Posts from "Новичок-2012. Winter"

JustObserver Wow, you're tough! You gave your favorite castle to the top-ranked player on the portal for the Stronghold and still managed to win, even playing as the Tower faction :cool: I need to read the report later; there must have been some nuances that didn't favor Browser :)

There's something unclear there, specifically the lack of an army for Browser. Did he lose everything when his Town Hall was destroyed?

Or is it enough to just watch streams like that, practice with a friend who has 0 experience playing online.

That is quite enough. I wouldn't say so if I weren't sure. I have a friend who only played hot-seat with me a couple of times and plays fine. I've invited him many times to tournaments on HeroesWorld, but he doesn't want to play online. He plays Dota and Lineage )))

It's just that if a person has a serious approach, that they're not too lazy to calculate something during the game — that's normal! If a person has successful experience in other computer games, then they can learn to play Heroes as well, provided their brain works properly. Streams simply show how it should be done, what the priorities are in the first week, how to build chains, etc. Heroes doesn't require fast-clicking or build-orders timed to the second. So it's possible to learn to play at an average level very quickly.

18.01.2012. Group B HellLighT (Blue, Castle, Caitlin, Tirith) def Twaryna (Red, Dungeon, Shakti, Shakti) 2sm4d(3) 217

The game took place in two sessions, with a long break due to technical issues.
I don't remember anymore who took how many restarts, but by the time we both agreed on the map, it was incredibly generous. Right next to my Castle stands an observatory, revealing indescribable beauty... there's an external dwelling of Archers, and right next to it, an ANGEL PORTAL! guarded by 10-19 Diamond Golems. On top of that, a bunch of water mills, and as many gnoll huts and crypts piled up as mandarins on New Year's :) I'm spreading out quite nicely, plenty of resources and gold, and on top of that I find an external market, which one of my great warriors became a regular customer of %) But then a string of bad luck began. My opponent went left (where I thought my secondary hero would be) and ran into 50-99 upgraded Gargoyles. With a stack of 23 gr Archers and 40 Pikemen, I was afraid to attack them, and since the roads were dirty, I even had to wait a couple of turns just to return the army from its deployment. While I had the chance, I picked up a Scholar, having already been burned by useless skills before... they give Necromancy (considering that in one of the crypts I got an Amulet +5 Necromancy). I burst out laughing and even share this news with my opponent, not knowing if it's a blessing or a curse, since neither Tactics nor Attack were fully upgraded yet. At the same time, a scout hero sneaks along the right side of the road, where I expected to see the entrance to the Underground, but instead I found the secondary's territory (there was a hiccup with the access to it, but as my opponent himself said, "no complaints")
Thanks to an excellent financial and resource situation, I build the Angel Portal on the exact day for week 1, day 1, but I don't manage to take the external dwelling. Next, I move on to explore the far areas of my zone and adjacent territories. By the end of the second week, I finally grab the Rampart secondary. Realizing the myriad of gold I'll need to buy out populations, I decide, while I still have a supply of gnoll huts and madzones, to focus on the economy. By the third week, the angel growth is 4 per week, which is great, but I got too carried away with my respawn, and when Shakti finally appeared in the tavern, I was not at all pleased that his stats were about twice as good as mine... In panic, I rush to the portal on the outskirts of my spawn, grabbing the only minimal-level Griffin Conservatory along the way. By the fourth week, I end up in the treasure zone. The income from economically developed towns, amounting to 6k+, makes itself known, and I purchase Archangels. With them, cleaning the treasure zone wasn't too much trouble. After collecting everything tasty (including my first 3 stat-boosting artifacts: Sword +12a -2d, Shield +6, Cloak +2c +2s), I match my opponent's stats and decide it's time to pay him a visit. I deploy, and very timely, my opponent, unlike me, didn't wait for the next week and went for the Griffin Conservatory. Upgrading all angels and buying out half the army was all the vaunted gold income was good for (alas, I never saw a Dragon Utopia). At GM2 (I saw no point in building further due to the lack of Wisdom at that point), I get total junk. My spell set leaves much to be desired—besides Shield, Mass Slow, and Ice Bolt, I have nothing to offer. Then I remember that literally a few steps from my main, there's a Sanctuary with Blindness... luckily I was on a speed run with Archangels—I grab it and return. Realizing I'm in no rush, I wait for an attack in my Castle. My opponent misses the road a bit, but by turn 147, he attacks me in my Castle.
