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The Great Ride is the second scenario in the Attila the Hun campaign in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It is loosely based on the Hunnic invasion of the Balkans of 443 - 445 A.D.

Intro[]

Now that the memories had stirred, Father Armand seemed eager to tell his tale. He explained how the Huns, like the other barbarians, had a style of warfare dramatically different from the ancient Romans or my own Franks.

The Huns would charge as one group, often firing arrows as they came, and then suddenly retreat again. For the nations of Europe, who were used to forming up lines and columns and even issuing challenges for personal combat, this was an aberration. They were unable to comprehend warfare in this manner.

Barbarians did not conquer lands. They did not try and hold and colonize the cities they attacked. Instead, they ravaged and pillaged, and took their loot back to their camps.

By that time, there were two Roman Empires, the government having decided that the Roman lands were simply too vast for one city to manage effectively. Attila and the Huns began a series of raids into the Eastern Empire.

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

  • Raid the Roman villages. Once you have enough resources to build a forward base, then you can field an army against the Romans.
    • Train an army and defeat the Romans by leveling their Town Center.
    • OPTIONAL: Give 6 Villagers to the Scythian Wild Women in return for their assistance.

Hints[]

  1. Each of the small villages (not counting the Roman fort) has a resource: food, wood, gold, stone, villagers, and troops. Your Tarkans will suggest what to do in each village to capture a resource.
  2. This is a raid—get what you can and get out! Destroying some buildings will grant you resources, but it is not necessary to raze every enemy building.
  3. Notice locations of resources. You might need them at a later date.
  4. The Huns are still confined to the Castle Age.

Scouts[]

  • Your scouts report: Attila's Huns (yellow) invade the Eastern Roman Empire with several cavalry, but no villagers. They expect only token resistance from all of the villages.
  • The exception is the Roman army (blue), which has a fortified base to the east. Do not attempt the invade it until you are prepared.
  • The other villages may have food, wood, gold, stone, villagers, or troops that you can use to challenge the Romans.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Attila ( Huns): Starts off with a small cavalry army in the northern corner of the map and no base.

Ally[]

  • Scythians ( Mongols): Have a Yurt in a clearing in the woods in the center of the map, east of the river, three passive Scythian Wild Women and several Hunting Wolves. After seeing them, they will request six Villagers; when given the trees will disappear and make way to reach yet another clearing a little to the northeast. In The Conquerors, the player will be rewarded there with 14 Hunting Wolves and 12 Petards, and in the Definitive Edition they will be rewarded with 9 Mangudai, 1 Onager, and 3 Capped Rams.

Neutral[]

  • Thessalonica ( Byzantines): Lies in the southwest. Destroying their Houses will give the player custody of their Villagers and Fishing Ships (only Villagers in the Definitive Edition). They have a few Archers and a Monk guarding their town.

Enemies[]

  • Adrianople ( Byzantines): Lies in the south. Destroying all their Mining Camps earns the player gold. They have a few Monks guarding their Monastery.
  • Dyrrhachium ( Byzantines ( Teutons before the Definitive Edition)): There are Gaia military units at their Castle. Destroying their Town Center will make them resign and delete their Castle.
  • Naissus ( Byzantines ( Goths before the Definitive Edition)): Destroying all of their Lumber Camps earns the player wood. They have no army.
  • Sofia ( Byzantines ( Franks before the Definitive Edition)): Located in the north, west of the player's starting point and will likely be encountered first. Destroying their Town Center earns the player food and results in their defeat. They have a few Men-at-Arms.
  • Eastern Roman Empire ( Byzantines): Fortified in a town near Adrianople, to the southeast, which is protected by Walls, Towers, and a moat. They mostly field Crossbowmen and Mangonels, but on hard difficulty they also field many Pikemen, Long Swordsmen, Knights, Scorpions, and rams.

Dialogue[]

Hun Soldier: The Eastern Roman Empire is fielding their army. We must hasten with our raids so that we have enough resources to train our own army.

