Posts from [TESTING] [M] "Will and Reason" - "Power and Reason"

Name: "Will and Reason"
Map name: "Power and Reason"
Two-level map: Yes
Number of players: 2
Size: Medium
Map difficulty: Expert
Map author: Lars
Map description: Will and reason have always opposed each other in the fairy-tale world, and even now, when almost no one else remains, they are ready to destroy each other. Decide the outcome of the war in your favor!

First, I looked at the map (with a code for visibility :eek:), liked it, and decided how I would defeat my unpredictable and intelligent opponent, the computer. Since I kind of like thieves^^, and luckily, the map has a hero with advanced scouting and pathfinding, I decided that he would be my main and only hero, the one I would focus on developing. And the second hero would be my errand boy, doing the dirty work, gathering resources along with the army, capturing mines after I take care of the guards, and leveling up a bit. I chose the Life faction because its magic mainly consists of buffs, which is perfect for a thief, who is also a lone hero). On the first day of my reign, I built a stable to somehow speed up my subjects. So, for an entire week, I ran around with my army, fought, and gained experience (I couldn't run around myself yet, as my health wasn't high enough). And one of those days, I saw two mages on my path, and as a true thief, I couldn't leave them alone). After a not-too-long battle, I searched the mage, and to my surprise, his pockets weren't empty. He had a potion of stamina, and while I was searching his pockets, my army had time to rest and gain +5 to movement. From now on, I decided not to miss these mages on my path, because speed is everything for a thief. As soon as I got the Expert in Stealth skill, I sent the army that remained after all the battles to my second helper and went on my own adventure.
Now, I could "borrow" many good things from inattentive guards, and when I got the Grand Master of Stealth skill, everything on the map became "common," that is, mine. During the past week, I built a guild in the Castle, checked if there were any spells I needed, and bought scrolls in the Conservatory of Life, which I encountered on my path. Later, I learned them as soon as I grasped the basics of Life magic. And then I galloped to my opponent to "make friends" :D. I stayed on his territory for 3 weeks and 6 days. After running around and leveling up a bit more, I visited him in his Castle. By the way, he was an Elf;.
And finally, my thoughts on the map. It will be very interesting in a multiplayer game because the computer opponent either can't or considers it beneath him :D to use thieves. It wouldn't hurt to rename it to better suit the thief playstyle. And if something needs to be fixed, it would be better to create two maps: one for true thieves and another for those who don't like the thief style.
Well, that's just my opinion, so please don't be too harsh:rolleyes:. And big respect and kudos to the author.

From now on, I've decided not to let these mages pass me on my way, because speed is everything for a thief.

But in the readme, it says something about mages :smile26:

P.S. I need to test the map in multiplayer.

STRANNiK, we'll definitely test something together sometime! :smile14:

I never read the readme file:rolleyes: I just can’t be bothered:D

STRANNiK, let's test it together sometime! :smile14:

With pleasure, I'll be ready on the weekend :)

And I never read the readme :rolleyes: I just can't be bothered :D

But you should check the readme for this map ;) it's so beautiful :)

Message from CTPAHHuK
Check out the readme for this map; it's amazing.

Intrigued:rolleyes:
Downloaded the map again because I always delete the readme, and I looked at the readme. It really is amazing:smile54:

Lars (Necropolis) def. CTPAHHuK (Necropolis), 142 (Expert, 8 min)

Ruslan and I decided to test it out today.
Here's what came of it:

We played a mirror match. Necropolis against Necropolis. At the start, two Death Knights. Both without tactics, but one has an advance in scouting and an advance in pathfinding (now Basic), the other has an advance in warfare and an advance in resistance. In the town, I hire a 3rd Death Knight, already with tactics :smile06:

The fast hero with Imps goes for the altars and the resource nodes, the strong hero also goes for the resource nodes, the tactical hero with the army goes there too :D
On the monster arena, things are as follows:
On the first day, I capture a level 2 dwelling, in the dungeon Gargoyles join. On the second day - a level 1 dwelling (skeletons and zombies join).
Scouting showed that a level 3 dwelling contains Ice Demons, but they are guarded by Vampires (Vampires and Spectres joined in the dungeon). I dared to attack only after some time. And when I attacked and captured it, I had the following guard in the dungeon:

2 Vampires
126 Skeletons
52 Imps
26 Gargoyles
55 Zombies

CTPAHHuK's army:
4 Venom
226 Imps
31 Spectres
48 Skeletons

Obviously, I was losing to him, so I wasn't going to attack and postponed it until day 22, when the gates exploded and CTPAHHuK attacked me. Clearly, I needed to kill as many Venoms as possible. And I think I accomplished the task: 2 Venoms died, and the other 2 could no longer play a decisive role in the finale (as, however, the 4, but nevertheless :)). (Now a change has been made to the map: all troops that could be saved in the dungeon can immediately come out to the surface to the town without a battle with the enemy's army, since on day 22 they no longer pose a significant threat).

The fast hero - Grand on 114 (late, could have been earlier).
On day 117, Devils appear in the castle, at the same time the scripted mines are captured and all 4 lords join.

