| “ | Introducing The Siege, a new multiplayer limited-time scenario! Play 2v2, co-op vs AI, or solo vs AI as the Turks or Byzantines at the epic 1453 Siege of Constantinople. Turks must build up their army to take the Monument before time runs out. Byzantines have defenses but limited resources to hold on as long as they can. Both sides do battle over the massive and historically-inspired city of Constantinople. Play against other players, team up against the AI, or play solo as either side of the battle. |
” |
The Siege was a multiplayer limited-time challenge scenario in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, introduced with update 108769 after the launch of Victors and Vanquished. The player could play as either the Byzantines or the Turks, play against the AI, or as co-op alongside or against other players. It was based on the siege by the Ottoman Empire which led to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the end of the Eastern Roman Empire.
It was a modified version of the Fetih scenario in the Victors and Vanquished campaign in the eponymous expansion, and was freely available for a duration to all players.
Summary[]
Play as either side of an epic historical siege.- As Turks, capture the Hagia Sophia by 1 June 1453.
- As Byzantines, do not allow the Hagia Sophia to be lost.
- Play 2v2 or against any combination of players and AIs.
- Change your player color and number to choose your role.
Players[]
This scenario is basically a 2vs2, with three other auxiliary players. When one of the main players is set to AI, the civilization name is used as player name.
Team Turks[]
- Player A: Starts in the northwest of the map on Thrace with a lot of resources and some units. They also have a Market in the eastern corner of the map, near the second Turk player's base. The AI player will also build three Docks in the Golden Horn estuary.
- Player B: Starts in the northeast on Anatolia with a lot of resources and some units, on a separate landmass across the Sea of Marmara. They also have a Market in the western corner of the map, near the first Turk player's base.
Team Byzantines[]
- Player C: Controls the Hagia Sophia and the forces and buildings in the northern half of Constantinople. They possess 6 Relics garrisoned in various Monasteries.
- Player D: Controls the troops and buildings in the southern half of the city. They also possess 6 Relics garrisoned in various Monasteries.
Auxiliary players[]
These players are neutral for team Turks and allies for team Byzantines. All three of them have their names set as Constantinople and their civilizations set as Byzantines.
- Constantinople: Represents the outer walls of Constantinople. It is passive in the conflict.
- Constantinople: Represents the miscellaneous buildings inside Constantinople. It is passive in the conflict.
- Constantinople: This player represents the Genoese colony of Galata. It remains entirely passive. Neither do they attack the Turks, nor can the Turks attack this player. Their landmass, which is rich in natural resources, is not connected to the other landmasses, so all players must use Transport Ships to reach them.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
| Team | Common | Starting units | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Turks
|
|
Player A:
|
Player B:
|
 Byzantines
|
|
Player C:
|
Player D:
|
Objectives[]
- Team Turks: Capture the Hagia Sophia before 1 June 1453.
- Team Byzantines: Do not allow the Hagia Sophia to be lost.
Strategy[]
A reference map for the scenario
- See also: Fetih#Strategy and Constantine XI#Strategy
The starting in-game date is provided as April 1, 1453. One day in the scenario passes every 45 game-time seconds. Since the players have 61 days to complete their objectives, this gives each team 45 minutes and 45 seconds. By the end of this timer, the Turk team must have captured the Hagia Sophia, which is a Monument and can be converted by bringing units next to it and killing current owner's units nearby. The Byzantine team must prevent this from happening, and retain control of the Monument for the duration.
At the beginning, the Gates to the city, as well as Sea Gates around all the Docks, are under the control of Constantinople (grey), and are locked. This ensures that the Byzantine team's starting forces do not overwhelm the Turkish players who start with fewer resources and units. When the date stated in-game is April 20, 1453 (approx. 15 minutes in-game time), the gates are unlocked.
Team Turks strategy[]
The Turk players must construct buildings and start an economic boom before the 15-minute "faux treaty" elapses. The advantages of the Turk team is that they start with all technologies researched, have access to natural resources outside the city. Their disadvantages are starting with barely any troops, no buildings, and fewer resources than their opponents. If a Turk player is an AI, they also have cheaper Bombard Cannons, and their Villagers are created thrice as fast as normal.
