8 Months makes no sense ) I already sailed away in the second month ) and crushed the blue hero with 18 cyclops and the rest of the army in ascending order; he simply fled the battlefield ) I killed Letos on the first try, but the annoying AI in the 3rd Castle (green) bought up my entire army as soon as I appeared, leaving me with only 400 trappers )))))) But at least I managed to sail to the island where I beat Hotabych and got Retribution+Luck, deleted Education and machines I didn't need (taken for lack of alternatives).
Kujin's build: Blood Rage exp., Aid, Blood Memory, Attack exp. from battles without + Stun Strike (one of the main weapons), Retribution, Advanced Leadership—that's army rally+Battle Euphoria—then Defense exp. (for Letos' reflection), Luck +1, and then Magic Resistance.
And this is how I broke through the second beacon near Hotabych ) 57 Black Dragons.
http://depositfiles.com/files/ml0xikzjb"Hero" difficulty level.
I acted as fast as possible at the start; here is how to break through in the first week:
First, take the blade bonus +3 attack.
Day 1: capture the wood mine and send only centaurs and orcs into battle (without goblins); after the fight, even about 12-14 will defect to your side ) a small thing, but pleasant )
Day 2: Visit an idol (luck or morale), speak with the chief—waiting a week is complete nonsense ) I managed to get a bunch of things done and build up during that week ), then build centaurs, take Taulan and transfer the entire army and tent to him, then go straight from the city past the centaurs slightly to the right toward the red orcs (old grade); there are about 18 on the hero, they can be killed without losses; pick up the turban and visit +3000 experience. For skills, take Ballista+Machines and upgrade further. In the end, we should get him a rapid-fire ballista (3 shots). Kujin needs Attack+Battle Frenzy+Advanced Blood Rage+Aid, and then Stun Strike ) you can take Leadership if available—that's army rally and Battle Euphoria—and in Attack, then Retribution (+5% attack for every + to morale); the formula is simple: you have 2 levels of Leadership +2 morale, then all troops from one Castle (Faction, race) also +2 = already +4 = 20%. If we visit a fountain, idol, etc., it will be +5; or you can take Expert Leadership, then it will always be +5, or via artifacts. In the end, with Expert Attack + Retribution, we have +40% attack!!! instead of 15 ) And for every successful morale surge on the battlefield, monsters gain rage points ) absolute beauty )
Day 3-4: Taulan kills harpooner dwarves without losses; in the Castle, build/upgrade centaurs and gather them into one squad (stack), then go to the dancers—well, you can't do this without losses, those jerks are too fast and have good defense. I lost 4 centaurs and about 20 or 30 goblins, BUT that's not important; the main thing is to take them now, otherwise it will be hard with building later, and the dancers will get thicker and thicker every week.
On Day 4, build a Town Hall or upgrade goblins to trappers; you can get goblin growth +6. In short, as soon as possible, build money-makers; also, if any trappers are left, split them by 1 (for this, hold SHIFT and divide) + if the crypt defense is weak, you can take it too, but it's better to do that with Kujin. And a tip: don't collect resources from the ground now; do it later, right now you need to capture everything as quickly as possible.
Day 5-6.
Next, break through mercury with Kujin (don't forget to transfer the turban of enlightenment, ballista, and tent), then break through the +1 attack booster without losses using Taulan with his ballista, and use him to break through the elves without losses—I replayed this about 5 times ))) a dancer would reach the centaurs ))) I took two shamans and split them by 1, and used trappers one by one to slow down the dancers.
Day 7: build market/blacksmith/+6 goblins, but don't build level 3 orcs—there won't be enough money to buy them ) chests should only be taken for money, as there is plenty of experience on the map ) I boarded the ship with Kujin at lvl 17 and Taulan was 10 ) Also, the last city has an Altar where you can sacrifice monsters for experience, but that's unnecessary on "Hero" difficulty.
