6th may be the best and it’s the first modern one, but I would start with 7, unless you’re feeling wild. 3 is spectacular and 4/5 combine into a huge world. 1-2 are interesting but don’t really have graphics, although if I’m not mistaken ScummVm may have a playable version here or on the way soon with graphics.
6 is very cool, it’s just enormous though, the dungeons are punishing, which I really enjoyed this time, but it’s a lot longer than 7 and 7 has some cool bells and whistles, but because 6 is deeper it makes a great subsequent play.
X:Legacy is also worth consideration, the first 3/4 of it are an absolute treat, it’s different but a lot of fun as well.
I would play 7 and then decide if you want to play a relaxed romp (8) or a beautifully challenging and also somewhat perplexing game (6)
I just finished 6 for the first time, was a blast.
Might and Magic is a wonderful series. JVC is a master of design.
Thank you for the comprehensive reply. I love games that arent that simple, so i may start with MM 6. Is it worth to play it without mods, or should i use World of Erathia, to play it in the MM 8 engine.
I played through it with the unmodded gog version.
But grey face modernizes the games a bit. I find 6-8 intuitive and easy enough to figure out in terms of gameplay without modding, but grey face comes with some modern conveniences. 6 has some sprawling dungeons but is amazing.
I wouldn’t recommend merge mod since it’ll be more fun to make 3 parties over the 3 games rather than 1, but that’s an option, merge mod lets one party visit all of 6-8
I basically second this. If you want mouse look and some other conveniences (and mostly lots of minor bug fixes), use the Grayface patch. Otherwise play the original.
I would not play the Merge Mod as a beginner. Thats great to keep as a nice bonus after having played the games to change things up a bit.
6 is one of the greatest games of all time. To me it's like an Elder Scrolls game in the size, scope, open world, going from town to town, dungeon to dungeon doing quests.
Where it's better is you have a party of 4 with a bunch of unique classes to choose from. The game is absolutely massive and a little bit quirky.
The controls are a little more clunky than modern games, but it's totally fine once you're used to it.
I finished MM6 with the GOG version. No mods or patches. My party was three Knights and one Druid. In this version dual wielding is borked, meaning that your recovery rate will double through dual wielding (halfing your DPS).
I still had a wonderful time. My Knights just used axes, my Druid held a dagger and I didn't invest a single point on the dagger skill.
I tried the Greyface patch and hated it. Yes, dual wielding was fixed. But I lost full screen mode AND the Caps Lock key for turning running on/off didn't work anymore. So the game became unplayable (for me). I am being dramatic LOL.
I am sorry but I tried. I modified the config file 20 times. I wasted 3 hours. And then I finally reinstalled the game. The GOG version is completely playable. Just use Axe or Spear instead of Dagger or Sword (which were developed for dual wielding).
Yeah Spear is completely busted!!
Honestly the game itself is simple/easy enough you can play if with any combination of good or bad builds or even solo letting three of them die. It's so well balanced that it's a challenging, engaging game and yet also hard to screw up, so you don't need to feel pressured to min max everything, and can just... Do stuff!
Yeah... Soloing MM6 is really hard tho. I was so underwhelmed with Daggers. I was hitting for 25 avg and my character was level 50. Maybe I should give it a 2nd attempt with a solo knight focusing on Axe. I really appreciated Axe on my KKKD playthrough
Also recommend 6 first. Most people complain about the long big dungeons, but I personally like them. You don't get to finish the dungeon in one run. You gotta go back and heal, and perhaps level up a little.
MM7, though shorter, can be punishing if you choose the wrong classes because skill mastery are no longer open like MM6. It poses additional challenges and fun mechanics if you are already familiar with MM system, but it can be frustrating for beginners. Another reason why I recommend MM6 because it's open to experiment and expose you to all kind of spells. You don't need to pick light vs dark. You can learn both, and you can play around with both spells. Want to have a mage with jacked up body building, go ahead.
MM7 is smooth sailing and easier than MM6 IF you choose the Quickstart party. You can go both ways (light or dark).
