| “ | Enraged by the burning of Sardis, the Persians pursue the Greek rebels to the city of Ephesus. | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
Chasing Smoke is the fifth scenario of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece.
Intro[]
Fire is sacred to the Persians: in fire, they see the light and truth of their supreme god, Ahuramazda.
So imagine their horror, as they watched the holy shrines of Sardis go up in flames; imagine their fear, as they fought the pitiless blaze; imagine their anger, as Aristagoras fled the city with his Greek marauders.
Whether it was arson or accident, the burning of Sardis would spark untold horrors for both the Greeks and Persians - invasions, massacres, slaughters, sieges. All these things I will relate to you, in good time.
Artaphernes had no notion of what great and terrible events were to come - he was focused purely on bringing the treacherous Aristagoras to justice.
His face still blackened with ash, Artaphernes gathered his swiftest riders and rode out after the rebels at a furious gallop.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Civic Age - Starting resources: None
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Artaphernes
- Datis
- 8 Royal Lancer
- 4 Royal Light Cavalry
- 8 Royal Cavalry Archer
- 5 Royal War Chariot
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Wait for your main force to arrive and set up a base.
- Claim bandit ambush sites by capturing their building. Select the building to launch ambushes.
- Destroy the Fort of Ephesus.
Secondary objectives[]
- x/5 ambush sites ready to use.
- Destroy Aristagoras' Supply Carts for resources.
- Kill as many of Aristagoras' men as you can. The more you slay, the easier Ephesus will be to besiege. Kill: x
- Kill x/3 Green Ionian Strategoi.
- Build a Shipyard and train 5 military ships.
- Investigate reports of an unusual presence in the south.
- Retrieve Artemisia's Horse from Bandits.
- Use flares to direct Artemisia's forces.
- Destroy Ionian Supply Carts that try to enter Ephesus.
- Destroy Ionian Convoys that try to flee Ephesus.
- Choose an aura effect for Artaphernes at the Temple of Mithra. Choose to have Artaphernes strengthen nearby cavalry, infantry, or archers.
Hints[]
- You cannot advance beyond the Classical Age.
- At the start of this scenario, you must set up ambushes for the incoming Greek army. Claim ambush sites from the bandits by capturing the building at the ambush site (attack it until it converts to you).
- Archer ambush sites can be used unlimited times, but have a 30 second reload time. Rockslide ambush sites can be used only once.
- Your main forces will soon arrive and allow you to establish a base.
- You have two different naval buildings. The Port trains economic and scout ships. The Shipyard trains military ships.
- Fishing ships can gather gold from Oysters, which you can find at sea.
- The Achaemenids can upgrade their Town Centers to specialize in economic productivity, military productivity, or defense.
- In the Classical Age, you can choose between two mutually-exclusive technologies at the Fort. Choosing one will disable the other.
- Find the Temple of Mithra to start an aura quest for Artaphernes.
Players[]
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Player[]
- Player ( Achaemenids): The player starts with a force of units in the northern corner of the map.
Allies[]
- Ionian Villages ( Achaemenids): The Ionian Villages is one base with eight villagers southwest of the player's starting position. The player later commandeers this base after the initial phase of the scenario.
- Temple of Mithra ( Achaemenids): The Temple of Mithra is located along the southeastern edge of the map, around the center. They provide an aura upgrade for Artaphernes after the player eliminates the three Green Ionian Strategoi.
- Artemisia ( Athenians): Artemisia has a small base located just northeast of the bottom corner, along the edge of the map. She will offer aid upon rescuing her prized horse from a bandit base in the eastern corner of the map.
Enemies[]
- Aristagoras ( Athenians - Ionians): Aristagoras has initially very little presence until four minutes into the scenario, whereupon, squads at a time, several hundred units will begin to spawn at the edge of the map, following the road through the Ambush Sites to the city. They will also periodically spawn in more units and resource carts to send to Ephesus.
- Ephesus ( Athenians - Ionians): The city of Ephesus, in which Aristagoras is hiding. They will train both land and sea units, but only send the occasional attack by land.
- Bandits ( Spartans - Ionians): The Bandits have small stations of units guarding each of the Ambush Sites the player needs to take control of, and a larger base in the eastern corner of the map. This base does not train units or attack, and is not accessible until the player gains the side objective from Artemisia.
