Mount Olympus

It is said that in Olympus the rules are different – a man’s form can change as he walks.

Kastor talks about Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus is the sixth scenario of The New Atlantis campaign in Age of Mythology: The Titans. The main objective is to reach the peak of Mount Olympus.

Summary
Kastor has just returned to Sikyos from the Norselands where Krios informs him that the troops sent to Egypt have also returned. The Norse and Egyptians have gotten word of the attacks on their undefended homelands and fled back, leaving the Greek city vulnerable. Krios also recommends that Kastor leads the troops through a newly discovered Sky Passage that he believes leads behind the Greek troops. But upon entering, the Atlanteans are shocked to find that the Passage actually took them to Mount Olympus. Unable to turn back, they must now fight their way to the peak.

Objectives

 * 1) Bring one or more soldiers to the Temple to the north of your starting position.
 * 2) Bring Kastor to the flagged area to the east.
 * 3) Bring Kastor to the peak of Mount Olympus. You are defeated if either end of the flagged Underworld Passage is destroyed.

Players

 * Kastor’s Forces (Kronos) – Begins in the Archaic Age with no means of advancement. Controls only Kastor, two Champion Murmillo and two Champion Fanatics at first but more reinforcements will arrive through the Sky Passage overtime.

Neutral

 * Olympus Temples (Zeus) – Controls the various Temples found across Mount Olympus that will change Human Soldiers into Myth Units. Also controls the Sky Passage where reinforcements will appear from.

Enemies

 * Shrine of Olympus (Zeus) – Consists mostly of Shrines located across Mount Olympus. Destroying these will grant the player uses of various God Powers.
 * Guardians of (Zeus) – Human units that and their buildings located at various locations around Mount Olympus. Some will attempt to attack Kastor’s forces upon exiting the Sky Passage as well as the Underworld Passage.

Allies

 * Olympic Passage (Kronos) – Consists of the Underworld Passage that appears in the flagged area. If it is destroyed, the player loses.

Strategy
This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.

Reaching the flagged area

The starting soldiers should head for the Cyclops Temple and they will transform into Cyclopes. A raid of Hippikon will arrive shortly but the Cyclopes will easily defeat them with their instant kill abilities. Additional Murmillo will arrive shortly after so players should have two of them brought to the Shieldmaiden Valkyrie Temple while the third can also be turned into another Cyclops. After the Valkyries have healed this army, they can head for the southern shrine which will be guarded by Hoplites, Toxotes and a Nemean Lion. The player’s current forces should be sufficient in defeating these, though Kastor should handle the Nemean Lion as it does bonus damage to Myth Units.

Once these Guardians of Olympus soldiers have been defeated, the player should destroy the Shrine. This will grant the player two uses of the Bolt God Power but also causes the Greek hero Jason to appear so Kastor should attack him to protect the Myth Units. The army should now return to the Sky Passage to heal. Players will have to regularly fall back to maintain the health of their Myth Units as they will fall to repeated attacks despite their superior strength to human soldiers. Once ready to continue, the army can head for the northern shrine but they will encounter Hippikons and another Nemean Lion along the way. Bellerophon will be guarding the shrine but the player can cast one Bolt to kill him instantly. After destroying the Shrine and defeating the Toxotes surrounding it, the player will be granted one use of Curse.

Additional Fanatics will appear from the Sky Passage shortly after so they can be turned into Cyclopes. Kastor and all the Myth Units can be tasked to break down the Walls to reach the flagged area. All the enemy soldiers found there will need to be defeated as otherwise they will attack the Underworld Passage that will appear upon Kastor’s arrival. Curse can be cast onto them if necessary. After the human soldiers have been defeated, players can proceed to destroy the Academy and Archery Range.

Across the Underworld Passage
As additional reinforcements arrive, they may be greeted by enemy Hippikons or Toxotes that will spawn from where the Shrines once stood. It will be necessary leave some Cyclopes near the Sky Passage to protect the new arrivals from attacks. A couple of Valkyries can also stay with them to maintain their health. The pigs created by the Curse God Power can also remain near the Sky Passage to act as bait for the enemy. Meanwhile, Kastor and the other Myth Units can cross the Underworld Passage to enter the next area. East of the Underworld Passage are three Shrines and an Academy hidden in the fog. Destroying these will grant the player an additional use of Bolt and Curse as well as upgrade the Cyclopes into Elder Cyclopes. It will also spawn an army of Hippikons and Stone Walls to trap the player’s army within that area, forcing them to fight. If there aren’t enough Cyclopes to defeat them, Curse can be cast once more.

West of there is another Shrine. Kastor and the Valkyrie should attack the Chimera guarding it as they deal the most damage to Myth Units. Then all units can attack the Shrine: this will cause two Colossi to spawn but if the player destroys the Shrine, they will be granted two uses of the Traitor God Power. One of the Colossus can be converted to the player’s cause while the other one can be killed.

South of the Underworld Passage is a Hydra Temple blocked by a Wall. Before approaching it, players should wait for additional reinforcements to arrive and convert them into Manticores. Once the cooldown period of Traitor has ended and the player’s army is large enough, it can be sent near the wall with Kastor in the lead which will alert a large group of human soldiers and more Colossi. The Cyclopes and Colossi should break through the walls quickly enough thanks to their high crush damage while the Manticores strike the enemy with their ranged attack. Once through the wall, some Cyclopes can be turned into Hydras and the army can proceed towards the enemy’s unit production buildings. The Cyclops and Colossi should focus on the buildings while the Hydras kill any soldiers being trained from them so that they can grow additional heads.

Beyond the buildings, a Transport Ship under Kastor’s control will appear in a creek. It will soon be joined by two Argo ships who can be used to defeat the Scyllas guarding a Shrine (they may need help from the Manticores). Once the Scyllas have been killed, Kastor and some Hydras can garrison within and disembark on the island to destroy the Shrine and defeat all soldiers guarding it. This will grant an additional two uses of Bolt. There are more unit production buildings found beyond the location where formerly stood the Shrine that granted the Traitor God Powers. Players may simply return to that area with their army and repeat the tactic used on the southern buildings to destroy them.

Reaching the Peak
West of the northern buildings is a small cave which hides another Shrine. It is guarded by Shades that instantly kill Myth Units but will only cause some damage to Kastor so he should be sent alone to destroy it. Once that Shrine is destroyed, the player will be granted two uses of Ancestors. Before moving further, the Myth Units stationed near the Sky Passage should pass through the Underworld Passage to join the main army (by this point, no more reinforcements will come anyway). Near the cave is a Fortress guarding the gates to the peak. When player attacks it, several human soldiers will appear in retaliation. Among them will be a handful of Greek heroes so players should use their remaining Bolt God Powers on them starting with Bellerophon and Perseus. Both uses of Ancestors can also be cast to supplement the army. Once Kastor arrives at the Temple of the Gods, the earth will shake violently, causing the building to collapse. Kastor’s soldiers will notice an Olympic Passage and they all immediately head for it to escape Mount Olympus. After this brief cinematic, the player will be rewarded with victory.

Additional Tips

 * Human soldiers will not convert into Myth Units unless the player is deliberately looking at them.
 * If a wounded soldier or Myth Unit changes at a Temple, its HP will adjust to reflect the percentage of damage it took in its previous form.
 * Players can avoid the Fortress by simply attacking the southern gates that lead to the peak.
 * If the Transport Ship in the creek with the island is sunk, it will respawn once.

Trivia

 * The terrain in Mount Olympus is unique as it is not used in any other scenario or random map.