Posts from Paragon 2.0 map – walkthrough.

Here are a few interesting things related to the bug where Archmages gain extra creatures, and something about the AI's self-destruction. I just haven't had the time to upload these two videos.

Part 1 and Part 2.

It works in both the HD mod and the vanilla version. A computer with a huge army and high stats can be defeated by a small army of creatures, which is somewhat similar to a more common bug in the second Heroes game. In the third game, it seems to be much harder to implement, as the computer needs to be truly powerful. I only tested it with Gnomes and Utopia dragons because the result is more interesting, and also on an event trap for the Archmage, which I already mentioned in the comments on Paragon.

It's a shame that the result isn't stable; the idea of increasing the guard in creature stacks without any CRBANKS (even if it's just one stack) looks very appealing.

The author isn't in a hurry to share information about his work on the new version, but recently he posted this video himself:
Paragon 3.0 Battle Compilation
Those who are afraid of spoilers should not watch it. :)

I've seen some of these moments somewhere before :D

But overall, it looks pretty good.

The author created an entire group to share information, including answers to the two most important questions.

Yes, it was completed on stream almost a year ago. Notably, the playthrough was done in a no-save/no-load mode (except for non-game-related reasons) and without replaying battles (an additional clarification for HD+).
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqaIqve2-34AsWH0iDwhUzTGwpWo12m1i

Yes, but the start is very good. It immediately gives you the opportunity to upgrade logistics (I can't seem to do it; I always upgrade something other than logistics...). And without logistics, conquering two castles by the end of the week is UNREAL. And in the Griffin Tower, I somehow get 2 angels...

I have a question: is it normal that in the third month, the AI found the Grail and the game ended with my defeat, or is this some kind of bug? At that time, I had 3 castles, 18 Archangels, and another 5-6 in the castles. And what about those videos on YouTube where epic battles with 1500 Archangels and thousands of dragons take place? Did everyone build all that in 3 months??

clarification - the answer is as follows:
Defeat occurs if Virill is not recaptured from the red faction by the middle of the third month. This is explicitly warned about exactly two months in advance.
omg...

Let me repeat: this map is not for those who don't read the texts; they are not just for decoration! There will be at least one more moment where the player can "shoot themselves in the foot": one enemy hero jumping out of the bushes in front of Mograine can be defeated, but it shouldn't be done: he must run away and later play his role, doing something without which the walkthrough will also become impossible (the author can describe more precisely what will happen).

If the previous message was about the green hero named Targron, who is wandering around the area (116, 89, 0), then here's the thing: he sometimes comes out of his hiding place and starts running back and forth. I, for example, killed him when he came out and started getting in the way. But the map won't become impassable because of this.
As far as I understand, he is needed so that the hero named Vandroy, locked by the Blue Guardian, can come out. And since after Targron's death he can't do that, you'll have to release Vandroy yourself. After capturing the Rampart called Lonsaro, send your hero to open the Blue pillar and release Vandroy. Then you need to let him pass through the event cell next to Lonsaro, where he receives artifacts, including the Badge and Ribs, and after that, defeat him.

Apparently, it’s best to provide a link to this video here as well: Paragon 2.0 - Analysis of mechanics and triggers It clearly and thoroughly explains everything, including the behavior of Targron (from 7:20 onwards), and much more: how it all works "from the inside." There are also some points that players should know to avoid making the game more difficult for themselves.

In that video, everything I wrote is confirmed. If Targron didn't visit the Blue Tent, you need to release Vandroy yourself and let him go through the event where he gets all the artifacts. After that, kill him and take the artifacts. That is, do something like this (these are the actions after the 4th picture):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlOOwsTnKrA

Yes, the actions are not obvious. Especially if the player is playing the map for the first time, it will be difficult for him to guess that Vandroy needs to have the artifacts, and he will most likely kill him as soon as he opens the Blue Pillar. Accordingly, he will not get the key artifacts, and he will have problems later on.
But this does not mean that killing Targron at the beginning of the game makes the map 100% unplayable. It just means that you need to perform certain actions, even if they are not obvious (release Vandroy, let him go through the event, and only then proceed).

Taking this opportunity, I would like to ask a question. I recently completed the Xiedu map and, just for fun, created a text-based walkthrough (a few pictures, a few videos of battles, and a lot of text). It's not a good idea to clutter up other people's threads with long texts, so I'm thinking, maybe I should create a separate topic for this? Even without discussions. Just, if someone is interested in reading it.

All those who wish can post their reports in the topic "Walkthrough for custom maps", and you can do so too if you have something to say. Some may write lengthy texts, while other players will find them interesting and useful. This isn't Twitter; there are no strict limits on text length. "You write, and it counts!"

The thing is, it's not really a report, but rather a more or less detailed description of the entire playthrough from start to finish. Accordingly, there's about 10 times more text there than is usually written in reports about maps in the "Walkthrough of author's maps" topic. It's unlikely that anyone will like it if there are 10 pages of rambling text about a map in the topic, especially since almost everything that can be said about it is already written. Moreover, there's nothing special about that playthrough, and it's not a fact that anyone will be interested in it at all.
In general, I'll try to format it as a separate topic, and we'll see how it goes. I hope this is allowed. :D

I think we could create something like that on an external resource, like Google Docs, and then post a link here. For example, I would post it in the group for my map.

Rince, what's the deal with Ashwing and his family?) Perhaps we could suggest to the creator of SoD_SP to intervene in the game mechanics and grant black dragons immunity to the gaze of the gorgon, aging, fear, the shield, and other petrification effects? I still have hope that Ashwing might turn out to be a powerful armor unit, and that black dragons will gain the epic status they deserve. Or is there already an interesting alternative planned?

Well thought out. It's just a pity that there are so few heroes with powerful specializations in the game, while there are as many as seven specialists in Keen Sight.
And interfering with the game mechanics is still not what SoD SP is about, even if bug fixes have already interfered to some extent.