If you are a veteran player looking for a serious challenge, here's your chance to prove you have mastered this game. Be prepared for massive, decisive battles of progressively tougher difficulty, with a grand finale destined to become a tactical nightmare! Recommended only for experienced players who know all the tricks of the game. Play this map on Champion level, with Mobile Guards.
Author: Erlend Philip Wood (Oslo, Norway), 10-01-2013 15:56 Reply to Renaud from the map author: Sometime during the time you spend on the large central island (Zanfa's Island), after the warning message is given, two armies consisting of 7 Thieves (level 15-16) are released in your lands, one in the east and one in the west. However, they are all invisible to you, because they all have Grandmaster Stealth. You can only detect their presence by observing the trail of lost mines and dwellings and such. This can be quite serious if you don't get rid of them, since you need the resources to pay upkeep for your captured towns. The Warden is important because he is the only one with high enough Scouting skill to find them. But you don't necessarily HAVE to defeat the Thieves in order to complete the map, it will just be harder to manage your economy.
Author: Renaud (Paris, France), 10-01-2013 15:19 Thieves and Warden Two remarks.First,why do you all tell about 14 thieves:in my maps i see only 4 heroes of level 40 each?second, when i choose to go through the pool i play one big fight,a second against old erick(hard as usual!),i take the castle near and go directly to the last fight leaving the 4(14?) guys wandering around;may be i have missed something?
Author: Renaud (Paris, France), 10-01-2013 15:04 displacement spell This little spell(short version of"teleport&quo t;which is not available in Erland's map)is useful in many fights to quickly kill computer heroes if we use a thrower unit like titans even if 2 or 3 shots are needed.In the last fight,to control cyclops,"wasps& quot;(nature spell lvl 2) works equally well and rings of lesser negation are not needed.
Author: VVV, 10-01-2013 01:29 GRANDMASTER'S CHALLENGE какой идиот создавал карту?
ни опциональн о, ни функционал ьно она не сбалансиро вана.тупо навязывает ся магия жизни(заче
Author: Erlend Philip Wood (Oslo, Norway), 04-01-2013 20:51 Hint for new players from the map author: It seems a majority of players (so far) haven't discovered the secret underground tunnel. When you free the Warden, he gives you a hint about this. Make sure you search the cell thoroughly, and you will find the hidden trigger. :-)
Author: Ad van Kempen (Pays-Bas), 01-01-2013 23:49 Like Absolutely: a Grandmaster's Map! Replaying this map, now with alignment Death, I am again very impressed by this map. Very ingenious, very balanced! Too mighty, game spoiling spells like Hypnotize have been removed, just as skills as Necromancy, Charm/Diplomacy and Summonning.
The game has many beautiful adventurous elements, for example the secret underground passage to the Pandora's Box. It is a Granmaster's Challenge indeed: the opponents are are growing strong and your towns are continously snatched away.
No map is perfect: it is possible to catch the 2 stacks of 7 looting thieves in a normal way, with your Pathetic Mama's Boy. Thank God, you don't need the assistance of the Warden of Justice - I wonder how I could have stopped these pillagers otherwise.
The fight at the uppergrond level of the whirlpool was very difficult (9300 water elements, 1300 sea monsters and 1600 mermaids) I won in 362 days - rank 1225 - with 5 Archmages 47-46-46-46-46 (thanks to Tung from Hanoi, 337 vampires and 322 devils. Same tactic as with aligment Order: neutralize the cyclopes with Displacement. And: hit and run with my mighty devils, killing Fury and Rage as quick as possible.
Author: Ad van Kempen (The Netherlands), 11-12-2012 00:23 Like Absolutely fabulous I completed this beautiful map Grandmaster, champion level, alignment Order, in 656 days, score 900. I attacked the castle Valhalla with 4 heroes (levels 47-47-46-46), 600 Titans, 1682 genies and (last slot) 1 genie. The real problem were the the 1350 cyclopes on the main tower of the castle. I tried to neutralize them with spell Displacement, but in vain - spell Order Ward with Rage and Fury. Thanks to two Rings of lesser Negation I could break through their Order Ward. With the Cyclopes powerless behind their own tower I conquered the Castle.
