New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[Shar Dundred]

For shits and giggles, here's two Ferdals.

Is that his twin brother Terdal?

 

[Karmondia]

Great map, as always. It was a pretty epic battle, with some nice twists.

I expected some of the children to survive, since I think the Golden Crusade will be included in the True Story. What suprised me, was that Heroes of Zyainor wasn't reworked at all. Every "give x stats" leadership bonus was removed from previous maps or got reworked. Not that I'm complaining Praxeus vs Gardon was a nice addition, even though it was weird that everyone just stopped fighting for a while, to observe the duel.

As others have said, Gardon is much more empathic towards his kin, than Amari, altough it's understandable, since Amari got exiled by her own for no reason, while Renald's betrayal wasn't "personal", he was only following his orders. Also my Garine shipper heart exploded when Larine went to comfort Gardon, at the end. Overall, this was a great finale to the civil war. Now it is time to face the demons...

 

[Shar Dundred]

Gardon spent the rest of that day by himself.
Well some alcohol kept him company.

 

[Karmondia]

Gardon spent the rest of that day by himself.
Well some alcohol kept him company.

Ah, I... see.

 

[Morris]

I am replaying the campaign and currently at Act Seven, Chapter Four. In the end of the cutscene where Krom meets with the Undead stationed at the Elven Forest, he meets with Lera the Huntress. I'm a bit confused since I didn't destroy her base during the chapter where Elves sided with the demons in an earlier act. How has she become undead?

 

[Shar Dundred]

It happened off screen in your case.

 

[Navy45]

Just finished the latest chapter :
On the Ironfist side of things, the forces stay pretty much the same. I like that Larine's forces have a new colour/name compared to the previous elven troops. Also happy to see Kazardius was able to help Zainor. By the way, how old is Thanok ? Was he alive during the old Zainor ? Has he known Kazardius ?

On the Golden Guard side of things, the addition of the Swamp Dragons makes their air power even more absurd. Because of a save loss, I played this mission without any orb so no hero could attack air units... it was rough. Thank Shar Dundred for the Black dragons.

I like the initial charge by one of Van Durce's son and the duel between Salomar and Guardon. It really builds a progressive narrative into the mission rather than just being gameplay once all heroes have said their voicelines.

One thing I thought was odd was that no one, on the ironfist side, has said anything about the swamp dragons. Even if they were informed of their presence before, you would expect someone to ask how the GG got them or Thanok to rejoice in the chance of killing them.

Also, in the final cinematic, Marin is on the side watching passively as Guardon and Van Durce fight and then only acts once Van Durce is dead. It would probably be better if he arrived only as Van Durce dies since it's strange he wouldn't intervene before otherwise.

About leadership boni. Heroes of Zainor states it increases hp/mana of heroes "permanently". Does it mean it will carry on to later levels ?

Finally, I came across a weird bug. Regularly, I've seen prince Toraes go completely still. Usually a little bit behind his men, but I've even seen him being attacked in melee by knights and simply not retaliating or trying to move away. He just seems to shut down. I don't think I've seen any other ally do that.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Apparently Larine is going the wrong way in the cinematic all of a sudden, making it look like she followed Gardon. Because of course she is.
I will fix that.

Did I mention I love Dragon Spam? Fuck, do I love that thing

Dragon spam sure is something, isn't it? Just cruising through the air, not a care in the world...

More seriously, banger map just like its first iteration, though, I do find it hilarious that Renald's kids blamed Gardon for Richard pretty much throwing himself at the heart of the Ironfist host of his own will lmao. I suppose Gardon, Renald and maybe Valerie were the only ones in the family with actual grey matter in their craniums.

It wasn't the fact that they fought, the fact that Gardon actually killed Edward rather than i. e. take him prisoner or something is what shook them.
Despite everything they believed in some sort of familial bonds. And then one of them was killed by Gardon.

Am I stupid, or I just have 0 idea about what Aveen Elvir is talking about? Is she trying to save both sides? Is she trying to avoid civil war? What does "the Falcon will rise over Salria" have to do with this?

You are not stupid.
Tune in next time to find out!

Kazardius must be delighted to work alongside Zyainor because his attack waves are fucking huge. Just tag alongside him and Larine, and boom, you can easily crush the outlying bases super early into the game. The dialogue can't even pop up in time, and not even the Lord of the Skies can stand against the combined force of Gardon and his allies.

He is less delighted to be allied with the Royals however.

Valerie is completely absent. Weird.

She stands in Marin's base until she is sent away. You could try and visit her... in the middle of the invulnerable defenses.

And I thought Flavius would take his father's place in the Golden Crusade, but he died due to...a crashed airship falling on his head. What a shitty way to go out.

It also exploded after landing on his head.

Has he known Kazardius ?

The two don't know each other, no.

One thing I thought was odd was that no one, on the ironfist side, has said anything about the swamp dragons. Even if they were informed of their presence before, you would expect someone to ask how the GG got them or Thanok to rejoice in the chance of killing them.

A trigger seems to have bugged out, I blame Larine for taking that one with her. Someone remind me to kill her one day.
There would have been a bit about it.

About leadership boni. Heroes of Zainor states it increases hp/mana of heroes "permanently". Does it mean it will carry on to later levels ?

In its current iteration, yes.

Finally, I came across a weird bug. Regularly, I've seen prince Toraes go completely still. Usually a little bit behind his men, but I've even seen him being attacked in melee by knights and simply not retaliating or trying to move away. He just seems to shut down. I don't think I've seen any other ally do that.

