King of Valencia is the fifth scenario in the El Cid campaign in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It is a simplified version of the events leading to El Cid becoming ruler of Valencia (1087-1094).
Intro[]
The Cid was in exile again, and this time there were no more Moors to welcome him in. He wandered the bleak rocks of Castile and wondered if his tale was finally at an end.
And yet, a remarkable thing happened. Many mercenaries and knights knew of the tales of the Cid, and were eager to follow him, even without a castle. As the Cid wandered further south, more men, Christian and Muslim, joined his army. Eventually, the Cid had a large enough force to carve out a fiefdom of his own.
King Alfonso had set his sights on beautiful Valencia, the jewel of the Moorish coast. But the Cid was closer and could get there sooner.
If he conquered Valencia, the Cid would have protection not only from the machinations of Alfonso, but also a bulwark against the inevitable second invasion of Yusuf and the Berbers.
Events would have unfolded simply then, had not our old enemy, Count Berenguer of Barcelona, picked that moment to strike back at the Cid.
The Cid was in exile again, and this time there were no more Moors to welcome him in. He wandered the bleak rocks of Castille and wondered if his tale was finally at an end.
And yet, a remarkable thing happened. Many mercenaries and knights knew of the tales of the Cid, and were eager to follow him, even without a castle. As the Cid wandered further south, more men, Christian and Moslim, joined his army. Eventually, the Cid had a large enough force to carve out a fiefdom of his own.
King Alfonso had set his sights on beautiful Valencia, the jewel of the Moorish coast. But the Cid was closer and could get there sooner.
If he conquered Valencia, the Cid would have protection not only from the machinations of Alfonso, but also a bulwark against the inevitable second invasion of Yusuf and the Berbers.
Events would have unfolded simply then, had not our old enemy, Count Berenguer of Barcelona, picked that moment to strike back at the Cid.Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Starting resources: 300 food, 300 gold, 400 stone
- Population limit: 75 (125 in the Definitive Edition)
- Starting units:
- Gaia units:
- 8 Villagers
- 4 Knights
- 4 Skirmishers
- 3 Long Swordsmen
- 3 Camel Riders
- 2 Missionaries
- 8
Objectives[]
- El Cid must survive.
- El Cid must once again find a new city in which to live.
- Defend Denia from Count Berenguer.
- El Cid must flee and establish a new base.
- Defend Valencia from Berenguer until the Wonder is completed.
Hints[]
- El Cid no longer serves the Moors. Your technology tree is Spanish once again.
- Look for soldiers and villagers who will join The Cid. You will need an army to take Valencia.
- Know when to fight and when to run away.
- Count Berenguer's army is mighty, but he does not own a navy. Therefore, you can get plenty of food from the Mediterranean, but fielding your own navy is not necessary.
- Berenguer's mountain fortress is virtually impenetrable. Although you can slow him down by a direct assault, that is not the path to victory.
Scouts[]
- El Cid (red) is alone again and this time Motamid cannot come to his assistance.
- There are several towns in southern Spain that might prove allies, Denia (green), Lérida (orange), and Valencia (yellow). None of these towns can field a large military.
- El Cid's enemy is once again Count Berenguer (purple). Berenguer has a well-fortified city in the north that will prove very difficult to siege. As such, other avenues to victory are a better option. Berengeur relies on combined arms of archers, infantry, and Knights along with a plethora of siege weapons. Construct your defenses well!
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Spanish): The player starts with El Cid Campeador in the very west of the map.
Allies[]
- Denia ( Saracens ( Persians before the Definitive Edition)): Denia is the first town the Cid crosses, at the western part of the map. Denia itself only possesses Palisade Walls, a few Outposts, and a lone Siege Workshop. All the other units and buildings in Denia are Gaia and are given to the Cid once he arrives.
- Lérida ( Saracens): Lérida lies southeast of Denia. With just a few buildings (mostly Houses) and Gaia units, Lérida is just another short visit for the Cid to collect troops.
