Our Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends strategy guide details all the campaign scenarios you might encounter. Might? Yup, as you can choose your own way through the world map, not all of them are obligatory to complete. Here you'll find walkthroughs to all missions from Vinci, Alin, and Cuotl campaigns.
The only scenarios that are not explained in detail are the Skirmish ones, missions no different from any game you play in that quasi-multiplayer mode. They are initially connected to some of the territories in each of the 3 campaigns, and also appear every time you loose a territory and want to reclaim it (in other words, you don't get to repeat story-based missions this way). The way you play them is pretty obvious and is based mostly on you overall knowledge of the game's mechanisms.
HINT: There are no real "better" and "worse" ways to choose your path through the world map, so we don't suggest anything in this matter. Feel free to make your own choices. Oh, and, you know.. Have fun.
Defeat two enemy infantry units and follow the map marker (1). Defeat the unit that's guarding the bridge (2), and destroy the gate to cross it. Destroy everything in your way, including enemy barracks (3).
Take over the nearby inn (1) and train a few units. Head North. Destroy enemy turret and a glass cage, in which Giacomo's armor is trapped (2). A heroine named Venza will join you now. Reclaim the mine to the East and continue on to Condottieri outpost (3) to take it over. When you feel strong enough, attack the Dark Alin to the South (4).
HINT: If you gather all 10 relics (marked with * on the map), you'll get 2 Clockwork Spiders for free.
HINT: There are a few soldiers trapped in glass cages on the map. Free them to get some free units.
Gain control over the second mine and an airbase to the South (1). Use one of the air transports to move your units to the other side of the gap (2). You'll meet Lenora there. Use Giacomo's Augmentation to repair her flyer and she will join forces with you. Take over the city a bit to the North (3). You can build yourself another mine over there.
On the eastern "island" there are a few settlements that can be conquered (4). When you claim them all, you'll get a nice army of infantry and cavalry to help your cause. When you feel you're ready, attack the Sky Crusher (5). It's not guarded too well so you should easily destroy it.
HINT: There's a bonus quest in this mission that requires you to research Mining 1, build a Telescope (it's and upgrade for a Research Lab), and train 3 Clockwork Men and 2 Steam Cannons.
There's an inn you should take over to the East (1), and a city to the North (2). Build barracks and start training infantry. Your goal is to have 1500 Timonium on your account - so it's reasonable to construct Clockwork Men, which only cost you Wealth. Gain control over the mine to the North (3). When you gather a strong army, attack 4 mines to the East (4). Invest in miners and wait for the mission to complete itself.
Generally it pays to invest in various upgrades in this one, even though they cost Timonium and can delay your success.
All the machines in this region formed some kind of mutiny and turned against the humans. You have to take care of that. Defeat the robots attacking the city and conquer it. Start to expand your base, with time gaining control over the mines to the South (1).
When you expand your city with new districts, try to build Military ones to the South, as their turret function will come in handy when it comes to defeating enemy attackers.
When you control all 4 additional mines (conquering the one marked with (2) will almost automatically engage you into a fight with the machines), attack the enemy base (3).
Your biggest concern in this mission is Scavenger Boss, a powerful mechanical spider with gigantic amount of HP. Use Carlini's Snipe ability to help you defeat it. The scenario will end when you destroy both the Boss and the enemy base.
When you start the mission, you are given a choice: you can either join the Forzi (4 Army Points) or the Montuchio (4 Wealth).
Should you decise to join Montiuchio, you'll have to defend the castle against enemy attaca. You don't control any cities, and you can only afford to train a few units. Get yourself one Dragoon, and spend the rest on Condottieri Soldiers. Use the Dragoon to get all the relics on the map, so you can afford to train some more troops. Research Prosperity 1, which will prove essential as it gives your units the ability to auto-heal while on friendly terriroty.
You have to resist the enemy for 15 minutes. There's additional bonus quest to conquer all 4 (1) Forzi encampments. It's both risky and difficult. You don't have too many troops to spare and the enemy always attacks you from 2 or 3 sides. Lowering the defenses is the worst thing you can do here.
