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This article is about the scenario in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. For other uses, see Land Battle. |
| “ | To win a battle, a commander must know the strengths and weaknesses of his forces. Utilize the counter-unit system of the game to defeat the opposing army while sustaining minimal casualties. | ” |
| —Description | ||
Land Battle 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 properly choosing the counter units against waves of different enemy attacks.
Intro[]
A commander goes to war with the army that he has and must think of how to get the most out of it! Your opponent may seem stronger at first glance, but a sly general does not worry. He studies the enemy and the terrain and knows how to use his soldiers to maximum effect.
Sun Tzu says: 'The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity to defeat the enemy.'
Did you understand what this advice should tell you? Good! Then it is time to send your troops into battle -- and do not forget to always keep a level head!
Video Instruction[]
In this challenge, you will learn advanced tactics which will help you gain the upper hand on your opponents.
First of all, always try to use your units according to their strengths and weaknesses.
I'll explain the standard unit types. If you want to learn more about other units, consult the technology tree.
Archers are strong against infantry, but weak against Skirmishers.
Spearmen are strong against Scout Cavalry, but are not much use against Men-at-Arms and Archers.
Skirmishers have an bonus attack against Archers and Spearmen, but lose out against all other kinds of military units.
Men-at-Arms are especially good against buildings. However, they also fare well against other units unless they are outnumbered.
Scout Cavalry are strong against Skirmishers, but will also fare well against small groups of Archers and are excellent raiders to boot.
When commanding ranged units, your best chance when facing a numerically superior force is to use hit-and-run tactics.
Use your Archers to shoot at the enemy units...
...then run away when they get too close.
Take note of the surrounding terrain.
If you fight downhill or from behind a cliff, your units will do additional damage to enemy units.
If you fight in a narrow passage, a smaller group of units can overcome a larger one by exploiting the bottleneck.
Now that you learned these important lessons, let us see how you fare on the battlefield.
Scenario instructions[]
Main objectives[]
- Defeat all six enemy waves.
Hints[]
- Incorporate the landscape into your tactical decisions. Cliffs and hills in particular can be used to your advantage.
- Use your units according to their respective strengths:
- Archers are ranged units that are strong against Men-at-Arms and Spearmen, but weak against Skirmishers and cavalry units. They are best used in hit-and-run attacks against slower units.
- Men-at-Arms are generic melee units that are especially strong against buildings and certain types of infantry, but are weak against cavalry and ranged units.
- Spearmen deal considerable bonus damage to cavalry, but are weak against nearly every other unit.
- Skirmishers are strong against Archers and Spearmen, but perform poorly against other units, especially because they cannot fire on units that are too close to them.
- Scout Cavalry are strong against ranged units, but should avoid Spearmen or large groups of Archers.
Scouts[]
- A Feudal Age army consisting of Archers, Skirmishers, Men-at-Arms, Spearmen, and Scout Cavalry is at your disposal to repel the enemy attacks.
- Your opponent (3, Red) has gathered a Feudal Age army as well and plans to invade your territory.
Players[]
Player[]
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- Player (
Bulgarians)
Ally[]
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- Asparukh ( Bulgarians)
Enemies[]
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- Igor the old ( Slavs)
- Igor the old ( Slavs)
Medals[]
- Gold: 0 units lost
- Silver: Less than 6 units lost
- Bronze: Less than 11 units lost
Strategy[]
Follow the voice-over's instructions, picking the correct counter for each enemy army and using the terrain when possible to minimize casualties; clicking on a unit once will give a brief reminder of its stats before asking the player to confirm their choice, which will help to inform their decision. Watch the health of the units carefully, as even a single lost unit will disqualify the player from the gold medal.
The final wave combines Spearmen and Skirmishers, and offers the player a choice of two units to counter them. While multiple combinations can work against them, a safe one is Skirmishers (for resisting the enemy Skirmishers and their bonus against Spearmen) and Men-at-arms (whose good attack and health will allow them to handle both unit types with help from the Skirmishers).
Try to lead the enemy to elevated areas, in an attempt to take advantage of the damage bonus that fighting downhill provides.
Trivia[]
- After every individual battle, remaining enemy units in that battle despawn. Due to this, it is impossible to lose the scenario, as all enemy units will despawn before defeat is triggered for the player.
