Toggle Background Color
Update 2
Last time we learned how to play Heroes of Might and Magic 2, got acquainted with the Wizard faction and Dawn’s quest for a kiss.. This time, we’ll get serious.
Day 12
You may remember that I had Dawn pass of her slow units to Flint. Now look at her movement. This allows her to quickly head back after visiting the gazebo and recollect her units with minimal loss of time. As soon as I have enough Archmages I'm probably going to drop the Halflings and give them to a secondary hero.
Eagle eye is a really blah skill. Basic gives you a 20% chance of learning a second level spell when it's cast on you. From there, each level adds a spell level and 10% chance of learning it. It's not really worth it if you ask me. Too random and you’ll get their spells anyway when you take their castles. I’ll take Wisdom instead.
Also, defense +1.
Fineous the not-Kelzen is going to visit the standing stones and the gazebo as well. It never hurts to have a decent back up hero.
I really need to get some more mines. I can’t build anything worthwhile at the moment. The Wizard and the Warlock faction are the most expensive factions in the game and both require lots of rare resources to construct their dwellings. I build a thieves guild. This will be useful for when I start laying siege on castles.
In the meantime the information is pretty useless. The more thieve guilds you have the more information you get. At best you can get the same information that the oracle gave PC Snob in his update, which is pretty great.
Day 13
So Flint is going to make himself useful and free up the windmill. Waiting around is just costing me time and it's not like that tiny bit of experience will be missed in the long run.
These Halflings are ready to kill.
As the bottom goblins found out.
Now for the rocs to earn their keep.
Easily done.
The windmill gives out a small amount of a random resource each week. It can be very useful. I usually have a hero standing by to visit locations like the windmill and mushrooms. That little bit of extra resources can go a long way.
Day 14
Good job Flint.
Day 15
Battle dwarf week. A good week for the sorceress, but we don't really care. A week of gives a +5 to growth of a specific unit, whereas a month of doubles the growth that week.
Yes I do. Come back here and join us you bastards! 
Victory!
There is a lot of gold near the crystal mine and there is a laboratory on the way there. I’ll just do those things and then leave my safe nest to strike out.
Fineous the not-Kelzen has some nice options. Leadership gives his morale a plus, whereas luck gives his luck a plus. I’ll give him some leadership.
Day 16
There’s our target.
"I am most grateful my loyal miller."
The miller knows what’s up. We need more gems for our giants. Right, in order to get things moving faster I’m going to give Fineous some units as well.
Day 17
I’ll probably regret following them. Fighting rogues sucks. Like the sprites that PC Snob fought, they have the no retaliation perc. So each rogue has to be killed on your turn.
I probably should’ve split my Archmagi stack for faster killing. But meh, it's not like they're much of a threat.
The most important thing to remember with rogues is that they have armor made out of soggy slightly used toilerpaper.
Every little bit of experience helps, which is the sole reason that I'm following these weak stacks. Currently, taking out these weaklings is worth it since I only need 1.000 experience points to level up. However as the level grows so does the experience requirement and there comes a point where you're better off just letting them run away.
And here we have the effect of the passage of time. Wandering stacks slowly grow in power each week.
I’m the rightful king, look upon me and despair!
The only thing of note was that everything was over in one round due to good morale.
Day 18
After kicking some rogue ass I decided that we need more resources. I currently have plenty of money, but I’m lacking in the gems needed for my sky castle. I’m also pretty sure those dwarves are working for Archibald, so let’s clear those dwarves and raid those campfires, but first preparations.
You may fire when ready. 
Laser beam!
I didn’t need to split the archmage stacks, but it doesn’t do any harm either. It gives me less chance of overkilling and attack power going to waste. Unlike normal dwarves, battle dwarves have an average speed rating combined with the usual dwarven sturdiness. They could feasibly make it to the other side.
That’s not how you clip a birds wings you fool, this will only get you killed!
High morale means a second attack.
This went well.
This is actually the first time ever since I started playing that I’ve been splitting stacks as much as I have. My old strategy was to just turtle until I had a few of the highest level units and then go out to try and kill everything. I’d love to say that I used to be great at these games, but that’s one thing I can’t claim with a straight face.
No gems here.
Dawn picks up some gold and then I realize I have bigger fish to fry, so she leaves to make room for Flint who will pick up behind her.
Even if Fineous the not-Kelzen is unlikely to ever become even decent at spell casting, having a spell book is pretty much a necessity. Even a single well placed low level spell can spell defeat for the enemies.
