Antik
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Thanks for the tip about the Prophet. I took a risk and rushed to the Cloak first, then to him. And, lo and behold, I managed to get there without any losses and prevent the second hero from taking the Castle. Now I'll continue playing. But the experience situation is still worrying (I should have just set a limit).
Added 21 hours 51 minutes later
I went to the Dwarves and realized that it's pointless to continue playing. In three months of intense battles, my main hero only gained three levels, reaching level 15 with corresponding stats (17-8-2-5). By the way, the 10-point morale boost for capturing an Elf in battles somehow doesn't seem to have any effect. The Dwarves have almost all their heroes around level 20 or higher, and they have a ton of troops. For example, in the nearest (northeast) Castle, I encountered a powerful hero with 40 Dragons, 60 Trolls, and other troops in increasing numbers, plus a guard of 800. Even if I accumulate troops (from two Castles; the third one on the island is not convenient), their growth rate will still be lower than that of all the Dwarves, plus inevitable losses. And in the finale, there will definitely be a tough battle. In general, without returning to the standard experience gain model (and the portal to the city), the game is, in my opinion, inherently flawed. Maybe it's possible to struggle through, but I don't want to deal with that hassle.
Added 21 hours 51 minutes later
I went to the Dwarves and realized that it's pointless to continue playing. In three months of intense battles, my main hero only gained three levels, reaching level 15 with corresponding stats (17-8-2-5). By the way, the 10-point morale boost for capturing an Elf in battles somehow doesn't seem to have any effect. The Dwarves have almost all their heroes around level 20 or higher, and they have a ton of troops. For example, in the nearest (northeast) Castle, I encountered a powerful hero with 40 Dragons, 60 Trolls, and other troops in increasing numbers, plus a guard of 800. Even if I accumulate troops (from two Castles; the third one on the island is not convenient), their growth rate will still be lower than that of all the Dwarves, plus inevitable losses. And in the finale, there will definitely be a tough battle. In general, without returning to the standard experience gain model (and the portal to the city), the game is, in my opinion, inherently flawed. Maybe it's possible to struggle through, but I don't want to deal with that hassle.