Loki's Temples

It is said that the gods of Asgard will grant blessings upon any who destroy Loki’s Temples in these mountains.

Brokk considering how to reclaim the Golden Boar

Loki’s Temples is the fourth and final scenario of The Golden Gift campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to free the Golden Boar from Loki and his worshipers.

Summary
Brokk and Eitri have entered Loki’s mountains searching for the Golden Boar he has stolen from their forge. After spotting it being held by Loki’s minions, they decide to raise an army to retrieve it so that it can be delivered to its rightful owner, Freyr.

Objectives

 * 1) Destroy the Loki Temple near your Town Center.
 * 2) Bring Brokk and Eitri to the great metallic Battle Boar.

Players

 * Brokk and Eitri (Thor) – Starts in the Mythic Age with no God Powers. Alongside Brokk and Eitri are nine Dwarves, one Ox Cart, one Ballista, four Raiding Cavalry and a handful of buildings.

Neutral

 * Golden Boar (Odin) – Consists solely of the oversized Battle Boar first seen in Fight at the Forge.

Enemies

 * Loki (Loki) – Has Temples scattered all around the map as well as a large base located to the west. Will occasionally send Hersirs to seek out and collect Relics.

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

Preparations
Player should task the Dwarves, Brokk and Eitri to gather resources while training more Dwarves to get a strong economy going. Many Dwarves should be tasked into gathering Wood, partly to get the necessary resources to train Throwing Axemen but mainly because Dwarves gather Wood slightly slower that regular Gatherers. Using their starting army, players can destroy the Temple highlighted by the first objective. This will grant them one use of the Great Hunt God Power that can be cast onto the nearby Elks. Next, after training two Hersirs from the Longhouse, players can move on to another Temple guarded by some Giant-Killer Einherjars located northwest. The Ballista can actually destroy it without being detected thanks to its impressive range. Destroying that Temple will great another use of Great Hunt.

If the small army continues north around a small lake, they will find a third Temple guarded by additional Einherjars. Destroying that one will grant the player one use of Flaming Weapons. One of the Hersirs can collect the Mithril Horseshoes Relic located behind it. A Temple will need to be built in order to garrison it inside and obtain its benefits. An additional Temple is located near a pond, this time directly south of the previous one. It will also grant one use of Flaming Weapons. While it’s being taken care of, players should begin training Throwing Axemen and two Valkyries to maintain their health. Houses may also need to be built as the population cap is reached. The player’s army can be stationed by an unclaimed Settlement located near where two bodies of water create a narrow pass. A Hill Fort can be built nearby for defense.

Fighting Loki’s Minions
Loki’s first attack will arrive roughly nine minutes into the scenario and will consist of Hersirs, Ulfsarks, Throwing Axemen and Einherjars. To counter these, players should continue training Throwing Axemen as well as Jarls and Ballistae. If the player is feeling overwhelmed, they can use one of their Flaming Weapons. Loki will begin attacking periodically, taking time to retrain his units. Using these brief moments of peace, players can send some units to seek out additional Temples or Relics. There is one Temple located west near the walls of Loki’s worshipers and another further south that is guarded by Trolls and a Watch Tower. Both of these will provide one use of Undermine when destroyed. If Loki attacks while the units are away, they must be sent immediately, making sure that no Ballista move with them as they will slow them down. Loki’s following attacks will begin to include Raiding Cavalry, Jarls, Huskarls and Mountain Giants so players should begin training Ulfsarks. Favor will accumulate quickly from these attacks so players may also train Fenris Wolf Brood in bulk.

If Loki is allowed to advance to the Mythic Age, he will worship Tyr to cast the Fimbulwinter God Power. If players cannot level their base before then, they should save resources to research Masons and Architects and/or have Hersirs waiting at their Town Centers in anticipation. Once an army is large enough to attack Loki’s base and well upgraded, players can cast Undermine on the Walls and Towers encountered to quickly pass through. Any Tower still standing should be destroyed with Ballistae. The first buildings found will be Houses which should be destroyed right away to starve the enemy of population space. The extra Undermine can be used either on a Hill Fort or one of the two Town Centers to weaken them. It is best to first destroy all buildings in the base as quickly as possible to stop the enemy from replenishing their units, and then to kill the survivors. Destroying the Temples within the base will grant one use of Forest Fire each. The are also Trolls stationed atop the cliffs that are overlooking the base. The only means to kill them is to use Throwing Axemen.

Retrieving the Golden Boar
Additional Hersirs can now be trained to join the army. Once fully healed by the Valkyries, the army can continue between the cliffs located in the rear of Loki’s Worshipers’ base. There will be another Wall, this one guarded by Einherjars spawning from a Temple. These should be destroyed to pass through, though this Temple will not grant any God Powers. When the army arrives at a forked road, they should take the right path which will be blocked by a forest of Pine Trees. Loki will cast Walking Woods onto them to attack the intruders but player can cast Forest Fire to clear the remaining trees and destroy the Watch Towers and possible kill any Walking Woods unable to escape the flames. Once the path is clear, players should just pass through and kill any Walking Woods guarding the Golden Boar. After destroying the Walls surrounding the Golden Boar, if Brokk and Eitri are brought close enough to it, players will be rewarded with victory.

Additional Tips

 * To increase their defenses, players can build Towers atop the acropolis located near the Settlement where their army is standing its ground.
 * There is one more Temple that grants one use of Flaming Weapons. It is located on a small island near the center of the map. Destroy it will require training Dragon Ships or sending soldiers across the water using a Transport Ship.
 * The island is also where the Wand of Gambantein Relic is located.
 * Even more interesting, two Houses belonging to Loki are found near there and destroying them can grant the player a population advantage.
 * If the scenario goes on for long enough, Loki will eventually run out of resources and send his Gatherers outside the safety of the Walls. These can be raided.
 * If the safe Gold Mines on the map begin to run out, players should consider setting up a Market and a trade route.