Posts from Walkthroughs for custom maps. Auto-translated

Well, if none of the newbies have completed it at 200%, it doesn't mean anything. I wonder if any of the old-school players have tried it.

Added after 1 hour 46 minutes
I looked at the map in the editor - it looks impressive. It's completely unclear what to do and how.

I'm slowly making progress on Limes Inferior. Now at 160%, because at 200%, you run out of stone and wood too early (or rather, you don't even really start accumulating them), so we can't build a Castle, which means we're doomed very quickly (it would be interesting to see someone's Walkthrough with this setup, but I suspect that no one will be able to manage it). It's significantly easier on the second-to-last difficulty. I've almost completely built the Swamp Castle (except for upgrading some creature levels and the guild to level 2-3), but in the Stronghold, I don't have enough resources even for a Fort, which significantly slows down the pace. I gave the Stronghold to the computer, hoping it would build it, but the jerk is building everything it can, except for the Fort. Another problem: killing enemy bosses doesn't eliminate them permanently; the computer immediately buys them back, and they deal very painful damage with their attack magic; 20% resistance doesn't help much. On top of that, the computer's heroes are also very well-leveled from the start. Plus, we're being harassed by three flags from different sides while we're gathering strength to break through the first garrison. In general, even at 160%, this map feels like a nightmare.

Hello everyone!
So, Paragon 2.0 defeated Etheria once again. If anyone is interested, they can also try fighting Etheria.
Save before the battle with Etheria: https://yadi.sk/d/PJUUkgJ-3LwhaD

I went to the Imaginarium, and there was an Archmage (Naerod) with a large army. I read the event:
“- Bravo, Mograine! I am impressed! - said the Archmage, as the gates of the Imaginarium opened, - You have overcome all difficulties and obstacles and still achieved your goal. Magnificent!
- I wouldn't say it was very easy. You know that this is our last meeting, and you know how it will end.
- How it will end depends on you.
- Do you think I have a choice? Erianna must take your place. Then we can finally stand against Ashwing.
- I'm sure you've been advised to trust Invincion less, but it was he, if you think about it, who imposed the idea of war with the Black Hive on you. But who am I to give advice to the Incarnation of Perfection, as you are now called... The One Witness: you need the help of Erianna and the mages. However, I suggest that for once, we end this peacefully.
- Are you just going to give us the Imaginarium? - Mograine raised his eyebrows.
- Oh, if it were up to me, I would have been gone from here a long time ago. But, as you can see, some circumstances prevented me from leaving.
- Etheria.
- Exactly. And here is my offer: you will destroy this malicious spirit of magic, open the way for me, and allow me to leave. In return, I swear that I will never hinder you again. Moreover, I will release Erianna's students...
- Don't listen to him. He's trying to get rid of you, - the sorceress interjected.
- Only Mograine can handle her. If you accept my offer, your task is to kill Etheria, open the way to the portal for me, and not interfere with my movement. If not... do what you must, Perfect One."

Question: Well, Etheria has been defeated again. If I give him a "green light" to leave, will I be able to complete the game without taking his artifacts? He is strong, has many archers, and he has the Artifact of Firm Memory, which prevents the archers from being forgotten. Or should I gather strength and beat the Archmage? Please advise, those who have played. Thank you in advance for your answers/advice.
If anyone wants to fight the Archmage, here is the save.
Save before the battle with the Archmage: https://yadi.sk/d/UCiQNiqr3LwhUq

Beat Ethernia without using Berserk. I was only surprised that Mograine doesn't have Frenzy in his spellbook. With him, the process would have been ten times faster.

Added 33 minutes later
Archmage is not a challenge either.

Marlo_Stanfield Thank you for giving me hope for victory. Knowing that it was possible to win, I tried, and I won too!

Wow, what an army... please provide a link to the map.

AstralLein Paragon 2 http://heroesportal.net/maps/view/3480

Thank you!

The author himself states that he doesn't know of anyone who has completed it at 200%, but it is passable on lower difficulty levels.

Besides limiting the player's resources and banning a couple of buildings, is there anything else interesting about this map?

Yes.

