Day 1
Actions take place in the main part of the Resp (see Figure 1)Resources at the start of the day: 30 logs, 30 ore, 10 mercury, 10 sulfur, 10 crystals, 10 gems, 10000 gold.1. For faster movement, the hero Dimitri buys 1 pikeman, while leaving the rest of the army, consisting of 44 peasants and 5 archers, in his home Castle "Sorpigal".
He picks up nearby resources, enriching the kingdom by +800 (G10), +500 (G11), +1000 (S7), +900 (G9) gold. He goes to sleep.
2. In the home Castle Sorpigal, the Knight hero Tiro is hired with the maximum possible army: 50 peasants and 5 archers!
The entire army, except for 1 peasant, is left in the castle garrison. He takes +700 (G6), +1000 (G7) gold and takes one step down, clearing the way for the next hero!
3. In Castle Sorpigal, the Warlock Rasmont is hired with a starting army of 4 gorgons + 7 centaurs. After merging his forces with the castle garrison and buying 7 (out of 8 available for hire!!!) archers (4 gorgons, 7 centaurs, 93 peasants, 17 archers), Rasmont attacks the goblins, defeating them without much effort or loss!
4. Tiro gives 1 peasant to Rasmont, receives 1 gorgon in return, and spends his remaining moves moving toward the wood (W4), but does not reach it and falls asleep at the "Symbol of Misfortune" artifact.
5. Rasmont runs toward the village of "Middlegain". He falls asleep exactly 9 steps away from it!
6. Meanwhile, the village of "Middlegain" turns into a beautiful Knight Castle!
7. In Castle "Middlegain", the Warlock hero Arius is hired with an army of 3 gorgons + 6 centaurs. The entire army except for 1 gorgon remains in the castle garrison, and the hero replenishes the kingdom with nearby gold: +600 (G2), +1000 (G3), +900 (G4), +900 (G5). He holds his remaining moves...
8. In Castle "Middlegain", the Warlock hero Castor is hired with an army of 3 gorgons + 7 centaurs. The entire army except for 1 gorgon remains in the castle garrison, and the hero replenishes the kingdom with nearby gold +500 (G1) and mercury +5 (R1). He heads toward chest S2! It should be noted here that a very important point: the hero DOES NOT spend his last step, but falls asleep.
9. In Castle "Middlegain", the main Barbarian hero Antony is hired with an army of 3 orcs + 21 goblins. The entire army remains in the castle garrison, and for movement speed, we give him 1 gorgon, with which he runs as fast as possible toward the enemy castles!
Two important points should be noted here!
- The hero does not take anything and visits nothing;
- The hero moves not by the optimal route indicated by the mouse, but via keyboard, i.e., he stands EXACTLY over Castor (see Figure 1)!
10. Arius enters Castle "Middlegain", where he spends the night!
Resources at the end of the day: 10 logs, 10 ore, 15 mercury, 10 sulfur, 10 crystals, 10 gems, 50 gold.
Note: During the turn transition, the computer hero Atlas dies while attempting to seize the guarded artifact "Bottomless Bag (+750 gold per day)"!
Since the rules clearly state that
quote: "You cannot... Buy other players' heroes who died in battle (not to be confused with those who fled) if they possess artifacts and/or a level higher than first!", this hero can be bought back if necessary.Day 2
Actions take place in the main part of the Resp (see Figure 1) and on neutral territory.
Resources at the start of the day: 10 logs, 10 ore, 15 mercury, 10 sulfur, 10 crystals, 10 gems, 2050 gold.1) Dimitri continues to gather resources, enriching the treasury:
+600 gold (G8), campfire (K4) brings +600 gold and +6 sulfur, +13 ore (O4), chest (S8) +1000 gold, +13 ore (O3), +15 ore (O2). He takes a break.
Note: the optimal route when taking O2 is selected via keyboard.
2) Tiro supports Dimitri's craft and enriches his kingdom with wood—the essential material for building castles—as well as mercury, an equally valuable resource for the tertiary victory criterion!
