Posts from [HoMM IV TOURNAMENT ON] World Championship in HoMM IV online 2013

Founders:

• Dmitry ”Oxygen” Shirokov
• Denis ”Shnurov” Paul

Coordinator

CTPAHHuK[/B] (e-mail: krs.83[dog]mail.ru)

Initial list of organizers:

Camoes – Heroescommunity (e-mail: antoniomclopes[dog]gmail.com);
Havr – HeroesLeague (e-mail: havr[dog]bk.ru);
HeartDe – HeroesPortal (e-mail: sandrochka[dog]inbox.ru);
Lu41k – HeroesWorld (e-mail: lu41k[dog]yandex.ru);
M8mat – Archangelcastle (e-mail: m8mat[dog]hotmail.com).

Initial list of judges:

Gustn – Heroescommunity (e-mail: gustn_toh[dog]terra.com.br);
Joseywalles – Archangelcastle (e-mail: hannibalcannibal[dog]hotmail.fr);
00Draniki – HeroesPortal (e-mail: tracey4adams[dog]yahoo.com);
Shnurov – HeroesLeague (e-mail: shnurov[dog]list.ru);
Lu41k – HeroesWorld (e-mail: Lu41k[dog]yandex.ru).

Judges' decisions during tournaments are final and not subject to appeal.

Tournament organizing forums:

• Archangel Castle
• Heroes Community
• Heroes League
• Heroes Portal
• Heroes World

Tournaments will be held on version Heroes IV — Equilibris 3.51. No third-party modifications are allowed.

World Championship 2013 has the structure of a classic “group stage + playoff”. The number of groups and the number of players in each group depend on the number of registered players.

You can register in the topic Registration for the Online World Championship 2013.

TIMING AND DATES OF TOURNAMENT ROUNDS

August 5: opening registration for the championship, publication of regulations and rules of the tournament,
software, lists of organizers, judges, and maps for the tournament.
August 6: start of accepting proposals for the composition of organizers, judges, and tournament maps from
registered players.
August 30: end of accepting proposals for the composition of organizers, judges, and tournament
maps from registered players.
September 5: closing of registration.
September 6: publication of draw results – start of the championship.

Each round of the World Championship is given 14 calendar days (2 pairs of weekends).

List of maps for the World Championship 2013 and recommended difficulty:

1. Power Spot (Magister - Expert, 8 min);
2. Plains of Despair (Magister - Expert, 8 min);
3. Circle of life (Magister - Expert, 8 min);
4. Eldorado (Magister - Expert, 6 min) ;
5. Bizarro (Master - Advanced, 8 min);
6. Heart of the Winter (Magister - Expert, 6 min);
7. Iron Man (Magister - Expert, 8 min);
8. Spleen (Magister - Expert, 8 min);
9. Danger Zone (Magister - Expert, 6 min);
10. Lezkandra (Magister - Expert, 8 min).

Draw results!

Dear participants, please be sure to read the Regulations and Rules of the tournament carefully.

Read Regulations and Rules, Download maps, Download software.

This topic is not intended for resolving controversial situations.

This topic was created to resolve current issues and contact the organizers, judges with suggestions or appeals, in case of a long absence of their answers to personal messages and e-mail.

WC Team

Oxygen, Camoes, CTPAHHuK, 00Draniki, Joseywalles, Gustn, Havr, HeartDe, Lu41k, M8mat, Shnurov

Hello. Could you advise whether it's worth playing for a newcomer (I played the fourth installment for quite a while, but not online)? And where can I get the Equilibrium version and, ideally, a description of the changes?

Vip.rus
Anyone can play :) You can find the links to the Equilibris files here. The descriptions of the latest changes are here.

I also encountered a problem: the maps are in English, and I don't understand anything. How can I figure it out, because otherwise it's difficult to play?

The map Circle of life is an archived version. There's a bug – the red faction takes the tent without a fight.

I also encountered a problem: the maps are in English, and I don't understand anything. How can I figure it out, because otherwise it's difficult to play?