The same mission is a lot easier if you decide to join the Forzi. Just as before, you are given a bonus quest to conquer all 4 Condottieri outposts (1) before attacking the central castle. This time you don't have any time limit and Montuchio's attacks are weak and easy to take care of. All you have to do is to keep a few troops in your starting base, and use your main army to take over the settlements. The more you control, the higher is your resource income rate.
The enemy will rarely attack your positions, mostly targeting the southern base. With time, try to guard every encampment with 2-3 units. When you control all 4 additional encampments, you'll get powerful reinforcements. Use them to attack the central castle and end the scenario. Your opponent won't be able to defend against such a force.
A simple Skirmish-like scenario, in which you have to take over all enemy cities. Your reflexes in conquering neutral territories is the key in here. Try to form a few separate units and use them to take over neutral encampments and cities ASAP. Time is essential. Concentrate mostly on mines - when you have the upper hand with resources, you won't have any problems winning the match.
Your first goal is to conquer 3 places: a settlement (1), a mine (2) and a city (3). Start to expand your base (train miners in your western mine), and send your troops to the North, where they can take over your targets. You can also consider buying these locations for your Wealth.
When you complete the initial task, you will be told to destroy the enemy bunkers (5) and take over the capital (6). You'll also get a bonus quest to send Lenora to the Pirata City (4). Head over there, avoiding any contact with the enemy. The Pirata will propose a deal: you give them 300 Timonium and 300 Wealth, and they will produce 3 Destroyers for you. Fair for me.
All that's left is to break through the enemy defenses. You'll need some siege weapons to destroy those bunkers. The capital can be easily conquered using air transports to move your troops near it from the south (6). No defenses there.
Conquer the second mine, North of the base (1). After a few minutes you'll be asked for help by local mercenaries (2). Use your caravans to trade with them (happens automatically, just build enough of these), and after a while you'll get a set of free cavalry units. Gather your troops and attack the alien shipwreck (3). When you destroy it, you'll get another task: conquer the enemy base (5), after destroying the reactor that's powering it (4).
When you attack the reactor, the enemy hero will probably show himself to defend it. It's a good opportunity to get rid of him. When you feel strong enough, attack the main city. Meanwhile, form your defenses in a narrow pass between (5) and (4).
A Skirmish. Let's make example of this one and go through it just as if it was a common, story-based mission.
Use your forces to take over the city to the North as soon as possible (1). You should manage to do so before the enemy, which will greatly increase your economical potential. Expand your territory, try to snatch as much terrain as you can for yourself. The enemy will probably beat you to storming northern and southern cities (2 and 3), but he won't be guarding them too tight. Even a small set of troops can reclaim them for you. With time, try to move your main forces to the center of the map (4), where the enemy's attacks will be hardest.
Controlling the central area of the map is your key to victory here. Defend it with all your strengths, and this way you will get the enemy's attention to a degree that he doesn't have time to expand anywhere else. When you control most of the map and the enemy's left with only one main city (5), gather your forces and go get him.
A Skirmish.
This one is based mostly on air forces, so it you've been investing tech points into them, now's the time you receive your credit. If not, it will be a bit more difficult, but certainly beatable. At the beginning, reclaim the nearby mines and conquer another city (1). The enemy will send his troops to attack you on a regular basis, so have some turrets and troops constantly guarding your base.
After a few minutes, you'll get two bonus quests: to conquer all the air bases (2) and to free the Condottieri from a prison (3). Wait until you feel your base is secure, and then strike. Among the Condottieri there is another hero who will join you, Bataglion (quite a nice fella, useful in storming cities).
When the whole south-eastern region is in your possession, start training your air force. Get some Pirata Flyers, Zeppelins, and, if you discovered them, Destroyers. Use them to attack the western "island" (4). There's another encampment and a mine waiting for you to conquer. Next, take care of the small city to the east (5). It won't be that easy, but you shouldn't have any problems (provided you have strong economic background). You can also try to use a transport to get your land forces there.
When controlling 3 cities and 5 mines, you can't really loose. Take a breath and use your air units to storm the enemy capital (6).
