Mission 3: The Dragon's Lair

Mission 3: The Dragon's Lair

Welcome, Commander, to "The Dragon's Lair," a pivotal mission in your campaign through Age of Mythology: Retold. This guide will equip you with the strategies, unit compositions, and divine interventions needed to conquer this challenging stage. Your primary objectives are twofold: first, to destroy the formidable Dragon's Lair, and second, to rescue the beleaguered villagers held captive by the enemy. This mission heavily emphasizes strategic resource management, robust defensive planning, and precise siege tactics.

Mission Objectives:

• Destroy the Dragon's Lair: This heavily fortified structure is the heart of the enemy's operations and must be dismantled.
• Rescue Villagers: Locate and liberate the scattered villagers to bolster your economy and population cap.

Recommended Deity & God Powers:

Choosing the right patron deity can significantly impact your success. For this mission, we recommend focusing on God Powers that enhance your economy, unit production, or provide direct combat support against structures and myth units.

• Zeus (Greek):
  • Bolt: Invaluable for instantly eliminating dangerous enemy myth units or a particularly stubborn hero. Can also be used to quickly take down a key defensive tower.
  • Lightning Storm: Excellent for clearing out large groups of enemy units, especially when defending your siege engines or pushing into a fortified position.
• Isis (Egyptian):
  • Prosperity: Provides a significant economic boost, allowing for faster unit production and upgrades. Crucial for establishing a strong early game.
  • Ancestors: Summons powerful pharaohs to fight for you, acting as a potent defensive or offensive force, especially useful for protecting your siege units from counter-attacks.
• Odin (Norse):
  • Forest Fire: Can be used to clear out enemy forests for resource denial or to create new paths for your army, potentially bypassing heavily defended chokepoints.
  • Great Hunt: Increases the food yield of nearby animals, providing a steady early-game food income to fuel your military.

Initial Setup and Early Game (0-10 minutes):

Upon starting, immediately focus on establishing a robust economy. Your initial villagers should be assigned as follows:

1. Food (6-8 Villagers): Prioritize gathering food from berry bushes and hunting nearby animals. This will be crucial for training more villagers and advancing through ages.
2. Wood (4-5 Villagers): Start chopping wood to construct essential buildings like the Barracks, Archery Range, and later, the Siege Workshop.
3. Gold (3-4 Villagers): Send villagers to the nearest gold mine. Gold will be needed for advanced units and upgrades.

Build Order Priority:

• House: Build houses as needed to maintain your population cap.
• Temple: Essential for researching technologies and training Myth Units.
• Barracks: Start training basic infantry (e.g., Hoplites, Axemen, Ulfsarks) for early defense and exploration.
• Storehouse: Place near resource nodes for efficient gathering.

Exploration: Use your starting scout unit to uncover the map and locate potential enemy positions, resource patches, and the locations of the captive villagers. Be cautious, as enemy patrols may be present.

Mid Game & Expansion (10-25 minutes):

Once your economy is stable and you've advanced to the Classical Age, begin to expand your military and secure additional resources.

Unit Composition:

The Dragon's Lair is a fortified structure, meaning you'll need a strong contingent of siege units. However, these units are vulnerable, so a balanced army is key.

• Siege Units (6-8 units):
  • Catapults (Greek): Excellent for destroying buildings from a distance.
  • Ballistas (Egyptian): Good against both buildings and massed infantry.
  • Portable Rams (Norse): Cost-effective and durable, but require close proximity to the target.
• Infantry (10-12 units):
  • Hoplites/Prodromos (Greek): Strong all-around units, good for protecting siege.
  • Axemen/Spearmen (Egyptian): Axemen are good against infantry, Spearmen against cavalry.
  • Ulfsarks/Huskarls (Norse): Ulfsarks are versatile, Huskarls are resilient against archers.
• Archers (8-10 units):
  • Toxotes (Greek): Good damage dealers, especially against other ranged units and light infantry.
  • Chariot Archers (Egyptian): Mobile and effective against infantry.
  • Throwing Axemen (Norse): Excellent against other infantry and some myth units.
• Myth Units (2-4 units):
  • Minotaurs (Greek): Powerful melee units with a knockback ability, great for disrupting enemy formations.
  • Sphinxes (Egyptian): Fast and strong against infantry, can also deal damage to buildings.
  • Troll (Norse): Ranged myth unit, good for supporting your main army and dealing with enemy myth units.

Build Order & Upgrades:

• Armory: Research armor and attack upgrades for your chosen unit types. Prioritize upgrades for your primary damage dealers and siege units.
• Siege Workshop: Construct this building as soon as you have sufficient resources to begin training your siege engines.
• Market: Allows for trading resources, which can be vital if you run low on a specific resource.
• Town Centers: Consider building additional Town Centers on new settlements to boost your villager production and resource gathering rates.

Rescuing Villagers: As you explore, you'll encounter groups of captive villagers. Send a small contingent of your military (e.g., 2-3 infantry units) to clear out any nearby enemies and free them. Once freed, immediately assign them to gather resources or build new structures.

Late Game & Assault on the Dragon's Lair (25+ minutes):

By this stage, you should have a formidable army and a strong economy. Prepare for a direct assault on the Dragon's Lair.

Tactical Advice:

• Scouting: Before committing your main army, use a scout or a few fast units to pinpoint the Dragon's Lair's exact location and identify any surrounding defenses (towers, walls, enemy barracks).
• Formations: Arrange your army in a defensive formation. Place your siege units at the back, protected by infantry and myth units. Archers should be positioned to provide ranged support.
• Pushing Forward: Advance cautiously. Use your siege units to target enemy towers and defensive structures first. Your infantry and archers should engage any enemy units that attempt to interfere with your siege.
• Dealing with Enemy Myth Units: The Dragon's Lair will likely be defended by powerful myth units. Use your heroes and specific counter-units (e.g., Toxotes against Flying Myth Units, Minotaurs against ground Myth Units) to neutralize these threats.
• God Power Usage: Deploy your chosen God Powers strategically. Use Bolt to instantly remove a high-threat enemy unit, or Lightning Storm to clear out a large defensive force. Prosperity can give you the late-game economic edge for continuous unit production.
• Resource Management during Assault: Keep an eye on your resources. Be prepared to quickly train reinforcements from your barracks and archery ranges if your army takes heavy casualties.

Destroying the Dragon's Lair:

Once you've breached the outer defenses, focus all your siege unit fire on the Dragon's Lair. It has a substantial health pool, so sustained fire is necessary. Continue to protect your siege units from any remaining enemy forces or newly trained reinforcements.

Common Pitfalls & Tips:

• Neglecting Economy: A strong economy is the backbone of any successful military campaign. Don't stop training villagers or upgrading resource gathering technologies.
• Lack of Scouting: Blindly attacking can lead to heavy losses. Always scout ahead to understand enemy defenses.
• Unbalanced Army: Relying too heavily on one unit type will leave you vulnerable to counters. Maintain a balanced force.
• Ignoring Upgrades: Unit upgrades in the Armory and Temple are crucial for maintaining combat effectiveness as the mission progresses.
• Underestimating Enemy Counter-attacks: The enemy will attempt to disrupt your siege. Always have a defensive force ready to repel these attacks.