I managed to get Kujin to the stables and killed the red orcs at the outer dwelling without losses; the first time I didn't take the ore and took the outpost in the first week, then I regretted it ) there was a catastrophic lack of ore for cyclops and building the Castle, and no extra money to buy the army either )
In the second week: build the remaining dwellings based on money, but I didn't find any shamans, orcs, executioners, or cyclops until taking the second castle.
And what is VERY important: if you are lucky, in one of the castles on the second level, you will get a battle cry—frightening roar... oh how I love it )))) it's the only thing that saved me )))) It seems you can learn it from level 8, so build and check what was given at level 2 of the guild in the first city.
At the start of the second week, do the following:
Take sulfur with Taulan and his ballista, then Kujin takes 3 types of goblins, then break through precious stones (mine) with Taulan; I split them by 1 goblin trapper (7 cells), 1 stayed alive ))) next take the outpost and hire wyverns there; in the city build a traveler's hut + wyverns, visit +10%. Taulan was given a first aid tent, so Kujin ran to the city for wyverns and centaurs and took the gold mine without losses.
Here is the video of how it happened.
http://depositfiles.com/files/v55b20d5aThen I killed the blue elves, then the crystal mine; broke through with Taulan using the ballista and tent. The fight with druids was long; I took wyverns and 6 goblins, endured a series of lightning bolts, then used the ballista to whittle them down to 1 stack where 1-2 druids remained, and then swarmed them with goblins while flying the wyvern back and forth until it fully regenerated ))) so I exited the battle without losses )
Here is the fight with archers ) funny )
http://depositfiles.com/ru/files/7109zef6hAnd here is another time
http://depositfiles.com/files/jz7ouqt44In the 4th week, I broke through the garrison; put out Wyverns, centaurs, 2 shamans (one by one to slow down) and 3 trappers one by one to stall the enemy. Losses were about 10 cents, 4 wyverns, but I wasn't upset ) a fully built city awaited me there, while in my first castle by week 4 all dwellings and even the castle were built, only goblins and cents were upgraded; but there, the castle and level 4s were upgraded. Then over a month I cleared everything around the second castle, lost more wyverns to Erls since I attacked them at the end of week 4 with only wyverns +2 upgraded shamans and 4 trappers (as fodder for the shamans); 2 wyverns died. I stalled for a long time so more could regenerate; after that, I had an enlightenment set +45% exp and +15% expert education. In the end, in the second month and 2nd week, the blue hero arrived with 18 cyclops and started running away from me on my own territory )) eventually I attacked, and he fled and didn't bother me anymore )))
Here is the fight with him )
http://depositfiles.com/files/xurcta2adThen I sailed to Letos and beat him like this on the first try, didn't bother replaying ) To make it more interesting and difficult )
http://depositfiles.com/files/0nowtkvi2And then Gork got a taste of it; the AI bought up my entire army ))) while I was running around with hundreds of thousands and nowhere to spend it ) two purples sailed in and landed, but they couldn't get past the dead bodies of the unicorn, fury, and minotaur, so I didn't touch them—too bad to waste time and my level after Letos was already 20 ) Although they were annoying, they moved very slowly ) although essentially they stood in place, and I waited for 2-3 minutes )
Here is the fight with Gork )
http://depositfiles.com/files/pbgwhbtyxBy the way, on the left on the last island there is a +1 defense booster, don't forget it ) Anyway, I finished in the 4th month because I wasted time at Hotabych and on various chests, peasants, and ships at sea; I meticulously collected money that ended up being useless ) Regarding the difficulty of battles for me personally... well, I'd give it 2-3 points out of 5—I mean against flags, not neutrals. The neutrals were the ones who really annoyed me )))))) especially when they split into 4 stacks of archers or druids )
And here is an example of brutality )))) difficulty 5 out of 5 )))))))))))))))))
451 Blood-eyed cyclops, 700+ executioners, etc. ))) But I took them down ) I won't hide that I replayed it 10 times )) each battle lasted 15-20 minutes ))
http://depositfiles.com/files/bqyprzhx4But at least I immediately leveled up to the required level )))))