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Dragon's Blood.
1 Culling the Weak.
A new campaign, a new hero. Or rather, a heroine: Mutare - an ambitious lady overlord.
Her goals are simple: to become the greatest and most powerful by taking from the weak what they cannot hold, proclaiming her own laws while piling up the bones of dissatisfied weaklings in the Dungeon of her home land.
This was a loose adaptation of the Campaign Description, but the goals are still noble and correct; we must help the lady.
In this mission, you need to eliminate all enemies and not lose the main heroine. She moves to the next scenario with level 10 coolness. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus, I recommend taking a building or troops (to your taste; I took a house), and a ring can be obtained "for free": there is an artifact opposite your city that changes upon restart. You just have to wait for the desired one. In the next mission, you can take the Charm of Mana, which will be given to you by the only Seer on the map in exchange for 13 Sulfur, 17 Crystal, and 13 Gems (must-have).
At level 1, Mutare has two skills: Tactics and Estates (the latter is clear: dragons love to hoard money in chests). Make sure she definitely acquires Wisdom and Earth Magic: without them, playing will be extremely difficult.
The available city is absolutely bare; it's gratifying that the opponents are in the same boat. All opponents have one level 1 hero. Their home cities are located at the corners of the map. As the game progresses, enemies will not only pay attention to you - they don't like each other much either.
The map is two-tiered. You and your opponents are on the first. The second level consists of six closed circles connected by a system of teleports (be ready for the unexpected appearance of an enemy). There are 12 cities and villages in total: 8 on the starting level and 4 on the second.
In the first week of the game, don't delay capturing nearby mines and neutral cities. I immediately moved west since the nearest enemy city is located there (successfully captured it), as well as the second transition to another map level (the first is near your castle). I played the entire scenario with the main heroine; I bought assistants for transporting troops or in a city where an enemy hero unexpectedly popped out of a teleport.
2 Savaging the Scavengers.
The goal of this mission is again not new: destroy all enemies. Losing the main heroine means defeat. Mutare moves to the next mission with level 18 progression and can carry the Dragon Scale Shield with her. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus, take medusas since you'll have to fight monsters from the very beginning (their type and number change upon restart), and then capture a city.
At the start of the mission, you have no city, and what will be your capital is completely unrefined by various buildings (2 military buildings, but not even a tavern). It's gratifying that opponents are in a similar situation. Everyone has one hero (enemy heroes are level 8). The map is two-tiered, but all cities are on the starting level. The second tier consists of four small rooms, each containing something useful. Opponent cities are located strictly north and west of your castle.
The scenario structure is such that each opponent can capture a second city quite quickly. If you send Mutare through the northwest tunnel, she will reach the nearest neutral (center of map) city and Subterranean Gate in a few moves. There, beyond the S.G., on the second level, is the Dragon Scale Shield and a Quest Guard that opens with the Charm of Mana. Behind the Q.G. lies an artifact of the "core" variety (+5 to something, random upon restart). The teleport (One Way) near the city transports you to the northwest corner of the map to the pyramid and Dragon Utopia.
Moving from the center via the northern or western tunnels will put you near castles intended as additions for opponents. Teleports (One Way) near them will transport you to the same northwest corner. Southeast of Dragon Utopia, there is another teleport. It sends you to Black or White barriers; the Keymaster's Tents for these are one move away (moving clockwise) from the barrier of the opposite color.
As you play, be careful with resources since only wood and ore are easily accessible, while for everything else, you'll have to walk into the far distance and even fight. Therefore, building a Resource Silo in the city becomes justified at an early stage of the game. Use the Black Market (the near one is west of the starting castle, the far one is north); they gave me useful things there, though it depends on your luck. The most time will be spent hunting enemy heroes; fortunately, the tunnels are narrow - you can't run off much. Don't hesitate to build magic towers; in this scenario, I learned Dimension Door, Implosion, Armageddon, Chain-Lightning, and Town Portal.
Added after 36 seconds
3 Blood of Dragon Father.
To win this scenario, you must find the Vial of Dragon Blood. Mutare cannot be lost, but she and two of her best companions move to the final mission without a coolness level limit. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus, I took a bag of money: finances are always lacking, and with Dimension Door, you can get by with a small number of troops at first. The map is two-tiered.