Start with storming the mine to the northeast (1). Expand your territory due North, conquering the second city (2) and another mine. After a while you'll join forces with Distuzio, who will provide you with even more Timonium sources.
Expand your economy, using your troops to gain control over more and more neutral spots, including the third city (3). The enemy is unusually passive in this scenario, all he does is sending some suicide attacks on Distruzio and his men. There's a bonus quest to take control over all Condottieri outposts (4).
When you control the whole map save for the enemy territory, gather your troops and strike the opponent down.
You have to choose 3 heroes who will accompany you in this one. You don't have a base here, all you do is commanding a small strike force.
Destroy the enemy mine (1). Follow the path and free the Golem, which will trigger a bonus quest Find the Master. We'll get to that. Break into the prison and free 4 lieutenants that are being kept here (marked with *). Any troops you free in here will join you, so take your time. Freeing the Genie (3) will complete the aforementioned sub-quest.
Your last task is to free the last lieutenant, the one who is being held in a special cell (4) and guarded personally by the Warden. You have to kill the latter. Hurry up, as you have a tight time limit for this one.
Storm the mine to the North (1) and to the East (2). If you continue on to expand to the East, you'll eventually be engaged in a battle for the enemy city on this side of the bridge (3). Don't hurry with it, try to raise you Resource Cap and produce enough units to feel safe.
When you feel strong enough, attack the enemy city, and gain control over all his installments on this side of the bridge. You'll get yourself another mine and a Telescope (4). You can't turtle-up yet, as the enemy will try to destroy the bridge using Demolition Trucks (you loose if you let that happen).
Place a strong set of troops on the bridge to defend it. You'll surely loose a lot of them, but it doesn't matter as you already have enough money to constantly train new ones. Gather a strong army and destroy the Steam Factory North of the bridge (5). It will stop the enemy attacks and enable you to accumulate your strength for one, final blow (6).
There's a lot of place to expand your business here from the very beginning. There are 2 mines on your territory, and there are 4 more to conquer easily. Try to get another city (1) as soon as possible, and then turn North to get another mine and yet another base (2). Resources are essential here, so construct Merchant Districts and train miners and caravans like crazy.
All the enemy attacks in this phase go through his main base on this side of the bridge (3). You can't deal with it yet, as it's defended by a gigantic cannon called The Hammer. Avoiding its shots is possible (just run away from the mark on the ground when it's warming up), but it's devastating to do that when engaged in a battle.
There are 3 mines controlled by Clockworked Miners on the map (4). It's a great idea to buy, not storm them. This way you get to keep the Miners, who are much more efficient than common ones.
Another location worth mentioning is the neutral city to the East (5). A great spot to strike with an army of Destroyers. There are two ammo depots near it. Use your air units to destroy them (focus the fire on these buildings!), and the resulting explosions will take out the enemy units that are defending them.
Its quite possibile that the enemy will throw a large army to retaliate after that. If you don't feel strong enough to defend the (5) city, let it go. It's not that important for now.
When you have enough troops, attack the main enemy base on this side of the bridge (3). Hammer will make it difficult for you, but hey, you've got 9 mines and 3 cities under your command! When you claim the city, Doge will destroy the bridge. Doesn't matter. Just get rid of everything the enemy has on this side and wait before your forces are restored to full strength.
Now it's time to get rid of that Hammer thingy. It's guarded by a Leviathan. If you don't know what it is, try to remember the Monte Laguna boss. Juggernauts, Destroyers, Super Clockwork Men - we're talking BIG here, so don't save on units. When you defeat the Leviathan, Giacomo will be able to use his Augmentation to take it over. Reclaim the Hammer and use it to destroy the base to the northwest (7), thus completing one of the bonus quests. Now all you have to do is to destroy the main city (8). It will be nothing but pleasure with this kind of "upper hand" you now have.
Head westwards. Destroy two Circles of Sand on your way (1). When you reach the settlement (2), destroy everything and follow the journeyman and the artifact. Your Clockwork Men are pretty useless here - they will eventually fall apart.
