The Rising

The Rising
Scenario information
Game	The Age of Kings
Campaign	Joan of Arc
Civilization	Franks
Color	Blue
Scenario no.	4
Previous	The Cleansing of the Loire
Next	The Siege of Paris

The Rising is the fourth scenario in the Joan of Arc campaign in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. It is loosely based on the March to Reims of June 24 to July 16, 1429 which immediately preceded the coronation of Charles VII as King of France.

Intro

June 25, Orléans

Dead France is returning to life. Our army swells with new recruits. In olden times, men swore fealty only to their particular lord.

Now we fight not for insolent lords and ladies, but for France. For all of us, Joan IS France. There is no distinction in our minds.

The Dauphin himself has arrived in Orléans. Never have I seen such a celebration. France needs a king now, so we must escort the Dauphin to Rheims where he can be properly crowned.

Yet the city of Rheims is dangerously menaced by the Anglo-Burgundian army. The cities of Troyes and Chalon also bar the way.

Joan commands that we must liberate all three cities before the coronation, and we eagerly seek to fight.

Scenario instructions

Starting conditions

• Starting Age: Castle Age
• Starting resources: 200 wood, 200 food, 50 gold, 150 stone
• Population limit: 75 (125 in the Definitive Edition)
• Starting units:
  • Joan of Arc
  • 6  Knights
  • 4  Crossbowmen
  • 4  Men-at-Arms
  • 2  Scout Cavalry
  • 2  Monks
• Gaia units:
  • 6  Villagers

Objectives

• Travel west to help reinforce the French town. Be wary of opposition along the way.
• Joan must survive.
  • Destroy the Town Center of Rheims.
  • Destroy the Town Center of Chalons.
  • Destroy the Town Center of Troyes.

Hints

1. The French can now advance to the Imperial Age, but they still cannot produce gunpowder weapons. Their population limit is 75/125.
2. Gaining control of the river may be a good strategy, but do not squander your resources needlessly on ships.
3. Chalon is the closest and most vulnerable of the three English-occupied villages. Making an example of them early could help even the odds for you in the long run.
4. Remember your objectives. It is not necessary to level the cities, only to force the English to withdraw.
5. Wall off all shallows to slow enemy invaders.

Scouts (Definitive Edition)

Your scouts report:

• The Army of France (1, Blue) is traveling to a French camp in the west, but the road there is defended by English Guards (5, Red). Joan of Arc will need to reach the camp before she can liberate Troyes, Chalons and, most importantly, Rheims, if the French are to crown the dauphin. Chalons (3, Green), Troyes (2, Orange) and Rheims (4, Yellow), the three towns occupied by the English, are across the river and are well defended.
• The English at Chalons will field Knights and Scorpions, and even warships if threatened. Their town is unprotected and can be easily reached by crossing the shallows.
• Troyes is slightly better defended, with walls and a Castle protecting the river crossing to the east. However, they are not prepared for an attack from the flank. They will train Pikemen and Knights to fight the French, but will also build warships if they feel that they are about to lose control of the river.
• Rheims is a walled city protected by Castles and towers. The English garrison there will include Longbowmen, Light Cavalry, Knights, Mangonels and Trebuchets-a true challenge for the French. Luckily, it will be quite some time before they feel confident enough to launch an attack.

Players

Player

• Player (Franks): The player starts with Joan of Arc and her starting army in the southeast of the map.

Enemies

• British Guards / English Guards in the Definitive Edition (Britons): The British Guards only have one camp on the road just west of the player's starting position consisting of Men-at-Arms and Crossbowmen. They are easily defeated.
• Chalon (Franks): Chalon is an unfortified town located on the western part of the map. They field Knights and Scorpions. If given enough time, they will build Cannon Galleons. They possess four towers in the south, which each of them is guarding Gold Mines and Stone Mines, and at "standard" difficulty the towers will not attack the player unless being attacked.
• Rheims (Britons): Rheims is a fortified town in the northernmost part of the map. They are strongest opponent in the scenario. They attack with Longbowmen, Light Cavalry, Knights, Mangonels, and Trebuchets.  If given enough time, they will advance to Imperial Age and update their units.
• Troyes (Britons): Troyes lies in the east. The crossing of the river is blocked by a wall, but otherwise it is not fortified. They field Pikemen and Knights. They also build War Galleys.

Strategy

This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty. It describes only one way to win it. Naturally, there are alternative ways to be gone.

Lure away the Scout Cavalry to ease passage to the west.