He uses the Horn of Clouds to use the Cloud spell on enemy buildings.
I might take that from him though since it seems to make him and his attacks weaker.

 

[Plantpaladin]

Dragon spam is good but they dont feel too overpowered with all the air the enemy got. Snipe those cannons. Send in heroes with allies and remember how much they buff dragons with auras. Use banishers a bit back as healers, add in Vail and two Overseers. GG only have their own fliers so make sure to attack directly after they attack. Take dwarfes last since they have the nastiest AA. Took Heroes of Zyanor boni after losing a few on first try.

 

[DD Mikasa]

Well dragon spam is still the strongest method to win this chapter, especially when paired with banishers to keep them topped off. Lore wise not much changed appart from Gardon actually struggling to end The bastion and that dude getting literally teleported away from an angelic...Demon of sorts... HEH called it some of Van Durces kids managed to escape However the fact that the angelic one was one of them raises some eyebrows (wink wink).

I just got done playing the older version, can someone who played the hotfix version tell me about the lines with the swamp dragons? I am kinda curious to see them but to lazy to replay the map...I find it a bummer that Aveen didnt make an entrace though i had high hopes for that.

Also one innocent question WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO WHITEFIELD. As the standing overall marshall of Gardons empire i would assume he'd be supporting his king into the battle not hidding on the one and done characters corner...

Lack of special regiments Generals makes me think they would be fighting the orcs on the Salrian front which makes Aveens lack on this chapter abit less dissapointing but yet still dissapointing never the less.

Regarding Gardon...Maybe this chapter could be the one that indicates his downwards spiral into madness he had no trouble ending his Uncle but apparead stressed enough killing his Uncles kids... Makes you think about Van durces words about everyone around him corrupting him. Ill be following his development arc closely, a smart way to re-invent a now bland character.

 

[Shar Dundred]

You have to play again otherwise you will lose all your items and previous tome boosts.

 

[JackBlaze]

Dragon spam sure is something, isn't it? Just cruising through the air, not a care in the world...

Aye, coupled with the smell of the crispy bodies of the fallen enemy

Simply glorious

It wasn't the fact that they fought, the fact that Gardon actually killed Edward rather than i. e. take him prisoner or something is what shook them.
Despite everything they believed in some sort of familial bonds. And then one of them was killed by Gardon.

Alright but

Edward quite literally charged over to try and kill Gardon first. What was bro supposed to do? Allow himself to be killed?

And trying to take prisoner someone dead set on killing you and who is also gunning for you like a mad lad in the heat of battle is pretty much impossible. And kinda funny they go "muh family bonds" after Edward bit the dust but that seemed to matter fuck all while he was doing his suicide charge lmao.

Moreover, what were they even expecting was gonna happen eventually during the battle if they refused to do the smart thing and listen to their father about getting the hell outta dodge? Or, if they were the victorious ones? Smh

Dragon spam is good but they dont feel too overpowered with all the air the enemy got. Snipe those cannons. Send in heroes with allies and remember how much they buff dragons with auras. Use banishers a bit back as healers, add in Vail and two Overseers. GG only have their own fliers so make sure to attack directly after they attack. Take dwarfes last since they have the nastiest AA. Took Heroes of Zyanor boni after losing a few on first try.

Nah bro, you have not felt that feeling of being a God in this campaign until you have 12 black dragons going bonkers on the enemy and reducing whole units to cinders in seconds. It's one of the chief reasons why this and the future maps with Dragon Spam are my absolute favourite ones. Far as sustain goes for em, a bit of microing and spamming Vail's healing light did the trick well enough - I had a sobi mask and the keg hp and mana regen items slapped on her and she never ran outta mana juice unless I forgot to turn off Immolation. There wasn't really anything the enemy tried to throw at me that made a true dent in that army comp unless they caught me completely off-guard (which happened only once near the end of the map)

And even if you do end up losing one or a few of the dragons, just train new ones - we get such a ridiculous amount of gold being generated even when in the red with the 5 gold mines we're given that we quite literally can't use all of it unless we do some truly pointless resource use (looking at how much gold I'd lost to upkeep after the mission ended was insane lol. I think this was the first time I'd ever lost that much to upkeep). Hell, I think I might have burned more gold here for buildings than actually maintaining a constant full 12 dragon squad - can't remember if I lost more than like 20-30 dragons total for the whole mission at the absolute worst, even with the blunder I made when I initiated first contact with Marin's base that cost me the whole dragon squad

...I find it a bummer that Aveen didnt make an entrace though i had high hopes for that.

Also one innocent question WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO WHITEFIELD. As the standing overall marshall of Gardons empire i would assume he'd be supporting his king into the battle not hidding on the one and done characters corner...

Lack of special regiments Generals makes me think they would be fighting the orcs on the Salrian front which makes Aveens lack on this chapter abit less dissapointing but yet still dissapointing never the less.

I assume Whitefield was tasked with making sure the budding nation of Zyainor doesn't get blindsided by the enemy while Gardon's dealing with the GG, even if that still doesn't feel right since Gardon likely took the vast bulk of the Ironfist with him to take down Renald - which would leave Whitefield's only realistic option being defensive guerilla warfare...

Dunno, it is kinda suspect that the guy wasn't present during this major fight now that you mention it

Right there with ya with the disappointment in regards to Aveen. This thero thing of hers got me curious about what her deal is and I was hoping something would have come out of it in this case specifically, especially since she witnessed Gardon and Renald's talk and vowed to speed shit up in Salria to then come over and try to stop the two...somehow.

