Movement
This article refers to the movement of heroes on the Adventure Map. For the movement of creatures in combat, see speed.
Movement refers to a hero's capability to travel on the Adventure Map. At the beginning of each day a hero has certain amount of movement points, which are consumed as the hero moves on the map. Moving from one tile to another consumes movement points at different rate depending on terrain, roads and direction of the movement. The hero cannot move any further, when they have no movement points or too few of them to move to the next square.
Moving diagonally on the map consumes 1.41 (square root of 2) times the points compared to moving vertically or horizontally. Moving on swamp, snow, sand or rough terrains consumes hero's movement points more than other types of terrain. This is called terrain penalty.
The movement points of heroes are completely renewed at the beginning of each day. They cannot be stored or preserved over to next day. The amount of movement points depends on many factors, but mainly on the speed of the slowest creature in the hero's army and possible Logistics/Navigation secondary skill.
It should be noted, that in the original manual of Heroes of Might and Magic III, movement refers to the method of moving, which is either flying or ground. The main difference between these two is, that flying creatures can fly over obstacles (e.g. walls) while creatures moving on ground must go around them (if able).
Initial points at the beginning of the day
| Creature speed |
Base movement |
|---|---|
| 3 | 1500 |
| 4 | 1560 |
| 5 | 1630 |
| 6 | 1700 |
| 7 | 1760 |
| 8 | 1830 |
| 9 | 1900 |
| 10 | 1960 |
| 11 or more | 2000 |
The movement points of heroes are renewed at the beginning of each day, and the exact amount given depends on the following factors:
- Logistics or Navigation
- Hero specialty Logistics or Navigation
- The speed of slowest creature in hero's army
- Adventure Map locations:
- Stables (also a Castle specific structure)
- Lighthouse (also a Castle specific structure)
- Watering Place
- Artifacts:
The main factor for movement affecting all heroes is the slowest creature in the army. Every hero has a daily base movement of 1900 points, which is reduced if the hero has a creature with speed lower than 9, and increased if it is higher but no more than up to 2000 points. The effect of the slowest creature to the initial movement points can be seen in the table on the right. Artifacts increasing creatures' speed (like Necklace of Swiftness), the hero speciality of Sir Mullich and native terrain bonuses don't affect the base movement, but a hero’s creature specialty does.
Heroes with Logistics gain extra movement points on land, while heroes with Navigation gain extra movement points while in a boat. Heroes with Logistic or Navigation specialty further increases this bonus depending on their level. Stables gives +300 400 
movement points per day for a visiting hero for the rest of the week, while each Lighthouse the kingdom controls gives +500 movement points over water (in a boat) for all the kingdom's heroes. While visiting several Stables is not cumulative, owning several Lighthouses is. Both structures are also Castle specific buildings, but work in a similar way as the Adventure Map locations.
During a single day, a hero can gain additional movement points by visiting Fountain of youth, Oasis, Rally Flag, or Watering Hole or Mineral Spring . They all give certain amount of points for the rest of the day or until next battle. Their effect is not cumulative, but if there happens to be chance to fight nearby, they can give their movement (and other) bonus several times per day. Additionally, Swan Pond can consume all the remaining movement points when visited effectively ending the hero's movement for that day. Watering Place works similarly and consumes all the remaining movement points but it also gives +1000 movement points for the next day.
Consumption of the movement points
| Terrain | % | Str. step |
Diag. step |
|---|---|---|---|
.gif){kind=small} Dirt.gif){kind=small} Grass.gif){kind=small} Lava.gif){kind=small} Subterranean.gif){kind=small} Water.gif){kind=small} Highlands |
100% | 100 | 141 |
.gif){kind=small} Rough.gif){kind=small} Wasteland |
125% | 125 | 176 |
.gif){kind=small} Sand.gif){kind=small} Snow |
150% | 150 | 212 |
.gif){kind=small} Swamp |
175% | 175 | 247 |
_32x32.gif){kind=small} Dirt road |
75% | 75 | 106 |
_32x32.gif){kind=small} Gravel road |
65% | 65 | 91 |
_32x32.gif){kind=small} Cobblestone road |
50% | 50 | 70 |
| Favorable Winds | 66% | 66 | 93 |
A hero consumes the movement points while moving on the map. The basic cost for moving horizontally or vertically is 100 points and 141 points for moving diagonally (100 times square root of 2). Terrain penalty will increase this cost to 175% on swamp, 150% on snow or sand and 125% on rough or wasteland . Other types of terrain do not cause penalty. To move into a new tile hero must have at least as many movement points as the basic cost. The preceding is true with one notable, complex and buggy exception.
