Genre: RPG.
Actual Difficulty: Moderate (below average). There are practically no long or difficult battles here, but you often need to figure out how to conduct a fight to win without taking losses.
Description: After it's destruction many years ago Hell has risen again and now threatens to destroy all other realms. Stop Hell before it's too late.A map with a large number of tactical battles involving very small armies, either without magic or with single spells. For a long time, we will face severe restrictions here: almost nothing can be built in cities, and troops can be recruited in very few places. At the same time, the author warns that it is necessary for battles to occur without losses or with single casualties, especially regarding archangels and snipers. Later, managing troops becomes easier, but you must always protect them.
Almost all the time, 2 heroes (Astral and Leon) move forward; others wait in place for their arrival, which is quite far off. A couple more heroes complete their tasks and then also wait. Soon, and up until the finale, Leon becomes the main hero. His specialty is snipers, while his assistant's specialty, Leon's Soul, is Wizard. By the way, in the discussion, I saw that one player used the elven queen Queen Sarna as the lead, but since she has neither wisdom nor earth magic, this is a very bad decision! Because of this, he played for a very long time, suffered heavy losses, and by month 34, he was only just fighting Xiaxoxexuxy.
Experienced players will see that some battles are based on similar fights in the maps "Metataxer's revenge" and "Ira the mage," but it won't be as difficult here as it was on those maps.
Attention! Once (on 5-1-5) I started the game without HD+ and SOD_SP and ended a turn...
the game froze (on Purple's turn), and I had to force close it. Therefore,
use the HD mod with enabled HD+ and the SOD_SP plugin for this map walkthrough.Pros:
The map is very carefully thought out.
The author provided 2 different plot lines that branch at a certain point (closer to the finale). However, there is a downside to this: see cons.
There is little text, and reading it is not tiring.
The author provides various useful tips in some places.
The author maintains feedback with players in the discussion, promptly fixing identified flaws and simply helping in difficult situations.
The way player heroes obtain certain high-level spells—Resurrection, Town Portal, Explosion (they are unexpectedly given in shrines)—is originally implemented.
The design is pleasing in some areas: for example, the forest fire. A couple of images not available in the standard editor were used (witch's hut, magic school).
Cons:
Tactical "micro-battles" with heavy restrictions on troops and spells are interesting for a while during the initial period of the walkthrough, but here they go on and on... Only later does Leon become stronger as a mage and be able to resurrect all or almost all in one battle. And what I personally would change first: let Angelena and Leon's Soul complete their trials at the very beginning of the game. And let Angelena then return to her domains and continue gathering troops from external dwellings. But here, on the 5th month Angelena, and at the end of the 6th month Leon's Soul, must go through several tactical "micro-battles" that we could have long forgotten about.
For a long time, you see troops increasing in cities but cannot take them because Town Portal is not "allowed" for you until almost the end. Because of this, one has to travel back and forth across the map multiple times with 1-2 heroes, and the walkthrough becomes long primarily because of this.
The most serious complaint to the author is the lack of thought in the path between West Pomorie Castle and East Pomorie Castle. Kolotok found that by maneuvering, one can slip past Xixaxoxexuxy and take the Sphere of Vulnerability before fighting him. Additionally, you can run to Baradia and Ragnar Castles and collect the accumulated troops there also before this fight. Although this is not mandatory and I didn't do it. But if you can, you will significantly ease and speed up the walkthrough.
A separate dislike from me to the author for the trick with the seer giving a phoenix: I didn't see him on the map even after kolotok wrote about him, and only Prospector helped find where he was (cell 115,99,0), and then I found out why I didn't see him: the hut looks like mermaids. I consider this a foolish joke. However, missing him is not a serious problem since we will get phoenixes much later.
The ability to choose a plot line seems good, but the choice must be made when it's still unknown what lies ahead and what the difference is. You hope that the author isn't "evil" and any option allows for successful completion. Fortunately, both options allow victory (but one plot choice is correct, as stated in one message before the finale).
The Sphere of Vulnerability is used here initially only as a "key" for a passage guard, and twice at that. Why not some kind of trinket?
I also didn't like the "joke" with the Grail (the point is that there are 2 obelisks you will never reach, and a certain figure on the terrain indicates the location of the Grail).
The task to exchange 231 peasants for 3 archangels. Look at where the peasants are and where the seer is, evaluate the distance and time, the need to pass peasants from Astral to Leon instead of more valuable troops, otherwise the peasants will be lost... However, this task is not necessary, and peasants aren't needed anywhere else.
About my walkthrough
On 1-3-5
Green disappeared from the map.
On 2-1-1 Astral defeated black dragons, visited a mage's hut, and opened the view of several places through the eyes of a mage. This is very important, as only after this can Leon walk on water north of Black shores Fortress.
Before the blue gates, the author wrote in a tip:
Astral must meet Leon, and then Astral will be killed by a demon (Xixaxoxexuxy). The meeting of our heroes is necessary, otherwise the map cannot be completed.At the meeting place, Leon receives a message from Astral indicating where to go next: through the yellow monolith on an islet to the wizard Zentimo.
On 3-3-3 Astral transferred all his troops, artifacts, and spells to Leon. Leon headed back.
On 3-3-4 Xixaxoxexuxy killed Astral.
On 4-1-1 we are informed that a large army of demons landed on the shores of Old Valensia. On the same day, I easily killed Xirera and captured the Rampart belonging to Purple.
