| “ | Cao Cao faces his former friend, the mighty warlord Yuan Shao, in his greatest battle yet. | ” |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
The Battle of Guandu is the third scenario of the Cao Cao campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Three Kingdoms. It is based on the eponymous battle that took place in present-day Henan Province, the first part being the siege of Guandu, and the second part being mainly based on the raid on Wuchao.
Intro[]
Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had grown up as close friends. Their friendship had been uneven, as Yuan Shao often reminded Cao Cao about his lower status, but Cao Cao had come to know the man well. He knew Yuan Shao's tactics, his strengths, and – most importantly – his weaknesses.
Yuan Shao was a fierce opponent, but he was indecisive and often overlooked the importance of logistics. An army marches on its stomach, but the bellies of Yuan Shao's men were often empty. Cao Cao intended to fully exploit this blind spot.
Yuan Shao laid siege to Cao Cao's base of operations at Guandu, but neither side was able to breach the other's lines. To break the stalemate, Cao Cao unveiled his secret weapon.
While fighting Tao Qian, Cao Cao had captured one of Tao Qian's most capable generals, a man named Guan Yu. While Guan Yu wished to return to his sworn brother Liu Bei, he was a man of honor. After Cao Cao spared his life, Guan Yu agreed to serve his captor... for a time.
That brief window was all Cao Cao would need to crush his old friend.
Scenario instructions[]
 |
This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Ending Age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources:
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- 6 Xianbei Raiders
- 4 Hei Guang Cavalry
- 4 Tiger Cavalry
- 3 Monks (if spared in The Yellow Turban Rebellion)
- Cao Cao (hero)
- Lü Bu (hero) (if the player allied him in Emperor In All But Name)
- Hero Xiahou Dan or Cao Ren (depending on choice made in Emperor In All But Name)
- 6
Main objectives[]
- Destroy as many of Yuan Shao's supplies as possible to weaken his forces:
- Destroy Yuan Shao's Blacksmiths so he can research fewer armor upgrades.
- Destroy Yuan Shao's Grain Storage (Trade Workshop) to reduce his army size.
- Destroy Yuan Shao's Lumber Camps to damage his siege weapon production.
- Protect Guandu's Wonder.
- Build up and prepare to fight Yuan Shao.
- 0/5 of Yuan Shao's commanders killed.
Secondary objectives[]
- Visit the traitor Xu You.
- Ally with the Chinese Villages or attack them instead.
- 0/20 Villagers brought to Guandu's Town Center. (if allied with the Chinese Villages)
- 0/10 Mills destroyed. (if the Chinese Villages were declared an enemy)
- Destroy Yuan Shao's river blockage (Sea Gates).
- Destroy the paddock fence to release Yuan Shao's horses.
Hints[]
- You can reach the Imperial Age and support 200 population, but cannot build warships.
- You only hold a small military base within Guandu, but will later take command of the entire city.
- Initially, focus on cutting enemy supply lines and leave the defense of Guandu to the allied city guard.
- There are many ways to damage Yuan Shao's forces, but you may not have enough time to complete all such objectives before the final battle.
Scouts[]
- Cao Cao (Blue) has arrived at Guandu to defend the city against Yuan Shao.
- Guandu (Cyan) is well fortified and defended by a capable city guard that can repel Yuan Shao's early attacks.
- Yuan Shao (Orange) has taken up position in the north and is currently gathering his cavalry and Traction Trebuchets, leaving important supply camps (Red) vulnerable.
- Xu You (Purple) is Yuan Shao's advisor, but also Cao Cao's old friend and may be willing to switch sides...
- Several villages (Grey) lie near Guandu. Cao Cao can plunder them for additional food, or bring their inhabitants to Guandu for forced labor.
Players[]
Player[]
- Cao Cao ( Wei): Starts within Guandu controlling a cavalry-exclusive force, but initially has only a few military production buildings at their disposal, and no economy. In the first 20 minutes, they must disrupt Yuan Shao's supply lines as much as possible to weaken his forces later on. After Yuan Shao begins his offensive, the player must hold out and seek enemy Commanders, hiding in Yuan Shao's Castles and towers. Killing five enemy Commanders wins the scenario for the player. The player cannot build warships in this scenario.
