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Changelog

(Not all changes are listed)

2010.07.31
- CHANGED: Sword's fencing ability lasts 4 seconds when fighting boss Kerberos.
- FIXED: Summoned Hands will not completely block players.
- FIXED: Spamming units will not bug wall and fire triggers.

2010.07.09
- ADDED: Players can dismount from Odysseus and Kerberos.
- CHANGED: Drakons will only spawn after the black door is unlocked and Dagger acquired.
- CHANGED: Hydra spawn on upper sea and Hippokampos on lower sea instead of vice versa.
- CHANGED: Balm will not restore Odysseus' shields, but Odysseus can auto-repair.
- CHANGED: Bow armor cost reduced from 3 to 2 minerals. Hardcore cannot commit suicide.
- FIXED: Ladon-related sound effects will play for non-P1 players.
- FIXED: Players will not be crushed by a boulder at a bugged location.
- FIXED: Hand's Heal All ability no longer heals players who are being burned.
- FIXED: Odysseus will teleport out of battlefield after a bugged battle.


See older changes
2010.05.27-06.18
- ADDED: Organic weapons will quick-reshield if stayed away from enemies for 8 seconds.
         Horse will self-repair to half shield if stayed away from enemies for 16 seconds.
         Daidalos will self-repair to full shield every 8 seconds.
         Bow will auto-heal if stayed away from enemies for 12 seconds.
- ADDED: Summoned Hands will follow Daggers into portals.
- CHANGED: Dagger summons two Hands instead of one per cast.
- CHANGED: Horse lays portal for free by refund.
- CHANGED: Armor upgrade cost decreased from 3 to 2 minerals.
- CHANGED: Kharon will reimburse the debt you paid him, not the debt you owed him.
- FIXED: Quest sounds and notifications will play for all players (Nereos, Seals).

2009.08.13-21 - Download this version?
- ADDED: New cinematic ending.
- ADDED: Emblems in weapon names and gradient in unit names.
- ADDED: MVP counter based on how many footsteps each player took, shown at the ending.
- CHANGED: More players more fake Asterions--weakens nearby players on death.
- CHANGED: Players can still gain exploit after dealing with Erebos but will not be blessed.
- CHANGED: Players no longer need to corner a weapon to equip it.
- FIXED: Maze portals will not be activated by spells.
- FIXED: Horse will blow up nearby Hephaistos on explosion.
- FIXED: Weapons will still be moved under Odysseus even if Interceptor is undocked.

2009.05.01 - Download this version?
- ADDED: Gryps will teleport to player if they are out of range.
- ADDED: Players who stay at upgrade for more than 10 minutes will be moved.
- ADDED: Players who stay at heal for more than 1 minute will be moved.
- CHANGED: Weapon upgrade time is a constant.
- CHANGED: Drakons have 400/800 HP, and full HP after the 2nd hour.
- CHANGED: Sky lock won't reset solo player's Trojan portal.
- CHANGED: Dead fake Asterions will spawn Satyros.
- FIXED: Ladon will not seek burnt horse until Nemeas is killed.

2009.03.29
- CHANGED: Sea lock won't heal unless all players are not in the sea maze.
- CHANGED: Minimized battle Ladon's breath explosion to 2x2 cells.
- CHANGED: Lowered number of fake Asterions to 8.
- FIXED: Buying shuttle while Trojan is being burned will not heal burns.
- FIXED: No more unplaceable warnings for Ladon fire breaths.
- FIXED: Ladon will lay only one Hephaistos per charge.
- FIXED: Escape sound won't continue looping during ending sequence.

2009.01.13-02.02
- ADDED: Ladon will seek players being burned by a torch, use as lure.
- ADDED: Exploding Trojan will blow up tangent Hephaistos, debugs glitched DAs.
- ADDED: The 5th hour vision bonus includes wraith immunity for all weapons.
- CHANGED: Dagger's 8000 XP cap won't be in effect until armory is opened.
- CHANGED: Ariadne's twine moved to a closed cell behind the green door.
- CHANGED: Athene's damage is 160.
- FIXED: Kerberos will never respawn so mounting bug is circumvented.

2008.09.11-14
- ADDED: Players are teleported to Nemeas after killing the 16th dragon.
- CHANGED: Events will be informed by a long minimap ping instead of center view.
- FIXED: Bow syncs with Odysseus' movement.
- FIXED: Athene can penetrate Ladon's armor.

2008.08.31-09.08
- ADDED: Ladon breathes fire at players, ending explosion destroys torches.
- ADDED: Kerberos boss weakens nearby players and cycle self-heals.
- CHANGED: Bow has 1200 HP to match Hand's HP, previously 960 HP.
- CHANGED: Summoned Hands cap increased by 2 for every team Dagger, cap is 6.
- CHANGED: Ladon banishment radius increased to 8 cells.
- CHANGED: Shuttle build time halved.

