Difference between revisions of "TheEasternInvasion"

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This is a discussion of The Eastern Invasion, the campaign featuring Gweddry General of Wesnoth.
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:''This walkthrough is in the process of being updated for version 1.18+''
  
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''Note by Crus4a7E: I played this campaing in V 1.4.5 (medium difficulty) using this walkthrough. As most parts did not quite seem to reflect the current state of the campain anymore, I felt obliged to contribute a number of updates to most scenarios' walkthroughs. Nevertheless, please feel free to further improve this walkthrough in particular for those scenarios I have not played and thus not updated. Overall the campain now seems well-balanced and is fun to play.''
 
  
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The following descriptions are aimed at the "medium" difficulty level (as "easy" lets you get away with sloppiness and "hard" is for people who are comfortable with Advanced Tactics). Please improve these and add your own for later levels.
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In this campaign you play the role of Gweddry, a human Frontier Sergeant who has the responsibility of dealing with a powerful Lich who wants to destroy Wesnoth. As a sergeant, Gweddry has the potential to level up into a Grand Marshal, a level 4 unit that can empower his troops significantly through Leadership. You start with the support of a White Mage named Dacyn, who will be by your side throughout the campaign.
  
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'''Warning: spoilers ahead!'''
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As any other walkthrough, this document describes plot details that can be considered spoilers. This is particularly true for this campaign.
  
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=== The Outpost ===
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Spoiler 1: Expect game-altering surprises and scenario modifiers that flip your strategy on its head. Every battle is a completely unique challenge!
  
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It is probably best to recruit 5 heavy infantry and 1 mage on this scenario. The heavy infantry can flag the villages surrounding you by turn 3, turn 2 if they're quick, and the mage can flag the northern forest village on turn 2 if quick.
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Spoiler 2: Unit AMLA behavior has changed to grant +8 HP bonuses or +1 damage bonuses, and there are a handful of items that permanently change your unit's attributes. In other words, don't give up on the Spearman line just because it's bad against Skeletons in the early game.
  
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Sending 2 HI(heavy infantry) south, to the revenants, is a good idea because you can usually get both of them a 2nd level kill without having either die. The other ones should stand and fight against the enemies coming at you from the north and east. Use the HI most of time, and use the mage when they are in forest and it can get a killing blow. By the end of the scenario, you should have 2-3 shock troopers and 1 half-advanced mage.
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Spoiler 3: There will come a point where you will have to choose your favorite 6-12 recalls, and abandon the rest. Therefore, it is better to have a small, diversified squad of elites than a large roster of redundant roles.  
  
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It is sometimes a good idea to recruit another mage on turn 10 or so, since you will probably end the scenario with less than 100 gold anyway, so you save money by buying in advance. (mathematically this does make sense). Also, you can get them about 10 experience along the way.
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You'll probably want to level up at least two extra Mages of Light (other than Dacyn), and a few Arch/Silver Mages. Spearmen and Bowmen are highly effective if granted one of the many artifacts in the campaign that grant ''Arcane'' damage. Heavy Infantry are indispensable in the early game, but be wary of relying on them too much, since their low mobility will be a severe hindrance in several challenging scenarios.
  
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==== Alternative Strategy ====
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=== The Outpost ===
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The above strategy did not work for me despite of several attempts. Whenever I recruited only 5 HI or tried to send 2 HI southwards to capture villages I got slaughtered around turns 10 to 12 by the latest. (Played with V 1.4.5 on medium difficulty) Thus below I describe an alternative strategy which worked rather painlessly for me.
 
  
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Remark: In V 1.4.5 all of the villages surrounding the player's keep are already flagged at the start. Only in the very south (south of the river) are a couple of unflagged villages.
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* '''Objectives''': Defend the outpost, then move Gweddry to the trapdoor.
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* '''Lose if''':  Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
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* '''Turns''': 11
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* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn.
  
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Recruit one keep full of HI in turn 1 (no mage, as there is little use in it in this scenario and we are short of money). In turn 2, move the HI to build a straight line northeast and east of your castle (the line should be inside the castle walls whereever possible to use its high defence rating but other than that as straight as possible to only allow two enemy units at a time to attack any of your HI). Then wait about 2 to 3 turns until the enemy forces start to attack and you have enough money to recruit about another 3 HI. Use them to reinforce your line.
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Your 3 opponents will recruit slightly different units. The northernmost enemy will recruit Bats and skeleton troops, the middle one will recruit Walking Corpses, and the southern one will recruit skeletons including Bone Shooters and Revenants.  
  
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Then just hold out the enemy attack during night time; only rotate wounded units if possible, but do not counter-attack. At dawn start your counter-attack without worrying to much about keeping the original line intact. Instead try to level 2 or 3 HI to Shock Troopers. The enemy forces quickly cease to be any danger to your forces.
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On turn 7, Dacyn will mysteriously disappear, and you'll briefly meet Mal-Ravanal, the leader of the undead, who summons tough ghost units and says mean things to the player. At end of turns, Dacyn returns and points out a trap door, near your starting fort, to exit the level. All of the enemy leaders will get a big gold boost -- there's no use fighting.
  
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Also around turn 12 the white mage re-arrives and points out a trap door you should use. The trap door is located near your castle and clearly visible unless any unit stands on it. So if you do not see it right away, just move your units around a little.
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There are several approaches to this scenario, but the common factor in all of them is that 50% of your recruits should be heavy infantry, since their impact attacks are effective against skeletons, and they have excellent resistances against blade and pierce. Supplement with a few Magi -- if you can feed one enough EXP to obtain a second White Mage, you'll be in great shape. Fencers aren't much use, but you can use one to hold your western villages against Bats, or send one as fodder to occupy Walking Corpses.
  
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Position your leader near the trap door so he can reach it in one turn. As it is almost impossible to finish with more than 100 gold (which is the minimum starting gold of the next level), use the remaining turns to level as many units as possible and only move your leader onto the trap door in the very last turn.
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Just hold out for the enemy attack during nighttime; only rotate wounded units if possible, but do not counter-attack. At dawn, your enemies will flee, but they'll be back stronger than ever on the second night. Don't try to push for the enemies' keeps, instead keep your path to the trap-door clear and fall back to Gweddry's starting keep if needed.
  
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Using this strategy I finished with 2 shock troopers and several well-levelled HI. Also your leader and the white mage should have gained a little experience.
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=== Escape Tunnel ===
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* '''Objectives''': Move Gweddry to the end of the tunnel.
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* '''Lose if''': Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
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* '''Turns''': 17/15/13 (Easy/Medium/Hard).
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* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn.
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* '''Other''':
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** Crystal Quiver in the Northeast cave
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** Treasure of 50 gold in Northeast cave
  
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==== Alternative Strategy #2 ====
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This scenario occurs in a small cave occupied by trolls and dwarves. You start on the far West of the map, and your mission is to take Gweddry all the way to the opposite side.
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An alternative strategy to consider is to recruit as late as possible and to start fighting when the sun is up. Somehow you will be able to decide when to engage in the battle, as the enemy will let you stay in your castle without bothering you.  
 
  
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At turn #4, recruit 1 Mage and 5 Heavy Infantrymen (HI). The trick is not to move a single unit and somehow, no one attacks you. I did the test multiple times and I always started the first fight when I decided it was time (i.e. during the day light). A variation of the strategy that does not work is to start recruiting only when the sun is up; somehow the enemy attacks your leader.
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You'll be unable to recruit heavily on this small map, and a prolonged battle is folly against the swarms of Undead who will appear on turns 12/10/8. Instead, recruit/recall a Bowman and 1 other speedy unit at the small keep just east of Gweddry, then hoof it to the southern tunnel.
  
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Turn #7, this is dawn and now you can start attacking. My goal is to finish any fight with my Mage or the Leader to get them to level 2 and 3 as soon as possible. White Mages always make my life easier during Campaigns. I also recruit 2 HI, 1 Cavalryman to go get some villages, and 1 Mage.
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The Dwarves to your south are friendly and will distract the centrally-located Trolls for you. The trolls and undead are hostile to each other, as well as to you and the dwarves.  
  
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You will end up with 1 HI or your Leader at level 2 and your Mages should be half way to Level 2.
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In the northeast, a Crystal Quiver is lightly guarded. This permanent item makes all the ranged attacks of the unit that picks it up of type ''Arcane'' and grants ''Illumination''. Give it to a Bowman, since Magi already have effective Ranged damage versus undead, and all your other units are primarily melee.
  
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==== Alternative Strategy... #3 ====
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You don't have enough time on this map to do much more than pick up the Quiver. However, you can use the eastern tunnel bottlenecks to slow-roll the Trolls and grant your Quiver-bearer some EXP, before escaping at the east end. Stepping on/through the last cave hex will trigger victory.
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None of the above tactics work when playing under the "challenging" difficulty level(since you are given only 80 coins at the beginning of the scenario).
 
  
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My advice when playing this on the hardest level is to spend your starting money on two HI units and two cavalry units. Don't buy any mages -- they are too fragile and expensive. Your main goal is to keep away as much enemy forces as possible from your keep (ESPECIALLY during night). Use the cavalry to divert at least a small portion of the undead by making them chase your horsemen. Remember to always "taunt" them -- capture the villages near their keeps and run away from there the next turn. This way you can keep your fortress not owerwhelmed for some time. Spend every coin possible on heavy infantry and don't let skeletons/bats occupy tiles in your keep. If you do let them, this may be fatal to your leader. ;) You may even recruit a spearman or two to "block" a keep tile if this may save your main character.
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=== An Unexpected Appearance ===
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* '''Objectives''': Defeat either enemy leader.
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* '''Lose if''': Gweddry or Dacyn dies or turns run out.
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* '''Turns''': 24
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* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn.
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* '''Other''':
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** Your next scenario depends on which leader you defeat.
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** Both Dacyn and Gweddry never miss when they attack on turn 1.
  
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NOTE: I did use this exact same tactic to beat the scenario on challenging, however, it did require some luck and re-loading. Remember -- when things seem dire, leveling up is the best healing. I saved my leader(why do I always forget his name?) by letting him kill a second-level skeleton archer, but that only happened by miracle - he hit all three times on 40% and didn't get killed by counter-attacks although he had only 3 HP left! I must be lucky :P
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In this scenario you have to defeat one of the dark sorcerers on the edges of the map. Your next scenario will depend on the enemy you choose to kill. Killing the one to the West will take you to the ''Elven Alliance'' scenario, while the one to the East takes you to ''Ill Humors''.
  
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Euclid
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Going East is more difficult, especially on hard, but brings higher rewards: more EXP, loyal Dunefolk units, and/or loyal Paladin and Knights.
  
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=== Escape Tunnel ===
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First, expel Mal-Tar out of your keep. Your leaders can't miss on their first turn, so a turn 1 kill is guaranteed. Then, prep for battle. You will be fighting assorted undead (in the West) and Vampire Bats and Ghosts (in the East). This is an easier scenario, so focus on leveling units: Magi, your Quiver-bearer, and Gweddry himself (get that Leadership bonus!). Strive for a big early finish bonus.
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* Objectives: Move Gweddry to the end of the tunnel
 
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* Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies or turns run out
 
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* Turns: 26/24/22 (easy/medium/hard)
 
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* Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn
 
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* Other
 
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** Permanent holy amulet in north
 
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** Treasure of 200 gold in southeast
 
  
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Don't bother recalling Heavy Infantry, they go too slow in caves. Go for a group of mostly Mages, and a couple of Spearmen. (One keep of units in total should easily be enough.)
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Approach 1 (going East): Send Magi and Spearmen east, along with a healer and Gweddry himself (once he's finished recruiting). Send your Quiver-bearer west with some Heavy Infantry and Mage backup (and a second White Mage if you have one). Neither Dark Sorcerer leaves their keep to fight, so you can bottleneck the Western enemy in the mountains and farm EXP, while the Spearmen and Magi press east.
  
