The Necropolis, similar the Inferno, has received new creatures and balance changes to entice players away from the primary objectives of "farm Skeletons and powerstack Vampire Lords".
The Skeleton line remains untouched in terms of balance. The Skeleton Archer provides amazing support to early Necropolis armies and has the potential to scale well in the late game, provided ample buffs are given to it shooting over walls and long distances.
"Zombies" have been renamed "Plague Zombies" and have received a major buff to their Disease chance due to its effect being minimally impactful in combat past the early-game. They have also received a minor bump to their Attack and Defense, allowing them to be statistically on par with the Skeleton Warrior. Rot Zombies have slightly less Defense and Health, but compensate with higher Attack and Speed and a 20% chance to cast Disrupting Ray after attacking, making them a riskier but potentially deadlier alternate option.
The Wight line has received an ample set of buffs. In the base game, the Wight line is a set of very mediocre units whose only purpose is to annoy the player when split into 7 stacks in neutral combat; they are incredibly weak and are seldom used in any Necropolis strategies. This has been remedied by giving Wights Mana Drain and Wraiths Life Drain (50%), thus giving the Necropolis another (less effective) vampiric unit. Banshees let out a piercing scream before they attack, which allows them to be fantastic units for clearing out dwellings or creature banks, but they will cause concern in any strategies involving Blind since any Blinded creature will be freed by the damage caused by their Death Ripple.
The Vampire line has received some minor stat adjustments and a big change for the base Vampire: it no longer has No Enemy Retaliation, but has Life Drain (50%), thus actually functioning like a true Vampire. It can regain No Enemy Retaliation if it is upgraded into the Vampire Lord, who is now slightly more menacing with 12 Attack. Vampire Princes mirror their Heroes V counterparts, with "Sleep" being functionally the same as Blind in Heroes III, though they can still be retaliated against; this makes them a more technical and strategic unit to use, especially in one stacks, where their Blinding attack may come in particularly useful.
The Grim Guard line is the bulky alternative set of units to the Vampire line. They have a higher Damage output than Vampires but less are not self-sustaining without being able to Drain Life. The upgraded units scale particularly well against high-level enemies with their percentage Attack/Defense reduction in Damage calculation, and every member of this unit family possesses Death Blow, much like their Level 6 Dread Knight counterpart.
Power Liches have received a minor buff to their minimum Damage, ensuring they remain competitive with their new alternate upgrade. Lich Masters provide a way to Reanimate lost Undead units without the hero having to spend a turn doing so, freeing up 2 extra turns of spellcasting that many Necropolis players sorely lack. They lose out on their Death Cloud attack, but always deal full Damage to targets at range or behind walls with their staff's beam attack.
The Black Knight line is a set of perfect Level 6 units. The Dreadtaur provides a heavy-hitting and more consistent alternate option to the Dread Knight, but they scale particularly well against high-level enemies with their percentage Defense reduction.
The Bone Dragon line has received decent stat buffs, compensated with a higher unit cost. Players will no longer bleed or have to Reanimate as many Ghost Dragons as they are now able to dish out more Damage per unit, taking out more creatures and suffering less retaliation damage as a result. While Ghost Dragons can halve a stack's Health, Spectral Dragons can instantly kill enemies with their Death Stare, providing a more consistent but potentially less effective way to remove the target stack from the battlefield.
Attack 5
Defense 4
Shots -
Damage 1–3
Health 6
Speed 4
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 12 (+6)
AI Val. 60
Fight Val. 75
Cost 60
Attack 6
Defense 6
Shots -
Damage 1–3
Health 6
Speed 5
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 12 (+6)
AI Val. 85
Fight Val. 85
Cost 70
Shoots.
Attack 5
Defense 5
Shots 8
Damage 1–3
Health 6
Speed 5
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 12 (+6)
AI Val. 85
Fight Val. 85
Cost 70
No balance changes were made.
Attack 5
Defense 5
Shots -
Damage 2–3
Health 15
Speed 3
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 8
AI Val. 98
Fight Val. 140
Cost 100
Attack 6
Defense 6
Shots -
Damage 2–3
Health 20
Speed 4
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 8
AI Val. 160
Fight Val. 160
Cost 125
Spellcaster after attack: Advanced Disrupting Ray (20%).