2008.08.25-30
- ADDED: Standing in the sea battlefield without enemies will teleport you back after 8 seconds.
- ADDED: Debug for when player is stuck in death animation.
- CHANGED: Twine cost 0 mineral to buy, but will deduct 1 mineral if used, like debt.
- CHANGED: Dead Hardcore host cannot ban unless half of all players touch the Armory's Aigis.

2008.08.21-23
- ADDED: Hardcore Mode, scroll down to bottom of FAQ section for info.
- ADDED: Mini-maze with sentry guns for the Underworld lock.
- ADDED: Alphabetic name-indexing of triggers; freed up strings.
- CHANGED: Thisauros and Evlogia heals everyone everywhere.
- CHANGED: Unarming is always free.
- CHANGED: If Sky lock is under attack, Ladon will quickly return to defend after being banished.
- CHANGED: Players can get Ikaros after catching Nereos.
           Using Ikaros is recommended to destroy the sea lock.
- CHANGED: Sea lock now autorepair if no player is near.
- CHANGED: Final boss made harder with extra minions. Added escape music.
- FIXED: Nemeas will only spawn Basilisks after players have reached the armory.

2008.08.13
- ADDED: Souls have 15 seconds to stand still before getting unblocked by other players.
- ADDED: Censors player leave text to prevent drop of morale.
- ADDED: Unarm for free after 3:00:00.
- CHANGED: Hand using shuttle functions both as gradual potion and heal all ability.
- CHANGED: Ikaros autokill any enemies that touches it.
- FIXED: Buying Twine right after death will no longer bug soul spawning.

Map Information

    
    SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
      2GHz single core and a megabit landline connection.
      To do an ingame lag test, move Red's Hand to the farthest
      bottom left corner of the map before the timer hits 2:00;
      move away to cancel the test.
    
    MAP STATISTICS:
      3300+ Triggers
      1400+ Units
      300+ Sprites
      8 Music Clips, 16bit 8KHz Mono
      Main Tools: SCMDraft 2, Classic/TrigEdit, Notepad++, Adobe Audition
      Open source map, view triggers for more info
      Project started May 23, 2006
    
    KNOWN BUGS:
      Because of the excessive amount of units and sprites the map uses, StarCraft may
      get the sprite equivalent of "Cannot create more units". This usually happens
      when about half of the fire maze is explored with most of the Control Towers
      still there. Since StarCraft has to load all those new sprites in the fog of war,
      new units may not be created and some units will appear without shadows. To prevent
      this glitch, use Ladon to clear as many torches as possible.
    
    
    LINKS:
      Video Demo - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8200874987959223576&hl=en
      Screenshots - http://intothemap.com/bbs/zboard.php?id=pd...esc=asc&no=3584
    
    
    FEATURES:
        Name: Labyrinthos RPG
        Type: Adventure, RPG, Puzzle, Bound
        Map: 256x256 Orthographic Jungle
        Forces: 1 "Athenians"
        Players: 6
        Difficulty: Hell
        Duration: 3-5 Hours
        
        Affinity: The Labyrinth RPG
        
        Description:
        Based on Greek mythology, the Labyrinth draws some parallelism with the story
        of Theseus and the Minotaur. The map is not an actual labyrinth, but a
        unidirectional ramifying maze. You will be dropped into the structure along with
        six other prisoners. You and others are actually sacrifices for the Minotaur,
        but your intention is to destroy him. The maze will have various monsters
        of increasing strength upon exploration. To aid you, stronger weapons can
        be found, and the gods will bestow you more powerful upgrades. After death,
        you will be in a purgatory. You will need to pass an obstacle and pay a fee
        in order to revive. Once you have completed the four quadrants of the maze
        and destroyed the locks that bind the Minotaur in each, he will be unleashed
        for you to defeat.
        
        Features:
        - 4 Unique and Meticulously Designed Mazes
        - Anti-Movement and Damaging Walls
        - Lethal Obstacle Courses
        - Rewarded Quests
        - Activatable Maze Portals and Shortcuts
        - Accessible central database of knowledge about the game
        
        - One Central Base with Realistic Healing and all Teleports
        - Potion and Town Portal Purchaseable
        - Purgatory Revival Area and Debt for Respawn
        
        - 7 Atmospheric Time-Looped Music for Each Level (Toggleable)
        - Special Effects and Germane SC Sounds
        - Battle Music with Start-Middle-End
        - Final Battle Music and Ending Cinematic Music
        