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The map is quite small. Bypass the fights that you can until you have the bulk of your units in th safety of the dwarf leader's keep area. When you are just moving Gweddry along be opportunistic and get some experience. Move your units to the east until you encounter trolls and reach a crossroads. A couple of dwarves will kindly become your allies and keep off the trolls for a few turns.  
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Approach 2 (going East): Recruit the same troops, but send all east, using the Heavy Infantry as a rearguard, to minimize any losses on that flank.
  
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There is a holy amulet to the north (unlike in other campaigns this holy amulet is permanent!). Send a quick Spearman there or Gweddry (Giving Gweddry the holy amulet (instead of a Spearman) allows him to level very quickly, which is important, since he can advance to Grand Marshal. This gives benefits in other ways on a number of later scenarios as well, such as the River Crossing, where you can get an easy 1st turn kill against the undead leader and take his castle.  Note that the leader is very hard to kill anyway).  
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Approach 3 (going West): Recruit more lightly and push West. You should be able to kill the Western enemy before the other enemy's forces can reach you.
  
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As soon as you have got the holy amulet start to move all your units south without bothering about the trolls or the undead which appear after a number of turns from the direction of your keep.
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=== Diverging Campaign Path ===
  
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The undead, trolls and dwarves will all fight each other, so after having moved all your units south position one Spearman at the end of the cave leading south (so only one unit a turn can attack him) and position the White Mage right behind him to heal it every turn. These two units should easily keep of the enemies following you until the end of the scenario. Move Gweddry to the northeast accompanied by a Mage and a Spearman (to fight individual trolls coming your way).
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==== An Elven Interlude ====
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* '''Objectives''': Move any unit to the signpost in the northwest.
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* '''Lose if''': Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
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* '''Turns''': 25
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* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn.
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* '''Other''':
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** Addogin will join as a loyal unit if defeating him before capturing 10 villages
  
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Before moving Gweddry to the end of the cave (which ends the level) send the Mage to the east past the funny signpost warning you of the troll hole. In the cave the Mage discovers a chest containing a troll treasure amounting to 200 gold.
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The warning about the assassin is overrated. The assassin disappears into the forest, but you won't bump into him, he'll just reappear when anyone dies.
  
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=== An Unexpected Appearance ===
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Recruit / recall a wide assortment of units, mostly mages, spearmen and cavalry. Send mages and spearmen up to fight the opponent, send cavalry down as scouts. Any heavy infantry should go up to fight also; they will probably arrive late, and be good for reinforcements when the first troops are wounded.
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* Objectives: Defeat either enemy leader
 
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* Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies or turns run out
 
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* Turns: 20/20/20 (easy/medium/hard)
 
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* Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn
 
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* Other: your next scenario depends on which leader you defeat
 
  
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What you do in this scenario depends on which way you want to go. Going east is harder, but brings you more reward, such as the chance to go to Mal-Ravanal's Capital, which gives you the opportunity to get extra experience (a lot for whoever survives) and a free Paladin and several Knights.
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Align the troops in the forest, so that the enemy will be on grass; this gives you a tactical advantage. Use Dacyn to heal those who need it most - those on the corners, and any mages who are on the front lines.
  
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First kill Mal-Tar to get your keep. To do this, shoot him with Dacyn and attack him with Gweddry's melee. If you don't kill him the first turn, second turn kill him with Dacyn so Gweddry can recruit. You will be fighting a mix of undead and bats, so recruit Heavy Infantry and Mages (if you gave the amulet to a Spearman in the previous scenario, recall him, too). Dacyn might be wounded, so send him to a village. Don't worry, he can fend for himself, since the bats usually arrive one at a time and he can kill one per turn.
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There is a village at {20,12} that can prove tactically very useful, because the elves usually fight somewhere near it. Be careful grabbing villages that you don't accidentally get 10 -- if you do, the outlaws will flee and you'll lose the chance to gain Addogin, a loyal Outlaw. "Kill" him to add him to your roster and cause all his other forces to flee.
  
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The attackers should be no problem so focus on leveling units. If you move quickly you should only need to fight the attackers from one leader. Of course you can have some of your units double back to engage the second set.
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Once you have gotten past turn 6, it will be day. When the assassin appears, you may ignore it unless you have a unit close-by. In that case, use it to fight the assassin. Keep pressing up. It is possible to kill the orcish leader by turn 9 for a nice gold bonus.
  
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===Diverging Campaign Path===
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==== Ill Humors ====
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==== Elven Alliance ====
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* '''Objective''': Defeat Mal-Skraat
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* '''Lose if''': Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
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* '''Turns''': 24/23/22.
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* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn.
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* '''Other''':
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** An optional extra mission is possible
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** Any of your units that are adjacent to Swamp hexes will be Poisoned
  
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The Orc's warning about the assassin is overrated; Volas can probably take care of it himself, although you might want to leave ONE unit near him to make sure.
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You have two immediate concerns on this map: the antagonistic wildlife, and the toxic swamp. Recruit/recall a keep's worth of units to deal with the nearby Swamp Lizard, and grab nearby villages.
  
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Recruit / recall a wide assortment of units, mostly mages, spearmen and cavalry. Send mages and spearmen up to fight the opponent, send cavalry down as scouts. Any heavy infantry should go up to fight also; they will probably arrive late, and be good for reinforcements when the first troops are wounded.
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On Turn 2, you will be introduced to Hahid, a loyal Dune Apothecary, and his assistant Safyam, a Dune Burner. You'll also notice several Dunefolk units to the southwest. Hahid forms an alliance, and tells you to keep your units safe from the swamp by collecting alswdan herbs on specially marked, randomly placed tiles. Once you collect the 5th herb, Hahid will offer you 3 choices on how to proceed:
  
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Align the troops in the forest, so that the enemy will be on grass; this gives you a tactical advantage. Use Dacyn to heal those who need it most - those on the corners, and any mages who are on the front lines.
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* Pay 50 gold to end the scenario and begin ''Mal-Ravanal's Capital'', a challenging and rewarding bonus scenario inserted before ''Northern Outpost''.
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* Pay 0 gold to lose the Dunefolk from your team and proceed to ''Northern Outpost'' by killing Mal-Skraat.
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* Pay 150 gold to add ''all'' dunefolk to your team permanently, then defeat the northwest leader and proceed to ''Northern Outpost''.
  
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There is a village at {20,8} that can prove tactically very useful, because the elves usually fight somewhere near it.
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Any of these options can succeed. However, bear in mind that the Dunefolk army all has the ''Mercenary'' ability, meaning they fight better when the player has gold, and worse when the player's gold is 0 or less. They are complex to manage, and may be a liability in larger battles.  
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The elves are defeated most of the time, and the orcs claim this village; it is crucial to kill the orc on this village and take it over with a resilient spearman, or a HI.
 
  
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Once you have gotten past turn 6, it will be day, and the orcs will be very easy to defeat. When the assassin appears on turn 7, ignore it unless you have a cavalryman still down there. In that case, use it to fight the assassin. Keep pressing up. By turn 9, the orcish leader should be dead.
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To go to ''Mal-Ravanal's Capital'': Send folks into the swamp to your east, and have Hahid and Safyam explore near where they appear. Fight off the swamp creatures, using White Magi to keep your team healthy. Don't over-recruit, and anticipate your team's upkeep costs! A nimble unit like a Fencer helps to snag faraway herbs quickly for a big finish bonus (you'll need it).
  
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==== The Undead Border Patrol ====
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To recruit the dunefolk before ''Northern Outpost'': Same strategy, but more scrappy.
  
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This scenario also depends on which way you want to go. If going NW, it is fairly straightforward. The enemy is relatively weak. Do the same as in Unexpected Appearance - recruit 2 suicide cavalrymen to distract the bats. One will probably get enough XP to be worth recalling.
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To go directly to ''Northern Outpost'', no dunefolk: you can collect 5 alswdan herbs and refuse to pay, or you can just kill Mal-Skraat. With corpses and bats, he's not much of a threat; the swamp poison is the scariest part.
  
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I would use mostly heavy infantry and spearmen with the holy amulet on this level, because mages will only get a +10% to hit from magical. However, as in most scenarios against undead, white mages are very useful.
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==== Mal-Ravanal's Capital ====
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* '''Objective''': Escape from the capital by killing one of the two dark sorcerers.
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* '''Lose if''': Gweddry or Dacyn dies
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* '''Turns''': n/a
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* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn
  
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Try to get the opponent to fight you from the sand. This gives you something like a 70% CTH. >)
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Only reachable from ''Ill Humors'' scenario, but you may skip it and go directly to ''Northern Outpost''.
  
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(CTH = Chance To Hit).
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The main reason to get here, besides XP, is to acquire a cavalry force of one Paladin (a loyal unit) and several Knights. Focus on freeing the horsemen as quickly as possible. To do this, kill the 6 Deathblades guarding the cages (they will not attack unless you stand next to them first). Powerful ranged units like your Quiver-bearer and White Mages make the perfect assassins.
  
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===== Mal-Ravanal's Capital =====
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You have until Turn 10 until Mal-Ravanal notices Dacyn and gets serious. To free the cavalry in time, you'll probably need to split your forces up. Send your first recalls southeast towards the Paladin -- if you're lucky, you can free it on same turn you meet the victory condition. Soon after, send a small assassin squad [landofMordor: I used a White Mage and my Quiver-bearing Bowman] north to free the topmost Knight; once he's free, send him to reinforce another group and send your assassins due east to free the Knight there.
  
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Only reachable from ''The Undead Border Patrol'' scenario, but you might also skip it and go directly to ''Northern Outpost''.
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Now, while your hit squads are gallivanting around killing Deathblades, you need to occupy the bulk of Mal-Ravanal's forces. A healer and Heavy Infantry (or even Spearmen) can do the trick at the impassable bottleneck due east of your starting keep. Don't try to push forward or gain ground; instead, just hold the line and allow one or two units to come through the bottleneck at a time.
  
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This is a very challenging scenario. I started with only 100 gold, so I recalled one Mage, two Shock Troopers, one Heavy Infantry, and my holy Halberdier. I defended the starting castle for about 10 turns until the Revenants had made their way over to me. Upon killing several of them, I freed some imprisoned Knights and a Paladin. I moved my forces to kill the Death Knight, and then split my forces. I sent one group to attack Mal-Ravanal and the other to kill the Necromancer in the NW corner. By turn 30, my Eastern assault force was in postion to attack Mal-Ravanal. However, when I attacked him, he teleported my troops back to the starting castle, so I wasn't able to defeat him. When I was ready, I killed the NW Necromancer and progressed to <i>The Northern Outpost</i>.
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Finally, once Gweddry is finished recruiting, send him and any disposables southwest towards that Dark Sorcerer, freeing the Knight along the way. That crew should be enough to overwhelm the puny Walking Corpse army there, stall if needed until the Paladin is free, and fight your way free.
  
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The reason to go here is to acquire a cavalry force of one Paladin and five Knights. To do this kill the 6 Revenants guarding the cages, but note the number of Knights available is reduced by one for each of your troops that die *after you rescue the first one*. You might want to make sure any expendable troops are "expended" before this. Each rescued unit pops in with full moves.
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=== The Northern Outpost ===
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* '''Objectives''':
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** Find the outlaw leader in the villages and kill him.
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** Defeat the undead leader.
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* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
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* '''Turns''': 20.
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* '''Starting units''': All available from Gweddry, Dacyn, Terraent, Addogin, and Hahid
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* '''Other''':
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** A holy amulet is located in the South-West.
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** Owaec joins your team after the fight is over.
  
