| “ | And if Thor has his hammer, he will seal the gate... | ” |
| —Arkantos | ||
Unlikely Heroes is the twenty-ninth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to create a haft from a piece of a Taproot, taken from Yggdrasil (the world tree of Norse mythology), and reunite it with Thor's Hammer Head.
Summary[]
Having been driven away from the Tartarus Gate, the heroes are now unsure of what to do. However, they stumble upon Brokk and several Dwarves working on a taproot. Reginleif reveals that before Gargarensis arrived in Midgard, Loki destroyed Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Now Brokk and Eitri are in the process of making a new one. If Thor can have a new hammer, he will seal the gate.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting age:
Archaic Age - Starting resources: 50 gold
- Starting population limit: 0
- Starting units:
- Starting technologies and upgrades: Bronze Weapons, Copper Mail, Medium Infantry
- Starting god powers: Dwarven Mine
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On Easy, the player begins with Aurora Borealis and Hall of Thanes researched, and their Dwarves are immediately set to work on mining gold. Gargarensis has fewer units in his army and guarding the various passages, and the Nidhogg will not attack. There is also an additional Dwarven Mine near the Taproot Trunk, and there are additional Dwarves and an Ox Cart which can be rescued near Eitri's start position.
- On Hard and Titan, there is one less Dwarven Mine in the player's starting area. Gargarensis has more starting units and there are fewer units available to rescue.
Objectives[]
- Protect the dwarves while they cut the haft from the taproot.
(Use some Dwarves to mine Gold and receive reinforcements from the surface. Avoid the gate; the forces of Gargarensis are too strong.) - Finish cutting the haft from the taproot and bring the two pieces of the hammer together.
(Do not let the hammer head fall into enemy hands. Avoid the gate; the forces of Gargarensis are too strong.) - Bring the two pieces of Thor's hammer together.
(Do not let either piece fall into enemy hands. Stay away from the gate - the forces of Gargarensis are too strong.)
Players[]
- Arkantos (Thor): The player begins in the Archaic Age with no means of advancement. Commands Arkantos, Ajax, Amanra, Reginleif and Brokk, as well as a handful of Dwarves and an Ox Cart. They must cut the Hammer Haft out of the Taproot and mine gold to send to the surface in exchange for reinforcements. After a minute has passed, Eitri will appear at the east side of the map, along with Thor's Hammer Head, two Dwarves, one Ox Cart, one Valkyrie and eight Hersir.
Neutral[]
- Dwarves (Thor): They consists of several Dwarves and Hersirs each being held behind Wooden Walls guarded by enemy myth units. Defeating the guards and breaking down the wall will cause them to join the player's team.
Enemies[]
- Gargarensis (Poseidon): Gargarensis has myth units scattered in various areas of the map. He will eventually send a large army to finish off Arkantos. On Moderate difficulty and above, he will also send the Nidhogg to attack the player's Dwarves after some time has passed.
Strategy[]
This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.
The player should task all Dwarves and Brokk onto the Gold Mine for the time being. Every time 400 gold has been accumulated, it will be sent to the surface, allowing reinforcements to descend into Niflheim to join Arkantos and the others. The reinforcements will arrive in the following groups:
- Two Valkyries, six Throwing Axemen
- Seven Dwarves
- Two Jarls, four Throwing Axemen
- Six Ulfsarks
- Six Huskarls
- Two Valkyries, two Jarls
- Six Raiding Cavalry
- Two Mountain Giants
- Two Frost Giants
Meanwhile, the campaign heroes should be sent to stand guard near the Healing Spring to kill the incoming Hamarrtrolls and any other myth units that arrive. Once the reinforcements consisting of Dwarves arrive they can also be tasked into gathering gold. If the Gold Mine runs out, the Dwarven Mine god power can be cast.
One minute into the scenario, Eitri will appear at the east side of the map, along with Thor's Hammer Head, two Dwarves, one Ox Cart, one Valkyrie, and eight Hersirs. Eitri should head towards the left path and defeat the Hamartrolls that are guarding the imprisoned Dwarves. Once they are freed and the Gold Mine is secured, Eitri and his Dwarves can also begin mining to generate reinforcements faster. The Hersirs and Valkryie should stand guard on the path leading from their arrival point to the Gold Mine as some Cyclopes will eventually arrive to attack. Eitri's group should remain there for the remainder of the scenario as the Hersirs, though strong against myth units, are considerable weaker in the Archaic Age and will not survive the other ambushes along the path to Brokk's group.
Shortly after a third wave of reinforcements arrive from the surface, this will trigger the Nidhogg to appear and head straight for the Taproot. The Dwarves should run clear of that area while Reginleif should be tasked to attack the dragon as she is the only ranged hero available. If there are any Throwing Axemen available, they can also attack it as long as they remain far from its flames. Once the threat is eliminated, the Dwarves and Brokk can resume mining gold. If the gold in the area runs out, they should immediately begin working on the Taproot again.
Once the Taproot has only 30% of its hit points left, Gargarensis' army of Chimeras, Mountain Giants, Fire Giants and Hamartrolls will have broken through the rockfall and will begin advancing towards the player's location. This army advances very slowly, giving the player ample amount of time to finish cutting out Thor's Hammer Haft. If needed, the player can send some of their reinforcements to stall the army. Once the Hammer Haft is complete, it and Brokk can be sent to join the campaign heroes. The heroes should advance slowly to seek out Gargarensis' myth units hidden in the fog and eliminate them all. There are five areas where Gargarensis will cast the Ancestors God Power. Whenever that happens, all units can simply retreat out of sight and wait for the god power to end and the Minions to die. Then the player can resume attacking the groups of myth units as they head for Eitri's position, taking pauses to enable the heroes to regenerate, made faster with Reginleif's healing ability. The player may choose to free the trapped Hersirs at the north end of the map, but they will be of little use.
Alternatively, the player may opt to take the initiative and clear out the path to Eitri and the Hammer Head as soon as the first group of reinforcements appears, leaving Reginleif and the Throwing Axemen near the Spring to deal with the Nidhogg. That way, once the Hammer Haft is ready and Gargarensis' army has broken through, the two pieces can already be in proximity. Either way, once Thor's Hammer Haft and Head come close to each other, the player will be rewarded with victory.
Additional tips[]
- On Titan difficulty, the heroes will be unable to survive fighting the large number of Gargarensis' myth units guarding the path to bring Thor's Hammer Haft to the Hammer head, whilst Gargarensis' pursuing army will advance rapidly. This means the heroes, Thor's Hammer Haft, and the dwarfs (acting as a sacrificial rear shield) will have to race past the myth units without attacking them. The northern chokepoint, just east of the trapped Hersirs, will become completely blocked by the myth units, so it must be avoided by taking the alternative route just south.
Loophole[]
If Brokk's Ox Cart is killed, a special set of reinforcements will arrive, consisting of a new Ox Cart and four Dwarves. To get an immediate advantage for the scenario, players may simply delete the starting Ox Cart to get these reinforcements right away.
Closing Cinematic[]
Gargarensis has successfully damaged the gate enough for Kronos be freed. A purple haze begins to envelop him as the Titan begins to grant him his immortality. However, Thor's Hammer has assembled itself and flies towards the gate, sealing it again. Gargarensis escapes as the events trigger an explosion, sending everyone out of Niflheim and onto the surface.
Trivia[]
- In this scenario, the Taproot and Giant Gate Ram belong to the Mother Nature player.
Gallery[]
