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This article is about the scenario in the Sun Clan campaign. For the scenario in other campaigns, see The Battle of Red Cliffs. |
| “ | Sun Quan forms a fragile alliance with the folk hero Liu Bei and faces the ruthless Cao Cao in the era's greatest battle. | ” |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
The Battle of Red Cliffs is the fifth and final scenario of the Sun Clan campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Three Kingdoms. It is based on the eponymous battle taking place in late 208 and early 209, and is played from the viewpoint of the Sun Clan.
Intro[]
For all of his faults, Liu Biao's prediction was right. After his passing, Cao Cao's army swept in from the north like a plague of locusts. When Liu Bei came seeking an alliance against their common foe, Sun Quan was quick to accept.
They marshalled every man they could find in a place south of the Yangtze River called Red Cliffs. While Cao Cao's vast host made camp across the water, Sun Quan and Liu Bei listened to Zhou Yu's battle plans... yet something about his new ally made Sun Quan uneasy.
Not only had Liu Bei willingly served the man who murdered his father, he was also dedicated to restoring the Han dynasty. If he succeeded, what role would remain for the Sun Clan? How much of their newfound power would they need to cede to fulfill Liu Bei's dreams?
There was only one way forward. When Cao Cao was weakened and Liu Bei had ceased to be useful, Sun Quan would need to stab his new ally in the back – but for now, he needed Liu Bei by his side.
On a hill near their camp, Zhuge Liang prayed for the wind's favor in the battle to come. Zhou Yu, who deeply distrusted Liu Bei's advisor, oversaw the ritual. Should Liang fail, Zhou Yu would ensure that he did not leave the scene alive...
...but Zhou Yu got more than he bargained for. Zhuge Liang's ritual was cut short when Cao Cao's men made a surprise landing, catching the allies completely unawares. The enemy quickly overwhelmed the beaches and captured the Sun fire ships.
Sun Quan and Liu Bei fell back and planned their counterattack. The future of China was about to be decided.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Imperial Age - Starting resources: 1,600 food, 1,500 wood, 1,200 gold, 800 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Sun Quan (hero)
- Zhou Yu (hero)
- 17 Villagers
- 14 Fire Archers
- 8 Jian Swordsmen
- 8 Light Cavalry (6 units changed to Imperial Cavalry if the player rescued the nobles in The Imperial Seal)
- 6 Hei Guang Cavalry (upgraded to Imperial Cavalry if the player rescued the nobles in The Imperial Seal)
- 6 Pikemen
- 3 Demolition Ships
- 2 Fire Ships
- 2 Trade Carts
- 1 Monk (if the player reached the Temple in time in The Conquest of Jiangdong)
- 1 Traction Trebuchet
- Hero Cheng Pu or Hung Gai (depending on choice made in The Conquest of Jiangdong)
- Hero Taishi Ci or Zhou Tai (depending on choice made in The White Tiger)
- Yu Ji (if spared in The White Tiger)
- Hero Ling Tong or Gan Ning (depending on choice made in The Avenger)
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On higher difficulties, there are more and bigger groups of Cao Cao's Elites troops around Cao Cao's Wonder site. On Easiest difficulty, only two Xianbei Raiders guard the site. Standard and Moderate difficulties have two and three groups respectively. On Hard and Legendary difficulties, five large groups of troops are stationed around the site, with four Traction Trebuchets also present on the highest difficulty.
Main objectives[]
- Wait for instructions.
- Defeat Cao Cao.
- Defeat Liu Bei. (after Liu Bei breaks the alliance)
- Destroy Cao Cao's Wonder.
Secondary objectives[]
- 0/4 beach Castles captured.
- Find an opportunity to betray Liu Bei.
- Recapture the Sun Fire Ships.
- 0/9 enemy Docks destroyed.
Hints[]
- You begin in the Imperial Age and can support 200 population, but cannot construct Fortified Walls or Gates.
- Timing is key: eliminating Liu Bei early seems easy, but you may not be able to defeat Cao Cao on your own.
- The Wu navy is exceptional. Use your unique technologies to crush Cao Cao’s weaker ships.
- Fire Archers are strong against ships and buildings.
Scouts[]
- Sun Quan (Red) had camped by the Red Cliffs. This seemingly secure position has already been overrun and must be retaken.
- To the left, your ally Liu Bei (Green) has also been pushed off the beach and will send his powerful archers, infantry, and War Chariots to your aid.
- Cao Cao has divided his enormous army into three divisions. The vanguard (Cyan) has crossed the Yangtze River and taken the southern beach. They will attack you with cavalry and siege engines until they are driven into the river.
- The main enemy army (Blue) resides in a grand war camp to the north. Its ships control the river and will try to ferry heavy cavalry, ranged soldiers, and siege engines across it.
- Lastly, some of Cao Cao’s fearless elites (Purple) guard the warlord himself and other key positions.
