Defend the Colony is the first scenario of Act II: Ice in Age of Empires III. It introduces the player to the heroes John Black and Ká:nien, and the civilization John Black's Mercenaries (similar to the German civilization).
The goal is to protect the colony of Brunswick from Cherokee war parties that constantly raid it.
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Fortress Age - Ending Age: Industrial Age
- Population limit: 200
- Starting resources: 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin
- Starting units and technologies:
- John Black
- Ká:nien
- Stuart Black
- Max (unique hero Dog)
- 14 Veteran Skirmishers
- 4 Jaegers
- 1 Heavy Cannon
- 9 Settlers
- 1 Fishing Boat
Summary[]
Before the first mission starts, the "Summoned" cinematic plays. According to its description, by the middle of the eighteenth century, many thriving colonies had been founded in the New World, but European conflicts would soon explode in the Americas.
Amelia Black narrates the story of John Black, her grandfather and Morgan Black's grandson, saying he seemed to have more enemies than friends, yet the Haudenosaunee warrior Ká:nien stood loyally by his side, even though the two had a sort of friendly rivalry. The cinematic switches to a scene where Ká:nien shoots a male Deer with his bow; though Black's shot was slower to follow, it was it that eventually fell the Deer.
Soon follows a group of John Black's mercenaries, and the group continues heading to the colony of Brunswick, where Stuart Black is governor, to protect them from Cherokee raids. Though Ká:nien doubts about the severity of a threat, as Stuart appears to be cowardly and is far from a warrior, John Black believes he is right.
As soon as they reach Brunswick, Stuart will greet the group and tells them that most of the garrison was killed or taken as prisoners by the Cherokee. Ká:nien can hear the warbands approaching. John Black commands every colonist to take arms to defend the colony, the scene ends and the player can start the mission.
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
- Defend the Town Center for 15 minutes.
Secondary objectives[]
- Stop the Cherokee attackers from destroying the village to the southwest. (500 XP)
- Escort the refugees back to the colony. (300 XP for each drove)
Players[]
Player[]
- John Black ( John Black's Mercenaries) - The player begins in the Fortress Age, with a quite established base, including a Town Center an Arsenal, two Mills, a Market, a Church, multiple Houses and seven Outposts. Forces include four Jaegers, fifteen Skirmishers, the characters themselves, a War Dog and a Heavy Cannon.
Allies[]
- Frontier Colony ( British) - A village to the southwest of Brunswick, this player controls a Mill, a Town Center, a Livestock Pen (complete with "garrisoned" Sheep) and units, including a Coureur des Bois, several Settlers and four Musketeers. They will be attacked by a large Cherokee party; as soon as it is destroyed, the village and the remaining units switch to the player's control.
- Colonists ( British) - This player consists of panicked Settlers who flee towards Brunswick to escape the Cherokee. Once they reach the colony, each Settler remaining will turn into Skirmishers to fight for the player.
- Reinforcements ( British) - This player consists of a Caravel and a group of thirty Jaegers. As soon as they arrive, the player wins this scenario.
Enemy[]
- Cherokee War Party ( British) - The enemy for this scenario, they will send constant waves to siege the player's position. At first, their units consist of Cherokee Archers and Riflemen, but eventually they will include Horse Archers and Heavy Cannons. At later stages, they will be joined by Lakota Axe Riders. Note that Heavy Cannons are not used on Easy difficulty.
Strategy[]
The main objective is to keep the Town Center alive for fifteen minutes, with a side objective to protect a small village to the southwest.
As soon as the mission starts, train and send Settlers by Home City Cards and assign them with gathering resources, while building a Stable. Building a Barracks isn't necessary, as the player can simply rely on droves of refugees to acquire more infantry (see the players' section above). On top of that, heavy infantry (such as Musketeers) are not recommended, as they are rather vulnerable to the Cherokee units, save for the Axe Riders.
Immediately train Uhlans; they might be fairly expensive, but have a 30% resistance against ranged attack, a large attack, great speed and on top of that, Cherokee Horse Archers lack a multiplier against them. Send these Uhlans to the village to the southwest to quickly dispatch Cherokee raiders and save as many Settlers as possible. Alternatively, the player might send their starting forces (including the Heavy Cannon) to the southwest to defend the village on time from the Cherokee attack, but on greater risk of casualties. Simultaneously, the player can easily destroy the first assault of the Cherokee with either tactic, as they consist of merely nine units.
Either way, the player should choose to upgrade their Outposts to Frontier Outposts immediately, as well as research the Market upgrades, save the ones that concern hunting. Priests from the Church are also invaluable to heal units. The defenders, including any artillery, should stay close to the Outposts, and face the Cherokee attacks. Eventually they will include Heavy Cannons and Lakota Axe Riders to their assaults that can cause a lot of trouble for the player. Uhlans can be very necessary to prevent this, so it is recommended to upgrade them to Veteran Uhlans and boost them at the Arsenal, to make them more survivable.
From time to time, colonists will run towards the base, seeking protection, but they'll be attacked by the Cherokee. Don't waste forces by running out and trying to save them; most of them will reach your base anyway and the player shouldn't split their forces across the map. When they arrive, they will turn into Skirmishers for the player to command.
There are two Cherokee warcamps to the south parts of the map, but it is not recommended to attack these areas; they are guarded by massive numbers of troops and the player might spread their forces too thin, on top of not gaining anything other than experience points.
After fifteen minutes have passed, reinforcements arrive in the colony, the Cherokee retreat and the player beats the scenario.
Trivia[]
- During this scenario of the campaign, should the player move their units towards the South of the map, they will stumble upon the Cherokee war camps, heavily guarded by Cherokee Riflemen, Cherokee Archers, Cherokee Horse Archers, and Native American Chiefs. It is not required to wipe out the camps to win the scenario.
- The Cherokee are represented by the British, which hints of a potential twist to the campaign's plot. It is later revealed that the Cherokee have allied with the main antagonist of the Ice campaign, the British General Warwick, who provided Heavy Cannons to the former, despite having no access to the unit.
Gallery[]
