While detailed unit descriptions are out there for this game, there isn't much in the way of a walkthrough. Here are my own notes on the game, with a few general hints. This is aimed more at newer players trying to complete the campaign, and is not a guide to getting gold for each mission.

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General Tips
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* Don't try to rush for gold victories, especially if this is your first run. Even silver isn't worth going for if it results in the loss of a good unit. You should be fighting relatively safely and getting as much XP for your units as possible, since that will pay off better in the end. That said, if you're within a turn of victory and you think you can make it, then do go for the win. The end of the battle is also a good time to just throw in all possible attacks to boost XP, since your units will heal for free after the fight and the enemy can't come back at you.
Just so you know what you're trading off: The gold rewards are usually an extra unit plus an artifact. Silver typically gives you just one of those. Since most missions have a small unit cap, and there are a fair number of decent artifacts that can be found in other ways, you don't really require the rewards that the faster victory gets you. Consider them as bonuses if you replay the game.

* Keep units clumped together, and make use of the defensive fire ability of shooters. Two shooters standing next to each other give mutual support, so try to pair them when you can. Don't leave any gaps in the line if possible, since there are many skirmishers that can ignore ZOC and sneak in to wreck the weaker shooters. The AI outnumbers you on almost every map, and it can freely charge in units that it knows will die. (The flip side of that is not to try the same tactics on the AI and waste a unit - your own skirmishers should be used as scouts, for picking off stragglers, or to soften up an enemy prior to a main assault.)

* It's usually better to spread attacks around rather than focus on destroying units one by one. A weakened unit isn't likely to attack you, and can't quickly recover, especially if you keep your forces next to it. The primary exception to this is in defensive battles, where you are outnumbered and can't afford to chase down units after you've weakened them.

* It's better to build experience gradually across the force than to stack it all on one unit. For one, the AI seems to really want to destroy the best unit it can (assuming it is weak enough). Also, you may find different units are better suited for different battles. In the first half of the campaign you should let some of the experienced units stay in reserve in order to make sure that all forces get a chance to level up.

* Don't forget to upgrade units; once you're past the first few missions you shouldn't need to pay for very many new units, and your money goes to upgrades. For many units the upgrade path doesn't change the perks, so it's better to upgrade than to wait (unless you want to wait until the full roster is unlocked, so you can upgrade to the best version one time). Peasants are a notable exception - they get the truly ferocious "People's Rage" perk at Level 5, and should only be upgraded after maxing out.

* Except for your main hero, your hero units can be lost without going away permanently. This means, if necessary, they can be used for a sacrifice, as it won't cost you anything but the use of them for the rest of the mission. This is really only feasible early in the campaign, since by the end you will need to rely on the power of the high-level heroes. It's also something that can be more easily done in the Orc campaign, as you get more heroes to work with.

* Most maps have scripted events, and not all of them are fun to deal with. What this means is you shouldn't rush to capture objectives until you have a good idea of what's nearby that can come at you. There are a few objectives with their own turn limit (check the quest log), but for the most part, you can complete objectives on your own time. The AI doesn't purchase units, so it's okay to leave a city open to take later (as long as you are completely confident there are no hidden units behind you that can occupy it).

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Human Tips
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* The human units favor defense over attack. They also have a large variety of ranged units and high-quality cavalry. The air units (eagles) are adept at both air and ground combat. Overall, the humans work best in an organized group, and if unit cohesion is maintained, they are very tough to beat.

* Somewhat counter-intuitively, humans are the side that can be more aggressive when advancing. This is because the emphasis on defense means they can withstand the counterattack on the enemy's turn better. The availability of shooters to back up the front line also makes it less likely that an unseen enemy will be able to punch a hole in it. Again, that does require an orderly move forward when in the open.

* Human units start out fairly weak. The heavy cavalry is the one unit that comes in strong, although I'm not a big fan of cavalry in general. I also find the mid-range upgrades to be a bit unimpressive, but at the high end, they do improve substantially. Peasants in particular have an amazing final perk, and it's a good idea to train up some of those units from the start, despite their initial lack of power.

