The Falcon's Tent is the fourth scenario of the Pachacuti campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
Intro[]
The stories of Pachacuti and his followers fascinated me, so it filled me with joy when my host laid down his mug and continued. Clearly, his story was far from over. 'Pachacuti knew that the Inca would never live in peace if their greatest rivals, the Chanca, remained powerful. In any case, he had a score to settle with Anccu Hualloc, who had nearly succeeded in conquering Cuzco.'
'Pachacuti sent his troops north to occupy Waman Karpa, 'the Falcon's Tent,' capital of the Chanca. Once again, he tasked Vicaquirao and Apo Mayta, who remained at his side during the civil war, with the command of the army. Fueled by panic, the Chanca began to organize their defense, for it was now their turn to be hunted. The winds had shifted.'
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources:
- Population limit: 160
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On standard difficulty, the player starts with Siege Engineers and the Arbalester upgrade researched.
Objectives[]
- Wait until your armies gather.
- Conquer Waman Karpa by destroying the 4 Castles of the city.
- Defeat one other important Chanca center: Either Andahuaylas or Abancay.
- (secondary) Kill Anccu Hualloc to weaken the morale and discipline of the soldiers who defend Waman Karpa.
- (secondary) Command the Colla soldiers to attack by sending a military unit to them.
- (secondary) Give 8 villagers to the Priests in return for their assistance.
Hints[]
- You are restricted to a population of 160.
- Several rivers cross this area, so it could be a good idea to train warships.
Scouts[]
Your scouts report:
- The Inca armies (1, Cyan) have mustered in the east and south. You should start by building two base camps before invading the Chanca territories.
- To the north is the capital of the Chanca, Waman Karpa (2, Purple). The city is heavily fortified, so make sure you bring along siege weapons. The army of Waman Karpa is composed of Archers, Battering Rams and infantry such as Kamayuks and Eagle Warriors.
- Andahuaylas (3, Green) is located in the southwest and will attack early. The city will train Skirmishers, Slingers and Scorpions, but will also build rams if given enough time. In addition, Andahuaylas also has a few warships. If the Inca build a fleet as well, Andahuaylas will send its vessels into battle.
- Another important city of the Chanca is Abancay (4, Blue), which is located in the east. The city is less fortified than Waman Karpa, but has a well-trained army and a small fleet guarding the city's docks. Abancay will mainly be sending Eagle Warriors, Pikemen and Mangonels.
- Anccu Hualloc (Red/Orange) has built a fortress in the center of the map, in which he entrenched himself with his army. Anccu Hualloc's forces consist of Archers, Eagle and Jaguar Warriors, as well as several warships. If the Inca manage to kill Anccu Hualloc, this would damage the moral and discipline of the defenders of Waman Karpa.
- The tribes of the Colla (7, Grey) were recently subjugated by the Inca and are obliged to participate in the war against the Chanca by sending troops. Once the Colla have sent reinforcements, you will be in charge to command their warriors.
- The local priesthood (8, Yellow) regard the Inca with favor. Maybe the priests can be convinced to join your army.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Incas): Starts in two parts of the map, the south and the east. Initially begins with some Villagers, Eagle Warriors, Crossbowmen and Slingers.
Enemies[]
- Waman Karpa ( Incas): Has a heavily defended base in the northern part of the map and will frequently attack with Rams, Trebuchets, Pikemen and Crossbowmen.
- Andahuaylas ( Incas): Has a base in the western part of the map and will frequently attack with Slingers, Skirmishers, and Pikemen. The Andahuaylas will also be especially adversarial in the water, as they frequently make War Galleys and Demolition Ships.
- Abancay ( Incas): Has a heavily defended base in the middle of the map, between Waman Karpa and the Anccu Hualloc Army faction. Will frequently attack with Crossbowmen, Rams, Scorpions, Elite Skirmishers, Kamayuks and Pikemen.
- Anccu Hualloc Army ( Incas): Has a moderately sized and defended base consisting of a castle, some towers and a garrison of Jaguar Warriors (despite being represented by the Incas), Long Swordsmen, Crossbowmen and Elite Skirmishers. Seldom attacks the player and often used to protect Anccu Hualloc.
- Anccu Hualloc ( Incas): Only consists of a few units, including the Anccu Hualloc hero unit. Destruction of this faction will lead to an almost immediate defeat of the Anccu Hualloc Army faction.
Neutral โ Ally (Dependent)[]
- Collas ( Incas): Consists of some units including Jaguar Warriors and some Rams. The faction serves as the "reinforcements" for the player, which would later turn to the player's control if a unit is sent to meet the faction.
- Priests ( Incas): Consists of a small encampment including some priests and a temple holding 2 Relics. The faction do not actively attack the player and is willing to help if 8 Villagers have been sent to their temple, which would then award players with the priests in their temple base and 2 Relics.
