Ye Compleat Walkthrough To "Heir To The Throne"

[anaxagoras]

Can someone help me? I can't level any unit in the very first scenario. Also all the replay's are for older versions and I have 1.1.2. They don't really work.

[Peidu]

You don't really need to level up your units in Scenario 1... Just get Konrad the hell outta there. I haven't tried to level anybody up,they tend to die too quickly!

[turin]

It depends on the difficulty level, but usually you can kill at least one of the orcish leaders (with the help of your allies - just don't let them get the kill). That gives you 24 XP to start off - if the same unit already has a kill or two, he is well on his way to leveling up.

I wouldn't worry about leveling up more than one unit a scenario until you get a bit later in the game.

[JW]

On hard you're gonna wanna milk that xp on the first level pretty good...

...and to do that DO NOT FIGHT in the first night. Let your allies take the deaths. Only attack if you have an easy kill. Bring a shaman along to help heal and slow; they work wonders. That's my advice.

[Zhukov]

The first level is a perfect opportunity for levelling a few units. You are on favourable terrain, you have two allies and there are plenty of high-level enemies. IIRC I got four level-ups (playing on medium) although I got Konrad to the sign with only one turn to spare.

I recomend using Delf's magic to weaken strong enemies then run in for the kill with a lvl1. This work well on Trolls and the Orcish leader.

[Thrawn]

The first level is a perfect opportunity for levelling a few units. You are on favourable terrain, you have two allies and there are plenty of high-level enemies. IIRC I got four level-ups (playing on medium) ...

I recomend using Delf's magic to weaken strong enemies then run in for the kill with a lvl1. This work well on Trolls and the Orcish leader.

Useful advice...here's some more:

1. I would suggest not getting horsie-elves--their one good point (speed) is rather unuseful in this level, as you have far more resilient, stronger units you can use.

2. For some reason, I always get my shaman levelled up on this level, even if my other units all die...(?)--as well as usually a lucky fighter/archer or two. So make sure to recruit a shaman or two, they are great help, and can really cause the AI problems, due to 30% defense on forest, and a slowing ranged attack as protection against slayers and archers. Slow is your friend, use it.

3. Usually Chantel's units will be enough, just send just Konrad (and maybe Delfador) towards her keep. Also, she will get off it at some early turn, and you can use it to recruit bodyguards for Konrad before crossing the river a second time. (you should have around 50 gold--get fighters)
* side note-with her, however, you always seem to have the enemy already completely surrounded or not at all--thats why you recruit back-up.

Ignore blue, as trying to hold them off at your keep will lead you to be slaughtered mightily--aid your allies in killing one of the other sides.

On stealing villages--I'd suggest not doing so right away, to give your allies more units to use as cannon fodder. However, after the first few turns, take the villages--you get more gold to carry over if you do so.

good luck.

[FCDallas96]

After about 8-9 attempts, I was finally able to level up a few units on this scenario. I found keeping Delfador on the end of my line helped as he is then the only one who can be attacked by more than two units. It's also important to make sure no enemies can flank you and to resist the urge to send units out in the open with no support.

And even if you can't level them up, getting some xp helps a lot, as those units should be able to level up fairly quickly on the next scenario.

[Thrawn]

For those of you who have 1.0 cpmatible versions, and want to see what I usually do, I'm posting a replay, I just beat it a few minutes ago...

NOTE: I don't saveload, so nothing in here is manipulated

[Thrawn]

If this was useful, I can post more replays (I got up to princess before stopped playing that day-haven't continued from there yet...)

[commander keen]

hmm....
I usually use masses of archers when the main enemies are orcs.
The revenge one i had trouble with but i just ignored the northern ones and sat there to wait it out.
I lost all my holy melee upgraded guys though.

I'm also having trouble with the sceptre one.
My guys just get massacred even though they are dwarves, mages and thieves.

[zol]

I'm a new player. Following are comments from my experience so far.

SCENARIO ONE: The Elves Besieged.Do not move into the open, and definitely do not move into the hills - you will be slaughtered, since you close battle after Dusk. In Wesnoth, both terrain and time of day are vital. When fighting Orcs with Elves, you must endeavor to always confront them in daylight and/or in the woods.

Several things could count as moving "into the open"; engaging the enemy at all when you first close battle seems to require that you do at least one of them.

Remain on the forest’s edges sniping at orcs who advance into the clearing

I suppose an orc might advance into the clearing to make room for the level 2 trolls on the hills behind it.