What do we see (if I'm wrong because I'm going by memory, twaryna will correct me later): 12 Archangels in one stack (I still don't understand if this was good or bad), 99 Archers, 18 Fanatics, 300+ Skeletons (so my curse finally came in handy), 120 Halberdiers, 1 Champion, and a couple of Griffins for meat. Against 160 Troglodytes, 65 Evil Eyes, 19 Scorpicores, 33 Minotaurs, and 9 Angels. Stats roughly: Shakti - 16 11 11 8 (but 240 mana) Tirith (22 12 8 7).
I look and am basically satisfied with the layout... until a Chain Lightning hits for 600+ on the first target! In horror, I realize things aren't as smooth as they seemed. With a huge morale bonus, it procs only 2 times, but luckily—when needed! The dozen remaining angels deal significant damage after waiting and fly back. During the battle (very epic in my opinion), the advantage swings back and forth. Twaryna's maneuvers, like canceling the 5th bounce of Chain Lightning on the Minotaurs and casting Blindness, were worthy of respect. Towards the very end of the fight, success tipped to my side... my opponent retreats! (Though if morale had triggered, I had a chance to kill him outright :( ). Oh miracle, after the battle, upon leveling up, I get Basic Wisdom! A new week begins. Realizing I need to do something urgently, I buy 4 Archangels on the second day and grab the untouched Cyclops Stockpile. It turns out to be max level, +10 of all resources. I build GM3 and almost start dancing—they give ANTI-MAGIC (which, with Expert Earth, protects against everything).
On turn 213, my opponent starts creeping toward my Castle again, killing monsters along the way (apparently leveling up). I scout his army—20-49 Minotaurs and single Troglodytes... realizing that the Minotaurs simply can't number more than 30, in a burst of happiness, I grab one stack of 4 Archangels and attack myself. My joy after casting Anti-Magic evaporates when I see he has Summon Water Elementals, only 22 at a time, but that's already bad! (Despite all this, I had a chance to kill him or force a retreat.)
As a result, I run away disgracefully (buying back with 1 Archangel), taking 20 out of 24 Minotaurs to the grave with me.
I buy back in the town, where 130 resurrected Skeletons from the first battle and almost single Archers, Fanatics, and meat are waiting for me. My opponent brings his meat and attacks: 9 Scorpicores, 4 Minotaurs, 15 Evil Eyes, and single Troglodytes. Anti-Magic on the Skeletons and the lack of breached walls again force him to flee... mentally dreaming of when this will all end, I chase down one of my opponent's scout heroes with five Champions. Spell Power 3, not wanting to waste mana, I simply charge forward, naively thinking his pathetic shooting wouldn't break through—no such luck, a Lightning Bolt hits for 85, leaving 16 HP (I had a Ring +1). I have to use the last remnants of mana for Anti-Magic... My opponent starts taking time thinking over the move of single Skeletons, which begins to completely fray my nerves ))) (I even rushed him, for which I apologize), but everything ended well. Deciding it was worth waiting for the new week, I returned to the Castle. But twaryna stubbornly refused to give me Archangel growth again. Running forward with almost nothing and taking a horde of scout heroes with him, he approached my Castle. I built GM4, got Resurrection and Meteor—pleasing (though I never got to use them). Realizing that by attacking with my main forces, even against singles, I'd be drenched in blood, I decided to sacrifice the pawns myself. Over the course of 2 attacks, he lost 5 single Harpies and was left with 2 Scorpicores. I split the squad of 10 Champions in half and placed 5 single Griffins between them (because he had first move due to the Cloak +2 speed). After thinning out my army on the Griffins and 5 Champions, I stood in thought. The option was to try to bait out the Scorpicores for sacrifice using Anti-Magic and Resurrection under summoned Elementals, and then escape myself (which would have removed his hero), but I didn't go for it and tried to force him to retreat with Slow (threatening that if he skipped a turn, the Champions, as the first starting unit, would reach one squad, and I'd kill the other with magic). But my opponent surprised me by just skipping (likely due to the pressure... I myself was shaking for another 10 minutes afterwards ;)
good game, well played , thx for game!

