Maahir's Gambit

[Panda Tar]

Does anybody played that map?

If yes, can anyone give me a tip of how much time do we have to find those darn artifacts? Time changes and there's not a clue of where they are. It seems they appear randomly on the map which is an absurd.

I'd like some help - because I want to play with Academy a bit, since I'm really bored playing the Sylvan campaign by now, stuck on map 3.

[LordErtz]

I don't actually think there is a time restriction on that map. I ended up killing the enemy hero before collecting the 4 artifacts.

[Panda Tar]

And How much time have you spent on that?

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

It is possible to lose that map very early. The computer can buy those artifacts from any artifact merchant if they are available. There are, I think 4 artifact merchants placed on the map and artifact merchants can be built in any wizard or warlock town.

The map needs to be reworked to do something like give the artifacts to the player in different quest huts otherwise you may lose in the first month.

GOW

[Panda Tar]

That's odd, isn't it?

That's mostly a matter of luck for you to win, it seems? I have found the staff one time being held by Water elementals. After winning it, I thought it would stop losing because of it, but 1 week later: "Maahir's lost all his hope on...blah...blah..." YOU LOSE.

I'll try again, because I really don't want to bother playing with Sylvan one more time for now.

[Ya5MieL]

I played that map twice and both times artifacts had same location.. and were guarded by different type of elementals each... so 4 types of elemental guardians (many of them) for each artifact.

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

I played that map twice and both times artifacts had same location.. and were guarded by different type of elementals each... so 4 types of elemental guardians (many of them) for each artifact.

Yes the placed artifacts will always be in the same location but sometimes they show up in the artifact merchants as well. When that happens the computer can buy one and you will lose.

GOW

[Panda Tar]

That explains why there's no time defined. Sometimes I last 2 months, others 2 weeks.

[strat]

This map is giving me fits too, I lost the first time at Week 5, Day 3, Month 3. So, the time limit varies? Is it dependent on when/if the computer AI buys one of the key artifacts? Also, I visited the hut of the magi after entering the underground for the first time, then worked my way over to what it revealed, only to find a dead end, though an interesting battle with pit lords ensued, as I only had 4 obsidians and 40 steel golems to fight them. Fun fight, but no artifacts found.

[Panda Tar]

Week 5?

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

This map is giving me fits too, I lost the first time at Week 5, Day 3, Month 3. So, the time limit varies? Is it dependent on when/if the computer AI buys one of the key artifacts?

I lost the last 2 times I tried to play the map. Earky like you did. The mapmaker forgot that the computer can buy the artifacts instead of just find them.

If Nival doesn't fix it with the patch we can fix it when the editor comes out.

GOW

[Lady Farquad]

This map is giving me fits too, I lost the first time at Week 5, Day 3, Month 3.

Where did you buy your copy? I want 5 weeks months too!
Just kidding you

[strat]

That's how frustrating this map is, makes you miscount weeks! I've lost three times now...even after discovering my "wrong turn" underground. The last time, I fought some water elementals, and won one of the artifacts, then got shut down before finding another. I hate to lay a scenario aside, but yeah, can't wait to edit this one.

[Mytical]

This is a ridiculously difficult map. Not only do you move slow over your 'native' terrain for some reason, but your enemy seems to be able to eat up ground faster then a dragon can gobble a baby chicken. I have been lucky and never lost to the computer do to them buying the artifacts. Have had them knocking on my door before I could say...huh how'd they get there; however. One tactic that seems to work is starting with a 2nd hero rather early to cover more ground. Sadly this sets your building behind a day, and you need all the forces you can muster. Leave upgrades till later, focus on getting the production on the various tiers first. When possible leave your golems and gargoyles at home, and build there numbers up. They make decent town defenders while doing so, but I warn you you will deffinately need to takes as many with you as you can at first...every unit counts.

Town building should be : Halls (for money) 1st, basic creature production 2nd, mage guild next, and as soon as you can get the djinn production booster for even more money a turn. Again, till you have all the basic creature producers (including the colossi one) try to hold off on upgrades, yes they are very useful but you need the production worse in this map. Build up your walls also so you produce even more. Sadly this is expensive and may have to wait as much as possible. Once you have secured a decent ammount of resource production, your first extra hero should return to the town, and another should be bought to go exploring. You need a good deffender in your town, but can not spare your main.