        - 7 Weapons with Uniracial Upgrades
        - 2 Transportation Units
        - 3 Relics (Spells)
        - Suit-Combo System (Player enters Dragoon with Zealot, Dragoon dies, Zealot spawns)
        - Convenient Build-to-Cast System
        - Special Abilities for each weapon (2 Auto-Abilities for 2 Weapons)
        
        - Weapon-Dependent Level-Up
        - Incremental XP and Hourly Bonuses
        - EnCOUNTER Point Enemy Spawning System
        - EnGAGEment Random Encounter System
        - Randomly generated Dragon enemies
        - 6 Unique Trigger-Powered Bosses
        - Final Battle and Dramatic Ending
        
        - Open Source Map GPL (Unprotected and Free to Edit)
        - Organized and Unmasked Triggers
        - Efficient Death-Counter-Only Wait Triggers
    
    
    THANKS: (50%+ completion while playing with me)
      [M]ake[M]oney  AENEMA  biscuit  CommanderJamie  DjWolF19  Ericlopl  KaFFiR  Mandos(vk)
      
      AdUnToRiDaS  Aghart  Arcane)Samurai  bigpinto  ClosedOpen  Darkness[cMk]  DarkOblivion
      
      DeCaF_CoW  djeez  FallingStar  FARGUS  Fighter747  GrumpyMan  haasda  HeavensFeel
      
      Hellz_Fury[LF]  i[RedDragon]i  ishti10  jamiewatt  Kejardon  Ninebreaker  outlawpoet
      
      qmoko  roflmaomgwtfbbq  Ssj_Hiro1.5  Teardrop  TehRamen  The_Elimist  the_wombat_tank

F.A.Q. (Spoilers!)

The Game

Why did you make it so hard?

This is a frequent complaint, as about all the maps I make are said to be hard or even impossible by "involuntary beta testers". The main reason is personal: I make maps with my own enjoyment and skill level in mind. Likewise, I want the game to be challenging because I positively correlate difficulty with fun (but there's a limit). The other factor that affects the map's difficulty through its development is playtesting, which I do often. The advantage of that is I can respond to players' struggle by adding features that help them. Ironically, since the game is then easier, I am obsessed in making it harder, and so goes the vicious cycle caused by designer-egocentrism. In regard to this map, I wanted it to be fitting with the labyrinth myth in terms of com/perplexity, so even if the difficulty lowers the players' enjoyment, the map is justified for what it is: the very definition of "maze".

Why don't you ever play?

I'm a sadistic bastard who enjoys watching people suffer in my own creation.

Fuck you!

That is not a question.

How many players do I need to beat it?

Recommended at least 4 players to play through the entire game. But it's possible on solo... if you're a saint.

Why is the game so laggy?

All players must have computers capable of handling this very complex map with its numerous looping triggers and thousand of placed units; if everyone met the requirements the game would not lag at all. The host may do the lag test by moving his Hand to the bottom left corner of the Aigis area to start a lag test to weed out the offending player.

Why are upgrades so slow?

This map strived for realism as you can see from the respawn system and gradual healing. It should not be a surprise that there is no instant upgrades as swords take time to sharpen and armors take time to mend. Aside from that point, fast upgrade would make the game easier in an unskillful way. Since after finishing the sea maze, players can level up extremely fast with Ikaros. The intended currency for upgrades by then is no longer really minerals, but time.

AENEMA: Upgrades are like noodles, real ones aren't instant.

Where are the music from?

Earth Maze: --- Forested Temple (Final Fantasy VII in Temple of the Ancients)
Fire Maze: --- Find Your Way (Final Fantasy VIII in Tomb of the Unknown King)
Water Maze: --- A Secret, Sleeping in the Deep Sea (Final Fantasy VII in underwater world map)
Underworld/Air Maze: --- Judgment Day (Final Fantasy VII in Northern Crater)
All above were composed by Nobuo Uematsu.
Sea Battle: --- Enemy Attack by Junya Nakano (Final Fantasy X in boss battles)
Ladon Fight: --- Maybe I'm a Lion by Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy VIII in Ultimecia Griever battle)
Final Boss: --- Escape by Craig Armstrong (Plunkett & Macleane (1999))
Ending: --- Ride On by Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy VIII in Ragnarok spaceship)

What's the record time?

3:34:07 as held by: alei in HARDCORE SOLO!
3:36:06 as held by: Xpenguin17 in HARDCORE SOLO!
1:53:41 as held by: DjWolF19 and Irum[a]Hp, with Athene

Labyrinthos RPG Record

What's the longest it took to beat the map?

