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Walkthrough Heroes 3: "Armageddon's Blade"
1. Catherine's Charge.
In this scenario, you are given a rather original task - eliminate all
enemies and do not lose the main heroine, Catherine Ironfist.
Let me say right away: I will not be providing translations for the various lyrics accompanying the game, as they generally do not contain information important for the walkthrough (there are exceptions, but few), although they are interesting in their own right; I recommend reading them. Now then, let's return to our HEROES.
The scenario itself is extremely easy: you are asked to play on Hard level,
provided with three well-developed towns, a decent amount of troops, and two
heroes - a knight and a cleric (both 4th level). Catherine is 12th level and
can
be boosted up to 18th. As a starting bonus, it's worth taking archers, as
they are more useful given Catherine's skills.
Now about the intricacies of the start: Catherine has four skills that you
cannot get rid of - Archery, Logistics, Diplomacy, Leadership. In my same opinion,
only diplomacy seems redundant. Additionally, something else will be granted, and this
will depend on you: upon restarting the scenario, the level of development of the skills and
their
number change. Having Wisdom at an advanced level seems like a reasonable choice, but it is rarely obtained (apparently Catherine by nature is not
very
smart and prefers to spend time fencing or trying on iron bras instead of reading smart books), plus the machine tends to award some
junk like First Aid or Eagle Eye as a bonus. The situation is further complicated by the fact that in
the capital, near which Catherine is located, there is a fully built magic tower (the spell composition changes upon restarting the scenario), suggesting Town Portal.
IMHO this spell is already 80% of victory, with advanced Earth, of course. Wisdom in this scenario (and indeed in the whole campaign) is extremely useful: the enemy
Inferno forces in towns have five-story magic towers from the start (and
upgraded troop buildings up to the fourth level inclusive). In my original
walkthrough Catherine remained stupid, which later relegated her to the role of a secondary, albeit powerful hero.
Looking at the map, you see three strategic lines: yours, neutral,
right in the middle, and enemy. This is where heroes first encounter elemental towns (north, south). They are not interesting from a troop perspective: maximum second level, but the university is a useful thing - that's where
Catherine will learn Earth magic if she hasn't managed to master it earlier. Each
of these towns is guarded by 100 elementals (two types of 50 each); the approach to the southern one (the road to it is more convenient) - 70 each side.
On the way to any of the new towns, it makes sense to capture neutral human
towns. They are well-developed (have Castle, upgraded troop buildings of four
levels, two-story magic towers) and protected (northern - 20 Archers, 40 Pikemen,
20 Swordsmen, 10 Zealots; southern - 20 Archers, 40 Pikemen, 10 Crusaders), but it's worth the effort. Two enemy heroes of 6th
level with a decent amount of "meat" are placed in the area of these towns, but they don't mess with neutrals - they collect resources. It would be great to take them out quickly so they don't get in the way.
Around your towns, many resources and loot are scattered, but large
concentrations of it are guarded by decent squads of monsters who refuse to flee or
join. Example: at the Library of Enlightenment - 40 ifrits; better not to venture there immediately, for ifrits are nasty creatures.
On the first turn, you should upgrade Catherine's archers and take the bow and string from two hundred imps: +15% to Archery won't add optimism to the enemies. How to handle
the chests? To your taste, but remember that with very advanced
towns it is reasonable to ensure a proper amount of gold for purchasing troops,
since there is plenty of exp on the map and raising 6 levels will not be difficult. On the second turn, upgrade Catherine's swordsmen and buy all available troops; make sure you have enough money for this (no need to upgrade pikemen - they are dead anyway, and it's a waste of own gold, besides their number (pikemen) will be replenished by dwarflings). That's it, Catherine into the meat grinder.
Do not forget about the desirability of Catherine having advanced Earth - Town
Portal will greatly reduce time and simplify the walkthrough of this and subsequent
scenarios, and oh how I love to show enemies a "meteor show"!
While your Heroine captures the "middle line", her companions, meanwhile,
clear mines and dwarflings. Is it necessary to build angels in towns? You can, but not
mandatory; it's easy to win without them.
The opponent is pushed off the map by a front of three heroes, but they need to buy more "meat", as the Inferno forces also have many troop houses near towns,
and bypassing them is an AI hobby. If you have Town Portal - then even Catherine alone can easily outbuild everyone. To study all enemy magic towers, it is advisable to give some weak survivor an elemental town and lock him there with your hero who has a more substantial army than the enemy's. You won't get any troops from that scoundrel there, so he will just stand and be afraid. And Catherine quietly, without dust,
finishes off the last pockets of resistance if any remain, and calmly visits
base characteristic boosters. You can skip this (not visit them), you'll finish faster, get more points, a higher rating in the table, but in my opinion, playing with a powerful hero is more fun (yes, munchkinism is not foreign to me), especially since the developers
encourage it themselves. For points, it's better to play separate scenarios or play Tetris :). But if you really feel the urge to "measure own" :) then Air magic for your favorite hero is a must have (for me this was Gelu); Dimension Door and Fly
will greatly brighten your life and VERY increase walkthrough speed.
Leveled up? Final chord: kill the timid little snake in the elemental town and watch the cinematic for the next scenario.
2. Shadows Of The Forest.
The task of this mission is again original: kill all enemies. Difficulty level - Hard; you lose if you lose Gelu. Your hero can
level up to 12th.
Now this is truly an elite hero among rangers! Upgrades (for money)
human and elven archers into sharpshooters. In my opinion, they are the best shooters after titans; I wish they had more hits... They shoot without penalty for obstacles or
distance. The upgrade cost of one archer depends on the price of the unit itself: human is more expensive, grand elf is cheaper.
As a starting bonus, three types of shooters are offered: quantity
depends on quality. Take humans: there are 20 of them, and they will become sharpshooters over time anyway.
On the map around you, various archers will be standing who would gladly join. Immediately upgrade simple human archers, as they are slow. In town, buy a book, elves (you can also take pegasi: I carried them with me for speed and as a living shield), build Blacksmith and buy a medical tent. That's it, you can fight. You have 170 shooters (of which 50 are sharpshooters) and 25
pegasi - this is the army of victory; I didn't need more.
Develop the town you leave in the direction of increasing financial income: they are extremely necessary, especially considering that there are enough dwarflings with archers on "green" territory and the army will not be left without reinforcements.
The opponent at the start of the game has 4 towns, of which only one (slightly
west of the map center) has 4 upgraded troop buildings and no active
hero.
Among valuable artifacts are: Golden Bow - above the starting town in the corner
of the map, but "do we need a lilac branch in space?" given the sharpshooters; Boots
Of Speed - south to the garrison, then across volcanic territory to the southwest (not
far, I recommend going immediately); Ogre's Club Of Havoc (+5 A) - enemy bank of the river almost in the middle of the map; Cape Of Velocity - west of the most advanced
enemy town (you will likely take it from the opponent when it is no longer needed); Endless Purse Of Gold - southeast corner of the map; Sandals Of The Saint
(+2 to base characteristics) - middle of the western edge of the map and Equestrian's
Gloves (speed gloves) - move west across "green" territory - you can't miss them, others, IMHO, are of less interest. Actually, it turns out funny with the gloves: apparently, secret schools teach the ancient art
of fast running on hands, but what if you also put on Boots Of Speed? Then how?
It seems, in the developers' opinion, the sight of a hero galloping own four bones should strike terror into the hearts of enemies and raise the morale of the army he leads.
The map can be completed in two ways:
1. Rush west and capture the unguarded elemental town; further
west, across the river but on "green" land, there is a weakly protected neutral
town of elven nationality (built: Capitol, Castle, magic tower - 5
stories, troops 1-5 with 3-5 upgraded) - a sweet spot! In this confectionery
I learned Resurrection, Town Portal and Fly (spells are assigned randomly at the start of the game).