All creatures (except neutral creatures) have a native terrain, which means that if a hero is moving on a terrain with terrain penalty, and all the creatures in hero's army are native to that terrain, the terrain penalty is eliminated. This basically concerns the following towns: Fortress and Cove whose creatures have swamp as native terrain, Tower whose creatures have snow, Stronghold whose creatures have rough, and Factory whose creatures have wasteland. Additionally, a hero can eliminate the sand terrain penalty if he has at least one Nomad on his army, because of their sandwalker special ability.Visiting a Trailblazer will reduce the penalty for wasteland to 75% until the end of the week. Also, the expert level of the Pathfinding secondary skill completely eliminates terrain penalties.
Moving on roads is also an exception to terrain penalty rule. No matter where the roads are laid, they always have a fixed movement cost.
If a hero moves from one terrain to another, the movement points consumption will depend on:
- Terrain ⇄ Terrain move - starting tile;
- Road ⇄ Terrain move - terrain tile;
- Road ⇄ Road move - starting tile;
- Water ⇄ Favorable Winds move - starting tile.
Diagonal move exception
If a hero has fewer movement points than the number of points needed for a diagonal move on a roadless terrain (basic cost 141 points), but at least the number of points needed to make a straight move on a roadless terrain (basic cost 100 points), it's still possible to make a diagonal move as the last move in the hero's turn. The above applies to both penalty and non-penalty terrains - so e. g. for the hero on a swamp the diagonal move is possible when the hero has fewer than 247 but at least 175 movement points.
The above holds on terrain tiles without roads. Roads complicate the issue significantly, because their presence isn't taken into account when calculating the conditions for the cheaper diagonal move, but is taken into account when the game deducts movement points after the move. As a result the cheaper diagonal move along the road might not be the last move of the hero. E. g. when the hero is on a grass terrain (basic movement cost 100 points) and has more than 100 but less than 141 points, he can move diagonally along the cobblestone road for the cost of only 50 points. He will be left with less than 100 but more than 50 points, which enables him to move along the road once again. On high penalty terrains like swamp it's even possible to achieve two diagonal moves at a cheaper cost in a row.
Due to the bug the cheaper diagonal move also isn't the last possible move for heroes who find themselves on a penalty terrain when they lead armies comprised entirely of creatures native to that terrain. In this case the game oddly 'forgets' about the terrain penalty elimination and allows the diagonal move only if the hero has at least the number of movement points needed to make a straight move calculated including terrain penalty. As a result the cheaper diagonal last move is generally unattainable for armies native to swamp and snow - because straight off-road move with penalty costs 175 and 150 points, respectively, which is greater than at most 140 points remaining with hero in this scenario.
As a corollary to the above the cheaper diagonal last move is possible for native armies of rough and wasteland - if a hero leading it has less than 141 movement points but at least 125 points.
It's also possible if there are other than terrain nativity means of reducing penalty to movement, namely:
- Pathfinding skill
- Wayfarer's Boots
In case of the latter or Expert Pathfinding, the cheaper diagonal movement is possible in the same way as on non-penalty terrain. With lower levels of Pathfinding the last cheaper diagonal move for creatures native to penalty terrain is possible if the number of remaining hero's movement points is greater or equal to the straight move cost calculated after applying the skill. E. g. Advanced Pathfinding reduces the cost of straight move on roadless swamp to 125 points, hence the cheaper last diagonal move for swamp creatures is possible when the hero has at least that number of movement points. On roadless snow Advanced Pathfinding reduces straight move cost to 100 points, hence the cheaper last diagonal move for snow creatures is possible in the same way as on non-penalty terrain.
While possibility of using the diagonal move exception as a last move is limited because of the above bug, the game enables heroes with armies comprised solely of creatures native to the given terrain to move diagonally off-road at a reduced cost of 100 points when straight movement cost calculated after applying Pathfinding skill (but not including native terrain penalty elimination):
- equals 125 and the hero has between 141 and 176 movement points left,
- equals 150 and the hero has between 150 and 212 movement points left,
- equals 175 and the hero has between 175 and 247 movement points left.