The next day Leon met Queen Sarna, taking the Necklace and snipers from her.
From the seer, Leon received experience; in the city, he learned spells and bought troops. Then he headed toward the guard on the southwestern border.
On 4-1-7, a Purple demon Xocalypto suddenly appeared on lava from the west and got into a boat.
On 4-2-2 Xocalypto landed on the shore before the purple gates.
On 4-2-3 I attacked Xocalypto myself to prevent him from bypassing the upgrades and looting the warriors' graves. After several attempts, I managed to defeat him with small losses.
At the beginning of the 5th month, Angelin had an opportunity to make her contribution. Moving west, she was forced to exchange her troops for 1 harpies-witch, who must fight 2 battles. Then she had to defeat 1 hero and take a Dungeon, after which she can rest until the end of the game.
On 5-2-4 Leon defeated Bongo and freed Gernian. With his artifacts, I assembled the Horn of Plenty.
On 5-3-4 Leon gave the Ambassador's Ribbon to the guard, passed through the monolith, and descended into the dungeon.
On 5-3-7 Leon passed through the garrison to the Tower and received a message from Zentimo, in which he promised to teach him powerful spells if he defeated the Elemental Masters. After dealing with them, Leon learned Call Earth, Water, and Fire Elementals.
Giving 3 resistance artifacts to the guard, I learned how and why the invasion of hell's forces began.
On 5-4-7 Leon visited a
blue tent and passed through the monolith into the northwestern wastes.
In the vicinity of Cheren Grad, our resources are taken away many times.
On 6-2-4 I reached Pleague in Necropolis Dark Storm. I couldn't defeat him immediately. I had to read the map discussion and then experiment.
On 6-3-1 Leon descended into the dungeon.
The next day, Leon defeated Das in a Dungeon.
After defeating Master Air, on 6-3-7 Leon visited a
white tent. Leon's Soul will now move and begin his journey.
On 6-4-2 Leon's Soul defeated Ion, who was sitting in a Dungeon. After this, Leon's Soul learned Clone and Rage and received a tip on where to look for Zargan.
On 8-1-1 I defeated Zargan, and
Turquoise disappeared.
On 9-2-2 Leon took the Helmet of Divine Enlightenment.
On 9-4-2 Wizardino suddenly tells Leon a murky story about Zentimo and his plans. Should he be believed? Either way, we don't have the Sphere of Fire required by the guard yet.
Further on, we will see that there are 2 plot development options, and we can choose whom to believe and whom, conversely, to kill: Wizardino or Zentimo.
On 9-4-7 I made a choice:
decided to believe Wizardino.
On 10-1-1 suddenly the Brown hero Kingsley came out of Crookbak Castle.
On 10-1-6 I defeated Dusk Maker. I immediately sold extra artifacts to merchants.
Attention! Before the fight with Dusk Maker, it is important to empty Leon's backpack as much as possible by giving temporarily unnecessary artifacts to Leon's Soul: Dusk Maker has artifacts we need, but due to the availability of artifact merchants, he bought a bunch of redundant identical ones, which may result in the ones we need not fitting into the backpack!On 11-1-6 Leon reached Zentimo. After a series of failures, I managed to take him down.
After this, Leon visited the library on the island and captured the fire bird dwelling, then upgraded them to phoenixes in the fort on the hill.
On 11-4-7 Leon defeated Xixaxoxexuxy without losses.
On 12-1-3 I took the Sphere of Vulnerability and took troops from East Pomorie Castle (good thing the enemy didn't hire them).
Now I assembled the Legion Statue and headed east.
On 12-2-3 Leon gave the guards the Legion Statue and the Sphere of Vulnerability and entered the desert.
On 12-3-4 I landed on the western shore of the sea and easily defeated Boragus.
On 12-4-2 Londrovin built a Spirit Guardian. On the same day, Leon approached the white gates, and 500 devils before them suddenly joined. After this, Leon even managed to occupy Crookbak Castle without a fight and take unredeemed archangels and crossbowmen from there.
The next day I managed to defeat Kingsley in the field. After this
Brown disappeared.
On 12-4-7, taking the eastern Inferno Gates of Hell without a fight, Leon found 1175 archdevils and 924 ifrit sultans there, whom he immediately hired.
On 13-1-4, breaking through the garrison with dragons, Leon passed through the green monolith to heaven and visited a
red tent.
On 13-1-5 Leon's Soul reached Blessing Castle and took angels, crossbowmen, and monks from there, immediately turning them into Wizards. On the same day, Leon broke the garrison and defeated The One in his Castle.
Red disappeared.
On 13-3-6 Leon entered the underground lava zone. Took the 3rd Sphere of Vulnerability, which can now be used for personal purposes. Captured Inferno Outpost, and
Pink disappeared.
Finally, I managed to learn
Town Portal in a Shrine!
Removing the guard on the way to the main villain's lair, I learned from a message that I made the right choice.
On 14-1-2, opening a chest and killing monsters, Leon learned Berserk in a Shrine.
Gathering troops from cities and doubling mana, Leon came to Inferno Mr Satan and attacked him on 14-1-5. After several failures, I managed to overcome him. After that, I was congratulated on the victory.
Result:
369 days, 382 points. The Grail remained in the ground (I simply forgot about it).
Summary: a map with a number of interesting battles, between which there are quite a few trips back and forth.
