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Claiming Territory (named Land Grab in the original) is the first scenario of the Glory of Greece campaign in Age of Empires. It tells the story of a Greek tribe (Athens) overcoming the other Greeks.

Scenario instructions[]

Description[]

NuRoR clubman attack
โ€œMycenae, 1600 BCE

The Mediterranean climate of the Peloponnese region is well suited to agriculture. To thrive and expand in an increasingly hostile world, however, your people must take possession of suitable forage lands. Three other groups already inhabit this area โ€“ of the three, the Pelasgians are the strongest.

Establish five Farms to sustain the agricultural needs of your people, and destroy all Pelasgian Farms to deal a crippling blow to your most powerful neighbor. It may be necessary to eliminate the Achaeans or Danaans to obtain a foothold in this region before taking the fight to the Pelasgians.
โ€
—In-game section

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

  • Destroy all Pelasgian Farms.
  • Build 5 Farms.

Hints[]

  1. The Mycenaeans are restricted to the Tool Age and a population limit of 50.
  2. The first potential location for your Town Center is also the hardest to defend. Looking for a better place to construct your base is advisable.
  3. Attack only when you are truly ready; the Pelasgians are well prepared for an onslaught.
  4. Our rivals have claimed several important resource gathering sites. Seizing these will be vital to your success.

Description[]

โ€œMycenae, 1600 BCE

The Mediterranean climate of the Peloponnese region is well suited to agriculture. To thrive and expand in an increasingly hostile world, however, your people must take possession of suitable forage lands. Three other groups already inhabit this areaโ€”of the three, the Pelasgians are the strongest. Establish five Farms to sustain the agricultural needs of your people, and destroy all Pelasgian Farms to deal a crippling blow to your most powerful neighbor. lt may be necessary to eliminate the Achaeans or Danaans to obtain a foothold in this region before taking the fight to the Pelasgians.
โ€
—In-game section

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

  • Destroy all Pelasgian Farms.
  • Build 5 Farms.

Hints[]

  • The first potential location for your Town Center is also the hardest to defend. Looking for a better Place to construct your base is advisable.
  • Attack only when you are truly ready; the Pelasgians are well prepared for an onslaught.
  • Our rivals have claimed several important resource gathering sites. Seizing these will be vital to your success.
  • The Mycenaeans are restricted to the Tool Ageโ€”you cannot advance to the Bronze Age.

Description[]

โ€œ2000 BC

The Ice Age is over and food is plentiful. To survive and grow in an increasingly hostile world, however, your tribe must take possession of good forage lands. There are three other tribes in this area already - the Dorians are the strongest. Build five Farms to establish your presence in the valley, while destroying all Dorian Farms to weaken your most powerful neighbor. It may be necessary to eliminate the Ionians or Tirynians first to obtain a foothold in this area.
โ€
—In-game section

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

  • Destroy all Dorian Farms.
  • Establish 5 Farms.

Hints[]

  • The best place for your Town Center may be poorly guarded.
  • Attack only when you are truly ready; the Dorians are well-prepared for an onslaught.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): Starts out in the Stone Age with 6 Clubmen and 4 Villagers. The player is located just west of the Danaans beyond a small ridge of trees.

Enemies[]

  • Pelasgians (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): The Pelasgians occupy the westernmost section of the map and are already in the Tool Age. They start out with four Clubmen and all available Stone Age buildings as well as having a Market and five Farms as well as four Villagers and a Town Center. Their village is secured by two Watch Towers, making a rush on them impossible. They are the strongest opponent on the map and will quickly train a Tool Age military after several minutes if left undisturbed. They may attack one of the other tribes at any moment during the beginning of the game. On moderate and easier difficulties, the Dorians will strictly attack the player from the west but may attack along multiple fronts on harder difficulties. They are allied with the Danaans.
  • Danaans (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): The Danaans reside along the southern most area of the map and starts out in the Stone Age. This player has a Town Center and three houses as well as three Villagers and four Clubmen. They also occupy a stone mine just northeast of their settlement which is surrounded by Small Walls and protected by a Watch Tower. They are the closest enemy and the weakest to the player, being located just east of them beyond the small ridge of trees. They are allied with the Pelasgians.
  • Achaeans (Achaeans before Return of Rome) (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): The Achaeans occupy the northern area of the map and starts out in the Stone Age. This player starts out similarly to the Danaans in terms of unit composition and their numbers but has four houses instead of three. They're also a weak enemy.

