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I think Oelm gave the most sensible answer. You need to recruit a lot of heroes, and especially quickly, if they have work to do (scouting, gathering, transporting). Otherwise, I opened one standard M-map from AB (I played it before at 200%) yesterday – and immediately remembered this topic. A hero is on an island (1 opponent – also on the island, the 2nd – on the mainland). You can explore the island in 3 days if you're lucky with resources – on difficulty level 111, you can get the 2nd hero, on 113 – the 3rd (if you're not lucky – then only the 2nd on 113), while building a market and exchanging all resources for vodka. And that's it, the free ride is over, then you need to defeat stronger neutral creatures, and there are more than just a few. Soldiers are needed, not heroes who arrive after the 3rd day without an army. And where else can you recruit heroes until you reach an operational area (until you leave the island)? Because this (recruiting heroes) is often talked about as if it's self-evident, without taking into account the specific situation.