Posts from Sacred Tree

The map is beautiful; it's worth playing again.

Thank you, I'll check what the issue is.

Started playing yesterday, really enjoying the map. I've completed about 75-80%, and right now I'm stuck on a puzzle. To be honest, I can't figure it out, and I'm almost out of ideas. I'm even thinking about just killing the mage and moving on, but I'd still like to solve it, so I wouldn't mind a small hint.

Good afternoon! This is strange, I have never had any problems with Degmund before... Could you please share the save file?

Drakonolyc, thank you for the save files, I have studied them, but, unfortunately, I did not find anything suspicious... In any case, I replied to you in a private message about how to complete the Degmund quest in the current Walkthrough.

Added 5 minutes ago

I started playing yesterday, I really like the map, I've completed about 75-80 percent, and I'm currently stuck on the riddle... I honestly don't understand it at all, I have almost no ideas, I'm already thinking of just killing the mage, but I would still like to solve it, so I wouldn't refuse a small hint

Fairring, I'm glad to hear that you like the map)
Yes, the mage's riddle is not easy, but I will give you a small hint - the text of the riddle itself gives a clue about how to solve it

Honestly, I've been racking my brain and can't find a solution, I even tried using AI, but it couldn't handle it either... Can I get an answer and explanations?

Honestly, I've been racking my brain and can't find a solution. I even tried using AI, but it couldn't figure it out either... Can I get an answer and explanations?

I'll send you a private message so as not to spoil anything. In any case, the puzzle is optional and doesn't prevent you from progressing further on the map.

I'll write to you in PM so as not to spoil anything. In any case, the puzzle is optional and doesn't prevent you from progressing further on the map.

Okay, I'll wait for your answer in PM, thank you very much!

I'll send you a private message so as not to spoil anything. In any case, the puzzle is optional and doesn't prevent you from progressing further on the map.

But still, how do you solve it?

So, in conclusion, I can say that this scenario made a strong impression on me. The dialogues and cutscenes are well-developed and very interesting, and I liked the plot and how it unfolds throughout the playthrough the most. As for the difficulty: there were some problems in certain moments, but they could be quickly solved thanks to some collected artifacts (unicorn bow and quiver, dwarven set, necromancer set, and dragon set), which made the playthrough easy. Thank you very much to the author for the work done!

Below will be a link to screenshots with the results; if anyone is interested in the progression, I can send it in a private message or here in a message below))

https://disk.yandex.ru/a/VcaANjUcAm7Zvg

I also plan to start playing "Hill of the Dead".

But how do you solve it after all?

Valery59, as I said before, the wizard's puzzle is optional and does not prevent you from progressing further in the storyline. I cannot give you a direct answer on how to solve it, but I will send you some hints in a private message to make it a little clearer, and to give you a starting point.

Since I've been asked for help with the wizard's puzzle for the second time, I might add a file with some hints to the archive soon, if you want to understand where to start. With or without this file, the task of solving the puzzle will still remain with the player.)

Added 14 minutes ago

So, to summarize, I can say that this scenario made a strong impression on me. The dialogues and cutscenes are well-developed and very interesting, and I liked the plot itself and how it develops throughout the Walkthrough the most. As for the difficulty: there were some problems in some moments, but they could be quickly solved thanks to some collected artifacts (unicorn bow and quiver, dwarf set, Necromancer set, and dragon set), so the Walkthrough turned out to be easy. Thank you very much to the author for the work done!

Below will be a link to the screenshots with the results, if anyone is interested in the progression, I can send it in a private message or here in a message below))

https://disk.yandex.ru/a/VcaANjUcAm7Zvg

I also plan to start playing "Hill of the Dead"

Fairring, thank you very much for the Walkthrough and the nice feedback!
I wish you success in playing "Hill of the Dead")

Added 5 minutes ago
And yes, I saw in the screenshots that you did manage to unlock the dark elementals 😉

I liked the map.
Pros:
1) A lot of work was done on the plot and its integration into the lore.
2) It looks beautiful. It was pleasant and interesting to examine the new hero models in the cutscenes.
3) There are many quests that don't feel like filler.

