Game`s difficulity. Am I missing something??

[tickspoon]

I've just finished the Islands and heading to the Dwarven underground. Here's a couple of cheap tricks to use:

1) Buy the crown artifact that gives +100% dmg to thorns. Then fill up on Thorn Hunters and grab the 3 Royal Thorns on the first continent. The hunters will do massive damage. Royal thorns are really powerful since they can spawn large stacks of expendable thorns, but the problem is I could only find 3 of them. However there's a way to fix that using the next trick...

2) Sacrifice is possibly the most overpowered spell in game. You sacrifice some units to increase another stack _permanently_. That means that since you have an infinite number of cheap units like swordsmen, you can create any number of other units as long as you have 1 of that unit. Use this to fill up on Horsemen and Royal Thorns, and you should destroy everything. Also Evil Beholders on the first Western island are really good units. Swordsmen also serve as extremely sturdy cannon-fodder units.

After I figured out these tactics, the game got a little too easy, but it's still reasonably challenging since you're limited by leadership.

[aghiuta]

Use the frog princess wife and don't have any kids with her. After a while she turn to frog and gives 100% attack to snakes and spiders. Stock up on the three types of snakes available + priests and inquisitors and attack the undead castle. I killed him at lvl 9. The snakes will block the ghosts and the 100% attack really helps.
Invest everything in leadership (try to upgrade the items giving leadership).
And do note that some things are random every time you play.

[loner]

Started new game yesterday, and went for the rage box as soon as I could.
I have the frog and demon spell on lvl 8 now (my char is lvl 6) and the game is MUCH more easier.. So this was why I struggled a lot in previous game.. So as one of you already said, ignoring rage box in the beginning stage of the game isn`t exactly good idea..

Also, the military camp in Greenwort now offers 14 knights and 10 mounted knights (in previous game, it had only 4 mounted knights!) so this makes the game much more easier as well..

[LiveInABox]

Originally Posted by loner

Also, the military camp in Greenwort now offers 14 knights and 10 mounted knights (in previous game, it had only 4 mounted knights!) so this makes the game much more easier as well..

was that camp tough for you? I still cant beat it and im basically the same level as you theres like 2 stacks of 30 horsemen, 2 stacks of 30 mages and a massive stack of archers.

[loner]

Originally Posted by LiveInABox

was that camp tough for you? I still cant beat it and im basically the same level as you theres like 2 stacks of 30 horsemen, 2 stacks of 30 mages and a massive stack of archers.

I never fought that pack. Everytime I want to buy something from that camp, I just lure that stack from the camp, then buy units, and then run away

[ureal]

Originally Posted by loner

I never fought that pack. Everytime I want to buy something from that camp, I just lure that stack from the camp, then buy units, and then run away

same here, also can do the same thing with mobs that guard flags, chests and runes. Save and lure them away grab the items and come back later.

[Suporex]

Originally Posted by loner

Started new game yesterday, and went for the rage box as soon as I could.
I have the frog and demon spell on lvl 8 now (my char is lvl 6) and the game is MUCH more easier.. So this was why I struggled a lot in previous game.. So as one of you already said, ignoring rage box in the beginning stage of the game isn`t exactly good idea..

Also, the military camp in Greenwort now offers 14 knights and 10 mounted knights (in previous game, it had only 4 mounted knights!) so this makes the game much more easier as well..

Glad you manage now. But from my perspective it depends on play style my char mage lev 11 is in dwarf lands as well and rage box level 4-6 (the frog fishes rule for me now) and I have fireball max with +30% spell dmg at the moment and I don't have problems there although I heaven't clear the starting areas. But I have to say I can't save dwarf son just yet so I am comming back to finish what I left in starting areas

[Kolorabi]

One fairly insane piece of advice would be to try if you can kill the Kraken (talk to Miranda). I did it with swordsmen, guardsmen, archers, standard bears and griffins, which means I had big stacks of everything except the griffins. I took a lot of losses, but the victory was worth it.

The kraken is hard, but not very hard compared to the rest of the stuff you find on the islands. You just have to be prepared to lose a lot of your troops (not a problem if you play with mainly cheap troops). And you can't use rage spirits against it, so your disadvantage there won't hurt you in that fight. If you win, you'll get a huge amount of experience - probably enough to level up once.