Marlo_Stanfield
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Map Name: The Lord of Rings
Author: Season
Downloaded: from the Heroesportal map catalog
I've been planning to write this report for a long time, as it will be about one of the most interesting maps for Heroes 3 (Season is, in my opinion, the best map maker). The only thing that confused me about this map is whether it has anything to do with Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings"? There is practically no text on the map, and what there is is unreadable. Neither our heroes, nor the enemy heroes, nor the overall course of events on the map gives any reason to draw any parallels with the book. Maybe the translation of the scenario name into English is incorrect? It's unclear.
Now, about the walkthrough. The start on the map is meticulously planned. The first few days can only be played in one way (gaining a specific amount of experience for the hero, using the "remove obstacle" spell in one battle). But after the first week, some freedom of action appears. I should note that the AI here is extremely aggressive, perhaps the most aggressive in my memory of playing Heroes 3. This means that it is not always possible to defeat it in the early stages of the game, so the main tactic here is to lure the AI into water and then block them; I had to get rid of the threat of as many as five heroes in this way. But the blocking must be done in such a way that it is then possible to kill these heroes and get to the shore.
Another interesting aspect of The Lord of Rings is the battles. I've only seen something comparable in complexity in Metataxer's Revenge (I really need to finally play it myself). Most of the battles here are like puzzles; the terrain is very important, so playing with HD+ doesn't work. It was on this map that there were three battles that I still remember with a shudder. I spent a whole day on the battle against Zydar, although after completing the map, I realized that it could have been dealt with more easily than I did. Also, the battle to defend the Castle against Gunnar with the earthquake spell was incredibly difficult. And the siege of Tazar in conjunction with it.
Another interesting feature of the map. At different stages of the game, different heroes and powerful stacks are key. At first, Gundula will be the main hero, and the main damage-dealing stack will be harpies and witches. They perform real miracles here thanks to their unique abilities. In the second half of the game, the main strategy involves Orrin and sorcerers, protected by phoenixes and attacking under the effect of the "berserk" spell. There was also a role for a hero specializing in magic.
The way to obtain the "City Portal" spell is also interesting. To do this, you need to free a hero from a prison located on the water. Freeing him is only half the battle; the question is, how do you get him out of his immobilized state? There is a very curious solution provided for this.
Among other techniques used by the author on the map, there are also standard ones for his works. For example, the guardians of the question in front of the AI castles, which the enemy heroes open on a specific day; the traditional two taverns: one external, one in the castle on cursed land, and the castle itself is surrounded by swan ponds, which complicates the scheme for using the "trickster" ability; a check of the speed of completing the quest to join creatures (sorcerers on this map); and the very late acquisition of key spells, such as clone and force field.
My playthrough ended on 10.1.6. But there is great potential for speedrunning here. A slow (as in my case) and a fast playthrough will be very different.
Author: Season
Downloaded: from the Heroesportal map catalog
I've been planning to write this report for a long time, as it will be about one of the most interesting maps for Heroes 3 (Season is, in my opinion, the best map maker). The only thing that confused me about this map is whether it has anything to do with Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings"? There is practically no text on the map, and what there is is unreadable. Neither our heroes, nor the enemy heroes, nor the overall course of events on the map gives any reason to draw any parallels with the book. Maybe the translation of the scenario name into English is incorrect? It's unclear.
Now, about the walkthrough. The start on the map is meticulously planned. The first few days can only be played in one way (gaining a specific amount of experience for the hero, using the "remove obstacle" spell in one battle). But after the first week, some freedom of action appears. I should note that the AI here is extremely aggressive, perhaps the most aggressive in my memory of playing Heroes 3. This means that it is not always possible to defeat it in the early stages of the game, so the main tactic here is to lure the AI into water and then block them; I had to get rid of the threat of as many as five heroes in this way. But the blocking must be done in such a way that it is then possible to kill these heroes and get to the shore.
Another interesting aspect of The Lord of Rings is the battles. I've only seen something comparable in complexity in Metataxer's Revenge (I really need to finally play it myself). Most of the battles here are like puzzles; the terrain is very important, so playing with HD+ doesn't work. It was on this map that there were three battles that I still remember with a shudder. I spent a whole day on the battle against Zydar, although after completing the map, I realized that it could have been dealt with more easily than I did. Also, the battle to defend the Castle against Gunnar with the earthquake spell was incredibly difficult. And the siege of Tazar in conjunction with it.
Another interesting feature of the map. At different stages of the game, different heroes and powerful stacks are key. At first, Gundula will be the main hero, and the main damage-dealing stack will be harpies and witches. They perform real miracles here thanks to their unique abilities. In the second half of the game, the main strategy involves Orrin and sorcerers, protected by phoenixes and attacking under the effect of the "berserk" spell. There was also a role for a hero specializing in magic.
The way to obtain the "City Portal" spell is also interesting. To do this, you need to free a hero from a prison located on the water. Freeing him is only half the battle; the question is, how do you get him out of his immobilized state? There is a very curious solution provided for this.
Among other techniques used by the author on the map, there are also standard ones for his works. For example, the guardians of the question in front of the AI castles, which the enemy heroes open on a specific day; the traditional two taverns: one external, one in the castle on cursed land, and the castle itself is surrounded by swan ponds, which complicates the scheme for using the "trickster" ability; a check of the speed of completing the quest to join creatures (sorcerers on this map); and the very late acquisition of key spells, such as clone and force field.
My playthrough ended on 10.1.6. But there is great potential for speedrunning here. A slow (as in my case) and a fast playthrough will be very different.