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Human Campaign
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1. Wind of the Steppes
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Fairly easy and straightforward. The main battle in this one involves a river crossing; you can get a taste of what works and what doesn't. Be sure to back up the front line with archers when facing the tougher enemies. Otherwise, the enemy groups are small and you can split off 1-2 units at a time to clear them out and build up more XP. Don't forget that you can also fight the town that's behind the main objective (just don't move into the castle when the enemy retreats/dies, or the mission will end early).

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2. Against the Wind
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Get used to scouting into the forests, to make sure nothing can trip you up from behind (or the side). It's okay to split off one or two units in detachments for checking; the enemy is a bit stronger than in the last battle, but you're still not seeing big groups. Just proceed steadily, and try to cycle your units into combat so all of them get some XP. Don't miss out on the free units you can pick up on this map and the next one.

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3. Rapid Rescue
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This is the first really tough one. What you shouldn't do is try to force your way along the road, especially at the river crossing. Keep pressure there with some of your units, but send a decent portion the long way around (on the right, toward the forest at the back behind the lake). There's an important objective that shows up back there, and you can get a head start on it by going that way. You do get a new hero (mage) when you capture the middle town, but he is weak enough on this map that you don't need to strive for it early. Be cautious at the river, as there are a lot of enemy forces waiting to hit you as soon as you make the crossing. It's okay to fall back behind the river if you are taking too much damage.

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4. Back to Derenhalle
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Using the initial units, you can clear the port within the first turn or two (it's a loss if you take more than four I believe). After that, you can get your forces deployed. Split some of them to march straight ahead, and the others to clear and hold the forest. As you head toward the towns on the left, you'll be dealing with enemy groups that may attack from the left and the right. So hold your ground at the river, and don't even move into the towns until you are ready to hold off all counterattacks.

Taking the forest can be tough as well, as one of the groups of mounted units may decide to barge in while you're still fighting the goblins. Secure a safe corner and fall back to the towns as needed, calling in reserves if you have taken losses. You do want to engage the enemy on this side, though, as it will make it easier to capture the castle at the end. Otherwise these forces head off and hit your units on the plain where defending is tougher to do. Adding a flying unit for scouting can be a big help on this map.

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5. Freiburg's Destiny
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The river running through the middle marks a good dividing line for the first phase of the battle. Instead of going directly at Freiburg, get to the first bridge near the city. Ensure that you are prepared to hold off any assault coming over it. Then, while attacking the outskirts of Freiburg, make sure to finish off everything that's currently on your side of the river. Don't capture Freiburg even if you can. Cross the river first so that you're prepared for the inevitable counterattack.

The crossing itself will be somewhat difficult, because there are two big enemy groups with charging units waiting on the other side. You need to clear space and then cross in force. After getting over the river, send your main force to the left (a required objective) and keep a few units to capture Freiburg proper and hold the line at the mountain ridge. For an easier time of it, hold off on occupying Freiburg until the battle's nearly done. That way you won't have to deal with any of the units on the right of the mountain range unless you really want to.

Human campaign, continued

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6. Plains of Leranse
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If you're worried about how quick the gold (and even silver) timer runs down, don't be alarmed. The bronze victory timer is quite generous. While this is supposed to be a 'running battle' where you're outnumbered and being chased from behind, it's better for your forces if you stand your ground until the attacks are done. That way you can deal with the groups mostly one at a time.

You do need to clear some room for the battle, though. Taking the central hills just ahead of the starting point is a good choice, as it will provide beneficial defensive ground. If nothing else, you need to deny it to the enemy. The forest close to it should be cleared as well. An alternate strategy is to cross the river right away and use that as a defensive barrier, although in this case you'll also need to fight off forces beyond the river.

You will want to do something about that annoying hexer. Flying units and magic attacks (fireball, spectral warriors) should be sufficient, as it's otherwise kind of hard to get to him without giving up your central position.

