--Level 1 Magic--

Learn about Level 1 Magic spells like Haste, Slow, and Bless in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. Maximize your army's potential.

Haste

This is considered the most useful 1st level spell because it can transform deficient monster stacks into killer armies. For instance, a large stack of Steel Golems can reach an opposing army in 2 turns. It allows your slow or average shooter troops to shoot before enemy flyers or shooters. Hydras become very dangerous when Hasted. A huge stack of skeletons can reach the other side in 2 turns while a cheap sacrificial stack of shooters draws fire. In general, Haste can grant you the very important first attack.

Slow

This spell is the opposite of Haste and is almost as useful, though less versatile. If you cast it too soon, the enemy spellcaster will likely dispel it. It can save you against fast flyers, giving your shooters time to destroy them. Slow is also useful combined with Blind to prevent the enemy from fleeing before you have a chance to destroy them. Timing is paramount when using this potent spell. Either use it after the enemy has cast their own spell or target the fast troop going up next that you want to attack first.

Bless

Bless is very good on certain troops that have a large range of damage, assuring you of inflicting maximum damage. For example, casting Bless on Crusaders and Phoenixes doubles their damage-inflicting points, permitting you, under ideal conditions, to kill double the monsters you would usually destroy with an unblessed stack doing minimum damage. Doing minimum damage with an unblessed unit is unlikely, as the damage done by any stack is an average.

Curse

Curse is the opposite of Bless and is also very good, but more passive. You can't always control which of your stacks the enemy stack will attack first, unless you have shooters. The enemy will rarely dispel this spell. Use it against the monster stack that scares you the most, such as fast flyer troops or a large stack of enemy shooters.

Shield

Shield is extremely nice to have when facing large shooter armies. Use it on your strongest shooter stack, which will draw the majority of attacks from the AI (Artificial Intelligence). Unfortunately, Shield's usefulness is limited as it does not protect against ballista and turret fire.

Dispel Magic

This is one of the tougher spells to use well and is more useful in the later parts of the game. Try to use Dispel Magic against an enemy stack that has multiple positive spells. It is typically used against the most dangerous enemy stack, especially if it already has Bless and Steelskin. Cure is used instead of Dispel Magic when you want to remove negative spells from one of your stacks.

Magic Arrow

This is the first direct offensive spell. It is good against low-level troops and very good when you have a high spell rating but no Lightning spell or not enough spell points left to cast it. It is also good when you don't want the enemy to flee, which they usually will do when they only have a couple of monster stacks left.

Cure

This spell not only cures your hit points but also removes all negative spells, making it almost equal to Dispel Magic. It is rated lower because the number of hit points gained when casting it is minimal. It is mostly used on high-level monster stacks like Phoenix or Bone Dragons.

Bloodlust

This spell grants Attack +3. In concrete terms, this means that, under ideal conditions, you could get a 30% damage bonus. Cast it when you have nothing else better to cast.

Stoneskin

This spell grants Defense +3. In concrete terms, this means that, under ideal conditions, you could get 30% less damage from an enemy attack on the stack that is Stoneskinned, if the difference between the enemy's attack and your defense skill were 3 points or higher before casting. Cast it when you have nothing else better to cast.

View Mines

This spell is only used in the beginning of the game to check out where the necessary mines are hidden. A necessary mine is one that produces the resource you need most to build advanced-level structures, such as sulfur for Warlocks, wood for Knights, ore for Barbarians, or gems for Wizards.

View Resources

This spell is useful if you have it, but other spells are preferred. It can be useful if there are no nearby mines of the type you desire.