Posts from Pao Archipelago

Outpost to the mentor . And I don't have Subordination, Berserker, Staff of the Underworld, and Empathy. IMO, it needs to be nerfed.

The hero with witchcraft seems to be doing more or less okay, as I can see. When I was playing, it didn't go above 10.

Sar-Issa's robe was taken from one of the Barbarians, along with a necklace of victory, and there was also a novice's wand – that's already ten points of magic as a bonus to what the hero had. Plus, a phoenix feather cloak – it enhances the wave attack. And with the help of a book of light magic taken from the Barbarians, the wave attack was improved, although this is more of a perfectionist's whim. The wave attack needs to be nerfed because it hits hard, almost like a chain attack, but unlike it, it hits everyone and doesn't damage allies – but you have to be more careful with the chain attack.

I tried playing the updated version, but without success. Around week 5, they start overwhelming you with purple and brown units. You can defeat one, but the second one is impossible to beat. The brown Goshak (level 25, 24 attack, powerful ballista) attacks even the castle where my main hero (level 14) can't put up any resistance. Resources are still scarce, and this significantly diminishes the enjoyment of the game.

I tried playing the updated version, but it was unsuccessful. Around week 5, I was surrounded by purple and brown factions. I could defeat one, but the other was impossible to beat. The brown Goshak (level 25, 24 attack, powerful ballista) attacks even the Castle where my main hero (level 14) can't resist him in any way. The resource situation is still terrible, and this greatly diminishes the enjoyment of the game.

Regarding resources, there's a fine line. It seems that two mills in the Dungeon, a dwarf pen, and a sufficient amount of random resources from neutral creatures should be enough for a more or less normal advance to the surface and capturing mines, utopias, elemental towers, etc. At least, the resource situation has only improved compared to the previous version.

Of course, Goshak came in very well-developed. But again, there haven't been any enhancements to the brown and purple players since the previous version. It's good that the AI is leveling up intelligently, choosing truly useful skills.
Theoretically, I think he can be defeated in the Castle; you just need to destroy the catapult quickly with Devil's Chain. Battle Magic and Sharp Mind can also help. What skills did your main hero have?

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last visited, so I decided to play a bit and immediately came across a map continuing the adventures of Sigrif, son of a demon, which made me incredibly happy, as I remember how interesting the previous maps were. I downloaded the latest version of the map and played in "hero" mode. I completed it in 56 days and received the Thunderlord. I'll write a more detailed battle report later. The map is as awesome as always - it's a fantastic hard mode! Every turn requires careful consideration and weighing of options, both on the strategic and tactical maps, for which a HUGE thank you to the author! The only thing that disappointed me was that it wasn't necessary to explore most of the map.