Either I crashed the computer once, or there is a limit to how many phantom forces you can have on the screen at once hehe. It was a really long battle against the computer, we each had lots and lots of creatures. I was playing academy, the computer had chosen necropolipse. I marked my archmagi so that each time I cast a spell it too would benifit from it, then started to phantom force it every time my turn came along (since I was playing Jhora (or however you spell that name) that was pretty frequent). My forces ganged up on there liches and as soon as they were down I started to see some major gains. Gaining 2 stacks of Archmagi everytime you turn arround turns the tide of battle pretty quick. Even when they did take out the phantom forces more took there place, and since they surrounded my magi, they were pretty safe. My original archimagi could not shoot, so they deffended, the copies more then made up for loosing them though. Even the umpteen million skeletons soon felt the sting of loosing so many every time they blinked. Eventually I could not copy them without moving copies, so half moved, half attacked. Then things started bogging down, and eventually I could not copy again...then my computer crashed...would not suggest this vs an opponit that has aoe spells tho. (he seemed to have dark and summons (animate dead))

[Bonzer]

You can partially prevent the AI from buying these artefacts if you have your own artefact merchant in your main town. Leave a Hero there to run around for housekeeping, and whenever the Guild changes stock check it to see what's new. I think it changes once a month, possibly on Day 1 week 1. Of course you have to have the spare cash for the guild and artefact in case it appears, but you get to go first each day, so can beat the AI to the goodies.

This of course won't prevent them from buying at the "wagons" placed on the map, nor from beating you to the main placed items.

The best you can do is raise your own odds with your own merchant. If you can afford it.

Personally, I'll wait for the editor. I know if you get one or two, the enemy can still with one. So I think a more logical win scenario would be if the winner was the first to hold all four. That way, you could beat an enemy in combat and take one he had paid for.

[tumorbane]

yes, this map is screwed. I have tried it multiple times, all on hard v1.2. As said above, sometimes I get the staff from the water elementals in the haven-like area but I never find another artifact and usually after around 2 months it says the enemy has the artifact and I lose. Once this happened after 2 weeks.

Once, I made it to the pit lord dead end area only to be faced by a well-armied Zoltan. Actually, I could've won that battle but for some reason, it wouldn't let me cast phantom forces or ressurection after a couple of times, despite nearly full mana (is there some limit on how many times they can be cast in a battle or some way to prevent their casting?).

Regardless, I recommend avoiding this until the next patch or whatever.

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

Once, I made it to the pit lord dead end area only to be faced by a well-armied Zoltan. Actually, I could've won that battle but for some reason, it wouldn't let me cast phantom forces or ressurection after a couple of times, despite nearly full mana (is there some limit on how many times they can be cast in a battle or some way to prevent their casting?).

There is a necro ability that has a chance of preventing you from casting a spell again that you have already cast that battle.

GOW

[strat]

There is a necro ability that has a chance of preventing you from casting a spell again that you have already cast that battle.

Good to know! I'm not sure if I'll try this map again before the editor or a patch comes out. It is an absolute must to build up your main hero by visiting the Sphinx on your native terrain (south of your town). The questions are easy (or you can save and try over), and you can gain a lot of experience that will enable you to raise levels and acquire skills, especially the Summon Creature spell. I had Maahir built up to around 15th level, and Jhora up to 8th., but alas, had found only one artifact before being rudely evicted from the map...have to move quicker.

[tumorbane]

There is a necro ability that has a chance of preventing you from casting a spell again that you have already cast that battle.

GOW[/quote]

Wizardly advice indeed! I wonder what it's called.

I have certainly used the sphinx exploit and I assure you, on v1.2, hard there is no way to move quickly enough to matter.

[magerette]

Glad I caught this thread as I was just about to start this map. Thanks for the heads-up.

Is there any non-campaign map that's really worth playing? I've started a couple and they just seem stale--either impossibly hard or easier but flat.
Can't wait for the ME and everyone's creative juices to start flowing!