It was a great adventure! One of the most beautiful maps I ever played with my beloved game HoMM.
Author: Tung (Hanoi, Vietnam), 17-11-2012 11:02 Second winning Finally, I finished this map second time after 350 days. I played Life race, according to the the map's author, the hardest. But I really enjoyed it. Perhaps I was familiar with this map for the first time so this time it was not hard. Nearly the same tactic: 5 archmage heroes (level 45) and very strong creatures (like tanks).
My rating for this map: 10/10 :)
P/S: Path Finding / Necromancy / Diplomacy are disable (but I didn't need them at all).
Author: Donald Mathieu (Tornto), 17-11-2012 03:01 well done TOUGH, do suggest pathfinding or Necromancy be allowed
Author: Tung (Hanoi, Vietnam), 10-11-2012 11:50 This map is possible :) I have finished this map after 439 days. In fact, I have skipped last days by cheating nwchermes :) Without cheating, I could finish after more 6 days.
Here my tactic: use only 2 level 4 creatures (Mantis & ...), 5 archmage heroes (level 40) with 4 grandmaster magic types for each hero. Must have spells: Divine Intervention, Giant Strength, Vampire touch; but you should learn as much spells as possible.
This map is extreme hard, I have to save every combat many times until I have a good tactic to win. Anyway, It is possible to win. Enjoy :)
P/S: I will try the Life race soon.
Author: Tung (Hanoi, Vietnam), 07-11-2012 06:40 nttalex This map is very hard because of Super-sized enemy armies and heroes. I have defeated each 650 Black Dragon / 650 Dark Knight/ 2.2k Evil after 12th month. But those are not hardest. More harder armies are waiting. The quests are easy to understand, straightforward. I'm playing Nature at 14th month. To be continued...
Author: Erlend Philip Wood (Oslo, Norway), 01-10-2012 19:17 Regarding Equilibris: This map was made for Winds of War. I don't expect it to work properly in Equilibris. If you have both these versions installed, start your normal Heroes4.exe file, not the corresponding Equilibris file, and you should be fine. The Necromancy skill is disabled in this map, by the way.
Author: Standa (Prague), 29-09-2012 13:27 Equilibris Hello, is it playable in this mod? I mean a necromancer in WoW with the vampire raising ability is probably the best.
Author: permohen (Norway), 28-09-2012 20:45 Comments to this game: Impossible,Nearly.
An extremely challenging game with a few tricks making it even harder.
To play this game and to win, you aught to know every tricks of the trade.
Battle formations are extremely important. If you loose to many troops during the game you have lost.
I've played this game a few times, and if you wait till the end (3 years), impossible is the rigt word. If you on the other hand make the right choices throughout the game, and rush it to the last battle it is possible (barely).
I recomend this game for the experienced player who long for the little extra.
Author: Erlend Philip Wood (Oslo, Norway), 27-09-2012 14:27 Answer to Renaud from the map author: Thank you for the positive criticism. I fully recognize the fact that this map is not a mainstream, feelgood map intended for everyone. It is more of a niche map intended to fill a void out there. Like it says in the map description and in the opening messages, this is a hardcore experience for people with the skills and the patience to complete it. But if you have already encountered Old Erik, then you have nearly completed the challenge. And if you had the skills to make it this far, then surely you could finish the map as well. As long as you have 80-90 per cent of your core army intact when you enter the final battle of Valhalla, then it should be possible to defeat the garrison. Be patient and keep trying, the map has been playtested several times (Chaos, Death, Nature, Order), and it is possible to win!
Author: Renaud (Paris, France), 27-09-2012 01:59 congratulations and sorrow Your answer,Erland,fullfi ll me with sadness!clearly you know very well the game and have done a tremendous work,i recognize that of course, but you stretched the game up to its limits and it looses his savor(as far as i am concerned):during 10 or 12 fights the player has to use tricky methods,i mean that it would be impossible to win against a human player,but possible against an I.A.player.There is a difference between possible and interresting which lies in the pleasure provided to the player.for exemple you can use an héro with grandmaster attack,mask of horror and allegria (spell or artefact)to destroy N angels,it works very well and everybody can evaluate the hours,days, months used to finish this fighting depending to number N,this is possible but perfectly boring.....your scenario is very good,your knowledge of H4 remarquable and your map would be praised to be in the top ten of this site if it was more human!sincerely yours.
