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Microsoft Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion
Teuton FAQ
By: Firestorm
Version 2.4
firestorm0033@netscape.net
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Age of Empires, Age of Kings, and The Conquerors are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
US and/or other countries
This FAQ is Copyright 2003 Shann Yu and may only appear in the sites
shown below. If this FAQ is seen at a site not listed below, report
to firestorm0033@netscape.net because it is illegal. If you want to
use this FAQ for your site, notify me at the above specified email
address. Do not use this FAQ for your own profit or sell it without
my permission. This FAQ, being published in the Internet, is
immediately protected by international copyright laws. In other words,
don't even think about taking this work as your own.
www.gamefaqs.com : A great site with thousands of FAQs for almost
any game you can name.
www.neoseeker.com : Another gaming advice site.
DLH.net : A big gaming site in Germany.
IGN.com : Newly started.
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Version History
1.0 : April 14, 2002 First draft. A lot more to come.
1.1 : April 16, 2002 Authorized one site for this FAQ, update on
acknowledgements.
1.2 : April 18, 2002 Changed various mistakes (technology tree)
Another site for this FAQ
2.0 : May 10, 2002 Update on Offensive Strategies section.
Corrected various typos. Major format
revision (spaces and alignment).
2.1 : February 7. 2003 Added great tips from another gamer.
2.2 : November 24, 2003 After a long absence from Age of Empires II,
I am back, better than before. More tips!
2.3 : December 10, 2003 New site where this FAQ
2.4 : December 31, 2003 Late X'mas treat for y'all: A gamer told me
about the importance of the Keep and methods.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Teuton Tech Tree
A. Teutons: General Data
B. Technologies
C. Units
4. Building your City
A. Dark Age
B. Feudal Age
C. Castle Age
D. Imperial Age
5. Defensive Strategies
6. Offensive Strategies
A. Aztecs J. Koreans
B. Britons K. Mayans
C. Byzantines L. Mongols
D. Celts M. Persians
E. Chinese N. Saracens
F. Franks O. Spanish
G. Goths P. Teutons
H. Huns Q. Turks
I. Japanese R. Vikings
7. The Frederick Barbarossa Campaign Walkthrough
8. Other Tips and Hints
9. Contribute
10. Other Questions
11. Acknowledgements
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-----------------------
| 1. Introduction |
-----------------------
Age of Empires II is the amazing follow-up to the award-winning Age
of Empires and Rise of Rome Expansion. Among the civilizations that
were included in Age of Empires II were the Teutons. A lot of people
around say that the Teutons are the best land civilization in the
game. Personally, I agree. First of all, what is this FAQ for? If you
are a beginner and started out using Teutons, let me remind you that
this is a strategy game and that there are many different ways to
play it. These tips and strategies that will be included below are
basically tried-and-tested tips to make the most out of your gameplay
with the Teutons.
Also, this is my first shot at an FAQ, so let me know if there is
something I need to improve, add, or etc. Everything needs
improvement, and nothing will ever be perfect.
Note: Please remember that the strategies below were tested on AI
kings and not on multiplayer games. On multiplayer games, you will be
playing among the best players there are in the world, so below
strategies do not
necessarily hold true on a multiplayer game. Also, this FAQ is based
on version 1.0C of The Conquerors Expansion.
Note 2: Ostera Gonzalez has provided this FAQ with tips on building a
more economy-based empire. I think his tips are pretty good, with
regards to strategy. My own strategies are more military-based.
-----------------------
| 2. History |
-----------------------
The origin of Germany traces back to the crowning of Charlemagne as
Holy Roman Emperor in 800. Upon his death the empire was split into
three parts that gradually coalesced into two: the western Frankish
kingdom that became France and the eastern kingdom that became
Germany. The title of Holy Roman Emperor remained in Charlemagne's
family until the tenth century when they died out. In 919 Henry, Duke
of Saxony, was elected king of Germany by his fellow dukes. His son
Otto became emperor in 962.
The Holy Roman Empire that Otto I controlled extended over the German
plain north to the Baltic, eastward into parts of modern Poland, and
southward through modern Switzerland, modern Austria, and northern
Italy. From the outset, the emperors had a difficult problem keeping
control of two disparate regions-Germany and Italy-that were
separated by the Alps.
The Holy Roman Empire was successful at first because it benefited
the principal members, Germany and Italy. The Germans were not far
removed from the barbarian condition. They had been conquered by
Charlemagne only a century earlier. They benefited greatly from
Italian culture, technology, and trade. The Italians welcomed the
relative peace and stability the empire ensured. Italy had been
invaded time and again for the previous 500 years. The protection of
the empire defended the papacy and allowed the city-states of Italy
to begin their growth.
The imperial armies were manned partially by tenants of church lands
who owed service to the emperor. A second important contingent were
the ministriales, a corps of serfs who received the best training and
equipment as knights but who were not free men. These armies were
used to put down revolts or interference by local nobles and peasants
or to defend against raids by Vikings from the north and Magyars from
the east.
Because Germany remained a collection of independent principalities
in competition, German warriors became very skilled. The most
renowned German soldiers were the Teutonic Knights, a religious order
of warriors inspired by the Crusades. The Teutonic Knights spread
Christianity into the Baltic region by conquest but were eventually
halted by Alexander Nevsky at the battle on frozen Lake Peipus.
A confrontation between the emperors and the church over investiture
of bishops weakened the emperors in both Germany and Italy. During
periods of temporary excommunication of the emperor and outright war
against Rome, imperial authority lapsed. The local German princes
solidified their holdings or fought off the Vikings with no
interference or help from the emperor. In Italy, the rising city-
states combined to form the Lombard League and refused to recognize
the emperor.
Political power in both Germany and Italy shifted from the emperor to
the local princes and cities. The ministriales rebelled, taking
control of the cities and castles they garrisoned and declaring
themselves free. During desperate attempts to regain Italy, more
concessions were given to the local princes in Germany. By the middle
of the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Empire existed in name only.
The throne remained empty for 20 years. The German princes cared only
about their own holdings. The Italian city-states did not want a
German ruler and were strong enough to defend themselves.
Future emperors in the Middle Ages were elected by the German princes
but they ruled in name only, controlling little more than their own
family estates. Germany remained a minor power in Europe for
centuries to come.
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| 3. Teuton Tech Tree |
-----------------------
The technologies, upgrades, and units available to the Teutons will
be shown below. For each technology, a short description will be
given, in addition to their benefits and cost. Please note that
technologies not available to the Teutons aren't included.
Symbols: W: wood F: food G: gold S: stone LOS: line of
sight
--------------------------
|A. Teutons: General Data|
--------------------------
Team Bonus: units more resistant to conversion
Civilization Attributes:
-Monks heal from twice as far
-Towers garrison twice as much units, fire twice as much normal
garrison arrows
-Free Murder Holes
-Farms cost 33% less
-Town Center +2 attack, +5 LOS (without the Expansion, it is range)
Town Watch
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 75F
Benefits: +4 building LOS
Note: Useless in an "All visible" map.
Hand Cart
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 300F, 200W
Benefits: +10% villager speed, +50% villager capacity
Town Patrol
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 300F, 200G
Benefits: +4 building LOS
Note: Useless in an "All Visible" map.
Upgrades at the Blacksmith:
Scale Barding Armor
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 150F
Benefits: +1 normal, +1 pierce armor for cavalry
Fletching
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 100F, 50G
Benefits: +1 attack and range for archers, galleys, Town
Centers, and Castles
Note: For Fletching and Bodkin Arrow, the benefits
to the Town Center are: +1 attack and LOS
Forging
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 150F
Benefits: +1 attack for infantry and cavalry
Padded Archer Armor
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 100F
Benefits: +1 normal, +1 pierce armor for archers
Scale Mail Armor
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 100F
Benefits: +1 normal, +1 pierce armor for infantry
Chain Barding Armor
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 250F, 150G
Benefits: +1 normal, +1 pierce armor for cavalry
Bodkin Arrow
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 200F, 100G
Benefits: +1 attack and range for archers, galleys, Town
Centers, and Castles
Note: For Fletching and Bodkin Arrow, the benefits
to the Town Center are: +1 attack and LOS
Iron Casting
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 220F, 120G
Benefits: +1 attack for infantry and cavalry
Leather Archer Armor
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 150F, 150G
Benefits: +1 normal, +1 pierce armor for archers
Chain Mail Armor
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 200F, 100G
Benefits: +1 normal, +1 pierce armor for infantry
Plate Barding Armor
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 350F, 200G
Benefits: +1 normal, +2 pierce armor for cavalry
Blast Furnace
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 275F, 225G
Benefits: +2 attack for infantry and cavalry
Ring Archer Armor
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 250F, 250G
Benefits: +1 normal, +2 pierce armor for archers
Plate Mail Armor
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 300F, 150G
Benefits: +1 normal, +2 pierce armor for infantry
Upgrades at the University
Ballistics
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 300W, 175G
Benefits: scorpions, archers, galleys, and towers fire more
accurately
Masonry
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 175W, 150F
Benefits: Increased building HPs and armor
Heated Shot
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 350F, 100G
Benefits: +50% tower and Castle attack vs. ships
Note: If your map doesn't have any large body of water,
don't research this technology. If you start
playing in the Imperial Age or post-Imperial Age
then it has already been researched.