As promised, a detailed battle report :) .
I got lucky at the start – an infernal typist named Debil with her plasma gun was found in the tavern :smile14: . In the early stages, I fought only with Sigrif using his demonic abilities that don't require mana – infernal wave, etc., while I fed chests to Debil for experience growth.
At first, I entered the right teleporter (which leads to the caves), raided a crypt without significant losses, captured a sawmill, returned to the stables and headed southeast past the red tent to a dead end with an imp generator, a mill, and stairs up. I cleared all the garrisons there almost without losses (since Sigrif's spellcasting already allowed this) and emerged onto the surface. Up top, I captured a gold mine and a shipyard, built a boat and sent one of the auxiliary demons (there were already three by then, not counting Debil) to sail around – collecting loot. With Sigrif, I returned and went down the corridor leading northwest until I reached another exit to the surface (along the way clearing a garrison of over a hundred death knights who guarded a couple of chests and a useful artifact, the dragon cloak). I climbed up and discovered there was nothing interesting on the surface :smile50: – a tiny island with a planetarium, which once again increased Sigrif's "spellcasting". I wanted to go back slightly and peek into the western corridor (I even cleared the garrison of ents guarding the entrance), but then four purple orcs emerged from the nipple teleporter :smile19: near the southeastern surface exit; the leader rushed toward my castle, two went up, and one set off to capture the mill and imp generator. Sigrif had to abandon his explorations in the north and run back to defend (since Debil wouldn't have managed it, and even if she did, she would have been left without an army). I used Sigrif to take out the main aggressor (pocketing his loot) :smile10: , then the other two, and reclaimed the mine, mill, and generator. But one orc managed to board a ship and set off to hunt my seafaring demon, who by then had found a very useful artifact, the "Necklace of Victory". To avoid giving it to the enemy, I had to attack the nearest ship garrison, flee, and re-hire from the tavern.
At this time, castle development hit a complete deadlock :smile50: because there wasn't enough ore; to solve this problem, I sent Debil into the left teleporter (which leads not to caves but to underground galleries in the southwest of the map). Turning east at the first crossroads, Debil managed to find an ore mine, gaining a couple of level-ups along the way by fighting neutral garrisons; she achieved this with minimal losses.
On the way to the mine and back, Debil passed by the library; there was a temptation to visit it, but I clearly realized that getting in was out of the question :smile35: (the guard of black and red dragons is too much even for Sigrif). Next, I wanted Debil to turn south and see what was happening in the southern gallery, but just as she (Debil) was at the crossroads, a brown orc appeared from there (from the southern gallery) :smile13: with an army several times larger than Debil's (luckily he didn't manage to reach her); Debil had to retreat to the castle. Meanwhile, Sigrif completely cleared the area and was hatching plans to capture the red tent :smile16: , but since a week had passed, another purple orc emerged from the southeastern nipple with an army equal to two full weekly Castle harvests. I met him with Sigrif near the red tent and elemental tower and defeated him, then on the same turn had to urgently return to my castle (leaving the red tent uncaptured). Luckily, on the next turn, the brown orc almost didn't manage to reach it :smile26: . At first, I thought about leaving the castle to the enemy – there wasn't much to lose anyway as the castle was undeveloped, but when I saw that the demon doesn't capture it, but simply demolishes it :smile19: – I had to reload. I sent Debil to learn defense and placed Sigrif with a small garrison in the castle – fortunately, there was already a Stronghold (the ore arrived just in time). While the orc practiced shooting at imps, Sigrif destroyed his army with an infernal wave and took his artifacts :smile03: . Redistributing the trophies between Sigrif and Debil so that he got what increases spellcasting and she got attack, I sent Sigrif into the gallery where the brown orc came from, and Debil to the southeastern nipple (luckily her army had already grown sufficiently – over a hundred modified imps, demons, almost a hundred dog-kin, and over two dozen succubi).
With Sigrif, I reached the planetarium located slightly north of the branch leading east, when a brown elf jumped out from there (from the branch) and headed toward my castle; I had to return and finish him off (for which I received green traveler's boots). After the battle, I decided to explore this branch in more detail; as a result, I turned into it and reached the underground center of the map, where stairs lead up to another island. When I climbed onto the island, a purple ship was sailing past; since there was also a ship near the island, I loaded Sigrif and his army into it and chased the purple one. After a couple of days, I caught him at the pier (as it later turned out, this was an island with a purple base). Meanwhile, Debil fought off the purples arriving through the nipple once more :smile10: (as a result, she reached level 15) and I sent one scout (Grok the runner) into the galleries in the southeast of the map (where Sigrif hadn't reached when he was distracted by the elf). But Grok couldn't get far – at the exit from the galleries to the caves (in the southeastern corner), he almost collided with another brown orc of level 19, with a powerful army and huge stats (due to some hefty artifacts) :smile51: . Grok had to run back urgently :smile13:.