Author: Erlend Philip Wood (Oslo, Norway), 26-09-2012 23:36 Answer to questions by the map author: Sorry, the Ring Of Greater Negation and the Staff Of Disruption from the Archmage's 5-piece set are deliberately left out of this map, because the ability to ignore Magic Resistance would make the map too easy. I want the human Player too use their brains and try different tactics, remember this map is labeled Impossible after all! 1000 Black Dragons and Red Player's heroes are totally beatable, at least if you haven't lost to many troops earlier. Don't give up too easily. The prisoner called the Warden has a single purpose, which is to help you hunt down the Thief armies let loose in your kingdom. Since they all have Grandmaster Stealth, and there are limitations on your Scouting ability (max Advanced Scouting), the Warden is the only one who can spot these guys, and is quick enough to catch them. As soon as all 14 Thieves are caught, he has fulfilled his purpose.
Author: Renaud (Paris,France), 26-09-2012 17:30 Exceptionnal map,may be too! Are ring of greater négation and,or archmage's set available in this map?i am close to the end (16 months)but killing one thousand black dragons,old erick and the two final guys without one of this artefacts is beyond my dreams.Second question:what use for the prisoner?the poor guy has no magic abilitie,level 27 when everybody is level 50...?
Author: Alexander Rozhenko (Novosibirsk, Russia), 15-09-2012 21:05 Excellent map for real funs Since scouting and nobility are limited with second level in this map, the combat and magic resistance are the good alternative. Our you want to play with a pure mage without combat?
I like this map.
Author: Levin Malma (Hungary), 03-09-2012 13:22 Please don't! I have always wondered why do certain mapmakers want to tell players how they evolve their heroes. Even on the second day in this map my main hero gets Basic combat and magic resistance (and also any other hero would visit my first town). Why?! Please don't try to develop my hero for me! I will know what type of hero I want to have.
For this reason rules of this map is unacceptable for me, it completely ruins the whole playability.
* Artificially enhanced, super-strong computer heroes, up to a maximum of Level 70.
* Super-sized armies, potentially reaching numbers exceeding 100.000 strong.
* More than a dozen major battles to be fought.
* Lots of Relics and special artifacts to be discovered.
* Experience awarded for completing quests and for major achievements.
* Different objectives and rewards depending on which alignment you play (you always play as Purple Player, but you are free to choose alignment).
* Depending on your choice, some important computer heroes may adapt by automatically equipping different artifacts in response, like Armor or Shields of the opposite alignment to you, ensuring that they and their army always have a permanent Ward against your troops and spells.
* Neutral (Gray) heroes roam freely around the central island, capable of capturing towns and mines, while automatically generating troops for their armies every turn.
* Optional in-game help (for a price) and cheat (renouncing any claim to victory).
* Option to continue the game after the time limit has expired (renouncing any claim to victory).
* Shops. Well, sort of. More of a convenience to keep your inventory tidy than a way to make a fortune, really. The shop keeper isn't very bright, he will buy all your crappy stuff, in bulk.
* Upkeep: Captured enemy towns demand resources to stay loyal to you, with a chance for rebellion in favour of their original owner. This way, previously eliminated Players may re-emerge!
* Collaboration: If a computer Player liberates a town or mine originally belonging to another member of the computer Alliance, they won't keep it for themselves, but will give it back to its original owner instead. This is another way that previously eliminated Players may re-emerge!
* Strategic warfare: At some point, if the war goes badly for the computer, it may begin to fight dirty, and attack you in unconventional and cowardly ways rather than using brute force.
* Automatic hero improvement: After a certain time, when the warning message is given, the elite heroes of your main computer opponent will start to increase their attributes rapidly, with different countdown timers for their Defense, Attack, Spell Points, Speed and Level. If you take to long, you may have to face unbelievably strong heroes!
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