There isn't actually a battle at the castle you're trying to reach; all you need to do is get close to it. For the most XP, clear out all units behind you first, then ahead of you, and then cross the river back near where you started (there'll be another big group and a 'bonus' objective, although I think all you get is money from them).


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7. Generals of Leranse
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A heavily scripted battle, with a tight unit cap. It's not all that hard, however, so don't be afraid to bring in units that still need XP. Air units are critical, both for recon and for quickly moving more force to where the battle is (two by this point is enough; you get more for free in the next mission).

About half your force (including Derrick) should go liberate the town, as you will lose if you don't enter it by turn 4. The other units need to start heading in the opposite direction, toward the forest. When you arrive at Rantry, you'll be ordered to hold it, while also keeping up the search for the lost unit on the other side of the map.

The troops that went through the forest can make a circle toward the fallen generals. Use air scouts to recon all enemy positions before you arrive at them. Meanwhile, the units at Rantry should move a bit toward the hills, as that's where one attack will come from. They will also have to fight enemy forces from the other side (further up the road), but those will likely appear later.

Once the lost unit is found, you have to exit it from the map at a specific location. It can be circled back around through the territory you've cleared, or led straight ahead if you're up for a tougher fight. If you choose the first option, it is still possible to get through with a gold win, as long as the town's defenders create a clear path to the exit before the generals arrive.


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8. Wings of Verson
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You start with three eagles, and the first part will require a lot of reloads until you figure out where the safest areas are. One of the eagles is actually leveled up already, so be sure to give it defensive perks (especially protection from shooters). Try to get one more to pair up with it, and use the other eagle to bait away the shooters. Avoid pteranodons, and they probably won't engage you. The hexer and the king's body can be found on the half of the map where Derrick isn't, if you want to get to them now.

It turns out this phase has no time limit, and it seems to have no effect on the later time limit either. So you can actually spend time weaving your eagles in and out of battle if you want; you probably won't kill anything, but they will still gain XP and get those really useful perks. If you're lucky you might even take out the hexer. (One of the eagles comes with 'cause fear' for free. That or segmented movement makes it possible to get in multiple attacks on an isolated unit, but good luck isolating it). When you're ready, send at least two eagles over to the objective, and place down your remaining units.

The next phase is a battle to get to the city. There is no need to go by road, as that involves at least one and probably two contested river crossings. Instead, send all units over the hills on the right. Advance cautiously through the plains, since you'll be quite vulnerable there. Fortunately, you should have a lot of units for once, especially if you kept all the eagles alive. Brennok's 'tornado' spell (reduces missile attack in an area) will come in handy, as the enemy starts with a lot of shooters.

As long as the eagles take care of the hexer and the body, there is never any reason to cross the river. The objective city has a really strong defensive unit, but it can be worn down gradually with the help of magic and ranged fire.


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9. Deserted City
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Another interesting use of scripting. Note that while the mission description makes it seem as if you'll have to escort the refugees, you thankfully don't need to protect them at all; even clearing the road seems to be optional. You also don't have to go through the part of actually retreating afterward. There is only one turn limit, but apparently there may still be still victory rankings; they could depend on how many side objectives you complete.

Naturally you want to put strong defensive forces in the city itself. Don't worry about trying to hold the entire river line, as the AI seems to only come over near the bridges. Guard those points well, including the one just outside the city. Some of your units will need to go on a hunting expedition, first to clear the exit road and then to eliminate an unexpected attack from the rear. This is actually a fairly sizable enemy force, and you may find you need to draw off a large group from the city to deal with it.

Other than that, just hold off the enemy to the front. There will likely be objectives to take out some units far ahead of you, but unless you do really well (or your air units aren't busy), it's not worth it to venture that far beyond the walls.


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10. Bloody Waves
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Since it's the final battle, you no longer have to worry about preserving units or getting more XP. In this one, accomplishing the objectives and keeping the heroes alive is the main task. Hopefully you have several units in reserve if you really need them, although the mission unfortunately tosses in extra units that will mess with your unit cap. Upgrades (if you have any available) should be for the best defensive units, which is usually a good place to put them anyway for humans.

