King Arthur - Rightheous Christian Very Hard Playthrough

[rk47]

Winter hero upgrades done, development of disaster prevention almost complete. More knight boosting buildings are being constructed. The Kingdom of West Mercia is down to their last army.

Not much of a threat. I realized an army with less hero is less of a threat and easier to beat.

It's a very straightforward map.

I was planning to flank with the light cavalry by hiding them on the left forest, but the opportunity was never taken, because I was too busy micro-ing. It's going to be a very direct attack.

Sensing the enemy's desire to push south after capping 2 VPs I send the Cavalry to sweep a line, covering the archers, while I exchange fire with Hold spells backup to lessen active archers on the enemy side.

The giants and heavy cavalry will provide the melee punch.

The enemy persisted, and maneuvered their knights through the left flank. I send 3 columns of sentinel to stop the charge.

Sniped ambushing archers in between with Curse of Shadows.

The sentinels fail to stop the charge, sustaining heavy casualty, luckily Sir Mark successfully intercepted the second knights charge. We just have to dance our archers a bit.

We stopped their infantry march with a shield wall sentinel.

Barrage of arrows to drop the marauding knights.

With that settled, we just have to mow down the rest with brute force.

Our land grows and the search for the missing hermit is on.

 

[Kjeld]

Nice updates, thanks again for the good read.
Just a few added points :
- You can recruit Dagonet as a rightful christian if you give the "rightful" answer (instead of the christian one). Of course, it depends on the way you want to roleplay the playthrough
- You don't really need a map to solve the labyrinth : the red clues are always right, while the black clues are always false (or maybe the other way around, I don't remember), knowing this, what direction to take is pretty straightforward.

 

[rk47]

The performance of the Sentinels left much to be desired, previous battle indicates that they are really poor when facing a cavalry charge, and I start to think of what unit to replace them with, before the archers pay a higher price.

But first we have a hermit to rescue.

There, I see it. A crystal tower at a distance.

Best if I go in alone. We wouldn't want to attract too much attention.

Stay safe.

I should investigate the Tower first.

Sir Mark quickly hides.

I'm not going to get in without one. I'll investigate that black dome.

Spotting him alone, Sir Mark dispatched him quickly in combat.

With the amulet in hand, Sir Mark proceeds into the tower.

Sir Mark ponders if he could actually succeed in interrogating one of the occupants, but realized it's not one of his strongest skill.

Sir Mark descends deeper into the tower.

Sir Mark quickly makes his escape and rejoined his army.

We need to return to Cornwall quickly, our kingdom is in danger!

What are they planning?

Sir Mark shares what he knows.

Merlin owes us a lot of answers. To Cornwall!

As Sir Kay's army rushes to Cornwall, Camelot is busy building and developing itself.

Tower of Knightly Deeds is a crucial upgrade, even its sub-upgrades are effective. The total benefits of the tower when fully upgraded are:
+1 Skill points to all Knights
+1 Ability points to all Knights
+10% Battle Experience
+5% Adventure Experience
Chance for a lady in waiting to join you per year

Master Longbowman upgrade is almost finished, I'm going to queue Roads next to speed up our army.

And so we're here.

Just in time, too.

 

[rk47]

I really wonder why Merlin never even established contact with Arthur after all this time. The story made it quite clear that he sided with Old Faith, but I honestly thought he'd play the part as an advisor.

Seeking aid is recommended, or diving straight to negotiations. There's no penalty for going to seek aid first. If you fail in securing any help, you can still negotiate with the Unseelie.

More of those touched by the great Excalibur's release, no doubt.

Small price to pay.

I need specifics. This island's whereabouts is not known to me, perhaps the villagers know more.

I find it ridiculous that the villagers would squeeze every last bit of resources from an army trying to defend them, but I'm going rightful, so we accede to their request.

Time to go!

No. I serve no one but my King and God. You are neither. Your price is too high. We'll stand alone.