On the first day of the game, the enemy has total superiority in both the number of cities and heroes (5 cities as advanced as yours and 5 heroes level 10 and above). The opponent's main hero, Ordwald (mine was 7, 9, 14, 12 on the first day), owns a Celestial Necklace of Bliss (+3 to all) and Scales of the Greater Basilisk (+3 Sp.Pow.), and also wants to obtain the Vial of Dragon Blood.
At your disposal are Mutare and one city. Use restarts to ensure you have a Harpy Loft, and on the first move, build a Pillar of Eyes. Buy up all troops and move northwest through Cursed Ground to the harpy dwelling. Take the harpies, go past the Crypt to a group of monsters. If you have Dimension Door, jump over the monsters and end up near another dwelling with harpies. Buy them and capture the enemy city (one move west past Cursed Ground). If you're lucky, there will be no hero in the castle, and you'll take him down later in the open field. The opening of the game was played successfully.
The developers intended a strictly linear progression along a set route when creating this map. I will describe both that and an alternative version I played (which assumes having Dimension Door).
1. After capturing the enemy city, go west to the barrier (Light Blue Keymaster's Tent is north of your starting castle), then south to the Shipyard. Moving west along the river, you'll see a one-way teleport blocked by a Red barrier. It throws you to another map level into "secondary" enemy territories (north of the teleport exit will be a road; follow it to the crossroads and then west to the opponent's city).
Next, on the shore, you'll find a prison (inside is warlock Alamar level 5 with an Endless Bag of Gold) and a gold mine, near which lies a Summon Boat scroll. At the very end of the river, dive into the whirlpool. It will carry you to another map level (to the "secondary" territory of the opponent).
If after the whirlpool you sail southwest, you'll find the Green Keymaster's Tent (you must enter if you intend to open the Green barrier); if you sail southeast, you'll reach the enemy's "secondary" territory. After landing, go northeast: you'll find the Red Keymaster's Tent (remember the closed teleport?), then west to the exit of said teleport and to the opponent's castle. In the northern part of this land are Subterranean Gates blocked by a Green barrier. If you have Town Portal, gather as much meat as possible and head for these S.G.. It's better not to open the barrier but to jump or fly over it. Otherwise, a herd of enemy heroes will come your way, whom it is more useful to kill on their territory (you don't have to kill them, but I did this for exp).
Now you've entered the main enemy territories. Three tunnels diverge from the S.G., each leading to one of the opponent's cities. Note that there are one-way teleports near the castles, the exits of which are located behind the S.G. (which is why they aren't immediately noticeable). If you decide to engage in total extermination of the opponent, remember: Ordwald has likely already visited Dragon Utopia and very realistically geared up there - don't let him escape.
2. To avoid bothering with sailing down the river, you can do the following: after capturing the first enemy city, open the Light Blue barrier and go north to the arena. After increasing stats, stay put and cast Dimension Door. Move the mouse in a northwest direction; there is a spot ready to receive you. Now you've stepped onto the path of a risky blitzkrieg, arriving at the main enemy territory at the start of the second week. Now two moves west and an assault on the opponent's castle. I foresee a hard fight if the enemy hero is in the city: your troops are not plentiful. In any case, try it; this adventure worked for me, and the blues were wiped out before they could properly develop.
Now the most interesting part. Whether you kill the blues or not is up to you. The main goal of the scenario lies in the northwest corner of the map behind a second Light Blue barrier. Go up to another level via S.G.. Your army must be STRONG, as you'll have to fight a lot and against many tough monsters.
The first fight is with Bone Dragons - there are 35 initially (all numbers are for the first day of the game; by the time you visit, they will increase), then 25 Ghost Dragons (these must be killed, otherwise the quest barrier won't open). Then go down and west to the green dragons - there are 52. In general, all dragons living here are quest-related, and you cannot avoid fighting them. Now northeast - kill 45 red dragons, then south - deal with 52 yellow ones. Then in order: 44 black, 36 Faerie Dragons, 32 Rust Dragons, 32 Crystal Dragons. Dealt with all of them? Well, how's the mood? The sight of a considerably thinned army is especially inspiring. I suggest refueling with some meat and going to open Pandora Box (the first turn from S.G.). You open it... And there, a "warm" welcome from the next set of dragons awaits you: 30 Red Dragons, 22 Black Dragons, 16 Rust Dragons, 14 Crystal Dragons, 18 Faerie Dragons, 26 Gold Dragons, 36 Green Dragons.