Player[]

  • Player (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): Starts out in the Stone Age and are located just west of the Tirynians beyond the small ridge of trees.

Enemies[]

  • Dorians (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): The Dorians occupy the westernmost section of the map and is already in the Tool Age. They start out with no Houses and only three Clubmen but have all available Stone Age buildings as well as having a Market and five Farms as well as three Villagers and a Town Center. They are the strongest opponent on the map and will quickly train a Tool Age military after several minutes if left undisturbed. They may attack one of the other tribes at any moment during the beginning of the game. On moderate and easier difficulties, the Dorians will strictly attack the player from the west but may attack along multiple fronts on harder difficulties.
  • Tirynians (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): The Tirynians reside along the southern most area of the map and starts out in the Stone Age. This player has a Town Center and three houses as well as three Villagers and four Clubmen. They also occupy a stone mine just northeast of their settlement which is surrounded by Small Walls and protected by a Watch Tower. They are the closest player to Athens, being located just east of them beyond the small ridge of trees.
  • Ionians (Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks): The Ionians occupy the northern area of the map and starts out in the Stone Age. This player starts out similarly to the Tirynians in terms of unit composition and their numbers but has two houses instead of three. They are the closest to the Dorians, which may attack them first if the player has not yet built a Town Center.

Strategy[]

This scenario is not as easy as one would expect from the first scenario of a campaign. The player and the Dorians are limited to the Tool Age, with only Axemen, Bowmen, Scouts, and (in The Rise of Rome) Slingers at the player's disposal. If the game takes too long to be finished, the Tyrynians (Danaans) and Ionians (Achaeans) may advance to the Bronze Age (this rarely happens though). However, if they manage to advance, they won't be able to do much anything with it since the map lacks Gold. In the Definitive Edition, all players are limited to the Tool Age.

To the northwest of the player's starting position are a few Stone Mines, some huntable animals, and plenty of trees; the player may need all of these depending on their strategy. The player may choose to build a Town Center there, or may alternatively take over the Tyrinian (Danaan) base immediately. This is practical because their area has more resources and is easier to defend. This could be what the hints mean by "the best place for your town center may be poorly guarded". In other words, the best place to start is at the weak spot of the enemies. If the player chooses to opt for this strategy, the player should build up immediately. Closing off entrances to the base with makeshift walls consisting of Storage Pits or Barracks will impede most attacks directly, providing a warning for the player before they enter your base. If necessary for a last resort protection, the player may wish to construct secondary walls or close off other passageways using Houses.

The player should Age up as quickly as possible. A Market will allow the ability to build farms. Not only will they be needed to complete the scenario, they will also be the best source of food when all other sources have been exhausted.

Build a Barracks and an Archery Range, and start making Bowmen and Axemen (upgrading Clubmen will provide the player with the best soldiers on the map). Researching Watch Tower from the Granary will allow the ability to build defenses to impede Dorian (Pelasgian) assaults.

Once the player has built up a force of a dozen or more soldiers, and upgraded their defense and attack at the Storage Pit, the player can now bring the offensive to the Dorians (Pelasgians). The player can bring along a Scout or two to find enemy Farms more feasibly, but they shouldn't be used for fighting unless as a last resort. They're too expensive for combat. Taking out all unit production buildings will cease their production of soldiers, which will make the main objective easier. However, this isn't strictly necessary. As long as the player searched and destroyed all enemy farms, the scenario will be complete.

Alternatively, the player can win this campaign without even building up much of a base and instead attack the Dorians (Pelasgians) from the beginning. The player should immediately bring the offensive to the Dorians who reside along the northwest portion of the map. The player may choose to bring all of their units including Villagers into the attack or leave them behind to gather wood after completing the construction of a Storage Pit, a Barracks and several houses near the player's starting area. Once the Dorians have been weakened, the player can build a Barracks and a few Houses near the settlement if the player has not yet done so already. After all of Doria's (Pelasgia's) military units have been eliminated, the player may then attack the other surrounding tribes before either of them gets stronger. Once all enemy military units are out of the way, destroy any remaining buildings and Villagers, and you win. This can be very difficult though, especially on the Hardest difficulty.

Hint: If other tribes have built their own Farms, the player will have to destroy them as well.

