New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[DD Mikasa]

Sheesh just as i was thinking Gorthogs activity was starting to look suspicious, the dialogue between him and Rangul heavily implied that the orcs might end up in a civil war. His recruitment of "lesser" sentient beings seems like a good tactic for his plans, while Amari doens't care about any cultural difference as long as all bend to her will He wants an Orc dominated tribal dominion with slaves under them.

I think one of the new chapters would be a showdown between Gorthog and Amari about who will take charge of the Dominion.

 

[Zergy]

After seeing the Trailer for the latest and final release of act 7, I'm hoping to see a further significant change to the story and characters' dialogues and minor changes to the map layout. I noticed from the latest release that, you removed to mention of the Bloodstone dwarves' air support, (Or maybe yer hiding them as a surprise). Plus Commander Thorn, although he will inevitably die in this chapter, actually has a cool model. Well done Hive community.

Flammedus not suggesting the Red Dragons instead helping Rangul to locate the Ogre Legion by Ephrog's request I'm also assuming he won't be the one to suggest the Gnolls of Gnoll Island because Amari already mentioned her plans during the Epilogue "LOST DAUGHTERS".

The regiments and their respective generals are going to be challenging especially since you removed Shield Bearers from the early parts of the book.
I have to admit it was a good call because it allows the player to utilize both the Bearmen units and rock golems as their front liners instead of being outclassed by the Shieldbearers overall. Time to waste another 3 hours to pass through a lot of fucking choke points to cover some grounds.

Gorthog getting more proper development, instead of being killed off by the Undead (A rushed way of ending a character's life, at least you covered that with Krom's Exclusive Assassination Mission). His development was surprising and interesting to follow, because of him the Murlocs are properly integrated into the cause and soon the Pigmen will be too... (If the Bull doesn't kill him first). And... I also Fear that Rangul's promise to him, the title of leader of the operations, might cause a succession crisis between him and... Amari... (Fuck Sasrogarn though, Cause his Sas) It might be an interesting story to play in but, I think Gorthog is smart enough not to start a civil war due to the fact that their own kind is going to be extinct and they can't afford to lose more. Who knows Shar Dundred is in control and he will always surprise his fans. Unless he goes for how the Author of 'Attack on Titan' twisted his ending.
Plus seeing this chapter's inevitable release will mean I can get to play with my favorite race! I'm going to relish playing as them again. Not to mention I get to play JhonWar's Reskin versions. Do you hear that Brockta? I shall rejoin the Legion once more. But first, we take out Commander Thorn and then we wait... A very long wait... But it will be worth it!

 

[tottipeter]

Hi shar more than 2 weeks and no news since the intro of final chapter of act 7.

 

[Zergy]

Hi shar more than 2 weeks and no news since the intro of final chapter of act 7.

There are many possible explanations for his silence.

One: He is working on the Epilogue of Act 7.
Two: He is working on the revamped details of the Map.
Three: Polishing things before releasing. It may not be perfect but at least the community will be there to point out the bugs we may encounter.

 

[nchp1903]

There are many possible explanations for his silence.

One: He is working on the Epilogue of Act 7.
Two: He is working on the revamped details of the Map.
Three: Polishing things before releasing. It may not be perfect but at least the community will be there to point out the bugs we may enouncter.

I'm guessing irl problem is also a possibility, but you're right. Whatever happens, I trust Shar and Kasrkin to deliver another banger while I wait patiently until it's released to play, enjoy and point out the bugs.

 

[Shar Dundred]

It's a big map and I'm a busy man.
Don't you worry, you'll get your massive battle soon enough.

 

[Zergy]

It's a big map and I'm a busy man.
Don't you worry, you'll get your massive battle soon enough.

Can you at least give us some news on Arkain News Network Shar, just to let us know what hell is going on back in Salria?

 

[Shar Dundred]

I suppose you do deserve another small something to keep you tuned....

Act Seven, Chapter Seven Spoiler

 

[VastanX]

I suppose you do deserve another small something to keep you tuned....

Act Seven, Chapter Seven Spoiler

Yep... big map. Gonna take a while.

 

[tottipeter]

I suppose you do deserve another small something to keep you tuned....

Act Seven, Chapter Seven Spoiler

We are tuning more then before

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

I suppose you do deserve another small something to keep you tuned....

Act Seven, Chapter Seven Spoiler

So Pechan send his boys to assist us? Either that or Zairmak's forces are now goblins.

 

[Navy45]

I suppose you do deserve another small something to keep you tuned....

Act Seven, Chapter Seven Spoiler

Random Gobo : Sir, we've finished completely cutting the forest, where do you want us to keep the explosive barrels ?
Peechan : Next to the food and lumber storages ! Don't forget to hide behind them if we're attacked !

Don't miss : "Call of Duty : Arkain Edition"

 

[Kasrkin]

Hype

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Finished "Horse and rider":
-I'm insist, Rangul has his days numbered. The "father of the year" is coming for his head, and Ephrog is the bonus.
-The salrians nobles and generals are to arrogant for my taste. I have no issues or pity in kill them all, and use their corpses to raise tons of skeletons with the necrolytes.
-Well, the imperial generals escaped after their forces were wiped out by the orcs and allies. Ejem, well, just one exception of course. I wonder what was the general thinking to retreat so fast.
-A pity that Cassius decided to stay until the end. Another soul damned by Lerrig's foul errand.
-So hmm, I don't expect that Redfist have new allies apart of the ones we saw if the previous mission. Nice touch, but a pity that fanatism and hatred guided them to their deaths as well.
-Grofzag, even you know that give credit to Sas is a very funny joke.
-So the centaurs too doubt about the warmongery of the orcs. Don't worry, Flammedus, the orcs are changing, whatever they liked it or not.
-And know, Amari and Grofzag are going to Gnoll island. We already know whom else are coming, the question is: There is gonna be another surprise of Mr. Dundred?