- Aristagoras' Army ( Athenians - Ionians): This player is actually counted under the Bandits mechanically, but acts independently. So, while they do not appear in the bottom corner, they will periodically train units to attack the player from one of their three bases. One base is center of the northeastern edge of the map, one is in the center of the map, and one is in the southern corner.
- Athenian Fleet ( Athenians): The Athenian fleet provides a very strong wall of ships along the coast of Ephesus, making it very difficult to take out the fleeing ships. However, if the player can reach their Shipyards on the coast along the southwestern edge of the map, and destroy/covert them, the Athenian fleet flees.
Strategy[]
Ambushing Aristagoras's convoy[]
At the beginning, immediately send all units to the Ambush Site furthest west, and capture each one as the player progresses down the road. Continue to capture Ambush Sites as Aristagoras' forces begin spawning in. Each Ambush Site has a collection of skeletons and green plants on the road nearby, indicating where the kill-zone is.
Aristagoras sends groups of several soldiers - cavalry, infantry, and ranged, of all sorts. However, make sure to prioritize Supply Carts, as they tribute resources to the player once they are killed. Do not directly face the convoy in combat, as Aristagoras's armies outnumber the starting force. The more of the soldiers the player manages to kill, the fewer there are to garrison Ephesus.
Utilize every available Archer Ambush Site on the road. Do not use the rockslides until a large number of units are in the kill-zone, as they are one-off ambushes and more effective than Outposts. Ambushes do not always kill everyone in the kill-zone, particularly in larger groups.
Keep the player's forces on the southern side of the skeletons at the last Ambush Site, and have them clean up small numbers of units if possible. If needed, run the player's forces around in a circle to keep the Greek forces in the kill-zone.
Setting up a base and getting resources[]
Once enough time has passed, the player receives units in the northern corner. Send them straight to the Ionian Villages to take control of it, and build up the economy and military as fast as the player can. If the player was able to save any district in the previous scenario, they will receive bonuses based on districts that were saved, including free technologies and early access to War Chariots.
The player can get more resources, mostly gold, by intercepting Ionian Supply Carts and Ionian Convoy. After a period of time, Aristagoras will send a small army escorting a single Supply Cart starting from the northern green base. The player can stop the cart before it reaches Ephesus. Use the starting units led by Artaphernes and Datis, and heal them in the Temple of Mithra once they are out of combat.
In the naval part, Aristagoras attempts to send off Ionian Convoys. Like Ionian Supply Carts, each convoy only contains a single Ionian Transport Ship guarded by a few ships. Destroying each Transport Ship grants the player gold. However, be careful of the Athenian Fleet guarding the base.
The player can remove the Athenian Fleet by attacking the Shipyards of the Athenian Fleet until they are converted to the player's side. This causes the Athenian Fleet to retreat from the scenario.
Defending against Aristagoras[]
Aristagoras' Army, the green player, will send the occasional attack by land, and so will Ephesus. Aristagoras's army trains all kinds of units from all three bases. Ephesus sometimes makes a naval or a land offensive. Building up army or setting up a defensive Fort is recommended. Keep in mind that Ambush Site towers can now be attacked, whether to keep them safe or ignore them completely is up to the player's choice. On standard difficulty, as long as the player does not lure them to the player's base, the player will not be attacked by sea, so leave the navy building for now.
One of the ways to defend is to take out the center green base, eliminating the southern gate and replacing it, then finding the small passes through the trees between this base and the final Ambush Site. If the player can wall off these passes, any attacking units will need to pass through the Ambush Site.
Helping Artemisia and getting an aura for Artaphernes[]
Once the player gets the objective to explore to the south, do so.
The Temple of Mithra is located south of the purple Ambush Site. This prompts the player to search for three Strategoi, with one in each green base. Destroying them enables Artaphernes to gain a third aura.
To the southwest of the Temple of Mithra, there is Artemisia, an ally with a small base. She will give the player an objective to rescue her horse from a bandit base in the east. This unlocks the mountains, so the player can now reach the base and clear a path to the horse. The horse is automatically converted to the player once the player reaches there. However, the bandits are still aggressive and can kill the horse.
Get the horse back to Artemisia, and she will now assist the player, sending her units to wherever the player flares. She will not attack Aristagoras' Army buildings, but will clear units from their bases, making them easier to clear. Additionally, completing her objective counts as half of the "Friend of Artemisia" Achievement.
With help from Artemisia, who trains her own rams, assault the city, luring what the player can of the enemy out of the gates until the player can flood in, and focus on bringing down the Fort.
Gallery[]
