The Crocodile - Stronghold Crusader AI Lords

The Crocodile is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition.

Overview

A lord of the wetlands, the Crocodile is a relic of times past, as he has been living a reclusive life in the relative peace of his domain. As he got word that the desert lords earned fame and wealth for themselves, the Crocodile is drawn out of his shelter to show his rivals his true skills. Honoring his heritage, the Crocodile fights with sharp teeth, while also building an enclosure of puddles and other surprises.

Castles & Defenses

The Crocodile builds very cheap, but visually complex castles what could be called a real crocodile's shelter, resembling a beachside. The inner sanctum is comprised of a very basic square enclosure, featuring two Gatehouses and a single line of walls optionally with a small tower. Outside a haphazardly laid out system of Moat patches make it harder for enemies to infiltrate the castle, as well as lone Lookout Towers are built to overlook the perimeter with small groups of Arabian bowmen on top. Between the moat patches large chunks of Pitch Ditches and Killing Pits are carefully laid underground to add an additional layer of defense, while Skirmishers and invisible Ambushers are spread out at roughly even intervals, ready to ignite the chokepoints and buy time for the defenses. If given enough time, the Crocodile will also set up an Oil Smelter and supply Engineers with boiling oil to fry any invader getting close to them.

The player who wants to siege the Crocodile should prepare for nasty surprises. Having a worse bark than a bite however, the Crocodile's castles suffer from severe garrison and firepower shortages. Take on the fortifications with a good number of Catapults and Fire Ballistae: the ballistae can quickly decimate any light troop the Crocodile would through at you, while the weak Lookout Towers and other stone structures can be leveled in just a few rock volleys. The Crocodile may send troops in larger numbers to retaliate, so have ranged units guarding your siege engines, while they do the busywork. Demolishers in numbers are another great choice for the siege, since they are well-kitted against traps and buildings, both of which the Crocodile heavily relies on.

Even if the Crocodile manages to ignite his pitch ditches, the Demolishers have innate resistance to fire so they may pass through the flames with relative ease. Once the gates are down, the Crocodile's keep is free for the taking: either storm it with an overwhelming Demolisher group, or send in some armored troops for a decisive kill!

Economy

The Crocodile's economy is barebones, relying on two Stone Quarries and a handful of Pitch Rigs providing income for his almost endless supply of cheap troops. He provides food for his Granary from about 8-10 Dairy Farms and a more modest number of Apple Farms. Being a very simplistic lord, the Crocodile does not delve into more complex popularity management matters, like Religion or Ale. On maps without Pitch, his economy and development is greatly reduced.

Raids & Sieges

Being a very aggressive lord, the Crocodile loves to lash out in times most unexpected. Creating large squads of inexpensive troops, the Crocodile is fairly fast to conduct raids with Skirmishers, Slingers and Slaves to be a thorn in any chosen opponent's side. These combined arms tactics can prove effective in a variety of scenarios, as Skirmishers and Slingers can pick off workers and weaker units from two different ranges, while Slaves close in on buildings - farms and quarries in particular -, and eventually attempt to light them up. As the game goes on, you will find that the Crocodile favors these rushes more than sending siege attempts, coming at a little higher frequency than the latter. When doing particularly well in terms of gold, he also constructs harassment Catapults and rolls them forward one at a time to hurl rocks at buildings of his choosing.

Very slowly, the Crocodile will eventually build up siege forces and deploy them in less than impressive group sizes. Skirmishers and Slingers tend to form the bulk of the offensive force, who try filling in the Moat and make pin-cushions out of the enemy opposition with their endless supply of close-range projectiles. A modest number of siege Engineers also escorts the rag-tag army, who eventually create a Trebuchet or two and lay down covering fire at towers and gates. 

Defending against the Crocodile takes considerably small effort, as his forces are lightly armored and though numerous, they arrive fairly late as the Crocodile likes to dump most of his starting assets into his defense forces first. His raids and attacks are about equally threatening, so handling both could be done in the same manner. Prepare a large number of ranged defenders and park them on top of towers, with a Healer or two on aggressive stance to patch up any injuries, as the Skirmishers fling their spears with some added miss chance. While the Slingers may be kept slightly behind, the Crocodile's other units may disrupt your worker flow temporarily, so have a similar formation deployed on the field - preferably Crossbowmen to withstand more shots - to repel raiders. Against the Crocodile's sporadic siege engines, a Tower Ballista or two is recommended (ensure that the engines are targeted manually).