Need HoMM 1 Campaign Help

[Kristo]

So what do you do? Do you form one or two large armies and just keep advancing, attacking any heroes that come your way? I think a more aggressive behaviour on my part is definitely required. If I lose this current go round of the scenario I will give that a try.

It starts with one army of pretty much everything I have. I prefer to "live off the land" by adding the computer's troops to my own army, especially when playing Knight. Secondary heroes serve as explorers and supply convoys. Around day 10-14, I send the main army out to bring the pain. After that point, I typically don't bother buying creatures at home unless I'm (a) threatened or (b) need to resupply.

I believe that all castles on the map actually belong to me. I just allow the AI players to run them for a while since I'm such a nice guy.

[Wrathchilde]

I prefer to "live off the land" by adding the computer's troops to my own army, especially when playing Knight.

What do you mean by 'computer's troops'?

[Kristo]

Whenever I conquer a computer-controlled castle I incorporate those troops into my army as morale allows. I do not usually try to resupply from home. A Knight's weak troops and leadership ability make this strategy very effective. No matter which player you conquer, you're probably getting an upgrade in some area.

[Paviel]

Whenever I conquer a computer-controlled castle I incorporate those troops into my army as morale allows.

That's actually a good idea, especially for the Knight. Not only are the troops of his opponents generally stronger than his own, but the Knight's morale bonus means that he can incorporate an additional alignment with no penalty.

Here's what I do to begin: I send a knight northwest at top speed (sadly, not that fast considering that he starts with peasants and archers) to grab one of the lamps in the desert near the Barbarian castle. 3 or 4 genies aren't that much in the endgame, but they can make or break the startgame.

Then, since I'm in the neighborhood anyway, I usually either continue northwest and conquer the Barbarian or detour south-southwest to take the Warlock.

[Wrathchilde]

I had a chance to get back to this campaign and Lord Ironfist has finally been successful. What worked for me was adapting Kristo's concept of defending territory, not castles. I had a few armies fanned out that kept sweeping forward, claiming castles and destroying any enemy armies that tried to get through the net. I don't look forward to playing this scenario again when I do the other 3 campaigns, which I'm going to do after finishing this one. Of the remaining 3 campaigns, what is the perceived difficulty, from easiest to hardest?

[Kristo]

Congrats on finally finishing this one. Were you able to do it without the reveal-map cheat? I haven't played the other factions, but I'd imagine they increase in difficulty from Barbarian to Sorceress to Warlock (based on total army strength alone).

[Wrathchilde]

No, I wasn't able to do it without the reveal map cheat. I actually took a saved game that I had, where my main hero had the ultimate artifact sword and then started implementing your advice. It actually went fairly smoothly after getting in the mind set of not trying to look at the castles as the focal point of my defense. I still lost the occassional castle to the enemy, but he wasn't strong enough to be able to keep them away from me. He was usually hitting and running. I think he was down to 3 castles left by the time I had my full quota of heroes, and there was just nowhere he could go without getting nailed by me. He would buy new heroes every turn but he had no army to speak of. I'm just glad it's over!

[Black Ghost]

I'd suggest fast exploration to get free resources. Try capturing gold mines, even if you spent much time recapturing it. 1000gold/day is too good to wait. furthermore 1 mine = 4 towns, which are impossible to defend for long.

Also recruit all neutrals before computer. they are just great, bandits, nomads, genies. also hire good troops from conquered towns and rush to barbarian main castle. IMO its army is better than knights, and will be more useful against warlock. Until warlock gets blackies barb+knight castles are enough developed to beat warlock.

Meanwhile build nearby 2 towns to castles and get more higher level units. You shouldn't built them at once. cripple sorceress if she's too agressive, and beat warlock.

then you just need to concentrate on your last opp. there's a chance blackies won't be necessary.

What is important in that scenario is eliminating opp one by one, not trying to beat all at once. And my sugestion is: destroy Barb->Warlock->Sorceress

[edit]

oh, and hero selection is vital. for main army/armies barbarian will be better since knight units have good defense themself, attack is too imporant. And good warlock hero is needed. nothing better than fast few creatures and meteor rain+surrender to reduce powerful opponents in few strikes.

[Wrathchilde]

Why do they show the actual artifact on the map? Is anyone really going to pick up the Fizbin of Misfortune when they can see what it is?

[Kristo]

How else are you supposed to decide it's worth fighting some Dragons for the artifact if you can't see it? The artifacts that appear on the map are random so (in theory) every artifact is equally likely to show up, including the Fizbin. But you're right, the only way an experienced player would pick that one up is to have it given in a treasure chest, i.e., it's forced upon him.

[Wrathchilde]

I guess that I was just thinking that there should be a little more mystery, but then I guess it makes sense that no one would go on a quest for an artifact if they didn't know what it was.

And I though going up against Lord Slayer was supposed to be easier than the prior map. Oy.

[Kristo]

There's a good reason that "The bones of Lord Slayer are buried in the foundation of the arena." This map is IMHO the most difficult of the Knight campaign. You'll probably need to use a baiting tactic to survive the first few weeks. As I said before, the AI defends castles, not territory. It also cannot resist an undefended castle. What this means is that you can purposely strip the defenders of one castle to attract attention away from any others you own. Let the AI take it. When the hero moves out he will leave some defenders behind, thereby splitting his army into two more manageable pieces. Just be sure to not let the computer hold a castle over day 1 when the creature generators refresh.

[Wrathchilde]

Damn, and I thought that I had just finished the most difficult map in the campaign. I was hoping for an easy ride through the rest of the campaign.

[Paviel]

In some ways, the Barbarian is harder than the spellcasters. At the risk of spoiling a bit of the next few scenarios, what lies between your territory and theirs prevents them from attacking you. So whereas the Barbarians charge across the desert in a matter of weeks, the Sorceress and Warlock pretty much stay where they are.

Now, about the Barbarian... I do not cheat, so instead I hire a Warlock to explore the desert. Yeah, he suffers a movement penalty, but the presence of a gargoyle or three somewhat makes up for it, as does his enhanced sight. If you cheat, then this is unnecessary.

Another thing you may have noticed about scenario 5, and know that it also applies to scenarios 6 and 7, is that you start with both a castle and a town, and your castle is pretty well built up. I suggest building up the town into a castle for income.

Come to think of it, you should grab the third town in your starting area as well and build it up into a castle for the income. Don't bother building it up farther, though, unless it happens to be the same alignment as yours: You don't need those extra troops, and you certainly don't want the Barbarian to get them. It'll be your decoy town, since the AI targets weak or undefended towns.

And, when fighting the Barbarian, GET THE NOMAD BOOTS. You will always find them northwest of your town, and you will always need them to mitigate the terrain penalties of the desert and snow.

Speaking of mitigating the terrain penalties, occasionally your opponent loses a hero, so check the heroes for hire at the start of each week. If a barbarian is available, hire him.

And once you're ready to take the fight to the Barbarian, put EVERYTHING into your attack. Even if the Barbarian somehow takes all of your towns, you still have seven days to capture Castle Slayer (or the castle just north of the pass, at the very least). Your goal is to capture Castle Slayer, not to wipe out the Barbarian completely.