When attacking Sofia:

Hun Soldier: Let us raze the Sofia town center with our Tarkans and see what loot we may find!

After destroying the Town Center of Sofia:

Hun Soldier: The Sofians had much food stockpiled in their town center.

When attacking Dyrrhachium:

Hun Soldier: I remember this place. They took several of our raiders prisoner before. We must rescue our Hun brothers held at the Castle before they are executed.

After destroying the Town Center of Dyrrhachium:

Hun Soldier: Now that we have defeated Dyrrhachium, we can easily free the prisoners.

When attacking Naissus:

Hun Soldier: The town of Naissus produces the best lumber in the region. Let us take all that we can by destroying these lumber camps.

After destroying the Lumber Camps of Naissus:

Hun Soldier: We have captured all of Naissus' lumber!

When attacking Thessalonica:

Hun Soldier: Huns do not need houses! Let us burn these to the ground and take these villagers with us.

After destroying the Houses of Thessalonica:

Hun Soldier: Now these peasants will do our bidding! Let us find a suitable location to establish our camp.

When attacking Adrianople:

Hun Soldier: The gold mines of Adrianople deserve to be plundered! Let us destroy all of their mining camps.

After destroying the Mining Camps of Adrianople:

Hun Soldier: Roman gold! There is no other metal than shines as sweetly.

After building a Town Center:

Hun Soldier: Now that we have a base, we must train many riders to withstand the Roman attack and then go on the offensive!

When approaching the Scythian forest:

Hun Soldier: The locals speak of wild Scythians that dwell somewhere nearby. We should be cautious.

Upon entering the Scythian forest:

Hun Soldier: I do not like the looks of this…

Upon meeting Scythian Wild Women:

Scythian Wild Woman: You are most foolish to trespass here. If you bring us 6 of your villagers, we will make it worth your while.

After bringing 6 Villagers to Scythian Wild Women:

Scythian Wild Woman: We thank you for this gift. Your reward waits in the clearing to the north.

When approaching the southwestern gate of the Eastern Roman Empire fort:

Hun Soldier: If we attack the Roman fort with too few soldiers, we will surely die.

When approaching the northwestern gate of the Eastern Roman Empire fort:

Hun Soldier: Beyond this moat is the Roman fort. We should avoid it until we are ready.

After destroying the Eastern Roman Empire Town Center:

Eastern Roman Empire: Huns have ransacked our fort! I fear for the future of the Empire!

Strategy[]

The first part of the scenario is straightforward. Destroy Sofia's Town Center with Tarkans. It is recommended to snipe the majority of Sofia's Villagers and troops with Cavalry Archers before attacking so they don't cause much damage. Next, head east to Naissus and destroy their Lumber Camps, caring that their Watch Tower doesn't target the Cavalry Archers.

Turn back and head west to Dyrrhachium. They have five archers and a Mangonel enclosed by a Palisade Wall which makes them unable to leave, so it is not necessary to fight them. Further west there is a stone-walled area with the Dyrrhachium Castle nearer its western side and a few Gaia Tarkans and Hussars corraled by Palisade next to the Castle. There are several ways to save them:

  • On Standard difficulty, Dyrrhachium does not have Murder Holes researched, so it is easy to destroy the Castle even with just the "captive" units after capturing them.
  • On Moderate/Hard difficulty, the Castle has Murder Holes, so the player should destroy the Palisade and run out of Castle range. In doing so, the player will find Dyrrhachium's Town Center in the middle of the stone-walled area, and destroying it will trigger Dyrrhachium's defeat. Alternatively, the units can simply flee to the southern or western part of the Stone Wall, destroy a Gate or section and escape Dyrrhachium. Beware that both options will alert the Pikemen in the southeastern part of Dyrrhachium, which can be killed by the player's Cavalry Archers using hit-and-run tactics.
  • Alternatively, the player can attack Dyrrhachium from the eastern side. First kill the enemy Pikemen with Cavalry Archers and then destroy the Gate and the Town Center with Tarkans. Dyrrhachium will resign and delete their Castle and then the player can rescue the prisoners.