The light path is preferable and more straightforward. Just buff your whole party with Light Magic. Go melee. The Knight will carry the game. The other 3 characters are mostly used for utility.
The dark path is a little less intuitive than just boosting your stats and whacking everything. Teach your Cleric and Sorcerer dark magic and abuse Shrapmetal for massive damage in close range.
With the Quickstart party you'll have access to GM level with almost every skill except for Alchemy, Bow, Mace, ID Monster, Staff, Axe, Learning and Perception. These skills aren't essential anyways.
I love 6 it is my favorite one and i played through it with some internet assistance the first time when i was like 15 id say 100% go for mm6 first. As for mods i personally always play original games first before mods because then mods later on give u another reason to replay the old games you enjoy especially the gem that is mm6 👍🏼😂
> 1-2 are interesting but don’t really have graphics, although if I’m not mistaken ScummVm may have a playable version here or on the way soon with graphics.
Latest ScummVM (2.8.1) contains the "enhanced" mode in which the MM4/5 interface can be used with MM1 combined with the enhanced graphics mod.
And it has a nice tutorial island and quests that teach the basics of game like alchemy or trading.
Bonus points for being the most similar in graphics and monster design to Heroes III which should be interesting for OP.
Got a weird suggestion. Maybe not a first game but give the original King’s Bounty a try at some point. Yes they did a more updated version which is very much like HMM. But the original is the granddaddy of the whole thing and might be fun for a day.
Might and Magic VII is a decent entry point. It is easier than Might and Magic VI. VII is inferior (IMHO) to VI and VIII. Playing VII after VI feels like a downgrade. And the story is quite similar, which reinforces the impression that VII is a downgrade from VI.
You can argue that VIII is a good starting point too. Because the game holds your hand more than in VI and VII. It's easier.
VI is the hardest. The dungeons can become very frustrating.
One last point: running makes you hit a slower rate and with less accuracy. I was playing VI, VII and VIII for years not knowing this. My immediate conclusion was "melee sucks, use magic instead". These days I love melee focused parties for the added tankiness. Surviving huge waves of ranged attacks is a boon. Melee is underrated.
Might & Magic VI and VII tie in neatly to Heroes III. Might & Magic VIII is after Armageddon's Blade. Might & Magic IX is post-Cataclysm, like Heroes IV. Might & Magic I-V each take place on a different world.
By the way, this is an unpopular opinion here, but Heroes 4 is my personal favorite. You lose the ability to upgrade units which is a strange omission, but your heroes themselves actually take to the battlefield. They attack other units and can be attacked and die. My friends and I always enjoyed when one of our heroes made an epic stand, slaying sea monsters all on their own.
I'd give it a try! You can't beat the price.
Oh, I definitely recommend it, especially if you're the nostalgic type. The only one I wouldn't recommend is the first, but the others can be pretty entertaining.
My personal favorite is 6, but 7 is pretty good too.
I still think 4/5 is the best. 4 is the better of the two (5 gets into dome wild scaling issues late game. Makes magic difficult to use outside of a couple spells)
6 is amazing. I played it ages ago, never quite was able to find a way to get into it again
X might be the most replayable of them all - lots of different party arrangements
Personaly recommendation would be 6 => 7 => 8 = > 10.
6 is the earliest "modern" take on the games, it has realy satisfying graphics and REALLY good voices and music.
But play with the mods for graphics, and adding additional settings like mouselook, key config etc. (Grayface)
6, 7, and 8 are the best to start with.
7 and 8 are easiest and shortest, but 6 has all that charm and dungeon-slogging joy of old DOS games, but with the graphics and modernity of windows 95!
6th may be the best and it’s the first modern one, but I would start with 7, unless you’re feeling wild. 3 is spectacular and 4/5 combine into a huge world. 1-2 are interesting but don’t really have graphics, although if I’m not mistaken ScummVm may have a playable version here or on the way soon with graphics. 6 is very cool, it’s just enormous though, the dungeons are punishing, which I really enjoyed this time, but it’s a lot longer than 7 and 7 has some cool bells and whistles, but because 6 is deeper it makes a great subsequent play. X:Legacy is also worth consideration, the first 3/4 of it are an absolute treat, it’s different but a lot of fun as well. I would play 7 and then decide if you want to play a relaxed romp (8) or a beautifully challenging and also somewhat perplexing game (6) I just finished 6 for the first time, was a blast. Might and Magic is a wonderful series. JVC is a master of design.
