Posts from Walkthroughs for custom maps.

(I'm talking about 80, 85, 1) near the Dungeon of Vaela.

These devils don't join.

1) At the Seer near Northvale
2) On the water, in the far northeast (where Josephine was)
3) In the dungeon, where there are Ifrit pits
4) Behind the Seer who requires 1500 resources each
5) Behind the mill on the way to the Archmage, near the whirlpool
6) On the swamp, near the place where we free Okulina
7) When going through the red portal with Alondo, I end up in a place with two more monoliths for exits (red and brown)
8) Near Yora's prison, behind another exit from the red teleport to three other portals.

Maybe it will be easier to reach the refugee camps under the green cities at the end of the week and reload the save until 1-2 devils appear. You have a Fortress.
P.s. It's essential to get the devils at 105.140.1. There's an interesting quest giver there.

It will be easier to reach the refugee camps near the green cities at the end of the week and reload the save until 1-2 devils appear. You have a fort.
P.S. You must take the devils at 105.140.1. There is an interesting quest giver there.

Thank you, I found one devil through the refugee camp and upgraded him, so now I have 7, including the quest giver's (105.140.1).
As for 80, 85, 1, I don't even want to go into the swamp, it's too difficult.

Dealing with Deysa wasn't a problem, I killed Haas (the Ballistics skill helped with the key enemy), now it's Ashwing. I read about the events, should I attack with Vael first? Then with Morgaine the next day?

"- Morgaine... - the exhausted dragon sighed, - Ashwing has the Sphere of Inhibition! Do you understand? All your magic will be useless against him! He... he will burn your army without even blinking!
- I don't believe it! I don't believe that everything was in vain! There must be a way!
Vael's eyes blazed with fierce fire.
- There is a way. The Sphere can be destroyed with the blood of a sapphire dragon... Free me, Morgaine!
- What are you planning?
- You know what. If this is the price of a bright future for Tenebrae, then I will gladly pay it!
- No, my friend. You need rest...
- Morgaine! Let me do something worthy. Something that will allow me to stand alongside my legendary ancestors!
The Emperor had no choice but to obey his wounded, but determined friend."
"Vael must attack Ashwing first to destroy the Sphere of Inhibition!"
- Here's the thing, Morgaine. I... I will attack him, come what may. You wait one more night, and only then attack.
- Vael, tell me. Are you sure about what you're planning? Are you sure you're ready to sacrifice yourself?"

Attack with Wael, WITHOUT troops, wait 1 day for Peplokryl to visit the seer's hut and give the sphere of prohibition. Attacking with the sphere is not an option.

As for 80, 85, 1, I don't even want to go into the swamp, it's a real pain.

But I have to, the helmet is guarded, requiring the player to kill Pasis (Entropy). There is a second alliance helmet at Invisyon, but only Wael can take it, and Mograine without the alliance in the final on the cursed land will suffer greater losses. It is possible to pass, but it will be more difficult.

The situation on the battlefield is as follows:
Archdevils have accumulated, Entropy has completed some tasks and is continuing to do so, and I am preparing for a battle with Ashwing. After giving the Sphere of Suppression to the Seer, he flees to the city. In the city of Diamond Spire, there are still unredeemed units, over 200 black dragons, and many archers. He adds them to his 1650 black dragons and archers. (I tried not attacking Ashwing on the second day after the fall of Vaela, but instead capturing the city.) I think I'll buy out Hydras from the "swamp" castles and include golden dragons from the elven castles in the battle. The result will be Archangels, Titans, Hydras, Ancient Bears, Golden Dragons, Wizards, and Snipers.
Before the battle with Ashwing

Anatoly, if it's still relevant, I recommend attacking Ashwing in the field. Why? Because of the large number of his archers, which are difficult to control, and they need to be eliminated in the first 1-2 rounds by attacking with all your troops, and the city walls will only hinder this. Furthermore, by letting him into the city, we increase his archer stacks ourselves. Approximate tactic: double mana, gain + to morale/luck, 1st round - cast prayer or mass haste, eliminate archers (depending on the situation, you can place 2 melee stacks under a Fire Storm to prevent them from targeting snipers). 2nd round - cast Force Field, finish off archers, snipers, and ranged units under the field. Important: leave 40-70 (whatever you can) archers and a wagon so that you can resurrect the army. Then, proceed as usual - Frenzy, Shot, Force Field, repeat until victory.

I'll let you in on a secret: it's actually easier to defeat him inside the Castle – when he's defending. Then you can exploit a quirk in the AI, which prevents it from sending its ranged units outside the walls as long as they are stronger.