2. Having obtained Boots Of Speed, methodically eliminate all Inferno towns, capture
the neutral elven town and finish the enemy's rout at the elementals (enemies run there almost immediately, bringing along the defenders of their own garrison). I played exactly like that (due to ignorance of the map), but this way now seems to me less preferable.
Near the southwest corner of the map is a Cartographer's booth - strongly
recommend visiting. At the same time, do not forget about the presence of Cover of Darkness near enemy towns - enemies love to enter there.
Among skills for Gelu must have: Wisdom + two schools of magic - Earth and Air,
the rest as desired. Mine reached the finish of this mission with expert Wisdom.
Noticed that the scenario is not difficult and you sometimes just feel sorry for the enemies? Move on to the next one.
3. Seeking Armageddon.
Now it's time to play on the side of the "potential opponent". You are asked to collect a collection of artifacts: Sword of Hellfire, Shield of the Damned
and Breastplate of Brimstone since they are necessary for creating Armageddon's Blade.
Difficulty - Hard; you lose if you lose Xeron. Eliminating all enemies is not
mandatory, although I did it. Out of spite.
As a starting bonus, it makes sense to take Equestrian's Gloves: with them everything
will happen faster.
You have three heroes, all 4th level. Xeron - the main one (has one
of the most valuable artifacts, IMHO - Shackles of War), with maximum 12th level and
quest trinkets will move to the next scenario. He always has two skills: Tactics and Leadership, and a third - as it happens (see Catherine example above), he might not have one at all; his level is only fourth.
There are three towns, all equipped with Town Gates, so there should be no
problems with gathering troops and protecting castles.
Enemies - Conflux, have 4 towns and three heroes of 4th level: Fiur (30
energy elementals, 40 fire, 5 phoenixes and Tome of Fire Magic),
Erdamon (50 earth, 50 magma, 30 magic elementals and Tome of Earth Magic),
Ciele (30 water, 30 ice, 50 pixies and Tome of Water Magic) - not bad for a first day.
All quest items lie behind Purple barriers along the western edge of the map, meaning the first task is to find the corresponding Keymaster's Tent. It
is located northwest of the main castle (where Capitol is built).
Other Tents:
White - near Purple. Opens access to a gold mine in the north.
Green - west of the upper town. Opens access to Light Blue Keymaster's
Tent.
Light Blue - middle of the map. Opens access to treasures (you will be informed about them by a separate message) at the northeast border of "black" land.
During the game I noticed the following: if you don't wander near the northwest
border of "black" territory, then Fiur (he hangs around there) does not claim our land and dashes around his town. Checked twice, although maybe
just lucky, but they regularly approached from the Green Tent side.
Collect resources, build up, accumulate troops and go get the desired items. That's it!
4. Maker of Sorrows.
Victory conditions in this scenario are more interesting than in previous ones: you need
to find the smith Khazandar and force him to create Armageddon's Blade.
You will have to force him, as he believes that his "roof" - Conflux troops and heroes,
is a reliable protection. Consequently, until the "roof" is destroyed,
you will not receive the final part of the magic constructor (Sphere of Permanence) and
the coveted saber will not be made for you. However, it's enough to just deal with the head of the "roof", more on that below.
The main hero is again Xeron (can be raised to 24 level); his loss - defeat. To ease the task, another 3 heroes
of 12th level are provided as help. Try to ensure they have suitable skills; you know how. Scenario difficulty - expert; as a starting bonus I took
upgraded Kennels.
On this map you'll have to run and fight a lot, so don't rush into battle immediately,
better thoroughly strip the territory adjacent to towns, build up, gather a combat-ready army. All castles are equipped with Castle Gates - there will be no problems transferring troops into one hand.
Enemies at the start of the game have 6 weakly developed towns and 6 heroes of 3rd - 4th
level. The seventh hero (Inteus - head of the "roof") is in a dungeon and
guards Seer's Hut, where Sphere of Permanence is given. He is quite powerful (mine was
16, 14, 10, 13) and equipped with an army as follows: 300 Sprites, 80
Energy
Elementals, 100 Storm Elementals, 25 Phoenixes, 80 Magma Elementals, 100 Ice
Elementals, 35 Magic Elementals. Base your calculations on this when determining the
amount of "meat" you need for the trip underground. By the way, Inteus's power largely
comes from artifacts. From his still-warm carcass I took: Skull Helmet, Cape of
Velocity, Collar of Conjuring, Greater Gnoll's Flail, Dragon Scale Shield,
Dragon
Scale Armor, Still Eye of the Dragon, Quiet Eye of the Dragon, Dragonbone
Greaves, books of Air, Fire, Water Magic.
On the surface, besides eliminating enemies (optional), it is necessary to visit
Keymaster's Tents:
Black - southwest from your upper (first in the table) city: opens
the entrance
to the dungeon, which is slightly west of the map center. All other Tents provide
an opportunity to get closer to Inteus.
Red - slightly east of the center of the bottom edge of the map.
Green - southwest corner of the map.
White - northwest corner of the map.
Light Blue - slightly east of the map center.
The main difficulty of the scenario is that the enemy constantly buys heroes
to replace those you have killed, and they scatter across the map like cockroaches in order to
seize unguarded cities. In large spaces and "rugged"
terrain, catching these scoundrels can be difficult. However, you don't actually have to catch anyone -
just organize a competent defense of your territory; thanks to Castle Gates,
this is a piece of cake.
Five tunnels diverge from the center of the dungeon. If you lack exp for
leveling up Xeron, you can clear everything: the path in the plot-unimportant eastern
direction will be blocked by squads of 300 (the amount on the first day) various
elementals. There is nothing interesting there besides mines and a few artifacts. You
need to go into the western corridors, starting with the upper one. At the end of it, approach the
Purple Keymaster's Tent (opens access to the "workshop"), kill Inteus, and
visit the Seer's Hut. Make sure you have 30K gold on hand since you will have to pay for
the last ingredient. Now go into the lower western tunnel.
At
the end of it is a Seer's Hut, where they will thank you for the money and craft
Armageddon's Blade. A powerful item! +3 At, +3 Def, +3 Sp.P, +6 Kn; furthermore,
expert Armageddon in the book and the owner's army immunity to Armageddon - awesome!
5. Return of the King.
Once again, a total slaughter of the enemy is required. Roland is now in charge of everything;
naturally, he must not be lost. At the start of the game, he is level 11 with
the possibility of leveling up to 24. His companion is a full general named Kendal, also
level 11. Difficulty - expert. As a starting bonus, I took an
upgraded monastery.
Try to ensure that Roland gets expert Wisdom in addition to Armorer and Leadership (which are
always present). Do not forget about a fully built mage
tower in your capital (where the Capitol is) - the spell list changes upon restarting
the scenario. You have 5 cities: three human and two elemental nationality.
Now regarding the state of the enemy on the first day of the game. Of the six cities, the two bottom ones
are not developed at all; the others are connected by Castle Gates. Two (!!!) castles in the north
have a Capitol (the one in the northeast corner is fully built out), while
the remaining two have five-story mage towers and upgraded military buildings
of levels 1-5 (buildings of levels 6-7 are present on the island, but not upgraded). The enemy has two heroes: Ash (level one, small army) and Fiona (mine was
9,8,6,6).
The walkthrough strategy, in my opinion, is simple: send the general along the
northern edge of the map via the isthmus to capture the enemy's financial base.
Send Roland
first to the capital, and then to the elemental city on the coast. There, build a
university to study the necessary schools of magic and a Shipyard. Then capture the
city on the island and land on the enemy shore. After taking the city in the
center
of the mainland, finishing off the enemy in the lower castles will not be much trouble.
Pay attention to the teleports in the middle of the western and eastern edges of the map.
If you stall, the enemies might use them.
