Walkthroughs


Crag Hack must acquire the Rib Cage of Power from one of the Liches haunting the swamp of Ferris to win the scenario. However, if Crag Hack is defeated in combat, the scenario is lost. Crag Hack is limited to level 20 but will carry over his experience, skills and spells on to the next scenario.

Starting Bonus: 40 Wolf Raiders or 30 Orc Chiefains or 5 Ogres

Maps


Click on a map to see a larger version.

Green - Friendly Town
Red - Enemy Town
Grey - Neutral Town
Yellow - Underground Passage

A# - Allied Towns
O# - Opponent Towns (a,b,c,d,e,f,g indicates which enemy)
N# - Neutral Towns
M# - Mirror Entrances (a) and exits (b). two-way unless stated
E# - Exit (a) entrance and (b) exit
S# - Seer (a) and the location of the item (b)
G# - Guard Tents (a) and the location of the Guard Tower (b)
J - Jail
X - Ambush

Starting Out

Since you'll be facing a lot of undead and ranged shooters, the 30 Orc Chieftains might be a good choice. There are also a lot of wandering stacks of Orcs and Orc Chieftains so having some in your army will make them more likely to join you, especially if you have the Diplomacy skill. Personally, I always use Cyclops and Cyclops Kings if I want a ranged troop so I picked the 5 Ogres. However, both are viable alternatives so pick the one that fits your playing style.

This map is a refreshing breather from the last map but don't think you can hang back and attack in month 3 because the enemy heroes are at level 18 and will decimate you.

First Leg

You start out with no town but one is close by, behind a Guard Tower so your first task is to find the Guard Tent at G1a which is south of your town along the yellow path. Don't stop to pick up any resources since you want to start producing troops as soon as possible. Once you've done that, spend the first two to three weeks exploring the area close to your town along the yellow paths. Hiring a secondary hero to pick up the many resource piles is a good idea, especially after Crag attacks the wandering stacks defending some of them. Be sure to flag the Roc and Ogre creature dwellings every week since they'll enable you to go on the offensive much sooner. Don't bother building the upgraded creature buildings since there's a Hill Fort to the west of O1a which can upgrade them at a much cheaper cost. I used the typical Thunderbirds, Ogre Magi, and Ancient Behemoths Stronghold army that has helped me out so well before. Before you start the offense, go down E1a to visit the black tent since you'll need it to win the map. I suggest start attacking at the start of the third week so the enemy won't have an overwhelming force.

Second Leg

Now you are going to take over the first two enemy towns by following the red path to the Hill Fort to upgrade your army and then east to O1a. One good idea is to give your secondary hero all of the troops you don't want and have him follow you to pick flag resource mines. Make sure there are no enemy heroes in the area and head east along the red path to O2a. Check for enemy heroes and then travel north to the last neutral town. Now you can relax a bit since the computer doesn't seem to want to come up through the gate separating your land and theirs. In addition, there's no rush to take over the last enemy town because G4a, which opens G4b to get to O3a, is inside G4b so you can't get to it.

Finishing Up

Once you've replenished your troops (if necessary) you can follow the purple path to get the Ribcage. If Crag is below level 20, you might want to fight a couple of the Power Liche stacks or even take on one of the enemy heroes if you feel up to it. The next map is going to be awful so gaining a level or two will be helpful. There aren't many places of learning in the area by O3a so you won't gain anything by traveling through the area. So make your way to the extreme southeast corner to get the Rib Cage of Power from the wandering stack of Power Liches to win the map.


Comments (1)   

Seize the Blackshard of the Dead Knight from Marzeth to win the scenario. However, if Crag Hack is defeated in combat, the scenario is lost. Crag Hack is limited to level 15 but will carry over his experience, skills and spells on to the next scenario.

Starting Bonus: Upgraded Orc Tower or 5000 gold or Gnoll's Flail.

Maps


Click on a map to see a larger version.

Green - Friendly Town
Red - Enemy Town
Grey - Neutral Town
Yellow - Underground Passage

A# - Allied Towns
O# - Opponent Towns (a,b,c,d,e,f,g indicates which enemy)
N# - Neutral Towns
M# - Mirror Entrances (a) and exits (b). two-way unless stated
E# - Exit (a) entrance and (b) exit
S# - Seer (a) and the location of the item (b)
G# - Guard Tents (a) and the location of the Guard Tower (b)
J - Jail
X - Ambush

Starting Out

I recommending picking the 5,000 gold as your bonus as Orcs won't be the mainstay of your army and you'll find a better weapon to use than the Gnoll's Flail. The 5,000 gold is especially useful if you're playing on a harder difficulty level as your starting town is limited to the Town Hall which only produces 500 gold per day.

This map is one of the most frustrating I've ever played and while I was only able to beat it by turning the difficulty down to Easy, I am confident that my tactics will work on whatever difficulty you play at.

First Leg

You start out with a Stronghold that can't build past a Town Hall or a Tavern and is not built-up at all. There's another Stronghold to the west past the wandering stack of Ogre Magi that can build a City Hall and Tavern, but can't build a Fort and is severely limited in what it can build. Meanwhile, the enemy has three towns that are built up and only have very minor restrictions (no Portals of Glory) and many creature generators which the computer has no compunction about visiting every week. You also have to visit Guard Tents to be able to reach these towns which takes days of travel time. Days that the computer uses to acquire more and more troops. The key to victory is speed and in making your way to enemy territory as fast as possible. Therefore, the first two to three weeks should be spent picking up wood, ore, gold, and gold mines near your area while you collect as many Ogre Magi, Rocs/Thunderbirds, and Behemoths/Ancient Behemoths as possible. You could replace the Rocs/Thunderbirds with Cyclops Kings but since I had Expert Ballistics that wasn't a priority for me. Once you have these troops, head west on the blue path to grab N1 and defeat any hero you see if you think you can defeat them. Better get them now then later when they come back with a huge army.

You will probably lose both A1 and N1 later but they provide you with gold and resources while you have them. Continue west along the red path to find 2 Fairie Dragons that you have to defeat to get to G1a to get past G1b that is the only way to get to the enemy territory. The enemy doesn't seem to want to attack this wandering stack and I wouldn't suggest waiting until they do. However, your Ancient Behemoths should be able to kill them easily so if you have Haste, now is the time to use it. Ignore the other goodies lying around as you can hire a hero from N1 to grab them for you. Crag Hack should go back east on the red path and then south. Depending on what day of the week it is and how many troops are in A1, you can always use a hero to shuttle them to replenish any troops Crag lost. However, Crag shouldn't go back to A1 himself since every day you dawdle is a day the computer is using to amass more troops.

Second Leg

Once you've made it past G1b, grab the +1 Attack Skill and head south on the red line. There's an ambush of 60 Swordsmen and one Crusader but they will probably be more an annoyance than a threat. You now see the first town you have to overtake but you can't get to it because there's a gate just in front of that requires you visiting a tent first. At this point you can have Crag visit G2a (north along the red path) or you can bring along a secondary hero to do that while Crag flags mines and visits the Merletto Tower for the +1 Defense. Either way, have Crag attack O1a, preferably before day 1 so the enemy doesn't have fresh troops to hire. It seems that the computer always hires all of the troops that were available before you attacked so you can't count on any reinforcements after capturing the castles. However, if you took over O1a near the end of the week you can always hire a hero there to ferry you troops at the start of the next week. Whatever you decide to do, don't dawdle and have Crag follow the orange path to the southeast.

