Posts from Pyramids

Do you think it's possible to complete the Pyramids on Expert as Necromancers?

p.s. I heard some guy completed it on Impossible in a week =[br][/br]apparently as Warlocks.

Added after 13 hours 23 minutes
It's been a long time since I played; I finished on the third ones.
I played quite well, but there were two things I couldn't manage; two obsessions have remained from that time.
Jolly Roger as Elves in the first and Pyramids as Necromancers in the second. The maps are generally similar.
I got both parts; completed Roger. With saves.
But it's easier in the first one—you just have to endure, then a leveled-up hero carries 30 Fairy Dragons; the AI is written worse and almost never surrenders.
Here you can't do anything against dragons. Heroes surrender when wiped out by magic.

You can definitely beat it, but it's a challenging level.
And whoever completed it in a week was probably playing as the Barbarian.

As for the nostalgia... The "Jolly Roger" map is indeed challenging, but what was your specific problem? ... I'm guessing it was difficult to find 10 units of Mercury and recruit a Druid when playing as the Elves on Impossible difficulty... Personally, I prefer the "Two by the Sea" level.

I think I played through the Pyramid with all the Castles (I don't remember exactly),
the idea was to defeat the Barbarian (by the end of the first week, capture a Castle, and then, after gathering an army, rush towards the Warlock (in the north) and capture the Castle with the dragons, even if it meant losing my main Castle.

But I remember one time... playing as the Barbarian... after defeating the first Barbarian Castle, I gathered population from two Castles and headed towards the Warlock (along the way, I captured one Necropolis Castle and killed one hero; I recruited 25-30 wolves (I ended up with 40-46, I don't remember exactly).
I attacked his Castle, and he had 4 Green Dragons and a Castle with 1.5 times the normal population (the rest). In the second round of the battle, when the dragon had already flown out, a lucky wolf managed to defeat them all... the Necromancer ran into the city I had captured, I killed the second Necromancer with a secondary hero, and I dealt with the Warlock within 4-5 days.

I'm going to try a rush strategy on the pyramids.
I'll choose the Roger castle for the Elves because I liked that castle in the first game.
The hardest part is, probably, the resources. The first twenty battles are fought within the castle. If my computer could handle mines properly, I wouldn't have won.
Then the Djinns appeared, and I was able to venture out, and when the Unicorns showed up, the game was over.

Cool, I finished it. I managed to increase my Necropolis castle count by a couple.
Then I climbed to the top with 40 Vampire Lords and caused a massacre; by the end of the week, I had a Blood Dragon.
Vampires are overpowered; 40 of them can easily defeat ten Blood Dragons.
That's why they were nerfed in the third game.

It won't be possible to gather a large army and visit them all in a week. :smile17:

It's not possible to gather a large army and visit them all in a week:smile17:

I even have a complete walkthrough somewhere.
The guy actually described how he completed it in a week, building 8 or 10 heroes.
If you really want, I can look for it!

I only played through the Pyramid campaign with the Barbarians on medium difficulty. I don't remember how long it took me to complete it.

I want to brag that I completed this map on impossible difficulty!:smile44:

So, today we are publishing material by Alexey Mandrygin (approximately 1998)
"Algorithm for completing the 'Pyramid' map in 7 days on Impossible level"
"There are a couple of errors in the algorithm, although they are not very significant.
Regarding the first day, I want to add: I looked for a start with only goblins, but this is not strictly necessary, as there is an oasis that I missed at one time :)

Day 1:
I look for a start where Barbarian_1 has only goblins. This way, on the first day, I take the gold mine. Such a start was found. Barbarian_1 has 19 goblins.
I take one with me (not critical), and leave 18 in the castle. In the castle there are two buildings: dwellings for goblins and orcs. _End of the first day_

Day 2:
I have 2000 coins. I use Barbarian_1 to take a pile of gold lying beneath him. I buy Barbarian_2 (17 goblins, 4 orcs). I drop everyone except one goblin and take the chest with gold located to the left. It gives 2000 => I have 2500 coins in total.
I buy Barbarian_3 (25 goblins, 5 orcs). I take one goblin and collect the second pile of gold (1000 coins), and immediately exit onto the road. Barbarian_1 goes strictly down to the road and then along it, but not to the end—stopping one cell short, because in that case the opponent Barbarian attacks; this way he stops two cells
on the road from Barbarian_1. _End of the second day_
!_Look at the luck: two piles of 1000 coins, 2000 in the chest, and a gold mine captured on
the first day. The chance of achieving this is very low_!

