The Wolf and the Lion is the second scenario of the The Grand Dukes of the West campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Lords of the West. It is based on the conflict between the Burgundian and the Armagnac factions in France at the start of the 15th century.
Intro[]
John the Fearless was now the most powerful man in France. But his rivals, the House of Armagnac, had not been idle.
Now lead by the fearsome Count Bernard, they built and alliance against John that included the Dukes of Orléans and Bourbon and the Count of Alencon. Bernard sent bands of ravaging mercenaries into the lands controlled by John to draw him out.
For John, this was the last straw. He marched his army out of Paris to face the burgeoning alliance. And so France fell head-long into a war that would last for decades.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Starting resources: None; then 800 food, 750 wood, 750 gold, 325 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
Objectives[]
- Drive the Écorcheurs out of Ile-de-France.
After defeating the Écorcheurs, choose one of the following objectives:
- Defeat Bernard d'Armagnac.
- Defeat Bernard d'Armagnac's three allies, John of Bourbon, John of Alencon, and Charles of Orléans.
- Capture 4 Relics and place them in your Monasteries.
Secondary objectives:
- Take control of neutral villages in order to receive additional resources.
- Tribute 500 gold to the English Mercenaries (3, Red).
- (repeatedly) Tribute another 300 gold to the English Mercenaries (3, Red).
Hints[]
- The Burgundians can advance to the Imperial Age and support a population of 200.
- Concentrate on liberating Ile-de-France in the beginning. You will need a base before you can engage the Armagnacs!
- Neutral villages can be found all over the map. If you manage to capture one, its inhabitants will produce resources for you. Control of a village is determined by the ownership of the Converting Torch in the center of it. Keep in mind that your enemies can also occupy villages or take villages back from you.
- There are several ways to achieve victory. You do not have to wipe out all your enemies completely.
Scouts[]
- John the Fearless' forces (1, Purple) have assembled west of Paris to end the terror that the Écorcheurs have brought over Ile-de-France.
- The Écorcheurs (4, Orange) are mercenaries from southern France that have been hired by Bernard d'Armagnac. Their Men-at-Arms, Crossbowmen and Light Cavalry initially control Saint Cloud in the West.
- Neutral villages (2, Grey) can be found all over the map. Taking control of these can be to your advantage (see Hint 3).
- Bernard d'Armagnac (5, Blue), the leader of the rival league, has gathered his forces to the north. His army consists of heavy cavalry, swordsmen, and Crossbowmen. Bernard also has the means to construct Trebuchets.
- Three other influential dukes have forged an alliance with Bernard: John of Bourbon (6, Cyan) controls a large domain to the southeast and commands a huge army consisting mostly of infantry. John of Alencon (7, Yellow) controls the western part of the map. He will send Crossbowmen, Pikemen, and Mangonels your way. Charles of Orléans (8, Green) has set up his camp to the south. His forces consist of Knights, Skirmishers, and Battering Rams.
- English Mercenaries (3, Red) have been sighted in the northwest. It might be possible to recruit them, but doing so could become an expensive enterprise.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Burgundians): The player starts with a sizable army of Long Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, and Coustilliers to the south of Île-de-France. After driving the Écorcheurs out of it, they will take control of the damaged buildings in it and 13 Villagers will spawn.
Ally[]
- French Peasants ( Franks): The French Peasants have no units. They own the damaged buildings of Île-de-France, which will pass to the player's control after the Écorcheurs are defeated.
Neutral → potential Ally/Enemy[]
- English Mercenaries ( Britons): The English Mercenaries are originally neutral but they will become temporary allies after a one-time tribute of 500 gold. They train Knights, Longbowmen, Crossbowmen, and Battering Rams. If they are not recruited, they align with the enemies of the player instead. Even if they are recruited, they demand more payment periodically, failing which they will align with the Armagnacs.
Enemies[]
- Écorcheurs ( Franks): The Écorcheurs occupy Île-de-France with Long Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, and Light Cavalry.
- Bernard d'Armagnac ( Franks): Bernard d'Armagnac occupies the northeastern part of the map. He is the most dangerous enemy, being the only one to advance to the Imperial Age and occasionally attacking with Paladins, Champions, Crossbowmen, and Trebuchets.
- Jean de Bourbon ( Franks): Jean de Bourbon occupies the eastern part of the map and trains Long Swordsmen, Pikemen, and Battering Rams.
- Jean d'Alencon ( Franks): Jean d'Alencon occupies the western part of the map and trains Pikemen, Crossbowmen, and Mangonels.
- Charles d'Orléans ( Franks): Charles d'Orléans occupies the southern part of the map and trains Knights, Elite Skirmishers, and Battering Rams.
Strategy[]
Defeating the Écorcheurs[]
The player starts with a sizable army to the south of Île-de-France and their first objective is to defeat the Écorcheurs. This can be done with minimal casualties by taking advantage of the Coustilliers' charge attack and using the Monks to heal between fights. After defeating the Écorcheurs, the player takes control of the damaged buildings in Île-de-France and 13 Villagers will spawn. There is no need to repair the buildings as the player's wood is way more useful to build Farms and research technologies.
Booming and turtling[]
Now the scenario has its similarities with the first scenario of the Barbarossa campaign:
- The player's starting base is in the middle of the map;
- They can advance to the Imperial Age while most enemies are restricted to the Castle Age;
- They can win by capturing four Relics;
- They have the option to hire a neutral faction as mercenaries.
However, this scenario is harder than Barbarossa's scenario as the most dangerous enemy, Bernard d'Armagnac, can advance to the Imperial Age and build Trebuchets, while two of the other three enemies build Battering Rams, so the player may end up being attacked by several enemies at the same time.
