Posts from 1st annual offline tournament "Best Of The Best"

I still don't understand, will the save files of the winners be published? Or are they keeping them hidden?! If I had won, I would have published them on the first day! What's the catch? I'm starting to doubt the fairness of the playthrough!

I didn't notice this quest for "Roar of the Titan" in the map editor, nor did I realize that the gargoyles near the armor could join. Now everything is clear. Thank you for posting the walkthrough.

I still don't understand, will the winners' saves be posted???? or are they hiding them!!!!???? if I had won, I would have posted them on the first day!!!!! what's the catch???? I'm STARTING TO DOUBT THE HONESTY OF THE WALKTHROUGH!!!!!

Zheddit is very powerful for a quick start, so with his blindness (we take the magical gesture in the shrine) and restoration, we eliminate the wizards. This allowed me to clear the passage guard on day 28-14-0
on day 12. By this time, Dessa had the following secondary skills:

So, with Dessa, we learn navigation and free the rider's gloves. We defeat the phoenixes and get into the boat (by this time, Dessa should have learned to find the path). This happened on day 15, and the army consisted of 3 ghost dragons, 7 death knights, 14 vampires, 26 orcs, and 72 goblins.

Now and further, I will not focus on the battles themselves, leaving you room for activity. I will only help by informing you about the army before and after the battle. So, before the battle with the garrison – 6 ancient behemoths, 14 cyclops kings, 3 roc birds, 27 orcish warlords, and I won the battle without losses.

On day 23, I cleared the surprise from VDV_forever (attacked only with gargoyles), and there were 1187 of them left.

Then everything is very simple. With Dessa, we kill the naga queens (63-90-0) and get the boots of speed. We run as fast as we can to the Castle Auar, not forgetting to kill the pegasuses (93-77-1) and the cyclops kings (74-99-1), getting the Titan's Gladius and the Celestial Helm.

Day 29 is coming. Therefore, on the dark, dark night from the 28th to the 29th day, we "brew" in the Castle Auar at the artifact merchants the necklace of sea passage and get Dessa the admiral's hat.

We kill the ifrits (4-86-1) and exchange the "Roar of the Titan" for 100 archangels in the seer's hut (if you want, you can do this with hypnosis - scientist (78-76-0)). Before the battle – 6 archangels, 17 ancient behemoths, 37 cyclops kings, 887 gargoyles. I lost only one gargoyle, and I have 334 of them left. This was on day 31.

With Dessa, replenishing mana, giving the sea captain's hat to Celt with the help of a chain of heroes, and taking 97 archangels, 17 behemoths, 37 cyclops, 10 monarch wyverns, 14 phoenixes, and 409 liches, we run to Magnus and defeat him, taking the dragon scale shield (day 36). After the battle, I have 97 archangels, 17 behemoths, 37 cyclops, and 239 liches left. The main thing is to break "with someone else's hands" (read, with phoenixes) your own catapult and prop up the door to the castle (from the outside) with your own unit (phoenix). This is a pure victory.

It took me 36 days in total.

Great. I didn't think to pull out a hero with regeneration. Thanks to Kule for the "Hero Digger." I should learn how to use it for the next tournament.

I completed the path from the Necromancers to the Necklace of Dragon Teeth (106-5-0) with AlexeyPank and 2 Archangels to save time. With AlexeyPank, I activated the event in 102-7-0 and escaped, buying my way out in Slough.

...but due to the large number of various units that can be recruited
(gargoyles... with which you can easily "gift" them with VDV, I clarify that this doesn't happen on Normal difficulty...

P.S. I also wanted to ask... were there any spells in Pandoria that everyone is writing about, that were supposedly taken with a book...?

I just can't understand where everyone gets so much mercury, did I miss some super resource deposits somewhere?

watching my sister play...I realized that it's easier to complete the game on Impossible than on Normal (as strange as it sounds).

(not counting the walkthroughs of the winners) at the beginning (at the start), when you don't have enough resources, you
(again, not counting the walkthroughs of the winners) waste an extra 1-2.5 weeks... but due to the huge number of various units joining you
(gargoyles... with which you easily give a "gift" from VDV; I clarify that this doesn't happen on Normal, and for example, I had to give the "gift" with regular troops and without magic (cursed land)), then (and yet again, not counting the walkthroughs of the winners) a lot of liches join you on the upper island (89_18) (on Normal, they fight against you). On Normal, only fanatics join (105_11) (I mean a large number, about 450) on the upper island + we have regeneration only in one Castle (if it's not glitching). This is the Fanatic Castle (3_31) (which, for example, I captured last when going to the Crystal Dungeon in a rough playthrough; well, in the final playthrough, I decided to go there earlier). Also, on Normal, the second hero you hire in the tavern after the start is not Dessa, but (if it's not glitching) Ain...

P.S. I also wanted to ask... were there any spells in Pandoria... that everyone writes about, like they took them with a book...?

I certainly didn't expect that you could complete the map in 36 days!!!!!!!!!!
And also... after reading about the results of individual participants' playthroughs... I learned a lot of new things... THANK YOU FOR THAT.........

On normal difficulty, they also join, but for a higher price.

"Impossible" turned out to be much easier than "Normal"... :D Well, never mind, let's not dwell on the past... :D

By the way - I realized one more thing - Yurka and I played on TE - and in this case SoD was clearly more advantageous! This became obvious immediately.... Unfortunately, we don't have SoD - so we had to play with what we have....:( That's how it is.

Hence, the questions:

1. Which first-level spells were available in the Mage Guild in the starting town? If I'm not mistaken, Slow is a second-level spell in The Eastern Invasions, which means you couldn't have acquired it when building the guild, because in the "Normal" save, Slow is available in the first-level guild, so when purchasing the book, Raper would definitely have it.

2. And the second important point: Town Portal is a fire magic spell in The Eastern Invasions, and therefore, if the main heroes don't have it, they face logistical problems on the map in the second half of the game. Earth magic, on the other hand, is given to the hero in the Pandoria starting town.

There are probably other significant differences as well.
That's why SoD was still more preferable...