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If you just want to rescue the paladin and 5 knights and get out (in 1.6), this is how I finished that by turn 8. The horses were captive in 6 cages, 4 in a northern loop and 2 in a southern loop. First turn, I sent a quick shock trooper, quick heavy, and a white mage (not Dacyn) around the northern loop, looping from bottom to top (start at bottom knight, end at paladin). I looped that way to clear the middle ASAP and escape the oncoming troops. Also first turn, I sent 3 shock troopers around the southern loop, looping from top to bottom. If you encounter resistance, kill it quick or run as required, and instead focus on killing the guards fast, which conveniently don't hit back. On turn 2, I recruited another keep full of recruits and immediately sent everyone else to take out the northwestern leader. Time it so you kill the northwestern leader just as the last horses are rescued. It is by no means easy, but this way I managed to lose only a few HI types while picking up all 6 horses.
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This scenario is reachable from the ''Elven Alliance'', ''Ill Humors'', and ''Mal-Ravanal's Capital'' scenarios.
  
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=== The Northern Outpost ===
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Here, there are two enemies that you must defeat: the undead and the outlaws. It is a good idea to create a separate task force for each of a keep's worth of veterans. You won't have Dacyn for this mission (until the bandits are slain)
  
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Reachable both from ''The Undead Border Patrol'' and the ''Elven Alliance'' scenarios.
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For the undead task force, send one non-impact melee unit to get the Amulet by the southwest temple, which makes all damage ''Arcane''. That unit will have the damage output of a mage and the mobility and durability of a regular solider! That alone is enough to shred the undead to the north along with Gweddry, a healer, and a few disposable HI. Help Owaec's forces stay alive, if you can.  
  
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There are two enemies in this scenario that you must defeat - the undead and the outlaws. The undead are fairly straightforward to defeat, and in any case Owaec usually does a good part of the work. Recall a number of shock troopers, a white mage and the spearman who picked up the holy amulet in one of the previous scenarios. I addition recruit one mage.
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For the bandit task force, send about 5 units north to the villages. You might not need a healer, but prepare to fight L1 outlaws in Forest-heavy terrain. About 3 groups of enemies will spawn randomly, about 3 units in each group until the leader (a Rogue [easy] or Assassin) is found with a larger cadre of goons. Note that you will get a chance to kill any newly appeared outlaws before they get a move, so be prepared to ambush the ambushers.
  
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Then send Gweddry to the holy amulet in the south west accompanied by the mage. The spearman and the white mage go straight southwards and help Owaec with the undead. Your shock troopers go to the east and surround one of the villages over there without flagging it. (As they are quite slow-moving, having them already over there saves you time later on.) Once Gweddry picked up the holy amulet, send him and the mage to finish off the undead leader together with your spearman. (Note: Your spearman is very effective against the undead and will likely level up.) That was the easy part.
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Upon defeating either leader, Owaec and his cavalry will join your roster. If the undead fall first, turn that task force to hunting outlaws.
  
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The main challenge is the criminals. They appear randomly in the villages you flag (one of the villages has assasin that is outlaw leader), but not in those Owaec flags. So don't worry about him uncovering enemies for you. Since when you capture a village the outlaws surround it, you should surround each village before you capture it, so the enemy surrounds you. This makes it so they can't gang up on one of your units with more than 3 people. Also, when you capture a village, try to kill as many enemies as you can before they get a turn.
+
=== Diverging Campaign Path ===
  
−
Send your your entire force up on the eastern side of the map flagging one village a turn and fighting the bandits. Once you come across the village where the bandid leader hides, concentrate your attacks on him as the bandits are quite strong.
+
==== Undead Crossing & Capturing the Ogres ====
 +
'''Undead Crossing'''
 +
* '''Objective''': Defeat the enemy leader.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies or turns run out.
 +
* '''Turns''': 18.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec.
  
−
Note: A Cavalry force (such as the one acquired in Mal-Ravanal's Capital) makes short work of the bandits.  Lower level units have trouble against the Bandits, especially at night.  Slower moving units also have a disadvantage in searching the villages.
+
You need to cross the river, but not without first defeating a necromancer who is occupying a small island to the North.
  
−
Also note, that from this scenario on you can recruit horsemen. You might want to level up a paladin or two, for fast mobile undead removal services (and quick leader assasination).
+
A good general strategy can be something like the following: recall a couple of quick swordsmen (or about-to-level quick spearmen), two white mages, a red mage or multiple regular mages, and any units with holy amulets. Shock troopers are too slow. Send these units as quickly as possible Northwest through the swamp towards the Western crossing. Meanwhile, recruit/recall cavalry. The cavalry should run as fast as possible along the Southern board edge (so as to not attract undue attention from bats and swimming undead) and then up the Western crossing. You can divert a couple of cavalry and Owaec to snatch up villages and then those units can join the Western assault.
  
−
/* governor */ Just a note: I had the misfortune of taking a group of men to a village where 5or6 enemies appeared. After taking heavy damage, I retreated my char (low on hitpoints) out of the village. When I recaptured the village the same group of enemies reappeared. Since AI enemies seem to prefer recapturing villages this can allow you to obtain easy experience for weak units a few times.
+
Now, this scenario has a nasty surprise... Once you have fought off the bats and skeletons, you will find this was not all, as the undead leader summons a number of cuttlefish monsters (1, 2 or 4 according to the difficulty level: easy, medium or hard respectively), which appear in the water between the two crossings. These always appear on turn number 10. Be very careful where to position your troops as the cuttlefish have a very nasty melee attack.
  
−
=== Two Paths ===
+
You have at least three options for the crossing. Option 1 is to just try to get a couple of your cavalry across each of the two crossings, while the rest of your units run like hell away from the water and swamp. Option 2 is to send across more units while tossing a spearman into the water as bait. Option 3 is to fight the cuttlefish, which is extremely hazardous. For a fight, maneuver your units to encourage the cuttlefish to separate, then use good melee troops backed by Gweddry (for leadership) and a white mage to kill them one at a time. Good luck. Make sure you leave your units enough time to cross the river and kill the undead leader before turns run out.
−
This is a fairly tough level (played in V 1.4.5 on medium difficulty) which took several attempts to get through. In V 1.4.5 you have 16 turns (unlike 12 as in earlier versions) and can choose between going north to attack the orc leader or going north-east to attack the undead leader.
 
  
−
One option is going north on the very east side of the map trying to fight your enemies from solid ground and mountains while they stand on sand ground with weak defense. As your troops move very slowly on this terrain, you will likely take some heavy losses however, as your enemies keep surrounding you. Also this will presumably take too many turns to reach the orc leader in time.
+
Leads to ''Capturing the Ogres''.
  
−
Thus the preferred choice is to recall a couple of shock troopers and white mages and move them on the path to the north-east in a thigh formation towards the undead leader. Once you survived the first enemy onslaught without loosing units, the rest of this scenario becomes rather easy as the remaining enemies come one by one. Make sure to keep on moving fast to the north-east to reach the undead leader before turns run out.
+
'''Capturing the Ogres'''
 +
* '''Objective''': Capture the ogres.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies.
 +
* '''Turns''': Unlimited.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec.
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** To add ogres to your army, "capture" them by ZoC-locking them.
  
−
=== Diverging Campaign Path===
 
−
==== Undead Crossing ====
 
−
Fighting the undead in this scenario is not the actual problem as they are quite weak. Recall a keep full of shock troopers, white mages and the spearman with the holy amulet (who has likely levelled up by now). Use your faster units to capture the villages in the south-east and move your shock troopers directly to the river crossing.
 
  
−
Once you fought of the bats and skeletons (which the above units should handle quite easily), the undead leader summons two cuttlefish which appear in the water between the two crossings. Be very careful where to position your troops as the cuttlefish have a very nasty melee attack. Fight them with a pair of shock troopers accompanied by Gweddry (to give them leadership) and a white mage for healing.
+
This can be a confusing scenario to understand. Basically, your three units just have to survive. However, if you want to be able to recall ogres later, you need to "capture" them by surrounding them. Any ogre which cannot move more than one hex in every direction will be added to your recall list. Ogres which reach the rocky borders will "escape".
  
−
Make sure you leave your units enough time to cross the river and kill the undead leader before turns run out.
+
Ogres are especially mobile on mountains (such as in the scenario ''Lake Vrug'') and in caves (in the scenario ''Captured''). Being of neutral alignment, ogres can be helpful at night (especially in the scenario ''Weldyn Under Attack'').  It's best to capture at least two.
  
−
==== The Crossing ====
+
==== Soradoc & Ogre Crossing ====
 +
'''Soradoc'''
 +
* '''Objective''': Get Gweddry and Owaec across the river.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies or turns run out.
 +
* '''Turns''': 24.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal unit
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** Keep Yannic alive and talk to him with Owaec, or kill 3 enemy leaders, to recruit him later and get a Plague Staff in the next scenario.
  
−
I had only 100 gold, so recruited some units and went straight north from turn one on. The fighting in the water was quite hard, with some orcs coming down from the north. The un-dead only appeared when I was in the middle of the river, so no encounter with them, and the ogre's helped get rid of the orcs on the north side. (Allefant)
+
Really difficult if you didn't go to '''Mal-Ravanal's Capital''' earlier and gain the Paladin and Knight(s).
  
−
If you have Holy Gweddry, you can (sometimes) get a 1st turn kill on the 1st undead leader, scarf up all the villages, and return to kill the 2nd undead forces before their leader can recruit anything. If you don't, the second undead leader will recruit lots of level two units. The orcs will start out across the river, but usually most of them turn back to fight the ogre reinforcements.  Waiting till their first wave hits your shore and wiping them out in the water will probably leave you just enough time to cross the river and find there are only 2 or 3 enemy units left besides the leaders.
+
Send your Paladin, Dacyn, Owaec, and a few other veterans due west immediately to assassinate the Death Knight there. If you have a Knight with a holy amulet, that's a good option. Owaec is needed in this group so he can rush up and talk to Yannic afterwards.
  
−
Make sure to cover your rear flank with some expendable troops (such as Heavy Infantry) as the undead can move more quickly through the water than your units.
+
Send the rest of your army (at least 1 healer) due north post-haste. You need to smash through the base there and clear a path to the north. If you do well enough, you can even wipe out the other undead armies before completing the objective. The more leaders you defeat, the easier the next scenario will be.
  
−
Another strategy is to go straight into the water after killing the first undead leader using the deep water in the middle of the path to seperate the orc forces.  You go to the right with Gweddry and Owaec and some support troops while letting the ogres kill many of the orcs in your way. Knights and a Paladin can hold off the orcs enough to get across while the undead behind you are not an issue.
+
On turn 4, Mal-Ravanal appears in the southeast corner, summons some high-level Ghosts (including Shadows) behind your lines, and peaces out. Be prepared for this ambush.
  
−
Note:  Owaec can move only one hex a turn in the water.
+
If you rescue Yannic and he doesn't die, he'll give you a Plague Staff in the next scenario. The Plague Staff might not be "good" per se, but it's awesome: it turns its bearer chaotic, allows it to recruit Walking Corpses, and grants it the Plague Staff attack. Later, Yannic will join your team just when you need him most.
  
−
=== Training the Ogres ===
+
'''Ogre Crossing'''
 +
* '''Objective''': Get Gweddry and Owaec across the river.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies or turns run out.
 +
* '''Turns''': 24.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** Special bonuses if the objective is completed while the Ogre leader is still alive:
 +
*** Ogre leader joins you as recallable a loyal unit
 +
*** All the other surviving Ogres can be recalled for half as much normal units (only 10 gold!)
  
−
*This scenario was missing in 1.6.
+
Looking at the level, one might imagine the challenge in this scenario is crossing the wide river - where units are very vulnerable, and have very restricted mobility (particularly horses). However, this will likely prove to be the lesser of your concern: The Saurian force on the Northern bank is preoccupied with the Ogres for a good several turns, and the opponents going after you will be the Undead from the South (unless you killed them all in ''Soradoc'').  
  