Still, I wasn't really expecting that much since she did say that she's too preoccupied with Salria and wouldn't get to the Purificator fight in time even if she immediately hauled arse there (truly, Arkain's races are in dire need of Azeroth's portals lmaooooo). That does bring into question why she thinks she'd get there faster if she tried to intensify focus on winning the Salria campaign a tiny bit quicker instead of immediately marching back though...

You have to play again otherwise you will lose all your items and previous tome boosts.

Oh, is that why Okri and Grella outta nowhere didn't have any of their items during the Gnoll Island Naval Battle mission? I was wondering what was going on there all of a sudden...

 

[Morris]

Question: In Lords of the Golden Guard chapter, if I killed the Demonlords with Renald, they're revived as Vanguard but if he didn't kill them, nothing happens. Did you make it on purpose or is it a bug?
Edit: I'm at the latest released chapter and encountered a bug. Lord Brian and Cora died three times, but I couldn't revive them after the third time because they weren't available at the alar

 

[Zergy]

Shadow Council of Arkain. I have tested the map. I am surprised to see that it is... The Last Stand. I was expecting it as an Act 9 finale because of how it felt for me during the 2nd Human book... I was wrong and the map had a lot of changes compared to its predecessor. Let's review it, shall we???

The Story

The Intro

The Beginning went just as it plays some dialogue from our main cast but I can sense that Gardon has doubts about killing his kin... Yet, his hate drives him to do what needs to be done...
Richard Van Durce- Was a fool in charging head-first into battle. Rice Calvary serves as the Initial charge that was supposed to be the Lord of Skies... This poor arrogant fellow died foolishly...
The Lord of Skies - ITS COWARD! I WAS EXPECTING YOU TO FIGHT NEAR MY BASE! Anyway at least it dropped me a precious Necklace of Spell Immunity now Cora or Merlon is immune to stuns while doing their ults. Yes...
The Grey Guard... Without Blenn, of course, they are forced to join the Golden Guard. Too bad though... They could have been a worthy ally to the Ironfist just like in 'Betrayal'...
Too bad Lerrig wasn't here to help me... DAMN IT MAN! WHY DID YOU EVEN JOIN GENETHAS IN THE FIRST PLACE!! IDIOT! YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO DARIC!
Well, at least Sir Ferdal took his place as a cheap replacement... Goodbye, extra Chain Healing...

ALSO MY BOY KAZARDIUS IN THE FIGHT!! GO TEAM ZYAINOR!

Mid Scene of the Story (After destroying the outline bases)

Praxeus vs. Gardon. Their fight was meaningful to play in... Sadly Praxues inevitably lost to Gardon and was washed away by Cora... Make sure to read the "Tales of Arkain story: Survival" to know what happened to Praxeus and the aftermath...
To continue This fight, between Gardon and Praxeus, made me feel something... It mirrors my life... My old best friend during high school... How we forged a bond... And how he broke it...
Resma... was Gardon... He walks a dark path during those times
Praxeus was me... I was blinded by beliefs that he was a good man... Oh, how I was wrong...
At the end of that Era... I was Defeated, but still believed that there was still good within him. Will hope to see the outcome of him one day...
But anyways...

Late Game Story:

The Dwarves- Your fates are the same, you will lose both the Kerrel front and the Salrian front! Your Base position is one of the most infuriating to attack! FREAKING ARTILLERY RAINING DOWN ON MY HEALERS! It was worth the men though...
Lord Marin - His intelligence in Robotics made him arrogant thus leading him to be blinded by the Iron Fist sheer power of Plot Armor. YOU SHOULD HAVE SENT YOUR LORD OF SKIES AT ME WHEN STILL HAD A CHANCE! YA ADOPTED THE WORLD WAR 1 Attitude of EXPENSIVE WAR SHIPS = MY BABY... PHA! Your 2nd book was way MORE challenging. Still, you tried and you failed...
The King of the Swamp Dragons - This thing!!! CAUGHT ME OF GAURD WHEN I WAS CHARGING INTO VANDRUCE AND FLAVIUS' BASE!!! Still a nice edition to know that the Swamp Dragons are being ruled by a king compared to Black Dragons that ruled by a Queen! Still, His reign was short-lived...
Flavius- He died a true warrior, holding his ground and met his end. From a crashed Pride of Humanity and getting his body obliterated from its explosion...
Vandurce - Your sins have already caught up to you... Your blind fanaticism led you to this... Blindly following the orders from your Emperor is the result of this. You shouldn't have been this abusive to your nephew... A sad way you ended your story arc...
The remaining children of Vandurce - They will try to escape the Continent but I believe they will perish by the Dark One's servant... Aedal... Now manipulated by Lisara...

Dialogues and Interactions

There are a lot of Interactions in this revamped chapter. But I would like to point out my favorite ones.

Sapphira and Zarin topic about Mordin.

A lot of death Threats for Vandurce! BRUH THIS MAN HAS A LOT OF ENEMIES PILING ON TO HIM. His death was swift and sad...

Praxeus' last words for Gardon... Resma... Me... One Day... One Day...

THE KING OF THE SWAMP DRAGONS!! BRO THIS THING! I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS THING!!! HE WASN'T IN DURING THE INITIAL RELEASE!? Still, his death was inevitable...

And our Favorite Reference of a known YouTuber here in Arkain. Sir Jay Bubblerino! Ha ha ha. I love the reference here, but sadly he died during the chaos... Well, at least I think he did die. Right?...