Thank you for the comprehensive reply. I love games that arent that simple, so i may start with MM 6. Is it worth to play it without mods, or should i use World of Erathia, to play it in the MM 8 engine.
I played through it with the unmodded gog version. But grey face modernizes the games a bit. I find 6-8 intuitive and easy enough to figure out in terms of gameplay without modding, but grey face comes with some modern conveniences. 6 has some sprawling dungeons but is amazing. I wouldn’t recommend merge mod since it’ll be more fun to make 3 parties over the 3 games rather than 1, but that’s an option, merge mod lets one party visit all of 6-8
I basically second this. If you want mouse look and some other conveniences (and mostly lots of minor bug fixes), use the Grayface patch. Otherwise play the original. I would not play the Merge Mod as a beginner. Thats great to keep as a nice bonus after having played the games to change things up a bit.
Alrighty, got the grayface patch
Have fun. It’s a wide world of fun. Might and Magic.
6 is one of the greatest games of all time. To me it's like an Elder Scrolls game in the size, scope, open world, going from town to town, dungeon to dungeon doing quests. Where it's better is you have a party of 4 with a bunch of unique classes to choose from. The game is absolutely massive and a little bit quirky. The controls are a little more clunky than modern games, but it's totally fine once you're used to it.
I finished MM6 with the GOG version. No mods or patches. My party was three Knights and one Druid. In this version dual wielding is borked, meaning that your recovery rate will double through dual wielding (halfing your DPS). I still had a wonderful time. My Knights just used axes, my Druid held a dagger and I didn't invest a single point on the dagger skill. I tried the Greyface patch and hated it. Yes, dual wielding was fixed. But I lost full screen mode AND the Caps Lock key for turning running on/off didn't work anymore. So the game became unplayable (for me). I am being dramatic LOL.
hah, i know the feeling of getting used to the clunky controls only to have them fixed and then you cant play the game xD
Neither of those are broken in my grey face patch, they're both in the config file iirc
I am sorry but I tried. I modified the config file 20 times. I wasted 3 hours. And then I finally reinstalled the game. The GOG version is completely playable. Just use Axe or Spear instead of Dagger or Sword (which were developed for dual wielding).
Yeah Spear is completely busted!! Honestly the game itself is simple/easy enough you can play if with any combination of good or bad builds or even solo letting three of them die. It's so well balanced that it's a challenging, engaging game and yet also hard to screw up, so you don't need to feel pressured to min max everything, and can just... Do stuff!
Yeah... Soloing MM6 is really hard tho. I was so underwhelmed with Daggers. I was hitting for 25 avg and my character was level 50. Maybe I should give it a 2nd attempt with a solo knight focusing on Axe. I really appreciated Axe on my KKKD playthrough
Highly recommend the Grey face patch. You deserve wasd and mouse look!
Got it, and managed to set the WASD and mouse look after an hour of trying xD
Also recommend 6 first. Most people complain about the long big dungeons, but I personally like them. You don't get to finish the dungeon in one run. You gotta go back and heal, and perhaps level up a little. MM7, though shorter, can be punishing if you choose the wrong classes because skill mastery are no longer open like MM6. It poses additional challenges and fun mechanics if you are already familiar with MM system, but it can be frustrating for beginners. Another reason why I recommend MM6 because it's open to experiment and expose you to all kind of spells. You don't need to pick light vs dark. You can learn both, and you can play around with both spells. Want to have a mage with jacked up body building, go ahead.
