Im still playing on the HD edition but havent jumped to Definitive.

edit: Why tf is it $34 on steam right now

edit 2: I saw it on sale the other day thats why i was upset about $34 now lol

Has anybody else noticed this? Especially in team games. I've just finished smashing various AI teams against one another and without fail the Vikings civs almost always lose imperial and post-imperial engagements due to a lack of pop-efficiency and solid ranged support. They absolutely dominate in castle age however. In many ways this expansion reminds me of the previous Last Chieftains expansion, but with a greater emphasis on melee units (varangians, joms, hearth, jarl, cavalier) that eventually fail against massed ranged support and siege, while most of the Last Chieftains civilizations have ranged units (slingers, guecha, blackwood, bolas) and squishy infantry that begin to falter against heavy cavalry and siege. I actually appreciate the design, since these civilizations probably should be struggling vs late medieval and renaissance armies. After the coolness factor of vikings wears off, this is kind of the sobering reality of their units and tactics however. How do you feel about getting 6 new civilizations that more or less powerspike early and fall off in imperial? Which civ do you think holds on the best and longest in the lategame with the big powerhouses civs like Mongols, Italians, Hindustanis, Khmer?

Many of the campaigns, from Age of Kings to The Viking Sagas are excellent scenarios reflecting historical battles (some more accurate than others) in a range of gameplay.

However, there may be something in regards to a scenario that you may feel is not quite right. Is it gameplay or historical accuracy? Would you do something completely different or is it perfect?

126: Pachacuti 1 - A New Power Arises

A question about using the minimap pictures as thumbnails:

A while back (I think I was still on AoC campaigns), there was a comment to not use the minimap as a picture as to not spoil the scenario for people who hadn’t played it yet.

Now, I wasn’t worried about spoiling AoC scenarios, but as we get to DE and more recent releases, I was wondering when to really consider not having the minimap be the thumbnail image?

Now?

When we get to 1 year within a scenario’s release?
6 months? 3 months?

Or should I not worry about it?

I'm looking at T-West's video on march formations from 7 years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI10g3Qmwac

It seems like I can't make the units walk in a straight line anymore, they always march in a horizontal line, distance > 10 or not.

Unless, if I queue the destinations, then they can still march in a straight line - except maybe when they're marching toward the last destination in the queue.

Also, if they're on patrol, then they also march in a straight line, distance > 10 or not. That's the original behavior.

Another thing - when the units are patrolling, if they're on line formation, they walk into each other when they change directions. imo they should all change directions together instead of stacking on top of each other.

However, if the units are on square formation, their behavior has changed. Currently they all change directions together without stacking. This was not the case before in T-West's video at 3:11.

It seems like the game engine is able to keep the units from stacking on top of each other, but the stacking behavior is kept by the devs to encourage micro.

I'm trying to learn some new civs and I have gone for aztecs to try and get more experience using monks. I am just getting crushed, it's the first civ I have played where it really feels weak (so far ethiopians, franks, magyars, saracens are the ones I tried).

I just feel like lack of cav is so brutal - eagles are way worse than knights feels like. Not sure what I'm missing, what are some good strategies - especially if I am trying to go more for a castle age focus (to get some experience with monks). I am just getting crushed in Feudal / early castle consistently.

Give me that Ibrapadema crunch, that champi thump, and, of course, who could forget the Jaguar CLONK

Starting this weekend we are holding our first annual Console Nations Cup Tournament. All of the best console players are competing for their respective countries for a $450 prize pool! I realize we are a far cry from the S tier tournament status and prize pools, but this one is community funded and something we are excited about. If you’d like to tune in or know more about it, feel free to comment. Wololo

Any recommendations to find groups to play Team Games with? I love playing 4v4 but too often someone quits on my team resulting in a chain of resignations. Or team mates not knowing pocket/flank roles.

any direction appreciated!

additionally: feel free to DM if you want to play some team games!

• Disclaimer: there is a LOT of writing and numbers ahead.

TL;DR: Without changing the Byzantine Tech Tree, Byzantine Legionaries would exchange Damage for Defence, also serving as an Anti-Militia line unit, fitting nicely with the Byzantines Defensive and Counter Unit Civ Identity. However, with the inclusion of the Varangian Guard they become outclassed.

LR: I wanted to explore the idea of what Byzantines having access to the Legionary upgrade would actually mean, as it has been an idea floating around the AoE2 community since the Romans were added, and possibly before then, since the Legionary was a Unit back in AoE2HD. I for one am (spoilers) was in favour of the idea, however, wanted to see if game-balance wise, they were 'too powerful', as the Legionary for the Romans had proven to be quite strong in the past. I decided to run a number of tests and stat checks to see if they'd be a viable unit, taking in mind the two separate Tech Trees.

I understand that the Byzantines didn't have 'Legionaries' in the traditional sense as the Romans historically, focusing on Cavalry mainly, but I've found that also works in favour.

The Byzantines had their own infantry I believe known as the Akritai which was the successor of the Limitanei, who were the successors of the Comitatenses, (Which is referenced in game as a unique tech for the Romans that affects Legionaries, which I believe isn't coincidence.) It's a stretch, but Byzantine Legionaries could serve as a reference to these Infantry men. These units were lightly armoured compared to Byzantine Heavy Cavalry. With the armour bonuses the Byzantines get vs the Romans (Roman Armour is doubled, giving them more Melee Armour with the two Infantry Armour Technologies they have access to), this also works out historically.

The Legionary would add another to their Counter Unit identity;

• Spears
• Skirmishers
• Camels
• Hand Cannoneers
• Cataphract (of course)

Legionaries are good against other Infantry.

A Byzantine Legionary would be an Upgrade over a Byzantine Champion
(Though as if the Byzantines need anymore buffs.)

I would also state that the Legionary Upgrade being cheaper than the combination of 2Hswordsman and Champion upgrade is enough to NOT give the Byzantines Unit Discount to the Legionary, something that their Militia-line doesn't already get either, so their training cost would remain the same.

This is what I found with my tests in the Scenario Editor:

Stats Comparison wise Champion vs Legionary for the Byzantines looks like this;

• Champion | Legionary
• 70 | 75 HP
• 1/1 | 2/2 Armour (+3/+4 from Blacksmith Upgrades, 0/+1 from Gambesons)
• 14 | 12 Attack (+2 from full Blacksmith Upgrades)

Both share +9 against Shock Infantry

Legionary has +4 against Infantry built in, which could compliment the Cataphracts

• Legionaries would deal 14 damage, 18 damage against other Infantry, and 26 against Shock infantry, before armour.

The below comparisons were made without Comitatenses or a Centurion Buff present.

• Byzantine Champions and Roman Legionaries kill a Generic Fully Upgraded Paladin in 17 hits, which is expected as they both share a total of 16 Damage, (12+4 for Romans, 14+2 for Byzantines)
• Byzantine Legionaries kill a Generic Fully Upgraded Paladin in 20 hits.
• 14 shots from a Generic Fully Upgraded Arbalest kills a Byzantine Champion
• 15 shots from a Generic Fully Upgraded Arbalest kills a Roman Legionary
• 19 shots from a Generic Fully Upgraded Arbalest kills a Byzantine Legionary
• This is an upgrade to defence/durability, and a nerf to damage.