[03:35:13 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: when i beat this it took me and a guy 23 hours
[03:35:14 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: lol
[03:35:29 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: ending is epic tho
[03:36:27 PM] M-O-N-E-Y: WTF you played for 23 hours straight on stacraft?
[03:36:32 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: went to bed
[03:36:39 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: and did stuff during
[03:36:40 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: lol
[03:37:06 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: i basically did the water and dead part myself
[03:37:10 PM] Hellz_Fury[LF]: and final 3 bosses

The Map

Why are there so many versions?

Bugs happen because of the map's complexity and my usual oversights. So there are many versions because I am constantly bothered by existing bugs and would always upload the latest fixed version. Players have complained that it is better to wait for a bigger release so they don't have to redownload all the time, and I do keep that in mind. However, there are times when I test the map daily, and this phase necessitates regular uploads so that I can see how everything holds together before I take a break from developing the map.

How much time did you spent making this?

Enough to make people say I have no life.

Why do you host this map so much?

I'm secretly studying you to write my Ph.D. thesis on human and mice psychology.
If I get a nickel every time I hear a 5 hour dl joke, I'd be twenty bucks richer.

What language is the map based on?

Greek. I used a bilingual dictionary.

Where did you get the inspiration for this map?

I enjoyed drawing mazes as a kid and I was interested in Greek mythology after reading a dictionary on the subject. The elements (e.g. names, stories) you see in the map are basically a composite adaptation of the mythos to StarCraft (e.g. units, quests). As for the map's structure, it is not an actual labyrinth but rather a randomly drawn maze that I later added features to.

How did you make the wall triggers?

As you may know, the Jungle terrain of different elevations look identical, and the map uses "high" terrain as a wall and "low" terrain as land. The entire map is covered with a 'wall' location that has only "med" and "low" elevation checked. The trigger for the wall works by constantly moving a 'marker' location on the player's unit when the unit is in the 'wall' location. So if the player moves into "high" terrain, the unit will not be detected in the 'wall' location, and the 'marker' location will stop centering on the unit. When that happens, the trigger is told to move the player's unit back to the 'marker' location, like a wall stopping a unit. The reason why I use a trigger based wall instead of regular terrain walls is because this prevents player from clicking to their destination using StarCraft's pathing AI without actually navigating the maze.

The game could use an anti-map hack?

Yes, it could, and it did. The beta version of the map was filled with special sprites that only crashes players who turned on map hacks. At the time, I was paranoid that map hackers would spoil the mystery of the maze for themselves and others. It was "safe" for a few months until patch 1.14 was released; the sprites would then crash everyone when the game starts. Consequently, I couldn't find any other practical anti-map hacking method. So I "coped" with it, eventually to the point where I accepted map hackers into the game. Though I frowned at their spoilers, I noticed that many would leave shortly after because they saw how big the map is, and as said by some map hackers, seeing the whole map doesn't really help much (like the way you do a maze on paper). As for those who are annoyed by map hackers, you can ask the host to ban them or even host it yourself along with friends.

Hardcore Mode

What is it?

Stolen straight from Diablo II, this is a challenge for the fans of this map. HC mode is when you play the game without ever dying.

So what do I get?

- Twine pre-available to warp out of danger
- 1337 Gas + 10000 every time you level up
- Impress others with your mad survival skillz
- Exclusive Bow weapon with instant upgrades (up to 255)
- Bow's ability spawns aerial defenders and make nearby enemies 1-hit-kill
- The duration of Bow's ability gets longer as more weapons are found
- In addition, Bow will mirror those weapons' abilities cumulatively!
- If found...you get: Dagger...More Encounters, Trojan...Banish Ladon, Robe...Invulnerability, Ikaros...Autokill Enemies, Sword...Wraith Immunity, so if you found all those weapons, you get all those abilities for just 1 Reaver!

Holy shit! I wanna try I wanna try...

These are the requirements to get HC: 1. Never ever die, 2. Get 8 gas by leveling up/getting blessed, 3. Do not yet complete any quests such as killing Nemeas or 13 dragons. Then activate HC mode by equipping the new weapon "Bow". As you play the game, be very attentive to your HP as you will not spawn as a soul after death; instead, you will die permanently and become a spectator.

How the hell do I play this game without ever dying?

Let your partners do the hard work. Or... you could play like it was intended and use potion generously, warp quickly when your HP is red, and click very carefully in the Fire Maze and the Underworld, since you will die from the fire or by falling. As for Ladon, remember the numbers of SCV rescued and answer the Dieythintis; this will make the Ladon fight much more "possible". And if you're cowardly, lucky, or skillful enough to make it to the final boss, you will be free to fight recklessly.


Walkthrough and Strategy Guide


Basic quest listing and procedures are available in-game as Mission Objectives and accessible at Delphoi (Protoss Temple). This supplementary guide is meant for either players who feel the game is too difficult but still want to beat it, or for experienced players who want to learn the creator's approach in playing and solving the game.

