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The '''Dungeon''' is an Evil [[alignment]] [[town]] focused mainly on offensive magic.
{{towns}}
'''Dungeon''' is an [[alignment|evil alignment]] [[town]] with the [[Warlock]] and [[Overlord]] [[hero class]]es. Dungeon represents [[Nighon]].


== Overview ==
''"Dungeons are built by Warlock and Overlord hero types to act as bases from which to wage campaigns of conquest for wealth and power. Similarly minded creatures are attracted as allies. Other Dungeon creatures are in thrall to their masters. Dungeon armies are possessed of a variety of long range attacks, have effective damage dealing troops, and have the ability to greatly disrupt the strategies of their enemies."{{-}}<sup>[[Restoration of Erathia Manual Page 88|RoE manual]]''</sup>


[[Overlord]]s and [[Warlock]]s build Dungeons as outposts for endless wars for power and wealth. Similarly minded creatures are treated as allies, others are enslaved by them. The forces of Dungeon have various ranged attack units and strong warriors, which are capable of quickly disrupting the enemy's plans.
Dungeon's [[native terrain]] is [[subterranean]].


Although Dungeon is quite expensive, it has serious magic and powerful troops, and it seems that these strengths make Dungeon one of the most popular towns in Heroes III. The strongest creature of Dungeon, the [[Black Dragon]], has become a symbol of the Heroes series since it first appeared in Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars. This great beast is indeed an enemy to be feared.
__TOC__


==Buildings==
==Dungeon building tree==
{| style="margin-right:20px; float:left;"
| [[File:DungeonBuildingTree.png|left|600px]]
|}


{{StandardBuildings|5|[[Sulfur]]}}
[[Image:Dungeon-in.png|none|border|500px|thumb|right|Fully upgraded {{PAGENAME}}]]


===Dungeon-Specific Buildings===
{{Town cost summary|
*[[Artifact Merchants]]
|common  = {{Building cost|{{W}}<br>45||{{O}}<br>40||||{{G}}<br>37000}}
*[[Portal of Summoning]]
|mage    = {{Building cost|{{W}}<br>25|{{M}}<br>28|{{O}}<br>25|{{S}}<br>28|{{C}}<br>28|{{Gem}}<br>28|{{G}}<br>6000}}
*[[Mana Vortex]]
|dwelling = {{Building cost|{{W}}<br>67|{{M}}<br>12|{{O}}<br>67|{{S}}<br>54|{{C}}<br>4|{{Gem}}<br>17|{{G}}<br>53900}}
*[[Battle Scholar Academy]]
|unique  = {{Building cost|{{W}}<br>5||{{O}}<br>10||||{{G}}<br>15500}}
*[[Guardian of Earth]] ([[Grail]] Building)
|total    = {{Building cost|{{W}}<br>142|{{M}}<br>40|{{O}}<br>142|{{S}}<br>82|{{C}}<br>32|{{Gem}}<br>45|{{G}}<br>112400}}
|troop    = 27205 {{G}}, 4 {{S}}
}}
{{clear|left}}
===Common Buildings and Mage Guild===
{{Dungeon common buildings}}


===Dwellings===
===Creature Dwellings===
*[[Warren]]
{{Dungeon creature dwellings}}
*[[Harpy Loft]]
*[[Pillar of Eyes]]
*[[Chapel of Stilled Voices]]
*[[Labyrinth]]
*[[Manticore Lair]]
*[[Dragon Cave]]


==Units==
===Unique Buildings===
{{creaturelist|Troglodyte|Infernal Troglodyte|Harpy|Harpy Hag|Beholder|Evil Eye|Medusa|Medusa Queen|Minotaur|Minotaur King|Manticore|Scorpicore|Red Dragon|Black Dragon}}
{{Dungeon unique buildings}}