Destroy the other Circles of Sand (3). You'll reach a construction made of dark glass (4). The journeyman will turn out to be an evil Genie and attack you, but you'll be saved by Alin reinforcements.
First you have to resist a heavy attack from Dark Alin (1). Build a Circle of Sand and train as much infantry as you can. Use Arri's Summon Rukh ability to get a free additional unit. You are being attack simultaneously from three sides. Thing are worst on the South, where Marwan himself is commanding his troops. When you defeat all attackers, you will be automatically transported to your new base, which you have to expand in order to prepare for the next attack.
Start with getting a second mine to the South (2). Your goal is to build a Sand Spire, a Circle of Sand and take over the nearby Trading Post (3). The thing is, Dark Alin will come and attack you in large numbers when you complete this task. Their attack is tough to defend if you don't have a lot of good units, so take your time to build up and don't rush things up. There's a second city (4) to the North that can prove useful. It's not heavily guarded, Giacomo and Arri together will manage to take it over.
When you complete the quest, Dark Alin will appear from below the ground. First you have to survive their attack. Their toughest blow strikes at the Trading Post (3), so concentrate your troops there. Remember that about your heroes' abilities, they can save your butt a few times in here.
To finish the mission, you have to destroy all 5 Glass Spires. None too easy, as Dark Alin troops and buildings are quite resistant to damage. Build a Circle of Glass and have some Glass Cannons ready for them. You don't get to control many mines here, unfortunately, so it will take some time.
HINT: In (5) there's Don Sclario's outpost. There's a bonus quest related to it, that tells you to destroy all of his troops (ALL of them, you let one go and you're gonna have to search for it on the whole map).
HINT: There's a second bonus quest to take over the Floating Castle in (6). It has insane amounts of HP, so don't even think about it without Glass Cannons. The castle itself is a kind of a mobile unit factory that lets you quickly buy large numbers of troops for an acceptable fee.
This time you have to defend your base against enemy attacks. You control two armies here: Alin (led by Giacomo) and Vinci (led by a new hero named Pulitore). Basically, you mustn't let the enemy destroy the oasis (1). Its destruction means you have to repeat the mission.
Take all your troops from both camps and place them around the central oasis. Build two additional mines for Alin (2). Invest your Research Points with both factions. When Vinci have enough gold (speed things up with caravans), buy the post (3). It will let you build another mine (4).
Enemy attacks will grow in strength after about half of the time limit passes. If you secured your economy, you should be able to afford constant unit production. In time, try to move your defenses away from the oasis (note that you can repair it as any other building, should something happen to it). Enemy will strike from the North, South-West and West. When the time limit is close to its end, throw everything you've got to defend the oasis, thus sacrificing everything else.
HINT: There's a bonus quest to take over three Berserker camps (4). These soldiers are quite strong and will be a good addition to your army.
A quick and easy mission. Head to (1) and you'll get a quest to take over the enemy city (2). Do so - it's hardly defended. Once you're done, you'll have to kill three genies that came out of the ruins in the middle of the map. Don't wait for them to attack you, just go and take care of them. Carlini's Snipe comes in handy.
HINT: Gather all relics (*) to perform a side-quest.
Take over the oasis near your initial location (1). Head to the city up North (2) and defeat the Salamanders. Belisari will take care of the ones coming from the North, so you concentrate on eastern side of the base. Build 2 additional mines and fill them with miners. Remember to support your Resource Cap with Merchant Districts.
When the sun rises, Salamander will retreat, and you will be able to retaliate. No need to hurry, you don't have to kill their queens this day - you can wait until you're strong enough, survive another night, and then take matters into your own hands.
You'll get a bonus quest: expand your base into a Great City, and Belisande will serve under your command. It pays to do this until the night falls again. Besides, take over the second oasis (3). Focus on training Fire Elementals, as they are deadly against Adult Salamanders.
The second wave of Salamander attacks will be tougher to resist. Group all your Elementals and use them to quickly eliminate all Adult Salamanders on all fronts, while other units take care of the smaller enemies.
