Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Feedback for the mainline campaign Heir to the Throne.

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Graakhatmeksha
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Joined: May 19th, 2019, 11:12 am

a better strategy for HttT Isle of the Damned

Post by Graakhatmeksha »

Using the following strategy I have finished this scenario in only 20 turns on maximum difficulty. [version 1.14.8(6)] In the previous Bay of Pearls scenario I try to develop a merman fighter (preferably quick) with the trident, and the mermaid initiate. Then I start by recalling them and recruiting one or two quick thugs and as many footpads as I can, sending all of them north with Konrad while the original two mermen head south to grab and defend villages. Staying close to the NE coast tends to attract enough attackers that I can level both the trident guy and the initiate with easy kills. Then rush the northern lich around daybreak and eliminate him during the day (turn 9-10). By then you should have enough gold to summon a castle full of additional units, and head south through the temples with the trident and the initiate blasting now along the NW coast and helping eliminate the southern lich about turn 20-22.
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Konrad2
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by Konrad2 »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

1.15.0, Champion (Challenging)

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

3 for surviving, 7 for defeating everyone.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

Clear.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

None.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

6

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

No.
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Poison
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by Poison »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

1.14.7, Champion (Challenging), 100 starting gold.

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

9, very very hard. Took me several tries.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear and well written.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

Surviving of course and time. Not sure if it's doable without some luck.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

7, it's a little bit frustrating, but maybe I'm not following the best strategy. Initiates rock though.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

Yes, I couldn't find the correct strategy (or luck lol). No reloads in game but got very lucky:
Spoiler:
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Zrevnur
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by Zrevnur »

Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
1.14.9 Challenging (in Ironman mode), played many times
Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
1 for beating it, 5 for bonus
Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Issue is with the wording of the bonus white mage. He should clearly state that its enough to beat the leaders and its unnecessary to kill every last undead.
Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Konrad the little kid fell into the water. Ok. I dont like the story nor the protagonist... Also quite impressive that those mer managed to save him in a wild storm on high seas. During normal gameplay they somehow cant do any of this cool stuff like carrying other units.
Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
There are two challenges.
a) The sniper threat from undead cavalry and submerged skeletons. This is something which needs to be kept in mind if one doesnt want to lose (important) units.
b) Timing. Especially the southern Lich is pretty far off and troops need to be ready and moved early enough to make the kill.
Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
6
Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Other than the bonus objective wording I cant think of anything.
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Lord-Knightmare
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by Lord-Knightmare »

Content Feedback wrote: September 21st, 2004, 2:42 am (1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
1. Normal/1.15.12+dev
2. 8/10
3. crystal clear
4. 4/10
5. Rescuing Deus-Volt/Crusader guy and getting XP for my Footpads. but they all died in the end. I hate those Liches nuking my Footpads in one turn.
6. 7/10
7. Give Konrad AMLA, so I would use him more? After reaching level 3, he kind of gets rendered to keep-camper or Hp-reducer if I do move from home base.
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mal_shubertal
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by mal_shubertal »

(1) What difficulty level and Wesnoth version have you played the scenario on?
1.16.2 Hard
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10) [1]
10. Really tough, had to replay it a lot and try a bunch of different approaches.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
clear
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Good enough. Another one of the "Konrad helps a group of a particular unit, he gets a loyal unit of that type, he recruits units of that type". It's a shame that he doesn't get to recruit more chaotic human units in later scenarios.
(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?
Time limit was brutal. The enemies are so far apart, and the terrain is so difficult. Low starting gold was also very tough.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
9. It's hard, but that forces you to try a bunch of different approaches and really think about the map and your units.
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I just finished playing Liberty, and it SEEMS like events in that campaign could explain why there are these kind of footpad/thug units on this particular island at this particular time (I don't want to give spoilers for anyone who hasn't played Liberty!). The dialogue in Liberty has a lot of references to HttT, so I think it would be SO COOL if the dialogue in this scenario made some reference back to Liberty. I would also like if Konrad got the ability to recruit thugs/footpads in later scenarios, like he did with horsemen/mages/mermen after first encountering them.
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markd81
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by markd81 »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

1.16.5, Champion (Challenging)

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

2 to survive, 6 for defeating all liches.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

Clear.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

To time everything in right order, to keep the loyals awake. Get the mermen at the liches without getting attention from their minions.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

9

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

Nothing.
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lujo86
Posts: 41
Joined: January 31st, 2023, 9:50 am

Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by lujo86 »

(1) What difficulty level and Wesnoth version have you played the scenario on?

1.16.2
Highest

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

1*

*But I have too much experience with this scenario. It's probably not nearly as easy to someone playing it for the first time.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

10.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

I better not comment, except that this scenario a complete sidetrack, but at the same time so much less plain that the scenario at Alduin, that I can't tell if getting pointlessly stuck on two story-irrelevant islands is sillier than how much this scenario makes Alduin even more meh.

(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?