Now gameplay:
-I picked Skullblade clan
-I decided to go for Zairmak's boni this time. Not regreats of it.
-I need to restart it three times to learn the attacks of the enemy.
-My personal recommendation in the beggining is this: train necrolytes and catapults. Use the start group of units to charge against Zoia's base. Use Zairmak and other units to keep Zoia at bait meanwhile the rest of the heroes deal with the units and specially Darkfang. Once you destroy the Wolf regiment base, you can decided whatever you like to do next.
-I decided to clean the base of the Salrians and then go to Redfist. Personally, train a poweful army to attack it, and don't worry, there is an special surprise there: Murlocs and more. Sadly them were wiped out by the bastard Orie. I focus all of my wrath against her.
-Of course the dwarves and their units will be annoying. Should you decided to build a base in the former base of the phoenix regiment, keep in mind that the Knights and the bloodstone will attack you.
-I wiped out Cassius before go to the Knights base. And of course, I decided to kill Thorn just like in the SOB:

Spoiler

The waiting was worthy enough. I will play the mission again later so I can saw if the other bonis or other things make it more easier or else. Nice job as always, Arkain team.

 

[Zergy]

Review:
The Mission was more Bearable (Pun intended) to play in compared to what it used to be before in SOB. Borean and his Tribes Bring out the Hurt and the Love. Gladiators are quite good at Tanking damage while the Elders (Love the new Skin by the way) fix them up quite quickly. I know what you did here Shar.

Removing Shieldbearers to force players to build either RockGolems, Crystal Golems, or Gladiators for their front liners. Again, Good choice.
Plus removing Witch Doctors from the player's choices and the mission also forces the players to utilize the Elders. Cause I know that if you even add witch doctors to my disposal, I would immediately go for Witch Doctors. "What can I say, Mon? I've got friends from de other side to heal me better. Heheh..."

Besides at least Elders and Gladiators get to shine in this mission at least, before getting outclassed. Again...
The 2nd base that used to be under the player's control back in the Second Orc book is now converted into AI controlled. I Guess Shar Wanted the map to be Bearable because I've witnessed how FUCKING CHAOTIC THE BATTLES WERE!

The Murloc Reinforcements were expected but not in the way I hoped to see. They got creamed easily by Redfist and that Bitch Orie... Although I managed to save the Naga Royal Guar- I mean Murloc Behemoths before they died.

Fergon would have loved to meet Borean. If only he would have lasted longer mates... Fergon was lacking though... Still, a mist opportunity for characters to interact.
The Knights of Kome are back for vengeance. Yeesh, a proper story of revenge and death. Talk about dedication to their cause...

Imperial Regiments are weaker than before. Guess more fuel to their ever-growing hated for the orcs and their Allies.

Cassius... If only you would have listened to Logan...

Conclusion:
The overall mission you just uploaded Shar is 90% Masterpiece. (But Zerg whereS DE other 10% you asked?) Well, I noticed some bugs though... One is that Pechan entirely does nothing throughout the mission, he stands there inside the CliffHunter base, while his boys keep attacking without him.

Two Where in the hell are Grella and the DarkTroll forces???

The Murloc forces are a nice touch when playing this mission but sadly I can't rebuild them once they die... Welp time to wait again! When Act 8 comes? This is where everything comes together at last. To see and properly build all fantasy races into the true Tribal Dominion.

More dialogues, for lore purposes, well done Shar. At least it's not one-sided, which was present in SOB (Second Orc Book). The dialogues bring a dark and suspicious tone to the characters and their actions.

I mean Sas wasn't a coward here, I've sent him to battle. (Welp if that is your wish Shar) Also, the dialogues also imply the hesitation and slight tension that is now growing within the Dominion.
Hopefully, Gorthog and Amri will come to an Agreement not to cause a civil war... The Warlike nature of the Orcs I like, but an Alliance with fantasy races, I love.
Ogres, Ogres... OGRES! Coming (With JohnWar's skin) soon but will be a long time then... The seasons will change, but I will continue to wait... until I am reunited with my Legion...
Shar Dundred the 2 weeks of waiting for this epic battle was worth going through the hell of my college life. Thank you and God Bless ya!

 

[nchp1903]

This chapter is fun af, now that we have Orc bonis, a 120-supply army, and able to launch attack waves having to micro two bases.

Spoiler: Review

• Zairmak seemed more chilled now. Instead of fingering Thorn to his death, Zairmak instead chose to mull over his past actions. Very wise of him. The part about Thorn not being as vengeful as the other Redfists is interesting. Is it really that way, or is he just simply numb to all the killing and treat it like a chore?
• Amari calling out Sas for being useless was a bit of a ludonarrative dissonance. Even when he stayed in base, he was able to hold off waves of Salrian Knights and Bloodstone Riders. The same can't be say about Pechan, who didn't build a single anti-air unit. I had to give him and Orb of Lightning to make him useful.
• Darkfang and Zoia posed too little of a challenge this time. Their base was too close to mine, so my starting units easily wiped them out. I also picked Zairmak's boni for tanky Bearman Elders with up to 12 armors (or 11, I forgot), and Goldaxe units for more money. Robbing the straggling Farms and Lumber Mills of already-destroyed bases was quite beneficial.
• Aveen was a little bitch. I was barely through 1/3 of the map, when she retreated because she 'lost too many men' after sending like two attack waves?
• With Aveen gone, Cassius, Kenos, and the Salrian knights barely had any anti-air, which allowed War Zeppelins to blast them to smithereens with ease. I wasn't meant to build them at first, but after I noticed that their stats were buffed, I knew I had to.
• The Redfist base gave me a lot of fishies to play with. With the Zeppelins to distract the Firemages and Orie, the Fishmen wiped out their ground force with minimal casualties.
• And the Fallen Knights of Kome were also dead for joining those fanatics. They should have joined the winning side - Gardon's side.
• As for the heavy anti-air base of the Bloodstone Dwarves, well, I cooked up something that I'm quite proud of.