Until dawn arrives your troops will be fighting handicapped even on the defense; it will be very helpful if you can use your first level-up on Konrad. His new leadership bonus can somewhat counteract the Orcs’s night bravery.

you have no chance to finish over 100 gold).

On hard you're gonna wanna milk that xp on the first level pretty good...

...and to do that DO NOT FIGHT in the first night. Let your allies take the deaths. Only attack if you have an easy kill. Bring a shaman along to help heal and slow; they work wonders. That's my advice.

Even on medium it's pretty futile.
I've found that taking the initiative on the first night doesn't usually work out that well, but my basic techniques come down to:
- Slip into a fight where there are weakened allies and don't attack unless you can avoid retaliation or are likely to get the kill.
- Use a fast unit to reserve a place next to enemy that allies are likely to surround and attack, retaining higher HP than them as above.
- Sacrificing some units as bait and/or weakeners to try and place the enemy in a more exposed position for the others. Note that baiting will not work unless there is a real chance of losing the unit.
But you might as well just get around the hills first, kill the leader during the dawn/day, and let all but Konrad run around picking up what they can get.
(And don't forget that you can leave them in terrible positions in the last turn, when you move Konrad to the signpost).

SCENARIO TWO: Blackwater Port.This is another relatively easy experience-building scenario. Since you have little chance to finish over 100 gold

In one bizarre game, so many enemy units went south that the West hills and forest-road were a major battle-ground, and the enemy leader crossed the Forest Gap by turn 6, so weakened that I decided to finish it. I had 106 gold in the next scenario.

SCENARIO THREE: The Isle of Anduin.Should you recruit more troops here or not? It depends on how much you’ve leveled up in Blackwater.

And how you plan on paying for them. Trying to scrape together funds for an extra recruit usually forces Konrad to waste a turn somewhere, especially if you have level 2 units to finance. And you had better have one or two quick ones if you want to fill in the defensive lines without Konrad.
Fewer recalls might work, but they had better be good ones.

SCENARIO FOUR: The Bay of Pearls.
After the tactical challenges of the first three levels, this is a disappointingly luck-driven and choice-devoid scenario (I generally dislike sea fighting). You start with 5 Mermen, get a total of 12 throughout the level, and will be lucky to finish the level with seven or eight. Your healing opportunities are very limited until you kill the Sea Orc - this should be the first priority.

Indeed. Actually, the Nagini Fighters are more trouble than Bugg, and so hard to kill that it seems better to flee; after all, you need those Mermen alive to be slaughtered by the leader until he gets bored to death, just in case the shish-kabob malfunctions. (Unless you are in a hurry, wait until morning and hope the leader doesn't get more units.)
There isn't enough for the Mermen to do otherwise, except get injured.
It is often necessary to back up the second attack with land forces.

SCENARIO FIVE: Muff Malal’s Peninsula.
Yes, I nearly always choose the land route and I would certainly advise it if you are playing for the first few times. The Isle of the Damned still isn’t attractive enough.

It is awful. I chose IotD first and attempted it repeatedly rather than try the alternative, and still haven't beaten it, whereas MMP was pretty straightforward (although I didn't take advantage of it at first. One keep, quick assault.)
Whether and how to winnow or weaken the Zombies if they are doing too well is another thing to be aware of. A new shaman was handy for awkward shapes, although she missed out on all the XP.
I let the Merman out, too, as I already had as many recruits as I could handle.

SCENARIO SIX: The Siege of Elensefar.

I haven't beaten this yet.

I am usually tempted to take the house, and half of the Eastern Gate as well.
That has given me Elensefar a couple of times, and been decimated once.
All it takes is a small difference in enemy composition.
Once, I lucked through to the cave entrance by being fast, but was worn down for lack of reserves (Four units rotating in the red).
I have also tried taking both gates, as well as the village and woods, rather than having them used against me.

Your formation is pretty solid, and the neighbouring woods and village aren't a big threat. However, when the level 3 Orcish Warrior then moves into the village in the middle of your group and kills a Captain, it is difficult to know how to proceed.
(Having given up on finding any good options in one such case, I attacked with a full HP resilient knight, which was instantly destroyed, doing no damage. After a second knight fared the same, I didn't experiment further).
Possibly, replaying until you can get more level 3 units.
Or throw in some expendable recruits.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One thing about getting more XP is that you have to have confidence in your ability to finish in time. I usually go too fast, expecting the leader fight to be harder than it turns out, and then I have to finish it because some unit is too vulnerable for another turn.