The Conclusion

THE BATTLE WAS EPIC!

BLACK DRAGONS vs. SWAMP DRAGONS!
DWARVES vs. ELVES!
ROYAL ARMY vs. PALADINS!
UNDEAD vs. MARINS MACHINES!
Then the Factions that started it all! IRON FIST vs. THE GOLDEN GUARD!

The battles were indeed to behold but...

There are still bugs present in the game map, Shar dundred. Notably, the Gold Mines in the outlying bases were moved during the Gardon vs. Praxeus fight or maybe it's just my Warcraft 1.30 version being stinjy... The overall gameplay experience was less of a pain compared to the 2nd Human Book and 2nd Orc Book... I don't know about the rest of the Council members and how they fare well against Van Druce's armies.

The story is well-expanded and once again you surprised me... Until another Release will come... I will stay tuned...

 

[Tuwnew]

Hey, I replayed a few chapters and noticed Demon Slaves buildings were not consistent.
Sometimes they have classic Human buildings, other times they have Demonic buildings. Why that?

 

[nchp1903]

Hey, I replayed a few chapters and noticed Demon Slaves buildings were not consistent.
Sometimes they have classic Human buildings, other times they have Demonic buildings. Why that?

I think it's because it's the same building, just renamed and remodel. Thus, they can't appear in levels where there are also non-Demon Slaves human factions.

Technically, you can copy-paste the buildings into new ones and rewrite the A.I scripts, but yeah, that's probably not very high on the priority list.

 

[RectorCZ]

It's not a content related question Shar, but have you thought about adding the AI voice overs to the campaign?

 

[deepstrasz]

It's not a content related question Shar, but have you thought about adding the AI voice overs to the campaign?

Round Table of Arkain

Never expected to see a wedding between those two. It was such a touching moment.

www.hiveworkshop.com

 

[Shar Dundred]

If you thought the last chapter was heavy, wait for the next one.
I expect some tears. A lot of them actually.
Insert cruel laugh.

 

[Plantpaladin]

Doubt Aridon cares about GG now, so not gonna include Undead vs GG.
Guessing according to sad rating
New undead mission where we kill the Gorthog before he can rejoin the Dominion 9/10 Being cast out is really sad
Golden Crusade v2 where all those kids die? 8/10 Probably most likely one
New undead where they kill some other Dominion we care about 7/10
Risen Resistance where more Dominion die? 5/10.
End of the Invasion /1/10 Finally taking the fight to demons isnt sad.

 

[nchp1903]

Hm, tears won't just come from sadness alone. Could be Angel Tears? Maybe Valerie and Nysara will play another role? Or maybe we'll get a scene where Gardon will sit in a bar, with his wine, while crying and singing his heart out? The possibilities are endless.

 

[HuanJuan]

If you thought the last chapter was heavy, wait for the next one.
I expect some tears. A lot of them actually.
Insert cruel laugh.

Oh yeah, the best breakfast in the morning, is PAIN and SUFFERING.
Papa Shar has another cards in his sleeves. Hope the dev team is gonna impresses us, as this time.

Keep it up lads & lassies. The Black Dragons is with us!

 

[Shar Dundred]

There'll be pain, there'll be suffering.
And a very, very, very strong dosis of... let's say cruelty.

 

[Zergy]

I have a hunch this might be an Undead mission. Were we get to play the Undead version of Angelics and its being led by Rahandir and Lady Meya.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

I have many ideas, but I agree that it is the turn of the undead to appear again. I really want to use Saint Loraine in her new Val'kyr form.
But... if it is the Risen resistance? We know that there will be many characters who will appear there and probably die, and maybe some of them will be sad... or not (I'm watching you, Blackwolf).

 

[Kaftarepir]

As always you did it the best way possible my friend!

• The rush in the beginning was really nice.
• Having the Rohir nexus by us was a blessing too.
• The Dual with Praxes was The exact thing that the mission lacked! I like Praxxus. Don't die praxxy!
• Gardon giving a rest to himself at the end? Wierd but he really deserved it.
• In my opinion the mission was perfectly balanced and enjoyable.

Well done my firend keep it up.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Anyone wanna guess who may end up on the chopping block soon?

 

[LISBOAH]

Anyone wanna guess who may end up on the chopping block soon?

Please let it be Sas. Please let it be Sas. Please let it be Sas.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Anyone wanna guess who may end up on the chopping block soon?

Well, Obviously Sasrogarn will end up there, but I think certain regiments will be dismissed... permanently.

 

[Shar Dundred]

As I said in the newspost, the next chapter will feature more than just one... let's call it "execution".

 

[Karmondia]

As I said in the newspost, the next chapter will feature more than just one... let's call it "execution".

I think Inara is going to die, maaaybe Gorthog is going to kill her? Also, I expect the Birth of the Dominion to not be as... peaceful, as it was in the Second Orc Book. The gnolls, ogres and Gorthog are all likely to be against Amari. Sasrogarn may not be a good leader, but I think there are some people who would side with him, since in their eyes, he is the "lesser evil".

Edit: Or Sir Edoarus is going to appear out of nowhere and kill people, cause why not

 

[Mvicio]

Anyone wanna guess who may end up on the chopping block soon?

Zoia probably and also Sas. Perhaps even Logan

 

[Felhound]

i swear shar if my homie grofzag dies imma cry harder than ever

are there vital characters we know wont be on the chopping block list?

 

[Shar Dundred]

I'll give you a little list of characters that will 100% NOT die in the next chapter.
Most of the list will not be very surprising.