This is a purely Role-playing Choice. You should accept this offer it's very profitable, especially if your hero has high Adventure skill.

Not much choice. We have to check with the hermit.

This is much more acceptable. Cornwall's income is not much. Let him have it.

Let us speak with our adversary first.

There is nothing to negotiate. I will not let you carry even a handful of dirt from our lands, demon-spawns. In the name of God, we shall defeat you and the glory of Heavens will elude you in the afterlife!

Sir Kay closes his eyes and prayed.

I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.

They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.

Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

-Psalm 17:6-13

Amen.

He turned to his army and showed his fist.

With a great shout hundreds of fists rose. The Battle of Cornwall begins.

 

[rk47]

Picking that hermit pays off handsomely. To be honest, you should take both options. This battle is extremely easy and the hero gets free EXP after 2 years of servitude. The Child option reduces their number a bit, but there's not much threat here, as long as you keep their archers down quickly..

The lighting of the map bugs me, its greenish tint irritates my eyes, but to the game it's clear sky and no penalties to the archers.

Since there's no VP. I decide to duke it out in the open. They have the advantage if they take us in the woods.

Winterbreeds are Sidhe Heavy Infantry that does not get penalty from fighting in the forest.

Unseelie Warriors are mini-giants and are well-matched against giants.

Cavalry units take positions up north. We're ready.

Cutting down their archers is key, use Hold spells to shut down 2. Cloud of arrows to focus fire one quickly while the horses charge in the open.

They can't counter this well, because they lack spear infantry. If you ask me why I didn't need spears in Old Faith playthrough, it's because with Sidhe Roads teleporting into archers face, there's no chance of cavalry gaining momentum to trample. Sidhe armies lack speed option if they don't possess teleportation skill.

The Autumnbreed never stood a chance against our Knights' charge.

Divided, and crushed in the open, it's a simple matter of slicing them to pieces.

Piece of cake. I can't believe I didn't fight them in my Old Faith Playthrough. :lol:

We've got a good two piece artifacts as well.

The red vial is quite powerful.
+1000 HP
+2000 HP (Unlockable after battles)
+4000 HP (Unlockable after battles)

The ring is Mana booster artifact.
+10 Mana
+10 Mana (Unlockable after battles)
+20 Mana (Unlockable after battles)

That felt good. Now all that is left is to deal with Sir Caradoc...and trigger the Ultimate Crusades.

 

[rk47]

With the defeat of the Unseelie army, the realm enjoys a slight respite from conflicts and Sir Kay returns to Camelot. Brief celebrations were held in Cornwall before they depart with cheers from the populace, their armors shone under the sun.

I've heard the news, Unseelie army destroyed, well done, my knights. All of you deserve a brief respite. But I fear darker designs are at work in the realm. Reports of missing children from the Village of World's End worries me.

Kidnapping children? Who would do such a thing?

We must get to the bottom of this at once!

Captain, report the results of your investigation.

Since the girl escaped from the kidnappers, she must know something.

This is a very big clue.

Let's ask the old lady for any clues.

I see. No need for subtlety, then.

Zounds! What could the combination be? Wait. The little girl mentioned 'Red. Hawk. Lily'. It must be...

The three combination is Ruby - Bird - Flower.

A secret entrance for the kidnappers!

Best to wait till they succumb to the spirits.

Where is the children? Talk and I'll spare your life!

Druids?!

You will be tried in court and justice will be meted.

 

[rk47]

Where could they be hiding?

Maybe the locals know more.

There is a circle of stone nearby, do you know where are the druids who inhabit it?

I'm on a trail of the missing children from the village of World's End. Have you seen any in the area?

Time to head out to the forest.

Best not to bring a whole army into a swamp. Some might now survive.

Come out of the house! I wish to speak!

I have no quarrel with you, I am only seeking the missing children.

Surrender one of my men? Ridiculous! You are in league with the druids themselves, evil witch!

The innkeeper set us up. If your magic or fight rating is too low and decide to challenge the witch, she will curse your hero for several turns, dropping all his statistics to ZERO !