Labyrinthos Map Diagram

Earth Maze (Green) - Ground

Reach the Center

You are thrown into labyrinth's entrance partially injured, touch the Aegis ('Aigis', cannon) {0} to heal your HP then procede north. You find two wall ('teichos', machine shop) blockades, the first on the left leads to a yet to be opened shortcut and the other leads to the longer path. Break the second blockade {1} to approach a gauntlet columned by traps ('pagida', wall gun trap), follow the marker ('simeio', flag) pattern exactly, as it is the path and the width of the path itself through the mini-maze. If you forgot the pattern, you may traverse blindly by going through the orthogonal directions, as in straight up, down, left, or right; never move diagonally in a minimaze. Kill enemies to get 2000 XP ('exploits', kill points) needed to heal or stay away from enemies for a while to quickly recover shields.

Proceeding north {2}, you find two more blockades: the left is a long invisimaze and the left--as with any blocked deadends--leads to a treasure ('thisauros', large Protoss gas) which heals all your teammates and gives you 2 coins; other deadends however have satyrs ('satyros', infested terran) biding to bomb you. When you are inside the invisimaze, hold your unit and you will see a faintly lit path through the fog of war. Do that trick if you are unsure which direction to go, but the blind-move approach is the fastest. Ignore the chimeras ('khimaira', lurker) and do not let any lions ('leon', zergling) follow you into the minimaze or they may make you stuck. After exiting the long maze, head far west {3} to open a shortcut for revived players, and before you go through the next gauntlet, leave one basilisk ('basiliskos', hydralisk) standing so you take less damage as from two.

Next up is a boulder course {4}; move in a zigzag manner to dodge the stones ('petra', science vessel) otherwise you will be crushed at the end. Up of where the boulders start rolling are deadends with treasures, go down {5} for a straightforward path to the center, but first acquire the Dagger {6} just left of Arcadia ('Arkadia', idyllic town) {7a}. Use the medicine ('pharmakon', medic) then touch the smith ('sidirourgos', forge) to open the black door ('porta', covert ops) {7b}. Either have an ally near the Armory go and activate the Earth Portal ('pyli gi', psi emitter) {9} or head there {8} yourself.

Orientation

Upgrade to 6 armor and as much weapon and shield as desired, but always save some coins for the journey. Items and spells activation is meant to be done quickly via hotkeys. The recommendation for number hotkeys are: (1) Your unit, (2-3) Robotics Facility, (4-5) Nexus, (6/7) Stargate. Each building is assigned to two consecutive hotkeys so you will less likely to select the wrong one. Remember the build hotkeys are: (s) Potion or banish Ladon if you are using Horse, (v) Ability, (o) Town portal; (p) Relic; (s) Reset horse's portal or Dismount from transport/horse or Suicide.

If you want to do hardcore or power-level, patrol away and to a basilisk spawn (so the triggers won't set you as camping and give you negative encounter points) with a Dagger. Occasionally buy a reaver to summon Hands that share exploits as they kill the enemy for you; the summoning also increases your encounter points so more enemies will continue to spawn. The stronger the weapon you are using, the bigger the encounter point (ECP) cap you have; the ECP adds up automatically over time and subtracts depending on the strength of the monster spawned.

Dying is commonplace even for the most experienced players, especially in the two later mazes. Though in purgatory, your soul can still fall further into the depths of the underworld (the gray temple terrain), costing 1 coin for Charon ('Kharon', Tassadar carrier) to pull you out. Always without recklessness, head toward the creep terrain and prepare to work your way out of death. The first bound of Acheron ('Akheron', river of pain) is very doable with limited lag and low latency: go straight through the creep and pause at the first bend until the dead wave passes you, then right click the blue beacon and your soul will determinately head there safely--the key is not to stop. After 1:00:00, the bound will change slightly in that your screen is locked to your soul and there is a small window of space you must follow. Still the pattern is familiar and instead of pausing at the first bend, you must wait for the second window to open then keep up by constantly clicking forward, and this takes a little practice.

The second bound is possible, albeit tribulating; if you deem it impossible, you may seek Erebus ('Erebos', Aldaris) by the left of Hades ('Haides', Xel'Naga temple) and make a deal: revive automatically for 2 coins but you will no longer get blessed (heal/coin reward) until 2:00:00. After that time, Charon will be in front of the bound to revive you automatically for free and Erebus' deal is nullified; Charon will also reimburse one coin you paid him every time you revive. Meanwhile before such generosity, if you are in heavy debt (high gas count), find a green treasure box or an ambrosia from a nested dragon {13} in the Earth Maze, or keep an eye out for ambrosias ('Ambrosia', chrysalis) that occasionally spawn in the underworld that will completely erase your debt.

