Posts from Uninvited guests.

why did the computer prioritize the artifact “Sword of Power” over “Drying Rod -20%”?

The computer didn’t choose; it picked up the sword first and then found the staff. Usually, the computer cannot change an item from the inventory to be held by the hero.

I recommend this to everyone again! Huge respect to the creator! I wish there were more such complex maps.

Right now, voting is underway for the best map of 2015-16. If you want, you can support your favorite works here.

Moreover, even after defeating the opponent, artifacts are not awarded for some reason.

Just in case, I'll reiterate that artifacts will not drop from AI flagships. At the start of the game and with each regeneration, the AI hero receives a random set of artifacts to enhance their abilities. If these artifacts were to drop on the player's main hero after every victory, the game would become, in my opinion, uninteresting.

Added 1 minute ago
Unfortunately, I don't have time to work on the human and necromancer specializations. Suggestions from players are welcome.

The computer didn't choose anything itself. It picked up a sword first, then found a staff. Usually, the computer can't change an item from the inventory to be held by the hero.

Right now, there is a vote for the best map of 2015-16. If you want, you can support your favorite works here.

Thank you for the link!

Added after 1 minute

Just in case, I will repeat that with flagships, AI won't receive artifacts randomly. At the start of the game and with each regeneration, the AI receives a random set of artifacts to enhance its abilities. If these artifacts were given to the main hero - the player - as if from a cornucopia after every victory, it would become, IMHO, not interesting to play

Added after 1 minute
Unfortunately, there is currently no time to work on improving the specializations of humans and necromancers. Suggestions from players are welcome.

I personally completely agree :) although it's a little sad, it really wouldn't be fun to play.

Map updated. Changes:

1. Dexter's specialization has been changed. Now, at the beginning of the battle, he casts Vampirism on creatures of the first three levels.
2. Rupert's specialization has been changed. Now, he specializes in ballista. It receives +1 to attack for each level of the hero. Also, the hero himself receives +1 to attack for every 4 levels.

I don't consider myself a pro; I play as a Knight or a Hero. But regarding this map, I can say:
It's been a long time since I played such a hilariously boring map!
What tactics can there be here? All the tactics are predetermined by the author: dancing around the castle and chasing the AI for months. And that feature with the Sabbath? I found and built the Tear, but I couldn't find the Sabbath!))))
I had the most success with a Barbarian, for whom the portal to the city with the scroll didn't work. It's not clear how to play as the Dwarves at all. I gave up on month 7 because I got tired of this running around. For even more hardcore gameplay, they could have placed a castle in the middle of the map; that would have been a tactical paradise!)))
At least they could have thought through a network of portals so that the further you go, the more opportunities you have to return. The artifacts on the map are just crumbs; there's nothing to strengthen yourself with!
In short, it's boring.

I don't consider myself a pro; I play as a Warrior or Hero. But regarding this map, I can say:
It's been a long time since I've played such a hilariously boring map!
What tactics can we even talk about here? All the tactics are predetermined by the author: dancing around the Castle and chasing the AI for months. And what about that Sabbath feature? I found and built the Tear, but I couldn't find the Sabbath!))))
I achieved the greatest success playing as a Barbarian, where the Portal to the city with a scroll didn't actually work. It's not even clear how to play as the Dwarves. I gave up after about 7 months because I got tired of this running around. To make it even more hardcore, they should have placed a Castle in the middle of the map; that would have been a tactical paradise!)))
At least they could have thought about a network of portals so that the further you go, the more opportunities you have to return. The artifacts on the map are just crumbs; there's nothing to use to get stronger!
In short, it's boring.

Well, I know at least 2 tactics for all races so that you don't have to just hang around the city for months. Maybe the problem isn't with the map or the author after all?

Krusso, try playing as Haven (hero - Rupert). Considering his 2 specializations, your chances of winning will increase significantly + with this hero, the scroll "Portal to Town" works. And the witches' coven is located not far from the entrance to the dungeon.

Either I didn't understand the topic correctly, or it's unclear how you're supposed to play as the hero. As a Demon, after 3 weeks, my army consists of a maximum of dogs, and my hero is level 6-7. Then a Necropolis player, level 17, attacks with a huge army.

