The Oath to Unify Nusantara is the third scenario in the Gajah Mada campaign in Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas.
It covers the Majapahit conquest of Bali, which occurs shortly after Gajah Mada took his famous Palapa Oath, along with their conquest of Sumatra (which also marks the end to the Srivijaya Empire) and Borneo.
Intro
This afternoon the king died. His doctor murdered him during a minor operation. Once I heard of this news, I had the doctor immediately arrested and killed. The king's stepsister, Tribhuwana is now the queen regent. One of her first actions as the queen was to retire the former prime minister, Arya Tadah, after it became clear that he had failed to do his job and I was made prime minister in his stead.
Immediately I swore and oath in front of everyone in the throne room. I would prove that I would be the greatest prime minister of all of Majapahit's history and I would not eat any spices or fruits until I had conquered the entire known Indonesian archipelago![note 1]
Players
Ally
- Majapahit Settlers (Malay) is located to the east, on Bali Island, and the first to be built. Thanks to the location, their base is usually easier to defend compared to player's other allies.
- Majapahit Settlers (Malay) is located in the middle, on the southern part of Borneo Island.
- Majapahit Settlers (Malay) is located to the northeast, on Sulawesi Island.
- Majapahit Settlers (Malay) is located to the north, on the northern part of Borneo Island.
None of the Majapahit Settlers constructs any military buildings (except the occasional tower), but will send the player any excess resources as tribute.
Enemy
- Sunda (Malay) is the neighbour of Majapahit and located to the west of the player's main base. Their base is small, but well-protected by Watch Towers and Walls. Their army is consisting of Knights, Skirmishers, and occasionally Rams and Mangonels. They generally don't attack the player unless provoked, and resign when their Town Center is destroyed.
- Dhamasraya (Khmer) is located further west, dominating the Sumatra Island. Their coastline is protected by Towers. On the land, they have an army of Crossbowmen, Long Swordsmen, and Ballista Elephants. On the sea, they have an army of Galleons and Fast Fire Ships. They will attack player's main base by either sending Transport Ships loaded with their army, or by sending their warships.
- Tumasik (Malay) is the most formidable foe. Their main base is located to the west, in Malaccan Peninsula, and protected by Walls, Harbors, and Towers, including Bombard Towers. They also have smaller bases at the middle (western part of Borneo) and far west (northern part of Sumatra). Their land units consists of Light Cavalry, Knights, Crossbowmen, Long Swordsmen, and Bombard Cannons. Their naval units on the other hand consists of Galleons, Demolition Ships, and Cannon Galleons. Tumasik will attack player's main base by sending their warships. They will also attack Majapahit Settler's bases in Borneo and Sulawesi by sending Transport Ships loaded with their army.
Strategy
Setting
This scenario finally plays to the Malay's strength, water. The player starts with a small walled base, but few villagers or military units. The islands that are uninhabited at the start will gradually be colonized by the four Majapahit Settlers. As mentioned above, they have no military to defend themselves, but will send any excess resources to the player, so it is imperative to protect them. When one of them is defeated the player shouldn't despair however as they will start other attempts. In this case they might not have enough resources to construct a Town Center, upon which the player has to invest in the colony by sending some tribute themselves. Before doing so, it is advised to research Banking.
Early defenses
Fishing Ships are a great way to support the economy, but the player should retreat them in time before they get under attack by the opponents. The Malay civilisation bonuses makes their Fishing Ships and Fish Traps 33% cheaper and their Fish Traps provide unlimited food. It might be a good idea to build a Dock on the eastern shore and Fish Traps under the protection of the tower.
At the beginning of the scenario, it might be better to focus on Fire Ships rather than War Galleys, as a small number of them is better than a small number of Galleys. Important technologies include Bodkin Arrow, Heated Shot (already researched on "standard" difficulty), and Thalassocracy. Thalassocracy turns Docks into Harbors, which can shoot arrows and make for a substitute tower.
More resources can be found west of the base, but the player should be careful not to provoke Sunda, as this opens another front and confides the player to their base and left to repel Sunda's attack at the walls.
An important resource is stone which can be found northwest, but is dangerously close to the sea, so it should be protected by a tower.
There is a Relic in the middle of Borneo, and the player can collect it to increase gold income. It is surrounded by mountains, and can be accessed through a narrow path from the south. However, the player has to be careful when sending Monks to pick the Relic, because Tumasik land units are often patrolling near the entrance.
At the beginning most of the colonies can't really be defended, especially the grey and orange Settlers, but once the strait between Java and Borneo (the northern island) is secured, at least the purple Settlers should be safe, as there is no northern passage around Borneo.
In addition to having at least three working (i.e. having a Market) colonies, the player has to defeat two of the three following enemies:
Sunda
Being the weakest of the opponents, Sunda should be defeated in any case. As mentioned before, Sunda won't attack the player unless provoked, but their villagers gather resources on the island of Java, which obviously can't be gathered anymore by the player once they are defeated, so it's better to defeat them sooner than later. They resign and delete all their buildings and units when their Town Center is destroyed(changed in v5.4), so the player can simply rush it with a few Petards once a Castle is built (already built on "standard" difficulty), maybe accompanied by Skirmishers or Battle Elephants to draw fire.
In the ruins of their city a Castle plus maybe one or two Harbors can be constructed at the very western tip of the island. This controls the strait between Java and Sumatra (Dhamasraya's island), sinking most of Dhamasraya's ships (they don't build Cannon Galleons) and this even prompts them to throw away their Crossbowmen trying to attack the Harbour.
Dhamasraya
Like mentioned before, the strait between Java and their island can be cut off by defensive buildings. Sumatra is rather large and can't be attacked solely by water so the player has to make a landing in order to defeat them.
Tumasik
Tumasik's peninsula is better fortified, but can be mostly or even completely attacked by water, so it might be better to choose them as the second target, as the player has to invest in a navy anyways and as mentioned before, Dhamasraya can be stalled with defensive buildings, whereas Tumasik have Cannon Galleons.
Once their production buildings on the island of Borneo are turned to rubble using Cannon Galleons, the player can land a few soldiers there and clean up the remaining enemy units, allowing the orange and grey Settlers to colonize the island. If the have been expelled too often however, they might not be able to construct the necessary buildings and the player has to send them resources via tribute.
With the support of now four colonies the player should be able to overpower Tumasik. They might not resign if they still have an army somewhere on the colonists' island, in which case the player has so ransack them.
Once two of the three enemies are defeated and at least three colonies have a Market, the player emerges victorious.
Outro
Even my closest friends were at first doubtful of my promises but I showed them. One by one, our mighty army and majestic fleets conquered the surrounding territories. From the paradise island of Bali to the old ruins of the Srivijaya Empire. All are now under the control of the Majapahit Empire. Just like I said it would...
Trivia
- In this scenario, large islands in Indonesian are shown except Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, dan Papua.
- In real life, Bali island is not as big as in the scenario. In the game, Bali island is enlarged to make it easier for allies to build there.
Notes
- ↑ The term Indonesia dates to the 18th century, so this is incorrect. The Indonesian archipelago is known as Nusantara during the Majapahit era, as attested in the Nagarakretagama and even the Palapa Oath itself.