Undead Hordes map 3 Need help.

[shinros]

I don't know who the hell designed map 3 for the undead hordes but it seems like he was just having a bad day. I simply don't know what to do there are too many parties and I simply get overwhelmed considering the amount of keeps you have to handle and defend it seems the only easy way to do it is pick the guild master at the start.

This map is just stupid I simply don't know what to do does anyone have any advice on how to beat it? I think picking the mage lord for undead hordes was a mistake the whole campaign just screams guild master. ; /

[pp3088 - ciężki blob zabójca]

It is probably the hardest mission in the Disciples series ever. The enemy got unlimited mana and unlimited troops and spams lvl5 spells all the time. Joke map, only one I have never passed without cheats. It is shameful that map 4 is piss poor easy compared to map3. Bleh.

[glyphic]

I just got up to this map (also with the Mage) and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I really like the part where the AI has access to powerful spells of 3 elements, so no matter which 2 tomes you're holding it always has some way to make you miserable.

[glyphic]

So after many hours I finally beat it. I took quite a few notes so get ready for a wall of text...

The first time I played this map the enemy had first turn. All other times it was my turn first. I don't know if it's random or bugged but make sure it's your turn first since the extra units help a tiny bit. At the start try to run them towards safety. Most will die but the party up north will live.

Kill the enemy blocking the way to the gold spot near the start so your terrain can grow. Go northwest and meet up with your other party. Capture the infernal mana and adjacent city. Next if you follow the coastline left you'll find some runestone mana. Capture this ASAP. Runestone mana is the lifeblood of this map since Call of the Red Dragon needs it.

Note: I went infernal first then runestone but there's another somewhat easy infernal to get in the southwest. At the end of the map I had way too much infernal and you ALWAYS need more runestone, so maybe capturing it first is a better idea. Not sure.

Your basic tactic against being outnumbered will be to hit an enemy party with Red Dragon for 100hp then either cleaning them up with a party of your own, a summoned creature or another damage spell. Sometimes 1 Red Dragon will kill them outright or kill their leader forcing them to slowly retreat. You can sometimes kill 2 enemy parties in one turn depending on your mana.

The west city near the runestone mana is extremely important but guarded by tough enemies. When you've got enough infernal mana use 2 summoned Nightmares, maybe summoned Ents then capture with a leader. Using a Chant of Fortitude scroll on a Nightmare allows it to get 2 rounds of damage in. There's a scroll in one of the loot bags near your start city. Use random potions on summons/leaders if you have to. I captured this city on turn 13 so there's a rough guide for timing.

My main party was 3 Templar/Dark Lords and 2 Ghosts. Spectres are mostly a waste of money since they still die fairly easily and cost a lot to res/heal. It's more cost effective using 50gp Ghosts and dismissing them once they die.

After capturing the city the next target is a Mountain Clan city across the sea to the west a little. Use a similar tactic of buffed summoned creatures and then cleaning up with a leader. This city is the hardest to capture because of the enemy parties being sent in while you're trying to move out. But once you capture it then you should be assured victory. I forgot to note what turn I captured this on... around 40-50 I think.

If getting hit by Vengeance of Ymir next turn will kill your leader but you need them to take a city (for example) then cast Shadow on them. It's kind of expensive but can be vital.

If an enemy rod planter is going to destroy one of your rods next turn then kill them by whatever means necessary. This is important! You need as much mana as possible. Red Dragon is the only thing that will win you this map.

Don't really bother with capturing neutral cities. If you want resources around them then just plant a rod. Wait for the enemy to capture the neutral city then attack. The enemy parties are much easier to deal with than like 5 Elf Rangers etc.

If you have a water tome then equip it at the end of your turn. I really regret not bringing one in to my last attempt. Vengeance of Ymir and summoned Valkyries are a real pain in the ass. An air tome is useful when attacking certain enemy groups on this map, but it's not vital.

Near the first Mountain Clan city you capture there's a mage tower with some spells for sale. Healing is there for 400gp which is nice. It can be useful but it takes 200 of your precious runestone so eh.

And that's about it... Hope it helps!

[zhartaunik]

I'd like to give you few pieces of advice how to pass this map.

I played as Lord Warrior, but with Mage hero (those one which cast spell on 6 targets).

When the game has finished I had:
Mage hero 6lvl
Warrior hero 4lvl
Warrior hero 4lvl

My Mage defended center. Two other heroes defended 2 sides. I controlled 5 cities for long period. My heroes were sitting in cities for long part of the game.
The most important spell is "Shadow" (don't remember the proper title). When you are using that spell you must remember some important things. There should be no enemies rods near you, enemy heroes and cities. Some of local monsters can also be enemies eyes.

It's very important to have Templars (not Sekeleton branch). Which have resistance to magic.
My parties were:
Mage: Templar, Templar, Dragon, Paralyze
Both Warriors: Templar, Templar, Paralyze, Paralyze

In each town I also had ~3-4 healthy units. Usually they were Templars, Paralyze, and I had 1-2 units with weapon resistance (it's name is Death, as I remember).

All cities were upgraded to last stage (and had 30% or 35% of defense). And the same percent of health recovery + 15% from Lord Warrior (Correct me if I'm not right here)

When enemy attacked you with Valkyrie or Gholem you should try to improve new units. So if you have all units max level and you feel that you can to repel the attack with some 1level unit - use it. When your party isn't healthy - you can easily to change existing units on those which are staying in that city (which you improved before).

Few advises regarding computers turns. You may think that these are bugs. So to use them or not is up to you.

- You can duel with some non-healthy leaders and kill them. Then don't kill the party. That party will slowly travel into it's own city.

- Put Templar (which has resistance to magic) with rod hero near some resources. Computer can cast Imir Vengeance on it for long period. Turn by turn. But he will not kill it with this spell. At the same time you can try to go with some another unit from other side and do your dirty work.

I passed this level on ~140 or ~160 turn. 80% of time I set in these 5 cities. Then I quickly took all other cities. And most of time I sit in towns. 6th city was near Clans main city. And then game became easier.