Rebuilding Moscow is the first scenario and the only scenario of the Fort to City chapter of the The Rise of Moscow campaign in Age of Empires IV. It depicts the Siege of Moscow in 1238, during the Mongol invasion of the Rus' principalities.
Intro[]
Scenario description[]
In just a few short years, the once-proud Rus principalities were razed and annexed by the Mongol invaders of the Golden Horde. But one small town would rise from the ashes: Moscow.
Opening cinematic[]
Today Moscow is a metropolis of over 11 million people. But 800 years ago, it was a small village on the banks of the Moskva River. A modest settlement surrounded by simple wooden defenses, it gave little indication of its future greatness… or its ability to evolve through adversity.
Moscow was frequently attack and destroyed. Yet, each time, it rose from the ashes… stronger… and better defended. Its first real test came in 1238. This time they faced a new enemy… the Mongols.
Moscow had been largely unaware of the growing threat in central Asia. Genghis Khan, founder of the great Mongol Empire, had conquered most of the Asian continent. His descendants continued his work to expand the empire. His grandson, Batu Khan, led the armies of what would become known as the Golden Horde. Their goal: to extract money from principalities they conquered. One by one, states in the region, known collectively as the Rus, fell to the Golden Horde. Moscow was next.
In 1238, the Mongol Golden Horde surrounded Moscow… and besieged its wooden walls. It would only hold out for five days. Moscow burned. That could have been the end of its story, but the people of Moscow were resilient. They would not give up their home… or their control of the Moskva River, an important trade route. They began to rebuild… and strengthen Moscow's defenses. Yet one question remained. Would the terror return?
Loading screen[]
Mongol raiders left the town of Moscow burned to the ground. But the resilient Muscovites were determined to rebuild their home – this time, stronger than before.
Start of scenario[]
Moscow faced certain ruin as Mongol raiders burned their way through the wooden city. With no other Rus coming to their aid, it was up to the people of Moscow to drive away their attackers and beat out the flames.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On Easy difficulty: There are seven Hunting Cabins in the vicinity that can be located and converted. The final Mongol attack comes later.
- On Intermediate: There are five Hunting Cabins in the vicinity that can be located and converted. The final Mongol attack comes after an 8-minute timer following the construction of two defensive structures. The Mongols will not attack from the southeast.
- On Hard: There are three Hunting Cabins in the vicinity that can be located and converted. The enemy Khans will make greater use of their special abilities and the initial raiders will be more aggressive towards the player's Villagers. There are more fires to put out, including two additional sections of wall. The final Mongol attack comes after a 5-minute timer soon after the Kremlin is built.
Objectives[]
- Protect Moscow
- Chase off the Mongols
- Put out the fires
- Rebuild Moscow
- Gather 700 additional wood
- Produce or locate 8 additional Villagers
- Rebuild the 2 destroyed structures
- Optional: Locate 3 Hunting Cabins sheltering Villagers
- Expand Moscow
- Build the Kremlin
- Build the Market
- Build the Archery Range
- Build up defenses before the Mongols attack
- Build 3 defensive structures
- Produce 20 additional military units
- Defend against Mongol attacks
Players[]
- Muscovites: The player must save the starting buildings from the flames, being attacked by a Golden Horde raid. Once the raid is defeated, the player must rebuild the town, building the Kremlin, while resisting onslaughts from further Mongol raids. Although there are few buildings in Moscow and no Gold Mines in the vicinity, the town is walled and protected by waterways, giving the player a good defensive position, and the surrounding region has plenty of huntables, from which the Rus derive both food and gold.
Enemies[]
- Golden Horde (Mongols): The Golden Horde begins the scenario attacking the player's town with a small band of Horsemen and a Hardened Khan. They do not have a base on the map, but will send a number of raiding parties to harass the player, culminating in several large attack waves on Moscow. Their forces consist of Horsemen, Scouts, Hardened Spearmen, Mangudai and Hardened Khans.
Strategy[]
The player should begin by immediately producing Spearmen at their Barracks to drive off the Mongol raid. As these are being produced, they must task their Villagers to repairing the burning buildings, the number of which will continue to grow until the Mongols are driven off. While the Mongol units will not be initially aggressive towards the player's Villagers, they will fight back when attacked by these, so the player must make sure to keep their Villagers focused on repairing, as they will automatically attack any enemy units that attack the player's buildings.
