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I completed the game as Haven. Combat tactics: Monks + Vampirism (obtained near the witches' coven). After acquiring Subjugation and Berserk from the Necromancer, everything became easy. As for the Orcs, the hero turned out to be super powerful. Apparently, an incredibly lucky combination of circumstances can help you win. Dark and Chaos magic is annoying for opponents. If you invest in Dark and Chaos Suppression, then without fully maxed Attack and Machine Control, the enemy's living forces are defeated; if you invest the other way around, then magic is defeated (I liked the Warlock's explosion, which destroyed 100 centaurs at once) by the middle of the second month.

Why is it not possible to select a hero and bonus before the game? It keeps showing the fixed option of Kahn and gold (although the factions change).

Why is it not possible to choose a hero and bonus before the game? It remains fixed on Kahn and gold (although the factions change).

Because at the very beginning of the game, you will be able to choose a hero and thoroughly examine their characteristics.

I know that some people have managed to complete this scenario on Hero difficulty.
Does anyone have a video or save file with a successful playthrough?

In the first post of the thread, Rupert has the "Acceleration" ability and Light Magic in the screenshot. But in the game, he has the ability for a Ballista. Is this a bug in the game or in the description?

Added 20 minutes later
The Necromancer's description is also incorrect.

Added 1 minute later
I started playing as a Necromancer. At the end of the first week, an Inferno with "Medium" danger emerged from a dungeon in the corner of the map and attacked my castle. After the battle with it, I had 41 skeletons left. Two days passed, and another Necromancer with "High" danger emerged from the same place and gave me a hard time). Was I just unlucky, or is this how it's supposed to be?

That’s how it’s supposed to be. On average, 1 attack per week.

The screenshots are old. They arrived early, which means the development was slow.

This map is incredibly unfair to the player. It's been the third month of playing as the Elves (hero difficulty), and I've barely made any progress. Before this, there were 3 unsuccessful attempts where I encountered an impossible situation (3 weeks, a month, and a month).
While reading the thread, I saw people writing that the enemies periodically fight each other, but against me, they cooperate and attack one after another. The Avenger skill, combined with Enchant and Rain, occasionally saves me, but only if I switch sworn enemies in a timely manner. I only get meat from unicorns and ents: each Faction doesn't hesitate to use Chaos on weak 1-4 Elves.
I had hoped that with the 5th Guild, I could venture much further from the castle, but the map disables the portal to the city.
The AI has cheats (scripts) for meat, and the second cheat is saving the hero after defeat with all artifacts. Twice, I was lucky enough to defeat non-main enemy heroes, from whom at least artifacts dropped (a trident and a chaos amulet, plus red and green boots for movement).
And now there's a problem and a question that arises from it.
1. Over the next 4 days, attacks will occur in the order: Demon, Dwarf, Necromancer, Elf. My hero is level 28, the enemies are 24-25, although one has the Mask of Justice. A week ago, I was defeating full armies of the Demon and Necromancer, but now the stacks are coming with strength comparable to the previous ones. If in a week, even stronger stacks come from each Faction, then essentially, it's a loss.
2. Is it worth continuing on the third month without much progress? And how much will re-rolling the map and getting Logistics simplify the game? In this attempt, I was hoping for a portal to the city, which didn't work out.

