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Well, you could say I "almost" completed it. It took 3 evenings, and I had to replay it several times. I played as the Hero. Here's what I can say.
About the cities:
1. I took the first city, Gorem, literally one day before the deadline. Although, if you miss the deadline, the game somehow doesn't end. The console displays something like "Cannot perform step... task has only 28 steps."
The city was taken through general "carelessness" and a general "plague."
2. The second city, White House. After taking the first city and wandering around without looking for the second hero, I immediately headed in its direction. It's also taken without much difficulty; I already had a group of thirty Vampire Princes (formerly Bone Dragons).
3. The third city, Eyamos – about 3-4 days before the deadline. This is where things get tough. I arrived with a decent army, and luckily, the small neutral monsters join you quite readily after a week of monsters.
(70 Vampire Princes, 18 Archliches, 185 Ghosts, 524 Rotting Zombies, 136 Vampire Skeletons, and 2 Undead).
In the end, there were 2 Veteran Liches and 500+ Zombies left.
After 5-6 attempts, thanks to the Berserker.
4. The fourth city. Seeing the army in it, I got a little nervous. (Yes, by the way, the garrison guarding it is taken calmly, thanks to the same Berserker, Ghosts, Phantoms, and mass castings of Dark magic).
The quest says Lorio must die. The deadline is not specified, but it EXISTS.
And it's not enough time to build up an army/conquer the rest of the map.
I received the quest on day 5, week 4, month 3.
At the end of day 6, week 4, month 6, a defeat is SUDDENLY registered.
Perhaps I could have tried taking the city by freeing an ally, developing him in Dark (Wisdom) and Defense (Fight to the Last), equipping him with a Berserker and Ghosts in each slot, which could have reduced the ranks of the villain. And then the main character could finish him off in the same way. But there's no time to develop the second hero, and in the Dungeon, where worthy mobs remain at that time, he is not allowed in). And so, monks and crossbowmen destroy 40 Banshees and 1,000 Zombies each. Even so, I brought the enemy army down to 1 unit of Seraphs (200+), and I had only a handful of Zombies left. The result is obvious. Fail.
Although, maybe the mod "Hof Renegades" (Seraphs with Vampirism) played a role, but even so, the legions of archers and monks make taking the city almost impossible (and if the AI were a little smarter, it would be definitely impossible), and the mod for summoning undead dragons, which was supposed to be a countermeasure, didn't help.
Out of desperation, I summoned an army using codes and took the city. But the game didn't end with Lorio's death. And it's unclear if it will. In the Thieves' Guild, I see another hero, a clone of Vittorio (Leras, I think), but he can't be found anywhere.
Now, just some observations/impressions:
1. An interesting, albeit somewhat unusual concept – a Necromancer in the early game without "raising the dead." But there is a tent. It's difficult to adapt, but it's possible.
2. Although Dark and Summoning spells are not readily available, and guarding the altars is expensive, and it's a long way to get to them, learning the "Secret Knowledge" skill, combined with Archliches raised from Inquisitors, helped. They provided the much-needed "plague." Without it, taking the first city is impossible. Similarly, I later learned "Raise Dead," but I took the first two cities without it).
3. In general, the fact that there are friendly troops on the roads is not obvious. And by the time you figure it out, Myron will come along and destroy all the skeletons (which are vital for fighting the armored units) on the way to the city. Only thanks to Izanagi (ugh, replaying) was I able to get to them and outrun the enemy.
4. What's the point of the "defend the cities" quest if no one attacks them, and it becomes completed immediately after it's given? Something is wrong. At least, no one attacked me.
5. You can't get to the red dungeon, where the staff and cloak are located, which are also vital for taking the last city.
6. The Mausoleum doesn't work!!!
7. Up to the last city, everything is generally good, and the shortage of vampires also adds extra interest.
P.S. I'm attaching screenshots of the final development of Voltchen, the exploration of the dungeons, and Lorio's army.
About the cities:
1. I took the first city, Gorem, literally one day before the deadline. Although, if you miss the deadline, the game somehow doesn't end. The console displays something like "Cannot perform step... task has only 28 steps."
The city was taken through general "carelessness" and a general "plague."
2. The second city, White House. After taking the first city and wandering around without looking for the second hero, I immediately headed in its direction. It's also taken without much difficulty; I already had a group of thirty Vampire Princes (formerly Bone Dragons).
3. The third city, Eyamos – about 3-4 days before the deadline. This is where things get tough. I arrived with a decent army, and luckily, the small neutral monsters join you quite readily after a week of monsters.
(70 Vampire Princes, 18 Archliches, 185 Ghosts, 524 Rotting Zombies, 136 Vampire Skeletons, and 2 Undead).
In the end, there were 2 Veteran Liches and 500+ Zombies left.
After 5-6 attempts, thanks to the Berserker.
4. The fourth city. Seeing the army in it, I got a little nervous. (Yes, by the way, the garrison guarding it is taken calmly, thanks to the same Berserker, Ghosts, Phantoms, and mass castings of Dark magic).
The quest says Lorio must die. The deadline is not specified, but it EXISTS.
And it's not enough time to build up an army/conquer the rest of the map.
I received the quest on day 5, week 4, month 3.
At the end of day 6, week 4, month 6, a defeat is SUDDENLY registered.
Perhaps I could have tried taking the city by freeing an ally, developing him in Dark (Wisdom) and Defense (Fight to the Last), equipping him with a Berserker and Ghosts in each slot, which could have reduced the ranks of the villain. And then the main character could finish him off in the same way. But there's no time to develop the second hero, and in the Dungeon, where worthy mobs remain at that time, he is not allowed in). And so, monks and crossbowmen destroy 40 Banshees and 1,000 Zombies each. Even so, I brought the enemy army down to 1 unit of Seraphs (200+), and I had only a handful of Zombies left. The result is obvious. Fail.
Although, maybe the mod "Hof Renegades" (Seraphs with Vampirism) played a role, but even so, the legions of archers and monks make taking the city almost impossible (and if the AI were a little smarter, it would be definitely impossible), and the mod for summoning undead dragons, which was supposed to be a countermeasure, didn't help.
Out of desperation, I summoned an army using codes and took the city. But the game didn't end with Lorio's death. And it's unclear if it will. In the Thieves' Guild, I see another hero, a clone of Vittorio (Leras, I think), but he can't be found anywhere.
Now, just some observations/impressions:
1. An interesting, albeit somewhat unusual concept – a Necromancer in the early game without "raising the dead." But there is a tent. It's difficult to adapt, but it's possible.
2. Although Dark and Summoning spells are not readily available, and guarding the altars is expensive, and it's a long way to get to them, learning the "Secret Knowledge" skill, combined with Archliches raised from Inquisitors, helped. They provided the much-needed "plague." Without it, taking the first city is impossible. Similarly, I later learned "Raise Dead," but I took the first two cities without it).
3. In general, the fact that there are friendly troops on the roads is not obvious. And by the time you figure it out, Myron will come along and destroy all the skeletons (which are vital for fighting the armored units) on the way to the city. Only thanks to Izanagi (ugh, replaying) was I able to get to them and outrun the enemy.
4. What's the point of the "defend the cities" quest if no one attacks them, and it becomes completed immediately after it's given? Something is wrong. At least, no one attacked me.
5. You can't get to the red dungeon, where the staff and cloak are located, which are also vital for taking the last city.
6. The Mausoleum doesn't work!!!
7. Up to the last city, everything is generally good, and the shortage of vampires also adds extra interest.
P.S. I'm attaching screenshots of the final development of Voltchen, the exploration of the dungeons, and Lorio's army.
