Schism

0:11 Schism is the sixth and most unusual faction of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era: renegade Alvari elves who opened the Rift to the Abyss and summon eldritch, sea-touched horrors, a faction "built around unavoidable damage and ability control" (Unfrozen). Its faction skill, Abyssal Communion, adds temporary creatures to the army in every battle, at a level that rises with each victory and falls each day (Devlog #13). Unfrozen kept it secret until a teaser on Aug 21, 2025, calling it a faction "never developed before" in the Heroes of Might and Magic universe, and it has been playable since the free demo of Oct 9, 2025 and the Early Access launch of Apr 30, 2026.

Quick facts

Lore

Schism began as a renegade group of Alvari elves, "determined scholars and soldiers" who searched the ruins of their Vori ancestors for answers and were changed by what they found (Devlog #13). In search of power they opened the Rift to the Abyss, a lower layer of the Elemental Plane of Water that touches the Realm Between Realms (the Plane Between Planes of Might and Magic 8), and now summon planar creatures with aquatic features. Their powers trace back to artifacts the Vori recovered from the mysterious Triton Empire; Unfrozen illustrated this with the Trident of Rulership from Might and Magic 8.

Unfrozen called Schism its answer to fans of H. P. Lovecraft, a space "only barely touched upon" in the series. It cited Escaton the Destroyer and the Nightmares of the Realm Between Realms in Might and Magic 8, and the Ice Demons and Venom Spawns that Gauldoth Half-Dead enlists in Heroes 4, as precedents, and said the Heroes IP team at Ubisoft helped keep it true to the universe (Devlog #13). The faction's origin story is held back for later acts of the Campaign, after Early Access.

The town

The Schism town is a city of "peculiar eldritch spires" in the snow (Unfrozen). Its creature dwellings, as the patch notes name them, are the Lesser Summoning Rite (tier 1), Cultist Spire (tier 2), Aga'Shoth Stables (tier 3), Disturbing Summoning Rite (tier 4), House of Chains (tier 5), Bloated Mansion (tier 6) and Eerie Summoning Rite (tier 7) (Patch #8, Patch #11). A special building, Involuntary Summons, has moved back and forth in the build order: Patch #8 removed its requirements, Patch #9 brought back Mage Guild III, and the Oct 15, 2026 beta asks for the Great Library instead (beta notes).

Creatures

1:28 The faction reveal video walks through the lines on stat cards, from the Stinging and Ferocious Ra'Shoth through the Cultist, the Aga'Shoth Rider, the Unspeakable and Unthinkable Shoth and the Bewitcher to the Rift Arbitrator. Each tier has a base creature and two alternative upgrades (beta notes). The lineup mixes "multiple altered Alvari Elves" with the creatures and monstrosities they summon (Devlog #13). See Creatures for every faction.

Abilities named here come from Patch #8, Patch #9, Patch #13 and the beta notes.

2:16 The reveal video's "Summoning Rite" cards (Aug 29, 2025) show how the summoning lines work: once per battle the Ferocious Ra'Shoth, Unspeakable Shoth or Abyssal Executor summons a stack of its own kind on a friendly corpse's hex, with a portion of the dead stack's total health and no more units than the casting stack, and the summoned creatures are permanent, staying in the army after the battle. Since Patch #13 (Aug 20, 2026) it can no longer raise more creatures than the dead stack had at the start of the battle.

2:59 The reveal's ability cards show the "ability control" side: Handcuffs stops a target using active abilities for 2 rounds, Hourglass blocks the enemy hero's active abilities until the end of the round, Flog Idle Mind deals Pure Damage for each Focus Charge available, Command: Fear moves an enemy up to 4 hexes, Frozen Pages stops the enemy hero using the spellbook, and Disgorge Storm deals Pure Damage to all enemies and slows them for 2 rounds.

Faction skill: Abyssal Communion

Abyssal Communion works simply, in Unfrozen's words: every time you go into battle, your army's size increases based on your Communion level. The level falls every day and rises, up to a limit, with each fight you win, and each hero keeps their own, so you choose which hero takes the fights. The extra units exist only during combat and cannot be transferred, and since the bonus scales with the army, "Schism can become very powerful the longer the game goes" (Devlog #13).

Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026) changed it because Schism "still performs under expectations in Classic Mode while remaining dominant in Single Hero Mode": Communion now also adds units of other factions in a Schism army, but its maximum level fell from 4/5/6 to 3/4/5 and the temporary creatures per level from 3% to 2.5%. Its subskills Call of the Void (mana per Communion level) and Celestial Abyss (more temporary creatures) were trimmed too. See Skills.