Day 19
I’m keeping the formation as it is now. Those goblins don’t stand a chance either way.
And they know it. They probably work for Archibald, better fix this.
Boom! One down. I will be posting quite a few soundbites through the LP. It’s not just the music that’s good about these games, all games benefit from having sounds that punctuate what you’re doing and some of the Heroes sounds really hit that sweet spot. Like the Archmage laser which actually sounds pretty powerful or the all-important BLAH! (Darth TNT officially sanctioned spelling). Then there are some sounds that I just like because, I don’t know. 
One of those is the goblin walk. They have this really weird rhythm to their walk and some soft other sounds surround which sound like cheap wooden jewelry of feathers that move as they go. To me it always invokes this tribal feeling without going overboard.
And then there were none.
Just a quick visit to the newly liberated gazebo.
I still don’t want eagle eye, so stop offering me that. 
I just need three days. Fineous the not-Kelzen buys the units I haven’t bought yet and moves to give them to Flint who can give them to Dawn.
Day 20
These units aren’t needed to take on those Archibald loving orcs, but I want them so Dawn can move on from there.
And we’re ready.
They obviously tried to run, but Roland would have none of that cowardly stuff in his kingdom.
It was sort of like a battle, but only if a battle looked like someone taking a pit stop.
Victory!
This is going well.
Day 21
A dead end, what a waste. I could try to take those veteran pikemen, but I’d rather not. They’re the upgraded form of the pikeman and are actually pretty good. That gold is not worth it.
I’ll go and attack those trolls near the temple and mushrooms. That holds more promise. In the meantime, tomorrow I can buy giants.
Day 22
A new week. I can buy the sky castle, but I’m struck with indecision. I’ll hold off for a bit, Dawn isn’t nearby yet. Reason I’m holding off is that building the dwelling will use up all of my money leaving me unable to buy anything.
I know I said was going after the trolls, but my magic sucks since I only have a level 1 mage guild. The wizard faction needs a boat load of every rare resource you can find, which makes upgrading a pain.
I aim to fix that with that blue tent behind those golems. It´s a shrine of the second circle which teaches a random second level spell. Let’s check it out and gain some experience at the same time. Also, I’ll bet those golems have pictures of Archibald in their foundry.
Day 23
I’ll go into more detail whenever I get around to buying these things myself. However I'll just repeat what PC Snob already said. The most important part is that golems are tanks. Their defensive stat is the same as the archmages attack stat despite the 3 level difference between them. In addition, they can dish out the damage fairly well and they can tank magic easily thanks to their magic resistance. So let’s use indirect magic and bless an archmage stack. We need to stop these things from reaching the other side at all cost.
That only killed one. 
But it does give me a chance to post this. It’s the Golems get hit sound and I like the sturdy empty steel sound it gives, especially when combined with the laser beam sound.
The one thing I have going for me is that golems are in desperate need of some grade A lubricant and thus are slow as can be, which is the reason why I haven’t bought them yet. They make excellent garrison units. Another bless on the other Archmage stack and let’s focus fire on the center steel golems. They’re the upgraded version.
The Halflings brought them down after the first stack of archmages weakened them and the second stack killed the top iron golem stack. [url=https://lpix.org/3180081/Golem%20dead%20-%20-Golem%20dead.mp3][This is actually one of my favorite sounds.[/url] It sounds just right.
We’re running out of ground between us and them.
Another one down and well out of reach of the other golems. I’m very happy that the battle maps are much larger than in Heroes1.
The remaining two die easily and I win. Finally a worthwhile bit of experience.
Finally a good second skill. I’d like that luck please. Now to claim my prize.
That’s some great luck, just what I wanted.
Lightning bolt: Deals 25 times your spell power in damage to a single unit. It’s the most damaging single target spell in this game.
These things are expensive.
Day 24
Here you can see one of the biggest problems a wizard faces. Their units are expensive as hell.
Day 25
The trading line is set up. She’s not getting much, but it’ll have to do.
Day 26
The trade is done and the Halflings stay back home. They just slow us down and setting it up like this also allows me to break up my stack of rocs or archmages depending on my needs.
I’m not chasing those trolls. Trolls are excellent shooters and thus I’m likely to incur unwanted losses chasing them. They’re probably running to join Roland’s army anyway.
Day 27
She picks up the fire and also visits the well. We spent quite a few spell points against the golems without refilling. Better do that now.
