Marlo_Stanfield
Map Name: Shadows of the Forest
Version: 1.0
Author: Louis Cyphre
Downloaded: from the Heroesportal map catalog
The map is the first element of an extremely ambitious project to remake the original Armageddon's Blade campaign. The author had already presented this campaign in a remake format to players back in 2018. At that time, as I understand it, the source of inspiration was Season's maps, and the remake included a number of progressive ideas, but overall the difficulty was moderate, and the campaign was suitable for a wide range of players. After that, the author dove even deeper into the depths of Heroes hardcore and decided to significantly increase the difficulty level of the Armageddon's Blade remake.
According to the author's statements, "Shadows of the Forest" significantly surpasses in terms of difficulty the popular hardcore maps, including "Xiedu", "Metataxer’s Revenge", etc. After completing the map, I can essentially agree with this statement. One can feel the author's desire to make various aspects of Heroes gameplay significant (battles, required tempo, interaction between heroes, economy), but the emphasis here is specifically on the combat component. The map, like "Alcatraz Escape", takes the hardcore nature of battles in Heroes to the next level after "Metataxer’s Revenge". The tempo requirements are also set quite strictly at the start, but after about 3 game weeks, the player may feel enough freedom to play more deliberately and calmly. You will also have to keep an eye on the economy, but there are no particular difficulties in gathering the required amount of gold and resources as the game progresses.
In terms of similarity to the mentioned maps "Metataxer’s Revenge" and "Xiedu", a funny parallel arises regarding the presence of a signature "calling card" battle at the early stage of the game. In Metataxer, it was a battle in a castle against the hero Sir Lock attacking on day 1; in "Xiedu", it was a battle with Moon against titans and giants. In Shadows, it is a battle against 6 green dragons, which is capable of seriously puzzling anyone and serves as a good characterization of the overall level of the combat component on the map.
To briefly go over the combat features, the player is offered to go through a maximally diverse set of battles, while difficulties must be overcome using two stacks of types very familiar to hardcore maps: an OP shooter (snipers) and an OP non-retaliating unit (archdevils). Units can be used individually or as part of an interaction. Another characteristic feature is that a significant part of the scenario must be completed without resurrection, and you will have to make decisions on how to come out unscathed from battles against vastly superior enemy forces: in some places, if desired, you can rely on randomness (although it is not mandatory), in others, consider acceptable losses, including using the rarely applied "sacrifice" spell.
In terms of structure, the map is quite linear. There are no questions as to where and in what sequence to move. The clearly visible stages of the game can be highlighted as follows: the initial grass respawn with a checkpoint in the form of a flux in the north; the first part of Eofol with three freely roaming heroes and two heavily guarded Inferno towns; the second part of Eofol with a new wave of dynamic enemies and an even greater number of diverse siege battles (this stage of the game reminded me of a terrarium of various creepy-crawlies); the third part of Eofol with the most sophisticated sieges, but the simplest roaming enemies; the battle with hero Holivya (one of the most complex and labor-intensive in all my Heroes practice—the winning try took 5900+ rounds, for goodness sake); the descent into hell with the need to fend off crowds of enemy heroes in a single turn movement; a tricky final battle with hero Fraelocia.
I must also note that due to the novelty and "untested" nature of the map, as is usually the case, a number of critical problems were identified during the walkthrough that required correction with a save editor; therefore, playing version 1.0 is not recommended, as it is technically impassable. Download the map from maps4heroes. I maintained contact with the author and shared feedback during the process; all remarks and wishes were taken into account, and he is promptly fixing the problematic moments. Overall, I liked the map very much, putting aside the rawness of the first version. The only thing I don't like is the author's tendency toward what I consider excessive object replacement. Be prepared that a well here may turn out to be an oasis (or maybe not, heh), a lookout tower a Sanctuary, a garrison, or a seer's hut, and a boar hideout an elven town. The author is guided by aesthetic considerations in this regard, and each object replacement has its own logic, but this does not make it easier for the player to navigate.
The walkthrough itself took me almost two months of leisurely play. At the beginning of the year, I initially thought about finishing the Chinese map "Dark Man", but Shadows truly sucked me in and diverted all my gaming time and attention to itself. In general, the map is recommended for all players who are truly confident in their skills and seasoned veterans looking for new challenges and original content. In this regard, they will be served first-class. If the author can make the entire campaign in the spirit of this first map, it will be the most massive Heroes project currently in existence. I wish them luck in achieving this ambitious goal.
P.S. During the walkthrough, I took a lot of screenshots and videos, but I only posted two battles from the early stages of the game on my channel (1, 2). The fewer spoilers for the time being, the better for the map itself.