Third Leg

If you follow the orange path you'll come across an ungaurded O2a which you can attack if you wish. It might be a good idea as the enemy hero(es) like to hang around this area so you can take advantage of the Magic Plain to use View Air to determine where they are. If one is close by, it would be a good idea to attack them when they're outside of a castle. You'll have enough problems with being outnumbered without having to deal with the Archer Towers too. Plus, if you attack them before they can get reinforcements that will make the battle go much easier. Once you've defeated any hero which is close by and taken over O2a, you can focus on O3a and any other heroes which may still be active. First though, you have to visit a Guard Tent at G3a which is southwest of O3a. As with O2a, if you see an enemy hero heading for O3a to get reinforcements, it's best to try to cut them off by defeating them in battle than in trying to get to G3a first. Once they're gone, you can go to G3a and then attack O3a since you'll face a hopefully much smaller army. Once you've defeated all of the enemy heroes and taken over all three towns you can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Marzeth is underground and won't venture to the surface so you're free to amass a huge army and have Crag visit all of the places of learning.

Finishing Up

There are only a few places of learning that you should make it a point to visit. There's the School of War which is east of O2a, Marletto's tower which is northwest of O1a, the Star Axis south of A1, and the Arena southeast of O3a. There are a lot of Witch's Huts but have a secondary hero visit them since you don't want to saddle Crag with a bad skill. Since no other hero travels with you, you don't have to take the time to level them up despite there being a very handy Altar of Sacrifice on the way to the underground. I doubt you'll need it as Crag will probably have reached the level 15 limit with all of the fighting he engaged in. Once you have a huge army, go underground and face Marzeth. It should be a piece of cake to what you had to go through to get this far since he doesn't have a lot of troops, his primary stats will be lower than yours, and he doesn't have any powerful magic spells. Once you've defeated him you'll get the Blackshard to earn a much deserved victory.


Comments (10)   

Crag Hack must seize the first artifact Sandro requires, the Skull Helmet, from Barshon the Barbarian to win the scenario. However, if Crag Hack is defeated in combat, the scenario is lost. Crag Hack is limited to level 10 but will carry over his experience, skills and spells on to the next scenario.

Starting Bonus: 40 Goblins or 20 Wolf Riders or 15 Orcs.

Maps


Click on a map to see a larger version.

Green - Friendly Town
Red - Enemy Town
Grey - Neutral Town
Yellow - Underground Passage

A# - Allied Towns
O# - Opponent Towns (a,b,c,d,e,f,g indicates which enemy)
N# - Neutral Towns
M# - Mirror Entrances (a) and exits (b). two-way unless stated
E# - Exit (a) entrance and (b) exit
S# - Seer (a) and the location of the item (b)
G# - Guard Tents (a) and the location of the Guard Tower (b)
J - Jail
X - Ambush

Starting Out

I recommend taking the 15 Orcs as your starting bonus because of their very useful ranged attack and because they have the most health out of the choices.

First Leg

You start out in the southeast corner without a town so your first goal is to follow the road up to the northwest to conquer the town before you are eliminated. You have to defeat an enemy first but with the Orcs you will emerge victorious with few casualties. Once you take over N1 you find that you have another problem as you won't be able to build either a Tavern or a Capitol. Once you have hired the troops available at N1, continue along the blue path to the northeast past the Hill Fort and to a Tavern where you can hire two heroes. Give Crag the extra troops and have these two heros flagging mines and picking up loose resources. There are a few recruiting structures so be sure to have Crag visit them for the much needed extra troops. You will likely be hurting for money so be sure to make flagging the gold mines and picking up gold a top priority. There's a mine to your southwest of N1 that you can easily flag and should as soon as possible.

While you're getting gold and resources, I recommend that you get Rocs and the Citadel along with as many of the prerequisites for the City Hall as you're able to afford. The second week get the City Hall, a Castle, Ogres, and Behemoths at the very least. Don't bother getting the upgraded buildings as you will use the Hill Fort.

Second Leg

Around the fourth week or the start of the second month, the Red enemy will likely defeat the dragons separating their area from yours which means that you should be ready to use the Hill Fort and face them in battle. What I did was have Crag take the Thunderbirds, Ancient Behemoths, and Ogre Magi and leave the other troops at the Castle along with an extra hero. That was Crag could concentrate on the enemy heroes with the larger amount of troops while letting the other hero defeat scouts and weaker enemies with the lower-level creatures. There will be some good battles here but with Crag's superior attack skill and magic skills (Mass Haste will help you a lot) you will emerge superior with the red enemy defeated. Just be sure to not advance until you have defeated the enemy heroes that are near each town you take over as there's nothing more irritating than an enemy who slips in behind your advance. You might not have View Air so you can always stay an extra day at a town you just took over to see if the enemy tries to take it back. After defeating them in the safety of the town, then you can advance along the red path and defeat the red enemy.

Now you can relax and have Crag visit any of the Places of Learning and increase his level until he has reached level 10. There are quite a few Witch's Huts so have your secondary heroes visit them and give Crag what you think are the best. One question I have when playing a Might hero who will travel from map to map is whether to give him Wisdom or not. Since you will have many opportunities to get level 4 and 5 Mage Guilds and since getting Town Portal will be very important I think that the answer to this question should be yes. If you do decide to get Wisdom, be sure to build the level 4 Mage Guild in N2 as well as the level 3 Mage Guilds in the rest of the towns. While Crag won't have as high of Power or Knowledge as a Magic hero will (even after visiting all of the places of learning) the benefits that high-level Earth and/or Air magic have are too important to pass up.

Finishing Up

When you're ready to end this map, visit G1a which is northwest of N1 which opens up G1b which can be found northeast of O2a and lets you have access to G2a. Now have Crag travel through the underground at E1a which is southeast of O1a, go through G2b, and attack the 80 Trolls which completes the quest at the tower guarding the only entrance into Barshon the Barbarian's territory which was your goal from the very start. Be sure to give Crag additional troops and attack Barshon. He shouldn't have any Behemoths but will have quite a few Thunderbirds. After defeating him, you will have won this map.


Comments (1)   

The Scoring System

The recent start of Round Table Battles pumped a wave of enthusiasm into Heroes IV players. Now we have a nice competition anyone can join, no matter how good a connection or how much patience he or she has -- we can play in the comfort of our homes, whenever we have time, so there's no worry about whether an opponent will be available online. The goal: to get as many points as possible, without using any cheat. How do we fulfill the goal? This article presents my ideas on the subject, with the map Hero Wanted as a case study.

Hero WantedIn maps such as "Hero Wanted", a favorable initial setup is critical to getting a high score.

 

The scoring system has evolved drastically throughout the Heroes series. In H2 a final score was based solely on map difficulty and time to complete a map. Heroes 3 improved the formula to take into account the number of cities owned, the grail and all enemies destroyed. Heroes 4 went even further, as the final score is based on no less than 11 variables: Player's chosen difficulty, map difficulty, time taken, battles won, army strength, wealth, quests completed, artifacts gathered, completeness of exploration, best hero and towns owned (as shown at the end of any scenario). They are further modified by map size and possibly other factors as well. It is important to realize HOW these variables affect final score:

- Player and map difficulty form the basis of a score. Simply put, the higher the difficulty the higher the basic score.