Knowledge of the English language is essential. Otherwise, it's impossible to play with foreigners.

Thanks, I'll pass then. Another question – is Expert difficulty the highest, or is there a higher one?

Another question - is Expert difficulty the highest, or is there a higher one? If so, what is it?

Expert is the second highest. The highest is Champion.

Thank you for your help!

So, registration for the World Championship 2013 is over, and the draw has been completed. You can see its results here

The World Championship in HoMM IV online 2013 has officially started. I wish all participants good luck and beautiful, exciting battles! :)

Group B - 1st round
CTPAHHuK (Necropolis - Blue) win Duranix (Asylum - teal) Ironman 1m1w3w

The opponent surrendered after losing without using magic, following a double defeat on the second city.

Group B - 2nd round
CTPAHHuK tech. win Brahman

The opponent never showed up online.

Group B - 3rd round
CTPAHHuK (Preserve - Blue) lose LordZezuk (Necropolis - teal) Ironman 1m1w2w

Lost on the gauntlets. Twice. Shameful.

Group D
Round 1
Shnurov Necropolis (red) wins against HeartDe Life (blue) Lezkandra 1m4w4d

The opponent immediately said that she was playing just to fulfill the quota, that she hadn't played for many years, etc.
On the map, I had to choose between Lezkandra and PS. I decided to play Lezkandra. I used to like this map, so I decided to give it a try.
Randomly, I got skeletons. For the first time, I implemented an idea I had earlier: I bought a rogue, gave him a couple of chests in addition to the trainers, and got a master of stealth. Without a fight, I took the vampire sword and the hero from the dungeon. A fighter with a vampire sword is good. The same with the tavern. I'm a little behind on mines compared to a normal game, but there are no problems with the fighter (it's too far to run for him as red).
As usual, I'm making mistakes. In the second week, with 3 purchased Venomoths (these are the last non-first-level troops bought in this game), I run away from the guards of the passage to the teleport. The Venomoths were shot down, although I defeated 3 Wandering Blacks without much trouble.
Well, okay. There are Bone Dwellings, and they are in the castle... But Imps are more interesting.
In general, I run around. I leveled up a Grand Mariner, who quickly collects everything in the sea. Once again, I run to the Water Elementals near the central passage.
Realizing that the game isn't going well (and the opponent isn't in a hurry at all), I decide not to take risks and cross the center by sea. I capture 3 cities, break through the teleport (already without mana drain), and attack.
I have a Killer and a Ninja running around on Imps - Grand Death, Grand Order, a General (almost full tactics with starting life), and a Lord-Fighter with Chaos advancement - I don't remember what level they are.
I have 2 level 4 spellbooks, 2 level 1 spellbooks, and one level 2 spellbook :-D
And a lot of other stuff collected.
The final battle was quick.

If anyone wants to watch my clumsy game: welcome
Part 1: http://ru.twitch.tv/shnurov_hl/b/461920165
Part 2: http://ru.twitch.tv/shnurov_hl/b/462858072

Group D
Round 2
Shnurov wins against Szigi

Technical victory due to no-show.

Group D
Round 3
Shnurov Necropolis (red) wins against JoseyWales Life (blue) Circle of Life 1m1w6d
Lucky ©
We played randomly. We restarted the game. I restarted with Life and catapults. My opponent chose Undead against my Order. I don't know why.
In the end, we played the third setup. I was frankly lucky. My opponent had Life with catapults and monks everywhere. I had Undead with a dwelling of Darklings and vampires.
I win the arena - I have 80 Imps, my opponent has archers. On the second turn, I fly in and bite with Imps, and the mage doesn't hold back, dealing -10 morale. In the next round, Josey didn't wait.
In the Castle, I use the Tactics skill. Again, I spend 4000 on defense and leadership. I dual-class him into a Rogue. I have a cloak that provides 30% magic resistance.
On the third day, I get gloves and a golden breastplate. On the fourth day, I get the Lord (although with significant losses of Imps). On the fifth day, with three Venom, 8 dogs, 33 Imps using the Tactics skill, as well as a mage with Raise Dead and Holy Water, I take the dwelling of Darklings and buy both.
Josey tries to take the Castle. He pours troops onto it (devils were standing there, as I understand), and refusing to load, he surrenders.
Almost a technical win. ))