Top Secret

• Aridon
• Ornasion
• Rahandir
• Amari
• Grofzag
• Sasrogarn (yes I know, I can't believe it either)
• Gardon
• Vail
• Harmos

 

[Tuwnew]

I'll give you a little list of characters that will 100% NOT die in the next chapter.
Most of the list will not be very surprising.

Top Secret

• Aridon
• Ornasion
• Rahandir
• Amari
• Grofzag
• Sasrogarn (yes I know, I can't believe it either)
• Gardon
• Vail
• Harmos

Hidden

Where is Brian?
:x

 

[Mvicio]

• Aridon
• Ornasion
• Rahandir
• Amari
• Grofzag
• Sasrogarn (yes I know, I can't believe it either)
• Gardon
• Vail
• Harmos

Not a single demon on the list. Then marogonin and ebira might die

The ending of Legends of arkain where every demon dies approachs

 

[HuanJuan]

Not a single demon on the list. Then marogonin and ebira might die

The ending of Legends of arkain where every demon dies approachs

Hol' up, we are not near the end of the series! Shar said that previously. OR THIS IS IT, THE TRUE STORY IS IN THE FINISH LINE OF DEVELOPMENT?!

 

[Shar Dundred]

Soon it shall be revealed...
But no this is definitely not the end of the True Story.

 

[Kaftarepir]

I'll give you a little list of characters that will 100% NOT die in the next chapter.
Most of the list will not be very surprising.

Top Secret

• Aridon
• Ornasion
• Rahandir
• Amari
• Grofzag
• Sasrogarn (yes I know, I can't believe it either)
• Gardon
• Vail
• Harmos

Man I couldn't guess Aridon

 

[Zergy]

NOOOOOOO! BROCKTA IS DEAD!!! His death was too rushed into the story... First Lokar, now This?? He was a good Clan Lord he had so much potential... Shar Dundred kept that Sasrogarn Coward alive for the death of my favorite clan Lord?? BRUH!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I may not like this decision but this is how it goes fellas. I'm interested to see where this is going next. All good things have to end. Especially in 2ND Orc book eras... Well, at least I get to know that Brockta lived peacefully in the 2nd Orc book... I wonder who will take Brockta's place, now he is dead??

A proper review of the latest mission will be posted once Shar and his team find what's causing the known crash, which I experienced by myself and I think I have a hunch about what causing it.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

My review of the chapter:

• I feel this mission more difficult this time. Maybe perhaps of the presence of the new heroes and units?
• I'm glad Vanessa is here during this mission, and I wasn't expect both Inara and Borean to team up to defend againts the royal guard of Salria.
• Sasrogarn... you coward piece of---
• I must admit, that attack against the army of bones was... quiet unexpected. Well, the pilars of the not agression pact are on.
• Dude... even I couldn't think in such horrible act of madness. The Bonelords are the TRUE monsters of Arkain. They deserve to be eliminated.
• Can I guess that the headless general's presence is for the spooky month? I will think is a yes.
• Edoarus's presence here makes sense. After all, he's the puppet of Aridon. I was expecting Galareth however.
• Well, general Dorbric, you died in battle, just as you and your bulls wanted. Now rest in peace you stubborn old fool.
• Zoia... If the Orcs didn't kill you, the demons will.
• Amari probably doom us all... or maybe not. Anyway, let's see how the watcher deals with this "unexpected ending".
• The next words is how I feel right now: CURSED DWARVES, CURSED BLOODSTONES! I swear I'll hunt down Orgen and make his suffering the worst on the entire world. Not only his, ALL OF THE BLOODSTONES I FIND IN MY WAY. Brockta will be avenged, the ogres lost their leader, this will NOT going unpunished. THE BLOODSTONES MUST DIE, ALL OF THEM!
• I'm surprised King Gorehowl doesn't come to "keep an eye" on Amari. Perhaps he will go in secret?
• Amari and Inara are in the same floot, for now... I really want to use both to kill that bastard dwarf. I need Orgen's head in a pike.

Gameplay:

• I used the skullblade clan cuz of the archers.
• Zairmak's boni was my choice.
• Using the heroes to defend and help the allies is key. When Amari and the others appear, used them to destroy one base. I destroyed the Salrian army on the top.
• When the Undead appears, the heroes and some units (dragons in my case) went in order to destroy the bases (Cuz you can obtain powerful items)
• I leave the middle bonelord for the last.

The mission really was enjoyable, and the death of such charming characters make my wishes for more coming and coming.
Nice work.

 

[Navy45]

Just finished the latest chapter... damn, we lost some good people.

Before the cinematics, on the chapter itself :

