A New Power Arises is the first scenario of the Pachacuti campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
Intro[]
'So, you want to know why this region is called the Field of Blood?' The old man peered over in astonishment from his seat in the shadow of his stone hut. He smiled mischievously as he continued, 'You are probably not from here. If you were, you would not have asked such a question.'
I nodded in affirmation, for the old man was right: I was a merchant from the south. 'It is the first time that my path has led to Cuzco, the heart of the Inca Empire', I explained.
'You are fortunate that you have chosen to rest in my village, my young and illiterate friend,' the old man told me, rising and pointing to the entrance of his dwelling.
You must know that I am the most renowned storyteller in the entire valley. If there is anyone who can explain why the plain that surrounds us has that ominous name, it is I,' he said, gesturing to me to enter his house.
'Today, all inhabitants of this region are full of admiration for our empire,' he boasted, 'but everything that is now subject to the Inca had to be conquered. Who knows? If not for Viracocha Inca, we all might still be simple farmers like I am.'
'During the years before his reign, many nearby tribes were periodically conquered, but no garrisons or Inca officials were placed among them. This pattern of raiding and plundering changed during the reign of Viracocha. He would establish permanent rule over the neighboring tribes.'
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
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- Starting age:
Feudal Age - Starting resources: 200 food, 450 wood, 225 gold, 250 stone
- Population limit: 125
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On Standard, the player's base will be guarded by 3 Watch Towers. The player will start with Fletching, Forging, and the Man-at-Arms upgrade already researched. Chanca and Cuyos also will not have any Jaguar Warriors and Plumed Archers as reinforcements.
- On Hard, the Trade Workshops of the Chanca and Cuyos will have more HP.
Main objectives[]
- Capture at least 3 artifacts (Relic Carts) and bring them to the flagged area near your settlement.
Secondary objectives[]
- Pillage Trade Workshops of the Chanca and Cuyos to steal technologies.
- Pay 300 gold units to the Quechua to win them as allies OR
- force them to subdue themselves to your reign by destroying their 4 Watch Towers OR
- wipe them out instead by destroying and plundering their Town Center.
Hints[]
- You are restricted to the Castle Age and a population of 125.
- Apart from llamas, fish can also be an excellent source of food, especially in the beginning of the game. The Incas can build fishing ships, but don't know how to construct war vessels yet.
- Strategically placed walls can be very beneficial and can minimize the risk of getting overrun by your opponents.
- You do not have to exterminate your enemies completely. To win, you only have to take possession of at least three artifacts.
Scouts[]
- The Inca (1, Cyan) have established a small camp to the Southeast of the map. They will need to fortify their settlement soon to be secure against attacks.
- The Cuyos (3, Blue) controls the west of the map. Their army, mostly consisting of Slingers, Skirmishers, and rams, is well-trained and can pose a threat to you. Allegedly, the Cuyos are in possession of at least one artifact.
- The Tambos (4, Purple) are a rather insignificant tribe, living in the Southwest. It should be easy to defeat them for they have very few warriors who are moreover poorly equipped. It's possible that they own an artifact though.
- The Quechua (5, Orange) might attack you in the beginning, but have an open mind about forming an alliance with the Incas. They will train Skirmishers, Archers, swordsmen, and Eagle Warriors.
- In the north, the Chanca (2, Red) have built a strong fortress. Since the Chanca are an expanding power, it is very likely that they will become your main opponent. They will send Archers, Eagle Warriors and Kamayuks into battle. It would not be surprising if the Chanca had also succeeded in capturing an artifact.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Incas): The player starts with a base to the southeast, along with some Villagers and a few Eagle Scouts.
Neutral → Ally[]
- Quechua ( Incas): Quechua has a base protected by towers to the east. They are relatively weak as well, but have more troops than Tambos in their base. They can be the player's ally by either tributing them some gold or destroying all their Watch Towers. They use mostly Men-at-Arms, Eagle Warriors, Archers, and, if they make it to Castle Age, rams. If Quechua becomes the player's ally, they periodically attack the northwestern front of the Chanca base.
Enemies[]
- Chanca ( Incas): Chanca has a fortified base to the north. They are the most powerful enemy and will train Men-at-Arms/Long Swordsmen, Archers/Crossbowmen, Eagle Warriors, Kamayuks, and rams. They also have some Jaguar Warriors in their base. Chanca has 1 Relic Cart available in their base.
- Cuyos ( Incas): Cuyos lies to the west with a walled-off fortress. They train mainly Skirmishers, Plumed Archers (despite being represented by the Incas) and rams for attacking, but also use Long Swordsmen, Eagle Warriors, and Monks if their base is under attack. 2 Relic Carts can be found in their territory.