Meanwhile, Sigrif managed to capture both purple castles almost without losses, and at the same time cleared the path into the Dungeon leading (as I later found out) to the orange outpost. From the Dungeon, two orange heroes emerged one after another over a couple of turns :smile13: (an orc and a human "land-rover"), each with an army equal to two weekly harvests of creatures and a bunch of useful artifacts. Each of them immediately lunged at Sigrif and got their horns knocked off :smile10: , and most importantly – among the trophies were: the ring of Sar-Ilasa and same volumes of summoning and darkness magic :smile44: !
When taking the castles, I didn't bother converting the first one – money and resources were urgently needed, and the town hall and warehouse bring a decent income; the second castle was converted into a demonic one after capture. But the trick was :rolleyes: that before capturing the second castle, I had Debil attack the red tent with one imp and flee; as a result, after I hired her in the tavern, she didn't lose experience. In the new castles, I hired two demon apprentices; to one I gave some of the captured artifacts (including the summoning volume) and sent him to find the nipple entrance to deliver the artifacts to Debil, and the second I sent to develop the new territory – seizing mines and creature generators of the purple base. With Sigrif, I returned to the orc castle where a blue tent was located and defeated the guard of a hundred astral dragons :smile10: , for which Sigrif got a couple of level-ups, which were very welcome given the loss of experience after converting the castle :p , and meanwhile Grobok himself emerged from the Dungeon :eek: ! At first, in my naivety, I thought about staying put in the orc castle, since fighting him on the plains or in the new demonic castle would be suicide :smile35: . But after the first attempt, I realized that wasn't an option either, because he so skillfully demolishes the walls and towers of the castle with his very first shot that their defense vanishes like smoke, and considering he knows "Path of Death", the advantage is actually his. I had to flee into the Dungeon (luckily Sigrif, with his upgraded logistics and "Path of War", ran faster). Grobok first demolished the new demon castle, then chased after the demon carrying artifacts for Debil, but when Sigrif destroyed two more orange heroes he encountered in the Dungeon, each with armies of two weekly harvests, he paused :smile50: and ran back to the descent into the Dungeon :smile13: .
Meanwhile, Debil with her gun and all the artifacts was re-hired in the home demonic castle and worthily met the uninvited brown guest :smile10: , (battle attached) and took the "ring of kinship with machines" from him :cool: . By the end of another week, the chain of apprentices delivered the sent artifacts from Sigrif to her, creatures from all captured generators arrived, plus the harvest in the castle, where I finally managed to create a temple of the damned and infernal stables. Immediately after the start of the new week, Debil ran as fast as she could toward the browns, with scout Gork running slightly ahead. She destroyed the next brown not far from the southern stairs almost without losses :cool: , (luckily his stats were low and his level was low). Climbing onto the southern island, Debil, losing 3 devils, used summoning to destroy over a hundred wyverns, captured the lighthouse, got another level-up, and boarded a ship. Luckily, logic didn't fail me and I sent her in a northern direction rather than western. On the way at sea, there was another battle with that orc who besieged the castle, but this time he was already level 24 (high danger); another interesting battle occurred, which I managed to pull off using "summoning and shooting" (battle attached), followed by a successful landing on the brown base and their complete destruction :smile14: .
Sigrif, descending into the Dungeon, reached the blue gates, opened them, visited the artifact shop and "Hotabych", after which, taking out another orange hero, he successfully reached the Orange outpost with a danger level of "no chance" :eek: . Next was the hardest battle in this company, in which I failed to preserve the core of the imp army :smile05: (battle attached). He crawled to the surface with several demonesses and four devils (luckily there was a phoenix cloak behind the outpost). As it turned out, there was an orange base on top with three castles. Immediately on the surface, Sigrif was attacked by two orange heroes; as a result, the number of devils and demonesses decreased further, but on the next turn he managed to capture the almost defenseless central castle, and twenty-four hours later the western one; I didn't convert them – considering that an enraged Grobok was running through the Dungeon right behind Sigrif :smile19: , it was very important to preserve experience (after the battle at the orange outpost, Sigrif reached level 28). He made a forced march to the eastern castle and captured it, visiting the library and planetarium along the way, which raised Sigrif's spellcasting to 32 :smile03: . He managed to return to the central castle just as Gorak was "right there", but forces from the western castle had already arrived; as a result, the army Sigrif possessed for the final battle was almost as strong as Gorok's army.
As a result - Grobok was defeated by his own troops :smile34: (battle attached).
Well, that's all :)