If you have like 6-8 Elementals, use them to attack enemy queens once the day comes back. You should be able to take all three queens (4) during one day.
A Skirmish.
A Skirmish.
You have to escort three traders through this Dark Alin infested region. Your way is from (1) to (2) and back, repeat three times. You will be obviously interrupted by Dark Alin attacks. There are two ways you can choose: a longer (red) and safer one, or the shorter (blue) one, on which you will be always attacked by larger numbers of enemies. It's up to you, but keep in mind that there's a time limit upon you.
HINT: There's a bonus quest to go to (3) and defeat Dark Alin over there. You'll get some additional units for that.
Choose three of your best developed heroes. Giacomo has gone mad because of the poisonous gasses here, you have to keep him safe while he wanders around and freaks out.
It's quite simple, just follow the inventor and take out everything that threatens him.
It's time to take care of the genie that tricked you in the very beginning of the Alin campaign. Pursue him through the whole map and fight off everything that he sends at you. There are glass cages around here with units trapped inside them, take time to free them for free reinforcements and for a bonus quest.
At the end, genie will summon two Glass Golems. You'll have to destroy them before you kill him. Concentrate your legion's fire on them, and eventually take out the genie himself.
Attack the enemy city North-East of your position. Take it over and free the dragon Thuran (1). You have to quickly train some air forces and send them to save dragons to the West (2). Thuran himself is quite a powerful unit so just give him support of 2-3 others and go for it.
Enemy will use the Dark Terror spell that deals damage to your units while they're away from your own territory. Use your newly acquired dragon unit to attack enemy caravans trading with the oasis (3). It will lure the enemy forces out of their base and allow you to easily take care of them.
Now you have to destroy the enemy city (4). It will take a lot of troops, so don't hurry with it.
A Skirmish.
A Skirmish.
Gather your forces and take over the city (1). Claim the oasis and the post as well. Build another mine and start to expand. To the East there are two buildings (2) which you should storm in order to perform a side-quest. They are guarded by Sand Terrors buried underground. The second bonus quest is to get rid of the Dark Alin. They have two bases in here: main city (3) and unit production post (4).
Don't hesitate with taking action in this one. If the Dark Alin gain control of the Sand Citadel (5), you will loose. The greatest threat is the post in the center of the map. Try to destroy it ASAP and things will get a little bit easier. You'll need a lot of troops to do so. Next you can destroy the enemy city or reclaim Dakhla's treasures. Both targets are easier than taking out the post. When you get rid of everything from the map except for you and the Sand Citadel, strike it down. Dakhla is now weakened by Dark Alin attacks so you should be quick to neutralize him. Take some Glass Cannons with you to speed things up.
Your forces are divided into two parts, with a huge abyss between. You'll probably need to construct some Magic Boxes and use their Magic Whirlwind ability to transport your troops. The problem is that you are also being attacked by neutral mountain beasts, so watch out while transporting troops.
Your mission is to destroy two Dark Alin cities (1 and 2). From the start you should have enough troops to take out the southern city at once - just use Giacomo's abilities to help you. Situation is more complicated in the North. Invest all your resources there, or you'll be defeated by either Dark Alin or the Elementals.
Take over the Tresure Stash (3) and the Vault (4) to get yourself some additional resources. When you take over the southern enemy city, use Magic Whirlwind to move most of your forces to the Noth. Note that you can't leave the southern base totally undefended, as "neutral" beasts will surely take advantage of it. You have 4 mines, 2 cities, a Treasure Stash, and a Vault under your command. That's enough to feel secure, you just have to survive the crisis after attacking the southern enemy base and things will be fine. Dark Alin won't stand a chance against you - your economy is too strong. Just remember to mostly train troops that can attack air units (no Salamanders, folks).
Take over the Tradint Post and build a second mine nearby. While your base is expanding, you can send your troops to have some fun: storm the city (1) and destroy dwo Dark Spires (2). After a while the enemy will start to attack you from the North - nothing serious, really.
Try to expand your territory to the North-East (3), taking over new mines. The enemy will react aggressively if you storm his city (4) and will probably attack you with most of his troops. Think it over, then.
