Advice to beginners, from a beginner

[Vomaxx]

This is going to make some people laugh, because they will not believe that I did not know these things for some time into the game; but I imagine that other beginners at this game may have overlooked these things too. So:

1) You can put an unlimited number of troops in your reserve slots (once you get the slots). So, even if your leadership permits you to have only, say, 75 swordsmen, you can put in reserve as many swordsmen as you can afford and use them to replace your lossesafter a battle.

2) When you are at a castle or other store, be sure to notice if there are little buttons at the top of the troops and spells and items boxes. If there are, push the buttons on the right to see more items. (I went through many hours thinking that nobody sold more than two spells.)

3) Do not fail to make use of the map notation feature to note places and people and exits (especially in the dwarf mines), for if you do not do this you will spend a long time wandering around to find again something you once found, and you may get very frustrated. (I almost went nuts trying to find the talking brook.)

4) When you leave garrisons in castles, write down what you left where. You won’t remember.

5) You should probably also write down what troops are available where. This takes some time, but really helps when you want to replace your Polar Bears and you can’t remember who “sells” them.

6) The hints that appear when the game is loading are often really helpful. Read them.

7) Remember that the F5 key makes a quick save. Use it.