The Valley of Death (Httt)

[EnigmaNova]

I'm having difficulties with this level.
It's easy to just survive for two days, but I'm not satisfied with just surviving.
I want to kill off everything on the map, but my forces can't seem to do this.

I can wipe out the East and Southwest keeps.
The damned Wraith spam interferes with my attack on the North keep, so I can't kill both the wraiths and the lich.

Do you think my forces will be able to defeat the enemies?
Here's what you have to work with:

Version 1.02
1077 Gold (But I'd like to keep some of it for later missions)
Heroes:
Dumbledore - Level 5
Konrad - Level 3
Kalenz - Level 2
Level 3:
1 Shyde
2 Paladins
Level 2:
3 Druids
2 Marksmen
4 Elvish riders
4 Knights
3 Red Mages
2 White Mages
1 Rogue
1 Merman Warrior (with storm trident)
level 1:
Mages/Horsemen/Elvish Scouts/Shamans,
though I prefer not to use Level 1s when I have Druids and Knights to level up.

EDIT: Mistakenly said "Druids" instead of "Shamans"
Perhaps next run though of Httt I'll get Elvish Captain/Marshals instead of the Marksmen, Leadership is nice.

[Free]

First off: Are you sure it's "Dumbledore," or have I not played this campaign in a while? Also, Elvish Riders and Knights are not level 1. I believe you mean, horsemen and Scouts?

Secondly: Honestly, I am suprised that you can't accomplish this. You have a good selection of units, (or better than I did both times I played the campaign) so I would expect you did fairly well in the other scenarios. Since you have 2 paladins, you can probably just take down one of the leaders with them alone. (Okay probably not ) But you can just add a some units to them and that's one leader gone, easily.

Then take a knight and some horsemen and give 1 of them a holy potion and kill off all the WCs with them. (Make sure to bunch them together)

Then use what ever other units are left to kill off the other leader.

Shamans work well in this scenario, if I remember right. Not only do they heal, but also slow, AND have a the second best attack type against skeletons.

[EnigmaNova]

Yes, I meant to say the level 1 versions of the units. D'oh!
The name of the Elder Mage is Delfador, but I always call him 'Dumbledore'.

A good way to farm experience is to find high-level enemies, lure them to villiages, and pelt them down slowly, having split their army and trampled the lowbies with cavalry attacks.
I did do a lot of save-reloading to micromanage which unit gets the final kill. It's annoying when most of your army is sporting 20-2 and 8-4 attacks and you're trying to kill a guy in 60% terrain (villiage) a 6-2 attacker >.>

I don't like killing things with my paladins, as I have level 2s that need the XP. If I send a Holy Knight or Holy Rider up with the pallies to strike at the lich, the wraiths zerg and kill him.

Shamans are nice, but aren't useful in this scenario:
They're too slow to keep up with a Cavalry attack (North)
I already have Curers to keep up my meatwall (East)
The force that goes to the Southwest has my mages, and my 3 heroes. I don't need any extra damage there.

[Kel]

You're gonna have a tough time if you're holding back on using your Paladins, since they make up 2/3's of your level 3's.

[Flametrooper]

You do NOT want to try beating everything. Seriously. I tried. The WC's look easy enough - they're only a level 0 with 18 hp - but there are so many. They will kill a Paladin even in one turn, and then the wraiths from the other 2 leaders will get the rear of your formation.
What I did was go due West to the Holy Water between the water and forest. That area's defensible enough that I stood there fora turn, then slowly pressed through the forest. Through careful play (and a little bit of saveload, but not too much, only when my almost-leveled White Mage kept getting killed by wraiths I hadn't seen) I passed through there, and assaulted the Northwest leader as the game was ending. I spent the last turn in his castle, just as the WC horde reached me, killing WCs and some blue Skeletons. I leveled up:
1 holy Horseman to Knight
1 Red Mage to Arch
1 Red Mage to Silver
1 Mage to White

I lost:
2 Elvish Fighter meatshields
1 White Mage
1 Mage

I killed:
I forgot...about 8 Wraiths, a bunch of skellies, a few Adepts, about 6 WC.

[EnigmaNova]

The pallies are useful in that they're mounted healers. That, and they can kill stuff very effectively - but I wouldn't use them to get the Killing Blow on a lich (24 xp).

I'm thinking that in this map I'll get my other 3 druids to Shyde, 1 Knight to Pally, 2 Riders to Outrider -at least-. Getting a 4th knight to Pally, Levelling Kalenz and getting a Blue mage to a Red mage are also possible.
The benefits of 3xp per attack on a lich ...

Anyhow, I've made a new plan:
2 Riders, 2 Knights, 1 Shyde & 1 Druid --> WC rush
2 White Mage, 2 Pally, 2 Knight, 2 Riders --> North wraiths
3 Red mages, 2 Druids, 1 mage, 2 shaman, sacrifical tanks, 3 heroes --> Southwest keep

I've thought about what you said about the Shaman, and realised I could have sent my Healers elsewhere and cover the gaps with shaman.
My sacrifical tanks will probably be Elven Scouts, given that ALL of my attacking units are tied up attacking something, so they can take a town then run in and die.

