| “ | In a final attempt to halt the rapid expansion of the Ottoman Empire, several Christian states formed the Holy League. Near a place called Lepanto, the fleet of the coalition will clash with the fierce Turkish armada to prevent Southern Europe from falling into Turkish hands. | ” |
| —In-game scenario description in the Definitive Edition | ||
Lepanto is a scenario of the Battles of the Conquerors in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. In it, the player has to build and defend a Wonder against Turkish military forces. This scenario is based on the Battle of Lepanto.
Intro[]
The steady splashing of the oars of 200 ships striking the water drowns out all other sound. The most powerful fleet ever assembled by Don Juan of Austria and his allies in Venice sails under the burning light of dawn towards a final encounter with the Ottoman Turks.
The Turkish army has greatly expanded its empire, adding North Africa and Mesopotamia to the Turkish holdings in Anatolia, but has finally been turned back by a staunch defense of Hungary.
Undaunted, the Turks turn their attention to the Mediterranean, where they intend to break the Christian naval powers of Venice and Spain.
Now, 200 rowed galleys and six heavy galleasses lumber into the Bay of Lepanto to meet the 270 galleys of the Turkish fleet. The ships draw up with scarcely five miles separating the distance between them. A storm of arrows darkens the sky, and the drone of splashing oars is finally drowned out by the thunder of cannon.
The steady splashing, of the oars of 200 ships striking the water, drowns out all other sound. The most powerful fleet ever assembled by Don Juan of Austria and his allies in Venice sails under the burning light of dawn towards a final encounter with the Ottoman Turks.
The Turkish army has greatly expanded its empire, adding North Africa and Mesopotamia to the Turkish holdings in Anatolia, but has finally been turned back by a staunch defense of Hungary.
Undaunted, the Turks turned their attention to the Mediterranean, where they intended to break the Christian naval powers of Venice and Spain.
Now 230 rowed galleys and six heavy galleases lumber into the Bay of Lepanto to meet the 270 galleys of the Turkish fleet. The ships draw up with scarcely five miles separating the distance between them. A storm of arrows darkens the sky, and the drone of splashing oars is finally drowned out by the thunder of cannon.Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting age:
Imperial Age - Starting resources: 600 food, 800 wood, 1,000 gold, 400 stone
- Population limit: 100
- Starting units:
- Starting technologies and upgrades: Chemistry, Onager, Fast Fire Ship, Heavy Demolition Ship
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- The higher the difficulty, the Turks will send more Transports with shorter delays between waves.
- On Standard, the player receives several Bombard Towers to protect their base, and the Turkish Keeps on the northern island are removed.
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Complete and then defend your Wonder from the Turkish navy for 200 years.
Secondary objectives[]
- Tribute the Greeks (green) 800 gold so they will ally with you.
Hints[]
- The Holy League is limited to a population of 100.
- Do not use all of your villagers to construct the Wonder. You will need some to gather resources and to repair walls, towers, and ships.
- It is very difficult to go on the offensive against the Turkish fleet. Concentrate on your defenses instead.
- Greek isles hold additional resources, if you can defend them…
Scouts[]
- Your scouts report: Don Juan's Spanish and Italian fleet (1, Red) has abandoned the sea to build a Wonder on the beach.
- They must defend it from the warships and Transports of Ottoman Turks (2, Purple). The Turks use a variety of different ships, including Cannon Galleons, and will attempt to transport Janissaries and Bombard Cannons across the sea. However, quick counterattacks against the Turks may slow their progress.
- The Greek villages (3, Green) are caught in the middle of the battle, but might join you if presented with the right opportunity.
Players[]
Player[]
- Spanish ( Spanish): Located at the northern coastal base of the map, and a Wonder base will be spawned near the shore. Initially. the player only has a few warships on the sea and several Onagers on the land. When the Wonder building is finished, the player will face intensive naval combat and needs to prevent big number of Turkish Transport Ships from reaching the shore.
