I need some help getting better at HoMM. I bought HoMM1 3 days ago and I've been really enjoying it as I knew I would. I managed to beat some scenarios on the second difficulty with 2 bots set on smart. Quite proud of myself to be honest.
Some tips for the first game would be nice (anything you can think of really) as I'm sure I'll be able to carry most of the knowledge over to the later games in the series (considering the fact that I'll only be going up to IV).

I should note some things, however. First of all I'm in no way a strategist. Despite not being born on time to experience them first hand I have delved into (and found myself to really enjoy) oldschool RPGs so I have the RPG side figured out.

My experience with HoMM actually started many years ago with HoMM 4. I don't want this to turn into a debate thread about which HoMM was the best, but I'll just say HoMM 4 is special to me as it was the first game I ever played. However, back then I was very young. I didn't care about actually playing the game (as in learning how to do so) and I just spent hours gathering all the cool units and listening to the wonderful music. Reason why I'm sharing this information is to let you know that I have some very crude basics down. I'm not starting from 0 but I still have a lot to figure out.

So yeah. Any strategy tips? I guess it's worth mentioning that Knight is my favorite out of the 4 towns in the first game. I assume that the town specific stuff won't be too useful in later games but I'd still appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

Barbarians generally make the best army leaders, since they don't get movement penalties in heavy terrain like desert, and with their high Attack a large army will do max damage.
A Warlock leader is good on smaller with with smaller armies, where damage spells are more decisive.
Warlocks are also good secondary heroes for scouting.

Movement is key. The army moves only as fast the slowest unit.
When picking up resources picking them up diagonally will cost an extra 0.5 movement points.
Use hero chains to get new units to the front ASAP.
Pick up loose resources before your opponents do.

Flag mines ASAP. Especially important on higher difficulties.
Casting View Mines and View Resouces may be a good idea if you have those spells.

Try to build all creature dwellings in week one. Try to make do with your starting troops the first week, to save on money for creature dwellings.

Don't leave your castle undefended, unless the enemey players are blocked by monster stacks. The enemies can see the whole map and will beeline straight for your castle if it is undefended.
It may be a good startegy to leave monster stacks alone if they block the enemy. But OTOH it may also mean that the enemy will sens a larget army in your direction.

Hope this helps.

Try the tactics tutorial map.

https://www.gog.com/forum/heroes_of_might_and_magic_series/advanced_tutorial_map_homm3

He's asking about HoMM1 Those are good tips.

My own favourite faction was the Sorceress (useless speciality unless there is actually a lot of water, in which case it's pretty useful, but I loved the units which were pretty strong, but not too expensive like the warlock), with Barbarian being a close second, (units still strong enough and quite cheap and useful ability; on maps with large desert areas he was my first choice).

I'll add:

_Make use of the fact that in HoMM even a low level hero can cast highest level spells. For example, if you're high on money but low on troops, sometimes Armageddon-suiciders can be used to soften up the enemy.

_I found out that in HoMM 1 in particular, when facing multiple enemies often it's not worth it to spread your forces too thin. Consolidate your wins and wait it out building a strong army. The enemies will attack themselves rather than going after your fortified position. After some time you build up a strong enough force to just go and mop up whoever is left standing. Even if he has defeated the others and has more cities than you, he's likely to be weakened from the attack and have his forces too spread out, and be no match to your concentrated army. Just don't wait out too long, else the enemy will have enough time to build up his forces.

If you want to improve your game in any of the Heroes of Might & Magic versions, implementing a strategy is key to managing and winning as the series was intended to be a strategy version of the Might & Magic role-playing universe.

You mentioned playing Heroes of Might & Magic IV before trying out any of the other versions, then going back to the original Heroes of Might & Magic.

One tip I'd recommend that is consistent with all versions of Heroes games is designating which Hero to be hired as the Champion (which is the main army to defeat all foes) and which Hero to be hired as Caravans (Heroes that transport creatures from Hero to Hero and eventually your Champion).

I'd also strongly recommend studying Chess to learn how to micromanage the creatures in each Hero's army and developing a strategic routine that allows you to control the map that you are playing on.

Try designating which creature stacks in your Hero's army are Pawns and which creature stacks are Bishops, Rooks and Queens. Much like the game of Chess, your Hero is actually the Knight and the castle(s) you control can be considered the role of the King.

Learning how the map works is another tip I'd offer. Well designed maps always have a strategic purpose to winning as effectively and efficiently as possible and knowing how to navigate through a well designed map is key to defeating your opponent(s).

In Heroes of Might & Magic games being somewhat of a strategist is tantamount to not just winning games but having fun winning games without feeling any of the guilt.

:)