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The Rising is the fourth scenario in the Joan of Arc campaign in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. It's loosely based on the French conquest leading up to the coronation of Charles VII.

Scenario Instructions

Objectives

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

Official hints

  • Gaining control of the river may be a good strategy, but do not squander your resources needlessly on ships.
  • 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.
  • Remember your objectives. It is not necessary to level the cities, only to force the English to withdraw.
  • Wall off all shallows to slow enemy invaders.

Players

Enemies

British Guards (Britons): Static troops consisting of Mae-at-Arms, Knights and Crossbowmen. Coming near their camp will trigger them to attack your troops with all their units.
Chalon (Franks): Attacks with massed knights and Scorpions. Has Chemistry researched and will build Cannon Galleons from its Dock if given enough time.
Rheims (Britons): The strongest opponent in the scenario. Will attack with Elite Longbowmen, Light Cavalry, Cavaliers, Onagers, and Trebuchets. Like Chalon, it has Chemistry researched.
Troyes (Britons):Attacks with Pikemen and knights. Will build on the south of the river unless the shallows are walled off. Will also train War Galleys from its Dock.

Strategy

File:The rising age of empires II.jpg

The Rising in Age of Empires II

You start out in the southeast with a medium-sized army. Head west toward the French town. You'll face your first opponent, the British Guard, along the way. They consist mainly of Men-at-arms and Crossbowmen, and should be no problem. Once you reach the town, your new goal is to siege the three cities to the north so that the Dauphin can be crowned at the Cathedral in Rheims.

Building and defending your base

You have a lot to do in a short period of time, so get creating Villagers as soon as you arrive. You start without any important buildings (aside from the Town Center). However, you'll have enough Pavilions (equivalent to Houses) to support a population of 45 so by the time you have your Castles up, it will be 75. This means you won't have to worry about building Houses. Make sure you get five Villagers gathering from the Forage Bushes as soon as possible. Also assign one to build a Stone Wall with a Gate around the western river crossing. Make gathering stone another priority, as you'll be using a lot of it very soon.

You have three more opponents to deal with. Chalon, the sole Burgundian team, is located in the northwest. They will attack mostly with Knights and Scorpions. They also have a very small navy, sending a Transport Ship across the river very infrequently. Chalon's most dangerous unit is the Cannon Galleon (which they technically shouldn't even be allowed to create, as they start in the Castle Age and do not advance). These ships can outrange a Castle and cause a lot of damage, but they're susceptible to conversion by a Monk. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on one, you'll probably be able to destroy Chalon or Troyes. East of Chalon is Troyes, which attacks with more conventional units like Knights, Pikemen, and Battering Rams. Early on, a Villager or two will sneak over and attempt to construct a Barracks and Stable just east of your base. These buildings are very difficult to knock down when you're just getting started, and the units they create are very dangerous this early on. So position your Men-at-arms and Crossbowmen nearby and kill the Villagers when they appear - Troyes will only try this stunt once. They start in the Castle Age and do not advance. Your strongest opponent, Rheims, has a fortified base in the far north. They will advance to the Imperial Age and attack with Cavaliers along with Elite Longbowmen. The Elite Longbowmen are capable of outranging a Castle, even after you fully upgrade it. Rheims will also use Trebuchets, giant catapults that can wreak havoc on a Castle from a great distance but are easy to destroy with melee units.

Continue creating Villagers. You'll want to build a Castle right next to your wall as soon as possible, along with a wall and Castle blocking off the east river crossing. Also start constructing major buildings in your base such as a University (to research Murder Holes) and a Stable (to create more Knights). Save up and build one more Castle at the west river crossing, as your enemies will attack it more often and it's quite wide (so it helps to have one on each side). Aside from that, get enough Villagers to have five on each resource plus a few more to construct the rest of your buildings. A Market is useful at this point - although you won't be able to use Trade Carts until much later in the game, being able to convert resources will come in handy. Also build a Blacksmith and a Monastery, making sure you always have at least one Monk on hand in case a Cannon Galleon attacks. Defensive technologies worth investing in include Ballistics, Husbandry, Fortified Wall, Bodkin Arrow, and Masonry. Keep an eye on both river crossings, and always have enough Knights ready to take down the British siege weapons. Joan should be kept tightly locked up inside a Castle at all times - using her to attack is far too dangerous.