The player starts with a small army in the southeast of the map. The first objective is to reach a small village that lies to the west. To comfortably reach it first lure away the Scout Cavalry that is patrolling in the player's path. Lure it to the south with an own Scout Cavalry. The own Scout Cavalry is best sacrificed there to ensure the own army is not spotted. With this done, now the path is clear. Take the entire army (best set it to 'Passive Stance' for the journey to avoid distractions and attention) and move a few steps north till it reaches a river. Now travel west (keep close to the river to avoid the British Guards), past shallows and an enemy Guard Tower, until a second river crossing is reached. Once there, take the second Scout Cavalry and travel south until it reaches the flagged area. Roam around a little. Soon a small village will be given to the player, along with a few Villagers that immediately start gathering resources. Start creating more Villagers immediately and assign them to collect resources, ideally food.

Chalon will fall to an early attack.

Meanwhile, take the rest of the army and cross the river northwards. Once the river is crossed, four Knights from Chalon attack. Try to convert two of them with the brought along Monks and kill the other two. Take out the enemy Scorpions coming from the east with the own Knights and then attack the Town Center while also dealing with the enemy Crossbowmen that retaliate. The own army is large enough to overpower Chalon without too much difficulties. Once the Town Center is razed, Chalon resigns.

With that done, take the army back to the player's base and heal off the units with the Monks. Store Joan at a save location and leave her there (west of the player's settlement is the quietest area). By now, there should be enough wood to construct a second Town Center. Doing so is optional, but it noticeably boosts the player's economy. Soon, the once avoided British Guards will attack the player's town with Crossbowmen and Men-at-Arms. Ringing the Town Bell and sending out the Knights is enough to fend them off. Also, Troyes may build a military forward base just east of the player's settlement and attack with there trained Pikemen. Raze it with the starting army. Meanwhile, continue to collect all resources (there are Stone and Gold Mines nearby) and create more Villagers (a total Villager count of 50 is recommended). Don't forget to build Houses.

A forward base greatly helps attacking Troyes and Rheims.

Also, research important technologies, especially the cavalry technologies available at the Blacksmith. If 650 stone are collected, construct a Castle where once Chalon's Town Center stood. Also build at least one Stable there to create Knights. There is also a Gold Mine close by that can freely be mined (Note: In the Definitive Edition, especially on harder difficulty, it is important to control two Gold Mines outside Rheim's base. This will significantly slow down the booming and attack from them). Stock up on Knights and advance to the Imperial Age as soon as enough resources are collected. Apart from Troyes' forward base, no serious attacks await the player to this point.

Troyes' Town Center is best razed from the distance far distance to avoid the Castle.

Once the Imperial Age is reached, build a few Trebuchets and upgrade to Cavalier. If enough resources are available, upgrade to Paladin as well. Don't forget the Blacksmith upgrades. Get rid off the weak starting units (Crossbowmen, Men-at-Arms) by killing them or use them for scouting to make room for Cavaliers/Paladins so the total count for these units can go up to 20+. Attack Troyes as soon as possible and directly attack the Town Center with Trebuchets. Defend the siege engines with Paladins while the former quickly level the Town Center. Once it is razed, Troyes resigns.

The Town Center of Rheims can be taken out with Paladins.

Keep training Paladins and the population limit at 75. To launch the final attack, attack the Gate in the north with Trebuchets and then directly attack the Town Center of Rheims with Paladins, ideally with at least 15. The Trebuchets can also take down the Castle of Rheims from outside the city wall in the north. Rheims defends itself mostly with Longbowmen, making it easy for the Paladins to dominate the field. The final attack should be quick and successful as Rheims rebuilds lost Castles and towers. Once their Town Center is razed, however, the scenario is won.

Outro

As we rode into Rheims, a sea of peasants and lords knelt before Joan. Some even knelt to kiss her horse's hoofprints. Cannon thundered and a thousand flags danced in the breeze.

In the enormous palace, the Dauphin knelt before the archbishop and rose as King of France. Prayers, anthems, and sermons filled the great château.

Interspersed among perfumed dukes and ladies were tattered soldiers from our army, many still bearing wounds.

Joan herself was at the king's side, as was her bedraggled battle standard.

Despite the celebration, I know in my heart that this war is far from over. Our fathers and grandfathers died fighting against the English.

Joan gives us hope, but I do not know if hope is enough to ensure victory.

Trivia

• This is the only scenario in the campaign where Burgundy does not appear as an enemy. Also, the British Army is represented only by a few "British Guards" that can be taken out early.
• This is also the only scenario of the campaign with no hero units besides Joan of Arc herself.
• It is possible to build a Wonder after advancing to the Imperial Age. However, this will not result in victory.

Historical comparison

• Though all enemies in the scenario bar Chalon are portrayed as Britons, in reality all cities were part of, or occupied by, Burgundy, and would be more accurately represented by Franks.
• This campaign caused no casualties on either side in real life. Reims, Chalon, Troyes (and also Auxerre) had garrisons and made preparations for siege, but all surrendered to Charles VII after the English and Burgundians decided to reinforce Paris instead of sending troops to assist them.

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