6. A Blade in the Back.
Again, all enemies must be destroyed. The main hero Gelu can rise to
level 24.
He must not be lost. Difficulty - expert. You are given three fairly
advanced cities (one elven, two Conflux) and two level 18 companions
of elemental nationality. Their skills change upon restart. As a starting bonus,
it is better to take one of the offered artifacts.
The enemies have 4 cities. The northeast and central ones have five-story mage
towers;
the southeast and central are connected by Castle Gates; all cities have five
military buildings (the southeast has 6 and a Capitol), but in the north- and southeast
cities, they are not upgraded. There are no heroes (on the first day).
The strategy is as follows: Gelu and one of the companions move along the "roads" bypassing
the center of the map and capture the northeast and southwest cities. For some time,
enemies will be unable to get out of the central city until one of the red barriers is opened.
In my game, this happened very late. Then Gelu captures the center, and the companion with a strong army locks down the southeast
city. The Cartographer lives in the center of the bottom edge of the map; I recommend visiting him.
One could end the scenario here with victory, but in such a layout, Gelu
won't gain much exp, even if he collects all the chests. For those wishing to level him up,
I suggest a simple method (though it will take some time). Many artifacts are scattered across the map,
including very valuable ones (various spheres). You need to collect
as many as possible in Gelu's hands. To this end, you can visit the Black
Market (north of the central city) and buy everything there, then
take it to the Altar of Sacrifice (near the Black Market) and exchange all gear for
exp.
Now you can take the last city.
7. To Kill a Hero.
It has finally happened! All the heroes you have leveled up meet on one battlefield, but
on opposite sides of the barricades. Catherine, Roland, and Gelu must take down Xeron.
At the same time, all three must survive and move to the final scenario with level 36
coolness (if it's possible to reach). You are given three very advanced cities with a decent
set of troops inside, and near one of them, two groups of 100 sharpshooters await you. As a starting bonus,
take the Sword of Judgement, since the troops are already fine, and if you don't have Town Portal,
I honestly don't know what you were doing in the previous missions. If the aforementioned spell is
still missing, it can easily be obtained by restarting the scenario (mage towers
are 5 stories everywhere).
The enemy has five cities that are also very advanced (in some, only level 7 troops
are missing) and five quite strong heroes (including Xeron).
For lovers of fast walkthroughs, this mission is perfect. It can be completed by the
end of the first week (if you have Dimension Door) simply by gathering and upgrading
the available troops. Then boldly storm the city in the center of the map - that's Xeron's residence.
He will, of course, hit you with Armageddon, but Fire magic is completely irrelevant to half of the
available troops (Phoenixes, Energy and Magic elementals), and Anti-Magic can be cast on sharpshooters (though,
with such use of magic in battle, Xeron hit me extremely painfully with Implosion).
If you have a noble desire to kill all enemies (I did),
then with the coolness of the main heroes, it is simply very easy. In general, in this mission I
leveled up only Gelu since he is most appealing to me, and his set of skills was perfectly fine.
There are two artifact caches on the map: in the northwest corner (various junk) and
in the southeast (here you'll find the Helm of Heavenly Enlightenment, Titan's Gladius, and
Sentinel's Shield). I mentioned artifacts for a reason: ALL of them, along with the heroes,
carry over to the next scenario.
8. Oblivion's Edge.
The time for the final battle has come. To achieve the long-awaited victory, you must
deliver Armageddon's Blade to the capital of the infernals within 60 days. This
must be done by Gelu. If Catherine, Roland, or Gelu perish - defeat. Difficulty -
impossible.
Again, a mission for lovers of blitzkrieg. Victory can be achieved by the end of the first week.
There are six fairly advanced cities, which are also equipped with small armies.
The enemy has one fully built city with good defense (500 Familiars,
140 Magogs, 140 Cerberi, 120 Horned Demons, 40 Pit Lords, 50 Efreet Sultans, 25
Arch Devils). The approaches to the city are covered by a Garrison (100 Horned Demons, 25 Arch
Devils, 300 Familiars, 350 Magogs, 75 Pit Lords), which DOES NOT ALLOW the use of
magic. There are three heroes: all high level and with good armies (with correct play,
you won't have to fight them). The fourth hero - a remnant Xeron - will defend the city.
Do everything as in the previous mission (though there are few "babulencies" on the first day - only those extracted from chests). Give all troops to Gelu and lead him
to storm the enemy capital. There is no point in getting distracted by destroying idling enemy heroes.
Resurrection helped me a lot when taking the city (I gathered too few
people, and I wasted Earth magic on Xeron).
Victory! Time to watch the final movie.
(c)
Werewolf aka Dmitry Volkov.
Dragon's Blood.
1. Culling the Weak.
New campaign, new hero. Or rather heroine Mutare - an ambitious
lady-overlord.
Her goals are simple: to become the greatest and most powerful, taking from the weak
what they cannot hold, proclaiming her own laws by piling up the bones of dissatisfied weaklings of the same land's dungeon.
This was a loose adaptation of the Campaign Description, but the goals are still
noble and correct; we must help the lady.
In this mission, you need to wipe out all enemies and not lose the main heroine. She
moves to the next scenario with level 10 coolness. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus,
I recommend taking a building or troops (to your taste; I took
a hut), and a ring can be obtained "for free": opposite your city lies an
artifact that changes upon restart. You just have to wait for the desired one. In the next mission, you can take the Charm of Mana,
which the only Seer on the map will give you in exchange for 13 Sulfur, 17 Crystal, and 13 Gems (must-have).
At level one, Mutare has two skills: Tactics and Estates (the latter is clear: dragons love to hoard money in chests). Make sure she definitely
acquires Wisdom and Earth Magic: without them, playing will be extremely difficult.
The available city is absolutely bare; it's good that the opponents are in the same situation.
All opponents have one level 1 hero. Their home cities are located at the corners of the map. As the game progresses,
enemies will not only pay attention to you - they don't like each other much either.
The map is two-tiered. You and your opponents are on the first. The second level
consists of six closed circles connected by a system of teleports (be ready for the unexpected appearance of an enemy). There are 12 cities and villages in total: 8 on the starting level and 4 on the second.
In the first week of the game, do not delay capturing nearby mines and neutral
cities. I immediately moved west since the nearest opponent's city is located there (successfully captured it), and the second transition to another map level
(the first is near your castle). I played the entire scenario with the main heroine; I bought assistants for transporting troops or in a city where an enemy hero unexpectedly popped out of a teleport.
2. Savaging the Scavengers.
The goal of this mission is once again not new: destroy all enemies. Loss of the main heroine
is defeat. Mutare moves to the next mission with level 18 progression and can carry the Dragon Scale Shield with her. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus,
take medusas since you'll have to fight monsters from the very beginning (their type and quantity change upon restart), and then capture the city.
At the start of the mission, you have no city, and what will be your capital is absolutely
unimproved with various buildings (2 military buildings, but not even a tavern). It's good that opponents are in a similar situation. Everyone has one hero (enemy ones are level 8). The map is two-tiered, but all cities are on the starting level. The second tier consists of four small rooms, each
of which contains something useful. Opponents' cities are strictly north and west of your castle.
The structure of the scenario is such that each opponent can quite quickly capture a second city. If you send Mutare through the northwest tunnel,
she will reach the nearest neutral (center of map) city and Subterranean Gate in a few moves. There, beyond the S.G., on the second level, is the Dragon Scale Shield
and Quest Guard which opens with the Charm of Mana. Beyond the Q.G. lies an artifact
of the "major" kind (+5 something, random upon restart). The teleport (One Way)
near the city transports to the northwest corner of the map to a pyramid and Dragon Utopia.
Moving from the center via the northern or western tunnels, you will end up near castles intended as additions for opponents. Teleports (One Way) near them will transport you to the same northwest corner. Southeast of Dragon Utopia there is
another teleport. It sends you to Black or White barriers, the Keymaster's Tents for which are one move away (moving clockwise) from the barrier of the opposite color.