+13 logs (W4), +15 logs (W3), +4 mercury (R2). He spends the night 2 steps away from the guarded "Symbol of Misfortune" artifact.
3) Rasmont, as previously planned, reaches Arius, who is standing in the castle, and transfers all his troops except for 1 gorgon; with this, his moves end and he spends the night, having completed his main task.
4) Arius, with an army of 20 centaurs, 6 gorgons, 17 archers, 94 peasants, and 21 goblins, joins 40 centaurs and enriches the kingdom with the resources they were guarding.
Campfire (K2) brings +400 gold and +4 crystals, chest (S5) +1000 gold.
He does not yet spend his remaining moves, which are just enough to reach Castle "Middlegate".
5) In Castle "Middlegate", another Warlock hero named Falagar is hired with a starting army of 3 gorgons and 10 centaurs.
6) Arius transfers his entire army to the newly hired Falagar, keeping only one gorgon for further fast movement across the map.
7) Falagar, with an army of 70 centaurs, 8 gorgons, 17 archers, 94 peasants, and 21 goblins, attacks the elves!
//Calculations showed that 20 elves would join a hero whose army strength equals 20*567*1.77 = 20072 units (according to information from Heroes 1 reference guide, section 12. Diplomacy and its application (+ HP table)).
The army of hero Falagar, considering the purchase of all monsters in the castle and additional exchanges between heroes, would only provide this strength:
70 centaurs = 70*94=6580;
10 gorgons (one gorgon could be taken from Arius and Rasmont) = 10*379=3790
25 archers (8 bought in the castle)=25*256=6400
104 peasants (12 bought in the castle, minus 2 exchanged for gorgons from Arius and Rasmont)=104*18=1872
total: 18642.
Certainly, by buying any hero (Knight or Warlock), one could increase army strength and join the elves, but unfortunately, the primary task of building up the main castle, which required spending 5000 gold, did not allow for another additional hero. This is evident from the amount of gold at the end of day 2 (see below).
Consequently, this wonderful idea had to be abandoned and the stubborn ones killed.//Battle with Elves
own troop deployment: centaurs, gorgons, archers, goblins, peasants;
enemy troop deployment: 5 stacks of 4 elves.1) Use gorgons to stand between the three top stacks of elves (do not touch anyone);
2) The 1st stack of elves hits gorgons in melee; in response, gorgons kill 1 elf;
3) Centaurs shoot at the 4th stack of elves and destroy the stack;
4) The 2nd stack hits gorgons;
5) Goblins stand still;
6) The 3rd stack hits gorgons;
7) The 5th stack shoots centaurs, taking out 5 units in 2 shots (while writing the description, only 4 centaurs were taken);
8) Archers shoot at the 2nd stack, taking out 3 elves;
9) Peasants stand still;
10) Gorgons finish off the second stack of elves;
11) The first stack of elves attacks gorgons again and kills one; in return, gorgons kill one elf;
12) Centaurs destroy the 5th stack;
13) The third stack attacks gorgons unsuccessfully;
14) Goblins stand still;
15) Archers kill 3 elves from the 3rd stack;
16) Peasants stand still;
17) Gorgons finish off the third stack;
18) The last two elves from the first stack attack gorgons and, failing to get the desired result, perish from the dazzling response of the fearless gorgons!
Losses: 5 centaurs (could be 4), 1 gorgon.
Taking chest (S4) enriches the kingdom by +1500 gold, and he enters a clash with thieves for the most promising artifact on this map: "Nomad's Boots".
Battle with Thieves
own troop deployment: centaurs, gorgons, archers, peasants, goblins;
enemy troop deployment: 5 stacks of 10 thieves.1) Stand still with gorgons;
2) Thieves move; the 5th stack stays in place;
3) Centaurs kill the first stack;
4) Goblins kill the third stack;
5) Archers kill the second stack;
6) Peasants move forward one cell;
7) The 4th stack of thieves kills 21 peasants;
8) Gorgons kill 5 thieves from the 5th stack; they respond, then attack—unsuccessfully.