1/4 playoff
Jel (Haven) lose CTPAHHuK (Preserve) 1m3w2d

This is my best "Circus" map game in 9 years. The recorded game should be viewed as a comprehensive guide on how to play this map as Nature. There are no decisive major events or exceptionally lucky magic draws – it's a natural progression through the map. After the winter tournament with the French, the entire spring and summer, for some reason, our duels with Shnurov on "Circus" took place. We played tirelessly – in the evenings, at night, sometimes even in the morning. We rarely finished games. We often started from the beginning, got many reloads, gave up, and started again. Thanks to this, the starting strategy was refined as much as possible. In the game against Jel, my hand movements on "Circus" were already well-practiced. The micro-management in economy and troop mobility was at a very good level. Many things were done faster than I could think about them. Therefore, the time in the breaks between the first turns was entirely spent on calculations – how much experience is needed to leave the castle with a Master of Nature on the 4th day; how to equip artifacts and bottles so that on the 4th day I can take the dwelling of the Fenris with 30 wolves and 4 leprechauns, and so on. And Shnurov recommended a very important thing to me on the last Sunday. He made me play "Bizarre" non-stop. I always tried to reduce the number of continuous hours of play to maintain mental clarity. Today, endurance turned out to be very necessary – I already took 10.5 hours of non-stop play normally after 9 hours of "Bizarre."

On the 5th day, I have gloves, a lord, 2 phoenixes in the army, 2 cities, and the opponent's gold mine. The "Runner" is created from the first castle hero. It's a pity he only gets GM (Grand Master) speed at 122. But the fast start allowed me to clear the metro, take the keymaster's tent, visit the tree of knowledge, and the school of magic by this time. On the 9th day, I already had a Demonologist with GM Nature in the army. I attack on the side on the 125th day, and on the 131st day, I have 4 cities and the opponent's Chaos guard broken on his territory. Only clumsy mouse clicks prevented me from reaching the opponent's army by one step (!). He was standing nearby, ready to break his own Chaos neutrals and take his third city on the next turn. I had to stand in the passage and wait for the attack.

He has GM Life with Sanes and Davon, a Mage with a 4th-level book, a "Runner" without magic, a Tactician 555x without magic, 3+3 angels, and 22 crossbowmen. The high GM attack of the Tactician with a sling and a club made his monsters deadly to my phoenixes with low defense.

I have 1+2+1 Phoenix, a Demonologist with GM Nature, a Tactician with good tactics and attack skills, a Mage with Berserker, and a "Runner" with GM Life. Each of my heroes has a control spell: swarm of bees, song of peace, or confusion. This clearly plays against his two mages.

Jel played a magnificent final. After some hesitation with the phoenixes, I finally realized in time to block the line of sight of his Mage, thereby depriving him of the ability to teleport his crossbowmen close to my heroes. The battle is long and very difficult. In general, Jel strategically surpassed me, forcing me to defend myself half a step away from defeat. Thank you to my opponent!

The game recording is stored here.

Beginners and intermediate players can watch the game video as a guide to "Circus," not only for Nature. Experienced players will, of course, notice some non-optimal actions and the possibility of accelerating the pace of the game by at least 1 day. Top players may find it interesting to follow some of the subtleties of the game: mana management, planning magic skills for heroes, etc. In general, in my humble opinion, the game was a success, at the highest level – I recommend watching the video. Even the opponent managed to reach the final from a rather uninspiring start with good quality.