−
This can be a confusing scenario to understand. Basically, you are fighting the ogres while also trying not to let them reach the rocky borders where they will "escape" (or disappear). Understand how the AI works and that units will attack the weakest units who are closest to leveling.
+
However, you need the Ogre leader alive! The Ogres will need help against the Saurians, so scamper across with some Cavalry and/or fast Mages, bringing your leader in the rear. A few Nibblers will bar your way way but they are easily dispatched, once a unit arrives next to the far shore Grug (the Ogre leader) will have himself a big think and join your side immediately allowing you to control him and his fellow ogres. All of those that survive we be recallable for only 10 gold (as opposed to the normal 20), but importantly you can only recall the survivors not recruit any more ogres!
  
−
Whenever I tried to attack the ogres or surround them or using any other intuitive strategy, I always ended up getting my white mage killed by turn 3 at the latest.  
+
=== Xenophobia  ===
 +
* '''Objective''': Defeat all enemy leaders.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec die or turns run out.
 +
* '''Turns''':
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** A Shield near the Dwarves' keep.
 +
** You will have 100% gold carryover, but 0 starting gold, for the next several scenarios. Save up!
  
−
Thus try the following which makes keeping all 4 ogres on the green very easy (although I still do not understand why the AI behaves as it does...): Move the white mage and the horseman to the very north outside the moving range of the ogres. Position Gweddry on one of the hills in the west just inside their moving range. For the first two turns the ogres hardly move. Then they start to attack Gweddry which he should be able to withstand. By turn 5 when Gweddry's health starts to wear down, the scenario is over already with all four ogres still on the green and all of your units alive.
+
This is a fun and silly level as all parties in the scenario (i.e. Naga, Orcs, Dwraves, and yourself) decide to fight each other instead of forming alliances. The scenario is not very difficult, so you can use this time to gain some experience for your units and pick up another permanent item. This one, near the Dwarvish keep, is a shield that will redirect all damage from adjacent allies to the shield-bearer! It's tricky to use, but consider giving it to an expendable Spearman and using him as an extra ~40 HP for the units who matter, if (or likely when) he dies have another expendable unit pick it up to replace him.
  
−
(It's a bit of a digression, but the AI in this case is failing to realize that, though each Ogre has an individually unfavorable attack on Gweddry, all four attacking together would be rather more favorable. So, the AI decides to form a defensive line and wait for the sun to set, when Gweddry's 25% bonus disappears and their attacks are more favorable. Note that this technique generally only works for units with full health on defensible terrain, and may disappear entirely if the AI is improved to consider joint attacks.)
+
You can likely split 2 keepfuls of troops between a Northern strike force and a Eastern one. The North force will eliminate the Dwarves and rejoin the main Eastern force, which can sweep north through Orc territory and then south to the Naga. Capture and hold as many villages as you can, and give as much EXP to Gweddry and other desired units (prioritizing loyal ones is a good option). If you don't have a few extra White Mages already now is a good time to get them.
  
−
It is unclear to me however, what the benefit of all four ogres surviving is though.
+
If you have 500 gold, you should be pretty set for the next scenarios. You can survive with as little as 300.
  
−
Note: Whether or not to use ogres is a matter of playing style.  Once they level up, Ogres are quite a tough unit that deals middling damage, but unfortunately can't advance beyond level 2.  Their upside is that they move at normal speed on hills and cave floor, which makes them your most mobile unit in at least one scenario (''Captured''). And as they are of neutral alignment, they can sometimes be handy to have around at nighttime.
+
=== Castle In The Ice ===
 +
* '''Objective''': Move to the castle stronghold
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
 +
* '''Turns''': n/a
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** The intense cold damages your troops every turn.
 +
** Cold damage intensifies the longer you spend in this scenario.
  
−
=== Xenophobia  ===
+
Basically: follow the path through the fog to the castle, defeating the Drakes and wild beasts along the way. Your core loyal units are more than enough for this task.
  
−
In V 1.4.5 on medium difficulty is a very easy and fun level as all parties in the scenario (i.e. elves, orcs, drawves, and yourself) decide to fight each other instead of forming aliances. Thus you can use this level to gain some experience for your units, pick up another permanent holy amulet (in the north, roughly in the middle between the dwarf and the orc keep) e.g. by a shock trooper, and as the actual ogre training camp (see below).
+
Optional: There's a 1-hex keep close to the first village you find. You can send Grug and an extra healer southeast from there, defeat the group of Ghosts, and continue onwards to find another group of Ogres. Those Ogres will join your team if you have Grug, unlocking an achievement.
  
−
Recall a keep full of shock troopers and send them straight to the north as they are very slow moving. Then recall one or two white mages and recruit about two to four young ogres. Send all of your units straight north to kill the dwarf leader who unwisely sends all his troops for the orcs right at the start and then misses the money to recruit any more troops to defend his keep.
+
Even further along the Ogre route, you'll find a L4 Yeti. Defeating it will grant 1 unit immunity from cold and ''double'' it's base hitpoints. Giving it to Grug makes him the tankiest of lads and a good choice for the magic shield item.
  
−
By the time I reached the dwarf leader, the orcs had already killed the elvish leader, so there was two down and only one to go. Use the young ogres on the mountains in the north to fight the remaining dwarves whilst levelling up to ogres.  
+
Don't recall more than 1 extra healer. You'll need your gold later!
  
−
By the time you killed the dwarf leader, there should be hardly any enemy troops left, so go straight towards the orc leader and earn a decent early finish bonus. And don't forget to pick up the holy amulet on the way.
+
=== Dark Sanctuary ===
 +
* '''Objective''': Move Dacyn, Gweddry, and reinforcements into Mal-Ravanal's sanctuary, defeating the leader
 +
* '''Lose if''': Death of Gweddry, Dacyn, or Owaec
 +
* '''Turns''': n/a
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** 100% gold carryover with 0 starting gold
 +
** Dacyn will have better outcomes stepping on runes
 +
** Night lasts longer here
  
−
The main strategy in this scenario is staying out of the fighting as much as possible, picking off the weaker sides, and in general letting your enemies kill themselves. One successful strategy is to delay moving from your keep for 5-6 turns. Let the other factions weaken each other before you move off. (Although that reduces your early finish bonus, so do not do this if your troops are strong enough.)
+
Recall 4-6 reinforcements into Dacyn's creepy gate (fewer than 6 if you're sending some of your loyal units in). Your main enemies are ghostly and skeletal units, but there will also be Goblins and Ants, so bring a mix of units and roles. Moreover, you'll have 3 separate special items to collect (more on that later), which will help you feed EXP to mid-level units. Recruiting a few L2 people will also save you some upkeep costs.  
  
−
(Future spoiler: This is your last chance to level non-leader units you will play two scenarios ahead in Captured. For instance, you may want to prepare a dragoon, a white mage, and a couple of ogres for that scenario.)
+
Owaec will loiter outside and have to repel several incursions from Orcish armies. Use fresh L1 Spearmen to force the Orcs to fight from the snow, giving Owaec most of the XP. (Grug can help, too, if you didn't send him inside.)
  
−
=== Lake Vrug ===
+
Inside the chambers, you'll have 2 directions to go, southwest and northeast. You can split up your forces after killing the Wyvern and grabbing its gold pile.
−
This is a very confusing hide and seek sceario which is not actually hard, but likely takes you several pointless restarts until you have finally discovered the enemy leaders. (Spoiler: there are three enemy keeps, all north of the river. One is to the very north west (go to the right into the mounts directly after crossing the bridge), one is between the path leading east and the river bank just before the path turns northwards, and one is in the very north at the end of the path. The orc leader resides in the first keep, the gryphon leader in the second, and the third is empty.
 
  
−
Recall two or three shock troopers, two white mages and then recall/recruit as many ogres as possible. (Most of the enemy keeps are surrounded by high mountains which most of your troops cannot pass, but which the ogres handle quite easily.) You might also want to recruit a horseman to scout ahead.  
+
Southwest group: You'll be facing L0-L1 Goblins in groups of 4-6. Bring a healer. The special item on this corridor is the red vial inside the potion room at {15, 13} -- it grants Steadfast and Healthy to its drinker. The unit who gains the most from doubled resistances is, funny enough, Cavalry, since troops like Heavy Infantry can't have their resistances doubled past 50%. (All other potions are not beneficial). After picking up this potion, head south to find one door key. The Goblins in this room can be distracted by stepping on the rune at the end of the corridor, which releases two Ghouls into the Goblin chamber (or all of them if Darcyn is the one to step the rune).
  
−
The only challenge in this scenario (apart from finding the keeps) is surviving the first onslaught of gryphoons which starts around turn 4 with quite a number of gryphoons appearing from the north-east. Position your heavy units like shock troopers and ogres very tighly around wounded units as the gryphons and dragons really have quite a large moving range and ignore zones of control and thus mercilessly slay away unprotected injured units. To fight them use heavy melee troops like shock troopers.
+
Northeast group: You'll face several Ghost/Wraith, one Deathblade/Draug, and some optional units. Use a mage to cook the skeleton guarding the library; Ghosts will spawn afterward. Fight through to get the second door key. Go southeast from this room (avoiding the floor runes) and you'll find a cave full of Ants, and a collapsed wall leading to a treasure room. Upon entering this area, a Djinn will spawn and attack.  
  
−
As you start to cross the bridge a couple of trolls attack. They are really no match for your shock troopers, however, who happy troll-crack away.
+
After killing the Djinn, collect the Holy Amulet, treasure, and Baneblade from the room. The Baneblade is a 7x4 draining Arcane attack, but has the Berserk ability, so it's a mixed blessing. I'm not sure who wields it best, but Heavy Infantry and Pikeman are solid options. The treasure room can be opened from the inside.
  
−
When taking the enemy keeps, use the ogres who can move on the high mountains unlike most of your other units.
+
After obtaining both keys and moving both strike forces back to the central chamber, a large group of low-level monsters will spawn. Fight onto the second creepy platform, then charge the Death Knight leader to end the scenario.
  
 
=== Captured ===
 
=== Captured ===
 +
* '''Objective''': Rescue Gweddry, Dacyn, and Owaec, then escape through the South-West tunnel.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
 +
* '''Turns''': Unlimited, then 16.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Rescue leader and two sidekicks.
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** No recruiting, but a group of your veterans will be available.
 +
** The door to a large gold reserve will be unlocked after the orcish leader dies
  
−
You start out by running up a tunnel to find some of your companions. If you go back down that way or you will have to face some extremely mean trolls in the narrow tunnel. Instead, follow the tunnel to the north and west and face a few bats as you proceed. At the end of that tunnel, you will enter a throne room where there is a leader and some enemy troops.  
+
Three of your recall troops will escape from a cell and plot a rescue operation. The scenario tries to select a level 3, level 2, and level 1 unit, but it is possible to end up with many variations. At first, they're unarmed, so flee the Bats you find, first running west and then south. You'll retrieve your weapons, and then one group member will don a disguise to sneak past the guards.
  
−
Upon entering the throne room, a group of your wounded troops will appear in a cavern called the "Torture Room" to the east.   They will face a number of assassins and trolls as they leave the Torture Room moving west.  (Hint: Try to get through the prison "door" of the torture room quickly as otherwise the enemy units have an easy time keeping your entire army locked away with only one unit at a time, i.e. the unit standing at the door, being able to take part in the fighting.)
+
The disguised unit can open any cell door to release the prisoners within. Try to select a cell containing ogres or Knights; a quick ogre has the best chance of reaching and opening another cell in the same turn. Upon releasing prisoners, your leaders will also seek the fight; you'll have to keep Dacyn alive by fleeing to the spot of shallow water to his northeast, and shielding him from attacks using Gweddry and Owaec.
  
−
Victory occurs when Gweddry moves through the exit in the southwest corner. There is quite a comfortable early finish bonus, so you might want to move him there quickly in order to put some money on savings for later scenarios. It should be possible to finish with over 500 gold without making haste, however. You should also flag the numerous villages in a cavern called "The City", a cavern southwest of the Torture Room.  
+
If you're fast and lucky, you can kill the Orcish leader before many reinforcements arrive. This will unlock the orcs' treasure horde from a cell. Then, move Owaec to the Southwest tunnel to end the level, farming XP with your other units as you go.
  