After the wonderful fight, you receive the sought-after Vial and victory in the scenario. The next cartoon is quite interesting to watch.
4 Blood Thirsty.
The lady really let loose! Her face has changed slightly, but nevertheless, it's still Mutare, who must destroy all enemies to achieve final victory. Naturally, Mutare cannot be lost. Difficulty - expert, map is two-tiered. As a starting bonus, I took black dragons. If you want to take any others, keep in mind that there will be nowhere to replenish their numbers, and you'll spoil the army's morale.
The disposition for the first day is as follows: you have one undeveloped city (opponents too, though the blues have two castles) and three heroes. The opponents each have one hero (the blues have two - including the survivor Ordwald) whose coolness level exceeds level 25 (closer to thirty). Everyone has starting armies.
Your starting city is in the middle of the lower level; enemies divide the upper. Neutral cities are located at the corners of the map, northwest and southeast from the castle; you should send your loser-companions there (defense is weak or absent). If you go into a small appendix east of the capital, demons will join you (they guard the teleport exit).
Direct Mutare northeast to the Subterranean Gate; on the way, stop by Dragon Utopia - 6 blackies will easily handle the guards there. The second S.G. are located strictly diagonally from the first - in the southwest.
Having crossed into enemy territory, pay attention to the Cower of Darkness: the opponent will use this building very actively. At an equal distance from the northeast S.G. are: west - purple, south - I don't know what that color is called; due to poor eyesight, I can barely distinguish it from gray.
If you exit through the southwest S.G., they will be located similarly: north - orange, east - blue. The second city of the blues is northwest of the first. There are four neutral cities in total on the opponents' level: north of the orange one, then into the eastern branch of the tunnel; east of the first blue city; west of the purple one; south to the fork, then west from the same-colored city.
In this mission, your main "weapon" will be Town Portal; having Dimension Door will make hunting enemy heroes easier, and they will multiply in abundance. Be sure to build Mana Vortexes in captured cities. When using "expensive" spells, a double mana reserve is highly desirable. In my walkthrough, the enemies were constantly shopping at Black Markets, and Mutare was draped from head to toe in various trinkets.
Now you've reached the final cartoon of the entire campaign. Victory!
1 Culling the Weak.
A new campaign, a new hero. Or rather, a heroine: Mutare - an ambitious lady overlord.
Her goals are simple: to become the greatest and most powerful by taking from the weak what they cannot hold, proclaiming her own laws while piling up the bones of dissatisfied weaklings in the Dungeon of her home land.
This was a loose adaptation of the Campaign Description, but the goals are still noble and correct; we must help the lady.
In this mission, you need to eliminate all enemies and not lose the main heroine. She moves to the next scenario with level 10 coolness. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus, I recommend taking a building or troops (to your taste; I took a house), and a ring can be obtained "for free": there is an artifact opposite your city that changes upon restart. You just have to wait for the desired one. In the next mission, you can take the Charm of Mana, which will be given to you by the only Seer on the map in exchange for 13 Sulfur, 17 Crystal, and 13 Gems (must-have).
At level 1, Mutare has two skills: Tactics and Estates (the latter is clear: dragons love to hoard money in chests). Make sure she definitely acquires Wisdom and Earth Magic: without them, playing will be extremely difficult.
The available city is absolutely bare; it's gratifying that the opponents are in the same boat. All opponents have one level 1 hero. Their home cities are located at the corners of the map. As the game progresses, enemies will not only pay attention to you - they don't like each other much either.
The map is two-tiered. You and your opponents are on the first. The second level consists of six closed circles connected by a system of teleports (be ready for the unexpected appearance of an enemy). There are 12 cities and villages in total: 8 on the starting level and 4 on the second.
In the first week of the game, don't delay capturing nearby mines and neutral cities. I immediately moved west since the nearest enemy city is located there (successfully captured it), as well as the second transition to another map level (the first is near your castle). I played the entire scenario with the main heroine; I bought assistants for transporting troops or in a city where an enemy hero unexpectedly popped out of a teleport.
2 Savaging the Scavengers.
The goal of this mission is again not new: destroy all enemies. Losing the main heroine means defeat. Mutare moves to the next mission with level 18 progression and can carry the Dragon Scale Shield with her. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus, take medusas since you'll have to fight monsters from the very beginning (their type and number change upon restart), and then capture a city.