During the game, treat resources carefully since only wood and ore are easily available, while for everything else you'll have to walk far and even
fight. Therefore, building a Resource Silo in the city becomes justified at an early stage of the game. Use the Black Market (the near one is west of the starting castle, the far one is north); they gave me useful things there, though it depends on luck. The most time will be spent hunting enemy heroes; fortunately, the tunnels are narrow - you can't run off much. Do not neglect building mage towers; in this scenario I learned Dimension Door, Implosion, Armageddon, Chain-Lightning,
Town Portal.
3. Blood of Dragon Father.
To win this scenario, it is necessary to find the Vial of Dragon Blood. Mutare must not be lost; however, she and her two best companions move to the final mission without a limit on coolness level. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus,
I took a bag of money: funds are always lacking, and with Dimension Door, you can get by with few troops at first. The map is two-tiered.
On the first day of the game, the enemy has total superiority, both in the number of
cities and the number of heroes (5 cities as advanced as yours
and 5 heroes level 10 and above). The opponent's main hero Ordwald (mine was
7,9,14,12 on the first day) owns a Celestial Necklace of Bliss (+3 toeverything) and Scales of the Greater Basilisk (+3 Sp.Pow.), also wants to obtain the Vial of
Dragon Blood.
Mutare and one town are at your disposal. Use restarts to ensure you have a Harpy Loft and build the Pillar of Eyes on the first turn. Buy up all
troops
and move northwest through Cursed Ground toward the harpy dwaling. Take the harpies, go past the Crypt to a group of monsters. If you have Dimension
Door, jump over the monsters to reach another dwaling with
harpies. Buy them and capture the enemy town (one move west past
Cursed Ground). If you are lucky, there will be no hero in the castle and you can take them down
later in the open field. The opening of the game is played successfully.
When creating this map, the developers intended a strictly linear
Walkthrough along a specified route. I will describe both that and an alternative
option,
played by me (requires Dimension Door).
1. After capturing the enemy town, go west to the barrier (the Light Blue
Keymaster's Tent is north of your starting castle), then south to the
Shipyard. Moving west along the river, you will see a one-way teleport blocked by a Red barrier. It transports you to another map level
into "secondary" enemy territories (north of the teleport exit there will be a
road; follow it to the crossroads and then west to the enemy town).
Further along the shore, you will find a prison (inside is warlock Alamar level 5 with an
Endless Bag of Gold) and a gold mine, near which lies a Summon Boat scroll. At the very end of the river, dive into the whirlpool. It will carry you to another map level
(to the "secondary" enemy territory).
If after the whirlpool you sail southwest, you will find the Green Keymaster's Tent
(you must enter if you intend to open the Green barrier); if you sail south-
east, you will reach the enemy "secondary" territory. After landing, go
north-//east: you will find the Red Keymaster's Tent (remember the closed teleport?), then
west to the exit of the mentioned teleport and toward the opponent's castle. In the northern
part
of this land are Subterranean Gates blocked by a Green barrier. If you have
Town Portal, gather as much meat as possible and head for these S.G..
It is better not to open the barrier, but to jump or fly over it. Otherwise,
a herd of enemy heroes will swarm you, whom it is more useful to kill on their
territory (you don't have to kill them, but I did so for exp).
Well, now you have entered the main enemy territories. Three tunnels branch out from the S.G., each leading to one of the opponent's towns. Note
that
near the castles there are one-way teleports, the exits of which are located behind the S.G. (which is why it's not immediately obvious). If you decide to engage in
total
extermination of the enemy, remember: Ordwald has most likely already visited Dragon
Utopia and very realistically geared up there — do not let him escape.
2. To avoid bothering with sailing down the river, you can do the following:
after capturing the first enemy town, open the Light Blue barrier and go
north to the arena. After increasing stats, stay put and cast Dimension
Door. Move the mouse in a northwestern direction; there is a spot ready
to receive you. Now you have stepped onto the path of a risky blitzkrieg, finding yourself on the
main enemy territory at the beginning of the second week. Now two moves west and
an assault on the opponent's castle. I foresee a tough fight if the enemy hero is in
the town: your troops are not plentiful. In any case, try it; this adventure worked for me, and the blues were wiped out before they could properly develop.
Now for the most interesting part. Whether you kill the blues or not is up to you. The main goal of the scenario lies in the northwestern corner of the map behind a second Light Blue
barrier. Go up to another level via S.G. Your army must be STRONG,
as you will have to fight a lot and against many powerful monsters.
The first fight is with Bone Dragons — there are 35 initially (all numbers are for the first day of the game
and
by the time of your visit, they will increase), then 25 Ghost Dragons
(these must be killed, otherwise the quest barrier will not open). Then go
down and west to the green dragons — there are 52. In general, all dragons living here are
quest-related and you cannot avoid fighting them. Now northeast —
kill 45 red dragons, then south — deal with 52 yellow ones. Next in order:
44 black, 36 Faerie Dragons, 32 Rust Dragons, 32 Crystal Dragons. Done with all of them? Well, how's the mood? The sight of a considerably
thinned army is especially inspiring. I suggest restocking on meat and going to open the Pandora Box
(the first turn from S.G.). You open it... And there, a "warm" welcome awaits you
from the next set of dragons: 30 Red Dragons, 22 Black Dragons, 16 Rust Dragons,
14 Crystal Dragons, 18 Faerie Dragons, 26 Gold Dragons, 36 Green Dragons.
After a wonderful fight, you receive the sought-after Vial and victory in the scenario. The next
cartoon is quite interesting to watch.
4. Blood Thirsty.
The lady really went wild! Her face has changed slightly, but nevertheless,
it's still Mutare, who must destroy all enemies to achieve
final victory. Naturally, you cannot lose Mutare. Difficulty - expert,
the map is two-level. As a starting bonus, I took black dragons. If
you want to take some others, keep in mind that there will be nowhere to replenish their
number, and you'll spoil the army morale.
The disposition for the first day is as follows: you have one undeveloped town
(opponents too, only the blues have two castles) and three heroes. The opponents have one
hero each (the blues have two — including the survivor Ordwald), whose level of coolness
exceeds level 25 (closer to thirty). Everyone has starting armies.
Your starting town is in the middle of the lower level; enemies share the upper one.
To the northwest and southeast from the castle, in the corners of the map, are neutral
towns; you should send your loser-companions there (defense is weak or
absent). If you go into the small appendix east of the capital, demons will join you (they guard the teleport exit).
Direct Mutare northeast to the Subterranean Gate; on the way, stop by
Dragon Utopia — 6 black ones will easily handle the guards there. The second S.G.
are located strictly diagonally from the first — in the southwest.
Having crossed into enemy territory, pay attention to the Tower of Darkness:
the opponent will use this building very actively. At an equal distance
from
the northeastern S.G. are: west — purple, south — I don't know what that color
is called; due to my poor eyesight, I can barely distinguish it from gray.
If you exit through the southwestern S.G., they will be located similarly:
north — orange, east — blue. The second blue town is northwest of
the first. There are four neutral towns in total on the opponents' level: north of the
orange one, then into the eastern branch of the tunnel; east of the first blue
town; west of the purple one; south to the fork, then west from the town of an unknown color.
In this mission, your main "weapon" will be Town Portal; having Dimension
Door will make it easier to catch enemy heroes, and they will multiply in abundance. Be sure to
build Mana Vortexes in captured towns. When using "expensive" spells,
a double mana reserve is highly desirable. In my walkthrough, the enemies were constantly shopping at Black Markets, and Mutare was draped from head to toe in
all sorts of trinkets.
Now you have reached the final cartoon of the entire campaign. Victory!
(c) Werewolf aka Dmitry Volkov.