p.s. The sweatiest game of Heroes I've ever had
p.p.s. How much have I written o_O hope someone reads it)

17.01.2012. JustObserver (Blue, Tower, Neela, Carna) def Browser (Red, Stronghold, Gurni, Gurni) 2SM4d(3) 146 Group A

111 - 6 heroes, took a Dwarf Cottage on 15, a Crypt, another one visible, external dwelling of Genies, Shiva with 5th Attack and Expert [Attack]. For 20-49 gr. [of] Vases - a Pandora's Box. Nagash already recruited, in the Tavern - Carna and Xi, joking about how the setup hints...
112 - external dwelling of Gremlins, I see a Dwarf Cottage and a Griffin Conservatory. All resources needed for Naga are within reach. Almost all blocks are shooter blocks (including for all secondary skills), so Carna was recruited first for Tactics.
113 - Dwarf Cottage on 15, Shield +3. Finally opened a non-shooter passage to the grass secondary [zone]. Carna is advancing Necromancy...
114 - ...and Expert [it]! - The choice is made.
115 - scouted the Griffin Conservatory - a level 1.
117 - 50 Skeletons, Nagash is preparing to take the Crypt with [weekly] growth, Neela - the Griffin Conservatory, Carna - to go out onto the grass. Nagas in the Citadel.

121 - everything according to plan - 130 Gremlins and 60 Skeletons go to conquer the grass, the Angel moves towards Nagash.
122-126 - Nagash with the Angel clears the home rest, Carna with the main army - the grass (Castle). Towards the end, kills 50-99 Lizardmen guarding the external dwelling of Genies and positions under the Pandora's Box.
126 - in the Pandora's Box - 15 Archmages! Nagas are upgraded, and I'm ready... to break into another secondary [zone]!
127 - Castle. Skeletons 200.

132 - captured the home secondary [zone], too bad it's so late... however, along the way another external dwelling of Genies appears. Lots of low-level guards.
133 - breaking into the treasure zone, the first obstacle - 50-99 Mages in front of a Pandora's Box.
134 - and indeed 99 Mages... in losses - 3 Nagas and an Angel... on negative morale (my own) went for the Golden Bow and a Prison guarded by 20-49 Behemoths (30 with a gr. stack) and on negative morale (of the Nagas) lost another 2 Nagas, well, and had to sacrifice the Gremlins... In the prison - Tyraxor level 20 - Expert Attack, Tactics, Logistics, Air, Wisdom, ?First Aid?, ?Ballistics?. Useless junk...
135 - took one external dwelling of Genies.
137 - took the second external dwelling of Genies, Tyraxor gets defeated to exit into the treasure zone from the grass spawn. Carna just marches back for current needs. At home, upgraded Genies and Giants. Skeletons 330 (the bears weren't very kind after all)

141 - 144 - reclaimed the necessary resources and a couple of Crypts, did some necromancy, acquired the Bowstring - a decent addition to Carna's Expert Archery. Finally moved Tyraxor towards the Dragon Utopia.
145 - after breaking through 2 guards, Tyraxor gets a level-up and a choice - Scouting or Pathfinding, which causes me utter contempt for his person and demotes him to the rank of an unremarkable noob. Carna prepares to show the Dog Handler how to really clear the treasure zone.
146 - I see Gurni breaking through ГО - 100-249 Thunderbirds and 20-49 Angels and stands on a Well near my Castle. The right button says there's a very funny army, but when a test attack by Lacus goes in, it turns out there's also no Tactics learned, and all the troops are 1 Dog, 13 Birds and 6 Gray Bears... I break, gather troops, attack and win. Thanks for the game! (opponent's skills and army are not entirely accurate)

We played over 2 days - probably a mistake to have done that - first day we finished up to 121
We played without rests - which was pleasing -
111 from the spawn saw an external dwelling of Goblins and Wolves, true, the passage up was blocked by 10-19 Snipers - broke through with Solmyr and meatshield - nothing particularly sweet there, just somewhere to go and something to gather, split into 8 heroes
112-117 ran around collecting gold and checking what was there - saw a Treasure Zone in the underground secondary [zone] and a passage to a 2nd secondary [zone]. On 117 stuffed Bears in the Castle. Everything seemed sweet - towards the end of the week saw an external dwelling of Birds behind 20-49 Minotaurs - thought I'd pick it up on day 12.

