OMG! I didn't expect there is still an active community for this game! Just now, I watched a YT video from Spirit Of The Law about LOTR scenario in Age of Empires 2, and decided to search for a HoMM 3 equivalent... I'm quite sure this is the game I played the most from my pre-teens to mid-teens in the beginning of 2000's. I actually created a LOTR-based scenario myself in Armageddon's Blade when I was in high school. It was set right after the events of Two Towers, with different factions including Gondor, Rohan, Lothlorien, Dol Guldur, and Mordor (I just included Men of Harad and Corsairs of Umbar in Mordor). Victory condition for the team of Gondor, Rohan and Lothlorien was to obtain a Ring artifact that was sitting in Mordor, right next to Mount Doom, protected by a Quest Guard that would only let hero Frodo (Gondor) to pass, and surrounded by rock so that flying heroes could not land next to it. Victory condition for the team of Dol Guldur and Mordor was to defeat hero Frodo (or defeat all enemy heroes and conquer all enemy towns). Besides spending a long time to make the map aesthetically satisfactory by placing numerous landscape objects, I found it difficult at the time to balance the starting army compositions between the two teams in a way that would make the game challenging for both teams, while otherwise being lore-friendly (for example, army of Rohan consisted of just Champions and Cavaliers). That is, Mordor alone was supposed to have enough army to take a relatively easy win in a direct, all-out confrontation between the two forces, but the opposition was supposed to have a chance by luring its enemy away from Mordor to enable a small army led by Frodo to reach the Ring. Another inconvenience of course was that this scenario was no fun to play alone against AI. Practically, you had to play as the obvious leader of the alliance (either Gondor or Mordor) in order to have a chance of winning, as AI had no idea how to play efficiently to win. I'm not sure if there was a chance of setting some kind of mini-objectives for AI at the time, in order to improve its strategy, but I also had no know-how on programming at the time. So, basically playing this scenario would have required 5 human players. Still, it was a nice experience to make this scenario. Perhaps I should return to this game.
How come in my version there is no graphic of actual characters, but original from the game? I would like to have the photos of the characters, it really adds up the atmosphere :)
Your love of the halfling leaf has clearly slowed your mind. But no seriously I can't keep up with these tactics. I'm pretty good at the game but these tactics always leave me scratching my head
Lmao I could not find Summon boat spell and killed the Uzurper with just Aragorn xdd I raided his two town during one turn, sold all minerals and got 400 archers. But I dont know how if will affect the rest of the map since I have almost 0 gold and minerals.
I know this is late but how do you slow the azure and crystal dragons .. i dont see him having a special artefacts like orb of inhibition or anything.. im stuck 😭😭😭
I know it's almost 4 years now, but maybe someone could help me... I stucked at the Dead King... I can't beat him without mana. I don't have the Mystic Orb... and you have 2 that time!! :D How? Anyway, good job, and thanks for uploading it.
@@giangvu2335 but as I know, you can only get those moral artifacts (sorry i am old, forgetting names LOL)... Anyway, i love this map, I want to finish it, and I tried this battle for an hour, i bring everything I could, but it is too hard. I mean I can win it, but losing 100 Azure dragons (or similar) is not acceptable. Mana needed for resurrection. So I restarted it, I am curious...
@@Rezmalac i also didnt get it, u need to save ur archery since very begining. I didnt lose any enchanter or sharpshooter. When I fought that battle I have 6k sharpshooter and 2k enchanter. U can also separate ur dragon to some single slot for baiting and lock range unit then u can buy 1 more turn free shot.
@@giangvu2335 I am using all the tricks too, trust me, but the hero is very strong, and those stack of monsters are huuge. It is a long battle, and in a long battle without resurrection you will have huge losses. Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
@@Rezmalac My Aragon was at level 58 and his att & def were 79&74 much higher than Dead King. I spent 2wk to train Aragon with 5000 black dragon pandora's box, each box gave him 1.5mil exp. Then with 6k sharpshooter and 3k enchanter I shot down Lich in 1st round then vampire in 2nd round and 3rd was finished for Wraith. I think ur hero didnt have high enough att & def that make the battle was difficult
Hi everyone. Need help, i m strugeling with SMAUG, my spells didn't affect Azur Dragon.... i m 3rd level in Air, water fire and hearth... i don't understand. Thanks all.