- Also, now that the Act is finished, I guess we have to wait for a long while until the next chapter, which is kinda sad. Although, now Jayborino will start uploading his playthrough, which is very good, since I want to see how he tackles hard levels like Dead Forest.

 

[Kalvon]

A nice map with a good gameplay but i will look its story aspect.

Spoiler: Review

My main concern is about Cassius. We have a dialog from him and it is all. When his base is destroyed, nothing. No dialog. As if the mercernaries were just a minor nuisance. Even in the final cinematic, we don't know about Cassius' fate after the battle. dead or not? People who has played in the SOB know in the future missions. Maybe add some dialog about Cassius and his men would be nice. Or it will say in the interlude.

"They call US barbaric!" Orcs aren't better, Grofzag. Your race has pillaged human villages and killed unarmed civilians, don't be surprised that Redfist do the same on you. it is revenge/payback. i guess that you don't know their motivations. eye for eye tooth for tooth. Sometimes, you are blind to pain that you inflict humans.

Where are the bull regiment and their general? I didn't remember to see them in this mission.

It seems that Zairmak has understood something. i am curious about it.

Now, i am curious for the next mission.

 

[nchp1903]

Where are the bull regiment and their general? I didn't remember to see them in this mission.

I think he's off to chase Gorthog. It's not his time to shine yet.

"They call US barbaric!" Orcs aren't better, Grofzag. Your race has pillaged human villages and killed unarmed civilians, don't be surprised that Redfist do the same on you. it is revenge/payback. i guess that you don't know their motivations. eye for eye tooth for tooth. Sometimes, you are blind to pain that you inflict humans.

Pretty sure Grofzag is aware that the Orcs are also meh. I think what he meant was: "We're supposed to be the bad guy here, but holy shit. At least we have standards! At least we don't murder our own kind, simply because they're sympathetic to the friends of our enemies!"

Two Where in the hell are Grella and the DarkTroll forces???

Her Dark Trolls are with the Cliffhunter, but Grella herself I'm not sure. Maybe Amari is tucking her somewhere safe, where she's less prone to mental breakdowns.

-Grofzag, even you know that give credit to Sas is a very funny joke.

But credit where credit is due. He's weak-willed and is a dick, but he's also very useful in combat. Amari is, of course, not stupid, so I feel like she's disregarding these points just to sway Grofzag to her side.

Also, there's a bug I forgot to mention: The Royal Guards have clashing hotkeys on their Crushing Wave and Frost Bolt.

 

[Jongyi233]

A nice map with a good gameplay but i will look its story aspect.

Spoiler: Review

My main concern is about Cassius. We have a dialog from him and it is all. When his base is destroyed, nothing. No dialog. As if the mercernaries were just a minor nuisance. Even in the final cinematic, we don't know about Cassius' fate after the battle. dead or not? People who has played in the SOB know in the future missions. Maybe add some dialog about Cassius and his men would be nice. Or it will say in the interlude.

"They call US barbaric!" Orcs aren't better, Grofzag. Your race has pillaged human villages and killed unarmed civilians, don't be surprised that Redfist do the same on you. it is revenge/payback. i guess that you don't know their motivations. eye for eye tooth for tooth. Sometimes, you are blind to pain that you inflict humans.

Where are the bull regiment and their general? I didn't remember to see them in this mission.

It seems that Zairmak has understood something. i am curious about it.

Now, i am curious for the next mission.

Orcs in Arkain are massive hypocrites like their counterparts in WoW. At least writing become a lot more interesting in true story.

 

[VastanX]

I bear the hell out of this map... I literally only made bears and some anti-air units.

Go BEARS!

 

[Plantpaladin]

Overall good mission, a bit hard but not too hard.
Went Skullblade + Zairmak boni for better casters/shooters. Gladiators + Crystal Golem -> Crystal Golems only for front.
Ranged Shamans + Elders + Shooters + Catapult. Watch out for Hero aiming, Amari will be aimed so be careful with her.
Went for Wolf->Phoenix -> North Salria. Hardest part was phoenix as you have to contend with high aoe dmg, good ranged that can aim heroes and support from knights and mercenaries. Lost my new wolf base after phoenix but could build new in north base.
Air units are hard but you got Zairmak + Amari + Shooters +Elders(heal).
After Phoenix and north is done you can outproduce them.
Dont miss out on murloc/redfist and goblin merchant like me;(
Story was ok, feels like a middle chapter moving the plot forward.

 

[Navy45]

Just finished the new chapter. It is much more manageable than the previous versions (though not easy by any means)

• I really like the allied reinforcements : that way, no matter how we play or the faction we choose, all the people of the to-be-dominion show up in battle.
• The other allies are also much more usefull. Flamedus' centaurs finally can stand up for themselves after rolling over and dying for the entirety of the SOB. Okri is also very useful since she tends to send soldiers to defend our base.
• ...But, Peechan is the weak link here, since, despite being on the map, he has not done anything for the whole game on my playthrough (be it attack or defend. I don't believe he's entered combat once).

He also seems to have pretty bad congestion in his base. I don't think he was able to send out anything other than shredders, warmechs and eventually aiships.

