Confrontation

Confrontation is the fifth scenario of the Tale of the Dragon campaign in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. The main objective is to defeat enough of Danzhu’s soldiers to force him to retreat.

Summary
After traveling north as Dilong instructed, Jiao-Long and Shun have finally found the entrance to the underworld. A scout urgently warns them that Danzhu has also arrived and is leading a force of over two-hundred men. Despite the Emperor’s son warning them that they must leave immediately or be attacked, the outnumbered heroes prepare for battle.

Objectives

 * 1) Scout the area and look for possible ambush sites.
 * 2) Force Danzhu to withdraw by killing enough of his men.

Players
Jiao-Long (Nü Wa) – Has no resources and no buildings but controls Jiao-Long and Shun, as well as thirty-two Heavy Chu Ko Nu, thirty-two Heavy Halberdiers and thirty-two Heavy Cataphracts. Also controls two Heavy Scout Cavalries.

Enemies
Danzhu’s Forces (Shennong) – Danzhu is commanding a large army of soldiers, consisting of Heavy Halberdiers, Heavy Chu Ko Nu and Generals. Also has a Monk that will attempt to convert any of the player’s soldiers that comes too close to Danzhu.

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

The player is given one minute to explore the map for potential ambush sites. Thankfully the map of this scenario is very small and will only take a few seconds for the Scout Cavalries to fully explore. One scout can be sent to the west where they will find an unstable boulder overlooking a narrow pass. The boulders have only 5 HP, making them easy to knock over, but must not be touched just yet. Meanwhile, the second scout can move to the east where a second unstable boulder will be found. Finally, directly behind the heroes is a plateau with narrow passes, where a soldier recommends they station their Chu Ko Nu as protection from Danzhu’s Halberdiers.

When the countdown expires, Danzhu will immediately send forth his soldiers divided into regiments consisting of one General leading some Chu Ko Nus and some Halberdiers. As they move as one, the army moves only as fast as the Chu Ko Nu (4 meters per second), so the player has the advantage of speed seeing how Danzhu lacks any other cavalry. The first regiment will head towards the western boulder while the fifth will be stationed by the eastern boulder. To be lured under each boulder, they must be able to keep up with their bait so using the Scout Cavalry will be enough but it must not wander outside the enemy line of sight. At the same time, some Cataphracts can be stationed next to the boulder waiting until the regiment pass directly beneath it. When ready, the Cataphracts must just strike the boulder and it will collapse, instantly killing any enemy soldiers beneath it. In the process, the Scout Cavalries will likely be sacrificed as well.

For the remains of Danzhu’s army, Jiao-Long and Shun themselves can be used as bait as they both have a speed of 4.3 meters per second, enabling them to outrun Danzhu’s regiments. The player’s Chu Ko Nu can be stationed atop the plateau and wait for the enemy to arrive in pursuit of the heroes and then smite them with arrows as they try to all pass through the choke points. A few minutes after the countdown expires, Danzhu will send some reinforcements. If at any time the player feels overwhelmed, they can use the Earth Dragon God Power to accelerate the killing of enemies. The dragon is stationary and only around for three minutes, so it must be carefully planted where enemies will stand for a long period of time. Once one-hundred and fifty of Danzhu’s soldiers have been killed, the player will be rewarded with victory.

Closing Cinematic
After losing a large percentage of his army, Danzhu’s General recommends that they withdraw to prevent further losses. As Danzhu warns the heroes of his imminent return, Jiao-Long and Shun rejoice over their victory.