More Bandits

More Bandits is the seventh scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to rescue the citizens of Ioklos and Chiron, who is introduced in this scenario.

Summary
Following their victory in the Trojan War, Arkantos and Ajax arrive in Ioklos only to find it in flames. An Old Man warns them that after the Greek troops left for Troy, bandits attacked the city and imprisoned many of the residents, including Chiron. The two heroes must now free enough prisoners to reclaim the city and rescue Chiron.

Objectives

 * 1) Bring Arkantos and Ajax to the prison area to rescue the hostages.
 * 2) Defeat the bandits guarding the prison to free the prisoners.
 * 3) Destroy the enemy Watch Tower and Barracks.
 * 4) Destroy the enemy Watch Tower and Temple.
 * 5) Destroy the Migdol Stronghold to free Chiron.

Players

 * Arkantos (Zeus) – Starts in the Heroic Age with only Arkantos and Ajax and no resources.

Enemies

 * Bandits (Set) – The titular bandits will have several soldiers and Myth Units hiding in the fog waiting to attack the heroes. They also occupy several military buildings just north of what remains of Ioklos.

Allies

 * Ioklos (Zeus) – all citizens will either be prisoners or in pursuit of bandits and will be unable to fight back. When bandits are defeated, most of them will convert to the player’s side.

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

A Militia will recommend the player in taking west road leading to the prison. Along the way, the heroes will first be attacked by two Spearmen but they will easily dispose of them. Next, Arkantos will have his first encounter with several Wadjets but as they are Myth Units, they will also fall quickly despite their numbers. Before approaching first prison, one hero should grab the Relic hidden on a small path to the south. The first prison will be guarded by an additional Wadjet and contain several Centaurs. Once the Wadjet is killed, the Centaurs will convert to the player’s side. These should be used as solely support for the heroes as their defenses are low and they are vulnerable to other Myth Units. When a wall will be removed, the player will be able to move onto the next prison and objective.

Some Militia will be chased by more Spearmen who will also fall quickly to the player’s current army. The next prison will be guarded by additional Wadjet and Spearmen, as well as Guardian Anubites. Players must seek them all out and defeat them to free more Centaurs and Militia and a Helepolis. A Temple and some Academies will also now be available. The Militia will not last long in battle so it would be best to train Hydras, who will easily grow additional heads by fighting the weak Egyptian soldiers or even the remaining Wall pieces, or several infantry units (preferably Hypaspists). The Centaurs can be upgraded with Sylvan Lore if needed but resources must be managed carefully as there are no Villagers available to gather more.

The bandits may begin tearing down the remaining Ioklos buildings so progress must be made quickly to save them as otherwise there will be no way to train additional units. The Helepolis and all other units can be used to tear down the bandit gate blocking access to the buildings in the lower district. Arkantos can use his moral boost to speed up its destruction. A Donkey Caravan must be rescued from more Spearmen while further in the city there will be more of the previously encountered bandits as well as some Hyenas of Set and Scorpion Men (thankfully, Arkantos and Ajax are immune to their poisonous sting). Beyond them are Slingers and an Axeman in the process of destroying an Armory. They will not be able to destroy it very quickly so it is best to have the Centaurs take out any melee units before they go out to defeat them. Meanwhile, the Helepolis should be used to destroy the Watch Tower and Barracks.

Once destroyed, the Stables, Temples, Archery Ranges and Houses will convert to the player’s side and more resources will be provided to the stockpile. Wood can also be salvaged from a Storehouse in the northwest area of the lower district. Following the battle, players can use Restoration to heal all the units and buildings they currently have. More units will be needed before moving on to the upper district and technologies can be researched to improve them. Players can now train some Toxotes to deal with the many infantry units that will be encountered for the remainder of the scenario (they will need protection from Slingers). While building up, one hero should grab a second relic north of the prison.

When ready to press on, the player can destroy the next wall to access the upper district and rescue the remaining citizens of Ioklos by defeating additional bandits. Once the next Watch Tower and Temple are destroyed, more resources will be added to the stockpile and additional buildings will convert to the player’s side, including a Fortress from which Petroboli can be trained. These can be used to destroy the Watch Towers located behind the bandit’s next wall guarding the Acropolis. A Plenty Vault, that will provide resources needed to potentially train additional units, can be captured by sending a scout east while Arkantos and Ajax can grab the third and fourth relics found. When ready to to attack the Acropolis, players should take the east path and cast Bronze onto their soldiers. All soldiers, heroes and Hydras can now take the bandits head on while the archers and Centaurs provide support in the rear. The last wave of bandits will be quite large but this is just to buy time while the Petroboli attack the Migdol Stronghold directly. Once it is destroyed, the player will be rewarded with victory even if there are bandits remaining.

Additional Tips

 * Bandits may randomly spawn in the lower district even after the tower and barracks are destroyed. It may be necessary to send units back to defeat them and save the buildings which cannot be repaired.

Closing Cinematic
Following Chiron’s release, Arkantos confesses that not all the hostages are accounted for. The Centaur advises that the bandits were being lead by Kemsyt and the remaining priosners were taken up the northern road to begin construction on an unknown project. Arkantos tells Ajax to gather all troops and available resources and begin pursuit of Kemsyt. Chiron joins them as well.