It's strange, I thought I was a pretty good player in Heroes 2, but I can't find a way to complete it in less than 9 days... :(
Of course, I haven't played Heroes 2 for several years (probably more than 5), and after getting a result of 13 days on my first try, I happily stopped trying to improve further because I didn't see how :) Let me explain why. In the Fortress, I didn't build anything; I just bought heroes to recruit troops. First, I went to the Barbarian Fortress. And I managed to defeat it quite successfully. I killed one hero; he had a weak army, and I easily took the Fortress. The second Barbarian hero was defeated by a Gargoyle, and I was told that the Barbarian was finished. This hero ran from the Barbarian Fortress to the Necropolis. On the way northeast, another hero defeated the Wild Boars and received troops from the Barbarian Fortress in a chain, and then continued to the Necropolis. While he was taking the Necropolis Fortress, the other heroes simultaneously defeated the Mage Fortress in the south. In the Necropolis Fortress, I bought two Bone Dragons. And I used them to bribe the Necropolis hero and fled to my own Fortress. Another of my heroes finished off the last Necropolis hero. The Bone Dragons were taken on the same turn and given to the hero near the Wild Boars (the hero who bribed the Necropolis hero didn't move). And this hero, with the Bone Dragon and Dragon, somehow defeated the Life Fortress. Again, he easily defeated the Fortress and one hero. In the Fortress, I bought a Mage and learned the Raise Dead spell (if it weren't for this, I would have been completely doomed :) and attacked the last Life hero. He cast Raise Dead twice and only then was able to win the final battle. Because there were already three Knights, a bunch of Pikemen, etc.
PS. So, what am I getting at? :) I don't understand how to complete it in 12 days, let alone 7 or 9 days :)