Slay Nemeas

Equip the Dagger {10} then use the old shortcut invisimaze {11} to enter the Nemean Lion's den ('Nemeas', bengalaas) behind the blue blockade. Do not engage the boss yet, instead grab the Kataloipo ('relic', probe) {12} and build a probe to petrify the enemy swarm (cost 1000 exploits), then go in further to loot the coin stash. Now that you enough money for potions and spells, aggressively target the cat and only kill the spawned basilisks if you need exploits. Killing the boss will give you a blessing and the blue door to the fire maze opened.

Kill 13 Dragons

You may have killed several dragons ('drakon', drone) while roaming the Earth Maze; the wandering nuke will spawn obolus ('obolos', data disc) carrying-dragons in whichever maze a player is in, and the dragons will disappear if all players leave that maze. If you cannot find any, arm a Dagger and visit the dragon nest {13} in the second alley above the long invisimaze to have them spawned. The team killing 13 dragons will open the green door that leads to the new Trojan Horse transport-weapon essential in handling the Fire Maze; another green door in the underworld opens to a new relic. Kill more dragons for quick cash, and remember that more coins will be gained if more players were touching the dragon when it dies. Killing 16 dragons will warp you to Nemeas if he was not slain already.

Fire Maze (Red) - Sky

Rescue Prisoners

Always be riding the Horse {1} before exploring the Fire Maze as it your protection against air enemies and fatally fiery entities throughout. There is a cell ('keli', nuclear silo) at every deadend in the upper half of the Fire Maze, totalling 32. To reach the ones completely surrounded by the northern torches ('pyrsos', control tower), lure Ladon ('Ladon', kakaru) like a kite so that his breath ('anapnoi', firebat) blows up the torches on contact. Alternately, position yourself near the torch you want destroyed and immediately dodge when you hear Ladon's roar, as his fireball attack will head straight toward where you were standing. Ladon is attracted to players being burned, so you may sear yourself to lure him or buy a shuttle with your Horse to temporarily banish Ladon from the Fire Maze. The green boxes near surrounded cells are instant blessings ('evlogia', small Protoss gas) that give you exploits and heals all teammates, so their usefulness should be conserved.

Before venturing too far into the Fire Maze, rescue Ariadne ('Ariadne', Sarah Kerrigan) {2} in the torch room far left to acquire the golden twine (town portal). Building an observer (cost 1 coin) will warp you to Arcadia and should be used to escape imminent death. Similarly, the Horse's ability is useful for setting and returning to your own "checkpoints"; lay a portal by buying a reaver (you will be refunded as laying is free), then buy a reaver again to warp back to the portal (the Horse will autoheal too); build a scout to reset the portal so you can lay a new one (if there is no portal the Horse will break down revealing your previous weapon).

The prisoners you find may be grateful captives ('aichmalotos', SCV) or aggressive gladiators: archers, chariots, giants, catapults ('toxotes', 'ippeas', 'gigantes', 'katapeltes'; marine, vulture, goliath, tank) and their appearance depends on how many torches are near Ladon when you open that cell. Take note of how many captives you rescued as this will be useful later. If your horse broke down in the midst of the maze, build a probe (Medusa's Head) to kill harpies ('harpyia', mutalisk) and griffons ('gryps', guardian) or build it when no enemies are nearby to temporarily stop monsters from spawning (Pomegranate Seeds). Opening all cells will open the yellow door and neutralize the upper half torches.

You should clear as many torches as possible; if there are still too many after you have explored the upper half, players may drop from the game because of the excessive sprites visible.

Hike Olympus

Before arriving at the beacon maze {3}, lay some pomegranate seeds and do not attack the ensnaring sphinxes ('sphinx', queen) or let the disruptive enemies follow you. There is a pyre ('pyra', infested command center) swinging through, so the moment it exits the beacon maze, get on top-right-most beacon, then check the beacon's name--the ones you are able to stand on is a slightly lowered letter O while the rigged beacons are regular O's. Check the adjacent beacons' name and see if it differs from the one you are standing on, if it does not, then it is safe. Note that all of the flags are on top of rigged beacons and disappears if you get near them, so you can simply avoid them via waypointing to pass the beacon maze.

Olympus ('Olympos', mountain of the gods) {4} is an obstacle course that requires more patience from less agile players. Use the Horse to be safe as it can lay checkpoints and blow up tangent Hephaestus fireballs ('hephaistos', dark archon) when it breaks down, or use the Hand to glide through if you are skilled enough. Do not be greedy and anxious at the ambrosias in the middle, but carefully avoid the fireballs to make it through the spiral to activate the Sky Portal ('pyli ouranos', khaydarin crystal) {5}.