• The clan choices seem to grow more and more inconsequential. When you see how battered the orc clans and their leadership have been, it's not really a surprise. I went for the goldaxe but only relied on ogres, dragons and casters.
• No mercenary involvement here. Makes sense that they would be more cautious and patient than the regiments and salrians. (though I'm a bit sad Logan loses his moment where he chooses to focus on the bigger threat. I hope he still gets a role in the future of the dominion. One that doesn't leave him as a corpse.)
• In terms of gameplay, the chapter is quite similar otherwise (except for the new undead heroes. Undead Selior is definitely awesome)
• Ironically, despite Sasrogragn remaining at the base to "guard it", between the constant air raids and the Centaurs' line getting broken every 5 minutes, it is actually the only level where it is somewhat useful. Poor Sas doesn't get enough credit.
• In my game, all human forces were mostly eradicated by the undead attacks, except the Salrian Royal Guard. All the others only had the occasionnal hero revive while Salran managed to maintain an organized line of pikemen and arcanists, keeping both the undead and the orcs off. King Salran was definitely the surprise hero of this chapter for me.
• The firing of the purificator on the Bonelords is really cool. But it's a shame it doesn't really have an impact on gameplay (all undead get their bases as normal, you end up thinking that Brian betrayed the agreement for nothing). I think it would be really nice if the Bonelords arrived, set up their bases, launch their attacks and everything, and then the purificator was fired on one of them, knocking him out with most of his base for the chapter.
• Salran being confronted with the voices of his dead children and other relatives is about as horrific as it gets. It would be nice if he concentrated on the Scarec Nexus after that. It would make him more sympathetic and his shock more genuine.
• I also appreciate the Bastion and the Unyealding being in the battle. I wonder what'll happen to them and the rest of the Scarec with the Bonelord rogue.

Concerning the cinematics :

• Poor Dobric and Brockta. Well, at least now, the ogres don't risk rebelling anymore since Brockta was likely the only one caring about the reasons for going to war. (Though keeping them in line will definitely be difficult)
• Damn, Amari, Sas and Inara alone against the Bloodstones... that's a good way to ensure that there won't be any survivor to lead the Deathbreeze.
• Inara definitely has acquired some advanced manipulation skills during her captivity. Manipulating Rath was simple, same with tricking Lokar. But taking control of both their clans without a civil war...
• Of course, Amari is interested in said skills. Enough to overlook the red flags on Inara. I also noticed that she never explicitly said that she didn't want her brother to die in this mission. The Dominion may become even more Cutthroat than the Humans.
• Zoia has survived but the Wolf Regiment was slaughtered. I don't see her joining the others in a desperate last attempt with Redfist but she might surprise me. Still, her being alived makes it possible that Aedale doesn't end up as in the SHB, at least not completely consumed.
• The Boar Regiment was really a nuisance for everyone involved. Does this mean its general has died offscreen ? I expected it to be the most difficult regiment to completely eradicate, with maybe the Phoenix.
• All of Grella's voicelines are almost copypasted declarations of Amari's greatness. The amulet seems quite effective. But Amari seems to grow rather short of genuine supporter (most trust her more than Sas... but we're far from the SOB days). Overall, the following chapters of the Dominion grow more and more interesting.
• So Meya tried to interfere by informing Dobric. Unfortunately, he was about the only general that wouldn't care the slightest.
• The Bonelord. Of all the Nexi to escape the Watcher, I didn't expect the Scarc to be the first (technically, the Scarec is Aridon's but the Bonelord could easily raise twice this army in his own name. Still, it means that Krom told the truth, except about the rebellion. We'll have to see where his madness takes him.

 

[MyPad]

Time to give my feedback on the latest chapter release:

Spoiler: Gameplay Elements

Early Game:

• I like how the game starts us early into the conflict. With the preplaced units, I charged towards the north. In retrospect, I should've charged towards the south base.
  
• Big Dragons in general are respectably OP, though they make up for it by costing a lot of food. In the early game, however, I tried using their drake counterparts, which are more balanced overall. The Red Drakes helped clear the Guard and Arcane towers if there are any.
  
• Amari, Grofzag, Okri and Grella coming through. Their presence shifted the tides of battle, allowing me to build up momentum to besiege the outlying bases.

Mid Game:

• By now, I managed to destroy a Human base, and what a glorious mistake that was. The might of the Scarec Nexus has come to crush the alliance between beasts, creatures, and orcs, and their relentless assault on our fortress further embellishes that feeling of utter despair.
  
• Still, with the help of a few Witch Doctors and Zairmak, the Red Dragons came through and burned the army of bones into ashes.
  
• At this point, I started clearing up the bases clockwise, starting from the top. Slowly, the nexuses fell to the combined might of the Red Dragons and our heroes.
  
• The least Sas could do is draw aggro against the flying creatures that threatened the fortress. Still lazy as Sas can be. Then again, if I had control over Sas, I would order him to hold his position, doing nothing anyway. The Bloodhand Slingers and a couple of Watch Towers picked up the slack and defended the base against those pesky flying creatures.
  
• After clearing nearly half of the enemy bases, I pushed through the southwest base. It came at the cost of losing the Centaurs' base, so I had to reload a save to keep them alive and active as a tough meat shield. In doing so, I pushed through the northwest base instead.

Late Game:

• At this point, I managed to kill 2 of the Bonelords from the northwest and southwest base respectively. The pressure from the army of bones dwindled the more production structures I destroy.
  
• To face up against such powerful foes, the Bonelords, I went with a hard CC comp of 4 Warlocks (Fireball), 1 Zairmak (Soul Burn, Sleep and Siphon Mana), 1 Grofzag (Hurl Boulder), 1 Granite Golem (Hurl Boulder). While my army could never stand a chance in a fair match (even with Red Dragons), playing dirty (via hard cc) is one way to tip the scales in my favor.
  
• After cleaning up 2 of the last 3 bases, I went to the last base at the east. Suffice to say, I had an easier time cleaning that up compared to before.
  
• The battle between the Fallen Bull and the Honorable One is a battle I did not expect, but a welcome one nonetheless. A shame the Bull is so downtrodden that he didn't even bother to pick up the randomly spawning Runes of Restoration. Well, more for Brockta, I guess.

Spoiler: Story Elements

• Zoia will be fine, as will Commander Darkfang. I wonder what will become of them.
  