It's imperative to get almost all of your forces over to the city as soon as possible, but you especially want to get your mage into that tower. He'll get a free spell and gain a power boost as well. This should be the top priority at the start.

It's probably also worth it to have a few units clear the wooded town near the starting area (and eliminate one of the hexers). There will be an objective that asks you to take that town, and if you don't capture it early it'll be hard to take later on. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to be totally necessary to complete that objective, so ignore it if you wish.

The part closest to you will be swarmed with goblins soon, and the middle of the map is packed full with riders, but the big concern is all the big trolls and orcs that will hit the city quite soon if you don't do something. Get your mage in the tower, and get your other heroes in the town too, so that you can cast spells and take advantage of neighbor bonuses from any artifacts.

You might also get 'help' from the elves here, which can actually be kind of annoying as they show up on the very far edge of the map, far away from the action, yet also count against your unit cap. So if you find yourself needing to reinforce at the city, you won't be able to do so until you lose some units.

Eventually the enemy leader will show up (or you will discover him). Ignore all else and focus attacks on him, as once he's dead, that's the end of the mission.

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Orc Tips
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* The orc side is actually not just orcs, but a mix of three races - orcs, goblins, and trolls, and they all operate slightly differently. The goblins are weak, but can hide well and use guerilla tactics. They also have some clever combat machines. Orcs favor attack but don't always withstand the counterattack well. The trolls are quite tough and make for very strong well-rounded fighters. The variety of the units on this side allows for a greater choice in play style, although sadly I feel their campaign isn't designed as well as the human one.

* Most of the goblins can make use of invisibility (check their perks), and can be used for hit-and-run raiding. The light cavalry is also good in this role, just be sure to retreat to good defensive terrain after an attack.

* The orcs and trolls can maintain a decent front line. It's often better to let the enemy come at you first, and then hit them back hard. Trolls are able to move and heal in one turn thanks to their regeneration powers. One of the hexers (hero type unit) has a lot of healing spells which work well to keep these units in fighting shape.

* This side lacks any good shooting units (there are only goblin archers/sharp-eyes). It's still a good idea to have a few of them for defensive purposes. You also don't have anything else on the ground that can hit air units (aside from the hexers), so you'll be hurting if you skip out on leveling them up.


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1. Conquest of Goblins
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You don't start with very many units, so keep them together while fighting. First head toward the withered tree and then capture the village; this gets you more money to purchase another unit of orcs if you wish. Then you can take the objective town, although use one unit to scout and maybe start battling the spectral wolves at the stone circle (it's a 'trap' set by the goblin hexer). You can also just kill the wolves first and then capture the town once you grab the artifact.

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2. Reconnaissance in Force
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You'll get a pretty big gold reward from capturing the first village here, so feel free to add new units as needed. After the first spot is taken, make sure to clear out the remaining small villages on your side of the river. Unlike in the human campaign, there aren't any forces hiding out in the corners. What you face is mostly peasants or militia backed by bowmen; it should be easy enough to sneak around and remove the shooters before killing the melee units.

Before you cross the river, send one or two units around through the mountains, but do not move them in sight of the town until you're ready to make the crossing. Once you get close, it will trigger a peasant to flee. That unit will call in a unit of knights unless you can catch and kill it within three turns. Hunting the peasants down nets you more gold as well. The knights will likely come in regardless if you don't subdue the objective town soon enough.

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3. Joining the Majority
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You're forced to split into two groups here; the one on the right is going to encounter more units, while the one on the left will encounter tougher units (trolls in particular). The group on the right should move toward the defensive terrain of the hills, where there is a crashed zeppelin[a]. Take care not to move right next to it unless prepared, as it will trigger an ambush, and there's also a human scout guarding it on top of that. It's worth it to activate it, though, as you get a free bomber on your side as a reward.

