Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings/An Unlikely Messiah

The Franco-English war has lasted for almost one hundred years. The English kings claim rights to the French thrones, and they have conquered the French territory city by citty with their allies in Burgundy. The heir to the French monarchy is too cowardly to ascend to the throne. The French army is wounded and tired and has given up all hope. But in the darkest hour, a young peasant girl, Joan of Arc, declares that she intends to save France. She said she had a vision from god to save her homeland from English domination.

Joan of Arc 1: An Unlikely Messiah

This scenario is pretty straightforward. The main point is that you have almost no way of healing any damage until you reach Chinon, but by then it won't matter. Therefore, you need to avoid all combat, unless you have no choice, and even then, you need to avoid combat. Unfortunately, depending on the difficulty setting and how aggressive the enemy units are, combat will be forced upon you from time to time. An AoE expert will note that infantry can be healed inside an ally's Tower. The Tower near your starting location may be critical to your survival.

Joan is one of your best scouts, because she has the best sight range. She should be your primary scout. Many special events occur in response to her proximity.

As the scenario starts, you recruit two knights. Many special events occur in response to their proximity (window dressing, mostly), so they should be walking around right behind Joan. Try using the "follow" order. They are also your fastest units, so scout with them as appropriate. As Joan walks around inside the French camp, you recruit 4 archers and 4 men-at-arms.

Your first hostile encounter is with two dire wolves. They are not very dire, because they do very little damage per hit. You could sneak by them, or you could waste them. You could even lure them into the French camp and get your allies to deal with them. This early in the scenario, healing is relatively easy, so you may as well have some fun with them.

Your next encounter is a battle between the British and the forces of France. Just sit back and watch it. Even if you could enter the battle, which is almost impossible until it's over, the only way the British could hurt you is via collateral damage (check the diplomacy screen). After the battle, the British disappear. Feel free to hack down a catapult or something afterwards; it's perfectly safe.

A bit further along the path, you encounter a damaged bridge. Head along the path, and you run into some bandits. Head along the coast, and you run into an enemy warship. You can get your company through between them. Then you reach a big group of deer. This is a safe resting area.

When you try to head along the coast again, you are blocked by an enemy town, including Towers. As you skirt the town, you find that you can just sneak by between the town and the bandits. However, you should probably kill the bandits. You have no idea what lies up ahead, and it is prudent to have the route behind you clear, in case you have to flee back through this area. Use standard damage avoidance techniques, and then go back home for healing. (Then let the game run while you have a coffee or something until your force is back at full strength.) Your knights should sit this one out.

After some R&R, you head out again. This time, you try the path to the right from the bandit camp. You find and kill some wolves, and then you run into another bandit camp. So you go back to the first bandit camp and take the left path again. As you skirt the enemy town, its defenses force you into the sight range of a bandit light cavalry unit. This unit is actually dangerous, and there is no way to avoid it. After killing it, you will need some major healing, so you may as well clear out the rest of the second bandit camp.

After your second round of R&R, you continue down the path and cross the bridge to reach a French town. Here you recruit a battering ram and a bunch of infantry. What do we use Pikemen for?

You find that you have no choice left but to go right through the Burgundian town in the middle of the map. You should go in through the wall where neither Tower can hit you. Note that a wall section is weaker than a gate, although less melee units can attack it at a given time. As your battering ram beats on the wall, some number of enemy units will rush out and beat on your battering ram. A priori, you don't know whether that number depends on exactly where you attack, but you do know whether a Tower will or will not attack you, so you choose to avoid the Towers.

Before the ram goes in, however, attack the target wall section with a mobile unit to provoke the defense reaction. Kill the responding units, and heal your damage again.

After you pass through the Burgundian town and cross the river, you reach another French town, but this one is occupied by enemy soldiers. Moving along the path, you encounter some light cavalry, so you go along the river bank instead. As Joan sneaks in there, she recruits three Transport Ships. There is no need to engage the large enemy force. The transports cannot carry your whole force at once.

The northernmost landing point on the Chinon side of the Loire River is safe, and from there, you are home free. You could continue down the river, but remember that there is an enemy warship there. You could wander around the SW area of the map if you really want to. There you would encounter some enemy soldiers, one last bandit camp, and some more recruits.

Joan of Arc 2

You start with a small force you must take to Blois, where a larger force awaits your arrival—and your command. Prior to combat, you pass a Monk on the road—the only Monk you'll encounter for a long stretch. Send wounded soldiers, including Joan, to him for healing after the fight.

The British tend to use Longbowmen, Spearmen, Men-at-arms, and Monks, mingled with a few siege weapons. Counter the British Monks with your own Monks. You'll also need Monks to heal your forces during and after skirmishes. Monks are great assets against computer opponents because there tend to be limits to resources and population in campaign scenarios. A liberal supply of Monks will boost your economy by allowing you to get the most out of your troops.

Use Skirmishers, Elite Skirmishers, or Knights to counter the Longbowmen. Because of the abundance of English Longbowmen, avoid using Swordsmen. Don't engage Spearmen with your Cavalry units; they'll be hopelessly countered. To counter Spearmen, opt instead for Crossbowmen.