- Time to complete a map is another major factor. For every (even partial) week you spend in game the basic score decreases. It's important to note that the decrease is not linear, that after the first week you lose far more points than after the second. Curiously enough, there doesn't seem to be any score reduction during 5th to 8th weeks (the second month), after that the score decreases linearly until it reaches zero. Which means that playing on highest difficulty might not be to your advantage after all - Champion gives you a higher basic score, but also a higher rate of decrease - eventually an expert will get more points than champion (the same is true for other difficulties, too).

- All the other variables act as a modifier to the time-based score. Each adds anything between zero and [maximum] bonus points to your score, based on the value of the variable. It is obvious you want to have as much Wealth as possible, but from the point of view of points, once you reach a certain value, anything more won't improve your score - you would be better off with investing that Treasure Chest towards your experience (i.e. towards your Best Hero). The maximum scores are: 72 for battles won, 24 for army value, 48 for wealth, 96 for quests, 76 for artifacts, 12 for exploration, 76 for hero and 120 for towns.

- Note that battles won and quests completed only count since the last Load. Any time you load a game, these variables are reset to zero. Contrary to popular belief it doesn't mean you have to complete a map in one go to get top points - it simply means that you must fight just enough battles and complete enough quests between the last load and the victory. As the points for battles are awarded based on battle difficulty, it can simply mean you have to win just one battle - as long as the computer considers that battle impossible to win.

Hero Wanted Tips

What are the guidelines to getting the top score, then? First and foremost, you must be able to win a given map. If you don't win, you don't get any points. When you start, make sure the setup is favorable enough to be worth playing. Open up the map in editor, locate the goal, then focus on all critical points on your path from the humble beginning to the victory. In Hero Wanted, there are ... such points:

Hero Wanted Minimap Surface
  1. At [49,23] a stack of level 1 creatures is blocking your path to the rest of the map. Level 1 are weak, you say? Right, unless your hero is low-level as well and you are playing on higher difficulties. Hundreds of tiny buggers can overwhelm even the best player.

     

  2. At [50,34] and [55,50] two level-3 stacks stand in your way. The second one probably won't by that critical, though, as to get there you will have to pass...

     

  3. ... an army of level-4s at [33,14 underground]

     

    Hero Wanted Minimap Underground
  4. The fourth critical point is not a combat, but a quest: To pass to the eastern part of the map, you must have Master Leadership. Fortunatelly there's a quest hut that will give you GM Leadership in exchange for 30,000 GP.

     

  5. Finally, there's a sizable level-3 stack at [16,50]

     

What you need to do is to decide how to pass through these critical points, then restart as many times as you need to get a good setup (restart, save, uncover the map through a cheat, decide, turn the cheat off, load/restart). Consider that level-4 army: You can't sneak past it, you will have to defeat it. Can you do it? Do you need some special skills or spells to do so? If you do, it would be wise to focus on researching the possibility of getting the skills/spells, and if it is possible, on making sure you do get them. If you can't think of a way, restart -- next time there might be different guardians in a different setup, and you might be able to pass easily. For example, defeating a band of Titans and a band of Dragon Golems might be impossible, but defeating scores of Cavaliers instead might be much more feasible - as long as you get Slow or Fatigue. Can't get these spells? Restart, the next guardians might not require them...

Now you have a setup you can live with. But is it really the best one? Look at the beginning: There are two treasure chests there, a witch hut, a beastmaster's hut and a blacksmith. Do you really want to play if you only get 1000 XP in those chests, when you could easily have 3000 XP with just a few more restarts? How about the skill selection in those huts? And wouldn't it be beneficial to restart a few times to find a Potion of Immortality available at the blacksmith's? Those would surely help you defeating the guardians of the critical points identified in the previous step...

Finally you have a setup we can win and actually want to play. How do you go about it? By definition of the contest you want to get as many points as possible. Look again at the variables that influence your score - you want to find a way that will not only lead to victory, but also maximize these variables. First and foremost, you don't want to waste time. You want to take the shortest route whenever possible, unless a short detour makes it up in the long run - it might be beneficial "wasting" a few days getting the Equestrian Gloves, as those will supply enough movement points throughout the rest of the map to make the trip worthwhile. The same is true for the hoards of gold near the very end of the game - you might waste a few days, but you will make up for it with wealth and best hero... It might not be worth it to dig for all oracle treasures - a Rinf of Regeneration I got at one oracle was certainly worth it, but did a Scale Mail of Strength really give me enough edge to overcome a day of travelling there and another day of digging? (It's an academic question in my case, as I managed to get it and still win in 8 weeks, so a few days less wouldn't really do anything for me...)

Well, that's about it, really. Well, except for knowing the tricks to use against AI to win, of course. Perhaps I'll write something about them in a future article, though it's quite difficult to tell about them in a way that's understandable to "the uninitiated" :-). Focus on the deficiencies of AI against certain spells or tactical moves (e.g. castle sieges, though that won't happen all that often in Hero Wanted :-)), as well as "exploits" of the game engine (e.g. the preferrence of using wait-attack-attack-repeat tactics to attack-repeat, or the advantages of E Melee over E Combat in some situations and vice versa).


Comments (2)   

I start with a thief, and restart the game until the initial conditions are favorable. I check the altar types (mostly for combat and exploration), the available spells and magic (like summon leprechauns and fatigue or poison), the creature types at [surface,49,23] and at [underground,37,15] and especially the amount in the three first chests. As Pepak said you may start a game, save it, reveal the map (tab nwcprometheus) and decide if is all right; otherwise, undo the cheat (tab nwcprometheus again) and then restart the game, and be patient.

In the beginning, all the chests will go to experience, and the objective is to acquire expert stealth and exploration. I avoid to learn combat because it will be learned on a quest hut very soon. Always check at distance with scouting skills (right clicking) all that you can see; don’t visit or take what you aren’t interested in.

Below is my diary for ‘Hero Wanted’. Some may vary for you, but the essential is here.


Namerutan’s diary for ‘Hero Wanted’

Day 1 – (22 moves) Take resources (mercury, 3), gold (600), emerald (+2 speed), and chest (1500 exp. -> basic pathfinding). It isn’t necessary to go up to the cave. Turn back to the stone (1000 exp. -> advanced scouting) and take the backpack (wizard’s staff).

Day 2 – (22 moves) Take the resources over the well (iron ore, 7), then the chest (1500 exp. -> advanced stealth). Visit the witch hut (learn basic nature, summon wolves), then the beasts master hut (basic tactics). Go to the sapphire.

Day 3 – (22 moves) Take the sapphire (+6 defense), the chest (1500 exp. -> expert scouting) and go to the potion (stealth 76 exp.). There was nothing important for me in the blacksmith (some immortality or cold potions would have been appreciated).

Day 4 – (22 moves) Take the potion (speed) and go through the portal. Visit the stone (stealth 76 exp. and 1000 exp. –> expert stealth). Go to the globes.

Day 5 – (22 moves) Take the globes (stealth 209 exp. and gain 4 moves). Visit the camp (+3 attack), learn the spell (summon leprechauns), visit the fountain (+20% hit points) and go to the potion.