- Valencia ( Spanish): Valencia is a fortified town that lies rather central on the map, at the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. All buildings in Valencia are Gaia, so the Cid will gain control over them once he gets there.
Enemies[]
- Berenguer ( Franks): Count Berenguer has a heavily fortified base in the north, as well as an outlying base in the northeast and some troops surrounding Valencia. The camp in the northeast is emptied at the very beginning of the scenario to attack Denia, and the units at Valencia's walls attack soon once the Cid gets there. Later, Berenguer attacks Valencia with Champions, Paladins, Capped Rams, Mangonels, Trebuchets and Bombard Cannons.
Strategy[]
Regular strategy[]
The player starts only with El Cid at the western part of the map. They will encounter a few of Berenguer's soldiers before they may take over Denia. Several Gaia buildings and units (including villagers) in Denia switch to the player's side. Berenguer will attack Denia very soon, so the player must leave Denia when Berenguer's invasion force arrives.
As the player arrives in Lérida, there will be a few Gaia soldiers as well as four Gaia villagers at the seaside joining the player once found. As the player reaches the Gaia monastery in the middle of the map, they will also obtain two Gaia Missionaries.
Valencia is just at the east of the monastery, already surrounded by Berenguer's army, and they will immediately start attacking the player's forces. Valencia has Gaia walls and buildings in Middle Eastern architecture, which will switch to the player's command. Once in control of the city, two Valencian villagers will immediately start building a Wonder.
Berenguer will keep invading Valencia, concentrating at the north, in an attempt to destroy the Wonder. The forces will arrive with Trebuchets and Bombard Cannons, which will force the player to use ground units to destroy them. Berenguer has two Bombard Towers to the north of Valencia. Use the mobility of the Missionaries to convert Berenguer's attacking forces, amassing more units for the player's army at the same time. The player must ensure the Valencian villagers complete building the Wonder in order to win. Berenguer's castle is very heavily defended, so it is recommended to keep one's forces defending Valencia until the Wonder is complete.
Alternative strategy[]
It is possible to finish this level without building a Wonder. Assuming on Hard difficulty, but it works on any difficulty.
To win this way, the player needs to quickly use the four Villagers to build Stone Walls (or a gate) next to Berenguer's gate after reaching Denia, which should block his initial invading forces and prevent Denia from being leveled. This traps his forces as the other gate is locked, and disables all following events and the gate of Denia will not open, forcing the player to change the diplomatic stance and destroy the gate to make a way.
Because Berenguer's initial forces didn't level Denia, the two Villagers in Valencia will not start building a Wonder and Berenguer will never go on the offensive. Once the player takes control of Valencia and deals with those enemy archers and Pikemen, the whole map is safe and free to explore and the player can focus on the economy without worrying about enemy raids. Prepare an army of Trebuchets, rams, and Monks. Once ready, the player can launch a full-scale assault on Berenguer's base. Berenguer usually has no military units (only defenses like Bombard Towers and Castles) in his base, so the siege units are virtually invincible, but in case he has, use Monks to convert them. After destroying Berenguer's base, focus on taking out his initial invading forces that were originally designated to level Denia. Spies is extremely cheap to research during this level because Berenguer has only a few Villagers. Use this to find out his remaining military buildings and units and finish them off. Once all Berenguer's military buildings, units, and Villagers are gone, he will resign and the player wins immediately. Valencia's Villagers can be converted, and respawn infinitely if the player does so.
Due to some changes done in the Definitive Edition, if the player decides to use the alternative strategy for this scenario, they will have to destroy all Denia buildings, since only Berenguer's resign will not trigger the victory.
Outro[]
How abundant the orange groves and olive trees seemed to the conquerors who had come from bleak Castile. Valencia was a tropical paradise, complete with palm trees, a silk market and abundant fish and waterfowl.
After the Cid had secured the castle and saw to the defenses of the city, he sent for me and the children. Our reunion took place on the highest tower of the castle, before a sea that consumed the entire horizon.