The western Turks (Player A) starts in region of Thrace and has the most direct land access to the city, and must be the one doing frontal assaults. The eastern Turks (Player B) starts on Anatolia, which is a separate landmass in the east, and needs to build a navy to contest Byzantine warships and attack from the sea. To rendezvous with Player A, Player B can either cross the Bosporus Strait to make a landing to the north of Galata and then again build Docks and more transports to cross the Golden Horn estuary to finally reach Player A's landmass, or fight through the narrow Golden Horn inlet, which runs alongside the northern walls of Constantinople. The units and buildings of Galata, despite having Neutral diplomatic stance to the Turks, do not attack them. The Turks also cannot attack anything belonging to Galata.
The Turkish team must effectively utilize their starting technological advantage before the Byzantines also upgrade their troops and buildings fully. The northern and southern entrances to Constantinople are weaker, as the southern entrance is protected by fewer and regular towers, while the northern entrance has only a single layer of wall. The middle entrance near the center of the map, on the other hand, is the tougher one as it is doubly layered as well as protected by Fortified Towers, which have the same range as Turkish Bombard Cannons with Artillery, which should be the Turks' siege weapon of choice, as they cannot build Trebuchets. However, the middle gate is also the shortest route to reach the Hagia Sophia, so the players need to decide based on the time and troops available.
Team Byzantines strategy[]
The Byzantines can build only the following buildings:
As they cannot build Town Centers, they can use only their 15 starting Villagers, and cannot build trade units, but they can build Fishing Ships as usual. They also cannot rebuild any lost military buildings, which will reduce their ability to continue producing troops as the Turks gain ground in the city.
At the start, the players must spend their considerable resources to bolster their defenses (upgrades for the towers and Castles), upgrade their units, and train more troops. They must also assign their Villagers to gather resources. Either Byzantine player can train ships to prevent the eastern Turks from claiming the waters, as if they are able to do so, their long range Cannon Galleons can destroy much of the city from the sea. Player A also controls a Fortified Tower on an islet in the east, which is a useful bulwark. The Genoese Crossbowmen stationed next to it should be garrisoned in the tower to increase its firepower.
There are limited natural resources inside Constantinople, and mainly consists of several flocks of Sheep, several Stone Mines, and some small forests. Long-term gold must be obtained only through the numerous Relics. Eventually, the players will need to depend on the Market to purchase resources by selling gold. The waters contain a lot of fish, especially in the Golden Horn estuary, which the Byzantines should prioritize to collect from and protect.
The landmass to the north, where the Galata (Cyan) district of Constantinople lies, has a lot more resources such as Forage Bushes, forests, and mines. However, it is risky to venture there, as the Turks may land their troops to raid. For this contingency, sufficient Palisade Walls will be needed to allow enough time for the Villagers to escape into Galata and back into Constantinople.
The land and oceanic gates of Constantinople are initially locked, and the walls and Gates also immune to damage from the player's siege weapons. However, the walls can be damaged by Area of Effect of only Mangonels, and so the Byzantines can construct several Mangonels to destroy a section of the wall before April 20, 1453, to be able to attack the Turks earlier. This may seem like an effective idea, but the defense mounted by Turkish Bombard Cannons, Bombard Towers, and Castles can be very tough, it may be better to save troop numbers to defend Constantinople instead.
Another underhanded method of earlier-than-intended aggression is by producing Siege Towers and immediately hopping all infantry (Condottieri, Legionaries, Teutonic Knights) and foot archers (Genoese Crossbowmen, Hand Cannoneers) over the outer walls. This starting force itself can deal tremendous damage to the western Turkish player who has barely started setting up a base. The Byzantines can continue to produce more foot units with their Gather Point set at the Siege Towers, and maintain the pressure until it is no longer beneficial. Since update 111772, this strategy is neutralized, as the Byzantine players are forbidden from training Siege Towers.
It may be prudent to move Relics which are in Monasteries near the outer walls of the city to somewhere more interior and secure. Each player has only one University, and both are near the coast in the east, so the players should research any technologies they need before they fall to the enemy.
Trivia[]
- Internally, the cyan-colored AI player is simply Player 6 (Constantinople), whose units and buildings in that area have had their color changed via triggers, and are modified to not be able to attack or be attacked by the Turks.
- It is the first co-op event scenario in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. It is also the first event scenario to not have any scoring system or a leaderboard.
- It is the first co-op scenario to allow players to play on opposing teams.
Gallery[]
| Co-op campaigns in the series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