−
There is a holy necklace on this level, at coordinates x=12, y=2. Preferrably grab it with a horseman or someting similar. He will come in very hand in later scenarios.
+
Losses in this scenario are not a big deal, as you're only going to be able to bring a fraction of your recall list past the next scenario, which is likely to kill off all but a few veterans. However, the steady stream of orc reinforcements can provide one last chance to level key units for ''Evacuation'', the next scenario.
−
 
 
−
Note: Most of the orcs are level two and three units.
 
  
 
=== Evacuation ===
 
=== Evacuation ===
−
This scenario is a little frusting. Not so much because of its difficulty (it is hard but managable with enough high-level recalls and lots of money), but because you ''will'' take some heavy losses of high-level troops.
+
* '''Objective''': Destroy the bridge with Owaec
−
 
+
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
−
Note: You should have over 400 gold and a large number of level 2 and 3 units to recall to start this scenario.
+
* '''Turns''': 12.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** Every unit not on the South side of the river when the bridge is destroyed will be lost (including units in your recall list).
  
−
There are two options in this scenario: you can either defeat all enemy leaders or blow up the bridge in the south. In the former case, you will have to accept quite some casualties in fighting the enemy; In the latter case, all your units which are not on the south side of the river by the time you blow up the bridge (including not recalled units, meanly!) are killed by the explosion. In both cases you have to watch out for the very tight time limit of 12 turns.
+
Obviously, recall everybody you care about, including your item-bearers. This will be about 12 recalls total. Afterwards, gold permitting, recruit a keepful of Spearmen to distract the Wolves for another turn or two.  
  
−
I went for option 2 (killing all leaders). First recruit two to tree keeps full of your typical experienced troops like iron maulers, white mages, and so on. Ogres are also helpful, if you have some left, as they are strong and you will have no use for them in later scnearios. After that recall a keep full of young ogres as cannon fodder.
+
Don't get caught fighting; don't expose units to ZOC-lock. Keep your healers in the center and press southwest in tempo with your slowest evacuees. Don't go so slowly that the Drakes can cut you off in front.  
  
−
Start to move you units south and attack the central enemy right away (i.e. do not wait until you have recruited all units). The last recalls before the young ogres split and send half of them to the north-east and the other half to the south-west (otherwise you might not make it to all three leaders in time). Finally, send some young ogres to the north-east and south-west to distract the enemies there for two or three turns.
+
Once you get bottle-necked on the bridge, hold a large enough rearguard of expendables that the people you do care about don't get ZOC-locked by flying Drakes while trying to cross the span. If you make it out with 5-10 veterans in addition to the special-item-bearers, then count yourself lucky!
  
−
With all three groops of your units try to focus on attacking the enemy leaders as soon as possible so you do not run out of time. Apart from that, watch out for the level 2 trolls, particularly, as they can (and frequently will...) instantly kill almost any of your units. Best fight them with two white mages or a white mage accompanied by some other unit.
+
=== The Spoils of War ===
  
−
With a bit of luck and probably some nasty casualties you will have killed all three leaders around turns 10 to 12.
+
An easier mission to help rebuild your forces. Terraent (if you have him) or Owaec will need to free groups of prisoners, who arrive alternating between Northern and Southern routes. The most critical prisoner to free is a special, loyal Dark Adept who will arrive from the south -- it's very worthwhile leveling them up.
  
−
[Garion] In 1.0, I recruited a lot of Cavalry for fodder, spacing them 1 hex apart to establish a ZOC corridor from my castle to the bridge. They got chewed up very quickly, but they bought me enough time to get out.  Use a few Shock Troopers to guard your rear against the Blue enemy; they're too slow to escape anyway.  Remember to recall your slowest units closest to the bridge, to minimize the time they spend in transit.  I was able to evacuate 2 Holy Cavaliers, 2 Paladins, a Great Mage, the three heroes, a quick Iron Mauler, 2 White Mages, and a Mage of Light.
+
Note that each group will be freed once the Deathblade named "guard" is slain. Bats will spawn after each freeing and chase the nearest cluster of units -- you can exploit this behavior to protect your weaker units.
  
−
[Vladevil] In 1.2.6 what worked best for me was recruiting only fodder for 2 turns, then running away with all the main characters. I let Owaec and the mage first and Gweddry last since he can take some hits. All in all I was finished on the 6th turn without losing any valuable troops.
+
Once all groups are freed, kill the southern enemy leader.
  
 
=== The Drowned Plains ===
 
=== The Drowned Plains ===
−
The Skeletal Dragon will be found in or near the castle (located on an island in the south-east). In getting there, there is a chance the undead (three units mostly level two and an occasional level three) will spring out of the ground near the unit you just moved. Therefore less units are better.  Advanced mages, paladins, and other fast-moving units with arcane weapons work well here. To withstand the initial dragon attack you will need very strong units (with more than 50 HP). In order to discover the dragon despite the fog units with a large moving range (and thus large visible area) like horseman are helpful.
+
* '''Objective''': Defeat the 3 enemy leaders.
−
 
+
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
−
The dragon wanders around near the castle but only attacks units which he can kill instantly. If only strong units come near him, he tries to flee. Because of the fog the major challenge of this scenario is finding him and then getting him surrounded so he cannot just move away again. Once you have him trapped like this, slaying him should be easy using your stronger units (preferrably impact weapons because the dragon has a low resistance there).
+
* '''Turns''':
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** Walking Corpses, Soulless, and Ghouls will ambush you from the swamp
 +
** Sighting any enemy leader will cause stronger waves of the undead
 +
** A holy amulet is located on the southwest bank of the lake.
  
−
=== Approaching Weldyn ===
+
After a little bit of narrative, Dacyn will find himself heavily damaged, surrounded by 6 hexes of impassable pit, and beset by several high-level Ghost units! To rescue him, create a buffer of ZOC with your loyal units, and recall a strong Mage to barbeque the ghosts. Dacyn will shortly thereafter lose his ability to illuminate or cure, due to Mal-Ravanal's dark influence, so recall an extra healer to help against Ghoul poison.
−
This scenario is fairly easy, but also fun to play. The essence to success is being very fast.
 
  
−
Recall 6 to 8 fast-moving units with arcane attacks. This should be any fast unit who has picked up a holy amulet in earlier scenarios like horsemen or spearmen plus some level 2 or level 3 mages. Completely forget about heavy infantry or other slow-moving troops of similar kind. Move all your units to the eastern enemy and try to kill him by turn 3 or 4 by the latest. This should be easy, as he is still very weak.
+
Each castle is strongly defended, so it doesn't make sense to split up your main army. However, a few speedier scouts (including, perhaps, the Merfolk you rescued last scenario) are useful to capture and hold some of the far-flung villages. Then, recall a force of veterans who will be able to take on armies of 8-10 level 2/3 undead units, and head due south.
  
−
Then rush over to the western enemy. It will be night by now so not a good time for attacking. If you have a very strong and fast unit (like a dragoon) try to position it on the enemies keep. This trick stops the enemy leader from recruiting more troops despite having plenty of money left. Once your other troops arrive and daylight breaks you should have an easy time finishing of this enemy leader and those of his troops which you ally has not yet killed.
+
The southern-most castle will recruit Chocobones and Skeleton Riders when you get line-of-sight on the keep. Keep your units bunched up so that they can't be surrounded and killed by the Chocobones' charge attacks. Also, the Walking Corpse ambushes will intensify once you sight any enemy leader.
  
−
Then attack the third leader in the south-west in the same manner. If you hurry, you should be able to finish by turn 9 and gain a good early finish bonus.
+
To the southwest lies Khrakrahs, a level-4 Skeletal Dragon who recruits L2-3 Undead. Yikes. His infernal aura makes lower-level troops fight worse [1.18.0 this won't necessarily be reflected in the combat preview, unless your unit begins adjacent to Khrakrahs]. Use Gweddry's Leadership to counteract this, and then burn Khrakrahs down with Mages.
  
−
=== The Council ===
+
To the northwest is another skeletal horseman, who recruits more undead mounted units and Ghouls. Compared to Khrakrahs, a walk in the park.
  
−
Only plot in this. You see the inside of the castle.
+
=== Return to Wesnoth ===
 +
Story only.
  
 
=== Weldyn Under Attack ===
 
=== Weldyn Under Attack ===
−
This is an interesting scenario where once again choosing the right strategy is the key to success. Also watch out for the time, as you have only 18 turns to finish.
+
* '''Objective''': Survive until end of turns.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec or Konrad II dies.
 +
* '''Turns''': 18.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units, Konrad II.
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** At the end of this scenario you will have to choose whether to fight Mal-Ravanal directly in a duel, or repel his invasion with all you've got. This dictates the final scenario you'll play for this campaign.
  
−
You find your keep in the center of an island. Three allied leaders also have their keeps on the island around yours. There are three enemy leaders: a weak one in the very north, and two equally strong ones in the south-east and south-west, respectively. It stays nighttime (first and second watch) during the entire scenario which is somewhat uncomfortable, but not a big problem.
+
At scenario start, you find your keep in the center of an island. Three allied leaders also have their keeps on the island around yours. There are six enemy leaders surrounding Weldyn.
  
−
Start by recalling all high-level units with arcane attacks (6-8 units max). Then recruit two keeps full of mages. Send your troops straight north and finish of the enemy leader. He is quite weak and even moves onto your island so this should be painlessly accomplished by turn 3.
+
Dacyn will turn into a "nega-Mage of Light" during this scenario, complete with a dark aura ability. Don't count on him to heal your troops!
 +
 +
Super ambitious: Kill all the enemy leaders, possibly with a strike force of fast Paladins and Magi to break through at the south and then sweep clockwise.
  
−
Then split your troops: one half moves onto the western shore (along the very border of the map), the other half onto the eastern shore (same). To get across the river use the bridges in the north-west and the north-east, respectively. Let some of the mages stay behind and capture the villages on the island so you do not loose money. The may also assist you allies so they do not fall so quickly and keep the enemy busy.
+
Medium ambitious: Just hold the lines of Weldyn, keeping your allied generals alive (gets much harder around Turn 10, but easier again around Turn 14).
  
−
The rest of the scenario is straight-forward: move both your troops southwards straight towards the enemy keeps and kill the leaders. As they have sent most of their troops onto the island where they are busy happily slaying away your allies, this should be no challenge for your troops. Watch out for the nightgaunts, though, which tend to ambush you or rush for weak units without you seeing them coming.  
+
Conservative: Just hold the inner island of Weldyn, abandoning the allied generals completely. This is really easy to defend, and Konrad will be able to fight here, but you lose out on some upside.
  
−
If all goes right you should have killed the remaining two enemy leaders around turns 14 or 15.
+
At the end of the battle, Gweddry will be able to choose whether to duel Mal-Ravanal (easier), or take on his whole army (possibly unlocks a bonus scenario).
−
 
−
Hint: If you have one or two silver mages available (e.g. the engineer unit you joined you in the Escape scneario, if he has levelled by now) this is quite useful in this scenario. The map is rather large so have some fast-moving units like horseman run through enemy territory and capture individual villages. Then use the teleport ability of your silver mage to perform hit-and-run (or rather: hit-and-teleport) attacks to weaken your enemy before attacking with your main force. Make sure you do not get him killed, though, by holding out too long after attacking.
 
  
−
After killing all enemy leaders, an enemy messenger appears telling you that you have only fought some delegates of the ancient lich Mal-Ravenal. It challenges you to have a duel with Mal-Ravenal instead of letting the armies meet for a final battle. If you accept the challenge, you get to scenario "The Duel". Otherwise you get to "Weldyn Besieged".
+
=== Diverging Campaign Path ===
  
−
===Diverging Campaign Path===
 
 
==== The Duel ====
 
==== The Duel ====
−
This is a somewhat strange scenario: you and Mal-Ravanal get to recall/recruit exactly six units each and then have to fight each other. Mal-Ravenal will recruit mostly level 3 units so this looks difficult. In fact, it is quite managable, however.
+
* '''Objective''': Defeat Mal-Ravanal while Dacyn is nearby.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or Dacyn is not nearby when Mal-Ravanal is defeated.
 +
* '''Turns''': Unlimited.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn.
 +
* '''Other''':
 +
** You can only recruit for the first turn.
  
