| “ | Holme is dead, but Custer is on the move. Is it to late to stop a war? | ” |
| —Description in the Definitive Edition | ||
Battle of the Greasy Grass (Battle of the Little Bighorn before the Definitive Edition) is the seventh and final scenario of Act II: Shadow in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs. It depicts Chayton's final battle against the United States army led by Custer, who had decided to follow his orders to wage war against the natives. Chayton and Uncle Frank (Crazy Horse before the Definitive Edition) rally the tribes to fight back and protect their lands. It's based on the battle of the same name between the Lakota and the United States Army led by Lieutenant George A. Custer in June 25, 1876.
In the Definitive Edition, the story is mostly the same, but Crazy Horse has been replaced with Frank Warbonnet.
Summary[]
After Holme's death, the bandit attacks had stopped, but Chayton still had one loose end: Custer. Chayton met with his uncle Frank to prepare the attack on Custer's bases before the lieutenant arrived with the bulk of his army to raze the Lakota village. The battle that would define the future of the Great Plains was about to begin...
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
- Bring the three Cheyenne Warchiefs to the Lakota Town Center.
- Defend the Lakota camp until General Custer arrives.
- Kill Custer. (After the Town Centers are destroyed)
Secondary objectives[]
- Destroy both enemy Town Centers.
- Destroy General Custer's buildings.
Players[]
Player[]
- Black Family Estate (
Lakota; Black Family Estate before the Definitive Edition): The player starts with 12 Rifle Riders, several Villagers, a Community Plaza, a Town Center, and 8 Teepees. The player has 15 minutes to gather the Cheyenne Warchiefs, and another 15 to prepare for the arrival of Custer's main army.
Ally[]
- Frank Warbonnet (Crazy Horse before the Definitive Edition) ( Lakota; Black Family Estate before the Definitive Edition): Uncle Frank/Crazy Horse starts with 8 Rifle Riders. After instructing Chayton to gather the Cheyenne Warchiefs, he moves with his soldiers east off the map in search of new allies for the final battle.
Enemies[]
- Custer's Army (George Armstrong Custer before the Definitive Edition) ( United States): Custer's Army consists of Hussars, Skirmishers, and Falconets. The player must defeat their army and kill Custer to win the scenario.
- Custer's Ring Wing (U.S West Camp before the Definitive Edition) ( United States): Custer's Right Wing consists of several Barracks and Stables and a Town Center which the player must destroy in order to weaken Custer's main army.
- Custer's Left Wing (U.S East Camp before the Definitive Edition) ( United States): Custer's Left Wing consists of several Barracks and Stables and a Town Center which the player must destroy in order to weaken Custer's main army.
Treasures[]
There are nine treasures on the map: two in the south and southeast on the map, two on the northern side of the river, two in the northwest of the river behind the western enemy base, and three northeast of the river behind the eastern enemy base and along the canyon.
The map[]
Minimap
A large and sinuous canyon runs across the map from north to south between Custer's bases. The terrain is similar to that of Great Plains. Herds of Bison are found cautiously foraging for food in the south and north of the river, although they are not a recommended food source because of enemy attacks from the U.S bases in the west and east of the river. Silver Mines are dotted throughout the map in the northwest and northeast behind the enemy bases. The Villagers can get coin from them after the enemy bases are destroyed, in preparation of the main Custer attack in the end of the scenario.
Strategy[]
When the scenario begins, the player must quickly prepare their base to produce and upgrade military units. There is a finite amount of time before Custer's forces arrive, and the player must also deal with existing enemy patrols.
While the scenario is beginning, Crazy Horse (or Uncle Frank Warbonnet in the Definitive Edition) will ask Chayton to rally the other tribes in the region. Bringing Chayton to the chief of each of these tribes will start a dialogue chain that turns over control of that tribe to the player. It is usually in the player's best interest to have Chayton visit each tribe as soon as possible while the rest of the player's units gather resources and set up production buildings.
After some time passes, the game will point out that Custer's allies have not yet committed their forces to the army. This unlocks a highly recommended secondary objective to destroy the small military bases on either side of the canyon to the north. Each location marked on the map will spawn a group of enemies during the finale if not destroyed, and thus it is in the player's interest to start destroying these bases once they have enough troops. It can be a good idea to start with the far north bases, as those are the first Custer will visit when he arrives.
Once the timer to Custer's arrival runs out, he appears at the far northern side of the canyon that runs down the map. He marches at the speed of his slower units, giving the player time for some last-minute preparations for his attack. As he passes each hillside base, he'll either call out his allies or note that his reinforcements were denied (by the player destroying the base in question).
The canyon is not accessible by the player during Custer's march, but it is possible to station ranged units along the sides of the canyon to fire down at his forces. If the player has an excess of archers or gunpowder units, it can be a good idea to pick off some enemies this way. Either way, the real battle begins when Custer reaches the end of the canyon and breaks the rocks blocking it from the player.
Once the final battle begins, the main objective for the player is to survive while defeating Custer himself. If the player has been training units whenever possible and denied Custer his reinforcements, this should not be a difficult fight. Once Custer is vulnerable, the player should focus attacks on Custer to take him down, thus ending the scenario.
Trivia[]
- The original name for this scenario is the name most commonly used by the United States to describe the event, aside from "Custer's Last Stand". The title used in the Definitive Edition is the name used by the Lakota and Cheyenne, who are the protagonists of the scenario.
- Before the addition of the Battle of Queenston Heights historical battle, this was the only scenario in the Age of Empires III campaign that the color used by the player was anything other than blue.
- In The WarChiefs, the Native Scouts that Custer sent to the player's base in the beginning of the scenario were a Wakina Rifle and a Warrior. In the Definitive Edition, they were replaced by two Skirmishers.
- Chronologically, this scenario is the latest in Age of Empires III, and in the entire series.
Gallery[]
