Skills

A hero in Olden Era learns up to 8 skills, the faction skill included, and each skill has 5 subskills (pick 1 of 3 at Advanced and 1 of 2 at Expert). The right skills and subskills unlock one of two optional subclasses, and Early Access launched with 30 skills and 180 subskills.

0:15 A hero in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era can learn up to 8 skills, the faction skill included, and every skill has 5 subskills: upgrading a skill to Advanced lets you pick 1 of the first 3 subskills, and Expert lets you pick 1 of the last 2 (Devlog #11, Jul 25, 2025). Unfrozen built it as a hybrid of Heroes of Might and Magic 3's skills and the perks of Heroes 5, and borrowed optional subclasses from Heroes 7. Early Access launched with 30 hero skills and 180 subskills, by Unfrozen's own count, and the balance of nearly every skill has moved in the patches since.

A tall parchment scroll on a starry background with two columns of seven skills. Each entry has a skill name in large dark letters, a one-line description and three small square icons with gold values labeled Basic, Advanced and Expert, such as gold bags for Economy and clovers for Luck. — A chart of fourteen hero skills with their Basic, Advanced and Expert values, including Sorcery, Resistance, Intelligence, Diplomacy, Insight, Scouting, Logistics, Leadership, Economy, Siegecraft, Tactics and Luck, in an image from Unfrozen's Steam announcement "Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses" (Jul 25, 2025). Unfrozen

Quick facts

Skills per hero	Up to 8, including the starting ones
Levels	Basic, Advanced, Expert
Subskills	5 per skill: 1 of 3 at Advanced, 1 of 2 at Expert
Skills at Early Access	30, with 180 subskills
Subclasses	2 per hero class, optional
Newest skill	First Aid, in the public beta of Oct 15, 2026

How heroes learn skills

0:43 Heroes earn experience by fighting, visiting certain adventure sites and picking up treasure chests. At each level they either improve a skill they already have or take a new one, and they gain a point in one of four stats: Attack, Defense, Spell Power or Knowledge. Some map sites teach a skill or improve one directly (Devlog #11, Jul 25, 2025).

18:12 Every hero starts with the faction skill and, in most cases, one more. Starting skills cannot be changed and follow the hero's specialization: a hero who specializes in a school of magic always starts with that school's skill. Many subskills grow stronger if the hero also has a certain other skill, which Unfrozen calls "soft synergies" (Devlog #11). In the Arena draft, heroes pick skills 1 of 3 at a time and the skills start at level 2 (Devlog #5, Nov 22, 2024). Norovo's beginners guide (May 4, 2026) advises raising skills to Advanced and Expert for their subskills rather than rushing to fill every slot with Basic skills, and points out that you can leave the level-up screen to check your spells before you choose. Which heroes start with what is on Heroes and Best Heroes.

Subclasses

4:47 Subclasses, taken from Heroes 7, are optional: each hero class has 2, and each needs specific skills and subskills. When you level up, the game marks a pick that counts toward a subclass, and you can still build a strong hero without one (Devlog #11). The requirements were shown more clearly from Early Access on (Community Feedback #4, Mar 6, 2026). The patch notes call them "elite classes" and name several: "Chronomancer" for Necromancers (Patch #11), "Fortune's Favored" (Patch #8), Dungeon's "Balthazar's Bodyguard", "Silvertongue's Envoy" and "Amelchia's Heir", and Schism's "Unstoppable" (beta notes). A rework of the elite classes is on the roadmap for Q4 2026 and had not shipped by Oct 21, 2026 (roadmap, May 28, 2026). IGN's Early Access review found them hard to reach, because level-up skills come from a random pool and a hero has only 8 skill slots: its reviewer completed one about twice in 25 hours.

The skill list

2:03 Devlog #11 printed the full list as three charts, before launch. The values are Basic / Advanced / Expert as the chart gave them on Jul 25, 2025; where a patch has changed one, the current figure follows with its patch.