History[]

Historical notes[]

โ€œMycenaean civilization first developed in the Argolis region of the Peloponnese, but soon spread to many of the neighboring lands. The early Mycenaean economy was primarily based on a combination of agriculture and pastoralism, centered on the cultivation of cereal crops and the keeping of livestock. When improved farming techniques increased agricultural efficiency, Mycenaean society complexified considerably, allowing for a division of labor and significant expansion. The Mycenaeans developed new industries, includingโ€”but not limited toโ€”pottery, metalworking, shipbuilding, and trade With neighboring regions. They excelled at the smithing of bronze and other metals, crafting works of art, and forging various tools and weapons of war With which to combat their enemies. One of the most famous artifacts of the period is the so-called Mask of Agamemnon, a gold burial mask dating to the 16th century BCE.

Although the Greek climate was generally favorable, much of the land was rugged and mountainous, and fertile farmland was limited. Competition over farmland and mineral resources fostered conflict between neighboring groups and the city-states that later emerged. Chiefdoms warred With each other constantly, and while pitched battles were rare, warfare often involved the destruction of enemy agriculture and the theft of enemy cattleโ€”attacks designed to cripple the ability of the enemy to obtain food. Crops were burned, Olive trees were felled, and livestock were stolen or slain on the spot. As a result, settlements tended to shift from locations near farmland to hilltop citadelsโ€”or akropoleon, as the Greeks called themโ€”that were more readily defensible.

Mycenaean societies coalesced around these fortified settlements. The common people were ruled by a warrior elite, often With a king at the head, known in the local language as a wanax. Funerary practices complexified around this time, and much of the archaeological evidence of Mycenaean culture available to historians is found in burial sites. Although conflict was common, city-states tended to show preference towards building diplomatic relationships and economic connections With their neighbors, and later expanding those overseas. Mycenaean artifacts have been discovered in numerous coastal locations around the Aegean Sea, and even as far away as Cyprus, Egypt, and the Phoenician homeland in the eastern Mediterranean.
โ€
—In-game section

Victory[]

โ€œYour victory over the neighboring chiefdoms has ensured that your people have access to the most fertile land available to sow their crops. The Pelasgians, Achaeans, and Danaans have all either submitted to your rule, or fled into neighboring regions to lick their wounds. Your people can now focus on building settlements, establishing trade routes, and spreading their influence into neighboring areas.โ€
—In-game section

Loss[]

โ€œYour people fought valiantly, but they lacked the charismatic leadership of their adversaries. Constant enemy raids have broken your will and forced you into the barren, harsh lands that the other inhabitants find undesirable. Living off what little can be gleaned from the unforgiving landscape, your people dream of a day when a more capable leader will rise up and show them a glimpse of a brighter future.โ€
—In-game section

Historical notes[]

โ€œPopulation growth and the building of villages followed the introduction of agriculture to Greece by immigrants from the east around 6000 BC. The first Greek farmers grew vegetables and cereals, and kept sheep. As farming became more efficient, the Greeks developed new industries, especially pottery making, metalworking, boat making, and trade. By 3000 BC, the technology of making bronze had migrated west from Asia Minor and the Greeks were making bronze weapons and tools.

Although the Greek climate was mild, much of the land was broken or mountainous and good farmland was limited. Competition for farmland and mineral resources fostered conflict. Tribes warred with each other by destroying their enemy's ability to obtain food. Crops were burned, olive trees were cut down, and livestock was stolen or killed. Villages moved from locations near farms to hilltop citadels that were more easily defended
โ€
—In-game section

Historical outcome[]

โ€œHistorians disagree over whether the Dorians were pushed north and away or just aside into less desirable regions of Greece, but they did recede as an influence for many centuries. With the Dorians pushed back, the rise of civilization progressed on the peninsula. Small kingdoms were on the rise and gradually coalesced through warfare into a few that were dominant.

By 2000 BC mainland Greece was well-populated and advanced for the time. Progress was greatly influenced by trade with the Minoans, Egyptians, and Mesopotamia, which brought home useful articles, wealth, and new technology. The Greeks prospered by manufacturing pottery and metalwork for export.

The Dorians and other barbarians were never far away, however, and eventually revived and returned with a vengeance.
โ€
—In-game section

Changes[]

In the original game and the Definitive Edition, the red player start in the Tool Age. However, in Return of Rome, this player start in the Stone Age.

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