King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

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Butterknife
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Butterknife »

Woo hoo! Another King's Bounty game -- I will definitely be getting it. I played the :The Legend and :Armored Princess a ton, even though I never even got close to winning either game (I kept starting over). I am so definitely looking forward to this!
morlac
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by morlac »

Butterknife wrote:Woo hoo! Another King's Bounty game -- I will definitely be getting it. I played the :The Legend and :Armored Princess a ton, even though I never even got close to winning either game (I kept starting over). I am so definitely looking forward to this!

This is me :) Prolly got a little closer to the end in both though. I will not play it for a few months and then decide to restart when I do.
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Baroquen
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Baroquen »

morlac wrote:
Butterknife wrote:Woo hoo! Another King's Bounty game -- I will definitely be getting it. I played the :The Legend and :Armored Princess a ton, even though I never even got close to winning either game (I kept starting over). I am so definitely looking forward to this!

This is me :) Prolly got a little closer to the end in both though. I will not play it for a few months and then decide to restart when I do.
Same here. I played the original for awhile. Then changed computers. Played Armored Princess for a long while and it drifted away. Started the original again, and it's hanging in limbo. Love the game series though.
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TiLT
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by TiLT »

Baroquen wrote:
morlac wrote:
Butterknife wrote:Woo hoo! Another King's Bounty game -- I will definitely be getting it. I played the :The Legend and :Armored Princess a ton, even though I never even got close to winning either game (I kept starting over). I am so definitely looking forward to this!

This is me :) Prolly got a little closer to the end in both though. I will not play it for a few months and then decide to restart when I do.
Same here. I played the original for awhile. Then changed computers. Played Armored Princess for a long while and it drifted away. Started the original again, and it's hanging in limbo. Love the game series though.
I'm almost at the end of the first game and have been there for a while. It got tiresome when every other fight would kill half my forces, making me go back to pick up some of my very limited units to try again. This is the point in the game where you regularly start facing dragons that have higher initiative than pretty much anything you can field, which means they'll do severe damage to your units before you can even move.
Insert witty comment here.
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Jag
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Jag »

TiLT wrote:This is the point in the game where you regularly start facing dragons that have higher initiative than pretty much anything you can field, which means they'll do severe damage to your units before you can even move.
Get your own Dragons!

Actually KB has a nice rock-paper-scissor type play where uber units had a weakness and a counter. Don't forget spells like summon and protection. A fully buffed paladin type (forgot the name) would barely get scratched by stacks of black dragons.

The official 1C forum was always useful if you hit a strategic wall.
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Baroquen
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Baroquen »

TiLT wrote:
Baroquen wrote:
morlac wrote:
Butterknife wrote:Woo hoo! Another King's Bounty game -- I will definitely be getting it. I played the :The Legend and :Armored Princess a ton, even though I never even got close to winning either game (I kept starting over). I am so definitely looking forward to this!

This is me :) Prolly got a little closer to the end in both though. I will not play it for a few months and then decide to restart when I do.
Same here. I played the original for awhile. Then changed computers. Played Armored Princess for a long while and it drifted away. Started the original again, and it's hanging in limbo. Love the game series though.
I'm almost at the end of the first game and have been there for a while. It got tiresome when every other fight would kill half my forces, making me go back to pick up some of my very limited units to try again. This is the point in the game where you regularly start facing dragons that have higher initiative than pretty much anything you can field, which means they'll do severe damage to your units before you can even move.
Yeah, that's not helping me get back in the mood to finish the first one... maybe I'll check out that forum and see I can find some motivating hints.
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

I need to get to Castle Bogacho to finish the treaty quest and move on in the game. I have passed through the Taron Mines door many times avoiding the strong evil beholder. Now when I try to go through the door, he is standing right there and I can't get past and can't defeat him. He never moves away. Is there another way into way into Taron mines? I am a Warrior at level 12.
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ColdSteel
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by ColdSteel »

Hi Laura. There's a walkthough with maps over at Game Banshee that could be helpful to you. This page appears to show that there are two ways into the Taron mines. Hope that helps.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

Thanks, ColdSteel, I thought of that entrance and momentarily thought it might work, but then I realized it is behind the door I am trying to get through. All the other areas seem to have numerous entrances but this has only one. I don't know if it is a bug that the Evil Beholder doesn't move now or if it is programed this way. I do have a few battles left back in earlier lands, so I will do those and hope to build up an army that is strong enough. The red dragons have strong initiative which makes it hard to win.
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ColdSteel
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by ColdSteel »

