Marlo_Stanfield
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Map Title: Alexandretta
Author: Grigor Minchev
Downloaded: from the maps4heroes map catalog
As I mentioned earlier, when reviewing unplayed maps by the author, “Alexandretta” seemed to be the most sophisticated of them all. Therefore, the decision to play was made in favor of this scenario. I won't go into too much detail about the walkthrough, as a detailed account of what and how was done on this map would be a complete spoiler, and constant, well-planned actions are key during the game. Among the potential difficulties that attracted attention, firstly, there's a ban on intelligence, logistics, pathfinding, and also wisdom (the correct way to obtain wisdom and logistics will make the main hero think at the beginning; intelligence cannot be obtained on the map), secondly, a very limited pool of heroes in the tavern (only two classes: knights and priests, but without Mullich and Orrin), thirdly, special problems with gaining access to spells such as blindness, forgetfulness, prayer, and clone, although even basic spells like slow, shield, and stone skin are not learned easily here. There are no Berserkers. With various spells for moving around the map and, in general, transport options, things are difficult again. We are playing as the hero Gen. Kendal (Tazar). Yes, once again, an armor hero has to handle a difficult map. We are opposed by six allied flags, each of which can cause problems, but it is clear that the most challenging opponent is the orange dungeon. He has such a large number of black dragons that it will be a serious challenge. This flag has several main heroes, the most unpleasant of which is Gunnar, as it was in “A Long Way.”
Parallels with “A Long Way” are, of course, obvious. The terrain on these two maps partially overlaps, but overall, there are more differences than similarities. At the same time, the experience gained in “A Long Way” is useful before playing “Alexandretta” on one hand, as the basic features of the author's style do not disappear, but on the other hand, it can play a bad joke on the player, as seemingly familiar moments here need to be played out in a fundamentally different way. But what is the key difficulty that makes this map more sophisticated than “A Long Way”? In “A Long Way,” the initial phases of development involved building up a stack of archangels and obtaining a clone scroll; in addition to harpies, the player also had a stack of mobile and useful djinns. In “Alexandretta,” to create archangels and get a clone, you need to work much harder. And there is not much to fight with in the early stages, and the map is even more dynamic. For example, the AI does not hesitate to sail to our starting respawn, and no one is going to wait until we get ready. And the rate of AI development is not much slower than in “A Long Way.” In general, if we summarize, this is an illustration of the principle of “faster, higher, stronger.”
At the same time, the key item on the map, unprecedented for the author, is the book of magic earth in the south of the underground, behind seven castles and ten seals. Obviously, the key to success on the map is based on obtaining the КЗ. I suggest that, for general development, you don't even play this map, but simply sit down and track in the editor what path you need to take and what chain of quests you need to complete to get to the book :) Thus, before the game, I have created a plan for development, based on tough guerrilla warfare and ultimately aimed at obtaining the КЗ, and then we will somehow manage. But the most amusing conclusion comes to the player after playing the start of the map, and it boils down to the fact that the author draws a false path to the КЗ through the editor! In general, you can't figure it out without a bottle, but believe me, that's how it is.
The start of the map is a separate story. Those who have played “A Long Way” may know that there was a riddle for the first six days: a path, verified in every detail, gave the opportunity to capture the dungeon on 1.1.6, which greatly facilitated further progress. However, I didn't solve this riddle at the time, but even so, I managed to complete the map. In “Alexandretta,” you should also capture the nearest dungeon, but on 1.2.6, and if you don't do this, then “Alexandretta” will, with a probability close to 100%, not forgive you. The subsequent game will simply be a prolonged agony. The starting riddle here is so hardcore that it can be compared to completing the first day in “Rise of the Sun King.” So, lovers of special difficulties can try to take the dungeon on 1.2.6 in their spare time.
It should also be noted that this map does not shine with prospectors, so you will have to delve into the editor with redoubled zeal. There is also an absolutely special type of quest here: you need to constantly bring war machines to different huts and pillars, which I have never encountered in Heroes before.
In general, a well-played start indicates a path to the book of magic earth that is completely different from what the editor suggests. Oh yes, I should also say a few words about the starting save: you need to think carefully about choosing two secondary skills for Tazar. I chose, firstly, navigation, as you will have to sail a lot (it is problematic to get pathfinding for the main hero, and it is not very useful here), and secondly, the good old eagle eye. Access to any adequate magic is difficult here, so the best option is to retrain everything from the AI. And in the process, good spells were retrained. One blindness fully justified the idea with eagle eye. However, again, as it was in “6424 Heroes,” there were problems with retraining clone, so I took it for completing a quest.