Either I didn't understand the topic, or it's unclear how to play as a hero?
As a demon, after 3 weeks, my army consists of a maximum of dogs and a level 6-7 hero.
Then a Necropolis player with a level 17 hero and a huge army attacks.

If it's not clear how to play as a "hero," don't torture yourself. There are easier levels. For reference: the first heroes you encounter almost always have a development level close to your own main hero's level. So, if you ended up with a level 7 hero, you need to look for problems in your own strategy.

If it's not clear how to play with a "hero," don't struggle. There are easier levels. For reference: the first heroes you encounter almost always have a development level close to your own main hero's level. So, if you get a level 7 hero, you need to look for problems in your own strategy.

I'm far from a newbie in Heroes. The fact that I wrote my first post on the forum doesn't mean anything; I'm just curious if the maps are playable with a hero and if there are any who have done it.

P.S. For example, it's quite easy for me to play as a Barbarian.

I decided to play this map and chose my favorite race (afro-bookworms) at the start of the game with "hero" settings. :)
After getting acquainted with the specialization and characteristics of the starting warrior Sigmor, I decided that while a "fire wall" at the beginning of a battle is certainly not bad ;), "plague" is more familiar and there's no escaping it :cool: , so I chose Letos as my partner; for the second slot, I got Rutgar, a human rogue. At the start of the game, I transferred all elven troops to Letos and sent him to explore the territories—primarily to crush everything living, since there were few undead and mechanicals around and "plague" was doing its dirty work :smile51: .
First, at the end of the second week, a red demon named Grok (level 16) showed up from the Dungeon located in the northwest corner. By that time, I had only managed to level Letos up to 15; I met him on the far outskirts with 7 trackers and took him down (replay attached), thanks to his warriors having some kind of insane initiative (I barely managed to hide three of the 7 trackers), but after that, the game proceeded almost without me—the reds kept moving and dying. This is where I hit my first disappointment—not a single valuable artifact dropped from the enemy :eek: . Literally a few days later, he appeared again immediately with an even larger army; this time Letos halved his force and slipped away to the tavern, then rehired himself on the same day and finished off the demon the next morning. I wanted to run into the newly opened Dungeon passage, but one by one, a necromancer and a female dwarf arrived from the center of the map. I had to sacrifice Rutgar (moving him so that he stood between them; since the necro couldn't catch him, she was forced to block the way for the dwarf), which allowed me to pit them against each other :smile30: and delay the enemies' approach to the Castle. The necro beat the dwarf, but then fell victim to a white afro-bookworm named Erin who joined in on the fun. After the internal squabbles ended, Letos emerged from the Castle and gave his fellow clanswoman a proper welcome with "plague" and "ice bolts" :smile13: , thanks to having managed to get that coveted necklace that enhances cold :p ; as for trophy artifacts, another disappointment :mad: !
Before I could even catch my breath from the first wave, the red demon in the northwest Dungeon started stirring again :eek: . I wanted to deal with him using the same scheme as before, but he brought 4 squads of demonesses who shoot at 4 targets simultaneously and have an initiative of 13! Therefore, hiding with trackers didn't work :( . I had to replay several turns and, sacrificing part of my army, reclaim the "ring of speed" from some dead dragons, which raised the trackers' initiative to 14. I fought off the demon, but then the female dwarf and the necro arrived; this time I couldn't pit them against each other, so I had to defend in the Castle (I lost almost all the troops I had managed to accumulate :( ). To weaken the necro before she stormed my Castle, I had to send Sigmor himself on a suicide mission :smile16: . Erin showed up for the aftermath; once again, I took her out with plague and cold (I already knew there would be no trophy artifacts :smile38: ).
During the continuous battles, I slowly built up the Castle and the capitol. I rehired Sigmor, and when I had enough money, another afro-bookworm; I began exploring slightly further territories, but before a week had passed—Grok appeared again and brought an army three times larger than everything I had managed to accumulate once more :eek: . I wanted to nip him with a guerrilla raid, but it turned out the bastard had managed to get "bracers" and now you can't escape him! I thought that was it—game over :smile51: , but I still managed on the first try to take down his 7 trackers (or rather 130 trackers, battle attached). For this, I got several level-ups. I fought off the other three neighbors using guerrilla tactics and making full use of magic: "plague", "cold", and "fire wall"; to strengthen the last spell, I had to obtain a phoenix feather cloak (replays with one particularly arrogant dwarf, whom I took out completely, and a necromancer from whom I eventually had to "make legs" and later extinguished, are attached). In the breaks between subsequent attacks, I took the "town portal" spell from some cyclopses (battle attached). Then I had to take down the demon on the fly again, whose army had grown even larger; fortunately, my spellcasting had also increased, but mana was barely enough because he brought a bunch of imps. Then the necros appeared; I managed to dodge the main one and attack the second, killing him and getting very lucky :D—I got Markel's skull, plus in another level-up "magic attraction" dropped; my mana increased almost two and a half times!
