It was then that I first saw the girl. She told us that her name was Joan. She told us that she was but a peasant, who did not know how to ride or fight. She told us that she intended to rescue France. The darkness lifted from the men's souls. Her voice rang with conviction, and we drank in her every word. I may have lost my faith, but Joan has not lost hers, and that is enough for me.
War has raged for one hundred years, and the exhausted French army has lost nearly every battle. The heir to the French monarchy is too cowardly to ascend to the throne. Soon, the English and their Burgundian allies will conquer all of Franceābut in the darkest hour, a young peasant girl declares that she intends to save France.
ā
—In-game campaign description
ā
It is a war that has lasted for one hundred years, and the French have lost nearly every battle. Soon the English and their allies in Burgundy will conquer all of France. The heir to the French monarchy is too cowardly to ascend to the throne. The French army is wounded and tired and has given up all hope. But in the darkest hour, a young peasant girl declares that she intends to save France
ā
—In-game campaign description before the Definitive Edition
The Joan of Arc campaign consists of 6 scenarios. The player plays as the Franks, and the player color is blue.
Joan of Arc could also heal units (for a brief period between the release of The Mountain Royals and update 99311) at 3 hit points per second. She had the "permission" to heal since The Age of Kings, but the engine did not allow military units to heal. This was accidentally fixed with the removal of the drawback with the introduction of the Warrior Priest. However, as a bug, she visually glitched to her Joan the Maid form while healing, and had no actual healing animation, rather just standing still in her idle animation. With update 99311, this ability was removed.
Joan uses the female Villager's dialogue and will change language if made to play for other civilization in the Scenario Editor.
Despite being portrayed as a powerful cavalry unit, Joan herself never participated in actual combat and mostly served as a standard bearer and morale booster for the French army. She declared at her trial that she had never killed a person, in combat or otherwise.
The map in the campaign menu in the original game was infamously inaccurate. It depicted the 20th century borders of France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands; identified Switzerland as "Burgundy", and misplaced every single battle location. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition features a corrected map.
The campaign icon is based on Joan of Arc's banner/standard carried by her into battle, as per her testimony during her trial at Rouen. It features a white background with gold Fleur-de-lys sprinkled on them. It deviates from common descriptions of the banner by featuring the upper half in blue color, and lacks any image or description of Jesus or any angels.[1]
In The Forgotten, a renamed Joan the Maid stands for Gala Placidia, the Roman Emperor's sister and later wife of Ataulf.
This campaign is the only one among the original The Age of Kings campaigns where none of its scenarios require complete conquest as a victory condition.
A river is present in every scenario.
An error is present with this unit. If players hover the cursor over allied units, it will show the healing icon, despite being impossible. Originally, she was given the ability to heal, but never assigned the Monk unit class, only cavalry.
Healing (Active): Rallies nearby allies to restore their health over 10 seconds.
History[]
Joan of Arc (c. 1412 ā May 30, 1431, French Jeanne d'Arc) was a French heroine who, at the age of 17, was pivotal in turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War in her nation's favor. Stating that she was acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France.
Gallery[]
Joan of Arc and her army in the fifth scenario
Joan of Arc in the Scenario Editor
Many views of Joan of Arc in the Definitive Edition
Joan of Arc (right) next to her unmounted variant
The healing cursor error
Joan of Arc art in the Definitive Edition beta
Comparison between art in the The Age of Kings cutscenes and the Definitive Edition