We turned Valencia into our own kingdom, uniting eight-thousand Christian and twenty-thousand Moorish soldiers. It was the greatest of the Cid's accomplishments to date.
We were far away from the reach of King Alfonso, and Count Berenguer himself was safely locked in Valencia's dungeons. In time, he would be ransomed, and one of our daughters married to his nephew and heir, to ward against future conflicts.
If only the tale of the Cid had ended there, beneath the Valencian sunsets. But it was not to be. Valencia lay right in the path of the advancing horde of the frenzied Yusuf and his Berber warriors.
How abundant the orange groves and olive trees seemed to the conquerors who had come from bleak Castille. Valencia was a tropical paradise, complete with palm trees, a silk market and abundant fish and waterfowl.
After the Cid had secured the castle and saw to the defenses of the city, he sent for me and the children. Our reunion took place on the highest tower of the castle, before a sea that consumed the entire horizon.
We turned Valencia into our own kingdom, uniting eight-thousand Christian and twenty-thousand Moorish soldiers. It was the greatest of the Cid's accomplishments to date.
We were far away from the reach of King Alfonso, and Count Berenguer himself was safely locked in Valencia's dungeons. In time, he would be ransomed, and one of our daughters married to his nephew and heir, to ward against future conflicts.
If only the tale of the Cid had ended there, beneath the Valencian sunsets. But it was not to be. Valencia lay right in the path of the advancing horde of the frenzied Yusuf and his Berber warriors.Trivia[]
- Though Berenguer appeared previously as Spanish and is one of the Spanish AI names (as "Berengeur"), he is now represented by Franks (extended to both scenarios in the Definitive Edition). The choice may be related to the fact that the County of Barcelona was originally part of Charlemagne's empire and Catalan is a Gallo-Romance language, rather than Ibero-Romance.
- Though Valencia is a shared prominent location with Reconquista, the map layout is slightly different. The land part is larger and more detailed compared to the sea, while the opposite happens in the following scenario.
- Unlike most maps which have the upper right side as the geographical north, this and the following have the north on the upper left side (i.e. Valencia has the Mediterranean to the east, rather than south).
- The presence of Bombard Cannons and Bombard Towers is anachronistic, as Spain did not utilize gunpowder until the 15th century.
Historical comparison[]
- 11th-century Valencia was inland and connected to the Mediterranean through the Turia river. Its ingame shape is closer to Valencia's modern port area, which is man-made.
- Denia is actually on the Mediterranean coast south of Valencia, and Lerida (Lleida) is northeast, in western Catalonia. In-game Lerida probably stands for Al-Mundir, who had his capital in Lerida and invaded Denia and Valencia in 1087, after failing to take Zaragoza.
- El Cid was sent to Valencia by Al-Mustain II of Zaragoza to fight Al-Mundir. Al-Mustain also expected El Cid to deliver Valencia to him, but he refused because it was ruled by Al-Qadir, a vassal of King Alfonso. This resulted in El Cid realigning briefly with Al-Mundir, and Al-Mustain with Al-Mundir's former ally Count Berenguer. Berenguer besieged Valencia in 1088, but agreed to retire after negotiating with El Cid. In 1089 El Cid invaded Denia and Al-Mundir allied again with Berenguer, but El Cid defeated both at the Battle of Tevar (1090), north of Valencia, and captured Berenguer.
- Thereafter El Cid became de-facto ruler of the coast from Denia to Tortosa, but still kept Al-Qadir and other Muslim puppet leaders. In 1092, Al-Qadir was murdered by a faction that pretended to surrender the city to the Almoravids while El Cid was away fighting Alfonso (who had allied with Berenguer and Sancho I of Aragon in his attempt to evict El Cid from Valencia). However, El Cid retook the city and defeated the Almoravids at the Battle of Quart (1094), then used the victory as pretext to claim leadership of Valencia for himself. Contrary to popular belief, he did not call himself King but the more ambiguous "Prince", which allowed him to act independently and claim submission to Alfonso when convenient.
Gallery[]