Hello everyone! I haven't visited here in a while, so I decided to play a little and immediately came across a map continuing the adventures of Sigrif, son of a demon, which made me incredibly happy because I remember how interesting the previous maps were.

I downloaded the latest version of the map and played in "hero" mode.
I completed it in 56 days and received a Thunderlord. I will write a more detailed battle report later. The impression from the map is as always awesome – it’s an amazing hard challenge! Every turn requires careful consideration and weighing on both strategic and tactical maps, for which HUGE THANKS to the author!
The only thing that upset me was that it wasn't necessary to explore most of the map.

Thank you for the very detailed description; I am glad that you liked the map. I also recommend trying out this map

Thank you!
I downloaded the map, and I'll definitely play it when I have time and let you know. :)
I'm afraid it won't be soon – my vacation is over. :(

P.S.

first, destroy the catapult (then it stays near the castle walls).

I don't understand how this is possible, because Grobok fires the ballista 4 times on the first turn!!!!! At the same time, it always (I checked many times) completely destroys the castle gate and one of the defensive towers!

If you're talking about the catapult – since it breaks through walls, unlike a ballista – then the "Sulfur Rain" ability, which is essential for obtaining the special ability "Pure Rage," grants 3 shots, plus the Ring of the Magi provides one additional shot. After destroying the secondary, high-level heroes of the enemy, they very often ended up in the tavern – I bought a level 26 mage, gave him "Arcane Mastery" from the mentor, and among the Chaos magic, I somehow found "Devil's Strike," which is 2.5 times more powerful than "Meteor Shower" – it feels a bit too overpowered. And then there are the theological inconsistencies in connecting the events with the previous maps and the original campaign: I know about balance and all that, but where did the Ring of Dominion go? Sigrif has no one left to hide from, so he should be able to attack everyone without restrictions:smile14:. Why did Askh turn to Marcel, who clearly isn't a reliable servant:smile16: – he's just a schemer who, under the guise of serving Askh, only craves power. In my opinion, Arantir would have been a more worthy candidate. Why couldn't Askh appear before Sigrif and confront him – unlike Urgash, she has no restrictions on her freedom of movement. If she doesn't want to do it herself, she could send Arkath, who has already stood in Sigrif's way, or any other of her dragon children – it's not just petty squabbles between mortals, but something that directly threatens her personally and the world order she has established. Otherwise, the gods – the pillars of creation – but when it comes down to it, they hide – let the mortals handle it! However, this is often the case in world religions as well – just think of the ancient Greeks, where the gods only did things like chase after other people's wives, and when it came to killing some hydra or sea monster, they would say, "Heracles! (or Perseus) Save us!" In the previous scenario, when we freed the souls of the heroes imprisoned by Urgash in the depths of hell, the souls were freed, but where did they dig up the original bodies to match these souls? :smile34: Zehir turned Marcel to dust when he killed him, and he did it specifically so that no one could resurrect him (by the way, it's unclear where the artifact "Marcel's Skull" could have appeared from if the skull was also turned to dust). And since they managed to raise everyone, not as ghosts, but by fully restoring their physical bodies, why did they screw over Nicholas by putting him in the body of a vampire, which Marcel transformed him into, instead of resurrecting him as he was before his first death at the hands of Agrael? Or is the love triangle between Nicholas, Isabel, and Railag in the campaign scenario already too much? And the power in the Griffin Empire would have to be returned to him as the rightful king. P.S. Too many words:smile33:, but what else is there to do when there are still 2 hours until work, and I can't fall asleep?