@@gio1773 oh ok thank you for your great help, this really will help me a lot with the lotr mod, i gotta adopt that tactic, wich cheat where you using exactly?
I realise that you probably skipped the Dragon Utopias because of it being a speedrun. But wouldn't there have been some fancy artifacts there that you might have missed out on? Also, clearing them wouldn't have taken more than 20 seconds with your stacks!
Guys I need help, I did everything possible to find the mystic orb of mana.. without it I can't make the wizard's well and can't beat the dead king.. in the video he has three??? And he found 2 of them in treasure chests and one out of tranquil I didn't get any of those.. is my game broken..? Cause I feel like I could never finish the game without it.. 😔
This is not steam version. It's GoG version, with HD Mod(not edition). HD mod is for utility: Splitting creatures easily, replayable combat... and also the map was downloaded from maps4heroes.com and portraits were from this map
OMG! I didn't expect there is still an active community for this game! Just now, I watched a YT video from Spirit Of The Law about LOTR scenario in Age of Empires 2, and decided to search for a HoMM 3 equivalent... I'm quite sure this is the game I played the most from my pre-teens to mid-teens in the beginning of 2000's.
I actually created a LOTR-based scenario myself in Armageddon's Blade when I was in high school. It was set right after the events of Two Towers, with different factions including Gondor, Rohan, Lothlorien, Dol Guldur, and Mordor (I just included Men of Harad and Corsairs of Umbar in Mordor). Victory condition for the team of Gondor, Rohan and Lothlorien was to obtain a Ring artifact that was sitting in Mordor, right next to Mount Doom, protected by a Quest Guard that would only let hero Frodo (Gondor) to pass, and surrounded by rock so that flying heroes could not land next to it. Victory condition for the team of Dol Guldur and Mordor was to defeat hero Frodo (or defeat all enemy heroes and conquer all enemy towns).
Besides spending a long time to make the map aesthetically satisfactory by placing numerous landscape objects, I found it difficult at the time to balance the starting army compositions between the two teams in a way that would make the game challenging for both teams, while otherwise being lore-friendly (for example, army of Rohan consisted of just Champions and Cavaliers). That is, Mordor alone was supposed to have enough army to take a relatively easy win in a direct, all-out confrontation between the two forces, but the opposition was supposed to have a chance by luring its enemy away from Mordor to enable a small army led by Frodo to reach the Ring.
Another inconvenience of course was that this scenario was no fun to play alone against AI. Practically, you had to play as the obvious leader of the alliance (either Gondor or Mordor) in order to have a chance of winning, as AI had no idea how to play efficiently to win. I'm not sure if there was a chance of setting some kind of mini-objectives for AI at the time, in order to improve its strategy, but I also had no know-how on programming at the time. So, basically playing this scenario would have required 5 human players. Still, it was a nice experience to make this scenario.
Perhaps I should return to this game.
Cool concept with LotR! Seeing a speedrun in HoMM3 is a fun idea!
How could you cast Mass slow vs Smaug army, when black dragon and other dragons are immune to that?
How come in my version there is no graphic of actual characters, but original from the game? I would like to have the photos of the characters, it really adds up the atmosphere :)
the files and the instructions to set them up were in the zip file where I downloaded
I love this map, great concept and idea!
I forgot the part in LotR with the Archangels. Been a while since I read those books...
still more accurate than Amazon's TV show
The perfect crossover doesn't exi....
Wow! Nice video! Only 4.5 hours for a super IMBA map is really impressive^^
Your love of the halfling leaf has clearly slowed your mind.
But no seriously I can't keep up with these tactics. I'm pretty good at the game but these tactics always leave me scratching my head
watched between 3:25 and 3:40 3 times now, still don't get it where you get the pendant of free will :(
Lmao I could not find Summon boat spell and killed the Uzurper with just Aragorn xdd I raided his two town during one turn, sold all minerals and got 400 archers. But I dont know how if will affect the rest of the map since I have almost 0 gold and minerals.
at 3:34:00, where you paused and jumped. Where did you find the pendant of free will?