If you secure your positions in all three cities, you'll have to destroy the three Dark Spires that are left (5). It's easiest to do that with air forces (Rukhs!). Don't waste time on destroying other buildings.
HINT: There's a sub-quest called "Find the Scientist" in this mission. He's in (6), and you'll have to lead one of your heroes to him. He'll then tell you to take over a Salamander Nest (7) and lead one of these beasts to him. You'll get a telescope for that. He'll then ask you to find his lost Clockwork Man (8). Bring it back to him using a Magic Whirlwind.
HINT: You'll get another hero after this quest, Andromolek, who will enable you to build Dark Spires and train Dark Alin units for the rest of the campaign.
If your starting unit is strong enough (and it should be by now!), send it at once to (1) to take back Damanhur. You'll have to defeat three Genies for that. A second hero would be useful here, especially the one with Snipe (Carlini, Arri). Don't forget to expand your base meanwhile, starting with getting a second mine.
When you take back Damanhur, you'll probably be very weak in numbers. Head back to your base and gather strength for your next move. No one will attack you now, so there's no need to hurry. Small Dark Alin forces will try to get you from the East, but even ordinary infantry is enough to stop them. Get a second city (2) if you feel like it.
HINT: There's a Vinci mine to the West (3). Miners there will tell you to help them with Rukhs that attack them from the North (4). When you take care of them, they will refuse to help you in return, so kill them all and take over their mine.
Your final attack is a piece of cake. Just accumulate enough forces and destroy everything that stands on your way. The only real threat is the Fire Golem (5). Treat him with your sniper heroes' abilities. Taking over the Citadel (5) will end the mission.
This location becomes visible after finishing Hellforge Mountains and Deepest Desert and is the last Alin campaign mission.
Head across the bridge and destroy the Circle of Glass (1). Continue on until you reach two other Circles of Glass and a few units trapped in glass cages. Free them. In (2) there's a supersized Glass Golem, watch out when you fight him. You won't defeat him unless you hit him with everything you've got. Go further and take over the Oasis (3). You can now wait for your abilities to recharge and regain your strengths.
A little bit up ahead there's another Oasis and even more caged units to be freed. There's another mini-boss (hehe!), a gigantic spider (4). He's even tougher than the previous one, and don't expect to be walking away from this fight with a lot of troops. When you're done with it, free all caged units and destroy the Spires. There's one last Oasis before you. Regenerate and defeat Marids and Glass Cannons up ahead. Enter Sawu's chambers (5). He's not that tough, you should be able to defeat him a lot quicker than you did with the spider.
When you're done with the Dark Genie, Doge's army will apprear before the city gates, along with Hammer v2.0. You now have Sawu, Dakhla and Damanhur on your side, and Leviathan (1) on the other. After a few minutes, Lenora will reinforce you with a large army of Condottieri. It's quite easy from now on, your forces are large enough to destroy the Hammer (2) and thus end the campaign.
This one's easier than it initially seems. You control two separate camps: Vinci (1) and Alin (2). Your first goal is to destroy 35 Cuotl units. You can expand your economy and just wait for them to attack you in small waves, or start taking over the map from the spot. It's a good idea to get a second base for each of the races you command (3 and 4).
When you destroy the required number of enemies, a man named Yontash will join you with his men. Their post (5) is a nice thing to have, as it supports you with constant stream of Berserker infantry.
The next quest is to take over the enemy city in the northern part of the map (6). Don't hurry with that, as it requires considerably strong forces. Nothing stands in your way, though, to steadily eliminate all the Cuotl on the map, gaining their mines and posts. The enemy will attack you once in a while with his irritating flyers, so keep some anti-air units near your bases.
When you control most of the map, storming the enemy city is not a problem. When you do it, you'll witness a cool (at least for this game) cut-scene and will start the real part of the Cuotl campaign.
You now get to choose whether you'd want Arri or Lenora to accompany you through the rest of the campaign. It doesn't really matter, as you'll be controlling the Cuotl from now on.