Murder Holes
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: free
Benefits: No minimum range for towers and castles
Note: This technology doesn't need to be researched. It
is already given at the beginning of the game as
a result of the civilization attributes.
Chemistry
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 300F, 200G
Benefits: +1 attack for missile units (e.g. scorpion),
allows Gunpowder units to be researched
Siege Engineers
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 500F, 600W
Benefits: +1 siege range (except rams), +20% siege unit
attack vs. buildings
Upgrades at the Market
Coinage
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 150F, 50G
Benefits: Decreases tribute fee to 20%
Cartography
Researched during: Feudal Age
Cost: 100F, 100G
Benefits: Allows you to see lands explored by your allies
Banking
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 200F, 100G
Benefits: No tribute fee
Caravan
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 200F, 200G
Benefits: Trade Carts and Trade Cogs gather gold faster
Guilds
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 300F, 200G
Benefits: Decreases trading fee to 15%
Redemption
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 475G
Benefits: Buildings (except Town Center, Castle, Gates,
walls, Farms, Fish Traps, Monasteries, and
Wonders) siege units can be converted
Atonement
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 325G
Benefits: Enemy monks can be converted
Careening
Researched at: Dock
Researched during: Castle Age
Cost: 250F, 150G
Benefits: +1 pierce armor of ships, +5 transport ship
capacity
Note: None of the Archery Range technologies are available to the
Teutons.
Upgrades at the Castle
Sappers
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 400F, 200G
Benefits: Villagers +15 attack vs. buildings
Note: This technology is pretty useless. Villagers
aren't effective military units, so leave
attacking to the army and navy.
Conscription
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 150F, 150G
Benefits: +33% unit creation speed at Barracks, Archery
Range, Stable, and Castle
Hoardings
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 400W, 400F
Benefits: +1000 Castle HPs
Note: I'm not sure if it is actually 1000 HPs. Once, it
was more than that.
Spies
Researched during: Imperial Age
Cost: 200G per enemy villager
Benefits: See enemy LOS and exploration
Note: In a regicide game, this is called Treason and
works in a different way.
Treason
Researched during: Imperial Age of a Regicide Match
Cost: 400G per use
Benefits: See enemy kings' location. Research multiple
times to be notified of new position.
-----------------------
| C. Units |
-----------------------
Please note that the figures for the attack and armor written below
are before the technologies above are researched.
Infantry
Swordsmen line: Militia, Man-at-arms, Long Swordsman, Two-handed
Swordsman, and Champion
Created at: Barracks
Strong vs.: skirmishers, camels, light cavalry
Weak vs.: archers, scorpions, cavalry archers, mangonels, and
Cataphracts (Byzantine unique unit)
Cost: 60F, 20G
Attack bonuses: vs. buildings
Comments: Basically, the Teutonic Knights are slower but beefed
up Champions. Use more of those Teutonic Knights in
battle than this line of infantry except in earlier
ages
Militia Man-at-arms Long Swordsman 2H Swordsman
Hit Points 40 45 55 60
Attack 4 6 9 11
Normal Armor 0 0 0 0
Pierce Armor 0 0 0 0
Upgrade Cost 100F, 40G 200F, 65G 300F, 100G
Champion
Hit Points 70
Attack 13
Normal Armor 1
Pierce Armor 0
Upgrade Cost 750F, 350G
Pikemen line: Spearman, Pikeman, and Halberdier
Created at: Barracks
Strong vs.: skirmishers, stable units
Weak vs.: swordsmen, archers, scorpions, mangonels
Cost: 35F, 25W
Attack bonus: vs. cavalry and War Elephants (Persian unique unit)
Comments: Teutonic Knights are good against stable units. You
have no need for these units except if you are
attacked by War Elephants. Don't even bother with
these units unless you have a Persian enemy.
Spearman Pikeman Halberdier
Hit Points 45 55 60
Attack 3 4 6
Normal Armor 0 0 0
Pierce Armor 0 0 0
Upgrade Cost 215F, 90G 300F, 600G
Archers
Archer line: Archer and Crossbowman
Created at: Archery Range
Strong vs.: Barracks, cavalry archers, monks, Teutonic Knights, War
Elephants
Weak vs.: skirmishers, knights, mangonels, Woad Raiders, and
Huskarls
Cost: 25W, 45G
Attack bonus: None
Comments: Use at earlier ages but don't even think of hitting
that Upgrade button. It's not worth it. Stick to
Paladins and Elite Teutonic Knights. If you like to use
archers, go ahead and use it, but I don't recommend it.
Archer Crossbowman
Hit Points 30 35
Attack 4 5
Range 4 5
Normal Armor 0 0
Pierce Armor 0 0
Upgrade Cost 125F, 75G
Skirmisher line: Skirmisher and Elite Skirmisher
Created at: Archery Range
Strong vs.: archers, monks, cavalry archers
Weak vs.: Barracks units, mangonels
Cost: 25F, 35W
Attack bonus: vs. archers
Comments: Unless you are being attacked by a whole battalion
of Longbowmen, Chu Ko Nu, or Mangudai, it isn't a
good idea to send these guys into battle. Leave
these guys at defense unless you are going to
attack any of these units said above.
Skirmisher Elite Skirmisher
Hit Points 30 35
Attack 2 3
Range 4 5
Normal Armor 0 0
Pierce Armor 3 4
Upgrade Cost 250W, 160G
Cavalry Archer
Created at: Archery Range
Strong vs.: swordsmen, monks, Teutonic Knights, War Elephants
Weak vs.: archers, skirmishers, light cavalry
Cost: 40W, 70G
Attack bonus: none
Comments: Go ahead and use this unit if you feel like it, though
I recommend the heavy cavalry archer if you want a unit
which does hit-and-run attacks. Once again, use of this
unit is not recommended. It's up to you.
Hit Points 50
Attack 6
Range 3
Normal Armor 0
Pierce Armor 0
Hand Cannoneer
Created at: Archery Range
Strong vs.: Barracks units, monks, Teutonic Knights
Weak vs.: archers, mangonels
Cost: 45F, 50G
Attack bonus: none
Comments: Use this unit for defense and for attack. For offensive
tactics, please see the Offensive Strategies section.
Hit Points 35
Attack 17
Range 7
Normal Armor 1
Pierce Armor 0
Cavalry
Scout Cavalry
Created at: Stable
Strong vs.: archers, mangonels, cavalry archers, bombard cannons,
monks
Weak vs.: pikemen, knights, camels
Cost: 80F
Attack bonus: none
Comments: Use only for recon missions in a map where in the map
is not set to "All Visible" in the game settings
screen. Otherwise, do not use these guys to attack.
Their HPs and attack aren't high enough, and they
wouldn't last long. Unless you are out of everything
but food and want to run a desperate attack, using this
unit in a full-scale battle event is suicide.
Hit Points 45
Attack 3 (+2 attack in Feudal Age to make 5)
Normal Armor 0
Pierce Armor 2
Knight line: Knight, Cavalier, and Paladin
Created at: Stable
Strong vs.: Archers
Weak vs.: pikemen, camels, Mamelukes
Cost: 60F, 75G
Attack bonus: none
Comments: This is one of several units you should spend your
resources on. It's worth the cost and could help chase
down those pesky archers that your Teutonic Knights are
weak against. Read more in the Offensive Strategies
section below.
Knight Cavalier Paladin
Hit Points 100 120 160
Attack 10 12 14
Normal Armor 2 2 2
Pierce Armor 2 2 3
Upgrade Cost 300F, 300G 1300F, 750G
Siege weapons
Scorpion line: Scorpion and Heavy Scorpion
Created at: Siege Workshop
Strong vs.: Barracks units, archers, monks
Weak vs.: Stable units, Woad Raiders
Cost: 75W, 75G
Attack bonus: none
Comments: Good defensive unit. Place around the city behind
walls for the best results. Especially effective in
defense against Goths.
