Posts from Walkthroughs for custom maps.

lord_vigor, I can recommend "Arlok". It's a map from the later period of his work, with all the hallmarks of his signature style, but with gameplay that isn't too challenging.

lord_vigor, I can recommend "Arlok". It's a map from the later period of his work, with all the hallmarks of his signature style, but with a fairly forgiving gameplay.

I read a review about it. I'll probably give it a try. Thanks.

I read the thread and decided to try playing a solo map myself. I chose the simplest map, Lord of The Rings 3.0 by Vallex.

At the beginning, 3 heroes are available: Frodo, Gandalf, and Isildur. Isildur is a powerful hero with decent artifacts. But he is killed by an enemy hero on the very first day, as the plot dictates. As suggested in the thread, I decided to fire him so that the artifacts wouldn't fall into the enemy's hands, and maybe I could buy him back later.
I continue playing. Gandalf, now well-developed, returns from Valinor. Frodo is celebrating Bilbo's birthday in the village. About 3 weeks pass. A message appears saying that I need to leave the village. But the passage is blocked by green gates. Where is the tent? I searched everywhere, but it's nowhere to be found.
It turns out that Isildur, whom I fired, was supposed to activate the green tent. I messed up the playthrough. Do I have to start all over again? Another 3 weeks of tedious battles with golems and dwarves? I'm not sure I can handle it. With my level of attention, these maps are clearly not for me. I admire your patience.

I read the thread and decided to try playing a solo map myself. I chose the simplest map, Lord of The Rings 3.0 by Vallex.

At the beginning, 3 heroes are available: Frodo, Gandalf, and Isildur. Isildur is a powerful hero with good artifacts. But he is killed by an enemy hero on the very first day, as the plot dictates. As suggested in the thread, I decided to dismiss him so that the artifacts wouldn't fall into the enemy's hands, and maybe buy him back in the future.
I continue playing. Gandalf, now powerful, returns from Valinor. Frodo is celebrating Bilbo's birthday in the village. About 3 weeks pass. A message appears saying that I need to leave the village. But the passage is blocked by green gates. Where is the tent? I searched everywhere, but it's nowhere to be found.
It turns out that Isildur, whom I dismissed, was supposed to activate the green tent. I messed up the playthrough. Do I have to start over? Another 3 weeks of tedious battles with golems and dwarves? I'm not sure I can handle it. With my level of attention, these maps are clearly not for me. I admire your patience.

The map you started is not considered too difficult. If you don't have experience playing maps created with the editor, or similar maps, then replaying the map is unlikely to bring you enjoyment. Either you need to work with the map editor to plan your actions for at least 1-2 weeks, or you will have to periodically encounter such problems. Alternatively, choose simpler maps.

I'm not sure I can handle it. With my level of attention, these kinds of maps are clearly not for me. I admire your patience.

If you don't have the patience to replay a map, then walkthroughs probably aren't for you. I suggest trying your hand at online play; you play a game and then forget about it.

lord_vigor, if you send me your latest save file via email, I can help you. You won't have to replay – you can continue from where you left off.

lord_vigor, "7 troubles, one solution": when playing single-player custom maps, it's necessary to make regular saves, and then delete older saves as you progress (I archive saves from the beginning of each week for later analysis and to remember things; the 7-zip archiver compresses them well in its own 7z format). There can be many different reasons why you might need a save from 1/2/3 weeks ago. If you don't have this habit, develop it; it saves a lot of time and nerves.

lord_vigor, if you send me your latest save file to my email

Thank you for the support, but I will feel like I cheated. When I gather my strength, I will try again.:smile26:

lord_vigor, no cheating, I'll just mark the green tent as visited.

Hello everyone!
I would like to share my opinion about the map "The last crusade". I recently finished playing it, and it left a lasting impression. I've seen different map ratings on YouTube and in online communities, but "The last crusade" is not mentioned anywhere, which is quite strange. In my opinion, the current version of "The Last Crusade" (3.9.1) is not much inferior in terms of difficulty and entertainment to the famous "Metataxer's revenge". At least, it took me more than a month of real time to complete each of these maps independently. Of course, each map has its own specifics: if in Metataxer everything is based on building chains, selecting the optimal logistics and tactics, then in "TLC" the quests require more of a brainstorming session than meticulous calculation.
I will tell you what I remember the most.

1. Difficulty.
A unique feature is the ability to choose the difficulty level within the game. You defeat a certain monster at the beginning and thereby complete a quest, which gives you the right to unlock guardians of the corresponding type. These guardians are in the form of obelisks and give certain bonuses and restrictions in the game.
There are main guardians (peasant, halberdier, swordsman, fanatic - in ascending order of difficulty) and additional ones (boar, hobbit, thief, troll); each main guardian has its own set of additional ones.