Day 6 – (28 moves) Take the potion (healing). Sell resources in the market to have just 2000 gold and preserve the rest (sell mercury, sulfur and crystal; 600 + 17 x 83 = 2011). Visit the magic school (stealth 94 exp. learn basic death (-2000 gold) and disrupting ray) and go through the portal. Go to the idol.

Day 7 – (28 moves) Visit the idol (+1 morale) and learn the spell on the left top corner (poison).

Day 8 – (28 moves) Go in front of the stack after the bridge (124 troglodytes, stealth 83 exp.) and save the game. Fight:
1 - summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero, the monsters approaches. 2 - cast poison on troglodytes and wait with leprechauns; the troglodytes approaches; move the leprechauns to the upper left corner. 3 – Run with hero to down left, and move the leprechauns to the back of the troglodytes (this distract the monsters one turn); the troglodytes hit the leprechauns (rip). 4 to the end - The hero wait, the monsters approaches, and then the hero runs before they by describing the biggest circle possible on the battlefield (be aware of the obstacles) until the monsters are dead (several loads and lots of battle rounds with each attempt).

Day 8 – (continuation, 4 moves remaining, 331 exp. gained) Save the game and take the sapphire (+6 defense).

Day 9 – (28 moves) Go to commerce with the resources (sell all; 11 gold + 62 x (10 wood + 17 ore) + 125 x (1 sulfur + 5 gems) = 2435). Go to the watering point (+10 moves, due to the globes). Here it might be better to visit the stables before, but I didn’t. Take the wagon (holy water, restoration and luck potions). Take the opal (+ 6 spell points) and go to the blue army (37 orcs).

Day 10 – (28 moves) Save the game. Fight. This battle is easy: summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero, and wait until they dead; them cast again and cast fortune on itself and wait until the orcs approaches. Wait both and attack the orcs with leprechauns and them with hero (avoiding the first retaliation against the hero). End the battle with melee; gained brazier of sulfur and 123 exp.). There was a chest and a fire, but the blue army took it. Take the emerald (+2 speed) and the backpack (plate mail). Take the 3 chests to the left (hidden by vegetation); +500 exp., stealth +75exp., +1500 exp.->advanced pathfinding, +500 exp.). Go to the chest near the shrine.

Day 11 – (28 moves) Take the chest (+500 exp.->expert pathfinding) and the great sword. Go down and take the chests and the healing potion (+1500 exp. +1500 exp.-> master pathfinding). Don’t fight the stack (due to leprechauns being faster than troglodytes). Go back to the watering point.

Day 12 – (33 moves) Reach the watering point (+10 moves due to the globes). Take the ruby (+6 attack) and the chest (+1000 exp.). Save the game and fight the blue army (103 orcs): Summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero; the orcs approaches; cast poison on the orcs; leprechauns stops the first strike from orcs; summon leprechauns two more times, casting fortune on itself; they stops 3 more rounds from the orcs, and allows the hero to cast disrupting ray on the orcs; wait for the orcs and engage it in melee, with the aid of a healing potion. Gained 343 exp. and a vial of poison. Go up.

Day 13 (33 moves) Take the chest on the left, behind the trees (+500 exp.). See the silver oracle (seen 1/3). Take the resources under the quest hut (4 crystal). Visit the hut (- great sword + master combat + advanced melee), kiss the blessed stone and go into the tunnel. Take the chest on the left (hidden) +1500 ex.-> grand master pathfinding and hero is now a level 10 ranger. Go down and left.

Day 14 (39 moves) Take the resources (8 wood) Visit the oniric (+500 exp.). Search the fire (3 mercury + 300 gold) and the skeleton (helm of seeing). Take the ruby (+ 6 attack) and the chest (+500 exp.). Take the resources (7 ore) and the chest (+1000 exp.). Go to the blue army (34 orcs) and save the game. Fight (summon leprechaun which cast fortune on hero, wait several turns while leprechauns suffers most the shouts and end battle shouting the orcs while they approaches, gained 113 exp.). Save the game. Take the backpack (axe) and go down left for the hidden resources.

Day 15 – (39 moves) From left to right, take up to 4 resources (8 wood + 2 gems + 2 mercury + 3 gems). Go up.

Day 16 – (39 moves) Visit the stone (+1000 exp.-> expert melee) and take the chest (+1500 exp.). Save the game and fight the blue army (33 orcs). Fight like last battle (gained 110 exp. + cloud of despair, cold and endurance potions). Save again. Don’t build the lab; as we will end the game before day 50, the resources obtained don’t compensates (50 – 16 = 34 days; 34 mercury x 125 = 4250 gold, and the building cost is 5000 gold). Go to the right and take the resources behind the oracle (2 gems). Take the resources (2 sulfur). Take the emerald (+ 2 speed) and the chest (+500 exp.). Take the backpack (shield) and go down.

Day 17 – (39 moves) Learn basic archery at university. As only 5 spell points are available, the staff will not be interesting for this fight (can to cast one spell only): use the axe and shield instead. Save the game and fight the blue army (126 orcs, with the new combat skills it’s easier). The orcs have 8 shots and I have 14, and they have short range skill. Use ‘defend’ by 8 rounds while they use their shots, wait for them to approach and then shoot (2 times) and engage in melee. Gained 420 exp., a cart of lumber and a wizard’s ring. Save again. Take three chests and the resources from left to right (+1500 exp., + 1000 exp.-> master scouting, + 1500 exp., + 2 mercury). Go up.

Day 18 – (39 moves) See the silver oracle (2/3 seen) and go into the tunnel. Kiss the blessed stone and go down.

Day 19 – (39 moves) Visit the watering point (+ 10 moves due to the globes) and go to commerce with resources. Sell all but 5 gems: 735 gold + 62 x (20 wood + 7 ore) + 125 x (7 mercury + 4 crystal + 11 sulfur + only 2 of 7 gems) = 5409 gold. Visit the stables (+ 9 moves due to the globes for 7 days). Go down to the university. Take the potion (fire resistance). Visit the university (stealth 98 exp.) and learn basic herbalism and advanced nature (-4000 gold). Save the game and fight the blue army (53 orcs, they were originally 60, but fought with the bandits and lose some units). The battle is easily won, like the previous one (gained 177 exp., healing potion, ring of health and crystal figurine). From here, I use the wizard’s ring before skipping a turn and waering the ring of healing before the fight. Go down.

Day 20 – (48 moves) Take the wagon (potion of resistance and vial of blinding smoke). Ignore the quest hut. Take the opal (+6 spell points). Visit the fountain (replenishes spell points) and go to the left. Take the emerald (+2 speed), visit the fountain (stealth 97 exp., + 1 morale) and take the chest (500 exp.). Touch the altar (learn master stealth). Go to the right (stealth 116 exp.) and save the game. Fight (349 peasants). Summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero; the peasants approach. Cast disrupting ray on the peasants, leprechauns pass and peasants approach. Hero waits, leprechaun attack peasants, peasants approaches, and hero engage in melee (avoiding one retaliation against hero). End battle with 4 more rounds of melee (gained 581 exp.). Save the game and take the wizard’s chest (throwing spear). Go left.