Very well, but lie to me again, and you will pay the price.

You've undermined your own race and stole our children in your foolish pursuit of petty favors from false gods. Tell us where the children are now, or I shall unleash God's wrath upon you!

And they are within King Ryon's territory?

Yes, we have no open border treaty. Trespassing will lead to war with the Wales.

Before doing that, I recommend we establish an alliance with the Saxons, I've heard their King is seeking help to track down his missing heir.

To accomplish this, Sir Kay would need to perform Wrath of Sir Caradoc quest, to rescue a Saxon noble.

Taking the hermit option during the Visions quest will grant you another sage hero, Leodegrance.

Strange skill picks. Mana burn isn't bad, but not great. In Very Hard it might be worthwhile to burn half mana, but the rest of his skill picks like Enfeeble (lowers enemy hero HP%) is not that great. However, he has access to Hold spell. Might be worthwhile to build him up as backup sage.

 

[rk47]

More upgrades at Camelot during winter. We're boosting our research speed and build a forge to cut recruiting costs.

Sir Kay finally completes his Masterful Strategies - At rank 4 it automatically replaces 20% of each unit casualty rate after every combat.

Our level 10 Master Longbowman will get Swift Arrow, a short duration skill that improves their attack rate by 50%.

Sir Alymere boosts his armor of faith.

Leo joins the rest at the study center for Knights.

The Wolflord is just one of those challenge battles that appear from time to time. Usually they give penalties to the province they're in, whether it's population reduction per turn or less income. They may go away eventually on their own, but it's best to deal with them when you can to avoid losing the province's productivity.

Considering how mobile his army is, it's not possible to capture a single VP. Why?

Because every single unit is needed to form the archer's shield wall.

Will it hold?

First arrival gets stopped by King Mark. We're doing great, as I predicted, their charge is stopped cold by another horseback unit.

However, these wargs have high level sprint skill, making flanking extremely easy.

Well, if you think that's bad...

The Wolflord is pretty bad ass with Cleave and Lifedrain, another reason why Champions can be quite a monster on their own.

Hold spell can be used to save units. While the archers focus on one side first.

Sir Gareth can't match the Wolflord in melee, we disengage, hoping the archers would finish him off.

Bad mistake. He charges in alone at the archer.

Ridiculously fast, since any hero that lead the unit, gains that unit speed; so in this case, the Wolflord gains warg-speed but retains his Champion attack power. He trampled many as the arrows rained on him WHILE ON FOOT. (RIDICULOUS!)

He even circled for another charge.

And broke past my sentinels! Grrr!

DIE ! YOU MONSTER!

The Reward is pretty decent. +2 Lead +2 Magic. The unlockable trait is +1 opponent attack is like a free cleave. It'll take 10 hero kills before it'll unlock. I give it to Sir Alymere.

Rescuing Sir Percivale will prove troublesome, he is located within King Cynric's territory. We have no open borders, and have to declare war over a knight, I decided to ignore it for now.

Winter time, I go for Scouts to view neighboring territories, crossbowmen as prequisite to wagon camps, which improves army movement speed.

 

[rk47]

At long last, West Mercia...

Let's see what they're up to.

A follower of the Old Faith? Explain yourself!

How do you know about all this?

I see, and how will I profit from this alliance?

Let us bring this scoundrel to justice!

Search the houses, there must be survivors.

Have no fear, we are here to do good.

They will pay for what they have done!

Lay down your arms, and your lives will be spared!

Why are they heading towards the forest?

There's no time to lose!

We seek no parlay with the likes of you, attack!

 

[rk47]

Notice the two empty unit slots on the enemy's army? That's what happens if you agree to join up with Ferresh. You can do the reverse, capture Ferresh and Caradoc will release the Saxon King's heir. Or, you can duel him and let him go with no battle.

Foul weather.

The archers will have difficulty, but I trust Sir Gareth's Dragon's Eye will give us an edge.

