Opening Moves is the third scenario of the Reign of the Hittites campaign in the Age of Empires demo, and the first in the Definitive Edition. Two Hittite Priests must convert or destroy two enemy towns.
The premise of this scenario is very similar to the Babylonian The Holy Man scenario in the base game, both of which involve the needing to use a priest to convert two opposing towns. Except this scenario is easier since the player starts with two Priests.
Scenario instructions[]
โ | Central Anatolia, 1700 BCE From the northern plains, your people came to the land of Hatti, where the Sky Gods of your ancestors are unknown, and the Hattians worship the earth mother who birthed a bull. These strange people do not live by the hoof, but by the black dirt of the earth. They do not live under the sky, but in caves they build with their hands out of hardened mud and wood. They do not honor their chiefs with great earthen mounds, but wrap their bodies in reeds and lay them beneath the hearth, removing the skulls to paint upon. The Elders say that the Sky Gods desire the land of Hatti. Your people will be their instrument in this land. | โ |
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Stone Age
- Starting resources: 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 400 gold
- Population limit: 50
- Starting units:
- 2 Priests
- Gaia units: None
Objectives[]
- Convert enemy villagers to build a settlement.
- Build an army and send it forward to eliminate all remaining Hattians and Hurrians.
Hints[]
- Move quickly to convert Hattian villagers to build a settlement.
- Learn to use your Priests correctly; they can be used to do two things, heal and convert, and you do have two of them to start.
- Build defenses at key chokepoints to weaken the Hurrians before advancing against them.
Description[]
โ | 1412 BC United under your successful leadership, your people have prospered and advanced. Having multiplied in number, the time has come for you to begin expanding the scope of your territory. To the east lies Babylon, situated in the fertile crescent of the Tigris-Euphrates river valley, but unrestricted passage into these lands is blocked by the Mitanni along your frontier. To open the door for future invasions of Babylon, you will first have to deal with the Mitanni. Two of your wise men have offered to venture into the outskirts of the Mitanni Empire alone, confident that they will be able to convince people there to swear fealty to your Empire. Any Mitanni converts they generate can then be used to establish a foothold in the land with additional converts serving to expand this settlement and eventually drive away any remaining Mitanni. | โ |
—In-game section |
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Stone Age
- Starting resources: 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 400 gold
- Population limit: 50
- Starting units:
- 2 Priests
- Gaia units: None
Objectives[]
- Convert enemy villagers to build a settlement.
- Build an army and send it forward to eliminate all remaining Mitanni.
Hints[]
- Moving north quickly is the key to the early stage of this scenario.
- Learn to use your priests correctly; they can be used to do two things, heal and convert, and you do have two of them to start...
- When you have defeated your first enemy and are ready to move east, travel by boat and find an open area. Use villagers to build a walled in area and attack any enemies that approach from within, using priests and archers. Build up a force behind these walls before moving on (select and delete sections of your wall to make a way out.)
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Hittites): The player starts with a granary, a storage pit, and two priests in the southern corner of the map.
Enemies[]
- Hurrians ( Assyrians): The Hurrians start with two Tool Age bases โ including all buildings available in that age, and towers โ in the eastern half of the map and will advance to the Bronze Age soon. They are the only player with access to gold and are separated from the other players by a wood and water. They will not build a navy.
- Hattians ( Assyrians): The Hattians start with a Stone Age base containing a Town Center, a Barracks, three Houses, and some villagers. Their base is located in the western corner of the map.
Strategy[]
You start off with two Priests, a Granary and a Storage Pit. There are two Mitanni towns on the map: a yellow one, just north of your starting position, and a red one across the water (both are Assyrians).
Move north, and start converting villagers. Try cornering them one at a time โ if they gang up and attack, your Priests could die. When you have converted all of their Villagers, and you're sure they're not training any more, start building up your town, training more Villagers.
There's no gold on your island, all of it is in the red Mitanni's territory. If you move quickly, you could get some before they mine it, but if not, you can still defeat them.
They use lots of infantry, so train Chariot Archers โ they cost no gold, and are effective against infantry. Build a Dock and transport them across โ bring your Priests, to heal your soldiers and convert some Villagers, so you can build military buildings on their island.
With some Stone Throwers to use against towers, and Chariot Archers against infantry, the invasion should be quite easy.
History[]
Historical notes[]
โ | Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey, was home to some of the earliest urban settlements, including the proto-city รatalhรถyรผk, which flourished around 7000 BCE. Around 2500 BCE, the people known as the Hattians established their capital at Hattusa. The Hattians had trade relations with the Mesopotamian civilizations, and merchants from Assur in Assyria even established a trading post in the Hattic capital. These business dealings encouraged the Hattians to adopt the cuneiform writing script of their southern trade partners. The wealth of the region and the Hattic trade networks encouraged foreign invasions, but the Hattians were able to resist the armies of both the great Sargon of Akkad and his grandson, Naram-sin. The Hittites emerge in the historical record around 2000 BCE. Their origins are disputed by historians, but they possessed a culture and language distinct from those of the previous peoples inhabiting Anatolia, including the Hattians. The Hittites quickly became the dominant power in the region. According to a set of Hittite tablets, known as the Anitta text (circa 1700 BCE), the Hittite king of a land called Kussara defeated the Hattian King Piyusti at Hattusa by storming the city at night. The Hittite king destroyed the city and cursed the site. Nevertheless, a later Hittite king would rebuild and repopulate the old Hattic capital, even taking the name Hattusili, meaning "One from Hattusa." | โ |
—In-game section |
Victory[]
โ | You have pleased the gods and conquered a great land for your people. In honor of your victory, a tablet is prepared. It reads: Anitta, son of Pithana, King of Kussara, speak! Dear to the storm god, I, Anitta, the Great King, marched on the city of the Hattians and took it in the night by the blessing of my goddess. In its place, I sowed weeds and cursed the site that whosoever raises the city of the Hattians again may the storm god smite him! | โ |
—In-game section |
Loss[]
โ | You have been defeated by the Hattians and are unable to expand into their lands. Forced to live on the edges of civilization, your people despair. Now, your own warriors have selected leaders among themselves to depose you and your family. They will make sure you provide a new clean skull for the Hattians to decorate. | โ |
—In-game section |
Historical notes[]
โ | The Hittite period known as the New Kingdom began around 1450 BC and lasted until around 1200. The key to this period was a clear rule for succession that largely avoided the disabling wars for the kingship that had usually followed the deaths of previous kings. The newly strengthened monarchy was able to begin expanding its influence once more. | โ |
—In-game section |
Historical outcome[]
โ | The Hittites pushed into the northern part of the Fertile Crescent, driving back outposts of both the Egyptians and Mitanni. The Mitanni suffered especially from the Hittite advance, losing important cities at river crossings and along the coast. The Hittites took advantage of Mitanni wars against Assyria to the east. During this period the Hittites earned their reputation as warriors and had sufficient impact on history to be mentioned many years later in Biblical accounts. | โ |
—In-game section |