I grew up playing Might and Magic II, and I remember a feature where, for easier combat, I could push "control-A". and my characters would use their weapons or what have you, so that I'm not pushing half a dozen buttons to get through a combat round. Just holding those two buttons would make my characters attack, block, etc. My question is this: is there a certain button(s) I would need to push so that my fighters would attack with a weapon, and my magic users cast the quick spell? It would make things much easier that way.

There is no way to set a quick spell in MM2 unfortunately.

From the manual:

What about 'auto-combat'? Ever considered using that feature?

Wasn't 'auto-combat' introduced in Heroes of Might & Magic II... or Heroes of Might & Magic III?

The OP is referring to Might and Magic II, not Heroes of Might and Magic II. Confusing names, I know, but they're very different games; the Heroes series are strategy games while the original Might and Magic games are first-person party-based RPGs.

Oh my gosh! How embarrassing!!!

:/

Thanks and my apologies.

:)

Wait, just for clarification, if I hold down Control-A, it's either melee, missle weappon or block? i have my two casters with missle spells, and as for my two fighters one has melee and one has ranged. If I use Control-A for combat, will everyone attack, or will my casters just block?

I believe your casters will attack physically if able (that is, either melee combat is possible or a ranged weapon is equipped). Spells will not be used.

Remember that the number of characters who can participate in melee combat isn't constant.

To make combat faster, disable sounds; this way, the game doesn't pause for a sound every time you kill an enemy (and at higher levels, there can be a lot of enemies to kill).

I know I have had this game for a while but never really got into it, and now that I am ready to play, I still have a few questions... in combat, how do I cast spells - both offensive and defensive? How often does each area in the game re-spawn? Can someone give any suggestions about the first dungeon – I believe it is called Goblin Watch? I was a bit intimidated when I got to the park with the combination room, but figured that one out fairly quickly. I have been using the “Control-A maneuver” to dispatch any enemies that I come across. But that hasn't been totally lucrative – I have to employ the hit-and-run technique so that I don't lose one of my characters to death. I have cleared out the main floor, but die upon finding a group of enemies in the hole that leads to a lower level. I can't run from them. Any suggestions?

Spells are cast with a command during battle. You press the indicated key, then type the level of the spell, then the index within the level. For example, to cast the fourth 3rd level spell, you type 3 4. You might want to have a sheet handy that lists the spells.

Each area re-spawns as soon as you leave it, including treasure and permanent stat boosts. There are a few cases where a treasure won't appear if you have it already, but if you drop or sell the item it will reappear when you revisit the area. Loading a save will also make the area respawn. To put it another way, the game does not keep permanent track of the state of each area; it isn't like later games in the series.

Of note, a character who is at 0 HP is not dead; any HP restoring spell will revive the character. As long as someone has positive HP, that character can't be killed by any amount of damage.

Edit: The advice here (and in my earlier posts in the topic) is for Might and Magic 2.

First and foremost, I am playing Might and Magic VI. It's been said that to cast a spell, I need to push a key, the level of the spelll and then the spell index. I know how to pull up the character's spell book, but I am hoping there is a key I can push in combat to cast a spell, without having to go as far as opening the spellbook and select the appropriate spell threrein.spells. I had heard before that each area respawns at it's own rate, but that rate is different for each area. I was hoping someone could give me a list or something indicating the respawn rate for each area. But that can be answered later, I am still workiing on Goblin Watch.

You should have mentioned this in your first post, or better yet, the topic title. since you mentioned MM2, I treated all your questions as referring to that game.

You can set up one spell to cast by hitting "S." Open the book, highlight the spell and hit the Cast notice at the bottom of the page. Is that what you mean about casting a spell?

New Sorpigal respawns every 6 months. I figured that the easier the map the quicker the respawning. (Bootleg Bay seems to respawn quickly also.)

First an apology to dtgreene -- I'm sorry I didnt indicate the game tite in an earlier post. My fault. To macAilpin, thanks for the head up about using the key "C" to cast a quick spell. Is there an attack button, or should i use Control-A for my melee fighters and then C for my spell casters? Oh and thank you about the respawn rate as well. I will keep it in mind. I had mentioned the fact that I have cleared the first level of Gobin Watch but when I go down the hole, a legion of enemkies attacks and kills me off after a bit. Does anyone have any advice - level, preperations, etc.?

A for melee; S for "quick spell"

Don't bother with Flame Arrow. Have ice beam, swarm, static, or fire bolt for those with elemental magic;
Harm for those with Body magic. These should give you enough to take care of Goblin Kings and Shamans which are your tougher enemies early on.
Don't be afraid to run.
Did you use the fountains?

Know potions (Restoration and Cure Poison as well as the basic of blue and red)

How did you use the horse shoes? (You have eight points to use before hitting the trainer.) Your best magic man should be consider for a quick upgrade.

Some ideas