Now, about the cons:
1) The map feels very linear to me. It lacks portals to make the logistics more comfortable. (And you have to run a lot!)
2) There is absolutely no difficulty or challenge. Neither in the early, middle, or especially in the late game. It's especially disappointing about the final battle with 3 armies. I played it terribly: I didn't rebuild the mentor, I didn't prepare Adrian well. I made a mistake in distributing troops between the heroes - I was afraid that Adrian would be overwhelmed. And in the end, I still won with a huge margin, even considering the optional battle with the elemental. It's understandable, the ratio of troops is inadequate - 10k skeletons, 1k liches, 400 banshees and draks, and another 1.5k zombies, ghosts, and vampires. And there could have been another 150 spiders and 500 elementals! Against modest armies of around 3 months.
3) There are very long pauses in the cutscenes between lines of dialogue. Although, maybe I just read quickly.

Suggestions for increasing difficulty:
1) Remove the starting army and reinforcements. (There are too many of them - I already had almost 700 skeletons before the first encounter with the enemy)
2) Remove the ability for the AI to spawn cockroaches. That is, instead of creating a bunch of weak heroes and scattering the army, it would be better to spawn heroes relative to time or player actions.
3) Make the Orc SIGNIFICANTLY stronger. Given how naturally the Necromancer counters the Orc, you can go all out and fully equip the heroes (carts, blockades, resistance, just spawn a bunch of meat, and even that might not be enough).
4) Remove the exploitable initiative fountain near the dungeon with the gnome. It stacks every week. I don't think that was intended.
5) There is an idea to tie a defender to a specific Castle and increase their armies as the player progresses. For example, Deira defends the very first central Castle, Winga defends the one to the north, etc. Maybe they should just sit in the Castle. And spawn various annoying partisans separately and send them to the player in batches.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it, and the developers will be upset by such suggestions. After all, I can complete Master-level maps on a Hero (yes, yes, praise me).

Added 30 seconds ago

I liked the map.
Pros:
1) A lot of work was done on the plot and its integration into the lore.
2) It looks beautiful. It was pleasant and interesting to examine the new hero models in the cutscenes.
3) There are many quests that don't feel like filler.

Now, about the cons:
1) The map feels very linear to me. It lacks portals to make the logistics more comfortable. (And you have to run a lot!)
2) There is absolutely no difficulty or challenge. Neither in the early, middle, or especially in the late game. It's especially disappointing about the final battle with 3 armies. I played it terribly: I didn't rebuild the mentor, I didn't prepare Adrian well. I made a mistake in distributing troops between the heroes - I was afraid that Adrian would be overwhelmed. And in the end, I still won with a huge margin, even considering the optional battle with the elemental. It's understandable, the ratio of troops is inadequate - 10k skeletons, 1k liches, 400 banshees and draks, and another 1.5k zombies, ghosts, and vampires. And there could have been another 150 spiders and 500 elementals! Against modest armies of around 3 months.
3) There are very long pauses in the cutscenes between lines of dialogue. Although, maybe I just read quickly.

Suggestions for increasing difficulty:
1) Remove the starting army and reinforcements. (There are too many of them - I already had almost 700 skeletons before the first encounter with the enemy)
2) Remove the ability for the AI to spawn cockroaches. That is, instead of creating a bunch of weak heroes and scattering the army, it would be better to spawn heroes relative to time or player actions.
3) Make the Orc SIGNIFICANTLY stronger. Given how naturally the Necromancer counters the Orc, you can go all out and fully equip the heroes (carts, blockades, resistance, just spawn a bunch of meat, and even that might not be enough).
4) Remove the exploitable initiative fountain near the dungeon with the gnome. It stacks every week. I don't think that was intended.
5) There is an idea to tie a defender to a specific Castle and increase their armies as the player progresses. For example, Deira defends the very first central Castle, Winga defends the one to the north, etc. Maybe they should just sit in the Castle. And spawn various annoying partisans separately and send them to the player in batches.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it, and the developers will be upset by such suggestions. After all, I can complete Master-level maps on a Hero (yes, yes, praise me).