This somewhat strange victory began to take shape even when the maps were being removed. The opponent, for some reason, removed Eldoria from the map, which I was already ready to remove myself. As a result, thanks to this, the choice for the host, Jel, was between Iron and "Circus." I am traditionally confident on Iron, and on "Circus," I have learned to feel the path to victory in the last six months. In addition to this, Jel takes random, leaving me to choose Nature. And it also happens that I manage to disrupt the layout of Jel's "corpse" with a restart, immediately with two books – Nature and Life (!). I am ready to play the next layout, but looking at Jel's Life castle with a peasant dwelling, I start to expect a restart from him. To my natural happiness, Jel does not take a restart and starts by surrendering the arena, since he also has peasants against my leprechauns with acceleration. Then he starts some kind of mess, the game on his side drags on – he takes my gold only on the 9th or 10th day, i.e., 5 days later than me. Only after the game did Jel write that he was counting on a 4th-level book. The calculation did not work out; artifacts were put in the chests, which for Life means a delay in dwellings and a prolonged start. As a result, he still gets Endurance in the castles and still reduces the gap between us.

This is the chain of facts that, in my opinion, led to the victory of the red player.

Among the mistakes, I can note the loss of a Phoenix on the dwelling of the Dead, the inaction of the released griffins, with which, together with the lord, I should have taken the sawmill and the quarry from Jel, an unprepared army for capturing the garrison on the island, and not the fastest possible construction of castles, although there were enough resources – the +1250 gold from the artifacts from the 4th day of the game affected.

1/2 playoff
Necropolis wins against Academy 1m3w6d

The game unfolded on several fronts. I really wanted the first final between our players in the World Championship to take place. There were different scenarios for the matchups of nationalities in the decisive games of previous years: Russia vs. France, France vs. Sweden, twice Brazil vs. Portugal, Portugal vs. France. It has never happened before that two players from the same country would reach the final. There is still a chance for Zeziuk, after defeating Schnurov, to make the final a Russian-Belarusian one, but in any case, this is ALREADY OUR VICTORY IN 2013! At the same time, I was fighting for the first time against a top veteran, ToHa Gustn. He won titles in the Vesuvia tournaments at the height of the four-player era, when I was just learning to level up more than two heroes in my army. For me, this was an opportunity to experience for the first time the strategy of a player from that time. And that's why I'm not surprised how I failed to anticipate his actions, both on the adventure map and on the battlefield. In addition, the Brazilian Gustn, returning to the four-player scene after a 6-year break, managed to win gold in the World Championship twice in a row. After defeating the one-time champion Jel, defeating the only two-time champion to date was a separate task for me.

The game itself was my first hit & run at the official level. The result of the card draw was predictable; it wasn't difficult for me to discard 4 of Gustn's other cards, and I really wanted to play in the familiar Ironman style. I tried to decide on my race before the start of the game, but I couldn't come to a specific decision. All cities, in my opinion, ultimately have roughly equal chances there. All that remained was to choose randomly and remove the aggressive Chaos and Nature from my opponent. He chose Order, and that's how we started.

Immediately, I planned to quickly attack Gustn with 6 heroes and early-built Devils. From the first day, the idea of joining a prisoner to my army and creating a Tactician-Noble out of him in order to save money on buying a hero took root in my mind. The idea worked. The prisoner was captured. The city was defended. The prisoner became a Commander. A runner was quickly leveled up. Everything was going well in the first week. The second week began with a very difficult breakthrough of the speed crystal behind the Crusaders and Ballistas with my young heroes and the only Devil. A battle for the defense of the Devil dwelling took place unexpectedly, where, for some reason, David's sling didn't work, and my Devil, hitting weakly, as if without it, disappeared. The loss of a level 4 monster on an outer dwelling became a familiar thing for me, but after buying two new Pikemen, I moved to the castle to prepare to destroy the bridge. These two days became a slowing-down moment: my runner was battered by Crusaders - with his grave in the army, I lost the bonus from the Master Runner skill; and then, after being resurrected in the castle, he began to study only scouting and the promising Ninja 42 learned the Grand Master of Running skill at the age of 55 at level 124. It would have been nothing, but it was these delays that prevented me from blocking Gustn's path to his upper teleport home. I was short by 1 day and ten steps. The opponent dove behind the gate right in front of my nose. I failed to snatch the Mind Shield from him in his lands first. The race for immunity to mind magic was lost. I couldn't significantly outpace him in clearing the area. I had to fight him prepared.