[pqueiro]

Do what I do - go crazy. Recruit two castles of horsemen and charge like mad. You should be able to still land some hits in daytime, and take advantage of their conservative positioning during the day to sneak a couple of horsemen to the orcish leader for a quick kill. Then move Konrad and whatever other supporting troops you got on turn three up into the keep and go crazy on the mages.

Expensive and wasteful, but so far it's worked every time and in the end you're left with a few horsemen you can recall (which is economically sound), a much better defensive position (northern shore of the island against a single enemy instead of south of the island against two) and, if you're lucky, a Knight levelled up (usually whoever got the kill on the leader - choose that one carefully and try to keep him alive )

Oh, and have the thieves reinforce you instead of getting you the ford. You'll be in the town by the time they show up, but they come in handy when your horsemen start getting slaughtered - chaotic units + night + backstab + high defense = quite a lot of damage those little thieves can deal.

[zol]

In my current playthrough I have 3 knights, 2 captains, and one each of hero, ranger, druid, white mage, and Commander Konrad (nearly Lord).

Gandledorf says "don't be timid", but I think that it may be necessary to be even more aggresive than he suggests. I certainly feel uneasy about that village.

Going crazy with horsemen has something going for it, not least that I wouldn't mind losing them (typical Lawful attitude ), the downside is being held back at the keep. I wouldn't expect to gain the orc's keep without my better units there as well.

Of course, I need some more level-ups along the way to handle the necromancer (bit late for that now, you say?), so that's another point for the horsemen - let them soften up the orcs for my veteran's gums.

I think I've been under-utilising the thieves, based on their apparent frailty.

[edit]Continued in the Seige of Elensefar thread, to minimise derailing of Yis Fien Gramirr.

[zol]

More on The Elves Besieged. (now playing 1.1.7)

From my experiments, the key to sending all of Galdrad's units east is to get all of your units to the west of all his units, even if this means being further south than them. I avoid the bridge superstitiously, as it has appeared to affect the outcome, although I'm not sure.

However, unless there are a couple of wolfriders to pick at, nothing but suicidal moves will get you near anything on the first night, and you won't reach their leader until the second night of cowering out of range. By that time, there is either nothing left to attack, or a few that you dare not try.

So, consider instead taking the typical fast route.
Having two allies block and weaken enemies from the north allows you to reach the leader before second dusk (ideally).
This is useful if the leader has already been weakened a bit and you want to chip away with other units instead of using Delfador (3 XP each just for attacking). Also, if you use recruits to weaken the leader, then if Konrad misses and gets seriously damaged as well, Delfador is still free to remove the immediate danger.

By this time, the eastern enemies have been able to reach the central area due to the reduced opposition of Galdrad's forces against them.

As long as there are enough surviving allies, there will be more wounded enemies nearby to choose from, and the allies will be few enough to leave openings for you, and weak enough to receive the attacks.
You will also have more time to play with.

This is just theory, though. I still struggle to get as much out of this scenario as I expect to.

Oh, I forgot to say thanks earlier. Gandledorf's advice on support was especially useful. I hadn't thought about those qualities before, now I always consider them.

And, another much belated reply -

Isle of the Dead can be won. It is possible to defeat the two Undead lords using the following strategy

Konrad should recruit a large army of Thugs and Poachers.

I never had the money before; I thought it was designed that way, but maybe it was just lack of budgeting. 100 gold got me one lich without losing the bandit and the other just out of reach before timeout.

[edit]More on 1.1.7

Bay of Pearls is easier now. Mermen can now attack and survive with a bit of care (although some sacrifices are likely).

Seige of Elensefar. It seems much harder to get a foothold now, probably because I have no quick units for the first team. They just can't get into formation soon enough. Or maybe the AI settings have been tweaked to be less skittish.
(For non-native english speakers, "skittish"=easily scared).

[Clonkinator]

The scenario with the firesword is unbeatable at 'hard', I guess. I already tried it eight times, and always got slaughtered. Maybe that's because I have not even ONE quick unit? And also I have never managed to get the firesword with Konrad yet. He simply was to slow. Every time I tried not to kill the orcish leader until I picked up the sword, he defeated me with around 40 units. It's awful...