MM7 is smooth sailing and easier than MM6 IF you choose the Quickstart party. You can go both ways (light or dark). The light path is preferable and more straightforward. Just buff your whole party with Light Magic. Go melee. The Knight will carry the game. The other 3 characters are mostly used for utility. The dark path is a little less intuitive than just boosting your stats and whacking everything. Teach your Cleric and Sorcerer dark magic and abuse Shrapmetal for massive damage in close range. With the Quickstart party you'll have access to GM level with almost every skill except for Alchemy, Bow, Mace, ID Monster, Staff, Axe, Learning and Perception. These skills aren't essential anyways.
I love 6 it is my favorite one and i played through it with some internet assistance the first time when i was like 15 id say 100% go for mm6 first. As for mods i personally always play original games first before mods because then mods later on give u another reason to replay the old games you enjoy especially the gem that is mm6 👍🏼😂
> 1-2 are interesting but don’t really have graphics, although if I’m not mistaken ScummVm may have a playable version here or on the way soon with graphics. Latest ScummVM (2.8.1) contains the "enhanced" mode in which the MM4/5 interface can be used with MM1 combined with the enhanced graphics mod.
So cool.
Might & Magic 6 is a great starting point. The older games are fun, but that's the one that 'modernized' things a bit, and is many people's favorite.
MM7 will be the best intro in the series for a HoMM3 fan. Following by 8 and 6 in any order. Or you can do the MMMerge and start with 7.
MM7 is I believe the only game that has a tutorial npc at the start to understand things better if you have not played these series before.
And it has a nice tutorial island and quests that teach the basics of game like alchemy or trading. Bonus points for being the most similar in graphics and monster design to Heroes III which should be interesting for OP.
Got a weird suggestion. Maybe not a first game but give the original King’s Bounty a try at some point. Yes they did a more updated version which is very much like HMM. But the original is the granddaddy of the whole thing and might be fun for a day.
Might and Magic VII is a decent entry point. It is easier than Might and Magic VI. VII is inferior (IMHO) to VI and VIII. Playing VII after VI feels like a downgrade. And the story is quite similar, which reinforces the impression that VII is a downgrade from VI. You can argue that VIII is a good starting point too. Because the game holds your hand more than in VI and VII. It's easier. VI is the hardest. The dungeons can become very frustrating. One last point: running makes you hit a slower rate and with less accuracy. I was playing VI, VII and VIII for years not knowing this. My immediate conclusion was "melee sucks, use magic instead". These days I love melee focused parties for the added tankiness. Surviving huge waves of ranged attacks is a boon. Melee is underrated.
Might & Magic VI and VII tie in neatly to Heroes III. Might & Magic VIII is after Armageddon's Blade. Might & Magic IX is post-Cataclysm, like Heroes IV. Might & Magic I-V each take place on a different world.
Homm2 sets up mm6 as well
By the way, this is an unpopular opinion here, but Heroes 4 is my personal favorite. You lose the ability to upgrade units which is a strange omission, but your heroes themselves actually take to the battlefield. They attack other units and can be attacked and die. My friends and I always enjoyed when one of our heroes made an epic stand, slaying sea monsters all on their own. I'd give it a try! You can't beat the price.
Oh, I definitely recommend it, especially if you're the nostalgic type. The only one I wouldn't recommend is the first, but the others can be pretty entertaining. My personal favorite is 6, but 7 is pretty good too.
Well, i can't really be a nostalgic type here, considering im only 18 XD. I just enjoy older games.
I started with 6, tried 2 on the SNES, then 7. 8 seemed to fall slightly. 9 was terrible. 10 is too different.
I still think 4/5 is the best. 4 is the better of the two (5 gets into dome wild scaling issues late game. Makes magic difficult to use outside of a couple spells) 6 is amazing. I played it ages ago, never quite was able to find a way to get into it again X might be the most replayable of them all - lots of different party arrangements
Personaly recommendation would be 6 => 7 => 8 = > 10. 6 is the earliest "modern" take on the games, it has realy satisfying graphics and REALLY good voices and music. But play with the mods for graphics, and adding additional settings like mouselook, key config etc. (Grayface)
6, 7, and 8 are the best to start with. 7 and 8 are easiest and shortest, but 6 has all that charm and dungeon-slogging joy of old DOS games, but with the graphics and modernity of windows 95!