{{clear|left}}
==Heroes==
==Heroes==
{{switchHota}}


===Magic Heroes (Warlocks)===
{{switch_content|tag1=sod|tag2=hota|content1= {{hero table|bgc=#{{Green 1b}}|head=!+ colspan = 14 style="background-color:#{{Green 1}}; font-size: 120%; color:white; height:28px; text-align:center;" {{!}} {{PAGENAME}} heroes (Shadow of Death)}}
{{{{PAGENAME}} hero table}}
{{T!}}|content2= {{hero table|bgc=#{{Green 1b}}|head=!+ colspan = 14 style="background-color:#{{Green 1}}; font-size: 120%; color:white; height:28px; text-align:center;" {{!}} {{PAGENAME}} heroes (Horn of the Abyss)}}
{{{{PAGENAME}} hero table (HotA)}}
{{T!}}}}


The following [[Warlocks]] are the magic heroes of the Dungeon town:
'''Banned secondary skills:'''


*[[Alamar]]
Some skills are not available for certain hero classes, which means they can only acquire them from [[Scholar (Adventure Map)|Scholar]]s, [[Witch Hut]]s (except for [[Necromancy]] and [[Leadership]], if not allowed by a map-maker), [[Seer's Hut]]s, [[Event]]s or [[Pandora's Box]]es.
*[[Darkstorn]]
*[[Deemer]]
*[[Geon]]
*[[Jaegar]]
*[[Jeddite]]
*[[Malekith]]
*[[Sephinroth]]


===Might Heroes (Overlords)===
{{ss|Necromancy}} and {{ss|Water Magic}} are not available for [[overlord]]s.


The following [[Overlords]] are the might heroes of the Dungeon town:
{{ss|Necromancy}}, {{ss|Resistance}} and {{ss|Interference}}{{-wh}} are not available for [[warlock]]s.


*[[Ajit]]
==Creatures==
*[[Arlach]]
{{creature table|bgc=#{{Blue 1b}}|head=!+ colspan = 14 style="background-color:#{{Blue 1}}; font-size: 120%; color:white; height:28px;" {{!}} {{PAGENAME}} creatures}}
*[[Dace]]
{{dungeon creature table}}
*[[Damacon]]
|}
*[[Gunnar]]
*[[Lorelei]]
*[[Shakti]]
*[[Synca]]
*[[Mutare]] {{inab}}
*[[Mutare Drake]] {{inab}}


==Strategy==
==Town names==
Unless specified by the mapmaker, towns will generate with a random name. Dungeon towns will use one of these following names:


===Benefits===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="white-space:nowrap; text-align: left;"
*Strong units
|-
*Mana Vortex: Doubles your max spell points once a week.
| width=80px | Blindroot || width=80px | Castigare || width=80px | Chillwater || width=80px | Coldshadow
*Can successfully do the famous "[[Dracageddon]]" tactic thanks to fast and powerful Black Dragons and Warlocks with high [[Spell Power]].
|-
* The [[Battle Scholar Academy]] instantly levels up your starting heroes and can contribute to your seasoned heroes as well.
| Darkburrow || Darkhold || Deepshadow || Dragonnade
|-
| Evernight || Lost Hold || Malev || Scar
|-
| Shade || Shadowden || Sorrow Crown || Veks
|-
|}


===Weaknesses===
If there are more Dungeon towns on the map than possible names, they will use names taken from other towns.
*It is quite expensive to play as it needs many resources. This is especially noticeable on Impossible difficulty, because the [[Pillar of Eyes]] cost of one of each of the magical resources ([[Gems]], [[Crystal]], [[Sulfur]] and [[Mercury]]), which can be very hard to come up with early on.
*Manticore/Scorpicore is the weakest Level 6 unit.


==Additional Information==
{{user commentary|
* Upgrade the level 2 creature dwelling as soon as possible: [[Harpy Hag]]s have a huge speed increase (6->9) and gain no retaliation.