• In a surprise appearance, Gardon instructed an engineer to test the Purificator at the exact location where the Scarec Nexus was stationed. By doing so, he did Brian (and Amari unknowingly) a favor. It is unlikely that he knew that the Scarec Nexus was there in the first place, but as a king (soon to be Ca'laer), he must have kept himself updated on the situation at Salria to make an educated guess that testing the Purificator there would be alright.
  
• Alright, who let Orgen farm his items? Unfortunately, he collected the bounty from the Honorable One. A bullet through the heart, a swift death. This transgression shall be remembered, and I look forward to seeing how the situation unfolds.
  
• Keeping Gorehowl's suspicions in mind, Amari could very well be plotting the exile / death of her treacherous brother, Sussyro-baka ... er-ehm, Sasrogarn (and with a justified reason), as much as she tries to "deny" it to Inara. She only needed to nurture the idea of taking Sas out of the picture in Inara's mind, which wasn't that difficult given Inara's strained background.
  
• To even entertain a second on the thought of one's beloved children laying dead is a terrifying thought to anyone, even a king. Yet, the King of Salria had to witness his beloved children, stripped of their life, flesh and blood, stand and draw their weapons against him. Truly, a heartwrenching tragedy. It would do one well to reflect and ponder on this thought for a moment in silence.
  
• It was the High King's orders that Amari's life shall be under threat. It was the High King's orders that led to Brockta's unexpected end. I fear that in pursuit of vengeance for his fallen brother, the High King has inadvertently created a powerful and menacing enemy of Amari, given time, and unlike Mordin, it will be personal.
  
• Vanessa carries the weight of her lie to her grave, now that she knows the Ogres are actively fighting for a war they could've avoided entirely, especially to the one whom she lied to having embraced the vulnerable arms of death or Aridon.

 

[DD Mikasa]

I had a go at the chapter, it seemed harder than I remember, anyhow the Strat I followed was Drake spam (ofc I did) with troll witch doctors and slowly grinded their basses to dust, however I would advise to hit the blue and red bases without destroying the purple and grey bases (at least not the section that faces the bone lord bases) that way they keep them occupied long enough for you to swoop in and clean them up. You're southern and northern (especially the northern ally) cannot resist the waves of the bone lords so it’s better to leave the Salrians bases partially intact so you they can slow them down.



As for bugs

-I did not have control of the Gnoll king (I remember he was in the book 2 version of this map) unless you removed him as a playable hero he was nowhere to be seen in the map

-The weird Nerubians flying creatures (the ones the red undead base trains) despite being ranged take melee damage for the barricade spikes



I played the map in the 1.29 wc. version (pirated) since I can’t really play it on my legit copy of the game. maybe those two things may help you Shar.



Lore wise...Well it was a let-down.
Boar regiment gets killed offscreen Phoenix and Hawk regiments are nowhere to be seen (I assume they will fight with Darrick) Brocka gets the most anticlimactic death possible Amari does a Bleach level asspull (those who watched the anime will understand), Bone lords go wacko but can a creature that has no brain even go wacko

 

[Shar Dundred]

NOOOOOOO! BROCKTA IS DEAD!!! His death was too rushed into the story... First Lokar, now This?? He was a good Clan Lord he had so much potential... Shar Dundred kept that Sasrogarn Coward alive for the death of my favorite clan Lord?? BRUH!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The culling makes no exceptions... not even for honorable Ogres.

I feel this mission more difficult this time. Maybe perhaps of the presence of the new heroes and units?

Definitely though I did remove some of the enemy hero buffs that were in the original.
The heroes themselves are more powerful as well as their armies however. Even the humble Salrian Pikemen
are better than they used to.

Edoarus's presence here makes sense. After all, he's the puppet of Aridon. I was expecting Galareth however.

Also makes sense when you think about what he is doing after the war.

Well, general Dorbric, you died in battle, just as you and your bulls wanted. Now rest in peace you stubborn old fool.

He has found peace.

Amari probably doom us all... or maybe not. Anyway, let's see how the watcher deals with this "unexpected ending".

Aridon was quite shocked.

The clan choices seem to grow more and more inconsequential. When you see how battered the orc clans and their leadership have been, it's not really a surprise. I went for the goldaxe but only relied on ogres, dragons and casters.

True, their role is getting smaller and smaller.

The firing of the purificator on the Bonelords is really cool. But it's a shame it doesn't really have an impact on gameplay (all undead get their bases as normal, you end up thinking that Brian betrayed the agreement for nothing). I think it would be really nice if the Bonelords arrived, set up their bases, launch their attacks and everything, and then the purificator was fired on one of them, knocking him out with most of his base for the chapter.

The idea is that without the Purificator the Bonelords would just have stomped everything with a massive army of bones
and the Purificator kinda prevented that.
It also hurt the Bonelords quite a bit.

Salran being confronted with the voices of his dead children and other relatives is about as horrific as it gets. It would be nice if he concentrated on the Scarec Nexus after that. It would make him more sympathetic and his shock more genuine.

And actively fight his children's remains?

Inara definitely has acquired some advanced manipulation skills during her captivity. Manipulating Rath was simple, same with tricking Lokar. But taking control of both their clans without a civil war...

Quite the Viper, isn't she?

I like how the game starts us early into the conflict. With the preplaced units, I charged towards the north. In retrospect, I should've charged towards the south base.

You may want to try that. You might be surprised by the results.
A gentleman won't spoiler the details of course...

