โ | If the enemy managed to secure their position with a Castle, rapid action can be the key to evening the odds. Challenge yourself to raze your enemy's fortress as quickly as possible. | โ |
—Description |
Destroying a Castle is one of two possible fourth scenarios of The Art of War in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. This scenario tests the player in taking down an enemy Castle.
Intro[]
You may encounter adversaries that do not have the courage to face you on the field. It can be expected that some of your rivals will prefer to hide behind the walls of their strongholds. Besieging an enemy castle is an art of its own that every able general must master.
Sun Tzu says: 'A warlike prince carries out his own secret designs, keeping his antagonists in awe. Then he is able to capture their cities and overthrow their kingdoms.'
Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the construction and usage of siege equipment. Will you be able to bring down the walls of your opponent?
Video Instruction[]
Sometimes, it is crucial to overcome your opponent early on. This is especially the case if the civilization matchup and map favor your opponent during the late stages of the game.
In this challenge, you will learn how to quickly destroy an enemy Castle.
As soon as you reach the Castle Age and build a Siege Workshop, you can construct four different types of siege weapons.
The destroy a Castle, you will only need Battering Rams. These are best equipped to smash fortifications due to their high pierce armor and attack bonus against buildings.
Garrison units inside of these rams to make the rams move faster and to increase their attack against buildings.
Once you reach the Imperial Age, the Trebuchet will become available at your Castle.
It is in many ways the most powerful siege weapon in the game, but it needs to pack and unpack when relocating to fire at enemy buildings.
The Bombard Cannon does not have that problem, but it has lower attack and range than the Trebuchet.
Bombard Cannons are also effective against units. However, you must first research Chemistry at the University before you may produce them.
Unprotected siege weapons are quite vulnerable.
Additionally, research the armor and attacks upgrades at your Blacksmith so that your soldiers stand a better change against enemy defenders.
Enough talk - let us tear down a Castle!
Scenario instructions[]
Main objectives[]
- Destroy the enemy Castle.
Hints[]
- Most siege weapons can only be constructed in your Siege Workshop. An exception is the Trebuchet, which is available only in the Imperial Age and can be produced in your Castle.
- Battering Rams are the most effective siege weapons available in the Castle Age for tearing down enemy buildings and fortifications. Mangonels are effective against ranged units, siege weapons, and most buildings, but are extremely weak against fortifications that outrange them, such as Castle and Guard Towers. Do not waste resources and time constructing other siege engines.
- If you have a Castle, you can train Petards in it. These units can blow up enemy buildings, but it is important to array them in staggered formation to make Castle fire less damaging to the group. They are less effective than Battering Rams, however, and should not be used as a replacement for the latter.
Scouts[]
Your scouts report:
- You control a Castle Age camp in the east of the map. You already have the buildings that you need to prepare the upcoming siege.
- The enemy (2, Red) has built a settlement to the west, which is guarded by a Castle. To defeat the enemy, you will need to destroy the Castle. Your opponent will not go on the offensive, but will defend himself if you invade his realm.
Players[]
Player[]
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- Player ( Berbers)
Enemy[]
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- Saladin ( Saracens)
Medals[]
- Gold: Complete the scenario in 7 minutes.
- Silver: Complete the scenario in 9 minutes.
- Bronze: Complete the scenario in 15 minutes.
Strategy[]
This scenario plays very similar to that of a standard game, with the exception of the enemy already having a Castle. In order to obtain one of the medals, most notably silver or gold, moving up to the next age will have to be completely avoided as advancing ages and creating enough siege weapons to destroy the Castle will take up too much time.
To obtain one of the (higher) medals, just enough Villagers will need to be created to obtain just enough resources to create barely enough units to destroy the enemy Castle. Roughly 4 to 5 Battering Rams should be enough, coupled with a few cavalry units to distract the enemy units guarding the castle, letting the Battering Rams move in. This will all need to be done very fast.
It also helps to have some Villagers travel alongside the Rams to repair them as the Castle damages them.