Joan of Arc 3

You begin this scenario with a force strong enough to protect you into the Castle Age and beyond. Send a unit west toward the battle standard to acquire Transports and two Demolition Ships. Feel free to use the Demolition Ships to destroy a British ship at will. Use the Transports to land your troops on the north bank, at the map's east edge. A short walk northeast along the map edge reveals a gold pile at the edge of a forest. Establish your economic base in this clearing. There you'll find a fair amount of gold, plenty of forest, some stone, and Sheep. Don't dock and fish on the river, as the British will simply build up a large navy and destroy your work.

Two Burgundian Towers lie to your north and west. Using Joan and your Knights, you can destroy these Towers with no damage to your troops. As you approach, jog left or right when the Towers fire. The Burgundians haven't researched Murder Holes and, thus, can't hurt your troops once they're next to the Towers.

Each time the Burgundians attempt to cross, they'll attack the gate, alerting you to their presence. Simply dispatch troops to eliminate the threat and then send a Villager to repair any damage. Focus on reaching the Castle Age and upgrading your units fully. In the Castle Age, build Monks to heal your original forces. You also can put Monks near the gate area to convert any troops that come knocking.

You'll need to destroy Fastolf's Rams immediately or his forces will flatten your Towers and your Castle. Use your Monks to help even the odds, sending them back into the Towers and Castle as needed for protection. After this heavy assault, rebuild your forces and take down the third and final Castle.

Joan of Arc 4

Scenario 4 begins at the east end of a road. Your initial destination is a village at the end of this road. A mid-sized force of British troops waits for you along the way. If you attempt to circumvent these troops, they'll await you in the village. The soldiers will stand amongst your future Villagers and slay them upon your arrival. Proceed down the road and engage the British. You'll take losses, but you'll survive.

When you arrive in town, you'll get a handful of Villagers and a meager amount of resources. Immediately collect the Sheep west of town, or the enemies will snatch them up. Enemy troops will attack from a river crossing to the north and another crossing near the former British camp. Don't allow your troops to cross the river; this instigates a large attack for which you're unprepared.

At this point, the goal is to reach the Imperial Age and have fully upgraded units at your disposal. It's time to build your Blacksmith. When the resources are available, build a Monastery and train a few Monks.

When you have a large army at your command, cross the river north of your town. Chalon is your first target. The Town Center lies just north of the crossing and it's easy to destroy. After wiping out Chalon, build a defensive base on its former site.

Rheims will send a lot of troops to harass you. Without these defenses you'd soon find yourself without an army to command. Build several Stables, a Castle, a Monastery, and plenty of defensive Towers. Use Trebuchets to take out the surrounding Towers.

Next concentrate on killing Troyes. A large group of Paladins will take down this Town Center without delay. Rheims has many Longbowmen and Onagers. Use a constant onslaught of Paladins to keep them at bay.

Joan of Arc 5

Start by grouping your units by type and assigning them hotkeys; for example, assign your Bombard Cannons and Jeanne de Lorraine to [1]. Set your diplomacy with the British to Neutral. This will keep enemy buildings from distracting your units from enemy troops. To destroy a building, select the units you wish to use and then right-click on the building. Use Trebuchets as Scouts, implementing their extremely long sight range. With a Trebuchet, you can uncover any enemy unit without activating it.

After these preparations, you're ready to save the Villagers and liberate Paris. Follow the west edge of the map until you encounter a few Towers and a Castle. Paris's western gate lies northeast. Destroy the Towers and Castle to give yourself breathing room.

Head south to the gold. This activates your reinforcements to the east and British Elite Longbowmen will ambush them immediately. Send your Knights to their aid, followed by the rest of your troops. Use your Cannons to make a hole in the wall next to the gold and leave Paris.

Travel north to the road and follow it south to the fork. Group Joan with the Villagers and save your game. It's very difficult to get Joan and the Villagers through. Engage the Burgundians with your remaining troops. Use Cavalry units to kill all ranged units. Run Joan and the Villagers to the square to end the scenario.

Joan of Arc 6

You begin with Guy Josselyn, your narrator, and the Trade Cart holding the French flag. The Trade Cart must survive to plant the French flag on the hill in Castillion. Head southeast and activate the French army awaiting you. Now activate the French cannon troops across the river to the west. Your first goal is to kick the Burgundians out of their walled town and implement it as your economic base.

Rousted from their town, the Burgundians have set up shop to the south. They send a continuous stream of Infantry and Pikemen and are quick to rebuild. Before engaging the British, relieve yourself of this nuisance.Don't destroy the Burgundian Market. This gives you the option of building a Market in Shrewsbury's town and using Trade Carts to supplement your gold supply.

The British are fond of Scorpions and Elite Longbowmen in this scenario. Gunpowder units best for dealing with this rabble. The enemy assails your defenses without letup at the crossing before you're ready to continue. Steadily build your forces and then advance toward the hill, building defenses and military buildings along the way. Once you've arrived at the hill and are certain of the Trade Cart's safe passage, bring up the flag and claim your victory.