Build statues.

EDIT- And as someone said rangers/clerics are best in begining.

first try: 45 days, second try: win with relative ease. you just have to destroy the ogre caves as soon as possible. although later on these bearmen are really mean. 3000hp + regeneration, that's not nice. but from day 20 to 75 I only lost some lvl20+ fighters to the vampires (besides, of course, for two dozens of lvl 1 mages -.- weak as ever until they reach higher lvls. I miss the training grounds of Majesty 1 )

so my thoughts:

1. I don't know if it's due to my resolution (1680*1050) but the heroes are too small und look too similar. It's hard to tell if that's a mage or a cleric who's fighting the mobs.

2. Rest of the graphic is cool, especially the crumbling buildings

3. Most powerfull heroes: dwarves, clerics, krypta-clerics (+ high-lvl mages).

4. Towers are still no real defense, even the dwarven towers shatter after 2-3 charged ranged attacks from those bearmen

5. The new party system is cool, because now you can finally force your heroes to team up and work together

6. Majesty 1 was funnier in the sense of more self-ironic. For example: I miss the funny comments whenever your heroes advance to a new level. Especially the Fervus-cultist were great (do they exist in the game? I didn't see them in the demo, just like Lunord, Helia, Daurus, etc.)

All in all, I think it's a great game, all I need is the money to buy it (alongside Sins:Deplomacy, CoH Gold, Diablo III and Dragon Age: Origins )

I have not used parties yet.  I beat it twice now.  Parties work so-so according to forums.  I don't even know how to group into parties.  Anyone?

I got to the paint where a single ogre hut was spawning 4 ogres, and I think the crypt was spawning 2 liches (or maybe I just wasn't paying much attention to them and it seemed like there was always 2 of them).   Its obvious to me that I have to destroy the ogre dens faster, but my heroes wouldn't go explore the second one for a long time.  

I have since not had the courage to go that far again.

Eh, I'm not sure how well destroying the ogre den works.  I finally managed to do that around the middle of the game on my last try and more ogres were just pouring in from the west.  Plus I still can't tell if towers are worth it.  The 300g flat upgrade cost is very nice, but even 4 placed next to each other can't repel a dedicated ogre attack unless your heroes happen to already be there by coincidence.

I just get pulled in too many directions towards the end and even if I'm winning my battles against the high level opponents, there's a bunch of their friends on the other side of the kingdom destroying everything.

well, at least in the predecessor, there were those enemies which were spawning from tombs, dens and caves and those which randomly spawned at the border of the map. so even if you wipe out every spawn place off the map, you only weaken the attacks, but they won't cease. but nevertheless, it makes your life a lot easier, so destroy them all. and as I said before: towers are really worthless in base defense on their own. they are only supposed to keep the mobs busy until your heroes arrive. furthermore your tax collectors can deliver their money to all of your normal towers, which shortens their ways and let's them find shelter when they are attacked; plus  they dispatch a patrol which is at least able to fend off the rats and skeletons coming from your sewers and graveyards. but whenever an ogre, a lich, a vampire or a bearman heads towards my base, I place a bounty of 2-300 on them to make sure they are dealt with.