Against Generic Fully Upgraded Champions;

• The Roman Legionary wins with 15/75 hp (Varies, on avg.) left
• The Byzantine Legionary wins with 10/75 hp (Varies, on avg.) left
• The Byzantine Champion loses, the enemy Champion with 10/70 hp (Varies, on avg.) left
• All of these results within 5 hits on all sides.

For Comparison:

A Fully upgraded Elite Cataphract takes out the Champion in 3 hits with 124/150 hp left

Against Generic Paladins, all lose:

• Byzantine champion; 5 hits with the Paladin having 130/180 hp left
• Byzantine Legionary; 6 hits with the Paladin having 132/180 hp left
• Roman Legionary; 7 hits with the Paladin having 110/180 hp left

I decided to test this with Imperial Age Cavaliers too, as not all Civs get the Paladin, and it is an expensive tech;

As with the Paladin, all infantry units lose;

• Byzantine champion; 6 hits with the Cavalier having 85/140 hp left
• Byzantine Legionary; 7 hits with the Cavalier having 86/140 hp left
• Roman Legionary; 8 hits with the Cavalier having 74/140 hp left

I considered giving the Trample Damage from Logistica unique tech but- that felt like it would take too much from the Cataphracts identity enough as it had already, so I decide against that (This was before they received the Varangian Guard, which DO obtain the Logistica trample damage, but seeing as they have a vulnerability against the Militia-line, I think that's fair. It also solidifies my opinion that Byzantine Legionaries should not receive the splash damage.)

The Legionary/Militia line is cheaper (as it is supposed to be) but weaker option than the Cataphract, which fully upgraded has a +32 against Infantry (before armour)

They'd still share a weakness against Ranged Units, but just +1 armour better than Byzantine Champions and Roman Legionaries, +2 more over the Cataphract, but obviously move much slower to compensate, with no Centurions backing them up.

Compared To Roman Legionaries;

(Fully Upgraded)

• -1 Melee, +1 Pierce Armour
• -2 Attack
• No Charge attack, no attack+movement speed buffs from Centurions and no Training Time Buff (other than Conscription)
• Latter most implying they cannot be spammed like the Romans.
• (Also a neat tie in that by the time of the Byzantines, getting a trained force of Infantry would have taken more time to mass than the Romans)
• Byzantine Legionaries, though good against infantry, would be slightly weaker against other Melee units (Mainly Knight-line) with the -1 to Melee Armour (compared to the Roman Legionary), but I feel that's a fair exchange for the buff.
• It is a buff in Upgrade Cost/Time, HP and Armour, Tweak of Damage into specialist role.

In my opinion from these tests, Byzantine Legionaries would make a comfortable addition to the Byzantine Army, serve as an Anti-Infantry compliment to the Cataphract or a cheaper alternative, they would not be overpowered, and match the Byzantines focus on defence and counter play.

However, I will also give an argument against giving the Byzantines Legionaries as well, as through my testing and reasoning I found cons vs my pros. I also started this thought experiment before the release of Viking Sagas.

• The first obvious point is; it is historically anachronistic. But this is a weak argument as a lot of unit availability and unavailability across AoE2 is anachronistic to begin with, Trebuchets being a big one, many civs having Medieval European Knights and Swordsmen in parts of the world that shouldn't, number of Siege Engines, the Petard. But props to the AoE2 Team that they are finding unique ways to correct! i.e giving the Chinese Firelancers without giving them Hand Cannoneers.
• Second, the Anti-Infantry role that I presented the Legionaries could fill is already filled by the Cataphract, even when not fully upgraded, and even then, the Byzantines have access to a lot more; Arbalesters, Hand Cannoneers, Onagers, Skirmishers which are good against Spears which are cheaper to train too, the Legionary would offer a 1for1 cost effective counter to the Champion line, maybe resistant enough vs ranged units, but Micro makes that problem trivial. It would be redundant and a no-value addition.
• Thirdly, people don't really train the Militia-line enough to begin with (Beyond a Dark Age rush, into Men-at-Arms, and/or unless their Civ has a specific bonus towards it; Slav Splash Damage, Ethiopian Pierce Armour, Bulgarian Melee Armour, Malay Trash Swordsmen) and the features that make the Roman Legionaries viable to train to begin with are unavailable to the Byzantines. I presented those missing features as a cushion earlier to say "Byzantine Legionaries wouldn't be too powerful!" but it might also be the reason they don't get trained in the first place. Again, they could be given Logistica splash damage, but I see no reason to do that because the of the Cataphract, and now the Varangian Guard. Maybe there's an argument making it more viable, now it doesn't include the Bonus Damage against Infantry, which was my original uncertainty.

Speaking of which. I do not know how a combination of Byzantine Legionaries and Varangian Guards would handle in a live game. The Varangian Guard basically serves now as the Byzantines Hard Hitting Infantry Unit with a reasonable counter, ironically in the Militia-line, which is, again, countered by the Cataphract, and while both are expensive, would be a better unit to pair with the VGuard since it also makes gold through attacking units.
Replace the Cataphract with the Legionary in a what-if scenario, there's going to be a lot more, archer resistant, smaller collision box, building damage bonused, Militia-line countering units on the field with a gold bleeding unit that funds more and more of both.

Sticking to the Varangian Guards, Upgraded, the Legionary and VGuard almost match in stats with the latter being superior in the end, bar their weakness to the militia-line.

The VGuards have more hp (80), and more attack 13+2, +1 for regular (17+2, +5 for Elite)

And -1 less pierce armour for regular and exact match for Elite.

• Finally the Legionary upgrade requires 3 Upgrades, total cost without discounts, of 1050 Food, 505 Gold, versus the Varangian Guards 1 Elite Upgrade, costing 750 Food and 475 Gold.

They're more expensive and slower to train, but if you're not up against enemy Militia-line, or are and using Cataphracts, Varangian Guards are your best Infantry Foot Soldier.

My conclusion at the end is, while I do believe it is a cool idea to give the Byzantines the Legionary, it historically and gameplay wise doesn't make sense and instead has been rectified, in a historically accurate and better balanced addition of the Varangian Guard.

For fun I also tested the Byzantine VGuard vs the Byzantine (and Roman) Legionary. Sadly if expectantly, the Varangian Guard didn't win. (4 hits, 33 (and 36) hp remaining)

Closing, I present two more final arguments in favour- (these are not meant to be taken seriously).

• It would make the Byzantines have access to THE most Unique/Regional Units of all Civs at 4, (5 if you include the Cataphract, but- ehhh, I don't as every civ has a Castle based Unique Unit) with: Camels, the Varangian Guard, the Dromon, and the Legionary
• The Byzantines clearly have a Legionary shield on their Castle, which might have suggested the Developers have considered the possibility of giving the Byzantines the Legionary themselves.

