This is a guide to help you complete the game in Hardcore mode.
The game is very well made and it's quite challenging in Hardcore mode, i hope you find this guide helpful; please submit any inquiries or improvements, they will be taken into account.
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Team composition and skill distribution:
I recommend a Tank + Healer + DPS (damage per second) composition, that way you can make the most use of the different item types (heavy for tank, medium for DPS and light for healer).
Roll the dice a couple of times till you get a good team, focus mainly on Toughness (also Strenght for DPS and Willpower + Energy for Healer).
Ideal skills would be Heal/Chaos Bolt for your Healer, Defense/1 Handed Weapon for your tank and Attack/2 Handed Weapon for your DPS.
Something like this should get the job done:
Start by skilling up (just 1 or 2 points) Chaos Bolt (main damage skill) + Teleport (main defensive skill) for your Healer, then max out Holy Magic and Magic.
Focus on Defense + 1 Handed Weapon for your tank (make sure to skill "Shield Specialist" in the 1 Handed Weapon tree).
Max out Attack and 2 Handed Weapon for your DPS.
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The Green Plains (Levels 1 to 4)
You begin the game at "The Green Plains", accept the quests at the Tabern and begin killing the weakest enemies to farm some items, upgrading your weapons is your top priority.
You want to become a Devotte to a god as soon as possible to upgrade your god spell, Azor's (Sun) final blessing "Resurrection" is best, Tavros (Bravery) "Valhalla's Favor" is also good.
Don't fight enemies with the "Dangerous to Fight" tag, unless you have great items vs them.
There are 5 shops in The Green Plains, check them all out before making a purchase (if you were unlucky with the drops, you might need to purchase a weapon sooner).
Make sure to have detection for hiding enemies (Ninjas), you might have to purchase them from the shops.
Buy your global spell and use it in every fight (Regeneration is my recommendation).
If available, get a blessing from the clerics at the right of the castle for 150g (Don't fight them afterwards), if you are really lucky there will be a peasent at the left of the castle that will teach you how to bargain at shops for 50g.
Wait for lv5 before fighting the cavalryman or get some mercenaries for those fights or make a donation at the temples.
The first Teleport is located in the castle and the first Heroes grave is just above the castle.
Don't travel to the Northeast of the castle, there might be an Ambush on the road and you need to be higher leveled to win.
Once you finish fighting the enemies your own level (you should be approching lv5 by then), proceed to The Hot Desert, located South of your starting location.
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The Hot Desert (Levels 5 to 7)
From this point forward always check the enemies resistances/damage types and adjust your items accordingly before every battle. 1 mistake could easily end your run.
Travel right till you reach the teleport, accept the quests at the Tabern and check the store for items but leave the Heroes grave alone, you need to farm some levels first.
Teleport back to the castle and go Southwest till you reach The Jungle, again accept the quests at the Tabern and check the store for items.
Fight the weaker enemies along the roads till you reach level 6, then equip your stronges Dark armor and Holy weapons (buy them if you must) and teleport to The Green Plains.
Make your way Northeast to The Cursed Land (avoid all enemies along the way!), you might need to battle an ambush on the road, so be well equiped.
You will reach the first store of The Cursed Land, continue traveling Northeast to reach the 2nd store, the portal, and Vorag, the final Boss.
This shops have the strongest items you can buy, purchase the strongest Poison weapones/armor; Dark armor and detection are also very important for the next zone.
Go back to the Dessert and farm the weakest enemies (get that 2nd Heroes grave now), once you reach lv7 teleport back to The Jungle.
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The Jungle (Levels 7 to 8)
Remember to check your enemies before every fight, not having detection will most likely result in a loss.
Don't participate in the Witch Doctors ritual, you will get a debuff.
Be careful when approching the "unprotected" chest at the bottom left corner of the map, a lizardmen gang will ambush you.
Make sure to activate the 3rd Heroes grave.
You should have reached level 8 by the end of this zone, go back the The Cursed Land and buy the strogest Lightning weapons and Ice armor, Lightning armor will also be useful.
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The Land of Snow (Levels 8 to 10)
Leave the giant enemies for last, they are very strong, consider going back to the previous areas to fight the remaining enemies first.
The Valkyries will ask you if you want to get into Valhalla... answering yes will start the fight.
Don't destroy the Gods statue, you will get a debuff.
You will find the last Heroes grave here.
Be careful when approching the "unprotected" chest at the top of the map, 3 Gargoyles will ambush you.
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The Cursed Land (Levels 10 to 12)
The only remaining enemies should be the ones in The Cursed Land and the Bosses.
Again go to the stores and purchase the strongest Holy weapons and Dark armor, make sure to equip 1 or 2 Fortitude items too!
Don't accept the Trolls food, you will get a debuff.
After you are done with this final zone, go back and finish the Bosses you left along the way (make sure to itemize accordingly) and you can begin the preparations to fight Vorag.
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Final Boss Fight: Vorag
You should be level 12 (MAX) by now, have all 3 Gods Blesssings and also the extra blessing you can buy from friendlys (you can re purchase it if you lost it along the way).
Buy and equip the strongest equipment you've got, types don't matter (higher level usually means best). I rank weapons with Vampirism higher than others for this final fight.
Purchase the Paladin mercenary from the Tent next to Vorags cage and make a donation at a gods temple (I recommend Nit which gives vampirism).
Sell all your unused equipment and purchase Skills and Abilities with that gold.
Once ready, cross the barrier and face Vorag for the final battle.
You have 4 buffs to use during the battle, i recommend using Attack and Stealth at the same time for maximum damage, use Defense and Regeneration as you see fit.
Congratulations! You managed to beat the game and hopefully you got that "No Surrender!" insane quest too.
Hope you liked the guide, please post any suggestions to improve it.