The Warrior, as the name implies, is a hero of little words, but one you definitely don't want to cross. Warrior heroes benefit from better troops than other classes, thanks to the improved attack and defense, and the ability to add some abilities to certain units. Seeing as the Warrior hero relies on his troops for damage and killing, this also means his rage counter will be quite high, translating into a higher use of the spirits of the chest. What are these? Well, wouldn't you like to know... Oh don't worry, I'll get to them soon enough.

The Paladin is a mix of the Warrior and the Mage, with abilities that come sooner into play than those of the Warrior or the Mage. The improved leadership of the Paladin and the fact that Paladin heroes receive more experience is a very important factor. This means that Paladin heroes will have a higher level than their counterparts, as well as more creatures. Also keep in mind that Paladin heroes can upgrade priests to inquisitors that have the all useful ability to resurrect fallen troops. Did I mention that you also have diplomacy, and that before each fight there is a chance that troops from the enemy side will join you? Well, I just did.

The Mage on the other hand, is so focused on his spells that he doesn't seem to notice that there aren't any troops left on the battlefield to stop that angry Cyclops. Mage heroes rely on their spells (who would have though, eh?) to end the fight quickly and efficiently. If fights take longer than predicted, and especially if the Mage runs out of mana, then losses will be quite high. The Mage's specialty that allows him to cast two spells each combat round will prove to be an enormous help as spells start getting stronger and stronger. Leadership is low though, so keep an eye out for leadership improving items, flags and so on.

I said before that the hero you choose at the beginning stays with you until the very end, but this does not mean for example that you can't combine a little of the Warrior skills with those of the Mage or Paladin. The hero skill tree that resembles the Diablo 2 and WoW skill tree offers each hero the option of choosing what skills to invest in, with the highest ranked skills of each tree available only to their respective hero. Of course, there are low level skills that are worth investing in, so check all skill trees before deciding.

Each skill upgrade requires runes, runes that are of three types and are obtained either when leveling up, or by finding them on the world map. The type of runes received at level up is different for each hero, and also their number. Warrior hero will receive mostly Might runes, for example, while Paladins will receive Mind runes. Of course you will also receive a small number of other types of runes, but the majority of your runes will correspond to your hero class, and a lot of them are required to achieve the highest ranked skills. Of course, trying Warrior skill on the Mage, for example, is also encouraged by the game seeing as you will find your mage hero with 20 Might runes and no place in his skill tree to spend them on.

The third most notable difference between Heroes of Might and Magic and King's Bounty is that there are no resources in King's Bounty, other than leadership, gold, and the three different types of runes for skills. There are also some crystals required for upgrading your spells, but they seem to be plentiful, so they're not an issue. Leadership refers to how many troops you can have in your army, if you haven't figured it out yet, and gold... well, I'm sure you know what this is for. The higher the level of a creature is, the higher its leadership requirements will be, so you won't be getting a dragon, for example, for quite a long while. Spells can be upgraded, as I said, by having the corresponding skill and the required number of crystals, but upgrading them all is not worth it, as there are some that I've never personally used. Upgrading them is an important part for the mage, seeing that spells are after all his main source of damage, but acquiring the required number of runes will prove to be the difficult part. Spells will get a major boost in damage and duration after each of the two possible upgrades, so don't skip this part.

I also mentioned earlier that there are two types of quests: those given by the King, a.k.a. main quests, and all the other, a.k.a. secondary, or side quests. They are your "bread and butter", as the saying goes, and the rewards they provide will be invaluable. Quests can be obtained from friendly troops on the map, or by talking to people in castles, taverns and other locations. They are very diverse and can range from bringing several types of units to a priest, saving a boy from werewolves, or finding a skeleton its missing head. Often, quests will take you into combat with troops defending castles, or with "keepers". The "keepers" are the protectors of powerful artifacts, and have to be defeated in order to upgrade certain items, certainly an interesting addition. These fights are by no means easy, and extra care should be taken when facing the keepers and their annoying, spell casting towers.