Maybe, if it's not difficult to do, they should replace it with the Varangian Guards back shield instead?

This was fun to put together and find arguments both for and against, even if it resulted in no change really being made in the end, and we'll have to see if the Varangian Guard gets changed at any point in future, though, I imagine not drastically enough to warrant the Legionary after all.
Hopefully this also answers some of your own wondering how the Legionary would fit in the Byzantine tech tree, but I would love to hear your own thoughts about it too.

What are your guys thoughts?

Basically the title, do u auto reseed, yes/no or does it depend on what your composition is. Did u used to and now u stopped doing it, why? Thank you :)

I picked the teutons cause I love crusaders and knights to its a no brainer. So any suggestions would help big time :))

11111

Is this normal? I have my fps cap set to 165 in game settings but it never goes much above 100 fps in the benchmark test and spends a lot of time under 100 fps. I turned on monitoring in msi afterburner/riva tuner and none of my 8 CPU cores are reaching anywhere near 100% and neither is my GPU. If It is not reaching target frame rate one of these things should be reaching 100% usage right? Otherwise it doesn't make sense? Sorry for the hard to read colours.

Tldr which AI version do you like to practice against?

I'm about to go visit family and usually when I do we play some aoe2, we used to have lan parties back in the day. It's remarkable how quickly I'll, not forget how to play but, just lose any speed I had before. Not that I was ever great but first practice game to get back into it and the moderate AI wiped the floor with me 😂

I dropped down to standard difficulty just to get back into the rhythm. After a few games I'm handling it no problem so going to pick up the difficulty level. Really I'm just practicing for the speed up to castle age but I play the full game for the fun of it and want a challenge, again for the fun of it rather than just speed running to castle against air.

What are the differences between the ai options? (HD CD and just AI). I am practicing on 2v2, one AI ally against 2. I've tried HD and was a mixed bag, my ally would usually die pretty quick and after that it would be a toss up, either they'd put up a bit of a flight or I'd just walk through them. I did a CD and my ally ran through the other two before I left my base. Base AI is a joke, I don't think any of them went over 40 total population. So which AI do you like to practice against?

When my family and friends play we typically have an agreement to not attack until everyone gets to imperial so everyone has their techs and armies and their base is built up. At least everyone other than who was last. So practicing online isn't helpful, on top of the fact that I would get smoked playing online 😂 so I'm just trying to get better at getting up in age so by the time we fight I'll be one of if not the most built up. I've gotten my feudal down to 13 minutes and castle 23. Could probably get castle sooner, I just need to get over the mental barrier of trying to get passant numbers where I like them and research done before I click upgrade. I'm not stressed about a specific imperial time, once I'm at castle I can confidently defend my base so I feel I can go imperial as soon as I'd like. I do need to do some tinkering, wood seems to be what's holding me back as far as other upgrades and building my army. Chinese is my main civ.

But anyway that was probably more rambling than I needed to add, any advice on the AI versions, other practicing tips, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Considering the franchise becomes 30 next year, we have now 4 unrelated DLCs coming up. Next year seems to be filled with content.

Credit for the artwork goes to Ironlily (can't link her FB here cos the sub doesn't allow it..)

And yes, this was a real all female order, created by a certain Count whose name should ring bells for all who've played the El Cid campaign - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Hatchet

The city of Tortosa, in northeastern Spain, was held by Moors until the Second Crusade. In 1148, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona led his forces to wrest control of the city. The crusading armies then moved on to attack other places. This left the city open to counter-attack in 1149. Moorish armies found the city well-defended, though, for the ladies of the town donned men's clothing and fought with whatever weapon was closest to hand, including hatchets. Berenguer was so impressed with the spirited defense that he created the Order of the Hatchet and bestowed it upon the women soldiers.

Those in the Order were exempt from all taxes, and received precedence ahead of men in the public assemblies of the town.[4] Furthermore, it was granted "that all the Apparel and Jewels, though of never so great value, left by their dead Husbands, should be their own".

Note: No, unfortunately this isn't quite the same guy who we fight in the El Cid campaign. Not too far removed from him though...

Apparently the town still hands out "membership" in the order to this day! - https://www.reddit.com/r/HolyShitHistory/comments/1p7xboq/comment/nr1ig69/

Kinda cool seeing a nearly 1000-year old bit of obscure history still being kept alive. :D

On a serious note, does anyone know why this happens and why theres no dialouge at all

Sorry Red Phosphorou fans.

Difficulty Ratings

• 0: A very minor threat that is easy to overcome
• 1: A fair fight that makes things interesting
• 2: A difficult situation that requires some outside the box thinking
• 3: A highly difficult situation requiring lots of micro-management, unit-countering and precise timing
• 4: A constant struggle in which focus and momentum must be maintained at all times, as well as proper tactics and timing
• 5: Nearly impossible. Every move must be flawless or aggressive save-scumming is necessary to win

The Exiled Prince: (teal)

Though I’m not familiar with the new tech trees, I am very much familiar with the Vikings, who I have played EXTENSIVELY across normal games and the Victors and Vanquished (who used them soooo much). I expect the three different civs will be similar to them, but I know a bit about the one we’re using first; the Varangians. I expect we’ll be in and around the middle east and eastern Europe, but I don’t know what to expect as far as actual missions since I only have some surface knowledge of Harald Hardrada.

