Two sisters.

I'm in the middle of a game and enjoying the map immensely. The difficulty isn't as daunting as it seemed at first. I read some comments and got a little scared, but I started with a Warrior and haven't noticed any major difficulties. I've been developing Mariella (Natasha only "explored" the Necropolis chests). I cleared the first outpost within the first month (week 3). After that, I encountered some fairly strong opponents for a while. Now, it's the middle of the third month, and the game feels a bit like a not-so-successful attempt to exterminate rats. I think it would be very useful to have a fort behind the first outpost. Speed is crucial here, and it's normal to go on expeditions with some un-upgraded units. It was very annoying to have to return. Also, the AI heroes act quite strangely: they don't "clear the map," but often ignore resources and mines with clearly weaker guards; they also often stand still for the entire turn (always if my stronger hero will catch up with them on the next turn); they go to "my territory" with minimal forces, rather than accumulating them in castles as promised; the AI buys heroes with only one unit in the tavern and then runs up to my hero for some reason (maybe they are too aggressive towards the player, which is why they act so absurdly); they don't buy troops in creature dwellings on the map (even free ones; at least, in the ones I captured, warriors remained). I'm surprised that someone called Mariella's specialization useless. On this map, she's indispensable. At the beginning, when you encounter serious opponents, if it weren't for her speed, there would be significant losses for the defending hero or a loss (several invaders were "hopeless" for Natasha), and with the Earth Elemental, I go through the entire game without losses + fast leveling. I've been developing Light and Dark magic, but for now, I'm managing with just Light. There are simply a crazy number of artifacts in the game; maybe there should be fewer shops. Every self-respecting enemy hero thinks it's necessary to stock up on a dozen or so artifacts. You catch up with a few, and then you can't find the right artifact in your inventory. Overall, the game is engaging (I can't tear myself away from the screen). I always enjoy your maps. Thank you.