Ally[]
- Guandu ( Wei): Initially controls the majority of Guandu, including its economy, and defends the city against Yuan Shao's incursions. They train Elite Skirmishers, Scorpions, Tiger Cavalry, and Two-Handed Swordsmen. Once the player either destroys the requested Yuan Shao's Supplies structures or if the timer runs out, they turn over the city along with any units to the player.
Ally (Possible Enemy)[]
- Guan Yu ( Shu): Starts in the east in a camp. They will help the player during the second part for a limited time, after which the player has the choice of letting Guan Yu leave peacefully, or kill him. His army includes Arbalesters, Elite Skirmishers, Halberdiers, Light Cavalry, and War Chariots.
Neutral → Ally[]
- Xu You ( Wei): Based in the south in a camp with some Heavy Hei Guang Cavalry and Pikemen, he reveals the locations of Yuan Shao's Supplier camps, and grants the player his cavalry units when visited, but otherwise does not play an active role.
Neutral → Ally/Enemy[]
- Chinese Villages ( Wei): Various villages dot the landscape between Guandu and Yuan Shao's base. The player has the choice of either allying with them and sending their Villagers to Guandu's Town Center, where they will wait until the player takes full control of Guandu, or declaring them an enemy and razing their Mills for food. If declared an enemy, they will train Feudal Age units from military production buildings.
Enemy[]
- Yuan Shao ( Wei): The primary antagonist of the scenario, Yuan Shao is based in the north of the map with several military and economic camps, and two Castles. They initially attack Guandu before withdrawing for 20 minutes, after which they will send regular attack waves. They send Crossbowmen, Hei Guang Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Long Swordsmen, Mangonels, rams, Traction Trebuchets, and Xianbei Raiders into battle, and also actively deploy several heroes. Killing five of their Commanders is a main objective to win the scenario.
- Yuan Shao's Supplies ( Wei): Has several camps surrounding Guandu, which support Yuan Shao's siege effort, and several patrols in various places around the map. Destroying the specified structures weakens Yuan Shao during the second part of the battle. Their troops consist of Long Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, Pikemen, and Hei Guang Cavalry, and also Scorpions near their Lumber Camps. They may also send Light Cavalry in their attempt to kill the Villagers gained from the Chinese Villages.
Strategy[]
There are two distinct phases in this scenario. In the first part, the player must disrupt Yuan Shao's supply lines and weaken his forces by destroying specified structures in Yuan Shao's Suppliers camps, and is given 20 minutes to do so. In the second part, when Yuan Shao attacks with full force, the player must weather these attacks, and take the fight to Yuan Shao's base and kill five enemy Commanders.
Phase one[]
The scenario opens with Guandu under attack, defended by Guandu's city guard. Initially, the player has just several Stables, Archery Ranges, a Blacksmith, and a Hall of Heroes under their control. After a few seconds, the player is offered a choice of another hero: Zhang Liao, a Champion Class cavalry hero able to deal +40 damage with ability Heavy Attack, or Xun Yu, a Stategist Class archer hero increasing the melee/pierce armor of nearby units. At this stage, the player should leave the defense of Guandu to its city guard, and concentrate on the enemy supply camps. Roughly a minute after starting the scenario, Xu You, based in a camp to the east of Guandu, reveals the locations of all five Yuan Shao's Suppliers camps, and provides the player six Heavy Hei Guang Cavalry when visited.
In this phase, the player gets some resources for killing enemy units and razing structures, namely 10 food, 10 wood, 5 gold for each killed unit, and 30 food, 25 wood, 20 gold for each razed building. Moreover, the player can decide whether to ally with Chinese Villages or declare them an enemy. Allying them brings 4 Villagers in each of the five villages under player's control, which the player should bring to Guandu's Town Center for use once the player assumes full control of Guandu. The player should note, however, that these Villagers also take significant portion of available population due to the population limit of 75 in this stage, at least until reaching Guandu's Town Center. It is also advisable to clear out nearby patrols, and station a few troops nearby, to avoid having the Villagers killed en route to Guandu, especially by Light Cavalry. Declaring the Chinese Villages an enemy makes their buildings available for raiding, with each razed Mill (10 in total) granting 300 food. They will train Feudal Age armies to oppose the player in that case.