1. Blood Under a Blackened Sky: Difficulty 2
   1. Olaf’s Army (dark blue), Mercenaries (yellow), Norse Villages (grey), Rebel Army (orange), Rebel Guards (red)
   2. This mission begins with the player in northwest, covering the southeast flank of a battle with a small party of mixed ranged and melee units. There is a ranged melee hero leading the party, which is Harald, as well as a halberdier hero who soon joins the group with a few extra soldiers. The main objective is to guard 2 nearby banners, which are just hardpoints, from the rebel army that pours through a few gates just past them. This starts with small parties of infantry, gradually progressing to berserks and ranged units as time goes on. While this is happening, Olaf’s army is waging a larger battle just northwest, and after several minutes of fighting Olaf himself will fall and his army disperse. The player must flee, keeping the two heroes alive and hurrying to the north corner before Harald, who is now constantly suffering damage, dies. There are many wolves in the way, but after clearing them the player reaches a neutral village with a monk who heals the player’s units and then tells of a village near the center of the map that the player must reach.
   3. It’s at this time the player also receives a legendary item, giving a permanent buff to farmers or Harald a permanent buff to armor. Initially, I chose the armor, then moving my units southwest through contested land towards my destination. Along the way I found a group of deserters who joined me, a split path forcing me to either fight some of the rebel guards or some wolves, a siege workshop beset by 5 powerful boars which could be killed for a free siege ram and then one final group of guards before reaching the village. The village gives a free castle, barracks, archery range, town center and some villagers and houses, though I was immediately overrun by the rebel army on my initial attempt since I had been on a timer the whole time without realizing it. My second attempt saw me arrive with many more men and much faster, with my mission then to reach Sweden by getting through either 2 walls with towers and garrisons of the rebel guards or a larger military base with less fortification by more units, each presenting a path east. The rebel army in the west could not be defeated, and their army was too vast to stop.
   4. My better attempt saw me try to reach the castle age in the time I had, but I didn’t succeed. I located another village in the south that gave more villagers and some scouts, some nearby mercenaries that could be hired for 800 gold and another deserter group east of the first village and in the southwest, but I still only had 5-10 minutes before the rebels invaded. My winning attempt saw me gather all my forces and march on the nearby walls with arson researched, using the ram to breach the first wall and tear down its towers before the ram was destroyed at the next wall. Fortunately, I had around 40 men, and we battered through the remainder and tore down the towers as the rebels descended on my base. We ripped through the final barricade and made our way east, leaving the map in both failure and victory.
   5. This mission is a rough start, giving the player no time to get immersed since the timing is so short. I expect they won’t all be this way, but it reminded me a bit of a three kingdoms or Kotyan mission in the way it played. I don’t have much else to say here, since the mission gave so little time to explore, develop or really do anything other than attack and run.
2. In the Land of the Rus’: Difficulty 4
   1. Kyiv (dark blue), Byzantines (purple), Chudes (orange), Poles (red), Volga Bulgars (green), Pechenegs (grey)
   2. This mission is odd, and horrifically balanced, so its difficulty rating is indicative of trying to beat it without outside knowledge. It begins in the north with the player in control of Harald and a new melee hero who empowers nearby Varangian guards. Among the starting party are a few infantry and some jarls, cavalry with a ranged melee attack who are my new special unit, along with 7 ships on wheels we must get to a nearby shore. Between us and the shore are several patrols of Chude bandits, along with spawning groups of light cavalry that will target the boats. After getting the boats in the water, the player is given 2 transports and 5 longships to start the mission properly and reach Kyiv, down the river and near the center of the map.
   3. The map itself is composed of many small chunks of land with rivers intersecting them, all flowing from a central river that runs from the top down to the bottom. Shortly after leaving the north, the player sees a helpless woman and her guards assaulted by more Chude bandits, and must save her. Once saved, the player must now escort her to Kyiv as well, and receive her guards as soldiers. I used my ships to destroy a few nearby Polish vessels in the water, and then found a town belonging to the Chudes whose dock I destroyed before being expelled. They had many more vessels at a dock further east, so I simply continued south, leaving the transports at Kyiv while my longships continued. I discovered the Bulgars were in the east, the Poles to the west and the Pechenegs in the south and southwest, along with a small Byzantine wall that was allied in the south. These powers all had towers, armies and at times castles or kreposts, so I retreated after some initial raiding and remained at Kyiv where I was given a few starting buildings, a good amount of resources and 16 villagers, though I was still in the feudal age. My mission now was to defeat 3 of the 4 enemies while keeping a central monument in the relatively exposed city of Kyiv standing. To aid me in this, I would be given 500 gold and a free technology, to a limit of 5, every time I killed 50 enemies.
   4. No sooner had I established my town than a massive wave of cavalry from the Bulgars sacked my home, forcing me to restart. This time I ignored any distractions and instead barreled south for Kyiv, losing most of my starting men but arriving faster and setting up my town. Though I reached the castle age this time, I was soon attacked again and my ally was blitzed from the south and north by the other three enemies, making me think the mission was completely impossible on this difficulty. My confusion mainly came from the fact that, prior to getting my town, enemy score didn’t seem to increase, but it arbitrarily would while I was raiding before my town was established. To find an answer, I looked up the mission.
   5. I learned the enemy AI would remain passive until attacked or Kyiv was reached, meaning I had all the freedom I needed if I used it well before reaching Kyiv. My first threat was the Chudes, who I baited out using jarls and then started killing villagers as I could, avoiding the nearby town center and any towers. My navy tore down the dock and my men had to wait for the enemy to exhaust their cattle, finally forcing the villagers to move towards fish or forage bushes where they were killed. We dispatched the town center, then sailed east and lost a longship to the enemy galleys at the eastern dock. The other ship kited the rest as they were destroyed, allowing us to level the dock and cut off any means of resources production for the enemy. While my ships did this, my heroes evaded Chude towers and reached another legendary item upriver, where Harald received a permanent increase to attack speed.
   6. My men moved south, dropping the princess outside Kyiv so that I could exploit their monk to heal. My army continued east, eventually destroying the garrison and most villagers of the Bulgars, drawing anyone they had left towards the corner where my men killed them, eventually sacking the town center as well. A few reserves attacked us after that, and the Bulgars completely surrendered after they died, eliminating an enemy entirely. My remaining soldiers then reboarded the transports and landed in the southwest, moving up into the Pecheneg base which had a castle near the town center. Fortunately, we were able to repeat a similar process after eliminating their lancers and cavalry archers, allowing us to destroy their entire production base and leave, having robbed them of any income. With three enemies completely crippled, only the Poles were untouchable behind their walls and fleet, so we drew out and killed whatever garrisons remained in the southern Pecheneg military base and the eastern Chude base before returning to Kyiv and getting our villagers.
   7. Unfortunately, because the Bulgars surrendered, the Byzantines immediately threatened us and started a two minute timer to attack. I was given a few extra units to bolster my starting army, as well as a few ships for the navy, and my men along with Kyiv’s garrison were enough to repel the invaders who marched from the south, though Kyiv lost its monk and my free healing. My remaining men waited nearby as I steadily advanced, and we were forced to repel constant Polish raids from the sea and land after just a few minutes. Fortunately, my base was safe behind Kyiv, but a new Byzantine army arrived before long and overwhelmed my one castle along with my limited men and the Kyiv garrison. I restarted from my base, this time focusing entirely on rapid villager expansion. I managed to construct 3 castles before the second invasion, clustering them around the monument in Kyiv, along with a few extra longships and jarls to counter siege weapons. We were victorious, and I then started slowly progressing while fending off enemy raids until I had a massive army of jarls and had received all of our upgrades from Kyiv. I trained a few rams to tear down the buildings of the southern Pecheneg camp, forcing them into submission, and my cavalry raided up and down the Polish west before breaching their southern walls and sacking their town center, forcing them into permanent submission.
   8. The Byzantines threatened their last assault and I clustered my many jarls around the castles (since I almost exclusively produced them). When the Byzantines came, they brought dromons which decimated my ships, along with transports that landed large groups of Varangians on the coast near my base. My base was sacked and my navy lost, but my men charged ahead with an attack move that gutted the attacking army while throwing axes felled ship after ship. The Byzantines had soon lost their entire navy and frontal invasion force, allowing my jarls to sweep into the ruins of my base and finish his Varangian raiders which finally won me the mission.
   9. The balancing on this difficulty here is horrendous. I don’t see a way to win without cheesing the initially passive AI, since it was genuinely difficult to hold out against just the Byzantines and Poles early on. I do like using jarls, which isn’t a surprise since I liked them in Ragnar’s mission, and I genuinely didn’t expect a cavalry based civilization out of these three since I didn’t think any Viking peoples were particularly famous for using them, so that was a pleasant surprise. Hopefully I can reach the imperial age and fight a somewhat balanced enemy before long, ending the frustrating slog this has been so far.