Strategy[]
Build up the base from both south and east of the map - note that the two regions are unconnected until the player defeats Anccu Hualloc. A strong start here is essential. At each base, set two Villagers to build Houses (cancel the construction of all Pavilions since doing so gives the player 100 wood for each Pavilion; for each cancelled Pavilion the player can build 4 Houses, getting a total of 40 population space due to the Inca civilization bonus, while each Pavilion only provides 5 population space) and two Villagers to build the Town Center. Afterwards, immediately build a Monastery and have each train two Monks. While doing this, scout the map to find two Relics near the southern base and a priest convent that will join the player if they donate eight Villagers. The player will need to defend the two Relics while the Monks get there quickly.
After the Monasteries are complete, build one Castle at each base. The player will be attacked by small armies that shouldn't be much of a threat against a Castle until late-game when they start building Trebuchets. After the Castles are done, send eight Villagers from the northeastern base to the priests to get nine priest units (they cannot carry Relics or convert, only being able to heal) as well as two Relics. Send the two Monks to get these two Relics, bringing the total to four.
With a Castle (preferably garrisoned with archers) defending each base, the player should have a pretty solid defense. Once the population is almost capped, posture to attack the central enemy and send one unit to trigger Calla to attack the central base. Once the player destroys the castle, Anccu should appear, and if the player kills him, the entire base will surrender - so prioritize this, doing it quickly will minimize losses.
With one enemy down and a very strong economy, it should only be a matter of time at this point. Destroy the central gates and use the remaining walls to create a forward base while assaulting the two remaining northern enemies. Keep producing units to win.
Note: as soon as the player builds a ship, Andahuaylas will double down on their navy. So do this with caution. Perhaps defend the river with a few towers which their navy is ill-equipped to deal with.
For Hard[]
Aggressive is by far the easiest strategy when set up properly. In the south base, leave two Villagers, build a Monastery and Houses (cancel the construction of the pavilions), and move to build a Town Center once these are done. Take the Eagle Scouts and split them into two groups, each on defensive stance, and place each group on one of the two Relics in that half of the map.
Take the rest of the troops (archers) and the other two Villagers and go to Andahuaylas' base to the west, and build a Castle in front of their Gate behind the forward Lumber Camp. The archers should be able to pick off any troops coming to disrupt the Villagers building. When the Castle goes up, garrison all archers. Andahuaylas is now suppressed for good. Create a Monk or two and gather up the Relics, then send the eagles to join the Castle. At the same time, in the eastern base, set two Villagers to build the pavilions and then a Town Center. Take the other two villagers and the eastern army (Kamayuks and Skirmishers) and take them just outside of Abancay's base in the northeast. Build a Blacksmith and research Bracer (optional but highly recommended).
Because Abancay relies heavily on Pikemen, build a Castle on the road in front of his gate, outside of the tower's range so he does not attack before the Castle goes up. Once the Castle goes up, garrison the Skirmishers. If Abancay ever stops attacking, shoot the wall with the Castle and troops will come rushing out. Focus on the Mangonels first, then wipe his stream of units out and keep him suppressed by attacking him and wiping out any troops he has. Around 15-16 minutes, Waman Karpa will send a medium army of Kamayuks and archers to one of the player's Castles (it appears if the player has both Castles up, he will go to Andahuaylas' side). Use the Castle to wipe them out.
At this point, the player should have a decent economy from the two Town Centers. Build a few Trebuchets on each side, and use the melee troops keep them guarded while the player wipes out Abancay and Andahuaylas. Abancay seems to need only his Town Center destroyed, while Andahuaylas needs his Castle destroyed as well. Both should fall easily with the help of the Castles as backup. Anccu Hualloc Army will not send troops out. Then it is a simple 1v1 against Waman Karpa. Be careful that around the 36 minute mark Waman Karpa will send another attack, this time with Trebuchets and Siege Rams. Just creating some Kamayuks on the spot will be able to clear them while the Castle kills any other units.
Giving eight Villagers to the Priests will give the player control over the Priests and two Relics.
Outro[]
'At that time, it was common for Chanca warriors to intimidate their enemies by using cups fashioned from the skulls of prisoners to drink the blood of the slain. Even so, when the victorious Inca troops entered Waman Karpa, the remaining defenders had no choice but to surrender.'
'Everyone thought that Pachacuti would take bloody revenge on the Chanca,' the old man explained, 'but Pachacuti instead chose mercy and integrated the surviving warriors of the Chanca into his army. Antonishingly enough, they became loyal followers and acknowledged the Inca king as their new overlord.'
'The domain of the Inca was now greater than ever. Pachacuti's superiority had become too overwhelming and his armies too efective, leaving no tribes who could contend with the Inca - except for the Kingdom of Chimor, which was located near the coast to the west.'