Day 3:
I have 3000 coins. I enter the town with Barbarian_2, buy 10 goblins, and manage to transfer all troops to Barbarian_3 (Barbarian_2 is left with one goblin). He transfers all goblins and two orcs to Barbarian_1 (Barbarian_3 is left with 7 orcs). With Barbarian_1, I attack the opponent Barbarian. Balance of forces:
Barbarian_1 (1g 66g 1g 1o 1o)
Opponent Barbarian(35g 13o 5w)
This refers to the troop arrangement from top to bottom. g-goblins, o-orcs, w-wolves.
!_I will not describe the battles, but will only write the final result; however, if anyone is interested, I will provide the algorithm for the specific battles_!
Result: Opponent Barbarian killed, Barbarian_1 has 64 goblins left.
Barbarian_3 gives 7 orcs to Barbarian_1 (Barbarian_3 has one goblin). Barbarian_1 reaches the opponent's town and drops all troops except one goblin, managing to exit the town by going left along the road. I buy Barbarian_4 (19g, 5o). I take 4 orcs (as bait) and all goblins. I go up the road and fight Lots of pikemen. I crush them. 77 goblins remain. I go up to the end of the road. With Barbarian_3, I go down
to the chest. _End of the third day_

Day 4:
I have 3350 (a statue was built in Castle_2). Barbarian_1 goes left. He collects a pile of gold (900 coins), takes the gold mine and a piece of wood (9(it will be needed to build the second level of the magic tower)). Barbarian_2 takes the nearest campfire (600 coins and 6 gems) and exits onto the road, going down along it. Barbarian_3 takes the chest with gold (2000 coins) at the bottom and goes left and slightly up. Barbarian_4 captures Castle_3 (the right Necromancer castle). It is completely empty. After capture, he manages
to exit and stand slightly to the left. I buy Barbarian_5 (17 goblins, 4 orcs + a book for him). I take 54 goblins and go up the road toward the Warlock castles. What about the opponents? Necromancer_1 is at the spot where Lots of pikemen stood. He did not dare attack Barbarian_4 (77 goblins). Necromancer_2 stands very close to the castle. Soon he will attack Castle_3. In Castle_3, I buy a captain; there I have 40 goblins and 4 orcs for
cannon fodder. Preparing for battle... I buy Barbarian_6 in Castle_2 (16 goblins, 5 orcs), although this purchase is redundant since Necromancer_1 does not reach Castle_2.
_End of the fourth day_

Opponent's turn: Necromancer_2 kills Barbarian_4 and attacks Castle_3.
Balance of forces:
Castle_3(1o 1o 40g 1o 1o) + captain with an arrow.
Necromancer_2 (10 skeletons 4 zombies 18 archers).
Victory for Castle_3. 40 goblins remain.
Necromancer_1 moves up several cells.