If you're talking about the catapult – the one that breaches walls, not the ballista – then the "sulfur rain" ability, which is essential for obtaining the special ability "pure rage," grants 3 shots. Plus, the Ring of the Magi provides one additional shot.

Of course, I'm talking about the catapult, and I perfectly understand how it can fire 4 times. :)
What surprised me was something else:

first destroying the catapult (then he [Grobok] hangs around near the castle walls).

I didn't understand how it was possible to hide behind the castle walls after destroying the catapult, if it moves before all the units capable of destroying it and immediately creates a breach in the walls, and sometimes even several breaches. Or does Grobok have different specializations each time?

P.S. As for the ancient Greek gods, it's not befitting for them to crush lesser beings; they fought the Titans once, and that's enough. That's why they created Heracles, Perseus, and other Castor and Pollux types. :)
By the way, all these heroes were also demigods and found a place in the pantheon (they were, after all, the children of Zeus himself).

And what about the theological inconsistencies regarding the connection of events with previous maps and the original campaign? :p - I know that balance and everything else are important, but where did the Ring of Dominion go? Sigrif has no one left to hide from, so he should be free to crush everyone without restrictions:smile14:

It was destroyed when Sigrif transformed from a Titan into a demon.

Why did Ash seek out Marcel, who clearly isn't a reliable servant? :smile16: - He's just a schemer who, under the guise of serving Ash, only craved power. IMO, Arantir would have been a more worthy candidate.

- He saw everything with his own eyes;
- His return to the world of the living is the best proof for everyone else that something is wrong;
- He won't step on the same rake twice.

Why can't Ash appear before Sigrif herself and deal with him - unlike Urgash, she has no restrictions on her freedom of movement.

After the battle, the wounded Ash withdraws from affairs, retreating into the depths of the moon. There, she rests, heals her wounds, and has dreams.

It's too much trouble for her - send Arkat, who has already stood in Sigrif's way or any other of her dragon children - it's not just petty squabbles between mortals, but something that directly threatens her personally and the world order she has established. Otherwise, the gods - pillars of creation - but when it comes down to it, they immediately hide - mortals, save us! In fact, the same thing often happens in world religions - just remember the ancient Greeks, whose gods could only chase after other people's wives, and when it came to killing some hydra or sea monster - "Heracles! (or Perseus) Save us!"

It's not the gods' business to "get involved" in wars for mortals.
Arkat acted rashly in this regard, but that's typical of him:

The Dragon of Fire is rash, hasty in his actions, and irritable. He is selfish, quick-tempered, and fierce in battle, driven by emotions and impulses.

He protects the remnants of the dwarves in the north.

In the previous scenario, when we freed the souls of heroes imprisoned by Urgash in the depths of the underworld - the souls were freed, but where did they dig up the original bodies for these souls? :smile34: Zehir turned Marcel to dust when he killed him, and he did so specifically to prevent anyone from resurrecting him.

The physical shell is not as important as the spirit; it can be reborn.

(by the way, it's unclear where the artifact "Skull of Marcel" could have appeared if the skull was also turned to dust).

I don't remember the description of the artifact, but I always thought that Marcel's skull is not specifically his skull, but someone else's skull that he always carried with him (like Yorick's skull from Hamlet).

And since they managed to raise everyone, not as ghosts, but by fully restoring the physical shell - why did they screw over Nicholas, putting him in the body of a vampire, which Marcel turned him into, instead of resurrecting him as he was before his first death at the hands of Agrail?

But his soul is cursed. It cannot be restored.

I don't remember the artifact's description, but I always thought that Marckel's skull wasn't specifically his skull, but rather someone else's skull that he always carried around.