- Tambos ( Incas): Tambos has a base to the south and is very close to the player's starting position, but they are overall the weakest opponent in the scenario. Tambos mainly uses Men-at-Arms and possesses one Relic Cart.
Strategy[]
Assuming Hard difficulty. The prime objective should be reaching the Castle Age as soon as possible. Enemies will raid the player early on, so make sure to have some units for defense when booming. Gold and Stone are a bit scarce because they scatter around the entire map in a group of 2-3, which might easily get harassed by enemies; therefore, the player should use Market to acquire gold at first.
Tambos is the easiest target of all enemies. They only use infantry, so it's rather easy to counter them with either Archers or Slingers. Once the player makes it to the Castle Age, get some Slingers and garrisoned rams and they will be annihilated without too many troubles. One Relic Cart can be found in their base, so make sure to bring it back to the designated area. The Relic Cart can move by itself back to the player's base, but it is recommended to accompany them with a unit so that they don't get converted to the enemies' possession.
Quechua is initially hostile but will soon offer to join the player. The player can make them allies by either paying them 300 gold or destroying all of their Watch Towers. Paying gold is recommended and it will soon pay off because they give the player extra resources periodically (every 9 minutes). Otherwise, the player can defeat them by destroying their Town Center. Defeating them gives the player 250 gold.
Cuyos usually attacks the player from the west, with an army of mostly Skirmishers, Plumed Archers, and rams. Because they start with a fortified camp, they can usually make it to Castle Age soon. It's recommended to attack them from the south because their Castle guards the bridge. They should not be underestimated; while their raiding army is easy to counter, they do train infantry and Monks for defense, so make sure to bring some counter units. There are two Trade Workshops in their base; destroying them gives access to Siege Engineers and Plate Mail Armor. Cuyos will resign if their Castle and Town Center are down, but the player should target their other military buildings as well to cease their production. One Relic Cart can be found near their Castle and another one is on a small island that needs a Transport Ship to retrieve. If the player gets both Relic Carts from Cuyos, Chanca is not necessary to be wiped out because the player already has 3 Relic Carts, though the player might still want to do it if they want to finish the secondary objective.
Chanca, the last of all the enemies, is also the strongest one. They start with a fortified base, so they can also reach Castle Age soon. Their army is made of Kamayuks, Eagles, Swordsmen, Archers, and rams. They will be also reinforced by Jaguar Warriors if the player's army is inside their base. Their Castle is near their east gate, so the player might want to attack from either the west or south. The remaining two Trade Workshops are in their base; destroying them gives access to Capped Ram and Bracer. Chanca resigns if their Castle and two Town Centers are down. One Relic Cart can be found in the middle of their base.
Cuyos and Chanca trade with each other. However, this trade can easily be disrupted by building a Castle in the middle of it and the player repositioning their troops there to defend it. Cuyos and Chanca will likely start attacking it instead of the player's home base. This also causes them to waste resources by constantly producing Trade Carts and sending them to their doom. It also means they waste a lot more resources sending armies to attack, as they die and need to be replenished a lot quicker.
Notably, since the Cuyos and Chanca cannot rebuild their Town Centers, Petards can be used to rush them down after being transported by Transport Ships. This is risky, but the player can save the game before trying in case anything goes wrong. While this will not cause them to resign, this will make them significantly weaker and they will start becoming increasingly weaker over time. Redundant troops and Transport Ships should be added to give the enemy something else to attack to save health on the Petards and the Transport Ships they are in.
Petards are easy to afford in the late game due to Fish Traps and trading with Quechua. Chanca has two Town Centers rather than the usual 1. The main benefit of Petards is that it requires the player to concentrate for far less time, as less time is spent attacking, which can help if the player is feeling bored. Once the Town Centers are down, the game is mostly won. Transport Ships can be used to move troops into vulnerable areas behind defenses, especially the empty areas left behind by the Town Center.
Alternate strategy[]
The player can use Petards against the Quechua towers when affordable. Next, they can try to wall in from three directions as soon as possible, then put up Castles on each side, garrison them with Skirmishers, and bolster with Kamayuks or Slingers to defend against rams. Use Fishing Ships and mine the gold in the east. The player can mine the gold in the middle part of the map without being harassed and also chop wood (using Transport Ships to get there). After the player has stockpiled sufficient resources, they can defend the miners in the lower middle part of map. The player will soon need the stone in the west. Transport ships and Petards can help in the passage up the river.
Outro[]
'Viracocha was convinced that he was favored by the gods,' the old man continued in a tone that suddenly seemed scornful, 'but in truth he owed his victories to his two generals: Vicaquirao and Apo Mayta. They were the strategists behind the military tactics that made the conquest of the Cuzco valley possible in the first place.'
'Viracocha was too conceited to realize that, and his pride following their hard-fought triumph nearly led the Inca to ruin.'
