The Era of the Princes is the last Historical Battle in the launch of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals.
Summary[]
For over a century, Ethiopia struggled as local warlords vied for power in the declining old empire. There seemed to be no way out of the conflict until a man named Kassa Hailu stepped in. Kassa, a veteran of the Ethiopian-Egyptian wars, could no longer bear to watch as his country was torn asunder. He would fight the warlords and gift the loot to the impoverished Ethiopian peasants.
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Exploration Age - Ending Age: Industrial Age
- Population limit: 200
- Starting resources: None
- Starting units and technologies:
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
- Reach the first Ethiopian Village.
- Destroy the Stockpiles (Granaries) of each warlord.
- Retreat to the Ethiopian Villages.
- Destroy the Tigrayan Palace.
- Destroy the Gojjamian Palace.
- Destroy the Shewan Palace.
Secondary objectives[]
- Build a Palace. (350 XP reward)
- Defeat the Tigrayan forces guarding the Livestock Market between you and your ally to capture them.
- Find all four Mountain Monasteries.
Players[]
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Kassa Hailu, protagonist of the scenario.
Player[]
- Kassa Hailu ( Ethiopians): The player starts in the southwest of the map with Kassa Hailu, 5 Shotel Warriors, and 4 Gascenyas.
Ally[]
- Ethiopian Village ( Ethiopians): The Ethiopian Village have a Town Center with Villagers working around there, a few Huts and Granaries with Fields, a War Camp, a Livestock Market, two Watch Towers, 17 Shotel Warriors and 4 Gascenyas. In cooperative mode, the second player has this base.
Enemies[]
- Tigray ( Ethiopians): Tigray have a fortified base in the middle of the map near to the allied base.
- Gojjam ( Ethiopians): Gojjam have a fortified base in the north of the map.
- Shewa ( Ethiopians): Shewa have a fortified base in the east of the map near to the Sudanese settlement.
Strategy[]
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The player starts with a small force for the initial part of the scenario, and can obtain only a limited number of troops, so must take engagements carefully. They should utilise their allies well, letting them move to the frontline to soak up enemy fire, while the player attacks from behind or flanks the enemy to dispatch them quickly. Most of the obtainable troops can be found in small Oromo hamlets scattered across the map, consisting of units such as Javelin Riders, Oromo Warriors, Shotel Warriors, and Gascenyas.
After defending the allied village from the initial attacks by Tigray, the player should first obtain the treasure just east of the village, which boosts the player's infantry. Then they should move north, killing enemy units and exploring the strips of land to the west of the path to find more units to join the player's ranks. The lands east contain the walled city of Tigray and should be avoided at this stage. In the northwest, at two different spots, the player will find Mountain Monasteries on top of coin mines with an Abun near them. While the Abuns can be assigned to collect the coin, it may be more beneficial for them to be taken along to serve in combat and for healing. There are two more such Monasteries and Abuns in the southern area of the map, which can be accessed in the second stage of the scenario.
The player should then circle around the map's edge, in a clockwise manner, destroying enemy Granaries and eventually reaching the north. To the east lies the mountain town of Gojjam, which should also be avoided. As the player moves south, they will be able to see a battle raging in front between the various warlords. The player can move along the edge of the path, between the battlefield and Gojjam, to head to the eastern section of the map for the last of the enemy Granaries.
When these are destroyed, the player must move swiftly, for the three warlords call a truce between each other to hunt down the player's forces. They send out an army which pursues the player's forces, and can be lethal, as they are many in number and consist of fast units such as cavalry and Shotel Warriors. The player can move to the south along the map's edge to reach the other allied village, as other paths may seem shorter, but contain enemy towers and guards on the way.
After the player reaches the southern allied village, they gain control of it and can start setting up their base. The second stage of the scenario requires the player to wipe out the Palaces in the three enemy cities. The player also gets several other optional objectives, and one of them that should be done is to clear out Tigray's outer base between the player's and their allies' village to have safe movement and gain control of the mines and cattle there.
The various enemies train the common Ethiopian infantry and cavalry, but also have access to certain units. Tigray can train several types of cannons, such as Culverins and Sebastopol Mortars. It is also the easiest to defeat if the player gains access to cannons themselves, as the enemy Palace is at the southern edge of the city, which can be safely attacked from beyond the moat if the enemy base mentioned in the above paragraph was cleared out. The enemy may retaliate with their own cannons from inside the city, and may need luring out by attacking and then retreating to destroy them once they are outside the city.
Trivia[]
- This is chronologically the game's latest historical battle, occurring in the mid-19th century.
- Following the Kassa Hailu conquests chronologically, the player should first conquer Gojjam (1853), then Tigray (February 1855), and lastly Shewa (November 1855).
Gallery[]
