Well, I'm only a couple of campaigns away from finishing the original HOMM4 content, so the next game in my jaunt through the Might and Magic universe is MM9.

OK, yes, I know: it's a terrible game. It's bland and boring even with the fan patches. :^)

Having acknowledged all that: what are some tips and tricks for starting out? No cheats or spoilers, please. Just some handy info on what I should know about party building, etc.

Party building follows fairly usual principles. Best balance is supposed to be with 2 physical-based characters (usually Gladiator + Ranger) and 2 casters (usually Priest and Lich). There are two base classes - Fighter and Initiate, both can be promoted 2 times, You have choice between 2 more advanced classes each promotion (each class has its own promotion quest). I went with party similar to what I made as example above: Gladiator, Ranger, Priest and Lich.

Skill development is similar to what it was in MM 6-8 (I hope you played those before MM 9) with 2 exceptions: you will need to buy skillbooks to learn skills from vendors, skillbooks can also be found in dungeons; Expert/Master trainers are no longer sitting in one place and like to walk around town.

Game is fairly easy if to take into account that there seems to be some bug with turn-based/real-time mode, some fights might look quite unfair in turn-based mode, but become walk in a park in real-time (without any cheesing). You would want to stay in real-time mode most of the game, because there is another bug with turn-based mode - sometimes mobs can't understand what they should do in their turn, causing infinite wait-time between turns (forcing you to reload from last save).

There is nothing to be specifically aware about except some bugs which might break some quest or make game completely unwinnable.

If you have no business going to Verhoffin Ruins (very high level dungeon located on one of islands at very start of the game), avoid it like a plague. Visiting it too early might make game completely unwinnable. And just in case, try to not go into any dungeon if you don't have all possible quests for it. Keep different saves for promotion quests, some of them have high chance to bug out. More about promotion quests here (very important info): http://www.celestialheavens.com/viewpage.php?id=131

Great post! Thanks for the info.

It's not nearly as bad as people give it credit for. Unfinished, bland and sort of mediocre? Yes. But "Gouge your eyes out and write nasty things on the internet" bad? Not really. In fact, the only reason I didn't finish it was because it decided it no longer wanted to run on my computer. It has its moments.

As for hot tips:
All of the tier 3 classes seem decent, other than maybe the Druid (oh yay GM Unarmed), so pick whoever you want. I went Assassin/Ranger/Priest/Lich and I did fine for myself before aforementioned technical problems.
Bow is still your BFF early game. That hasn't changed, though Throwing is also a ranged skill.
Character race doesn't seem super important.
Hirelings (which are specific NPCs instead of random dudes) can now fight like they could in M&M III but some still give bonuses like in VI-VIII. Don't expect the banker to be able to do much, for example.
Your casters should learn all the schools of magic as high as they can, even if that's just expert. That way you can cast as wide a selection of spells as possible.
The biggest obstacle to progression in the game isn't experience, it's money. Training is absurdly expensive at a certain point, so max out merchant for everyone and don't feel the need to invest much in learning.
4 Leaf Clovers are the equivalent to horseshoes, and there is at least one hidden in every city.

Hope that helped. I'll enjoy reading an account of your suffering. :)

I always thought it was funny how the main Might and Magic RPG series nearly identically followed the same uprising and downfall as the Ultima games. Slow uprising to succes with MM1-3, Its heyday and most prominent years during MM4 through 7, a very disappointing 8th installment and a barely functional, bland and terrible 9th installment.

Engine (and compatibility issues as result) was main factor which made MM 9 very bad. It was ok game (somewhat short for being MM), but it was poorly optimized and had some major scripting bugs. Gog version has most of it fixed, including compatibility issues, but engine still feels like it is in Beta. Game isn't actually all that bad if to close eyes on engine and try to avoid scripting bugs :) I wouldn't say it so. MM 9 isn't as limiting on gold as previous MM. A lot of locations have quite fast respawns, which yield good return gold-wise. Age as stat was removed from MM 9. So player can take his time while completing quests (can farm specific areas with fast respawn, chain arenas, etc.)

About learning I agree. I didn't have it at all on my first MM 9 playthrough years ago. I ended up with very high levels after traversing through one specific mountain passage with Harpy-like mobs (Winged Aberrations or something like that) while completing some quests. That passage repopulates insanely fast, and winged mobs award twice as much as experience as they should due to bug :)

Also, MM 9 was only game after WoX which had true optional superboss, guarding the most valuable treasure chest in game. Q from MM 6 doesn't count - despite having a lot of HP he was quite harmless.

Lots of help! Thanks very much! Still gotta finish up HOMM4, but it won't be long before I'm rolling my MM9 party. Interesting comparison! Also similar between the two: both Origin and NWC were purchased by big publishers more intent on churning out sequels (for the $$$) than on crafting really excellent games. In both cases what went wrong was that business decisions became the driving force for releasing games, not the love and passion for the creative process of making the game.

^ I forgot to add that bit yeah. I recall it was pretty briefly discussed in the book Dungeons & Desktops: The History of Computer Role-playing Games by Matt Barton, which is a great book for every cRPG fan to pick up imo!

I didn't think 9 was all that bad. I've had the great luck to never have any of the problems that people list for it, though I always installed the fan patches and whatnot. It wasn't terribly deep or anything, but it was fairly entertaining and still not like mainstream titles.

Question: Are there significant plot differences if you promote to a dark/evil class vs. a light/good class?

It doesn't make any difference to story and there are no evil/good classes per se in MM 9. And completing one promotion quest won't make alternative promotion quest unavailable. Difference between ultimate classes is what skills and at what mastery level they have access too. In example, Liches are the only class who can become Grandmaster in Dark Magic (and they look cool), having access to exclusive high-end spells meanwhlie Priests are the only class who can become Grandmaster in Light Magic, having access to their own exclusive high-end spells.

Thanks for the info! :^)