Day 21 – (48 moves) Visit the fountain (+1 morale) and save the game. Fight (131 crossbowmen). Summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero; crossbowmen shoot and leprechauns rip. Wait, crossbowmen shoot, hero approaches; repeat; engage in melee, 3 rounds (gained 393 exp.). Visit the fountain (+1 morale) and save the game. Fight (201 bandits). Summon leprechauns, which cast fortune in hero; the bandits approach. The bandits kill the leprechauns, hero engages in melee, 4 rounds gained 402 exp.). Go up.

Day 22 – (48 moves) Seek the fire hidden behind the trees (500 gold + 5 mercury) and take the chest (500 exp.-> grand master scouting). Visit the silver oracle (3/3 seen, stealth 98 exp.). Save the game and fight (294 peasants, like the previous peasants, gained 394 exp.). Go left and visit the idol (+1 morale). Save the game and fight (170 dwarves, like the peasants, gained 453 exp.).Go down.

Day 23 – (48 moves) Go through the portal and save the game. Fight (54 centaurs & 59 berserkers). Summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero; berserkers approach and centaurs shoot at leprechauns (most dies). Move leprechauns back, hero casts disrupting ray on berserkers, berserkers approach and centaurs shoot leprechauns. Engage berserkers in melee (2 rounds, rip) while centaurs shoot the hero and use their shots. Hero waits, centaurs approach, engage in melee, 3 rounds (gained 481 exp.). Save the game and fight (199 bandits). Cast disrupting ray on bandits and 5 rounds of melee (gained 398 exp.). Visit the fountain (+20% hit points) and the tree (-5 gems + one level 6200 exp.-> grand master combat). Go to the ‘X’ marked in the puzzle from silver oracle and end your turn.

Day 24 – (48 moves) Dig (gained ring of regeneration). From here, I use the globes to move and the ring of regeneration and ring of healing during fights.

Day 25 – (48 moves) Go through the portal. Visit the idol (+ 1 luck). Take the potions on the left of the temple near Labargan (healing and vial of choking gas) and go up.

Day 26 – (39 moves) Take the chest (+1500 exp.) and the potion (toughness). Go to the right and take the chest (+1500 exp.), the skeleton (ring of protection) and the fire (+300 gold + 3 sulfur). Go up to speak with ‘The watchman’ (- brazier of sulfur, - cart of lumber, - crystal figurine). Go down.

Day 27 – (39 moves) Visit the stables (+ 9 moves due to the globes for 7 days). Go to commerce with resources and sell all: 2209 gold + 62 x (14 wood) + 125 x (10 sulfur + 7 crystal + 5 mercury) = 5827 gold. Visit the watering point (+13 moves due to the globes). Visit the Old man’s hut. Take the fire (500 gold + 5 mercury). Go down.

Day 28 – (48 moves) Take the chest hidden by trees on the right (+1000 exp.). Go to the watering point (+ 9 moves due to the globes for 7 days). Take the ruby on the new path opened down (+6 attack). Take the gold near the mercenary camp (+400 gold) and visit the camp (stealth 92 exp., + 1 speed). Save the game and fight (276 peasants, use archery and melee only, gained 368 exp.). Take the resources (+3 sulfur) and capture the leprechaun (+5 gems). Save the game and fight (263 skeletons, stealth 132 exp., use only archery and melee, gained 526 exp.). Save again. Go left and take the potion (demon fire).

Day 29 – (48 moves) Take the gold (+700 gold). Take the gold near the camp (+500 gold). Take the wagon (stealth 267 exp., potion of endurance and potion of speed). Go to the woodcutter’s hut (+500 gold). Touch the altar (advanced archery). Take the chest (apprentice’s handbook). Touch the altar (stealth 554 exp. from water elemental -> master melee + basic magic resistance). Visit the oniric (stealth 109 exp., +1000 exp.). Save the game and fight (187 leprechauns, use only archery and melee, gained 436 exp.). Visit the fountain (+3 spell points). Go to the sapphire.

Day 30 – (48 moves) Take the sapphire (+6 defense). Visit the fountain (+ 3 spell points). Save the game and fight (43 nomads & 26 harpies, use archery and melee only, gained 1183 exp.). Save again. Take two chests (+1500 exp., +1500 exp.) and visit the wood cottage. Take the chest under the tunnel (+500 exp.) and go in. Take the sapphire (+6 defense). Visit the faerie ring (+1 luck) and save the game. Fight (stealth 233 exp. from 54 pikemen & 100 crossbowmen, use archery and melee only, gained 930 exp.). Fight the haunted (127 bandits, use only archery and melee, gained 254 exp. and 3250 gold). The crystal vein isn’t interesting: 50 – 30 = 20 days; 20 mercury x 125 = 2500 gold, and the building cost is 3125 gold (2500 gold + 62.5 x 10 wood).

Day 31 – (48 moves) Take the globes (how lucky!). From here, I use both globes when moving, the wizard’s ring before ending a turn, and the ring of regeneration and ring of healing during fights. Go to the right and take the potion (mana). Visit the reunion point (+1 move). Touch the two altars (stealth 600 exp from unicorns and elves, basic occultism + advanced magic resistance). Capture the imp (+500 gold). Save the game and fight (stealth 115 exp. from 344 peasants, use archery and melee only, gained 459 exp.-> grand master stealth). Go through the portal. Take 3 chests (stealth 700 exp. from the monks + 1000 exp. + 500 exp. + 500 exp.) and 3 gold (400 + 600 + 700 gold). Go to the left.

Day 32 – (57 moves) Take the resources (2 sulfur) and the potion (quickness). Stealth 133 exp. from 265 bandits, save and fight (use archery and melee only, gained 530 exp.). Save again. Touch the altar (expert archery), take the resources (4 gems) and gold (500). Touch the altar (master archery). Save the game and fight with 230 zombies in the cemetery (use archery and melee only, gained 767 exp., badge of courage and 5750 gold). Take the wagon (vial of binding liquid and potion of toughness) and the chest (+500 exp.). Stealth 309 exp. from 66 mages & 150 dwarves, save the game and fight: mages casts poison on hero, hero shoots mages, dwarves approach; hero shoots mages, mages cast magic fist on hero, dwarves approach, repeat round, hero shoots mages (rip) and dwarves attack hero. After 2 rounds of melee, dwarves are dead (gained +1236 exp.). Save again. Go through the portal, visit the library (-2000 gold -> advanced herbalism) and go up.

Day 33 – (57 moves) Take the resources (3 gems), take the fire (500 gold + 5 sulfur), visit the fountain (+1 morale), take the fire (300 gold + 3 crystal), take the chest (stealth 265 exp. from 42 evil eyes & 172 bandits, +500 exp.), save and fight (shoot the bandits one time and continue only with melee; if eyes cast cowardice on hero, just approach; gained 1058 exp.). Visit the fountain (+1 morale), take the chest (+500 exp.), take the skeleton (David’s sling), take the sapphire (+6 defense) and go up (stealth 730 exp. from 73 unicorns). Save the game and fight. Summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero, unicorns approach; cast disrupting ray on unicorns, leprechauns wait, unicorns approach, leprechauns go up; unicorns kill leprechauns, hero shoots; unicorn attacks hero, hero summon leprechauns, leprechauns go to back the unicorns; hero waits, leprechauns waits, unicorn kill leprechauns, hero shouts; hero shouts, unicorn attack hero; hero waits, unicorns attack hero, hero summon leprechauns, leprechauns go to back the unicorns; repeat cycle one time; end battle with melee (gained 2920 exp.->grand master melee). Save again. Visit the fountain (replenishes the spell points), take the opal (+6 spell points) and the wagon (vial of choking gas, potion of restoration and vial of acid). Go up.