1. Catherine's Charge.
In this scenario, you are given a rather original task - eliminate all
enemies and do not lose the main heroine, Catherine Ironfist.
Let me say right away: I will not be providing translations for the various lyrics accompanying the game, as they generally do not contain information important for the walkthrough (there are exceptions, but few), although they are interesting in their own right; I recommend reading them. Now then, let's return to our HEROES.
The scenario itself is extremely easy: you are asked to play on Hard level,
provided with three well-developed towns, a decent amount of troops, and two
heroes - a knight and a cleric (both 4th level). Catherine is 12th level and
can
be boosted up to 18th. As a starting bonus, it's worth taking archers, as
they are more useful given Catherine's skills.
Now about the intricacies of the start: Catherine has four skills that you
cannot get rid of - Archery, Logistics, Diplomacy, Leadership. In my same opinion,
only diplomacy seems redundant. Additionally, something else will be granted, and this
will depend on you: upon restarting the scenario, the level of development of the skills and
their
number change. Having Wisdom at an advanced level seems like a reasonable choice, but it is rarely obtained (apparently Catherine by nature is not
very
smart and prefers to spend time fencing or trying on iron bras instead of reading smart books), plus the machine tends to award some
junk like First Aid or Eagle Eye as a bonus. The situation is further complicated by the fact that in
the capital, near which Catherine is located, there is a fully built magic tower (the spell composition changes upon restarting the scenario), suggesting Town Portal.
IMHO this spell is already 80% of victory, with advanced Earth, of course. Wisdom in this scenario (and indeed in the whole campaign) is extremely useful: the enemy
Inferno forces in towns have five-story magic towers from the start (and
upgraded troop buildings up to the fourth level inclusive). In my original
walkthrough Catherine remained stupid, which later relegated her to the role of a secondary, albeit powerful hero.
Looking at the map, you see three strategic lines: yours, neutral,
right in the middle, and enemy. This is where heroes first encounter elemental towns (north, south). They are not interesting from a troop perspective: maximum second level, but the university is a useful thing - that's where
Catherine will learn Earth magic if she hasn't managed to master it earlier. Each
of these towns is guarded by 100 elementals (two types of 50 each); the approach to the southern one (the road to it is more convenient) - 70 each side.
On the way to any of the new towns, it makes sense to capture neutral human
towns. They are well-developed (have Castle, upgraded troop buildings of four
levels, two-story magic towers) and protected (northern - 20 Archers, 40 Pikemen,
20 Swordsmen, 10 Zealots; southern - 20 Archers, 40 Pikemen, 10 Crusaders), but it's worth the effort. Two enemy heroes of 6th
level with a decent amount of "meat" are placed in the area of these towns, but they don't mess with neutrals - they collect resources. It would be great to take them out quickly so they don't get in the way.
Around your towns, many resources and loot are scattered, but large
concentrations of it are guarded by decent squads of monsters who refuse to flee or
join. Example: at the Library of Enlightenment - 40 ifrits; better not to venture there immediately, for ifrits are nasty creatures.
On the first turn, you should upgrade Catherine's archers and take the bow and string from two hundred imps: +15% to Archery won't add optimism to the enemies. How to handle
the chests? To your taste, but remember that with very advanced
towns it is reasonable to ensure a proper amount of gold for purchasing troops,
since there is plenty of exp on the map and raising 6 levels will not be difficult. On the second turn, upgrade Catherine's swordsmen and buy all available troops; make sure you have enough money for this (no need to upgrade pikemen - they are dead anyway, and it's a waste of own gold, besides their number (pikemen) will be replenished by dwarflings). That's it, Catherine into the meat grinder.
Do not forget about the desirability of Catherine having advanced Earth - Town
Portal will greatly reduce time and simplify the walkthrough of this and subsequent
scenarios, and oh how I love to show enemies a "meteor show"!
While your Heroine captures the "middle line", her companions, meanwhile,
clear mines and dwarflings. Is it necessary to build angels in towns? You can, but not
mandatory; it's easy to win without them.
The opponent is pushed off the map by a front of three heroes, but they need to buy more "meat", as the Inferno forces also have many troop houses near towns,
and bypassing them is an AI hobby. If you have Town Portal - then even Catherine alone can easily outbuild everyone. To study all enemy magic towers, it is advisable to give some weak survivor an elemental town and lock him there with your hero who has a more substantial army than the enemy's. You won't get any troops from that scoundrel there, so he will just stand and be afraid. And Catherine quietly, without dust,
finishes off the last pockets of resistance if any remain, and calmly visits
base characteristic boosters. You can skip this (not visit them), you'll finish faster, get more points, a higher rating in the table, but in my opinion, playing with a powerful hero is more fun (yes, munchkinism is not foreign to me), especially since the developers
encourage it themselves. For points, it's better to play separate scenarios or play Tetris :). But if you really feel the urge to "measure own" :) then Air magic for your favorite hero is a must have (for me this was Gelu); Dimension Door and Fly
will greatly brighten your life and VERY increase walkthrough speed.
Leveled up? Final chord: kill the timid little snake in the elemental town and watch the cinematic for the next scenario.
2. Shadows Of The Forest.
The task of this mission is again original: kill all enemies. Difficulty level - Hard; you lose if you lose Gelu. Your hero can
level up to 12th.
Now this is truly an elite hero among rangers! Upgrades (for money)
human and elven archers into sharpshooters. In my opinion, they are the best shooters after titans; I wish they had more hits... They shoot without penalty for obstacles or
distance. The upgrade cost of one archer depends on the price of the unit itself: human is more expensive, grand elf is cheaper.
As a starting bonus, three types of shooters are offered: quantity
depends on quality. Take humans: there are 20 of them, and they will become sharpshooters over time anyway.
On the map around you, various archers will be standing who would gladly join. Immediately upgrade simple human archers, as they are slow. In town, buy a book, elves (you can also take pegasi: I carried them with me for speed and as a living shield), build Blacksmith and buy a medical tent. That's it, you can fight. You have 170 shooters (of which 50 are sharpshooters) and 25
pegasi - this is the army of victory; I didn't need more.
Develop the town you leave in the direction of increasing financial income: they are extremely necessary, especially considering that there are enough dwarflings with archers on "green" territory and the army will not be left without reinforcements.
The opponent at the start of the game has 4 towns, of which only one (slightly
west of the map center) has 4 upgraded troop buildings and no active
hero.
Among valuable artifacts are: Golden Bow - above the starting town in the corner
of the map, but "do we need a lilac branch in space?" given the sharpshooters; Boots
Of Speed - south to the garrison, then across volcanic territory to the southwest (not
far, I recommend going immediately); Ogre's Club Of Havoc (+5 A) - enemy bank of the river almost in the middle of the map; Cape Of Velocity - west of the most advanced
enemy town (you will likely take it from the opponent when it is no longer needed); Endless Purse Of Gold - southeast corner of the map; Sandals Of The Saint
(+2 to base characteristics) - middle of the western edge of the map and Equestrian's
Gloves (speed gloves) - move west across "green" territory - you can't miss them, others, IMHO, are of less interest. Actually, it turns out funny with the gloves: apparently, secret schools teach the ancient art
of fast running on hands, but what if you also put on Boots Of Speed? Then how?
It seems, in the developers' opinion, the sight of a hero galloping own four bones should strike terror into the hearts of enemies and raise the morale of the army he leads.
The map can be completed in two ways:
1. Rush west and capture the unguarded elemental town; further
west, across the river but on "green" land, there is a weakly protected neutral
town of elven nationality (built: Capitol, Castle, magic tower - 5
stories, troops 1-5 with 3-5 upgraded) - a sweet spot! In this confectionery
I learned Resurrection, Town Portal and Fly (spells are assigned randomly at the start of the game).