Skill	Effect	Jul 2025 chart	Changed since
Offense	Basic attacks deal more damage	10 / 15 / 20%	15/20/25% at launch, back to 10/15/20% in Patch #8
Defense	Less damage from basic attacks	10 / 15 / 20%	Same path as Offense (Patch #8)
Sorcery	More spell damage	10 / 20 / 30%	20/30/40% in Patch #12; 20/25/30% in the beta
Resistance	Creatures take less magic damage	10 / 20 / 30%	Subskills reworked in the beta
Intelligence	More maximum mana	20 / 40 / 60%
Diplomacy	Sometimes recruit neutral armies for gold; more Persuasion Power	0 / 25 / 50%	Recruiting surcharge cut from +100% to +50% in Patch #3
Insight	More experience	20 / 30 / 40%	"Civic Innovation" Law point bonus 100% to 30% in Patch #8
Scouting	Wider sight radius	+1 / 2 / 3
Logistics	More movement points on the map	10 / 15 / 20%
Leadership	Higher morale	+1 / 2 / 3
Economy	Gold every day	500 / 750 / 1000
Siegecraft	More catapult damage	+50 / 100 / 150	No longer offered at level-up on 11 templates in the beta
Tactics	Rearrange creatures before battle within a number of lines and see where neutrals start	2 / 3 / 4 lines
Luck	Higher luck	+1 / 2 / 3	Each point of luck: 6% to 8% lucky hit chance in Patch #11
Daylight, Nightshade, Arcane and Primal Magic	Learn the school's higher tiers; its spells cost less mana and gain a level	Tier 3 / 4 / 5; mana 0 / 2 / 2 less
Battle Magic	Creatures gain Attack and Defense from the hero's Spell Power and Knowledge	10 / 20 / 30%	15/20/25% at launch, 15/25/35% in Patch #3, back to 15/20/25% in Patch #11, reworked to 20/30/40% in the beta
Recruitment	More weekly growth of tier 1, 2 and 3 creatures in all cities	4/0/0, 4/2/0, 4/2/1	Subskills reworked in the beta
Thaumaturgy	Use the spellbook one more time per battle round, at extra mana cost	300 / 200 / 100%	150/125/100% at launch, 100/75/50% in Patch #3
Battlecraft	Attack when a creature waits, Defense when it skips its turn	20 / 30 / 40%	10/15/20% in the beta
Summon Avatar	A battle spell that summons an Avatar scaling with Spell Power and Knowledge	20/4, 30/8, 40/12	Overhauled in Patch #8, cut in Patches #9, #10 and #11

The charts are from Devlog #11 (Jul 25, 2025); Unfrozen withheld the subskill list then because "there are still a lot of balance changes happening to subskills". The patch notes name skills that are not on the charts: Wisdom, whose subskills "Rhythmic Cadence" (more maximum mana) and "Stargazer" (+500 Astrology Points a day) were raised in Patch #11, and Combat, with subskills such as "Swordcraft", "Effortless Strike" and "Revenge", which gives a bonus Heroic Strike when a friendly stack dies (Patch #8). The magic schools themselves are on Magic and Spells.

Faction skills

0:24 Each faction has a skill only its heroes start with. Devlog #11's third chart showed five of them with their values, and hid the sixth (Schism's) behind scrambled letters (Devlog #11). Turin's Dungeon guide uses Triumvirate's Strength round by round: the Minotaur stance for more damage, the elven stance for survival, and the Spell Power stance to finish a target with a spell.

Faction	Skill	Effect (Jul 2025 chart)
Temple	Ascension, called Righteousness by launch	When a friendly stack dies, the rest gain 10/20/30% HP until the end of the next round
Necropolis	Necromancy	4/6/8% of defeated enemies' HP becomes undead HP after a victory (reworked twice since)
Hive	Summon Swarm	Eggs hatch into Fire Larvae with 8/12/16% of the Hive army's HP
Grove (then "Sylvan")	Murmuring	1/2/3 Focus Charges at the start of battle
Dungeon	Triumvirate's Strength	One of three stances each round, +2/4/6 to the chosen stat
Schism	Abyssal Communion	Revealed on Aug 29, 2025: extra units in every battle by Communion level

Temple's skill had its "Chosen One" and "Strong Faith" subskills tuned in Patch #8 under the name Righteousness (Patch #8). The Oct 15, 2026 beta rebuilt it around three prayers, "Song of Wrath" (extra Pure Damage), "Plea for Healing" (healing that can resurrect) and "Hymn of Power" (longer positive effects), with six new subskills, and the Oct 21 beta made each prayer single-use but storable on several stacks (beta notes; beta v0.82.03).