In case of movement along the road the above conditions for cheaper moves are the same but reduced cost might be less than 100 points, sometimes giving the hero opportunity to move diagonally for a lower prices twice.
Movement points consumption when flying
| Terrain |
+ Basic |
+ Advanced |
+ Expert | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Magic* |
Straight move |
Diag. move |
Straight move |
Diag. move |
Straight move |
Diag. move |
Straight move |
Diag. move | |
|
|
bas: adv: exp: |
140 120 100 |
197 169 141 |
not affected | |||||
| bas: adv: exp: |
140 120 100 |
197 169 141 |
140 120 100 |
197 169 141 |
125 120 100 |
176 169 141 |
100 | 141 | |
| bas: adv: exp: |
140 120 100 |
197 169 141 |
125 120 100 |
176 169 141 |
100 | 141 | 100 | 141 | |
| bas: adv: exp: |
125 120 100 |
176 169 141 |
100 | 141 | 100 | 141 | 100 | 141 | |
| 100 | 141 | not affected | |||||||
| 75 | 106 | not affected | |||||||
| 65 | 91 | not affected | |||||||
| 50 | 70 | not affected | |||||||
| * The spell effect without Air Magic skill is equivalent to the basic level of the skill. ** Favorable winds do not affect movement under the Fly spell. | |||||||||
.gif){kind=small}
Calculation
M = (B + L + A + S) × T
where:
- M = movement points
- B = base movement
- L = Logistic/Navigation bonus
- A = Artifact bonus
- S = Stable/Lighthouse bonus
- T = Terrain penalty
Base movement is a hero's number of movement points before any bonuses from secondary skills, artifacts, or adventure map locations are included. On water, base movement is always 1500. On land, it is determined by the slowest creature in a hero's army. Base movement is as low as 1500 when the slowest creature has a speed of 3, and as high as 2000 when it has a speed of 11 or more (see table). Base movement is calculated only at the beginning of each day. As a result, heroes cannot earn movement points during the day by transferring their slowest creatures, nor do they lose movement points when receiving even slower creatures.
Two secondary skills, Logistics and Navigation, increase a hero's movement. Basic Logistics increases base movement on land by 10% (5% in HotA), advanced Logistics adds 20% (10% in HotA), and expert Logistics 30% (20% in HotA). Basic Navigation increases base movement on water by 50%, advanced Navigation adds 100%, and expert Navigation 150%. Logistics and Navigation do not affect bonuses from artifacts and adventure map locations. This bonus can furthermore be increased if the hero has Logistics or Navigation specialty.
Heroes gain additional movement points when wearing certain artifacts at the beginning of a day.
Boots of Speed give +400 600 points on land
Equestrian's Gloves give +200 300 points on land
Necklace of Ocean Guidance gives +1000 points on water
Sea Captain's Hat gives +500 points on water.
Furthermore, visiting a Watering Place on the previous day gives +1000 movement points, Stables gives +300 400 movement points per day for a visiting hero for the rest of the week, while each Lighthouse the kingdom controls gives +500 movement points. When all these area summed up, it is multiplied with (possible) terrain penalty. And that is how the initial movement points for each day is calculated.
Obtaining movement points
Heroes can obtain movement points by visiting the following adventure map locations:
- Stables give +300 400 movement points
- Fountain of Youth gives +400 movement points
- Rally Flag gives +400 movement points
- Watering Hole gives +400 movement points
- Mineral Spring gives +600 movement points
- Oasis gives +800 movement points.
Heroes can also obtain movement points from Pandora's Boxes or Events .
Pandora Boxes and Events altering movement points
In Hota, Pandora's Boxes and Events can alter movement points in the following ways:
- Give: Extra movement points are added to the available ones and can exceed the initial movement points for that day,
- Take: Movement points are taken away from the available ones,
- Nullify: All movement points are taken away and the hero can no longer move,
- Set: Replaces the current number of movement points with another number,
- Replenish: Extra movement points are added to the available ones, but they cannot exceed the initial number of movement points for that day.