2. Having obtained Boots Of Speed, methodically eliminate all Inferno towns, capture
the neutral elven town and finish the enemy's rout at the elementals (enemies run there almost immediately, bringing along the defenders of their own garrison). I played exactly like that (due to ignorance of the map), but this way now seems to me less preferable.
Near the southwest corner of the map is a Cartographer's booth - strongly
recommend visiting. At the same time, do not forget about the presence of Cover of Darkness near enemy towns - enemies love to enter there.
Among skills for Gelu must have: Wisdom + two schools of magic - Earth and Air,
the rest as desired. Mine reached the finish of this mission with expert Wisdom.
Noticed that the scenario is not difficult and you sometimes just feel sorry for the enemies? Move on to the next one.
3. Seeking Armageddon.
Now it's time to play on the side of the "potential opponent". You are asked to collect a collection of artifacts: Sword of Hellfire, Shield of the Damned
and Breastplate of Brimstone since they are necessary for creating Armageddon's Blade.
Difficulty - Hard; you lose if you lose Xeron. Eliminating all enemies is not
mandatory, although I did it. Out of spite.
As a starting bonus, it makes sense to take Equestrian's Gloves: with them everything
will happen faster.
You have three heroes, all 4th level. Xeron - the main one (has one
of the most valuable artifacts, IMHO - Shackles of War), with maximum 12th level and
quest trinkets will move to the next scenario. He always has two skills: Tactics and Leadership, and a third - as it happens (see Catherine example above), he might not have one at all; his level is only fourth.
There are three towns, all equipped with Town Gates, so there should be no
problems with gathering troops and protecting castles.
Enemies - Conflux, have 4 towns and three heroes of 4th level: Fiur (30
energy elementals, 40 fire, 5 phoenixes and Tome of Fire Magic),
Erdamon (50 earth, 50 magma, 30 magic elementals and Tome of Earth Magic),
Ciele (30 water, 30 ice, 50 pixies and Tome of Water Magic) - not bad for a first day.
All quest items lie behind Purple barriers along the western edge of the map, meaning the first task is to find the corresponding Keymaster's Tent. It
is located northwest of the main castle (where Capitol is built).
Other Tents:
White - near Purple. Opens access to a gold mine in the north.
Green - west of the upper town. Opens access to Light Blue Keymaster's
Tent.
Light Blue - middle of the map. Opens access to treasures (you will be informed about them by a separate message) at the northeast border of "black" land.
During the game I noticed the following: if you don't wander near the northwest
border of "black" territory, then Fiur (he hangs around there) does not claim our land and dashes around his town. Checked twice, although maybe
just lucky, but they regularly approached from the Green Tent side.
Collect resources, build up, accumulate troops and go get the desired items. That's it!
4. Maker of Sorrows.
Victory conditions in this scenario are more interesting than in previous ones: you need
to find the smith Khazandar and force him to create Armageddon's Blade.
You will have to force him, as he believes that his "roof" - Conflux troops and heroes,
is a reliable protection. Consequently, until the "roof" is destroyed,
you will not receive the final part of the magic constructor (Sphere of Permanence) and
the coveted saber will not be made for you. However, it's enough to just deal with the head of the "roof", more on that below.
The main hero is again Xeron (can be raised to 24 level); his loss - defeat. To ease the task, another 3 heroes
of 12th level are provided as help. Try to ensure they have suitable skills; you know how. Scenario difficulty - expert; as a starting bonus I took
upgraded Kennels.
On this map you'll have to run and fight a lot, so don't rush into battle immediately,
better thoroughly strip the territory adjacent to towns, build up, gather a combat-ready army. All castles are equipped with Castle Gates - there will be no problems transferring troops into one hand.
Enemies at the start of the game have 6 weakly developed towns and 6 heroes of 3rd - 4th
level. The seventh hero (Inteus - head of the "roof") is in a dungeon and
guards Seer's Hut, where Sphere of Permanence is given. He is quite powerful (mine was
16, 14, 10, 13) and equipped with an army as follows: 300 Sprites, 80
Energy
Elementals, 100 Storm Elementals, 25 Phoenixes, 80 Magma Elementals, 100 Ice
Elementals, 35 Magic Elementals. Base your calculations on this when determining the
amount of "meat" you need for the trip underground. By the way, Inteus's power largely
comes from artifacts. From his still-warm carcass I took: Skull Helmet, Cape of
Velocity, Collar of Conjuring, Greater Gnoll's Flail, Dragon Scale Shield,
Dragon
Scale Armor, Still Eye of the Dragon, Quiet Eye of the Dragon, Dragonbone
Greaves, books of Air, Fire, Water Magic.
On the surface, besides eliminating enemies (optional), it is necessary to visit
Keymaster's Tents:
Black - southwest from your upper (first in the table) city: opens
the entrance
to the dungeon, which is slightly west of the map center. All other Tents provide
an opportunity to get closer to Inteus.
Red - slightly east of the center of the bottom edge of the map.
Green - southwest corner of the map.
White - northwest corner of the map.
Light Blue - slightly east of the map center.
The main difficulty of the scenario is that the enemy constantly buys heroes
to replace those you have killed, and they scatter across the map like cockroaches in order to
seize unguarded cities. In large spaces and "rugged"
terrain, catching these scoundrels can be difficult. However, you don't actually have to catch anyone -
just organize a competent defense of your territory; thanks to Castle Gates,
this is a piece of cake.
Five tunnels diverge from the center of the dungeon. If you lack exp for
leveling up Xeron, you can clear everything: the path in the plot-unimportant eastern
direction will be blocked by squads of 300 (the amount on the first day) various
elementals. There is nothing interesting there besides mines and a few artifacts. You
need to go into the western corridors, starting with the upper one. At the end of it, approach the
Purple Keymaster's Tent (opens access to the "workshop"), kill Inteus, and
visit the Seer's Hut. Make sure you have 30K gold on hand since you will have to pay for
the last ingredient. Now go into the lower western tunnel.
At
the end of it is a Seer's Hut, where they will thank you for the money and craft
Armageddon's Blade. A powerful item! +3 At, +3 Def, +3 Sp.P, +6 Kn; furthermore,
expert Armageddon in the book and the owner's army immunity to Armageddon - awesome!
5. Return of the King.
Once again, a total slaughter of the enemy is required. Roland is now in charge of everything;
naturally, he must not be lost. At the start of the game, he is level 11 with
the possibility of leveling up to 24. His companion is a full general named Kendal, also
level 11. Difficulty - expert. As a starting bonus, I took an
upgraded monastery.
Try to ensure that Roland gets expert Wisdom in addition to Armorer and Leadership (which are
always present). Do not forget about a fully built mage
tower in your capital (where the Capitol is) - the spell list changes upon restarting
the scenario. You have 5 cities: three human and two elemental nationality.
Now regarding the state of the enemy on the first day of the game. Of the six cities, the two bottom ones
are not developed at all; the others are connected by Castle Gates. Two (!!!) castles in the north
have a Capitol (the one in the northeast corner is fully built out), while
the remaining two have five-story mage towers and upgraded military buildings
of levels 1-5 (buildings of levels 6-7 are present on the island, but not upgraded). The enemy has two heroes: Ash (level one, small army) and Fiona (mine was
9,8,6,6).
The walkthrough strategy, in my opinion, is simple: send the general along the
northern edge of the map via the isthmus to capture the enemy's financial base.
Send Roland
first to the capital, and then to the elemental city on the coast. There, build a
university to study the necessary schools of magic and a Shipyard. Then capture the
city on the island and land on the enemy shore. After taking the city in the
center
of the mainland, finishing off the enemy in the lower castles will not be much trouble.
Pay attention to the teleports in the middle of the western and eastern edges of the map.
If you stall, the enemies might use them.
6. A Blade in the Back.
Again, all enemies must be destroyed. The main hero Gelu can rise to
level 24.