Alignment: Evil
* Upgrading [[Medusa]]s to Medusa Queens is more crucial than [[Beholder]]s to Evil Eyes, because a Medusa Queen has eight instead of four shots, while a Beholder already has twelve. Getting an [[Ammo Cart]] (from Inferno's, Stronghold's or Tower's [[Blacksmith]], or at a [[War Machine Factory]]), will help a lot, since Medusa Queen's eight shoots are still not sufficient for a fierce battle.


Native Terrain: [[Subterranean]]
* [[Bless]] your Harpies/Harpy Hags (Dungeon has a 19% chance to get Bless). Harpies/Harpy Hags have damage range 1–4. Instead of on average 2.5, with basic (advanced) Water Magic they will consistently do 4 (5) damage, a 60% (100%) increase. Similarly, [[Curse]] the enemy's Harpies/Harpy Hags ([[Slow]] would also be useful since Harpy Hags have a decent speed).


[[Category:Towns]]
* [[Haste]] your [[Minotaur]]s/Minotaur Kings. They are brutes which do a lot of damage and you want them to strike at the enemy as soon as possible. In addition a hasted Minotaur King can reach nearly any point of the battlefield given no obstacles.
 
* '''Beware of Red and Black Dragons' breath attack which can damage your own troops.''' If you have both Black Dragons and [[Giant and Titan|Titans]] in the army, due to reciprocal [[hate]] Black Dragons will do 150% damage on their own Titans having attacked them by mistake.
 
* Having only Black Dragons in your army, you may rush through the map with [[Dragogeddon]] manoeuvre. Red Dragons cannot be used for Dragogeddon as they are susceptible to 4-5 level spells.
 
*Spells '''not''' appearing in a Dungeon [[Mage Guild]] are [[Death Ripple]] (damage to all living creatures) and [[Animate Dead]] (resurrecting undead) (both more of a [[Necropolis]] thing), [[Prayer]] ([[attack]], [[defense]] and [[speed]] enhancement by 2 or 4 points) and [[Air Elemental]] (one of the four elemental summoning spells).
 
*Dungeon is expensive to build, has good magical capabilities (e.g. [[Mana Vortex]] and level 5 Mage Guild) and powerful troops like [[black dragon]]s, which are among the strongest creatures in [[Erathia]].
 
*If there is a high level creature dwelling which can be conquered early, it may be beneficial to wait flagging other creature dwellings. This allows to recruit the high level creatures every week from both the [[Portal of Summoning]] and the dwelling itself. The Portal of Summoning selects its units every week randomly from all creature dwellings you have flagged. For example, if there are Red Dragons and Troglodytes available on the adventure map, it is beneficial to not flag the Troglodyte dwellings to recruit more Dragons.
 
* Playing against [[Tower]] which has [[Giant and Titan|Titans]] who hate Black Dragons, try to use the following tactics so as to avoid Black Dragons' losses (see [[Dungeon#Cons|Cons]]). If Titans are behind someone else, attack that unit with Black Dragons, and breath attack will do 150% damage against Titans due to Black Dragons' hate against them. It works even if Black Dragons targeted another stack, and Titans won't retaliate.
 
'''Pros:'''
* Two ranged units, both of which have no [[melee penalty]].
* Mana Vortex: doubles your max spell points once a week.
* Black Dragons are immune to all damage or debuffing spells.
* [[Armageddon]] spell is available in Dungeon, unlike [[Rampart]] or [[Conflux]] which also have units immune to it.
* [[Warlock]]s gain more Spell Power than other hero classes.
* [[Harpy and Harpy Hag|Harpy Hags]] are among the best 2 level units.
* The [[Battle Scholar Academy]] instantly levels-up starting heroes.
* Powerful heroes, e.g. [[Gunnar]] with Logistics specialty, and [[Jeddite]] and [[Alamar]] with [[Resurrection]] spell.
* [[Portal of Summoning]] may be used to gain additional creatures.
* The weekly income with [[Capitol]] and the Resource Silo is enough to recruit all the units without any external mines.
* On a map with two layers, Dungeon will get a huge advantage as any battle in the underground will be fought on [[subterranean]] terrain, thus Dungeon units will get speed bonus.
* Dungeon is the only evil town where [[Bless]] is not banned.
* Dungeon doesn't suffer too much from being slowed down, as only basic Troglodytes have speed 4 (while Rampart, [[Tower]], and [[Stronghold]] have some prominent units with speed 3-4).
 