Scorpion Heavy Scorpion
Hit Points 40 50
Attack 12 16
Range 5 5
Normal Armor 0 0
Pierce Armor 6 7
Upgrade Cost 1000F, 1100W
Mangonel line: Mangonel, Onager, and Siege Onager
Created at: Siege Workshop
Strong vs.: Barracks units, archers
Weak vs.: Stable units, Woad Raiders
Cost: 160W, 135G
Attack bonus: none
Comments: The area of effect damage makes it dangerous. If you
plan to use these on an attack, don't let them attack
the same thing your Teutonic Knights, Paladins, and
Battering Rams attack, because the results could be
devastating. Also don't use these for defense,
because you'll end up destroying your own walls.
Mangonel Onager Siege Onager
Hit Points 50 60 70
Attack 40 50 75
Range 7 8 8
Normal Armor 0 0 0
Pierce Armor 6 7 8
Upgrade Cost 800F, 500G 1450F, 1000G
Battering Ram line: Battering Ram and Capped Ram
Created at: Siege Workshop
Strong vs.: archers, cavalry archers
Weak vs.: Barracks units, Stable units
Cost: 160W, 75G
Attack bonus: vs. buildings
Comments: Good offensive unit. Garrison with Teutonic
Knights. Send to a Town Center. Attack the Town
Center until villagers are released. Release
your Teutonic Knights. Send the Rams to other
buildings. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy.
Battering Ram Capped Ram
Hit Points 175 200
Attack 2 3
Normal Armor 0 0
Pierce Armor 180 190
Upgrade Cost 300F
Bombard Cannon
Created at: Siege Workshop
Strong vs.: Barracks units, archers, skirmishers, monks
Weak vs.: Stable units, Woad Raiders
Cost: 225W, 225G
Attack bonus: vs. buildings and ships
Comments: Nice defensive unit. Refer to Defensive Strategies
below for more information. Be careful when sending
infantry or cavalry through shooting zone, because
there is some area of effect damage.
Hit Points 50
Attack 40
Range 12
Normal Armor 2
Pierce Armor 5
Trebuchet
Created at: Castle
Strong vs.: archers, skirmishers
Weak vs.: swordsmen, Stable Units, Mangudai, Woad Raiders
Cost: 200W, 200G
Attack bonus: vs. buildings and ships
Comments: Remember to unpack when the target is within range and
to pack when you want to move it. The Trebuchet is
inaccurate against moving targets. Use against
buildings only.
Hit Points 150
Attack 200
Range 16
Normal Armor packed: 2, unpacked: 1
Pierce Armor packed: 8, unpacked: 150
Petard
Created at: Castle
Strong vs.: buildings, walls, siege weapons
Weak vs.: archers scorpions, cavalry archers, mangonels
Cost: 80F, 20G
Attack bonus: vs. buildings
Comments: Waste of resources. It's a one-time only unit and
you're better off spending 80F and 20G on Champions or
Teutonic Knights.
Hit Points 50
Attack 25
Normal Armor 0
Pierce Armor 2
Units created at the Dock
Fishing Ship
Special: Builds Fish Traps (like a Farm but only in water)
Cost: 75W
Hit Points: 60
Armor: 0 normal, 4 pierce
Trade Cog
Purpose: Trades by sea with other docks
Cost: 100W, 50G
Hit Points: 80
Armor: 0 normal, 6 pierce
Transport Ship
Purpose: Transports units over water
Cost: 125W
Hit Points: 100
Armor: 4 normal, 8 pierce
Fire Ship and Fast Fire Ship
Strong vs.: galleys and longboats
Weak vs.: demolition ships
Cost: 75W, 45G
Comments: Use only to hunt down and destroy enemy warships.
Fire Ship Fast Fire Ship
Hit Points 100 120
Attack 2 3
Range 2 2
Normal Armor 0 0
Pierce Armor 6 8
Upgrade Cost 280W, 250G
Demolition Ship and Heavy Demolition Ship
Strong vs.: fire ships
Weak vs.: galleys, Longboats, Bombard Cannons
Cost: 70W, 50G
Comments: Similar to the petard, only that this is a navy
version. You shouldn't even be using these, since they
are one time only and therefore, a waste of resources.
Demolition Ship Heavy Demolition Ship
Hit Points 50 60
Attack 110 140
Normal Armor 0 0
Pierce Armor 3 5
Upgrade Cost 200W, 300G
Cannon Galleon
Strong vs.: buildings
Weak vs.: galleys, fire ships, demolition ships
Cost: 200W, 150G
Comments: Use cannon galleons to strike seaside towers and
castles before landing your troops. Remember to send
escorts as the resistance might send in fire ships or
other ships to sink your cannon galleons before much
damage is inflicted.
Hit Points 120
Attack 35
Range 13
Normal Armor 0
Pierce Armor 6
Galley line: Galley, War Galley, Galleon
Strong vs.: demolition ships, cannon galleons
Weak vs.: fire ships, bombard cannons
Cost: 90W, 30G
Comments: These should be among the escorts of cannon galleons if
an attack such as the one described above were to be
planned.
Galley War Galley Galleon
Hit Points 120 135 165
Attack 6 7 8
Range 5 6 7
Normal Armor 0 0 0
Pierce Armor 6 6 8
Upgrade Cost 230F, 100G 400F, 315W
Other units
Villager
Created at: Town Center
Cost: 50F
Hit Points: 25
Attack: 3
Armor: 0 normal, 0 pierce
Comments: Do not even think about attacking with villagers. Use
villagers ONLY for building and economic purposes.
Monk
Created at: Monastery
Cost: 100G
Hit Points: 30
Range: 9
Comments: Send a couple of these with the attack group. If left
unharmed your battalion would be invincible. Send
Teutonic Knights to attack a Castle, then let the monks
follow behind. Whenever a soldier gets hurt, he gets
healed.
Trade Cart
Created at: Market
Cost: 100W, 50G
Hit Points: 70
Purpose: Trade over land with other markets.
-------------------------
| 4. Building Your City |
-------------------------
This section will cover how to lay out your city, including tips on
what to build during each age. If you are already an intermediate
player or know what you want and when, then you can skip this section.
This section is meant for beginners only.
Note to beginners: The object in the earlier ages is to get to the
Imperial Age as fast as possible. You should spend some time in the
Castle Age to upgrade units and research technologies, because in the
Imperial Age, more technologies and upgrades will be available. Note
that the first two ages might pass through quickly as written below.
[From: Ostera Gonzalez
I disagree with your strategy of "reaching imperial age as soon
as you can", as when you reach the castle or imperial age, most of
the time, a small-sized or medium- ized army, any group of rams and a
big infantry from castle age, or if we are talking about castle age,
any group of about 30 or 40 man-at-arms, will destroy your town in
minutes.]
***********************
| A. Dark Age |
***********************
First, build a house and a Barracks. For a Random Map game, send
villagers to work picking berries or herding sheep. Begin mining some
stone and gold, as these will be extremely in demand in later ages.
Create several villagers once the House is complete and build more
houses to support more villagers. Build a Mill beside forage bushes
to speed up foraging. Research Loom from the Town Center as soon as
there is enough food.
If you are playing a water map, build a Dock and build some fishing
ships to help collect food to support more villagers.
For defense, it would be to your best interest to create some Militia
from the Barracks, but only is your resources are enough. Once you
have about five to ten militia, start stockpiling resources to
upgrade to the Feudal Age.
[From: Ostera Gonzalez
- First, create 2 houses, by using 2 villagers for the first house
and 1 for the second one. Use the last villager to gather wood from
trees near the T.C.
- Use the first mentioned villager and the other villager that you
should have to build a mill near bushes, and start gathering food.
Meanwhile, create 4 villagers. Send 3 of them to the bushes and the
last one to chop wood. When you reach 100 wood, create a lumber camp
near the trees. Keep creating villagers until you have 12 of them
gathering food.
-You should have sheep, brought by the scout cavalry
-Create 6 villagers and send them to wood chopping
-Create 2 more and send them to mine gold.
When natural food runs out, create farms. Remember that about
three lumber support four farmers. You should now have about 550 or
600 food. Advance to feudal age.
Note: this is done about 1 minute after the cpu in the third
difficult level advances to feudal age, but you`ll do it with far
more resources.]