Day 34 – (47 moves) Visit the fountain (+20% hit points). Take the potion (immortality) and touch the altar (grand master archery). Stealth 1943 exp. from 37 behemoth. Use 4 potions (immortality, cold, speed and toughness). Save the game and prepare to die, errr... prepare to fight: this and the first were my hardest battles, as I needed to reload several times. There isn’t a simple way to guarantee this battle, but to try and retry until behemoths freeze after the first melee attack. With that in mind, the other immortality potion, quickness potion (+1 extra attack each turn), fortune from leprechauns, summon creatures to distract behemoths far, and some other vials and spells help a lot. On other cases, I’ve summoned sprites (learned in the beginning, instead of summon wolves), which contribute to distract behemoths (due to the sprites fly farther the hero gain an extra round to shoot). After 3 or 4 triple shoots (each may damage 3 x 177 to 271 = about 666, amount incremented with the effects of vials and spells), behemoth are only about 20; from here melee works fine (with regeneration from ring). Experience points gained: 7770. Save the game again, and avoid to overwrite this savegame. Take the axe of legends. Visit the fountain (+20% hit points). Visit the other fountain (which replenishes the spell points). Go down.

Day 35 – (47 moves) Visit the fountain (+1 morale) and go down.

Day 36 – (47 moves) Go through the tunnel and visit the wood cottage (- axe of legends + Maranthea’s mug). Go up.

Day 37 – (47 moves) Visit the watering point (+15 moves due to both globes). Visit the stables (+10 moves due to both globes for 7 days). Go to commerce with resources and change resources for 10 wood and sell others: change 10 sulfur for 10 wood (you’ll need it for a boat); 20627 gold + 125 x (12 gems + 3 crystal + 5 mercury) = 23127 gold. Visit the old man’s hut (- Maranthea’s mug). Go down. From here, I use the chests to increase gold, since the hero is a level 17 ranger and scores maximum, and the need to gather 30000 gold in the next quest and gather up to 27750 gold (by combining gold and resources) to score maximum. So, I need 34623 gold (30000 + 27750 - 23127). Likewise, I’ll only fight for to shorten the path.

Day 38 – (57 moves) Visit the watering point (+15 moves due to both globes). Take the chest near the blessed stone (stealth 777 exp. from 63 ogre magi & 57 nomads, +1000 gold). Take the gold (400).Take the potion (resistance). Visit the arena (+3 defense). Take the chest (stealth 128 exp. from 219 leprechauns, + 1500 gold). Go through the portal. Take the chest (+1000 gold). Save the game and fight the haunted (199 bandits, use archery and melee only, gained 4500 gold and 398 exp.-> expert magic resistance). Visit the quest hut (-30000 gold, + grand master leadership, + expert tactics, + basic defense, + basic attack). Take the two chests (near the oniric, +2000 gold, + 1000 gold). Take the resources (2 sulfur), the ruby (+ 6 attack), ignore the potion (quickness), take the other potion (immortality blocking the path) and the chest (+1000 gold). Flag the shipyard and buy a boat and board it.

Day 39 – (15 moves) Go to the isle.

Day 40 – (57 moves) Visit the tower and return to the ship.

Day 41 – (15 moves) Go to the left and down and disembark near the backpack.

Day 42 – (57 moves) Take the backpack (potion of mana), the chest (cloak of warding), the skeleton (arrow of stunning), the fire (400 gold + 8 ore) and the chest (+1500 gold). Ignore the potions (mirth and immortality). Fight for the mine (226 dwarves, use archery and melee only, gained 1750 gold + 36 ore, and 603 exp.). Save the game and fight all 3 orange armies, from down to up:
- 10 mantises, use archery and melee only, gained 2047 exp. and an unnatural armor. Wear this armor.
- 40 efreet, use a potion of fire resistance and melee, gained 2147 exp. and a dragon scale armor. Wear this armor.
- 238 evil eyes, summon leprechauns, which cast fortune on hero, and use melee, gained 4046 exp. and the Neener’s invulnerable cloak.

Day 42 – (continued) Return to the ship.

Day 43 – (15 moves) Go to the isle.

Day 44 – (57 moves) Visit the tower (-unnatural armor, - dragon scale armor, - Neener’s invulnerable cloak, + helm of command) and return to the ship.

Day 45 – (15 moves) Return to the continent, near the tree.

Day 46 – (47 moves) Take the resources on the left from oracle (2 crystal), and the gold on the right from the camp (stealth 177 exp. from 207 sprites, +500 gold). Go through the portal (stealth 158 exp. from 271 sprites). Take the 4 chests (stealth 288 exp. from 45 Trolls & 20 evil eyes, + 1500 + 1000 + 1500 + 1500 gold). Take other 5 chests (stealth 825 exp. from 33 vampires & 20 ice demons, +1000, +1000, +2000, +2000 gold, + a crystal of memory). Go down (only for 100% exploration purposes).

Day 47 – (47 moves) Go up through the portal. Take the chest over the camp (+1500 gold), and both the resources (4 gems & 5 ore). From here I don’t need resource or gold anymore; so, go directly to Labargan. Go through the yellow portal (stealth 146 exp.). Go up.

Day 48 – (47 moves) Visit the watering point (+13 moves due to the gloves). Save the game. Visit the Labargan’s tower. Enter Labargan.

Playing difficulty (champion): 750%
Map difficulty (intermediate): 75%
Time (7 weeks): 562 points
Battles won (4): 72 points
Army value (0): 0 points
Wealth (24864): 48 points
Quests completed (3): 96 points
Artifacts (15): 76 points
Exploration (100%): 12 points
Best hero (level 18): 76 points
Towns (1): 30 points
Final Score: 972 points
Rank: Dark Champion


The task of killing Razor Claw has been given to you. Prove yourself and defeat the Ancient Behemoth in three months or lose your chance at becoming King. If Kilgor is lost then his chance to become king ends also. Kilgor is limited to twelfth level. Starting Bonus: 1 Behemoth or 4 Cyclops or 8 Rocs.

Maps


Click on a map to see a larger version.

Green - Friendly Town
Red - Enemy Town
Grey - Neutral Town
Yellow - Underground Passage

A# - Allied Towns
O# - Opponent Towns (a,b,c,d,e,f,g indicates which enemy)
N# - Neutral Towns
M# - Mirror Entrances (a) and exits (b). two-way unless stated
E# - Exit (a) entrance and (b) exit
S# - Seer (a) and the location of the item (b)
G# - Guard Tents (a) and the location of the Guard Tower (b)
J - Jail
X - Ambush

Starting Out

I would take the Behemoth as the starting bonus as it will be able to defeat all of the wandering stacks around N1, N2, and N3 with minimal assistance from other troops. Even though you can't hire more Behemoths it was able to last much longer than either the Cyclops or the Rocs. I was able to keep the Behemoth to the end of the map and upgrade it to an Ancient Behemoth at a Hill Fort which helped out at the final battle.