Well, since I knew where the liches are, and I had 3 lvl 2 ranged merfolk (2 of them extra good vs. undead), and I knew about the crypts, nothing. I do remember the map being quite tricky when I didn't, years ago.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

It's quite fun even if you can do it blindfolded, 7.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

Nothing tbh, it's really one of the better maps in the campaign. I'd even reshuffle the campaign to not have the branching-choice path be here, as I can never bring myself to pick the other one.
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ElvishMystical0
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Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by ElvishMystical0 »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
This specific scenario only on 1.14 and 1.16 and easy and Medium.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
It's a 4-5 if you just want to get through the scenario and survive, but if you want to defeat both liches this is easily a 9.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
The objectives were very clear. How to achieve them less so.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
This was a bit hyperbolic to be honest. We're led to believe that we're only sailing round a peninsula to get to Elensefar but we get shipwrecked in some major storm. I've got to be honest, if I were one of the Merfolk I would be thinking that Konrad is an idiot, leave him on the island and go back to sea. I mean the dude has just led an army and defeated two Orcish enemies, and then what? He decides to go to sea during a major storm off the coast of Wesnoth?

I mean you could have something like sea monsters attacked the ship and the Mermen rescued Konrad to keep him safe while all the other units were fighting the monsters. Or pirates. Or something. But deciding to set sail during a major storm at sea does not suggest Konrad is capable of leading any sort of army, let alone trying to seize the crown of Wesnoth.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
You got 100 gold and two loyal Mermen who are usually Mermen Fighters as per Wesnoth tradition of setting you up to fight Undead with only pierce weapons, to which the Undead are resistant to. You get Delurin, a loyal Outlaw, there's a loyal White Mage Moremiru hiding in a temple, but so too is a Revenant with an axe and a bad case of psychosis and zombie friends. At two extremes of the island you have two liches.

It's doable but only if you have some experience of Wesnoth game play. This is not a novice campaign as stated. I didn't start with HTTT my first ever campaign was the South Guard and that was a fairly steep learning curve.

See the major challenge in this scenario isn't to do with the liches or even trying to find Moremiru the loyal White Mage. It's not even the skeletons coming at you from both directions. The major challenges are the other Undead units which are coming for you, the Ghosts, the Ghouls and the Dark Adepts, and you only have Thugs, Footpads and Poachers to counter them. Then you also have Vampire Bats coming for you, and these all reach you in the middle of the island where your loyal anti-Undead Merfolk can't reach.

You can beat both liches and leave with Moremiru, but you've got to forget about an early finish bonus, generate enough income to pump out Thugs and Footpads and maybe the odd Poacher to deal with Ghosts and Ghouls, and this puts you at a disadvantage moving forward with the campaign.

Then there's the personal issue I have of rushing forward too quickly and not playing defensively enough. But this has got nothing to do with the game design or how the campaign is structured. It's one of my weaknesses when playing Wesnoth.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
From my individual perspective this is a difficult scenario, but it's never ever boring, so this is an 8-9. Usually, somewhere in the middle of the Isle of the Damned, where I get caught, is where it gets determined whether I continue the campaign or not. I send the Merfolk round the edges to capture villages and provide support for the outlaw units in the middle so I'm pumping out Footpads and Thugs. When I have a group of outlaws I then start looking through the temples to find the loyal White Mage. This is another critical moment in the campaign.

Once I've found Moremiru it gets somewhat easier because usually I've got enough villages to prevent the liches from recruiting Ghosts. There's just the dark Adepts coming north to deal with.

I'm never confident of defeating both liches because it's all touch and go and hangs in the balance. Often it's a Footpad which lands a killing blow to the northern Lich circled by Storm Trident wielding Heldaga, Oceania, Moremiru and Delurin. Usually at this point I have a second Mermaid Initiate supporting Merman Netcaster Apalala down south with Konrad racing south west.

I usually win with one or two turns to spare with a lot of luck and a few risks taken.
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Konrad needs a new character and you need a better more credible story for how you ended up on the island.

As regards to game play, no changes suggested. Leave it as it is. My blood pressure is high enough as it is.
Orek
Posts: 27
Joined: June 24th, 2020, 1:02 am

Re: Scenario 05b: Isles of the Damned

Post by Orek »

Content Feedback wrote: (1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
(1) Challenging (=Champion=Hardest) in 1.14.17 on permadeath
(2) 7 (7th most difficult = 17th easiest)
... [Difficult] 2, 16, 14, 4, 9, 6, 5b, 10, 13, 12, 23, 8, 7, 3, 15, 17, 19c, 22, 1, 20b, 11, 24, 18 [Easy]
(3) Very clear
(4) Clear and interesting enough
(5) It was difficult to come up with a perfect balance and timing for land/sea units to kill both Liches.
(6) 8 (5th most fun = 19th most boring)
... [Fun] 2, 1, 6, 9, 5b, 4, 16, 15, 23, 3, 12, 14, 10, 24, 13, 8, 7, 19c, 20b, 11, 17, 22, 18 [Boring]
(7) None

YouTube Link: Run 1 Run 2 Run 3
Walkthrough: HttT walkthrough (hardest, permadeath, v1.14.17) + General campaign guides (Replays for all scenarios can be downloaded from here.)
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