While the order at which Yuan Shao's Supplies are razed is up to the player, they should ideally begin either northwest or east of Guandu, and work their way clockwise and counterclockwise respectively, as time will be tight even when using cavalry units only. As they also have several patrols with a balanced composition around the map, the key to not getting cut down early is to properly micromanage, using Xianbei Raiders to pick off Pikemen, and melee cavalry to kill Crossbowmen threatening Xianbei Raiders, before engaging the other units. Using active abilities such as Cao Cao's Poetic Inspiration (boosting armor and attack) or Cao Ren's Morale Boost (restoring 50% hit points) can increase unit durability, especially on higher difficulties. Their camps are defended by Guard Towers, so after killing their garrisons (typically Long Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, and Pikemen, plus Scorpions near their Lumber Camps), units should ideally focus on destroying the requested buildings, and move on.
Razing the Grain Storage (Trade Workshop) building northwest of Guandu grants the player 800 food and makes Yuan Shao train soldiers more slowly, while pulling down his Blacksmith north of the city gives the player 500 gold and makes him research fewer Blacksmith technologies. Finally, destroying the three Lumber Camps northeast of Guandu yields 800 wood and hampers Yuan Shao's siege weapon production.
Xu You also reveals the location of two camps containing buildings, which, while not being part of main objectives, can still help the player in the final battle. Destroying the two Sea Gates roughly northeast of their Blacksmith removes the river blockade, granting the player additional resources (500 food, 500 wood, 400 gold) when a shipment arrives during the second part of the scenario. Finally, destroying the paddock fence near the Stable northeast of the map's center, quite close to one of the Yuan Shao's camps, sets their horses loose, reducing Yuan Shao's cavalry unit production.
Phase two[]
If the player managed to destroy all five requested structures before the timer expired, or if the timer expired, they will assume full control of Guandu, including Villagers, and can advance to the Imperial Age. From now on, the scenario plays more like a regular "build and destroy" scenario, and the bounty for killing enemy units and razing enemy structures is no longer given. The player is now required to defend Guandu's Wonder to avoid defeat.
When the timer expires, Yuan Shao begins his attack against Guandu. As long as the player managed to destroy all requested structures in phase one, it should not be too difficult to hold off the cavalry units and Pikemen/Halberdiers Yuan Shao tends to field, but the player should beware of the enemy's rams and Traction Trebuchets. The player should make good use of the two Castles near the northeastern wall. Researching the unique technology Ming Guang Armor helps to protect against melee attacks from Yuan Shao, and shore up units suffering from the lack of Plate Barding Armor. At this time, Guan Yu should also join the player, and will attack the closest Yuan Shao's camp. Note that destroying a Castle will end his assistance, and he will eventually leave the battlefield, presenting the player with a decision: killing Guan Yu removes him from subsequent scenarios, but grants the enemies a temporary production boost. Letting him leave grants the player this boost instead, but the player will face him again later.
To defeat Yuan Shao, the player needs to mount a counterattack and destroy Yuan Shao's Castles and towers, which may hide enemy Commanders. Building a forward camp is highly recommended to replenish units more quickly, as Yuan Shao will attack almost continuously, even with heroes, and will respawn them quickly. As such, levelling his military production buildings also helps to manage his attacks better. While the player might be tempted to use Traction Trebuchets, a number of Siege Rams will do the job very efficiently. When a tower or a Castle is sufficiently damaged and any hiding Commanders ejected, the player should quickly snipe them before they can garrison in another defensive structure. Once five enemy Commanders have been killed, the player is victorious.
Outro[]
In his pride, Yuan Shao had forgotten that raw numbers mean nothing to those who do not know how to use them. This mistake turned the Battle of Guandu into Cao Cao's greatest victory yet, as his army bested a force twice its size.
With Yuan Shao crushed, no man remained who could challenge Cao Cao – but while he was the power behind the throne, his grip on China was far from absolute. The Sun Clan was expanding in the south, and Yuan Shao's sons still held sway over the north.
While the Sun Clan posed the greater threat, Cao Cao knew the Yuan brothers would bury their daggers in his back if he turned a blind eye to them. Before he could turn south, Cao Cao needed to secure the north.
