Alchemical Dust in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era — The New Key Resource

Alchemical Dust () is a completely new resource introduced in Olden Era. The developers removed sulfur and added specifically to make macro-economy much deeper, early-game decisions far more impactful, and force players to plan every map action carefully. The amount of is heavily limited, yet its influence on the game is massive.

What is Alchemical Dust used for?

This resource is essential in several core game systems:

• Upgrading creature dwellings in the castle
  Every unit upgrade now requires . This makes gameplay much less linear: you have to carefully decide which creatures to upgrade first and plan your map route to collect dust in the right time windows.
• Upgrading spells in the Mage Guild
  For 25 you can manually upgrade a chosen spell once, unlocking extra effects (mass cast, increased duration, new mechanics, etc.). This lets you use powerful spells much earlier and more effectively, even without max magic school specialization.
• Upgrading artifacts
  allows you to boost stats and effects of equipped artifacts. The stronger your late-game items — the higher your chances in endgame battles.
• Activating the unique artifact Golden Goose Egg
  This legendary item works like a lottery: spend 50 to perform an upgrade and get a random reward (sometimes extremely valuable, including the Grail). Upgrades are unlimited — risky, but potentially game-changing.

How to obtain ?

Dust cannot be mined like classic resources. Here are all known ways to get it:

• Loose piles on the map
  Just like other resources, you can find 8–12 by picking up loose piles during exploration. A hero with Advanced Luck (perk Always Heads:Always HeadsThe hero gains +25% Gold and resources from piles on the global map. This bonus is doubled if the hero knows “Economy.”) gets a noticeable bonus.
• 
  Special map object. Trade 1 + 1 + 1 for 15 . Extremely efficient if you have excess rare resources.
• 
  Gives 20–40 once per week to the first hero who visits.
• Disenchanting artifacts and scrolls
  The most reliable and controllable method. In the hero’s inventory, a disenchant button appears next to artifacts:
  - Common → 10
  - Rare → 20
  - Epic → 30
  - Legendary → 40
  

  

• Rewards from guarded objects and creature banks
  Tough objects like , reward .
• Hero skills
  The subskill Experimenter:Experimenter+5 Alchemical Dust daily. This bonus is doubled if the hero knows “Insight.” from the Expert Economy branch gives 5 daily (10 with Basic Insight ).
• Faction bonuses (e.g. has laws tied to — 4Alchemists Code IProvides a one‑time allotment of 75 Alchemical Dust when enacted., 4Alchemists Code IIProvides a one‑time allotment of 150 Alchemical Dust when enacted.).

Alchemical Dust economy tips

• Prioritize upgrading dwellings for the stacks that currently form your main damage force and help win fights. Don’t upgrade everything “just in case” — dust is way too valuable.
• No point rushing every single pile from turn 1. Pick the minimum essential spells and stacks — grab the rest later from creature banks or scouting. Early game usually needs just 1 key spell and 1–2 strong stacks.
• Short on for a critical dwelling or spell upgrade? Don’t hesitate to disenchant artifacts and scrolls. They usually have less impact early–mid game, and late-game you’ll loot , or better legendaries anyway.