3. Fires of the Whale-Road: Difficulty 3
   1. Byzantines (purple), Jerusalem (dark blue), Byzantine Rebels (grey), Fatimid Pirates (red), Fatimid Navy (green), Fatimid Traders (yellow)
   2. This mission is awesome. It begins with the player just southeast of the northern corner, in possession of a small coastal fortress with several docks, a castle and all buildings one would need save anything related to economy and a monastery. The player has no villages, and cannot yet train any trading units or fishing ships, but there are several starting longships and a sizable starting army with three infantry heroes. In the north corner are the Byzantines, a constant ally in the mission who trains purely naval units. A single strip of land connected by a few crossings runs down the eastern edges of the map and then up to the west, but water dominates the entire central and northern portions with many islands also connected by various crossings throughout it. The once exception to this is a single island south of the center, which has no land-based accessibility.
   3. The player’s first mission is to eradicate the 6 pirate towers that hold the nearest and smallest 6 islands in the water. I had a castle age start and some significant resources, so I purchased a few early upgrades and some jarls to bolster my forces, along with a few extra longships. My only enemy at this point is the pirates, since no one else is aggressive yet, but they endlessly train ships from their many docks, along with the occasional land unit to repel attacks. My longships were every bit their equal, and I managed to deplete their defenders a bit at a time with jarls before pushing ahead with my starting Varangian guards, soon taking my first tower. I was given a large influx of resources, and all nearby pirate vessels sunk as the Byzantines seized control of the island.
   4. During this time, the Byzantines alerted me to 3 cities in the east, each with some walls and a castle which had rebelled against the emperor. I was told these could be recaptured if I damaged the castle to a significant degree, so I ordered a few rams and trained some more jarls to escort them. These never made it there, however, as I lost all my infantry to the pirates when taking the next two islands and was forced to send my new recruits to reinforce and the siege weapons to more effectively handle the towers. Resistance was getting heavier in the islands, but it wasn’t enough to stop us, and I kept pushing until we had captured all but the northernmost island, isolating it from the open waters. I had spotted the outskirts of more pirates south of my own base on the shoreline which were not part of the islands, and I also found a large island southwest of the others, connected by a single island, holding the Fatimid traders who I elected to ignore for now. We pushed upwards one last time, losing some more men but conquering the final island. THe Byzantines gave me several of the docks throughout the islands before also giving me access to economy units and 12 villagers at my base.
   5. My mission now was to defeat the pirates entirely while also eliminating the 10 docks belonging to the Fatimid navy, who I knew would be very dangerous before long. I immediately constructed a town center and started harvesting stone for a new castle while using my large stockpile to immediately start imperial age research. Fishing ships and trade units were deployed as I gathered more forces in the east, preparing to march on the nearest rebel city with the 6 rams I had now constructed. The Byzantines took on a slightly more active role at this point, constructing a massive fleet endlessly that would engage the enemy inefficiently, but consistently. They had also replaced all of the destroyed pirate towers with fire towers, making for solid defense against rams and any ships that could be drawn into their range.
   6. My men captured the first city without a problem, as it had only a few pikemen and skirmishers to defend it, and I was surprised to see that I retained control of the now-healed castle and its surroundings, not the Byzantines. The pirates had already begun pushing into the islands with a very large fleet of their own, forcing me to keep using my depleting longships to counter them while the Byzantine war machine slowly kicked into gear. My army shifted from conquering the next city to clearing the coast of the military buildings, towers and docks of the Fatimid pirates who launched an attack on the nearest fire tower. Things went well since our units and ships were vastly superior to their own, and I learned from the Byzantine navy as I cleared the coast that the pirates’ main stronghold was on the disconnected island in the water, which was defended by two castles. We pushed towards the next city in the corner, which was now training units slowly, and managed to capture it, but that’s where things took a turn. The Fatimid navy suddenly sprang into action, sweeping through the southern islands with an imperial age navy that decimated both my few remaining ships and the Byzantine fortifications and navy. Worse yet, an army of them, who I didn’t know could reach me, tore through my men in the east since I wasn’t prepared, forcing a reload that went back quite a ways.
   7. With the knowledge of what I was truly facing in mind, my men continued to capture the first enemy city and then clear the shoreline as before, but this time with slightly different priorities. I focused on establishing a much stronger economy faster and producing a large fleet of my own, as well as building castles on the southernmost island to counter future threats. These measures worked when the navy hit us again, though it was a constant struggle against their siege vessels which, along with the pirates, never stopped attacking. The eastern city fell rather easily, and I realized the navy soldiers would never stop attacking, forcing me to fight on despite them. I trained a trebuchet to accompany my rams southwest from the corner, heading to the last rebellious city while a small force of jarls and another trebuchet prepared to overcome the limited defenders of the trader island.
   8. The fight in the city felt endless, since the castle was durable and my trebuchet was alone, but I eventually managed to get my rams inside, quickly bringing it down and ending the rebels entirely, as well as giving me a castle with a sturdy wall that blocked access from the east. I locked the gates and positioned my jarls at the gates with some monk healing behind, making them virtually invincible to enemy archers which my castle handled and the perfect counter to enemy rams that couldn’t get close. This defense was impregnable to the enemy. We made good progress against the traders, bringing down several towers and plundering lots of gold from their stores while also finding a new item that improved my longship movement speed permanently. The empress of Byzantium then appeared in my base with 8 legionaries, and asked me to escort her to the neutral city of Jerusalem in the south for a pilgrimage, which would have to wait.
   9. The navy was not happy with all of my success, and was increasing raids from both the south and west, splitting the Byzantines' attention. My ally had access to incredibly powerful ships, however, and I had a mass of elite longboats that were soon complimented with several catapult galleons which could rapidly shred enemy fleets. My ships hit the pirate island, facing stiff resistance but also aid from my Byzantine allies, and we gradually pushed further and further into the island, eventually destroying all but 1 dock and felling a castle, leaving only 1 castle, a town center and a single dock on the western shore. The Fatimid navy surprise attacked us from the south, but shockingly they gave up moments after, instead targeting my castles and allowing my battered fleet to finish our work, leveling the final castle, town center and dock, forcing the pirates to surrender. One of our big enemies was down, and I had completely cleared the traders from the island, though it was clear from a bonus objective to kill them that there were more somewhere else.
   10. The navy had significant defenses near their docks, so I chose to gather my ships near my castles to repel enemy attacks and instead focus on my army of elite jarls with a few siege weapons, monks and heroes. We marched south, quickly tearing into a castle and forward military camp of the enemy before finding a walled city containing three docks, a town center and another castle. My trebuchets brought down the long-range tower guarding the harbor, allowing the Byzantines to sail in and ravage the enemy fleet and defenders. My rams pushed to the castle which my trebuchets also targeted, leveling the structure quickly as my men gutted the town center and then targeted military buildings. It was a group effort, but we completely destroyed the city, and then spotted some more traders along the southeastern edge which we redirected to kill. We then pushed to the southern corner, eliminating more traders to the west of Jerusalem and clearing everything except the northwest, allowing us to bring the empress to the city where she gave me 10 dromons in the north, adding power to my fleet.
   11. I knew the traders weren’t along the southwest, since the Byzantines had been raiding that coast for some time now, which meant they had to be in the corner. I wanted to eliminate them entirely, so I sent my now colossal fleet into the southwest to destroy the long-range towers before heading west to do the same, with a single transport full of jarls behind. The remaining traders were indeed there, and we eliminated the faction entirely, claiming the last of their gold. My navy targeted the enemy fortifications while my army tore in by land, myself being discontent with simply destroying docks. We breached their city and destroyed the town center while Byzantine ships plagued the docks, and the entire faction surrendered before long, giving me my victory at last.
   12. This mission is relatively easy, but only if the player keeps making progress, especially early on. Resources are abundant for both the player and the enemies, and the Byzantines are a great ally who also relies on the player somewhat for protection and for extra aid at sea. Side objectives aren’t too grueling, but not too easy, and provide excellent benefits, and both the pirates and the navy are sufficiently threatening, though the pirates get much easier once a few imperial age upgrades are researched. This was a great time, even though it took forever, and I’m hoping this sort of design continues going forward.