Now you face the Cuotl tutorial, which guides you through the basics of this fairly different race from those you already know. Follow the instructions, constructing the Reactor District and a Fane, and take over the nearby Shrine. Kakoolha, the local renegades' leader will join you. You now have to destroy the central Cuotl city (1) before the enemy takes over all of Kakoolha's cities.
Expand your territory eastwards and westwards, taking over two more cities and building more and more mines. You'll receive a message that reinforcement are coming. If you're quick and effective in economy, you won't even need them to win. Attack the enemy from the East, breaking through to the virtually defenseless central city. As simple as it gets - just storm it and you're done.
If you don't manage to do so quickly and the threat of losing is getting all to serious (meaning the evil Cuotl have taken over three cities and there's only one left), send your army to Kakoolha's capital (2) and defend it against the main enemy strike force. Now you can go straight to storming the enemy city.
A Skirmish. Only thing worth noting is that it's divided by gaps that can only be crossed by air units.
Another defensive mission, and a really difficult one too. For me it was the most difficult in the entire game. You have 5 cities that will be attacked soon by a large Cuotl army. Spend all your Research Points. You can't hope to build defenses that will keep the enemies from taking the central city. You'll need to think of something more tricky than that. Train additional miners and spend everything on new units, and an additional (at least one) hero of choice.
When the timer reaches its end, you'll be attacked by three separate Cuotl armies, consisting mostly of heavy machinery. Randomly, two of them attack you from the North and one from the South - or the other way round. They will start taking over your cities and you can't really do anything about this. When they're done (and you're left with 2 cities), gather all your forces and use them to defeat the unit that is single. The other two will now merge and attack the central city. Defeat the single unit and reclaim the city that they took. Now, the trick is to divide the enemy forces that are left into two groups. You don't stand a chance fighting the double legion that is now storming your capital. Use quick units to lure some of the enemy troops out and eliminate them one by one.
If you're lucky, you'll be able to divide enemy forces in a way that will let you defeat them. It doesn't mean it'll be easy, though. Your heroes are priceless here. Always keep a Holy Ark nearby as well.
Here are some additional hints:
- Build military districts in the cities you defend; they are cheaper than ordinary turrets and work just as good;
- Use EVERYTHING you've got, even abilities and perks you haven't looked at ever before;
- Spend all your Research Points;
- When fighting an enemy legion, take out their Holy Ark first;
- Use the Pause (defalt: 'p') to give multiple commands at once.
A Skirmish.
The enemy is unusually passive in this mission. There are three tasks before you: taking over the Eye of the Gods (1), killing the enemy leader Xil, and taking control over his capital (2). From the very beginning you've got a LOT of space to expand, so make good use of it. Get at least 4 more mines and 2 cities (ex. (3)). The enemy will decide to attack you in a while, and Xil will possible engage into this fight as well. A good opportunity to take him out.
Gather a large army and attack Eye of the Gods. This gigantic weapon isn't as powerful as it looks. Secure it and attack the enemy city. He probably managed to claim at least one more, but your mission is only to destroy the capital.
This mission would be very difficult if not for the AI's stupidity. The map is divided into two parts, connected with two bridges in the middle (1). The enemy will thoughtlessly send his troops through these bridges, not realizing that these attack are all too easy to defend. You've got a lot of resources on your part of the map so just secure the bridges and expand until you've got a gigantic army that won't have any problem cutting the enemy where he stands (3).
While the main quest is fairly simple here, a side-quest can prove to be troublesome. You have to escort 7 transports coming from either of the (2)-points into your base. The enemy will send his flyers to bring them down, so if you hope to complete this one, you should emphasize on building air forces. Keep them in the central part of the map and send them where they are needed (meaning - where the transport is coming from). And be quick about it, you have to keep up with the pace. If you manage to save all 7 transports, you'll get 2 powerful units: a Death Sphere and a Storm Disk (aren't really worth the trouble if you ask me, but hey, a side-quest's a side-quest).
A Skirmish.