'''Cons:'''
* Dungeon is quite expensive to build it up.
* [[Manticore and Scorpicore|Manticores]] are one of the weakest level 6 units, have low HP, and even when upgraded to Scorpicores they are significantly weaker than [[Naga and Naga Queen|Naga Queens]] or [[Black Knight and Dread Knight|Dread Knights]]. Scorpicores are also quite too expensive for their strength, costing more than [[Unicorn and War Unicorn|War Unicorns]].
* Black Dragons are immune to any benevolent spells, including Resurrection.
* Moreover, Black Dragons are slower than upgraded 7th level units of [[Castle]], Rampart, [[Inferno]], and Conflux. They are immune to Haste and [[Prayer]], which allows [[Necropolis]] and [[Fortress]] to overtake Dungeon by top speed as well. Finally, their dwelling is very expensive.
* Basic [[Pillar of Eyes]] which is level 3 creature dwelling requires each type of resource, and is necessary to build all higher level creature dwellings. It makes Dungeon possibly the worst town for playing on Impossible level.
* Though Dungeon has many strong protagonists, it has many issues with heroes as well. Many heroes (Darkstorn, Deemer, Geon, Jaegar, Lorelei) have secondary skills which aren't that useful, and there is no one who specializes in Medusas, who are the only 4th level units without a specialist. Besides that, overlords cannot learn [[Water Magic]], therefore being unable to cast Bless on the entire army, while many Dungeon units have significant damage range (especially Harpies and Minotaurs).
* If the map has only one layer, Dungeon will get a disadvantage since subterranean terrain is used rarely without underground layer, and in most cases any other faction will get a speed bonus unlike Dungeon.
* Beware [[Giant and Titan|Titans]] who [[hate]] Black Dragons. Titans and Black Dragons have similar stats, possibly sharing 2nd-3rd place in the whole game after [[Archangel]]s, but Titans have an opportunity to shoot Black Dragons to death, and if Black Dragons force them to melee (which is possible as Black Dragons are faster), Titans will still do 150% damage by retaliation. Impossibility of Black Dragons' resurrection makes it a big problem.
* [[Prayer]] is banned, while this spell may help Red Dragons (but not Black) a lot since they're immune to Bless, Bloodlust, and Haste. (Rampart's [[Green Dragon and Gold Dragon|Green Dragons]] are susceptible to Prayer as well, and in Rampart this spell is available.)
* Subterranean which is Dungeon's [[native terrain]] doesn't give any [[movement penalty]] to the enemy.
}}{{end of user commentary}}
 
== See also ==
* [[Town Comparison]]
* [[List of creatures]]
* [[List of creatures (HotA)]]
* [[List of heroes]]
* [[List of heroes (HotA)]]
 
[[Category: Dungeon]]
__notoc__

Revision as of 01:22, 4 September 2024

Towns
Castle Castle
Rampart Rampart
Tower Tower
Inferno Inferno
Necropolis Necropolis
Dungeon Dungeon
Stronghold Stronghold
Fortress Fortress
Conflux Conflux Armageddon's Blade
Cove Cove Horn of the Abyss
Factory Factory Horn of the Abyss

Dungeon is an evil alignment town with the Warlock and Overlord hero classes. Dungeon represents Nighon.