The map is tough, and that's its main advantage. Essentially, it eliminates mistakes when killing an enemy hero; my previous attempts showed me this. On another restart, I took Dexter and finished in 189 days. Btw, I haven't figured out yet how specialization will work for others in the deep late game to break through without losses. I suffered enough as Elva, but I made too many gameplay mistakes there.
I don't exactly remember what level I was during the battle with the first enemy hero, but I had accumulated 200+ warriors and caught an attack from BB. As it seemed to me, this is the only adequate way to play Dexter—go for low-tier units, don't necro them, buff the low-tier units. Until reaching a certain mass at level 20-22, it was somewhat difficult in all boss battles, but later only the necro remained difficult, as the built-in vampirism didn't work with them, and this knocks the hero to the end of the ATB; however, I didn't test specialization without tier 1-3.
Positive points:
- Finally figured out how to get the portal to the city. It's easier than building the guild.
- The first few times I couldn't find the quicksilver and gemstone deposits, but I eventually found them.
- Found Ashu, though I later learned that enemy cities also have Ashu. And even an army from several cities doesn't provide an equal growth rate compared to what the enemy gets. It seems to me that capturing a city multiplies the enemy army.
- Found the upper coven, but didn't complete the quest. No problems arose after that, however, there should be a lower coven. Maybe it gives more perks, like the permanent death of an enemy hero, but unlikely, I don't believe it.
- Understood why there is a sanctuary on every corner.
- Understood why enemies don't visit each other: it's much easier to attack one city together without any additional defense.
- Enemy builds are like a curated selection: before, the demon came with chaos and machines, now only with chaos. The others also prefer chaos, supplementing it with various annoying cross-effects like grave cold or cursed ground in darkness. I looked at the secondaries through a walkthrough, and they have priorities too.
- As I understand it, the main enemy heroes receive experience in addition to the army.
I didn't count the total number of battles with enemy bosses, but it's very likely that I hit or nearly hit a hundred. Before taking the first castle, enemies were low threat btw, but after two, they became medium, and the AI started calculating stronger and attacking on its own. I messed up by taking the elven castle before the dwarf one: it completely eliminates returning home via the portal in the Dungeon due to immediate proximity. In the end, I sorted it out: by the end of the game, I had 4800 warriors and 1400 ghosts—the main combat stacks.

As for the others, I'm still thinking about how to break through and survive.
Knight. Tried it. Problems arose at the first coven, and the enemy didn't attack the box under a heavy, additionally protected unit. Instead, they killed the ballista, which is totally not okay for a machinist. In reality, I don't believe in the massive power of the ballista in the 4th-5th month. In theory, an alternative victory path through magic should be sought.
Elf. Without education and sorcery, a chaos build cannot be realized; without logistics, you can't run around this map. For the fifth slot, you need to somehow reduce losses. Perhaps even replenish them. Machines with an enchanted ballista are an option, but the hero gets pushed back in ATB (won't work well with Rain). With light/darkness, it's not entirely clear how to cast this simultaneously with chaos. And sometimes there isn't enough spellcasting.
Dark Elf. Also a chaos user with resulting problems of being unable to reach critical mass. Didn't test it, though.
Demon. Tested it, but lost too many on the first bosses. Essentially a random mass cast, which was possible with keen mind. Read that they can throw mass berserk, though it'll have little effect against undead.
Wizard. For now, I don't believe in strong summoning on this map. I haven't figured out how phantoms work yet, but based on that, a combat mage with logistics should grow.
Dwarf. In theory, the ability makes them invulnerable to shooters, but the problem is that only dwarfs can be considered somewhat "shooters." Necros usually use warriors, League uses invisibles, demons only have succubus.
Orc. Haven't figured out yet what basis to use for wiping them out.

This is an incredibly difficult scenario to play as a hero. It was very difficult to hold out for 2 months, but it's still too early to talk about completing it! I have questions for those lucky ones who still managed to do it.

I finally figured out how to get a portal to a city. It's easier than building a guild.

CityLove, so what's the secret? What difficulty level are you playing on?

Even an army from several cities doesn't provide an equivalent increase, as it does for the enemy. It seems to me that capturing a city multiplies the enemy's army.

This is a question for the author. Is it supposed to be this way? Or is it just that the script didn't work? What's the point of capturing a city then?

I found the upper sabbath, but didn't complete the quest. There were no problems after that, but there should be a lower sabbath. Maybe it gives even more bonuses, like the final death of the enemy hero, but I doubt it, I don't believe it.

Is the upper one the one in the Dungeon?

I understand why the enemy doesn't visit each other: it's much easier to attack one city together without any additional protection.

This is unclear. My city was also attacked, but at the same time, the enemy heroes fought each other.

In the end, I managed: at the end of the game, I had 4800 warriors and 1400 ghosts - these were the main combat stacks.

Is that a lot? Why from different Factions? CityLove, so you only managed to complete it as the Necromancer? Added after 6 minutes

Great map! There is one problem: The Barbarian has no way to portal to a city (the scroll is useless, the portal is forbidden - is this a bug or a feature)?

