I usually give my scouts 7 creatures of one fast and cheap unit type so that I can split them into all 7 stacks. I do it to ensure that I can always flee with my scout, even if attacked by an enemy who starts before me (cause he probably won't kill all 7 creatures in different stacks before I get my turn).

That might be a waste of starting creatures on Impossible though, I usually don't play on Impossible (I mostly play the campaigns, been playing through them lately starting from HoMM 1. At Gelu's campaign in Shadow of Death currently).

From my cursory jaunts through multiple ROE scenarios these past few days, I'm pretty sure I'd need to lower the difficulty to do well in some of them. Just going by map layouts, the availability of loose resources, and which neutrals are guarding what, you'd probably need to build several generators and win battles without losing too much. Again, it really depends on the scenario.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed the ROE campaigns a lot more than many of its SP scenarios. "From Day to Night", "Tunnels and Troglodytes", and "United Front" are probably my Top 3 favorites from those campaigns (although "From Day to Night" often made me pull my hair out).

Very interesting. I favor Large and Extra Large random maps because both the overland and subterranean levels become very labyrinthine. There are tons of areas to explore and heavily-guarded treasures to claim - all the while keeping the AI at bay. I definitely recommend playing an epically long game once your outside commitments begin to slow down.

I'll keep an eye out for those neutral towns next time I play a ROE scenario all the way through. I'm so used to my neutral acquisitions requiring an expensive Fort.

I normally capture my first neutral town when most or all of my initial town's generators have been built. Even though I've probably built my Capitol by then, I'll try to raise my income even further for my mid-/late game push. So long as my primary town is fully-built and generating creatures, I can take more liberties with my neutrals.

I can understand that, especially now that I'm suffering through Clash Royale. I never played more than one or two online HOMM3 games, and I'm content with beating the AI on the highest difficulties. The reason I use more veteran tactics these days is because I used to be belittled and harangued by the top players for playing like a noob. I felt so insulted and humiliated that I forced myself to try earning their respect. I still cannot play at their level, but I feel like I've made significant progress.

Unless I'm playing Rampart, they're usually a low priority for me. I'd have included Dungeon as well, but they're truly awful to play on 200% thanks to the ridiculous Pillar of Eyes. As a general rule, I might start upgrading my Mage Guilds once everything else is built and I have an insane stockpile of rare resources. Speaking of which, higher level Mage Guilds are much easier to build on random maps.

I guess I've little else to add since you can handle the AI just fine. Just out of curiosity, though: does going economy first on a poorer map ever leave your hero with little to do during the first week? I'm sure there are a few scenarios where you can basically grab all the loose goodies in one or two turns, after which there's only tougher neutrals to fight.

You don't seem too concerned about being a week behind in troops, which I suppose is okay. As for myself, I like to invoke The Art of War by not giving my opponent that advantage. Whether we're talking Wyverns or any formidable Level 4-7 creature, I've had more than my fair share of uneven battles. At 200%, the AI can be expected to build and recruit basically everything, so I personally don't want to fall behind.

If you value your sanity, don't play the SOD campaigns. Whether you play them on 130% or 200% (like I did), they're custom made to frustrate the hell out of you. Those map designers are beyond sadistic, and I can't even begin to describe the horrors they've subjected me to. Unless you fancy watching your 20 War Unicorns die to 40+ Dread Knights that constantly get reanimated, then I'd stay away.

I'm clearly biased towards random maps, so I'm a little surprised that you've mostly stuck to ROE scenarios of late. I save most of my games, so it's not uncommon for me to take extensive breaks before returning to a particularly long game.

Okay, I've played a full week in my game and logged some events. How are we going to upload our saves? GOG's attachment uploader doesn't appear to accept GM1 files, so what else did you have in mind?

I don't generally see a lot of value is preserving your scout in such a fashion. It will still cost you 2500 gold to get a replacement hero, whether you hire the old one or a different one. If the scout has attained enough power to really be worth preserving, then they aren't really a scout anymore.

I'll keep it in mind, especially if I haven't done it by the time I've finished the Chronicles games.

I tend to go resources first because those can stockpile, can't be taken away (unless the map includes triggers to remove resources), and those resources can be used anywhere else on the map (like hiring reinforcements on some other front). Generators come next, so creatures start piling up.

Once in a while I'll find myself kind of cooling my heels, but I can usually use the time to go back and clear things I skipped earlier, or I can visit towns that have built mage guilds or stat bonuses after my main hero moved past them.