−
Recall mostly mages of light and other high-level arcance troops. Set them up in a line of 4 units backed up by 2 units at the edge of one of the forsts near your keep. (Your leader should stand in the back up line so he does not accidentaly get killed.)
+
This is a somewhat strange scenario: you get to recall/recruit exactly five units and then have to fight Mal-Ravanal and his six chosen troops.  Mal-Ravanal will recruit mostly level 3 units so this looks difficult. However, it is, in fact, quite manageable. Your goal is to attack first and hit hard—you should be able to eliminate two or three enemy units before they even get the chance to attack.
  
−
Then wait for his troops to reach you, but make sure you are the first to attack. By the time you meet it will be close to nightfall. Do not hesitate to attack, however, as Mal-Ravanal plays unfair and recruits another 3 units on every first watch.
+
Except for Konrad II, you will have all of your units available in the recall list (including Owaec). Recall mages of light and other high-level arcane troops. Advance onto the battlefield, but stop just short of the enemies' range. After the enemies move closer, concentrate your attacks on a few of their units, particularly those with the strongest attacks. "Cowardly" Gweddry may be able to grant leadership bonuses to your troops, however he should probably refrain from actual fighting so he does not accidentally get killed.
  
−
In your first attack you should be able to kill two enemy units. Try to have at least 5 of your units survive the first round of enemy attacks. Then kill the remaining enemy units near you and move over to Mal-Ravenal straight away who hides by himself on the very border of the map in the mountains. Again, do not wait for daylight, as you can reach him before his reinforcements get to you, so you should have an easy time killing him with your remaining units.
+
Try to finish the fight quickly, as Mal-Ravanal plays unfair and revives dead units as lower-level copies of themselves. If you position a weak unit within Mal-Ravanal's movement range, the arrogant lich will gleefully charge out onto the battlefield and leave himself wide open for your counterattack. Owaec's hammer should make short work of him.
−
 
 
−
Spoiler: After killing Mal-Ravanal the campaign ends with a final scene of Gweddry and his companions being honoured by the king.
 
  
 
==== Weldyn Besieged ====
 
==== Weldyn Besieged ====
 +
* '''Objective''': Defeat Mal-Ravanal while Dacyn is nearby.
 +
* '''Lose if''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec or Konrad II dies, any enemy unit reaches your keep, or Dacyn is not nearby when Mal-Ravanal is defeated.
 +
* '''Turns''': Unlimited.
 +
* '''Starting units''': Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, Terraent, Grug, Konrad II.
  
−
On versions prior to 1.5.6 the siege is laughably easy to break; just recall a keep full of your best troops and rush Mal-Ravanal in the south.
+
This battle is intended as a substantial challenge, and is inadvisable with low gold or an inadequate recall list. You face off against seven enemy leaders, with the goal of finding and eliminating Mal-Ravanal among them. The liches' names aren't revealed until they are attacked, and Mal-Ravanal is more likely to be revealed later in the scenario (the names are randomly assigned when you attack). Attacking a lich gives it a small boost of gold, but killing the wrong lich gives every other lich extra gold.
−
 
 
−
As of 1.5.6 this battle should prove a more substantial challenge. Now the liches' names aren't revealed until they are attacked, and Mal-Ravanal is more likely to be revealed later in the scenario. Sending fast scouts to attack all the liches is not advisable since each lich receives a boost of gold for another round of recruitment after its name is revealed.
 
  
−
A workable strategy is to recall a group of cavalry with holy amulets and paladins to circle behind the undead horde and terminate the liches. You can draw the liches out of their keeps by positioning a sacrificial horseman within their attack radius. Once the lich is out in the open, your arcane damage cavalry should have no trouble finishing the lich off in a single turn.
+
A quick scout unit can charge past the undead hordes to attack and identify a lich. Once you've found Mal-Ravanal, send Dacyn and any mounted arcane-attack units to attack. You can draw Mal-Ravanal out of the keep by positioning a sacrificial horseman nearby. Once the lich is out in the open, your arcane damage cavalry should have no trouble finishing the battle in a single turn.
  
−
Meanwhile you'll need the rest of your troops to hold the central keep against the undead onslaught. If you can spare the funds, a few sacrificial troops can delay the incoming enemies on one side, giving you the opportunity to focus your firepower on the undead approaching from the other side(s). If things turn grim, retreat to the castle and make your final stand.
+
Meanwhile you'll need the rest of your troops to hold the central keep against the undead onslaught. If you can spare the funds, a few sacrificial troops can delay the incoming enemies on one side, giving you the opportunity to focus your firepower on the undead approaching from the other side(s). Note, however, that each enemy killed causes the lich to recruit another. If things turn grim, retreat to the castle and make your final stand.
  
  
 
[[Category:Campaigns]]
 
[[Category:Campaigns]]
 +
[[Category:Campaigns - Walkthroughs]]

Latest revision as of 06:56, 19 July 2024

This walkthrough is in the process of being updated for version 1.18+


In this campaign you play the role of Gweddry, a human Frontier Sergeant who has the responsibility of dealing with a powerful Lich who wants to destroy Wesnoth. As a sergeant, Gweddry has the potential to level up into a Grand Marshal, a level 4 unit that can empower his troops significantly through Leadership. You start with the support of a White Mage named Dacyn, who will be by your side throughout the campaign.

As any other walkthrough, this document describes plot details that can be considered spoilers. This is particularly true for this campaign.

Spoiler 1: Expect game-altering surprises and scenario modifiers that flip your strategy on its head. Every battle is a completely unique challenge!

Spoiler 2: Unit AMLA behavior has changed to grant +8 HP bonuses or +1 damage bonuses, and there are a handful of items that permanently change your unit's attributes. In other words, don't give up on the Spearman line just because it's bad against Skeletons in the early game.

Spoiler 3: There will come a point where you will have to choose your favorite 6-12 recalls, and abandon the rest. Therefore, it is better to have a small, diversified squad of elites than a large roster of redundant roles.

You'll probably want to level up at least two extra Mages of Light (other than Dacyn), and a few Arch/Silver Mages. Spearmen and Bowmen are highly effective if granted one of the many artifacts in the campaign that grant Arcane damage. Heavy Infantry are indispensable in the early game, but be wary of relying on them too much, since their low mobility will be a severe hindrance in several challenging scenarios.

The Outpost

  • Objectives: Defend the outpost, then move Gweddry to the trapdoor.
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: 11
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn.

Your 3 opponents will recruit slightly different units. The northernmost enemy will recruit Bats and skeleton troops, the middle one will recruit Walking Corpses, and the southern one will recruit skeletons including Bone Shooters and Revenants.

On turn 7, Dacyn will mysteriously disappear, and you'll briefly meet Mal-Ravanal, the leader of the undead, who summons tough ghost units and says mean things to the player. At end of turns, Dacyn returns and points out a trap door, near your starting fort, to exit the level. All of the enemy leaders will get a big gold boost -- there's no use fighting.

There are several approaches to this scenario, but the common factor in all of them is that 50% of your recruits should be heavy infantry, since their impact attacks are effective against skeletons, and they have excellent resistances against blade and pierce. Supplement with a few Magi -- if you can feed one enough EXP to obtain a second White Mage, you'll be in great shape. Fencers aren't much use, but you can use one to hold your western villages against Bats, or send one as fodder to occupy Walking Corpses.

Just hold out for the enemy attack during nighttime; only rotate wounded units if possible, but do not counter-attack. At dawn, your enemies will flee, but they'll be back stronger than ever on the second night. Don't try to push for the enemies' keeps, instead keep your path to the trap-door clear and fall back to Gweddry's starting keep if needed.

Escape Tunnel

  • Objectives: Move Gweddry to the end of the tunnel.
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: 17/15/13 (Easy/Medium/Hard).
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn.
  • Other:
    • Crystal Quiver in the Northeast cave
    • Treasure of 50 gold in Northeast cave

This scenario occurs in a small cave occupied by trolls and dwarves. You start on the far West of the map, and your mission is to take Gweddry all the way to the opposite side.

You'll be unable to recruit heavily on this small map, and a prolonged battle is folly against the swarms of Undead who will appear on turns 12/10/8. Instead, recruit/recall a Bowman and 1 other speedy unit at the small keep just east of Gweddry, then hoof it to the southern tunnel.

The Dwarves to your south are friendly and will distract the centrally-located Trolls for you. The trolls and undead are hostile to each other, as well as to you and the dwarves.

In the northeast, a Crystal Quiver is lightly guarded. This permanent item makes all the ranged attacks of the unit that picks it up of type Arcane and grants Illumination. Give it to a Bowman, since Magi already have effective Ranged damage versus undead, and all your other units are primarily melee.

You don't have enough time on this map to do much more than pick up the Quiver. However, you can use the eastern tunnel bottlenecks to slow-roll the Trolls and grant your Quiver-bearer some EXP, before escaping at the east end. Stepping on/through the last cave hex will trigger victory.

An Unexpected Appearance

  • Objectives: Defeat either enemy leader.
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies or turns run out.
  • Turns: 24
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn.
  • Other:
    • Your next scenario depends on which leader you defeat.
    • Both Dacyn and Gweddry never miss when they attack on turn 1.

In this scenario you have to defeat one of the dark sorcerers on the edges of the map. Your next scenario will depend on the enemy you choose to kill. Killing the one to the West will take you to the Elven Alliance scenario, while the one to the East takes you to Ill Humors.

Going East is more difficult, especially on hard, but brings higher rewards: more EXP, loyal Dunefolk units, and/or loyal Paladin and Knights.

First, expel Mal-Tar out of your keep. Your leaders can't miss on their first turn, so a turn 1 kill is guaranteed. Then, prep for battle. You will be fighting assorted undead (in the West) and Vampire Bats and Ghosts (in the East). This is an easier scenario, so focus on leveling units: Magi, your Quiver-bearer, and Gweddry himself (get that Leadership bonus!). Strive for a big early finish bonus.

Approach 1 (going East): Send Magi and Spearmen east, along with a healer and Gweddry himself (once he's finished recruiting). Send your Quiver-bearer west with some Heavy Infantry and Mage backup (and a second White Mage if you have one). Neither Dark Sorcerer leaves their keep to fight, so you can bottleneck the Western enemy in the mountains and farm EXP, while the Spearmen and Magi press east.

Approach 2 (going East): Recruit the same troops, but send all east, using the Heavy Infantry as a rearguard, to minimize any losses on that flank.

Approach 3 (going West): Recruit more lightly and push West. You should be able to kill the Western enemy before the other enemy's forces can reach you.

Diverging Campaign Path

An Elven Interlude

  • Objectives: Move any unit to the signpost in the northwest.
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: 25
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn.
  • Other:
    • Addogin will join as a loyal unit if defeating him before capturing 10 villages

The warning about the assassin is overrated. The assassin disappears into the forest, but you won't bump into him, he'll just reappear when anyone dies.

Recruit / recall a wide assortment of units, mostly mages, spearmen and cavalry. Send mages and spearmen up to fight the opponent, send cavalry down as scouts. Any heavy infantry should go up to fight also; they will probably arrive late, and be good for reinforcements when the first troops are wounded.

Align the troops in the forest, so that the enemy will be on grass; this gives you a tactical advantage. Use Dacyn to heal those who need it most - those on the corners, and any mages who are on the front lines.