Then a day of breaks and we finished playing when I was already at work - lost the thread of the game - forgot to pick up the external dwelling of Birds, remembered it on day 141 (it was standing far away) - went into the wrong treasure zone - although on 123 I saw which one it was - as a result, had to leave work already - was around day 145 maybe (for the entire time, no Griffin Conservatory, no Hives, nothing that could be used for skill-up was found - a level 2 Griffin Conservatory in the second secondary [zone] on 142) - I left from the second treasure zone - in which I took the Titan's Sword - 25 Attack, 6 Gray [Bears], 17 Birds, 50 Wolves, 2 Angels and 2 Wizards (found the external dwelling) - leveling was sad but tolerable.

Essentially made 2 mistakes - postponed the game to an inconvenient time - even though no one was rushing me - went for ГО again - although I could have calmly passed through the secondary [zone]. Stupidly threw away a perfectly winnable game - for me it's either calm and smooth or unclear and crooked. In any case, thanks for the game.

17.01.12 Group H, Vinceras (red, Stronghold, Crag Hack, Crag Hack) def Necrotal (blue, Swamp, Wystan, Wystan) 2sm4d(3) 211

Opponent took all the rests, I still had 111 left. The respawn is small, but there are two clues behind easy guards. Wolves are not built, two heroes came with orcs, so I placed orcs, two roads to secondary towns - one into 20+ pit fiends, the other into hives. On 112 I hit 28 earth elementals, on the other side the same number of fire elementals, secondary - Inferno, waiting for birds. The next day I hit the fire elementals, take back a +3 shield behind centaurs, and over three days I gather some gold and resources, barely placing bears in the fort. On 121 I take a mini medusa dwelling on main and head toward the pit fiends, no gold. I spent the whole week on the secondary, took 2 max crypts, a medusa dwelling, and an earth sphere behind mummies, a convenient exit into the treasure zone is visible, but it's Swamp, not an option to go there. The level-up was pleasing - second slot gave earth, then air, and tactics with slow and haste :), though knowledge was only 1 :D . On 131 I break back home to take clues, and meanwhile the opponent's folder appears underground. 133 - I took the hive, finally knowledge leveled up, I take a booster, it becomes 3, and I speed up near the second hive. The opponent with a large reserve of movement points reaches the gates, kills my 2 heroes, and remains on my land. On 134 I take the hive and attack (there was also the option to sit in the castle without taking the clues). Crag Hack 13 6 4 8 mana, 12 greater birds 10 wyverns, 4 bears, about 30 orcs, 45 greater wolves, 45 greater goblins. Wystan 6 9 1 30 mana, 2 angels, 16 wyverns, 2 hydras, 15 basilisks, about 40 lizardmen, 9 dragonflies. I have mana for 1 cast, at the end of the round I cast mass slow, but there's expert water and dispel, then a tough exchange began, in the end I had 12 wolves, 1 bear, and 22 orcs left), Wystan ran away. What to do, I take an external dwelling of pit fiends, place them without upgrades, on 141 full trade and buyout, first I wanted to go to the opponent, but along the way there's a convenient exit into the treasure zone, I took 1 clue there, but then Wystan runs out, there's no gold there, I didn't even buy hydras, but the movement range is decent. I give chase, and eventually on 147 he sits in my capital. On 211 a battle, easily winnable, but during the fight some disconnect, opponent decides not to continue.
Thanks for the game!