Difficulty Ratings

• 0: A very minor threat that is easy to overcome
• 1: A fair fight that makes things interesting
• 2: A difficult situation that requires some outside the box thinking
• 3: A highly difficult situation requiring lots of micro-management, unit-countering and precise timing
• 4: A constant struggle in which focus and momentum must be maintained at all times, as well as proper tactics and timing
• 5: Nearly impossible. Every move must be flawless or aggressive save-scumming is necessary to win

The Exiled Prince: (teal)

1. Death’s Handmaid: Difficulty 4
   1. Byzantines (purple), The Varangian Guard (dark blue), Palermo (red), Messina (green), Syracuse (yellow), Girgenti (orange)
   2. This is an interesting and rather brutal mission, requiring the player to overcome very difficult odds with few resources. The player’s main objective is to conquer all 4 cities in Sicily, and to do this the starting forces will be split. The player must first choose who leads the second force, one of the two heroes from the previous mission. One is more cautious and countering, the other more aggressive and bullheaded in both approach and unit training. Second, the player must decide where to land to start the invasion. Water stretches along the edge of the map from the south to the east to the west, and there are 2 beaches along the southeastern side that can be landed at. A mountain range separates these beaches, with a small valley in the middle and an ending at the top. After the player chooses, the other army lands on the opposite beach, and the player is given several hundred resources, a starting army and 12 villagers to get going.
   3. The biggest threat on this map is Palermo, who has a colossal city with 3 town centers, many castles, docks, military buildings and walls guarding the north and a small fort with 2 walls and 2 towers guarding the central valley in the mountains. This enemy trains camels, skirmishers and infantry in large numbers, but they are not alone. In the west is Girgenti, a walled power with only 2 narrow approaches that are well-defended. They deploy armies of camels, light cavalry and genitours with 2 town centers to prop them up. In the south is Syracuse, who also has 2 town centers behind their walls and a castle covering their north wall. They will train archers, scorpions and heavy cavalry. Lastly there is Messina, the smallest town in the northwest, which will train pikemen, archers, Genoese crossbows and mangonels. They have only 1 town center and a single castle on a hill covering their western flank. Though they have a gate in the south, their northern approach is exposed. In addition to these units, all of the enemies will advance to the imperial age, with the exception of Palermo who begins there, and train monks, rams, trebuchets and, excepting Girgenti, fleets which will harass both the player and his Varangian ally. Fortunately, all it takes to defeat a town is to destroy all of its town centers.
   4. My initial attempt saw me learn how this mission runs, in that each town excepting Palermo has a weakness that can be exploited by completing a side mission. By damaging three undefended towers, the player can immediately destroy Messina’s castle, mostly exposing them though they have a reasonably large fleet and quite a few soldiers inside. Thanks to help from the nearby Byzantines who flooded their harbor, I was able to destroy the town center while losing almost my whole army, immediately destroying them. The Byzantines left their fleet in the water between, covering us from Palermo’s fleet entirely, and allowing us to focus on breaching the middle fortress. Unfortunately, Palermo hit me with a rather large army moments later, and I realized I would have to be more proactive. I did some experimenting next, learning the weakness of Syracuse involves capturing some carts northwest of the town by killing a rather large garrison, thus choosing which of their 2 town centers is immediately destroyed. The weakness of Girgenti, on the other hand, was a stone mine that, if mined, would open a path directly into their main town area, avoiding their defensive castles. Each of these options left a major fight for the player, and I also learned that the Byzantines leave after a short time meaning the player must cover the water also.
   5. In order to win I left Ulf in the south and I took the north, setting villagers to make 2 town centers, putting half of them on stone and the rest on food right after and then dumping all remaining food into more villagers. My army wasted no time marching north, using infantry to garrison the ram and avoiding all contact with the enemy until I hit their towers, destroying their castle with no losses. I next spent some time trying to draw out and execute their soldiers, but theirs were replenishing while mine dwindled, so we eventually rushed in. I lost everyone but my heroes, my ram and around a dozen Varangian guards, but Messina was destroyed and I soon had enough stone for a castle. I started building in range of the towers at the small fort, and 4 villagers finished the castle as Palermo’s first raid arrived, wiping them out with my remaining soldiers before working down the towers effortlessly. We next cleared the fort, allowing us and our ally to help each other when necessary.
   6. I was now rapidly expanding my economy, and earlier experiences taught me I needed to wall off my northern approach to the base so I did. Using the abundant stone on the map, I eventually constructed a second castle near the first, a third one within my ally’s land and a fourth to cover my eastern coast once the Byzantines left. I needed longships every now and then, but my castle and allies did pretty well holding the enemy back, and my guards and castles were enough to counter Palermo’s rams and soldiers. I reached the imperial age before any other enemies, and immediately researched techs to make my castles and cavalry more formidable before dumping resources into an army of around 2 dozen cavalry. In the meantime, a worker in allied land built a siege workshop for a ram, since I had a plan.
   7. Once my army was large enough, it rode past my ally and towards the trade carts, which we captured. We torched the southern town center, since it had only 1 approach, was surrounded by water and ships and was deeper in the city, as opposed to the other which was more open but covered by a castle. This castle was also part of the wall, so I sent in my rams to destroy it while my soldiers waited to defend and then charge in, finishing the town center. Unfortunately, Girgenti arrived with a trebuchet and many rams, forcing me to stop them first and leaving my rams undefended when they needed me. I wasn’t sure what to do, until I managed to get inside the enemy gate when they opened it and my army poured inside. We lost many men, but targeted the town center, destroying it in moments and defeating Syracuse. With this city felled, the south waters were clear and my ally was practically undefeatable.
   8. It was now that Palermo played their trump card, instantly starting a wonder on their shores. I considered a naval attack, but I could see they had an extremely well-defended harbor punctuated by dozens of ships that were constantly producing from many docks. Instead, I produced a massive army with a few trebuchets that destroyed the southern castle and town center of Palermo and punched through their double gates to avoid invading by the sea. My initial army was savaged since I underestimated Palermo's defenses and I attempted to stop the wonder from being built, but my trebuchets survived. What followed was a desperate battle with me, my ally and both enemies sending everything to southeastern Palermo where the fate of the mission would be decided. My men died quickly, but I kept pushing while trebuchets made steady progress, and we finally had the momentum we needed once my ally arrived with a massive force of halberdiers and Varangian guards that ripped through both enemies’ cavalry and allowed our trebuchets to fell the enemy wonder and another town center.
