Age of Mythology/A Fine Plan

Difficulty: Titan Level

Introduction
This level is basically impossible to beat unless a specific strategy set out here is undertaken. I tried probably a dozen different techniques to beat this level before I found one that worked. One strategy attempted was to take out the eastern Cyzicus encampment early in the game by troops carried in a naval transport. Didn’t work, at least not when I tried it. If anyone can come up with a different strategy to beat the Titan level other than what is presented here, please share with all of us!

Walkthrough
Take your Helipolis and all available troops and head to the northwest. Ignore the gold mine directly north of you. You don’t have time to mess with that right now.

Destroy the gold mine and the archers in this area. Use your Helipolis to destroy the Town Center to the west. Keep your other units out of this battle, as they will face unwanted attrition from the Town Center’s arrows.

Join your Helipolis back up with your other units and head due north. Destroy the western wall protecting the entrance to Troy. Storm through the gates and destroy the one and only Market that Troy has. Without doing this at the beginning of the game, you will eventually be overwhelmed with Cavalry and you will be on the losing side of a war of attrition.

Before you start to destroy the Market, Troy will use its Ceasefire command, so action will be delayed for a bit.

Hint: Even though battle is ceased, it is still possible to recruit Myth units during this time period.

After destroying the Market, abandon your Helipolis. It will be destroyed in the counterattack. Marshall your forces together and force march them back to your Town Center. They are needed desperately.

While all of the above is going on, it is necessary to continue your town economy, which won’t be easy. It is very distracting doing two things at once, especially since your town is being attacked by siege weapons and cavalry.

It is helpful to recruit a Minotaur, or two if you think you can afford it, and leave them behind at the Town Center. Garrison your Villagers whenever necessary. The garrisoned attack of the Town Center will probably make the difference in winning or losing the mission.

It might work out that you will battle one group of cavalry with your main fighting force before heading north to destroy the Town Center.

Expect to sustain massive losses, even down to the last man, in the upcoming battles. Just keep the Villagers garrisoned, when necessary, don’t give up and keep regrouping and rebuilding, as circumstances permit.

Soon, cavalry will quit approaching your Town Center, as Troy’s only Market has been destroyed -- their sole source of income on this level.

But you are not out of danger yet. Hordes of archers will also attack from the Cyzicus settlement and the mission can be lost even at this stage of the game.

Build and upgrade a Watchtower close to your Town Center, fill with Toxotes and continue to re-recruit any Minotaurs that are lost in battle.

Also, recruit all Heroes available, as you can resurrect them even when battles do not go your way.

One of the struggles in this level is to keep your gold mine functioning up to the northwest. The enemy archers will oftentimes bypass your settlement and head straight for them.

Once things stabilize, take whatever forces you have built up, mostly consisting of Heroes and Myth units, and head northeast to capture the duo gold mines in this area. Build a Storehouse and harvest the massive gold available therein.

Create a new base of operations here, including multiple, upgraded Watchtowers, a Temple, Fortress, Archery Range and whatever other structures you see fit to construct.

If desired, destroy the eastern base, the Cyzicus tribe, to get rid of the stream of archers coming your way. It is certainly not necessary, though.

If you do take the time to destroy the eastern Town Center, build another Town Center in its place to raise your population cap. It is also possible to do the same to the west at the Town Center you destroyed earlier. Watch out for the enemy Watchtower in the area!

Build up to maximum strength to attack the Troy Wall. They won’t give it up easily. Use a few Petrobolos to take down the Watchtowers and Temple before your main assault. Lightning Storm will work great during your final assault, if available. Otherwise, a strong army backed up with Titans will do the trick!

Also, “retire” a few Villagers if you want to create a larger attacking force.

This is a challenging mission, and one that is fun to replay once you have the hang of it. Try recruiting different units if you replay the mission, to get experience using varying strategies.