Posts from Heroes-4 "Deep forest" off-line Tournaments!

Yeah, it didn't go very well: I defeated the Leprechauns, took the dungeon on the 2nd day, and on the same day, for some reason, I attacked the skeletons with dogs (1 unit), but there are 2 more, and I just can't be bothered... although, I understand that skeletons won't hinder taking out the Nomads... building Vampires costs too much, and there's much less lying around in the dungeon and on the ground. It's a pity that there's no fatigue in the city... or maybe I should have built Ghosts? But that's extra money - the Undead Converter costs a lot...+ then the actual Necropolis... And I doubt Ghosts would help much...
And I don't want to spend more than 10, or at most two weeks [in-game] on this map.

Glad to see you, Spy,:) you're right, the Leprechauns need to be eliminated on the first day. There are options, though: you can simply eliminate them, or you can eliminate them while extracting a huge amount of mana for Sandro. This will cost you a few turns, but mana is valuable on this map.
As for the Outlaws, it's a matter of preference; you can eliminate them on the first day, or on the second, or even on the third. Personally, I prefer the second day. You really need the gold, and of course, the wood.
But I think you're overdoing it with the Nomads. Skeletons can be useful, but no more than 6 of them. They can easily be replaced by the same number of Imps.
With this whole group, you can easily deal with them in two and a half days. The real challenge comes next: the Medusas. I'm interested to hear what other players think about how to deal with them.
And all this is, of course, just to build up the Vampires!

Come on, I know you can achieve good results.
Maybe Under will join the fray soon; honestly, I'd like that.:smile07:

Congratulations, Sage, on your first result, even if it's not the best. The main thing is that you have one, especially since, as I understand, you're not very good at playing Heroes of Might and Magic IV yet.

Here's a hint for the Shipyard on your island; you can definitely reach it using the "drop and drag" method. There's a gap that a dropped unit can pass through, and then it simply drags the rest over.

Glad to see you, Spy,:) you're right, the Leprechauns need to be taken out on the first day. There are options, though: you can simply destroy them, or you can destroy them while also extracting a lot of mana for Sandro, although you'll lose a few turns in the process, but mana is valuable on this map.

I don't want to waste days because of mana. I cleared out the Leprechauns with a Hero and one Imp, after first building level 2 magic.
There's also an option to eliminate them on the first day with a Hero + 6 Imps.
But in that case, my Hero died, the Imp survived, and he advanced a step towards the Fortress. Overall, I didn't like that the upgrade didn't come through and I lost a step. :)
So, by the end of the first day, I have armor in the Fortress, the lumber mill is mine, and I've killed about 36 skeletons. I don't like it again, but I haven't figured out how to do it any better yet. :)
Beast - so, is this going to be a training tournament with new rules? I'm not against it. Let's figure out the limits of this map. Maybe Aiden can help? But only with the new rules, without hiding with portals. That would be unusual. :)

And one more thing. When I said that an open hiding spot is forbidden, I didn't express myself accurately. An open hiding spot where a large monster can't get in should probably be allowed if there are no large monsters on the enemy side in the battle. That is, it would be exactly the situation you described. Let's say a Hero is attacked by only one unit of Fairies, or two. But I don't want to bother too much with selecting the field. If I select it, I might be able to avoid losing skeletons?

Iron, you can take down Leprechauns like this (this is most likely the optimal solution):
1) Build a level 2 Tower of Death in the town.
2) The hero learns the Drain Life spell.
3) The hero attacks the Leprechauns alone.
Round 1: Cast Drain Life (one Leprechaun dies).
Round 2: Raise a skeleton from that Leprechaun.
Then, wait for the Leprechauns to come within the skeleton's range. Attack with the skeleton, and take the counterattack. Then, the hero immediately attacks the Leprechauns, inflicting damage. In the next round, get the hero's morale up (so that he has time to run away from the Leprechauns). And then, just run around some sufficiently large obstacle.
I think I've explained it clearly.

It seems this isn't the most optimal option. I attacked with a Hero + Imp (the Imp drains mana from the Leprechauns), but I couldn't take on more because I needed to escape from more than two Leprechaun units. I used magic to drain the Leprechauns' health, and the Hero can withstand a couple of hits from them. I infected one unit each and kept running. I cast 'Despair' on both units beforehand to avoid having to deal with morale and load/save games – I'm tired of that, and what's the point of all the different magic in Heroes if not to be used? :)

Not bad... so that way you save a bit more mana? I didn't consider this option because running away from two squads of leprechauns is... well, inconvenient... plus your health will be almost at zero, and you'll have to return to the town, otherwise you can't break through the fairies.

Running away from 4 units is a death sentence. But on the other hand, 6 Imps drain mana very well. Yes, taking health from 1-2 units of Lepers is not a good idea because it's not efficient. I took a step back to the Fortress; you're right. But nevertheless, using shortcuts, you can take the Altar on the first turn, eliminate the Fairies, upgrade the Sawmill, and get armor using this normal tactic without heavy save-loading. It's a pity about the 36 skeletons. I didn't lose any Imps. Maybe I should try to clear the battlefield of Fairies? :)
By the way, what did you choose for the upgrade? :) I chose health; I think it will be useful.

What do you mean by "pumping up"? I took Death Magic at level up, which requires level 4... or are you talking about something else?

What’s on level 4? I forgot. :) Need to check. Health is also needed to break through the dungeon, especially with armor. :)

Yes, it's easy to take the dungeon with a Knight. Cast "Life Drain" three times and "Mass Curse" once - and that's it :) And anyway, you have to go back to the town to restore mana and learn level 4 spells.

I'll think about it, maybe I should build Vampire Castles earlier?

I was already thinking about that. There's no money here. :( The grove is useless. So, we need to break through the nomads... but even with 2 vampires, you can't beat them; you need a vampire with the "touch" ability.
And we need to think about the medusas – maybe we can make them not shoot, but instead move forward and engage in melee combat?
I think it's possible to do that somehow...

Well, you should try going through the skeletons to the Orcish treasure – there are 4500 gold there, I think. The thing is, you have to defeat two large groups of skeletons instead of the nomads, or am I wrong? And for that, you need to avoid losing troops on the fairies by going there without armor; otherwise, the second turn is spent only on the marsh, I think. What if you attack the lepers on the first turn, take the armor, and head to the fortress? And on the second turn, try to defeat the fairies (already having armor) and the marsh, if possible – you need to try it :) And on the third turn, with the whole group of troops (skeletons + imps), try to go through the skeletons and their spawning points to the Orcish treasure :)