H_E_R_O_y, thank you for the detailed feedback, it is very valuable!
Regarding logistics - to make the logistics more comfortable, I added two pairs of Traveler's Boots near the entrance to the dungeon and at its beginning, so that Kaspar and Adrian could explore the underground faster. As for the enemies - the Orc, Yshara, and the last three armies will definitely be reworked to significantly increase their numbers; perhaps the changes will also affect the Green Elf and a couple of other heroes. And yes, regarding the Green Elf heroes - at this stage, his behavior will remain unchanged, but I will work on his stats, and the idea of hero-guardians does indeed seem interesting.
Also, thank you for the playthrough; I will try to upload a patch with the changes in the near future.

Something new, I need to try it out while I have some free time during the weekend. I'll describe/send the result later, and I'll also share my impressions.

Something new, I need to try it out while I have some free time during the weekend. I'll describe/send the result later, and I'll also share my impressions.

I suggest waiting for the patch; luckily, if everything goes well, I think it will be available on the forum tomorrow.

I suggest waiting for the patch; luckily, if all goes well, I think it will be on the forum tomorrow.

Of course, it's a good idea, but there's a catch: I work 4 out of 7 days, and it will be inconvenient to play tomorrow because of my last day off.

I completed this scenario in Heroes.

Walkthrough

I started playing as Kaspar; his tent can heal 15 times per battle, so the start is easy . When Kaspar learned the portal to the city, he went forward with one squad of higher vampires, while Adrian with the rest of the army remained in the city. He went to the enemy Necromancer, killed Lail without losses, lost 18 vampires against Degmund (he blocked the resurrection), and received the second city of the undead. Kaspar trained Adrian, and after that, I actively played with both heroes. Both elves and orcs are fighting against us, but all the heroes are killed by one squad under vampirism (sometimes I also put out a couple of squads). However, there was one battle where I had to fight with the entire army: Adrian against Eleas. Eleas's troops have high initiative and deal a lot of damage. Unfortunately, Adrian didn't have any slowing or phantom abilities at that moment (both tomes were with Kaspar). I killed everyone except the ents, subdued them, and blocked them in the corner with summoned squads of ghosts. I raised everyone as much as possible; there was still enough mana to win without losses. When the orcs refused to form an alliance, I sent Orson to finish them off. And Kaspar and Adrian captured three elven cities by the end of the fourth month. After that, the adventure part of the scenario began; I fought with neutrals and completed quests. Adrian defeated Gottfried without losses with three squads (vampires, heralds, dragons). Against K'molog, I also put out skeletons to shoot at the abomination in the center of the field; I also won without losses. Kaspar fought against Keleborn with the entire army. Keleborn has vengeance, so he didn't deal damage with his troops. I subdued the dragons and tried to kill the guardian spirit as quickly as possible. When only the ents remained, I raised troops for a very long time (after the victory, I realized that I could have played differently and it would have been faster), and in the end, I won without losses. The final battles (Jiraiya-Yashar-Daeron) were easily won with one squad without losses (Kaspar has dragons, Adrian has vampires). The scenario was completed in 204 days.

General impressions
In terms of plot development, quality, and the number of videos... this is the best map I've ever played!!! Some videos surprised me with the effects used; I didn't know that such things were possible in Heroes. There are also a huge number of interesting scripts and quests, and new creatures have been added. At the same time, I didn't find a single bug! It's incredible how much work it took to create all these videos, write, and test the scripts! The scenario is excellent; I really liked it; in my opinion, it should be considered as a work of art, and not just as a map for a turn-based strategy.

The Mage's Riddle
I saw in the comments that others had problems with it, but I was able to solve it; the quest is completely correct; I sent the author a personal message about how I came to the solution. I liked the riddle, although I solved it quite quickly .

About the difficulty
I read the comment from H_E_R_O_y and decided to respond. Yes, the scenario is played pleasantly, without the risk of losing, as I usually call it. But this is one of the possible approaches to balance, which is quite normal. I had an interesting idea: what if we add the ability to adjust the difficulty during the game? Here's how I see it: a hardcore player comes to K'molog (for example) and thinks, "it's boring; MasteR has stronger demons." After that, he enters something like @Challenge("kmolag", 2), and K'molog's army doubles! It will be possible to compete to see who can win the battle without losses in which month and with which army multiplier.

And instead of my standard phrase, this time I want to say...
Thank you very much for the excellent scenario!