When you approach the first orc city, target the leader (Besargar). When you beat him, he'll join your side and help you kill his former troops. Then you can cross the river to take out the Orc Riders. The far corner of the map has a human settlement if you want to grab some more XP; there's no bonus objective there, though.

The left-side group can clear the plains, and then try to reach the riverbank by the cave before the trolls come across. You gain a really useful troll unit when you win on this side. From there you go through the mountains to the last objective (chieftain of the Riders), but it's likely the other group will finish them off first.

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4. Fall of Irand
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This is one of the few times you find a castle in an actually sensible defensive position. Unfortunately for you, you are the side that's attacking here.

The first phase of the battle is clearing the forests and the knights' camp on your side of the ridge. You want to be a bit more aggressive here; if you're lucky you can squeeze the knights against the forest and prevent any of them from charging at you. After that, clear out the region beyond the river (on the left side from the starting area). Also, be sure to eliminate the hexer and grab the artifact. When you're doing all this, you have to be very careful not to get anywhere near Irand.

Why don't you want to get close? If you have anything with good spotting range, you'll see quite well what to avoid - a whole lot of archers on this side of the mountain. If you can see farther, you'll make out no less than three heavy artillery units. Not to mention the eagles overhead. All this adds up to a deadly rain of fire that can devastate any unit that dares to come close.

About the only way to deal with this is to cautiously clear out the units on the outskirts, and hope that you can draw out the human forces. If at any time you feel weak, fall back and regroup. Don't try to rush here, because it's way too easy to lose units if they're left in the open. Even weak units that pull back can get sniped by eagles. It will help to send a force through the alternate pass, as it's not heavily defended. Troops can go marauding back there and distract the humans while you bring pressure from the front.

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5. Fall of Freiburg
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If you played the Human campaign, you'll notice this is the same map as in the battle to liberate Freiburg. And, as in that scenario, you'll want to eliminate opposition in the surrounding towns before taking on the castle itself. You may also be able to guess where else you'll need to fight if you recall the human side's battle.

As in the battle for Irand, you're facing up against a lot of shooters and some heavy artillery. Once again, you're in serious danger of losing any unit at any time thanks to that set-up. There are also knights to deal with, who can move in fast and hit hard. The key is to advance cautiously and stay out of range of the shooters when possible. The AI will often be more aggressive when it can only spot a few of your front-line units, so be sure to group them around your own shooters to benefit from defensive fire (don't neglect the fact that the hexers also fill this role).

There are two starting locations on either side of the mountains. The left group will have an easy start and then will either need to cross the river directly, or head on over to the bridge at Freiburg. I favor the former, using goblins so they can hide from the eagles; then they can harass the rear of the enemy from the nearby forest. The right-side group needs to face down the king in the battle for Seelburg; the total number of forces there is nearly equal to what's across the river, so be ready for a serious fight. It's a good idea to have one or two units guarding the river crossing, since the Freiburg defenders may try to send knights over to help out the king.

As with the human battle, taking the castle itself is no easy task due to the 'moat' surrounding it. Still, if you surround it after dealing with all the forces on the outskirts, it should not be that difficult to achieve victory.

Orc Campaign, continued

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6. Land of Knights
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This the first in a pair of truly punishing battles. The trick here is that instead of holding back to defend, the enemy has two large groups arrayed right in front of you, ready to attack and destroy you.

Hold the hills with the left group against the unending knight onslaught, and keep the right group in the forest. Try to cross the river if possible; the knights should retreat when about half of them are dead, so the left group can mop up the central army. Beware that the enemy has three 'hero' units (sergeant, mage, and general), and eliminate them quickly if you can. Once again, there will be eagles overhead and you should prioritize getting rid of them whenever possible.

Also note that if you cross the river to the right, there's a quest for a 'magic package' that seems to break if you start fighting its target unit early, so be cautious about moving too far ahead of the towns. Once you've dealt with the central town and the knight attack on the other flank, you can reorganize forces to take the two castles. The one in the front will be tougher, since there will likely be a remnant of the knight army there.