• The murlocs' arrival is nice but, because of where they spawn, they can easily be completely anihilated by Orie's ulti before the player can do anything about it. (on a side note, it is a shame that the murloc's main contribution to the army seems to be naga units. There
• The introduction of the Bearmen is nice but, as it is, the Elders are still pretty lackluster. I think they could be much better if Rejuvination had better range (as it is, because of the elders's attack range and size, they usually can't get to a wounded unit before it is dead). Also, their healing spray is almost useless since it also heals enemies so it usually does more harm than good. It would probably be better if it healed only allies (even at a higher mana cost)
• The new Goblin Zeppelins are stronger but feel less unique, basically remodeled Destroyers. I feel like their bomb was fun, they just needed more dps, a bit more bulk and maybe area damage. Btw, do they still have a hellfire guns upgrade ?(the tooltip still mentions it)
• Having an item called "the arcane book of Brilliance" not give brilliance aura just feels like taunting at this point (though it is still really nice) ^^

As for the story :

• The oppositions in ideology are much more prevalent in the to-be-dominion. Still, if Brokta remains the same he was in the SOB, I'm not sure he'll do much good for Gorthog's side (He likes fighting but I wouldn't call him very "warlike" or bloodthirsty).
• Two main participants are nowhere to be seen : the Destroyer and Grella. I would assume the Destroyer leaves for the Ogre mountain since he suggested it to Gorthog (and he seems the type to want to see the ogres in action) but it is weird he isn't mentioned. Grella's absence is also weird, especially since Okri could use the help in this level.
• What do you know, Thorn remained the one to die here. All of Zairmak's dialogues seem to imply there is more to it to the anger issues of the Redfist. That plus the fact that in the SOB alternate ending, the Redfist resist Demon mind control by being too angry, seems to imply there is a mystery to solve here.
• So Flammedus is a sort of prophet and was destined to lead the centaurs. I wonder if there will be more to his and the centaurs' lore.

Well the orcs are off to Gnoll island while the human civil war is reaching its climax. For now no general has fallen and (very weirdly), the bull is nowhere to be seen. I don't see him ignoring the orcs so the only explanation I can think of is him somehow going after the Ironthunder clan but that is probably wrong.

Edit : Forgot to mention it, but it is weird that Sas is blamed for not participating in battle in one of the few levels where he does. He could probably be switched for another hero. (I get part of it is to show off the hammer of Kome but that could be done in a future level)

 

[Kasrkin]

I bear the hell out of this map... I literally only made bears and some anti-air units.

Go BEARS!

Spoiler

Ah another gentleman of taste and refinement I see.

 

[LISBOAH]

My review of Act Seven, Chapter Seven:
Grammar Problems:
Intro cinematic: "... we have lost most of the other regions."

Gameplay Problems:
-Zairmak's and Grofzag's Leadership Boni have the same A hotkey

The Mission:
-I chose the Skullblade Clan
-Pity that Borean still doesn't have his own Leadership Boni. I hope that he does someday
-Those Knights of Kome simply got themselves into a grave much earlier than those that joined the Ironfist.
-Orie fled. Why am I not surprised? Btw, I would love to see her father's reaction after knowing that she fled after losing against both orcs and murlocs.
-The orcs have already defeated the Wolf, Phoenix and Falcon Regiments twice by this point. Why do they still think that they have a chance? They honestly should just give up and return north.
-While the Redfist are already dangerous as an enemy, it would be cool if all their units had an ability that represented their hatred. The Elves, for example, have the "Elven Heritage" ability.
-Pity that Thorn died without receiving that much characterization. Though you could say that he served as a plot device to help in Zairmak's character development
-My guess is that Amari might be forced to "deal with" Gorthog pretty soon if he doesn't decide that the old orc ways no longer work. Even Zairmak is starting to realize this.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

I decided to play the mission again and use Goldaxe clan + Grofzag's boni.
The mercenary orcs and the golems do their job, but I think is better use Zairmak's along with the Goldaxe units. I think is better use the golems along with the Skullblade clan.
I found some issues that members of the forum already said, so no reports from me this time.
Finally, I have some fun dealing the final blow with Zairmak's ulti. Zoia, Darkfang, Sir Mecan and many others felt the pain, but I don't think Redfist will be happy after learned that his daughter was a victim of this too.

Spoiler

 

[MyPad]

The penultimate chapter of Act 7, Horse and Rider, goes out with a bang.

Delighted with the new release of the chapter, I decided to rush through the mission with a fresh copy of wc3, which meant that I carried no items over. Needless to say, I should've stocked up first with some items. (Normal Difficulty)

Playthrough storyline:

1. With a battle as grand as a proper starting invasion of Salria, I whispered to Rangul to choose the Bloodhand clan, for it is their time to celebrate a wondrous bloodbath in fierce battle.

2. As expected of me by now, I let Sasrogarn guard the base while Amari, Grofzag, Zairmak and Borean wreaked havoc on the battlefield along with the starting Bloodhand Clan units.

3. The combination of Amari's 3rd Skill (I forgot the name), Grofzag's Howl of Terror, Borean's Tranquility, Zairmak's skills, and later on, the Elder's stacking Healing Rays made the frontliners (Crystal golem and Bearmen) far more durable than they would normally have been, despite the downside of the Elder's Healing Ray also affecting enemy units.

4. With all of these in place, the outlying bases slowly fell to the relentless push of the Coalition of Orcs and Beasts, starting with the Wolf Regiment.

5. After destroying the base camp of the Wolf Regiment, the northern base was taken. Then, the eastern base to the Wolf Regiment fell.

