Heroes (and their best use for fast advancement)
I have read a guide (see link below) which opened my eyes to something that I had missed.
Evony looks at the statistics of your mayor at the instant of a task starting.
It then calculates the time for building units, resource fields or city buildings based on a multiple of their relevant statistic.
It then ignores the mayor (hero) until the next task or event.
This leads to a great tactical advantage (if you remember the following).
Start a new task with the "Best Mayor" for the job.
As soon as the task is started, choose again for the next task.
Always revert to your highest politics hero as mayor for "normal running" (that is to say, as soon as you finish the start of the latest tasks).
Ideally, when you start a task you want your or mayor to have
100 + politics for building (inc archer towers)
100 + attack for building armies and mechanics
100 + inteligence for researching
Lower than 30 is not worth the effort!
Note - High level heroes just cost you more in wages and joining fee.
They are no better as Mayors than a level 1 Hero with the same important statistic.
The best / fastest way I have found to get high level heroes is to build the Feasting Hall to 4 and the Inn to 9 as soon as safe.
I aim to have around 4 heroes and 6 spots in my Inn when I join battle - with the Town hall at level 5 on day 7.
This allows for me to capture heroes from other players.
An inn of level 9 or 10 gives the best return from your "Hero Hunting" (so hang on to it!)