Count on it!

No problems. We can capture the two VPs to the south and work on the third slowly.

There's a nice position to setup just behind a cliff. I park my archers while the cavalry gets in position.

Sometimes the enemy might do something stupid and make a rush for VP, a good placed Hold spell dooms the Knight. Our archers mowed them down.

Sir Caradoc forces replied with a cavalry charge, this is where our horseback knights perform best to counter charges with speed.

Archers are safe. We begin the melee.

They fold almost immediately.

Knowing that there is very little option but to attack, the enemy marches their infantry forward. I respond by regrouping my knights for another charge while the archers pepper them.

Annihilated.

All they got are archers now. In this weather, they can't do jack. We pull back after capping the third VP to let their morale drop to zero and claim a victory.

The quest text mention Sir Aelfred. But what we got is...

Sir Tegyr. :lol: Yet another Champion with Dispel..hmm...I don't know how good this skills is. Anyone can explain? As far as I remember this skill disables ALL spell casting, friend and foe alike during its duration. A double edged sword.

A new, somewhat underused spear unit. Huscarls has good HP, armor piercing and trample resistance but I decide to look for other options as Anti-Cavalry unit.

This is unavoidable. The Wrath of Caradoc puts you at war almost immediately with Wales. Better hope you're prepared, it's going to be a long war.

 

[rk47]

The deepening faith in Christianity allows us to recruit Royal Guards.

Defeating Sir Caradoc in battle gives you this cursed artifact. At 100% mana cost added it's double spell point consumption! A high price to pay. Is it worth it? Well, I don't know.

It takes 20 cast of Dragon spells to remove the 100% penalty (Dragon Eye or Dragon's Breath or Dragon Strike)
10% Increased damage takes 30 casts of Dragon spells.
-30% Mana cost for Dragon Spells will take 40 casts.

I really am not sure if I should be using it.

Camelot

You've performed exceptionally well, my knights, but our work is just beginning. The mighty kingdom of Wales eyes our borders.

Let the heathens come, we will be ready.

Aye, we'll show them the errors of their ways.

What of the Saxons? They've sent an invitation to one of our knights.

I would like to decline this invitation until the war with Wales is settled.

A wise decision.

Rumors of child kidnapping broke out in East Mercia.

No doubt those heathens are involved again. We cannot interfere now, East Mercia is no longer allied with us. We have our own wars to fight.

Very well.

What is your next move, Sir Kay?

The Wales army is massive, backed with sorcery. I have no doubt they will make the first move.

A guard rushes into the throne room and shouted, 'The Welsh army is attacking! Camelot is in danger!'

Your predictions are always spot-on, Commander.

Come, Brothers! To arms!

The Wales Crusade has begun.

 

[Kjeld]

Red Dragon Orb is worth it. In my experience, it doesn't take that long to get a usable item (use a sage with lots of mana/mana regen and cooldown reduction, like a properly equipped Percivale). Note that the 100% penalty actually speed up the mana expenditures needed to lift the curse.

Dispel is indeed a double edged sword, and it prevents you and your enemy from using every active hero skill (including cleave, etc ...). It might be useful when facing a dangerous hero-heavy army with a "secondary" army stack, but in this game, you often seek to get a hero/magic qualitative and quantitative advantage, so ... On the other hand, soul mirror is a fantastic spell, but it is rare and mostly used by old faith heroes (as a christian, you'll get Pelleas quite late in the game).

 

[PrawnStar]

Excellent read, I'm subscribed

 

[rk47]

If you recall in the Old Faith playthrough, the Saxons army consist mostly of heavy cavalry and support magic heroes. Those are hard to deal with if you don't possess strong magics...but what of the Welsh?

Well, let me explain.

Deceptively weak, the Wales army power does not lie with their standard units. Welsh units like archers and infantry possess innate magic resistance and good offense, although the archers are kinda low on the HP side. The rest are just standard issue, except for the rare Sidhe infantry somewhere.

