Posts from The fourth stage of the "Van Kanighem" tournament. Auto-translated

Why all this fuss? A save from the end of the first day is enough; the rest is obvious.

The second turn is also interesting – I almost killed everyone on the respawn point during the second turn. I prepared 2 saves – the end of the 1st turn (3MB) and the end of the second turn (4MB) – these are in a regular zip file (in fact, the zip file doesn’t compress anything, as I already wrote that the saves in the game are already compressed with a similar archiver). And the same thing prepared using the method I described earlier in this thread results in this: 1 save is 2MB and the 2nd save is also 2MB. Well, and no one has told me in what format it is better to upload the saves??? So, I’m uploading the first save in a simple format – 3MB. Dj. While watching, I advise you to periodically press pause and see how the number of action points for the heroes changes. It’s a pity that the battles won’t be visible, and the amount of minerals and money also doesn’t change during the viewing – the screen always shows the amount that was at the end of the turn – this is a flaw of the viewer. I wish you a pleasant viewing of the first episode and I’m waiting for questions if any arise.
PS. Something the file isn’t attaching?? :(
PS. Well, who is in charge of uploading saves here?? Even a 2MB save won’t upload. Although it says that you can upload up to 4MB in a zip file. A small file works; as an example, I tried win-gz.zip – it works. Well, who can tell me what to do??
PSS.
Thank you all for the congratulations, but how do I create a report? I was hoping that anyone who wants to could view all the turns from the beginning to the end using the saves.

Just upload them without repackaging or anything. The size doesn't matter. Otherwise, my NOD32 is complaining, saying that there's a virus in what you've already uploaded.

Upload it without repackaging, etc., size doesn't matter.
Because my NOD32 is complaining, saying that there's a virus in the one you already uploaded.

Yeah, what was there was just an archiver and not a save. So you mean just take the save and change its extension from h4s to zip and that's it? I'll try now.
PS. No way - the file won't go through and that's that. A small one went through. But I deleted it since there's a virus there - where did it even come from :(
PSS. Let the organizer advise what to do then??
PSS. Guys, let me try to make it in time to complete the blitz-3 map, because I haven't really started yet. Waiting for advice on how to upload saves. I'll be back later.

Basically, here's an idea. Instead of uploading directly to the forum, you go to http://zalil.ru/ and upload the save archive there. Then, you post the link here, and those who need it can download it. This can work as a temporary solution.

Basically, I have an idea. While you can't upload to the forum, go to http://zalil.ru/ and put the save archive there, post the link here, and whoever needs it can download it. As a temporary solution—it'll do.

Alright, this is how it turns out :)
1. Save N1 : http://slil.ru/24472654
2. Save N2 : http://slil.ru/24472666
If any questions arise regarding battles or anything else, please provide the map coordinates of the event in question and the day/save number.

First, I would like to ask about the general methods used in battles. Summoning fairies, speed, poison, beholder – that’s understandable, but what else? For example, I didn’t immediately understand how to defeat vampires and mummies [44, 35], devils and creatures [92, 49].

I would first like to ask what general methods were used in the battles. Summoning fairies, haste, poison, beholders — that's clear, but what else? For example, I didn't immediately understand how to kill the vamps and mummies [44,35], or the devils and aberrations [92,49].