While Letos and the trackers held back the enemies, I managed to send Sigmor with the main army to the northeast region (visiting teleports leading to the forest valley and the southwest of the map) and cleared the path of neutrals. This allowed me to level Sigmor up to 23, and then return him to guard the Castle.
After that, for a month, the defense method was as follows—Letos weakened the opponents with guerrilla sorties, and they no longer dared attack the Castle guarded by Sigmor. As for Grok (the red demon), he was neutralized in this way—when he arrived at my Castle doors once more with a huge army (against which Sigmor and all my forces had "no chance"), a necro and a dwarf, slightly nibbled on by Letos, were already crowding there. The red lawbreaker immediately took both of them down but lost the majority of his own army; then Sigmor emerged from the Castle, at which point the demon realized things were getting hot and fled to a refuge, where Sigmor locked him up for a long time :cool: !
Thus—for the first three months, I did nothing but fight off constant enemy attacks, whose strength grew with every assault, and then they started bringing sabbaths; something had to change. I decided to explore the places where the uninvited guests appeared and primarily find out where the clansmen's castle was, from which they were hauling such huge forces. With Letos, I managed to reach the southeast Dungeon, where I immediately ran into an afro-bookworm outpost—storming it was almost madness :eek: , because the mages guild in my Castle didn't provide dark mind control spells :smile05: , but there was no other way. I attacked it three times using "plague" and "fire wall"; during the first two, I managed to destroy almost all the fast units: furies, dragons, and some lizards; the third assault was the hardest (it is attached). Having broken through the outpost and leveled up to 29, I made a forced march to the enemy castle, killing a couple of minor heroes along the way :cool: ; fortunately, I managed to trick Erin and she was upstairs when I broke the outpost; she rushed back toward her castle, but it was too late. I met her with those same 7 trackers and finished her off :smile51: . Life immediately became more cheerful—I spent all the money received from the new castle on building my own and buying all available creatures; within a few weeks, I fully built up the Castle and hired everyone possible. Fortunately, no one entered the Dungeon where the defeated afro-bookworms were based, so I used auxiliary heroes to take over all mines and creature generators there, and when another sabbath occurred, I built a capitol in the other castle and completely ignored the sabbath quest :cool: .
Meanwhile, with Letos, I went up and planned to smash the demon outpost using the same method, take their castle, and rot Grok in the refuge; but at that time, an arrogant female dwarf began threatening my Castle, so I had to return Sigmor and his entire army to guard it. Taking advantage of this, Grok the demon jumped out of the refuge and fled, but didn't get far—he ran right into the same dwarf :smile51: . To say that this upset me would be an understatement :smile05: , because I knew for sure that in a few days he would reappear fully armed with bracers, and his army would be so large there wouldn't be enough room for everyone :smile05: . That is exactly what happened, but fortunately, at first, he started chasing the necros and dwarves again (apparently wanting to power up before storming my Castle), while I, on the third attempt, broke through his outpost and captured his castle :) . Realizing things were getting hot, Grok panicked, but it was too late—his forces were already weak compared to Sigmor's; he lingered for a week "like shit in an ice hole" and perished :smile16: . In the demon castle, Letos finally learned the "berserk" spell; with its help, I managed to knock out the dwarf outpost (in two goes) and capture the same dwarf castle; the female dwarf couldn't take it back :cool: . Finally, it was the necros' turn; I captured their outpost in two goes using "chaos" (second battle attached)—I already knew "chain lightning", "meteor shower", and "earth shock", and the emerald shoes bought from the artifact shop, combined with level 53 spellcasting, made the last two spells simply devastating :eek: . I took out the main necromancer in two goes—Letos wiped out all her units except for zombies (of which there were almost 3000) and banshees, and then Sigmor polished her off (battle attached) :smile13: . Although this wasn't even necessary—she would have died anyway without ever reaching her castle. For the remaining game time, I had to chase a couple of minor female necromancers around the Dungeon. After several attempts, I managed to do it two days faster than if they had just died on their own :D .
Well, that's all :) ; total game time was 156 days; if I were to replay (and there would be a proper mages guild in the starting castle with "hypnosis" and "berserk"), I think it could be reduced by a couple or three weeks, but for now, I don't really feel like it ;) .
Replays of the battles mentioned above, and others that were simply memorable, are attached.

