Stevie said:

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How come the fungal variant leaves a blocking crystal behind on death and not the crystal one? Does not seem intuitive.

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Gnomes2169 said:

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That list of lineups is missing that H4 also had a creature portal that summoned elementals, the nature skill could eventually summon permanent elementals to join you, and then nature magic also included summoning Fauns and Leprechauns, which were nature-aligned neutral creatures in the game. The H4 lineup was wild.

But anyway, the term "Sylvan" is a term often used for any fey-like creature, which typically includes elves but is not exclusive to them, and in this game the elves seem much more like an imperial, mortal peoples than an inherently supernatural one that lives in the woods. Elemental spirits absolutely fill that criteria, as long as they are more sapient than the more standard mage-crafted servant constructs (yes, including the fire ones, which act as a force of necessary destruction and renewal both in many different woodland mythologies. Forest fires are a naturally occurring thing sometimes. )

So a Sylvan lineup that includes/ incorporates free-willed elemental beings potentially inspired by Conflux works for me. Elves are also already in two different factions (Dungeon and the unnamed Ice one), so if they don't get a creature entry in Sylvan... I'm not going to cry about it.

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Stevie said:

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Alright, I think there's one important point that needs to be made clear: the "Sylvan" identity in this franchise was fully cemented by the time Heroes 5 came out, with Heroes 3's Rampart being the closest NWC town thematically and arguably having laid down its foundation years prior. Heroes 4's Preserve was not a continuation of that theme, but a departure from it, or rather a return to Forest/Sorceress theme, which Rampart itself was a departure from when Heroes 3 came out.

So thematically:
Nature theme: Forest (H1) -> Sorceress (H2) -> Preserve (H4)
Sylvan theme: Rampart (H3) -> Sylvan (H5) -> Sylvan (H7)

So here's the deal. Heroes 3 removed pixies and phoenixes and aligned them with elementals to create Conflux, marking the point when one theme started to split into two. Then they put them back together in Heroes 4, but took the elementals too, which made Preserve feel it basically incorporated Conflux's lineup. Then Heroes 5 came along and reestablished the distinction, removing elementals and phoenixes, but keeping the core: pixies, elves (rangers and druids), unicorns and treants. This was Sylvan, closer to Rampart than to Preserve.

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Stevie said:

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Now, Olden Era removes the core entirely, brings back elementals and phoenixes, and calls it Sylvan. It is more Conflux-like (and therefore more Preserve-like, since it incorporated Conflux) than it is Sylvan. This is misleading and does not preserve the continuity and spirit of the Sylvan theme (established by Heroes 5).

Here is the disclaimer: I don't really mind the pixie-like hoplets, what's basically an earth elemental, and the phoenixes being included in the lineup, even though they have been featured in Conflux and therefore seem to be a part of that theme. What I do mind is tossing out elves (for the first time ever), unicorns and treants and pretending it's still Sylvan. Why not call it Conflux/Preserve then when it has become closer thematically? Or give it a new name like Fae or Murmurwood? Why insist on calling it Sylvan when it's so removed from it?

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