I gather everyone, sail to the island. CTPAHHuK sailed earlier, looked at the guard of the Golden Mine and said that it was guarded by as many as 4 Megadragons (now their number has been reduced). Both ignored it and sailed from the island to the dungeon for the 4th hero.

Time passed, the heroes gained levels. In the university, they sold magic of life, I decided to make a Paladin out of the starting strong hero - just against CTPAHHuK's army. I notice among the artifacts a randomly dropped Robe of the Guardian - I'll give it to the strong hero, since I'm only counting on him. The other heroes are weak in terms of defense and will probably not survive long in the finale!
I make the fast hero a Ninja and actively level up magic of death. The tactical hero is also not lagging behind - the entire line of tactics is close to being fully completed. For some reason, I didn't dual-class him. Only at the end I took warfare so that he wouldn't be killed immediately... In battle, the tactical hero helped with a Fire Staff, found somewhere in the treasure. The 4th hero from the dungeon is an Assassin. Since he was taken closer to the end of the game, he didn't develop much, but in the end he played an important role in the finale!

I capture a level 4 dwelling - Bone Dragons (now there is a level 3 dwelling), there I dig up gloves. CTPAHHuK "pleased" me by finding the Boots of the Wanderer (pun :D) (now closed on the map). I flew to the conservatory with three Gargoyles: the spells are terrible! The only thing I bought was a scroll of "Vampiric Touch", which I will give to the Ninja to level up. In the town, I built a level 5 magic building - Masscancel (!!!). But in the end, I didn't have time to learn it.

It's time to go to the Magic Island to the level 3 dwelling (Venoms) (now level 4) and Utopian. I fight 56 Cyclops and a level 7 Barbarian (now level 19, also added tactics 5335). Without losses. The Barbarian gives the Shackles of War. In Utopian - 9 Cherubs, who share the Shield of Chaos and the Anti-Magic Arrow. I lost 1 Devil and 1 Venom. I was upset. But I continue playing. Having visited all the places where I haven't been yet, I head to the Main Guard: again 9 Cherubs. I attack and am surprised: 3 more Megadragons join them. I remembered that I wrote this script a long time ago, I just forgot :) All this dragon guard is defeated by 5 Devils with "Vampiric Touch" cast on them and the Paladin-strong hero. Without losses! CTPAHHuK says that he is already in my dungeon, which means the finale is coming soon. After the Main Guard, I go to the quest mines and exchange the shackles and gloves for 4 Devils and 3 Bone Dragons. I go down to the dungeon and unexpectedly find myself in the midst of the enemy's main army! Finale! I didn't have time to prepare for it. The Ninja was sober, and the troop formation was free.

Here's what I ended up with:
Ninja level 15, Grand Master of Death (Sacrifice, Vampiric Touch, Dispel).
Tactical hero level 15 with Fire Staff and a scroll of "Mass Blur".
Paladin level 15, 5555 in Warfare with Sword of Alacrity, Shield of Chaos and Robe of the Guardian.
Assassin level 7, Master of Death with Dispel.
9 Devils.
5 Bone Dragons.
12 Venoms.

CTPAHHuK's army:
General level 14, Tactics 3445, advance in Warfare.
Ninja level 14, Grand Master of Death with Masscancel.
Ninja level 11, Master of Death.
Assassin level 10, Master of Death.
Mage level 10, Master of Order.
9 Devils.
14 Venoms.

In the first turn, Ruslan kills my sober Ninja with Devils. I thought that was it, game over! However, then, thanks to the level 7 Assassin with Dispel, the Devils and Bone Dragons began to take turns removing CTPAHHuK's heroes. My Devils were halved by "Hand of Doom". But even four of them posed a dangerous threat. CTPAHHuK casts Massslow. Due to the Shield of Chaos, the spell did not affect the Bone Dragons, which, having received their turn, flew to one of CTPAHHuK's heroes with a fatal outcome for the latter.
My Paladin finished off his Devils with his triple attack. CTPAHHuK's Venoms disappeared after he sacrificed them to resurrect the level 14 Ninja, who, in turn, also died a turn later.
Thanks for the game, Ruslan! A rematch on the corrected map, I think, is not far off! :)

Now about the map. Thanks to today's game, many small changes have been made. And in the near future I will upload the final version! :smile36:

Lars (Necropolis) def. CTPAHHuK (Necropolis), 142 (Expert, 8 min)

I got beaten by the old man. I was upset at night, so I'm writing the report this evening. Lars tricked me. Not only did he create the map himself, but that wasn't enough!

The first time, we started, and I asked, "Lars, are you starting with a brute?" And he said, "No, with a tactician!" Then I said I would start with a brute. And then Lars said, let's restart. Well, we restarted, and I thought, let me level up the tactician too, so we're on equal footing, so it's fair, so I can give him a chance, so he can put up a fight, so I don't kill him right away, so I can boost his morale, so maybe he'll thank me later for the opportunity. "Haha," Lars thought, and started leveling up a brute.

The moral of the story: level up a brute, don't listen to Lars.

