kolotok
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("Wayfarer")
Thanks, you've reassured me; this is a normal timeframe for me as well. Lately, if a map takes longer than 6 months to complete, it can start to tire me out, especially when there's little freedom and variety (there's nothing to explore or clear, we just stand around and wait...).
I was lucky with the skills: all the good ones appeared on their own; I didn't even have to visit the huts in the underground and pay for access to them (by that point, all the slots were already occupied). The only disappointment is that I didn't get intelligence; it would have made things easier, but for now, I have a little mana, so I have to spend it sparingly.
I saw a video the other day where a guy was upset because he couldn't complete the first week. I couldn't do it without preparation either, but now, after reading the hints, I managed it. After that, there doesn't seem to be a strict time limit or any particular difficulties; you just need to pay close attention to your surroundings.
In my opinion, intelligence is one of the most important stats. Many battles are based on depleting the enemy's mana and/or spending a lot of it. In the first playthroughs, the Gem didn't have intelligence. In the last one, she did, and it made everything much easier because, as far as I remember, double mana is only available in one or two places on the map, and if you have 3-5 battles in a week, it's just not enough. You can complete it without intelligence, but in my opinion, it slows down the playthrough. In my playthrough, the Gem looked like this:
logistics, wisdom, literacy, armor (basic skills), plus earth, water, fire magic, and intelligence. For the sake of speed, you could take passfinding instead of any of the fire skills or intelligence, but it's not essential. At the same time, up to the very final battles, I often used Yog with the ranged attack skill; it was easier for him to handle a number of battles, despite the Gem's defense skill.
The timing isn't very important later on, as I said, because the enemies stay in their locations and can't suddenly fly in, and they can't significantly outpace the player in terms of power. Completing it quickly is just interesting. Later on, however, closer to the end, you get enough troops for events, so it will be easier to complete.