6. Before assaulting the Redfist base (damn those Chaos Damage splash Redfist towers), I made sure to draw out their defending army and take out as much as possible before causing the war crazed fishmen to invade the base. I lost a lot of my "unkillable" forces along the way, but I shudder to say that I was relieved at the exchange, the pacification of the Redfist Vanguard.

6.5. We get to finally use Couatl in-game. Such a shame they were not available in the main game as controllable units.

7. Woe is Cassius, the fallen mercenary. Felled by the axes of those whom his forces hunted. All in service of a knight long past.

8. Commander Thorn was a mighty foe, overcoming a good amount of orcish warriors before falling in battle. While holding the cause of the Redfist dear to his heart, he is not without mercy. Yet, he is not beholden to the outright refusal of orders, slaying a timid marshall whom he deemed unfit to lead Salria's armies.

9. Zairmak slowly grows as a character in our eyes, gradually doing away with traditional beliefs that have unintentionally held their race back.

And that's the gist of it. If I'm not mistaken, this may be the first time that both Vanessa Redfist and Orie Redfist have both appeared in the same cinematic sequence. One can imagine for a little while what their conversation would look like.

On the other hand, the acts of the Knights of Kome against the COB (Coalition of Orcs and Beasts) shall be remembered by those who have participated in the battle. This could be a sour point that Amari will likely bring up with Gardon Lord Brian once she figures out what's going on with them.

General Kenos Herran's (I hope I got his name right) affinity for the flame piques Zairmak's curiosity, as he countlessly falls in battle, only to rise again. Could he be a vessel of an ancient being?

 

[Enki555]

It's been years... did anyone miss me? Here is the review:
-Much more manageable than last iteration and certainly much polished and fleshed out. One masterpiece of mission. The dialogues and storylines of characters are now more well-written. So, that was the general rating which I will of course give 5/5 if certain mistakes are fixed and the current rating is 4.5/5.
-The absence of Grella and Oneeye kinda bothered me. They should be at least among the Allies Forces leading vanguard against tides of crimson, silver, amethyst, dog-rose and obsidian... oh, wait... getting poetic here. If Allies Forces have heroes to lead them, their aegis won't be broken that easily and would synergize well with armies. Maybe Destroyer departed with Gorthog to enlist Pigmen or with Rangul to recruit Ogres?
-Cliffhunter's base don't rebuild lost buildings and don't train most of their units if damaged beyond certain threshold. The same kinda happened to enemy bases though. And, yeah, Pechan totally useless. He should seriously stop loitering around and agreed even Sas is more useful than him. He was handy at nuking air and ground units alike.
-The roster was: oddly, I forgot about Goblin lab and production of goblin ships but I picked Skullblade and trained like 6 or 7 wyverns for anti-air units... quite a clown pick, I know, but still worked. And 4 elders, 6/7 demolishers, 8/9 crystal golems, some new guards for extra dmg (picked Amari's bonus btw) and that was pretty much everything. Witch doctors and shieldbearers were wonderful glues of this mission... too bad to revamp the roster. With Borean's ult, Grofzag's ult and aura, Amari's ult and aura, Sas's nuke, and Zairmak's spammable nuke and silence, they can make wonders.
-The tip: Take out Wolf base asap and with 5 heroes and reinforcements coming behind along with initial forces emboldened with new units, it shouldn't be problem. Beware, the nasty Phoenix and Redfist will come to reinforce the line if taken too long. Never forget to have 6 or 7 demolishers to quickly get the business done. All heroes synergize well and Zairmak is especially handy at nuking heroes and darned destructors. I'm certain Zoia, Darkfang, Orie, Kenos, Thorn, and Cassius had huge ptsd session after facing Zairmak. Then it would be easy to take Salrian base with Flammedus's forces (but also make it quick as taking too long can make Redfist and Phoenix giving nasty pressure in base). Centaur certainly had the best offense and defense thanks to huge dps in form lava elementals and other phoenix. They can survive both Salrian and Daric's forces waxed together no matter the odds. Aveen's departure was clearly the funny yet sensible aspect of mission as her departure would mean no anti-air and hawks dps. But Bloodstone ravens (pun-intended) will be nasty and Cliffhunter had quite lackluster anti-air defense and Goblins didn't even produce enough tinkers to fend off entire swarms; they had like one or two goblin ships only.
-Orie participating is not something I expected and her having lightning magic is... interesting. I wonder how it will correlate with memory tampering of Aedale. So, she would use emp to disturb neurons and instill projected illusions that is ultimately product of brain's electronic capabilities... oh, wait... getting too scientific here (Mbe being invested in Tesla vs Beelzebub round of Record of Ragnarok had this side-effect). It would be gross error to underestimate her as she had freaking Monsoon to swath thro' my armies like butter if not stunned quick. And, who thought there would be pleasant surprise of enjoying the company of Slithereen... Naga... no, I mean "fishies". As my main army got obliterated by Redfist and Orie, they managed to sneak behind and, thankfully, survived Orie's onslaught thanks to well-timed stun of Grofzag. With mostly intact reptilian reinforcements and reinforcing my 21 to 70ish (can't quite recall) foods army with new forces (yeah, from 120 to 21 just taking out Redfist base), I assaulted Phoenix base but paid the huge price for being reckless. Thanks to narrow ways and insane dps of Phoenix, all my murlocs were obliterated (even naga royal guards... no, murloc behemoths) though I won the clash and took the base. Then went straight to Thorn and managed to kill him with 40ish army with goblins and allied forces reinforcing just in time... but had to retreat after killing him and focused on remaining Salrian base, Cassius's forces and then finally ended the mission with last base.
-Zairmak seeing the reflection of his... former caricature in Thorn kind of shewed what kind of orc he was. Mbe Ravaging Fire clan was quite similar to Redfist after Zairmak assumed the mantle of leadership. So, him seeing this and shedding the rotten scale is a good development for him. As for backstory and belief system of Centaurs, It's very possible Centaurs worship some sort of god of flame, sun, prophecy or even combination of all... Mbe even God of Sun before gods warred in primordial time of Arkain's world (equivalent to rl Apollo the Greek god of sun but also one who is patron of Oracle of Delphi who was prophetess... and Flameddus is said to prophesized to lead Centaurs as shown in the ritual of flames... unexpected parallels I guess. There are others such as Utu (Mesopotamian), Ra (Egyptian), Xihe (Chinese), Amaterasu (Shinto), Surya (Hindu) etc...)
-Hopefully, next mission is undead (true story exclusive will take a month for sure, and Arkain map is always quite a good copium to spice out my otherwise confusing last semester of college and muddling thro' what to write in thesis I picked... but hakuna matata.) GL again, Arkain team!