I don't know if you have a Droid army or have access to the units and the Phantom spell. If so, try loading up with lots of Guard Droids and Repair Droids and try this strategy:
I forgot to mention one of the main selling points of Repair Droids: their heal is on a turn timer instead of limited charges. This means that not only can they revive 75% of the Guard Droids with their heal, they can do it every 4 turns. This means as long as the Guard Droids don't take too much burst damage, their numbers are virtually infinite. If you do use the Droid strategy, get Phantom whenever you can. Direct damage spammers like heroes and evil gremlins can and will target the Repair Droids eventually. With enough mana, the Phantom Repair Droids can erase that little annoyance.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

I haven't come across any Droids yet but I will keep my eye out for them. That's some good information. Right now I am searching for high initiative and fire resistance. I recently added Shamans to my army and like them. I have done just about all the quests and available battles up to the Dwarven lands. Just a few left there.
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ColdSteel
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by ColdSteel »

The Droids are definitely in the Dwarven areas so look for them there. I love the Shaman unit. One of my favorites for that level.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Jag
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Jag »

It's been awhile since I played KBL, but anything that summons other units is a must for KB games. Just use the summoned troops to soak up damage while you hit them from range. Having a healer unit is also nice.
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ColdSteel
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by ColdSteel »

Yeah, I just love demonologists. The both summon demons AND resurrect your troops. I don't remember if they're in Legends though. They may first show up in Armored Princess.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

Right now, the only thing I can summon is a mature Phoenix. I don't know whether I should upgrade to an ancient one. The cost in mana to use is great and I like the Geyser spell and use it a lot.
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Jag
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Jag »

I think only Druids can summon in regular KB. Later games gives more summoning units. I wouldn't use the phoenix either. Maybe use the Phantom spell on one of your tank type units. Also don't underestimate the power of stone skin or magic protection for a unit with a good defense. They can just soak up damage.
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

I don't have the Phantom spell yet but I want it. Also, I have been searching for any rage potions. I've only had one in the game and they would sure be helpful.
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

I finally got by this spot by fighting a lot of battles, including the Kraken, which gave me the Pirate wife and more attack and defense. I gained a level but still suffered quite a loss of troops in this last fight. I am moving on to new territory and that's good.
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Laura
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Laura »

A tip for anyone playing this game. I wonder if it is still happening in the sequels. Do not run through a warp zone to another area with a strong enemy chasing you. He will be waiting when you try to go back through. You may not be able to even take a step before you are dead. This was my problem. I've learned that it is better to die and reload.
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Hipolito
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Hipolito »

Let me tell you about my journey down the King's Bounty/Heroes of Might and Magic road. There will be spoilers. It started with the original KB that came out in 1990, which was ...

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...just so-so, but groundbreaking. Then I played HOMM 1 and 2. They were much better games and had wonderful storybook art and music. But the campaigns were too difficult for me. I'd be happily hoisting my flag in nearby towns and castles, making upgrades, and thinking I was doing a good job. Then an enemy hero who somehow accumulated zounds of troops waltzes in and gobbles up all my gains like Pac-Man. I used cheats to finish most of the HOMM 1/2 campaigns and decided I probably wouldn't play any more HOMM games.

Then I tried King's Bounty: The Legend, which gives you just one hero to manage and, more importantly for me, lets you pick a difficulty when you start the game. I played on Easy as a Mage and had a much better time with this game than the previous ones.

Now "Easy" doesn't mean the game was always a pushover. There were many times when each fight wore my army down enough that I'd have to circle back to get reinforcements. It was a drag to sneak around tough enemies while in this weakened state, navigating back and forth across long distances in a world with no fast-travel options. I'd think about quitting, then realize I'd overlooked an island filled with sidequests, loot, and weak enemies. So I'd have mindless fun conquering that island, then return to the main quest, refreshed and a bit stronger so I could make better progress.

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I blew the whole dwarven slave conspiracy wide open. (I should have named my mage Cochise.) I helped the dwarves' good friends, the elves. This led to the Karador boss battle, by far the toughest fight in the game. He trounced me on my first visit to him, so I went on a big sidequesting soiree, eventually recruiting dragons and learning the awesome Geyser spell. I felt strong enough to try Karador again. My tactic was to cast Lina's Ice Ball on my side of the map, roll it all the way across the battlefield and into the Crystal of Darkness for maximum damage, then roll it all the way back and then forth again. I had to keep the path clear for the Ball, which was tricky because Karador kept resurrecting enemies along the path. I lost a lot of good sprites, dryads, and polar bears in the process. But just a couple of Ball taps was all it took to break the Crystal and help Violetta get her groove back.

I was kind of hoping the game would be close to over. But then I had to go to hell ...

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... to search for a lost pair of keys? The story, such as it was, kind of drifted away at this point. It's not a bad story overall, rising above typical fantasy pastiche with some interesting lore and humorous touches. My favorite bit of humor was "aviation beer." Dwarves, who are prone to airsickness, drink it during flight. The beer makes them sway in the opposite direction that the dirigible is turning, so they don't notice the flight motion and don't get sick. I love that!