First Leg

Even though you don't have any opponents on this map, it doesn't mean you can relax since you have a time limit of three months. You start out with no town so head south on the blue path and take over N1 which shouldn't be a problem. You can't build a City Hall so gold will be hard to come by until you can take over the other towns. I would focus on building a Castle and the Roc structure as soon as possible so flagging the Wood and Ore and Gold mines around N1 is a top priority. There are many loose piles of gold north of N1 which are a big boost and should be picked up. I built a Citadel in the first week and a Castle in the second. Be careful with the Witch's Tower as it gives a random skill which may or may not be useful.

Second Leg

Sometime in the second week continue on the blue path south and take a side trip to the creature generators to get the extra troops. Go to N2 to take that and then on to N3 to take that as well. They are lightly defended and shouldn't be a problem, especially with the Behemoth. Be sure to visit all of the places of learning since you want Kilgor to be as strong as possible.

These extra towns are useful not only for the extra troops and gold but for the magic spells if you give Kilgor Wisdom and a magic school. I gave him both Wisdom and the Air magic school primarily for Mass Haste. Wisdom is optional but I was faced with either that or Navigation so I picked the better of the two.

Finishing Up

Starting in the second month I would get as many troops as possible and take the red path. It's the shortest of the possible paths and it goes by all of the places of learning except for the Arena. You will have to battle past wandering stacks of Cyclops Kings and Thunderbirds which aren't that bad, especially if you have Tactics and/or Mass Haste. There are many artifacts most of which are guarded so unless you are not level 12 be sure to pick and choose which artifact you think will benefit you the best. Just be sure to not lose too many troops since you will need them for the Ancient Behemoth.

The underground is a small cave which holds the Ancient Behemoth and an ambush of 60 Wraiths and 70 Wights. After this battle is finished you're able to face the Ancient Behemoth which turns out to be a whole family. I faced four stacks of four Ancient Behemoths each which did seem daunting at first but I had a lot of Orc Chieftains, protected them with my other troops and used my Ancient Behemoth and Ogre Magi to defeat one enemy stack of Ancient Behemoths at a time. After you win this battle you also win the map.



Don't be fooled by the small size of the last map of the Enough is Enough campaign. That scenario might require more than one attempt, and at the Champion level, it is next to impossible. You start on the West side of the map inside a partly developed city just outside a fortress. At the center is the city you need to capture, but to do so you will need to outmaneuver thousands of enemy units.

The map requires a quick build-up. Erutan should be able to fight alone for some time, so at first send back any unit you may encounter back to the home city. Immediatly attack the structure to the North and the Elf dwelling to the South. In your city, you should forget about Elves, whose dwelling require too much wood, and aim for Tigers and Griffins instead. As for the level four dwelling, I chose the Faerie Dragons, but Phoenixes might be a good idea as well. Consider building a Citadel and a Castle early during the scenario, since enemies might knock at your door soon.

Past the bridge you will find a Sawmill and an Ore mine, both of which should be captured immediately. Bind Wound and Erutan's range attack superiority should help you against shooters, while Quicksand will take care of walkers. A Gold Mine can be found on the road going South, and with some luck the computer player won't bother capturing it for a while. Your travel to the South should end at the entrance of the fortress, which contains an army too strong for you right now. Go back to the North and then to the East. Cross the bridge and proceed to the East side of the fortress.

This is where the fun begins, and unfortunately (or fortunately) your actions until the end of the scenario will depend on the behavior of the computer player. I recruited a Druid, teached him a few Nature spells and sent him to meet Erutan. That Druid should focus on Nature skills only, and disregard any Combat skill that might be offered during leveling. Travel to the South with the duo and retreat to your starting city should you get into trouble.

There are two things you can do whenever the computer player leaves you alone. First of all, you might want to visit the underground level, where a few gold mines and various treasures are waiting for you. Most of them are well guarded, but a single gold mine is undefended near the entrance. The computer player will also visit the underground on a regular basis, but you should definitely benefit from the extra income whenever possible. Secondly, there is a major quest in the building defended by Dark Champions. Completing that quest not only gives you an additional city that receives free units every week, it opens a secret entrance in the back of the fortress that allows a quick attack to the central city. It can make completing the scenario much more easier, since the other paths to the main target are heavily defended. To defeat the Dark Champions, either recruit additional units from your city or wait for the computer player to do the job himself. I'm saying this because after I gathered all the units and went back near the underground entrance, the quest building was already undefended. Another quest can be found a little to the South, where you can trade 12,000 gold and some gems for arrow artifacts. I did not bother completing it and kept my money for an emergency.

To complete your scenario, Erutan should continue gaining experience, and use the Tree near the city to the South when the time is right (i.e. just after reaching a high level). Keep accumulating creatures in both of your cities until your army is strong enough to finish the computer player. Keep moving at all time with Erutan and your second hero. In some cases you might be able to ambush an enemy hero. In other cases you might find out that the capital is lightly defended and that the time has come for the final showdown. I was lucky enough to have the capital defended by a single high-level Cardinal with packs of high-level creatures. When only heroes and a few creatures were still standing on the battlefield, Erutan managed to summon dozens of Griffins to take down the regenerating Cardinal. When the last city is captured, the campaign comes to its conclusion.


Comments (2)   

He you are again, on the West side of the map, with a small army and a serious shortage of wood. Get ready for another very open map where speed is the key. The difference this time is that there is no Ore around, which makes the development of your starting city even more difficult than in the previous scenario. Notice the prison close to your starting position, which will soon provide you with a strong ally. Based on the difficulty level you selected, you can rush to it immediately or be more careful and wait a little for reinforcements.

The map has the shape of a 9. There is a Preserve to the East of your starting position defended by a small squad of Elves, Wolves and Sprites. To the North, a Haven and two Strongholds can be found. To the South you will find two additional Havens surrounded by a river. The computer player might use the bridges or boats to attack you later on. To the Eastern side of the map lies a heavily defended Haven, which should be your final objective. I suggest you have Erutan focus on the Combat and Nature skills. Other skill development paths might be difficult to achieve and not very effective anyway.

Don't even try building a Fort in your starting city for now. Even with the pile of woods found to the south of your city, you should focus on improving your Mage Guild or another support structure. I was able to capture the Preserve to the right using range attacks and a stack of summoned white tigers. Fortunately, that city offers more development opportunities, but because of its uncomfortable position, you might want to save your resources for later. By the time I went back to my hometown for some exploration, two level 16 heroes appeared and got dangerously close and left me with no other choice than to attack them. I managed to beat them, but if you should fail, don't despair. The open map will allow you to quickly hit and run the enemy until the opposition is weak enough. Don't forget about the ferry located in the center of the map; the computer player will use it at times, and so should you!

No matter what the computer player does, you need to proceed to the North and capture the smaller towns, which unfortunately have limited development potential. I always carried a large army around and did not bother defending the towns at all. After you secure the three towns surrounding your starting city, the computer player will have a much harder time attacking you. Your next targets are the two Haven towns on the south part of the map. The towns are defended by high-level heroes, but getting those two cities is not only a requirement to complete the map, it will reduce the size of the garrison protecting the carryover artifact found in the Vale mentionned in the scenario's plot. For me, capturing the towns was much easier than originally expected, since a larger inside a boat was stuck on a bridge nearby. I doubt you will be as luck as I was.

Getting the Emerald Longbow in the Vale is critical to your success in the final map of the campaign, and will also make the conquest of the final city easier. If you manage to capture all enemy heroes, the final fight should not be very difficult.


