Britomart has sailed for the underworld to draw off the infernal army. Her sacrifice has earned Wei a few precious weeks to retake her homeland, free Queen Amara (if she still lives), and prepare for the final confrontation with the devils. Use the time wisely.
Download The Legacy of Qun-Jin, Episode IV.
Or, click here for the Russian language version, translated by Dmitriy Pekshev.
Reviews
Review by Stefan Bjelkfelt
Splendid, excellent, marvelous, fantastic...*applauses fading out in the backround*
This is indeed, a true masterpiece. It gracely concludes(???) your awesome series in a way that almost reminds me of what "Return of the jedi" did to Starwars. Not that I hope that this is the final map in the series, but this seems to end the story in a spectacular way and make it quite hard to go on with it.
The few things I found annoying in the beta were corrected in the final version (mostly keeping track of all the names; btw, where DO you find them??) so Iīve found absolutely nothing to complain about. Itīs also your best map to date and I belive also the hardest one. (Itīs also the first map Iīve played that I havnīt been able to beat on impossible - but Iīll give it a few more tries...)
Iīve tested it as I usually do and found it most enjoyable at expert, although I reckon this one SHOULD be quite a challenge all things considered. Well, what more is there to say??
Review by Florian Trombach
I once said that the first map in this small campaign is the best medium map I have ever played. That was right then, but Episode IV tops that map.
You start in your original homeland. Well, not right there, because you are on a little island where your first task will be to build up Wei. This is a very fine accesoire because it gives you the possibility to build your main hero just the way you like to. The land you will move in afterwards will be very familiar to those who played LQJ I, but it has changed for the worst. The devils have taken over the land, traitors are all around, and the landscape itself has changed from a very beautiful and enjoyable green to the red of the devils. I would give a 10 for this part. Just enjoy what you will find.
The story builds up very well. You will get a lot of events which are logical, well timed, and put into places where they should be. For those who have played the other parts: You will really feel the need for the revenge of Britomart. Even a lot of "small" things many mapmakers forget fit very well in the story. The traitors have limited movement just as they would have in "real life". Some refugees have survived the attack of the devils and wait to help you. The main enemy army comes back with reinforcements from the homeland (be careful). It adds up to a series of maps which has turned into a campaign which excels all original HOMM III campaigns by any standard. The time worked on the maps has been spent to the best. So the story counts for another 10. And Iīm am waiting impatiently to get my hands on V and hope I will be able to beat the devils back in their mainland.
The task you have to bear is hard, very hard. This map is absolutely not
the right map for you if you like building up a few weeks, wandering
through the landscape, enjoy some easy to be won battles and maybe donīt
bother about loosing troops.
It is hard from day one and it stays that hard for 70% of the time. You
will have some time for building later on, but in the first 10-14 days all
decisions you make must be right! Any mistake will mean death and this
would mean that your sister has died for nothing. The battles are hard. You
will face enemies that carry about 3 times the number of hitpoints you will
have (if you take optimized building and hiring strategies). And the heroes
are no 1st level whimps. I still wonder if there is a possibility of doing
this map at impossible without cheating and if anyone comes and says: "He,
I did not look in the editor and I won it on expert with only 5 reloads and
afterwards I won it on impossible!" I will surely announce this person as
the best HOMM III player I had the honour to met. Me, as I like very tough
fights I rate this part of the game a 10.
So it all turns out to a perfect 10 and I wish all you guys good luck (you will need it) and much fun (you will have it) with this map. And for all those who havenīt played I-III yet: just do it and enjoy.
Review by Jagan
Installment 4 of the Legacy of Qun-Jin is not for the faint of heart. It is a very tough battle from the beginning, but the rewards at the end are fullfilling. I found myself running away more frequently than I care to, but surviving with a strong a force early is the most important thing in this scenario. Capture as many castles as you can, this aids Wei. The most potent weapon that Wei has in this scenario are her spells. Make sure you know the results of the spells that Wei has at the expert level, they may save her more than once. Upon completion, I found the map to be a very interesting idea.
Review by Reviewed by Iewezt Khorgath at zenithgod@hotmail.com
Summary:
This penultimate map in the Legacy series is another strategy thriller
similar to the first map with a turn of events in mid-game that marks the
beginning of a very different second phase. Retribution knocks on the door
to the elven kingdoms as strategy fans once more don the mantle of Wei for
another bout of blazingly fast-paced play in a scorching, livid atmosphere
that will sear your senses.