There is a village at {20,12} that can prove tactically very useful, because the elves usually fight somewhere near it. Be careful grabbing villages that you don't accidentally get 10 -- if you do, the outlaws will flee and you'll lose the chance to gain Addogin, a loyal Outlaw. "Kill" him to add him to your roster and cause all his other forces to flee.

Once you have gotten past turn 6, it will be day. When the assassin appears, you may ignore it unless you have a unit close-by. In that case, use it to fight the assassin. Keep pressing up. It is possible to kill the orcish leader by turn 9 for a nice gold bonus.

Ill Humors

  • Objective: Defeat Mal-Skraat
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: 24/23/22.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn.
  • Other:
    • An optional extra mission is possible
    • Any of your units that are adjacent to Swamp hexes will be Poisoned

You have two immediate concerns on this map: the antagonistic wildlife, and the toxic swamp. Recruit/recall a keep's worth of units to deal with the nearby Swamp Lizard, and grab nearby villages.

On Turn 2, you will be introduced to Hahid, a loyal Dune Apothecary, and his assistant Safyam, a Dune Burner. You'll also notice several Dunefolk units to the southwest. Hahid forms an alliance, and tells you to keep your units safe from the swamp by collecting alswdan herbs on specially marked, randomly placed tiles. Once you collect the 5th herb, Hahid will offer you 3 choices on how to proceed:

  • Pay 50 gold to end the scenario and begin Mal-Ravanal's Capital, a challenging and rewarding bonus scenario inserted before Northern Outpost.
  • Pay 0 gold to lose the Dunefolk from your team and proceed to Northern Outpost by killing Mal-Skraat.
  • Pay 150 gold to add all dunefolk to your team permanently, then defeat the northwest leader and proceed to Northern Outpost.

Any of these options can succeed. However, bear in mind that the Dunefolk army all has the Mercenary ability, meaning they fight better when the player has gold, and worse when the player's gold is 0 or less. They are complex to manage, and may be a liability in larger battles.

To go to Mal-Ravanal's Capital: Send folks into the swamp to your east, and have Hahid and Safyam explore near where they appear. Fight off the swamp creatures, using White Magi to keep your team healthy. Don't over-recruit, and anticipate your team's upkeep costs! A nimble unit like a Fencer helps to snag faraway herbs quickly for a big finish bonus (you'll need it).

To recruit the dunefolk before Northern Outpost: Same strategy, but more scrappy.

To go directly to Northern Outpost, no dunefolk: you can collect 5 alswdan herbs and refuse to pay, or you can just kill Mal-Skraat. With corpses and bats, he's not much of a threat; the swamp poison is the scariest part.

Mal-Ravanal's Capital

  • Objective: Escape from the capital by killing one of the two dark sorcerers.
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies
  • Turns: n/a
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn

Only reachable from Ill Humors scenario, but you may skip it and go directly to Northern Outpost.

The main reason to get here, besides XP, is to acquire a cavalry force of one Paladin (a loyal unit) and several Knights. Focus on freeing the horsemen as quickly as possible. To do this, kill the 6 Deathblades guarding the cages (they will not attack unless you stand next to them first). Powerful ranged units like your Quiver-bearer and White Mages make the perfect assassins.

You have until Turn 10 until Mal-Ravanal notices Dacyn and gets serious. To free the cavalry in time, you'll probably need to split your forces up. Send your first recalls southeast towards the Paladin -- if you're lucky, you can free it on same turn you meet the victory condition. Soon after, send a small assassin squad [landofMordor: I used a White Mage and my Quiver-bearing Bowman] north to free the topmost Knight; once he's free, send him to reinforce another group and send your assassins due east to free the Knight there.

Now, while your hit squads are gallivanting around killing Deathblades, you need to occupy the bulk of Mal-Ravanal's forces. A healer and Heavy Infantry (or even Spearmen) can do the trick at the impassable bottleneck due east of your starting keep. Don't try to push forward or gain ground; instead, just hold the line and allow one or two units to come through the bottleneck at a time.

Finally, once Gweddry is finished recruiting, send him and any disposables southwest towards that Dark Sorcerer, freeing the Knight along the way. That crew should be enough to overwhelm the puny Walking Corpse army there, stall if needed until the Paladin is free, and fight your way free.

The Northern Outpost

  • Objectives:
    • Find the outlaw leader in the villages and kill him.
    • Defeat the undead leader.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: 20.
  • Starting units: All available from Gweddry, Dacyn, Terraent, Addogin, and Hahid
  • Other:
    • A holy amulet is located in the South-West.
    • Owaec joins your team after the fight is over.

This scenario is reachable from the Elven Alliance, Ill Humors, and Mal-Ravanal's Capital scenarios.

Here, there are two enemies that you must defeat: the undead and the outlaws. It is a good idea to create a separate task force for each of a keep's worth of veterans. You won't have Dacyn for this mission (until the bandits are slain)

For the undead task force, send one non-impact melee unit to get the Amulet by the southwest temple, which makes all damage Arcane. That unit will have the damage output of a mage and the mobility and durability of a regular solider! That alone is enough to shred the undead to the north along with Gweddry, a healer, and a few disposable HI. Help Owaec's forces stay alive, if you can.

For the bandit task force, send about 5 units north to the villages. You might not need a healer, but prepare to fight L1 outlaws in Forest-heavy terrain. About 3 groups of enemies will spawn randomly, about 3 units in each group until the leader (a Rogue [easy] or Assassin) is found with a larger cadre of goons. Note that you will get a chance to kill any newly appeared outlaws before they get a move, so be prepared to ambush the ambushers.

Upon defeating either leader, Owaec and his cavalry will join your roster. If the undead fall first, turn that task force to hunting outlaws.

Diverging Campaign Path

Undead Crossing & Capturing the Ogres

Undead Crossing

  • Objective: Defeat the enemy leader.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies or turns run out.
  • Turns: 18.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec.

You need to cross the river, but not without first defeating a necromancer who is occupying a small island to the North.

A good general strategy can be something like the following: recall a couple of quick swordsmen (or about-to-level quick spearmen), two white mages, a red mage or multiple regular mages, and any units with holy amulets. Shock troopers are too slow. Send these units as quickly as possible Northwest through the swamp towards the Western crossing. Meanwhile, recruit/recall cavalry. The cavalry should run as fast as possible along the Southern board edge (so as to not attract undue attention from bats and swimming undead) and then up the Western crossing. You can divert a couple of cavalry and Owaec to snatch up villages and then those units can join the Western assault.

Now, this scenario has a nasty surprise... Once you have fought off the bats and skeletons, you will find this was not all, as the undead leader summons a number of cuttlefish monsters (1, 2 or 4 according to the difficulty level: easy, medium or hard respectively), which appear in the water between the two crossings. These always appear on turn number 10. Be very careful where to position your troops as the cuttlefish have a very nasty melee attack.

You have at least three options for the crossing. Option 1 is to just try to get a couple of your cavalry across each of the two crossings, while the rest of your units run like hell away from the water and swamp. Option 2 is to send across more units while tossing a spearman into the water as bait. Option 3 is to fight the cuttlefish, which is extremely hazardous. For a fight, maneuver your units to encourage the cuttlefish to separate, then use good melee troops backed by Gweddry (for leadership) and a white mage to kill them one at a time. Good luck. Make sure you leave your units enough time to cross the river and kill the undead leader before turns run out.

Leads to Capturing the Ogres.

Capturing the Ogres

  • Objective: Capture the ogres.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies.
  • Turns: Unlimited.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec.
  • Other:
    • To add ogres to your army, "capture" them by ZoC-locking them.


This can be a confusing scenario to understand. Basically, your three units just have to survive. However, if you want to be able to recall ogres later, you need to "capture" them by surrounding them. Any ogre which cannot move more than one hex in every direction will be added to your recall list. Ogres which reach the rocky borders will "escape".

Ogres are especially mobile on mountains (such as in the scenario Lake Vrug) and in caves (in the scenario Captured). Being of neutral alignment, ogres can be helpful at night (especially in the scenario Weldyn Under Attack). It's best to capture at least two.

Soradoc & Ogre Crossing

Soradoc

  • Objective: Get Gweddry and Owaec across the river.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies or turns run out.
  • Turns: 24.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal unit
  • Other:
    • Keep Yannic alive and talk to him with Owaec, or kill 3 enemy leaders, to recruit him later and get a Plague Staff in the next scenario.

Really difficult if you didn't go to Mal-Ravanal's Capital earlier and gain the Paladin and Knight(s).

Send your Paladin, Dacyn, Owaec, and a few other veterans due west immediately to assassinate the Death Knight there. If you have a Knight with a holy amulet, that's a good option. Owaec is needed in this group so he can rush up and talk to Yannic afterwards.

Send the rest of your army (at least 1 healer) due north post-haste. You need to smash through the base there and clear a path to the north. If you do well enough, you can even wipe out the other undead armies before completing the objective. The more leaders you defeat, the easier the next scenario will be.

On turn 4, Mal-Ravanal appears in the southeast corner, summons some high-level Ghosts (including Shadows) behind your lines, and peaces out. Be prepared for this ambush.

If you rescue Yannic and he doesn't die, he'll give you a Plague Staff in the next scenario. The Plague Staff might not be "good" per se, but it's awesome: it turns its bearer chaotic, allows it to recruit Walking Corpses, and grants it the Plague Staff attack. Later, Yannic will join your team just when you need him most.

Ogre Crossing

  • Objective: Get Gweddry and Owaec across the river.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies or turns run out.
  • Turns: 24.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
  • Other:
    • Special bonuses if the objective is completed while the Ogre leader is still alive:
      • Ogre leader joins you as recallable a loyal unit
      • All the other surviving Ogres can be recalled for half as much normal units (only 10 gold!)

Looking at the level, one might imagine the challenge in this scenario is crossing the wide river - where units are very vulnerable, and have very restricted mobility (particularly horses). However, this will likely prove to be the lesser of your concern: The Saurian force on the Northern bank is preoccupied with the Ogres for a good several turns, and the opponents going after you will be the Undead from the South (unless you killed them all in Soradoc).

However, you need the Ogre leader alive! The Ogres will need help against the Saurians, so scamper across with some Cavalry and/or fast Mages, bringing your leader in the rear. A few Nibblers will bar your way way but they are easily dispatched, once a unit arrives next to the far shore Grug (the Ogre leader) will have himself a big think and join your side immediately allowing you to control him and his fellow ogres. All of those that survive we be recallable for only 10 gold (as opposed to the normal 20), but importantly you can only recall the survivors not recruit any more ogres!

Xenophobia

  • Objective: Defeat all enemy leaders.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec die or turns run out.
  • Turns:
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
  • Other:
    • A Shield near the Dwarves' keep.
    • You will have 100% gold carryover, but 0 starting gold, for the next several scenarios. Save up!

This is a fun and silly level as all parties in the scenario (i.e. Naga, Orcs, Dwraves, and yourself) decide to fight each other instead of forming alliances. The scenario is not very difficult, so you can use this time to gain some experience for your units and pick up another permanent item. This one, near the Dwarvish keep, is a shield that will redirect all damage from adjacent allies to the shield-bearer! It's tricky to use, but consider giving it to an expendable Spearman and using him as an extra ~40 HP for the units who matter, if (or likely when) he dies have another expendable unit pick it up to replace him.

You can likely split 2 keepfuls of troops between a Northern strike force and a Eastern one. The North force will eliminate the Dwarves and rejoin the main Eastern force, which can sweep north through Orc territory and then south to the Naga. Capture and hold as many villages as you can, and give as much EXP to Gweddry and other desired units (prioritizing loyal ones is a good option). If you don't have a few extra White Mages already now is a good time to get them.

If you have 500 gold, you should be pretty set for the next scenarios. You can survive with as little as 300.

Castle In The Ice

  • Objective: Move to the castle stronghold
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: n/a
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
  • Other:
    • The intense cold damages your troops every turn.
    • Cold damage intensifies the longer you spend in this scenario.