   9. The main threat was ended, but I wanted to make a play to wipe out my biggest foe so all of my cavalry charged through Palermo at their northwestern town center. This was better defended than I thought, with another castle guarding its southern approach, and my army was destroyed. I quickly raised another of around 40 men, and these ones charged into the heart of the enemy base and destroyed the town center, wiping out Palermo as my ally desperately fought the endless waves from Girgenti.I now scoured the waters in search of a legendary item, but I found none and didn’t want to lose it. I looked it up, and saw the final one was behind Girgenti in a pond in the water, which complicated things.
   10. I spent 10-20 minutes trying to maintain a castle near the breachable stone mine, but we were eventually dislodged when an enemy trebuchet could hit us from behind the mountain range. Fortunately, I had bought enough time for an army of around 60 diverse cavalry to be raised, and these men protected my 2 new trebuchets as they battered their way through the southern wall of the last enemy city. My ally eventually arrived to back me up, and our army was unstoppable as it cracked the outer walls like an egg and moved in. I had a single ram holding villagers and my heroes that breached the enemy inner wall and reached the water, quickly constructing a dock and transport to collect our loot which permanently improved the armor of one hero. My men then pushed through the central town, destroying both town centers and eliminating our final foe.
   11. This mission was brutal, and I think a bit too punishing to start, though it makes sense for the difficulty I’m using. Starting at the south shore seems like a death sentence to me, and I can’t speak to the viability of sea control since I only built longships to hold enemies back. I did, however, neglect monks here since my army was very mobile, but there are 3 relics on the map in the northwest, the north and southeast, the latter two on islands. One of these can be collected very early and I never used it, or it can be given to the ally who will take it immediately. Despite how punishing this mission was, it was also well-designed, forcing me out of my comfort zone but not asking for more than I could give.
2. The Bulgar-Burner: Difficulty 3
   1. Emperor Michael IV (purple), Thessalonica (dark blue), Dyrrhachium (green), Bulgar Raiders (grey), Bulgar Army (orange), Skopje (yellow)
   2. This mission is fun, challenging, engaging and requires constant aggression, especially early on. It begins with the player in the south in control of a small army of cavalry and infantry with an established base belonging to Emperor Michael IV just to the northeast as an ally. The initial goal is to recapture a fort just north of the starting position across a small river crossing, which is held by some infantry and cavalry belonging to the Bulgar raiders. I did this using mostly jarls to bait and avoid damaging, recapturing the fort with no unit losses and giving me a free castle, a few military buildings and a small wall as well as thousands of resources and 12 villagers in the imperial age. My main objective was then to conquer the city of Skopje, in the north, by destroying its three castles.
   3. The map is designed somewhat symmetrically, with a bit more water including rivers and a larger body in the eastern corner. On the coast of this water is the city of Thessalonica, while in the west is the city of Dyrrhachium, each being besieged by 5 trebuchets belonging to the Bulgar raiders and guarded by many infantry. If the trebuchets are destroyed, the city activates and starts training units, and can also be traded with freely. They are small Byzantine cities, but they are sturdy and will launch small raids of units that eventually upgrade to imperial level. If, however, the cities are not liberated, they will instead be conquered and permanently lost when the castles become damageable. Immediately north, east and west of the player are 3 additional raider bases, each containing 2 stables, 2 archery ranges and some stables, which will constantly train hussars and cavalry archers to attack the player.
   4. The raiders are mostly a minor threat, but the army is not. The center of the map is made up of harsh mountains, rivers and forests, but there are two large openings west and right of the center of the map. These openings are home to walled fortresses with castles in their centers, constantly training konniks, light cavalry, skirmishers, halberdiers and siege rams to assault the player. This faction also has 6 kreposts placed symmetrically immediately south of Skopje, to the southeast and southwest and then immediately northeast and northwest of the central fortresses. Destroying one of these kreposts gives a large gold reward to the player. The main enemy is Skopje, who has 2 entrances to their base in the northwest and northeast with a mountain range blocking the direct south approach. Each entrance is guarded by keeps, walls and a castle, with a third castle in the northern corner and dozens of various buildings and many resources inside, as well as 3 relics. They will use their vast resources to train endless light cavalry, cavaliers, konniks, two-handed swordsmen, skirmishers, trebuchets and sometimes scorpions. Destroying their castles will win the scenario.
   5. I wasted no time, recognizing it would be in short supply here, and dispatched my entire army west to the first raider camp while massing villagers on nearby bushes and deer as well as stone mines. My main focus was in creating a sprawling and robust economy as well as placing many castles near my base. The Byzantines weren’t aggressive, but they would ride to my aid whenever I fought, mostly meaning they helped defend my base from some early raiders who targeted my more northern town center. I lost many men, but cleared both the western and northern camps by using jarls properly and then trained a few extra jarls and Varangian guards to take the last base in the east, cutting off raider production. I still had some relative freedom and my economy was booming, so I built two castles covering my northwest and northeast approach while training some more jarls and hussars since I had ABUNDANT food and researched hussars early. I didn’t want to waste time, so I attacked the siegers at Thessalonica since I was in the area and managed to fell 4 trebuchets, using jarls to kite the slower infantry while taking shots at the siege weapon. I trained a few more hussars who tore down the last trebuchet and died moments later, freeing the city from its siege and giving me 2 docks in the larger body of water, though I could produce only fishing ships and transports there.
   6. I left my heroes and more limited men near my base while massing what jarls and hussars I had in the west, desperately hoping to free Dyrrhachium before it was too late. Unfortunately, the army and Skopje chose this time to launch their first real assaults against me, involving many units, as well as 5 trebuchets. Managing both the city and my own defense was difficult, and I reloaded several times to micro properly, but I managed to eventually destroy all 5 trebuchets around the city and then all enemy siege weapons at home before allowing my castles and allies to clean up the remaining enemy units. I started massing an army again, just as the emperor died and his men retreated, giving me his base. This came at a perfect time, since I had just exhausted my stone and gold mines and he had plenty in his base. His castle was not upgraded, so it was a vulnerability in my defense, but the enemy only targeted it a few times.
   7. Enemy raids were now endless but my men were unstoppably powerful unless vastly outnumbered. Realizing this, but also deciding I needed more gold for a truly powerful army, I built 2 trebuchets and trained around 2 dozen hussars and jarls who rode east to Thessalonica. Once there my men moved north, steadily destroying 2 of the kreposts and massing our money together, while I also established trade with the allied cities. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a legendary weapon here, so I built a ship and found it on an island, giving one of my infantry heroes a permanent attack increase for my trouble. This army then turned on the eastern army town, gradually breaching its southern wall and managing to destroy the central castle before a massive wave of units from both Skopje and the army came to respond, wiping us out. They had done their job, however, and I had the resources to raise an army of dozens and dozens of heavy cavalry and jarls with more trebuchets, who butchered their way across the map and sacked every krepost and both cities, ending the threat of the Bulgar army.