In Vitaly Zykov's series of books dedicated to the adventures of Kirsan Kaifat (a Russian programmer who ends up in another world), there is a plotline in which the great necromancer Marckel gives his body to a necromantic apprentice (I don't remember the name) to complete a task, during which the apprentice dies (killed by the great dark elf Vorek Minosh). As a result, Marckel, returning to his body, sees that it has been killed, and the last thing he manages to do is turn himself into a Lich and command him to start a war with the whole world. The armies of the undead, raised by him, destroy the pirate-barbarians of the Serpent Archipelago, and then attack the island of mages, Nold, where the Lich is finally stopped and beheaded, and this is how this artifact appears.

In general, I personally really enjoyed this series of books, I recommend it (sometimes it seems that he writes under the influence of the Heroes game, although much of modern world politics can also be seen in it).

http://zayci-tyt.ru/books/122984-polnaya-seriya-vitaliya-zykova-doroga-domoy-7-knig-2004-2015-fb2.html

sorry for the slight off-topic ;)

I don't remember the artifact's description, but I always thought that Marchel's skull wasn't specifically his skull, but rather a skull that he always carried with him (similar to Yorick's skull from Hamlet).

In fact, artifacts don't have descriptions, except for their characteristics and other effects.
He carried Fiona's skull, judging by one of the sphinx's riddles. Although, I doubt it's Marchel's skull, and not Marchel himself.

It is not the gods' business to "get involved" in wars for mortals.

Hmm, the outcome of the first battle between Ashah and Urgash is that Ashah's created world suffered severe damage, she expended colossal forces that she cannot recover for centuries, Sar-Ilam perished, who, as I understand, was her lover (and after whose death Ashah's tears appeared) - and what is the result? They built a fence with holes, through which all demons can roam, except for Urgash himself, as soon as Ashah's vigilance over them weakens (during lunar eclipses)? And Urgash himself only temporarily weakened after the battle and has already regained his strength for a new attack - as soon as Sigrif finds a way to free him. And destroying Sigrif and preventing Urgash from breaking free (and it is not at all certain that Ashah will defeat him in a new battle) - are these minor wars of mortals? No, a constant watch by all the dragon children around Urgash's prison is needed - like the ancient Greek Hecatoncheires tirelessly guarding Tartarus with the Titans cast down from Olympus and imprisoned there.

The physical shell is not as important as the spiritual one; it can be reborn.

It can be reborn - the question is, into what? Remember the headache the archangels had in the sixth part, trying to resurrect Michael first - and even then, there was a scene where he, while inhabiting the body of a volunteer, struggles with the soul that originally resided there. And with their common mother, it was a complete failure. And in the Devil's realm, where can one find suitable bodies for the freed souls? It's easy with Biara - they caught the nearest succubus and shoved her in. :D And the rest? Speaking metaphorically, you dropped a heavy weight on a computer - the computer is shattered, but the computer's soul - the hard drive with all the information - you saved. And if this was (conditionally) the control computer for a lathe, would you put its hard drive (soul) into a vacuum cleaner (the nearest demon from the Devil's realm)? Necromancy is quite a complex engineering undertaking - to assemble a body, and even then, if you want to get a standard Frankenstein....:smile30: And a complete resurrection in the smallest details is already an art, a unique product.

And his soul is cursed. It cannot be restored.

What does it mean to be cursed? He served Elrath - a dragon of light, Ashah's son. After being resurrected by Markel, he became a direct servant - albeit unwillingly - of one of Ashah's aspects. If they had turned him to serve Urgash, he would definitely have been cursed by Ashah and her children. But this is the same as serving one of the bishops, and then switching to serve the Pope directly - it's the same organization. If he had run away to some mullah, then yes, he would be excommunicated (from Ashana). And even if he is cursed - what was his (soul) cursed with? The fact that it was forcibly shoved back into the prison of a half-rotten body? Urgash is cursed in the same way - forcibly shoved into a prison (and it was built by guest workers, judging by how leaky it turned out). After being released from the Devil's prison, all souls were in equal conditions - but for some reason, everyone except Nicholas got normal bodies, and he was shoved back into a half-rotten carcass.

Hmm...
I have a question: are there any plans to continue the saga and combine these scenarios into a campaign?