9) Centaurs kill the 4th stack;
10) Archers finish off the 5th stack.
Losses: 21 peasants.
Having obtained the priceless artifact, Falagar takes his final steps toward Castor, but falls short by exactly 1 cell; this is basically enough, although this move would have greatly benefited Castor! But in principle, it doesn't matter.
8) Castor, being in the center of the "Bermuda rectangular triangle", first takes all troops from Falagar, leaving him by tradition only 1 gorgon, and also takes the "Nomad's Boots" artifact. After the exchange, he transfers 6 gorgons, all centaurs (65) and goblins (21), as well as the "Nomad's Boots" to the main character—hero Antony!
Having completed one of the primary tasks, the key hero, who is now Falagar [sic], proceeds to perform the next equally important one—the operation to capture the main village "Xabran" (see Figure 1).
Enriching the kingdom by +2000 gold (S2) along the way, Castor attacks the guarded village "Xabran" (Note that chest S2 must be taken at a right angle, as shown in Figure 1, otherwise you will be short 1 step to reach the village)!
Battle for Village "Xabran"
own troop deployment: archers, peasants, gorgons;
enemy troop deployment: 33 goblins, 5 orcs.
1) Gorgon passes;
2) Goblins move;
3) Archers kill 4 orcs;
4) Peasants pass;
5) Orc shoots at archers;
6) Gorgon passes;
7) Goblins move, but fall 1 cell short of the archers;
8) Archers kill 21 goblins;
9) Orc shoots at archers;
10) Peasants finish off the goblins;
11) Gorgon passes;
12) Orc shoots at archers;
13) Archers finish off the orc.
Losses: No losses.
9) Antony, knowing his main task—to capture the enemy castle "Pine Hill" on day 4—runs without much worry toward the goblins blocking the path to said castle, trusting the optimal route suggested by the mouse. He sleeps slightly above a bush, 1 cell to the northeast.
10) The glorious village "Xabran" turns into a beautiful castle!
Resources at the end of the day: 18 logs, 31 ore, 19 mercury, 16 sulfur, 14 crystals, 10 gems, 1650 gold.
Note: During the turn transition, it is important that computer heroes Craig Hag and Jojosh do not stray too far and remain near Castle Pine Hill. It is also desirable that chests near the castle remain untouched (see Figure 1). All this is necessary to earn as much experience as possible for the main hero Antony and to enrich the kingdom with additional gold if needed.
Added after 3 minutes
Day 3
Resources at the start of the day: 18 logs, 31 ore, 19 mercury, 16 sulfur, 14 crystals, 10 gems, 4650 gold.1) Dimitri continues to gather resources, enriching the treasury (collecting exclusively via keyboard arrows!):
+7 sulfur, +1000 gold from chest (S6). He leaves the remaining 2 steps for later.
2) In the starting castle "Sorpigal", Barbarian Atlas (who died in the battle for the Bottomless Bag) is hired with a starting army of 17 goblins. The goal for this hero is simple—gathering resources in the northeastern part of the neutral territory (see Figure 5).
3) Hero Tiro has a new task: clear the easternmost part of the resp of monsters and enrich his kingdom with N-amount of resources + artifact + free troops (see Figure 3)! At a right angle, Tiro exchanges troops with Atlas; 17 goblins transfer to serve Tiro, and 1 gorgon goes to Atlas accordingly.
He then moves toward the narrow passage to the eastern part of the resp, but does not reach it and falls asleep by the trees one step from the passage.
4) Falagar is also given a resource gathering task, but in the western part of the resp (see western part of resp). Therefore, bypassing wagons and chest S1, he moves toward chest S4 (see Figure 2). He falls asleep 6 steps in a straight line from it.
