The Defense is the third scenario in The Ranger campaign of Heroes of Might and Magic V.
"Syris Thalla fell!
Her gardens rot and sicken.
Fear me, undead host."
—Findan
Walkthrough[]
Findan has almost reached the Irollan capital, Syris Thalla, where he'll discuss what to do next. However, he witnesses a siege, where a Necromancer, Raven, attacks! Inside, a Ranger named Anwen defends the city, but the enemy forces are too powerful, as she'll be defeated. Findan will have to recapture the city back to restore a part of Irollan.
Alaron has survived the siege, but blames himself for what happened to Irollan. He requests of Findan to find Tieru and to learn from him what Kha-Beleth plans. Although Findan prefers to stay, Alaron tells him that Ashan is in stake, not just Irollan, so Findan promises. Alaron then disappears, sacrificing himself to be judged by Sylanna.
Syris Thalla will be attacked continually by Kaspar and Deirdre, who have a lot of forces and are high level (purple hero stats known from Syris Thalla tavern on day 1 are misleading). To hold Syris Thalla, Findan will have to get an army: 50 druid elders, 30 silver unicorns and 10 emerald dragons should do the trick. (Note: the objective description is misleading: 25 druid elders, 15 silver unicorns and 5 green or emerald dragons in any combination are enough! Checked in v1.60) However, his troubles are not yet finished, as the Necromancers captured Mensyl and built Nadin-Zakir, a Necropolis already. To make it worse, the garrisons have been filled by Undead. He learned that Talanar and Dirael, two of his fellow elves, are being kept, so they should be freed as well. Talanar is in south-western corner, while Dirael in underground, reachable using an underground passage. There is a mercenary camp and a crystal of Revelation in the south-western valley and an arena in the underground.
After completing the tasks, Findan sets sail to Dragonmist Islands, as a last wish from Alaron.
Towns[]
- Sylvan: Syris Thalla, Mensyl
- Necropolis: Nadin-Zakir
Events[]
- Alaron sacrifices himself.
- Findan recaptures Syris Thalla.
- The siege on Irollan becomes weaker.
Strategy[]
A quite difficult scenario, which tests speed. At the beginning, Findan should stay at Syris Thalla, as the Necromancers have a lot of forces, fatal to the town which has not much troops. Afterwards, it might be good to hire a hero to watch over, while Findan goes to get the heroes back. Picking the Favourite Enemy is a necessity to win quicker.
Notes[]
The map seems quite similar to the northern part of The Ship map, though the most notable differences is that Erewel has been changed to Mensyl and the underground does not connect to the Inferno town.
Bugs[]
For some reason, Kaspar will not move. Also, Raven will not attack Syris Thalla if the army is larger than her own.
Under map there are some weird things, visible only at north-eastern surface. Also Garrison in Syris Thalla need at least 5-6 esmerald dragons instead of 10.