To face up against such powerful foes, the Bonelords, I went with a hard CC comp of 4 Warlocks (Fireball), 1 Zairmak (Soul Burn, Sleep and Siphon Mana), 1 Grofzag (Hurl Boulder), 1 Granite Golem (Hurl Boulder). While my army could never stand a chance in a fair match (even with Red Dragons), playing dirty (via hard cc) is one way to tip the scales in my favor.

I mean they'd totally fight you dirty too.
Also they butchered children and put them together like it was lego.
I considered giving them amulets that protected them from some stuns/spells but nah.
I think they had it coming.

Zoia will be fine, as will Commander Darkfang. I wonder what will become of them.

Spoiler

Darkfang is dead.

Alright, who let Orgen farm his items? Unfortunately, he collected the bounty from the Honorable One. A bullet through the heart, a swift death. This transgression shall be remembered, and I look forward to seeing how the situation unfolds.

As well you should!

 

[DD Mikasa]

Darkfang is dead.

Isnt ironic Blen leaving darkfang alive lead up to Zoia survivng this chapter...Fate has a funny way of working doesn't it.

 

[Navy45]

The idea is that without the Purificator the Bonelords would just have stomped everything with a massive army of bones
and the Purificator kinda prevented that.
It also hurt the Bonelords quite a bit.

Then maybe it would be nice to have a voiceline about the Bonelords themselves "recuperating" from the Purificator in their bases, explaining why they don't go on the offensive themselves.
It's probably because their role was the same in the SOB, so it looks like they act the same whether they were shot or not but the shot's consequences aren't quite clear in the mission (especially since, while quite large, their army is quite small compared to all the undead you fight in the mission.)

 

[Shar Dundred]

Isnt ironic Blen leaving darkfang alive lead up to Zoia survivng this chapter...Fate has a funny way of working doesn't it.

Blen would be turning in his grave if I hadn't filled it with concrete to make sure he stays there.

Then maybe it would be nice to have a voiceline about the Bonelords themselves "recuperating" from the Purificator in their bases, explaining why they don't go on the offensive themselves.

I mean that's why they were pretty pissed in the cinematic.

It's probably because their role was the same in the SOB, so it looks like they act the same whether they were shot or not but the shot's consequences aren't quite clear in the mission (especially since, while quite large, their army is quite small compared to all the undead you fight in the mission.)

I suppose for people who played both the original books and the True Story the difference isn't felt that much, admittedly.
I wanted to make the army in the cutscene bigger but had to reduce it due to lag issues. WC3 doesn't like this map, I think
it already didn't like it in SOB times.

 

[Enki555]

Well, it's been an aeon since I descended to the realm of Arkain and record all that is transpired, but here I am:
-The boss fight between Praxeus and Gardon was notch and the entire chapter being quick & high-paced as it should be. One thing that bothered me: Where are Marin's wizards shown in screenshot of a year ago? My memory spare room for all particulars of promises...
-Now back to the Risen Resistance: oh, truly a rollercoaster. Red dragons are only tickets to salvation. Just stay where you are and when reinforcements come, make 'em rush to base even if it costs lives of some. Preserve the bases and make tides of bones sweep over 'em. Salrian Royal Army & Wolf Regiment are ones who withstand sea of ossein.
-Fallen Selior... the paragon of Dullahan; the festivity of Halloween have deserted the world beyond grave and came to grace dread searching the head long crushed. The joy is up!
-I pity the king truly... everybody does. Maybe he and his army should redirect his rage to Scarec next time? Maybe king can turn neutral to Orcs with perhaps Vanessa as mediator finally catching up in the midst of battle? The very sight of loved ones turned and maimed to fit this abomination and frankeinstein's beast of bones should be enough to wroth even angelics with horror petrifying their faith...
-Ex deus machina? The perfect timing that grinded legions of bones to dust. It would be nice to see encounter between Boar and Scarec as a sort of mini flashback. Brian does play chess too...
-Where are Dominion skeletons? Maybe middle Bonelord should send skeletons of Dominion only. Perhaps fallen Dogran can be added later?
-The glorious battle between two beasts. And the assassin's bullet most hated killjoy. Oh, the days of little viper are numbered. RIP Dorbric, Brockta. It would be nice if Galareth was sent instead of Edoarus along with Ardoz horrors as Scarec finds the tools of former fitting to their ideology. Oh, dear Dorbric... only if you heeded the good will of countess... Meya should've also warned Zoia, who knows Wolf Regiment could've been preserved? I wonder if Tremalon and Haran died for good. If yes, there could be scene of 'em falling to Dominion heroes.
-The triad beings becoming one... and that could make unforeseen domino effect. I wonder if this new demigod finds new master... oh perhaps you should hark Master of Shadows. Shadow skeletons would be splendid sight...
-The deadlock awaits Bloodstones and conspiracy of women of shadows shall write the history of orcs. I wonder how this fight would end... maybe Galareth as surprise appearance since ogres will be present and we don't know where Ardoz is deployed? Inara is one hell of a karma houdini... perhaps she is most important in grand scheme of Arkain... and she deserves character sheet now (friendly reminder).
-Can't wait to see undead mission... now I shall depart to the world of pain. Till next time. Good luck

 

[Shar Dundred]

-Where are Dominion skeletons? Maybe middle Bonelord should send skeletons of Dominion only. Perhaps fallen Dogran can be added later?

Aridon didn't want them to raise any Orcs.

and she deserves character sheet now (friendly reminder).

Fair point!