Neutral → Ally[]
- Greek Village ( Byzantines): Based at the western corner of the map, and have an island with Gold Mines and Stone Mines. Provided that the game has exceeded 700 seconds (11 minutes and 40 seconds) or they have less than two Town Centers, they will offer an alliance by demanding tribute of 800 gold, and once the player does so, they will keep sending tributes. They have a fortified town, and only train Men-at-Arms.
Enemy[]
- Turks ( Turks): Located across the sea from the player's base, spanning from the east to the south of the map. Their base is well defended and formidable with Bombard Towers and Castles. They have a small outpost near them with Gold and Stone deposits but they will never exploit them. They will initially attack with Cannon Galleons and Fire Ships, and will send a massive army consisting of Janissaries, Bombard Cannons, Heavy Camel Riders, Cavaliers, Crossbowmen, Champions, and a few Petards across the sea. They have 8 Docks with 16 loaded Transport Ships in reserve which will make up the bulk of their invasion force. They will keep producing Janissaries, Fire Ships, Bombard Cannons, and Transport Ships, even without Castles, Docks, and Siege Workshops. They are produced for free for them, although they do have Villagers and a Town Center.
Strategy[]
The player is playing as Don Juan of Austria (Spanish, Red), and the base is at the northwestern part of the map, and the foundation for Wonder is laid near the shore.
There is a Greek village (represented by the Byzantines, Green) nearby, that during the game will offer to ally with the player for 800 gold. Once they have allied with the player, they will start tributing resources, quickly repaying their cost and more. They also have a small outpost on a nearby island with Gold and Stone deposits available.
One way to keep the enemy forces from destroying the Wonder, is to not start building it immediately, but instead focus on creating soldiers and building more defenses to meet the Turkish forces.
Turkish landing parties and ships are considerably strong at first and can quickly overwhelm a player if they are too aggressive. The foundation is placed at the start of the game and cannot be moved without failing the scenario, but if the player has not started building it, there is nothing to be destroyed. Once most of the enemy forces have been dealt with, one can start building.
Do not waste gold on Monks and Monastery upgrades, since the Turkish forces already have Heresy researched from the start. Investing in a good navy with plenty of Galleons and Cannon Galleons is also a wise strategy. The Cannon Galleons can easily intercept incoming Transport Ships and counter any other enemy vessel due to the civilization bonus of the Spanish, while the regular Galleons can mow down the landing parties which are usually grouped up and in range. For some reason, their Janissaries will completely ignore the player's vessels, which allows them to be killed easily without any losses. More caution is advised when dealing with Bombard Cannons, as they will return fire, and require the player to micromanage their navy to avoid taking shots.
- Note: Under no circumstances should the player change the diplomatic stance with the Turks to neutral. If the player does so, their ships and towers will not automatically attack the Turkish Transport Ships, making it harder to prevent their landings.
Achievement[]
In the Definitive Edition, the "Battleship" achievement can be earned by completing the scenario without letting any of the Turkish Transport Ships drop off troops. This can be done fairly easily by walling off all the shorelines, as it will leave no space for the ships to unload. Due to a bug, the achievement will not trigger if the player defeats the Turks, meaning the player must win by completing the Wonder and running out the countdown timer.
Another way of getting the achievement consists of going on the offensive (contrary to what the hints say, this should not be difficult). For this, the player should have most Villagers on wood and gold, and a few on food (to research Dry Dock and ensure more Villagers can be trained). Send the starting Cannon Galleons to destroy the Turkish Keeps to the north and train more Fast Fire Ships. The Turks will send a big fleet in the first minutes of the game but, after that, their navy will be mostly passive, only sending Transport Ships. After repelling the initial attack, start building the Wonder and research the Elite Cannon Galleon upgrade (this is very important since Turkish Bombard Towers have extra range due to Artillery). Now it is time to go on the offensive and a group of Elite Cannon Galleons will not only destroy most Turkish buildings but also one-shot their ships due to the Spanish civilization bonus (the player should still have some Fast Fire Ships to protect them). The Turkish Transport Ships are in a "lake" to the east and, after destroying any towers or Castles, the player can sink the Transport Ships.
