Posts from Quickly.

I am releasing a corrected version of this epic scenario for the "Tribes of the East" version 3.1. The map was obviously made for version 3.0, and in 3.1 the combat script does not work as intended by the author due to an error. I have also fixed several annoying bugs.

What has been fixed:

• Fixed the combat script (setATB for summoned mage assistants was not triggering). Now on "Veteran" and "Hero" difficulty, mage assistants always start the battle instead of having a 1-turn delay as before. This will make the already difficult start on "Hero" slightly harder.
• Fixed Annabelle's specialization description (it said: "Spell Breaker", but it is actually "Swiftfoot"). For experts, this was obvious given the presence of the "Teleport" spell for 4 mana in her book.
• Annabelle's home castle is now Sylvan (as it should be) instead of Inferno (as it was). Now Annabelle will not have such huge problems with morale, and you can play with "Empathy". The start for Annabelle will become slightly easier.
• Fixed a bug where weekly elven reinforcements (archers/ents) did not appear in the castle if the peasant gang leader Emelyan was killed. This won't significantly affect the game, as by the time the reinforcement quests are completed, these reinforcements aren't really needed anymore.
• Updated the internal date of the artifacts file (the map date is earlier than patch 3.1, so special artifacts didn't work; for example, "Novice's Magic Wand" did not reduce defense by -1, and the "Sword of Your Ancestors" artifact, obtained after an epic half-hour/one-hour battle in the Warrior's Grave, gave no bonuses). By the way, for some reason the author made all weak artifacts strong (perhaps so that an artifact isn't given at the start, but then this option could simply be blocked). So it's better to choose resources at the start.
• For Archangels, who are casters in this scenario, "cast" animation and an icon for the "Resurrect Allies" ability have been added. Now Archangels won't stand like a "cross" while casting.

Enjoy the game!

Huge thanks for the 3.1 version. But Annabelle doesn't start with her home castle, but rather a Haven town! You can choose an artifact at the start, and it is given to both heroes simultaneously and is identical — it's a wedding ring (health +2).
P.S. Regarding the Pyramid Riddle quest: the description says you will find many valuable artifacts there and the most valuable will be the Town Portal Scroll, but I didn't get the scroll! So I had to cheat with teleport in some places when the castle was attacked (it was hanging next to a necropolis in the dungeon — I couldn't get in). In the pyramid, there was a tunic of flesh and a horseshoe; that's how it is, kids. It can be taken without losses by 2 stacks of paladins and a ballista on machines, which we use first to take out the plague tent. Zoltan doesn't attack with melee or cast, but will constantly raise a dragon using all his mana. Between choosing the side of ents or mages, mages are better (even if you lose elven reinforcements later, it's not critical — 50 Titans are better)!
Two things remained (in the screenshots) that I didn't understand how to visit: this necropolis and the blood temple. There are bugs on the map, but they won't affect completing the scenario. For a successful run, I recommend reading the messages here; there is also a Remix stream, if of course you don't mind his mouth full of food during the stream and smacking + 2 "funny" friends with the IQ of a stool. Further: angels in this game turned out to be completely useless (I didn't even build them up, as in the toughest battles without magic they are total zeros, considering their number since I rushed). Everything else is broken through by a leveled-up Talanar in light (storm is mandatory) with empathy and a bow. I didn't use Berserkers or Subjugators at all (forgot about them🙃). Mostly mass slow, haste, and inspiration (tip: don't take defense for anyone — in this scenario, you shouldn't be hit at all!). For some reason, the recruited Nura at the end was completely without OP (maybe it's intended, I don't know, she already provides many spells through scholar/mentorship and fifty titans); apparently, the author considered this sufficient. Some stacks will have to be broken through a dozen times (Grave), and ghosts only after getting Holy Sandals on the galley; don't fall for the comment above regarding spikes and simultaneous casting on everyone! That is only useful for the galley — then just kill the respawning stack three times. The two hardest spots are the garrison at the human castle (meat is not realistic + lack of magic) and the guards at the entrance to the dwarf dungeon (archangels need to be killed 4 times with a constant arithmetic progression of the stack. Among the difficult ones: Grave (Hero is not scary — he kills phantoms with melee), the wolf trap (because it's a surprise), the last stack of furies (their initiative and excessive number), Dragon Utopia (initiative script + unexpected Armageddon, which overall isn't scary because of magic) and only because there's little meat of your own. The map only seems difficult at first glance due to the complex scenario; in reality, it's a medium difficulty level if you understand what the author wanted from you. Overall, very long in terms of real time and short in terms of game time. Stable on the Buka repack.

But from the start, Annabelle doesn't have her own castle, but a city of Haven!

I meant that in the original version, although Annabelle was a ranger with a ranger's racial ability, in the hero's internal properties, Inferno was listed as the home castle, meaning demons were her native troops. Therefore, playing with a mix of human and elven troops, the morale of the units went deep into the minus.

An artifact can be chosen at the start and it is given to both heroes simultaneously and it's the same - it's a wedding ring (health +2).

Wedding rings are given in any case, even if you choose resources. Choosing an artifact at the start is, as it turns out, the absence of a bonus—essentially an option to complicate the start for those who wish.

In the description of the Pyramid Riddle quest, it says that you will find many valuable artifacts there and the most valuable will be the Town Portal Scroll, but I didn't receive the scroll!