The resources at your base will dry up soon enough. There are more Forage Bushes south of your base by the trees, slightly east of it along the path, and far east by the river bank (close to where you started). After they're gone, it's time to start farming. There are also four more mining sites with gold and some stone. They're located on the branches leading off of the main path. Each is protected by a Burgundian Guard Tower, which you can easily demolish by building a Siege Workshop and creating pair of rams. When they finally run out, put the miners on food and wood.

From here, it's just a matter of constructing your last building (the Barracks), researching economic technologies when possible, defending your base from attacks, and waiting for the resources to pour in.

Advancing in age and attacking Chalon and Troyes

You can advance to the Imperial Age in this scenario, and you should so you can access the Franks' fantastic heavy cavalry. Research the Cavalier upgrade, and then the Paladin one. Also upgrade your Spearmen to Pikemen and Halberdiers. At the Siege Workshop, get the Capped Ram and the Heavy Scorpion. There are also useful technologies you can use: Siege Engineers and Conscription to improve your offense, as well as Hoardings and Architecture to make your buildings stronger. Illumination, Block Printing, and Theocracy are recommended to improve your Monks. The only key technology that's unavailable in this scenario is Chemistry, which would allow you to create powerful gunpowder units. Research the Blacksmith technologies as well.

For your army have 20-25 Paladins, 10 Halberdiers, 5 Capped Rams, 5 Heavy Scorpions, and 5 Monks (leaving about 5-10 Paladins behind to defend). Use the Paladins and Halberdiers to protect the rams, and the Heavy Scorpions to take out Pikemen. Once the rams have a clear path toward the Town Center, use them to attack it. Don't worry about the other buildings, as Chalon will automatically be defeated once you destroy their Town Center. Head east and repeat the process to defeat Troyes. If you can, convert some British or Burgundian Villagers as they'll soon prove to be helpful. Chalon and/or Troyes will have a Market - feel free to trade with it, and try not to destroy it.

For an even faster method, send a small force of knights (3-4) to raid Chalon's economy, killing their villagers. Chalon will respond with their entire army, so the knights must run. While they are chasing, the entire base is wide open to Petards. Send your Petards to blow up the town center, which immediately forces Chalon to resign. The same plan works on Troyes.

Attacking Rheims

Use your new Villagers to build a second base. At minimum, you'll need a Stable and a Castle. Feel free to add a Monastery, a Siege Workshop, and even a second Town Center. Use your rams to break through the wall surrounding Rheims while you're waiting, defending them with your Paladins. Even though rams have very high pierce armor, they'll eventually succumb to the overwhelming arrowfire. Use them to destroy as many British defensive structures as you can.

Once your Stable and Castle are up, create three Trebuchets and as many Paladins as you can. At this point, throw everything you've got at the city - using the Paladins to defeat enemy units such as Elite Longbowmen and siege units. Use the Trebuchets to destroy any Keeps and Castles that threaten them. The Town Center is nestled deep inside the city and it will be no match for the Trebuchets. Rinse and repeat if you're unsuccessful - throw everything you've got at it.

It is highly recommended to support your Paladins with Heavy Scorpions, as Longbowmen will attempt to kite (shoot and run away from) the Paladins. The scorpion's piercing bolts can penetrate entire formations of longbowmen, protecting your Paladins from exposure to lengthy arrow fire, one of the few ways they can actually die in this mission.

Note that Rheims will attempt to rebuild destroyed towers. Kill the builders with your Paladins/Scorpions.

Notes/Trivia

  • This is the only Joan of Arc level where Burgundy and the British army do not appear, not counting the first where British are only minor at a battle against the Army of France. However, they are still represented by the three enemy cities in this scenario (so they actually appear under a different name).
  • It is possible to build a Wonder in this scenario after advancing to the Imperial Age. However, this will not result in victory.
  • This is the only scenario in the Joan of Arc campaign in which no hero units appear other than Joan herself.
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