In the dungeon, I waited a long time for his monsters to come out and have a beer with me, but they all made excuses, saying they were busy, doing homework, had a headache, their mom wouldn't let them. So my venom monsters sat in the dungeon for 3 weeks, got drunk, and ended up being useless to anyone :(

The moral of the story: you need to get the monsters out of the dungeon after 10 days, or they'll get drunk.

And then I sailed to the island first. I sailed there, saw it, and ran away. The guards on the trees and the gold mine were too strong. And no one will go there a second time, there's no point.

The moral of the story: cut down the guards so that someone can come, see, and conquer.

What really pleased me! It was the Conservatory! Oh, Papa Lars! For the first time in my life, I played a map with a Conservatory! What a breakfast for a tourist! Considering that I was spending money by the butt after building devils in the Castle, the Conservatory was also to my liking. I didn't need to return to the Castle because I bought Death Hands, Sacrifice, and something else for my three necromancers. But to the great delight of the cunning trickster, secretly leveling up a brute, I lost 2 heroes trying to break through to his territory and spent 2 days going back and forth.

The moral of the story: include Conservatories on all maps, at least for the barbarians.

In general, I came to his dungeon, and then all that stuff that Lars wrote about happened to me. He beat me in one fell swoop. What can I say. Old age is no joy. But the map is great! A few tweaks with the neutrals, and I'll be running it in the next championship :)

The moral of the story: I lost, but I'm happy. I'm happy for the map; I did contribute to it after all :)

So, the final touches have been made. I am posting this guide to help you familiarize yourself with the map.

«HERMIT MAGI»



Lonely hermit magi will grant +5 movement for one day after being defeated and will share a potion of stamina.

«UNDERGROUND ARENA»



After capturing level 1, 2, and 3 monster dwellings near the city in the dungeon, level 1, 2, and 3 monsters will join you respectively (indicated by red arrows). Each must fight their way to the center, battling monsters of their own level. During this time, neutrals come under the control of your opponent for the duration of the battle. Be careful!!! When all three levels have joined and all three "neutral armies" are defeated, the stones in the center will shatter, the creatures can be merged into a single army, and after winning a battle against one hydra (black arrow), they can be led through a one-way portal straight to your city, while picking up a valuable artifact.

«CAPTIVE LORDS»



By capturing the mines far from the city (sulfur, gemstone, crystal, and mercury), you will gain 4 level 1 Lords with their own unique specializations (one for each mine), who can be sent immediately to your city via a one-way portal, after collecting resources around them (if you wish to, of course :D).


«GRAND NAVIGATION»



In this quest hut, you can buy the level 5 navigation skill for your hero for 6000 gold.

«GOLD MINE ON THE ISLAND»



Beat your opponent to the capture of the Gold Mine in the center of the island! Once you capture it, the bridge on the opponent's side will collapse, and the mine will remain yours forever! But to do this, you must fight the mine's guards! ;)

«PRISONERS»




From this same island, you can enter the dungeon via a two-way portal. There, you will find a hero in captivity who will gladly join you :D. Three paths lead out of the dungeon: you can return to the island, go through a one-way portal to your city, or to...

...«CROW'S NEST»



Here you can capture a level 3 dwelling and dig up a treasure (5000 gold, gloves, and the "General haze" scroll), after visiting 6 oracles on your territory first, of course.

«MAGIC ISLAND»




A wonderful place! However, to get there, you must face a powerful army: a level 19 Barbarian with loyal cyclopes! He has shackles of war, so escaping is not an option! Calculate your strength carefully. Furthermore, he will come under the control of your opponent for the duration of the battle, and with every attack on him, the number of cyclopes will increase by 10! Therefore, it is strongly recommended to kill the Barbarian on the first attempt! :P If you succeed, he will share the Shackles of War and three potions of immortality, provided he doesn't drink them all during the fight! :)
On the island itself, besides various useful items, you should pay attention to the level 4 dwelling. When you defeat the guards, a level 3 army will appear under your flag in the dungeon, which can capture another gold mine. Again, you should do this before your opponent, as the script stops working after the first capture! And it will remain under the enemy flag forever, just as it happened on the island!

«CREATURE MARKET»




The finale is near. To reach the enemy, you must survive a battle with Black Dragons and 3 Dragon Kings. But before the final battle, you can stop by the creature market, where you can replenish your army using the Rider's Gloves and Shackles of War. The rates are as follows:

In the Ranger's Hut, for the gloves, you can choose: (depending on your race)
Chaos:
1 Dragon King or
2 Black Dragons
Nature:
4 Phoenixes or
3 Manticores
Life:
4 Angels
Order:
5 Titans or
3 Sorceress
Death:
4 Devils or
3 Dark Knights
Barbarian:
6 Behemoths or
5 Raging Bulls

In the Thief's Hut, for the Shackles of War, you can choose: (also depending on your race)
Chaos:
3 Hydras
Nature:
3 Gargantuans
Life:
4 Champions or
3 Catapults
Order:
3 Dragon Golems
Death:
3 Bone Dragons
Barbarian:
5 Thunderbirds

That's all for now. Good luck playing! The map itself can be downloaded in the first post of the thread.