He must not be lost. Difficulty - expert. You are given three fairly
advanced cities (one elven, two Conflux) and two level 18 companions
of elemental nationality. Their skills change upon restart. As a starting bonus,
it is better to take one of the offered artifacts.
The enemies have 4 cities. The northeast and central ones have five-story mage
towers;
the southeast and central are connected by Castle Gates; all cities have five
military buildings (the southeast has 6 and a Capitol), but in the north- and southeast
cities, they are not upgraded. There are no heroes (on the first day).
The strategy is as follows: Gelu and one of the companions move along the "roads" bypassing
the center of the map and capture the northeast and southwest cities. For some time,
enemies will be unable to get out of the central city until one of the red barriers is opened.
In my game, this happened very late. Then Gelu captures the center, and the companion with a strong army locks down the southeast
city. The Cartographer lives in the center of the bottom edge of the map; I recommend visiting him.
One could end the scenario here with victory, but in such a layout, Gelu
won't gain much exp, even if he collects all the chests. For those wishing to level him up,
I suggest a simple method (though it will take some time). Many artifacts are scattered across the map,
including very valuable ones (various spheres). You need to collect
as many as possible in Gelu's hands. To this end, you can visit the Black
Market (north of the central city) and buy everything there, then
take it to the Altar of Sacrifice (near the Black Market) and exchange all gear for
exp.
Now you can take the last city.
7. To Kill a Hero.
It has finally happened! All the heroes you have leveled up meet on one battlefield, but
on opposite sides of the barricades. Catherine, Roland, and Gelu must take down Xeron.
At the same time, all three must survive and move to the final scenario with level 36
coolness (if it's possible to reach). You are given three very advanced cities with a decent
set of troops inside, and near one of them, two groups of 100 sharpshooters await you. As a starting bonus,
take the Sword of Judgement, since the troops are already fine, and if you don't have Town Portal,
I honestly don't know what you were doing in the previous missions. If the aforementioned spell is
still missing, it can easily be obtained by restarting the scenario (mage towers
are 5 stories everywhere).
The enemy has five cities that are also very advanced (in some, only level 7 troops
are missing) and five quite strong heroes (including Xeron).
For lovers of fast walkthroughs, this mission is perfect. It can be completed by the
end of the first week (if you have Dimension Door) simply by gathering and upgrading
the available troops. Then boldly storm the city in the center of the map - that's Xeron's residence.
He will, of course, hit you with Armageddon, but Fire magic is completely irrelevant to half of the
available troops (Phoenixes, Energy and Magic elementals), and Anti-Magic can be cast on sharpshooters (though,
with such use of magic in battle, Xeron hit me extremely painfully with Implosion).
If you have a noble desire to kill all enemies (I did),
then with the coolness of the main heroes, it is simply very easy. In general, in this mission I
leveled up only Gelu since he is most appealing to me, and his set of skills was perfectly fine.
There are two artifact caches on the map: in the northwest corner (various junk) and
in the southeast (here you'll find the Helm of Heavenly Enlightenment, Titan's Gladius, and
Sentinel's Shield). I mentioned artifacts for a reason: ALL of them, along with the heroes,
carry over to the next scenario.
8. Oblivion's Edge.
The time for the final battle has come. To achieve the long-awaited victory, you must
deliver Armageddon's Blade to the capital of the infernals within 60 days. This
must be done by Gelu. If Catherine, Roland, or Gelu perish - defeat. Difficulty -
impossible.
Again, a mission for lovers of blitzkrieg. Victory can be achieved by the end of the first week.
There are six fairly advanced cities, which are also equipped with small armies.
The enemy has one fully built city with good defense (500 Familiars,
140 Magogs, 140 Cerberi, 120 Horned Demons, 40 Pit Lords, 50 Efreet Sultans, 25
Arch Devils). The approaches to the city are covered by a Garrison (100 Horned Demons, 25 Arch
Devils, 300 Familiars, 350 Magogs, 75 Pit Lords), which DOES NOT ALLOW the use of
magic. There are three heroes: all high level and with good armies (with correct play,
you won't have to fight them). The fourth hero - a remnant Xeron - will defend the city.
Do everything as in the previous mission (though there are few "babulencies" on the first day - only those extracted from chests). Give all troops to Gelu and lead him
to storm the enemy capital. There is no point in getting distracted by destroying idling enemy heroes.
Resurrection helped me a lot when taking the city (I gathered too few
people, and I wasted Earth magic on Xeron).
Victory! Time to watch the final movie.
(c)
Werewolf aka Dmitry Volkov.
Dragon's Blood.
1. Culling the Weak.
New campaign, new hero. Or rather heroine Mutare - an ambitious
lady-overlord.
Her goals are simple: to become the greatest and most powerful, taking from the weak
what they cannot hold, proclaiming her own laws by piling up the bones of dissatisfied weaklings of the same land's dungeon.
This was a loose adaptation of the Campaign Description, but the goals are still
noble and correct; we must help the lady.
In this mission, you need to wipe out all enemies and not lose the main heroine. She
moves to the next scenario with level 10 coolness. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus,
I recommend taking a building or troops (to your taste; I took
a hut), and a ring can be obtained "for free": opposite your city lies an
artifact that changes upon restart. You just have to wait for the desired one. In the next mission, you can take the Charm of Mana,
which the only Seer on the map will give you in exchange for 13 Sulfur, 17 Crystal, and 13 Gems (must-have).
At level one, Mutare has two skills: Tactics and Estates (the latter is clear: dragons love to hoard money in chests). Make sure she definitely
acquires Wisdom and Earth Magic: without them, playing will be extremely difficult.
The available city is absolutely bare; it's good that the opponents are in the same situation.
All opponents have one level 1 hero. Their home cities are located at the corners of the map. As the game progresses,
enemies will not only pay attention to you - they don't like each other much either.
The map is two-tiered. You and your opponents are on the first. The second level
consists of six closed circles connected by a system of teleports (be ready for the unexpected appearance of an enemy). There are 12 cities and villages in total: 8 on the starting level and 4 on the second.
In the first week of the game, do not delay capturing nearby mines and neutral
cities. I immediately moved west since the nearest opponent's city is located there (successfully captured it), and the second transition to another map level
(the first is near your castle). I played the entire scenario with the main heroine; I bought assistants for transporting troops or in a city where an enemy hero unexpectedly popped out of a teleport.
2. Savaging the Scavengers.
The goal of this mission is once again not new: destroy all enemies. Loss of the main heroine
is defeat. Mutare moves to the next mission with level 18 progression and can carry the Dragon Scale Shield with her. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus,
take medusas since you'll have to fight monsters from the very beginning (their type and quantity change upon restart), and then capture the city.
At the start of the mission, you have no city, and what will be your capital is absolutely
unimproved with various buildings (2 military buildings, but not even a tavern). It's good that opponents are in a similar situation. Everyone has one hero (enemy ones are level 8). The map is two-tiered, but all cities are on the starting level. The second tier consists of four small rooms, each
of which contains something useful. Opponents' cities are strictly north and west of your castle.
The structure of the scenario is such that each opponent can quite quickly capture a second city. If you send Mutare through the northwest tunnel,
she will reach the nearest neutral (center of map) city and Subterranean Gate in a few moves. There, beyond the S.G., on the second level, is the Dragon Scale Shield
and Quest Guard which opens with the Charm of Mana. Beyond the Q.G. lies an artifact
of the "major" kind (+5 something, random upon restart). The teleport (One Way)
near the city transports to the northwest corner of the map to a pyramid and Dragon Utopia.
Moving from the center via the northern or western tunnels, you will end up near castles intended as additions for opponents. Teleports (One Way) near them will transport you to the same northwest corner. Southeast of Dragon Utopia there is
another teleport. It sends you to Black or White barriers, the Keymaster's Tents for which are one move away (moving clockwise) from the barrier of the opposite color.
