Ok, thanks...

I just tried the level again. I reset all my stars (which felt like an exploit in itself. I hate doing this in games; picking up skills just to win a given battle rather than what I'd choose instinctively...) and put them all in meteor shower, reinforcements and magic towers. So I can rely on golems and reinforcements instead of barracks.

Anyway, it went quite well, I thought I finally got it, but then the boss came. Thought I had that done too, only to have him change into a demon and kick my ass.

This game is tough...

Think I'll try again a variant of this strategy, if it doesn't work I'll use the exploit as a last resort.

It is the last level as far as I remember...

I can't remember the level well enough to give hints, but I do remember having to play it quite a few times before I could win it.. make sure you've got all your tower skills (the ones you buy with stars) maxed out (replay some old levels for more stars if you don't have enough) and just spam a combo of mage and archer towers (I find the speed of the Ranger towers combined with a mix of both the final mage towers kills most things).
Throwing in a couple of barracks can't hurt but I wouldn't rely too much on them, use the stone golems and the reserves to slow enemies and hope you have enough rangers to kill everything (when I struggled with a level I tended to try it with almost exclusively archer towers upgraded to rangers because their rate of fire is excellent)

I'd definitely say it's a challenging game. I actually completed almost all of the optional challenges, so it can be done, but there's a lot of trial and error involved to find the best strategy. I find tesla towers are among the best upgrades for most maps.

You're at the evil wizard guy, right? If you think this is the end of the game, you're in for a surprise. :D

It's impossible. I got 3 stars in all, except one level where I got 2 stars. Plus 6 stars from heroic/iron.

After I max out reinforcements and meteor shower (both of which are a must. Reinforcements means you can save by not building baracks, and meteor shower low cooldown time really helps a lot), I've got enough stars to fully upgrade only one type of tower. I chose magic for it's slow curse effect, but I might try the arrow ones.

Yes, I was beginning to suspect it, since it feels too short otherwise... And my star count says 35/130. And I haven't had all heroes unlocked.

I just wasn't sure if the extra stars and heros weren't something you'd get from DLCs or something similar.

So there are more levels then? Good to know.

Really? I'm sure I'd maxed out everything by the end...
Then again, it's been ages since I played the first one (finished the second not that long ago on my phone) so maybe I'm wrong.
Meteor and Reinforcements are definitely a must, but maxed out mages and arrows are both great to have.

EDIT:

And this is on Normal. I don't want to know what Hard is like.

I could switch to Easy I suppose but I really really don't want to...

Ah. It's not actually the last level then? That would explain it...
You can always come back and beat it on normal later (I think you don't get any stars, or you get less stars though), I do seem to remember doing that a few times in the first game.

Ew, no, as far as I know the game is complete. No additional purchases required or anything like that.

You'll unlock a ton of extra missions after the "end boss", including the path to the real end boss. :P

With the optional challenges included, the game is quite long. I wasn't even going to bother with them at first, but once you beat a few, it's kind of addictive... I think I'm at 125/130 or so now. Haven't played in a while, but sooner or later I might try to get those remaining few stars.

If you just can't beat some missions, including the boss fight, you're probably placing or picking your towers inefficiently. Make sure you place your most powerful towers ( artillery etc. ) in a way which maximizes enemy exposure to their attacks. And don't under estimate ground units -- they hardly deal damage, but you need them to keep enemy troops close to your attack towers for as long as possible. Barbarians are also an interesting choice, since they can block enemies, while also dealing decent ( ranged ) damage. And during boss levels, make sure you have enough damage dealing towers placed along their movement path. ( Trial and error involved again, since you won't know their exact path on the first try. )

Also, if I remember correctly, you can adjust the game's difficulty setting. If you get frustrated on Normal mode, you could try Easy, but I'm not sure how exactly it affects gameplay. Probably less enemy troops, and lower health on boss enemies.

Edit: Never mind -- I just saw your remarks regarding difficulty. Haven't tried Hard mode either, since even on Normal some levels are brutal. :D

I got caught in the same place as you, ZFR. This thread is a nice prompt to get my ass back to it. :)

Once you beat the boss, the real game starts. :)

Me too, actually. I might try going back and getting extra stars playing the early levels at higher difficulty.

Only gave it two tries actually - second attempt I killed him around the 75-80% point of the path, but...yeah, the whole respawn thing meant I ultimately wasn't that close.

So, I see I am not the only one stucked at Evil Wizard level. Good. There is stil hope. :D

Although I gave up some time ago. It wasn't worth what ever I do. :( So frustrating.

The main problem is likely with tower placement and upgrade choices, but the extra perks from those stars might help. Plus, you might learn a few new tricks, if you try some of the optional challenges. Also, it's important to invest in the right perks, depending on your tactic. ( At least until you have enough stars to just max out everything. )
Pretty much. :P

Well, I just realized this game is on GOG (and has its own dedicated, though rather empty, forum).

It seems that the Sunray Tower on level 9 (apparently it can be powered up by purchasing up to 4 mages) is not available on the steam version. Is it available on GOG by any chance?