Besides denying the player resources and banning a couple of buildings, is there anything else interesting about this map?

There's complexity and thoughtfulness here. The map requires a very carefully developed strategy from the beginning to the end. The core of the hardcore experience lies in the strict minimalism of our capabilities. Essentially, all we have is a specialized version of the Tower. There's no magic (only blessings and occasional slowing spells are useful), and there's no adequate army, nor is one expected in the future. The worst part is that all enemy heroes, even the minor ones, are well-leveled, have logistics and pathfinding, and beat us with lightning strikes (I'm tired of trying to get 20% resistance against them). Killing them doesn't really help us much. The range of heroes available for hire is very limited for each faction, and after a week, the computer hires them again. Plus, we can't even reach some of the individual factions, meaning they will continue to be a nuisance throughout the game. At 160%, it's theoretically passable; I cleared the swamp garrison, but I didn't get the last secondary skill, so there's no point in continuing in this state. I've put this mess aside for better times.

Added 3 minutes later
If you play on a difficulty level below 160%, I think it will be relatively easy.

Hello everyone!


- Are you just going to hand over Imaginarium to us? Mograine raised his eyebrows.
- Oh, if it were up to me, I would have left here a long time ago. But, as you can see, some circumstances prevented me from leaving.
- Aeterna.
- Exactly. And here is my offer: you destroy this malevolent spirit of magic, clear the way for me, and allow me to leave. In return, I swear I will never hinder you again. Moreover, I will free the students of Erianna...

Anatoly, Aeterna, and the elemental lords do not depend on the number of troops, only on the choice of tactics. Also, if you killed the Archmage, you will not get 50 Titans and 200 Sorceresses from the hidden stash above the Tower cities, and you will not get the Armageddon Blade before the battle with Eranicus. I would advise you to let the Archmage go.
Also, the selection of troops in the screenshot is unclear, in particular, why are slow Crusaders and weak Griffins needed when you can recruit a lot of Bears and Cyclops from 6 Strongholds with the Grail and the Legion Statue?

Shadow PriestThanks for the advice. I have a save before the "bloodletting" of the Archmage; I let him go, and he ran away through a teleport to the right side of the underground map. Now, the question is, where should I go next, to which town or hero, or should I gather devils to approach Entropy? In general, I spend 90% of the game searching for hidden paths.
Regarding the Crusaders and Griffons, I'm not sure myself; they just accumulated together, so I'll probably follow your advice and get some Cyclops instead. I already have a good number of bears (they participate in battles often).

How many demons have you collected? To get the teapot from the Haven faction, visit the red monolith near Alonzo several times. There, you'll find 2 demons, kill the guard of Yora, and take the Haven helmet. There's also a quest on Yora for 100+ cyclops. After getting the helmet, the path forward should open, I think. I'll turn on my computer and check. I'm writing from my phone.
Regarding the path forward: immediately after capturing Alonzo and before visiting the blue tent, the author gave a hint: "a demoness went into the red monolith in search of a helmet." You weren't paying attention.
P.s. I opened my save file; you should already have collected 3 diplomacy artifacts. They are given as part of a quest to the guard of the passage under the elven cities in the west, and this opens the path to Deis and Peplokryl. You will only be able to take the helmet after visiting the tent near Peplokryl.

Shadow Priest Thanks for the tip on where to go for the 3 diplomacy artifacts. I'll try to defeat Ashwing now; Haelius is already dead. I'll soon pass through the antimagic garrison with 500 black dragons in each stack without any losses and then attack Ashwing and the "minotaur lair."
Regarding the archdevils, I've accumulated 5, and I need 3 more. I found 2, and I'll have to buy or find the third one, although one of the two is in a very hard-to-reach place (I'm talking about 80, 85, 1) near Vaela's dungeon. For the other one, which is located at 105, 140, 1, I need several crystal dragons and 24 diamond golems (I'm collecting these monsters). There are no 8 archdevils on the map; I searched with the ProspectorRT program, so I guess I'll have to buy them?
Thanks again for your help.

I looked into the seer quests and got 1 archdevil by summoning Octavia with the hero-excavator.