At the start of the mission, you have no city, and what will be your capital is completely unrefined by various buildings (2 military buildings, but not even a tavern). It's gratifying that opponents are in a similar situation. Everyone has one hero (enemy heroes are level 8). The map is two-tiered, but all cities are on the starting level. The second tier consists of four small rooms, each containing something useful. Opponent cities are located strictly north and west of your castle.
The scenario structure is such that each opponent can capture a second city quite quickly. If you send Mutare through the northwest tunnel, she will reach the nearest neutral (center of map) city and Subterranean Gate in a few moves. There, beyond the S.G., on the second level, is the Dragon Scale Shield and a Quest Guard that opens with the Charm of Mana. Behind the Q.G. lies an artifact of the "core" variety (+5 to something, random upon restart). The teleport (One Way) near the city transports you to the northwest corner of the map to the pyramid and Dragon Utopia.
Moving from the center via the northern or western tunnels will put you near castles intended as additions for opponents. Teleports (One Way) near them will transport you to the same northwest corner. Southeast of Dragon Utopia, there is another teleport. It sends you to Black or White barriers; the Keymaster's Tents for these are one move away (moving clockwise) from the barrier of the opposite color.
As you play, be careful with resources since only wood and ore are easily accessible, while for everything else, you'll have to walk into the far distance and even fight. Therefore, building a Resource Silo in the city becomes justified at an early stage of the game. Use the Black Market (the near one is west of the starting castle, the far one is north); they gave me useful things there, though it depends on your luck. The most time will be spent hunting enemy heroes; fortunately, the tunnels are narrow - you can't run off much. Don't hesitate to build magic towers; in this scenario, I learned Dimension Door, Implosion, Armageddon, Chain-Lightning, and Town Portal.
Added after 36 seconds
3 Blood of Dragon Father.
To win this scenario, you must find the Vial of Dragon Blood. Mutare cannot be lost, but she and two of her best companions move to the final mission without a coolness level limit. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus, I took a bag of money: finances are always lacking, and with Dimension Door, you can get by with a small number of troops at first. The map is two-tiered.
On the first day of the game, the enemy has total superiority in both the number of cities and heroes (5 cities as advanced as yours and 5 heroes level 10 and above). The opponent's main hero, Ordwald (mine was 7, 9, 14, 12 on the first day), owns a Celestial Necklace of Bliss (+3 to all) and Scales of the Greater Basilisk (+3 Sp.Pow.), and also wants to obtain the Vial of Dragon Blood.
At your disposal are Mutare and one city. Use restarts to ensure you have a Harpy Loft, and on the first move, build a Pillar of Eyes. Buy up all troops and move northwest through Cursed Ground to the harpy dwelling. Take the harpies, go past the Crypt to a group of monsters. If you have Dimension Door, jump over the monsters and end up near another dwelling with harpies. Buy them and capture the enemy city (one move west past Cursed Ground). If you're lucky, there will be no hero in the castle, and you'll take him down later in the open field. The opening of the game was played successfully.
The developers intended a strictly linear progression along a set route when creating this map. I will describe both that and an alternative version I played (which assumes having Dimension Door).
1. After capturing the enemy city, go west to the barrier (Light Blue Keymaster's Tent is north of your starting castle), then south to the Shipyard. Moving west along the river, you'll see a one-way teleport blocked by a Red barrier. It throws you to another map level into "secondary" enemy territories (north of the teleport exit will be a road; follow it to the crossroads and then west to the opponent's city).
Next, on the shore, you'll find a prison (inside is warlock Alamar level 5 with an Endless Bag of Gold) and a gold mine, near which lies a Summon Boat scroll. At the very end of the river, dive into the whirlpool. It will carry you to another map level (to the "secondary" territory of the opponent).
If after the whirlpool you sail southwest, you'll find the Green Keymaster's Tent (you must enter if you intend to open the Green barrier); if you sail southeast, you'll reach the enemy's "secondary" territory. After landing, go northeast: you'll find the Red Keymaster's Tent (remember the closed teleport?), then west to the exit of said teleport and to the opponent's castle. In the northern part of this land are Subterranean Gates blocked by a Green barrier. If you have Town Portal, gather as much meat as possible and head for these S.G.. It's better not to open the barrier but to jump or fly over it. Otherwise, a herd of enemy heroes will come your way, whom it is more useful to kill on their territory (you don't have to kill them, but I did this for exp).