From this point, the battles and sidequests got a bit tedious though the game wasn't as difficult anymore. My main tactic was to have my 2,000+ sprites attack, cast Invisibility on them afterward, then cast Phantom on my 500+ dryads so that I could have two groups of dryads summoning thorns. They were backed up by demonnesses, emerald green dragons, and archmages, with Anga's Ruby powering up the sprites, dryads, and demonnesses. And if I just wanted to finish the battle quickly, I'd cast Black Hole and 2 Geyser spells.

Behind this spoiler tag I'll put a screenshot of me winning the final battle in a single round.
Spoiler:
One level 3 Armageddon spell coming right up. Shaboom!
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That felt good, it felt good to see this bodacious, wallpaper-worthy shot of Lina during the end credits ...

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... and it feels good to be finally done with KBTL. In addition to the aforementioned annoyances, the art and music aren't as rich as they are in HOMM, there was a bug that prevented me from activating Lina's Rage Spirit (though I found a fix for that here), and there's a lot of important info the game doesn't tell you (though I found help in this thread, Gamebanshee, GameFAQS, and Vigaroe's entertaining guide.) But my overall experience with KBTL was positive. It's a game with a lot of roadblocks but also a lot of open avenues, so I could keep getting stronger while enjoying the lore and humor. And it gave me HOMM-style combat at a difficulty I could handle.
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Fardaza
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Fardaza »

Nice write-up about KBTL!
You mention early on that you tried HOMM 1&2 then gave up. Did you ever try 3? That was my favorite and is the only version I've played in many a year! The trick to most of the campaigns is to move quickly and conquer things with as few troops as possible. The slowly build and then attack strategy works best in one-off maps.
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Hipolito
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Hipolito »

Fardaza wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:59 am Nice write-up about KBTL!
You mention early on that you tried HOMM 1&2 then gave up. Did you ever try 3? That was my favorite and is the only version I've played in many a year! The trick to most of the campaigns is to move quickly and conquer things with as few troops as possible. The slowly build and then attack strategy works best in one-off maps.
Thanks, Fardaza!

I haven't tried HOMM3, but I've thought about it as I hear it's the best. Does it allow you to adjust the difficulty of campaigns?

Yeah, back when I was playing HOMM1/2, I was a turtler. I liked to get all the shiny upgrades for my castle before stepping a foot outside. If I play HOMM3, I gotta play more like a ninja than a turtle.
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Fardaza
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Fardaza »

I'm not sure about campaign difficulty. I don't think you can change it normally. I very brief internet search says maybe you can with a lot of hassle. I'd go in and check it for you, but I have a brand new computer with almost nothing installed yet. When I get around to installing it, I'll let you know.

I don't recall it being that difficult though.
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Skinypupy
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Skinypupy »

Hipolito wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 12:03 am I haven't tried HOMM3, but I've thought about it as I hear it's the best. Does it allow you to adjust the difficulty of campaigns?
That's amazing to me as HOMM3 is - by far - the best game in the series and quite possibly the best tactical strategy game ever created.

Being a fan of the genre but having never played HOMM3 feels like blasphemy. :lol:
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
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Hipolito
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Hipolito »

Fardaza wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:36 am I'm not sure about campaign difficulty. I don't think you can change it normally. I very brief internet search says maybe you can with a lot of hassle. I'd go in and check it for you, but I have a brand new computer with almost nothing installed yet. When I get around to installing it, I'll let you know.
Thanks!
Skinypupy wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:43 amThat's amazing to me as HOMM3 is - by far - the best game in the series and quite possibly the best tactical strategy game ever created.

Being a fan of the genre but having never played HOMM3 feels like blasphemy. :lol:
That's not the worst of it. My favorite genre is RPGs, yet I haven't played Baldur's Gate.
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Skinypupy
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Skinypupy »

Hipolito wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:50 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:43 amThat's amazing to me as HOMM3 is - by far - the best game in the series and quite possibly the best tactical strategy game ever created.

Being a fan of the genre but having never played HOMM3 feels like blasphemy. :lol:
That's not the worst of it. My favorite genre is RPGs, yet I haven't played Baldur's Gate.
Without the benefit of nostalgia, I'll freely admit that BG is a tough one to go back to these days. I've tried it a couple times and just couldn't do it.

HOMM3 has aged like a fine wine though. It's still brilliant, and you can get the whole package for $10 here.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
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Jag
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Jag »

Such a shame what happened to the new KB game. The new one was fine, but there was no reason to change from such a good formula.
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Baroquen
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Re: King's Bounty: The Legend Impressions?

Post by Baroquen »

Jag wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 9:07 am Such a shame what happened to the new KB game. The new one was fine, but there was no reason to change from such a good formula.
Agreed. I didn't hate it, but the changes weren't necessary nor was the game particularly engaging. Made it very easy to drift away from it to play newer shiny games.
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