"Dungeons are built by Warlock and Overlord hero types to act as bases from which to wage campaigns of conquest for wealth and power. Similarly minded creatures are attracted as allies. Other Dungeon creatures are in thrall to their masters. Dungeon armies are possessed of a variety of long range attacks, have effective damage dealing troops, and have the ability to greatly disrupt the strategies of their enemies." RoE manual

Dungeon's native terrain is subterranean.

Dungeon building tree

Fully upgraded Dungeon
Building Category Cost
Common
 Wood
45
   Ore
40
       Gold
37000
Mage Guild
 Wood
25
 Mercury
28
 Ore
25
 Sulfur
28
 Crystal
28
 Gem
28
 Gold
6000
Dwellings
 Wood
67
 Mercury
12
 Ore
67
 Sulfur
54
 Crystal
4
 Gem
17
 Gold
53900
Unique
 Wood
5
   Ore
10
       Gold
15500
Total Building Cost:
 Wood
142
 Mercury
40
 Ore
142
 Sulfur
82
 Crystal
32
 Gem
45
 Gold
112400
Troop Cost / Week: 27205 Gold, 4 Sulfur

Common Buildings and Mage Guild

Halls Fortifications Miscellaneous Mage Guilds Banned spells
Village Hall Village Hall
(existing)
Fort Fort
Wood
20
Mercury
Ore
20
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
5000
Tavern Tavern
 Wood
5
           Gold
500
Mage Guild level 1 Mage Guild level 1
 Wood
5
   Ore
5
       Gold
2000
Town Hall
Wood
Mercury
Ore
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
2500
Citadel Citadel
Wood
Mercury
Ore
5
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
2500
Marketplace Marketplace
 Wood
5
           Gold
500
Mage Guild level 2 Mage Guild level 2
 Wood
5
 Mercury
4
 Ore
5
 Sulfur
4
 Crystal
4
 Gem
4
 Gold
1000
Death Ripple
City Hall City Hall
Wood
Mercury
Ore
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
5000
Castle Castle
Wood
10
Mercury
Ore
10
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
5000
Resource Silo Resource Silo (1 Sulfur)
     Ore
5
       Gold
5000
Mage Guild level 3 Mage Guild level 3
 Wood
5
 Mercury
6
 Ore
5
 Sulfur
6
 Crystal
6
 Gem
6
 Gold
1000
Animate Dead
Capitol Capitol
Wood
Mercury
Ore
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
10000
Blacksmith
Blacksmith
Wood
5
Mercury
Ore
Sulfur
Crystal
Gem
Gold
1000
Mage Guild level 4 Mage Guild level 4
 Wood
5
 Mercury
8
 Ore
5
 Sulfur
8
 Crystal
8
 Gem
8
 Gold
1000
Prayer
Mage Guild level 5 Mage Guild level 5
 Wood
5
 Mercury
10
 Ore
5
 Sulfur
10
 Crystal
10
 Gem
10
 Gold
1000
Summon Air Elemental      
Total Common Buildings:
 Wood
45
   Ore
40
       Gold
37000 
Total Mage Guild:
 Wood
25
 Mercury
28
 Ore
25
 Sulfur
28
 Crystal
28
 Gem
28
 Gold
6000