Now you've entered the main enemy territories. Three tunnels diverge from the S.G., each leading to one of the opponent's cities. Note that there are one-way teleports near the castles, the exits of which are located behind the S.G. (which is why they aren't immediately noticeable). If you decide to engage in total extermination of the opponent, remember: Ordwald has likely already visited Dragon Utopia and very realistically geared up there - don't let him escape.
2. To avoid bothering with sailing down the river, you can do the following: after capturing the first enemy city, open the Light Blue barrier and go north to the arena. After increasing stats, stay put and cast Dimension Door. Move the mouse in a northwest direction; there is a spot ready to receive you. Now you've stepped onto the path of a risky blitzkrieg, arriving at the main enemy territory at the start of the second week. Now two moves west and an assault on the opponent's castle. I foresee a hard fight if the enemy hero is in the city: your troops are not plentiful. In any case, try it; this adventure worked for me, and the blues were wiped out before they could properly develop.
Now the most interesting part. Whether you kill the blues or not is up to you. The main goal of the scenario lies in the northwest corner of the map behind a second Light Blue barrier. Go up to another level via S.G.. Your army must be STRONG, as you'll have to fight a lot and against many tough monsters.
The first fight is with Bone Dragons - there are 35 initially (all numbers are for the first day of the game; by the time you visit, they will increase), then 25 Ghost Dragons (these must be killed, otherwise the quest barrier won't open). Then go down and west to the green dragons - there are 52. In general, all dragons living here are quest-related, and you cannot avoid fighting them. Now northeast - kill 45 red dragons, then south - deal with 52 yellow ones. Then in order: 44 black, 36 Faerie Dragons, 32 Rust Dragons, 32 Crystal Dragons. Dealt with all of them? Well, how's the mood? The sight of a considerably thinned army is especially inspiring. I suggest refueling with some meat and going to open Pandora Box (the first turn from S.G.). You open it... And there, a "warm" welcome from the next set of dragons awaits you: 30 Red Dragons, 22 Black Dragons, 16 Rust Dragons, 14 Crystal Dragons, 18 Faerie Dragons, 26 Gold Dragons, 36 Green Dragons.
After the wonderful fight, you receive the sought-after Vial and victory in the scenario. The next cartoon is quite interesting to watch.
4 Blood Thirsty.
The lady really let loose! Her face has changed slightly, but nevertheless, it's still Mutare, who must destroy all enemies to achieve final victory. Naturally, Mutare cannot be lost. Difficulty - expert, map is two-tiered. As a starting bonus, I took black dragons. If you want to take any others, keep in mind that there will be nowhere to replenish their numbers, and you'll spoil the army's morale.
The disposition for the first day is as follows: you have one undeveloped city (opponents too, though the blues have two castles) and three heroes. The opponents each have one hero (the blues have two - including the survivor Ordwald) whose coolness level exceeds level 25 (closer to thirty). Everyone has starting armies.
Your starting city is in the middle of the lower level; enemies divide the upper. Neutral cities are located at the corners of the map, northwest and southeast from the castle; you should send your loser-companions there (defense is weak or absent). If you go into a small appendix east of the capital, demons will join you (they guard the teleport exit).
Direct Mutare northeast to the Subterranean Gate; on the way, stop by Dragon Utopia - 6 blackies will easily handle the guards there. The second S.G. are located strictly diagonally from the first - in the southwest.
Having crossed into enemy territory, pay attention to the Cower of Darkness: the opponent will use this building very actively. At an equal distance from the northeast S.G. are: west - purple, south - I don't know what that color is called; due to poor eyesight, I can barely distinguish it from gray.
If you exit through the southwest S.G., they will be located similarly: north - orange, east - blue. The second city of the blues is northwest of the first. There are four neutral cities in total on the opponents' level: north of the orange one, then into the eastern branch of the tunnel; east of the first blue city; west of the purple one; south to the fork, then west from the same-colored city.
In this mission, your main "weapon" will be Town Portal; having Dimension Door will make hunting enemy heroes easier, and they will multiply in abundance. Be sure to build Mana Vortexes in captured cities. When using "expensive" spells, a double mana reserve is highly desirable. In my walkthrough, the enemies were constantly shopping at Black Markets, and Mutare was draped from head to toe in various trinkets.
Now you've reached the final cartoon of the entire campaign. Victory!
Властелин хаоса презрительно отвернулся от груды пепла, в которую он только что превратил Феникса. И... почувствовал что сам умирает в потоке огня.