I'll answer in general for now.
1. On the map at the start of the game, there is ONLY ONE bottle of slowing liquid, which also clips the wings of flying units. I specifically saved this bottle for the fight against the vamps near the gold mine with a bunch of Troglodytes. Regular slow doesn't work on vamps, and beholders won't slow them, but if you blast them with this bottle, they will be slowed by half, and their wings will be bound, which is very helpful. Mummies run roughly the same as slowed vamps. Therefore, add haste to the hero and the battle is won in the standard way. If you need details, let me know, and I'll have to check additional saves. Look in the hero's inventory before and after this fight; you should see that I spent this bottle specifically on this battle.
2. Devils and Aberrations — that's a story about the hero class: Witcher. Read somewhere in the game menus; if you hover the mouse over the hero, it will tell you what property the Witcher possesses. In this walkthrough, I had TWO Witcher heroes. The class is obtained as follows: if, among all skills, two outweigh the others — Chaos and Nobility (they have the most colored corners and more skill line slots used), the hero is assigned the Witcher class (look at the skills of the heroes who fought the devils). The Witcher's strike is famous for the fact that an army without immunity to mind magic does not counterattack and retreats from the hero by two cells in fear, thereby being unable to deliver a counter-strike. However, when a neutral unit strikes the Witcher first, the hit lands. To prevent this, you need to acquire the corresponding FIRST STRIKE magic. Or level up the combat skill to the necessary level, but in a way that doesn't change the hero's class. On this map, there was Chaos magic "First Strike". Now, when you have such magic, the enemy cannot even hit you on their turn if it is cast on you. They want to strike, they approach, they swing, but the Witcher delivers the counterattack first. And since the enemy then retreats two cells, they never actually hit :) A beholder was brought to the fight, and the hero drank a bottle of immortality before the battle!! The Devil flies up to the Witcher and cuts him down, but he jumps back up due to the doping. On its turn, the beholder breaks the BOW of the aberrations. On his turn, the Witcher hero casts FIRST STRIKE magic on himself. That's it. Considering load-saves in battle, the opponent has no chance. The Devils are constantly getting beaten and cannot hit the Witcher, the aberrations crawl slowly, especially on their own turn; while they crawl, you can cast haste on yourself and slow on them, and for added effect, you can poison both squads. Then the main thing is to move across the field so that only the Devils can try to hit you; otherwise, you won't be able to perform a counterattack against the second attacking squad because it will be removed by the first attacking squad, and as a result, you will take a hit. One more point: in some cases, even a Witcher hero can take a hit:
1. The enemy has nowhere to retreat two cells — an obstacle, a unit, or the edge of the map is in the way. Maneuver correctly :)
2. It seems that if the Devils suddenly wait on their turn, they will then deliver two strikes, and your counterattack will not recover. In this case, a load/save in battle helps. Don't let the Devils wait, and that's it.
At the end of the battle, the Devils summoned Ice Demons, but that no longer mattered; both slow and poison work on them as well.
I think I've answered these battles in full. By the way, if anyone is interested in this fight, I can prepare this save before the battle so you can try to break through the Devils yourselves ;)
There were some other difficult battles. For example: Beholders cannot break the bows of ballistas and flamethrowers. And if they work in tandem with infantry, I couldn't win, because at that moment the heroes had likely not yet obtained the Witcher class or didn't have first strike magic. Therefore, I had to scrape together units of archers (medusas and orcs) from every corner :) In battle, all units were lined up in a single line using a special formation before the attack. Then the hero constantly summoned fairies, and they stood at the beginning of the chain, shielding everyone from the ballista shots. And the archers cut off the infantry; luckily, medusas have infinite arrows. I managed to avoid fighting the flamethrowers entirely. Almost everything near them was taken without a fight. There were also some small problems with mages and genies, and with neutral elf troops and the Thief near the pyramid by the harbor. By the way, a double-strike tactic against the army was used there (thank god in 4 no one disappears from the army after artillery preparation :) There is a tactician hero there. And all his units run fast. I had to first beat their commander with flamethrowers (magic) so that he had enough health left for only one magic shot. On the second attack, we kill their commander first, and the enemy troops are out :)
PS. I didn't use Minotaurs during the walkthrough. Beholders turned out to be better. Minotaurs cannot overcome medusas, because whenever neutral medusas shot at my minotaurs, a magic hit always went through, even if they blocked the shot itself. If anyone used minos — did you manage to purely deflect a medusa strike with minos even once ??

There is ONLY ONE bottle of slowing potion on the map at the beginning of the game, which, in addition, removes the flying ability of flying units. I specifically saved this bottle for the battle with the vampires near the gold mine with a bunch of Troglodytes.

I knew about the bottle, but I forgot.

Devils and Creatures - this is a song about the hero class - the witcher.

The witcher is understandable, but I didn't know that the first attack also applies to the counterattack.

If anyone has used Minotaurs, did you manage to perfectly block the attack of Medusas with Minotaurs even once?

As far as I understand, the probability of petrification is influenced by the expected damage that was blocked. Therefore, several Minotaurs always die. Accordingly, I couldn't perfectly block it, but I killed them with Beholders.

Well, I also have some small problems with Mages and Djinns.