5) Rasmont heads for chest S1 (see Figure 1), which Falagar skipped. Falling 4 steps short of it, he falls asleep behind the wagons.
6) Arius heads for resources in the desert toward the nomads guarding an ore mine (see Figure 1). He falls asleep 5 steps from the ore, which opens access to other resources (K3, O1).
The first small mistake of the map makers: along the ore mine, one can calmly collect all adjacent resources while bypassing the nomad guards!
7) Gatherer-traveler Atlas also sets out for the northeastern part of the neutral territory for gems and gold, naturally (see Figure 5). He falls asleep on the border with the desert.
8) Since the passage is now open, Dimitri uses his 2 moves effectively and makes them toward his home castle ("Sorpinal" [sic]). He falls asleep 6 steps from it.
9) Leaving all troops in Castle "Xabran", Castor with one gorgon runs toward wood W2. He falls asleep one step from it.
10) The main acting hero Antony rapidly runs to his goal, easily clears the first pack of goblins (26 units) in the passage (+78 experience), joins a friendly second party of 33 goblins, and with his final step attacks the last greens, whom he also clears without losses.
Battle with Goblins
own troop deployment: centaurs, goblins, gorgons;
enemy troop deployment: 5 stacks of 24 goblins.1) Gorgons pass;
2) First stack moves;
3) Centaurs kill the first stack of goblins;
4) Second stack moves;
5) Our goblins stand still;
6) 3rd, 4th, and 5th stacks move;
7) Gorgons pass;
8) Centaurs kill the second stack of goblins;
9) The 4th stack of goblins goes around;
10) Our goblins kill the 3rd stack;
11) 5th stack moves;
12) Gorgons fly to centaurs;
13) 4th stack moves;
14) Centaurs kill the 4th stack of goblins;
15) Our goblins kill the 5th stack.
Losses: No losses.
Antony gains 360 experience!
11) In the glorious city "Xabran", the 1st floor of magic is constructed!
Resources at the end of the day: 13 logs, 26 ore, 19 mercury, 23 sulfur, 14 crystals, 10 gems, 1150 gold.
Note: During the turn transition, it was important for mercury (2 units) to appear in the windmill. To my great regret, when mercury dropped, a bug with hero hiring also occurred (see Heroes of Might and Magic 1 reference guide, Section 14. Bugs and forbidden techniques in the game), so I had to settle for 2 gems. There was no time to replay a couple of days.
Day 4
Resources at the start of the day: 13 logs, 26 ore, 19 mercury, 23 sulfur, 14 crystals, 10 gems, 4150 gold.1) Dimitri, running into home castle "Sorpigal" and buying 2 pikemen and 6 swordsmen there, transfers the army to hero Tiro. In return, he takes only 1 goblin.
2) Tiro, with an army of 3 pikemen, 6 swordsmen, and 16 goblins, attacks the gorgons guarding resources in the eastern part of the resp (see Figure 3).
Losses after battle: 1 swordsman, 1 pikeman, 6 goblins (I didn't try too hard since the battle was completely non-essential).
Ignoring the abundance of resources, Tiro attacks the dwarves.
Remaining army after battle: 3 swordsmen (the battle was apparently conducted without a single replay, as it is also not essential).
For the most part, one could have done without the resources in the guarded territory of the eastern resp. I thought I would get mercury...
The final steps are enough to take campfire +5 ore, +500 gold and spend the night one step from the ore.
3) Rasmont replenishes the treasury with valuables found in chest (S1) +1500 gold and windmill +2 gems. Since the chest was not taken at a right angle, no additional step could be saved, so Rasmont spends the night in the mill.
4) Arius takes the planned ore (+15) and spends the night by the ore mine, planning his future movement toward the campfire and ore that are supposedly guarded by nomads.
5) Castor enriches the kingdom with additional resources found in the western part of the resp (see Figure 2).
+12 wood (W2), +2000 gold (S1). He heads back to Castle "Xabran". He takes a break 2 steps from wood (W3).
