Into Egypt is the second scenario of the The Sultans Ascend campaign in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend, and the first scenario in the 'Saladin' chapter. It depicts Nur Ad-Din and Saladin's campaigns in Egypt between 1163 and 1183.
Intro[]
Scenario description[]
In the decade-long struggle for Egypt, an ambitious young Saladin would come to the fore.
Opening cinematic[]
Much of Bilad al-Sham fell to the invaders. For many years, our rulers did little to turn fortune to our favor. Some fought against their brethren, seeking petty advantages, and even joining with the enemy. But others were steadfast. God sent us three worthy leaders whose boldness restored courage and hope to the faithful. First came Zangi, who, with the fury of wildfire, seized the city of Edessa. Next came Zangi's son, Nur al-Din, who called for unity among the Muslim forces, and all hearts were attached to his cause. Boldest of them all was Nur al-Din's student, Salah al-Din Yusuf, whom the Franks called Saladin. As a young man, Saladin showed great promise. Blessed with a mind sharp and bright as a Damascene blade, he would one day prove himself a skilled tactician. But like all on the path to greatness, he would first be tested in the forge fire of war.
Loading screen[]
The King of Jerusalem sought control over Egypt and began taking territory. But Nur al-Din's army would battle him for dominance with two shrewd leaders at the helm.
Start of scenario[]
The Franks had staked their claim on Egypt, intruding again and again with unquenchable greed. Meanwhile, Egypt's Fatimid rulers fought one another for power, their struggle spilling over into Nur al-Din's realm. And so, into Egypt marched the army of Damascus with Asad al-Din Shirkuh at its head, charged with settling the festering turmoil and expelling the Franks.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Dark Age
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Resources: None
Objectives[]
- Hold Capture Points to gain control over time
- Do not let the Franks gain full control
Gameplay[]
- You will not have any Villagers or resources in this mission.
- Instead, both you and the enemy will receive reinforcements every few minutes.
- The Control Bar is always moving in favor of the side holding the most Capture Points. Fill the Bar to achieve victory.
Hints[]
- The Frankish Camp is inaccessible to you. Defeat the Franks by gaining full control of the area.
Players[]
Player[]
- Damascenes (Seljuks): The player starts out with their initial force and Leader Tent in a small, walled-off area in the south of the map and have initial control of the two capture points on the southeast part of the map. Reinforcements will continue to arrive in this area. The player has no Villagers or resources and cannot construct any buildings or units, or advance in Age. The Seljuk civilization is similar to the Abbasid Dynasty, but does not have any civilization bonuses in this scenario.
Allies[]
- Fatimid Allies (Fatimid Caliphate): The Fatimid Allies control the Docks and several other buildings within the player's walled area. Fatimid Allied units will spawn out of buildings within capture points controlled by the player, and the Outposts will change ownership to them as well. They will help defend capture points from Frankish attack.
- Fatimid Civilians (Fatimid Caliphate): The Fatimid Civilians control various Villagers, Houses, and other neutral buildings within the city and are purely cosmetic. They do not otherwise contribute to the scenario.
Enemy[]
- Franks (Kingdom of Jerusalem): The Franks have an inaccessible camp in the East of the map. From here, they will spawn armies of Horsemen, Archers, Spearmen, and Militia to contest the capture points, as well as groups of Templar Knights. They start off with control of the two capture points in the northeast section of the map. Frankish units have basic armor and attack upgrades, but do not benefit from any other civilization bonuses.
- Fatimid Enemies (Fatimid Caliphate): The Fatimid Enemies perform the same purpose for the Franks that the Fatimid Allies do for the player. Their units will spawn out of buildings within Frank-controlled capture points to help maintain control, but they do not otherwise attack the player.
Strategy[]
Note: The below scenario conditions and strategy are written for the Hard difficulty. Lower difficulties may differ slightly from what is described below.
To achieve victory, the player must control more capture sites than the Franks until the control bar turns fully blue. Conversely, if the Franks hold more capture sites than the player, the bar will turn ever more red, causing the player to lose if it turns fully red. The more capture sites held by one side, the faster the bar will change color in their favor. Overall, although the player does not have any Villagers and must rely entirely on spawned reinforcements to win, this scenario is primarily focused on strategy and army positioning rather than significant micromanagement of units to win fights.
Immediately, the player should send their cavalry to capture all five capture points in the middle portion of the map, using Shirkuh's speed ability to hasten this, and move the rest of their army to the center of the map. Unlike Sacred Sites, neutral capture points are captured instantly, so it is enough to send a single Horseman into one and then move it out. The player will not have much time before Frankish armies start trying to contest them. At this point, holding on to all the capture points is unlikely, but having multiple capture points diverts the enemy attention and forces them to split up while the initial Fatimid Allies created at the capture points can do some minimal damage. From here, the way the scenario plays out is fluid and depends on the tug of war between the player and the Franks, so there is no one single winning strategy. However, there are several tips that can prove extremely helpful:
1. Especially at the beginning, when armies are small and reinforcements are more scarce, it is extremely important to not engage in fights that cannot be won. It is always worth it to pull back and wait for more reinforcements rather than throwing away a small amount of units at a Frankish army hoping to whittle it down and stall its attempt to take a capture point. Otherwise, the enemy momentum will snowball extremely quickly as they add capture points and generate more Fatimid Enemy units.
2. Unit counters are key. The Franks only ever attack capture points with armies of a single type. This means that the player can contest these armies with much smaller armies of whichever unit hard counters the Frankish army.
- Archers against Militia and Spearmen
- Horsemen against Archers
- Spearmen against Horsemen and Templar Knights (although the latter will require additional support)
Thus it may be best to split cavalry, archers, and infantry into three separate control groups and move them around as needed.
3. It can be disadvantageous to try and take too many capture sites. The player only needs control of five capture sites to advance the scenario progress, so trying to take control of too many, especially the two capture sites across the river initially controlled by the Franks, can overextend the player's army. This can make it unable to react to Frankish attacks and defend capture points. The Franks gain no additional bonuses to their armies for holding capture sites, so it is better to stabilize controlled capture sites and advance the meter more slowly than to expand too quickly.
4. Players should use Fatimid Allies to their advantage to take damage and focus their attention on capture sites where their Fatimid Allies are at a disadvantage to the Frankish army composition. The Franks will commonly enough send groups of Horsemen to try to contest a capture point defended by Fatimid Spearmen, or Archers to take a capture point defended by Fatimid Horsemen. In these situations, the player's allies can handle themselves and will quickly replace any lost units from the spawn building within the capture point.
Overall, the scenario can be very difficult to stabilize, especially at the beginning, but by not wasting units to bad fights, contesting capture points only when appropriate, and making liberal use of Leader abilities, the tide will begin to turn in the players favor as the number of reinforcements increases over time and it becomes easier to maintain large numbers of each unit type and counter enemy armies with the appropriate counter-unit.
Outro[]
End of Scenario[]
Reduced in number and spirit, the Franks of Jerusalem broke their camp and began their joyless march out of Egypt. Shirkuh soon claimed Cairo for Nur al-Din, but Egypt's governance would not long after fall to his illustrious nephew Saladin.
Post-game Screen[]
The arduous contest for Egypt was over, Nur al-Din taking the spoils. Saladin rose to the office of Vizier, marking the beginnings of his steady ascent to power.
Unlockable Content[]
- Campaign Video: Into Egypt
- Page from History: Swords of Legend
Trivia[]
- This scenario depicts the same events as the An Arabian Knight scenario in the Saladin campaign in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.