- A few existing River Fortifications (Grey) lie on both riverbanks.
Players[]
Player[]
- Sun Quan ( Wu): Starts in the southeast of the map with a spaced-out base: a Town Center closer to the south, fairly close to Liu Bei's base, a military camp with a Castle, Dock, and a Hall of Heroes, and another Town Center with a Market near the eastern edge of the map. The starting forces are split between the military camp and the eastern Town Center, and the player also has a small navy. Together with Liu Bei, the player must hold off Cao Cao's landing parties, and destroy Cao Cao's Vanguard troops to reclaim Castles close to their bases, then go on the offensive against Cao Cao. After Liu Bei becomes an enemy, the player must defeat them as well.
Ally[]
- River Fortifications ( Wu): Consists of four sites with a Castle and several military production buildings and towers. Two are close to the player's and Liu Bei's bases respectively, two are on the northern riverbank, on the edges of Cao Cao's base. Initially occupied by Cao Cao's Vanguard troops, the sites will turn over to the player and Liu Bei respectively once all surrounding troops have been killed, making all buildings available for use.
Ally → Enemy[]
- Liu Bei ( Shu): Starts in the south and southwest of the map with two Castles and Town Centers each, and is initially allied to the player. After some time passes, but always after Cao Cao is defeated at the latest, he changes his stance to enemy, and must be defeated to win the scenario. He deploys Crossbowmen, Halberdiers, (Heavy) Hei Guang Cavalry, War Chariots, (Elite) White Feather Guards, and Traction Trebuchets, and will also deploy War Galleys should he take over the Docks at the River Fortifications base closest to him. He tends to stay close to his bases, and won't attack Cao Cao's main base.
Enemy[]
- Cao Cao ( Wei): The primary antagonist of the scenario, Cao Cao has a large base covering the north of the map, with three Town Centers, four Castles, and many military production buildings to quickly replace his losses. On land, he trains mainly cavalry: Light Cavalry/Hussars, (Heavy) Hei Guang Cavalry, and (Elite) Tiger Cavalry, accompanied by Halberdiers, and build siege weapons such as Capped Rams/Siege Rams and Traction Trebuchets. As long as he has any Docks standing, he will build a navy of Galleons, Fast Fire Ships, and Lou Chuans, and will attempt to ferry cavalry, ranged units and siege weapons with Transport Ships. Defeating him is compulsory to win the scenario.
- Cao Cao's Vanguard ( Wei): The Vanguard occupies the four River Fortifications sites when the scenario starts, and may make use of the military production buildings, but they never control the site's Castle. The garrisons consist of Hei Guang Cavalry, Tiger Cavalry, Pikemen, and Xianbei Raiders, and may also deploy Traction Trebuchets. Killing a site's garrison transfers the control to the player or Liu Bei. The player is not required to defeat them, but they will resign together with Cao Cao.
- Cao Cao's Elites ( Wei): Their main body is located in Cao Cao's base, with a contingent of Heavy Hei Guang Cavalry and Elite Tiger Cavalry protecting Cao Cao himself north of the base, and a large army of Heavy Hei Guang Cavalry, Elite Tiger Cavalry, and Xianbei Raiders, with a few Traction Trebuchets protecting the Wonder site. They also guard several islands with a Keep and several troops (mainly Xianbei Raiders) each, They behave defensively and do not actively attack the player, and will resign should Cao Cao also resign.
Strategy[]
(Assuming Legendary difficulty.)
The final scenario of the campaign opens with a cutscene, depicting Cao Cao's Vanguard troops overwhelming the guards around Zhuge Liang's platform before Zhou Yu kills him, leaving his wind ritual incomplete, followed by some Tiger Cavalry landing near the occupied Castle close to the player's eastern base.
After this, the player takes control. They should start by using the starting food to boom, and train many Pikemen/Halberdiers supplemented by Fire Archers or Crossbowmen/Arbalesters. Meanwhile, the player's starting army can move against Cao Cao's Vanguard base near the eastern base and kill all their units, taking care not to destroy any buildings around the Castle, as they will become the player's after the garrison is killed (the Castle will not fire on the player's units). If the player escorted the Naval Engineer as he requested in the previous scenario, 15 Dragon Ships, his "secret weapon", will spawn at the northeastern edge of the map, and the player can build Dragon Ships instead of Fire Ships in that case, in addition to the reduced gold cost of warships (-20%). If the player conscripted him instead, they should take advantage of the reduced wood cost of warships (also -20%).
The player should build up their navy, as Cao Cao's navy will attack roughly 10 minutes into the scenario. He tends to send Galleons accompanied by a few Fast Fire Ships, and an occasional Lou Chuan. Having Dragon Ships makes the naval defense easier on account of their superior stats compared to Fast Fire Ships. Cao Cao will also attempt to send landing parties to devastate the player's base, most likely either near the Dock close to the player's military camp and Castle, or at the site of the reclaimed River Fortifications castle, so securing these spots with Keeps or a Castle is a good idea. Not only should they sink the Transport Ships, they will also handle Cao Cao's other ships except Lou Chuans.