***********************
| B. Feudal Age |
***********************
The first thing you must do is to build a Blacksmith. Then send a
couple of villagers to a forest to cut down wood. Upgrade to Man-at-
arms at the Barracks and research Tracking. Build more houses and
create more villagers to work on gold mines and stone mines. Start
building farms after you research Horse Collar at the Mill. Build the
Stable.
If the map isn't "All Visible" then it would be a good idea to build
a Market and research Cartography. Also, create some Scout Cavalry to
explore the map if this is the case.
If you feel that you need to, start setting up Watch Towers around
your land. Give some space for expansion. You don't really need to
build Watch Towers near to your Town Center, but if you feel more
secure in doing so, go ahead.
Before going on to the Castle Age, make sure that all the
technologies at the Blacksmith, Mining Camp, and Lumber Camp have
been researched.
[From: Ostera Gonzalez
Immediately after you get into the Feudal Age:
-Create 8 villagers, send them to cut wood, while 1 builds 2
blacksmiths, 1 builds the market, 1 builds a stone wall, and 2 build
2 barracks.
-Develop the tech at the mill
-After creating the 8 villagers develop the infantry attack and armor
technologies (blacksmith).
-Now, create 8 farmers, in order to get 20 (added from Dark Age).
-You should have by that time 4 to 6 man-at-arms.
-Create 4 more villagers and send them to mine stone.
-Know that an infantry-making economy has been established. Create
two more barracks and start producing units, setting a meeting point
near the enemy base.
-Attack when you have them or when your enemy advances to castle age,
as they will have not many resources. As soon as you can, advance to
castle age.]
***********************
| C. Castle Age |
***********************
Immediately start upgrading technologies once you arrive at the
Castle Age. Build a University and Start by researching Ballistics,
so your towers and defenses can fire more accurately. If your map
isn't a water map, don't, and I mean DO NOT upgrade Heated Shot
because it is a waste of resources.
If you already have 650 stone, build a Castle. Then build a wall
around your land. Give yourself reasonable space to expand and build
up an army and more defenses.
Build up a larger army during the Castle Age. Upgrade the units at
the Barracks and Stable. Start producing Teutonic Knights, as these
will be the heart of your army. However, do not make too large of an
army, as the main point of the Castle Age is to research technologies
and make your soldiers stronger.
At the Blacksmith, do not research archer armor technologies unless
you have many archers in your army. If you want to build an Archery
Range, this is the best time to do it (there aren't any technologies
to research here, so it isn't really smart to build this building in
the Feudal Age unless you want archers in the army).
Once most of the useful technologies have been researched (pay
attention to the technologies above which have a "Note" below them),
it is time to go to the Imperial Age. Stockpile resources and create
villagers if more help is needed in gathering resources. If you have
an ally, try asking him for tribute. Use the "Food, please" button
because "Give me your extra resources" usually doesn't work.
[From: Ostera Gonzalez
as soon as you get ther, develop long swords men, and the next two
infantry tech at the black smith
-With your enemy weakened, very weakened (most of the times killed,
as they provide no resistance), create cavalry archers, or
crossbowmen, and attack the remaining villagers. The aim of this is
to kill as many villagers as u can, and stopping them from gathering
resources. Create an infantry army again.
-Create villagers to gather gold until there are 14 of them. Build a
monastery and a university.
-Keep attacking in groups of 30, in flash attacks.
Advancing to the Imperial Age should be very easy now, as you
should be full of resources...
(most enemies don't survive this)]
************************
| D. Imperial Age |
************************
The first thing to do is to upgrade Chemistry at the University.
Immediately after the research is complete, research Bombard Tower.
The Bombard Tower is an important defense structure. See the
Defensive Strategies section below for more details in how to defend
your city.
Next, start getting more resources to upgrade your Teutonic Knights
and Cavaliers. Build a Siege Workshop and start creating Bombard
Cannons. Keep an eye on your resources, though. If they run out in
the middle of an invasion, then you are good as dead, especially if
you are being attacked by twenty something enemy troops. Anyway,
concentrate on researching University, Castle, and Blacksmith
technologies. Upgrade your Stone Walls into Fortified Walls if you
have not done so yet.
Once all of the useful technologies are upgraded, start building up
your army. Build up your defenses as described in the Defensive
Strategies section below. Once you have reached population limit,
start your attack. For more tips on how to fight each civilization,
see Offensive Strategies.
Just one last tip. Never stop creating troops. Once you run out, it
would take some time before you can get a large army again.
[From: Ostera Gonzalez
Improve your army and use trebuchets, created at the castle, to
finish your enemies.
Most enemies are at Feudal or Castle Age at this point, so
winning is fairly easy)]
---------------------------
| 5. Defensive Strategies |
---------------------------
Four towers and the Castle are available for the Teutons' defensive
needs. In earlier ages, defense relies completely on the Watch Tower.
Once you can upgrade to Guard Towers, do so immediately.
[From: Ostera Gonzalez
In earlier ages, if you build your buildings close enough to the
TC, most attacks could be repelled easily.]
Start building Stone Walls when you get to the Castle Age. Build some
Guard Towers certain intervals away from each other. Make sure they
are behind the walls and about 3-4 tiles away from the walls. You'll
see why later (Especially against Mongols and Celts and people who
utilize a lot of Siege Onagers).
[Version 2.2 Update:
I later realized that walls were just a waste of resources. I
was able to construct a decent defense with a centralized army
(protecting the core of my town), at least four Castles, and a lot of
Bombard Towers. A lot of them. And I mean one bombard tower for every,
say, ten tiles?]
Don't upgrade to Keep immediately after you get to the Imperial Age.
Research the Bombard Tower first. Start building Bombard Towers
directly behind the walls. Leave the land behind the Gates clear so
that passage will be faster and unhindered. To back up the towers,
place a Castle if you have the stone. Also station Heavy Scorpions
and Bombard Cannons. This kind of a defensive line creates a "no-
man's land" for attackers and most attackers die prior to arrival.
This has been tried and is especially effective against the Goths,
who attack in numbers.
[From: Nick Klein
One of the biggest advantages is the insanely powerful
keeps/guard towers the Teutons can put up. They get to garrison 2x
the units in towers, get 2x normal garrison arrows, free murder holes
(which is expensive and critical if you're building lots of towers),
and their unique tech allows garrisoned infantry (i.e. Teutonic
knights) to fire garrison arrows. Now, if I did my math correctly, if
you were to garrison to the maximum (10 units) with
archers/crossbowmen, your towers would churn out 8 arrows (the
equivalent of two ungarrisoned castles). Now, if you've played
Teutons before, I know you're thinking, "Hey wait, Teutons have
pretty crappy foot archers--why would I want to waste population and
resources on building 10 per tower," which is true. However, if
you're playing against a particularly infantry-heavy civ, keep in
mind that several 8-arrow-firing towers have a tendency to mow down
infantry especially and also anything else besides siege weapons and
huskarls. So what would I propose? A tower full of infantry fires a
still very sizable 5 arrows (no other civilization can pull this off,
even with a tower full of archers) build a tower at a strategic
location (somewhere where you can maximize its line of sight and
firepower) and garrison it full of Teutonic knights. As you well know,
t-knights have the ability to mow through any non-ranged (and some
ranged) unit like a hot knife through butter. You will also want a
handful (as in 5 or so) paladins nearby to handle siege. So here's
the picture: incoming infantry, cavalry, and archers are mowed down
by the tower. Any rams or remaining infantry or cavalry are then cut
down by the (now ungarrisoned) Teutonic knights, and any mangonels,
cannons, or trebs are open for surgery by the paladins. This tactic
works well as a first-line defense, but can be adapted to mainline
defense by using several t-knights garrisoned towers, some bombard
towers, a larger group of paladins, and a wall in front of the
towers. Anywhere you can put a tower, you can have a pretty
comprehensive defense unit. It works great by town centers! Repels
those pesky Goth infantry hordes! It slices! It dices!]
If you are attacked by Longbowmen, Bombard Cannons, or Trebuchets,
immediately send a group of Paladins out to destroy them. Since their
range is greater than those of your Bombard Towers, results could be
devastating if you leave them alone.
Lock all gates that you build and unlock them only if you are sending
people outside the city.
Do not build Bombard Towers near the Town Center or where villagers
are, because they have an area of effect damage, and you can end up
killing your own villagers instead of defending them.
[Version 2.4 Update:
Actually, I have been playing around with Byzantines recently,
and it seems as though my report that Bombard Towers have that area
of effect damage is unconfirmed. Be on the lookout, though, and tell
me if I'm wrong.]
If you are attacked by Siege Onagers or Heavy Scorpions, leave the
work to your defensive line. The range of these units are less than
those of Bombard Towers and Castles.