As I said at the beginning, I will not go into detail about what and how I did on this map. I will only say that the number of veils of darkness in “Alexandretta” is traditionally not without reason. These objects are defining in the gameplay on the map. I will only go over the key timings:
1.2.6 – the dungeon of Koraxton was taken.
3.1.6 – the КЗ was taken.
3.3.2 – the red one is gone.
3-4-5 months – a difficult positional war with the AI with a very gradual establishment of control over the map.
7.1.3 – Mutare was killed in the corner dungeon after overcoming a long snake-like path; the orange one is completely isolated.
7.2.3 – the brown one was killed.
8.1.1 – the purple one was killed.
8.1.4 – the pink one was killed.
8.2.1 – the main boss of the map, the orange Thorgrim, was killed with full immunity, 1000 phoenixes, 500 fairies, and dungeon guards. The battle turned out to be easy, as Tazar was fully prepared for this meeting. If necessary, Tazar and twenty such Thorgrims could kill him. It would have been possible to release this boss earlier than 8 months so that he could cause problems.
8.3.4 – the blue one was finally finished; of the enemies, only one inaccessible orange one remains, the exit from the one-way passage for which is blocked by a lock with a good army.
10.1.1 – the grail is dug up, and in fact, on this day, victory in the scenario is achieved.
In conclusion, I can say that “Alexandretta” resembles the peak of Grigor Minchev's creative thought. If it is possible to somehow complicate the author's map-building concept, then only by improving the combat component, because in Minchev's maps, battles usually come down to two extremes: either you don't keep up with the pace of the map and, accordingly, you are not able to conduct these battles, or the pace is fine, and the battles are won without much difficulty. But in terms of the complexity of the passage, the sophistication of quest systems, and the difficulties in controlling the map against enemies crawling from all sides, few can compare with Minchev in the world of heroic map-making. At the same time, “Alexandretta,” in my opinion, is a little more difficult than “A Long Way,” but it still won't move that map from my personal top, being somewhere nearby.
Author: Grigor Minchev
Downloaded: from the maps4heroes map catalog
As I mentioned earlier, when reviewing unplayed maps by the author, “Alexandretta” seemed to be the most sophisticated of them all. Therefore, the decision to play was made in favor of this scenario. I won't go into too much detail about the walkthrough, as a detailed account of what and how was done on this map would be a complete spoiler, and constant, well-planned actions are key during the game. Among the potential difficulties that attracted attention, firstly, there's a ban on intelligence, logistics, pathfinding, and also wisdom (the correct way to obtain wisdom and logistics will make the main hero think at the beginning; intelligence cannot be obtained on the map), secondly, a very limited pool of heroes in the tavern (only two classes: knights and priests, but without Mullich and Orrin), thirdly, special problems with gaining access to spells such as blindness, forgetfulness, prayer, and clone, although even basic spells like slow, shield, and stone skin are not learned easily here. There are no Berserkers. With various spells for moving around the map and, in general, transport options, things are difficult again. We are playing as the hero Gen. Kendal (Tazar). Yes, once again, an armor hero has to handle a difficult map. We are opposed by six allied flags, each of which can cause problems, but it is clear that the most challenging opponent is the orange dungeon. He has such a large number of black dragons that it will be a serious challenge. This flag has several main heroes, the most unpleasant of which is Gunnar, as it was in “A Long Way.”
Parallels with “A Long Way” are, of course, obvious. The terrain on these two maps partially overlaps, but overall, there are more differences than similarities. At the same time, the experience gained in “A Long Way” is useful before playing “Alexandretta” on one hand, as the basic features of the author's style do not disappear, but on the other hand, it can play a bad joke on the player, as seemingly familiar moments here need to be played out in a fundamentally different way. But what is the key difficulty that makes this map more sophisticated than “A Long Way”? In “A Long Way,” the initial phases of development involved building up a stack of archangels and obtaining a clone scroll; in addition to harpies, the player also had a stack of mobile and useful djinns. In “Alexandretta,” to create archangels and get a clone, you need to work much harder. And there is not much to fight with in the early stages, and the map is even more dynamic. For example, the AI does not hesitate to sail to our starting respawn, and no one is going to wait until we get ready. And the rate of AI development is not much slower than in “A Long Way.” In general, if we summarize, this is an illustration of the principle of “faster, higher, stronger.”