Im asking the same question
@@ВенциславПейчев I found it. It is with those monks guarding the temple. You will get the pendant by defeating those monks.
@@qingyangdu4634 omg thank you so much
How can I see the spells in the left of battle screen? Please help
I just want to know how to make a hero and insert any image like it was done in this map ??
Can't find armor of wonder to advance from rohan :/
solve the pandora's box game in the dungeon and at the end you will find the armor of wonder
Nice run man. Really good
I know this is late but how do you slow the azure and crystal dragons .. i dont see him having a special artefacts like orb of inhibition or anything.. im stuck 😭😭😭
nice map. Where I could find the red tent ? I'm stuck there.
there new final version which is harder and have more quests please try speedrun it too
I got you man. Done in just under 1 hour 20 min faster than this one.
ua-cam.com/video/NkF1uAoLnGA/v-deo.html
Speedrun Highscores of Heroes 3 Lord of the Rings (7/3-24)
(Confirmed through UA-cam video documentations).
Braven Tooth - Days: 265. Score: 490. Playtime ca 20 Hours (5 videos)
KrsZu - Days: 328. Score: 486. Playtime: 15 Hours (2 Videos)
Noverlord - Days: 389. Score: 484. Playtime: 11,5 Hours (7 Videos)
LC - Days: 374. Score: 484. Playtime: 12 Hours (5 Videos)
AbsoluteZero - Days: 455 . Score: 482. Playtime: ca 20 h (20 videos)
Gio177 - Days: 224. Score: 440 Playtime: 4:36 Hours (1 Video)
GlennUA-cam - Days: 244. Score: 440. Playtime: 20 Hours (5 Videos)
GeorgeJungg - Days: 301. Score: 436.
Playtime: 3:17:06 h (1 video) Obs! WR Speed Run!
Didnt you have more videos?
how could you get mystic orb before Minas Tirith?
Where is the green keymaster tent?
Should have attempted Sauron without the Berserk, just to make it a little bit more difficult ;)
At that point I got kinda tired and just wanted to end it.
What am I watching. I have no idea what this is, but I like it.
I know it's almost 4 years now, but maybe someone could help me...
I stucked at the Dead King... I can't beat him without mana.
I don't have the Mystic Orb... and you have 2 that time!! :D How?
Anyway, good job, and thanks for uploading it.
He got it randomly by opening chest. Try to bring all archery then u could kill Dead King with mana enough for only slow
@@giangvu2335 but as I know, you can only get those moral artifacts (sorry i am old, forgetting names LOL)...
Anyway, i love this map, I want to finish it, and I tried this battle for an hour, i bring everything I could, but it is too hard. I mean I can win it, but losing 100 Azure dragons (or similar) is not acceptable. Mana needed for resurrection.
So I restarted it, I am curious...
@@Rezmalac i also didnt get it, u need to save ur archery since very begining. I didnt lose any enchanter or sharpshooter. When I fought that battle I have 6k sharpshooter and 2k enchanter. U can also separate ur dragon to some single slot for baiting and lock range unit then u can buy 1 more turn free shot.
@@giangvu2335 I am using all the tricks too, trust me, but the hero is very strong, and those stack of monsters are huuge. It is a long battle, and in a long battle without resurrection you will have huge losses.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
@@Rezmalac My Aragon was at level 58 and his att & def were 79&74 much higher than Dead King. I spent 2wk to train Aragon with 5000 black dragon pandora's box, each box gave him 1.5mil exp. Then with 6k sharpshooter and 3k enchanter I shot down Lich in 1st round then vampire in 2nd round and 3rd was finished for Wraith. I think ur hero didnt have high enough att & def that make the battle was difficult
Hi everyone.
Need help, i m strugeling with SMAUG, my spells didn't affect Azur Dragon.... i m 3rd level in Air, water fire and hearth... i don't understand.
Thanks all.
i wish there homm4 version of this map
Where do i get the orb of freaking aman... im stuck guys.... cant create the wizards well wirhout it.. 😔
1:26:06 in battle of smaug, how can spell slow?