Shadow Priest Thank you very much for the advice and help with completing the map. I'll try to apply the tactic. I need to manage to hide 1 hex titan with a cart under a force field while other units attack the ranged units. I'll probably also have to cast Antimagic (there was one battle where I hid behind a force field, the enemy cast Chain Lightning, destroying the cart, and there was a case where I hid a two-hex unit behind an enemy tent with a force field, and Chain Lightning destroyed everything). The titan's speed, with all speed artifacts equipped, is 17, the same as Rusty Dragons. Prayer will add even more speed. If I have a Sphere of Vulnerability, won't the opponent still be able to cast Blind on the titans?
If I hide behind a force field with a 2-hex stack, for example, Archangels, it will only work in the upper right part, near the enemy's ammunition cart, but the cloning (due to a game bug) often fails there; the clone doesn't appear on the screen.
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I noticed another "inconvenience": Ashwing's troops increase on the 2nd day of the new week, even though he doesn't enter the city but visits 2 Mysterious Gardens (where you get 500 gold or 5 dragon stones) disguised as a stone where you get 1000 experience points (coordinates 30,107,1 and 34, 107,1). For example, Ashwing had 1650 Black Dragons on the 1st day of the new week, and it became (2nd day of the new week) 1711 Black Dragons. Also, Crystal and Rusty Dragons, Wizards, and other units also increase in number, even though Ashwing didn't enter the city (because I captured Diamond Spire so he wouldn't have time to buy another 200 Black Dragons and other ranged units). I tried visiting these Mysterious Gardens myself before Ashwing visited them; I got 500 gold and 5 dragon stones, then I ran to his previously captured city (Diamond Spire) and spent the night. On the 2nd day of the new week, Ashwing's troops didn't increase. How does Ashwing manage to increase his army by 61 Black Dragons, 13 Rusty and Crystal Dragons, 165 Wizards, and also Evil Eyes and Gorgon Medusas (I didn't count the exact number, but it's more than 100) in a week by visiting the Mysterious Gardens?

Rince Also, thank you first of all for the map and the advice; I will try to lock Ashwing in the castle. I'll probably have to buy about 200 Black Dragons at the price of Red Dragons so that Ashwing doesn't join them. Unexpected expenses...

As far as I know, neutral creatures increase their numbers by 10% per week, based on their current population, unless specified otherwise. It's possible that the same conditions apply to AI-controlled heroes (those with predefined settings, rather than those that develop independently).

How does Ashwing manage to increase his army by 61 black dragons, 13 rusty and crystal dragons, 165 wizards, and also gain Evil Eyes and Queen of Jellyfish by visiting the Mysterious Gardens?

If I remember correctly, his army grows due to events.

Rince, correct me if I'm wrong. If you attack Ashwing in a town and don't touch his archers (so that no Dark Hunters appear), his archers will prioritize taking out the snipers first, as they have higher aggro in the priority table for the AI (archers, low HP and defense, high damage). To block his archers, you need a lot of flying units; splitting up the archers is pointless, they'll be killed in the first round. Teleporting Hydras? I don't know, I haven't tried. Either way, one stack of archers will remain. In my opinion, it's easier to attack in the field; there's less hassle. P.S. He can blind the Titans, but you can't hide only the Titans. P.P.S. These locations contain repeatable events; when visited, the AI receives an army. This was planned by the author to compensate for the player's insane troop growth with a huge number of cities. P.P.P.S. The AI uses Chain Lightning to destroy the clone; put Anti-Magic on the wagon before summoning the clone. I think I completed it without machines because you can't hide the archers along with the snipers with them. Titans may have high speed and HP, but they deal less damage than snipers. Also, Titans only have 24 shots, compared to 32 for snipers (taken from the HoMM3 Guide by the respected Dnaop-wr a.k.a. Rovkov Boris ��).

Download link: http://www.celestialheavens.com/search2.php?map_name=Gates+of+Wonder&author_name=&size=&nr_players=&playing_type=&version=&sort_by=map_name&order=asc&multiplayer=&month=&year=&minimaps=on&results1=20&page=1&action=search&submit=Search

Pomazok1329 recommended this map to me.
Genre: RPG.
Plot: For years, Stephanor has tried to conquer the wealthy kingdom of Marbla. It seems that even the fact that he was killed last night won't stop him. So, he makes a deal with the soul-eaters...
The original story is about a hero who was killed, but the Necromancer faction provided him with a body "for temporary use" to take revenge on his killer. Naturally, after completing this task, Stephanor doesn't want to disappear forever and escapes from the soul-eaters, unilaterally terminating the deal. Now, he will try again to fulfill his long-held dream, conquering the rich and flourishing kingdom of Marbla, the path to which is blocked by the legendary Gates of Wonder.
The map is not very well-known and is quite old (2000), but overall it's not too difficult and quite enjoyable for a relaxed "exploration" experience. I can recommend it to beginner players and those who simply enjoy RPG maps.

