Help with first run

[Agrippa]

Hello. I've only recently discovered this series and am enjoying so far. For my first serious run, I'm planning on using a warrior on easy difficulty. I want to fully explore all of the branches and such and I understand this is impossible to do on more difficult settings. I might get bored by the easy encounters, but please keep in mind this is my first run and I'm mainly focusing on exploration.

As a warrior, it will be fairly critical to unlock the rage abilities as fast as possible. If possible, I'd like to unlock all of the rage powers by level six (in future runs on more difficult settings, too). I've figured out unlocking the lizard man rage. Trying to unlock the weapon rage at level three was a bit much, but any tips on his challenge would be appreciated. I've no clue on the mage adventurer chick or the reaper. Can I unlock these two by level six also? Spoilers are welcome for unlocking the rage abilities.

As I posted in another thread, I'm interested in possibly doing a no casualty run. This, of course, depends upon if there's a significant score bonus for doing so and whether or not it means no casualty armies or units. Heh I'm not about to try a run that wouldn't lose any units, but I would be interested in them if it means not losing any armies.

So. In the tutorial, how are people doing the dragon and necromancer battles without losing any units? I've beaten the dragon without losing an army, but he's always taken a number of units down. The necromancer does his axe thing on my weakest army and has one shot them every time. So how are people beating that one? Again, I'm not really interested in not losing units, but I'm amused that I'm struggling to get through the tutorial without losing an entire army heh. Any tips and suggestions are appreciated.

[Sir Whiskers]

Originally Posted by Agrippa

I've no clue on the mage adventurer chick or the reaper. Can I unlock these two by level six also? Spoilers are welcome for unlocking the rage abilities.

Unlocking Lina requires getting to Upper Hadar, which requires getting the maps from Freedom Islands. All you need to get the maps is 100K in gold, so it's certainly possible to get these at a relatively low level. This is part of the quest you get in Greenwort after you defeat the Turtle on Lyaro Island.

The Reaper is unlocked when you rescue the son of the Dwarf King Tom Digor, which means conquering Castle Bogacho. This is not an easy fight, so you'll need to be at least level 10+, the exact level depending on what troops you have and what items you've found.

Originally Posted by Agrippa

As I posted in another thread, I'm interested in possibly doing a no casualty run. This, of course, depends upon if there's a significant score bonus for doing so and whether or not it means no casualty armies or units. Heh I'm not about to try a run that wouldn't lose any units, but I would be interested in them if it means not losing any armies.

So. In the tutorial, how are people doing the dragon and necromancer battles without losing any units? I've beaten the dragon without losing an army, but he's always taken a number of units down. The necromancer does his axe thing on my weakest army and has one shot them every time. So how are people beating that one? Again, I'm not really interested in not losing units, but I'm amused that I'm struggling to get through the tutorial without losing an entire army heh. Any tips and suggestions are appreciated.

Without modding the game, I don't believe it's possible to complete the tutorial without losses. Your starting troops are too fragile, and even if they weren't, it's not unusual to lose one or more knights/horsemen.

That said, you don't have to go through the tutorial. It gives you some items, some money, and enough XP to get to level two. But you can decline the tests and skip that area.

Up to you if you want to go no-loss, but I've found that it's not worth the aggravation (to me, at least). I instead try to limit losses, so I don't have to constantly replenish my armies, but if I lose a few royal snakes or griffins in a battle, I don't worry about it. Makes the game much more fun, IMO. If you do go no-loss, expect to reload a number of fights due to bad luck or a surprise spell from an enemy hero.

BTW, once you've tried the game as designed, I strongly recommend downloading the HOMM Babies mod by Matt Caspermeyer. It makes the game easier in some ways, tougher in others. Mostly it makes the game a lot more fun, IMO. You can find the latest version here:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthr...t=29080&page=5

And once you're done with Legend, give Armored Princess/Crossworlds a try. Some folks prefer Legend, but I think AP/CW are even better.

Enjoy!