| “ | The Athenians now lead a powerful alliance of Greek cities: the Delian League. But when the discontented allies refuse to pay their tribute, the Athenians confront the harsh reality of ruling others | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
The Fruits of Empire is the seventh scenario of the second act of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece, and the fourteenth scenario overall.
Intro[]
Accusations rose against Pausanias until Sparta finally recalled him. And into the waiting arms of Athens, the allies willingly came.
The Athenians formed a new alliance: the Delian League. Each year, its members would send Athens either money or ships for the common defence. Most chose coin - and so from many small streams, a torrent of wealth began to flow into Athens. Athenian power now surpassed even Themistocles' most ambitious dreams: from a hastily assembled fleet to mastery of a mighty league. You might imagine that Themistocles would be terrifically popular after all of this - buts that's not how things work in Athens. His jealous rivals stood by, plotting his fall.
And as the years went on, Athens too incurred the suspicion of her allies. With the Persian threat repelled, they asked, why should they continue to pay their tribute to Athens? The winds of the Aegean were thick with discontent.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Imperial Age - Starting resources: 800 food, 800 wood, 600 gold, 600 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Themistocles
- 7 Strategos
- 4 Laminated Bowmen
- 17 Villagers
- 2 Fishing Ships
- 1 Transport Ship
- 11 Heavy Lembos
- 8 Bireme
- 8 War Galley
- One of starting bodyguard units:
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Build a Wonder in the flagged area on Delos.
- The Wonder must survive.
- Set your tribute demands at the Wonder before the timer expires.
- Defeat Carystos (destroy their Forts).
- Defeat Naxos (destroy their Forts).
Secondary objectives[]
- Set tribute demands at the Wonder.
Tribute level: Chance of rebellion: x %
- Reconquer rebellious allies by destroying their Forts.
Hints[]
- At the beginning of this scenario, all other players are your allies.
- Gold is very limited on this map. You will have to rely on tributes from your allies. You can set the level of tribute at the Wonder you must build on Delos. Higher tributes will increase the risk of allies rebelling against you.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Athenians): The player controls two bases on two islands, a decent fleet, and small garrison in the lower part of the map. They must build a Wonder and then defeat Naxos and Carystos.
Allies → Enemies[]
- Naxos ( Athenians - Greeks): Naxos controls the large land mass in the southern corner of the map, with both their Forts along the coastline and several Ports and Shipyards that can quickly build up a fleet.
- Carystos ( Athenians - Eretrians): Carystos controls the landmass in the northern corner of the map and has a heavily defended base, with two Forts guarding a harbor, which itself guards a third Fort just inland.
- Andros ( Athenians - Greeks): Andros controls a long, thin island immediately north of the player's main base, and a second, larger island immediately north again. They possess two Forts. One on the island closest to the player, one on the island further, on the coast near Carystos.
Allies → Potential Enemies[]
- Keos ( Spartans - Greeks): Keos has two small bases. One along the northwestern edge of the map, one in the western corner. They have little in the way of defenses, with their only Fort in their western base.
- Paros ( Spartans - Greeks): Paros has a large, strong, decently-fortified base due west of the player, with enough at its disposal to quickly build up a navy to fight the player if they rebel. They have two Forts, both along their northern coastline.
- Syros ( Athenians - Greeks): Syros is the weakest player, with a very small base on two small islands north-northwest of the player, in the center of the map. They have a single Fort on the lower island and only two towers in the northern island.
- Kythnos ( Athenians - Greeks): Kythnos is a smaller faction with two bases, on two islands. One consists of a Port, Shipyard, and Temple near the western corner, the other is a full base just west-northwest of the maps center. They have one Fort, in their larger base, just away from the coast but still reachable by Leviathans.
Strategy[]
Before the player begins, know that the trigger for the allies betraying the player is finishing the Wonder, which forces the player to select a tribute level. The higher the tribute level, the more likely the allies are to betray the player. Delaying building the Wonder allows the player to collect resources, build forces, research technologies, and plan assaults without threat. On both Moderate and Hard difficulty, there is a timer to building the Wonder running down at the start. The player must finish the Wonder before the timer expires, as not doing so leads to instant loss.
Also, allies do not help the player fight. They just do not attack and allow the player to trade with them, a critical source of gold (in addition to their tributes). The player has a small amount of gold in the main base. The player can collect tribute once the Wonder is built, but trade is by far the primary source of gold in this scenario, so get on it sooner rather than later.
