Overall, this mission just doesn't feel right. This is supposed to be a grand scale, epic showdown between the Ironfist and the Veterans of the Void War. Both of them are large, influential factions, and the fact that they are fighting each other means that the are missing from the front, which severely crippled the frontline. That means they are supposed to be really powerful, I think that their battle should almost be as big as the Pride of the Empire mission's siege, yet right now, it feels like two minor factions skirmish. Also, the map is really small, and somehow still feels empty. There are no outlying bases, no alternate paths, and Progaderas aside, no neutral creeps either. I mean, the forest is supposed to be filled with corrupted animals, like in the previous Lor missions, but here, there are none. What about those huge water filled areas next to the Ironfist and the Veterans? There used to be ships sailing on them, if I recall correctly, but they have been removed, which is not bad, since they served no purpose, but now there's nothing in there. There are some people missing on Gardon's side. Where is Birram or Thanok? It doesn't feel like Gardon brought his army with him, only a small squad. Also, I like Sage Truthbarer, but he is just a random paladin. He could have unique abilities, or maybe add another hero to compensate? That random archmage is also weird. What order does he belong to? Also, Harmos doesn't have a line, when he meets the mage, which is not a problem, but it could add a little depth to the situation... The point I'm trying to make, is that the map feels lifeless and bland. Also the star of the map has some ludonarrative dissonance. We are told Genethas has attacked the Ironfist, and the battle has begun. Then we start the mission and no one is attacked by anyone for minutes. Also it is way too easy to snipe that castle, but limiting air units is a bad solution, because this is the last time we play as the Grey Guard, their tech tree should be fully unlocked, in my opinion. All in all, this mission doesn't feel like a civil war, it doesn't even feel like a big battle, more like a small fight between two minor factions. A civil war is supposed to feel chaotic, unpredictable and bloody. The best example I can come up with is Long Live the Queen, from the Second Human Book. People changing sides, attacks from all around, lots of factions and interesting dialogue. Also, where are Seabright's forces? They were replaced by the elves, but that makes it weird, that he is there, but his forces are missing. Also, there should be more banter between the opposing factions. Both in End of the Ironfist, and Last Stand of the Golden Guard, the heroes talked to each other a lot, because they are very well written, colorful personalites, that have different opinions on various topics. It's no different here. As I've mentioned before, Harmos could have dialogue with the mage, Merlon with Lerrig, Blen with the paladin, Aedale with Genethas, etc. Also, why does the Ironfist have "Honor Guards". It feels really weird, because Genethas has them as well... They make these two very different factions a bit identical. I feel like this map doesn't do justice to the wonderful and rich story, that is Legends of Arkain. This mission is very important to the story, it deserves to be an epic showdown. This mission feels especially underwhelming, because Pride of the Empire was so awesome.
Edit: I didn't notice that you have updated the campaign, when I was writing this. Judging by the changelog, it seems my arguments, expect for the air units, are still valid, so I'm not deleting this post. Thanks Shar, for the quick update!
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