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7. War in the Air
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It's a war in the air, except you haven't had the chance to train up any useful air units. And since the orcs have terrible shooters, you can't deal with them very well from the ground, either. Get at least one pteranodon at the start. Use it to take out any escort it can see (War Eagles) but don't leave it in a vulnerable state, as any of the other air units can still attack it. Try to trigger or eliminate the units on the edges of the map before taking the central fortress so that they don't all come in at once.

Clearing up to the river isn't too difficult, as there aren't that many knights to deal with. It's a good idea to start taking out the heavy artillery near the cave early (use floating eyes or flying units to spot them, and summons to attack them). Only advance into the first town when you are confident you can hold it, as you must wait five turns there before the pteranodons arrive. The last objective has a lot of defenders, but you should be able to concentrate all your forces there since the rest of the map should be mostly empty.

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8. Trap for the King
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Finally, it's a relatively easy mission. From the start you can knock out the spies quickly with summons and/or pteranodons. Notice that there's only one bridge into the starting area, but there are hardly any units on the other side, so feel free to ford anywhere. Taking the first town will trigger the 'ambush' quest to lie in wait for the king.

Of course you don't want to sit and wait for a bunch of knights down in the plains. Cross up into the hills and the king's retinue should pass close enough to it that you can lure some of them into fighting in more favorable terrain. Also be sure to clear out the far side of the map (there's a mage hanging out there). Before the king reaches the town, it should be possible to form a defensive line at the gap between the two hilly ranges.

Once you've taken out the king, surge forward toward the final castle. There are almost no strong units holding the cities; it's just a matter of getting there and clearing them out. It's a good idea to train up a couple of your pteranodons on this battle, since you will really want them to be experienced for the next one.

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9. The Fall of Verson
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In a somewhat lazily-designed campaign, this battle seems like the laziest. It's another recycled map, and you are artificially restricted in force size. This should be an overwhelming attack, but instead you're outnumbered not just at the typical ratio of 3-to-1, but nearly 5-to-1! Luckily for you they are largely spread out and can be dealt with in small groups. The map is packed with knights and ballistae, but surprisingly few archers. It's tailor-made for your air units; take care to avoid the occasional war eagle and try not to trigger the mages until you can deal with them.

As with the other fortress battles, you want to clear out resistance in the outer areas before the main assault. The difference this time is that you aren't going to cross the river in force to take the city. Once you do approach the river, it'll trigger a large counterattack to come in from the enemy's rear area. If you are prepared, you can pretty easily halt them at the bridges. Wearing down the fortress is a bit tedious, but there aren't really any surprises there. If you start to threaten the objectives the defenders often won't even try to attack you, so you can take your time when clearing the city. Also be sure to pick up the rather nice artifact at the very back of the map (in the church) as an alternate reward for not getting a gold/silver victory.

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10. To the Last Sea
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You probably were expecting something like this betrayal to happen, I imagine. What's sad is that your force size is still rather small, especially if you compare it to the human campaign. As a result, this map turns out to just not be very full. It is easier to beat this than you'd expect, although there is a twist that's meant to throw you off if you aren't prepared.

To make sure you're ready for everything, clear out the whole left side of the map, being sure to capture every small town there is. Forces here are pretty light. On the right side, there will be some knights to deal with, but you can use the forest for defense. From there it's just a matter of slowly pushing the humans back over the river, and then getting a bridgehead somewhere. Sylent isn't defended by anything strong, just leveled-up defensive units and a bunch of eagles. Be prepared to start shifting units away from the city soon (especially air units), and remember that you don't need to take the entire city, you just have to get one unit inside the walls.

The one thing you probably don't want to do is kill the mages too early. At least two of them can go so you aren't being hit by spells all the time, though. At roughly the time you're breaching Sylent, you can eliminate the third mage. Then the twist comes in — you're being attacked in the rear by Ash-hoon. (It's apparently also possible to simply capture the magic tower in Sylent to beat the mages).