Before the battle, I couldn't figure out how Gustn managed to clear his entire territory with only two Sorceresses. Was it that his heroes had enough mana to fight monsters of level 3 and 4? Only upon closer examination with scouting before the final, I was surprised to see a Combat Mage Master with the Grand Master of Melee skill in his ranks. I was also surprised because Schnurov advised me to follow exactly that path of development. I really wanted to follow Schnurov, but there wasn't enough experience on all 6 heroes to create a tank out of a Ninja. Another surprise was the large number of Djinns. That is, Djinns and 2 Sorceresses in Gustn's final army. And yet, the most fatal event for me was the teleport of Djinns into my ranks. There, they could kill heroes in pairs with his melee attacker, a very lucky corpse, taking lives from my well-resistant heroes. In short, all I had left to do from the first battle was to run away. The second battle was inconclusive for both sides. We spent a very long time teleporting his Djinns back and forth. As a result, we both survived and took a time-out for a couple of real days. The time for the third and final battle has come.

The situation was difficult. I didn't see any obvious opportunities for victory without the Devils lost in the first battle. I kept remembering Zeziuk's and Schnurov's comments about the weak prospects of Death on this map. At that moment, it was unfolding exactly as they wrote, contrary to my theoretical plans. Zeziuk had already outlined the first final battle for me in detail. And the second battle also went according to his hypothesis. I really didn't want to give up. I repeatedly watched the Twitch replays. I tirelessly calculated. I generated. I compared on paper. And finally, the feeling of vulnerability of his strengths that never left me gave a result. I just needed to estimate the strength of my spells, the levels of his resistances, and remember that the blue helmet doesn't allow Gustn to cast Morale on his heads. And he couldn't steal my Morale with the helmet on his head either.

The last battle was decided by very unusual perks for leveling up to such a level: Ice Bolt, Summon Imps, Poison Attack, targeted Mirth from the raised corpses of Djinns. My two morale boosters had more attack than his one. All my units with morale always went first. His morale was easily lowered by casting Ice Bolt on his Djinns. All that remained was to determine the order of destroying the heroes and, knowing about the shackles on his tank, methodically destroy the Sorcerers and solve the problem of destroying the strongman. The initially frightening ring of regeneration on him turned out to be not so cool in the calculations. My poison attack of 96 and ice arrow of 211 with his 77% resistance took 70 HP per turn, and the ring of regeneration gave the hero only 48 HP per turn. The difference of 22 HP per 11 turns completely overwhelmed the tank. The duration of the poison was enough; all that remained was to fight cautiously, saving at least 33 mana for my mages at the end. The best mage, of course, had a wooden staff, but still. Saving must be economical.

I managed to pull off very difficult battles with the help of a second player. In fact, only one phrase from Schnurov in Skype, "maybe imps?", significantly eased the task of saving mana, protecting against melee attacks, and poisoning enemy heroes. My own head, after 20 game hours, was more filled with fears than with calm decisions. It was becoming practically impossible to pull off this situation on my own. Thank you for your help!

I am immensely grateful to my opponent for such an extraordinary game. Very beautiful development of Order - excellently organized transition from slow units to fast Sorceresses. Timely teleport of hard-hitting Djinns into my ranks. Top class.

I really hope that the Schnurov-Zeziuk game will take place in the next three days, and next week we will start the final with a game for third place.

P.S. Home video: first game week, second game week, third game week, the last two battles in two parts here and here.

Thank you for the streams and gameplay videos. It's very interesting to watch. Why don't you put your players on heroes3.tv?