Orb of Vulnerability
oh my god ... smaug has orb of vulnerablity!!...in my game...has not it...so hard battle... : (
You need to let him pick it up in order to win the fight
@@gio1773 Hello! I was waiting for a couple extra weeks, still no orb picked( Maybe there had to special circumstances for that? Than you!
wow can't believe gio 177 high elves achieved this world record
hey bro, you can re-upload qian map? Thank you.
is this still the record?
At 1:04:22, I cannot find the pendant of life. Help!
Am i missing something or... Didnt you use to have more videos?
You were underlevelled when you attacked Saruman, should have done the Barbarian area north of Mordor first, lots of buffs there.
I knew how to fight Saruman and since it was speedrun, I did not want to waste time
How is this LotR?
miss this game
Sorry about my bad english in the game :)
how big is this? that the speed run is 4hours lol
how do you get the tome of water????
Need help with Graal. Even if I put it in the Grey Havens I am not getting all the spells.
Are you playing Heroes 3 or Hota?
@@gio1773 HoTA
@@gio1773 Is it possible to find Tome of Air?
Big mistake. Even if you get tome of air, you won't have DD/Fly.
@@gio1773 actually, I finished it with a tome of the air. Since I beat all of the enemies, no one remained and I won. :D
I did everything and I can't learn fly or dimension door ..... wtf whyyyyyyy the grail is in grey heavens..
Good job! Amazing)
I don't understand how you can just upgrade shooters to Enchanters.. please explain?? Love the video!
Special heroes trait
How do you get this artifact?
You use cheats
@@gio1773 oh ok thank you for your great help, this really will help me a lot with the lotr mod, i gotta adopt that tactic, wich cheat where you using exactly?
Does Nord VPN work as well?
How is that wr? Only speedrunner?
i just dont get how did balrog die
Fell off the bridge
@@gio1773 but in homm3 how dafuq do you make it happen
@@dgen77 there is a green border guard behind the smokes of the volcano
How long was u uploading this video? Like one day?😀
I left it uploading before going to school and after I came back, it had about 40 minutes left to upload
In 720p 30 FPS it shouldn't take too much space. It can be done in ~3-4 hours.
I realise that you probably skipped the Dragon Utopias because of it being a speedrun. But wouldn't there have been some fancy artifacts there that you might have missed out on? Also, clearing them wouldn't have taken more than 20 seconds with your stacks!
The map restricts all artifacts, so you will only receive sacks of gold.
Guys I need help, I did everything possible to find the mystic orb of mana.. without it I can't make the wizard's well and can't beat the dead king.. in the video he has three??? And he found 2 of them in treasure chests and one out of tranquil I didn't get any of those.. is my game broken..? Cause I feel like I could never finish the game without it.. 😔
Why summon water elements?
to guarantee last turn and re blind the opponent safely while shooting with the strong ranged units
Is this on steam?...also...is this a mod?...i have this game from 2001-2005...old version
This is not steam version. It's GoG version, with HD Mod(not edition). HD mod is for utility: Splitting creatures easily, replayable combat... and also the map was downloaded from maps4heroes.com and portraits were from this map
Good job
I got to the end of map and don't have ring of life :x where did I fu** up?
Maybe forgot to disassemble elixir of life?
@@gio1773 I don't have it... was there any way to lose the ring?
Congrats!!!
When is the fight with Balrog? 5000 Phoenix and 4000 Devils? Time stamp?
There is no fight against Balrog
Lol, you lost 2 enchanters on the first fight. Yeah, God Tier Gaming. Shieeet.
WHere did you get pendant of free will?
Same question here
Wher is blue lat?
Kay
1:32:53
Good man
You could do so much more in heroes4, like having the hobbits as literaly hobbits with stealth travelling without army on maps...
bookclip 2:44:57
What do you mean by it?
@@gio1773 i think He left His Phone to do Something Else and wanted to start at that time stamp again
I don’t remember any angels in Lord of the rings :D
and i dont remember jack sparrow racing with faramir
I hate knight's gambit part at ua-cam.com/video/LbWbBoC4p8g/v-deo.html
You can't blind Smaug's Azzure dragons , also he uses Tactics so Slowing them won't work. I'm stuck, I think I'm going to give up.
How do you manage to be first even though you don't even use enter to close popups?
Idk man, tbh I was just bored and played through the map and accidentally made it first