Faction Laws

4:04 Schism's Faction Laws "focus largely on taking tools away from their enemies by draining their mana", or on summoning extra creatures in combat with spells or friendly creature abilities (Devlog #14). The Devlog #14 image shows Frostbite, which drains enemy heroes' mana every round, and Call of the Deep, which adds 25% to the units summoned by Schism heroes' spells and creatures' abilities. Laws named in the patch notes include Unfrozen Strength I to VII, Depths of Mind, Cold Touch, The Abyss Stares Back, Elite Abyssal Envoys, Ice Storms, The World is Ours, Planar Explorers and Survival Conditions (Patch #11), and Elite Cultists, Elite Aga'Shoth Riders and Elite Concubi (beta notes).

Heroes

Every Schism hero is a hybrid of Might and Magic, so since Patch #8 (Jun 1, 2026) each starts with a spell, and their starting armies no longer depend on class. The heroes named in the patch notes are Nihil, Blackhorn, Matastala the White, Jänhei, Mara Mat'ha, The Iron Master, Changeling Urgo, Martyr Tho, Grellekh the Betrayer, Icequeen Hel'Ghat, Kwinri, Eye Collective, Tölketh, Ulkuth, Dhüvri, Ra'Davok and Sister Keiri. Their elite class "Unstoppable" gives hero stats, cut from 10 to 8 in the beta (beta notes). See Heroes and Best Heroes.

0:45 The faction reveal of Aug 29, 2025 introduced eight of them on hero cards: Icequeen Hel'Ghat, The Eye Collective, Tölketh and Sister Keiri as Riftspeakers, and Mara Mat'ha, Martyr Tho, The Iron Master and Walkhia as Oathkeepers.

Changes since the reveal and in patches

• Before launch: revealed Aug 21, 2025 as the last of the six Early Access factions; playable in the Oct 9, 2025 demo and the closed matchmaking playtest announced on Mar 25, 2026 (Unfrozen).
• Patch #8, Jun 1, 2026: buffs aimed at Classic mode: Ra'Shoth Initiative up, Cultists more damage, The World is Ours moved from law tier 5 to 3, a starting spell for every hero (Patch #8).
• Patch #9, Jun 2, 2026: a day later Unfrozen reverted part of it because the changes "had too significant an impact on single hero mode's gameplay, primarily affecting the Schism faction": Initiative and Speed cut on tiers 1, 2 and 7, Glance of the Abyss weakened, The World is Ours back to tier 5 (Patch #9).
• Patch #11, Jul 6, 2026: Abyssal Communion extended to all units at lower values; law costs and tiers retuned (Patch #11).
• Patch #13, Aug 20, 2026: Summoning Rite can no longer raise more creatures from a friendly corpse than the stack had at the start of battle (Patch #13).
• Beta, Oct 15, 2026: stat gains on most lines; the Votary's "Rift Conductor" and the Mat'ha's "Raid" speed up the summoned Shoth; the tier 5 line gains "Seduction" (always takes minimum damage) (beta notes). These are on the public beta branch only; see Balance Update Beta.

Frequently asked questions

What is Schism in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era? Schism is Olden Era's sixth faction: renegade Alvari elves who opened the Rift to the Abyss and summon eldritch, sea-touched creatures. Unfrozen built it around unavoidable damage and ability control.

What does Abyssal Communion do in Olden Era? Abyssal Communion adds temporary creatures to the army in each battle based on the hero's Communion level, which rises with victories and falls each day. Since Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026) it adds units of every faction in the army, at a lower rate.

When was Schism revealed? Unfrozen revealed Schism with a teaser on Aug 21, 2025 and explained it in Devlog #13 on Aug 29, 2025. It was playable in the free demo from Oct 9, 2025.

Is Schism based on Lovecraft? Yes, Unfrozen said Schism was made for fans of H. P. Lovecraft, drawing on the Realm Between Realms of Might and Magic 8 and the eldritch creatures of Heroes 4.

Who are the Schism heroes in Olden Era? Schism heroes are hybrids of Might and Magic who all start with a spell; they include Nihil, Blackhorn, Matastala the White, The Iron Master, Icequeen Hel'Ghat and Eye Collective. Each faction has 18 playable heroes.

Is Schism strong in Olden Era? Unfrozen said in July 2026 that Schism was dominant in Single Hero mode but under expectations in Classic, and has tuned it in Patches #8, #9 and #11. See Best Faction for how the factions compare.

Sources

• Schism Faction - Teaser trailer, Unfrozen, Aug 21, 2025
• Devlog #13: On Schism and Their Eldritch Powers, Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2025
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era - Schism Faction Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen Official, Aug 29, 2025 (video)
• Demo is LIVE NOW!, Unfrozen, Oct 9, 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)
• Call to Arms: Closed Matchmaking Playtest Sign-Up!, Unfrozen, Mar 25, 2026
• 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
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era on Steam, Steam store page, read Oct 21, 2026