As in the human campaign, your goal is down to doing one thing - kill Ash-hoon. If you have enough flying units or saved an offensive spell, you can probably take him out easily. This will trigger an odd cut-scene showing... not Ash-hoon dying, but Ugraum losing the fight? The last objective is to 'recover' him, for which you only need to get a unit close to the target.

Here's where clearing out that side of the map at the start can help you. If you still have a lot of units at Sylent (and no free slots), disband some of the ones at Sylent and place reserves right in the middle of Ash-hoon's lines. This also makes the final objective even easier, as the units you will have to catch start right next to a village, and all you have to do is place a new unit there. A cheesy way to win, but the mission is a bit of a let down anyway, and the sooner it's over the better.

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Alliance Hints
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Unlike the other campaigns, the alliance one has a broader mix of units, and sometimes they only show up for a short time. One of the things that happens is that you get to deploy your units from the other campaigns. That's why this campaign can't be played until you complete the others. On the whole, though, you don't have much choice in getting or replacing new units.

So there isn't much in the way of particular tactics for working with the alliance side. You do have access to the elves (top quality fighters) and dwarves (not quite as good as elves, but they all have high strength). None of them upgrade, but they start out as great units already.

The one thing you really want to do is keep most of your units alive, as they are too expensive to replace. That means it's probably better to play conservatively. The stronger dwarves will last longer on the front line, while the elves can be put to use where you need the best troops.

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Alliance Campaign
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1. Secret Mission
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This one isn't too tough, although you do need to be a little bit cautious. Your units are good, but you can't really afford to replace them, or even let them take much damage. Take on the enemies a group at a time, and you should be fine. It's possible to either follow the quests in a circle around the map, or shortcut it by taking the troll cave earlier (send a couple units to clear it).

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2. Ofris
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You don't necessarily want to send Dwarnrock right to the hammer or anvil; instead make a broad sweep toward the left (picking up the war machine and eliminating the mercenaries) and then go toward the objectives. Once Dwarnrock gets his blessing, you can head in to get rid of the trolls guarding the key. Don't send all of your units into the 'sanctuary' area, as there will be a surprise fight with some golems that will be easier if they are split up a bit more.

You can pick up an artifact just across the river at the start, but don't bother pushing into the swamp; there are goblins there that you have no need to deal with, as long as you stay aware that they might sneak out of there at some point.

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3. Unmasking
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This is pretty much a gimmick mission, and until you figure out the trick it may seem almost impossible. What's the trick here? The flame guards will not go after your units exclusively — they will go after any unit not on their side. To win this one without heavy losses, you must evade them. It's important to get to the objective as soon as possible, and also to only engage enemies when necessary. This is one mission where it's not worth it to try and get more experience, and instead race for the gold medal reward.

From the start, rush your units forward; do not pass go, do not try to grab the bonus XP objectives. Don't even try to kill any units that aren't directly blocking your path. The good thing about these weak units is that they won't attack you, and if you pass them quickly enough, they become speed bumps for the flame guards. Try to veer more toward the hilly section, so you won't get stuck engaging too many of the units guarding the nest.

Once you get there, gather your units around Teya for protection. If you've done it fast enough, the flame guards won't be much trouble, and the only potential line of attack will come from the farther river (some goblin sneakers, I think, and possibly a troll if it feels like it). However, you only have to hold out for three turns, and once that's done, the mission's over.

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4. Breakthrough
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It's yet another scenario where you don't want to engage the enemy, although here it's made slightly more explicit. What's not clear, though, is what route you need to take to 'sneak past' the enemy lines, since you have no clear indication of where the enemy is. It's also hard to tell when you've moved too close to one side and triggered the enemy to chase you. (Teya complains when you cross certain invisible lines, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will or won't get attacked). Since it amounts to a puzzle where you don't actually want to do anything most of the time, I don't much care for this battle.

The only really safe path is to stay on the left side of the road leading away from the starting location. You might well get attacked by units from the other side anyway (the riders at least). What you really don't want is the air units to come at you, as there are some high-level pteranodons and you likely don't have much that can deal with them. Especially when they can come accompanied by goblin zepplinas. The forces on the left side, even further into the woods, are mostly goblins, but watch out for the few high-level units. Focus on those when you can.