Being in the middle of the map, the player's first focus should be to build four Castles to protect their base. For this, immediately queue Villagers at the Town Center. The player should have enough Villagers on food to ensure the Town Center keeps training Villagers (having a strong economy is essential). A few Villagers can also be on wood and gold, but for now most Villagers should be on stone so that the Castles can go up as fast as possible. At the same time, the player should use John the Fearless to capture neutral villages (and recapture them if there are no units guarding them). The villages directly north and northeast are the easiest to protect, and the enemies do not seem to capture these as much compared to others.
Eventually the English Mercenaries will ask for a 500 gold tribute to become allies. The player should tribute them when they have the gold as the English Mercenaries will become allies and occasionally attack Bernard d'Armagnac. While the Mercenaries will do little to no damage to Bernard, they can be a useful distraction. Later in the game they will periodically ask for 300 gold tributes to keep attacking Bernard, but tributing them again is not strictly necessary (though recommended if gold is not an issue), as the Mercenaries will not betray the player. If the player does not hire them the first time, they will instead join the enemies and attack the player. Following this, if the player defeats one of the three allies of the Armagnacs, the mercenaries will sense the opportunity and again offer their services for the same cost.
After the Castles are built, the Stone Miners can be assigned other resources according to the player's needs and the player should research all useful upgrades for the economy (the Burgundians can research Crop Rotation and Two-Man Saw in the Castle Age), the Castles, and the Coustilliers. Coustilliers are quite useful in this scenario to take down enemy Rams and Trebuchets and the player should always keep a few at their base because enemy attacks with siege weapons are very frequent. While the player can research Burgundian Vineyards, it is better to save those resources to advance to the Imperial Age. When in the Imperial Age, research the Imperial Age upgrades for the Castles and the Coustilliers. Meanwhile, do not forget to keep using John the Fearless to capture and recapture neutral villages.
Going on the offensive[]
The player can win by either defeating Bernard d'Armagnac, defeating the other three enemies, or capturing four Relics. The first two options are not recommended as the enemies' Villagers will quickly rebuild what was destroyed and the enemies will take a long time to resign. The easiest option consists in capturing four Relics, one from each enemy. For this, it is recommended to research Sanctity and Fervor, so that Monks will move faster and not die as easily.
The first Relic to steal should be the one belonging to Jean d'Alençon. Being the only enemy not to build Rams or Trebuchets, the player can safely drop a Castle to the west of his base. Then build a Monastery, train a Monk, and build a Trebuchet. Use the Trebuchet to take down Jean d'Alencon's Monastery and towers and then send the Monk to pick up the Relic, while a cavalry unit (such as John the Fearless) can be used to absorb enemy fire while the Monk steals the Relic and garrisons it in the Monastery. After that, any units near Jean d'Alencon's base can be brought back to the player's base, as the Castle can take down any Jean d'Alencon units on its own (provided Murder Holes is researched).
The next two targets should be Jean de Bourbon and Charles d'Orléans. As they are both restricted to the Castle Age, a sizable army of Elite Coustilliers (Jean de Bourbon trains Pikemen, so these should be charged at before they can do much damage), Monks, and Trebuchets is all that it takes to destroy each Monastery and any nearby fortifications, and then steal the Relics.
The last target should be Bernard d'Armagnac's Monastery. For this, bring a big army of Elite Coustilliers, as well as around six Trebuchets to destroy the Monastery in one shot. This will lure Bernard's army and, while the battle takes place, send Monks (more than one in case any of them dies) to steal the Relic. When the last Relic is garrisoned, the player will be victorious.
Alternative strategy[]
All of Bernard d'Armagnac's allies resign once all of their Town Centers have been destroyed. With this knowledge in mind, the player can forgo fighting the enemy in the field and focus down their Town Centers. To this end, fully upgraded Knights are the best option, because they have higher pierce armor compared to Coustilliers. Gather a force of at least 40 Knights, then move to Jean de Bourbon. Jean de Bourbon is the easiest to defeat, because his two Town Centers are exposed and out of reach of his Castle. Do keep tabs on if Jean de Bourbon's Villagers are not reconstructing a Town Center. Once both have been destroyed, Jean de Bourbon will one-by-one delete his military infrastructure and will resign.
Next up is Charles d'Orléans. Charles d'Orléans is more difficult because the player has to punch through walls, and his Town Center is in range of a Castle. The player could use siege weapons to destroy the Gates and the Castle, or just let enemy units open the Gate, which is faster, but more costly. Push through, focus the Town Center, Charles d'Orléans should only have one. Be mindful that Charles d'Orléans doesn't reconstruct one, and watch him give up.
Finally it is Jean d'Alencon's turn. This is the most difficult of the allies, because the base is quite small and the pathways leading into the base are narrow. In addition, Jean d'Alencon seems to like reconstructing his Town Center outside of the actual fortification. Yet, just like with Charles d'Orléans, it can be completed by just doing a Knight push through the Gate and then focus down the Town Center. The player could always use Trebuchets or Bombards in case the Castle gives them trouble.
This is most likely the quickest way to finish this scenario, and probably less micro-intensive than capturing the Relics.
Outro[]
The Armagnac alliance was broken... for now. But even as he was victorious on one front, John faced a serious setback in Paris. A revolt by the butcher's guild, which was loyal to Burgundy, had spiraled out of control and the Burgundians and their loyalists were expelled from the city.
John retreated to his domains in Burgundy to regroup, but he would not be able to rest easily.
Across the sea, on old foe of the French had been lying in wait, anticipating the right moment to strike. For Henry V, the king of England, that moment had now come.
