Today, I started replaying the map. The difficulty level is Veteran, and I have a mod installed for the green creatures. At first, I thought it would be too easy with them, but it turned out to be just right. The map, as before, seemed quite interesting.
In about 3 weeks, I explored the nearby grassy lands. On the 4th day, I went through the portal, and then the dwarves declared war. The first dwarven city beyond the portal changed hands frequently. The city near the "main entrance" was easier to defend. Although I didn't put much effort into defending the dwarven cities. Unless it was about to fall to some insignificant enemy, in which case I would hire a knight. Otherwise, only Natalia and, from about the middle of the game, Mariella could defeat their heroes. However, despite the abundance of strong enemy heroes, none of them were completely invincible. Maybe not on the first try, but each one was eventually defeated. The layout of the roads allows the dwarves to suddenly appear from the darkness, so I had to chase them around quite a bit, which was fortunate because Mariella had the right specialization. All the AI players had few heroes – usually only 2, and I think it would be more interesting if there were more. I was struck by the abundance of upgrade shrines, artifacts, and resources. Artifacts were even lying in piles near the dwarven fortresses. Natalia collected a full dragon set, and Mariella collected a dwarven set. Natalia fought the battle against Tolgar because it would have been extremely difficult to win without Divine Retribution. The terrain is, of course, gorgeous, especially the snowy and underground areas. The cutscenes are excellent, interesting, and well-made, although the last one feels somewhat unfinished.
I'm glad that the map still presents some challenges; that's how I intended it to be.
I never finished the last cutscene, which I, of course, regret.
Some statistics.
Grimheim lost in this war:
Highlanders: 16724
Archers: 4512
Riders: 2204
Brutes: 2768
Priests: 3548
Tan: 1136
Dragons: 677
Artifacts found: 132
Cities captured/lost: 17/5
Battles won: 121
Heroes killed: 27
Game time: 101 days.
In conclusion, it can be said that maps of this quality are hard to find. Many don't even come close. But is it the last one?..
Thank you very much for the positive feedback!