It is kind of a question of priorities. I (currently) prize those economic structures giving me financial flexibility over getting the dwellings up earlier. I can still recruit creatures from generators that are sprinkled around the map, as long as I have resources.

I do want to try and beat each campaign at least once; I plan to get to the SOD campaigns eventually. I seem to recall getting kind of annoyed and/or bored while playing Gem's campaign, but it was because of random events and stuff in the map, not my AI opponents steam rolling me.

I can't say I'd send my 20 War Unicorns into battle against 40 Dread Knights, especially backed by a hero, unless my hero had some serious nuking power. ;)

What did you think of the Dragon Slayer campaign from AB? I enjoyed that one a lot.

I grew up on ROE scenarios, but it has been a long time since I've really played one. I've been focused on the campaigns (or those afternoon jaunts on small random maps) when I've been playing H3.

Did you keep a save from before you did anything? If not, then I've started a fresh one; the idea is that we start from the exactly same point, then see how much progress we each make over time. I just a Large random map, 8 players, no teams, "Normal" water and "Normal" monster strength, and Hard (130%) difficulty. All player specific options were left as Random.

I was thinking we could just change the file type of the attachment, then attach it to a post. However, it seems the forum isn't accepting it. I guess someone made a change to the forum so that attachments are checked to be sure they are indeed picture files. My plan didn't work, so I'm open to suggestions.

Oh good grief. If your usual experience is anything like what I've just run into, then no wonder you go creatures first. I've hit two different computer opponents before Turn 4.

Okay, you may as well give them a try. Certain parts might drive you nuts, though. Sometimes, restarting a map with your newfound knowledge and experience is necessary to win.

Oh, it's not usually by choice - you'll encounter some nasty AI heroes that love to teleport in with their superior numbers and spells. Maybe playing on the easier difficulties will make it a little less hellish, but I remember giving up when I played it back in the day.

Unfortunately, I haven't played that one yet. Since it's chronologically last, I played through ROE and SOD first. My computer died during the "Unholy Alliance" chapter of SOD, so I was *that* close to finishing the game. I'll give the AB campaigns a try later, but I have ZERO desire to replay SOD.

Okay, all of that wasn't clear. I kept a save from Day 7, but I'm thinking a random map will be tricky to do unless we have an efficient way to share files. Should we try a SP scenario instead?

That must be a difficulty level thing, then. I can't remember the last time the AI acquired things like Dimension Door to use against me. Or was this in one of the SOD campaigns?

Did you "farm" each campaign map before completing it? If you aren't on a timer, then have each hero that will carry over go visit all the stat boost locations, try to hit the level cap, and visit the mage guilds in all your cities (which you'll build out to max level).

I've been thinking on it, and, assuming you are willing, I don't see why we can't just email the saves. PM me an email address to use for you, and I'll send you the Start-Game save that I've got.

I'm talking about SOD. If it's not Dimension Door, then it's Town Portal or some other means. Regardless, they'll come knocking and you'll have to fight with whatever you've got. Expect some lopsided battles. Whereas ROE was occasionally challenging, SOD is replete with tough AI and "meandering" victory conditions. Even the map itself will work against you. I didn't get very far on 130% as a youngster, but I somehow completed most of the game on 200% a year ago.

I did that as often as I could, but my main heroes were usually busy rushing all over the map attacking, defending, or desperately trying to meet some objective. The AI usually has an overwhelming advantage, so you won't always have a moment to visit every stat-increasing site. I made a concerted effort to learn all the spells I could, though. They were just that important.

I'm not talking about doing it mid-map, I'm talking about doing it when the AI has one town left, and maybe two heroes sitting in that town, while you have a hero with an overwhelming army just outside keeping them honest. Or when the map is cleared, and you just need to trot over and pick up the artifact to meet the victory condition. When the map is won except for that last battle, so you are free and clear to send the relevant heroes on a grand tour to see the sites.

Believe me: I did that whenever I could. Difficulty-wise, SOD is not on par with ROE, where you had more freedom to level up from map to map. You might be able to grab every stat boost on certain maps, but at other times, you'll just be desperate to win and move on. You'll understand when you play SOD.

Fair enough. When I was taking a look at the SOD campaigns, I think I played about two turns of the barbarion (Yog?), where the first map is you running from the wizards or something. It didn't hook me enough at the time, so I dropped it.

Actually, most of the campaigns for both expansions didn't really draw me in. I played the main AB one, where you go after the sword, and I enjoyed the uniqueness of Dragon Slayer, but I got bored with the campaigns for Mutare and Adrienne pretty quickly.