2. Heroes.
2.1 We have four heroes in different locations (three at the start, one - Pasys - from the prison), three of them complete quests that help the fourth - the main hero (MH) - to progress on the map. Several other heroes can be freed from prisons or hired in taverns.
2.2 Starting and some imprisoned heroes are not allowed to lose or resign - they will not appear in the tavern.
2.3 On the map, a number of secondary skills are unavailable, in particular, Wisdom, Logistics, and Scouting. These skills are available to the starting heroes and the imprisoned hero, Charny. On the fanatic, you can teach another random hero the Wisdom skill by obtaining it from the Pandora's Box near the starting city.

3. Tactics.
3.1 Due to the specifics of the map, the MH often needs maximum development, which limits the choice of creatures for his army. I used azure dragons, titans, archangels, as well as single pegasuses, djinns, scorpids, wyvern monarchs, and phoenixes. In some cases, hydras and vampire lords were used.
3.2 There are about 30 general battles on the map - not very many for an XL map. But the situation is complicated by the absence of a number of important spells, such as "Quicksand", "Hypnosis", "Force Field", "Clone", "Berserk". They will only start appearing in the second half of the game after visiting the orange tent.

4. Logistics.
Another feature of "The last crusade" is the progression on the map. The method of moving between adjacent locations is in the form of a puzzle, and to get to the next location, you need to solve this puzzle.
The most complex and sophisticated solutions are for the fanatic, but they are also the most universal, that is, they can be implemented at a lower difficulty level.
Some tasks allow for several solutions. The following mechanics are used in the puzzles:
1) The Logistics skill, development, MP replenishment, movement trajectories.
2) The spells "Summon Ship", "Sink Ship", "Walk on Water", "Fly", "Dimension Door", their interaction with objects, events, monsters, and obstacles on land and on water.
3) The Scouting skill, objects that change the visibility of the map: observatories, pillars, mage huts, veils of darkness, cartographers.
4) The use of artifacts for logistics and scouting, boots of levitation, wings, scrolls.
5) Visiting garrisons, border gates, portals, events, exchange between heroes.
6) AI behavior.

5. Walkthrough.
The condition for victory is to deliver the grail to the city of Temple. It is possible to conditionally divide it into four stages.
Stage I (1.1 - 2.3)
I started as red, difficulty - fanatic. I had to establish myself in the upper part of the map, dealing with three opponents. This was not easy - the enemies are given a substantial army as a bonus, and already in the second week they break through the barriers of wizards and invade our possessions through the green portals. Therefore, I had to maneuver the heroes between locations, collecting stats and an army. The main striking force is azure dragons. After defeating Fafnir (2.2), I managed to collect an elixir of life, and the following battles went easier. At the same time, enemy cities were captured, primarily towers, in order to build dwellings and accumulate titans.
Stage II (2.4 - 4.2)
At 2.4, Mutare was freed. I started the mission of the island hero - he defeated 5 azure dragons, a sniper, a turquoise enemy, and captured a shipyard. A road opened for the MH to the south, to the possessions of the purple player. After visiting the purple tent, I had to solve the first puzzle, crossing to the necropolis in the south of the map and freeing Roland. Then the heroes Dragon (3.4) and Lord Haart (4.2) were defeated, and the artifacts were picked up: medal of vulnerability, admiral's hat, angel wings. It may seem that the map is close to completion, but this is not so: the most interesting part is just beginning!
Stage III (4.3 - 5.4)
With the help of wings, I managed to get to the orange monolith and defeat the hero Kalh (4.3). After visiting the orange tent, a march-throw through a long tunnel began, first to the necropolis with Tamika (5.3), then to the prison with Charny and the quest wizard (5.4). This stage is the most difficult in the game. Firstly, there are the most difficult puzzles here, and secondly, you need to conduct several difficult battles, and there is nowhere to get reinforcements.
Stage IV (6.1 - 7.1)
Having established myself in the dungeon, I finally got the spells "Dimension Door" and "City Portal" and was able to bring reinforcements. Then I collected four magic books, defeated Tanta and Marius (6.2), freed the hero Jelu, and, breaking through to the upper part of the dungeon, defeated Xeron (6.3). Pasys also had a job - he defeated Xiron and picked up the Cross of Life. The white and black tents were visited, after which it was possible to deliver the grail to the city of Temple.
Result - 173 days.

6. Several points that raised questions.
6.1 When starting the game as a peasant, the underground hero must visit the seer (138, 140, 1) and unlock the guardian (138, 139, 1), which requires 10 units of defense to board the ship. But the same guardian can be unlocked as a fanatic if you get +1 to defense when leveling up. Then we get additional resources and the cursed shield as a bonus. I don't know if this is intentional or if the author just overlooked it.
6.2 The blue, green, and turquoise opponents play with one hero, despite the presence of taverns.
6.3 The hero Kalh on the event (62, 83, 1) receives the sphere of prohibition, which somehow ends up in the backpack, although there are free slots on the hero.
6.4 In the necropolis (119, 126, 1), an event is displayed that builds a tavern on the first day for a human player.
6.5 The seer (22, 94, 1) gives a small fairy for defeating Nimues. It is unclear why it is needed at the end of the game.
That's all, thank you for your attention!