These above strategies were tested in a one-on-three match with the
difficulty set to Hardest. The three enemies were Goths, and you
might know how much of a pain Goths are.
---------------------------
| 6. Offensive Strategies |
---------------------------
If you have played for sports teams, you might have heard that the
key to victory is defense. But a strong offense is also essential to
wipe those adversaries off the map for good. This section will cover
offensive tactics against each civilization. Other tips will be
covered in Section 8: Other Tips and Hints.
Anyway, you should be basing your army on Paladins, Teutonic Knights,
and Capped Rams. Capped Rams can garrison Teutonic Knights and keep
them protected from archer fire, and Paladins chase down those
archers and tear them apart. Meanwhile, when Halberdiers come at your
Paladins, you retreat your Paladins and send a Teutonic Knight right
at him. Usually, a Halberdier gets killed when the Elite Teutonic
Knight has just lost 3 HPs. To take down Castles, Keeps, and Town
Centers, you send in the Capped Rams or Trebuchets, then ungarrison
troops when the villagers are ungarrisoned or send the Paladins at
them. It's a perfect way of destroying enemies quickly.
Other things to consider are Trebuchets and Bombard Cannons, which
are hard-hitting building destroyers that can quickly reduce a town
to ruins. Which one is better, though? I'd say the Bombard Cannon.
First of all, it doesn't need to waste time packing and unpacking. At
the same time, its range is far enough to destroy Castles without
getting hit by archer fire, and Bombard Towers without getting hit by
stones from the sky. Trebuchets, though, have to pack and unpack, and
fire at moving targets inaccurately. Despite the higher attack and
range, I think it's better to stick to Bombard Cannons.
[Version 2.2 Update:
Against Goths, I finally realized that Capped Rams are not the
best option. Go for Trebuchets and Bombard Cannons. Remember to keep
them defended by units, though! Huskarls come in swift and furious
once they realize they are under attack by long range units!]
Hand Cannoneers can also be brought into battle. However, keep them
behind Teutonic Knights and Paladins in battle so that they wouldn't
be the first ones to die. Hand Cannoneers pack a nice punch while at
the same time, providing fire support when a battle is about to be
won. Keep them close to the battle though, as Hand Cannoneers can't
fire accurately at range.
-----------------------
| A. Aztecs |
-----------------------
The Aztec unique unit, the Jaguar Warrior, has an attack bonus
against infantry, and that includes Teutonic Knights too. Aztecs
attack in numbers, including Siege Onagers and Trebuchets in a
battalion. When you attack an Aztec, make sure that a big part of the
group is made up of Paladins. Keep Teutonic Knights in the group too,
as Aztec Pikemen can be real pains for Paladins. Bring along
Trebuchets and Capped Rams garrisoned with Teutonic Knights.
The first target should always be the walls, keeps, and siege
workshops. Castles are usually in the middle, and those should be
destroyed first to prevent more Jaguar Warriors from being created.
Target the Town Center next. Then release your Teutonic Knights from
the Capped Rams and trash the city. Target villagers when you see
them, because they can build more Town Centers. Whenever you see a
villager building something, kill it immediately, and usually, it
would run away and destroy the building it was constructing.
After you trash the city, the king should have resigned. A king would
resign if most of the villagers have been killed and all Town Centers
and Castles have been destroyed. Sometimes, they resign earlier,
before you destroy the last Town Center, Castle, etc.
-----------------------
| B. Britons |
-----------------------
Creampuff. You just send a group of Paladins, Capped Rams (garrisoned
with Teutonic Knights), and one or two Trebuchets. Create a hold in
the defense by destroying keeps outside the walls. Break open the
walls. Target the castles first. Kill any Longbowmen with your
Paladins. Send your Capped Rams to the Town Center, then sweep
outward, killing any villagers. The Briton king should give up really
soon.
-----------------------
| C. Byzantines |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| D. Celts |
-----------------------
Not much to it. City layout is usually advantageous to enemies who
bring along Siege Weapons and a big army. The Town Center is usually
amid a big group of houses. All you have to do is take down the Town
Center and destroy the houses in sight to lower the amount of things
the enemy can build. Next, search for the Castles, using a Scout.
Usually, the Castle is outside the city walls, but near enough to
reinforce it. When the Castles are sighted, you know what to do
already. However, remember to keep the rest of your army in the area
to protect siege weapons, as Halberdiers or Woad Raiders can come
anytime.
-----------------------
| E. Chinese |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| F. Franks |
-----------------------
These guys aren't much of a problem, as their special unit is a
Throwing Axeman. The problem, though, is the Bombard Cannons that
appear all over the place in the beginning. Franks usually use these
for attack. Sometimes, the Siege Workshop is outside the city walls,
and thus, you have to destroy the walls to kill Bombard Cannons (once
you are in the city). There are several solutions to this, but the
fastest way is to bring Bombard Cannons of your own instead of
Trebuchets. Bombard Cannons move faster and fire more accurately at
moving targets, when compared to Trebuchets (which need to
pack/unpack).
The strategy? Same as for the Britons. Clear out all Guard Towers
within range and destroy the Town Centers, Castles, and major
military buildings. It will take some time, as Franks are pretty
creative in finding escape routes where they could rebuild all over
again. This, though can be avoided, through many ways. The better way
is to surround the city with Paladins, Hand Cannoneers, or Siege
Weapons (advisably Heavy Scorpions) on a Stand Ground stance. This
way, any villager that wanders too far will be taken down.
[Version 2.2 Update: (In response to question by Zephyre Amakir)
A gamer asked me how to use the Teutons effectively against
Throwing Axemen. I have never actually experienced difficulty against
Throwing Axemen in battle when I send in Hand Cannoneers or Teutonic
Knights en masse. The point is to get the Castle down, while at the
same time getting the Throwing Axemen from a distance whenever
possible. When the Castle is down, it should be no problem cleaning
up the place.]
-----------------------
| G. Goths |
-----------------------
The Goths are pretty tough to attack, especially considering that
they build many Town Centers and Castles. The army is basically
everywhere, and you can't go many places without a small fight. To
attack Goths, you will need many Capped Rams, Elite Teutonic Knights,
and Paladins. Bring some Trebuchets along, as more fire support is
desirable. Start by looking for a weak point. All Gothic kings have a
point in their city where defense is especially weak. Usually, there
are several Watch Towers here. Remember not to attack where there are
many Castles.
Create an opening here in the "weak point" and let your Capped Rams
charge to the Town Center. Use the Paladins to kill any military unit
that comes too close. Get siege weapons out of the way as soon as
possible. Release some Elite Teutonic Knights to help kill
Halberdiers, which are a big pain for Paladins. Send Trebuchets to
destroy Castles. Let the Capped Rams comb the area for Town Centers.
When one is sighted, eliminate it. If any Huskarls come close,
release some Elite Teutonic Knights, and garrison them once the fight
is won.
Usually, you would need several "waves" of attack groups before the
Gothic king resigns. For example, it took me four attack waves to
defeat King Euric the Visigoth. The first one was defeated because I
sent it in immediately after defeating another Goth (without getting
the guys healed). The second one got creamed because the Paladins
charged to the middle and swept outwards, so many were killed by
Castles and Halberdiers. The third one destroyed a Town Center and
several Castles before getting creamed by an army of Huskarls, and
the last finished him off.
[Version 2.2 Update:
Forget garrisoned Capped Rams. Teutonic Knights die way too fast
against Castles, and the Castles will tend to go for them whenever
they are around (when you send garrisoned Capped Rams to attack
Castles). Go for Trebuchets and Bombard Cannons to hit key buildings.
Use Teutonic Knights against Watch Towers and Huskarls. Use Paladins
to strike at villager work areas.]
[Version 2.4 Update:
On defending against attack by Gothic Huskarls and stuff,
please review the defense strategies section, where valuable advice
has been provided by gamers like Nick Klein and Ostera Gonzalez.]
-----------------------
| H. Huns |
-----------------------
The key is defense. The Huns pack a strong punch by attacking in
numbers and using Siege Rams and Trebuchets to their advantage.
Halberdiers and Tarkans aren't something to be feared, for Tarkans
are bad against knight line troops and Halberdiers are very easily
taken down by Teutonic Knights.
However, be prepared to wage a relentless battle. It will take a
while to bring the Huns' economy to its knees. In other words, you'll
have to force the enemy to keep on making troops to battle you.
Eventually, he will run out of resources, and then, it will be easy
to invade his land and break apart his whole empire.