March south to Thessalonica and kill its Archers and Monk without harming Thessalonica's Villagers, then destroy the Houses. This gives the player's control of most if not all Villagers (and in The Conquerors, also one of their Fishing Ships). Since Thessalonica has Fish Traps, the player can build a Dock and Fishing Ships to fish from Thessalonica's Fish Traps. Cross the shallows until meeting Adrianople's Monks, kill them, and destroy their Mining Camps to get their gold, then continue east until finding the perimeter of the Roman fort. Turn north without attacking or luring out their Crossbowmen and Mangonels, and find the path in the central forest leading to the Scythian Wild Women's Yurt. They demand six Villagers in return for helping the player. From this point there are two main ways to continue the scenario:

  1. Give the Scythians six of the Villagers captured in Thessalonica, add their troops to the starting forces and rush the Roman camp before it builds further without ever establishing a base, or
  2. Use all Villagers to build a base and send some to the Scythians later (if at all). The obvious place for a base is within or near Thessalonica, but if Dyrrhachium is defeated it can be near there, or even in Sofia; this allows the player's Villagers to capture abandoned Farms, and any Markets built there will receive maximum gold from trading with Thessalonica's. Sofia also has the largest gold mines outside of Adrianople. However, beware that time invested in building a base will be used by the Eastern Roman Empire to build its own forces and attack. It is useful to build a Castle near the shallows to neutralize this.

There are two Gates into the Roman camp. The northern one (to Naissus) is closer to its military producing buildings and thus better to cripple the Eastern Roman Empire in an attack. Attacking forces should include siege weapons and a sizable number of Cavalry Archers because by the time most players attack the Eastern Roman Empire, they are likely to have built a Castle near their Town Center, as well as trained several Pikemen and Knights that are strong against Tarkans.

Note: the Eastern Roman Empire will not go on the offensive as long as the player has not built a Town Center.

Outro[]

The Roman city of Naissus was erased from the earth. The Huns so devastated the place that when the Roman ambassadors passed through to meet with Attila, they had to camp outside the city on the river. The riverbanks were covered with human bones, and the stench of death was so great that no one could enter the city. Many cities of Europe would soon suffer the same fate.

The ambassadors that the Romans sent to Attila concealed an assassination attempt.

Somehow, Attila knew of the attempt on his life, and sent the terrified assassin back to his Emperor, with the gold he had been paid to do the deed in a sack tied to his neck.

Following such a demonstration, the Huns had no difficulty convincing the Eastern Roman Empire to start paying them tribute, protection money to stave off the inevitable Hun invasion.

Trivia[]

  • In the Definitive Edition, all enemies in this scenario become Byzantines. This is fitting because they all represent cities in the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • In the co-op campaign mode, there is a 15 minute timer before the Eastern Roman Empire becomes active (regardless of whether any of the players has built a Town Center) and the players have to destroy the Roman Castle to win the scenario, even though the objectives section only mention the Town Center. Similarly, Dyrrhachium only resigns and deletes their remaining units and military buildings after both their Castle and Town Center are destroyed.

Historical comparison[]

  • This campaign was actually led by Attila and Bleda together while the latter was alive. Some even speculate that Attila murdered Bleda because he decided to return north after defeating the Eastern Roman army instead of advancing on nearby Constantinople, which had not built its famous double-walls and Sea Wall yet.
  • Sofia, the modern capital of Bulgaria, was called Serdica at the time and is actually east of Naissus (modern Nis, Serbia), rather than west as in the scenario.
  • Dyrrhachium (modern Durrës, Albania), is a coastal city in reality and was a prominent port city in Antiquity, but it is landlocked in the scenario.
  • Philippopolis (now Plovdiv, Bulgaria), which is sacked by Attila in the following scenario, was actually sacked in this campaign.