Thank you too! This is the clearest overview of this map for those who (like me) haven't played it yet and haven't watched a walkthrough on YouTube! And it's spoiler-free. Until now, I've only read enthusiastic reviews, from which it was only clear that the map is outstanding, has 4 difficulty levels, is divided into zones, and the main focus is on logistical tasks, but they didn't give such a comprehensive idea of it (no offense to those who wrote them).
Only one thing I didn't understand: "orange tent" - is it red or brown?
I hope to see more reviews from you of the same quality! If there's something to tell, please share it with us!
My guesses regarding your questions (the author may provide his own answers later; he is also registered here):
The Sphere of Inhibition, which somehow ends up in your backpack - that's actually better, because sometimes you defeat someone, and then in the next battle, the spell suddenly doesn't work because, for example, a Cloak of Resistance was automatically put on you.
The unnecessary fairy for defeating Nimue: maybe it was needed in some old version, or maybe the message given by the Seer at that time is important - this sometimes happens in RPG maps.

Indeed, a very insightful review. I wasn't able to write such a good review of the map myself back then. Now, with full playthroughs of TLC available on YouTube, it has, let's say, lost some of its difficulty, as you can peek at solutions to problematic moments. But if you try to complete it on a fanatic difficulty setting, it's still one of the most challenging maps.

Regarding the fact that not many people talk about the map, the reason is probably that TLC's hallmark isn't battles, but logistical tricks. Most people don't like maps that focus on logistics (whether it's the need to plan hero movements + tempo, as in Minchev's maps, or solving logistical puzzles, as in TLC).

I hope that in the future there will be comments/videos/screenshots for other maps as well.

I've been thinking about one map you know well, but I'm afraid my comment might be a bit… uncensored. :D

Anyway, I recently tried playing Limes Inferior (eng). It's just insane. A map for masochists. While dealing with the blue and red factions is relatively manageable (though still challenging), I have no idea how to proceed after that. The orange and purple factions are just ridiculous. It's impossible to reach and destroy the orange Castles, so no matter what I capture, they seem to immediately take it back. And the purple garrisons (I checked in the editor) are just… something else.

It seems that the English version can only be completed by using some incredible tricks, like in your report, such as constantly generating weeks and months of creatures, and other such maneuvers. But I definitely don't have the skill or the mental fortitude for that.

Also, it seems to have significantly decreased in terms of pace and army strength. Initially, capturing the swamp proved to be extremely difficult. In the first blue Castle, I had to fight Cyphers with an army almost as strong as mine, and with full mana, and in the second, Verdish. So, no matter how well I play, I still suffer significant losses of archers and sprites. And then I also had to fight the last red Castle with a hero and a fairly large army (I was tired of these badgers digging in the Castles). As a result, capturing the swamp and the barbarians cost me almost a hundred sprites and almost as many lizards. It seems pointless to continue playing with such losses, and I'm already tired of replaying, so I'll poke around with the orange faction a bit more, see what happens with the losses, and in general, but it looks like 99.9% that I'll just give up on this map.

Yes, this map is for particularly hardcore players. Basically, the key to success is to trap the orange player in their starting area, kill Lucifer, take the artifacts, control the areas with valuable resources behind two Inferno garrisons, and set up a trap with spawns of evil creatures. All of this needs to be done before the orange player starts capturing other cities besides their initial two, and also before the green and brown players arrive at the starting area. If you manage to get into this position while maintaining a sufficient army, victory on the map is practically guaranteed.

Added 15 minutes later
I recommend playing this map for a change of pace: this :D

All of this needs to be done before Orange starts capturing other towns besides its initial two, and also before returning to the starting location before Green and Brown arrive. If you manage to get into this position while maintaining a sufficient army, victory on the map is practically guaranteed.

That's what I couldn't do. It seems I arrived at Orange's territory too late and with a significant shortage of lizards and dragonflies, as I mentioned earlier. I managed to break through the garrisons and defeat Lucifer, but if I leave my main hero at Orange's starting location, a strong Green force will appear at the starting location in 4.2.x. If I return my main hero to the starting location, Orange will immediately kill my hero and recapture everything. By the time I arrived, they had already captured all the resources and 4 castles.
*
And the losses seem to be already too great. If the losses on the garrisons were still relatively tolerable, then Xyron and then Lucifer wiped out too many units with their "Inferno" spells. And there's nothing I can do about it - they cast Inferno on their first turn, and dozens of my lizards and other units are wiped out. Below is a picture of my heavily battered army, remaining after visiting Orange. Only slightly more than half of the army remains (not counting the wyverns and birds that were given as a reward, and the hydras, of which there are as many as there were before). I'm afraid that this might not be enough for a normal battle with Green, and I will have to suffer too many losses again.
*
If this Polish player had removed the stupid Brown faction, so that it could be completely eliminated, like Blue and Green, and thus allow for gradual development, it would be a normal, moderately challenging map, and not this madness. But now, I'm just jumping from one starting location to another like a flea, and it's unclear how this running around will end.