Once again, target Town Centers and Castles (especially Castles), to
slow down the enemy's army building potential. By the time that you
have finished off and cleared out the land protected by the walls,
the Hunnic king should surrender.
-----------------------
| I. Japanese |
-----------------------
Japanese surrender very easily. Although Samurai are good against all
unique units and your Teutonic Knights will die faster than they
normally do, you still have Paladins and Trebuchets. In addition,
samurai are easy to convert. So, you bring Capped Rams, Trebuchets,
and Paladins. Break open a gate and let your Paladins charge inwards.
Concentrate on killing all the Samurai first. Then send the Capped
Rams to the Town Center and make the Trebuchets destroy the Castle
(usually very close to the Town Center). After the Town Center and
Castle are down, kill all the villagers. The king should resign by
then. If not, destroy any military buildings and houses (prevents
them from producing more units) until the king resigns.
-----------------------
| J. Koreans |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| K. Mayans |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| L. Mongols |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| M. Persians |
-----------------------
The hard part is the War Elephants. But luckily, they are easy to
convert and Persians can't research Heresy. Therefore, send five to
ten monks along with an attack group of Capped Rams, Teutonic Knights,
and Paladins. Use Trebuchets to destroy a Castle, and when the War
Elephants charge outwards towards the Trebuchets, then CONVERT AS
MANY OF THEM AS YOU CAN!!! It is more difficult to kill a War
Elephant than to convert them and send them against their own
creators!!! Once again, you charge into the middle with your Capped
Rams, finishing off any Towers that come into sight and releasing
Teutonic Knights if any opposing army units come too close. Then
attack the Town Center. Let the Paladins charge to the middle and
sweep outward from the middle, killing all villagers and military
units. Destroy any Barracks, Siege Workshops, or Archery Ranges that
you see because they can still create units if their resources allow.
-----------------------
| N. Saracens |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| O. Spanish |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| P. Teutons |
-----------------------
-----------------------
| R. Vikings |
-----------------------
Like the Britons, what makes them easy is that defenses are outside
the walls. All you do is you create a hole for yourself to get into
without getting hurt. Then charge in, destroy all Castles and Town
Centers in the middle, release ALL Teutonic Knights, then sweep
outward. Then, if all villagers are down and there are no Town
Centers or Castles standing, the Viking king should surrender.
[Version 2.2 Update:
Teutonic Knights do not always fare well against Guard Towers.
Be sure to bring a lot of fire support- Bombard Cannons and
Trebuchets are welcome additions to your invading army.]
----------------------------------------------------
| 7. The Frederick Barbarossa Campaign Walkthrough |
----------------------------------------------------
Once again, there are many different strategies you can employ to
finish each mission. The walkthrough below is based on the Standard
difficulty and are just suggestions on how you can beat each mission
easily.
*********************************************************************
Mission 1: Holy Roman Emperor
Objectives: Capture 4 of the 6 relics from the surrounding German
duchies
*********************************************************************
The game starts with you in command of a small army and several
villagers. Start by sending the villagers to work collecting wood,
food, gold, and stone. Send the light cavalry near the eastern edge
of the map, where there are Mongols who are willing to help you with
the cost of 200 gold. Send the light cavalry back home before he
attacks the Mongolian army. Immediately build a market and create a
monk (more if you like) and give the Mongols the gold. When the army
becomes yours, send them to the direction of home.
Along the way, they should come across shallows. Turn to the north,
where Bohemia (cyan), one of the duchies, is situated. Attack the
villagers first, as without villagers, the Town Center couldn't be
garrisoned, and thus, pose a threat to your army. Use the Siege
Onagers to destroy any buildings in sight. Kill any monks and
villagers that you may come across. Then lay the Town Center and the
Monastery to waste. Send your monk here to pick up the relic and go
back home.
When resources allow, start creating Teutonic Knights. Build a Siege
Workshop and several Battering Rams where you can garrison the
Teutonic Knights. Then, bring two monks along with the battering rams
and Elite Mangudai to the northern bridge. Cross it, and you should
be in Swabia (orange). Do it later in the game, as Swabia will be in
control of two relics then. Lay waste to their city the same way you
did with Bohemia, then pick up the relics and go.
The last target will be Burgundy (purple), across the western bridge.
Don't send your Mangudai in first. There would be a Watch Tower
guarding the path to the town. Instead of killing the villagers first,
kill off the resistance. There should be several archers, skirmishers,
and etc. around. Once the Battering Rams are done with the Watch
Tower, proceed to the Town Center, then to the Monastery. Pick up the
relic and go, but make sure your Mangudai "cover" him, or go to the
area first to kill all opposition.
Make sure that your army is healed between attacks. Nothing is worse
than sending a group of injured soldiers into a battle.
*********************************************************************
Mission 2: Henry the Lion
Objectives: Defeat Poland
*********************************************************************
You are in charge of a small army and a small town without villagers
or a Town Center. Poland is to the east, with Watch Towers, three
Castles, and a Siege Workshop scattered around the eastern side of
the map. Saxony and Bavaria are feeding your armies and those of
Henry the Lion, so what you do is you send your knights to Saxony and
the pikemen to Bavaria. Then start creating Teutonic Knights, Knights,
and two or four Battering Rams.
Leave the Crossbowmen and light cavalry behind to defend your town.
Then garrison the Teutonic Knights in the Battering Rams and move
them, along with the knights currently in your town, to your
northernmost outpost. Nearby, there is a Polish castle, which you can
destroy with no resistance at all, except for Watch Towers nearby.
Immediately after you do this, there is a message saying that Henry
the Lion has become your enemy, since he wants to become the Holy
Roman Emperor. A new objective is added: "Defeat Henry the Lion."
Do not attack him yet. Just kill any enemy Teutonic Knights that go
into Saxony with your Knights. Don't go one-on-one, though, as
Teutonic Knights are difficult to kill with even just one Knight.
Send five in at the same time to kill the Teutonic Knight before much
damage is inflicted. Eventually, the Polish will attack and defeat
Henry the Lion, and all you have to do is send Knights and Teutonic
Knights into the area to destroy. the Polish army. At the western
edge of the map, there would be a small walled-n area with villagers
and a relic trapped inside. Destroy the gate, and with the villagers,
build a monastery and a Town Center. Create a monk to capture the
relic and heal everybody and send the villagers to work gathering
resources to build up an army.
With tributes from Saxony and Bavaria, create a larger army of
Knights and Teutonic Knights. When you think your army is big enough,
send several monks with a attack group to Bavaria. It would be better
to leave Knights in your Town, because the Polish do not remain idle
and can attack at a moment when your army is elsewhere attacking
Poland.
Cross the river east of Bavaria and head north. Soon, you should see
a castle and watch towers. Destroy them with your army, and with
monks following closely behind. Any damage inflicted on your army
will be healed quickly (quicker with more monks). Sweep across the
map from the east to the north, destroying buildings with the same
technique as above and destroying onagers with your knights. If there
is a point where many Huskarls come right at you, convert some of
them (they are really easy to convert).
Once you have cleared up the northern and eastern parts of the map,
victory should be yours.
*********************************************************************
Mission 3: Pope and Antipope
Objectives: Convert the cathedral in Milan
*********************************************************************
Do not underestimate this mission. You will be under attack by the
River Guard early in the game, and the Milanese don't have a small
army to guard their Cathedral. The battle will be tough, but of
course it is possible.
Start off by leading your army down the shore, exploring the area.
You should come across a relic sometime during the trip. Immediately
charge north. Capture the relic with a monk and send him back home.
Let the other monks follow your army north. You should soon come
across Crema (green) and several villagers. Convert as many of them
as you can and send them home to build a Town Center and houses. Lay
waste to the Town Center and the opposition (there are supposed to be
pikemen and archers defending Crema). Convert as many villagers that
come into sight. Sweep through the whole town until Crema is defeated.
Then send your army back home.
Start concentrating on your economy. Send some villagers to collect
stone, while some others collect food and wood. Stone mines should be
near the dock. When there is enough stone, build a castle, then
create more villagers to collect gold (there should be gold mines
northeast of the stone mines). Next, build a Barracks, a Stable, and
a Siege Workshop. Start building a larger army. Build several Watch
Towers near the dock, as enemy Galleons will often attack it. Create
several Fires Ships to help guard it.
When there are enough resources, go to the Imperial Age (1000F, 800G).
Upgrade all of your troops and research Cannon Galleon at the Dock.
Then create a Trebuchet and proceed down the riverbanks until this
point on the south side of the bridge where you might see a Castle.