Attack 7
Defense 5
Shots -
Damage 2–3
Health 18
Speed 5
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 8
AI Val. 160
Fight Val. 160
Cost 125
Plague Zombie:
Name "Zombie" → "Plague Zombie"
Attack 5 → 6
Defense 5 → 6
AI Value 128 → 160
Disease 20% → 40%
Attack 7
Defense 7
Shots -
Damage 3–5
Health 15
Speed 5
Move Flying
Size 1
Growth 7
AI Val. 252
Fight Val. 231
Cost 200
Attack 8
Defense 8
Shots -
Damage 3–5
Health 18
Speed 7
Move Flying
Size 1
Growth 7
AI Val. 400
Fight Val. 350
Cost 300
Flies.
Spellcaster before attack: Basic Death Ripple (100%, 20% Power).
Attack 9
Defense 7
Shots -
Damage 3–5
Health 20
Speed 7
Move Flying
Size 1
Growth 7
AI Val. 400
Fight Val. 350
Cost 300
Wight:
Health 18 → 15
Wraith:
Attack 7→ 8
Defense 7→ 8
AI Value 315 → 400
Fight Value 252 → 350
Cost 230 → 300
Attack 10
Defense 8
Shots -
Damage 5–8
Health 30
Speed 6
Move Flying
Size 1
Growth 4
AI Val. 625
Fight Val. 550
Cost 400
Attack 12
Defense 8
Shots -
Damage 5–8
Health 40
Speed 9
Move Flying
Size 1
Growth 4
AI Val. 783
Fight Val. 652
Cost 500
Attack 10
Defense 10
Shots -
Damage 5–8
Health 40
Speed 10
Move Flying
Size 1
Growth 4
AI Val. 783
Fight Val. 652
Cost 500
Vampire:
Defense 9 → 8
AI Value 555 → 625
Fight Value 518 → 550
Cost 360 → 400
Vampire Lord:
Attack 10→ 12
Defense 10→ 8
Death Blow attack.
Attack 10
Defense 10
Shots -
Damage 6–10
Health 40
Speed 5
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 4
AI Val. 475
Fight Val. 450
Cost 350
Attack 14
Defense 10
Shots -
Damage 8–12
Health 40
Speed 7
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 4
AI Val. 650
Fight Val. 550
Cost 450
Attack 10
Defense 14
Shots -
Damage 6–10
Health 50
Speed 7
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 4
AI Val. 650
Fight Val. 550
Cost 450
Attack 13
Defense 10
Shots 12
Damage 11–13
Health 30
Speed 6
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 3
AI Val. 848
Fight Val. 742
Cost 550
Attack 13
Defense 10
Shots 24
Damage 13–15
Health 40
Speed 7
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 3
AI Val. 1100
Fight Val. 900
Cost 600
Attack 13
Defense 10
Shots 24
Damage 11–15
Health 40
Speed 8
Move Ground
Size 1
Growth 3
AI Val. 1100
Fight Val. 900
Cost 600
Power Lich:
Damage 11–15 → 13–15
AI Value 1079 → 1100
Fight Value 889 → 900
Attack 16
Defense 16
Shots -
Damage 15–30
Health 120
Speed 7
Move Ground
Size 2
Growth 2
AI Val. 2087
Fight Val. 1753
Cost 1200
Attack 18
Defense 18
Shots -
Damage 15–30
Health 120
Speed 9
Move Ground
Size 2
Growth 2
AI Val. 2382
Fight Val. 2029
Cost 1500
Attack 20
Defense 16
Shots -
Damage 15–30
Health 120
Speed 9
Move Ground
Size 2
Growth 2
AI Val. 2382
Fight Val. 2029
Cost 1500
No balance changes were made.
Attack 18
Defense 16
Shots -
Damage 25–50
Health 150
Speed 9
Move Flying
Size 2
Growth 1
AI Val. 3450
Fight Val. 2500
Cost 2000
Attack 24
Defense 18
Shots -
Damage 25–50
Health 200
Speed 14
Move Flying
Size 2
Growth 1
AI Val. 5300
Fight Val. 3750
Cost 3500 + 2M
Attack 21
Defense 21
Shots -
Damage 25–50
Health 200
Speed 14
Move Flying
Size 2
Growth 1
AI Val. 5300
Fight Val. 3750
Cost 3500 + 2M
Bone Dragon:
Attack 17 → 18
Defense 15 → 16
AI Value 3388 → 3450
Fight Value 2420 → 2500
Cost 1800 → 2000
Ghost Dragon:
Attack 19 → 24
Defense 17 → 18
AI Value 4919 → 5300
Fight Value 3228 → 3750
Cost 3000 + 1M → 3500 + 2M