Once you've managed to clear most of the initial army out of the way, you can advance cautiously along the left edge of the map. To win, you just need to get one unit to the objective, so it's not actually necessary to push your entire force forward. Leave the damaged units to hide, and maybe spread some more along your right flank, just in case the enemy forces start to attack. It's important not to go after them, even if they seem weak; you can deal with them defensively, but there's no way you'll be able to handle the full weight of their army.

Alliance campaign, continued

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5. Knights of the Sword
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This story turns suddenly to the human side of things. You begin with only your three heroes from the human side, but that will be enough to get to the first objective. Once you move a little more forward, more units will pop up on your side. Unfortunately they are highly disorganized; and if you don't pull them to safety they can easily be destroyed, making this mission much harder as you can't afford to replace them.

Once you have your forces set up properly, it's just a slow drive forward to the objective. The trickiest part will probably be the final city, where even once you take out the leader, you still have to fight through a line of experienced shooters. It will likely take longer than you think, but it's nothing that you can't deal with. There are also no extra rewards for finishing quickly, so you don't have to rush.

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6. Ugraum's Revenge
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This battle's not that different from the last one, other than that you now have your orc heroes to do the fighting (and start out with a decent set of units). Once again, push forward gradually. The quests on this one will shift back and forth - to Sho-hoon's bodyguards first, then to the demonic fortress, and finally all the way to the other side of the city. In the last part you can circle around the city, as there's no point in fighting through the defenders. You'll never need these units again, so feel free to sacrifice them as needed.

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7. Desperate Drive
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After a long stretch of mediocre-to-bad missions, this is finally the first actually interesting battle. You also have a lot of choices as to how to set up, since you have access to your units from earlier in this campaign and also all of those from the human campaign. The only thing I would advise against is going too heavy on air units, as the enemy forces have very good archers, and a lot of them.

Since this one is kind of open-ended, I'll just describe the disposition of enemy units. At the start, there is a relatively weak enemy force on your left (across the river), and a very large army on your right -- once you've set up, you should be able to see some of it. Bear in mind there are many more units over there, and they can mostly move pretty quickly. The defenders of the objective (Sumgan, not the city) are merely decent, and there actually is almost nothing in the center blocking the route to them.

However, you can't just try to run forward, or you'll be hit hard on both sides (mainly from the left). It is a good idea to try and cross the river quickly and visit the church to prevent any more spells, as those will weaken your side considerably if allowed to continue. From there, you can either make your assault toward Verson and back over the river, or pull back and engage the big army on the right. Either way, you'll need to thin out most of the enemy units before making the charge on Sumgan, and until then you will likely be facing attacks from both the left and the right. You can afford to lose a few units on this map, but don't let the best ones go, as you'll want them for the last battle.

This is about the only map I'd recommend really trying to get the gold medal on, as the reward (flame guards and a flame token) are amazingly good, and even worth losing units over.

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8. The Last Battle
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Choose your best units, and note that you're expected to have the full five air units, as otherwise you can't initially place your complete force down. Since you'll want to have a way to bring in replacements, and you don't want to have to fight Farrakh in his stronger form, you need to take the battle to Verson quickly. If you attack there from the air, you can often bait the enemy into trying to attack you across the river.

With the city in your hands, you then just have to make a slow circle around to the three ghosts. Those battles aren't particularly tough, especially if you use air units to help out. There are a fair number of enemy shooters, but it's not too bad. You do want to avoid engaging Farrakh. It may be necessary to sacrifice some units to keep him occupied until you can kill the last ghost.

Once the spirits are free, Farrakh will still be ridiculously strong, but he will no longer be able to regenerate all his health every turn. Then it's a matter of chasing him down. Ideally you want to surround him just after he exits a castle, so that your units can take advantage of the defenses (and you can also bring in replacements as soon as your forces die off). Once you finally grind down his health, the battle is finally over.