Guide for Speedrunning on Pillar and Raliniten

https://youtu.be/3s-OKMkZka0

After watching some older Speedruns I've seen many runs going for Pillar because of the Pillars of Essence which will just add extra units to the party. I've been trying this strategy myself, but found out going for Lionin (Mastery in Fighters) not the best. Instead we are going for Raliniten who has Planning and a better tree. 

#Why Raliniten instead of Lionin?
The extra units are fine, but Raliniten allows us to build more and cheaper. The saved up costs allows us a better econonmy for getting units than the extra Fighters will help. With Planning we save up 20% of the building costs. And later we will get Archery, Warding, Logistics and Scouting. Logistics is really really good. More Movement means less turns to win. Scouting gives us Movement too, but also allows us to find the hiding AI heroes easier.

#Talent-Tree for Raliniten
* Starts with Union 1 and Planning 1
* Archery 1
* Warding 1
* Union 2
* Logistics 1
* Archery 2
* Scouting 1
* Logistics 2
* After this stay on these and max out Logistics/Scouting before Archery/Union/Warding. Since Movement is king.

#Build Order for Pillar
* Pagoda of Heavens
* Hall of Crafts -> Pick Archer
* Shrine of Beasts -> Pick Tricrow
* Fort -> Pick Archer
* Tea House
* Pillars of Essence
* Upgrade the Hall of Crafts
* The Rest depends on how many AI players are there. You might want to unlock Marketplace -> Pillar of Palance or the Stronghold for more Archers on 3-4 AI players.

#Pillars of Essence good combinations
There is a full list of combinations here: https://gameplay.tips/guides/heros-hour-complete-summoning-list-for-pillars-of-essence.html

##My Takes
* Gold - Gold - Gold (on lucky gold finds or chests)
* Crystal - Crystal - Mercury
* Sulfur - Sulfur - Crystal 
* Sulfur - Sulfur - Mercury

#Good world map building
* Stables -> one of the best buildings to find on the map
* Fireplace -> Movement and Gold
* Chests -> Might be EXP or Ressources
* Rally Flag -> Extra Movement and Morale
* Fountain -> More Movement and Luck or Morale
* Lost Hero -> Artefacts
* Ruins -> Extra Units
* Mercury/Sulfur/Crystals -> More Units on the Pillars of Essence
* Wood -> If you need it for a boat, but you can also fight for your Sawmill

#Weekly events
There are some weekly events that can make or break a run. I'm gonna start a list here:
##(+) Positive:
* More Movement
* +5 Attack for Attackers

##(-) Negative
* Less Movement
* Random units join neutral battles
* +5 Defence for Defender
* No gold income

#Generell tips
* End your turn with ctrl+e, that works even out of the building or hero menu.
* Zoom in on fights. I think the game runs faster then
* Cast spells on Hero Fights with Numbers+Click for faster casting
* Skip fights if the game presents them.
* Don't get angry on bad weekly events of misclicking :D just breath and try again.

#Gameplay
On small maps it is more important to build and recruit fast, than to explore the map. So build and then end the turn. On bigger maps of maps with more AI then you can take your hero out after week two recruiting. Get the free ressources, maybe the Sawmill (if you need a boat) and the Quarry. Then maybe have a look at the artefacts and chests. The treasure hunt is secondary but good if there is enough time.
After that go straight into the enemy line. If an enemy hero runs by, get him first, then the city. Remember to recruit troops from the new city after capturing. Then you win by just pushing more ;) Your Movement will just grow over time.

#Feedback
If you have ideas to add to this, just come hangout on my live streams, comment or chat me up on twitter. I'm happy to chat about going faster or just having fun on this great game.

#Disclaimer
This guide was first published on my blog: https://www.casual-ben.com/blog/2022/07/16/guide-for-speedrunning-on-pillar-and-raliniten-heros-hour/

Seth Duel Speedrunning Guide (v2.5.0a)

# ***Pre-run Preparations***

Before starting your run, go to Options => Graphics and set "Town Screen" to Classic. Go to Options => Game and set "Combat Speed" to 2x, "Move Time" to 1 and "Mods" to Disabled.

# ***The Run***

Choose the Duel map and your difficulty. Choose the Delirium faction and select Seth of Sleep as your hero (he starts with the "Coin Flip" spell). Click Advanced to show you're playing with default settings.

While the map is being generated, move your cursor to the right side of letter "N" in "GENERATING MAP" (this might differ depending on your resolution). As soon as the map is generated, press F1 to open your town screen. Your mouse cursor will be right over "Upg. Ritual Circle", so you don't have to waste time moving your cursor to the right place. Double click to build it, then press Shift + Enter to end your turn (you can also end your turn with Ctrl + E, but you risk accidentally pressing Ctrl + R - which will return you to title screen with no prompt nor save).

Between turns, place your cursor at the right side of the enemy turn's progress bar. Press F1. Your cursor will be right over "Circle of Warping". Double-click to build it, then choose "Fanatic". click "create" at the top of the unit list to recruit all available units, then click "Upgrade" to upgrade your Cultists to Spiritists (which will give them ranged attacks).

By ending the 1st turn without moving your hero you'll have the hero's movement path automatically set directly to enemy's town. Press Space to move your hero (you don't have to close the town screen), then Shift + Enter to end your turn (after hero's done moving).

Press Space to move your hero until you reach the guardpost. When your hero runs into it, you'll be notified that the enemy army is much stronger than yours. Choose "Fight anyway", then click "START BATTLE". Press 1 and click to cast "Coin Toss" (you can use 1-9 during battle as shortcuts to cast 1st to 9th spell in your spellbook). If you're lucky, the coin tosses will eliminate all enemies. If you got lucky, click the green "Player won!" button at the top (you can move the cursor to appropriate spot as coins are flipped to save some time). Close the Combat Results by clicking Done.You'll gain 2 or 3 levels from the fight. Personally, I tend to choose 1 rank of Watcher and (1 or) 2 ranks of Mysticism. As great as Wisdom is, you have to pick a spell for it - which will take more time than choosing a different skill. Keep moving toward the enemy town (by pressing Space).

If the enemy town is empty when you reach it, you can just take it and end your turns (with shift + Enter) until you win due to enemies being without a town for 7 days.

If you run into an enemy hero guarding their town, you can try to "Coin Flip" for victory. If that's not enough (or alternatively), you can use "Zyzz Up" on your Fanatics or "Rip" on enemy units to finish the job - provided you got 1 of those when you took Mysticism ranks.

If the flips favored you - congratulations! You've won the game!

# ***Potential Changes***

On day 2 you can hire Hand Servants instead of Fanatics (but you can't use "Zyzz Up" on those), or build "Monstrum" instead of "Circle of Warping" and hire Secretkeepers (which will cost you some Cultists/Spiritists). Personally, I think Fanatics are the best choice, but feel free to experiment with different units.

Namn	Författare
Guide for Speedrunning on Pillar and Raliniten	CasualBen 1 year ago
Seth Duel Speedrunning Guide (v2.5.0a)	nijuni_kuro 1 year ago