I'll be completely brazen and ask how to kill Mages and Djinns, because I haven't had any success with casters at all. As I understand it, Golems can be defeated with Fairies, but I didn't even try to fight those guys.

A Witcher is understandable, but I didn't know that the first strike also applies to the counterattack.

Yes, a Witcher is just a terminator :) Especially if his combat skill is also upgraded to the third level or so, then he doesn't need first strike magic; he will have it anyway.

As I understand it, the chance of petrification is influenced by the expected damage that was blocked. Therefore, several Minotaurs always die. Accordingly, I couldn't just block them; I killed them with Beholders.

I honestly still don't understand. It seems that whether the Medusa's magic hits or not depends on the strength of their attack. Maybe the defender's defense also influences this. But if there are significantly more Medusas, then, in my opinion, there is no way to win; they will kill the Minotaurs with magic, and no load/save will help.

I'll be so bold as to ask how to kill Mages and Djinns, because I haven't been successful with casters at all. As I understand it, Golems can be defeated with Fairies, but I didn't even try to fight those guys.

No, well, what can I say, that's right. It's unclear how the battle was won; you need to ask. But I'll definitely have to resort to additional saves :) because I need to remember what and how I fought. Moreover, there were several battles with casters. Which battle are you interested in? I think the more difficult one was the one where the Mages were paired with Djinns. The general idea here is to lure out their mana, after which they become corpses. Also, I think in this battle I needed the hero to die at the same time as the last enemy unit. With the Fire Staff, this wasn't so difficult, but I forgot that my hero was a Witcher, and the Djinns constantly moved away from him by two squares. Here, I already had to use load saves in reverse; I wanted my Witcher to miss attacks, so I pushed the Djinns against obstacles and then cast a spell on myself with the staff when there were 1-2 Djinns left alive and the hero had little health. And I also drank a bottle of immortality before the battle. Someone was in the support, but not so that the enemy units would split up, otherwise it would be difficult to lure out the mana. At first glance, the battle seemed difficult, but it wasn't. With the help of load saves, it is easy to make them waste their magic in battle. The Mages, after casting poison on the hero (which somehow cannot be dispelled), calm down and start casting illusions on themselves and the Djinns, then they cast lightning bolts on the summoned Fairies. The Djinns try to cast some tricky magic on the hero, like fear or something else, but before they do, you need to remember and use load saves until the hero dispels this magic. My hero had some kind of initial skill for this - Magic Resistance - it works with a probability of 30% or less, but with off and load saves, we achieve that it works on every Djinn attack. In general, it is won with load saves. If you want details, I'll look at who did what there. Or maybe another battle with Mages needs to be described. Offhand, there were also Mages with Golems, and that seemed to be more difficult. The Mages attack and interfere with magic, and the Golems advance. I think I only managed to win this battle with a two-stage tactic. First, one unit is defeated, then we attack again and defeat the remaining unit. I'll look at it in more detail with the Mages if the answer is still unclear. But probably only tomorrow - today I'm trying to make it to the third blitz tournament. Ok?

The details of what, when, and who cast the spells are not necessarily important.
If I understand correctly, the idea is that by saving and reloading, you can make it so that the Djinns and Mages spend mana on different things. And for this, it is necessary that the hero is not within their field of vision, or how (and how to cover yourself, as there are no troops in the army, otherwise they will share the damage)? Otherwise, I got the impression that the Djinns, at the first opportunity, attack with an Ice Bolt, and that's it. And here they need to step 8 times.
Here is a general question: under what circumstances do they not attack with damage spells?

I'll take a closer look at the Mages if the answer is still unclear. But probably only tomorrow - today I'm trying to make it to the third blitz tournament. Ok?

Of course, OK. But I didn't have time for the blitz tournament.

The details of who cast what and when are not essential. If I understand correctly, the idea is that by repeatedly reloading a save, you can make the Djinns and Mages waste mana on various things.