Day 5:
I have 6350 coins (a statue was also built in Castle_3). Barbarian_1 goes left. He takes 4 mercury and 5 sand, then continues further left. Barbarian_2 takes the second campfire (600 coins, 6 gems) and goes back up the road. Barbarian_3 takes a campfire (500 coins, 5 stones) and a chest with gold (1500 coins) and goes left. With Barbarian_6, I exit Castle_2. I buy Barbarian_7 (25 goblins, 3 orcs). I transfer everyone to Barbarian_6 (leaving one goblin) and go to the lower wagon. There I take 4 crystals. In Castle_3, I buy a second magic tower (lightning bolt appeared). I buy Warlock_1 (10 centa-
urs and 4 gargoyles) and attack Necromancer_1 with them.
Balance of forces:
Warlock_1 (5 centaurs 2 gargoyles 1g 1g 5c).
Necromancer_1 (14 skeletons 8 zombies 4 mummies 4 medusas)
Result: Warlock_1 killed. The necromancer has a few skeletons and zombies left, which are easily crushed by Barbarian_6. In Castle_3, I buy Barbarian_8 (24 goblins, 4 orcs) and transfer everyone + 40 goblins to Barbarian_5, who attacks the pack of minotaurs. I crush them. Barbarian_5 has 118 goblins left and goes higher toward the crossroads, but not to the first castle (the far right one), but to the next one.
_End of the fifth day_

Opponent's turn: Necromancer_3 appears near ruins.

Day 6:
I have 5950 coins.
Barbarian_1 takes two piles of gold on the left (1700 coins), attacks orcs, and surrenders. Barbarian_2 collects the nearest mercury and stands on the road. Barbarian_3 goes left to the campfire. In Castle_3, we buy Barbarian_9 (actually he is the sixth) (19 goblins, 3 orcs). With Barbarian_6, we transfer 9 orcs and all goblins to Barbarian_9, and then the entire army reaches Barbarian_5. In Castle_3, we leave 6 orcs and 2 goblins so they can fight Necromancer_3. With Barbarian_6, we exit Castle_3 and dismiss him.
Barbarian_5 attacks the second warlock castle (Castle_4).
Balance of forces:
Barbarian_5 (3o 160g 3o 3o 3o)
Warlock_1 in castle (15 centaurs 9 gargoyles 4 griffins 2 hydras 3 minotaurs)
+ lightning bolt.
I win and manage to save 100 goblins. Logistics knowledge is granted immediately.
I retreat to the crossroads (the moves were exactly enough), thereby freeing space for other heroes to exit. In Castle_4, I buy Warlock_2 (lightning bolt available), take two gargoyles, and go 4 cells right along the road. I buy Warlock_3, take the entire army from Barbarian_5 except one gargoyle, and go left as far as possible. Barbarian_7 with one goblin goes up to the end, approaching Necromancer_3, who is already preparing to attack the castle. _End of the sixth day_

Opponent's turn: Necromancer_3 (14 skeletons 8 mutant zombies 16 peasants 4 mummies 1 vampire) attacks Castle_3 (1 goblin 2 orcs 2 orcs 2 orcs 1 goblin). Castle_3 wins!!! The castle's magic and arrow did their dirty work.
Necromancer_4 appears and goes to Castle_3.
And here the warlock makes a fatal mistake. In the right castle, he buys a warlock hero, collects all troops except 2 hydras, and goes toward Castle_4, but not along the road—he steps slightly off it to bypass my Warlock_2 with 2 gargoyles (he couldn't reach him). This opens a path for me with Warlock_1 to the right castle where I need to crush two hydras (I have lightning bolt) and where an unbought !Black Dragon! is sitting.
Two more warlock heroes gather at Castle_4, but without attacking it and without reaching my Barbarian_5 and Warlock_1.

Day 7:
I have 7400 coins.
Barbarian_3 takes a campfire (500 coins, 5 sand) and a chest with gold (1000).
Warlock_2 !reaches! the far left castle and easily takes it on the last move. Now for the most interesting part ;) In Castle_5 (the right warlock's), I buy Barbarian_10 and buy a dragon. With Barbarian_10, we transfer the dragon to Barbarian_8, who crushes the first Warlock in his path and exits onto the road two cells from Barbarian_4. And he
has quite a few moves (one gargoyle + logistics) => he manages to take the dragon, kill two more Warlocks, and capture their last castle. WARLOCK is defeated!
Now what about the necromancer. He left no one in his second castle. Then Barbarian_7 calmly takes his castle. Only Necromancer_4 remains. But there is enough money to buy Sorceress_1 in Castle_3 and defeat the last Necromancer.
Balance of forces:
Sorceress_1(15 sprites 1 dwarf 1 dwarf 1 dwarf 1 goblin)+lightning
bolt
Necromancer_4 (10 skeletons 4 mutant zombies 2 vampires)+lightning bolt
Here the same own helped, on whom the opponent unsuccessfully cast lightning bolt, gold ray, and arrow several times. NECROMANCER is defeated!