I ponder my options since they only have a few cavalry while their ranged firepower is strong.

And the pathway out of the stronghold is narrow and slow.

The enemy makes the first move as they rushed into the town with their two heroes.

This is the true strength of the Welsh army. Double Curse of Shadow. I tried to cast anti-magic and spell resistance. One archer unit was wiped out in seconds. It was then I realized that this stronghold is ironically a death trap for us.

They made a move towards the left VP. Our Champions charge forward to recapture it.

Wary of further Curse spams, I still insist on placing classic archer bottleneck as we establish 2 VP advantage.

Thankfully they did not cast anymore curses towards our archers.

With their main spellcasters neutralized, they cannot advance safely and the AI broke down.

But what if there's 4 hero-stack army? Will we be able to cope? No. We won't. But I was still ignorant. Thinking my Royal guards are strong, when it's the total opposite. They're completely worthless in Stronghold defense. We'll see more of that in the future.

For now...

We deepen our faiths in Christianity and Rightfulness.

Currently, our Kingdom finances is in tatters. Better not lose a lot of troops.

 

[rk47]

What's the plan, Commander?

March out of Camelot, rescue the missing children. Then, we strike at their capital.

What about Camelot, there's at least three armies of Wales out there.

We are severely outnumbered and their magic is strong. I want to whittle them down, but staying in Camelot is a death wish. Our armies cannot move freely within the walls.

I agree. Let us go.

I was thinking of going for full knights upgrade. But when I look back, it was a really foolish decision.

But first, let's rescue the children.

We'll probably need directions.

A guy who doesn't read will probably want to skip the lore text from the first choice, but honestly, if you did not do this, I think the Test of Knowledge option will not open, lessening the choice of resolutions to this quest.

The 2nd non violent solution!

There we go.

:hmmm: Wielding twin blades while asking questions...I wonder.

Ah. Standard logic question. Diamond.

This is actually mentioned in one of the cinematic or the lore text of earlier quests.

Dana.

With the children safely returned to their homes, the army morale improves as we take on the first army of Wales in their own territory!

 

[rk47]

Three VPs. With plenty of forests in between. We'll need to grab 2 VP and force the enemy to attack us.

The AI is competent, but takes unnecessary risk at times, like peeling off his horseback hero from his army.

And they didn't seem interested in capping 2 VPs.

A classic Curse bombing tactic. King Arthur Wargame has a good mix of strategy, but is often ruined by magic. Nothing like losing a few dozen men to one casting of spells.

He'll pay for it dearly. We cast hold and prevented him from escaping.

His friends attempted to cast Fog of Avalon, but with Dragon's Eye, he cannot escape our wrath.

Good start. I'm already flanking his VP.

With Fog in effect, our archers can hit further than theirs.

Let's take the initiative with Curses and arrows!

Our fun was short-lived after the Dragon's Eye wore off.

The enemy decides to make a move for our VP. We let him do so, since we have 3 VP to spare.

Sensing his morale slipping, the enemy decides to march his entire army to the western VP, leaving their only VP undefended.

They moved pretty quick, and I decide to start a little skirmish, using the forests as cover. The plan was to rain arrows on their archers, and retreat to re-capture the VP.

But I reconsidered, and decided to march the Royal Guards onwards to settle the fight in the open. Their army is in the open, we have the slight advantage.

This should finish him off.

A final flank to settle matters.

Nice loot and artifact to bolster our army.

 

[rk47]

The garrison of the Norgales Stronghold is weak. We will capitalize by abandoning Camelot and attack it.

Within the cramped spaces of the stronghold, Neocore's AI cannot really hope to maneuver out of harm's way. Especially with high arrow damage and area effect spells like Curse of Shadows.

Defensively, they're pretty much weakened when playing in Stronghold map.

Predictably they will follow this path.

And that is where the most deaths will happen.

That doesn't mean they cannot throw their own Curse. We suffer heavy casualties.

