Hardest campaigns?

[Noxos]

I'm almost done with HttR and I want a brutal challenge next (i.e. a bunch of Siege of Elsenfar type scenarios). What's a good pick?

[Kymille]

It's not my favorite campaign, but Northern Rebirth will start you with peasants against an orc army and get more difficult from there.

[Flameslash]

Northern Rebirth is centered around huge armies - it can get really slow and tedious. It's not really a campaign of Siege of Elsenfars.

[Sapient]

I thought Dead Water was pretty hard. But I gave up after the first scenario, so I'm not sure how hard it is after that.

[SkyOne]

Players can choose 4 kinds of the difficulty levels on Dead Water, EASY, NORMAL, HARD, and NIGHTMARE. I only played it on the NORMAL, and it was hard enough to enjoy. So its NIGHTMARE difficulty is probably really hard, I guess.

[beetlenaut]

I recommend The Rise of Wesnoth. It has a wide variety of maps and quite a few difficult challenges.

[taptap]

The Rise of Wesnoth is a great campaign. Try Panther Lord and/or The Founding of Borstep (both add-on campaigns) on highest difficulty when everything else gets too easy Dead Water is a great campaign too, actually my favourite in mainline, but I am not sure it is the brutal challenge you are looking for.

[Groggy_Dice]

I consider Legend of Wesmere to be the most consistently difficult campaign. Other campaigns have tough scenarios, but are not as hard overall, in my judgment. However, my impression may in part be due to playing it when I had less experience than I did when I played Expert campaigns later, due to LoW being classified as an "Intermediate" campaign (which it is NOT). Also, I played it back in 1.6, and it has been changed substantially since then.

It's not my favorite campaign, but Northern Rebirth will start you with peasants against an orc army and get more difficult from there.

Actually, once you figure out how to clear the "Infested Caves" (second scenario), I don't consider it all that hard. Admittedly, I never completed the final "Showdown," as I felt it was rigged having to keep Hamel alive when I had no control over him.

I thought Dead Water was pretty hard. But I gave up after the first scenario, so I'm not sure how hard it is after that.

Just when I thought the enemy was going to overrun the southern swamp villages, thus "swamping" me with a host of new foes, the AI failed to press its advantage, and I pulled it out. However, I decided to take a break with something less intense, and haven't gotten back to Dead Water.

I recommend The Rise of Wesnoth. It has a wide variety of maps and quite a few difficult challenges.

Actually, I thought there were too many maps where you fight a bunch of enemy leaders near the coast, one of whom is located on an island to the east. But overall, yeah, a good campaign.

Try Panther Lord and/or The Founding of Borstep (both add-on campaigns) on highest difficulty when everything else gets too easy

I'm playing Borstep now, and my reaction has been, "Good God! If this is what the campaign is like after being made 'much easier on all difficulties,' what was it like before?" I staggered out of "Thieves" with just a handful of survivors, losing both my loyals. I tried to go on, but gave up when I reached "Fort Narig." I went back and did much better with "Thieves" and then "Life and Undeath." I still wonder, though, how I'm going to field enough forces to beat "Fort Narig," while sparing 15 gold with that upkeep.

[beetlenaut]

I still wonder, though, how I'm going to field enough forces to beat "Fort Narig," while sparing 15 gold with that upkeep.

If you are playing on Nightmare, redownload it first. I have been working on rebalancing the campaign for that difficulty because it was a bit too hard in spots. Fort Narig was one of them, so I added a few turns. That gives you more time to generate some income, but it's still a balancing act with the recruitment. (Hopefully you have at least half a dozen ghosts. You can probably get away without them on The Law and maybe even Fort Narig, but they are pretty much essential for the next couple scenarios on Nightmare.) I haven't gone past the next scenario after Fort Narig, so I'm not sure if the rest need any changes or not.