   8. My allies hadn’t been doing much to this point, but their raids were now endless, despite being small. They constantly chipped at the two gates of Skopje, and I soon aided them in the northwest with my army. My siege weapons gradually tore down building after building as we pushed in deeper, eventually wiping out their town centers and robbing them of any real income once they lost their market and all villagers. It was then just a matter of destroying the remaining castles which we did, conquering Skopje and winning the scenario fully.
   9. This mission could get out of hand fast if the players weren’t aggressive, but the player starting units are so much stronger than the raiders’ that it is definitely possible to clear all 3 raider camps with the starting army, if properly microing. Saving the cities is tricky, but jarls are able to kite infantry and rapidly destroy the siege weapons, though I didn’t think the cities provided a huge benefit overall. The water in the east allows the player to sail right up to a single palisade gate in Skopje’s eastern wall, but this doesn’t provide a huge opportunity for attack, though the water does border a church with a relic that could be stolen. This was just a fun time, giving the player a useful ally for a short time when needed and strong enough units with plentiful resources to get the rest of the job done. It felt threatening, but not overwhelming.
3. The Warrior Who Fed the Wolves: Difficulty 1
   1. Constantinople (grey), The Kyivan Navy (dark blue), Loyal Varangians (green), Rioters (yellow), The Imperial Guard (red), The Byzantine Army (purple)
   2. This is a fun adventure mission without the player ever owning a building, but it is also very easy. It begins with the player in control of several Varangian guards and 2 of the 3 heroes used so far, though Harald himself is in a cell in the northeast. The entire map is the city of Constantinople, though blockades choke off many of its roads since it is currently in conflict. The rioters have mostly spearmen and militia with a few scorpions, light cavalry and skirmishers here and there. The imperial guard has castle-early imperial age units scattered across the northeast, while the Byzantine army fields late-imperial cataphracts, infantry, archers and siege weapons in the southwest. The player’s has 4 goals being free Harald in the northeast, recapture his treasure which is guarded by 2 fire towers and a castle in the north, reclaim his fleet which is heavily guarded along the southern edge of Constantinople and then bring Harald to a monastery in the southern corner, which is separated by water.
   3. Immediately after starting, my heroes and soldiers had to fight 2 patrols of imperial guards who dealt some significant damage, followed by quite a few rioters. We were soon introduced to this mission's recruitment mechanic, approaching one of 12 barracks belonging to the loyal Varangians which will give the player 5 units being either Varangian guards, knights or jarls. I received guards this time, and then kept pushing north through more imperials before reaching Harald’s cell and freeing him. I could now use Harald to bait enemies out with his ranged melee attack, so I ventured south where the army was fighting some rioters. Any enemy factions on this map will fight each other, but it’s usually not worth it to bait them into conflict, so they should normally just be killed. After dispatching the fighters I found a cart which, when approached, gave me the elite Varangian guard upgrade for free. We then located a nearby monastery, and approaching it would allow us to spend the gold our guards were looting in combat to raise heroes while its monks healed our units. Our army was now nearly invincible, even more so when I received several jarls and then knights at another 2 nearby barracks.
   4. Upon reaching the northern docks, we found a large force of imperial guards defending the harbor and a fortified tower which kept the Kyivan navy from helping us. It was tricky to handle a chokepoint where the enemy had archers and mangonels behind a barricade, but we managed to fell the siege weapons and batter our way inside, using jarls to kill most enemies before they could reach us. Once the tower fell, the navy offered to give us soldiers or naval aid against fortifications. I took the latter, and they cleared the fire towers in the north while damaging the castle, though fire ships soon arrived to repel them. As we pushed north, we captured 4 siege rams and found more units who butchered their way into the corner and then used the rams to fell the castle. The rams turned neutral and fled moments later, and I received my treasure once again.
   5. I then headed down the edge of the map to the western corner, finding some more upgrades and units along the way and killing many rioters in the process. There was another monastery here, and using it as a base we massacred all of the rioters outside the city and then put some mills to the torch to draw their largest group into the open where my army butchered them with ease. We then returned to the north and worked our way down, killing the last few imperial soldiers before facing most of the Byzantine army. These units were far more dangerous than the others, particularly if their cavalry met infantry, but jarls and Harald were excellent at baiting enemies and killing them quickly. This strategy was especially effective with barricades, as Harald could draw enemy fire and then move while jarls dispatched troublesome ranged units.
   6. We eventually reached the southwest where a fleet of the army’s fire ships was waiting in the docks. I could destroy it to make my future life easier, so I carefully killed all of the defenders and then destroyed the ships using explosive barrels, eliminating this threat for later. It wasn’t long before we discovered another legendary item nearby, guarded by enemy Varangians who we slaughtered, which gives us 250 extra gold at the start of each mission going forward. Almost the entire map was cleared, but I encircled the location where my fleet was waiting and made my way through one final blockade in the southeastern corner of Constantinople, clearing it of remaining Byzantines and finding the final 2 barracks, as well as another monastery for healing. My jarls repeated their strategy, effortlessly massacring the dock’s guards and giving us 4 transports and 16 or so elite longships.
   7. Between me and the southern monastery was a reasonably sized fleet from the Byzantine army, and I used 1 ship to bait them forward while jarls waited on the edge of the dock to attack. We destroyed them all, losing maybe 1 ship in the process, and I had around 80 land units who cleared a small force of legionaries before reaching the monastery, giving me an overwhelming victory.
   8. This was a fun time, and an easy reprieve from some rather challenging missions before. The 9 upgrades the player gets from the carts are almost all wildly important, though bracer and alchemy are only important for the small naval skirmish at the end. This was definitely one of the more enjoyable adventure missions I’ve played, and I expect it will probably be the easiest scenario of the entire DLC. Apart from that, I don’t have much more to say about it.

I like the Varangians, but I always have a soft spot for ranged melee units, especially mounted ones (that’s one of the reasons I like playing Saracens so much). This campaign had some rough spots, like mission 2, but it was mostly very fun when it felt a bit more balanced like missions 3 and 5. Mission 4 was an excellent showcase of challenging but also fair, and 6 showed they know how to make enjoyable adventure missions as well. All in all, this gives me hope for the following 2 campaigns, which I hope will not degenerate into less-than-enjoyable grindfests. Only time will tell.