Final Battle Scenario

[ams16]

Any advice on how to beat it?

First hero - Valkyrie or Paladin or Death Knight?
Valkyrie - allows you to attack better. Ramps up quicker.
Paladin - Defends better. Searches ruins better.
DK - Early on, you are getting attacked by a lot of units. Hurting them is better than helping your own units, so Chaos is better than Leadership.

Some things that I have noticed:
A couple of units (like Light Cav or scouts) in the rear, wandering around and retaking villages, confuses the Orcs and makes them waste turns chasing down one Light Cav with a stack of 8.

The elves aren't that big of a help.

[LPhillips]

Afaik, it's luck-based given the fact that the enemy is given tons of ambush hitters who are going to kill any unit for free, no matter what your stats.

The only reasonable way to beat it is to turn off fog of war and lead around the AI with crows, which may no longer be possible if Snotling's AI fix for that problem is functional.

[KGB]

I haven't played it in a while (latest updates) but I found the these things to be effective:

1) Last time I played there was a nice item (+3 defense) just lying on top of a ruin that was well worth getting to ASAP. You can just use a Valkrie to pick it up and she becomes basically equal to a Paladin but with her extra attack power.
2) Lt Calv/Crows run circles around the AI's Orcs. One stack of those (I prefer the Lt Calv along with your Valkrie) should deke around the enemy stacks (use a single unit to draw off the hordes to let yourself get past or I found waiting till the hordes came close to my cities and then rush right past them). Then you can raze or plunder (my preference to get more heroes with allies) the AI cities to your hearts content. AFAIK, the AI doesn't buy any production in pillaged out cities (or it's always too poor to do so).
3) Obviously you get the Elf/Dwarf cities ASAP even if just to use single elves to draw away the Orc hordes to let you past.

KGB

[Moonknight]

I'm on my first go around on the map with fog of war turned on, and I'm not having any problems at all.

I have mammoths and spiders guarding the North entrance and the East entrance. Those are the only two points that I got attacked from.

I first took out everyone in the desert with Sandworm/Red Dragon/DK/Valk combination. I will admit that I have lost countless heroes throughout, but there's enough income that you'll get another in no time.

If I could do it over, I'd probably have my third hero be a Paladin and keep him defending the North or East entrance to level up. After leveling up, I'd take him around to the ruins to cash in (I actually haven't hit any ruins in my current game).

Wizards early on will help grab some empty/1 guarded cities as well. Unicorns come in handy as well...

[kenc80]

I got lucky and got 4 dragons on turn 2 with FOW off...that helped It took me about 70 turns.

[KGB]

MoonKnight, KenC80,

I think you guys are on the wrong map.

Final Battle is Snotlings map against the AI. There is no way you could ever get to Mammoth production/Dragons on turn 2. I think you are confusing it with LPhillips map that is similarly named.

KGB

[kenc80]

yep, good catch. I certainly was!

[Moonknight]

woopsies, your right...haha

Yeah, Final Battle Scenario, I tried that one with FOW on and with a player I've never heard of before and it did not go so well...

I managed to raze 5 of the AI's castles with a crow, but eventually was outnumbered greatly and my partner didn't do much.