Producing enough Spearmen to drive off the Mongols is the priority, even if it means that there won't be sufficient wood to repair all the buildings, as even if some burn down, the scenario will not be lost. The Palisade Walls are the lowest priority, as they cost the least to rebuild, and will not be needed immediately. In any case, once all the buildings within Moscow are repaired, any walls still on fire will automatically be put out. Once the fires are out, the player should start gathering wood and food by building a Lumber Camp to the north of Moscow and exploiting the Farms already built there. They will be tasked with gathering 700 wood, rebuilding the destroyed sections of the Palisade, and producing or locating 8 additional Villagers.
The latter can be accomplished by sending a Scout to the Hunting Cabins in the region (not including the one by the nearby Farms). These are marked in yellow on the minimap above. However, on Hard difficulty, only the three in the west are available. Along the way, they can grab the Treasure Chests dotted around the map, each of which contains either 100 gold or 500 food. Although Wolves in campaign scenarios are aggressive towards Scouts, individually they are not much of a threat, even to an unupgraded Scout. Furthermore, killing them provides gold and a higher food gather rate for the Rus via the Bounty mechanic. Either way, the player should continue producing Villagers to build up their economy.
Likewise, the player should task the Villagers in the Hunting Cabins to hunt Deer, providing additional Bounty. As there are no Gold Mines on the map, the player will have to rely on Bounty and Hunting Cabins for gold. Hunting Boar is not recommended, however, as even with Survival Techniques, it takes many Villagers and a lot of micro-management to take one down without losing a Villager. The player should build additional Hunting Cabins near the woodlines. However, they should be aware that during the final attacks, any buildings near the roads leading to the northwest and northeast from Moscow will likely be destroyed by the Mongols. The player should also begin mining stone so that they can upgrade their Wooden Fortress defenses later on.
With the initial tasks completed, the player will be tasked with expanding Moscow's infrastructure, beginning by building the Kremlin landmark, which will advance the player to the Feudal Age. Note that, until this objective is completed, there will not be any further Mongol attacks, so the player can exploit this fact to take all the time that they want to build up their economy and forces, although only Spearmen are available in the Dark Age. With the Kremlin built, the player will be tasked with building up their forces and defenses. On Intermediate or below, the timer for the Mongol attacks does not begin until at least one of the Wooden Fortresses are built, giving even more leeway. In addition to those the player is tasked to build just outside the walls, additional Wooden Fortresses should be placed near the bridges leading to the northwest and southeast, as well as to the north of the farmland outside of Moscow. These should then be given all the available upgrades, which include Arrowslits, Castle Turret, and Castle Watch.
The final Mongol attack waves will come from the north, the northwest, the northeast, and the southeast, and will consist of Hardened Spearmen, Scouts, Horsemen, and Mangudai, as well as a Khan. The player should therefore produce a good number of Spearmen, Archers, and Horsemen, as well as researching any available upgrades at the Barracks and Blacksmith. On Hard difficulty, Mongol forces attacking from the north will also attempt to sneak around Moscow to attack from the east, so it is a good idea to leave some units in the town, particularly Archers. The Mongols will not attack from the southwest, however, and the far west of the map is likewise a safe place to expand into. When the last of the attack waves is defeated, the scenario will complete.
Outro[]
End of scenario[]
The Muscovites had successfully defended their newly built city against the Mongol raid.
Now that Moscow could defend itself, its rulers looked to expand their influence into new territories.
Post-game screen[]
Despite ongoing raids and harsh conditions, the Muscovites had rebuilt their town. Moscow was back, and growing.
Page From History: Daniel of Moscow[]
| “ | In the 13th century, Moscow had fallen to the Mongol invasion and rebuilt itself from the ashes. But of all the Rus principalities, Moscow was still one of the smallest and least powerful. That is, until a new prince came to the throne. 1272 saw Daniel Alexandrovich, the youngest son of the Rus hero Alexander Nevsky, assume full power as Prince of Moscow. From humble beginnings, Daniel increased Moscow's influence through diplomatic alliances and strong city defenses. An exemplar for peaceful solutions, he is known only to have participated in one battle. By the end of Daniel's reign, he controlled the length of the Moskva River, igniting Moscow's ascendancy from city to state. Daniel's descendants would in turn rise to become the most powerful princes of the Rus domain, cementing Moscow's dynastic claim to rule. |
” |