Gallery[]

Campaigns in Age of Empires II
The Age of Kings
William Wallace PC: Marching and Fighting · Feeding the Army · Training the Troops · Research and Technology · The Battle of Stirling · Forge an Alliance · The Battle of Falkirk
PS5 - Xbox: Preparing for Battle· The Battle of Stirling · Forge an Alliance · The Battle of Falkirk
Joan of Arc An Unlikely Messiah · The Maid of Orleans · The Cleansing of the Loire · The Rising · The Siege of Paris · A Perfect Martyr
Saladin An Arabian Knight · Lord of Arabia · The Horns of Hattin · The Siege of Jerusalem · Jihad! · The Lion and the Demon
Genghis Khan Crucible · A Life of Revenge · Into China · The Horde Rides West · The Promise · Pax Mongolica
Barbarossa Holy Roman Emperor · Henry the Lion · Pope and Antipope · The Lombard League · Barbarossa's March · The Emperor Sleeping
Others E3 1998
* added with update 75350
The Conquerors
Attila the Hun The Scourge of God · The Great Ride · The Walls of Constantinople · A Barbarian Betrothal · The Catalaunian Fields · The Fall of Rome
El Cid Brother against Brother · The Enemy of my Enemy · The Exile of the Cid · Black Guards · King of Valencia · Reconquista
Montezuma Reign of Blood · The Triple Alliance · Quetzalcoatl · La Noche Triste · The Boiling Lake · Broken Spears
Battles of the Conquerors Tours · Vinlandsaga · Hastings · Manzikert · Agincourt · Lepanto · Kyoto · Noryang Point
Hidden scenario The Saxon Revolt
The Forgotten
Alaric HD: All Roads Lead to a Besieged City · Legionaries on the Horizon! · Emperor of the West · The Sack of Rome
DE: The Battle of the Frigidus · Razing Hellas · The Belly of the Beast · The Giant Falls · A Kingdom of Our Own
Vlad Dracula The Dragon Spreads His Wings · The Return of the Dragon · The Breath of the Dragon · The Moon Rises · The Night Falls
Bari HD: Arrival at Bari · The Rebellion of Melus · The Great Siege
DE: Arrival at Bari · The Rebellion of Melus · Loose Ends · The Best Laid Plans · The Onrushing Tide
Sforza HD: An End and a Beginning · O Fortuna · The Hand of a Daughter · The Ambrosian Republic · A New Duke of Milan
DE: Mercenaries and Masters · His Own Man · Prodigal Son · Blood and Betrayal · Viva Sforza!
El Dorado# (removed) Tales of La Canela · The Split · The Amazones · The Cannibals
Prithviraj* HD: A Promising Warrior · The Digvijaya · The Elopement · Battles of Tarain
DE: Born of Fire · The Digvijaya · Hand of a Princess · The Fate of India · The Legend of Prithviraj
Battles of the Forgotten@ Bukhara · Dos Pilas · York · Honfoglalás · Langshan Jiang · Kurikara · Cyprus · Bapheus · Kaesong (cut)
# added with patch 3.3; * added with patch 3.5; @ added with patch 3.6
The African Kingdoms
Tariq ibn Ziyad The Battle of Guadalete · Consolidation and Subjugation · Divide and Conquer · Crossing the Pyrenees · Razzia
Sundjata Hunted · The Sting of the Scorpion · Djeriba Gold · Blood on the River Bank · The Lion's Den
Francisco de Almeida The Old World · Lion of Africa · Ruins of Empires · Estado da India · A Son's Blood
Yodit Path of Exile · The Right Partner · A Fallen Crown · Broken Stelae · Welcome Home
Rise of the Rajas
Gajah Mada The Story of Our Founders · Unconditional Loyalty · The Oath to Unify Nusantara · Serving the New King · The Pasunda Bubat Tragedy
Suryavarman I Usurpation · Quelling the Rebellion · A Dangerous Mission · Challenging a Thalassocracy · Nirvanapada
Bayinnaung The Burmese Tigers · The Mandalay Cobra · The Royal Peacock · The White Elephant · The Old Tiger
Le Loi The Dai Viet Uprising · The Mountain Siege · The Battle at Hanoi · Reaching South · A Three-Pronged Attack · The Final Fortress
Definitive Edition
The Art of War Early Economy · Booming · Rushing the Enemy · Fast Castle Age · Defending Against A Rush · Land Battle · Destroying a Castle · Naval Battle · Battle Formations
Pachacuti A New Power Arises · The Field of Blood · War of Brothers · The Falcon's Tent · Like Father, Like Son