 

[Zergy]

Maybe Destroyer departed with Gorthog to enlist Pigmen or with Rangul to recruit Ogres?

He was the one who suggested the Ogres in the first place, back in Lost Daughter Epilouge.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

He was the one who suggested the Ogres in the first place, back in Lost Daughter Epilouge.

Most likely Destroyer went with Rangul to recruit the ogres while Gorthog goes after the Pigmen.
Destroyer and Vanessa will bring the news of Rangul and Ephrog's deaths while the Pigmen and the rest of Skullblade bring Gorthog's at the hands of Dobric.
Maybe the old bull is waiting for the perfect moment to get rid of him.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Played the mission again:
-I choose Skullblade again, but this time I used Amari's boni.
-So Destroyer is with us. That makes sense, a huge battle is in front of us and he'll not take part of it?
-Oneeye is good, and his aura is very useful to make the heroes come back quickly to defend the base (In my case at least. Zairmak alone is not enough some times)
-Glad to see Grella with the Cliffhunter clan, she's a useful ally, and her aura is good alongside Borean's ulti.
-Sorry for the Redfist, this time I was prepared and make the heroes pass through Redfist base to silence and kill Orie. The murlocs died, but to my surprise more spawned. Thank you n.n (At least I saved the nagas and couatls)
Just some things I noticed:
-Borean and Oneeye needs an orb, however, the orb of earth that spawn from Cassius base just help one of them. Perhaps another orb can spawn in another base?
-Pechan never respawn once he died.
Also, one general avoids the FoP last time, not this time, dear Aven.

Spoiler

 

[Kasrkin]

Hmm still needs tuning.

Spoiler

 

[Zergy]

New and Short Review:
The Mission's difficulty has been slightly increased due to the factors that SASROGARN IS ACTUALLY A COWARD THIS TIME!! (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!).
Plus you need micro a very fragile Blade Master, which is ONE-EYE. One Eye isn't that well set with his items.
and Speaking of Items?
Yep, I knew it was inevitable that Shar would remove the access to Orb of Lighting... Again... But Shar can you at least give access to One Eye an Orb of Venom?... To give him a signature orb/ to represent his old hero ability back then.
Also... At least you have met my expectations Shar. You managed to give more screen time and playtime for both Grella and One Eye Compared to the Second Orc Book.

Lastly about the bugs:
Yeah... You haven't completely fixed the Naga Royal Guard though. Ice bolt is now conflicting with Summon Sea Elemental with the hotkey "W". May I suggest assigning summon Sea Elemental to 'E".
Also about Pechan? Iz he suppose to go into combat with his boys or just sit there inside the CliffHunter base and Defend them? He is active but not Active Enough from my perspective.
Hope to see it fixed by another update. Thank you keep up good work, Yes?!

 

[nchp1903]

Yep, I knew it was inevitable that Shar would remove the access to Orb of Lighting...

Haven't checked yet, but I guess that Mini Great Halls are also gone.
R.I.P teleport strat. The Bloodstone are safe from the wrath of the Fishmen. For now.

Plus you need micro a very fragile Blade Master, which is ONE-EYE.

Flammedus has his broken Burning Hands, Amari has her broken Shadow Corruption, but Oneeye doesn't get to keep his Dripping Venom. We live in a society.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Guess I have to nerf Amari and Flammedus with the next update.

Edit: Jokes aside, their abilities definitely are overperforming. I would not nerf them into the ground but you know.

 

[nchp1903]

About Amari, I'm thinking Shadow Corruption can go from 25/50/75% to 25/40/55% and Corruption Aura from 2/4/6 to 1.5/3/4.5. It's hard to justify putting a skill point into Shadow Spirits or Shadow Wave when the level 3 of those abilities are just so good.

Brian and Meya will also suffer from these nerfs, but sacrifices must be made, I guess.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Corruption Aura will remain the same, it has to have higher values to be on the same level of
Devotion Aura because WC3 armor is weird.

Shadow Corruption definitely needs a nerf, I am thinking 15%/30%/45%. Maybe 50%.
Brian can live with that.

 

[Zergy]

Corruption Aura will remain the same, it has to have higher values to be on the same level of
Devotion Aura because WC3 armor is weird.

Shadow Corruption definitely needs a nerf, I am thinking 15%/30%/45%. Maybe 50%.
Brian can live with that.

Having to nerf the Shadow Corruption is needed anyways. A 75% miss attack rate is detrimental if you are at the receiving end of things. So Im fine with a nerf, still an amazing ability to use.