During the game, treat resources carefully since only wood and ore are easily available, while for everything else you'll have to walk far and even
fight. Therefore, building a Resource Silo in the city becomes justified at an early stage of the game. Use the Black Market (the near one is west of the starting castle, the far one is north); they gave me useful things there, though it depends on luck. The most time will be spent hunting enemy heroes; fortunately, the tunnels are narrow - you can't run off much. Do not neglect building mage towers; in this scenario I learned Dimension Door, Implosion, Armageddon, Chain-Lightning,
Town Portal.
3. Blood of Dragon Father.
To win this scenario, it is necessary to find the Vial of Dragon Blood. Mutare must not be lost; however, she and her two best companions move to the final mission without a limit on coolness level. Difficulty - hard. As a starting bonus,
I took a bag of money: funds are always lacking, and with Dimension Door, you can get by with few troops at first. The map is two-tiered.
On the first day of the game, the enemy has total superiority, both in the number of
cities and the number of heroes (5 cities as advanced as yours
and 5 heroes level 10 and above). The opponent's main hero Ordwald (mine was
7,9,14,12 on the first day) owns a Celestial Necklace of Bliss (+3 toeverything) and Scales of the Greater Basilisk (+3 Sp.Pow.), also wants to obtain the Vial of
Dragon Blood.
Mutare and one town are at your disposal. Use restarts to ensure you have a Harpy Loft and build the Pillar of Eyes on the first turn. Buy up all
troops
and move northwest through Cursed Ground toward the harpy dwaling. Take the harpies, go past the Crypt to a group of monsters. If you have Dimension
Door, jump over the monsters to reach another dwaling with
harpies. Buy them and capture the enemy town (one move west past
Cursed Ground). If you are lucky, there will be no hero in the castle and you can take them down
later in the open field. The opening of the game is played successfully.
When creating this map, the developers intended a strictly linear
Walkthrough along a specified route. I will describe both that and an alternative
option,
played by me (requires Dimension Door).
1. After capturing the enemy town, go west to the barrier (the Light Blue
Keymaster's Tent is north of your starting castle), then south to the
Shipyard. Moving west along the river, you will see a one-way teleport blocked by a Red barrier. It transports you to another map level
into "secondary" enemy territories (north of the teleport exit there will be a
road; follow it to the crossroads and then west to the enemy town).
Further along the shore, you will find a prison (inside is warlock Alamar level 5 with an
Endless Bag of Gold) and a gold mine, near which lies a Summon Boat scroll. At the very end of the river, dive into the whirlpool. It will carry you to another map level
(to the "secondary" enemy territory).
If after the whirlpool you sail southwest, you will find the Green Keymaster's Tent
(you must enter if you intend to open the Green barrier); if you sail south-
east, you will reach the enemy "secondary" territory. After landing, go
north-//east: you will find the Red Keymaster's Tent (remember the closed teleport?), then
west to the exit of the mentioned teleport and toward the opponent's castle. In the northern
part
of this land are Subterranean Gates blocked by a Green barrier. If you have
Town Portal, gather as much meat as possible and head for these S.G..
It is better not to open the barrier, but to jump or fly over it. Otherwise,
a herd of enemy heroes will swarm you, whom it is more useful to kill on their
territory (you don't have to kill them, but I did so for exp).
Well, now you have entered the main enemy territories. Three tunnels branch out from the S.G., each leading to one of the opponent's towns. Note
that
near the castles there are one-way teleports, the exits of which are located behind the S.G. (which is why it's not immediately obvious). If you decide to engage in
total
extermination of the enemy, remember: Ordwald has most likely already visited Dragon
Utopia and very realistically geared up there — do not let him escape.
2. To avoid bothering with sailing down the river, you can do the following:
after capturing the first enemy town, open the Light Blue barrier and go
north to the arena. After increasing stats, stay put and cast Dimension
Door. Move the mouse in a northwestern direction; there is a spot ready
to receive you. Now you have stepped onto the path of a risky blitzkrieg, finding yourself on the
main enemy territory at the beginning of the second week. Now two moves west and
an assault on the opponent's castle. I foresee a tough fight if the enemy hero is in
the town: your troops are not plentiful. In any case, try it; this adventure worked for me, and the blues were wiped out before they could properly develop.
Now for the most interesting part. Whether you kill the blues or not is up to you. The main goal of the scenario lies in the northwestern corner of the map behind a second Light Blue
barrier. Go up to another level via S.G. Your army must be STRONG,
as you will have to fight a lot and against many powerful monsters.
The first fight is with Bone Dragons — there are 35 initially (all numbers are for the first day of the game
and
by the time of your visit, they will increase), then 25 Ghost Dragons
(these must be killed, otherwise the quest barrier will not open). Then go
down and west to the green dragons — there are 52. In general, all dragons living here are
quest-related and you cannot avoid fighting them. Now northeast —
kill 45 red dragons, then south — deal with 52 yellow ones. Next in order:
44 black, 36 Faerie Dragons, 32 Rust Dragons, 32 Crystal Dragons. Done with all of them? Well, how's the mood? The sight of a considerably
thinned army is especially inspiring. I suggest restocking on meat and going to open the Pandora Box
(the first turn from S.G.). You open it... And there, a "warm" welcome awaits you
from the next set of dragons: 30 Red Dragons, 22 Black Dragons, 16 Rust Dragons,
14 Crystal Dragons, 18 Faerie Dragons, 26 Gold Dragons, 36 Green Dragons.
After a wonderful fight, you receive the sought-after Vial and victory in the scenario. The next
cartoon is quite interesting to watch.
4. Blood Thirsty.
The lady really went wild! Her face has changed slightly, but nevertheless,
it's still Mutare, who must destroy all enemies to achieve
final victory. Naturally, you cannot lose Mutare. Difficulty - expert,
the map is two-level. As a starting bonus, I took black dragons. If
you want to take some others, keep in mind that there will be nowhere to replenish their
number, and you'll spoil the army morale.
The disposition for the first day is as follows: you have one undeveloped town
(opponents too, only the blues have two castles) and three heroes. The opponents have one
hero each (the blues have two — including the survivor Ordwald), whose level of coolness
exceeds level 25 (closer to thirty). Everyone has starting armies.
Your starting town is in the middle of the lower level; enemies share the upper one.
To the northwest and southeast from the castle, in the corners of the map, are neutral
towns; you should send your loser-companions there (defense is weak or
absent). If you go into the small appendix east of the capital, demons will join you (they guard the teleport exit).
Direct Mutare northeast to the Subterranean Gate; on the way, stop by
Dragon Utopia — 6 black ones will easily handle the guards there. The second S.G.
are located strictly diagonally from the first — in the southwest.
Having crossed into enemy territory, pay attention to the Tower of Darkness:
the opponent will use this building very actively. At an equal distance
from
the northeastern S.G. are: west — purple, south — I don't know what that color
is called; due to my poor eyesight, I can barely distinguish it from gray.
If you exit through the southwestern S.G., they will be located similarly:
north — orange, east — blue. The second blue town is northwest of
the first. There are four neutral towns in total on the opponents' level: north of the
orange one, then into the eastern branch of the tunnel; east of the first blue
town; west of the purple one; south to the fork, then west from the town of an unknown color.
In this mission, your main "weapon" will be Town Portal; having Dimension
Door will make it easier to catch enemy heroes, and they will multiply in abundance. Be sure to
build Mana Vortexes in captured towns. When using "expensive" spells,
a double mana reserve is highly desirable. In my walkthrough, the enemies were constantly shopping at Black Markets, and Mutare was draped from head to toe in
all sorts of trinkets.
Now you have reached the final cartoon of the entire campaign. Victory!
(c) Werewolf aka Dmitry Volkov.