17.01.12 Group H, Vinceras (red, Stronghold, Crag Hack, Crag Hack) def Necrotal (blue, Swamp, Wystan, Wystan) 2sm4d(3) 211

Opponent took all the rests, I still had 111 left. Respawn is small, but there are two pickups behind weak guards. Wolves are not built, two heroes came with orcs, so I placed orcs; two paths to secondary towns — one leads to 20+ pit fiends, the other to hives. On 112 I kill 28 earth elementals, on the other side the same number of fire elementals, secondary town is Inferno, waiting for birds. The next day I kill fire elementals, claim a shield +3 behind centaurs, and over three days earn some gold and resources, barely upgrading bears in the fort. On 121 I take a minor medusa dwelling on my main and head toward the pit fiends, no gold. Spent the whole week on the secondary town, took 2 max crypts, a medusa dwelling, and the sphere of earth behind mummies; a convenient exit to the treasure zone is visible, but it's swamp, not an option to go there. Leveling was pleasing — second slot gave earth, then air, tactics, and slow with haste:), though knowledge was only 1 :D . On 131 I return home to grab pickups, meanwhile the opponent's folder appears underground. 133 — I took the beehive, finally leveled knowledge, took the booster, it becomes 3, and I speed up near the second beehive. The opponent with a large surplus of movement points reaches the gates, kills my 2 heroes, and stays on my land. On 134 I claim the beehive and attack (there was also an option to sit in the castle without claiming pickups). Crag Hack 13 6 4 8 mana, 12 greater birds 10 wyverns, 4 bears, about 30 orcs, 45 greater wolves, 45 greater goblins. Wystan 6 9 1 30 mana, 2 angels, 16 wyverns, 2 hydras, 15 basilisks, about 40 lizardmen, 9 dragonflies. I have mana for 1 cast; at the end of the round I cast mass slow, but he has expert water and dispel, then a tough exchange began, eventually I had 12 wolves, 1 bear, and 22 orcs left), Wystan fled. What to do — I take the external dwelling of pit fiends, build them without upgrades, on 141 full trade and buyout; initially I wanted to go to the opponent, but on the way there's a convenient exit to the treasure zone; I took 1 pickup there, but then Wystan runs out; he has no gold, didn't even buy hydras, but has decent movement range. I give chase, and eventually on 147 he sits in my capital. On 211 the battle is easily winnable, but during the fight there's some disconnect; opponent decides not to continue.
Thanks for the game!

Confirmed. I could have won but screwed up badly; firstly, I stayed on the opponent's native land although I could have left it. Secondly, I rushed to take the opponent's main too early. If I had gone a day later, I could have brought a few more troops with me + the opponent would have been fending it off on 212 and I would have had time to buy his excess units from the castle. Also in our first encounter I miscalculated and lost an angel for nothing. Thanks for the game. It's a shame that my last game is a loss, but I already have 4 wins even though I probably won't advance further

group E - write to me in ICQ - let's play - people are already finishing all the games))

P. It's a pity that I lost my last game, but I already have 4 wins, and I doubt I'll make it any further.

It depends on how people play, but you have a good chance of advancing further, more than 50 percent.

Here, depending on how people play, you have a good chance of advancing; it's more than 50 percent.

The opponents are quite strong, and one of them is Crazy.

The opponents are quite formidable, especially that crazy one.

Your morale seems to be low; you're acting like a strange Necromancer :p! You've almost defeated everyone, yet you're feeling down :)!!! Dimast is right; hope dies last ;)!!!

P.S.: We'll make it, brother in blood; we are immortal :cool:

Your morality seems to be in the negative, you're some kind of flawed Necropolis player :p! You almost defeated everyone and now you're sulking :)!!! Dimast is right, hope dies last ;)!!!

P.S: We'll make it, brother in blood, we are immortal :cool:

Well, I'm hoping for that)))
and Necropolis doesn't even have morality))

Well, I hope so)))
and Necropolis creatures don't have any morality anyway.

Exactly, and yours is negative for some reason.

I don't recall seeing any rules prohibiting the use of the Necromancer King's artifact – I've only used it once in a real game. Is there a ban on this artifact?

I don't see anything in the rules about banning the Necropolis King's cloak - I've only used it once in a real game. So, is there a ban on this artifact?

Yes, of course, read the seasonal rules more carefully.

18.01.12 Group D, The_Bloody_fighter (red, Conflux, random, Moner, Luna) def scooter72 (blue, Castle, Valya, Valya) 2sm4d(3) 121
Opponent didn't have it going. Thanks for the game!