Talk:A Fallen Crown/@comment-2001:E68:5444:10BC:1467:8587:29A7:ADC2-20181203170650

'''It is possible in hard mode. I have practiced several different wins.'''

In my most successful incarnation, I pushed west as fast as I could, not stopping until i reached Begemder's west TC, only then putting down my TC (a weird Persian Douche). To execute this douche, I garrisoned two villagers and the archers, which is just enough to wipe out Begemder's entire starting army, which is very pissed that you're in his base. The rest went to wood and the TC spit out lumberjacks, while simulataneously idling Begemder's TC with strategic arrows. As soon as I had enough wood for a dock, I put it down and fishboomed. Also put some mining camps.

Begemder's TC outshot mine, but I repaired my TC until I could get an archery range, garrison those archers, and win the TC war. Then I immediately popped out those archers out and rushed towards Begemder's second TC, killing all the villagers I could until Begemder cleaned them up.

I put a tower on the shallows (towers are cheaper than castles yo), caught up in eco, then went to Castle Age. With Begemder's first TC gone, I had basically secured control of more than one quarter of the map. Dropped a second TC on Begemder's handsome gold pile and a siege workshop, finally clearing his archery range and stable with rams.

Begemder was late to the Castle Age. As he arrived, the AI was not able to amass high quality troops (no scorpions) before I showed up in his base with two groups of Bodkin crossbowmen and four rams. I killed all its troops in direct combat, hit the mines, rammed his remaining archery ranges, then took out his TC, and Begemder surrendered at 44 minutes on the game clock.

A big army isn't needed to "weaken" Dagnajan, and there's little time. Dagnajan starts his march at 55 mins on the game clock. Four xbows and two rams are enough to wipe out the monks and wonder. Another three rams take down the elephant castle. I got both things done, even raided one red camp, just five minutes before getting notice of Dagnajan's march.

The red army is slow even on the move, so I had time to drop a castle, reach the imperial age, research the techs, especially Royal Heirs and build my army past 30 for the first time...before the first red knights showed up. All were shot down quickly. My first group of arbalests and shotels were wiped out by Dagnajan's bigger group of arbalests and shotels. But I still had a small pocket of shotel warriors waiting near our ally's castle and a second pool of arbalests. My production was continuing non stop.

Dagnajan's onagers arrived, and I suicided my shotels to remove the siege. Then I let the orange castle and his weak feudal army deal with the arbalests. (Orange can take care of himself until the rams show up.)

I moved with arbs to cut off Dagnajan from behind, killing his companions and isolating him alone...but I decided this is not how he dies, and I withdrew again. Decided to spare his live.

The capped rams arrived and mowed down the Orange castle, but my shotels showed up and mowed down the rams. Then I joined all my forces to look for Dagnajan, finding him accompanied by a number of shotels and arbs. Yet with all the nonstop production my army is now bigger than his, and I shot everything, using my arbs on the shotels, and my shotels on his arbs, leaving alive the commander for last. When I finally went for Dagnajan it was 40 to 1 and he had no chance. Completed the mission at 68 minutes of game time.

So if you want a comprehensive victory you need to play aggressively; you need to abuse the fish; you cannot allow Begemder to dictate the pace but you must do to him what he plans to do to you. (Hotkeys are a must.) I was able to play a sprawled out eco with super vulnerable mining camps and mills and vils everywhere; offence is the best defence, no need to mine stone at the beginning. There's enough time to fight Dagnajan, he moves slow; and you have instant speed Shotels. My population got up to 135 before I won, and there never was a problem in combat against red.