The map is great—it keeps you on your toes and doesn't let you relax! Huge respect to the author :)
It's a pity that 30% of the map (the underground sea, the shore of which you reach via teleport at the Dungeon entrance, and the free caves) could not be explored—at first there was simply no opportunity, and later, there was no reason

So, the "Town Portal" spell simply cannot be learned at the Academy. And the chance of a Berserker appearing is small (if it exists at all). In Dungeon, there's Chaos and Summoning.
I haven't played the map, but the walkthrough... It's intense, fascinating reading!

I'm far from being a newbie in Heroes.
P.S. For example, it's quite easy for me to play as a Knight.

If you're not a newbie in this, then what prevents you from reading the thread about this map first? You wouldn't even have the questions – whether it's possible to win the map as a Knight or not, and with which factions. Secondly, if it's easy to play as a Knight, but it's completely impossible to play as a Hero – something doesn't add up here. The difference between difficulty levels isn't that significant.

So, Subjugate can't even drop in the Dungeon castle, and the chance for Berserk is small (if it exists at all), while the Dungeon has Chaos and Summoning.

Not entirely fair. In the Magic Tower, random spells drop. There is a certain increased probability of a spell dropping in a specific castle. On this map, I had a Dungeon castle where, out of all the "chaos," only Stone Skin and Fire Wall dropped, and finally, on the 5th level – a curse. I restarted.

If you're not new to this, what prevents you from reading the thread about this map first? There wouldn't even be any questions – whether it's possible to win the map with a "hero" or not, and which castles to use. Secondly, if you can easily play with a "warrior," but you can't play at all with a "hero," then something isn't right. The difference between difficulty levels isn't that significant.

Sorry, the question was about the demon. I got the impression that even with a good strategy, a lot will depend on how lucky you are with the initial stats. And, by the way, I didn't see anything about demons in the topic – Khan is very interesting in theory, but it seemed impossible to me to play successfully with him as a "hero." Maybe someone has played successfully?

The question was about demons. It seemed that even with good tactics, a lot will depend on how lucky you are with the initial spells.
And, by the way, I didn't see anything about demons in the thread - Kahn is just very interesting in theory, but it seemed unrealistic for a "hero," maybe someone played successfully?

It turned out interestingly: the first half of your post is an answer to the second half. Kahn only looks interesting, but in reality, as rightly noted, everything depends on chance. In most cases, these random events will not give the player an advantage. How much benefit will there be if Kahn casts "Destructive Ray" or "Grief" for three units at the beginning of the game, while there are no ranged units among them? With Necromancers, you can't even theoretically rely on casting "Berserk" or "Subjugation." Demons look better in field battles. But on this map, the material advantage will always be on the side of the AI, and the main battles are the defense of your own castle, i.e., again, not in favor of the demon. In my opinion, Kahn can be useful when he reaches level 23-25; in the early stages, he is just a headache for the player.
Since no one has played as demons yet, you have the opportunity to be the first. Even if not on the most difficult level (if "hero" is unrealistic), but a well-reasoned review is always important.