Destroy the Sky Lock

The Fire Maze is the most patience-intensive level of the game, and the road to the Fire Lock is your last test. You should travel individually to the lock and wait there for each teammate, as the wavering pyres offer a very brief and narrow window of opportunity to move past. It is possible to squeeze between the vertical and the alley pyres and wait till they pass, though the space is just a bit larger than your Horse itself. Collect and save the coins you picked up, and lay portals and reset them as you get farther till arriving at the lock {6}.

Once you are in the square around the lock ('kleidaria', armory), clumps of enemies will spawn to protect it. Ignore them and focus fire on the lock as it will repeatedly disrupt your attack, and at least one player must be in that zone or the lock will regen. Deal with the overwhelming flock without attacking them by either using Medusa's Head or short-returning to the portal you laid there. Even the more reason for you to use the Horse is that Ladon will persistently fly toward the lock even if you banish him, so be ready to do it as soon as you see him again. The lock is easier to destroy if you have more attack upgrades or teammates to help; once it is done, pick up the Robe and a warp gate to the Sea Maze will be opened.

Water Maze (Blue) - Sea

Clog Charybdis

The Robe can be temporarily invincible and cast storm on hordes of enemies; if you have not amassed enough shields, ride the Horse as additional protection against the formidable sea creatures. Go through the warp gate in the Fire Maze to arrive at the dock {0}, then enter the Odyssean ship ('Odysseus', carrier) and head straight north {1} to find the Poseidon's Trident relic. Traveling westward, you will eventually enter engagements in which you must kill all the ambushing enemies to continue. To dispatch them quickly, move over the enemy so your cannon ('kanoni', interceptor') fires point-blank and reloads instantly. Build a probe when there are four or more enemies close by to make them tremble in paralysis, buying you time to finish the battle. Pay attention to the health of both your weapon and your ship, as if either dies, you die. Note that you cannot manually repair your ship, but it does so automatically while unengaged.

In the center is a whirlpool {2} blocking the route to the northern sea. To destroy the sea monster Charybdis ('Kharybdis', overmind cocoon), scuttle your ship into the whirlpool then warp home to get another ship. More ships clogging Charybdis will result in frequent engagements, so it is more efficient if everyone scuttles at the same time. The fourth shipwreck will cause Charybdis to choke and dissipate the whirlpool along with Scylla ('Skylla', sunken and spore colonies) blocking the west path upward. Clear the old shipwrecks to abate engagements, then proceed a short distance to see the Sea Portal ('pyli thalassa', uraj crystal) {4} waiting to be activated.

Chase Nereus

The Sea Lock is invincible until it is disenchanted by the whimsical sea god Nereus ('Nereos', ragnasaur). He should be wandering just right {3a} of Charybdis, and on encounter he will dare you to capture him. To do so, position your Odysseus near him (but not touching him) and force it to shoot your weapon such that the cannon will fly around until it hits Nereus. Playfully, he will escape by teleporting to another part of the Sea Maze, forcing you to find and capture him again. He will do it four more times, so to find him quickly cast the Robe's ability to see the minimap ping, or go to the Sea Lock and you will be warped to Nereus automatically. His locations after his first appearance are: the path directly beneath where he was wandering {3b}, farthest northwest section not past Skylla {3c}, deadend a little above where Ladon is guarding {3d}, and just below the Sea Lock {3e}.

Destroy the Sea Lock

When the lock is disenchanted, save Icarus through the unlocked doors {5} then use it to rush from the Sea Portal toward the Sea Lock. The sharks ('karcharias', broodling) in the northern sea that would spawn to entrap other weapons are harmless as Icarus will immolate to destroy any monsters on contact--at the cost of slowly burning out; however, without getting lost, you will have well enough time to destroy the lock as tens of seahorses, sirens, cancers, and gorgons ('hippokampos', 'seiren', 'karkinos', 'gorgon'; Devouring One, mutalisk Kukulza, guardian Kukulza, infested Kerrigan) futilely swarm you. Alternately, you could sail to the lock and face the bursts of engagements there, or use a large dose of pomegranate seed to travel there uninterrupted on foot. Under the rubble of the Sea Lock is the opening to the underworld; drop in and activate the Underworld Portal ('pyli ypokosmo', khalis crystal) west of Acheron or farm hydras ('hydra', Hunter Killer) with your destructive new weapon. Now is a good time to upgrade your shields and armor for the boss fights ahead.