Naxos, Carystos, and Andros are guaranteed to betray the player, but the others are dependent on the chance of rebellion mechanic. Setting tribute begins the chance of rebellion at 50%. Low tribute slowly lowers the chance to 10%, medium tribute keeps the chance at 50%, and high tribute slowly raises the chance of rebellion, presumably to 90%. Whenever a new faction rebels, the chance of rebellion is reset to 0% and slowly climbs depending on the player's tribute level.
If the player wants to prepare beforehand, it is a good idea to build some Forts on Carystos and Naxos, near enough to defend each other, though beware enemy Palintonons and rams. If the player can set them up right, they can train Strategoi and Palintonons, and do some damage themselves. This strategy can be particularly effective on Carystos to deal with the rearmost Fort, the only one on the map that Leviathans may not be able to reach.
Otherwise, the strategy is to build up and upgrade the player's fleet completely (with the special technologies unlocked in Raise the Sails, if possible), and get some Leviathans, before even building the Wonder. Then, focus on Naxos' two coastline Forts, taking over their base. Move up to Andros and take out both of their Forts, capturing both their islands. Finally, take out the two coastline Forts of Carystos with the fleet while the player's Forts, Strategoi, and Palintonons deal with the inland Fort.
If the player is lucky, the player can be done before other factions even rebel. If not, deal with the faction accordingly, but the focus of the scenario is Carystos and Naxos. Andros is simply right next to the player's base and in the way.
Achievement - "Crisis Management"[]
Simply follow the above strategy while setting tribute level to low and never raising it. This will also make it less likely to have more rebellions and prevent the scenario growing more complicated.
Hard difficulty[]
On this difficulty, the player has a 12-minute timer to build the Wonder. Failing to do so results in failing the scenario. The player must complete the Wonder, not just start building it, before the timer runs out. Additionally, Naxos and Carystos immediately spawn in large fleets directed towards the player the second they betray them. It is a tough battle to win, especially while balancing resources to build up and upgrade the player's fleet, while also building a Wonder. Carystos, and maybe Naxos, will also periodically spawn in fleets to send instead in addition to building additional ships.
The player also cannot destroy Naxos' or Carystos' Forts before the timer runs out, even with the attack ground technique, as they will continually heal until they betray the player.
The player should focus on upgrading their Galleys so that they can fire multiple projectiles, attack fast, and move fast, then have them shoot and retreat to keep melee ships and Catapult Ships from dealing too much damage. The technology for ship regeneration, Oakum, is good to have as well, assuming the player unlocked it in Raise the Sails. The player should move the troops in their main base to the Wonder site to protect it from any Transport Ships that get past the player's fleet.
Have the ships deal with Naxos' fleet, then Carystos'. It may be necessary to let Naxos take out a few buildings to buy time. When there is enough time, the player should research Flaming Arrows and build some Leviathans. Take out Naxos' Forts quickly before they spawn another fleet, or if they do, pull back into the space between the Delos islands so the Fort can help, then push up again. Do not focus on the Shipyards and Ports unless necessary; just deal with Naxos as fast as possible.
Dealing with Andros is easy. The player can guard their Leviathans as they destroy the Forts on the way up. However, Carystos will be difficult, as the island is fortified, builds numerous ships, and spawns fleets in on both sides of the island at the same time, potentially catching the player in a pincer. If needed, the player can pull back after taking Andros, letting Carystos waste their time attacking it (they might ignore it) and focus on building up the fleet now that there is only one enemy.
On this difficulty, low tribute is 50 gold from each player, medium is 75, high is 100. It is recommended that the player keep tribute at low and rely on trading for gold once Gold Mines have run out, because the interference and extra battles from betrayal are not worth the increased income. It will drain the player's gold, and they may find little to gain once they reconquer the allied territories, whereas trade is infinite.
Custom technologies[]
Once a Wonder has been constructed, the player can select the tribute level there and change them at any time for free:
- Low Tribute: Ask your allies for low levels of gold when they send tribute. The allies will be less likely to rebel.
- Medium Tribute: Ask your allies for moderate levels of gold when they send tribute. The allies will have a moderate chance of rebellion.
- High Tribute: Ask your allies for high levels of gold when they send tribute. Constantly asking for high tributes will lead to a high chance of rebellion.
Trivia[]
- The achievement mentions the scenario as "The Delian League".
Gallery[]