I'm also very interested in finding out, as I started playing as a Barbarian. The scroll doesn't work for the Barbarian, the portal is forbidden. What should I do?

Demon. .... I read that it can cast a mass berserk spell...

And where is the link where it says that? A general berserk is a strange event. I played as a Demon, but I never encountered it.

And where is the link to this? A Berserker as a General is strange. I played as a Demon, but never encountered this.

It was written here: here. But again, you need to check it yourself. Personally, I find it interesting to play with the suggested heroes.

CityLove, so what's the secret?

A scroll.

What difficulty level are you playing on?

The hero.

Here, the question arises for the author. Is that how it should be? Or did the script just not work? What's the point of capturing a city then?

Before destroying the demon castle, I killed a Necromancer with an army of about 30 dragons and 40 banshees, after which the army grew to 50 dragons and 70 banshees, i.e., a sharp increase in the army. The Elf had 200 dragons and 350 witches before capturing his last castle; the rest increased gradually. Thank you, though, that he didn't stay in the castle and attacked himself.
As I understand it, at the beginning of the week, a hero appears, fully preserving the army, artifacts, and experience, gathers reinforcements, and attacks you again. But there seems to be another script with a multiplier that triggers when a player is defeated. In any case, castles need to be captured. At least, it reduces the number of bosses (the main heroes of the enemy).

Is the upper one the one in the Dungeon?

You also have to cross over on a boat. There was also a shipyard below, but they didn't let me scout there.

It's not clear here. My city was also being raided, but at the same time, the enemy Generals were fighting each other.

They fight among themselves, although the winner always comes out of the battle without losses, but they don't go to each other's Dungeons, plus this moment prevents you from rushing into enemy cities yourself.

That many? Why are they from different Factions?

Bone Warriors and Ghosts. I don't know what normal numbers are, but they were the main attack stacks with vampirism applied. I didn't lose them much (only with the Necromancer 200-250 skeletons and 50-70 ghosts in total) and focused mainly on them during necromancy. For example, with two Necromancer castles, each with an Askhara, there were 973 dark energy available, which is 324 bone warriors per week from necromancy. Plus, at the end, it became even easier to accumulate through caravans from the Demon and Necromancer Dungeons.

CityLove, so you only managed to complete the game as a Necromancer?

So far, yes, but I plan to play as all of them. Except that, based on what I read, I doubt I will be able to play as an Orc due to the inability to use the city portal; it greatly helps. So far, I have no ideas, except perhaps mentoring secondary heroes so that they are responsible for defense while the main one attacks, although there is still a problem related to army losses.

Added after 2 hours 19 minutes
I'm planning to start another round of hell as a Knight. Most likely, I will build a late-game strategy using vampirism on combat griffons against three Factions, crushing the Necromancer with meat. I will simplify the start of the game with a ballista, plus a tent to reduce losses in early battles and sieges. However, I don't know if it's worth converting siege engines into something else in the late game in favor of, say, education.
Another advantage of the Knight is that he has built-in stables in his city.

The build should look like this:

I played as an elf (a long time ago – when the map first appeared on the forum, but it had already been fixed). I liked the map – the beginning and middle kept me on edge. As far as I remember, I played defensively, gradually expanding my territories (advanced, retreated to the city for defense, advanced again, retreated again, and defended the capital). This is how I expanded my area of influence, the hero leveled up, the city developed, and then I started a total clearing (honestly, the end wasn't as interesting as the beginning and middle), but overall, I give it a 10 out of 10:smile02:

Dwarf, defensive build. At midday, there's an unguarded chest – I kept replaying until I got machines from it. Ballista, fire arrows, a battle to the last – and while sitting in the castle, placing harpooners one by one (using them to pull enemy infantry onto the castle's defensive runes), thanks to the additional defense squad, all attacks are repelled with minimal losses. After accumulating resources and leveling up, you then go on the attack yourself. By the way, at some point, when there's already a lot of troops in the castle, the enemies start fighting each other.

I'm playing as a Barbarian, with the Orator specialization, but it seems like oratory isn't helping him much. Also, the scroll that allows him to send resources to the city isn't working for some reason. Is this supposed to happen?