That yellow hut is a Witch doctors hut, you can get a +1 to knowledge from there. The fact that there is a campfire here tells me that the enemy hasn’t been here yet. I’m going to send Flint to join Dawn. On his last level up he gained scouting, so he should be able to help her see a bit more and collect the resources.
Day 27
Here we go again. Time to kill those Archibald worshipping steel constructs!
I wish I still had my Halflings now. I bless the archmages. Fire! I kept my archmages as a single stack. This group of golems was larger than the previous so I preferred the extra damage and the extra warm bodies to help draw fire should it be necessary.
Only three died. This is going to take some time.
Right on time.
This kills the top iron golems.
And this kills the steel golem. The best part about slow units controlled by AI is the completely horrible pathfinding as they get in each others way almost every turn forcing them to try to go around each other.
I retreated the boars back to buy me another turn without getting hit. The archmages can half a stack each shot. Looks like my giant is going to get a workout. So they get my blessing.
Zap!
So Giants. I don’t like them. Costing a hefty 2.000 in gold and 1 gem they are the penultimate wizard unit. They do pretty good damage, but can definitely use your blessing. The reason I don’t like them is their speed, defense and cost to upgrade. They’re never quite as sturdy as I think they are and thus I fully expect this dude to die before I get the chance to upgrade him. His speed is only average making him one of the slowest level 6 creatures (Tied with the green dragon and bone dragon) combined with no flying means that he will be unable to get away from combat should he find himself in trouble. Meanwhile, their ultimate form costs a hefty 5.000 in gold and 2 gems. That’s a 3.000 difference, multiply by two. You would need to cough up 6.000 per giant to upgrade them, I hope you have a terrible cold.
The boars and the archmages team up on the bottom one.
Bolstered by such camaraderie the giant pulls out all the stops and overkills those golems with a lucky strike. With one stack left everyone attacks!
And that's how you take care of golems. Very nice experience reward.
All right, I’ll take mysticism. I can break most walls easily enough already.
The gazebo doesn’t allow us to instantly level anymore.
Day 28
I’d better check the surrounding area that no stray stacks have appeared.
Nope, no stray stacks. Fineous the not-Kelzen heads off with a small force to liberate some minor territories.
I’ll take that gold mine thank you. That should go a long way to fixing my gold problems.
Day 29
That gem mine will work much better for us. Can I have it?
Flint looks around a bit more.
That camp can provide you with a free attack boost, excellent.
I also spot some horse legs at the top. Enemy contact!
Meanwhile, Fineous the not-Kelzen has his own adventure. He’s going to take out those Archibald worshipping fools.
I don’t know why they didn’t try to run from me.
I had Fineous the not-Kelzen bring his starting units along this includes his goblins and orcs. I’m going to leave the more detailed description of these vile units to PC Snob. But in my opinion goblins aren’t half bad, they’re the most average level 1 unit.
And then it was over.
Suddenly more zombies! Good thing these things are terrible.
6 died to this blessed shot.
Speaking of terrible. Orcs are contenders for being the worst units in the game, despite their competition having the likes of peasants and zombies.
Zombies are terrible.
Now that’s a rare skill for a barbarian and it’s probably worth getting. Fineous the not-Kelzen has an eternally tiny mana pool that would be helped greatly with enhanced regeneration.
Well done.
Flint finds some wood and a hill fort. I’ve forgotten what it did in this game, so let’s check.
Oh right, free upgrades for three types of units. Unfortunately, all I have are a few orcs.
Run away Flint! Notice the mine at the top, it’s unguarded and has a minor vertical line on top. It’s been flagged!
Day 30
A nice upgrade to her stats. This update is getting quite long, but I wanted to attack an enemy castle.
I saw the enemy hero head in this direction and guess what I found?
We can probably easily take question mark enemies.
Fineous te not-Kelzen found an observatory which allows him to scout a long way around him. We spot a gold mine guarded by ogre lords. Let’s not tangle with those guys with this army.
What can orcs possibly teach us? Looking back, I apparently forgot to visit the witch doctor with Dawn. 
Just a bit more and I can add some gold trimmings to my sky castle.
I really want to end the update, but what I want even more is to attack the enemy castle. So let’s do that and then end this update.
Day 31
Kalindra shows up from nowhere (slightly to the left, where there is apparently something of interest), visits her castle and parks her sweet ass in front of Dawn.
I’m not impressed.
Oh no, she brought reinforcements. The castle has zombies now! 
Sorry guys, this changes everything. A foe of this might needs careful deliberation before taking action. Next time, I rekill them all. 