At the same time, the key item on the map, unprecedented for the author, is the book of magic earth in the south of the underground, behind seven castles and ten seals. Obviously, the key to success on the map is based on obtaining the КЗ. I suggest that, for general development, you don't even play this map, but simply sit down and track in the editor what path you need to take and what chain of quests you need to complete to get to the book :) Thus, before the game, I have created a plan for development, based on tough guerrilla warfare and ultimately aimed at obtaining the КЗ, and then we will somehow manage. But the most amusing conclusion comes to the player after playing the start of the map, and it boils down to the fact that the author draws a false path to the КЗ through the editor! In general, you can't figure it out without a bottle, but believe me, that's how it is.
The start of the map is a separate story. Those who have played “A Long Way” may know that there was a riddle for the first six days: a path, verified in every detail, gave the opportunity to capture the dungeon on 1.1.6, which greatly facilitated further progress. However, I didn't solve this riddle at the time, but even so, I managed to complete the map. In “Alexandretta,” you should also capture the nearest dungeon, but on 1.2.6, and if you don't do this, then “Alexandretta” will, with a probability close to 100%, not forgive you. The subsequent game will simply be a prolonged agony. The starting riddle here is so hardcore that it can be compared to completing the first day in “Rise of the Sun King.” So, lovers of special difficulties can try to take the dungeon on 1.2.6 in their spare time.
It should also be noted that this map does not shine with prospectors, so you will have to delve into the editor with redoubled zeal. There is also an absolutely special type of quest here: you need to constantly bring war machines to different huts and pillars, which I have never encountered in Heroes before.
In general, a well-played start indicates a path to the book of magic earth that is completely different from what the editor suggests. Oh yes, I should also say a few words about the starting save: you need to think carefully about choosing two secondary skills for Tazar. I chose, firstly, navigation, as you will have to sail a lot (it is problematic to get pathfinding for the main hero, and it is not very useful here), and secondly, the good old eagle eye. Access to any adequate magic is difficult here, so the best option is to retrain everything from the AI. And in the process, good spells were retrained. One blindness fully justified the idea with eagle eye. However, again, as it was in “6424 Heroes,” there were problems with retraining clone, so I took it for completing a quest.
As I said at the beginning, I will not go into detail about what and how I did on this map. I will only say that the number of veils of darkness in “Alexandretta” is traditionally not without reason. These objects are defining in the gameplay on the map. I will only go over the key timings:
1.2.6 – the dungeon of Koraxton was taken.
3.1.6 – the КЗ was taken.
3.3.2 – the red one is gone.
3-4-5 months – a difficult positional war with the AI with a very gradual establishment of control over the map.
7.1.3 – Mutare was killed in the corner dungeon after overcoming a long snake-like path; the orange one is completely isolated.
7.2.3 – the brown one was killed.
8.1.1 – the purple one was killed.
8.1.4 – the pink one was killed.
8.2.1 – the main boss of the map, the orange Thorgrim, was killed with full immunity, 1000 phoenixes, 500 fairies, and dungeon guards. The battle turned out to be easy, as Tazar was fully prepared for this meeting. If necessary, Tazar and twenty such Thorgrims could kill him. It would have been possible to release this boss earlier than 8 months so that he could cause problems.
8.3.4 – the blue one was finally finished; of the enemies, only one inaccessible orange one remains, the exit from the one-way passage for which is blocked by a lock with a good army.
10.1.1 – the grail is dug up, and in fact, on this day, victory in the scenario is achieved.
In conclusion, I can say that “Alexandretta” resembles the peak of Grigor Minchev's creative thought. If it is possible to somehow complicate the author's map-building concept, then only by improving the combat component, because in Minchev's maps, battles usually come down to two extremes: either you don't keep up with the pace of the map and, accordingly, you are not able to conduct these battles, or the pace is fine, and the battles are won without much difficulty. But in terms of the complexity of the passage, the sophistication of quest systems, and the difficulties in controlling the map against enemies crawling from all sides, few can compare with Minchev in the world of heroic map-making. At the same time, “Alexandretta,” in my opinion, is a little more difficult than “A Long Way,” but it still won't move that map from my personal top, being somewhere nearby.