Historical Battles
Tours · Vinlandsaga · Hastings · Manzikert · Agincourt · Kyoto · Noryang Point
Bukhara · Kurikara · Cyprus · Bapheus · Lepanto
Dos Pilas · York · Honfoglalás · Lake Poyang
Event scenarios E3 2019 Demo · Mongol Raiders · Barbarossa Brawl · Mangudai Madness · The Siege (co-op) · Ayn Jalut
The Last Khans
Tamerlane Amir of Transoxiana · Gurkhan of Persia · Harbinger of Destruction · Sultan of Hindustan · Scourge of the Levant · A Titan Amongst Mortals
Ivaylo A Most Unlikely Man · An Unlikely Alliance · Tsar of the Bulgars · Echoes of Heroes · Where the One-Eyed Man is King
Kotyan Khan Raising the Banners · The Battle at the Kalka River · Saving the Huts · Blood for Blood · A New Home
Lords of the West
Edward Longshanks Vain Ambition · A Man of God · Of Castles and Kings · Toom Tabard · Hammer of the Scots
Grand Dukes A Kingdom Divided · The Wolf and the Lion · The Cleansing of Paris · Unholy Marriage · The Hook and Cod Wars · The Maid Falls
The Hautevilles Guiscard Arrives · Roger in Sicily · Bohemond and the Emperor · Bohemond in the East · Wonder of the World
Dawn of the Dukes
Algirdas and Kestutis Family Affairs · No Man's Land · The Tatar Yoke · A Worthy Opponent · In the Shadow of the Throne
Jadwiga The Matter of the Crown · Star of the Poles · Duel of the Dukes · The Siege of Vilnius · Vytautas' Crusade · The Fruits of Her Labor
Jan Zizka The One-Eyed Wanderer · Courage and Coin · The Iron Lords · The Golden City · The Emperor's Fury · Warrior of God
Dynasties of India
Babur Pearl of the East · The Last Timurids · Into India · The Battle of Panipat · The Rajputs
Rajendra The Successor · Deeds of the Father · Rising Star · Sacred Waters · Slaying the Vritra
Devapala Dissatisfaction · Desire · Renunciation · Liberation? · Enlightenment
The Mountain Royals
Ismail The Red Hats · Road to Royalty · Alexander Safavi · The Fallen Amir · Khata'i
Thoros II Outlawed · The Emperor's Revenge · Caught in the Crossfire · Bloody Crestwaves · Of Turncoats and Traitors
Tamar Takeover · Yury's Revenge · The Protectorate · Tamar the Builder · The Queen in the Panther's Skin
Victors and Vanquished
Victors and Vanquished
Charlemagne · Finehair · Ironside · Nobunaga
Drake · Fetih · Gaiseric · Robert · Temujin · Xie An*
Constantine XI · Karlsefni · Komnenos · Mstislav · Otto · Ragnar · Seljuk · Shimazu · Stephen · Vortigern
* added with update 141935
The Three Kingdoms
Liu Bei The Oath of the Peach Garden · Heroes of the Realm · The Scholar and the Sandal Maker · The Great Escape · The Battle of Red Cliffs
Cao Cao The Yellow Turban Rebellion · Emperor In All But Name · The Battle of Guandu · Lord of the North · The Battle of Red Cliffs
Sun Clan The Imperial Seal · The Conquest of Jiangdong · The White Tiger · The Avenger · The Battle of Red Cliffs