Not exactly. By repeatedly reloading a save, I made it so that the Djinns tried to cast various spells on the hero, but due to the initial Magic Resistance skill, he resisted them, and they wasted their mana. To do this, I attacked with a single thief in front of the hero, so the hero was not in direct line of sight for the mages and Djinns' offensive spells. On the first turn, I summoned 10 sprites, and they also stood in front of the thief. At this point, the mages and Djinns start exchanging "pleasantries." The mages cast Haste on themselves and the Djinns, and the Djinns cast Bless on themselves and the mages. And they don't use offensive spells on the weaker units. They spend two turns exchanging these buffs; on the first turn, I summoned the sprites, and on the second, I attacked the mages with the Fireball. The mages, in response, cast Poison on the hero. In this battle, I got tired of repeatedly reloading saves – the mages cast Poison, and that's it.
And for this, the hero doesn't need to be in direct line of sight. Well, okay, I agreed to fight while poisoned. Besides, my hero was already quite strong in terms of health, and he had already drunk a potion of immortality. After that, the Djinns started trying to cast various spells on me; I attacked with the Fireball. If any of them tried to attack the sprites, I summoned new ones. In the end, when there were only a few mages left, they poisoned them for some reason. In the end, at the end of the battle, I had 10 newly summoned sprites and the thief remaining. I sent in the hero at the end when the Djinns were out of mana; I managed to slow them down and weaken them with the Fireball, and I had already taken care of the mages earlier.

And for this, it is necessary that the hero is not in their line of sight...

Absolutely correct.

...or how (and how to provide cover, as there are no units in the army, otherwise they will target them)?

I wrote about the cover – it consisted of the thief and the summoned sprites. Apparently, they don't want to waste offensive spells on weak units. Maybe this isn't always the case, but I think you can achieve this by repeatedly reloading a save.

Otherwise, I got the impression that the Djinns attack with Ice Bolt at the first opportunity, and that's it. And here, they need to cast it 8 times.

Absolutely. As soon as the hero shows himself, he gets hit with offensive spells.

Here is a general question: under what circumstances do they not use damage-dealing spells?

I can't answer this question with absolute certainty. But I think you need to protect the hero with weak units. In this battle, this trick worked great. But sometimes they might attack the cover. In short, if the mages and Djinns started attacking the cover continuously, it wouldn't be good. I was hoping that the unit was well-leveled in terms of health, had +20 armor, a +50% health ring, for a total of 300 health. Well, I thought that if necessary, I would buy more potions of immortality. Option number two is to not defeat them all at once – a repeated attack tactic. But in my Walkthrough, this was no longer suitable – the hero had little time left. In short, I got lucky and managed to win with minimal losses. :)
I can upload a save before the attack later for testing if needed. I just have half of my saves at home and half not at home. I will probably have this batch of saves at home only tomorrow.
If you need saves before any battles, write.

I can upload a save file from before the attack later, if you want to try playing through it. I just have half of my saves at home and half not at home. I expect this batch of saves to be available at home only tomorrow.
If you need saves from before specific battles, just let me know.

You can play through the battle and generate it if needed. Personally, I find the explanation of the tactics sufficient, and I'm confident that I can recreate the necessary battles, which makes it more interesting. The idea is the most important thing. And the turn management is perfectly clear after watching the video.
Congratulations on the brilliant victory and thank you for the explanation (unfortunately, the morale aspect was removed).

P.S. Writing a clear walkthrough is

Once again, congratulations to the esteemed IronAxe on his victory! A brilliant walkthrough accompanied by brilliant commentary. What more can be said?

I can't seem to download the maps, and I really want to learn how to make them. I've tried about 10 times, but it keeps getting interrupted.

I can't seem to Download the save files, but I really want to learn. I've tried about 10 times, and it keeps failing.

Well, I don't even know how to help in this case. Suggest a way to upload the save files yourself. I don't know what you're using, I mean, what archiving program you're using. We could try splitting the save file into parts. Just tell me what program to use so you can put it back together later when you re-Download the smaller parts. If you want to learn, it's best to take advantage of this opportunity now, because you might not get another chance to ask any questions.

Added 1 minute ago

Once again, congratulations to the esteemed IronAxe on his victory! Brilliant Walkthrough + brilliant commentary. What more can be said?

Thank you again. But there weren't many questions. Maybe not everyone can Download the save files. And it would be better to do so. In fact, writing a description for the fourth game - especially with such a detailed Walkthrough - is very difficult. But if you have the save files, you can easily see everything. And ask questions about the points that interest you. Fireball is right about this situation. But if I have time, I will make a brief description outlining the key moments of the Walkthrough.