Air Maze (Black) - Underworld

Tame Kerberos

While dead you may have noticed there are apparations flowing in the underworld; your soul is unaffected, but as living beings in the underworld, you will be swept away back to Elysium ('Elysia', fields of heroes) {0} on contact with them. The wraiths spawn from the upper and right axes in a pendular pattern; watch for the minimap pings and cloak distortions to dodge them. Then seek Persephone by using the Hand to run to the farthest southwest {2} to acquire the Sword that has super shield and dead warding as its special ability.

The Sword's fencing ability lasts a moderate duration and you should always be ready to cast it again. Find your way to the spiraly path in the upper midsouth {3} where three dogs, Cerberus ('Kerberos', ultralisk) are keeping guard. Approach them in caution as they will jump toward you in proximity. Be ready to refence or use potion as the last undecapitated dog will be unkillable (with one Sword) until it briefly stops regenerating for few seconds, at which you should strike hastily.

Break Seals

With Cerberus tamed, you can ride it with your Sword and use the tunnels ('siragga', nydus canal) to quickly travel to the 13 scattered seals ('sphragida', comsat) that protect the Underworld Lock. Each seal has 1000 HP and Cerberus has 300 damage; with 3 hits, a seal has 100 HP to burn down--roughly less than one minute for you to race to burn the next seal, since a broken seal has a 50% chance of repulsing the underworld team back to Elysia. Study the diagram of canal circuits and seal locations to plan the most efficient routes. Players in roaming the underworld are unvisioned to the rest, so the team should coordinate its attack ahead of time.

Destroy the Underworld Lock

Still riding Cerberus, travel to the southwest corner toward the minimaze where the Underworld Lock {4} sits. Build a scout to dismount then cast fencing to protect yourself against wraiths and the sentries ('karaouli', floor gun trap), which will pull you off path and fall if you do not hold position while inching forward. With utmost care and patience, destroy the blocking sentries and middle lock, then advance to the end where Daedalus ('Daidalos', corsair) awaits rescue.

End Game

Conquer Ladon

With the piercing and agile Daedalus weapon to rival Ladon's armor and impulse, unleash your vengeance on the torturous dragon. He is watching over the Earth Lock at the Hesperides garden far north of the Earth Maze. The dimension of the gray symbol represents the battlezone with Ladon--if you leave this square he will regenerate, so at least one teammate must stay there alive while the others are resurrecting to rejoin the fight. In addition to his deadly fire breath attack, he will gradually drop 10 Hephaestus fireballs that you must avoid while chasing him. Killing Ladon is a surmountable teamwork task with a moderate amount of patience and practice.

If you are playing solo, hardcore, or it is simply not too difficult kill him, fly your Daedalus to the keeper ('dieythyntis', high templar) in the closed room with a cell in the Earth Maze. He will ask how many captives you rescued, to which you may reply by having that number represented by your mineral count and casting disruption web (disembark) into the room. It is not a trick question, and the team has one chance to get it right. To cheat, the correct answer is number of cells in the Fire Maze minus the gas amount of the geyser ('metritis', vespene geyser). Nothing will happen if you answer wrongly, else the keeper will reveal himself to be Athena ('Athene', valkyrie) who has been observing you in the labyrinth this whole time, to which she will descend to assist you in putting down Ladon.

Behead Asterion

Make sure you are well armored, then disembark into the garden and break the final Earth Lock to reveal the minotaur ('minotauros', torrasque) poising in the center. Save the game. Of all the battles in your journey, this finality demands the most teamwork as its difficulty depend on how many players have made it this far. Have everyone charge the beast together to unmask the real boss, Asterion ('Asterion', infested Duran).

Attack with haste as the time alotted includes the escape time needed to run from the center to the southwest corner. With your autofencing ability, dodge the flying pain ('agonia', overlord) and suffering ('algos', Yggdrasill) to reach true Asterion that is being followed by his fake avatars. If you kill an avatar he will drain your HP and summon satyrs that also causes damage to himself, so only kill the avatars if you are having trouble finding the correct one. Asterion heals periodically as the agonia and algos comes into alignment, so have the team strike right after he heals, as indicated by the blue explosions. If you cannot kill Asterion by the time the clock hits 4:00, load the saved game.

Escape the Labyrinth

Since the labyrinth is tied to the vitality of Asterion, his death will cause the entire structure to collapse. With what little time remaining, rush to the southwest corner where you first came to the labyrinth as it is also the exit. The path south to the armory is blocked, so you must take the old route through the old shortcut. With enough armor you should be able to ignore the punishment the spawned beasts inflict and make it to the exit in time. Once arrived, you may enter the exit ('exodos', Terran beacon) and all teammates will be warped there to join you on the escape ship. Then watch the ending cinematic as Theseus' ship ('Theseus', Artanis) flies through the crumbling labyrinth and sail home.