Heart of the Stone
You have been trapped in the Tain by Soulblighter and you must find your way out.

This level is a big Donut. The enemies you'll be facing are Spiders, who will attack you or the enemy, and small squads of Ghols and Fetch who materialize in certain places. Take advantage of the fact that the Spiders will attack either you or your enemy. The hardest part of this level are the Fetch. If you're lucky, the Spiders will kill them for you, but don't count on it.

When you first appear, head clockwise and trigger the first pillar by sending your Berserkers close to it. Some Spiders will drop from above, don't let them kill your Archers. After you kill the Spiders at the first pillar, move clockwise to the other side of that mound. Run your Zerks into the narrow section just North of you, two Fetch and some Ghols will appear and you'll be right on top of them. Hack them to pieces. Be careful though, because as you attack the Fetch and Ghols, Spiders will drop and attack your Archers while at the same time you'll get reinforcements in the crater. Don't let the Spiders kill your Archers and don't let your Dwarf kill them either trying to bomb a Spider. Add your reinforcements to your army and head North (clockwise).

Just past the next pillar will be another group of Fetch and Ghols. As they approach, Spiders will drop and attack them. If they don't kill the Fetch, it is up to the Zerks to draw their attention so the Archers can shoot them. The Ghols will run ahead of the Fetch so string them out and attack only when out of zapping range. That done, keep going clockwise. Keep your Zerks on the inside track but send one to the upper corner to trigger the appearance of more reinforcements. You'll run into another bunch or Ghols and Fetch. Once again, Spiders drop as they approach. Put your Archers in the upper corner on the high ground to shoot the Fetch, Zerks on the low ground for the Ghols and to distract the Fetch. Clean up any remaining Spiders and keep on going clockwise. When you reach East on the compass, a Fetch and some Ghols will appear along with some Spiders. Be ready for them and use your Archers for the Fetch. Run your Zerks ahead, staying on the inside. You'll get ambushed by some Spiders but they're easy work for all those Berserkers. Now run them quick as you can past the last pillar between the wall and that stalagmite/stalagtite thingy. The last group of Fetch and Ghols will appear there and if you're quick enough you'll be right on top of them for the kill. When you reach the bridge, send all your Zerks South to trigger another Spider ambush. Kill them.

Now the tricky part. You need to light up all four pillars for the bridge to appear. Problem is when you do, a bunch of Spiders drop down on your troops waiting at the bridge. Also, and I find this to be a particular pain in the butt, Spiders will drop down at one or two of the pillars. This seems to be random, so there's no way to prepare for it. To finish the level, you need to get all survivors over the bridge, except for the four you've got on pillar duty.

How you handle this depends on how many Berserkers you have left.

Hints:

  • The more Berserkers you have alive and well at the end, the better.
  • Use your Archers to kill the Fetch. Don't waste a single Berserker on them.
  • Heal your veterans.
  • Patience and caution is of extreme importance for the ending of this level when doing it cooperatively.
    Here's the film.
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