6) Falagar, following the example of his comrades, also replenishes the state budget by taking Chest (S4) for 1500 gold. He takes a break 2 steps from chest S2 (see Figure 2).
7) Atlas spends all his moves moving to the northeastern part of the neutral territory. He falls asleep 2 steps from gems (see Figure 5).
8) Antony attacks the first enemy castle "Pine Hill":
Battle for Castle "Pine Hill"
own troop deployment: gorgons, centaurs, goblins;
enemy troop deployment: 4 ogres, 5 wolves, 8 orcs, 10 goblins.
Important point: the catapult must completely destroy the wall with wolves from the first, or in extreme case, second move!1) Gorgons kill 10 goblins;
2) The shooter destroys 14 centaurs [sic];
3) Wolves pass;
4) Our goblins move forward;
5) Centaurs kill 5 orcs;
6) Orcs hit gorgons; they respond and kill 2 orcs;
7) Gorgon kills the last orc.
8) The shooter destroys 13 centaurs [sic];
9) Wolves bite goblins, taking out 9; they respond and kill 4. The remaining wolf gets morale and attacks again, killing two groups of 2 goblins.
10) Goblins finish off the wolf.
11) Centaurs kill 1 ogre.
12) Gorgons attack ogres and kill 1; they respond but cannot kill the gorgons.
13) Goblins kill 1 ogre.
14) Centaurs finish off the ogres.
Losses: 27 centaurs, 14 goblins (when writing description);
27 centaurs, 11 goblins and 1 gorgon (when playing through).
Antony gains 870 experience (attack+1)!
To my happiness, in the captured castle, the computer managed to build trolls!!! And since the castle was captured on day 1 of the week, it can be assumed that the computer built the bridge exactly on day 7, as one can hire a full 9 trolls there!
After the successful capture of the Castle, Antony has exactly 1 step left to enter the castle, but he does not enter!
The reason for not entering the castle and preserving the maximum amount of troops during the assault serves the following goals:
- Formation and concentration of a troop reserve that must be multiplied for the main assault.
- Transferring this army within one game day from the castle by an additional hero, to allow computer heroes to attack their own castle without hindrance, guarded by Antony with a very weak but fast army consisting of 8 fearless gorgons.
9) For successful implementation of this concept, we fire Dimitri, and in Castle "Pine Hill" we hire the Warlock hero Visper, with a starting army of 2 gorgons and 9 centaurs!
Visper, taking all centaurs and goblins from Antony and giving him 2 gorgons in return, rushes away from the castle as fast as possible, luring the computer to attack Antony.
10) Antony, with 8 gorgons, enters the castle where he spends the night awaiting a swift offensive from the computer. One step is just enough to spend the night in "Pine Hill".
11) In the glorious city "Xabran", the 2nd floor of magic is constructed!
Resources at the end of the day: 20 logs, 41 ore, 15 mercury, 19 sulfur, 10 crystals, 8 gems, 6750 gold.
Note: During the turn transition, the computer, realizing it has lost a promising castle with built trolls (9 units!), as expected, attacks Antony with its nearest heroes.
First to attack is Craig Hag with 17 wolves:
Antony's tactic: Gorgons stand still (or, if the wall is broken, fly away from wolves) until only 1 wolf remains for the opponent due to shots from the castle tower. With one wolf, the fearless 8 gorgons deal with it very simply, and the enemy hero dies, while Antony takes trophies in the form of:
A Scroll of Higher Knowledge (knowledge +5), a Bottomless Bag (+750 gold per day), and also receives 840 experience (defense +1).
Second to attack is Jojosh with 10 wolves. The battle tactic is similar. After victory, Antony increases his experience by another +700.
*One shot per turn from the tower takes out 4-6 wolves, i.e., 85-138 HP units*.
The remaining 4 enemy heroes (Yog, Ergon, Tsabu, Kelzen), dropping everything, run toward the castle in hopes of winning it back!
VDV_forever