Some time after starting the scenario, the location of captured Sun Fire Ships is revealed, near Cao Cao's western Docks. They are guarded by Galleons, Lou Chuans, and three Sea Towers, so the player should either draw the ships out to sink them one by one, or attack them headlong with a mass of Fire Ships or Dragon Ships, while not neglecting the naval defense of their Docks to thwart Cao Cao's landing parties. After all guarding ships are sunk, the captured Fire Ships become the player's. To end the threat of Cao Cao's landing parties and gain control of the river, the player should destroy the nine Docks on Cao Cao's side of the Yangtze, with Fire Ships tanking the enemy arrows or bolts, and Lou Chuans destroying the Docks and opposing Keeps from a distance. This should be followed up by mopping up any remaining Transport Ships and warships. With the river free of enemy presence, fishing may become a useful addition to the player's food economy.
After roughly 15 minutes pass, Liu Bei should also attack Cao Cao's Vanguard garrison close to his base. Once he defeats it and gains control of the River Fortification site, he will change his stance to enemy after discovering the cause of Zhuge Liang's death. On easier difficulties, he might wait longer, but will always become the player's enemy after Cao Cao is defeated. As such, the player will have to defeat Liu Bei as well, and should be prepared to defend the southern economic base against his troops, while massing Traction Trebuchets to pull down his buildings one by one. Once he loses all of his Town Centers and Castles, he is defeated, and the player can now focus on Cao Cao.
Near the 38 minute mark, Cao Cao will start building a Wonder, near a site surrounded by several Castles, Fire Towers, Keeps, and military camps, guarded by Cao Cao's Elites and bolstered by Cao Cao's regular troops should they be under attack. It is completed after roughly six minutes, upon which a 350-year countdown (29:10 in-game time) starts.
If the player is done or almost done with Liu Bei, they should ferry their troops across the river once Liu Bei is defeated, and capture one or both of the beachheads on the northern riverbank. Since both Cao Cao and Cao Cao's Elites are heavily cavalry-based, the player should be prepared to mass Halberdiers, with a few Elite Fire Archers to pick off their Halberdiers and Xianbei Raiders if necessary, and Heavy Hei Guang Cavalry to destroy the enemy's siege weapons. Traction Trebuchets should be used to safely destroy enemy buildings from a distance and should be well-protected by Halberdiers, as Cao Cao will produce new units very quickly until his buildings are down, and rams may be destroyed before they even reach the target building, especially if the Fire Towers are still standing. After securing a beachhead, build several production buildings near the captured Castle to quickly replace losses on the frontline. It is also a good idea to secure any cleared areas with a Castle or several Keeps, first to provide protection, and second to stop Cao Cao's Villagers rebuilding behind the player's back, confining them into a closed area.
As long as the player can maintain the momentum and keep a sufficient number of Halberdiers to hold off cavalry charges, and destroy enemy military production buildings to reduce their unit training rate, it should not be too difficult to destroy the Wonder with several minutes to spare. After this, it is mainly a matter of time to deal with remaining Cao Cao's or Cao Cao's Elites' troops, and harass Villagers with cavalry to prevent them from rebuilding. In any case, the player should not pursue the Cao Cao hero unit, as he will flee the map when approached, leaving his bodyguards behind. Once all Cao Cao's Town Centers and Castles are down, Cao Cao and his two other factions should resign, granting victory to the player and completing the campaign.
Outro[]
Thirteen years prior, the Sun Clan held neither land nor an army. Now, it stood as the sole victor of the greatest battle in living memory.
Having overplayed his hand, Cao Cao fled north after his failed landing, with Zhou Yu's finest riders in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Sun Quan's betrayal stunned his unsuspecting ally. Liu Bei and his dream of restoring the Han dynasty both bled out in the sands of the Yangtze.
As Sun Quan seized many of the weaker western provinces, a new status quo emerged. Cao Cao reigned supreme over the rich central plains around the Yellow River, while the Sun Clan consolidated its hold over the south. Neither appeared strong enough to dominate the other.
Sun Quan's conquest of China would forever remain incomplete. Yet, whenever he looked back upon that fateful day over the years to come, he knew he could have done nothing differently. Liu Bei's death had prevented the emergence of a third kingdom, and Heaven itself seemed pleased with his decision.
As his men rummaged through Cao Cao's camp after the battle, Sun Quan stumbled upon a familiar treasure. In his haste to escape, the tyrant had left behind a great seal of jade – the very same one that Sun Jian had found in the capital all those years ago.
How the Imperial Seal got into Cao Cao's hands, Sun Quan could only guess. Perhaps he took it from Yuan Shao after the Battle of Guandu. It did not matter.
The seal was back where it belonged, and the Sun Clan now held the Mandate of Heaven.