Destroy the castle, then destroy the dock with the Trebuchet. Keep
some Fast Fire Ships handy so that you can destroy any resistance.
Next, send villagers on a Transport to the northern edge of the map.
Start traveling down that edge of the map until you reach land. Send
your villagers southwest along the map until they reach a road. Then
follow the road until you come to a part where the road has forests
on both sides. Build a Castle, Stable, and Monastery here, since
Milan (blue) is expecting you and it would be better to have a
reserve of troops handy in the area. Break the gates (follow the road
and you should see them) and charge your forces in. Don't send your
monks in though, since the Milanese troops would be charging very
soon. Instead, stay in the area and wait for the Milanese Teutonic
Knights to charge. There are going to be tens of them, accompanying
hand cannoneers or mangonels, so send your Paladins to the mangonels
and cannoneers and let your Teutonic Knights do the rest.
The battle will last minutes until the Milanese run out of resources.
Destroy important military buildings and destroy the Milanese Castle
(follow the road farther southeast), just to ensure that the Milanese
can't create anymore Teutonic Knights. Once the coast is clear, send
the monks to the Cathedral (I think its position was already revealed
in the beginning of the game). Destroy the Archery Range and Stable
beside it just so that no military units can be created anymore.
Victory should come soon.
*********************************************************************
Mission 4: The Lombard League
Objectives: Construct a Wonder within the walls of Venice, Padua, or
Verona
*********************************************************************
When the game starts, you are already being attacked by enemies. Send
your villagers to the shore to the south and board transports. Then
follow the river east until you see a large fleet. There are more
villagers and even military units in transports that you see here, so
just take the transports, escorted by fire ships, to he north. Follow
the coastline and you should arrive at this river that heads north.
Follow that river until you see villagers on the left side of the
river mining stone. Release your villagers on the right side and
build a Town Center, Castle, several houses, a Stable, and a
Monastery. Get to work mining gold and use the Siege Onagers that
come along with the captured transports to kill villagers mining
stone across the river.
Start collecting stone from this place too, as a Wonder needs 1000W,
1000G, and 1000S. Venice is the nearest town (their gates should be
shortly to the east of the gold mines where you set up camp), and
their Castle is near the gates facing your encampment, so you better
be prepared to defend yourself if you decide to attack his Castle.
Start creating villagers and expand your economy across the river,
where there is more land for farms. Build Watch Towers around the
land that you use, so that you'll be alerted when enemies come
through.
If you have enough resources, start building up an army, upgrading
necessary technologies. Be sure, though, that you'll have enough
things in your stockpile when it is time to build a Wonder.
Collecting resources can be really slow and irritating when you need
1000S but find that you have only, say 100S.
Next phase, is the attack. Use Trebuchets to destroy the gate and
create an opening for your troops to rush into Venice. Next, use a
Scout Cavalry to run into the opening and look for the Castle, if you
haven't seen the position of the Castle yet. Attack the Castle with a
Trebuchet and destroy the nearby buildings. You are now within the
walls of Venice, and this should be the place to build the Wonder-
close to home.
Soon, there should be a note saying that Henry the Lion once again
has betrayed Barbarossa and changes his diplomatic stance with you to
enemy. Don't concentrate on attacking now. Get some villagers to a
transport and ship them to the place near your outposts far east.
There should be stone mines nearby, in case you don't have enough
stone. In case you haven't done so already, build walls to close out
invasion points and then build more Castles as Stone allows.
Eventually, people will start coming to invade you.
Before you build a Castle, make sure that the Town Center, Docks, and
Siege Workshop at Venice are all destroyed. Otherwise, Bombard
Cannons can be created from the Siege Workshop, and warships can be
created at the Dock.
Keep troops on stand in the area to make sure that nobody tries to
invade your newly acquired land and destroy your Wonder. While your
villagers are busy building the Wonder, keep your economy up and
running, or an invasion can reduce your town to ruins without any
resistance at all.
Send at least 5 villagers to build the Wonder, as it may take only
several minutes if you do so. Victory comes immediately after the
Wonder is completed.
*********************************************************************
Mission 5: Barbarossa's March
Objectives: At least 10 troops must survive to reach the Hospitaller
camp
*********************************************************************
Pretty easy mission. There are two alternatives to what to do first.
The first one, and the more time-consuming but action packed one,
concerns going to Gallipoli (cyan), in the western point of the map.
First, head to the western point of the map, killing any Mamelukes,
Onagers, and Camels that you meet with the appropriate troops (e.g.,
no Paladin vs. Camels match-ups). There should have been a point
where you saw an abandoned house, which soon released several
Mamelukes. This is where you should send all your troops to wait
until the next segment. Send the Onagers to the west, until you see
Gallipoli. Capture the Transport Ships and wait for the Saracen Navy
to attack. Finish off as many ships as you could. About 75% of them
should be downed in several seconds.
The second segment, and the alternative, is to look for
Constantinople, which is a short walk west. Find the gate, and make
sure all of your troops stay far from it. Send the Scout Cavalry in
to locate the Castle and the position of as many Bombard Towers as
possible, the Castle, and the Wonder. Constantinople should soon send
a reply that they will not accept any more Crusaders and becomes your
enemy. Use the Trebuchets to destroy the gates and Bombard Towers,
then the Castle. As for the Paladins, wait for the Cataphracts to
charge out before killing them. Finish off Pikemen with your
Crossbowmen or just ONE Elite Teutonic Knight. Though there are a
handful of them, Pikemen don't do much damage to Elite Teutonic
Knights, especially with three monks nearby. Once the Castle is down,
send your Scout Cavalry (if they haven't been killed yet) or Paladins
to the Wonder.
Move your whole army to the boarding area near the Wonder once the
Byzantines surrender, then locate your newly acquired ships. Send the
Galleons out to the sea, where there should be several enemy ships.
Board the ships, and make sure many of them survive because every
unit counts! Without scouts, you won't know where Seljuk Turks are
hiding or where they are waiting. Without Onagers, you can't get an
easy way to the Hospitallers. Without Pikemen or Elite Teutonic
Knights, Paladins would be devastated by Camels. Without Paladins,
there is no cover for foot soldiers from Cavalry Archers. Without
Monks, you can't heal. Most of all, without Trebuchets, don't expect
to destroy any Turk Castles.
Once you are ready, move your Transports across the river (just
directly across) and there should be desirable landing grounds nearby
(especially an inlet where there is lots of open space). Land your
troops here and make your way south. You WILL come across Keeps if
you move north, including a Monk and a small band of Seljuk Turks.
Destroy all, and move east, then south when you near the edge of the
map. There should be mountains here, and several more Keeps just
south of the mountains. Send your Paladins in first to locate the
Keeps and kill the resistance. Move the Trebuchets nearby and let
loose your destruction!
As you move south, there should be a certain opening like this:
(C: Cliffs, T: Trees)
CTTTTC
CTTTTC
CTTTTC
CTTTTC
CCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCC
If your Onagers are not dead yet, destroy the Trees and send your
Scouts in immediately. There should be a band of Seljuk Turks (with
Bombard Cannons) nearby. Once you locate them, send your Paladins in.
Move your troops nearby just in case the guys get smart and begin to
get the edge on your Paladins. Once they are dead, send your Scouts
looking out for more passages south. There should be this place where
there is a huge pack of wolves waiting. When they are revealed, it is
time to let your Onagers do the attacking. Use attack ground, and
don't right click on a wolf, because it may come after you. Anyway,
once they are all dead, continue south. The Hospitallers should be
nearby.
If you don't have any more Onagers, you will have to continue south
along a "straight" path from your direction earlier. You might come
across a wall with Bombard Towers and a Castle reinforcing it. Send
your Trebuchets to attack a Bombard Tower. There should soon be an
earthquake, leaving the whole encampment in ruins. Charge through the
hole and clear out all opposition. There should be a mountain to the
east, and another Castle some distance behind it. Destroy it, and
continue south, where there should be another Castle to destroy. When
this is done, head east. You should see a land-bridge and soon, a
Teutonic Knight (orange) and gates. You have reached your destination.
Enter the encampment and send everybody to the Castle. Victory should
be achieved soon.
*********************************************************************
Mission 6: The Emperor Sleeping
Objectives: Bring Barbarossa's body (in a barrel) to the Dome of the
Rock in Jerusalem. Don't destroy the Dome of the Rock.
*********************************************************************
This mission begins with you in command of a small army and villagers.
Start by building a Castle with five or six villagers. Build a
Monastery and create a monk to grab the relic just south of your Town
Center. The Saracens under Saladin will give you only ten minutes
until they attack. Get some villagers to work mining gold, herding
sheep, and cutting down trees for wood. Once the Castle is done, send
a Paladin and the builders near to the western point of the map.
