The Hive faction in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era trades ranged firepower for raw aggression, sustain, and the Hivemind passive that rewards fielding many different unit types in one army. Picking the right creatures to anchor a Hive stack matters more here than in most factions, because every fight is decided by how quickly the swarm closes the distance and how long it can stay on top of the enemy line. The following five units carry the bulk of that work across the early, mid, and late game.
Quick answer: Build around the Hive Queen (Hive Mother upgrade) at Tier 7, the Waurms with the Pyroboros upgrade at Tier 6, the Hornet (Stinger upgrade) at Tier 3, the Locust (Harvester Locust upgrade) at Tier 2, and the Scorpion (Volcanic Scorpion upgrade) at Tier 4.
Hive Queen (Tier 7) - Hive Mother upgrade
The Hive Queen sits at the top of the roster and is the unit the entire faction is designed to support. The Hive Mother upgrade is the standout choice because it doubles the strength of the Corpse-Eater effect and, more importantly, extends that ability to every other friendly creature on the field. Corpse-Eater lets a wounded Hive unit move onto a fallen body, consume it, and recover health on the spot, which turns prolonged fights into a slow grind in your favor.
The alternative Hive Huntress trades health for higher damage and speed, and quadruples the personal Corpse-Eater value rather than sharing it. That makes the Huntress strong in isolation, but the Hive Mother lifts the whole army's sustain, which fits the swarm identity better. Hivemind synergy peaks here too, since fielding all seven unit types stacks the Queen's start-of-battle bonuses to their maximum.
Waurms (Tier 6) - Pyroboros upgrade
Waurms solve the Hive's biggest structural problem. Until you reach Tier 6, the faction has essentially no proper ranged option, and opponents who build wide ranged backlines can stall a Hive push indefinitely. The Pyroboros upgrade finally provides that missing tool, and it does so with an area-of-effect ranged attack that hits multiple enemy stacks in a single shot.
Initiative on the Pyroboros is high enough to fire before most opposing ranged units, and it still deals full damage on its attacks. The Devourer alternative keeps the Waurms in melee with strong corpse-consumption mechanics, but most armies will take the Pyroboros because the AoE ranged shot fills a gap that no other Hive creature can. Run a single Devourer stack alongside your Pyroboros stack only if you want a dedicated melee finisher for whatever survives the volleys.
Hornet (Tier 3) - Stinger upgrade
The Hornet is the fastest and highest-initiative unit in the Hive lineup, and that one fact carries the entire early game. Splitting Hornets into smaller stacks lets them outrun neutral creeps, dive isolated targets, and reach enemy ranged lines before the second turn lands. Their initiative is high enough that, when you hold the action, the unit reliably gets the last move of one round and the first move of the next, which sets up a double-attack window that wins fights outright.
The Stinger upgrade pushes initiative even higher, which is the stat the Hive cares about most. The Chanter trades that speed for support utility, but most aggressive openers prefer the Stinger because the army already leans on Hornet tempo to compensate for the missing ranged tier. Pair them with a counterattack-removal spell or hero ability to maximise their damage windows.
Locust (Tier 2) - Harvester Locust upgrade
The Locust is one of the strongest units on the roster relative to its tier and one of the few Hive creatures that scales meaningfully into the late game. The Overgrown Locust upgrade grants an extra turn after killing an enemy stack, while the Harvester Locust converts unit variety into bonus attack and produces focus points whenever it secures a kill. Both upgrades benefit from the Topple the Strong trait, which increases damage against higher-tier targets, so a power stack of Locusts can carve into Tier 7 enemies that other low-tier units cannot meaningfully threaten.
The Harvester Locust is the more versatile pick because it gains attack from the same Hivemind diversity bonuses the rest of the faction is already chasing, and the focus generation feeds hero abilities. Combined with the Harvest mechanic, which lets the unit eat a corpse without ending its turn, the Locust functions as a mobile damage core that stays useful from the first creep fight all the way through endgame skirmishes.
Scorpion (Tier 4) - Volcanic Scorpion upgrade
The Scorpion replaces the older Mantis slot and gives the Hive a genuinely tanky mid-tier melee anchor. Scorpions absorb hits the rest of the swarm cannot afford to take, which lets your faster Hornets and Locusts operate on the flanks without being collapsed by counterattacks. They also work well with heroes such as Zur, whose damage-reduction bonuses scale the Scorpion's survivability further.
The Volcanic Scorpion upgrade keeps the durability profile intact while adding fire-based damage on attack, making it the more reliable choice for both creep clearing and pitched battles. In a Hivemind-focused composition the Scorpion is also one of the seven distinct unit types you need to include to push the Queen's start-of-battle bonus to the cap, so it does double duty as a frontliner and a synergy enabler.
Hive unit reference
| Tier | Base unit | Recommended upgrade | Primary role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Locust | Harvester Locust | Scaling melee damage, focus generation |
| 3 | Hornet | Stinger | High-initiative skirmisher |
| 4 | Scorpion | Volcanic Scorpion | Tanky frontline anchor |
| 6 | Waurms | Pyroboros | AoE ranged attacker |
| 7 | Hive Queen | Hive Mother | Army-wide Corpse-Eater sustain |
The Hive rewards committed melee aggression, and the five units above form the backbone of that style. Lead with Hornets and Locusts to creep efficiently, slot Scorpions in as soon as Tier 4 opens to soak counterattacks, bring in Pyroboros to plug the ranged gap at Tier 6, and finish the composition with a Hive Mother stack to share Corpse-Eater across the whole army. Round the roster out with Parasites and Reavers to hit all seven creature types and keep the Hivemind passive at full strength.