Total cost to me is about 500g, damn expensive, but I'll get a lot of level 3s out of it so it's all right.

[hochbass]

If you play on hard, the most difficult to fight is against the enemy in the north.
I did it with no losses.
Going strait to the mountains in the south west, killibg the south leader, form my army to clean the mass invasion of the east enemy. When the north sends his wraights the battle is nearly over.
If you manage to become a no loss winner, you do not have the wish to kill the northern leader.

[Thrawn]

I haven't done this one on a new version (After the stable 1.0.2) but with planning it should able to be accomplished.
re: the walking ead being able to kill paladins...um use the paladins better (sorry Flametrooper ) Make sure they aren't put in a position where they could die (unless really unlucky), and never send them out alone, even if they are mounted.

I'd go after the northern guy with the holy attack units and mages (w/ sufficent other units to absorb damage), as it makes killing the wraiths easier...oh, and save him for last, ythe other two are easier to kill, IMO

In other words, you're new plan should be somewhat effective. Good luck!

[EnigmaNova]

I did it.
Won on turn 11/12.
I lost one of my sacrificial tanks,
and I almost lost a rider at the WC rush. I got lucky.
I reloaded to avoid losing a knight to a lich (The AI decided to attack it, even though the lich was surrounded - something I've never seen happen before)
and as usual, I reloaded to make sure the killing blow went to its intended target. (There definately needs to be a 'leave him alive' option in combat)

I shouldn't have sent the knight to get the holy water, the WCs were pretty much dead by the time he got back from his trip, and I could have used him to sub in for a damaged tank.

Upgrades:
3 Druids to Shyde
1 Knight to Paladin
2 Riders to Outriders
1 Mage to Red Mage

I'm going to need more units (2 horsemen, 4 mages, 4 elven fighters) levelled up from their bases into high-level units.
My end plan for my forces is going to be:
4 Pallies
4 GKs
4 Silver Magi
4 Elven Marshalls
4 Magi of light
4 Shydes
4 Outriders
2 Great Magi

It's going to take a lot of levelling, but I think it's doable.

[jg]

I've done it once (or twice), without reloading (I think) on easy. It isn't that hard actually, the only thing you really need to watch out for is Wraiths, since they are dangerous to nearly all the units, even to a MoL. But they stand no chance againsta Grand Knight with holy water.

jg

[Elvish_Pillager]

(There definately needs to be a 'leave him alive' option in combat)

What, so that you can totally milk every enemy leader for dozens of experience? no thanks...

[zol]

(There definately needs to be a 'leave him alive' option in combat)

What, so that you can totally milk every enemy leader for dozens of experience? no thanks...

It would need a "no XP" condition at least.

[EnigmaNova]

I have no idea how the source code is organised, but I imagine the process would be something like:
In place of Die(victim);, you'd have something that sets the victim's HP to 1, and removes the XP the attacker gets from the attack.
Or at the very least, let there be a "Don't go to the next level" button so I can get back to title instead of loading up the next map.

BTW, I already do milk enemy leaders. Park them on a villiage and pelt away with weak attacks.

[hochbass]

As I can recall here is my HttT strategy ( with no loss on hard):

In all the campaign I recruited not more than 4 castles and not more than three of every sort

This is my whole army recalled in Battle of Wesnoth -- 32 Units all L3 units:
4 Heros (Delfador, Konrad, kalenz, Lisar) and a bonus of 2 Grand Knight from the Lords of the clans
Elf:
3x Elf Champion, 3x Sharpshooter, 1x Elfish Outrider, 2x Skyade
Human:
3x Grand Knight, 3x Light mage, 3x Assasin, 1 Arch mage,
Dwarf:
3x Dragonguards, 3x Dwarvish Lords
Mairfolk:
1x Merman Hoplite, 1x Mairmaid priestes,
(Some other L1+L2 Mairman not recalled)

The main key to get such powerfull army is in my op. the selection wich units I recall

If money available:
1. recall units suitable to the ground
2. recall first units with more than 80% EP to next level
3. recall at least one healer
4. recall your mages
- If you have fast mages (6MP) advance tham to MoLight as fast as possible. Slow mages advance to MoF /GM as fast as possible
5. than recall every time the weekest units

In most scenaries you dont need more than 3 castles - one of higher and two of lower level units.

If you do so you will have no L1 unit in the Princess of Wesnoth
-I never advanced horseman to Paladin, GK are much more effective in the great final battles.
-Elfish captain is also useless in campaigns cause you dont have L1 units soon.

[unsung]

I don't want to explain in depth so here's my basic fromula- send mounted troops north, pick up the holy water (or amulet, I don't remeber) and assinate the leader, then use holy attacks on his wraiths. Send a few levelled up troops (infantry, not mounted) south, and take on blues men. Send the majority of your new recruits, along with any marsmen and rangers, kondrad, and other mission critical charecters east, and ight conservatively- don't put levelled units up front, don't put heroes up front, and check your ZoC constatly-slowly push east and kill the ledaer, or push until your mounted troops are finished up north and bring them to bear on him.