There you will find stone deposits, which can supply you for quite
some time.
In this mission, the key is economy. You will need a lot of wood,
gold, and food to build up an attacking force. Do not even think
about attacking Saladin because it will be very costly. Attack and
clear out Damascus instead. By clearing up their city and destroying
the southern walls, you will have access to the southeastern edge of
the map. Jerusalem is on the southern point of the map. It will be
difficult to attack Damascus, not to mention costly, but it is
definitely easier than attacking Saladin.
Convert as many War Elephants as you could. Your first targets once
you enter Damascus should be the Town Center, Siege Workshops, and
the Castle. The Town Center is southeast of the northern ate and the
Castle is further southeast. Once these targets are done for, sweep
the whole place clean, and convert any remaining War Elephants. Then
clear out the southern walls (not the walls bordering Saladin's
encampment, but the strip of wall near that place) and work your way
to the eastern edge of the map. Once this is done, make for the
southern point. There should be several monks in Jerusalem, so use
Trebuchets to attack and open a hole in the walls before you charge
in to the city and reduce most of it to ruins.
This is the time when you should muster up a few troops to guard your
Emperor in a Barrel on his journey to Jerusalem. Use a box formation,
as the Emperor in a Barrel would be more easily defended that way.
Use the same route that you did with the previous attack group and
make your way to the Dome of the Rock. Attack any enemies that get
too close, and make sure that all archers nearby are down or they can
cause some trouble.
Victory should come if you can get your Emperor in a Barrel to the
walls of Jerusalem safely (as long as all resistance inside has been
erased).
Hospitaller
---------------------------
| 8. Other Tips and Hints |
---------------------------
1) TARGET THE MARKET ONCE THE TOWN CENTER(S) ARE DOWN.
Markets allow the enemy to pay tribute to their allies if there are
any and thus, provide them with resources for battle with you. It is
better to deny the opponent resources and to leave them without
anything to build up an army than to attack them while they are still
high on resources.
2) LOOK FOR WHERE ENEMY VILLAGERS ARE COLLECTING RESOURCES AWAY FROM
THEIR HOMELAND.
Once again, denying resources. You have to look for gold mines, stone
mines, forests, and deep pastures where enemy villagers get their
resources and take them out. It will hamper their economy and will
inspire their army to attack you. If your defenses are ready, then it
will be easy to take down the attacking party.
3) THE MAIN TOWN CENTER IS USUALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY.
If you can destroy the main Town Center(s) (Goths have several of
these), identified by the many villagers, farms, and houses around it,
then it will heavily hamper your enemy's economy. Usually, most of
the villagers run to this Town Center when the Town Bell is rung
(villagers garrisoning the Town Center), and thus, when less than 25%
of the Town Center's HP is left, villagers will immediately
ungarrison the building. It will be easy for your Paladins and
Teutonic Knights to chase the villagers and clear them from play.
4) START A GAME BY BUILDING YOUR DEFENSES, NOT YOUR ARMY.
Yes, you heard me right. Nothing is worse than enemies charging into
your town before towers are up. It is hard to erect towers late in
the game because then, your villagers can be killed more easily.
Start off by building a Castle, a House, and Towers. Create more
villagers to assist in building more towers. Once they are up, then
start building military buildings, and an army. Remember that the key
to a strong defense is a lot of men.
5) TAKE OUT ANY TREBUCHETS OR BOMBARD CANNONS IMMEDIATELY.
And not with Teutonic Knights, but Paladins. These guys can wreck
buildings really fast, and your defenses will be down before you know
it. Paladins are faster and therefore, destroy Bombard Cannons and
Trebuchets before a lot of damage is inflicted.
6) THE FIRST THING TO TARGET IN AN ATTACK IS THE CASTLE.
The Castle produces unique units. Unique units are produced faster
than normal units are, and inflict more damage. In addition, Castles
are defensive buildings. They inflict a lot of damage, and it is best
to take them out of play before they kill many of your troops.
7) ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR RELICS. IF ONE IS SIGHTED, LEAVE A
SOLDIER IN THE AREA TO GUARD IT WHILE A MONK COMES TO RETRIEVE IT.
KILL ANY ENEMY MONKS THAT TRY TO CAPTURE THE RELIC.
Relics automatically produce gold for your empire. More relics
produce more gold faster. So capture as much of these early in the
game.
8) IF YOU HEAR THE SOUND OF CONVERSION, SEARCH FOR THE ENEMY MONK
IMMEDIATELY AND TAKE HIM DOWN.
Even if Teutons have Heresy, Teutonic Knights are easy to be
converted. If a soldier is converted, he dies. Any loss early in a
battle, especially by a monk, weakens your army a little, in terms of
attack strength.
9) IN A RANDOM MAP GAME, START UP YOUR ECONOMY BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE.
You start with a very small stockpile in a random map game. Therefore,
get to work gathering resources immediately so that you can produce
more villagers and build up your city.
10) NEVER STOP TRAINING TROOPS.
Among the tips in the Microsoft Inside Moves: Age of Empires II book.
And I completely agree. If you even stop creating troops for a little
while, it will give the enemy enough time to rebuild and prepare for
your next attack. No opposition at all is always better.
-----------------------
| 9. Contribute |
-----------------------
If there are any comments or anything you would like to contribute or
add to this FAQ, please send an email to firestorm0033@netscape.net ,
and you will get the proper credit. Once again, everything needs
improvement, and there will be no final version of this FAQ until I
receive no suggestions or tips.
The Offensive Strategies section is currently incomplete (obviously),
because the civilizations which I more often played were the Goths (I
once played a solo versus three teams of two players each except one
team with three, in which all were Goths, just to get the ideas for
the Goth section), Britons, Vikings, Aztecs, and Japanese. Therefore,
I didn't deeply "study" the other civs' tactics enough to write about
them here.
In addition, there might be upcoming sections on tactics and tips on
playing each map. But I will definitely need a lot more suggestions
and feedback from you, the readers, to fill that in. One section
definitely to be coming will cover combat tactics regarding single
enemy units. It will cover match-ups such as how to kill a Cavalry
Archer with 2 Elite Teutonic Knights, or such match-ups that put you
at a disadvantage (Teutonic Knights bad vs. archers).
------------------------
| 10. Other Questions |
------------------------
If you have any other questions regarding gameplay or this FAQ, feel
free to ask. Once again, the email is firestorm0033@hotmail.com and I
believe I have placed it all over this FAQ already. Once I receive
questions, this section will become the FAQ section and not the
"Other Questions" section.
In addition, if the directions I used on this FAQ (north, south, east,
west) are confusing, tell me. I'm not sure if everybody interprets
compass directions the same way I do. Anyway, this is how I see it:
Top
/N\
Left Right
\S/
Bottom
------------------------
| 11. Acknowledgements |
------------------------
*********************************************************************
- Most of all, God for having given me my talents. I wouldn't be
writing this if I didn't have the talent to do so.
- Microsoft and Ensemble Studios, for producing the great Age of
Empires series. I big part of my holidays, vacations, and weekends
has been devoted to playing Age of Empires, Rise of Rome, Age of
Kings, and now Conquerors. If one of you guys happen to read this FAQ,
keep 'em coming!!!
- GameFAQs (CJayC) for posting this FAQ. The first update will always
be at GameFAQs.
- Neoseeker (Peter Judson) for asking me to put this up.
- DLH.net (Bernd Wolffgramm) for asking me to put this up.
- IGN.com (Stephen Ng) for asking me to put this up.
- My parents for supporting me for many things I do.
- , an alliance of Age of Empires players with me as the
leader. To all other members of , thanks a lot for playing
online with me.
- Martin (Ostera Gonzalez), from Argentina, for telling me that my
strategy of getting to Imperial Age as soon as I can is wrong, and
for giving me other alternatives to doing that. Somehow, he's right.
Thanks, man
- Nick Klein for giving me a way to put murder holes and the Teutonic
unique tech to advantage (see Defensive Strategies).
- Kevin Yen, for introducing me to Age of Empires about 5 years back.
Also, for being like a brother to me.
- Christopher Lin, for helping me learn Age of Empires basics when I
first played it. Secondly, for being like a brother to me.
- Eric Huang, for lots of laughs in playing Age of Empires II. A lot
of my tips here came from crazy mistakes that you made while playing
Age of Empires II. My loyal friend, you are like a brother to me.
- You, for having taken the time to read, study, or use this FAQ.