Date of review: 20/11/99
This is the 4th map in the Legacy series and is another thriller similar to
the first map with a turn of events in mid-game that marks the beginning of
a very different second phase. I finished the map in 48 days on Impossible
on my first try with some foreknowledge of terrain because I had previously
finished the first map in the series. If you've been a follower of the
series, you know what to expect. If you aren't, sign up now, else you'll be
missing out on one of the finest amateur HoMM3 campaigns.
Map Design (27/30)
Similar to Qun-Jin 1, all structures have purpose and are tightly controlled
as to not give the player an unfair advantage in the initial phase. Outer
dwellings, which may seem defunct in the first stage become great bonuses in
the second phase even with the profusion of castles. Challenge posed by
wandering stacks and the settings for non-Inferno heroes are very reasonable
and well ramped. Bonus stacks which provide a great boost in clearing out
the initial castles, fit in well with the storyline but are not unbalancing.
Mobility spells have been customized most appropriately and there is a
fail-safe solution provided should the AI not play in the expected way.
Balance (20/30)
The first part in capturing all castles except for the walled off Inferno
castles is very well balanced similar to Legacy of Qun-Jin 1. In fact it's
even better than that map, it's virtually perfectly balanced. However, the
later part is disappointingly simple, even without Armageddon and Berserk.
Upon landing on the swamp territories there will ensue another mad rush for
castles and dominance. Scouts are indispensable tools for safe conquest and
a certain mobility spell for Wei should ensure the much needed speed and
flexibility of movement. Still the initial fights should prove to be pretty
challenging. The savvy player with knowledge from the first map will be able
to orientate himself faster and thus devise better/speedier plans to take
over strategic castles. The lag of time before the Red heroes break through
the Subterranean gate is too long. No strong hero for Red (at this later
stage) therefore the troops given must be increased in quantity and sooner.
Alternatively, too much Wood and Ore was given. On saving Queen Amara I
would prefer that not so much Gold be given. In war ravaged times it is
unlikely that a treasury of that size could be safely hoarded away. However
in making such a 2-stage map, it is hard to achieve good balance in the
latter part as the hero is given many options in between the stages. My
opinions are based on being able to capture all surface castles by the 1st
day of 3rd week. Should a player be slower, I would expect him/her to face a
greater onslaught of Inferno troops, which might prove irritating to
staunch. Changing the arrival of the main Devil's army to 2 week's in
advance would definitely turn this to an Expert map but as it is I can only
give Hard as a rating at the most.
Atmosphere (15/15)
This penultimate map in the series features great follow-up from the third
map and a very involving story for those who have played the series from its
very beginning. The graphics are again of high standard, which features
meticulous blending and very "real" landscapes. Well-calculated timed events
are scheduled more frequently than in the first map and many are the
descriptive events, which complement the graphics very well and provide
finishing touches to the ambience of the map. This is an awesome epic to be
judged from the inclusion of the first Legacy map and not to be taken on its
own and as such is indeed one of the best amateur maps for atmosphere and
storyline.
Grammar, Spelling, Map verification (7/7)
A few insignificant typos, but otherwise perfect.
Creativeness (8/8)
One of the first maps which I've played, that uses similar terrain
incorporated into larger scale battles to promote familiarity. Those who
played the first map in the Legacy series will undoubtedly have superior
knowledge of enemy and neutral town placement as well as the terrain in
general. This feature is a definite plus to the continuity of the series. In
an effort to reduce randomness, Wei's secondary skills are actually
customized by the player. Choose wisely or have only yourself to blame.
Unique way to state the Grail's location. Again a great tale with a timed
second phase just when you thought the crisis was over to add to the
suspense of the map.
Fun Factor (7/10)
The first part features action similar to the first Legacy map, is full of
suspense and is again a fast play map in which speed and battle tactics are
of the utmost importance. The second part is rather boring and tedious,
developing all the castles and should have been shortened to make it more
challenging and exciting as befits an Expert map. Beginners will have
trouble finishing this as in the first Legacy map due to the required fast
paced play from the start. Average players should find it challenging and
expert players should find it enjoyable.
Total 84/100
Strategy
A reviewer (Florian Trombach) submitted a very detailed account of how he completed the level. Click here to read it if you are having trouble with the level, or if you've completed it already and you want to see how someone else did it. I have to say, Florian's method is quite impressive--his strategy gets control over the level significantly faster than my own.
Do you have a different strategy which worked for you? Send it in, and I'll add it.
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