Comments (2)   

Unlike the Nature-based campaign in the original Heroes IV, Enough is Enough focuses solely on action and contains very little storyline. And much like the Mark of the Tiger scenario from the Elwin and Shaera campaign, it features some fast hit-and-run action where you will capture and lost castles over a short period of time. Enough is Enough features Erutan Evol (Nature Lover spelled backward, in case you have been wondering), a young elf who wishes to free his people from the Channon human tribes. But for this task he needs to convince his Elven neighbours of the purpose of his mission.

Erutan starts with a single city on the West side of the map. Expect some minor resource shortage, as Wood will be very scarce early on. The Elven people of Channon appear to have problems with cutting trees, which will dramatically slow your intial development. The Treetop Lodge is disabled in both your starting town and in the city that you will need to capture shortly.

The Ore Mine just to the East of your starting position should be your very first target, as it is lightly defended. Also, gathering lots of ore early on will compensate for the lack of wood. The Wolf Den on the West is another easy fight, but the experience you will receive should be more useful than the Wolves you will recruit. Money should not be a problem during that scenario, so hire enougn cannon fodder to protect your Beastmaster. Be especially careful with unprotected resources and structures, as a lot of Thieves have been spotted in the surroundings. The Fae Trees nearby will be quite valuable a bit later, but it benefits from a larger garrison. If you do succeed in freeing the dwelling, do not recruit Sprites just right away as you will need a lot of them in a minute.

You don't really have a choice regarding your creature selection, so go for a fast ground force and build the Tiger Den right away. Below is my building sequence for the starting town:

  1. Druid Hall, level 2
  2. City Hall
  3. Sacred Grove
  4. Tiger Den
  5. Rainbow
  6. Unicorn Glade
  7. Tavern

The amount of time you will need to build the Glade will vary according to how agressively you trade resources. Keeping reserves of Crystal and Gems might is not necessary, so get rid of them if you need some extra wood. Don't despair if your situation seems hopeless as Erutan will receive gifts on a regular basis, including 14 pieces of Wood on day 7 of the first two weeks. You might want to build a Tavern earlier and start training a second hero right away. Because of the layout of the map, using multiple heroes will make your life easier.

Once you have a decent army, head south and capture the small village nearby. A Town Hall will probably be the only structure you will build in that village, so don't even dream of a new fort. Afterwards, go back North a little until you come across a quest cave. Your mission, if you accept it, is to return with 150 Sprites, and you will be given a Gargantuan. This creature alone will be a decent alternative for the Elven Archers, so start gathering Sprites in your hometown immediately.

By now you should start seeing enemy scouts on the North and South East of the hometown. The computer lacks agressivity as usual, so you there is no real need to worry. You should immediatly travel to the North and capture the village nearby, as it produces a couple of elves each week. This three towns form a triangle that's easy to defend and provide a good basis to increase the size of your army.

Now is the time to expand your kingdom. Gather all your troops, chooses a path and start capturing enemy towns in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The rest of the scenario involves picking up those enemy towns as quickly as possible and cutting reinforcements lines between the allied computer players. Splitting up your main army will be necessary, as the computer will use the middle passage to sneak through your towns. The city of Paradise can only be entered once the three main cities have been defeated. The scenario is won when you capture Paradise. To do so, gather all the troops from the Creature Portals (Mantis will do the job nicely).


Comments (1)   

Steal the Vial of Lifeblood from the Vampire Lord Vokial to create the Elixir of Life and win the campaign. However, if Gelu is defeated in combat, the scenario is lost. Gelu is limited to level 25 but will carry his experience, skills, and spells on to the next campaign.

Maps


Click on a map to see a larger version.

Green - Friendly Town
Red - Enemy Town
Grey - Neutral Town
Yellow - Underground Passage

A# - Allied Towns
O# - Opponent Towns (a,b,c,d,e,f,g indicates which enemy)
N# - Neutral Towns
M# - Mirror Entrances (a) and exits (b). two-way unless stated
E# - Exit (a) entrance and (b) exit
S# - Seer (a) and the location of the item (b)
G# - Guard Tents (a) and the location of the Guard Tower (b)
J - Jail
X - Ambush

Starting Out

The starting bonuses are 3000 Gold or 20 Rogues or 10 Sharpshooters.

Definitely take the 10 Sharpshooters because you will defeat the enemy with them. Necromancers have a weakness in that their low-level troops are weak and slow and if you attack them quickly, they won't have any means of defending themselves. Unfortunately, the two heroes that you have been building up won't be with you so you won't have their troops to work with. This is partially why you have to work quickly.

I have verified for myself that Gelu won't transfer over to the next campaign even though you are told that he will be. Therefore, it's not necessary to visit any places of learning or go out of your way to gain levels.

First Leg

Visit A1 and hire all of the Elves and turn them into Sharpshooters and follow the teal path south. You will pass by a Homestead where you should hire more Elves and turn them into Sharpshooters. Visit the second allied town at A2 and get more Elves and turn them into Sharpshooters. If Gelu doesn't have strong magic, go southeast to recruit some more Sharpshooters from a Treetop Tower. Otherwise, follow the teal path and conquer O1a. Since there will be heroes wandering around, build a Citadel and hire a hero and the available troops to guard O1a.

Now go west along the teal path and take over O2a. You might meet some enemy heroes along the way and I suggest you fight them since it shouldn't be too tough to beat them. O2a will be a tough battle since Vokial is a tough hero with many troops but with Gelu's Sharpshooters and magic, you will still emerge victorious. Capturing O2a is important because it is nearly built-up and the longer you leave it alone, the bigger danger Vokial will be. Hire a hero and leave it in O2a as you continue along the teal path west.

O3a is the final enemy town and conquering it and any enemy heroes you come across will be a piece of cake. The biggest threat you have is their Magic Arrow but, with their limited mana, that shouldn't be very much of a bother. Build a Citadel in O3a and hire a hero to watch over it as you track down any remaining enemy heroes. Once that's done, the Red enemy will be eliminated and you will have the map to yourself.

Second Leg

Your goal is to bring two artifacts from the southeast and southwest corners of the map to a Seer that is east of A1. Unfortunately, the artifacts are guarded by Dragons so it's a good idea to build up your army before taking them on. So take Gelu along the pink path and take the neutral town at N1 which will provide gold and Sharpshooters.

My proposed building order is Homestead, Castle, City Hall in that order. This is because Sharpshooters will make up the majority of your troops and upgrading them from Wood Elves take a lot of gold. After this is done, I'd get as many War Unicorns and Gold Dragons as possible because they are strong and take up two hexes so they are good at protecting the Sharpshooters from damage.

Finishing Up

Once you have a big enough army, visit G3a which is southwest of O2 along the orange path. Then go up north to G3b, pick up more Sharpshooters and the other goodies here, then travel through the two-way Mirror at M1a. You will be taken to either M1b or M1c. To get to the other, just press the space bar without leaving the Mirror.

Now all you need to do is defeat the dragons that are guarding the artifacts that you need to win this level. Once defeating one set of dragons, simply use the Mirror to get to the other corner and get the other artifact. If you have Town Portal than you can quickly travel to A1 and then east to S1a. Otherwise, use the mirror to get to M1a and travel south and east. Once you trade the artifacts for the Vial of Lifeblood, you will have won this map.


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