Nothing complicated here, you just have to take the enemy capital (1). The side-quest here is to also storm all other cities (3). There are a lot of resources around your base, and a second city that's easy to claim. Note that you have a Fallen Refuge in your base, where you can train some unique units (these lotr-like siege elephants are cool!).
Notice the Great Transmuter (3) and a lot of relics (4) that can be easily taken over with air units to help you with your economy.
Decide whether you want to take your time to conquer all cities or just rush into the capital. Its defenses are quite strong, but don't really pose a threat. Just remember to get those resources flowing.
A Skirmish.
A Skirmish.
Try to conquer the whole southern part of the map (1), this way securing your resources.
Crypt of Knowledge (2) is not well guarded and needs to be taken over as soon as possible. Attacking it doesn't seem to irritate the enemy, he just lets it go. It will let you to use Mind Control to take over the enemy units.
Apart from all this, you will be soon attacked by a large strike force led by Shok herself (she's been accumulating her forces in (3)). The situation is quite similar to Tecuhtla - just take advantage of this chance to get rid of enemy hero in your own territory.
When you defeat the goddess and possess the Crypt of Knowledge, all that's left is to storm all of the enemy's cities. Initially he's only controlling two of them (4), but it's possible that he expanded his territory further while you were preparing for the attack. Finish the job, always remembering about keeping your resource income high. It will save you should something go wrong.
Once again you have to choose 3 of your heroes to start this mission with you. At first you have to take over one of the enemy posts (1). It doesn't really matter which one you choose, they're all identical.
The fight won't be difficult. Spend the money you stole from the enemy on new units and move on to the next post. This mission is very easy if you're patient and don't try to storm the enemy capital (2) too soon.
There are three bonus quests in here. The first one is to find 12 renegade units (marked with (*) on the map) who will gladly join you. The second quest requires you to destroy three of the enemy transports, that carry the Timonium and Wealth around the map. It's quite simple (you can build a few flyers for that) and it certainly pays off, as you get to claim the money they carry. The last side-quest is to claim all 4 posts (1). They are all equally easy to win as the first one. Just keep taking over enemy bases and mines (there are miners among the renegades that you can use in them). A little bit of multitasking is all that it takes to win this scenario.
When you gather enough troops, storm the enemy capital, and you'll win the mission.
A Skirmish.
The time has come to finally get rid of the False Gods and finish the game. In order to reach Czin and his destructive apparatus (there's a time limit, but not very demanding), you have to deactivate three energy barriers that separate him from Giacomo. You control two separate units, both consisting of best units and heroes of all three races.
The pace at which you advance further into the enemy territory is the most important factor here. You don't want to rush in there all Rambo-like and stuff, but on the other hand it's pointless to engage into an endless struggle for each small building there is on your way.
The point is to destroy the generators in (1)-s, (2)-s, and (3)-s on the map. It's best to do it symmetrically, meaning destroying both (1)-s, then both (2)-s and so on. The question is: should you regenerate your strengths between attacking the generators or just go for it? Well, if you are effective in commanding your army (use the pause, I dare you!), you have more than enough troops to handle the task without any reinforcements from your "bases". High-level hero skills can really save the day. Try Sawu's Summon Elder Glass Dragon and laugh as your opponent tries to react to that.
Oh, and don't feel sorry for heroes and units dying in the end of this phase. Eventually, it will even prove useful to you. Read on.
When you destroy all the barriers, Giacomo will show himself in (4). "Whaaa?" - bet you now say, seeing his overwhelming "strike force", consisting of a few Clockwork Man and infantry units. Well, if you have any enchantments left in your upper-right corner of the screen, now's the time to use them. There's an ability to "Summon Berserker Camp" in this campaign. Lucky you, if you still have it, as using it here allows you to summon heroes that you just surely lost outside this fortified corridor. If you don't have it, well... Good luck.
Czin (5) is accompanied by some heavy units from the start. Moreover, he'll summon even more high-level Cuotl units when he's hurt. I don't see any brilliant strategies for this encounter. Just do your best to slay the wretched beast and you're done. Hooray, you're done with this game. Don't expect any spectacular ending, though.
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