Creature Dwellings

Structure Base Cost Upgrade Cost Creature Max
Grw
Upg Cr
Cost
Cost/
Week
 Warren 
 Wood
10
           Gold
400
 Wood
5
           Gold
1000
Troglodyte Troglodyte
Infernal Troglodyte Infernal Troglodyte
35 65 Gold 2275 Gold
 Harpy Loft 
             Gold
1000
       Sulfur
2
 Crystal
2
   Gold
1000
Harpy Harpy
Harpy Hag Harpy Hag
16 170 Gold 2720 Gold
 Pillar of Eyes 
 Wood
1
 Mercury
1
 Ore
1
 Sulfur
1
 Crystal
1
 Gem
1
 Gold
1000
 Wood
1
 Mercury
1
 Ore
1
 Sulfur
1
 Crystal
1
 Gem
1
 Gold
1000
Beholder Beholder
Evil Eye Evil Eye
14 280 Gold 3920 Gold
 Chapel of Stilled Voices 
 Wood
5
   Ore
10
       Gold
2000
 Wood
5
           Gold
1500
Medusa Medusa
Medusa Queen Medusa Queen
8 330 Gold 2640 Gold
 Labyrinth 
     Ore
10
     Gem
10
 Gold
4000
     Ore
5
     Gem
5
 Gold
3000
Minotaur Minotaur
Minotaur King Minotaur King
6 575 Gold 3450 Gold
 Manticore Lair 
 Wood
5
 Mercury
5
 Ore
5
 Sulfur
5
     Gold
5000
 Wood
5
 Mercury
5
 Ore
5
 Sulfur
5
     Gold
3000
Manticore Manticore
Scorpicore Scorpicore
4 1050 Gold 4200 Gold
 Dragon Cave 
 Wood
15
   Ore
15
 Sulfur
20
     Gold
15000
 Wood
15
   Ore
15
 Sulfur
20
     Gold
15000
Red Dragon Red Dragon
Black Dragon Black Dragon
2 4000 Gold
2 Sulfur
8000 Gold
4 Sulfur
  


[[File: Creature portrait small.gif link=]] [[|]]
[[File: Creature portrait small.gif
link=]] [[|]]
Total Dwelling Cost:
 Wood
67
 Mercury
12
 Ore
67
 Sulfur
54
 Crystal
4
 Gem
17
 Gold
53900
Weekly Troop Cost: 27205 Gold
4 Sulfur

Unique Buildings

Structure Effect Cost
Portal of Summoning Allows recruiting from one random external flagged creature dwelling.
     Ore
5
       Gold
2500
Mana Vortex Restores, then doubles visiting hero's spell points once per week.
             Gold
1000
Battle Scholar Academy Gives +1000 experience to visiting Hero.
 Wood
5
   Ore
5
       Gold
1000
Artifact Merchants Allows the visiting hero to buy/sell artifacts.
             Gold
10000
Mushroom Rings Horde Building. Growth +7/week for Troglodyte Troglodyte / Infernal Troglodyte Infernal Troglodyte
             Gold
1000
Guardian of Earth Grail Structure. +5000 Gold/day, +50% creature growth
Gives +12 power to defending hero temporarily.
n/a
Total Cost:
 Wood
5
   Ore
10
       Gold
15500

Heroes

Banned secondary skills:

Some skills are not available for certain hero classes, which means they can only acquire them from Scholars, Witch Huts (except for Necromancy and Leadership, if not allowed by a map-maker), Seer's Huts, Events or Pandora's Boxes.

Necromancy Necromancy and Water Magic Water Magic are not available for overlords.

Necromancy Necromancy, Resistance Resistance and Interference Interference Horn of the Abyss are not available for warlocks.

Creatures

Dungeon creatures
 Name   Town   Lvl   Att   Def   Dmg-   Dmg+   HP   Spd   Grw   AI Val   Cost   Special 