 

[Plantpaladin]

Played through again, this time as Bloodhand. Did not use golems which hurt, Amris New Order was meh, get better casters or golems instead.
Went Wolf-> North Saurian-> Redfist->Falcon-> Objectives and skipped Phoenix.
Lessons;
Redfist hurts but you got two waves of murloc coming. Focus Orie and keep your heroes and catapults alive.
Centaurs can get killed if you focus Phoenix after Redfist and dont support them.
Your main base and any expansions(wolf or north) needs towers and scrolls of tp or Phoenix will raze it.
Use a few raiders as cheapest way to support against dwarf fliers that spawn after north salrian.
Overall a good map and gets the epic feel of having many enemies, allies and options.

 

[Zergy]

Shar dundred. Since act seven is already over? Is there going to be an epilouge for the act or your just going straight for Act 8 opening?

 

[Fan_of_Aeroblyctos]

I got an epic feeling, and I really like the balance of this map. In hard mode, I had a feeling it was difficult, but not the grinding feeling I sometimes had with other LOA maps. I enjoyed those as well, but this one felt much more enjoyable. Even if I sometimes was amazed with the speed with which one of the enemy armies was able to raze part of my base or of the centaur base, I never felt unfairness in the difficulty. Like it was difficult, with small space for error, but I never had to restart the mission because I felt it was a lost cause because I lost sight on something for 5 seconds.

To me, with this map, LOA reached yet another threshold of quality. Thanks a lot for that. To emphasize on what I said, I did the mission with all the clans, and tried different tactifs after I beat the map the first time. I think that's the first time I did that. Of course, in the span of years, I beat all the maps several times, but this time, I wanted to do it RIGHT AWAY.

Really an amazing map, thanks a lot!

edit: I saw someone who teleported in the dwarven base with the the portable town hall. Where did the portable town hall come from?

 

[nchp1903]

edit: I saw someone who teleported in the dwarven base with the the portable town hall. Where did the portable town hall come from?

I am the proud inventor of that cheese strat, and the Great Hall was supposed to be sold by the Goblin Merchant in Pechan's base. Don't think it's there anymore in the new update, but I haven't checked yet.

 

[Plantpaladin]

I am the proud inventor of that cheese strat, and the Great Hall was supposed to be sold by the Goblin Merchant in Pechan's base. Don't think it's there anymore in the new update, but I haven't checked yet.

It was removed. Both of the bottom tier items were removed.

 

[JackBlaze]

The new chapter was some pretty epic stuff

It wasn't exactly easy, but it wasn't pure hell like how some maps can be (cough Dead Forest cough) and it was still a great good time killing and razing stuff and I was especially happy that the AI bases were actually useful without me needing to constantly protect em. That said, as it went on, there were moments where the Centaur base would have been absolutely obliterated if I didn't haul ass to save it because I realized that the AI bases either won't rebuild some buildings, or will be slow to do so. Which eventually ended up with the Cliffhunter base being more or less useless either in defense or offense because its food cap got left to like 75 and it didn't rebuild the lost food buildings quickly enough to become useful again.

And I regret that I couldn't take proper advantage of the sudden Murloc army when I stumbled on the Redfist base cuz I'd switched to stocking up on rss and kept a "skeleton army" to defend with

All those gripes aside, this might actually be one of the maps I replay on Hard difficulty to get the full epicness experience despite how long it'll take to beat it when compared to Normal difficulty (the main reason I'm playing the campaign on Normal instead of Hard like I used to do)

For whoever cares, I spammed Gladiators for the mainline fighters since I assumed they'd be harder to kill than the Crystal Golems and used 6 of the Necrolytes and 6 of the Elders. Though, as the missions go on, I've been starting to think I'd either have to switch to a full 12 dps or heal support spellcaster unit or start fielding 12 dps and heal support units each since only 6 of each is starting to not feel enough.

Finally, something that's been bothering me with the Orc side of the story specifically for a good while now.

What's the deal with Sasrogarn suddenly turning out to be a coward or something?

Like, it feels like that shit came outta nowhere starting with the original 2nd Orc book way before the True story campaign ever even became a thing.

With all due apology - I really would not describe 1st Book era/period Sasrogarn as a coward in any way, either during the original 1st book campaign or the book 1 chapters of the true story campaign. Reckless, too eager to prove his use to his old man and with moments of making wise and unwise decisions - absolutely, yes, but a coward? Not...not really?

I mean, c'mon people. The guy who successfully stormed the fucken original Castle of Kome, slaying countless of those Knights in the process, the one who personally lead the Human vs Orcs navy mission and the one who I remember to have also participated in that penultime attack on Selior's forces along with everyone else present at the scene...a coward? Like....what? I remember getting a lot of whiplash when that plot point became a thing in the original 2nd Orc book era. I initially then assumed that it was just Amari and her group being understandably biased, but no - all of the "main" Orc characters of that era besides Rangul (Maybe Vanessa too, since Sasrogarn was one of the 1st to actually listen to her and not blindly hate/kill the humans, but I don't remember the minute details about her enough) turned out to have a similar opinion of him. At that point, I was just left wondering if I'd actually played the 1st Orc book campaign I thought I had.

Now, in the 1st book era of the True story, I at least expected Sasrogarn's actions to have been altered enough so that the 2nd Orc book era Sasrogarn would make sense to me...but no. None of the vast bulk of his actions ever made me think, point at him and say "coward". A lot of my initial 1st book impression of him still largely the case and in some aspects even improved. Like, shit, the fucker's ult is summoning a Volcano eruption. A fucking Volcano eruption. That's metal as fuck, how can someone who can do that be a coward? Reckless, stupid, not the wisest of commanders and not exactly the one you'd want at the supreme commander helm (aka, Rangul, Amari and now Gorthog's place) - yeah, whatever, but a coward? Not really, no.
Moving on. When I played this map in particular - all of the story choices I made have apparently lead to him not being a playable hero and Oneeye being the playable hero instead. Fine by me, Oneeye badly needs some items anyways. Issue is, Sasrogarn instead just...sits there, doing literally nothing and not even being an ally hero and is a completely neutral unit instead. Just...why? Why wasn't he at least one of the ally bases' heroes? Have him sit in Pechan's base during the whole duration of the map since the Goblin in question did the same himself. Give the mechanic some company while the two drink Goblin booze in the Goblin base and occasionally bail Grella and Okri's base from getting brutalized while I couldn't do it myself, or something.