The presence of an original idea, plot, and well-thought-out world geography.

The central island with the capital of Purple Marbla can only be reached by using Flight, as the only place where you could potentially pass through is guarded by a red border guard, and a red tent is only located on this island. The fact that after defeating Feg, we have the Tome of Air is a nice touch, but it makes the role-playing aspect of the remaining part of the map unnecessary, as we can fly anywhere and in any order.
From the above, it also follows that the quest from the seer, who returns our Angel Wings, is also "unnecessary" (although it is part of the plot, logically concluding the main character's relationship with the Necromancers). To ensure that everything goes exactly as the author intended, the Tome of Air should be completely prohibited. Without Flight, everything works as it should: the player passes through the entrance of the red one-way monolith, defeats the Necromancers, visits the green tent, goes to the seer, receives the Wings, and flies to the center, where the final battle takes place.
Some heroes freed from prisons do not play any significant role in the plot: even if they are not freed, it does not prevent our victory. However, these heroes can visit mills and outposts.
It is also not necessary to visit the area behind the white border guard in cell 139,65, and it is unlikely that anyone will activate the event on the side if they don't look it up in the editor to see that it's there.

The walkthrough should not cause you any serious difficulties. I will only suggest that at the beginning, you do not need to fight the Necromancers and capture cities: you are still too weak for that. You only need to kill Dendel Nar, and this should be done by the Slime Ball: it has Haste in its spellbook. After that, you need to give the Spirit of Despair to the seer and go to the shore. There, each hero should get into their own boat, and before that, all troops should be transferred to Stephanor: after landing, he will encounter a squad of hostile cavalry.

I will not retell the events this time - those who want to will see everything for themselves. I don't want to deprive you of the pleasure, and there is no need for it.
The Grail was dug up and placed in one of the Towers (to the author's credit, enemies could not reach it there).
On 6-1-2, I captured Marbla, and I was congratulated on my victory.
Result: 142 days.

Shadow Priest Regarding Ashwing, it's definitely relevant. I decided to prepare and found an earlier save so I could approach the "Ashwing" area more prepared. Thanks for the advice. Here, you need to calculate: if you attack in the castle, it will take 1 round for the Berserker to destroy the catapult. However, he's equipped with the "Might of the Dragon Father" and won't be able to deploy troops through the locked fence...
Why are Titans slower now, even if I choose Snipers, even though they shoot stronger? But at the beginning of the next turn, the force field will disappear, and a faster unit, like a Rust Dragon, can attack the Snipers.

Added 10 minutes later

P.s. It will be able to blind the Titans; you just can't hide only the Titans.
P.p.s. There are repeatable events located in these points; when the AI visits them, it receives an army. This was planned by the author to compensate for the insane growth of the player's troops with a huge number of cities.
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If the AI can apply blindness to an army hidden behind a force field, then I'll have to equip an artifact that protects against blindness. I didn't notice the repeatable events right away (as Nasos mentioned), thanks to both of you; I'll think about how to bypass this, although it's now clear that Ashwing isn't gathering troops from the Mystic Gardens

The speed of the snipers is not important; what matters is placing Archers together with the snipers on the battlefield. Archers provide speed and, more importantly, resurrection for clones. Without Archers, Peplokryl will defeat the Titans with an explosion. You can try casting Antimagic on the Titans without shooting, while the computer spends all its mana on restoring troops/summoning elementals, and hope that the computer doesn't cast Haste. There are many options, in principle. P.S. It would probably be better if you asked your questions about the walkthrough on http://heroesportal.net/tavern/?id=402827&pagenum=13. I will try to answer immediately.

As far as I remember, his army grows through events.

An event (stress on the "e") is a trendy, although rather absurd borrowing of the English word "event," which in Russian simply means "occurrence."
EMNIP – "If my memory serves me right."
Was it really that hard to write it in Russian? Is it necessary to constantly fawn over the European Anglo-Saxons?

Well, it's "stylish, fashionable, and trendy!" :)
Nowadays, in many fields, only prepositions are used from Russian words. I once read a text like that as a joke, but it was actually serious! And among players, a specific jargon also prevails. It's not that we like it, but we've "gotten used to it."