The risk of enemy landings is not gone though, since more Transport Ships will spawn occasionally (from the same "lake"). The player should also patrol the entire Turkish coast as the Turks have Villagers and so they may rebuild their Docks, meaning more Transport Ships may be built. As long as the player is paying enough attention, the Transport Ships will not manage to leave the Turkish base. Since some Turkish buildings are outside of Elite Cannon Galleons' reach, the player is not at risk of accidentally defeating the Turks before the countdown expires, which would prevent them from getting the achievement due to the bug.
Outro[]
The heavy Venetian galleasses broke through the Turkish lines and trampled over the smaller ships of the Turks, but there were too few of the galleasses to win the battle on their own. The Spanish and Venetians attempted to grapple and board the Turkish ships, where the superior experience and weapons of the Christian sailors could be brought to bear.
As the day wore on, the Turkish juggernaut began to run out of strength. Scores of Turkish galleys were dashed on the rocks and others sank to the bottom of the bay. Less than fifty Turkish ships survived the battle.
Lepanto was not the climax of the conflict between the Christians and the Turks on the Mediterranean, but it was a turning point. The Turks had difficulty rebuilding their fleet back to its former size, while the Christians continued to update their fleets with the latest technological advancements, ensuring a decisive military advantage for further encounters on the high seas.
The heavy Venetian galleases broke through the Turkish lines, and trampled over the smaller ships of the Turks. But there were too few of the galleases to win the battle on their own. The Spanish and Venetians attempted to grapple and board the Turkish ships, where the superior experience and weapons of the Christian marines could be brought to bear.
As the day wore on, the Turkish juggernaut began to run out of steam. Scores of Turkish galleys were dashed on the rocks and others sank to the bottom of the bay. Less than fifty Turkish ships survived the battle.
Lepanto was not the climax of the conflict between the Christians and the Turks on the Mediterranean, but it was a turning point. The Turks had difficulty rebuilding their fleet back to its former size while the Christians continued to update their fleets with the latest technological advancements, insuring a decisive military advantage for further encounters on the high seas.Trivia[]
- The Spanish were chosen in-game to represent the coalition of Catholic Maritime powers, including Venice. This coalition formed the Holy League, organized by Pope Pius V and mostly financed and led by the Spanish and ultimately, Admiral Don Juan of Austria (Spain and Austria were the two major Hapsburg empires at the time). Notably, the Venetian language is considered to be the closest of the local Italian languages to Spanish.
- The player can pause the game as soon as the game starts, and assign a Villager to build any building on the location where the Wonder's foundation would be placed, as the foundation will appear 1 second after the game starts. This, however, after resuming the game, will prevent the Wonder's foundation to be placed, causing the player immediate defeat.
- On the Battles of the Conquerors campaign selection screen, Lepanto is represented by a Fast Fire Ship belonging to a Central European civilization (Teutons, Goths, Huns and Vikings) based on its sail flag, which depicts a cross. However, no player in the scenario uses a civilization with Central European architecture set.
- In the Definitive Edition, the "Battleship" achievement can be earned by completing the scenario without letting any of the Turkish Transport Ships drop off troops successfully. This can be done fairly easily by walling off all the shorelines, as it will leave no space for the ships to unload. Due to a bug, the achievement will not trigger if the player defeats the Turks, meaning the player must win by completing the Wonder and running out the countdown timer.
- G. K. Chesterton wrote a poem about this battle, "Lepanto", in 1911. Lepanto is indirectly referenced in Age of Mythology, where Gargarensis recites quotes from the poem, usually before taunting the heroes and unleashing a spell or god power at them.
- Abd al-Malik, a historical figure who appears in The Battle of the Three Kings in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals, participated in the battle of Lepanto as part of the Ottoman army.
Gallery[]
