tier after a victory, spending necromantic energy from a reserve of 3,000 to 5,000. Since Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026) it raises base versions by default and works even with no undead of that tier in the army.

Can you turn off Necromancy in Olden Era? Yes: since Patch #11, Olden Era's battle results window lets you cancel raising and turn the fallen into necromantic energy instead. Patch #7 made Necromancy on by default for Necromancer heroes.

What can you raise with Necromancy in Olden Era? Olden Era's Necromancy can raise any tier: tier 1 enemies become Skeletons, tier 2 Wights and so on, and an upgraded version is raised at a higher cost if only that upgrade is in your army. Tier 7 costs 2,000 energy per base creature.

What is necro energy in Olden Era? Necromantic energy is the reserve Olden Era's Necromancy spends to raise undead: 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 at Basic, Advanced and Expert since Patch #11, refilled by banking fallen enemies, by "Animate Dead" laws, or daily by the Chronomancer elite class.

Why was Necromancy reworked in Olden Era? Unfrozen said the original system became "a broken, unstoppable late-game powerhouse (as seen in the demo)", so it rebuilt Necromancy on Feb 2, 2026 and again in Patch #11 because the result was "overly complex to grasp".

Sources

• Devlog #4: On Necromancy and the Necromancers' Guild, Unfrozen, Nov 15, 2024
• FAQ: Part 2, Unfrozen, Dec 6, 2024
• Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses, Unfrozen, Jul 25, 2025
• Necropolis Faction Update - Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen, Feb 2, 2026
• Patch #7: Removing Abuses and Improving Campaign, Unfrozen, May 21, 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
• Alliances & Updated Random Map Generator, Unfrozen, Sep 30, 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 - Necropolis Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 5, 2026 (video)