Troglodyte Troglodyte Troglodyte Troglodyte 1 4 3 1 3 5 4 14 59 50 Gold   Immune to Blinding
Infernal Troglodyte Infernal TroglodyteInfernal Troglodyte Infernal Troglodyte 1+ 5 4 1 3 6 5 14 84 65 Gold   Immune to Blinding
Harpy Harpy Harpy Harpy 2 6 5 1 4 14 6 8 154 130 Gold   Flying, Strike and return
Harpy Hag Harpy Hag Harpy Hag Harpy Hag 2+ 6 6 1 4 14 9 8 238 170 Gold   Flying, Strike and return, No enemy retaliation
Beholder Beholder Beholder Beholder 3 9 7 3 5 22 5 7 336 250 Gold   Ranged (12 shots), No melee penalty
Evil Eye Evil Eye Evil Eye Evil Eye 3+ 10 8 3 5 22 7 7 367 280 Gold   Ranged (24 shots), No melee penalty
Medusa Medusa Medusa Medusa 4 9 9 6 8 25 5 4 517 300 Gold   Ranged (4 shots), No melee penalty, Petrify
Medusa Queen Medusa Queen Medusa Queen Medusa Queen 4+ 10 10 6 8 30 6 4 577 330 Gold   Ranged (8 shots), No melee penalty, Petrify
Minotaur Minotaur Minotaur Minotaur 5 14 12 12 20 50 6 3 835 500 Gold   Positive Morale
Minotaur King Minotaur King Minotaur King Minotaur King 5+ 15 15 12 20 50 8 3 1068 575 Gold   Positive Morale
Manticore Manticore Manticore Manticore 6 15 13 14 20 80 7 2 1547 850 Gold   Flying
Scorpicore Scorpicore Scorpicore Scorpicore 6+ 16 14 14 20 80 11 2 1589 1050 Gold   Flying, Paralyze
Red Dragon Red Dragon Red Dragon Red Dragon 7 19 19 40 50 180 11 1 4702 2500 Gold 1 Sulfur  Dragon, Flying, Breath attack, 1-3 lvl spells immunity
Black Dragon Black Dragon Black Dragon Black Dragon 7+ 25 25 40 50 300 15 1 8721 4000 Gold 2 Sulfur  Dragon, Flying, Breath attack, Magic immunity, Hates Titans

Town names

Unless specified by the mapmaker, towns will generate with a random name. Dungeon towns will use one of these following names:

Blindroot Castigare Chillwater Coldshadow
Darkburrow Darkhold Deepshadow Dragonnade
Evernight Lost Hold Malev Scar
Shade Shadowden Sorrow Crown Veks

If there are more Dungeon towns on the map than possible names, they will use names taken from other towns.

User commentary

[Show user commentary]
[Hide user commentary]
Some may find the information in this section subjective or irrelevant.

  • Upgrade the level 2 creature dwelling as soon as possible: Harpy Hags have a huge speed increase (6->9) and gain no retaliation.
  • Upgrading Medusas to Medusa Queens is more crucial than Beholders to Evil Eyes, because a Medusa Queen has eight instead of four shots, while a Beholder already has twelve. Getting an Ammo Cart (from Inferno's, Stronghold's or Tower's Blacksmith, or at a War Machine Factory), will help a lot, since Medusa Queen's eight shoots are still not sufficient for a fierce battle.
  • Bless your Harpies/Harpy Hags (Dungeon has a 19% chance to get Bless). Harpies/Harpy Hags have damage range 1–4. Instead of on average 2.5, with basic (advanced) Water Magic they will consistently do 4 (5) damage, a 60% (100%) increase. Similarly, Curse the enemy's Harpies/Harpy Hags (Slow would also be useful since Harpy Hags have a decent speed).
  • Haste your Minotaurs/Minotaur Kings. They are brutes which do a lot of damage and you want them to strike at the enemy as soon as possible. In addition a hasted Minotaur King can reach nearly any point of the battlefield given no obstacles.
  • Beware of Red and Black Dragons' breath attack which can damage your own troops. If you have both Black Dragons and Titans in the army, due to reciprocal hate Black Dragons will do 150% damage on their own Titans having attacked them by mistake.
  • Having only Black Dragons in your army, you may rush through the map with Dragogeddon manoeuvre. Red Dragons cannot be used for Dragogeddon as they are susceptible to 4-5 level spells.
  • Dungeon is expensive to build, has good magical capabilities (e.g. Mana Vortex and level 5 Mage Guild) and powerful troops like black dragons, which are among the strongest creatures in Erathia.
  • If there is a high level creature dwelling which can be conquered early, it may be beneficial to wait flagging other creature dwellings. This allows to recruit the high level creatures every week from both the Portal of Summoning and the dwelling itself. The Portal of Summoning selects its units every week randomly from all creature dwellings you have flagged. For example, if there are Red Dragons and Troglodytes available on the adventure map, it is beneficial to not flag the Troglodyte dwellings to recruit more Dragons.
  • Playing against Tower which has Titans who hate Black Dragons, try to use the following tactics so as to avoid Black Dragons' losses (see Cons). If Titans are behind someone else, attack that unit with Black Dragons, and breath attack will do 150% damage against Titans due to Black Dragons' hate against them. It works even if Black Dragons targeted another stack, and Titans won't retaliate.