First Aid and the beta changes

First Aid is the newest skill, open to every hero and faction in the public beta: after a won battle, surviving stacks restore 20/30/40% of the creatures lost. Its subskills include "Return to Service" (another 10%, doubled with Recruitment), "Healthy Decoctions" (+2 Health), "Thrill of Battle" and "Ammonia", which revives a fallen stack once per battle. Julius, Leira, The Iron Master and Typhona start with it (beta notes, Oct 15, 2026). Unfrozen had promised a skill to fix the Hive's and Dungeon's "bleeding problems", meaning their losses in routine fights (Patch #14, Sep 3, 2026).

The same beta reworked Battle Magic so that, at its top level, creatures take 60% of the hero's Attack and 40% of the hero's Spell Power instead of 100% of Attack, part of Unfrozen's plan to cut the late-game stat growth that made percentage bonuses pile up. The Oct 21 update then changed subskills of Summon Swarm, Offense, Defense, Logistics, Scouting, Sorcery, Nightshade Magic, Resistance and Thaumaturgy without listing the numbers (beta v0.82.03). These changes are on Steam's public beta branch only, with the release date for the main game to be announced; the whole update is on Balance Update Beta.

Frequently asked questions

How many skills can a hero learn in Olden Era? A hero in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era can learn up to 8 skills, counting the faction skill and the other starting skill, out of 30 skills Unfrozen counted at the Early Access launch.

How do subskills work in Olden Era? Every skill has 5 subskills: when you raise it to Advanced you choose 1 of the first 3, and at Expert you choose 1 of the last 2. Many subskills get stronger if your hero also has a certain other skill.

What are subclasses in Olden Era? Subclasses (called elite classes in the patch notes) are optional upgrades, 2 per hero class, unlocked by taking specific skills and subskills; the level-up screen shows which picks count toward one.

What is the First Aid skill in Olden Era? First Aid is a skill added in the Oct 15, 2026 public beta that restores 20%, 30% or 40% of the creatures a hero lost after each won battle; it is available to every faction but only on the beta branch so far.

What does Battle Magic do in Olden Era? Battle Magic gives your creatures Attack and Defense based on the hero's Spell Power and Knowledge, 15/20/25% on the live game since Patch #11; the Oct 15, 2026 beta raises it to 20/30/40% but reduces how much of the hero's own Attack and Defense the creatures inherit.

What are the best skills in Olden Era? Unfrozen designed the system so that no skill is always the best pick, and it has rebalanced the strongest ones (Summon Avatar, Battle Magic, Sorcery) several times; the right choice depends on your hero's starting skills and the subclass you aim for.

Sources

Devlog #5: Game Modes pt.2: Arena, Unfrozen, Nov 22, 2024
Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses, Unfrozen, Jul 25, 2025
Devlog #13: On Schism and Their Eldritch Powers, Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2025
HoMM: Olden Era | Community Feedback #4: UI, QoL and Others!, Unfrozen, Mar 6, 2026
Devlog #15: How and Why We Chose the Artstyle of Olden Era, Unfrozen, Apr 24, 2026
Patch #3: Bug fixes and Network stability improvements, Unfrozen, May 3, 2026
Building the Future - HoMM: Olden Era's Early Access Roadmap is here!, Unfrozen, May 28, 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 #12: Bug Fixes & Improvements, Unfrozen, Jul 10, 2026
Patch #14: More PvE Content and Plans for the Future!, Unfrozen, Sep 3, 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
Devlog #3: Skills and Subskills in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Unfrozen Official, Jul 25, 2025 (video)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Early Access Review, IGN, Apr 28, 2026 (video)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Beginners Guide! Tips You Need to Know, Norovo, May 4, 2026 (video)
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Dungeon Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 7, 2026 (video)

Moments

Devlog #3: Skills and Subskills in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era

Unfrozen Official

0:15 A hero in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era can learn up to 8 skills, the faction skill included, and every skill…
0:43 Heroes earn experience by fighting, visiting certain adventure sites and picking up treasure chests. At each level…
2:03 Devlog #11 printed the full list as three charts, before launch. The values are Basic / Advanced / Expert as the chart…