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I'm posting my walkthrough. I'll say right away that it is clearly not optimal. For example, FIREBALL reached the tear sooner than I did.
I decided to take Goshak as the main hero. I wanted to try playing as a Necromancer, but it didn't work out – neks were generated too late.
Main thoughts on the walkthrough:
During the first week, level up the main hero (ГГ). I immediately decided against getting super-abilities from leveling – map traversal is very fast, and you won't have time to get it anyway (even though the Barbarian one is very good). Since I had to fit everything within 12 days (this is the minimum result due to the required level 15 city - which can only be built on the 11th day), the hero's build was tailored for this. Additionally, I had to manage to defeat everyone along the path to the goal with small armies. For this, the ГГ needed to be leveled in:
- Logistics (Path of War is mandatory)
- Machine ownership (Rapid-fire Ballista is mandatory) + Tent (desirable)
- Defense (Fight to the Last)
- Attack (Fire Arrows) – desirable.
Capture the external Orc settlement and stand near the stables (near the city) at the end of day 7. Level up Logistics for secondary heroes and, if possible, Pathfinding (the terrain is sand, after all). Starting from day 8 – blitzkrieg. On day 10, clear the Dungeon where the obelisks are located and stand on the tear excavation site. On day 12, build Khan's Tower, and to increase the ГГ's stats – buy cool artifacts at the artifact shop!
Final ГГ stats – Goshak level 21, characteristics with equipped artifacts - Dragon Eye ring, Armor of the Forgotten Hero, Markel's Skull, Mountain King's Battleaxe (24+10+10+13 = 57), 116 mercury.
The hero build was as follows: Art. Blood Rage – Memory of our Blood – Logistics – Pathfinding – Adv. Logistics – Path of War – Basics of Machine Ownership – Adv. Machine Ownership – Art. Logistics - (tents gave three more perks – Art. MO, Basic Attack and Ballista) – Rapid-fire Ballista – Looting – Defense – Archery – PP Tent, Adv. Defense – Evasion – БДП – Adv. Attack – ОСs – Art. Attack.
(There were other options, for example, getting the rapid-fire ballista and fire arrows at levels 15 and 16, and БДП at 19th. But it was preferable to get БДП no later than level 18 – for battles with fens and elementals; moreover, I didn't have a tent, which helped a lot in those fights).
I also tried leveling Education (to increase experience and raise hero characteristics) instead of Defense. But then the elementals are barely defeated (fens – no problem). Few troops remain – enough to defeat small squads of ghosts – for example, those guarding the rings or the passage to the obelisks. But then Markel's skull cannot be picked up – and that's an extra +10 to hero characteristics!
That is why I eventually leveled Defense with БДП (БДП is needed to defeat elementals).
The walkthrough itself by days:
Day 1.
Build centaurs in the city. Buy Goshak, transfer troops from Kigan to him, run left to the level 2 Temple, pick up chests, defeat bone warriors, then right to the Dungeon. Kigan picks up a bag of gold, temple, mill and back to the city. Buy Shak Karukat (ШК) – capture sawmill.
Day 2.
Build Forge, buy ballista and Kigan transfers it to Goshak. Goshak goes to level 1 temple, then into the Dungeon. (Going left to the skeleton archers near the mine is a mistake – loss of half a day or a full day). Kigan follows Goshak into the dungeon, takes almost all his troops (we leave Goshak with 5 squads of single goblins and a 6th squad – a lone centaur). The centaur is needed so that the hero can strike several times using one-man army.
Goshak defeats Cave Dwellers (1 goblin remains) and without picking up anything – right to the crypt.
Kigan picks up gold and two bags of gold. ШК goes to the garden and into the dungeon.
Buy Garuna – (will need to be leveled to 4th level, as she gets logistics), visits two temples, and stops before the dungeon.
Day 3.
Build orcs. Start clearing the Dungeon counter-clockwise. Kigan gives all troops to Goshak. Goshak clears the crypt, visits a dolmen, temple. ШК follows him. Garuna – runs into the dungeon to the dolmen for experience.
Day 4.
Build town hall. Goshak defeats gargoyles, visits a dolmen and crystal of knowledge, and defeats furies. Kigan goes to the dolmen (gets pathfinding) and back. ШК also levels up the pathfinding perk at temples.
Day 5.
Build Stronghold. Goshak defeats twilight witches (biggest losses in the game – 15 centaurs), bypasses three tents (didn't touch the ghosts). Kigan goes to the surface, picks up boots. Garuna runs to the ore mine.
Day 6.
Build magistrate. Goshak defeats skeleton archers and goes to the surface, then left and defeats spear masters, then towards warmongers (gets boots from Kigan).
Day 7.
Build shamans. Goshak defeats warmongers, then harpooners, to the stables, defeats orc fighters, captures orc dwelling, bypasses two trees (eventually reaches level 14), and stops before the stables. Kigan runs straight and left to the mages' treasury, stops near the warmongers. Buy out from external orc dwelling.
