Air Magic:

I consider this skill as a must-have.  Many Air Magics are among the best spells in the entire
game, so making them cost less spellpoints to cast and increasing their effect is really great
for a spellcasting hero.  In medium to large maps, this skill is almost required to be able to win.


     Archery:

Archery is useful from the moment that there are 2 groups of relatively strong ranged attackers
in a hero's army. (not Halflings and Gogs for example)  But I am careful with taking Archery
because ranged attackers are hot targets and die fast, so you could end up with a hero with
Archery but no ranged attackers left.


     Armorer:

Armorer is, like Archery, useful in certain situations.  Although the effect is hardly noticable
sometimes, it does help a lot.  It cannot cover the problem of a very low Defense skill, but for
heroes with high or medium Defense skills it reduces combat damage more than anything
else in the game.


     Artillery:

Artillery is really ony useful for garrison heroes.  It allows them to control the arrow towers
during a siege.  The damage dealt by the ballista is too low to ever be of any significance.
(but a garisson hero without Artillery is often a bad garisson hero)


     Ballistics:

Ballistics is a lower quality skill that can help a supporting hero to attack towns with an army
containing limited amounts of flying creatures/ranged attackers.  As the walls go down faster,
the foot-soldiers can easily get in the castle. (very useful for Fortress and Stronghold armies)


     Diplomacy:

The fact that the cost of surrendering drops is not so much the reason why Diplomacy is
super, but the increased chance that creatures will join the hero's army is.  If you can take
Diplomacy, do it!  Keep in mind that creatures will be more likely to join if you have some
gold in your treasury and if the hero's army already contains that type of creatures.


     Eagle Eye:

Eagle Eye is bad, extremely bad.  I think it is better to conquer the town (and thus learn all
spells there) than to learn a spell from a hero from that town.  To a garrison hero it may have
some use since that hero can then learn spells from the enemy heroes attacking your town.


     Earth Magic:

Even more than Air Magic, Earth Magic is a must-have skill.  Earth Magics are less offensive
than Air Magics, but that doesn't make them less good.  Most of the time, I am using magics
from this school and you really need this skill to complete a medium or large map.


     Estates:

Estates is nice for supporting/garrison heroes, but for a hero with combat value it is not worth it.


     Fire Magic:

In my opinion, lower level spells in the school of Fire Magics are far inferior to lower level spells
in the schools of Air and Earth Magic.  There are a number of powerful higher level spells in this
school, but learning Fire Magic doesn't improve their effect as much as the Air and Earth Magic
secondary skills do in their schools.


     First Aid:

This skill is really worth something for garrison heroes. (especially if first aid tents are available
nearby) It is much less interesting for fighting heroes, though it can be of some use during long
battles.


     Intelligence:

Intelligence is a great skill for higher level spellcasters.  It simply doubles the total amount of
available spellpoints, this means that the hero can explore for a longer period of time without
having to replenish his/her spellpoints.


     Leadership:

Leadership is a major skill.  It is indispensable in mixed armies and a high Morale gives the
hero's troops a serious advantage during battle. (see combat section) In fact, the only situation
where a hero couldn't use Leadership is when that hero would be a Necromancer or a Death
Knight.


     Learning:

Learning is nice in the early game because it speeds up the first level ups.  In small maps this
is a true advantage, but with all other map sizes, it is more of a disadvantage for a main striking
hero. (because it is a secondary skill that doesn't really do anything) The effect slowly becomes
weaker between hero levels 10 and 20, so take Learning in small maps or for supporting heroes.


     Logistics:

The further a hero can travel, the better.  Logistics is a great skill that you should always take.
The more heroes with logistics you have, the faster you will explore and the faster you will grow
strong.


     Luck:

Luck is a nice skill, but not as good as Leadership.  The fact that creatures sometimes deal
double damage in combat is fun, but a second action in combat is a lot better.  I only take
Luck for supporting/garrison heroes or if offered a really bad skill as second choice.


     Mysticism:

Perhaps a tiny bit better than Eagle Eye, this is one of the worst skills there are.  In small maps
and in the early game the faster replenishing can be of some help, unfortunately in most cases
this skill is too weak to be really useful. (10 points/day would be nice)


     Navigation:

Though the effect of Navigation is even bigger than that of Logistics, this skill is only helpful in
maps with truly large bodies of water or for supporting heroes or pirates.  The reason is quite
obvious: no important events take place on oceans, except for battles.  There are no towns,
mines, ...


     Necromancy:

This skill is rubbish if you don't have an undead army.  For Necromancers and Death Knights
however, this skill replaces Leadership with flying colors.  This skill allows its users to build up
incredibly huge Skeleton armies that can make a hero invincible.  Legions of Skeletons are no
exception in Large maps using Necromancy.


     Offense:

Like Armorer, Offense is useful in certain situations.  For heroes with high or medium Attack
skills it boosts combat damage a lot.


     Pathfinding:

Pathfinding is absolutely necessary in maps with lots of rough terrain.  In maps without or with
just a little bit of rough terrain it is completely useless.  I start using Pathfinding when there are
more than 3-4 screens of rough terrain, but it starts being useful from 2 screens off I guess.


     Resistance:

Like Mysticism, I think Resistance could be a relatively powerful skill if the effect was bigger.
20% chance at expert level is much too low (1 out of 5 turns).  This skill is better than
Mysticism though.  For a hero with lots of creatures that have magical resistance already, this
skill increases their effectiveness and could be quite useful indeed. (Rampart heroes for
example)


     Scholar:

Scolar is extremely bad, not much better than Eagle Eye, if even better.  Could be useful for
supporting heroes that start teaching spells to each other, but for any hero with combat value,
it is really worthless.


     Scouting:

Scouting is positively the very worst skill you can imagine.  Its only possible purpose could be
a safer exploration of unknown territory. (you see somewhat further, so you can see danger
coming your way a little bit earlier)  But even for secondary heroes this is a useless skill, so
never take it.


     Sorcery:

Like Armorer and Offense, Sorcery is all right in certain situations.  For heroes with a high Spell
power, it increases damage done by the hero's spells.  Sorcery is less good than Armorer and
Offense because the effect is only half as big and a hero can cast but one spell per turn, and a
lot more combat damage is dealt/received each turn.


     Tactics:

Tactics is great.  Though its effect is limited to combat only, the advantage a hero with Tactics
has is incredible.  For one thing, you can arrange your troops before combat, hereby avoiding
obstruction by obstacles.  It allows you to position your creatures in the best tactical formation
possible for the upcoming battle.  You can also move your creatures forward on the battlefield.
This is great for all kinds of armies, (fast or slow) to speed things up and overrun the enemy
creatures with all yours on the first turn.


     Water Magic:

The school of Water Magics is rather weak, except for a few powerful spells.  Like the Fire
Magic skill, I would only take this skill if the other skill to choose from is worse or if you have
access to powerful spells from the school of Water Magics.  The spells from this school
benefit more from the Water Magic skill than the spells from the Fire Magic school do from
the Fire Magic skill.


     Wisdom:

What can I say, only in a small map (without sub-level) a hero could perhaps do without
Wisdom.  Not having Wisdom in larger maps decreases your chance of winning more than
anything else.  A hero with any combat value should have Wisdom, it is the best skill a hero
can learn.