Basically: follow the path through the fog to the castle, defeating the Drakes and wild beasts along the way. Your core loyal units are more than enough for this task.

Optional: There's a 1-hex keep close to the first village you find. You can send Grug and an extra healer southeast from there, defeat the group of Ghosts, and continue onwards to find another group of Ogres. Those Ogres will join your team if you have Grug, unlocking an achievement.

Even further along the Ogre route, you'll find a L4 Yeti. Defeating it will grant 1 unit immunity from cold and double it's base hitpoints. Giving it to Grug makes him the tankiest of lads and a good choice for the magic shield item.

Don't recall more than 1 extra healer. You'll need your gold later!

Dark Sanctuary

  • Objective: Move Dacyn, Gweddry, and reinforcements into Mal-Ravanal's sanctuary, defeating the leader
  • Lose if: Death of Gweddry, Dacyn, or Owaec
  • Turns: n/a
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
  • Other:
    • 100% gold carryover with 0 starting gold
    • Dacyn will have better outcomes stepping on runes
    • Night lasts longer here

Recall 4-6 reinforcements into Dacyn's creepy gate (fewer than 6 if you're sending some of your loyal units in). Your main enemies are ghostly and skeletal units, but there will also be Goblins and Ants, so bring a mix of units and roles. Moreover, you'll have 3 separate special items to collect (more on that later), which will help you feed EXP to mid-level units. Recruiting a few L2 people will also save you some upkeep costs.

Owaec will loiter outside and have to repel several incursions from Orcish armies. Use fresh L1 Spearmen to force the Orcs to fight from the snow, giving Owaec most of the XP. (Grug can help, too, if you didn't send him inside.)

Inside the chambers, you'll have 2 directions to go, southwest and northeast. You can split up your forces after killing the Wyvern and grabbing its gold pile.

Southwest group: You'll be facing L0-L1 Goblins in groups of 4-6. Bring a healer. The special item on this corridor is the red vial inside the potion room at {15, 13} -- it grants Steadfast and Healthy to its drinker. The unit who gains the most from doubled resistances is, funny enough, Cavalry, since troops like Heavy Infantry can't have their resistances doubled past 50%. (All other potions are not beneficial). After picking up this potion, head south to find one door key. The Goblins in this room can be distracted by stepping on the rune at the end of the corridor, which releases two Ghouls into the Goblin chamber (or all of them if Darcyn is the one to step the rune).

Northeast group: You'll face several Ghost/Wraith, one Deathblade/Draug, and some optional units. Use a mage to cook the skeleton guarding the library; Ghosts will spawn afterward. Fight through to get the second door key. Go southeast from this room (avoiding the floor runes) and you'll find a cave full of Ants, and a collapsed wall leading to a treasure room. Upon entering this area, a Djinn will spawn and attack.

After killing the Djinn, collect the Holy Amulet, treasure, and Baneblade from the room. The Baneblade is a 7x4 draining Arcane attack, but has the Berserk ability, so it's a mixed blessing. I'm not sure who wields it best, but Heavy Infantry and Pikeman are solid options. The treasure room can be opened from the inside.

After obtaining both keys and moving both strike forces back to the central chamber, a large group of low-level monsters will spawn. Fight onto the second creepy platform, then charge the Death Knight leader to end the scenario.

Captured

  • Objective: Rescue Gweddry, Dacyn, and Owaec, then escape through the South-West tunnel.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: Unlimited, then 16.
  • Starting units: Rescue leader and two sidekicks.
  • Other:
    • No recruiting, but a group of your veterans will be available.
    • The door to a large gold reserve will be unlocked after the orcish leader dies

Three of your recall troops will escape from a cell and plot a rescue operation. The scenario tries to select a level 3, level 2, and level 1 unit, but it is possible to end up with many variations. At first, they're unarmed, so flee the Bats you find, first running west and then south. You'll retrieve your weapons, and then one group member will don a disguise to sneak past the guards.

The disguised unit can open any cell door to release the prisoners within. Try to select a cell containing ogres or Knights; a quick ogre has the best chance of reaching and opening another cell in the same turn. Upon releasing prisoners, your leaders will also seek the fight; you'll have to keep Dacyn alive by fleeing to the spot of shallow water to his northeast, and shielding him from attacks using Gweddry and Owaec.

If you're fast and lucky, you can kill the Orcish leader before many reinforcements arrive. This will unlock the orcs' treasure horde from a cell. Then, move Owaec to the Southwest tunnel to end the level, farming XP with your other units as you go.

Losses in this scenario are not a big deal, as you're only going to be able to bring a fraction of your recall list past the next scenario, which is likely to kill off all but a few veterans. However, the steady stream of orc reinforcements can provide one last chance to level key units for Evacuation, the next scenario.

Evacuation

  • Objective: Destroy the bridge with Owaec
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns: 12.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
  • Other:
    • Every unit not on the South side of the river when the bridge is destroyed will be lost (including units in your recall list).

Obviously, recall everybody you care about, including your item-bearers. This will be about 12 recalls total. Afterwards, gold permitting, recruit a keepful of Spearmen to distract the Wolves for another turn or two.

Don't get caught fighting; don't expose units to ZOC-lock. Keep your healers in the center and press southwest in tempo with your slowest evacuees. Don't go so slowly that the Drakes can cut you off in front.

Once you get bottle-necked on the bridge, hold a large enough rearguard of expendables that the people you do care about don't get ZOC-locked by flying Drakes while trying to cross the span. If you make it out with 5-10 veterans in addition to the special-item-bearers, then count yourself lucky!

The Spoils of War

An easier mission to help rebuild your forces. Terraent (if you have him) or Owaec will need to free groups of prisoners, who arrive alternating between Northern and Southern routes. The most critical prisoner to free is a special, loyal Dark Adept who will arrive from the south -- it's very worthwhile leveling them up.

Note that each group will be freed once the Deathblade named "guard" is slain. Bats will spawn after each freeing and chase the nearest cluster of units -- you can exploit this behavior to protect your weaker units.

Once all groups are freed, kill the southern enemy leader.

The Drowned Plains

  • Objective: Defeat the 3 enemy leaders.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn or Owaec dies, or turns run out.
  • Turns:
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units
  • Other:
    • Walking Corpses, Soulless, and Ghouls will ambush you from the swamp
    • Sighting any enemy leader will cause stronger waves of the undead
    • A holy amulet is located on the southwest bank of the lake.

After a little bit of narrative, Dacyn will find himself heavily damaged, surrounded by 6 hexes of impassable pit, and beset by several high-level Ghost units! To rescue him, create a buffer of ZOC with your loyal units, and recall a strong Mage to barbeque the ghosts. Dacyn will shortly thereafter lose his ability to illuminate or cure, due to Mal-Ravanal's dark influence, so recall an extra healer to help against Ghoul poison.

Each castle is strongly defended, so it doesn't make sense to split up your main army. However, a few speedier scouts (including, perhaps, the Merfolk you rescued last scenario) are useful to capture and hold some of the far-flung villages. Then, recall a force of veterans who will be able to take on armies of 8-10 level 2/3 undead units, and head due south.

The southern-most castle will recruit Chocobones and Skeleton Riders when you get line-of-sight on the keep. Keep your units bunched up so that they can't be surrounded and killed by the Chocobones' charge attacks. Also, the Walking Corpse ambushes will intensify once you sight any enemy leader.

To the southwest lies Khrakrahs, a level-4 Skeletal Dragon who recruits L2-3 Undead. Yikes. His infernal aura makes lower-level troops fight worse [1.18.0 this won't necessarily be reflected in the combat preview, unless your unit begins adjacent to Khrakrahs]. Use Gweddry's Leadership to counteract this, and then burn Khrakrahs down with Mages.

To the northwest is another skeletal horseman, who recruits more undead mounted units and Ghouls. Compared to Khrakrahs, a walk in the park.

Return to Wesnoth

Story only.

Weldyn Under Attack

  • Objective: Survive until end of turns.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec or Konrad II dies.
  • Turns: 18.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, loyal units, Konrad II.
  • Other:
    • At the end of this scenario you will have to choose whether to fight Mal-Ravanal directly in a duel, or repel his invasion with all you've got. This dictates the final scenario you'll play for this campaign.

At scenario start, you find your keep in the center of an island. Three allied leaders also have their keeps on the island around yours. There are six enemy leaders surrounding Weldyn.

Dacyn will turn into a "nega-Mage of Light" during this scenario, complete with a dark aura ability. Don't count on him to heal your troops!

Super ambitious: Kill all the enemy leaders, possibly with a strike force of fast Paladins and Magi to break through at the south and then sweep clockwise.

Medium ambitious: Just hold the lines of Weldyn, keeping your allied generals alive (gets much harder around Turn 10, but easier again around Turn 14).

Conservative: Just hold the inner island of Weldyn, abandoning the allied generals completely. This is really easy to defend, and Konrad will be able to fight here, but you lose out on some upside.

At the end of the battle, Gweddry will be able to choose whether to duel Mal-Ravanal (easier), or take on his whole army (possibly unlocks a bonus scenario).

Diverging Campaign Path

The Duel

  • Objective: Defeat Mal-Ravanal while Dacyn is nearby.
  • Lose if: Gweddry or Dacyn dies, or Dacyn is not nearby when Mal-Ravanal is defeated.
  • Turns: Unlimited.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn.
  • Other:
    • You can only recruit for the first turn.

This is a somewhat strange scenario: you get to recall/recruit exactly five units and then have to fight Mal-Ravanal and his six chosen troops. Mal-Ravanal will recruit mostly level 3 units so this looks difficult. However, it is, in fact, quite manageable. Your goal is to attack first and hit hard—you should be able to eliminate two or three enemy units before they even get the chance to attack.

Except for Konrad II, you will have all of your units available in the recall list (including Owaec). Recall mages of light and other high-level arcane troops. Advance onto the battlefield, but stop just short of the enemies' range. After the enemies move closer, concentrate your attacks on a few of their units, particularly those with the strongest attacks. "Cowardly" Gweddry may be able to grant leadership bonuses to your troops, however he should probably refrain from actual fighting so he does not accidentally get killed.

Try to finish the fight quickly, as Mal-Ravanal plays unfair and revives dead units as lower-level copies of themselves. If you position a weak unit within Mal-Ravanal's movement range, the arrogant lich will gleefully charge out onto the battlefield and leave himself wide open for your counterattack. Owaec's hammer should make short work of him.

Weldyn Besieged

  • Objective: Defeat Mal-Ravanal while Dacyn is nearby.
  • Lose if: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec or Konrad II dies, any enemy unit reaches your keep, or Dacyn is not nearby when Mal-Ravanal is defeated.
  • Turns: Unlimited.
  • Starting units: Gweddry, Dacyn, Owaec, Terraent, Grug, Konrad II.

This battle is intended as a substantial challenge, and is inadvisable with low gold or an inadequate recall list. You face off against seven enemy leaders, with the goal of finding and eliminating Mal-Ravanal among them. The liches' names aren't revealed until they are attacked, and Mal-Ravanal is more likely to be revealed later in the scenario (the names are randomly assigned when you attack). Attacking a lich gives it a small boost of gold, but killing the wrong lich gives every other lich extra gold.

A quick scout unit can charge past the undead hordes to attack and identify a lich. Once you've found Mal-Ravanal, send Dacyn and any mounted arcane-attack units to attack. You can draw Mal-Ravanal out of the keep by positioning a sacrificial horseman nearby. Once the lich is out in the open, your arcane damage cavalry should have no trouble finishing the battle in a single turn.

Meanwhile you'll need the rest of your troops to hold the central keep against the undead onslaught. If you can spare the funds, a few sacrificial troops can delay the incoming enemies on one side, giving you the opportunity to focus your firepower on the undead approaching from the other side(s). Note, however, that each enemy killed causes the lich to recruit another. If things turn grim, retreat to the castle and make your final stand.

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This page was last edited on 19 July 2024, at 06:56.