Day 8 – a long and interesting day (8 battles).
ШК picks up an artifact from the cart near the underground mine and runs to the city. Build market in the city. ШК sells all artifacts picked up or taken from Goshak over 7 days (except for the bag of gold, which is +1000). Buy Iris (pity that Barbarian heroes ran out). Buy out from external orc dwelling. Iris transfers troops (weekly growth, except orcs) from city to Garuna, she to Goshak.
Goshak runs to the stables, then level 3 temple, oasis, defeats spear masters, oasis, vampire princes, oasis, nomadic centaurs, oasis, mages' treasury, warmongers, then up, defeats executioners and further right leaders (reaches level 18 – БДП), then visits a temple, defeats assassins in the abandoned mine, hires fairies from their house, runs further.
Kigan follows Goshak, enters the stables, and stops near the (already conquered) abandoned mine. Garuna follows Goshak (sets up a chain to buy out troops from the city the next day).
(p.s. in another walkthrough version for this 8th day, which I eventually discarded, I conducted 10 battles in one day).
Day 9.
Build war tent. Specifically leave Iris's starting troops in the city – Goshak will need them on day 12! ШК upgrades orcs to orc fighters and sells the bag of gold. Transfer orc fighters (50 pcs) in a chain: ШК – Iris – Garuna – Kigan --> Goshak. Goshak goes to the garden (gems), defeats fire demons, then orc fighters, picks up an artifact from the cart near the garrison, passes the garrison and stops before the fens (logistics were enough to fight one more battle with fens and go to elementals, but then I wouldn't have time to stand on the tear excavation at the end of day 10).
Kirik runs after Goshak.
From then until the end of the game, ШК, Iris, and Garuna act as cockroaches – picking up gold and resources.
Day 10 – the most important day!
Kirik takes an artifact from the lower cart near the garrison and gives it (sword of power) to Goshak.
Leave Goshak with these troops – 50 orc fighters, 5 squads of 2 fairies and 2 goblins, and go storm the phoenixes; after the battle, 50 orc fighters remain.
For the assault on the garrison with elementals, take along – 40 centaurs, 12 shamans, 50 orc fighters and 4 squads of 2 goblins. But in battle, only throw in goblins (don't deploy cents, shamans, or fighters). As a result, only 5-6 goblins are lost (thanks to the tent and ballista). Reach level 19. Goshak took so many troops – for future battles with ghosts, since Kigan was running out of moves (in previous walkthrough versions, Kigan ran out of moves even before the garrison with elementals, but I didn't change anything and fought 200 elementals with four squads of 2 goblins).
Then left, to fight the first squad of ghosts (add one assassin and 6 goblins to the 40 cents, 12 shamans, and 50 ОБ). Pick up all rings. Reach the long-awaited level 20 – fire arrows!
Run forward – conduct two more battles with ghosts (the two largest squads of ghosts and spirits – but even they cause no problems, ОС and tent helped a lot), pick up artifacts (Markel's skull is especially valuable).
Then run to the 4th squad guarding the passage to the obelisks, defeat them too, then visit 3 obelisks and stand on the future excavation site.
Build warehouse in city.
Day 11.
Goshak digs up the tear. Kirik spends the remaining two days collecting resources (all mercury in the dungeon and other resources if possible).
Iris stops near the artifact shop, and Garuna below - near the passage guarded by knights. ШК stands near plague zombies near the city.
Build goblin huts in town.
Day 12.
Goshak, with the dug-up tear, runs straight and left, defeats one squad of ghosts (5th), picks up two scrolls and is defeated by the last 6th squad of ghosts. By the way, in 5 battles with ghosts and spirits, Goshak lost only 2 goblins!!!
Buy out Goshak in town. Build the tear building - Ashi!!! in city!
Then sell all unnecessary artifacts. Iris buys Armor of the Forgotten Hero and Mountain King's Battleaxe at the shop, then runs to Garuna and transfers the artifacts to her, after which we dismiss Iris. Garuna picks up resources and is defeated by unicorns. Then buy out Garuna in town and transfer artifacts to Goshak.
Since Goshak had movement points left (due to the looting perk – after fleeing the battlefield, remaining movement points are preserved!!!), we buy a ballista and with starting troops (left by Iris in city) go left to fight nomadic centaurs, then defeat plague zombies, after which visit an oasis and run to the tower (study +1 defense).
ШК picks up resources. In town, exchange gold and resources for mercury – eventually getting 116 mercury!!!
P.S. As I wrote earlier - on day 11 Kigan could have taken the dug-up tear from Goshak and REALLY built Khan's Tower on day 11 (logistics are enough for all this)!!!!!
FIREBALL clearly could have beaten me in parameters if he had more time for the walkthrough, as he only joined the tournament on the 19th.