In this case, Amari calling him a coward actually makes sense given his actions in this chapter, for once. But after I came here to give my review of the chapter, I found that I could have actually had Sasrogarn be the playable hero instead of Oneeye (I honestly wish now that had also been the case for my own playthrough. Any chance someone can help me out with this?), in which case....Amari and everyone else's subtle and not so subtle opinion of Sasrogarn being a coward, once again, makes no sense to me.

Can someone please shed some light on the situation to make me understand what the hell's going on? And I don't even care that much about the Orc side of the story since I share a similar view of "the only good orc is a dead one" that the Redfist do and try to not give the Orcs much in the way of boons from the side quests, but this dissonance with Sasrogarn when it comes to the 1st and 2nd Orc book versions of him is really bothering me.

 

[Shar Dundred]

It appears to me as if you have either not read or paid attention to several moments in the First Book era
of the True Story after having read your post.
That is the only explanation to me as to why you seem to think that Sasrogarn has not been adjusted - your own
point that you don't care that much about the Orc side of the story only reinforces the idea that most of your viewpoint
is still from the original books rather than the True Story.
There have been MANY changes regarding Sasrogarn as a character from both a narrative and gameplay perspective,
both big and small.
If people feel different, I ask them to bring it up, but I am unaware of any dissonance still being there in the True Story
regarding the Sasrogarn character arc, especially compared to the original books of whose issues I am obviously
aware since I have invested a lot of time in fixing them in the True Story.

 

[Kasrkin]

Glads are great so good taste but volcano is fucking volcano, the earthquake mafia would like to know your location.

 

[lloyd2422]

Ironically, i find Dead forest chapter too difficult (Any tips on how this to make my 3hour run shorter?) compared to Horse and Rider chapter.
Maybe buff all ai Generals/Heroes that are on par with Zoia's and Cassius's HP. (Especially buff Kenos HP, that guy is just a 2 skill burst hero), and have all murlock reinforcements give food capacity?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Did you replay it after the release of Horse and Rider?

 

[Navy45]

It appears to me as if you have either not read or paid attention to several moments in the First Book era
of the True Story after having read your post.
That is the only explanation to me as to why you seem to think that Sasrogarn has not been adjusted - your own
point that you don't care that much about the Orc side of the story only reinforces the idea that most of your viewpoint
is still from the original books rather than the True Story.
There have been MANY changes regarding Sasrogarn as a character from both a narrative and gameplay perspective,
both big and small.
If people feel different, I ask them to bring it up, but I am unaware of any dissonance still being there in the True Story
regarding the Sasrogarn character arc, especially compared to the original books of whose issues I am obviously
aware since I have invested a lot of time in fixing them in the True Story.

I think part of the reason why Sasrogarn's cowardice is not that easy to accept is because, to our standards, it is honestly quite reasonable, the guy was growing up to become a chieftain, going on some carefully planned raids against little resistance, and he winds up being a part of some big invasion force fighting armored knights, monsters, undead, demons... and so on.
For some, not being specifically proactive to face danger is not necessarily cowardice. Plus Sas isn't incapable of fighting (like in the Siege of Kome), he just avoids it (like in Pride of the Empire or in the new version of the last level).

Overall, he's cowardly in comparison to the other characters but, in a vacuum, you could find him quite standard and not blame him for being scared for his life in the circumstances.

To me, his worst trait is probably that he's very opportunistic. If he was just cowardly, he would be quite understandable, but it makes him take from his allies without contributing (like claiming Amari and Grofzag's successes for his own).

Of course there's also the fact that he was the most friendly orc character of the original first book since you could get him to agree with Vanessa. First impressions are hard to shake off.

 

[Tryce09]

Of course there's also the fact that he was the most friendly orc character of the original first book since you could get him to agree with Vanessa. First impressions are hard to shake off.

This, Also I would dare to say that the one who change at most(character development) was Zaimark, I mean come on!

The original first book era(before the true story and other changes)

Spoiler

Example 1
Zaimark: I have a vision about you Rangul! You will guide us to a new era! The choosen one!
Last chapter and second book happens

Example 2
Vanessa: We shouldn't kill all the humans.
Sasrogarn: You probably are right
Zairmark: Foolish children! You know nothing!

Example 3

Rangul: I don't kill the humans because the undeads are more dangerous and because doing so don't give us any tactical value at this point.
Zairmark: Such heresy! You were poisoned by your daughter!

If second orc book or the(now non canon) arkain chronology wouldn't happen, I would easily assume that he would be one of the first on bite the dust.

 

[Kasrkin]

Ironically, i find Dead forest chapter too difficult (Any tips on how this to make my 3hour run shorter?)

I like to mess with AI pathing a lot for this mission; two rows of ziggurats completely blocking a pathway with the front row not upgraded but upgrading the backline to spirit towers. This forces the AI to move through a path that is not blocked off so they can actually attack what attacked them. Just watch out for air, especially GG air cause it will murder your towers and likely whatever else is nearby if you don't have forces near. Also dragonhawk clouds.

As for the bases if you're having too much trouble you can kill a demonlord or more but watch your food cap because you do need a diverse army to actually handle everything. It might be best to turn off the seductresses' autocast so you can just use them for silence but you got to make that call.