Pros:

  • Two ranged units, both of which have no melee penalty.
  • Mana Vortex: doubles your max spell points once a week.
  • Black Dragons are immune to all damage or debuffing spells.
  • Armageddon spell is available in Dungeon, unlike Rampart or Conflux which also have units immune to it.
  • Warlocks gain more Spell Power than other hero classes.
  • Harpy Hags are among the best 2 level units.
  • The Battle Scholar Academy instantly levels-up starting heroes.
  • Powerful heroes, e.g. Gunnar with Logistics specialty, and Jeddite and Alamar with Resurrection spell.
  • Portal of Summoning may be used to gain additional creatures.
  • The weekly income with Capitol and the Resource Silo is enough to recruit all the units without any external mines.
  • On a map with two layers, Dungeon will get a huge advantage as any battle in the underground will be fought on subterranean terrain, thus Dungeon units will get speed bonus.
  • Dungeon is the only evil town where Bless is not banned.
  • Dungeon doesn't suffer too much from being slowed down, as only basic Troglodytes have speed 4 (while Rampart, Tower, and Stronghold have some prominent units with speed 3-4).

Cons:

  • Dungeon is quite expensive to build it up.
  • Manticores are one of the weakest level 6 units, have low HP, and even when upgraded to Scorpicores they are significantly weaker than Naga Queens or Dread Knights. Scorpicores are also quite too expensive for their strength, costing more than War Unicorns.
  • Black Dragons are immune to any benevolent spells, including Resurrection.
  • Moreover, Black Dragons are slower than upgraded 7th level units of Castle, Rampart, Inferno, and Conflux. They are immune to Haste and Prayer, which allows Necropolis and Fortress to overtake Dungeon by top speed as well. Finally, their dwelling is very expensive.
  • Basic Pillar of Eyes which is level 3 creature dwelling requires each type of resource, and is necessary to build all higher level creature dwellings. It makes Dungeon possibly the worst town for playing on Impossible level.
  • Though Dungeon has many strong protagonists, it has many issues with heroes as well. Many heroes (Darkstorn, Deemer, Geon, Jaegar, Lorelei) have secondary skills which aren't that useful, and there is no one who specializes in Medusas, who are the only 4th level units without a specialist. Besides that, overlords cannot learn Water Magic, therefore being unable to cast Bless on the entire army, while many Dungeon units have significant damage range (especially Harpies and Minotaurs).
  • If the map has only one layer, Dungeon will get a disadvantage since subterranean terrain is used rarely without underground layer, and in most cases any other faction will get a speed bonus unlike Dungeon.
  • Beware Titans who hate Black Dragons. Titans and Black Dragons have similar stats, possibly sharing 2nd-3rd place in the whole game after Archangels, but Titans have an opportunity to shoot Black Dragons to death, and if Black Dragons force them to melee (which is possible as Black Dragons are faster), Titans will still do 150% damage by retaliation. Impossibility of Black Dragons' resurrection makes it a big problem.
  • Prayer is banned, while this spell may help Red Dragons (but not Black) a lot since they're immune to Bless, Bloodlust, and Haste. (Rampart's Green Dragons are susceptible to Prayer as well, and in Rampart this spell is available.)
  • Subterranean which is Dungeon's native terrain doesn't give any movement penalty to the enemy.

See also