Excellent, luck favors the strong, especially since both obstacles – the pixies and minotaurs – were cleared. It’s true that without a map, it’s difficult to assess distances – whether it’s reachable or not. I certainly remember the map, but I don’t remember the distance between the castles in centimeters. On impossible difficulty, the starting setup is everything, but on expert, you can already build a general strategy.
I remember clearing the beaver with all castles on the 2nd day (I was looking for a setup where orcs weren’t built in the beaver’s castle), but after that, I simply didn’t have enough skill to play properly – I dragged the battle out to 20 days. Of course, it was cool to build 4 red flyers for the warlock (I leveled him up by the 12th day, thanks to the abundance of resources), pump up the beaver hero, and destroy the necromancer and warlock without any tricks, losing only 1 dragon. This published walkthrough is a masterpiece. Similarly, Hot Spot or Dragon Pass can be completed in 2 days from 1 castle. Although, without 100 gold, there wouldn’t have been a 3rd hero on the 2nd day, the annoying beaver wouldn’t have been so easily defeated, and then the pixies, the necromancer wouldn’t have attacked the hero with fewer goblins, and so on.

This walkthrough, like almost all records, consists of several different stages. Stage 0: Detailed exploration of the map, determining the maximum possible result. Complete analysis of the conditions for achieving it, which can be generated. Stage 1: Generating a save file with the map. This is very time-consuming and quite... tedious (in principle, one term with variations is used to describe this process, but I won't use it due to its vulgarity). Stage 2: The actual gameplay. This is much easier compared to the first two stages. Playing for a record consists of the following elements: -) finding the necessary heroes while simultaneously preventing them from appearing in the tavern for the computer; -) conducting battles; -) generating the computer's actions. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that there are two types of records: a record on a given map (that is, obtained largely through generating a save file) and a record on a specific save file.

Here's an interesting question: is it possible to find and reproduce this specific setup exactly? Let's take the number of beavers and match it to the number of Orcs and Goblins. I have a suspicion (within the limits of my computer, I'm fairly confident) that there are, say, 20 different setups when starting the "Pyramid" game on impossible difficulty with the Barbarian. So, by simply going through the setups (hint: the hero only has Goblins), we can find it.
For example, on my computer, there was a great setup that I think I messed up with an incorrect save. I went through the setups from the beginning, and I found the exact same setup. Or, is a set of setups for completing a scenario under certain conditions generated when the game is launched on a specific computer? Or is it simply embedded in the game itself?

Do you think it's possible to complete the pyramids on expert difficulty with the Necropolis faction?

P.S. I heard a guy completed it on impossible difficulty in a week.
It seems he used Warlocks.

Added after 13 hours and 23 minutes
That was a long time ago when I played, I finished in third place.
I played well, but there were two things I couldn't achieve, and I've had those two ideas stuck in my head ever since.
One was completing "The Jolly Roger" with Elves in the first game, and the other was completing the Pyramids with the Necropolis faction in the second game. The maps are quite similar.
I got both games, and I completed "The Jolly Roger" using save files.
But the first game is easier - you just have to endure it, and then a well-developed hero can carry you by using 30-unit stacks of Fey Dragons. The AI is also programmed worse, and it almost never surrenders.
Here, you can't do anything against the dragons. The heroes surrender while being taken down by magic.

I completed it. But I played as Barbarians.

There is absolutely no difference in which starting Castle you choose. It is rarely possible to build up a starting Castle significantly.

Pyramid in 6 days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JH-7fEM4rI&t=754s