Posts from The Hero's Path

The best scenario for Heroes (out of the ones I've played). I'm stuck on the catapult part; I've searched all the mountains and tried to summon it everywhere, but it won't work. I would be grateful if someone could tell me the coordinates where it should be.

brenodi, along the river, where it flows near the mountain, in places where there is a small patch of free land, at least 3 by 3 cells. There are many such places. Or from the side of the swamp, following the same principle.

Putting off the inevitable for a long time, knowing about the large number of new mechanics and unconventional hero gameplay, I finally tried the much-hyped map - Path of the Hero. From the very first minutes of the game, the author informs the player that this is not just a scenario with 5 heroes, but a separate game with a large amount of text, quests, new mechanics, and spells. Perhaps this is what made me abandon the playthrough back in 2017. Now, after completing the scenario, I want to share my thoughts about it.

Pros [+]

Landscape design. The first thing I pay attention to is the environment. It is done at the highest level here. So many beautiful and interesting places. The author squeezed everything out of the classic map editor - cities, forests, bodies of water, mountain ranges, and dungeons. Moreover, I want to draw attention to how the author used old models from the alpha version of the game; despite their outdated and contrasting appearance, the objects look cohesive and perfectly complement the overall picture of the world. It was very interesting to explore the map. Top score for the design - 10/10

Quests. During my first interaction with an object, I was immediately given a quest to build a port for 200 wood. I thought that all the quests would be just as boring, but I was surprised that this was not the case at all. Just like in the Mercenaries and Outcast scenarios, almost all quests have a continuation, and the ending of the quest lines depends only on the player's decision. I was also pleased with some unconventional quests, such as turning off the lights in Winded, fighting a dragon, or solving a puzzle in a pyramid. I liked the non-linear completion of secondary quests and their optionality in completing the map on Hero difficulty. The player is not constrained by the obligation to complete all quests in order to complete the map on Hero difficulty. Score for quest implementation: 10/10

Development. It is interesting to explore the map not only thanks to the author's talent for drawing beautiful landscapes, but also because of the complex and interesting battles. Most of the troops here are divided into non-trivial units, which are interesting to fight. As you progress, new creature units will appear again in the places where you killed them. This allows you to gain more experience, resources, artifacts, and complete a contract to kill in one of the quest objects. Of course, there are also difficult bosses here, which require their own special approach. This aspect is done perfectly - 10/10

Special mechanics. As you progress, you unlock new possibilities - potion making and rune magic. Unfortunately, I didn't immediately grasp the full power of these mechanics, so I started using them actively only in the second half of the game. Potions were especially helpful in the battle with the final boss, whom I literally overdosed with them. 10/10

Replayability. Many options for completing quests and choosing a starting skill - this is very cool. If after the first playthrough there is a desire to replay it differently, this is a sign of a good and well-developed map.

Cons [~]

Plot. This is a purely subjective drawback, which, however, will not affect the final score, but I cannot fail to mention it. Although the quests seemed interesting to me, the plot seemed too boring. Jokes like waiting in line at a clinic seem dull and annoying to me. I know that many people will like this kind of humor, but definitely not me. I didn't like the plot characters. IMHO

Minuses [-]

Night. In my opinion, the biggest drawback is day 6. Maybe on stationary computers, you can adjust the brightness and contrast on the monitor, but on a laptop, no matter what you do, you can't see anything. My eyes literally started to hurt after an hour of playing. I had to periodically do eye exercises.

Thoughts and suggestions [🧠]

During my first playthrough, I made an unsuccessful build into machines and light. Until I met the mentor at the end of the game, I struggled with battles, healing the horses with regeneration. I would like the mentor to be a little earlier in the game, for example, closer to Binum.

Conclusion [🏁]

In conclusion, it is clear that a huge amount of effort was put into the map. This map gave me many pleasant emotions. Undoubtedly, the best quest-based scenario for Heroes 5. Many thanks to Jack_of_shadows for this inspiring scenario. Final score 9.5/10

A very interesting map, but the scarcity of trees spoils the enjoyment for those who like to complete everything – I ran past the flat trees in the east, ran past the trees near Zakutag's sawmill, and looked at the trees a few steps from the crypt with mercenaries/at the entrance to the Blackrock fortress. And that's it. The other two just won't be found, but if I missed one type somewhere, well, that means I'm blind (though I wouldn't refuse a hint), but the suspicious, crooked trees on the island to the east of the island with Captain Bronwer – and nothing. No surprises from the main character, except for "oh, who cares." And there's nothing to tell the biologists – i.e., for the main character, these trees were not of academic interest before either.

What should I do?

Tomato peel, a difficult quest, no doubt about it. On the island, these are standard desert trees. [spoiler=Hint 1]Near the Berian Heights.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Hint 2]In the starting location, slightly south of Archild.[/spoiler]

Jack_of_shadows, yes, I found it near the Berian Heights; I'll check near Archild as well. However, I must admit, it would be both easier and more interesting to find the tree based on its description rather than its location.

Edit: Yes, thank you for the tip.