At the beginning of the game, there are two possible paths home: to the left (an easier but longer passage through a dungeon) or to the right across the river (a more difficult but faster way that gives the opportunity to get the portal scroll). If you go left, upon returning home, the boat for crossing the river disappears, and you will be able to reach the right part of the desert significantly later via another path, but capturing the pyramid will no longer give the scroll. If you swim to the right first, the boat will disappear almost immediately after landing, and you can enter the left part of the desert later, but since you've obtained the scroll, you can teleport home immediately and the subsequent part of the game will be easier. Accordingly, different quests will be available depending on the initial choice of path.

That was the author's intention, as I understand it. However, with proper luck in leveling up, within the time allotted for returning home, you can manage to visit both the left and right sides and get the scroll. To do this on Hero difficulty, you need to achieve such a build (roll at the start): basic war machines + ballista from the very first levels, then basic logistics + pathfinding (without it you won't make it in time, and there aren't enough levels for advanced logistics; you can't sacrifice war machines, otherwise you can't break through the necromancer in the pyramid), then tent and fire arrows. At the start, we go left, clear the desert as much as possible, descend into the dungeon, run down trying not to enter deep nooks (except for a secret nook through a wall with necessary resources), emerge to the surface, meet your elven wife, take some reinforcements, and rush headlong back through the dungeon, get in the boat, clear the right part of the desert as much as we can, capture dwellings with paladins, take the quest from the shamans, and attack the pyramid on the last day.

2 things remained (in the screenshots) that I didn't understand how to visit: this necro-castle and the bloody temple.

The necro-castle is most likely a placeholder so that the pyramid attack can be redirected by script to an attack on this castle. You cannot get there.

The bloody temple (which kills with a GameOver lightning bolt) can be visited if you secure the support of the dark elves. I think you first need to complete the quest where two sisters divide power. But then you can't take the dubious wand with Resurrection from them.

Angels in this game turned out to be completely useless

For me, on the contrary, they were the most useful, even in small numbers. Perhaps we have different playstyles. An archangel has 100 mana, advanced Phantom spell and expert Heavenly Shield (with Light Secrets - that's 10 casts) + 5 charges of ally Resurrection. Against the Spurned Bride, I used one large stack of paladins and several small stacks of archangels. First, we cast shields on all archangels to halve the damage from Mana Burst, paladins heal the archangels, and paladin phantoms kill the enemy; at the end, we resurrect. Since the map is old, new spells like "Regeneration" are not here.

Obviously, in a battle against 5000 Seraphs, our 30 accumulated Archangels won't decide it, considering the mana reset of the hero and casters. Here, of course, a large stack of crossbowmen + 6 single peasants + Inspiration + luck is needed.

Nura, who joined at the end, was somehow completely without MP

Yes, Nura's movement points are reset by script every turn; she is immobile. You can, of course, give her a portal scroll, she will teleport to the city and fight back there, but it will be impossible to extract her from there.

I'll share some tips and secrets from Living Snack that don't seem to have appeared in guides or Remix's streams.

In the tavern quest where you get hit on the head and thrown into the basement, you will need to escape through a whirlpool, keeping 1 beast (saving the mermaid sister). But as it turns out, this beast is the weakest link, and its whirlpool kills it. Therefore, you have to dismiss all units except for this beast. But it's a pity to lose 1 high druid. Well, he can be saved in 2 ways.

1) Let the whirlpool kill the beast. Later there will be an opportunity to buy a beast in a dwelling. A purchased beast will also pass as the mermaid sister.

2) Level up "Luck on the Road" in advance. Everyone knows that this skill allows collecting more resources and gold from chests, but few know what "The Hero overall becomes luckier" means; even the manual says nothing. I discovered two such things. First, "Luck on the Road" reduces the chance of being thrown overboard by a whirlpool from 50% of the weakest stack to 25% (rounded down). So if the weakest stack is a single unit, no one will die. You can even move through whirlpools without losses with only level 7 creatures. Second, the Luck Well, which gives -1, +1, +2 or +3 to Luck, stops rolling the "-1" option when "Luck on the Road" is present. Perhaps you will discover other secrets.

In the battle with Seraphs, it's desirable to have +5 Luck from artifacts and objects on the map. If you don't mind the strongest cheat "Load/Save", you can roll +3 Luck from the well this way. The "random" option rolled depends on the coordinates of all your heroes on the map, including the one who approached the well. So it matters from which side you approach the well. If you move secondary heroes, the value will change. In the same way, you can roll the desired hero in the tavern at the beginning of the next week if you move secondary heroes at the end of the week.

In spell scrolls, the description mentions an advanced level, but this is a mistake in the description and manual. In fact, scrolls cast spells at the same level as without skill—more accurately, at the hero's skill level, just like Magic Tomes. But a wand always casts at an advanced level with magic 8, regardless of the hero's magic or skill (even if it is expert).

How to roll leveling at the start is known (enable_cheats, add_exp ...). But how to roll the necessary spells in the castle?

@UpgradeTownBuilding(GetObjectNamesByType("TOWN")[0], 6)

0 = city number, 6 = mages guild (change 0 sequentially to 1, 2, 3 etc. until you find an upgrade of your city level, and repeat the command another 4 times to raise the guild to level 5).

If these scribbles are unclear to you, you probably don't need them. All this matters for ultra-hard maps (or having Evasion, of course ?).

Here, I agree, it's medium level, but the start is very harsh. And the first walkthrough is something else. It captivates with full immersion.

Added after 4 hours 22 minutes
Regarding the bloody temple, I think I remember. You need to take a quest from both sisters to eliminate the rival, but not kill them. Then go to the bloody temple and the great something will decide that the younger sister should become the ruler. Then return to the sisters. I remember the reward is so-so. Plus the sisters are glitchy.