Once their archers get in range of ours, I quickly activate the Fog of Avalon and Dragon's Eye.

Time to wrap this up with a cavalry flanking charge.

Burn!

The survivors get held and mowed down.

This is the most painful act they can do. Curses.

I attempted to lower the casualties by retreating to the city outer limits as their morale bar ticks down. But they still unleashed another Curse of Shadows. Grr.

It's a good thing Sir Kay's Masterful Strategies can cut down casualties. It could have been worse.

The victory rewards us with a wonderful pair of magic boots. This one increases army movement by 10! This will allow us to move our army further in the campaign map!

Predictably, the AI proceed to capture the undefended Camelot.

Winter falls as we replenish our losses and prepare to march back to Camelot.

 

[rk47]

Commander, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Go ahead, Sir Alymere.

The province of West Mercia has revolted.

Dire news indeed. If nothing is done to appease them...the province will rebel.

There's no other standing army than us. The rest of the knights will not be able to assist.

We might be able to appease them.

With what, Sir Alymere? Potatoes? Our kingdom's coffers are nearly empty from the crusade against Wales. Camelot is under their control and we're stuck here in behind the enemy lands. It'll take at least half a year to march towards West Mercia.

We'll never make it in time.

Then it is lost?

Leave it. All is not lost. We need to retake Camelot quickly, whittle down King Ryon's forces one by one. We also have another reason to retake Camelot. This letter from the Saxon bishops came today, have you seen it?

I don't think that will help our cause much.

Would you rather have the Saxons declare war on us?

The Commander is right. We have no choice.

Get the men ready during the winter, we return to Camelot next summer.

So many archers in the defense. Let's hope the AI falters, somehow.

 

[rk47]

The two Curse of Shadows proved to be the turning point in this battle.

As their forces make the sharp turn in the tight alleys of the city quarters, the Curse of Shadows takes as many victims as possible, mostly their archers.

Their melee spearhead awaits death at the tip of our arrows.

And our cavalry finishes the rest.

As the giants pummel them to oblivion, a fog was summoned to ensure their archers cannot retaliate.

It was a flawless victory, Commander.

Do not be so quick to congratulate me.

I can take the credit for the Curse of Shadows, heh.

I think he meant something else.

The army of Wales is massive, expect a counter attack, very soon.

And they did come.

 

[rk47]

We're doomed. Even before we can even deploy our forces, they have already unleashed multiple curse of shadows on us. We're taking heavy casualties as we march out in the tight streets of Camelot.

Thankfully, our faster cavalry managed to sneak into the third VP with the enemy heavy knights in hot pursuit.

But they got too close and prevented us from completing the capture. A significant setback!

The constant Curse of Shadows against our archers are starting to take its toll.

Sir Kay's unit was hit by a TRIPLE Curse of Shadow before they could open fire! What's worse, the enemy knights charges towards his position!

A quick 'Hold' magic prevented a disaster...but did Sir Kay's unit survive?

Commander?!

There were no archers left...only Sir Kay standing with his shield raised. Lifeless bodies of his archers lay on the streets.

Counter-attack! NOW!

Those were his last orders before a hail of a hundred arrows from the Welsh bowmen did him in.

Commander!

This is no time to hesitate! CHARGE!

Without archers...it's a do or die maneuver!

Three enemy archer columns lined up perfectly on the streets. Raining arrows on Sir Mark and Alymere's unit!

YARRRRGHHHHHHHH!!

None of the archers survived the charge.

The battle became a brawl as two forces traded blows. The knights, drained of momentum fought a desperate battle. All tricks are out of the bag...but the morale loss from the final charge and VP control began to take its toll on the enemy's army.

Commander!

I .... how did we do?

We were victorious.

No....too many deaths..

Take him to a healer!

No! There is no time!

The commander rose from the ground to the cheers of his army, but they were immediately silenced by a wave of his hand.

Can you hear it? A second wave coming.

Lord's Mercy!

We're in for it now...